MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD

St. Alphonsus Liguori

FOREWORD

Three great devotions sanctified the long life of St. Alphonsus-devotion to Our Lord in His Passion, in the Holy Eucharist, and devotion to His Immaculate Mother. These three devotions the holy doctor not only practised, but constantly recommended to others both by voice and pen.

In the latest edition of the saint's ascetical works, a volume of 488 large pages was needed to reproduce and annotate his writings on the Passion. The present little work counts only a dozen pages of this large volume, but it contains most of the favourite thoughts and prayers of the saint.

'The crown of prayer is the worship of God through the subjection of our passions, wrote Father Faber, and in this sentence he struck a characteristic note of the prayers of St. Alphonsus: they seek the true worship of God by the subjection of pride and sensuality and other passions ever quivering within the weak framework of human nature. However holy a soul may be, or however lacking in holiness, it will find the prayers of St. Alphonsus suitable to its needs. And the prayers of this booklet are no exception.

THE PRAYERS OF THIS BOOK ARE WRITTEN FOR SINNERS-AND FOR SAINTS.

THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST*

CHAPTER I. THE POWER OF MEDITATION ON THE PASSION TO ENKINDLE DIVINE LOVE IN THE SOUL

The great servant of God, Father Balthassar Alvarez, used to say: 'We must not suppose that we have made any progress in the way that leads to God until we keep Jesus Crucified ever in our hearts. And St. Francis de Sales wrote: 'The love which is not the fruit of the Passion is feeble. And so it is; for we can have no more pressing motive for loving God than the Passion of Jesus Christ, in which we learn that the Eternal Father, in order to make manifest the exceeding love which He had for us, sent on earth His only begotten Son to die for us sinners. Hence the Apostle wrote that God, through the too great love wherewith He loved us, willed that the death of His Son should bring life to us: For exceeding charity wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ. (Eph. ii. 4.) And it was in like terms Moses and Elias expressed themselves on Mount Thabor when speaking of the Passion of Jesus Christ, not knowing how to describe it otherwise than to call it an excess of love: And they spoke of His excess which He should consummate in Jerusalem. (Luke ix. 31.)

When our Saviour came into the world to die for men, the shepherds heard the angels sing: Glory to God on high. But the Son of God, humbling Himself thus in becoming man for the love of man, seemed to obscure rather than to manifest the divine glory; but no; there was no means better adapted to manifest the glory of God to the world than the death of Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind, since the Passion of our Blessed Lord has made manifest the attributes of God.

It has made known to us the greatness of the Mercy of God, inasmuch as He was willing to die to save sinners, and to die in the Most painful and ignominious manner. 'The sufferings of Jesus Christ, says St. John Chrysostom, ' were not ordinary sufferings, nor was His death a simple death like that of other men.

It has also made known to us the Wisdom of God. Had our Redeemer been only God, He could not have made satisfaction for man, and God could not have made satisfaction to Himself in place of man, nor could He make satisfaction by way of suffering. On the other hand, had He been merely man, He could not have made satisfaction to God for the grievous injury done by man to the Divine Majesty. What, then, did God do? He sent His own Son, true

*The reader is urged to read the great Christian thoughts which follow in these pages, and the prayers which accompany them, very slowly, letting them sink deeply into the heart. Otherwise the reading will profit him but little. -Editor's Note.

God with the Father, to take human flesh, so that as Man, by dying might pay the debt due to divine justice, and, as God, might make to it full satisfaction. The Passion has, moreover, made known how strict is the Justice of God. According to Saint John Chrysostom, it is not so much in hell that the strictness of divine justice is seen; it is revealed rather in seeing Jesus on the Cross; for in hell creatures are punished for sins of their own, while on the Cross we see a God cruelly treated to make satisfaction for the sins of men. And what obligation had Jesus to die for us? None: He was offered because it was His own will. (Isaias liii. 7.) He might have, with justice, abandoned man to perdition; but the love which He had for us, would not allow Him to see us lost; therefore He chose to give Himself up to so painful a death, that He might save us: He hath loved us and hath delivered Himself for us. (Eph. v. 2.)

