I shall fall, if thou uphold me not with thy hand; by thy grace, therefore, assist my infirmity, O Lord. III. Reflect what virtues most become a Christian, and thy vocation or state of life in particular; and ask for special assistance of grace to obtain them by means of this Sacrament. O Christ Jesus, meek and humble of heart! who didst empty thyself by taking the form of a servant, and humblest thyself even to the hands of any priest how unworthy soever, and by lowering thyself to the appearances of bread and wine, permittest thyself to be handled by many shamefully and contemptuously; grant that I may raise neither my heart nor my eyes too high, nor walk in great matters that are above me, nor mind high things, but fear. O my Lord! who, when thou wert rich, didst take the form of a poor servant, incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to covetousness; that I may be delighted in the way of thy testimonies, as in all riches; and that, having food and clothing, I may be therewith content, &c. O immaculate Lamb! who wast willing to be born of a virgin, grant to me purity of soul and body by that which thou here givest us, the wine that springs forth virgins. Create in me a clean heart, O God, &c. O Christ Jesus! who, when led as an innocent lamb to the sacrifice, didst suffer so many injuries and insults, give me the spirit of patience and meekness; let me learn from thee to be meek and humble of heart, &c. O Christ my Saviour! who, when thou wert thirsty, wast given to drink vinegar and gall, and in this Sacrament hast prepared for us all spiritual delights, take away from me all the concupiscences of appetite. Grant me to serve thee, O my God, not my own belly nor pleasure; let not my heart be ever overcharged with surfeiting or drunkenness, &c. O Lord! who with sweat of blood didst pray long and fervently in the garden, grant that with my whole heart I may praise thee; that my soul may not slumber with weariness in thy worship and service. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, &c. O Lord! who out of true charity didst pray for thine enemies, grant that I may love my neighbour as myself, and do good to them that hate me, &c. O most sweet Saviour and searcher of hearts! thou knowest what is in man, for thou considerest all my ways. Thou knowest what virtues and gifts I most want in this A A state, N., office, N., in which, by thy grace, I am placed. Give me thy grace, therefore, since thou hast given us in this Sacrament so abundant a treasure of grace, even thyself, the author of grace; and hast now so mercifully admitted me to partake of it; and what blessings will not he meet with whom the Fountain of good himself vouchsafes to visit! When thou didst enter once the house of Zacchæus, thou saidst, This day is salvation come to this house. Now thou hast entered, O Christ, the house of my soul, say to it, I beseech thee, I am thy salvation; for with thee to say is to do, and thou only art God my Saviour. Help me, O God of my salvation, and deliver me and save me, for the glory of thy name. For what is Jesus but Saviour? Truly there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved. Because thou hast so graciously come to me, O Lord, I will not let thee go unless thou bless me; thou who openest thy hand and fillest with blessing every living creature! Oh, that I may receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God my Saviour! that SO I may go from strength to strength, until I clearly see thee, the God of 1 Luke xix. 9. gods in Sion, whom now I see veiled in the Sacrament, and through a glass in a dark manner. IV. Pray likewise for the application to thy friends, particularly those who have been especially recommend ed to thee, of the fruit of this Sacrifice or Sacrament. O Lord, the bowels of whose mercy are open to all, who wouldst that none should perish, but that all men should be saved; and hast, therefore, undergone death, and instituted this Sacrament for all: save thy servants, O my God, that trust in thee; remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed from the beginning. Save thy people, O Lord, and bless thy inheritance; and rule them and exalt them for ever. Help, I pray thee, thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious Blood. Send them aid from the sanctuary, O Lord, and defend them out of Sion. Have mercy on my parents, brothers, friends, and benefactors, and on N. N. Impart to them the merit of thy precious Blood, that was shed for our salvation; that they may obtain grace to serve and to please thee in this life, and so to regulate it by its aid, as finally to attain to the glory, and receive the rewards, of the life eternal in the heavens, and enjoy thee for ever and ever. Here add also the departed, &c. V.That thy Sacrifice, or Communion, may be recommended to God by the hands and the merits of the most blessed Virgin Mary. O most sweet Virgin Mother! who didst merit to conceive of the Holy Ghost, and to bear in thy most sacred womb the same Lord whom I have now received; intercede for me with thy Son, and obtain for me the pardon of all the negligences and failings of which I have been guilty in the reception of this most august Sacrament. Or pray thus with the sweet St. Bernard: O Mother of mercy! I pray that, through thee, I may have access to thy Son; and that he who through thee was given to us, may also receive us through thee. May thy incorruption excuse in his sight the guilt of our corruption; and may thy humility that is so pleasing to God, obtain pardon for our vanity and pride. May