II
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Ignatius, of Loyola, Saint and Coppens, Charles
The yearly retreat is important for all religious, whatever be the spiritual condition of their souls.
1. Those who are leading fervent lives are likely to receive during it special lights and graces enabling them to draw nearer to their Divine Lord; Amice, ascende superius, “Friend, come up higher.” The Holy Ghost is ever laboring at the sanctification of souls, of such especially as show themselves deserving of peculiar love by their faithful co-operation. Now this fidelity is most strikingly exhibited when we abandon all earthly cares to devote our whole hearts to the loving worship of the Lord, as we do in a retreat.
2. Such souls as are gradually allowing their fervor to cool amidst the distracting cares of an active life stand in special need of the Spiritual Exercises, to arrest their downward course.
When one runs down a hill, his descent is accelerated by his own weight, and he needs special help to avoid a serious fall. Such is the case of those who are losing their fervor, and a good retreat provides the remedy.
3. If any have unfortunately already lost their balance, and are hurrying along to destruction by the commission of serious faults, or by yielding to a no less dangerous tendency to tepidity, a good retreat is almost the only way of saving them from ruin. In connection with these thoughts it is well to reflect that some one of our annual retreats will be our last; it may be the present one. Many of those who made the retreat last year are now in eternity; and not a few of them saw no more reason then to expect so early an end than we do now.