A Litany in honour of the Child Jesus. LORD have mercy on us. Christ have mercy on us. Lord have mercy on us. Christ graciously hear us. God the Father of heaven, God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Holy Trinity, one God, Child Jesus, Son of the living God, Have mercy on us Child Jesus, filled with zeal for the glory of thy Father, Child Jesus, voluntary subject to thy blessed Mother, Child Jesus, omnipotent in thy weakness, Child Jesus, great in thy humility, Child Jesus, fountain of graces, Child Jesus, furnace of love, Child Jesus, angel of the great council, Chile Jesus, root of the patriarchs, Chila Jesus. inspirer of the prophets, Child Jesus, star of Jacob, Child Jesus, expectation of the eternal hills, Child Jesus, the divine model of youth, Child Jesus, the protector of children, Child Jesus, the mighty-the admirable- the prince of peace, Have mercy on us. Be inerciful unto us, Spare us, O Lord Jesus. By thy sacred birth, By thy humility and piety, By thy precious tears, By thy glorious manifestation, By thy holy presentation, By the labours, sufferings, and humiliations of thy childhood, By thy tender love for youth, Lord Jesus, deliver us. Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us, O Lord Jesus. Lamb of God, &c. &c. Lamb of God, &c. &c. Let us pray. LORD Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, whe having been conceived by the Holy Ghost, wert pleased to be born in a stable; to be adored by the heavenly host; to be circumcised; manifested to the Gentiles; presented in the temple; carried into Egypt; brought back to Nazareth; to reveal in part thy eternal wisdom among the doctors at Jerusalem, and to pass thy holy childhood in subjection to thy blessed Mother and reputed Father; permit us little children to come to thee, and forbid us not, that by thy holy grace we may reverence the mysteries of thy sacred youth, with such sincere devotion, as to become conformable to thee in meekness, humility, docility, and charity, O divine Child, who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen. A devout prayer of St. Bernard to the Blessed Virgin. REMEMBER, O most pious Virgin! that it has never been heard of in any age, that those who implored thy powerful protection were abandoned by thee. I therefore, O sacred Virgin, animated with the most lively confidence, cast myself at thy sacred feet, most earnestly beseeching thee to adopt me as thy child, to take care of my eternal salvation, and to watch over me at the hour of death. O do not, Mother of the Word Incarnate! despise my prayer, but graciously hear and obtain the grant of my petitions. Amen. A Prayer before the Acts. GIVE us, O Almighty and Eternal God! an increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain what thou promisest, grant us to love and practise what thou commandest; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. An Act of Contrition. O MY God! I am most heartily sorry for all my sins; I detest them above all things, from the bottom of my heart, because they displease thee, my God, who art so deserving of all my love, for thy most amiable and adorable perfections. I firmly purpose, by thy holy grace, never more to offend thee deliberately; and by the same grace I will endeavour to atone for my sins. Amen. An Act of Faith. O My God! I most firmly believe that thou art one only God, Creator and Sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, infinitely great, and infinitely good. I most firmly believe that in thee, one only God, there are three Persons really distinct, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who are all one and the same God : I most firmly believe that Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son, the second Person of the most adorable Trinity, was made man, and died on the cross to redeem and save us that he arose the third day, that he ascended into heaven: that he will come again, at the end of the world, to judge all mankind; that he will reward the good with eternal happiness, and condemn the wicked to everlasting torments. I likewise most firmly believe, that out of his infinite love for us, he has left us, in the most adorable sacrament of cur aitar, his own most precious body and blood, his soul and divinity, for our spiritual food, and for our sacrifice; and that he has left in his Church the power of forgiving sins. I believe these, and all other truths which the holy Roman Catholic Church proposes to our belief because it is thou, my God, who hast revealed them all, and thou art truth itself; thou neither canst deceive nor be deceived. In this faith, I desire to live, and in the same, by thy holy grace, I am most firmly resolved to die. Amen. An Act of Hope. O My God! relying on thy almighty power, confiding in thy infinite goodness and mercy, and in thy sacred promises, I most firmly hope to receive the pardon of all my sins, and grace to serve thee faithfully in this life, that I may deserve to enjoy thee for ever in the next: through my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. An Act of Charity. O MY God! I love thee with my whole heart and soul; I love thee above all things, for thy most amiable perfections, and I love my neighbour for thy sake: grant that I may daily increase in this divine love, and prefer a thousand deaths to the loss of it by any mortal sin. Amen. An Act of Divine Love and Obiation O MY God and my All! I most ardently desire, by every breath I draw, by every thought, word, and action, by every movement of body and soul, to tell thee a thousand and a thousand times, that I love thee more than my life, or any thing in the world, and that I consecrate myself to thee, renewing my baptismal vows, together with the promises and resolutions of my life past. I offer thee also all the homage, lave, joy, praise, thanks, and adoration, of the church mili tant, triumphant, and suffering; all that it has offered, or will offer to thee to the end of time; all the ve complacency, and delights thou possessest in thy di vine essence, one God and three Persons; all the homage my beloved Jesus renders thee in the adorable sacrament of the altar; and all the masses that are now celebrating, that I may be a victim immolated with each, to thy honour and glory, without will, wish, or desire, but those solely of pleasing thee, loving thee, living for thee, and dying for thee. am thine, O my God, make me so entirely and eter nally. Above all, take my heart, fill it with thy love, extirpate from it all other affections, and make of it a burning furnace of pure flames of thy most ardent love for ever and ever. Amen. May the most just, elevated, and amiable will of God be accomed in all things: may it be praised and glorified for ever. Amen. On the Means of Sanctifying Study. As your studies are at present among your chief duties, and oc cupy the greatest portion of your time, it is of considerable importance that you use your utmost endeavours to sanctify them, by directing those pursuits to the glory of God and your own spiritual advantage; otherwise, what will it avail you at the hour of death, to have studied with the greatest diligence, or the greatest success, since whatever is not done for God is lost for eternity; whereas, on the contrary, the most trifling among your schoc! Juties, if offered to Him, and discharged for his love, is rendered meritorious, and inserted in the book of life. You should be convinced, that profane studies tend to great good or great evil, according as they are differently pursued; therefore be careful to adopt the right plan, and to lay up for yourself a treasure of merit, by the very means which so many young persons either neglect entirely, or pervert to bad purposes. To sanctify your studies, you should observe three things: First, You should look on them as next in importance to your spiritual duties; since submission to the will of God, obedience to your parents, and justice to yourself, require that you do a.l in your power to acquire that useful knowledge which, next to virtue, is the most desirable of all acquisitions: consequently, loss of time, idleness, or sloth, should appear to you, as they really are, great faults. Secondly, You should take the greatest care to purify your inten tion in studying. Your primary intention in all your studies should De to accomplish God's holy will, to please his divine Majesty, and to obey your parents, as likewise those who hold their place. Pride, vanity, a desire to excel others, or to attract admiration are mo |