The paradise of the Christian soul/Chap. VI. A holy Contemplation of the Attributes of God.
CHAPTER VI.
A HOLY CONTEMPLATION OF THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD,
For eliciting virtuous affections and acts.
From Blasius Palma, Canon Regular of St. Paul.
PREFACE.
All the divine excellences and perfections, considered simply as they exist in God, are, in reality, distinct neither from one another nor from the divine essence, but are a Being, supreme, perfect, and indivisible; but because the dulness of our understanding is unequal to the comprehension of the divine perfections as they exist in themselves, it endeavours, by the employment of various ideas and distinctions, to gain some slight perception of them. We then term them the divine attributes, because we attribute them to God as distinct excellences, though, in fact, they are most intimately united in essence.
Although the knowledge of these attributes is so high and sublime that no greater is to be found in the world, it will, nevertheless, be to those who possess it practically, a most excellent rule for the attainment of all virtues and spiritual blessings; because it is in the knowledge of God, and the imitation of his virtues, that our perfection consists; just as all sin and misery, on the other hand, has its source in ignorance of God. “ For to know thee is perfect justice; and to know thy justice and thy power is the root of immortality.”[1]
It seemed well, therefore, to collect some acts of virtue from the divine attributes, in the same manner as those above, that, guided by this light, the devout Christian may arrive at this knowledge and perfection of life, with the hope of attaining at length to that full and perfect justice, which is the fruition of God himself in life eternal.
I.
THE ESSENCE OF GOD.
This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.
1. Thou, O Lord, art the purest essence, and therefore infinitely perfect in every kind of perfection; nor is there anything to be added to thee or taken from thee. Thou art incomprehensible in respect of all places, all times, all wills, and all intelligences; for thou exceedest all places, comprehendest all differences of time, transcendest all minds, and absorbest all hearts of men and of angels, so that thou only canst worthily comprehend, measure, understand, and love thyself.
2. Thou art immeasurable, because thou fillest, penetratest, and surpassest all things, created and to be created. Thou art immovable, unconfined, un circumscribed, because, by thy infinity, thou infinitely transcendest all imaginable bounds and spaces; and therefore in nature, in action, in thought, and in affections, thou art immutable, because the shadow of change and vicissitude falls not upon thee, but thou art ever most firmly fixed in the same being and will.
3. Thou art eternal, without beginning or end. Thou embracest, in one point of indivisible eternity, all duration and difference of times. With thee there is no time but that most perfect Now, which answers equally to all time. Thou art to thyself the adequate and most perfect measure of eternity.
4. Because thy excellence, then, is so great, O Lord, as I most firmly believe, I now adore and worship thee with my whole heart, with the greatest humility and reverence; and in union with the blest spirits of the just, I confess that THOU ART WHO ART. Prostrate on the earth I reverently bow before thee; and with the deepest humility I submit thyself to thee: and I will love thee for ever, with a pure and sincere love, because thou art worthy of all love.
And for thy glory also I desire that all creatures may for ever love, acknowledge, reverence, honour, and praise thee; and I therefore offer thee my life, my strength, my faculties, and all that I have, or can have.
5. I rejoice too, and am glad whenever I reflect that thou art so great, infinite, immense, incomprehensible, immutable, and eternal a Lord, and that all these perfections are found in thee.
6. I congratulate thee with the deepest affection of my heart on thy so great majesty, glory, and happiness, which thou possessest, and will possess for ever. Therefore I call upon all creatures together to join me in blessing thee, and say: All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all for ever.
7. My joy and consolation are redoubled, when I hope and consider that this very happiness of thine will be mine hereafter. For thou hast promised it to me, merited and prepared it for me, and bestowed it on me through Christ thy only-begotten Son, my Redeemer, whom I shall enjoy with thee to all eternity, if only I continue faithful in thy love. And then I shall be satisfied, when thy glory shall appear.
1. O my almighty God, thou art that power which can do all that it will, which admits of no weakness, and is never wearied with action; which produces all things from nothing, and if it will, with the same ease will reduce all things to nothing; which nothing can resist, but all things obey.
