loving Father, all the whole most holy life and conversation of thy Son, most perfect in its every thought, and word, and action, from the hour when he came down from his lofty throne to the Virgin's womb,and thence came forth into our dreary wilderness, to the hour when he presented to thy Fatherly regard the glory of his conquering Flesh. Amen.
PRAYER TO JESUS SUFFERING.
This prayer was very familiar to St. Gertrude, and through its use she obtained the great grace that the stigmata of the Most Sacred Wounds of our Lord were impressed upon her heart.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, grant that I may aspire towards thee with all my heart, with yearning desire, with a soul ever athirst for thee; that I may breathe in thee alone, who art all sweetness and all delight; and that my whole spirit and my inmost heart may pant for thee, their true blessedness. O most merciful Lord,engrave thy Wounds upon my heart with thy most precious Blood, that I may read in them all thy grief and all thy love; and may the memory of thy Wounds ever abide in the secret of my heart, to excite my most lively compassion and to enkindle my most glowing love. Grant also that all creatures may grow vile in my eyes, and be thou alone sweet to my heart. Amen.
