Contemplatio ad Amorem Spiritualem in Nobis Excitandum

Contemplatio ad Amorem Spiritualem in Nobis Excitandum

First, two things should be noted. First, love itself depends more on actions than on words. Moreover, love consists in the mutual sharing of abilities, things, and actions, such as knowledge, wealth, honor, and any good. Prayer is offered first as is customary. The first prelude is that I see myself standing before the Lord, with the angels and all the saints, in their favor. Therefore, I should seek God's grace, through which I can perceive the greatness of the benefits He has bestowed upon me, and I will dedicate myself entirely to His love, worship, and service. First, let me recall the gifts of Creation and Redemption: to enumerate also the particular and private gifts: and with deep affection to ponder how much my most gracious Lord has done and endured for my sake, how much He has given me from His treasures: and that according to His divine decree and good pleasure, He wishes to give Himself to me as much as He can. Having carefully considered these, I will turn to myself and examine with myself what my parts are, and what is just and equitable, so that I may offer to the divine Majesty and present it: there is no doubt that I should offer all that is mine, and myself with the greatest affection, and with words of this kind or similar. Receive, Lord, my entire freedom. Accept my memory, understanding, and will in their entirety. Whatever I have, or possess, you have given to me; I return it all to you, and I entrust it entirely to your will to govern. The only thing I ask of you is your love, along with your grace; with that, I am rich enough, and I ask for nothing else. The second is to contemplate God present in each of His creatures: giving existence to elements so that they may be, causing plants to live through their growth, enabling animals to feel, and finally allowing humans to understand. Among these, I have received the ability to be, to live, to feel, and to understand, and He has willed to make me a certain temple of His, created in His image and likeness. From the wonder of all these things, reflecting on myself, I will act as if at the first point, or better yet, if something occurs: that which will also need to be done in the following points. The third is to consider God, the same Lord, working in His creatures for my sake, and in a way laboring: as He gives to them, and preserves what they are, have, can, and do. All these things, as mentioned above, will need to be reflected upon in my consideration. Fourth, consider how the gifts and all good things descend from heaven, such as power, justice, goodness, knowledge, and any other human perfection, which are defined by certain limits: these come from that infinite treasure of all good, just as light comes from the sun and water flows from a source. Additionally, a reflection on the aforementioned should be added to my self-examination. A conversation will also take place at the end, to conclude with the Our Father.