The paradise of the Christian soul/Chap. II. The Lord’s Prayer variously adapted to Christ and his Passion.
CHAPTER II.
THE LORD'S PRAYER,
VARIOUSLY ADAPTED TO CHRIST AND HIS PASSION.
First Method of Reciting
THE LORD’S PRAYER,
By commemorating each of the principal Titles of Christ.
Our Father, who art.
O most dear Father, Jesus Christ! who, by thy Blood, hast regenerated us, by the defect of our first birth, children of wrath and perdition, to be children of God, and heirs of eternal life: whence thy prophet justly calls thee the Father of the world to come.[1] We truly, indeed, confess, worship, and adore thee as the Father and author of the new creature,[2] or our regeneration, the Father of a new love unheard of hitherto. And behold, how good a Father thou art, and how ready to assist thy children, thou amply showest in this very thing, that thou suppliest us with a form of prayer, — with the very words by which we may easily and effectually obtain whatever we ask of thee, or of the Father in thy Name.
O Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, look upon the face of Christ, thy Son, as often as we make our supplication to thee, as by his instruction we are taught.
And thou, too, Jesus our Father, hear us as often as in thy own words we humbly address thee, saying: Hallowed be thy name.
O Jesus, the great Priest, who in thy days didst please God, and wast found just, and in the time of wrath wast made a reconciliation;[3] who, not by the blood of others, but by thy own, hast entered once into the Holies! For it was fitting that we should have such a High Priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,[4] who needed not, as the other priests, to offer sacrifices, first, for his own sins, and then for the people’s.
Behold, thou art holy, and holy is thy Name; for such art thou declared to be by the Angels, at and even before thy birth; and thy eternal Father hast given thee a Name that is above every name, that in thy Name every knee should bow.[5] Therefore thy Name is praised from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same.[6]
How, then, can we poor little worms of earth add to the holiness of thy Name? Thy Name, most holy in itself, is to be hallowed, that is honoured and proclaimed by us, but chiefly by our holy life and conduct. “ Be holy,” he says, "because I am holy.” But who shall make holy and clean those that are conceived of unclean seed, but thou, O Priest for ever, who sanctifiest all things! for thou hast loved us, and given thyself for us, to be an Oblation and Sacrifice to God, that thou mightst sanctify to thyself a Church, not having spot or wrinkle.[7] Sanctify us, then, in the truth, that we may sanctify thee, and that our light may so shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify thee and thy Father, who is in heaven.[8]
Thy kingdom come.
O Jesus, great King above all the kings of the earth! O King of glory, who camest to us (at thy first advent) meek and lowly, not striking terror into us by thy majesty or power, but refreshing us in our misery by thy humility and mercy! Born of the royal stock, thou reignest over the house of Jacob, and of thy kingdom there shall be no end. Thy kingdom is not, indeed, of this world; yet, when standing before the governor, thou didst not disavow thyself a King; and upon the Cross too, thou bearest the kingly Title. Thy eternal Father, moreover, has crowned thee with glory and honour, and all power is given to thee in heaven and in earth.
Yes, King that art best and greatest of kings, let thy kingdom come to us, of grace now, and of glory hereafter. Far be it from us, like sons of Belial, to despise thee, or refuse thee for our king: nay, we would have thee to reign over us, King peaceful and wise, for thy throne is established in justice and mercy. Set out, then, proceed prosperously, and reign over us, who, by every right, are thy subjects. Be Lord also in the midst of thy enemies, and rule them with a rod of iron, that we may be freed from their power, and serve thee! in holiness and justice all our days. And so may the glory of thy kingdom grow and advance daily more and more.
Thy will be done.
O Jesus, Lord and Master, who camest to do and to teach the will of thy Father; O Lord! I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid. What, then, O Lord, wouldst thou have me do? My heart is ready, ready to do what thou commandest, ready to shun what thou forbiddest. I know that not every one pleases thee that says to thee, Lord, Lord, but he that keeps thy commandments. O Jesus, Master! have mercy on me, and teach me to do thy will; that I may not be a servant that knows his Lord’s will, but does it not, and so be worthy to be beaten with many stripes. Give what thou commandest, and command what thou wilt.
Our daily bread.
