ception of Thy Sacred Body. Like the idols of Egypt, let my passions fall prostrate and be shattered at Thy approach: let the mountains of my pride crumble at the sight of Thy profound humiliation; and let Thy Divine example teach me to be meek and humble of heart, that in Thee, and by Thee, I may find rest to my soul. Amen.

IT

7. Act of Confidence.

T is true, O Lord, that holy things are for holy persons, but Thy Holy Mysteries sanctify those who partake of them. By Thy holiness Thou art infinitely removed from sinners, but Thy love draws them in order to convert them and make them holy. I trust, then, O Lord, that Thou wilt not reject me: relying wholly on Thy boundless love, I trust in Thee, and ask of Thee all graces and benefits. And what may I not hope for in receiving Thee, since the woman with an issue believed that if she could only touch the hem of Thy garment, she should be healed; and sincè with a single touch, or word, Thou didst make the deaf to hear, the blind to see, and the dumb to speak, the lame to walk, and didst restore the sick to health, and even raise the dead to life, O what may I not then hope for in receiving Thee into my heart, who art the Supreme Good, the Fountain of Grace, the Bread of Life come down from Heaven, the pledge of immortality, the Heavenly

Remedy for sin, the Gift which surpasses all other gifts. Amen.

8. Act of Love.

JESU! kindle with the fire of Thy Love my heart, which I offer in sacrifice unto Thee, and extinguish all the fires of earthly love, that nothing in this world may be pleasing to me except Thee in Thy love I desire to live and to die. It is Thy Voice, O my Jesus, which says, "Come unto Me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you." Thou awaitest me with outstretched arms on the Cross; behold I come, O Jesus; admit me, I beseech Thee: and may I remain for ever joined to Thee in the embrace of Thy love. Prevent me lest I appear empty before Thee. But what shall I give to Thee, O my Saviour? Accept the gifts of Thy goodness, the faculties of my soul, memory, understanding, and will, which I offer in submission to Thee. I will think of Thee only, I will know nothing but Thee, love nothing beside Thee, but in everything I will perform not my will but Thine.

3. Preparatory Acts and Aspirations.

From the "Church Manual."

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 glow altogether with desire and love of Thee. Let it be wholly dissolved in love, 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

Let

recesses of my inmost soul. May I love Thee, O sweet Lord; 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. 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 translate 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, O 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 goodness, who art worthy of a greater love than I can either exhibit or understand, do Thou draw my heart from this earth, break the cords which attach me to worldly idols, wean me from the pleasures of this fleeting life; fill me with earnest desire of beholding Thee unveiled in Thy glory, of conquering all that hinders me from fulfilling Thy holy Will, of restraining all my inordinate affections which, like weeds, choke the good seed of life; and make me to live here so as to be worthy to be admitted into Thy eternal kingdom, of which Thou art the light and the gladness.

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 transformed from myself to Thee.

Receive me, O beauteous One, Jesus, into Thy love, that, folded therein, my dull, cold heart may glow all through with warmth. Open, Lord, open