“If I did not simply live from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient, but I only look at the present, I forget the past, and I take good care not to forestall the future.”
Saint Therese, flower of Carmel,
you said you would spend your heaven
doing good upon the earth.
Your trust in God was complete.
Listen to my prayer;
bring before God my special intention…
Pray for me that I may have something of your confidence
in the loving promises of our God.
Pray that I may live my life in union with God’s plan for me,
and one day see the Face of God who you so ardently loved.
Saint Therese,
you kept your word to love God
and to trust the world to that loving providence.
Pray for us that we may be faithful to our commitment to love.
May our lives, like yours,
be able to touch the world and bring it to peace.
Part 1 – Chapter 12 of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
This is a Discerning Hearts recording read by Correy Webb
CHAPTER XII
FOURTH MEDITATION.
On Sin
Preparation.
1. PLACE yourself in the Presence of God.
2. Ask Him to inspire your heart.
Considerations.
1. Consider how long it is since you first began to commit sin, and how since that first beginning sin has multiplied in your heart; how every day has added to the number of your sins against God, against yourself and against your neighbor, by deed, word, thought and desire.
2. Consider your evil tendencies, and how far you have followed them. These two points will show you that your sins are more in number than the hairs of your head, or the sand on the seashore.
3. Apart from sin, consider your ingratitude towards God, which is in itself a sin enfolding all the others, and adding to their enormity: consider the gifts which God has given you, and which you have turned against the Giver; especially the inspirations you have neglected, and the promptings to good which you have frustrated. Review the many Sacraments you have received and see where are their fruits. Where are the precious jewels wherewith your Heavenly Bridegroom decked you? with what preparation have you received them? Reflect upon the ingratitude with which, while God sought to save you, you have fled from Him and rushed upon destruction.
Affections and Resolutions.
1. Humble yourself in your wretchedness.
O my God, how dare I come before Your Eyes? I am but a corrupt being, a very sink of ingratitude and wickedness. Can it be that I have been so disloyal, that not one sense, not one faculty but has been sullied and stained; —not one day has passed but I have sinned before You? Was this a fitting return for all my Creator’s gifts, for my Redeemer’s Blood?
2. Ask pardon; —throw yourself at the Lord’s Feet as the prodigal son, as the Magdalene, as the woman convicted of adultery. Have mercy, Lord, on me a sinner! O Living Fountain of Mercy, have pity on me, unworthy as I am.
3. Resolve to do better. Lord, with the help of Your Grace I will never again give myself up to sin. I have loved it too well; —henceforth I would hate it and cleave to You. Father of Mercy, I would live and die for You.
4. In order to put away past sin, accuse yourself bravely of it, let there not be one sinful act which you do not bring to light.
5. Resolve to make every effort to tear up the roots of sin from your heart, especially this and that individual sin which troubles you most.
6. In order to do this, resolve steadfastly to follow the advice given you, and never think that you have done enough to atone for your past sin.
Conclusion.
1. Thank God for having waited till now for you, and for rousing these good intentions in your heart.
2. Offer Him all your heart to carry them to good effect. 3. Pray that He would strengthen you.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
At the end of your meditation linger a while, and gather, so to say, a little spiritual bouquet from the thoughts you have.
For other chapters of the Introduction to the Devout Life audiobook visit here –
“I understood that every flower created by him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, our Lord’s living garden.”
Saint Therese, flower of Carmel,
you said you would spend your heaven
doing good upon the earth.
Your trust in God was complete.
Listen to my prayer;
bring before God my special intention…
Pray for me that I may have something of your confidence
in the loving promises of our God.
Pray that I may live my life in union with God’s plan for me,
and one day see the Face of God who you so ardently loved.
Saint Therese,
you kept your word to love God
and to trust the world to that loving providence.
Pray for us that we may be faithful to our commitment to love.
May our lives, like yours,
be able to touch the world and bring it to peace.
Part 1 – Chapter 11 of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
This is a Discerning Hearts recording read by Correy Webb
CHAPTER XI. THIRD MEDITATION.
On the Gifts of God
Preparation.
1. PLACE yourself in the Presence of God.
2. Ask Him to inspire your heart.
Considerations.
