examination of the heart 170 Although He seems to leave unnoticed the offenses of His people, yet He does not let them pass with impunity; and should He not punish them by the disasters of wars, pestilence, and famine in the present time, He will certainly render to everyone according to their deeds in the dreadful judgment (cf. Prov 24:29). Do not think that your imperfections are also left unnoticed; in fact, each impious deed awaits a just punishment. Therefore, it is better to wash away the faults you have committed by penitential exercises and to make up for your frequent evil deeds by more frequent acts of good works, rather than to experience shame and punishment because of them when the Lord descends as Judge. After Holy Communion 1. “And they understood none of these things” (Lk 18:34) [DRB]. Consider how bad is the state of one’s intellect [f.28v] when it does not recognize or grasp the good things done or proposed by someone else, and even rejects them. The apostles, who were afflicted by this mental darkness, did not understand the Lord speaking at length about His torments and His impending death. There was no other cause for this occurrence, than this: the virtue of charity, with its office and perfection, was still concealed from them, and so they did not understand the will to suffer for another (whether friend or foe), the torments, calamity, and vicissitudes of adverse fortune. If you still do not feel a desire to help your neighbor, and to endure for the common good things painful and contrary to your disposition, know that you still don’t understood the perfection of charity and are still in total ignorance of all the virtues by which we ascend to Heaven. Ask, ask light fromGod, so that you may understand how great is the importance of each virtue. Ask, that you may know what God wills you to do, and by what road He wants you to advance in perfection. Ask and pray: “give me understanding that I may live” (Ps 119:144); “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things” (Ps 119:18).
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