as much sequestered from creatures as duty will allow; a life hidden, absorbed in God; a life suited to the condition of a victim; entirely spent in adoration of thy Father's excellence; in a profound annihilation of myself; in an humble penitential state, on account of my sins; in continual sighs and groans, by reason of my wretchedness; in incessant prayers and supplications, invoking thee for my many wants; in an inviolable obedience to the will of my Creator, with respect to my duties; in a privation of earthly comforts, ever dying to the world, to sin, and to concupiscence; ever living to God, and to heavenly and eternal objects; ever absorbed in the contemplation of the perfections of God; and ever burning with love in the ardour of charity. O may my condition in this deceitful world resemble, as much as possible, thine in this holy sacrament: having eyes, ears, a tongue, hands, feet, and a heart, let me neither see, hear, speak of, feel, seek after, or attach myself to any of those objects which are so much the delight and admiration of deluded worldlings. Perhaps, dearest Lord, the present day may be the last of my life: if so, thy most holy will be done. I accept of death with entire submission as to the day, the hour, the manner, thy providence shall ordain. I come to make a previous sacrifice of my death to thy Eternal Father, in union with thine. I come to declare to him that I am disgusted with the world, of which I was formerly so fond, and that I leave it with pleasure for the sake of enjoying my God; that my desires and inclinations are weaned from this earth, and that henceforward my ardent desire shall be to go and behold him for ever. it is thou, my Jesus, whom I now happily receive, who holdest the keys of life and death, and allottest As to each that kind of death which thou pleasest; grant me, I beseech thee, a death holy and precious in thy sight; and let thy merciful visit to me be the pledge of it, and in thy own good time bring the business of my salvation to a happy conclusion. WHE PRAYER. HEN thou didst enter into Jerusalem, dear Lord, thou shedest tears of compassion over its miseries; show, I beseech thee, the same charity towards me, now that thou hast entered into my heart. My Judge is already within me! very shortly shall I have to appear before him; I hear his voice calling me: I go, my God, not relying on any merits of my own, but on thy mercy, which I implore through thy own most precious blood. O Father of mercies! I recommend my poor soul into thy hands; if thou regardest the enormity of my offences, I cannot possibly hope to be saved. Thou, my Jesus, art my only resource: let those eyes which never were averted from the sinner, look with pity upon me. Let that mouth which never condemned any one here below, now speak to me words of consolation and of life. May thy holy soul sanctify mine; may thy spirit enlighten mine; may thy sacred heart inflame mine with that love which thou testifiest for me by honouring me with thy presence. Apply to me the merits of thy sacred labours while on earth; render the merits of thy death efficacious to me, and permit not thy blood to be shed for me in vain. Attend, O eternal Father! to the voice of the blood of thy beloved Son, which cries aloud for mercy in my behalf: behold how the whole earth is besprinkled, covered, and overflowing, as it were, by its mystical effusion upon our altars; and through Q 66 its merits forgive me my offences. But do thou also, O my soul, give ear to the voice of thy Saviour, who calls out to thee by the mouth of Holy Job: O earth, cover not thou my blood, neither let my cry find a hiding-place in thee." (Job xvi. 19.) As if he had said, thou, who being by nature no better than earth, cover not the blood of thy Redeemer by thy irregular affections for earthly things; hinder not his voice from rising to the throne of his Father in thy favour, by the hardness of thy heart and obstinacy in sin. O Jesus, my ever merciful Saviour! grant that after making an act of perfect contrition, and a sincere confession of my manifold sins, I may, at the hour of my death, humbly adore and devoutly receive thee present in the blessed Sacrament of the altar, as a sweet viaticum for my support and comfort in my awful passage. Do thou strengthen my poor soul for her great and important journey from time to eternity; be my guide to conduct her, my protector to defend her, my advocate to plead her cause before thy Father, and obtain his favour. Leave her not forlorn and destitute of succour at that dreadful hour when she will find herself forsaken by all creatures. Cleanse her from her sins in the bath of thy blood, clothe her with thy justice, adorn her with thy virtues, enrich her with thy merits, hide her within thy sacred wounds, lodge her in the secret of thy presence, as thou dost those who place their hope in thee, that having obtained a full and complete pardon of all her sins, she may close the last scene of her mortal life in the true faith and communion of the hoty Catholic Church, and in perfect charity with all mankind. Amen, sweet Jesus. Amen. SOUL ANIMA CHRISTI (Paraphrased). of my Jesus, by Blood of my Jesus, on my than the fallen snow. thy sacred fire Consume my heart, a holocaust entire. Heart of my Jesus, grant, O grant in thee My rest and dwellingplace may ever be. Passion of Jesus, may I seek relief From thy remembrance under every grief. Cross of my Jesus, yield support to me In hours of sorrow and adversity. Wounds of A glorious crown of im- Mercy of Jesus, spare me at that hour When I shall fall beneath death's awful pow'r. Sighs of my Jesus, for me speak and plead, For grace, for pardon, deign to intercede. O agony of Jesus, then atone For sins, for which thou hast the pow'r alone. thy blessing give. prayer of mine. Meditations FOR THREE DAYS AFTER COMMUNION, FOR YOUNG PERSONS. FIRST DAY. On the Sentiments which the Holy Communion should produce in our Souls. First Point.-Consider with astonishment the excessive liberality with which Jesus Christ has treated you; by this one Communion you are infinitely elevated above all that the world calls great-you are happier than if you enjoyed all the delights of the universe -richer than if you possessed all its treasures-and more dignified than if you were its sole sovereign. Ah! if you understood the gift of God, if you had a just idea of your own dignity, how soon would you despise every thing in this world! Penetrated with gratitude for the greatness of the benefit you have received, you should exclaim with the Royal Prophet: What shall I render to the Lord for all he has done for me? how shall I testify my gratitude? Do not on this important matter deceive yourself as many do. Do not imagine that so great a benefit as a Communion is worthily acknowledged by the most fervent expressions of thanksgiving. It is not those who say, Lord, Lord, that shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; nor is it those that multiply acts of gratitude, who afterwards prove themselves truly grateful for the happiness of communicating. "Sincere gratitude for any benefit," says St. Thomas, "consists chiefly in esteeming the benefit as it deserves, and in endeavouring to make our benefactor an adequate return." This is seldom thought |