1. Consider the material gifts God has given you—your body, and the means for its preservation; your health, and all that maintains it; your friends and many helps. Consider too how many persons more deserving than you are without these gifts; some suffering in health or limb, others exposed to injury, contempt and trouble, or sunk in poverty, while God has willed you to be better off.
2. Consider the mental gifts He has given you. Why are you not stupid, idiotic, insane like many others? Again, God has favored you with a decent and suitable education, while many have grown up in utter ignorance.
3. Further, consider His spiritual gifts. You are a child of His Church, God has taught you to know Himself from your youth. How often has He given you His Sacraments? What inspirations and interior light, what reproofs, He has given to lead you aright; how often He has forgiven you, how often delivered you from occasions of falling; what opportunities He has granted for your soul’s progress! Dwell somewhat on the detail, see how Loving and Gracious God has been to you.
Affections and Resolutions.
1. Marvel at God’s Goodness.
How good He has been to me, how abundant in mercy and plenteous in loving-kindness! O my soul, be ever ready to share the great things the Lord has done for you!
2. Marvel at your own ingratitude.
What am I, Lord, that You remember me? How unworthy am I! I have trodden Your Mercies under foot, I have abused Your Grace, turning it against You; I have set the depth of my ingratitude against the depth of Your Grace and Favor.
3. Kindle your gratitude.
O my soul, don’t not be faithless and disloyal to your mighty Benefactor! How should not my whole soul serve the Lord, Who has done such great things in me and for me?
4. Go on to refrain from this or that material indulgence; let your body be wholly the servant of God, Who has done so much for it: set your soul to seek Him by this or that devout practice suitable from this point forward. Make diligent use of the means provided by the Church to help you to love God and save your soul. Resolve to be constant in prayer and seeking the Sacraments, in hearing God’s Word, and in obeying His inspirations and counsels.
Conclusion.
1. Thank God for the clearer knowledge He has given you of His benefits and your own duty.
2. Offer your heart and all its resolutions to Him.
3. Ask Him to strengthen you to fulfil them faithfully by the Merits of the Death of His Son.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
At the end of your meditation linger a while, and gather, so to say, a little spiritual bouquet from the thoughts you have dwelled upon, the sweet perfume that may refresh you through the day.
For other chapters of the Introduction to the Devout Life audiobook visit here –
Part 1 – Chapter 10 of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
This is a Discerning Hearts recording read by Correy Webb
CHAPTER X. SECOND MEDITATION.
Preparation.
1. PLACE yourself in the Presence of God.
2. Ask Him to inspire your heart.
Considerations.
1. God did not bring you into the world because He had any need of you, useless as you are; but solely that He might show His Goodness in you, giving you His Grace and Glory. And to this end He gave you understanding that you might know Him, memory that you might think of Him, a will that you might love Him, imagination that you might realize His mercies, sight that you might behold the marvels of His works, speech that you might praise Him, and so on with all your other faculties.
2. Being created and placed in the world for this intent, all contrary actions should be shunned and rejected, as also you should avoid as idle and superfluous whatever does not promote it.
3. Consider how unhappy they are who do not think of all this,—who live as though they were created only to build and plant, to heap up riches and amuse themselves with trifles.
Affections and Resolutions.
1. Humble yourself in that previously you had so little thought upon all this.
Alas, my God, of what was I thinking when I did not think of You? What did I remember when I forgot You? What did I love when I loved You not? Alas, when I ought to have been feeding on the truth, I was but filling myself with vanity, and serving the world, which was made to serve me.
2. Abhor your past life.
I renounce you, O vain thoughts and useless thoughts, frivolous and hateful memories: I renounce all worthless friendships, all unprofitable efforts, and miserably ungrateful self- indulgence, all pitiful compliances.
3. Turn to God.
You, my God and Savior, will henceforth be the sole object of my thoughts; no more will I give my mind to ideas which are displeasing to You. All the days of my life I will dwell upon the greatness of Your Goodness, so lovingly poured out upon me. You will be from now on the delight of my heart, the resting-place of all my affections. From this time forward, I will forsake and abhor the vain pleasures and amusements, the empty pursuits which have absorbed my time; —the unprofitable ties which have bound my heart I will loosen from this point forward, and to that end I will use such and such remedies.
Conclusion.