God had from all eternity loved man: I have loved thee with an everlasting love. (Jer. Xxxi. 3) But afterwards seeing that His justice obliged Him to condemn man and to keep him ever at a distance from Him and in hell, His mercy urged Him to find a way by which He might save him. But how? By making satisfaction to divine justice by His own death. And, consequently He willed that the condemnation to eternal death which man had merited should have been fixed to that very Cross on which He died, that thus it might be cancelled in His blood: Blotting out the writing of the decree that was against us, which was contrary to us, He hath taken the same out of the way, fastening it to the Cross. (Col. ii. 14.) Thus, by the merits of His own blood, He pardoned all our sins: Forgiving you all offences (Ibid.) At the same time He deprived the devils of the rights which they had acquired over us, carrying with Him in His triumph both His enemies and ourselves whom He had delivered, and who were till then the prey of the devils: And despoiling the principalities and powers, He hath exposed them confidently in open show, triumphing over them in Himself. (Col. ii. 15.) Theophylactus thus explains these words: 'As a triumphant conqueror He carries with Him in His triumph the booty and the enemy.

Hence, while making satisfaction to divine justice as He died on the Cross, Jesus spoke only of mercy. He prayed His Father to have mercy even on the Jews who had brought about His death, and on the murderers who were putting Him to death: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Luke xxiii. 34.) While on the Cross instead of punishing the two thieves who at first reviled Him, on hearing one ask for mercy (Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom) (Luke xxiii. 42), He promised him Paradise that very day: This day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise. (Mark xv. 43.) There on Calvary, before He expired, He gave to us, in the person of St. John, His own Mother to be our Mother. There from the Cross He declares Himself content to have done all for our salvation, and now He makes perfect the sacrifice by His death: Afterwards Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished . . . said: It is consummated. And bowing His head, He gave up the ghost. (John xix. 28. 30.)

Behold by the death of Jesus, man is freed from sin and from the power of the devil; he is, moreover, raised to a life of grace, and to a higher degree of grace than that which Adam lost: And where sin abounded, says St. Paul, grace did more abound. (Rom. v. 20.) And now, therefore, it is for us, according to the same Apostle, to have recourse frequently and with all confidence to this throne of grace, for such indeed is Jesus crucified, that we may, through His mercy, obtain the grace to save our souls, together with the help we need to overcome the temptations of the world and of hell: Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace: that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid. (Heb. iv. 16.)

Ah. my Jesus, I love Thee above all things, and whom shall I ever love if I love not Thee, Who art infinite goodness, and Who hast died for me? Would that I could die of grief often as I think how I have driven Thee from my soul by my sins, and thus separated myself from Thee. Who art my only good, and Who hast loved me so much. Who shall separate me from the charity of Christ? (Rom. viii. 35.) It is sin and sin only that can separate me from Thee. But I hope in the blood Thou hast shed for me, that Thou wilt never again allow me to separate myself from Thy love, and lose Thy grace, which I value more than all else in this world. I give my whole self to Thee.

CHAPTER II WHAT THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST REQUIRES OF US.

PERHAPS Jesus claims too much in expressing His desire that we give ourselves entirely to Him because He has given us all His blood and His life by dying for us on the Cross? The apostle answers: The charity of Christ presseth us. (Cor. ii. 5, 14.) Listen to St. Francis de Sales' explanation of these words: 'To know that Jesus has loved us unto death, even to the death of the Cross, is not this to feel our hearts constrained by a certain violence, which is all the greater because it is full of love? And he adds: 'My Jesus gives Himself entirely to me; and I give myself entirely to Jesus. On His bosom I will live and die; neither death nor life shall ever separate me from Him.