O dreadful omnipotence, to be adored and worshipped in religious silence! Thou, O King of ages, by thyself canst do all things. From thee began, and on thee depends, all the power, strength, fortitude, activity, and energy of all things. Thou hast created all things out of nothing, thou preservest them by thy sustaining influence, and holdest them, as it were, hanging from the hand of thy omnipotence, lest they should fall hack to their own nothing, from whence they came forth. Thou, O Lord, by thyself canst give, and do, not only all that all men, together with the holy angels, can conceive, but also all that thy infinite wisdom can think. For thy almighty power is equal to thy wisdom, and extends and diffuses itself equally, because it is its only rule and measure. For what other measure can there be of power that is immense, but immensity itself?
2. O Lord, I exceedingly rejoice in the greatness of thy majesty and power, the thought of which leads me to beseech of thee to imprint on my soul the deepest reverence and submission towards thy divine majesty. It is my wish for thee to order and dispose of me and all thy creatures according to thy will, for no one can say to thee, Why dost thou so? All things are thine, and they are the works of thy hands.
3. Make me, O Lord, always to have before my eves the most certain truth, that thou are constantly present with me, and that unless I obey thy commandments, and so never offend thee, I am threatened with the thunderbolt of eternal damnation from thy all-powerful hand.
Give to my heart a secure confidence towards thee, that I may fear none but thee, and that no creature may be able to separate me from thy love. For are not all creatures nothing, when compared with thee? What harm can they do me without thy permission? But if, O Lord, thou permittest any of them to afflict me, this will tend to my salvation, and will cooperate with me for the attainment of eternal life. And therefore I place all my confidence in thee, and would have it ever repose on thee, O most mighty God and Lord. Amen.
O most wise God, thou art that wisdom which embraces all that can be devised. In thee ignorance hath no place; thou knowest all things, and canst not err nor be deceived, because thou seest all things most perfectly and distinctly. All things past, present, and to come, all things possible and imaginable, all things which are and which are not, are present, O my God, to thee, and are set in thy sacred presence.
2. Thou art the original type and stamp of all things. By thy purity and subtlety thou penetratest all things; and being inwardly present in them, thou fitly disposest them all. But though thou touchest and penetratest from end to end, and from highest to lowest, and enterest most deeply into all things, yet thou dost not in the least confound or mix thyself up with any. Not the least possible speck defiles thee, but thou restest ever the same in thy purity, brightness, and beauty.
3. Thou art the author and maker, the pattern and idea, the measure and limit of all things. Nor art thou the architect only of the things, seen and unseen, that are, and have received from thee their being, and the form which thou hast imprinted upon them, but of those also which are not, yet by the band of thy almighty power may be made, of an infinitely far greater number than those which have been made already.
4. Oh, how admirable the wisdom that embraces all eternity at once, and contains within itself the whole of immensity, that draws to itself all infinity, in which alone all things possess a kind of eternal being, and eternal life, which, lastly, is without beginning and without end, and is in every respect immutable!
5. With the greatest rejoicing, I bless thee, O Lord, for the depth of thy wisdom, by which thou art the searcher of hearts. I would not, though I could, ever so little obscure or lessen thy wisdom, if thou mightest thus be made ignorant of my wickedness and my crimes. Nay, I would rather myself be destroyed and annihilated, than have thy wisdom become an iota less than it is.
Pour forth, O most wise Lord, I beseech thee, into my soul, one ray from the inexhaustible source of thy light, that I may be able perfectly to understand the beauty of virtue and the ugliness of sin, that I may avoid the one and pursue the other, and love more and more whatever tends to thy everlasting glory
and honour. Amen. 1. O Lord and Creator of all good, thou art good not in this or that manner, or in this or that kind of goodness, but perfectly, without beginning or end, without limitation, and without degree, except that in which, without measure, thou preoccupiest and embracest all good.
Thou art the very fulness and universality of good; to thee all created things, from the highest essence down to bare primary matter, owe all their good that they have received.
In thy own most pure essence, thou possessest all excellence, all perfection, all happiness, and all good. Nor have thy goodness and perfection any limit or end, because they are first and primary, and dependent upon nothing.
2. From thee all that is sweet draws its sweetness; all that is beautiful its beauty; all that is bright its splendour; all that lives its life: all that feels its feeling; all that moves its strength; all that has understanding its intelligence; all that is perfect its perfection; all, in short, that is good, in any way whatever, derives from thee its goodness.