1. Thank God, Who has made you for so gracious an end.
You have made me, O Lord, for Yourself, that I may eternally enjoy the immensity of your Glory; when will I be worthy, when will I know how to bless You as I should?
2. Offer.
O Dearest Lord, I offer You all my affections and resolutions, with my whole heart and soul.
3. Pray.
I beg you, O God, that You would accept my desires and longings, and give Your Blessing to my soul, to enable me to fulfil them, through the Merits of Your Dear Son’s Precious Blood shed upon the Cross for me.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
At the end of your meditation linger a while, and gather, so to say, a little spiritual bouquet from the thoughts you have dwelled upon, the sweet perfume that may refresh you through the day.
For other chapters of the Introduction to the Devout Life audiobook visit here –
Part 1 – Chapter 9 of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
This is a Discerning Hearts recording read by Correy Webb
CHAPTER IX. FIRST MEDITATION.
Of Creation.
Preparation.
1. PLACE yourself in the Presence of God.
2. Ask Him to inspire your heart.
Considerations.
1. Consider that but a few years since you were not born into the world, and your soul was as yet non-existent. Where were you then, O my soul? The world was already old, and yet of you there was no sign.
2. God brought you out of this nothingness, in order to make you what you are, not because He had any need of you, but solely out of His Goodness. Consider the being which God has given you; for it is the foremost being of this visible world, adapted to live eternally, and to be perfectly united to God’s Divine Majesty.
Affections and Resolutions.
1. Humble yourself utterly before God, saying with the Psalmist, O Lord, I am nothing in respect of You—what am I, that You should remember me? O my soul, you were yet lost in that abyss of nothingness, if God had not called you forth, and what of you in such a case?
2. Give God thanks. O Great and Good Creator, what do I not owe You, Who didst take me from out that nothingness, by Your Mercy to make me what I am? How can I ever do enough worthily to praise Your Holy Name, and render due thanks to Your Goodness?
3. Confess your own shame. But alas, O my Creator, so far from uniting myself to You by a loving service, I have rebelled against You through my unruly affections, departing from You, and giving myself up to sin, and ignoring Your Goodness, as though You had not created me.
4. Prostrate yourself before God. O my soul, know that the Lord He is thy God, it is He that has made you, and not you yourself. O God, I am the work of Your Hands; henceforth I will not seek to rest in myself, who am nought. Wherein have you to glory, who are but dust and ashes? how can you, very nothing, exalt yourself? In order to my own humiliation, I will do such and such a thing,—I will endure such contempt:—I will alter my ways and henceforth follow my Creator, and realise that I am honoured by His calling me to the being He has given; I will employ it solely to obey His Will, by means of the teaching He has given me, of which I will inquire more through my spiritual Father.
Conclusion.
1. Thank God. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and praise His Holy Name with all thy being, because His Goodness called me forth from nothingness, and His Mercy created me.
2. Offer. O my God, I offer You with all my heart the being You have given me, I dedicate and consecrate it to You.
3. Pray. O God, strengthen me in these affections and resolutions. Dear Lord, I commend me, and all those I love, to Your neverfailing Mercy.
OUR FATHER, etc.
At the end of your meditation linger a while, and gather, so to say, a little spiritual bouquet from the thoughts you have dwelt upon, the sweet perfume which may refresh you through the day.
For other chapters of the Introduction to the Devout Life audiobook visit here –
Part 1 – Chapter 8 of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
This is a Discerning Hearts recording read by Correy Webb
CHAPTER VIII. How to effect this Second Purification
THE first inducement to attain this second purification is a keen and lively apprehension of the great evils resulting from sin, by means of which we acquire a deep, hearty contrition. For just as contrition, (so far as it is real,) however slight, when joined to the virtue of the Sacraments, purges away sin; so, when it becomes strong and urgent, it purges away all the affections which cling around habits of sin. A moderate, slight hatred makes men dislike its object and avoid his society; but when a violent, mortal hatred exists, they not only abhor and shun the person who excites it, but they loathe him, they cannot endure the approach of his relations or connections, nor even his likeness or anything that concerns him. Just so when a penitent only hates sin through a weakly although real contrition, he will resolve to avoid overt acts of sin; but when his contrition is strong and hearty, he will not merely abhor sin, but every affection, every link and tendency to sin.
