cerely feel and endeavour to repay the love of Jesus in the Eucharist, you will be infinitely more culpable, more ungrateful than others, because Jesus Christ has granted you opportunities both for imbibing and practising devotion to the blessed Sacrament, of which the generality are deprived. While many others as deserving as you are, know little more concerning this ineffable Mystery than the Real Presence of Christ on the Altar, you are instructed in the end for which the Eucharist is instituted, and have been taught how to correspond with the merciful designs of Jesus Christ. The singular happiness and privilege of dwelling under the same roof with Jesus Christ, should be to you another strong motive for devotion to this adorable mystery. On this perhaps you seldom reflect; yet it is, notwithstanding, a great blessing, particularly when compared with the circumstances of the numbers who are situated many miles from a church, and who seldom, if ever, enjoy the advantages which you have constantly within your reach. Endeavour to prove your lively gratitude for these favours, and all the blessings you have ever received from the Holy Eucharist, by sincere and solid devotion to this adorable Sacrament. This devotion should consist in sentiments of respect, gratitude, and love towards Jesus present on our altars; in recurring with confidence and faith to this fountain of grace in all your necessities; in great recollec· tion, modesty, and silence, whenever you are in the presence of this awful Sacrament; also in consecrating every Thursday to honour the blessed Sacrament; to thank God for so great a gift; to atone for all the irreverences which Jesus has ever suffered in this mystery of love; as likewise to implore graces, general and particular, for yourself and all mankind. Prayer. O MOST adorable Jesus whom thy own infinite love induces to dwell among us, thy unworthy ser vants, in the adorable Sacrament of our Altars, receive, I beseech thee, my profound adoration. I firmly believe that thou art really present in the holy Eucharist, as powerful, as amiable, and as adorable as thou art in heaven; thou hast mercifully hidden the splendour of thy Majesty, lest it should deter us from approaching thy sanctuary. I believe thou dwellest on our altars, not alone to receive our adorations, but to listen to our petitions-to remedy our evils to be the strength and nourishment of our souls, our powerful Helper, our Refuge, and our Sacrifice. I hope in that boundless mercy which detains thee among us poor weak sinners. I love that infinite goodness which induces thee to communicate thyself so liberally and so wonderfully to thy creatures. I thank thee for such a convincing proof of thy love, and ardently wish that I could worthily acknowledge all the blessings I have ever received from this fountain of grace and mercy. I sincerely regret that this precious pledge of thy love is received by the generality with such coldness and indifference. Alas! I myself have had too much share, by my ungrateful conduct, in wounding thy merciful heart on this altar, and am more guilty than others, since very few have been so much favoured; thou hast not only granted me abundantly the general blessings which this fountain of grace pours on the world, but thou hast provided me with the most favourable opportunities of loving and adoring thee in this august mystery. Thou hast placed me close to thy sanctuary, where I can recur to thee frequently, and daily befold the sacrifice on the altar. Ah! my good God! I am now convinced that thou deservest from ine all the love that my heart is capable of feeling; therefore I humbly consecrate to thee all my affections, and firmly resolve from this moment to endeavour to imitate the respect, gratitude, and love, which always distinguished those among thy faithful servants, who were most peculiarly devoted to the august Sacra ment of the Altar. Accept, O divine Jesus! the adorable Sacrifice of the Mass, and all the thoughts, words, and actions of this day, which I fervently offer in thanksgiving for the institution of this amiable Mystery; in atonement for all the insults, irreverences, and sacrileges which have ever been committed against it; and to implore for myself and all creatures a solid devotion to the holy Eucharist. Mercifully give efficacy to my ardent desire of worthily honouring thee in this adorable mystery, and grant me, through thy divine Heart, a share in the purity and fervour of the angels who day and night surround thy sanctuary, and of all those who ever loved thee most in this sacred mystery, that I may serve thee with sincerity and perseverance during my life, and be so happy at length, as to enjoy thee in the splendour of thy glory for a happy eternity. Amen. Aspiration.