of St Margaret Mary
Source: carnet-de-careme-2017-vf-1-lg.pdf (sacrecoeur-paray.org)
“ I presented my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who
pulled out my beard ” Is 50, 6
Jesus enters Jerusalem to save each of us:
shall we say “I don’t know this man”? ” trust him”? Or “ Lord, remember me ” ! Will we kiss Judas or anoint our feet
of the one who earned us such a salvation?
In this last week, accompanying Jesus in his passion, let us ask him, with Saint Claude, the grace of
humility to welcome the mercy of God and not judge our brothers.
Palm Sunday
Who am I to judge my brother?
“However good you are, you can change ; however good you
be, you still have to fear, and your inconstancy in the good, and then your obstinacy in
the evil. It is in this consideration that I find a admirable remedy against these movements of pride
which lead us to despise sinners or to prefer to them, in any way…
When the good thief filled the woods with murders and thefts, would one have thought that he had to
ascend to heaven with Jesus Christ! On the contrary, when Judas followed the Saviour, when he performed miracles in his name, could one have believed that he was to descend into hell, at the same time as the Son of God died to
deliver the human race from it? »
Holy Monday
Mary poured perfume on Jesus’ feet
“When we would be sure to persevere in good until death,
there would be reason to rejoice, no doubt, but not to be puffed up,
since, even in this case, perseverance would not be the fruit of our merits; it would always be a pure effect of God’s mercy, a grace
completely free. »
Holy Tuesday
One of you will deliver me
“Fear the sins of your youth, which may still linger in
the stain they have imprinted on your soul… Fear your present sins:
however slight they may seem to you, they are capable of diverting certain graces of consequence without which you will not be saved. Finally, fear your future sins, which may soon equal you to the most scoundrels of all men! »
Holy Wednesday
Could it be me Lord?
“What, David, the man after the heart of God has become adulterer and parricide! Solomon, the wisest, most enlightened, most religious of all princes worshiped the gold and silver idols! Saint Peter, the chief of the apostles, the stone
foundation of the Church, renounced Jesus Christ! I find in the story of the Church of the Martyrs, half-burned, half-eaten bodies of beasts, who allowed themselves to be surprised by the ruses of the enemy, anchorites consumed by fasts who were unable to resist the attractions of voluptuousness! Alas! Lord, do not expose us to temptations, for how shall we not bend
where so many brave ones, where your greatest servants have succumbed? »
Holy Thursday
He loved them to the end
“Since the sin of the first man we can say that we are all sick of the same evil: unleashed lust causes in all
the same damage. When I see that my brother sin, that by the violence of his passions he is swept away in crime, may I not tremble
myself who feel the same impediment, the same weakness? …
Maybe if I had found myself in the same occasion, I would have committed the same fault.
I may be there one day; and who says that I will be stronger than this unfortunate who let himself be defeated. »
“Do you understand what I come from to do for you? » Jn 13, 1
Good Friday
Father, forgive them!
“Charity, according to the definition of Saint Paul, differs only very little from humility, or at least it could not be without it. Charity, he says, is patient, because people who are filled with it believe themselves worthy of every contempt… and so they always find that we spare them, even when we treat them the harshest. Charity is sweet and indulgent, because it thinks she herself needs to be forgiven for a lot of things. She does not become inflamed, does not swell with pride: a heart that the love of God
possesses, does not inflate his reputation, he is not jealous of that of others.
He does not seek honor, because he considers himself quite unworthy of it. There charity does not form any unfavorable suspicion, it convinces itself that everything in the world is well-meaning and the worst are even better
. »
“ The Lord God comes to my rescue, this is why I am not touched by insults ” Is 50, 7
Holy Saturday
On the Sabbath they rested
“Fear God without whose help you would fall from this hour into the
more horrible disturbances; fear the world whose breath is so contagious; fear the demon whose artifices are so subtle; do you fear
yourselves who are so weak and so inconstant; fear your eyes, your
ears, all your senses, since they are just as many doors through which sin
can enter; fear your passions which carry you there, which carry you there
in spite of you; fear even your good works, even the victories that
you win over yourselves and over temptations since according to Saint
Cyprien, the demon is never more formidable than when he has been defeated,
because he takes advantage of his defeat to carry us to vainglory.
Finally, fear above all things this pride that God cannot tolerate, this
false insurance that would lead you to an insured loss. »
“ The Lord God comes to my rescue,
this is why I am not touched by insults ” Is 50, 7