He will have mercy on us according to our hope in him, as the prophet says. O my God! how true it is, that the man is blessed who hopes in thee; since that soul cannot want any thing, who confidently expects all from thee. O! since I am going to receive the greatest gift thou canst bestow, why should I not firmly trust that thou wilt strengthen my weakness, inflame my insensibility, and give me, by this Communion, the grace to do all that is necessary for obtaining the effect of thy promises, since hope without good works is no better than presumption? Yes, my God, I hope for all this, and hoping in thee, I can never be confounded.
Third point. — Consider why did Jesus Christ resolve to remain on our altars to the end of time, in a state of degradation and obscurity? Because he loves you too much, to leave you an orphan. Why does he conceal his adorable majesty, his divinity, and even his humanity, in this sacrament? It is, as St. Bernard says, “that the excess of his love alone may appear, and that the splendour of his glory may not deter you from approaching him with confidence.” Why will this divine victim of love descend from heaven to-morrow, and renew the oblation of himself on our altars? To give you in his precious body and blood the most amazing proof of his tenderness, and to afford you by his actual presence a favourable opportunity of asking and receiving whatever you 7 desire, that your joy may be complete. All this is so certain, that you may truly say with the Apostle, He has loved me and delivered himself for me. Were I alone to be redeemed, he would have died for my sake; and were 1 alone to communicate, he would descend from heaven to become my nourishment.
O infinite love ! O mystery of charity ! how little art