-O living Bread! come down from heaven: be thou my support in this life, and my viaticum to a happy eternity. Exercise for FRIDAY.-Devotion to the Passion of our Lord. A GRATEFUL and feeling recollection of our divine Redeemer's Passion and Death should not be confined merely to one day in the week; every day, even every hour of our existence, should recall to our minds the torments which Jesus Christ voluntarily endured to save us from suffering eternally; or at least, every day should strengthen our gratitude for so great a benefit as that of our redemption, and our compassion for all that Jesus suffered on our account; but above all, it should increase our horror of sir, that great evil, which required such a remedy. The death of our merciful Mediator on Good Friday, has consecrated every Friday in a particular manner to the commemoration of his Sacred Passion; therefore you should on this day endeavour most fervently to animate and strengthen in your heart a grateful and solid devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ, avoiding carefully that unfeeling insensibility, which makes so many look on a crucifix with as little sorrow and confusion as if they had no share in occasioning the excessive torments of the Divine Victim it represents You should early accustom yourself to think frequently of the sufferings of Christ, particularly when you make the sign of the cross, and look on a crucifix or any other representation of the passion. Secondly, you should be particularly exact in hearing Mass daily and devoutly, that being one of the best possible means of honouring the passion, since it is a commemoration and a renewal of the Sacrifice of the Cross. Thirdly, you should offer the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and all the thoughts, words, and actions of every Friday, in union with the sufferings of Christ -to thank your Saviour for them-to obtain the conversion of sinners-and to beg of Jesus Christ, through the infinite efficacy of his sacred blood, that your heart may be early impressed with deep and lasting devotion to the passion. This devotion consists chiefly in sincere gratitude for that infinite love which induced Jesus Christ to endure such torments for your sake, as would separately have caused his death, if he had not preserved it by a miracle, to suffer more. Secondly, it consists in heartfelt contrition for the share your sins had in his sufferings, and a sincere, lively horror of sin in general; since those who deliberately offend their Redeemer, show that they are in the unhappy disposition of crucifying him again, if that were in their power :-lastly, in a fervent imitation of the virtues of Christ practised in the course of his Passion. As this last point is of most consequence, you should make it your particular practice, on every Friday, to consider the profound reverence with which Jesus prays in the Garden of Olives, that you may imitate i. in all your spiritual duties. Reflect on the divine patience with which this meek Lamb endures the insults and cruelty of his enemies, and for his sake bear cheerfully with any little trial you may receive. Admire his profound silence, when accused of crimes it was impossible he could commit, and think yourself happy, if this day present you an opportunity of suffering a rebuke with gentleness and meekness, whether you have or have not merited it. Call to mind at your meals, the vinegar and gall presented to Jesus on the cross; compassionate the anguish of his afflicted Mother, who could not procure her divine Son a less bitter draught; and when you retire to rest think of the hard bed of the cross on which Jesus expired, and seek refuge in spirit in the adorable wounds of his sacred side. Prayer. O DIVINE and adorable Jesus! Saviour of mankind! I most humbly adore thee, and beseech thee to penetrate my soul with the most lively gratitude for that infinite love, which brought thee from heaven to suffer and die for me. O do not permit that I should ever be one of the ungrateful number who forget thy suf ferings, or think of them with indifference. Ah! where should I be for all eternity, if thou hadst not loved me better than thy own life? Should not thy bitter sufferings fill my heart with compassion and sorrow, since they were occasioned by my sins? Yes, my adorable Saviour! divine Victim of my sins! I will at least think of thee, who hast never forgotten me. I will live for thee, who didst not refuse to die for me. I now most fervently offer to thee, in union with the oblation of thyself on the cross, the sacrifice of my whole being. I desire to accompany thee in spirit through all the stages of thy sufferings, and to commemorate them by the most sincere sentiments of gratitude for thy love, and sorrow for my sins and those of the world. Adorable Jesus! overwhelmed |