to love thee as the Divine Word made Man loved thee.

6. As he loved thee at his birth.

9. As he loves, and shall love thee for ever.

10. In fine, my God, I wish to love thee as thou lovest us;

7. As he loved thee expiring but since that is impossible, on the cross.

8. As he loves thee continually in the tabernacles where he lies hid.

grant that I may love thee as well as I know how, as much as I can, and as much as thou wishest me. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

Prayer.

O God, who has prepared invisible rewards for those who love thee, pour forth some of thy love into our hearts, to the end that, loving thee in all and above all, we may obtain the accomplishment of thy promises, which surpass all desire; through our Lord Jesus Christ, &c.1

'Pius VII., by a rescript, August 11, 1818, granted an indulgence of three hundred days to all the faithful who should recite, with a contrite heart, a succession of acts of the love of God, arranged in form of a crown, with five Gloria Patris, as above. By saying them ten times a month for a whole year, a person may gain a plenary indulgence on any day he may choose; confession, communion, and prayers according to the Pope's intentions being supposed.

[Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Mary, see p. 257.]

THE SEVEN WORDS UPON THE CROSS.'

PIOUS EXERCISE IN MEMORY OF THE AGONY OF JESUS CHRIST.

y. O God, stretch forth to aid me. By. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, &c.

THE WORDS OF JESUS ON THE CROSS.

The First Word.

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

O my beloved Jesus, who for the love of me didst agonise on the Cross that thou mightest pay by thy sufferings the debt due to my sins, and didst open thy divine mouth to obtain my pardon from eternal justice, have mercy on all the faithful in their agony, and on myself when I shall be in that extremity, and, by the merits of thy most precious blood shed for our salvation, give us so lively a sorrow for our sins that we may breathe out our souls into the bosom of thine infinite mercy. Three Glories.

. Have mercy on us, O Lord.

B. Have mercy on us.

O my God, I believe in thee, I hope in thee, I love thee, and I repent of having offended thee by my sins.

The Second Word.

"To-day thou shalt be with me in Paradise."

. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. B. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

O my beloved Jesus, who for the love of me didst

A perpetual Indulgence of 300 days, applicable to the souls in Purgatory, every time that this exercise is devoutly practised.

agonise on the Cross, and with such readiness and bounty didst respond to the faith of the good thief who in the midst of thy humiliation acknowledged thee to be the Son of God: O thou who didst assure him of Paradise, have mercy on all the faithful in their agony, and on me when I shall be in that extremity, and, through the merits of thy most precious blood, revive in our spirits a faith so firm and constant, that it may not waver at any suggestion of the devil, so that we also may obtain the holy reward of Paradise. Three Glories. y. Have mercy on us, O Lord.

Ry. Have mercy on us.

O my God, I believe in thee, I hope in thee, I love thee, and I repent of having offended thee by my sins.

The Third Word.

"Behold thy mother; behold thy son.'

. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

O my beloved Jesus, who for the love of me didst agonise on the Cross, and, forgetting thy sufferings, didst leave us as a pledge of thy love thine own most holy Mother, that through her we might confidently have recourse to thee in our greatest need, have mercy on all the faithful in their agony, and on me also when I shall be in that extremity, and, through the interior martyrdom of this thy dear Mother, awaken in our hearts a firm hope in the infinite merits of thy most precious blood, that we may avoid the eternal damnation which our sins have merited. Three Glories.

. Have mercy on us, O Lord.

Ry. Have mercy on us.

O my God, I believe in thee, I hope in thee, I love thee, and I repent of having offended thee by my sins.

The Fourth Word.

"My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me?"

. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

O my beloved Jesus, who for the love of me didst agonise on the Cross, and, heaping suffering on suffering, didst endure with infinite patience not only thy many bodily tortures, but the most heavy affliction of spirit through the dereliction of thine eternal Father, have mercy on all the faithful who are in their agony, and on me also when I shall be in that extremity, and, through the merits of thy most precious blood, give us grace to suffer with true patience all the pains and afflictions of our agony, that, uniting them with thine, we may be partakers of thy glory in Paradise. Three Glories.

. Have mercy on us, O Lord.

Ry. Have mercy on us.

O my God, I believe in thee, I hope in thee, I love thee, and I repent of having offended thee by my sins.

"I thirst."

The Fifth Word.

y. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.

B. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

O my beloved Jesus, who didst agonise on the Cross for the love of me, and who, not satisfied with all the ignominy and suffering, wouldst willingly have suffered yet more, so that all men might be saved, as was clearly proved when all the torrents of thy passion would not allay the thirst of thy tender heart, have pity on all the faithful who are in their agony, and on me also when I shall be in that extremity, and, through the merits of thy most precious blood, enkindle such a fire of charity in our hearts as may cause them to languish with the desire of uniting themselves to thee for all eternity. Glories.

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.

1. Have mercy on us.

Three

O my God, I believe in thee, I hope in thee, I love thee, and I repent of having offended thee by my sins.

The Sixth Word.

"It is consummated."

. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

O my beloved Jesus, who for the love of me didst agonise on the Cross, and from that chair of truth didst announce the completion of the work of our redemption, through which, from being the children of wrath and perdition, we are become the children of God and the heirs of Paradise, have pity on all the faithful who are in their agony, and on me also when I shall be in that extremity, and, through the merits of thy most precious blood, detach us entirely from the world and from ourselves, and at the moment of our agony give us grace sincerely to offer thee the sacrifice of our life in expiation of our sins. Three Glories.

. Have mercy on us, O Lord. Ry. Have mercy on us.

O my God, I believe in thee, I hope in thee, I love thee, and I repent of having offended thee by my sins.

The Seventh Word.

"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." . We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee. R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world

O my beloved Jesus, who didst agonise on the Cross for the love of me, and who, in completing this great sacrifice, didst accept the will of thine eternal Father, by resigning thy spirit into his hands, and then bowing thine head and dying, have mercy on all the faithful who are in their agony, and on me also when I shall be in that extremity, and through the merits of thy most precious blood give us, in our agony, an entire conformity