O Jesus, good Shepherd! who camest from heaven, to visit thy sheep, as a shepherd visits his flock, and feedest, too, thy sheep in the richest pastures. But who is there that feeds a flock, and does not eat of its milk and of its flesh? yet thou feedest thy sheep with thy own Flesh and Blood, nay, layest down thy life for thy sheep.
Behold, O good Shepherd, I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost; I am wandering in trackless ways, and find no pasture. Seek thy sheep again, lay me on thy shoulders, and carry me back to the place of pasture, where thou hast first placed me, and nothing will be wanting either to my body or soul. Give me bread out of the earth to nourish the one, and with the Bread of Heaven strengthen the other, that I may not faint by the way.
Forgive us our trespasses.
O Jesus, most loving Redeemer, who hast loved us, and given thyself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify to thyself an acceptable people. We were sold for nothing, and were to be redeemed without money:[9] yet with a price, oh, with how great a price were we bought For we were not redeemed with corruptible things, like gold and silver, but with thy precious Blood. Forgive us, then, our debts, for which thou hast paid so ample a price. But if thou shouldst mark iniquities, who shall endure it, since there is none to redeem or to save us? For who is there beside thee, who can forgive sins? Not a brother, nor any man will redeem us, for with thee alone, O supreme Redeemer, is there mercy and plentiful redemption!
And lead us not into temptation.
O Jesus, my Saviour, and most loving Physician! who camest into the world to save sinners, who hast thyself borne our infirmities, and carried our sorrows, having been thyself tempted in all things, but without sin, that thou mightst know how to compassionate the tempted. Thou hast said that not they that are in health need a physician, but they that are ill. Behold here a number of sick, who look to thee to make them well. Thou seest how weak and feeble we are, and that we have no power of ourselves to resist evil or pursue good, so prone to evil are the senses and thought of man’s heart. The spirit, indeed, is willing, but how easily the weak flesh yields to temptation! Save us thou, O Saviour! Thou, O heavenly Physician, give us strength and bring us aid! Thy grace is a powerful medicine; if thou strengthen us, we can do all things in thee.
Behold, O good Samaritan, here lies by the wayside a man that has fallen among robbers, bleeding from many a wound, and left half dead by all. Behold, there lies in my house a paralytic; my slothful soul is powerless to do works of virtue: come and heal it.
But yet, if thou so determine, even burn me and cut me, for this too is the physician’s part, not from hatred, but from love for his patient. Pour into my wounds wine and oil: it may be that the one smarts, yet the other soothes the pain. The physician spares not the patient, that he may not lose him. No, he strikes him that he may heal him, he gives him bitter draughts that he may purge him.
Temptation is indeed a bitter cup, but thou, O wise Physician! knowest how to temper it according to the nature and necessity of each, that thou mayest make, with the temptations, issue to escape. Therefore I, too, am ready to drink of thy cup, and that with thee, for thou hast drunk of it first, not doubting but that it will be for my health, if thou who givest it me mix it first.
Behold, I am in thy hand; thou canst heal me if thou wilt. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed. Save me, and I shall be saved.
But deliver us from evil.
O Jesus, most merciful Judge! to whom the Father has given all judgment, not to judge the world, but that through thee the world might be saved. Therefore, when thou shalt come openly in the clouds of heaven, with power and great majesty, to judge thy people, to render to every man according to his works; then be to me, O Jesus, a favourable Judge, and enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight no man living shall be justified.[10] Rebuke me not then, I pray thee, in thy indignation, but let mercy exalt itself above judgment,[11] that thou mayest not reward us according to our iniquities.
O Jesus! deliver me in the evil day from that evil which is the greatest of all evils, for the death of sinners is the worst of deaths, since it is a separation from thee, the highest Good. Oh, who can give me, that in that dreadful day I may not be afraid of the evil hearing, Depart from me, ye cursed? For it is good for me to adhere to thee; oh, that I may not be separated from thee for ever! Amen. Amen.
Second Method
OF RECITING THE LORD’S PRAYER,
With reference to the Seven Effusions of the Blood of Jesus Christ.
God, who otherwise easily and readily gives ear to our prayers, testifies by his Prophet that he abominated the prayers and offerings of some supplicants, For, he says, your hands are full of blood[12] But now, nothing gives greater efficacy to prayer than for one who prays to stretch forth his hands and heart warm with the Blood of Christ. You are come, says the Apostle, to Jesus Christ the Mediator of the New Testament, and to the sprinkling of blood, which speaks better than that of Abel.[13] Better indeed, for the blood of Abel cries for vengeance, but the Blood of Christ for pardon and for mercy! Wouldst thou, then, pray profitably? Take the chalice of salvation, and so call on the name of the Lord.[14]
Our Father, who art in heaven.
O Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! who, for our sakes, hast not spared thy only Son (as neither has spared himself in delivering himself up for us, because it was his will), and hast loved us to the end. Can love, that conquers all things, conquer even God, who is greater and stronger than all things? Oh, the power of love? Many waters could not quench your charity,[15] so that this should not be thy will, nor thy Son pour forth in so many streams all the Blood of his most holy Body. Behold, I come to draw waters with joy out of the Saviour’s fountains. I raise my hands to thee to heaven, dyed and steeped in his rosy Blood. Behold, this is thy beloved Son, in whom thou art well pleased. Look on the face of Christ thy Son: see whether it be thy Son’s coat[16] that is sprinkled with Blood so precious. Consider why his apparel is red,[17] and turn hence-forward the eyes of thy mercy to us, Eve’s wretched children; but now, by adoption, thine, through the Blood of thy only-begotten Son. Shall we suffer repulse, when it is not the blood of Abel, nor of goats, nor of calves, that cries for us, but the Blood of the spotless Lamb, thy only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ?
O Jesus, beloved, white, and ruddy Spouse of blood, who hast redeemed us to God in thy own Blood, favourably admit me when I enter into the sanctuary by thy Blood. Behold, I will take the chalice of salvation (thy Blood), and I will call on the name of the Lord. Therefore, I pray above all,
I. Hallowed be thy name.
For there is no other name, O Jesus, under heaven more holy given to men, whereby we must be saved ;[18] and which is more worthy to be honoured than thine, O most holy Jesus! Name, I say, that is above every name, which was given to thee in Circumcision ; when, but newly born, thou begannest to shed for us thy infant Blood. Oh, make this Blood warm within our hearts, and excite in us a fervid zeal for ever, spreading abroad the glory of thy Name! Be thy Name blessed, O Jesus, henceforth, and for ever!
II. Thy kingdom come.
For thou art King, O Jesus! and a great King, above all the gods and kings of the earth. But alas! what a one art thou reckoned by the wicked! How do they honour thee as king? with what a diadem do they crown thee, by what gestures adore thee? For they mock thee as a mad king, for their sport, platting for thee a crown of sharpest thorns, and forcing it deep into thy head.
By the shedding of thy most holy Blood, cause thy kingdom to come to us here, where thou crownest us with mercy and compassion; and thy other kingdom hereafter, where thou crownest us with glory and honour. May the blood shed at thy coronation obtain for us this.
III. Thy will be done.
O Jesus, who, for our sakes, hast most readily resigned thy own will to the good pleasure of thy Father by becoming obedient even to death, when in thy agony on Mount Olivet so great were the sorrows that oppressed thy heart, that thy sweat like drops of blood, flowed down from thy whole Body.
Behold, I resign as I ought, for thy sake, my own will, and submit it to thine, that it may be not mine, but thine. Be it that from above my spirit is in anguish within me, even to trembling and sweat; I will wish, nevertheless, that thy Will be done. Oh, let this be granted me by thy Bloody Sweat.
IV. Our daily bread.
O Jesus, sinners have ploughed[19] upon thy back, and with scourges and rods, as also with harrow, spade, and ploughshare, have tilled the ground of thy Body. But, oh, what abundance of fruit and of harvest has been gained for us by so cruel a culture! That, while we feed here, we are fed with the bread of tears, and eat our meat in the sweat of our face; we are nourished too with the Bread of life and understanding; and our soul is filled, as it were, with marrow and fatness as long as in the strength of that Food we walk through this wilderness: and at length eat and drink at thy table,and are satisfied with the plenty of the house of God. Be it so, O Jesus, by the Blood which thou hast shed for us at thy scourging!
V. And forgive us our debts.
Oh, most patient Jesus! whose Blood has been poured out for us so often for the remission of our sins! For more than once thou enduredst to have thy garments violently and cruelly torn off thee by thy cruel tormentors, and thy wounds thus opened very often afresh, and widened the more, not without bitterest pain; doubtless, because man lost his robe of innocence by sinning, and very often defiled it when restored, by repeating his sins.
