prayer. First, meditation is necessary. He who thinks but little on God, loves him but little. “In my meditation, ” says David, "a fire shall flame out." (Ps. xxxviii. 4.) Meditation, and particularly meditation on the passion of Jesus Christ, is the blessed furnace in which the love of God is kindled and fanned. "He brought me into the wine cellar; he set in order charity in me. ” (Cant. ii. 4.) The souls that are introduced into this heavenly cellar, by a single glance of Jesus Christ crucified and dying for the love of us, are wounded and inebriated with holy love. For St. Paul says, that Jesus Christ died for us all, that each of us may live only to love him. ” And Christ died for all, that they also may not now live to themselves, but unto him who died for them. ” (2 Cor. v. 15.) The communion is another holy furnace, in which we are inflamed with divine love. ” The holy eucharist, ” says St. Chrysostom, ” is a fire which inflames us, that, like lions breathing fire, we may retire from the holy table, being made terrible to the devil. ” (Hom, xli., ad Pop.) Above all, prayer (the prayer of petition) is necessary. It is by means of prayer that God dispenses all his favours, but particularly the great gift of divine love. To make us ask this love, meditation is a great help. "Without meditation we shall ask little or nothing from God. "We must, then, always, every day, and several times in the day, ask God to give us the grace to love him with our whole heart. St. Gregory says, that God wishes to be compelled and importuned by our petitions to bestow upon us his graces. ” God wishes to be entreated to be compelled: he wishes in a certain manner to be overcome by importunity." Let us, then, continually ask of Jesus Christ his holy love; and let us ask his divine mother Mary, who is the treasurer of all his graces, to obtain it for us. Thesauraria gratiarum (Idiota). She is called by St. Bernardino, the dispensatrix of God’s graces. ” All graces are dispensed through her hands." It is through her intercession that we must obtain the great gift of divine love.
