thou art present in the blessed Sacrament of the Altar. I adore thee, confessing my own misery and nothingness, and I thank thee for all the mercies which thou hast bestowed upon me, especially for having given me thyself in this Sacrament, for having given me thy most holy Mother Mary for my advocate, and for having called me to visit thee at this time. I salute thy most loving heart, and I desire to do so for three ends: 1, In thanksgiving for this great gift; 2, To atone for all the injuries thou hast received from thy enemies in this Sacrament; 3, To adore thee in all places in which thou art least honoured and most neglected in the holy Sacrament. O my Jesus, I love thee with all my heart; I am sorry for having hitherto displeased thy infinite goodness; I resolve, with the assistance of thy grace, never more to offend thee; and at this moment, miserable as I am, I desire to consecrate my whole being to thee. I give thee my will, my affections, my desires, and all that I have. From this day forward do with me, and whatever belongs to me, what thou pleasest; I ask and desire only thy love, the gift of final perseverance, and the perfect accomplishment of thy holy will. I recommend to thee the souls in purgatory, particularly those who were most devout to the blessed Sacrament and to holy Mary; and I recommend to thee all poor sinners. Finally, my dear Saviour, I unite all my affections with those of thy most loving heart; and thus united, I offer them to thy eternal Father, and I beseech him in thy name, and for thy sake, to accept them. Amen.

An Act of Spiritual Communion.'

I believe in thee, O my Jesus, present in the most holy Sacrament of the Altar; I love thee above all

II exhort all who seek to advance in the love of Jesus Christ, to make a spiritual communion each time they visit the blessed Sacrament, or hear Mass. It would be better to make a spiritual communion three times on these occasions; viz. at the beginning, middle, and end of the visit and of the Mass.-St. Alphonsus.

things; and I desire to receive thee into my soul. Since I cannot now receive thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace thee, and I unite myself to thee, as if thou wast already there. Oh, permit me not ever to be separated from thee! O Lord Jesus Christ, let the sweet and consuming force of thy love absorb my whole soul, that I may die for the love of thee, who wast pleased to die for the love of me.

Four Aspirations of Love to Jesus to obtain an ardent

Love of God.

I. O Jesus, most sweet, most secret, and most intimate Spouse of holy souls, inflame vehemently, I beseech thee, my heart with the love of thee, that I may delight in thee from my inmost soul. Visit me in thy mercy, and fill my heart with thy grace, for the very depths of my being long for thee, the fountain of sweetness.

O my Lord Jesus, O Fire that burnest sweetly, and shinest secretly, and consumest gently, take full possession of my whole heart. O King of kings, King of eternal glory, grant that I may hunger and thirst for thee alone, sigh after thee, and ardently desire to behold thy ravishing countenance.

O amiable Jesus, pierce my heart of hearts with the sweetest dart of love; penetrate my soul with burning charity, that it may languish altogether with desire and love of thee. Let it be wholly dissolved in love, wholly melt away, and be absorbed in thee.

O Lord, disengage my soul from all things here below, that it may freely tend to thee alone, and thou alone mayest inhabit it, its owner and possessor. Let thy most sweet fragrance descend upon me; let the ineffable odour of thy divine charity come to me, to excite in me incessantly all pure desires.

Grant, O my Lord, that, wholly filled with the sweetness of thy love, and wholly set on fire with the flame of heavenly charity, I may delight in thee with my whole heart, and from the deepest recesses of my inmost

soul. May I love thee, O sweet Lover; may I love thee, O only salvation of my soul; may I love thee, for thou hast first loved me! O Spouse most lovely, most beloved, grant that I may love thee more and more. Let the strong violence of thy love utterly dislodge from my heart the weight of all earthly desires, and make me run without ceasing in the odour of thy ointments.

O my own most compassionate Lord, write on the tablet of my heart the sweet memory of thee, which no forgetfulness may ever erase, that I may ever burn with the desire of thee, that I may be wholly set on fire with the flame of thy love, and drowned in the deluge of thy charity.

II. O my God, ocean of holy love and sweetness, come and give thyself unto my soul. Grant that with a perfect heart, full desire, and burning affection, I may unceasingly aspire after thee, and lovingly respire in thee, May I prefer thee to every creature, for thee renounce every transitory delight, O my true, my highest joy!