It was for this purpose, says St. Paul, that Jesus Christ died, that each one of us should no longer live for the world, nor for himself; but only for Him Who hath given Himself entirely to us: And Christ died for all: that they who live may not now live to themselves, but unto Him who died for them. (2 Cor. v. 15) He who lives for this world seeks to please the world; he who lives for himself seeks to please himself; but he who lives for Jesus seeks only to please Jesus, and fears only to displease Him; his joy is to see Jesus loved, his sorrow to see Him despised. This is to live for Jesus Christ; and this is what He claims from each one of us. I ask again, does He claim too much from us, seeing that He has given us His blood and His life?

O my God, how is it then that we use our hearts to love creatures, relations, friends, the great ones of the world, who have suffered for us neither scourges, nor thorns, nor nails, nor have they shed for us one drop of blood. Why not use our hearts to love a God who came down from heaven and became man and shed all His blood for us under the pressure of torments, and finally died of grief on the Cross, to win to Himself the love of these very hearts? And this is not all. Besides dying for us, He, in order to unite Himself more closely to us, left Himself on our altars, where He makes Himself one with us, that thereby we may understand how ardent is the love which He bears us. 'He has united Himself to us, cries out St. John Chrysostom, 'that we may be one with Him; for this is the desire of those who ardently love. And St. Francis de Sales speaking of Holy Communion, adds: 'There is no action in which we can consider our Saviour more loving or more tender than in this, in which He, as it were, annihilates Himself, reducing Himself to food in order to unite Himself to the hearts of the faithful.

But how comes it, O my Lord, that having received from Thee so many proofs of the most tender love, I should, nevertheless, have had the heart to despise Thee? And with this Thou dost justly reproach me: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have despised me. (Isaias i. 2.) How could I have turned my back upon Thee to follow the bent of my wicked inclinations? How could I have driven Thee from my soul? The wicked have said to God: Depart from us. (Job xxi. 14.) How could I have afflicted Thy heart which loved me so much? But what am I now to do? Must I cease to hope in Thy mercy? Ah no! O my Saviour, would that I had died a thousand times rather than that I had over offended Thee! O Lamb of God! Thou didst bleed to death on the Cross to wash away our sins. O my Jesus, have pity on me and pardon me; but Thou knowest my weakness, take then my whole will that it may never more rebel against Thee. Drive out of my heart all love which is not for Thee. The God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever. (Psalm lxxii. 26.)

O Little Sheep, beloved of God (it is thus Pecorella, that St. Theresa used to call the Blessed Virgin), Mother of the Divine Lamb, recommend me to thy Son: thou art, after Jesus, my hope, since thou art the hope of sinners. In thy hands I place my salvation. Spes nostra, salve.

CHAPTER III. LOVING CONVERSE OF A SOUL WITH JESUS CRUCIFIED. 1. SUFFERINGS OF JESUS ON THE CROSS

JESUS on the Cross! Oh, stupendous sight for heaven and for earth of mercy and of love! To behold the Son of God die through pain on an infamous gibbet, condemned as a malefactor to so painful and shameful a death in order to save sinful men from the punishment which they had merited!

This sight has been and ever will be the contemplation of the saints; it has led them to renounce willingly all the goods of this earth, and to embrace, with heroic courage, sufferings and death in order to make themselves pleasing to a God who died for their love. The sight of Jesus so despised in having been placed between two thieves has made them love contempt more than worldlings have loved the honours of the world. Beholding Jesus covered with wounds on the Cross, they have turned away with horror from the pleasures of sense, and afflicted their bodies in order to unite their sufferings to the sufferings of Him Who was crucified for them. In contemplating the patience with which our Saviour died, they have accepted with joy the most painful forms of illness and the most cruel torments of tyrants. Finally, from beholding the love of Jesus Christ shown in the willing sacrifice which He made of His life for us in a sea of sufferings, they have sacrificed to Him all that they had- property, children, and even life itself.

