FOR OUR ENEMIES.
When St. Gertrude had prayed the following prayer, it seemed to her as though our Lord fell down before the Face of God the Father, and offered for her the fruit of all his most holy life and conversation, in expiation of all her sins.
O Lord Jesus, in union with that love and that surpassing sweetness with which, amidst the unutterable anguish and sorrows of thy Passion, thou didst pray for those who crucified thee, saying: Father, forgive them, I beseech thee with all the love of my heart that thou wouldst now vouchsafe to forgive all who have ever or in any way offended against me. Amen.
PRAYER IN ANY TRIBULATION.
When St. Gertrude and her sisters had long prayed to God in a certain affliction without receiving any answer, site said at length: How is it, O thou most tender Lover of my soul, that thou thus deferrest my hope? Then our Lord answered her, saying: It were not to be wondered at that a father should permit his son to ask him for a piece of money, if at each demand he laid up for him a hundred. In like manner do not wonder if I seem to defer to grant your petition in this matter; for as often as you pray to me in this matter, be it only by one word or by one thought, I lay up in store for you far more than a hundredfold of eternal good things.
O FATHER of mercies and God
