July 25th

Summary of the Morrow's Meditation

We will meditate tomorrow upon St. James, and we shall remark in him two very different kinds of ambitions: one vicious, the other honorable and holy. We will then make the resolution: 1st, not to listen to self-love, which leads us to put ourselves forward and to endeavor to raise ourselves; 2d, to have no other ambition here below but that of suffering, living and dying like Jesus Christ and for Jesus Christ. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of the Psalmist: "How inebriating, how delightful, is the chalice which God presents to us, that we may drink out of it!" (Ps. xxii. 5.)

Meditation for the Morning

Let us adore Our Lord calling to the apostolate St. James the Greater, the elder brother of St. John the Evangelist, the son of Zebedee and of Salome, and favoring him on several occasions, especially on Thabor, where He made him to be a witness of His transfiguration. Let us thank Our Lord for all that He did on behalf of this apostle, and let us receive instruction from studying the good and the evil which characterized the life of this happy disciple.

FIRST POINT

The Vicious Ambition of St. James

It was a belief universally spread in the Jewish nation that the Messias would found a temporal kingdom upon earth. The mother of James had often conversed with him and St. John, his brother, about it; and, in accordance with the inspirations of maternal love when the future of her beloved children is in question, she went with them to Jesus Christ and said to Him: Master, command that my two sons here present shall sit in Thy kingdom—one on Thy right hand, the other on Thy left. And the Saviour made to these two disciples, of whom their mother was only the organ, this beautiful answer, which is well worthy our meditation: "You know not what you ask" (Matt. xx. 22). How true these words are! No, my God, he who desires to be raised to a lofty position does not know what he asks: 1st, because to desire to quit one's position is not reasonable; such a pretension, if it were to become general, would upset the whole of society; 2d, because every one of us ought to respect the order of Providence; we should be wanting towards God if we attempted to leave it, and we cannot count upon His assistance excepting when we are in the position in which He wills we should be; 3d, because it is an error to imagine that we should be better elsewhere than where we are; such an idea only engenders unhappiness and discontent; 4th, because where positions are more elevated, the responsibility is greater, self-love stronger, pride more lofty, dangers more numerous; 5th, because to place our ambition upon things here below is not worthy of man; we must raise our aspirations higher and elevate them up to heaven. My son, said King Philip to Alexander, my kingdom is too small for you; extend your great heart further. And we, Christians, we ought to say to ourselves: Earth is too low for us; do not let us attach a heart made for heaven to lower things. My son, said St. Ignatius to Xavier, who was in love with the world, be ambitious if you will, but do not have an ambition so low that it contents itself with perishable honors; aspire only to the immortal honors of Paradise; love glory if you will, but let it be the glory which does not pass away like smoke, the solid glory of the kingdom of heaven. Let us here examine our hearts; are these sentiments ours?

SECOND POINT

The Holy and Honorable Ambition of St. James

Jesus Christ, raising the thoughts of His apostles from an earthly kingdom to the kingdom of heaven, said to them: In order to reach My kingdom you must drink of the chalice of suffering and of bitterness that I must drink of Myself; are you able to do it? Yes, Lord, they replied, "we can" (Matt. xx. 22); and from that time forward a new and holy ambition took hold of them, that of being poor and following a God who was poor, to accompany Him in His journeys, to labor during the day, to watch and pray during the night, and constantly to bear the cross; to forget themselves, to despise themselves, and to sacrifice anything for the gospel. The life of St. James, in fact, as St. Epiphanius tells us, was most austere, and his zeal for the conversion of Jews and infidels knew no bounds. He was the first of the apostles to give his life for Jesus Christ, the first among them who dyed the holy city with his blood. He converted his executioner by embracing him; and his death, being the occasion of the dispersion of the apostles, was the means of spreading the preaching of the gospel over the earth. O holy ambition! thou wert satisfied! Thou didst drink of the chalice down to its last drop, and, like the Psalmist, thou didst delight in its savor, saying with him: How beautiful is my chalice, how inebriating it is! (Ps. xxii. 5.) Let us learn from hence where to place our ambition.

Resolutions and Spiritual Nosegay as above