St. Paul, speaking of the love which the Eternal Father bore us, when He saw us dead through sin and willed to restore us to life by sending His own Son to die for us, calls this too great a love: But God (who is rich in mercy), for His exceeding charity wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ. (Eph. ii. 4. 5.) In like manner we ought to call the love wherewith Jesus willed to die for us too great a love. Hence, the same Apostle writes: We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling- block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness. (1 Cor. i. 23.) The death of Jesus on the Cross, according to St. Paul, appeared a stumbling- block to the Jews, because they expected Him to appear on earth full of worldly majesty, and not as one condemned to die as a criminal on the Cross. On the other hand, it seemed to the Gentiles folly that God should be willing to die, and such a death, for His creatures. Hence, St. Laurence Justinian has daringly explained: ' We have seen wisdom itself infatuated through excessive love! '

And in truth, does it not seem folly that God who is Almighty and infinitely happy in Himself should be willing of His own accord to be scourged, treated as a mock king, buffeted, spat upon in the face, condemned as a malefactor, abandoned by all and left to die on a Cross of shame to save miserable worms He Himself had created? Considering these things, the enamoured St. Francis, as he went through the country, wept and exclaimed, ' Love is not loved! Love is not loved! ' Hence St. Bonaventure said that he who wishes to persevere in loving Jesus Christ should ever represent to himself his divine Lord hanging on the Cross and dying for him: 'Let him ever have before the eyes of his heart Christ dying on the Cross.

Oh! happy the soul that frequently puts itself in spirit in the presence of Jesus dying on the Cross, and remains there to contemplate with tender affection the pains which Jesus suffered, and the love with which He offered Himself to His Father as He lay agonizing on that bed of sorrow. Souls full of God's love, when hard pressed by temptations of the devil, and by fears for their eternal salvation, derive great comfort from considering in silence, and all alone, Jesus hanging on the Cross and shedding blood from all His wounds. At the sight of Jesus crucified all desire of the goods of this world leaves us, and there comes from this Cross a breath of heavenly air which causes us to forget the things of earth, and enkindles within us a desire to quit all in order to use the affections of our hearts only to love that Lord Who was pleased to die for love of us.

Isaias foretold that our Redeemer would be a man of sorrows: And we have seen Him . . . despised and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows. (Isa. liii. 2, 3.) If, then, you wish to behold this man of sorrows, foretold by Isaias, look at Jesus dying on the Cross: there, behold His hands and feet nailed, and the whole weight of His body pressing on the wounds; behold all His members wounded and suffering, causing Him bitter and continual torment. Wherever He turns He finds no relief; His sufferings increase more and more till at last they deprive Him of life: because this man of sorrows is condemned by His Father to die of sheer sorrow to atone for our sins.

O my Jesus! what Christian, knowing by faith that Thou hast died on the Cross for love of him, can live without loving Thee! Pardon me, my Lord, first of all, this great sin, to have lived so many years without loving Thee. O my dear Saviour, death fills me with fear, thinking that it is then I shall have to give an account of all the offences I have committed against Thee; but the blood which I see flowing from Thy wounds gives me hope of Thy pardon, and hope that Thou wilt at the same time give me grace to love Thee for the future with my whole heart, and this in virtue of the merit which Thou hast acquired with so much suffering. I give myself entirely to Thee; I do not wish to be any longer my own; I wish to do and to suffer all that pleases Thee.

2. DEATH OF JESUS.

Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit. These words, uttered by Jesus on the Cross when on the point of expiring, bring much comfort to the dying in their last combat with hell, when about to pass into eternity.

O my beloved Jesus! I do not wish to wait till the hour of my death to recommend my soul to Thee; from this very moment I recommend my soul to Thee. By the precious blood which Thou hast shed for me, permit not that my soul be ever separated from Thee. Henceforth I desire to be Thine, all Thine, without reserve. O my Jesus! in Thy lacerated flesh, torn by scourges, by thorns, by nails, I recognise the burning love Thou halt borne me, and the ingratitude of which I have been guilty towards Thee; but Thy blood is my hope. Wretch that I am, how often have I not renounced Thy grace, and by my own acts condemned myself to hell! What would have become of me if Thou hadst not chosen to die for me? Would that I could die of grief as often as I think of my conduct in having despised Thy infinite goodness. But never shall this be again; from this day forward, aided by Thy grace, I leave everything; it is enough for me to be united to Thee, my God and my all!