I beseech thee, by thy sacred Wounds that were renewed by that cruel stripping of thy garments, and by thy Blood that flowed from them so plentifully, forgive us our sins; for, as thy beloved disciple attests, the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.[20] Make us strip ourselves of the old man with his deeds,[21] and put on the new, who, according to God, is created in justice,[22] and holiness of truth. Let thy Blood, O Jesus, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God.[23]
VI. And lead us not into temptation.
O Jesus! who with pierced hands and feet, wast nailed most ruthlessly to the Cross, and, as it were, by so many sources or channels, hast abundantly poured forth thy Blood ; behold, my lots are in thy hands; for thou upholdest me when falling, liftest me up when fallen, protectest me when standing. Into thy hands I commend myself. Protect me under the shadow of thy wings from the face of them that afflict me and persecute me. Oh, that, nailed with thee, O Christ, to the Cross, I may stand steadfast in the faith against all temptations; that neither life nor death, nor any creature, may separate me from thy love!
{{c|VII. But deliver us from evil.
O Jesus, refuge of the afflicted ! behold one wretched, that is walking in the midst of ills and snares ; what shall he do to escape them? Where shall he seek an asylum, that he may securely hide himself? where, but in the bosom of thy most sweet Heart, to which a way has been exposed for us through thy Side opened with the lance! Thither will I fearlessly enter, and there dwell safely, like a dove in the clifts of the rock, in the hollow of the wall.[24] There is my strength hid. It will be good for me to be there, and there to fix my tent, where no scourge nor any ill can approach me. For thence flowed the Blood and the Water, to be the washing away of sins, the strength of the fragile, the cure for wretchedness, and the stay against all danger to salvation. O good Jesus, deliver me from all evil! since thou so lovingly openest to me the bosom of love, thy most sweet Heart, that is Thyself, the Fountain of all good. Amen, amen.
Third Method
OF BECITING THE LORD’S PRAYER,
Adapted to the Seven Words of Christ on the Cross.
I. Our Father who art... Hallowed be thy name.
O Lord Jesus! Holy of holies ! of one glory and majesty with thy Father in heaven ; throughout thy whole life, whilst thou wert seen on earth, and conversedst with men, and no less in death, it was thy only care always and everywhere to seek and proclaim thy Father’s glory. Thou wert heard indeed in the last agonies of death to cry, as though forsaken by thy Father, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?[25] For the influence of thy divinity and glory was suspended a little while, that thy human nature, left to itself, might feel more bitterly the sting of death. But that dereliction was the crowning point of thy Father's and of thy own glory. For thou becamest obedient to death; for which cause God has exalted thee, and has given thee a Name which is above all names.
O Jesus, who for me wert thus forsaken, never cast me away from thee, especially at the hour of death; and when my strength shall fail, do not thou forsake me, for the glory of thy Name; lest at any time my enemy say, "God has forsaken him, I will pursue him and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”[26] God, be not thou far from me, nor despise me, O God my Saviour! Grant that, even in desolation and among scourges, I may acknowledge thee for my gracious Father, and say, with the man of approved patience, As it has pleased the Lord, so is it done ; blessed be the Name of the Lord.[27]
II. Thy kingdom come.
That I mean, O Jesus! of which the thief that was crucified with thee confessed thee to be the Lord, in saying, Remember me when thou shalt come into thy Kingdom;[28] participation in which thou didst promise him at once, in saying, This day thou shalt be with me in paradise. Give me, O Jesus! to seek the things that are above, where thou art sitting at the right hand of God; to mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth.[29] But, before all things, give me a truly contrite and humbled heart, which thou mayest not despise, that, finally, with great confidence I may say with the thief, Thy kingdom come. Remember me, O Lord, who long ago hast hung for me between thieves upon the Cross, and now reignest with the Blessed in heaven! Oh, that then I too may merit to hear, This day thou shalt be with me in my Kingdom!
III. Thy will be done.
O most obedient Jesus! who for us becamest obedient to God the Father, to death, even the death of the Cross, and hast therefore openly testified that ct is finished, the work, namely, (oh how arduous and difficult !) of man’s Redemption, committed to thee by thy Father.
O Jesus! give me earnestly to perform the duties of my station, that, fighting a good fight, and finishing my course, I may look forward to receiving from thee a crown of justice. For if I do what thou hast commanded, thou wilt do what thou hast promised.
