Scrutinising the Heart of Jesus:
The Mansions & The Praeconia
One cannot doubt that Jesus Christ was “the sole object of the thought and heart” of Blessed George Preca. Fr Preca not
only wrote a pamphlet with that very title, but he also produced several other writings, of different natures, in order to meditate, or really “to scrutinise”, the life of Jesus. Fr Preca, like all the saints,
was convinced that if one does not know well the life episodes, the sayings and the sentiments of Jesus, one cannot really acquire and live Christ’s spirit. That is, one cannot actually belong to Jesus. This is
central to the spirituality of Blessed Preca.
An exhaustive list of all the writings of Fr Preca, dealing in some way or other with Jesus’ life, would be too long to include here. So, selecting The Mansions and The Praeconia is a
fair choice to impart an idea of what is stated here. These two books were printed separately towards the end of the 1930s. The first was originally written in Maltese, while The Praeconia in Latin and
was then translated into Maltese in the second half of 1950. In 1995 they were published together in English following the 1990 SDC Maltese edition. In fact they do go nicely together.
Originally and specifically, The Mansions was intended for use as “a spiritual exercise for the first Friday of each month – the day dedicated in a special way to the Sacred Heart of our
Lord Jesus Christ”. In the bottom line of the “Introduction”, Fr Preca adds that the book “can also be used with great profit for meditation during the Holy Hour” before the exposed Blessed Sacrament. But
primarily it is obvious that The Mansions is tied to the devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In the “Introduction”, Fr Preca refers to the “promises” which St Margaret Mary Alacoque (d. 1690) promulgated in her untiring efforts to popularise the veneration of the Sacred Heart. The
conclusion of Blessed Preca is that reflecting “on these Promises we should certainly take very seriously this devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus”. But, in striking difference with popular practices, Fr
Preca goes directly to the very heart of the devotion. In The Year of the Lord, he makes Jesus say this: “Nobody is really devout to this divine heart, which is humble and meek, unless one tries to
imitate it. In the Gospel, I made it clear to everyone when I said, ‘Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’ This is real humility. ‘If you do not forgive
others, your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.’ This is true meekness” (June 27). Consistently, in Directive 15 of A Spiritual Directory, Fr Preca wrote: “You have a true devotion to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus if you imitate this Heart which is truly meek and humble.” Similarly, chapter 9 of A Letter on Meekness concludes thus: “Our Lord Jesus Christ is the model, the great exemplar and
master of this virtue (of meekness). Therefore, those who do not appreciate and practise it cannot at the same time have a sincere and fruitful devotion to his Sacred Heart.”
The Mansions is offered as an exercise to put on these indispensable sentiments of Jesus Christ which Blessed Preca repeatedly singled out from the whole Gospel. Here
indeed is a book for those who love praying the Gospel but who are pressed for time. It is marked by brevity which enhances the depth of the reflections presented for meditation. The method is simple and can
be applied to other Gospel episodes not included in the seventy-three offered here by Fr Preca. He asks the reader to pause and reflect on how the heart of Jesus reacted in the various circumstances of his
earthly life, and thereby model one’s reactions and behaviour on those of Jesus, the Son of God became flesh. The refrain from one meditation to the other is that of imploring Jesus to change our heart: “Lord
Jesus Christ, make my heart like unto yours”.
In order to avoid the easy trap of just babbling words in our prayer, Fr Preca asks the readers to examine themselves well and check whether there are signs which indicate that the purpose is
achieved. “Can we say that we are indifferent to the success or failure of our works? …. Are we free from voluntary attachments?… Do we keep calm and enjoy internal peace when we are despised or rebuked? Are we
always ready to give up all that displeases the Lord our God?” – from the “Conclusion”.
In this meditative book, Blessed Preca invites us then to “relax like pilgrims in (the) ‘Mansions’” of the Sacred Heart. He knows that along our Christian pilgrimage we do need restful and
refreshing pauses in order to draw energy for the journey and for the spiritual combat. This was also the idea of another book, unfortunately not yet available in English, which Fr Preca wrote during the World
War in 1942, The Course for the Christian Pilgrim. Instead of “a mansion”, every meditation in this later book is called “A Pause”, or it can easily be translated as “A Break” for re-creation, and it
contains 187 short “Pauses” exposing episodes from the life and teachings of Jesus.
The Praeconia is of a different genre. It also reveals Fr Preca’s ability of expression in Latin. The title itself (plural of the Latin praeconium) means
“public laudations of praise”. As a litany, it is quite original. It contains twenty-four praeconias, each consisting of fifteen different titles of praise by which we are invited to glorify Jesus. The
titles or phrases reveal a soul much immersed in biblical study and meditation. They have to be recited, or sung, slowly in order to savour fully their strong theological and biblical content.
The final prayer after each stanza fittingly expresses the aim of the whole book, The Mansions & The Praeconia together: “Lord God, this is eternal life, that we may know you, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent (Jn 17:3). Enlighten our minds, so that through your grace we may come to know you and Jesus Christ himself, and hence we can enjoy eternal life. Amen.”
Joseph Abdilla, sdc.
Blata l-Bajda - Malta
1. Introduction and The Year of the Lord – PC 46/1
2. Singing the Glory and Mercy of our God – PC 47/2
3. Gymnasium for the Spiritual Life – PC
48/3
4. An Insightful Discovery, the Regula – PC 49/1
5. A Spiritual Directory – PC 51/3
6. A Classic: The Sanctuary of Christ’s Spirit – PC 52/1
7. Catch them young! Discipleship – PC 53/2