Therefore, my daughter, it behoves us to kindle our contrition and repentance as much as we possibly can, so that it may reach even to the very smallest appearance of sin. Thus it was that the Magdalen, when converted, so entirely lost all taste for her past sin and its pleasures, that she never again cast back one thought upon them; and David declared that he hated not only sin itself, but every path and way which led thereto. This it is which is that “renewing of the soul” which the same Prophet compares to the eagle’s strength.
Now, in order to attain this fear and this contrition, you must use the following meditations carefully; for if you practise them stedfastly, they (by God’s Grace) will root out both sin and its affections from your heart. It is to that end that I have prepared them: do you use them one after another, in the order in which they come, only taking one each day, and using that as early as possible, for the morning is the best time for all spiritual exercises;—and then you will ponder and ruminate it through the day. If you have not as yet been taught how to meditate, you will find instructions to that purpose in the Second Part.
For other chapters of the Introduction to the Devout Life audiobook visit here –
Part 1 – Chapter 7 of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
This is a Discerning Hearts recording read by Correy Webb
CHAPTER VII. The Second Purification, from all Sinful Affections
ALL the children of Israel went forth from the land of Egypt, but not all went forth heartily, and so, when wandering in the desert, some of them sighed after the leeks and onions,—the fleshpots of Egypt. Even so there are penitents who forsake sin, yet without forsaking their sinful affections; that is to say, they intend to sin no more, but it goes sorely against them to abstain from the pleasures of sin;—they formally renounce and forsake sinful acts, but they turn back many a fond lingering look to what they have left, like Lot’s wife as she fled from Sodom. They are like a sick man who abstains from eating melon when the doctor says it would kill him, but who all the while longs for it, talks about it, bargains when he may have it, would at least like just to sniff the perfume, and thinks those who are free to eat of it very fortunate.
And so these weak cowardly penitents abstain awhile from sin, but reluctantly;—they would fain be able to sin without incurring damnation;—they talk with a lingering taste of their sinful deeds, and envy those who are yet indulging in the like. Thus a man who has meditated some revenge gives it up in confession, but soon after he is to be found talking about the quarrel, stating that but for the fear of God he would do this or that; complaining that it is hard to keep the Divine rule of forgiveness; would to God it were lawful to avenge one’s self! Who can fail to see that even if this poor man is not actually committing sin, he is altogether bound with the affections thereof, and although he may have come out of Egypt, he yet hungers after it, and longs for the leeks and onions he was wont to feed upon there! It is the same with the woman who, though she has given up her life of sin, yet takes delight in being sought after and admired. Alas! of a truth, all such are in great peril.
Be sure, my daughter, that if you seek to lead a devout life, you must not merely forsake sin; but you must further cleanse your heart from all affections pertaining to sin; for, to say nothing of the danger of a relapse, these wretched affections will perpetually enfeeble your mind, and clog it, so that you will be unable to be diligent, ready and frequent in good works, wherein nevertheless lies the very essence of all true devotion. Souls which, in spite of having forsaken sin, yet retain such likings and longings, remind us of those persons who, without being actually ill, are pale and sickly, languid in all they do, eating without appetite, sleeping without refreshment, laughing without mirth, dragging themselves about rather than walking briskly. Such souls as I have described lose all the grace of their good deeds, which are probably few and feeble, through their spiritual languor.
For other chapters of the Introduction to the Devout Life audiobook visit here –
Part 1 – Chapter 6 of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
This is a Discerning Hearts recording read by Correy Webb
CHAPTER VI. The First Purification, namely, from Mortal Sin
THE first purification to be made is from sin;—the means whereby to make it, the sacrament of penance. Seek the best confessor within your reach, use one of the many little books written in order to help the examination of conscience. Read some such book carefully, examining point by point wherein you have sinned, from the first use of your reason to the present time. And if you mistrust your memory, write down the result of your examination. Having thus sought out the evil spots in your conscience, strive to detest them, and to reject them with the greatest abhorrence and contrition of which your heart is capable;—bearing in mind these four things:—that by sin you have lost God’s Grace, rejected your share in Paradise, accepted the pains of Hell, and renounced God’s Eternal Love.
