October 7, 2026
Summary of the Morrow's Meditation
We will to-morrow consider the exercise of the presence of God, not only as a practice dear to every Christian heart, but as a religious duty; and in order to understand this duty well, we shall see: 1st, that we ought to keep ourselves habitually in the presence of God; 2d, that we ought to maintain supreme respect, as well exterior as interior, in His presence. We will then make the resolution: 1st, in all places and at all times to respect the presence of God, not to allow ourselves to do anything in His sight which we should not dare to do in presence of a great personage; 2d, often to utter acts of adoration to God present. We will retain as our spiritual nosegay the words of Jacob: "Indeed the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not" (Gen. xxviii. 16).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us adore Jesus Christ teaching us by His example the respect due to the presence of God. From the first moment of His incarnation His holy soul did not lose sight of it for one single moment; it kept itself continually abased in the most profound respect in presence of His lofty majesty, and merited thereby to attract towards Himself the complaisance of the Father, according to the revelation He made of it to the earth (Matt. iii. 17). Such perfect homage rendered to the presence of God is indeed worthy of our praise and our adoration.
FIRST POINT
Religion Obliges us to Maintain ourselves Habitually in the Presence of God.
What should we think of any one who, being admitted into the company of a great monarch, did not pay any attention to his presence? did not think of it even, went and came, acted and spoke exactly as though the monarch were not there? To act in this manner would be doubtless a most offensive proceeding. How much more reprehensible, then, would be the Christian who did not pay any attention to the presence of the great God, compared with whom all the monarchs of the earth are but as a grain of dust; who permitted himself to act as though God did not see us, to speak as though He did not hear us, to think as though He did not assist at our most secret thoughts; who did not make any account of Him in his projects, his deliberations, and his acts; who, lastly, spoke to Him only at rare intervals, often without even thinking of what he was saying, and who behaved in every way with the utter absence of restraint of a person who had forgotten in whose presence he was? I am in the presence of God! These sole words ought to make a deep impression upon us, and keep us abased in the most profound religious respect; for what is it to say, I am in the presence of God? It is to say, I am in presence of His divine perfections, which enchant all heaven; in presence of His greatness, which commands all my respect; in presence of His omnipotence, which demands my profound submission; in presence of His ineffable beauties, calculated to ravish all hearts; in presence of His goodness, which so well deserves all my love; in presence of His mercy, which calls for all my confidence; in presence of His justice, which I ought to fear; His holiness, which I ought to adore; and His providence, into the hands of which I ought everywhere to abandon myself. And living day and night in the midst of so many marvels which keep the angels in perpetual admiration, how ill would it become me never to think of it, to forget continually that I am in the hands of the best of fathers, a Father infinitely rich in mercy, always ready to pardon my sins as soon as I confess them to Him, to assist me as soon as I have recourse to Him; always attentive to me, to the extent of counting the number of the hairs of my head (Luke xii. 7), and of watching at my bedside during my sleep! Does not my conscience bid me pay attention to so kind a presence, so that I may not incur the reproach St. John addressed to the Jews: "There hath stood One in the midst of you whom you knew not" (John i. 26)? O Lord, open my eyes that I may see Thee! (Ps. xii. 4; Luke xviii. 41.)
SECOND POINT
Religion Obliges us to Unite Supreme Respect, Exterior as well as Interior, with the Remembrance of the Presence of God.
Interior respect due to the presence of God consists in a profound abasement of all the powers of the soul in presence of His lofty majesty; in a sweet attention to perform in a proper manner all that we do, even the most common actions, such as eating and drinking, conversation and repose, because of the holiness of the eyes which are fixed upon us; lastly, in the sacrifice of the whole of our being, made with gladness, and reiterated at every action by these sweet words, or others like to them: "All for Thee, O my God!" Exterior respect consists in an ever-modest deportment (Philipp. iv. 5), like that maintained by St. Francis de Sales, which was marked by as much restraint and reserve when he was alone as when he was in society; in a manner of speaking and acting which is always sweet and charitable, always worthy, in which is revealed a soul convinced that God listens to and is looking at it; lastly, in a Christian moderation, which performs and says all things in a suitable manner, without any haste as well as without any negligence, even in its recreations, which it knows how to indulge in gaily when it is the season for them, like a child of God under the eyes of its Father.
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.