3. Thou art great without quantity, good without quality, infinite without number, beautiful without figure, eternal without time, immense without space, diffused without extension, perfect without multiplicity, most high without situation.
4. Thou art the centre of the universe, to which all things are borne by their natural weight, in which all repose, by which all are sustained; in thee are the charms of all love, the consummation of all desire, the bounds of all motion, the satisfaction of all appetite.
How great the power of this supreme goodness, by a. little ray of whose splendour all created things are so forcibly attracted! While all of them desire and labour with their whole strength, each for its own peculiar good; a good which yet is nothing else than a slight trace and token of thy goodness! It is this that attracts so powerfully every creature; this that stirs up so great movements in the world. For whatever created thing moves, and is actuated, and works, is moved and actuated by the aspect of good. If the mere shadow of good attracts with so much force, how much more the reality of that infinite beauty and goodness, which, clearly seen, is thyself, O Lord, the sweetest and highest good!
5. Draw my soul to thyself, O perfect beauty, and bind it fast to thee by the indissoluble chain and bond of eternal love! What shall I seek and desire beyond thee, who art the fulness of all good, the source, the end, the sweetness, the strength, and marrow of all good! Farewell, all other things, that I may ever love and think of thee, praise and bless thee, and serve thee only, with all the powers of my soul, and for the whole of my life. Let all transitory things be to me worthless or precious, only as far as they agree with thy goodness. Perfect me according to thy most •excellent will in the thought and love of thee. Transform me completely into thyself, that I may become one spirit with thee, and live no longer to myself, but to thee. Amen.
1. O Lord my God, thou art called holy in many ways. 1. because thy essence is the first root and origin of all holiness and purity. 2. Because it is the object and measure of all holiness. In a word, thou art the efficient cause, the form, the pattern, and the end of all the brightness of holiness that is found in creatures. Thou art holy in thyself, in thy very essence; that is, with a formal, objective, and' fundamental holiness. So perfect is thy holiness, that nothing can possibly be added or taken from it, because it is a holiness that is essential and universal.
2. I greatly rejoice in thy holiness, the essential source of all beauty and purity, from which all intellectual creatures derive their holiness % and purity. This holiness thou hast set out for our imitation, but not thy power, nor thy wisdom, nor the height of thy majesty, when thou saidst. Be holy, because I am holy.1 Thou dost not, however, require of us such holiness as the height of thy own holiness demands; but only such an image of it as the weakness of our nature may be capable of by the assistance of thy grace.
3. I venerate, honour, admire, and love thy holiness and purity, because all love, honour, and reverence are due to thee. Thy presence sanctifies, and has sanctified the whole world; so that, whichever way I turn myself,
I see thee present, and I venerate, praise, honour, and bless thee, who art everywhere, as in the sacred temple of thy glory. Thou hast, however, sanctified my soul, which is much more noble and capacious than the corporeal world, like a temple, m a particular manner to thy worship, and consecrated it to be an habitation for thyself, and thus I am able to behold thee dwelling in the innermost recesses of my soul; here, in holy silence, I may converse with thee thyself; here I may enjoy myself with thee; here I may propitiate thee with my service; here adore thee, here ask thee to bestow on me this holiness and purity. And this, O my Lord, I now desire to do, and to obtain, with my whole heart, and with all the powers of my soul.
4. I will endeavour, too, O Lord, and I now propose to myself, with my whole strength, to flee from all impure and inordinate affections and all the stains of the soul, by which a temple sacred to thee might be violated and profaned; because, O Lord, as doubtless thou necessarily very much lovest thine own holiness, so, of necessity, thou greatly hatest sin, and abhorrest all impurity.
5. Lastly, to thee, as the author, the end, the rule, and the pattern of all holiness, from which, to which, and according to which, all things in heaven and earth are sanctified, be glory, blessing, and thanksgiving, from all creatures in heaven and earth. Amen.
1. O my Lord, thou art called good by reason of thy natural perfection, by reason of thy holiness, and by reason or thy beneficence, which may be called bounty. This is no more than thy natural inclination to communicate thy blessings to inferior things and creatures, according to the capacity of each.
