acknowledge thy sovereign goodness with an enlightened and well taught mind, with a pure heart, and with a grateful and heaven-aspiring soul; through Jesus Christ thy Son, and the Holy Ghost, who live, one God, with thee for ever. Amen.

FOR DEVOTIONAL FEELINGS.

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken ne? O leave me not to myself, I implore thee; but pour forth thy grace upon my soul. Take away from me this spiritual dryness, this heedlessness, this unfeeling indifference to thee and to holy things: take away from me this reprobate sense of self-sufficiency, and make me acknowledge that I am dependent upon thee for all that is worth having. From thee must every grace, from thee must the very power of loving and of rightly worshipping thee, descend. Give me, O Lord, this grace: give me this power of aspiring to thee, of lifting up my heart to heaven, of praying thee to descend and take possession of my soul.

But yet, my God, if it is thy providence to expose my faith and my love to this trial, I willingly bow me down and acknowledge thy righteous ways. Who am I that thou shouldst Who am I that thou shouldst hear me whenever I call upon thee? Forgive me the unthankfulness with which I have often reeived thy saving inspirations. I was unworthy

visit me?

of them then, my God; and I am unworthy of them now. I have no claim on thy goodness. Give me, however, the grace to persevere in beseeching thee and in raising up my soul to thee, in the hope that, in thine own good time, thou wilt visit me with thy sweetness.

Hasten, dear Lord and Saviour, hasten this wished for time. O Holy Spirit, the Comforter, speed down upon my soul; make haste to deliver me and to comfort me with thy blissful presence. What can delight me if thou art absent? In what can I trust unless thou uphold me? O lift up my soul to the holy heavens, and let it bless the Lord. And drop down dew, ye heavens, from above; drop down the dew of grace and peace, and hope and love, upon my barren heart, until it open with joy and thankfulness to receive its Lord and Saviour. Oh let thy light rise up in the darkness of my heart, for thou art merciful, and compassionate, and just. Then will I truly love thee and keep thy words: and then, dear Jesus, then wilt thou remember thy promise; then will thy Father love me, and ye will come and make your abode with me. Come now and dwell in me, thou God of love: come thou, who fillest the whole earth with thy Spirit, and soothe and cheer and console thy servant. Give to me that peace which the world cannot give : give to me that grace which may unite my soul to thee, and which may be a foretaste of the

bliss of thy heavenly abode. Redeem me and have mercy on me, O Lord, the God of truth. Amen.

ST. AUGUSTIN'S PRAYER FOR ALL VIRTUES.

My God and my Lord, grant that my heart may aspire to thee; that, aspiring to thee, it may seek thee; that, seeking thee, it may find thee; that, having found thee, it may love thee; and that its love for thee may produce sorrow, and sorrow pardon for all my sins; and, being once pardoned, grant, oh grant that I may never offend thee more. Grant me sorrow, my Lord and my God, for having sinned against thee: grant me contrition and the gift of tears; and grant me that charity towards thee and towards the poor which may avail to cover the multitude of my sins.

O divine Sovereign, quench within me, I beseech thee, every impure passion and inclination; and kindle in my soul the holy fire of thy love. Drive far from me the spirit of pride; and grant me the grace of holy humility. Restrain, dear Saviour, I beseech thee, every violent out-burst of anger, and endow me with patience and gentle forbearance. Remove all sullen moroseness and captiousness from my mind; and give me that confiding kindness of heart, which may lead me to have a good opinion of all.

Grant, oh grant me, I implore thee, my dear

Lord and loving Father, an immoveable faith, a strong hope, and a lasting charity.

O Thou who art the guardian of my life, save me from lightness and vanity of disposition; from uncertainty of mind; from a dissipated heart; from gluttony and sensuality; from back biting, from curiosity, and from covetousness: keep me from all vain glory; from all hypocrisy; from all treacherous flattery of others; from avarice, envy, and blasphemy. Oh cleanse my nature from worldly anxiety, idleness, sloth, presumption, hardness of heart, and obstinacy; appease the violence of my temper; make my judgment ever yield to the dictates of reason; and my heart open to receive thy holy inspirations. Check the unruly freedom of my speech; let me never oppress the poor, never use violence towards the weak, nor calumniate even the wicked. Let me never neglect the salvation of those who are dependent upon me. Remove from my manner all bitterness and rudeness towards my servants: make me ever remember that their souls were the equals of mine when we came into this world, and that we shall be again equal after we shall have fulfilled our different parts in this fleeting life. Let my friends never have cause to complain of my untruthfulness; and may none ever perceive arrogance in my conduct towards them.

Thus, O my God I beseech thee by thy tender

love for us; by the merits of thy beloved Son, I thus implore thee to enable me to fulfil all the corporal and spiritual works of mercy which thou mayest demand of me. Let me comfort the sorrowful, instruct the ignorant, relieve the poor, visit and cheer the suffering and those who are sick at heart: may I willingly forgive injuries, bear wrongs patiently, love those who hate, and do good to those who injure me. Let me not despise any one, but respect all; imitate the good, and avoid the wicked. Let me love virtue as much as I abhor vice.

O my Lord, may thy grace uphold me in sorrow, and restrain me in joy; may it teach me to despise the fleeting interests of this life; and in all things, and above all things, may it prompt me fervently to aspire to the everlasting bliss of heaven, through Jesus my Lord and Saviour, who, with thee and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth for ever. Amen.

AFTER A TOILSOME DAY.

Conducted by thy Providence, O God, through the toils, the vexations, the turmoils, and the business of this day, I present myself before thee to beg pardon of all my failings, and to acknowledge that goodness which has upheld me in all my difficulties. Notwithstanding my renewed professions of resignation, I have offended thee by attaching too much importance to the things of this world; by forgetting that thou didst call