May 3, 2026
The Gospel according to St. John, xvi. 5-15.
"Jesus said to His disciples: Now I go to Him that sent Me, and none of you asketh Me: Whither goest Thou? But because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow hath filled your heart. But I tell you the truth: it is expedient to you that I go: for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you: but if I go, I will send Him to you. And when He is come, He will convince the world of sin, of justice, and of judgment. Of sin: because they believed not in Me. And of justice: because I go to the Father; and you shall see Me no longer. And of judgment: because the prince of this world is already judged. I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will teach you all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself: but what things soever He shall hear, He shall speak, and the things that are to come He shall show you. He shall glorify Me; because He shall receive of Mine and shall show it to you."
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
We will meditate to-morrow upon a sentence in the gospel of the day: “It is expedient to you that I go,” and in order to understand it we will consider: 1st, what are the spiritual aridities which are useful to the soul; 2d, what we must do in these states of aridity. Our resolution shall be: 1st, not to retrench anything from our exercises of piety, or our duties, whether they be small or great, even when we feel nothing but disgust for them; 2d, not to allow ourselves to be cast down or discouraged by these trials, but to continue to serve God in peace and humility. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of St. Paul: “Let us be fervent, because it is the Lord whom we serve” (Rom. xii. 11).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us adore Jesus Christ addressing these strange words to His apostles: “It is expedient to you that I go.” How, Lord, can it be useful to Thy apostles to be separated from Thee, who art their light, their strength, their consolation? Was it not, on the contrary, to lose all? No! Thou dost affirm it will be very useful to them; they have too natural an attachment to My Humanity, they are too fond of the sensible consolations which My presence makes them enjoy; they must learn to love the God of consolations more than the consolations of God. The heart which desires to belong to God must be detached from all ties to the creature, however excellent the creature may be. That is why it is useful for them that I go away. I thank Thee, O Lord, for so useful an explanation; help me to understand it thoroughly and to profit by it well.
FIRST POINT
What are the Aridities which are Useful to the Soul?
By aridities are understood a withdrawal of the light of God which illumines the soul, or of His unction which touches it; in such a manner that exercises of piety are thereby divested of attraction, the service of God of enjoyment, duty of its pleasure. These aridities are of two kinds: the one kind is a trial with which God visits fervent souls; the other is an effect or chastisement of tepidity. Let us meditate upon the three features by which they are distinguished: 1st. The fervent soul which is tried by aridity sighs, in the presence of God, over the state of misery and powerlessness in which it languishes; it humbles itself for it, and would like to set the whole universe on fire in order to compensate the coldness of its heart. The tepid soul, on the contrary, does not sigh over its state of languor; it does not care for it, and does not even feel it. 2d. The soul which is tried is in a violent crisis, out of which it constantly endeavors to come forth; thinking of the evil which in its weakness it commits; of the good which it ought to perform and which it does not do; comparing itself with fervent souls and seeing how far away it is from them, it experiences that fear and trembling with which the Apostle desires that our salvation should be worked out. Confounded at having done so little for God, it is inspired with an immense desire to do better, and it animates itself to lead a better life. The tepid soul, on the contrary, feels itself to be at ease as it is. Considering the evil which it does not do, and the small amount of good which it does perform, comparing itself with persons who are lax, to whom it prefers itself; and also making a profession of not aspiring to a lofty degree of perfection, but to keep itself in a state of mediocrity, it lives in a state of tranquillity and presumptuousness, without having any fear of God, without aspiring to become better. 3d. The fervent soul, in spite of its aridities, is not any the less exact in all its exercises, which it performs as well as it can; in the performance of all its duties, to which it willingly sacrifices its comfort and its pleasures; to all its pious practices, which it feels to be all the more necessary precisely on account of the state in which it finds itself. The tepid soul, on the contrary, performs its exercises badly, abridges them or omits them entirely; will not submit to anything which restrains it, is a weariness to it, or displeases it; it makes no account of the little things which are not to its taste, and will not understand that there is anything that can be called little in the service of God, that great things are maintained only by little ones, and that it is a very great thing to be faithful even in the smallest things. Let us judge by these characteristics whether our aridities are a trial sent by God or an effect of our tepidity.
SECOND POINT
What we ought to do in Aridities
1st. If aridities evidently come from our tepidity we must issue promptly from this state, which the Holy Ghost declares to be worse than a mortal sin (Apoc. iii. 15), and which He even calls a beginning of reprobation (Ibid. 16), and in order to issue from it we must correct the three characteristics of tepidity on which we have been meditating. 2d. If our aridities are only a trial, we must accept them without being discouraged or distressed; we must offer to God our heart as being dry ground, which is exhausted and which thirsts for grace and for His holy love. This thirst will, of itself, speak to God, this humble exposure of our wretchedness will say everything to Him; and whilst waiting for Him to hear us, let us continue to serve Him in peace. 3d. Let us watch over ourselves vigilantly, in order not to pass from aridity to tepidity; nothing is more easy than this passage, and, at the same time, nothing is more dangerous, because we tranquillize ourselves when we are in this state, as though it were one of the trials to which God makes His best friends submit; and seduced by this illusion, we fall into a terrible sleep which leads to death.
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.