O men, O men! how can you show such contempt for a God who suffered so much for you? Behold Him on the Cross sacrificing Himself by death to atone for your sins, and to win your affections. O my Jesus! I do not wish to live any longer ungrateful for such goodness. O wounds of Jesus! wound me with love). O blood of Jesus! inebriate me with love! O death of Jesus! make me die to every affection which is not for Thee! in mercy receive me, do not drive me from Thee, now that I give myself to Thee without reserve.

Behold, finally, how our Saviour on the Cross, weighed down with sorrow and pain, bows His head and dies; And bowing His bead, He gave up the ghost. (John xix. 30.)

O Eternal Father! I, a wretched creature, have dishonoured Thee by my wicked life; but Jesus Christ in making satisfaction for me by His death, has fully restored Thy honour.

O Jesus, my Saviour, I see Thee now dead on the Cross; Thou no longer speakest; Thou breathest no more, because Thou art dead; having willed to lose Thy life to save our souls. There is no longer any blood in Thy veins, because Thou hast shed it all to wash away our sins. In a word, Thou hast given Thyself up to death through love for us: He hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for us. (Eph. v. 2.) 'Ah! why do we not, in spirit, says St. Francis de Sales, 'throw ourselves upon Him to die with Him on that Cross on which He willed to die for love of us. I will hold Him, we ought to say, and I will never let Him go; I will die with Him, and be set on fire by the flames of His love. One and the same fire shall consume the Divine Creator and His miserable creature. My Jesus is all mine, and I am all His. I will live and die pressed to His bosom; neither death nor life shall ever separate me from Him.

Yes, my sweet Redeemer, I embrace with tenderness Thy pierced feet, and, full of confidence in seeing Thee dead for love of me, and I love Thee with my whole soul. At the foot of Thy Cross, I give to Thee, and leave to Thee, my heart and my will; nail Thou, Thyself, my heart to this Cross, so that it may never be separated from Thee, and may have no other desire than to please Thee.

3. FRUITS OF THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST.

We read in the Gospel of St. John, that our divine Saviour, in order to make known to His disciples the death He was to suffer on the Cross, said to them: And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself. (Now this He said, signifying what death He should die.) (John, xii. 32, 33.) And, in effect, by showing Himself thus crucified and dead on the Cross, how many souls has not Jesus drawn to Himself, so that they have abandoned all and have given themselves entirely to His love. Ah! my Jesus. draw also to Thyself my soul, which at one time was lost to Thee; draw it by the chains of love, so that it may forget the world to think of nothing but of loving and pleasing Thee: Draw me: we will run after Thee to the odour of Thy ointments. (Cant. i. 3.) O my Lord, Thou knowest my weakness and the offences which I have committed against Thee. Take possession of all my affections, so that I may occupy myself only with what pleases Thee, my God, most worthy of all in love. Hear me, O Jesus! through the merits of Thy death, and make me all Thine own.

St. Leo tells us that he who looks with confidence on Jesus dead on the Cross is healed of the wounds inflicted by his sins: 'Those who with faith look on Jesus dead on the Cross are healed from the wounds of sin. This is why every Christian should constantly keep before his eyes Jesus crucified, and say with St. Paul: I judged not myself to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. (1 Cor. ii. 2.) From which words it is clear that the Apostle did not desire any other knowledge in this world than that of knowing how to love Jesus crucified.

