didst command that they should not be forbidden to approach thy sacred person, I see that thou art in the holy Eucharist the same God of goodness and mercy since thou now invitest me not only to approach thee, but to receive thy adorable body and blood. I am transported with joy, when I think that the happy day I have so long desired is now approaching; my heart is filled with gratitude and astonishment at the thought that thou wilt really bestow on me, who am nothing but a weak child, and a great sinner, the most precious of all thy gifts. But yet, O eternal Majesty! this prospect ought to make me fear as much as rejoice. What should become of me, if I were to receive thee unworthily? How many have had that terrible misfortune, who were not so young, so weak, or so imperfect as I am! Alas! that day which I have looked forward to as the happiest of my life, may become the most unfortunate of all. Ah, Lord! is it I who am the person who should betray thee? I, whom thou hast loved so much, and so particularly loaded with favours! Could I be so hardened, as to repay all thy mercies by profaning thy sacred body and blood, on thy first solemn entrance under my roof? No, my good God! with the assistance of thy grace I will never do that. Though I ardently long for my first communion-though I prefer the happiness and honour of receiving thee, to all the pleasures and dignities that could be enjoyed on earth, yet I entreat thee, with the utmost sincerity, rather to take me out of life, than permit that 1 should live to communicate unworthily. I depend on thee alone, not on my own efforts, for avoiding so great a misfortune, and also for acquiring all the dispositions necessary for receiving thee worthily. I thank thee from my heart, for the religious advantages which I enjoy, and which are now more necessary and more valuable to me than ever. I beg of thee. by that precious blood which purchased them for me, to give me grace to profit of them all to the utmost

of my ability. Enlighten my understanding, that 1 may comprehend the instructions I receive; strengthen my memory, that I may retain them; and above all, penetrate my heart with thy fear and love, that the sacred seed of thy word may sink so deeply into my heart, as to produce a hundred-fold. I ask the same favours for all my companions, who are preparing with me for the happiness of communicating: grant most mercifully, that we may all receive thy adorable body and blood with hearts purified by a good confession from every stain of sin, and animated with a lively faith, firm hope, ardent love, sincere humility, and with every other fervent disposition thou requirest from us, that thereby our first communion may be to us a happy pledge of our eternal union with thee in heaven. Amen.

INSTRUCTIONS AND DEVOTIONS FOR COMMUNION.

As you have been so happy as to be early impressed with the sentiments of profound veneration and respect due to the most adorable of all mysteries, and fully instructed in all that is necessary to be known concerning the holy Eucharist, it is not necessary to tell you, that a diligent, fervent preparation should precede the holy communion. However, as early impressions are quickly effaced, if they be not occasionally renewed, you are most earnestly recommended, at each of your communions, to endeavour to revive in your soul the same sentiments with which you were penetrated the first time you were admitted to the holy table-the same value for the honour of communicating-the same ardent desire of that happiness-the same holy fear of profaning the most sacred of all mysteries; or rather, to leave nothing undone which may render your heart, at each communion, more pure, more ardent, and more humble than the preceding, and thereby each time less un

worthy of the presence of Jesus Christ. The blessed Aloysius of Gonzaga, whom the Church holds forth to youth as a striking example that the most exalted sanctity is perfectly attainable in the tenderest years, may be said to owe his angelical life on earth, and his actual fellowship with the angels in heaven, to his ardent devotion to the holy communion, to his fervent exactness in preparing for that awful duty, and to the abundant fruits which he consequently drew from a participation of this divine sacrament. His whole life may be said to have been devoted to the adorable Eucharist; for, having merited by the most unsullied innocence, ardent piety, and faithful discharge of duty, the privilege of weekly communion, while yet very young, he invariably employed the first three days of the week in thanksgiving for communion, and the three last in preparing for so great a benefit. How happy would you be, if you persevered to the end of your life in imitating such example.

You are, no doubt, convinced that one communion is the most precious benefit which man can receive, or even God himself bestow. You also know, that to communicate is the most holy, the most awful, and infinitely the most important action of your life; you should, therefore, be careful to act conformably to that belief, otherwise your being instructed in what you ought to do, would render you much more guilty than others. You should accustom yourself to look upon every enjoyment and advantage in this world as mere trifles, when compared with the honour and happiness of receiving your Creator in the holy Com munion; and all occupations and pursuits as folly, when they interfere with the great duty of preparing for so solemn an action.

Preparation for the holy Communion is of two kinds, viz. remote and immediate.-You should endeavour most earnestly to acquit yourself of both, because the graces received in the holy Communion are propor

tioned to the dispositions of those who commun cate If, for example, you draw water from a fountain in a vessel that is small, and at the same time half filled with other things, you will of course receive much less water, than if you took a larger vessel completely emptied. So it is with those who communicate; if they approach the adorable Eucharist with a heart free indeed from mortal sin, but at the same time contracted and choked up by attachment to the world, by many venial faults and wilful imperfections, and totally divested of that ardent piety, purity of heart, and de votion, which induces the Almighty to enrich his creatures with abundant blessing, it is clear that the graces they receive will be few, and that those who make many such communions will not advance as far in virtue, as a person better disposed would by once receiving the bread of life.

Remote Preparation for the holy Communion, coltsists in that habitual care which all persons should take to lead a christian, regular, holy life, and to keep their conscience free, not only from mortal sin, which is the great obstacle to a worthy communion, but also from that fatal attachment to any venial sin, which is the obstacle to a profitable communion. This remote preparation, properly speaking, should extend from one communion to another---each reception of the holy Eucharist should be a preparation for the following, and thanksgiving for the foregoing communion. You should communicate at stated periods, once a month, once a fortnight, or oftener, according to the advice of your director. In proportion as the happy days of communion draw near, your longing desires to be united to your God should increase; your thoughts, affections, and actions, even the most indifferent, should be directed as a preparation for your approaching happiness; above all, your watchfulness over yourself, and endeavours to correct your habitual failings, should redouble. Thus would remote preparation for the holy Eucharist conduce to the sanctifi

cation of your whole life, and each communion be come a perfect preparation for your viaticum, or las reception of the precious body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Immediate Preparation for Communion consists, as your Catechism points out, " in being in the state of grace, penetrated with a lively faith, animated with a firm hope, and inflamed with an ardent charity." If you have done every thing in your power to make your confession according to the method you have been taught, and with all the dispositions which have been so fully explained; if you sincerely detest, not only grievous sins, but every venial offence of your life, and generally every spot and stain which may be an obstacle to the grace you hope to receive, you may trust in the mercy of your Creator, that you have acquired the first immediate dispositions for a good and fervent communion. This disposition consists in sanctifying grace, and that purity of heart which Jesus Christ recommends to all communicants, by washing the feet of his Apostles before he administered to them his adorable body, though he had expressly assured them that they were clean; that is, exempt from every grievous sin. But remember, that if you expected the visit of any person whom you loved and highly respected, you would not be content with preparing a perfectly clean chamber for his reception, you would also endeavour to ornament it as much as possible; consequently, you should not be satisfied with having cast out the filth of sin from that heart in which God himself is so soon to lodge; you should endeavour to adorn and beautify it to the utmost extent of your ability. The ornaments of the soul are virtues one single act of love, of contrition, of humility, one victory over any particular failing, sinful inclination, or passion, exalts and advances a soul more in the sight of God, than all the brilliant achievements of the greatest conquerors; and also, is more effectual in preparing a soul for communion than many