Oh, how truly beautiful dost thou show thyself, O Lord! When thou wert in need of nothing, and wert all-sufficient to thyself, thou didst nevertheless create all things out of nothing, and draw them forth out of the abyss of their nothingness; giving them essence, form, beauty, desire for good and aversion for evil, strength, functions, force, motion, situation, measure, order, perfection, and bounds, as was proper and agreeable for each. And this thou didst, not for any convenience or benefit to thyself, but to them, that they might participate in thy blessings, each according to his capacity, and taste the fruit of thy bounty. Therefore all things praise thee, and with silent voices celebrate thy bounty. The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands.[7]
2. But thy bounty shines far the most gloriously forth in the human race. Thou hast created us to thy own image and likeness, and hast imprinted on us the mark of thy countenance. Thou hast given us understanding, memory, and will, by which we are made capable of thy divine glory and happiness. Thou hast also provided us with divine aids and graces, that we might merit and obtain such eminent blessings. Thou hast assigned us angels to be our guardians and rulers. Lastly, thou hast created the whole world, and hast given it us, stored abundantly with good things, to shelter and to comfort us. What greater benefits than these, what more astonishing bounty, can be imagined or devised? Especially, when thou hast made all these things in order to bring us safely by means of them to the heavenly mansions, and to make us partakers of thy own happiness.
3. Therefore, whatever I am, and whatever I can do, I return thee thanks, O Lord, with innumerable thanksgivings, for such extraordinary bounty, and invite all creatures to praise and bless thee. All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all for ever.
4. I rejoice, O Lord, that thou art so bountiful, and givest even thyself, throwing thyself as it were away, to base and worthless things; that thou delightest to help the weak, to raise up the fallen, and exalt the* humble. Wherever necessity, poverty, or misery is most pressing, there thou displayest ever the true character 01 bounty, in pouring out the most liberally thy treasures, and the most readily bringing thy aid.
5. I am grieved and sorry that I have not followed the example of this thy bounty; that I have been cruel, harsh, and unkind towards my neighbour, and have not employed for his relief the blessings, mental and worldly, that I possess, but often the very reverse. I now, therefore, most humbly beg pardon of thee with my whole heart; and, by thy help, I propose to amend this vice of illiberality, and to be kind, sweet-tempered, and amiable towards all; and this through the desire of following the example of thy divine bounty.
And because thy love proximately and immediately flows from thy bounty, and extends itself to all thy creatures, by which thou wilt have them partakers with thee of thy blessings, I implore thee to inflame my heart with its fire, that I may become bountiful, and filled with charity. Amen.
1. Thy providence, O Lord, governs all things, from the highest heaven to the lowest parts of the earth, and from the noblest of spirits to the most contemptible worm. From all eternity it has thought of all things; conceived, distinguished, and disposed them accordingly. Without it, nothing lives or dies; nothing works, moves, or is still.
Hence all irrational things are so rational in operation, and move with such order to their end; man only excepted, who, endued with free-will, and abusing it, departs often very far from the order of thy divine and particular providence, by proposing to himself other ends, which are opposed to those it has appointed him.
Yet, for all that, he cannot escape from thy universal providence; since he thus falls under the just punishments decreed to sin and sinners. Thus the order of thy divine providence is admirably apparent, even in the wicked.
2. Woe to me, that I have so often tried to escape from thy fatherly providence, and wished to live by my own foolish judgment; And therefore, while I would steal away from the hand of thy divine providence, which was conducting me to life, I was met by a thousand dangers, errors, and sins; and at the same time incurred the most just punishments, appointed to miserable sinners by the counsel of thy providence, for the greater glory of thy infinite justice. And this I incurred even against my wish, while I senselessly cast myself off from thy bounty and mercy, and — oh, wretched creature that I was! — treasured up to myself just punishments; and, while I wished to escape from the pleasant yoke of thy divine precepts, submitted myself to the most cruel slavery of devils; and, while I slighted eternal rewards, earned for myself eternal punishments.
Oh, folly, to be deplored with tears of blood. I repent, yes, with my whole heart I repent, and most humbly I entreat thy pardon.