My beloved Saviour, to obtain for me a good death Thou hast chosen one so full of suffering and desolation! I cast myself unreservedly into the arms of Thy mercy. Thou hast called me to penance, and, I hope, hast pardoned me; but if, through my own fault, Thou hast not yet pardoned. ah! pardon me now. I repent, O my Jesus! of having ever turned my back upon Thee, and of having driven Thee out of my soul. Give me Thy grace; but this is not enough, give me as well strength to love Thee with my whole soul during the remainder of my life; and when I come to die, grant me the grace to expire burning with love for Thee, and saying: My Jesus, I love Thee, I love Thee, in order to continue to love Thee for all eternity. From this moment I unite my death to Thy holy death, through which I hope to be saved: In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded. (Psalm xxx. 2.) O great Mother of God! thou art, after Jesus, my hope. In thee, O Lady, have I hoped; I shall not be confounded for ever.

Devout souls, when the devil strives to make you distrustful about your salvation by recalling your past sins, lift up your eyes to Jesus dead on the Cross to deliver you from eternal death. Since God has made known to you by means of your holy faith the desire He has of your salvation (having sacrificed His life for you, if only you are resolved to love Him truly the rest of your lives, cost what it may) be on your guard against any weakness in your confidence in His mercy. Having given us so many proofs of His love, and of His desire to save us, it would be an offence offered to God if we did not trust Him fully and place all our confidence in His goodness.

Full of holy confidence, therefore, let us hope for every good from the hands of a God so liberal and so loving; and at the same time let us give ourselves to Him without reserve, let us say: O Eternal God, We are indeed sinners; but Thou, Who art Almighty, canst make us saints; grant that for the time to come we may omit nothing which we know to be for Thy glory, and that we may in all things labour to give Thee pleasure. Grant that we may spend the rest of our days in pleasing Thee alone. Punish us as Thou wilt for our past sins, but not with the chastisement of not being able to love Thee; deprive us of all, but not of Thyself. Thou hast loved us without reserve, without reserve also do we wish to love Thee, O infinite Love! O infinite Goodness! O Mary, ever Virgin, draw us wholly to God; thou canst do so; do it for the love which thou bearest to Jesus.

4. CONCLUSION.

Let us finish this little book with the prayer of St. Francis de Sales 'O Eternal Love, my soul seeks Thee, and chooses Thee now and for ever. Come, Holy Ghost! enkindle in our hearts the fire of Thy love, To die and to love: to die to every other love, in order to live eternally to love Jesus. O Saviour of our souls! grant that we may sing for ever: Hail Jesus! I love Jesus! Hail Jesus, whom I love! I love Jesus, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Ah! my Jesus! and who, seeing that Thou, who art the Son of God, hast willed to end Thy life by so bitter a death for love of us, who will be so hard-hearted and ungrateful as to prefer to Thee the miserable things of this world? My God, and my all, I prefer Thee to all knowledge, all wealth, all honours, all glory, all hopes, and to all the gifts that Thou couldst bestow upon me. Thou art my all. Thou art infinitely deserving of my love, how, then, can I love any other but Thee? Every gift short of Thyself is too little for me, and cannot satisfy me; Thee only do I desire, and nothing more. If, then, Thou must punish me for my sins, take from me everything; but deprive me not of Thyself. Thou alone art sufficient for me; I repeat, I desire Thyself and nothing more.

I am resolved, my Jesus, to spend the remainder of my life in loving and pleasing Thee. What have not the saints done to please Thee? They have stripped themselves of their possessions; they have renounced the greatest dignities of the world; they have welcomed as treasures, contempt, torments, and deaths the most cruel that tyrants could invent.

O Lord, I now understand that Thou hast created us to love Thee and to give Thee pleasure. In the past, I, a miserable wretch, instead of giving Thee pleasure, caused Thee so much displeasure. What can I say? Ah! that I could die of grief at the thought! But thanks to Thy mercy, I hope that Thou hast already pardoned me. And since Thou hast pardoned me, I now give to Thee my will and my whole being. Take full possession of me for ever, and make me all Thine own. Draw me ever closer and closer to Thy heart. Thou art my only good, my only love. O Mary, Mother of God! thou art, after Jesus, my hope. Ask for me from God, that I may be all His; I do not desire anything else. Thou art all-powerful with God; it is for you then to obtain me this grace.

