St. Alphonsus' prayer-book/Part 3.3: Prayers to obtain the Virtue of the Month
3. Prayers to obtain the Virtue of the Month.
JANUARY.— FAITH.
St. Teresa says that all sins spring from want of faith. She was right, for it is impossible to live estranged from God if we keep constantly before our eyes the truths of our faith, the greatness of God, the love He bears us, the benefits He has bestowed on us, and especially the work of our Redemption, the Passion of Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Most Holy Sacrament. The same effect is produced by frequently meditating on death, judgment, hell, eternity. This is why we must frequently renew the spirit of faith in ourselves, by calling to mind the eternal maxims. The saints did this, and it was thus they won their heavenly crown.
Act of Faith.
MY God, I believe all that the holy Church teaches me to believe, because Thou, Who art infallible truth, hast revealed it. I believe that Thou art the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth, Who eternally rewardest the just in paradise and chastisest sinners in hell. I believe that Thou art one God in essence, but three in person, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: three in person, but one only God. I believe that God the Son, the second Person, in order to save us and redeem us from our sins, became man, and died upon the cross. I believe that the most holy Virgin Mary was conceived without sin, that she is truly Mother of God, and that she was ever a virgin. I believe that Jesus Christ, the third day after His death, rose again by His own power, and, after forty days, ascended to heaven, where He is seated on the right hand of the Eternal Father, equal to Him in majesty and glory. I believe that, at the last day, Jesus Christ shall come to judge all men who shall then rise from their graves. I believe that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true Church, out of which there is no redemption. I believe in the communion of the saints; that is to say. that every one of the faithful who is in a state of grace participates in the merits of all the just. I believe that God remits the sins of those who offend Him, so soon as they repent of them. I believe in the seven sacraments by means of which the grace of Jesus Christ is communicated to us. I believe the Ten Commandments of the Decalogue. I believe, finally, all that the holy Church believes. I thank Thee, O my God, for having made me a Christian, and I protest that I desire to live and die in this holy faith.
A Shorter Act of Faith.
I believe all that the Church teaches us to believe, because Thou hast revealed all to us. Nor do I pretend to comprehend intellectually those mysteries which are above my mind; it is enough that Thou hast said so. I pray Thee to increase Thy faith in me.
Act of Loving Faith.
MY beloved Redeemer, O life of my soul, I firmly believe that Thou art the only good worthy of being loved. I believe that Thou art the greatest lover of my soul, since through love alone Thou didst die, overwhelmed with sorrows, for love of me. I believe there is no greater blessing in this world, or in the next, than to love Thee, and to do Thy adorable will. All this I believe most firmly; so that I renounce all things, that I may belong wholly to Thee, and that I may possess Thee alone. Help me through the merits of Thy sacred Passion, and make me such as Thou wouldst have me to be. I believe in Thee, O infallible Truth! I trust in Thee, O Infinite Mercy! I love Thee, O Infinite Goodness! O Infinite Love, I give myself wholly to Thee, Who hast wholly given Thyself to me in Thy Passion, and in the holy Sacrament of the Altar.
And I recommend myself to thee, O Mary, refuge of sinners and Mother of God.
Prayer to thank God for the Great Gift of Faith.
O Saviour of the world, I return thanks for myself and for all the faithful, my brethren, for having called and admitted me to live in the true faith taught by the holy Catholic Church. " My God," I will say to you with St. Francis de Sales, "great and numberless are the benefits Thou hast bestowed on me, and for which I return Thee my most heartfelt thanks; but how can I sufficiently thank Thee for having enlightened me with the light of faith? O Lord, I tremble when I compare my ingratitude with the greatness of Thy benefits. My Lord, I thank Thee, as much as I am able, for this great gift of faith, and I pray Thee to make its beauties known to all men.
Prayer to Mary.
O Mother of God, increase my faith.
FEBRUARY.— HOPE.
Our hope of salvation, and of receiving the means necessary for its attainment, must be certain on God's part. The motives on which this certainty is founded are the power, the mercy, and the truth of God; and of these the strongest and most certain motive is God's infallible faithfulness to the promise which He has made to us, through the merits of Jesus Christ, to save us, and to give us the graces necessary to our salvation. This promise is conditional; it depends on our actively corresponding to God's grace and praying. He who prays is certainly saved.