3. By all the wonders of thy most tender providence, I implore thee, O Lord, take from me this folly, and give me the grace always to bear thy providence in sight; that whatever prosperity or adversity befalls me, I may understand whence it comes, and may take it for a great benefit from thy hand. Let it be my first consolation in adversity. Let it produce in me confidence in alarms, security in dangers, courage in difficulties, patience in adversities, calmness in troubles, and repose of mind in the expectation of future events. Let it relieve me from all anxiety, that I may repose securely on the bounty of thy providence alone. Let it govern all that I do, and guide it to the end, as it knows best for thy glory and my salvation. Whatsoever means it may employ, whether prosperity or adversity, honour or disgrace, bad or good reputation, penury or abundance, sickness or health, life or death, — I refuse nothing, I reject nothing. Whatever it chooses, that I judge to be most right and proper, and I embrace it as the most welcome.
It is, and I hope always may be, my earnest desire and wish to do, say, and think only what thou, O my Lord, judgest best for thy glory and my salvation; that I may contemplate, admire, love, honour, praise, and bless thee, in all and above all things, for ever and ever. Amen.
i. O most merciful Lord, thou art that immeasurable mercy which infinitely surpasses all our misery and sin. For, first, thou drewest me out of the darkness of nothing, and gavest me life, and a noble nature made to thy image; and with it hast bestowed on me the great ornaments of the understanding, judgment, reason, memory, and will. Afterwards thou hast raised me from the low state of nature to the sublime state of grace, by adopting me for thy son. To these two first states thou hast added another, the most noble of all, the state of glory. For the gifts of glory are far more perfect and excellent than those of grace. To this high degree have I been destined by thy infinite goodness and mercy.
If, then, O my soul, thou hast gained the second degree, be diligent to reach to the third; especially when thou hast so many aids and supports to help thee to arrive at such happiness. Such are the most holy sacraments, purchased for us, and left to us by Christ Jesus our Lord, who, as the crown and perfection of all his favours, has left us also the most holy sacrament of his precious body and blood.
2. Ah, Lord, enlighten my heart, that I may understand thy boundless mercy, prize it highly when understood, and keep it always before my eyes for my guide and rule, until I am freed from the bonds of this wretched life, and my soul, bound only with the ties of thy bounty and so exquisite favours, may respond to them by loving thee with my whole heart, by dedicating itself entirely to thee, and by binding itself entirely to thy holy service and honour.
Oh, that I may serve thee, my God, for the whole of my life; that I may think of nothing else but to do what is for thy glory, and direct to this most desirable end all my actions, my strength, and girts, as well of nature as of grace. Let my powers, both of body and mind, seek, look to, and aim at nothing else but to do thy most holy will. And oh, that I may, in some degree at least, correspond to thy infinite love, which thou hast extended to me always, that I may not be altogether ungrateful to so great a benefactor!
3. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within me bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all that he hath done for thee.
Who forgiveth all thy iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with mercy and compassion.
Who satisfieth thy desire with good things: thy youth shall be renewed like the eagle's.[10]
Bless the Lord also with me, all ye angels and archangels; all ye principalities and powers, all virtues and dominations, all thrones, cherubim and seraphim; bless, I say, and praise, and praise again without end our common Lord, because he hath not dealt with us according to our iniquities, but according to his great and fatherly mercy. Praise him, ye heavens, earth, sea, and all things that are in them, let them praise and exalt him above all for ever. Be glory, therefore, given to God by every creature. Let every creature bless and give thanks to the Lord in every place of hit dominion, now, and for ever and ever. Amen.
IX.
JUSTICE.
Thy right hand is full of justice.[11] Who knoweth the power of thy anger, and for thy fear can number thy wrath.[12]
1. None, O Lord, can truly express the number and amount of the punishments which thou hast prepared for sinners, and which, by thy almighty power, thou hast assigned to them to suffer hereafter. As thy mercy is infinite, so too is thy justice infinite, which in infinite ways will be displayed against sinners, not in the next world only, but even in this, which is peculiarly allotted to mercy. So that all may learn to fear thee, and that those who are not moved by the bounty of a most tender Father, may at least be terrified by the severity of a most just Judge. He will suffer no evil to go unpunished, nor any good unrewarded; for with thee there is no respect of persons, because thou art a most just Judge.
