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Ab hoste maligno defende me.
In hora mortis meæ voca me ;
Et jube me venire ad te.

Ut cum Sanctis et Angelis tuis collaudem te,

Per infinita sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

THANKSGIVING II.

MONDAY.

O infinite goodness! O infinite love! God has given himself entirely to me, and made himself entirely mine! My soul, unite all thy affections, and fix them on thy Lord, who has come to thee, to be united with thee, and to be loved by thee.

My beloved Redeemer, I embrace thee; my treasure, my life, I bind myself to thee; do not reject me. Alas, I have hitherto banished thee from my soul, and have separated myself from thee; but for the future I will lay down my life a thousand times rather than lose thee, my sovereign good. Forget, O Lord, the many offences I have been guilty of against thee, and forgive me. I am sorry for them with my whole soul, and would willingly die of grief for them.

But, notwithstanding all my offences against thee, I know that thou commandest

me to love thee: Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo. Ah, my Lord, who am I, that thou shouldst so much desire to be loved by me? But since thou dost desire it, I long to please thee. Thou hast died for me, thou hast given me thyself to be my food; I leave all, I renounce all, and embrace thee, my beloved Saviour. Quis me seperabit a charitate Christi?

My dear Redeemer, whom shall I love, if I love not thee, who art infinite beauty, infinite goodness, and worthy of infinite love? Quid mihi est in cœlo, et a te quid volui super terram? Deus cordis mei, et pars mea Deus in æternum. Yes, my God, and what greater good than thee can I find in heaven, or on earth? And one that has loved me so much? Adveniat regnum tuum. O Jesus, take now possession of my whole soul; I give it entirely to thee, make it wholly thine, and for ever, and expel from it every affection that is not fixed on thee. I choose thee for my only portion, my only wealth. Deus cordis mei, et pars mea Deus in æternum. Grant that I may ever pray and beseech thee with St. Ignatius of Loyola: Amorem tui solum cum gratia tua mihi dones, et divis sum satis. Give me thy love and thy grace, that I may love thee and be loved by thee, and I shall

be sufficiently rich, and shall desire nothing, and ask for nothing more.

Thus

But thou knowest my weakness, thou knowest how unfaithful I have been to thee; assist me by thy grace, and never permit me to be again separated from thy holy love. Ne permittas me separari a te. do I now, and will ever, pray to thee; and do thou give me grace ever to repeat: Ne permittas, ne permittas me separari a te. Most holy Mary, my hope, obtain for me these two graces, holy perseverance, and divine love, and I ask for nothing more.

THANKSGIVING III.

TUESDAY.

My dear Lord, how could I have so often offended thee by my sins, knowing that sin was so hateful to thee! Oh, pardon me through the merits of thy passion, and unite me wholly to thee by thy love; let not my sins drive thee away from me. Graut me to know ever more and more how great a good thou art, how much thou deservest to be loved, and how much thou hast loved me.

I desire, O my Jesus, to sacrifice myself wholly for thee, who hast sacrificed thyself entirely for me. Thou hast drawn me by

many allurements to love thee and to be united with thee, never suffer me to be ever again separated from thee. I love thee, O God, and desire to love thee for ever. And how, having now experienced thy love, shall I ever be able to live at a distance from thee and deprived of thy grace?

I thank thee for having hitherto spared me in my sins, and for now giving me time to love thee. Had I died in my sins, I could never more have loved thee. But since I can still love thee, I will love thee, O Jesus, with all my power, and do all to please thee. I love thee, O infinite goodness, I love thee more than myself; and because I love thee, I give thee my body, my soul, and my whole will. Do with me what thou pleasest, O Lord, dispose of me as thou pleasest, I am ready to embrace and to conform myself to thy holy will in all things. Grant me ever to love thee, and I ask for nothing more. Bestow the goods of this world on whom thou pleasest; I desire, I seek only perseverance in thy grace, and the gift of divine love.

O Eternal Father, trusting in thy promise made to us through thy Son: Amen, amen, dico vobis: si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis, Joan. xvi. 23; in the name of Jesus Christ I ask of thee holy perseve rance, and the grace of loving thee with my

whole heart, by perfectly fulfilling henceforward thy holy will. O Jesus, thou hast offered thyself in sacrifice for me, and hast given thy whole self to me, that I may give my whole self to thee, and sacrifice my will to thee. Thou invitest me: Probe fili mi, cor tuum mihi. Behold, O Lord, behold my heart, my will, I give and sacrifice all to thee. But thou knowest how weak I am; support me, and never suffer me to alienate my will from thee and offend thee. No, permit it not; grant that I may ever love thee, grant that I may love thee as a Priest ought to love thee; in such manner that I may be able to say with thy beloved Son on the cross, consummatum est; grant that I also at my death may be able to say, that from this day forward I have accomplished thy blessed will. Grant that in all temptations, in all dangers of offending thee, I may never cease to have recourse to thee, and to implore thee, through the merits of Jesus Christ, to assist me. O most holy Mary, obtain for me this grace; that in all temptations I may recommend myself to God and to thee, who art allpowerful with God.

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