O Divine Love! how is it that Thou art so despised by men? O men, behold on this Cross the Son of God, like a lamb, sacrificing Himself amidst the pains of death for your sins; behold Him, and love Him.

My Jesus, infinitely deserving of love, permit not that I live any longer ungrateful for such goodness. In the past I have thought but little of corresponding to the love which Thou hast borne me; for the future I will think only of loving and pleasing Thee.

Let us strip ourselves of self-love and of attachment to earthly things; let us give to God our whole will, entirely and without reserve, saying: O Lord! dispose of me, and all that belongs to me as Thou willest, in life and in death. I only will what Thou willest. My only desire is to love Thee always in this life, and for ever in the next. And what else could I desire, save only Thee, O God of my heart?

O blood of Jesus, inebriate me with the love of Jesus! O wounds of Jesus, pierce me with the love of Jesus! O death of Jesus, make me die to all love which is not for Jesus! My Jesus, I love Thee above all things; I love Thee with my whole soul; I love Thee more than I love myself. I repent, my love, of having despised Thee in the past. My beloved Lord, give me Thy love, and make me all Thine own. O Mary, my Mother! again I pray thee, to make me all to Jesus; thou must do it; I hope for this from thee.

5. DEVOUT ASPIRATIONS.

O Loving heart of Jesus, inflame this poor heart of mine.

My Jesus, when shall I begin to love Thee, as Thou hast loved me?

My God, when shall I die to everything, to live for Thee alone?

My beloved, make me love Thee even in the midst of sufferings.

Thou hast loved me without reserve; I wish to love Thee without reserve.

My Jesus, make Thyself known, make Thyself loved by all.

My Jesus, grant that I may die, saying, I love Thee, I love Thee.

My God, suffer me not to lose Thee for ever.

Give me the grace to love Thee, and then do with me what Thou willest.

At this hour I might have been in hell, but now I love Thee, and I hope always to love Thee. And what else do I desire, my God! but Thee, my chief, my only good?

My Jesus, in the day of judgment do not send me away from Thee.

My Jesus, how lovely art Thou; but by how few Thou art loved!

My Jesus, grant me Thy love; I ask for nothing more.

Thou hast died for me, I wish also to die for Thee.

O death of Jesus, from thee I hope for a happy death.

O blood of Jesus, from thee I hope for pardon of all my sins.

O wounds of Jesus, from you I hope to love Jesus for ever.

O agony of Jesus, from thee I hope to bear peacefully the agony of my death.

O sorrows of Jesus, from you I hope for patience in contradictions.

O scourges of Jesus, deliver me from everlasting despair.

O tears of Mary, obtain for me sorrow for my sins.

O my own St. Joseph, by thy happy death, obtain for me a good death.

O holy Apostles, by your blessed deaths obtain me the grace to die in the love of God. And what do I desire, either in this life or in the next, but Thee alone, my God?

O my Jesus, had I died in sin, I could never more love Thee; now I desire to love Thee and Thee alone. My God, I love Thee, and I will love none but Thee.

St. Teresa, St. Philip Neri, my patrons, make me burn with the love of God with which you were inflamed. My Jesus, by the pain which Thou didst endure when thy right hand was pierced with the nail, give me perseverance in

thy grace.

My Jesus, by the pain which Thou didst endure when Thy left hand was pierced with the nail, give me a true sorrow for my sins.

My Jesus, by the pain which Thou didst endure when Thy left foot was pierced with the nail, deliver me from the pains of hell.

My Jesus, by the pains which Thou didst endure when Thy right foot was pierced with the nail, give me the grace to love Thee eternally in heaven.

My Jesus, by the wound that was made in Thy Sacred Heart, give me the grace to love Thee always in this life and in the next.

Nihil Obstat:

CAROLUS DOYLE, Censor Theol. Deput.

@ Imprimi Potest:

IOANNES CAROLUS,

Archiep. Dublinen., Hiberniae Primas. die 24 Mai, 1949.

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