You see, my child, that I am now speaking of a general confession of your whole life, which, while I grant it is not always necessary, I yet believe will be found most helpful in the beginning of your pursuit after holiness, and therefore I earnestly advise you to make it. Frequently the ordinary confessions of persons leading an everyday life are full of great faults, and that because they make little or no preparation, and have not the needful contrition. Owing to this deficiency such people go to confession with a tacit intention of returning to their old sins, inasmuch as they will not avoid the occasions of sin, or take the necessary measures for amendment of life, and in all such cases a general confession is required to steady and fix the soul.
But, furthermore, a general confession forces us to a clearer self-knowledge, kindles a wholesome shame for our past life, and rouses gratitude for God’s Mercy, Which has so long waited patiently for us;—it comforts the heart, refreshes the spirit, excites good resolutions, affords opportunity to our spiritual Father for giving the most suitable advice, and opens our hearts so as to make future confessions more effectual. Therefore I cannot enter into the subject of a general change of life and entire turning to God, by means of a devout life, without urging upon you to begin with a general confession.
For other chapters of the Introduction to the Devout Life audiobook visit here –
Part 1 – Chapter 5 of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
This is a Discerning Hearts recording read by Correy Webb
CHAPTER V. The First Step must be Purifying the Soul.
“THE flowers appear on the earth,” says the Heavenly Bridegroom, and the time for pruning and cutting is come. And what, my child, are our hearts’ flowers save our good desires? Now, so soon as these begin to appear, we need the pruning-hook to cut off all dead and superfluous works from our conscience. When the daughter of a strange land was about to espouse an Israelite, the law commanded her to put off the garment of her captivity, to pare her nails, and to shave her head; even so the soul which aims at the dignity of becoming the spouse of Christ, must put off the old man, and put on the new man, forsaking sin: moreover, it must pare and shave away every impediment which can hinder the Love of God. The very first step towards spiritual health is to be purged from our sinful humours. S. Paul received perfect purification instantaneously, and the like grace was conferred on S. Magdalene, S. Catherine of Genoa, S. Pelagia, and some others, but this kind of purgation is as miraculous and extraordinary in grace as the resurrection of the dead in nature, nor dare we venture to aspire to it. The ordinary purification, whether of body or soul, is only accomplished by slow degrees, step by step, gradually and painfully.
The angels on Jacob’s ladder had wings, yet nevertheless they did not fly, but went in due order up and down the steps of the ladder. The soul which rises from out of sin to a devout life has been compared to the dawn, which does not banish darkness suddenly, but by degrees. That cure which is gradually effected is always the surest; and spiritual maladies, like those of the body, are wont to come on horseback and express, while they depart slowly and on foot. So that we must needs be brave and patient, my daughter, in this undertaking. It is a woeful thing to see souls beginning to chafe and grow disheartened because they find themselves still subject to imperfection after having made some attempt at leading a devout life, and well-nigh yielding to the temptation to give up in despair and fall back; but, on the other hand, there is an extreme danger surrounding those souls who, through the opposite temptation, are disposed to imagine themselves purified from all imperfection at the very outset of their purgation; who count themselves as full-grown almost before they are born, and seek to fly before they have wings. Be sure, daughter, that these are in great danger of a relapse through having left their physician too soon. “It is but lost labour to rise up early and late take rest,” unless the Lord prosper all we do.
The work of the soul’s purification neither may nor can end save with life itself;—do not then let us be disheartened by our imperfections,—our very perfection lies in diligently contending against them, and it is impossible so to contend without seeing them, or to overcome without meeting them face to face. Our victory does not consist in being insensible to them, but in not consenting to them. Now to be afflicted by our imperfections is certainly not to consent thereto, and for the furtherance of humility it is needful that we sometimes find ourselves worsted in this spiritual battle, wherein, however, we shall never be conquered until we lose either life or courage. Moreover, imperfections and venial sins cannot destroy our spiritual life, which is only to be lost through mortal sin; consequently we have only need to watch well that they do not imperil our courage. David continually asks the Lord to strengthen his heart against cowardice and discouragement; and it is our privilege in this war that we are certain to vanquish so long as we are willing to fight.
For other chapters of the Introduction to the Devout Life audiobook visit here –
