THE FOURTH DAY

A MEDITATION ON TWO STANDARDS (46) the one of Christ, our supreme Captain (47) and Lord; the other of Lucifer, the mortal enemy of our human nature.

(46) On Two Standards-so it is in the Spanish Autograph, de dos Banderas, without the article. The Two Standards, with the article, might have seemed to imply that all the world was necessarily ranged under one or other of them. That of course is true, speaking broadly, but here S. Ignatius is thinking primarily of those who take the most active and leading parts on either side. This meditation is in fact intended to be an introduction and invitation to the more perfect life of the evangelical counsels, and more particularly to the Apostolic vocation to the sacred ministry, and is therefore not applicable to every one in all its details. The combatants whom S. Ignatius has primarily in view are not all men, but on the one hand those who openly follow Lucifer and help him in his work of ensnaring and destroying souls; and on the other hand those who follow Christ as their Leader, not merely in the common way, but in the more perfect way of the counsels, and especially those who, in the sacred ministry, co-operate with Him in the salvation of souls. At the same time this meditation may be given, with certain modifications, to others as well; for it cannot but be most useful to all who are capable of understanding it, teaching them to recognize the snares and deceits of the devil on the one hand, and on the other the true spirit of Jesus Christ so contrary to that of the world; and thus helping them to seek after perfection in whatever state of life they may be called to serve God. (See Note 44, p. 98, and Directory xix. 3.)

(47) Captain. Cf. Heb. ii. 10, where our Lord is called the Captain, or more literally the Leader (åpxnyós) of our salvation, i.e. not merely its Author, but One who goes before us and shares our lot in all things, while He brings His many sons to glory. The pattern set before us in this meditation, and in all the contemplations on the Mysteries of our Lord's Life and Passion, is not merely an ideal which in itself is beyond our reach. That would be only discouraging by reason of our incompetency to follow it. On the contrary, it is the portrait of a representative Champion who calls us to share with Him in all He endures (see

Meditation on the Kingdom of Christ), while He strengthens us to follow in His footsteps, and, by participation of His Cross, to triumph over Satan, and attain the glory to which He will lead all those who abide in Him.

The usual preparatory prayer.

The first prelude is the history: here it will be how Christ calls and desires (48) all to come under His Standard; and Lucifer, on the contrary, under his.

(48) Calls and desires. Our Lord calls, because He respects our freedom; but He also desires, which indicates His love. He calls all, but with different vocations. Lucifer in like manner calls and desires all, but in order that he may lead them to perdition, and if possible use them also to corrupt others.

The second is the composition, seeing the place: here it will be to see a vast plain (49) embracing the whole region of Jerusalem, where the supreme Captain-General of the good is Christ our Lord: and another plain, in the region of Babylon, where the chief (50) of the enemy is Lucifer.

(49) A vast plain. Vast-this may remind us that Christ wills all men to be saved, and that under His Standard there is room for all, however numerous they may be (Rev. vii. 9); and also that those who follow Him enjoy much liberty (Ps. xviii. 19; xxxi. 9) and true freedom (S. John viii. 31, 32).

(50) Chief, Spanish, Caudillo, a diminutive from Cabo, chief or head. Fr. Roothaan remarks that in Spanish diminutives ending in illo often have something of a contemptuous meaning attaching to them. So here S. Ignatius contrasts the two leaders, giving to Lucifer a title which might be applied to the chief of a band of brigands, but to our Lord one which is always a mark of high honour and distinction, Captain-General.

The third is to ask for what I desire; and here it will be to ask for knowledge of the deceits of the wicked chieftain, and for help to guard myself against them; and for knowledge of the true life (51) which the supreme and true Captain reveals, and for grace to imitate Him (52).

↑ (51) It is a beautiful thought of S. Ignatius to contrast the true life which Christ our Lord reveals, and brings to us in Himself, with the frauds and deceits of the devil; for indeed all the promises of Lucifer are vain and deceitful, and lead in

the end to eternal death; while, on the other hand, Jesus Christ is the Truth and the Life, and has come into the world to reveal His Truth and impart His Life to all who will come to Him (S. John x. 10).

(52) Seeing that this meditation is intended to be an invitation to a perfect life, and more particularly to the Apostolic life, it may be asked why S. Ignatius does not direct us to ask in this prelude for the gift of zeal for souls? Two answers may be given first, although the meditation is an invitation to the Apostolic life, yet it is not intended exclusively for those who may be called to that life. Indeed it is primarily an introduction to the Election, i.e. to the choice of a state of life. (See above, Preamble to the Consideration of States of Life, and Note 46, p. 100.) Secondly, a zeal for souls will indeed generally be strongly excited during this meditation; but the immediate fruit we are instructed to ask for in this prelude is the same twofold grace that in one form or another we are taught to ask for in all our meditations, viz.: the illumination of the understanding that we may comprehend the truth on which we meditate, and the inspiration or movement of the will that we may embrace the practical conclusions to which it leads. Here it is that we may know on the one hand the deceits of Lucifer and be helped to guard against them, and on the other the true life which is in Christ our Lord and may have grace to follow Him. And this fruit which is indicated in a general way in the prelude is afterwards more fully expressed in the colloquy, where we are to pray that we may be received under the Standard of our Lord, and may have a real desire for poverty and humiliations, because this is the disposition necessary for all who desire to make a good Election, or to reform their lives so as to attain to perfection in their present state, and above all for those who have been or may be called to the Apostolic life of the sacred ministry.