Prayer to obtain Confidence in the Merits of Jesus Christ and in the Intercession of Mary.
Eternal Father, I thank Thee for myself, and on behalf of all mankind, for the great mercy that Thou hast shown us, in sending Thy Son to be made man, and to die for our salvation; I thank Thee for it, and I should wish to offer Thee in thanksgiving all that love which is Thy due for conferring on us such an inestimable benefit. By His merits our sins are pardoned, Thy justice having been satisfied for the punishment we had deserved; by these merits Thou dost receive us miserable sinners into Thy grace, while we deserve nothing but hatred and chastisement: Thou dost, by these merits, receive men to reign in paradise. Finally, Thou hast bound Thyself, in consideration of these same merits, to grant all gifts and graces to those who ask for them in the name of Jesus Christ. I thank Thee also, O Infinite Goodness, that, in order to strengthen our confidence, besides giving us Jesus Christ as Our Redeemer, Thou hast also given us Thy beloved daughter Mary as our advocate; so that, with that heart full of mercy which Thou hast given her, she may never cease, by her intercession, succoring any sinner who may have recourse to her; and this intercession is so powerful with Thee that Thou canst not deny her any grace which she asks of Thee.
Hence it is Thy will that we should have a great confidence in the merits of Jesus, and in the intercession of Mary. But this confidence is Thy gift, and it is a great gift which Thou dost grant to those only who ask Thee for it. This confidence, then, in the Blood of Jesus Christ, and in the patronage of Mary, I beg of Thee, through the merits of Jesus and Mary.
To Thee, also, my dear Redeemer, do I turn; it was to obtain for me this confidence in Thy merits that Thou didst sacrifice Thy life on the cross for me, who was only worthy of punishment. Accomplish, then, the end for which Thou didst die; enable me to hope for all things, through confidence in Thy Passion.
358 Exercises for Each Month.
Prayer to Mary,
And thou, O Mary, my Mother, and my hope after Jesus, obtain for me a firm confidence, first in the merits of Jesus, thy Son, and then in the help of thy prayers — prayers which are all- powerful with God.
MARCH.— LOVE OF GOD.
To obtain the great treasure of love of Jesus Christ we must : 1. Desire it ardently ; 2. Ask often for it; 3. Make room for it by chasing all inordinate affections from our hearts ; 4. Make frequent acts of love ; 5. Meditate assiduously on the Passion of Jesus Christ. Charity is the queen of all virtues ; wherever she reigns she draws all other virtues along with her, as it were, in her train.
Prayer to Jesus Christ to obtain His Holy Love. My crucified Love, my dear Jesus! I believe in Thee, and confess Thee to be the true Son of God and my Saviour. I adore Thee from the abyss of my own nothingness, and I thank Thee for the death Thou didst suffer for me that I might obtain the life of divine grace. My beloved Redeemer, to Thee I owe all my salvation. Through Thee I have hitherto escaped hell ; through Thee have I received the pardon of my sins. But I am so ungrateful that, instead of loving Thee, I have repeated my offences against Thee. I deserve to be condemned, so as not to be able to love Thee any more: but no, my Jesus, punish me in any other way, but not in this. If I have not loved Thee in time past, I love Thee now ; and I desire nothing but to love Thee with all my heart. But without Thy help I can do nothing. Since Thou dost command me to love Thee, give me also the strength to fulfil this Thy sweet and loving precept. Thou hast promised to grant all that we ask of Thee: "You shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15, 7). Confiding, then, in this promise, my Page:Stalphonsuspraye00ligu.djvu/359 Page:Stalphonsuspraye00ligu.djvu/360 Page:Stalphonsuspraye00ligu.djvu/361 Page:Stalphonsuspraye00ligu.djvu/362 Page:Stalphonsuspraye00ligu.djvu/363 Page:Stalphonsuspraye00ligu.djvu/364 Page:Stalphonsuspraye00ligu.djvu/365 Page:Stalphonsuspraye00ligu.djvu/366