Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin MaryVisit 26

To the Blessed Sacrament.
My Lord Jesus Christ, etc., page 123.

Rejoice, and praise,O thou habitation of Sion; for great is He that is in the midst of thee, the Holy One of Israel.’ O God, and what joy ought not we men to conceive, what

But I hear Thee complain, O my Sacramental Jesus: I was a stranger, and you took Me not in; ;* that Thou camest on earth to be our guest for our good, and that we have not welcomed Thee. Thou art right, Lord, Thou art right; and I am one of these ungrateful creatures who have left Thee alone, without even visiting Thee. Chastise me as Thou pleasest; but not by depriving me of Thy presence, which is the chastisement I deserve: no, I will repair my fault, and the indignities which I have heaped upon Thee. From this day forward I will not only visit Thee often, but will remain with Thee for as long a time as I can. O most compassionate Saviour, be pleased to make me faithful to Thee; and grant that I may also, by my example, excite others to keep Thee company in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I hear the Eternal Father, who says: This is my beloved Son: in whom I am well pleased. A God, then, finds all his complacency in Thee; and shall not I, a miserable worm, find mine in dwelling with Thee in this valley of tears! O consuming fire, destroy in me all affections for earthly things; for they alone can render me unfaithful, and take me

“Amorem non tam habit, qua ipse est.”—Jz Cant. s. 59. em 8 Se
“De us charitas est.”—1 John, iv. 16.
“Hopes eram, et non collegistis me.”—JAZatt, xxv. 43.

‘Hie est Filius me us dilectus, in quo mihi complacui.”—JZat?, iii. 17. away from Thee. Thou canst do so, if Thou wilt: Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean." Thou hast already done so much for me, do this also: banish from my heart all love which does not tend towards Thee. Behold, I give myself all to Thee: I now dedicate the whole remainder of my life to the love of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Thou, O Sacramental Jesus, hast to be my comfort, my love in life, and at the hour of my death, when Thou wilt come to be my Viaticum and my guide to Thy blessed kingdom. Amen, amen. So doI hope; so may it be!

Ejaculatory prayer. When, O my Jesus, shall I behold Thy beautiful face!

Spiritual Communion, page 124.
Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In thee, our own most holy Mother, we find the remedy for all our woes; in thee we find strength in our weakness; for St. Germanus calls thee the ‘strength itself of our weakness.”² In thee we find a door by which to make our exit from the slavery of sin; for St. Bonaventure calls thee ‘the gate of liberty.”³ In thee we find our certain peace; for the same saint calls thee “the safe repose of men.” * In thee we find relief in our miserable life. Thou art “the solace of our pilgrimage,”⁴ as St. Laurence Justinian calls thee. In thee, in a word, we find divine grace and God himself, for St. Bonaventure calls thee “the throne of God’s grace;”° and St. Proclus, ‘the bridge by which God descends to men;”’ that happy bridge by which God, who had been driven to a distance by our sins, returns to dwell by his grace in our souls.

Ejaculatory prayer, O Mary, thou art my strength, my deliverance, my peace, and salvation!

{From the Naples Edition.]

O Mary! I will say to thee in the words of thy servant St. Bernard :’ thou art the queen of mercy. And who are the subjects of thy mercy but such as are in misery and affliction? Yes, thou art truly the queen of mercy, and I, the most wretched of sinners, am thy subject, I, therefore, of all, am the best entitled to thy compassion. Turn then, O my advocate, those eyes of mercy towards me, and after my days of exile, show me Jesus, the blessed fruit of thy womb.’

Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, my refuge, pray for me to Jesus.
The usual prayer, page 125.