thy abundant charity cover the multitude of our sins, and thy glorious fruitfulness confer on us fruitfulness in merits. O our Lady, recommend us to thy Son! O our Mediatress, reconcile us to thy Son! O our Advocate, plead for us to thy Son! By the grace, O blessed Lady, which thou hast merited by him who is Mercy, whom thou hast brought forth, obtain for us that he who, by thy mediation, vouchsafed to mity and misery, may also, by become partaker of our infirthy intercession, make us partakers of his goodness and glory, Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who is above all blessed for ever. VI. By the aid and intercession of the Saints, especially thy Patrons, request of God to benefit by this Sacrifice or Communion. O all ye Saints of God, who have already crossed the ocean of our mortality, and merited to reach the harbour of eternal happiness; who, when living in the flesh, so served the Lord, that now you reign with him for ever. has Of your charity, I beseech you, now that you are secure of your own salvation, be careful for us. For his sake, I implore you, who chosen you, and who now satisfies all your desire with good things, remember us, who are still exposed to the perils of shipwreck. Succour me, a wretched sinner, that sighs for the harbour of rest, which you have happily gained, that by your prayers my lot may be finally united to your own. But meantime, while embarrassed on my journey, I need a viaticum, that may not faint in the way. Christ himself our Saviour is our viaticum, by whom you are satisfied in your home, and we are supported on our way, till the time come, when, with you, we too shall be satisfied with the plenty of the house of God. Assist me, then, I beseech you, by your prayers and merits, that the heavenly Bread, and divine Viaticum, which I have now received, may strengthen and defend me against all dangers, infirmities, and snares; that in the strength of this food I may walk through the desert of this world, even to the mount of God; and there rejoice with you for ever in its most sweet enjoyment, and unite with you in praising God, world without end. Amen. and weak? They eat, and have not enough; they drink, and are not filled with drink; they sow much, and bring in little.' Is not he who is really received in this Sacrament, a consuming, ever-burning, and never-failing fire? Is not he the light of the world? Is not his Flesh meat indeed, and his Blood drink indeed? our Why is not our soul, then, filled as it were with marrow and fatness by so rich and precious a food? Why do we, who are so often fed with Angels' bread, still find pleasure in the husks of swine? We, who so often receive him who is the light and the sun, -why do we not shine? Why are not habits and our actions as it were so many rays? Why do we not enlighten the world? Why do we not burn who approach so often and so near the fire? Why do we not enkindle others also? Because we perform this sublime act in a hasty and surather by custom than affecWe are led perficial manner. tion. We neglect meditation, in which the fire of love should be enkindled. Christian! but thou chiefly, Reflect on this often, O Priest! that you may not great a grace from God. in vain receive so often so 1 Agg. i. 6. Exercise of admirable Elegance and Efficacy, AFTER MASS OR COMMUNION. From F. Antonius Molina, a Carthusian, in his Instructions for Priests, who avers that it is a form, than which a more profitable one is not to be devised. O Father of mercies, and God of all consolation! who, out of the abundance of thy infinite love, hast given us thy only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have life everlasting ;' and that out of the immense treasure of his merits our want may be supplied: behold, I, a miserable sinner, but called by thy mercy to the membership of thy Son, and now too made partaker of his Body and Blood, thenceforth enfold him in my bosom, and possess him as though he were my own property, most closely united to me. And as such, in union with the love with which he once offered himself for us on the altar of the cross, and now gives and communicates himself to us in the Sacrament of the altar, I offer him to thee, together with all his merits and virtues, for thy eternal praise and glory, that thou mayest be perfectly pleased in him, and that we, who by no acts of our own are able to please thee, may please thee perfectly by the merits and patronage of thy beloved Son. I offer thee, O most holy 1 John iii. 15. Father, all his charity, piety obedience, humility, poverty, meekness, patience, with all the other virtues, in which he was pre-eminent, that by them may be supplied all that is deficient in me. And as I cannot duly thank thee for the benefits thou hast bestowed upon me, I offer all the praises which he offered thee himself when he conversed with men visibly on earth, and which he now offers thee in glory. But as cannot make thee satisfaction for the sins that are my debts, I offer thee all his labours, fastings, watchings, fatigues, prayers, and, finally, whatever he did or suffered from the first moment of his conception until he expired upon the Cross; all the anguish, grief, and torment of his Passion; all the blood that he shed for me, all the wounds that he received for me, and the death that he endured for me. Behold this, O most merciful Father, is the treasury in which I have laid up all my hope; these are the riches which I offer thee in satisfaction for all my debts. Look, O tender Father, upon the face of thy Christ; and since he who is now |