when they will bewail their folly; but when? when there shall be no longer any thing to prevent their eternal ruin. Then shall they say: What hath pride profited us? or what advantage hath the boasting of riches brought us? All those things are passed away like a shadow Wis. v. 8, 9. Behold, they will exclaim, how all our delights have passed away like a shadow, and nothing remains to us now, but suffering and eternal lamentation. Dear Jesus, have pity on me. I had forgotten thee, but thou didst not forget me. I love thee, with my whole soul, and I detest above all evil, whatever sins I have committed against thee. Pardon me, O God, and remember not my offences against thee. And since thou knowest my weakness, do not abandon me; give me strength to overcome all things to please thee. O Mary, mother of God, in you do I place my hopes.
Meditation Thirtieth.
On the sacred wounds of Jesus.
I. ST. BONAVENTURE says, that the wounds of Jesus wound the hardest hearts, and inflame the coldest souls. And in truth, how can we believe that God permitted himself to be buffeted, scourged, crowned with thorns, and finally put to death for the love of us, and yet not love him? St. Francis of Assisium frequently bewailed the ingratitude of men, as he passed along the country, saying: Love is not loved, love is not loved! Behold, O my Jesus, I am one of those who are thus ungrateful, who have been so many years in the world and have not loved thee. And shall I, my Redeemer, remain for ever such? No, I will love thee until death