IV. Our daily bread.
O. Jesus, most zealous for our salvation! for when hanging on the Cross, and crying, I thirst, what, what else, I say, didst thou thirst for or desire, but only our salvation? Assuredly with desire thou desiredst to eat of this bread, and to drink of this chalice. Can it be that the sins of our palate were to be expiated by so bitter a thirst?
Oh, that thou wouldst give me so to thirst for my own salvation, as thou hast thirsted for that of others! But what advantage was it to thee to save me? It was only the free love of me that excited that thirst; and oh, that I may worthily correspond to it, by neither neglecting to attend to my own salvation, nor to desire that of others. For both of these should be to us like sweet and pleasant food. Since thou hast commanded each respecting his neighbour, and hast given the sins of the people to be eaten by the priests,[30] far be it from them that their soul should loathe that food, as though it were too bad and hard. Oh, that the zeal of the Lord’s house may devour them, so that they who have charge of it may not devour, nor take the profits or goods of the Church, save in zeal for the House of God!
V. And forgive us our debts.
O most gracious Jesus! who wast wounded and diedst for our sins; who wouldst not the death of sinners, so that thou wouldst not have even the very authors of thy death and thy executioners shut out from thy mercy, but prayedst for them, saying, Father, forgive them. Oh, love unheard of ? Oh, mercy unspeakable !
By this, I beseech thee, pardon me, and forgive me my sins. Behold, warned by thy example and by thy words, I too am ready from my heart to forgive my enemies; that I may not in vain seek mercy of thee, by reserving anger against my neighbours.
VI. And lead us not into temptation.
O most sweet Jesus! who wast thyself tempted in all things, but without sin, yet temptest no man, for thou art not a tempter of evils,[31] nay, art the refuge and strength of all who are tempted, and their helper in troubles. This thou hast sufficiently shewn upon the Cross itself, by thy solicitude as well for thy most beloved Mother as for thy beloved Disciple, in commending them to one another, that by mutual care and attention they might have comfort in adversity, and help in temptations.
Oh, that thou wouldst be similarly careful of me, O Lord, that I may fear neither what man nor malignant spirit can do to me; and that, as if standing under the Cross, I may set thee always in my sight, for thou art at my right hand, that I may not be moved!
VII. But deliver us from evil.
O Jesus most strong! for love is strong as death; this it was that compelled thee to die: yet it also caused thee to overcome death and every ill. When, then, thou wert on the point of being delivered from the ills and miseries of this mortal life, thou didst calmly and securely commend thy spirit into the hands of thy eternal Father, resigning, as it were, of thy own accord, thy life and thy soul to him from whom thou hadst received them; knowing that he was able to raise thee again to life, no more to be exposed to death or any ills.
Grant me, O Jesus, so to bear the pains, labours, ills, and miseries of this life, that when I come to the end of it I may render up my soul to thee my Creator with filial confidence and a ready will; and deliver me from the evil (oh, dreadful evil!) of eternal damnation, for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth! Amen, amen.
- ↑ Isa. ix. 6.
- ↑ 2 Cor v. 17.
- ↑ Ecclus. xliv. 17.
- ↑ Heb. vii. 26.
- ↑ Phil. ii. 10.
- ↑ Ps. cxii 3.
- ↑ Eph. v 27.
- ↑ Matt v. 16
- ↑ Isa. lii. 3.
- ↑ Ps. cxlii. 2.
- ↑ Jas. ii. 13.
- ↑ Isa. i. 15,
- ↑ Heb. xii. 24.
- ↑ Ps. cxv. 13.
- ↑ Cant. viii. 7
- ↑ Gen. xxxvii. 32.
- ↑ Isa. Ixiii. 2.
- ↑ Acts iv, 12.
- ↑ Wrought.—Vulg. Ps, cxxviii. 3.
- ↑ John i. 7.
- ↑ Col. iii. 9.
- ↑ Eph. iv. 24.
- ↑ Heb ix
- ↑ Ps, xxx, 16.
- ↑ Matt. xxvi. 46.
- ↑ Ps. xx. 9, 11.
- ↑ Job i. 21.
- ↑ Luke xxiii, 42
- ↑ Col. iii, 2
- ↑ Ezech, xliv. 29.
- ↑ James i. 13.