Devotions for Communion.

Make an Act of Faith.

MOST firmly believe that in this

holy sacrament thou art present verily and indeed; that here are 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 that 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 word, and by thy Church.

Make an Act of Contrition.

LORD, I detest with my whole heart all the sins by which I have ever 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.

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 the hearing of these happy tidings, that I am to go into the house of our 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 poor soul languisheth with

love. Oh! come, dear 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 bringeth thee to me: oh! teach me to make a suitable return of love.

Humbly beg God's Grace.

BUT, O 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. Oh! 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 damnation. Oh! let me never

be guilty of thy body and blood, by an unworthy communion: for the sake of this same precious blood, which thou hast shed for me, deliver me from so great an evil. Oh! rather let me die ten thousand deaths, than thus presume to crucify thee again.

Aspirations after Communion.

BEHOLD, O Lord, I have thee

now, who hast all things; I possess thee, who possessest all things, and who canst do all things. Take off my heart, then, O my God. and my all, from all other things but thee, in all which there is nothing but vanity and affliction of spirit. Let my heart be fixed on thee alone; let me ever repose in thee, where alone my treasure is, the sovereign truth, true happiness, and happy eternity.

Let my soul, O Lord, feel the sweetness of thy presence. Let me taste how sweet thou art, O Lord; that being allured by thy love, I may never more hunt after worldly joys: for thou art the joy of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Thou art the Physician of my soul, who healest all our infirmities by thy sacred blood; I am that sick man, whom thou camest from hea

ven 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 lost, and yet thou vouchsafest to feed me with thy body and blood; take me now upon thy shoulders to carry me home. What canst thou deny me, who hast given me thyself? Govern me, and I shall want nothing in the place of pasture where thou hast put me, until thou bringest me to the happy pastures of life eternal.

O true Light, which enlightenest every man that cometh into this world, enlighten my eyes, that I may never sleep in death.

O Fire, ever burning, and never decaying, behold how tepid and cold I am; inflame my reins and my heart, that they may burn with thy love; for thou camest to cast fire upon earth, and what dost thou desire but that it be enkindled?

O King of heaven and earth, rich in mercy, 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.

O my Lord and my God, behold I