This is a meditation on the first, second and third sin employing the three powers of the soul. After the preparatory prayer and two preludes, it contains three principal points and a colloquy.
46. Prayer
In the preparatory prayer I will beg God our Lord for grace that all my intentions, actions, and operations may be directed purely to the praise and service of His Divine Majesty.
47. First Prelude
This is a mental representation of the place.
Attention must be called to the following point. When the contemplation or meditation is on something visible, for example, when we contemplate Christ our Lord, the representation will consist in seeing in imagination the material place where the object is that we wish to contemplate. I said the material place, for example, the temple, or the mountain where Jesus or His Mother is, according to the subject matter of the contemplation.
In a case where the subject matter is not visible, as here in a meditation on sin, the representation will be to see in imagination my soul as a prisoner in this corruptible body, and to consider my whole composite being as an exile here on earth, cast out to live among brute beasts. I said my whole composite being, body and soul.
48. The Second Prelude
I will ask God our Lord for what I want and desire ____________________________________
The petition made in this prelude must be according to the subject matter. Thus in a contemplation on the Resurrection, I will ask for joy with Christ in joy. In one on the passion, I will ask for sorrow, tears, and anguish with Christ in anguish.
Here it will be to ask for shame and confusion because I see how many have been lost on account of a single mortal sin and how many times I have deserved eternal damnation because of the many grievous sins that I have committed.
49. Note
The Preparatory Prayer, which is never changed, and the two Preludes mentioned above, which are changed at times according to the subject matter, must always be made before all the contemplations and meditations.
50. The First Point
This will consist in using the memory to recall the first sin, which was that of the angels, and then in applying the understanding by reasoning upon this sin, then the will by seeking to remember and understand all to be the more filled with shame and confusion when I compare the one sin of the angels with the many sins I have committed. I will consider that they went to hell for one sin, and the number of times I have deserved to be condemned forever because of my numerous sins. I said we should apply the memory to the sin of the angels, that is, recalling that they were created in the state of grace, that they did not want to make use of the freedom God gave them to reverence and obey their Creator and Lord, and so falling into pride, were changed from grace to hatred of God, and cast out of heaven into hell. So, too, the understanding is to be used to think over the matter more in detail, and then the will to rouse more deeply the emotions.
Bruegel the Elder, The Fall of the Rebel Angels - Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
51. Second Point
In the same way the three powers of the soul are to be applied to the sin of Adam and Eve. Recall to memory how on account of this sin they did penance for so long a time, and the great corruption which came upon the human race that caused so many to be lost in hell.
I said recall to mind the second sin, that of our First Parents. After Adam had been created on the Plain of Damascus and placed in the Garden of Paradise, and Eve had been formed from his side, they sinned by violating the command not to eat of the tree of knowledge. Thereafter, they were clothed in garments of skin and cast out of Paradise. By their sin they lost original justice and for the rest of their lives, lived without it in many labors and great penance.
So, too, the understanding is to be used to think over the matter in greater detail, and the will is to be used as explained above.
Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo
52. Third Point
In like manner, we are to do the same with regard to the third sin, namely, that of one who went to hell because of one mortal sin. Consider also countless others who have been lost for fewer sins than I have committed.
I said to do the same for the third particular sin. Recall to memory the gravity and malice of sin against our Creator and Lord. Use the understanding to consider that because of sin, and of acting against the Infinite Goodness, one is justly condemned forever. Close with the acts of the will as we have said above.
Section of Last Judgement. Sistine Chapel Michelangelo
53. Colloquy
Imagine Christ our Lord present before you upon the cross, and begin to speak with him, asking how it is that though He is the Creator, He has stooped to become man, and to pass from eternal life to death here in time, that thus He might die for our sins.
I shall also reflect upon myself and ask:
"What have I done for Christ?"
"What am I doing for Christ?"
"What ought I to do for Christ?"
As I behold Christ in this plight, nailed to the cross, I shall ponder upon what presents itself to my mind.
Christ Crucified by Diego Velázquez, Museo del Prado in Madrid
Colloquy: __________________________________________________________
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The colloquy is made by speaking exactly as one friend speaks to another or as a servant speaks to a master. At the end of the prayer, (one) should turn to the person to whom the prayer is directed and in a few words, ask for the virtues or graces that (one) needs most (SE 257).
Close: With an Our Father