Summary of the Morrow's Meditation
After having meditated during several weeks upon the love of God, we will meditate tomorrow upon love towards our neighbor, and we shall see what are the two commandments which Jesus Christ has given us. The first is this: "Love your neighbor as yourself." The second, which is much more exalted, is contained in these words: "A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another as I have loved you" (John xiii. 34). We will then make the resolution: 1st, to treat our neighbor with great consideration, whoever he may be; 2nd, never to do to any one what we should not desire he should do to us, and to do to others what we should be very glad for them to do to us. We will retain as our spiritual nosegay these words of the gospel: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.... A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another as I have loved you" (Matt. xxii. 39; John xiii. 34).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us adore Jesus Christ imposing upon us the precept of loving one another. He is a good father who delights to see his children bound together by the sweet bonds of reciprocal charity, in such a manner that they form but one heart and one soul. Whence results amongst all men the mutual debt of charity; a debt, says St. Augustine, from which we are never free, and which we owe always, even after having paid it. Oh, how amiable Jesus is in this commandment, and how well He merits all our praise and all our adoration!
FIRST POINT
Jesus Christ Commands every one to Love his Neighbor as himself.
Let us weigh the sense of these words: We ought to love our neighbor as ourselvesāthat is to say, we ought never to do to another what we would not they should do to us (John iv. 16), and we should do to him all that we should be glad he should do for us (Luke vi. 31); that is to say, that it is not sufficient not to wish ill to our neighbor: we must also wish him good, rejoice when anything pleasant happens to him, be sad when what is grievous happens to him, as though it had happened to ourselves; that is to say, we must be ready to render him a service, to give him help and assistance when we can; to be careful in avoiding all that may displease him, whether in conversation or in our behavior; we should conceal his faults, excuse and diminish them as much as possible, and turn away the conversation as much as possible when others speak of them; that is to say, finally, we must interest ourselves charitably and zealously in all that concerns him, above all, in his salvation, rejoice over the graces he receives, weep over the faults he commits, and deem ourselves happy if we can do anything for the good of his soul. These duties are so deeply impressed upon us that we cannot fail in them without reproaching ourselves and without feeling that we are doing wrong. Let us here examine ourselves. Is it thus that we have loved our neighbor? Do we feel no hatred for any one, no resentment, no aversion? Do we love all men from the bottom of our heart? Are we inclined to give every one a pleasant and amiable welcome, and to render service to all? We, who are so sensitive with respect to everything which relates to ourselves, do we understand how much we deceive ourselves in fancying we love our neighbor as ourselves, if we do not show him any interest, and if we treat him only with cold indifference?
SECOND POINT
Jesus Christ Commands us to Love one another as He Himself has Loved us.
Ah, how much more does this commandment say than did the first! Jesus Christ has loved us:
As God; and who could express what love and tenderness and mercy there is in the heart of God towards His creatures? Made after the likeness of a God who is essentially good, infinitely good, we ought to seek to be good like Him in our sentiments, our acts, and our words.
As Man-God; and who could conceive to what extent He has carried this love, He who has never done any harm to any one, but who traversed the earth doing good and giving to all a kind reception (Acts x. 38); He who, after having led a life wholly of charity, suffered, through love, all that it was possible to suffer, and died of love; He, lastly, who, after eighteen centuries, still continues upon the altars His life of love and of sacrifice? O Lord Jesus, how much, then, ought we to love our brethren! What love could be tender enough, strong enough, generous enough to approach to Thine? Is there an injury we ought not to be ready to forgive, any sacrifice we ought not to be ready to make? Is there any kind of ice or of coldness which ought not to melt, any bitterness which ought not to be softened, any repugnance which ought not to disappear, at the sound of these words: "A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another as I have loved you"?
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.