tion, this victim of our ransom, this body and blood which was offered for us.

Make an Act of Faith.

I most firmly believe, O Jesus, that in this holy sacrament thou art present verily and indeed; that here is thy body and blood, thy soul and thy divinity. I believe that thou, my Saviour, true God and true Man, art really here, with all thy treasures; that here thou communicatest thyself to us, makest us partakers of the fruit of thy passion, and givest us a pledge of eternal life. I believe there cannot be a greater happiness than to receive thee worthily, nor a greater misery than to receive thee unworthily. All this I most steadfastly believe, because it is what thou hast taught us by thy Church.

Make an Act of Contrition.

O Lord, I detest, with my whole heart, all the sins by which I have offended thy divine Majesty, from the first moment that I was capable of sinning to this very hour. I desire to lay them all at thy feet, to be cancelled by thy precious blood. Hear me, O Lord, by that infinite love by which thou hast shed thy blood for me. Oh, let not that blood be shed in vain! I detest my sins, because they have offended thy infinite goodness. By thy grace I will never commit them any more: I am sorry for them, and will be sorry for them as long as I live; and according to the best of my power, will do penance for them. Forgive me, dear Lord, for thy mercy's sake; pardon me all that is past; and be thou my keeper for the time to come, that I may never more offend thee.

Make an Act of Divine Love.

O Lord Jesus, the God of my heart and the life of my soul, as the hart pants after the fountains of water, so does my soul pant after thee, the fountain of life, and the ocean of all good. I am overjoyed at hearing the happy

tidings, that I am to go into the house of the Lord; or rather, that our Lord is to come into my house, and take up his abode with me. Oh, happy moments, when I shall be admitted to the embraces of the living God, for whom my soul languishes with love! Come, Lord Jesus, and take full possession of my heart for ever! I offer it to thee without reserve; I desire to consecrate it eternally to thee. I love thee with my whole soul above all things; at least, I desire so to love thee. It is nothing less than infinite love that brings thee to me; oh, teach me to make a suitable return of love!

Humbly beg God's Grace.

But, oh, my God, thou knowest my great poverty and misery, and that of myself I can do nothing: thou knowest how unworthy I am of this infinite favour, and thou alone canst make me worthy. Since thou art so good as to invite me thus to thyself, add this one bounty more to all the rest; to prepare me for thyself. Cleanse my soul from its stains; clothe it with the nuptial garment of charity; adorn it with all virtues, and make it a fit abode for thee. Drive sin and the devil far from this dwelling, which thou art here pleased to choose for thyself, and make me one according to thy own heart; that this heavenly visit, which thou designest for my salvation, may not, by my unworthiness, be perverted to my own damnation. Never let me be guilty of thy body and blood by an unworthy communion. For the sake of this same precious blood, which thou hast shed for deliver me, O Jesus, from so great an evil.

me,

Implore the Prayers of the Blessed Virgin and of

the Saints.

O all ye blessed angels and saints of God, who see him face to face whom I here receive under these humble veils; and thou most especially, ever-blessed Virgin, Mother of this same God and Saviour, in whose sacred womb he was conceived and borne for nine months; I

most humbly beg the assistance of your prayers and intercession, that I may in such manner receive him here. in this place of banishment, as to be brought one day to enjoy him with you in our true country, there to praise him and love him for ever.

ASPIRATIONS AFTER COMMUNION.

Behold, O Lord, I have thee now, who hast all things. I possess thee, who possessest all things, and who cast do all things: take off my heart, then, O my God and my All, from all other things but thee, for in them there is nothing but vanity and affiction of spirit. Let my heart be fixed on thee alone; jet me ever repose in thee, for in thee is my treasure, in thee is the sovereign truth, true happiness, and a blessed eternity.

sence.

Let my soul, O Lord, feel the sweetness of thy pre Let me taste how sweet thou art, O Lord! that, being allured by thy love, I may never more run aber worldly pleasures; for thou art the joy of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Thou art the Physician of my soul, who healeat all our infirmities by thy sacred blood. I am that sick man, whom thou camest from heaven to heal: oh, heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.

Thou art the good Shepherd, who hast laid down thy life for thy sheep; behold, I am that sheep that was Ion, and yet thou vouchsafest to feed me with thy body and blood: take me now upon try shoulders, to carry me home. What canst tho. ceny me, who hast ten me thyself? Guide thou me, and I shall want nothing in the place of pasture where thou hast put me, until thou bringest me to the happy paste of eternal life.

O true light, which enlightenest every man that com eth into this world, enlighten my eyes, that I may neve sleep in death.

Ở King of heaven and earth, rich in ery, behold

I am poor and needy: thou knowest what I stand most in need of; thou alone canst assist and enrich me. Help me, O God, and out of the treasures of thy bounty succour my needy soul.

Thou art the Lamb of God, the Lamb without spot, who takest away the sins of the world: oh, take away from me whatever may hurt me, and displease thee, and give me what thou knowest to be pleasing to thee, and profitable to myself.

O my God and my All, may the sweet flame of thy love consume my soul, that so I may die to the world for the love of thee, who hast vouchsafed to die upon the cross for the love of me.

ACTS OF DEVOTION, PRAISE, AND THANKSGIVING AFTER COMMUNION.

O Lord Jesus Christ, my Creator and my Redeemer, my God and my All, whence is this to me, that my Lord, and so great a Lord, whom heaven and earth cannot contain, should come into this poor dwelling, this house of clay of my earthly habitation. Bow down thyself, with all thy powers, O my soul, to adore the sovereign Majesty which hath vouchsafed to come to visit thee; pay him the best homage thou art able, as to thy first beginning, and thy last end; pour thyself forth in his presence in praises and thanksgiving; and invite all heaven and earth to join with thee in magnifying their Lord and thine, for his mercy and bounty to thee.

What return shall I make to thee, O Lord, for all thou hast done for me? Behold, when I had no being at all, thou didst create me; and when I was gone astray, and lost in my sins, thou didst redeem me, by dying for me. All that I have, all that I am, is thy gift; and now, after all thy other favours, thou hast given me thyself: blessed be thy name for ever! Thou art great, O Lord, and exceedingly to be praised; great are thy works,

and of thy wisdom there is no end; but thy tender mercies, thy bounty and goodness to me, are above all thy works: these I desire to confess and extol for ever.

Bless, then, thy Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within thee praise and magnify his name. Bless thy Lord, O my soul, and see thou never forget all that he hath done for thee. O all ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and glorify him for ever. O all ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and glorify his holy name. Bless the Lord, all ye saints, and let the whole Church of heaven and earth join in praising and giving him thanks for all his mercies and graces to me; and so, in some measure, supply for what is due from me. But as all this still falls short of what I owe thee for thy infinite love, I offer to thee, O eternal Father, the same Son of thine whom thou hast given me, and his thanksgiving, which is infinite in value. Look not, then, upon my insensibility and ingratitude, but upon the face of thy Christ, and with him, and through him, receive this offering of my poor self, which I desire to make to thee.

N.B. Here also may be recited the Canticle of the Three Children, the Te Deum, or some Psalms of praise.

PETITIONS AFTER COMMUNION.

O most merciful Saviour, behold, I have presumed to receive thee this day into my house, relying on thy infinite goodness and mercy, and hoping, like Zaccheus, to obtain thy benediction. But, alas, with how little preparation! with how little devotion! From my heart I beg pardon for my great unworthiness, and for my innumerable sins, which I detest for the love of thee. Thou seest, O Searcher of hearts, all my maladies, and all the wounds of my soul. Thou knowest how prone I am to evil, and how backward and sluggish to good. Who can heal all these my evils but thou, the true phy