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through thy intercession, O holy Mother of

God.

THANKSGIVING VI.

FRIDAY.

O Jesus, how couldst thou, from amongst so many others, have chosen me to be one of thy Priests? me who have so often turned my back upon thee, and disregarded thy grace as nothing? My beloved Lord, I am grieved from the bottom of my soul for having done so. Dost thou say to me, "Thy sins are forgiven thee?" Yes, I hope that thou pronouncest upon me this consoling sentence. Yes, thou hast been my Redeemer, not only once, but as many times as thou hast pardoned me. O my Saviour! would that I had never offended thee!

Let me

hear from thy sacred lips those words which thou didst address to Magdalene: Remittuntur tibi peccata tua. Let me know that thou hast again received me into thy favour, by granting me true contrition for my sins.

In manus tuas commendo spiritum meum: redemisti me, Domine Deus veritatis. Ah my divine Pastor, thou didst descend from heaven to seek me, the lost sheep, and thou dost now descend daily upon the altar for my welfare: thou hast given thy life for my sal

vation, do not now abandon me. Into thy hands I commend my soul; in pity receive it, and never suffer it to be again taken from thee.

Thou hast shed all thy blood for me. Te ergo, quæsumus, tuis famulis subveni, quos pretioso sanguine redemisti. Thou art as yet my advocate, and not my judge; obtain for me forgiveness from thy Father, obtain for me light and strength to love thee with my whole soul. Grant me grace so to spend the remainder of my days, that when I stand before thee as my judge, I shall see thee appeased and merciful.

Reign by thy love over my whole heart: grant that I may be entirely thine; and as thou art my Saviour, remind me continually of the love which thou hast borne me, bring to my mind how much thou hast done for my salvation, and oblige me to love thee. Thou hast made me a Priest for this very end, that I may never think of loving any other but thee.

Yes, my Jesus, I do desire to please thee: I love thee, and desire to love none other but thee. Grant me humility, patience under the labours of this life, meekness under affronts, mortification, renunciation of all earthly pleasures, and detachment from creatures; and grant that I may cast out of

my heart every affection that is not fixed on thee. I ask and hope all from thee through the merits of thy passion. My dear Jesus, my beloved Jesus, my good Jesus, hear me : O bone Jesu exaudi me. And do thou, Mary, my mother and my hope, pray to Jesus for

me.

THANKSGIVING VII.

SATURDAY.

Loquere Domine, quia audit servus tuus. I. Reg. iii. 9. My dear Jesus, thou hast again come this morning to visit me; I give thee thanks with my whole soul. Being come to me, speak, say what thou requirest, and I will obey thee. I have not deserved to be any more spoken to by thee, having been so often deaf to thy voice, when thou hast called me to thy love, and having so often forsaken thee. But I have repented of all my offences against thee; and again I repent of them, and hope that thou hast pardoned me. Make known to me, therefore, thy holy will, and I will do all that thou requirest of me.

O that I had always loved thee, my God. Alas, how many years have I lost! But thy precious blood and consoling promises make

me hope that I shall for the future compensate for the time past by seeking in all things to love and to please thee.

I love thee, my Redeemer, I love thee, my God, and I desire nothing but to love thee with my whole heart, and even to die for the love of thee, who hast died for the love of me. Amore amoris tui, will I say to thee with St. Francis, moriar, qui amore amoris mei dignatus es mori. Thou, my Jesus, hast given all to me, thy blood, thy life, all thy labours and fatigues, and all thy merits, so that nothing more remained for thee to bestow upon me; behold, I give my whole self to thee; I give thee all my enjoyments, all the pleasures of the earth, my body, my soul, my will, so that I have not anything more that I can give thee; if I had I would give it to thee. My dear Jesus, thou alone art indeed sufficient for me.

But, O Lord, make me faithful to thee; never permit me to be so unfaithful as to divert my will from thee, and to separate myself from thee. I hope through the merits. of thy passion, O Lord, that this will never happen. Thou hast said: Nullus speravit in Domino, et confusus est. Eccl. ii. 11. Even I therefore may confidently say: In te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in æternum. I hope, and I will always hope; O God of my soul,

that I shall never undergo the confusion of seeing myself separated from thee, and offensive to thee. In te, Domine, speravi non confundar in æternum.

My God, thou art omnipotent, make me holy, grant that I may really love thee; grant that I may omit nothing that can conduce to thy glory, and overcome all things in order to please thee. Happy for me if I lose all and gain thee and thy love. For this end thou hast given me life; grant that I may spend it all in thy love and service. I do not deserve favours, but chastisements: and I will say to thee, chastise me as thou pleasest, but do not deprive me of thy love. Thou hast loved me without reserve: I desire to love thee without reserve, who art the infinite good, infinite love. O holy will of God, thou art my love. O my Jesus, thou hast died for me, would that I could die for thee, and by my death induce all others to love thee. O infinite goodness, I esteem and love thee as being infinitely more amiable than all things else. O Mary, draw me entirely to God; give me confidence in thee, that I may always have recourse to thee. By thy powerful intercession thou canst make me holy; pray to Jesus for me.

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