The first point is to picture to myself how the chieftain of all the enemy seats himself in the midst of that great plain of Babylon, as on a lofty throne of fire and smoke-horrible and terrible to behold (53).

(53) Lucifer is described as horrible and terrible to behold; and his throne as being formed of fire and smoke, to signify that there is nothing solid or stable about it, nothing of true splendour, nothing in fact but perpetual agitation, confusion, and

darkness. It should be noted, however, that this symbolical description depicts Lucifer as he really is, not as he presents himself to those whom he tempts. For, though really the mortal enemy of our human nature, he does not openly show himself as such, but often feigns himself to be our friend, and endeavours to ensnare us with false hopes of riches, honours, etc. But whatever disguises he may put on, he always betrays himself sooner or later by the effects which his secret working produces in our souls. See Additional Note L, p. 241.

The second, to consider how he calls together innumerable demons, and how he disperses them some to one city, some to another, and so on throughout the whole world, omitting no province, or place, or state of life, nor any single individual (54).

(54) So that there is no one, in whatever state of life he may be, or in whatever place, even the holiest, and as we might think the most secure, who does not need to be continually on his guard.

The third is to consider the harangue which he makes to them, and how he admonishes (55) them to ensnare men in nets and bind them with chains, bidding them first to tempt them with the lust of riches (as he is wont to do in most cases), in order that thereby they may more easily come to the vain honour of the world (56), and afterwards to unbounded pride: so that the first step is that of riches, the second of honour, the third of pride; and from these three steps he leads on to all other vices.

(55) Admonishes them (amonesta), a word which often expresses a certain harshness, or peremptoriness, as of one who orders about a slave. It is thus that we are to think of Lucifer, giving his orders to his emissaries. For although they are themselves full of hatred of men, and always ready to work them ill, yet Lucifer is never satisfied. He never says, 'It is enough.' Therefore he continually seeks to urge them on, giving his orders in a rough and threatening manner.

(56) Take notice that the things by which Lucifer seeks to seduce us, such as wealth and honour, are in themselves indifferent, though the desire of them is never free from danger, and may easily become a deadly snare. (Cf. 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10.) Certainly any one who allows himself to be entangled by the love of these things, will very soon experience in his heart those

evil effects which are the characteristic marks of the camp of Lucifer, viz. restlessness, agitation, confusion, and darkness; and if he is in the state of perfection will be in great danger of abandoning it, or if he is in the common state will never attain to perfection therein. It is therefore with good reason that S. Ignatius speaks of riches and worldly honours as nets or snares, because, though attractive and harmless in appearance, they are really full of danger; and if we set our hearts upon them they soon become chains which bind us with an ever-increasing bondage. Moreover Lucifer makes these short-lived and deceitful goods appear to us as the real goods; and although he can neither give them as a lasting possession, nor make their acquisition easy, he continually tries to excite in us a desire and longing for them, and to persuade us that they will soon be ours if only we are not wanting to ourselves. Well may we wonder at the strange blindness of human nature, which in spite of so many examples of the way in which Satan has deceived men in the past, still continues to listen to him and trust his lying promises. Everywhere we see men setting their hearts on these false goods as though they were the true riches: giving their lives to strive after them, often without success, and finding in the end that they have been deceived to their everlasting ruin.

In like manner, on the other hand, we are to picture the supreme and true Captain, Who is Christ our Lord.

The first point is, to consider how Christ our Lord takes His stand on a great plain near Jerusalem, in a lowly place, fair and gracious to behold (57).

(57) In contrast with Lucifer our Lord is represented as taking His stand in a lowly place, as befits His great humility; near Jerusalem, the city of peace; fair and gracious to behold, for truly He is 'fairer than the children of men, and His lips full of grace' (Ps. xlv. 3), 'the chiefest (Hebrew, a standard-bearer) among ten thousand . . . and altogether lovely' (Cant. v. 10, 16). For some further remarks on the contrast between these two leaders, see Additional Note L, ad fin. pp. 241, 2.

The second, to consider how the Lord of the whole world chooses so many persons, Apostles, Disciples, etc. (58), and sends them throughout the whole world, to spread abroad His sacred doctrine among all states and conditions of persons.