Tuesday before Pentecost

Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation

We will continue to meditate upon the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and taking as the subject for our meditation the gift of counsel, we shall see: 1st, the excellence of the gift; 2d, the conditions on which it is communicated; 3d, the obstacles which keep it at a distance from the soul. We will then make the resolution: 1st, to mistrust our own selves, and to put our confidence in the Spirit of God in regard to everything which we have to do, whether in the spiritual or the temporal order; 2d, to call to our aid, by frequent and fervent ejaculations, the Holy Spirit; 3d, not to anticipate by haste, nor retard by slowness, the action of the Holy Spirit in us. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of the Psalmist: “Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right land” (Ps. cxlii. 10).

Meditation for the Morning

Let us adore the Holy Spirit communicating Himself to the soul to direct it, like a faithful friend, in the pathway of life; to show it the end whither it ought to tend, and to reveal to it the means of reaching it. Let us thank Him for so much goodness, and let us beg of Him to animate our will to follow in all things His holy inspirations.

FIRST POINT

The Excellence of the Gift of Counsel

The gift of counsel is given to the soul to direct it in its acts, and it is in regard to the supernatural order what prudence is in the natural order. It shows us what we must do, or not do; say, or not say, according to persons, times, and seasons; it aids the wisdom of reason by the better lights of the wisdom which comes down from on high, in all our enterprises, actions, and words. It teaches us how to derive benefit from everything as a means towards our salvation, towards the sanctification of others, and towards the advancement of the work of God; and it even teaches us to derive advantage from sin, as St. Paul and St. Augustine say. This single idea reveals to us the excellence of the gift of counsel; for what can there be more difficult than always to do and to say what is right without passing the limits of perfect discretion? It is but little to know that a thing is good in itself; all that is good is not always expedient, and the best things are often accompanied by serious inconveniences. The essential thing is to know what is proper and suitable in present circumstances, and it is this secret which is taught by the gift of counsel. By this gift we learn to know men and the way of treating them, to choose favorable times and circumstances, to say nothing and do nothing which may shock them, to act always with discretion, to humor all which requires humoring, and to avoid all false steps. Before receiving this gift, the apostles called down fire from heaven upon Samaria, which refused to welcome the Saviour; after having received it, they endured all kinds of rebuffs in patience and with meekness. One amongst them, St. Paul, confounds the Sadducees and Pharisees by making them contradict each other, and appeals from the tribunal of Festus to that of Cæsar. By virtue of the same spirit, Jesus Christ confounds the accusers of the woman taken in adultery as well as those who reproach Him with not having paid tribute to Cæsar. Oh, how excellent is this gift, how many imprudent and uncharitable words it prevents us from uttering, what indiscreet actions it teaches us to avoid, what difficulties in which we should not know how to conduct ourselves does it enlighten and resolve! With human prudence alone for our guide, we sail along only with difficulty, and by using our oars diligently, like the ship which has both wind and tide against her; but with this gift we go on our way quickly, like the ship which has all her sails set and which has the wind in her favor. Let us recognize the many faults into which we have fallen for want of this gift, and how important it is for us to obtain it, by dint of prayers and holy desires.

SECOND POINT

Means for Obtaining the Gift of Counsel

We must, 1st, renounce the spirit of the world; for it is evident that the person who is guided ought to tend to the same end and walk in the same path as his guide; now the spirit of the world is opposed to the spirit of God, both in its end and in its path. The spirit of the world only regards happiness in the present life, the spirit of God tends to lead the soul to eternal happiness. The spirit of the world follows hypocritical and politic ways and is content to deceive others by appearances; the spirit of God follows direct and open ways; it wills that we should be what we ought to be, and should not only appear so. We must, 2d, consult the Spirit of God, and call Him to our aid by a humble and confiding prayer, saying to Him from the bottom of our hearts: My God, have pity on my misery; I am blind, make me to see (Luke xviii. 41); I am ignorant, “enlighten my darkness” (Ps. xvii. 29); I am incapable of guiding myself, “conduct me” (Ps. lxxxv. 11); and we must say this prayer every morning for all the actions of the day; repeat it each time that we are called upon to take a part, to make an answer; finally, every time we have to act or to speak. We must, 3d, habitually offer ourselves to the Holy Spirit in a disposition of recollection, that we may listen to Him, and of generosity, to do all that He may tell us, at whatever cost.

THIRD POINT

Obstacles to the Gift of Counsel

The first obstacle is presumption. It is written, “God resisteth the proud” (James iv. 6), consequently there is no gift of counsel for the presumptuous, who, full of self-sufficiency, thinks he has no need of help. Why, besides, should God speak to him? he pays no attention to His word, he does not listen to or respect Him because he does not think he has any need of him. The second obstacle is haste. If we follow the eagerness of natural activity, God, who never hurries, allows the imprudent man to walk under the guidance of his own spirit, as inconsiderate in words as he is bold in projects and showing want of reflection in all that he does; “He that is hasty with his feet shall stumble” (Prov. xix. 2), says the Holy Scripture. Lastly, slowness forms the third obstacle. If after having maturely taken a resolution we delay in executing it, circumstances change, the opportunity is lost, and the Spirit of God leaves in his indolence the man who keeps behindhand. Have we not placed these three obstacles in the way of the action of the Holy Spirit within us?

Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.