But, alas all men do not pay thee this homage to which thou hast claims really infinite. Some, nay, many, treat thee, O God of Love, with coldness. dost thou, who hast loved us so dearly, deserve this? Thou wast born for us in a stable; thou didst live for us in poverty and obedience; thou didst shed every drop of thy adorable blood in torture, in infamy, on the hideous cross to save us; and yet, not content-and who could do more than give his life for us?— thou wouldst not leave us, thou wouldst still be with us, and walk with us, and see us; thou hast invented this compendium of all thy love, and art for ever here in this most holy, most Blessed Sacrament. Surely, coldness is an outrage after love so great, so incomprehensible, so infinite. But, sad thought! men outrage thy love, not merely by coldness, they outrage it by crime, even the awful crime of sacrilege. Many trample on thee in the Blessed Eucharist. Judas meets thy love at every step. O good Jesus, our God and our all, and can we do nothing? Indeed, it is but too true, we can do nothing; yet, thanks infinite and eternal to thy holy and inventive love, thou wilt accept our love and fervour as some reparation; thou wilt arrest for them the sacrilege before it is committed; thou art even pleased and consoled by them. a joy for us that we can console thee, O divine Heart of Jesus! With all the fervour of our souls, then ; with all the love we can command; with all the fervour and love of the thrones and powers, of the cherubim and burning seraphim; with all the fervour and love of thy own Most Blessed Virgin Mother, Mary, we prostrate ourselves before thee in profoundest adoration, and we here offer thee, in the face of the world, all their faith, reverence, fervour, and love, as ours, and as some little reparation of the outrages which we have ourselves hitherto committed, and which thy enemies constantly offer thee throughout

What

the world. We confess, indeed, with the greatest sorrow, that we, too, have treated thee with coldness and want of love. O good Jesus, with our whole heart we wish to remove this; to outrage thee no longer; grant us, then, O most loving Heart, that our hearts may be entirely filled with thy love, so that no other love can enter them or take the smallest share of them. Bless us, then, O most Sacred Heart; bless us with thy holy love. Take, O Sacred Heart, our whole being, for all we have is thine. Do with it as thou pleasest, but accept our little offering of love as some reparation of the sins of men against thee; teach us, too, ever so to love thee, as to repair by our fervour the ingratitude of others. Grant us, O sweet Heart of Jesus, this favour, and we are indeed content. Amen.

Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

Few practices of devotion are more earnestly recommended by the saints than visits to our Lord in the most Adorable Sacrament. All who wish to advance in virtue, should give, every day, a quarter of an hour at least to this most saving practice. We give the prayer before the Visits, composed by St. Liguori :

VISIT TO THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT.

O my Lord Jesus Christ, who, through thy love for mankind, dost remain day and night in this Sacrament, all full of tenderness and love, expecting, inviting, and receiving all who come to visit thee; I believe that thou art present in the Sacrament of the Altar; from the abyss of my nothingness I adore thee, and give thee thanks for all the benefits which thou hast con

ferred on me, and particularly that thou hast given thyself to me in this Sacrament, and thy most holy Mother, Mary, to be my advocate; and also, for having called me to visit thee in this church. I salute thy most holy Heart this day, and this homage I direct to a threefold end: first, in thanksgiving for this great gift; secondly, in reparation of all the injuries which thou hast received from thy enemies in this Sacrament; thirdly, I intend by this visit to adore thee in all those places throughout the world where thou art least honoured and most neglected in this Sacrament. O my Jesus, with my whole heart I love thee! I regret that I have so often grieved thy infinite goodness. I propose for the future, with the assistance of thy grace, never more to offend thee. And, as to the present, miserable though I am, I consecrate myself wholly to thee; I give and make over to thee my entire will, my affections, desires, all that I am. Henceforth, do with me and all that is mine whatever it shall please thee. One thing I ask of thee, one thing I desire, thy holy love, final perseverance, and the perfect accomplishment of thy holy will. I commend to thee the souls in purgatory; those especially who have been more devout towards this Most Holy Sacrament and the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. I also commend to thee all poor sinners. In fine, O my dear Saviour, I unite all my affections to the affections of thy most loving Heart, and, thus united, I offer them to thy Eternal Father, and beseech Him in thy name, for the love of thee, to graciously accept them.

THE ANIMA CHRISTI. 300 days.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.

Body of Christ, save me.

Blood of Christ, inebriate me.

Water from the side of Christ, wash me,

Passion of Christ, strengthen me.

O good Jesus, hear me.

Hide me within thy wounds.

Suffer me not to be separated from thee.
Defend me from the malignant enemy.

In the hour of my death call me, and bid me come to thee, that with thy angels and saints I may praise thee for all eternity.

Devotion to the Passion.

THE WAY OF THE CROSS. [Immense Indulgences are granted to this holy exercise. The following method of performing it is taken from the "Little Crown of Jesus." However, to gain the Indulgences, no form of prayer is required. It is enough to meditate for a short time before each Station of the Passion, and to move from station to station when that is possible.]

STATIONS OF THE CROSS.

FIRST STATION-JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH. V. We adore thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless thee.

R. Because, by thy holy Cross, thou hast redeemed the world.

Consider how Jesus, after having being scourged and crowned with thorns, accepted for our sake his unjust condemnation by Pilate to die on the Cross.

O adorable Jesus, it was not Pilate; no, it was my sins that condemned thee to die. I beseech thee, by the merits of this sorrowful journey, to assist my soul in her journey towards eternity. I love thee, my beloved Jesus; I love thee more than myself.

ACT OF CONTRITION TO BE SAID ALONG WITH THE PRIEST.

I repent with my whole heart of having offended thee. Never permit me to separate myself from thee again. Grant that I may love thee always; and then do with me what thou wilt. Amen.

PATER. AVE. GLORIA.

V. Jesus, for love of me thou goest to Calvary. R. O grant that I may live, suffer, and die with thee.

SECOND STATION.-JESUS IS MADE TO BEAR HIS CROSS.

V. We adore thee, &c. [as before.]

Consider how Jesus, in making this journey with the Cross on his shoulders, thought of us, and offered for us, to his Father, the death he was about to undergo.

My most beloved Jesus! I embrace all the tribulations thou hast destined for me until death. I beseech thee, by the merits of the pain thou didst suffer in carrying thy cross, to give me the necessary help to carry mine with perfect patience and resignation. I love thee, Jesus, my love, above all things. I repent, &c. [as at end of First Station.]

THIRD STATION.-JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME UNDER HIS CROSS.

V. We adore thee, &c. [as before.]

Consider this first fall of Jesus under his Cross. His flesh was torn by the scourges, his head crowned with thorns, and he had lost a great quantity of blood. He was so weakened he could scarcely walk, and yet he had to carry this great load upon his shoulders. The soldiers struck him rudely, and thus he fell several times. All this he suffered for us.