Feed me, Lord, thy poor, famished beggar, with continual draughts of thy divinity; refresh me with the wished-for presence of thy grace. This I seek, this

I long for, that a vehement love may penetrate me through and through, and fill me, and transmute me into itself.

Grant, O most benign Redeemer, that I may be wholly inflamed with the love of thee, that I may delight only in thee, know only thee, feel only thee. Q overflowing abyss of divinity! draw me to thee, and immerse me in thyself; so seize and take to thyself all the affection of my heart, that it may be wholly dead to all beside.

O God of all sweetness, I call thee into my soul; I cry to thee, I long for thee with a large affection. O surpassing delight of the most intimate union! Come, my Beloved, come, a thousand thousand times desired, that I may inwardly possess thee, and clasp thee in the chaste embraces of my soul !

O my Beloved, sole object of my vows, grant that I may find thee, and finding, may retain thee, and hold thee fast bound in the arms of my soul. I long for thee, I pant after thee, O bliss eternal! Oh, that thou wouldst give thyself to me, unite me intimately to thee, and inebriate me wholly with the wine of heavenly charity.

III. Wound, O Lord, the secret recesses of my inmost being with the arrow of thy love, and send the saving flame deep into the marrow of my cold and torpid heart; that, all on fire with the inextinguishable flame of charity, and penetrated with the unspeakable sweetness of thy Spirit, I may be wholly transferred from myself to thee.

Receive me, O beauteous Spouse, Jesus, into the closest embraces of thy love, that, folded therein, my dull, cold heart may glow all through with warmth. Open, Lord, open when I knock, and admit my desolate soul into the chamber of thy love, and, in thy mercy, espouse it to thyself.

May I draw from thee the living water, O Fount of honied sweetness, that by the very taste thereof I may never thirst again for any thing but thee. Let the heavenly dew of thy sweet-dropping charity come down upon me, that, inwardly imbued therewith, I may be preserved pure from earthly desires and unchaste affections.

O Light serene and peaceful, O my God, irradiate my soul with thy bright beams! Draw me closer to thee, O thou glowing Sun, that, at thy powerful heat, the soil of my heart may bring forth the flowers and fruits of holy love!

O ny glory, O my joy, O my unmixed delight, Jesus, kindle, I pray thee, such a flame of love in my inmost heart, that henceforth I may choose nothing, desire nothing, in the world but thee!

O my Lord, let heaven and earth, and all things contained therein, without thee, be to me like a cold, wintry waste. Do thou alone affect me, do thou alone

delight me; may the love of thee alone live and burn within me, and continue ever living and ever burning.

IV. Shine down upon me, O most bright and genial Light, that the thick shades of my blindness may be changed into the clearest noonday splendour. O good Jesus, adorn my soul with that grace of charity which thou lovest; anoint it with that richness of love which thou delightest in. Take from it whatever is less pleasing to thine eyes, and render it in every thing acceptable to thee.

O fairest, O most blooming Flower, Jesus! O Life that never fadest! O Life by which I live, without which I die! O Life by which I rejoice, without which I mourn! O Life most sweet and amiable, grant that I may be joined to thee, and, soothed to sleep in thy embrace by sweetest charity, may find my holy rest in thee, who art our perfect peace.

Grant, O my Lord, that, filled with the violence of a burning love, and melted with the sweetness of a penetrating charity, my soul may be dissolved in thee. Possess it, O sovereign, O priceless Good, possess it that it may possess thee, and find its blessedness in thee.

Break down, O sweet Jesus, the hateful wall of my tepidity, and grant that, with a free and ready heart, I may follow thee with inextinguishable fervour. Let blow the south wind of ardent love, which may so vehemently impel me to thee, that, apart from thee, there may be no breath in me.

O Jesus, only comforter of my heart, let fall unceasingly upon me, I beseech thee, the sweet dew of thy grace. Draw me to thee by the potent virtue of thy love, and imprint upon me the kiss of thy forgiveness, that, sealed therewith, I may henceforth love nothing beside thee; for thou art my whole possession, and the whole blessedness of my soul.