2. I am pleased and delighted, O Lord, with this thy justice; of which I would not, if I were able, deprive thee of ever so little, to prevent thee from punishing my sins. Nay, I solemnly declare, that if, through my malice, hardness, and obstinacy, I would not be converted to penance, and if I were willing to die thus hardened, impenitent, and desperate, (from so dreadful a misfortune, O Lord, preserve me), but if I should be so mad, I declare my desire from this hour, that thy justice should take effect, and should send me to eternal punishment; that since I would not glorify thy mercy by a voluntary and saving penance, I might at least in torments glorify thy justice.
3. But while I have life, I may by thy grace, O my most loving Lord, appeal from the tribunal of thy justice to the tribunal of thy mercy. And, therefore, at this hour, and for ever, with great confidence, O Lord, with my whole heart, with my whole soul, and with my whole strength, I appeal to thy mercy. And I beseech thee, through Jesus Christ thy Son, to pardon me my sins, that I may not be cited as a criminal before the dreadful tribunal of thy justice. I give thee my sacred promise, that I will, with thy divine help, amend my life for the future, and live as becomes a good servant; that, by my true penitence, thy mercy may be more delightfully and happily glorified. Amen.
i. As thou, O Lord, art the first and supreme efficient cause of all things, so thou art equally the last end, especially of rational creatures. I ought, therefore, to withdraw my mind to a distance from creatures, and to place in them no hope, because they very much hinder me from arriving at my happy and last end, for which thou hast created me, who art my true, only, and supreme good. 2. Nothing, therefore, ought to be more my care and study than to be united to thee in vision, love, and joy; because, in this union consists both my highest good, and thy highest glory. In comparison of this greatest good, I look upon all the delights and allurements of this life as mere filth and dung. And, from this moment, I direct to this end all my thoughts, works, and desires, nor will I be wearied or desist until I arrive at it.
3. But since of myself I am incapable of so great a good, I have recourse to thee, O most merciful God, of thy boundless goodness, by which thou hast created the world, and becamest man, and for sum’s sake hast willingly subjected thyself to death; and by thy other infinite blessings bestowed upon me, and by thy eternal will, by which thou hast freely predestined me to so sublime a height of glory, not to close against me the overflowing fountain of thy goodness, while I still have time to do good, most ungrateful and negligent though I am. But let this rather incite thee, the weaker I am, the more to assist and protect me. Remember, I beseech thee, the end to which thou hast destined me from all eternitv, that thy most holy counsel and desire may not be frustrated in me.
4. Enlighten my mind by the light of thy Holy Spirit, that by his guidance I may be able to understand perfectly the vanity of this world, and to see clearly the dangers that lurk in it. And that I may understand also, on the other hand, the greatness, excellence, and sweetness of the infinite blessings which thou hast prepared for me in thyself, for which I thank thee with my whole heart, and willingly renounce all vanity.
5. Grant, O my Lord, that my mind may entertain no other thought, and my understanding receive no stronger impression than that of my last end; that, despising universally all perishable and temporal things, I may quickly raise myself to the love of eternal things, and to the desire of this my last and happy end.
Let my good desires never fail, nor my sighs and groans never cease for that happy home. And grant that I may never cease from fighting against myself, as I now propose to do, until I reach the end of my course, when all the saints shall repose in thee, their chief good and last end, bv vision, love, and unspeakable comfort, when they have attained the completion of their purpose, and the fulfilment of the desire they had so wished and waited for; that is to say, their last end and highest good, for which they have so heroically fought, until they gained a most glorious victory. Amen.
THE CONCLUSION
Of an agreement of love with God.
Lastly, my most tender Lord, because I know thee to be my only good, my greatest happiness and bliss, I ought by no means to suffer myself to be separated from thee; but rather it should ever be my constant endeavour to continue most closely united to thee. Therefore I desire, and will exert myself, that no moment may pass that I do not confirm what I have here set down and determined. And that I may be able to do this, I now desire with all possible reverence and humility, to enter into an agreement with thy divine majesty, and to bind myself by a lasting treaty; that as I. shall never cease to breathe as long as I live, so I may never cease to believe in thee, to love thee, to praise thee, to give thee thanks, to offer and resign myself to thee, to hope and rejoice in thee, and to detest the world as a
plague; to have a zeal for
thy honour and the salvation
of souls, to fear thee, to humble myself, to do penance, to
form holy designs, to love my
neighbour, to cultivate chastity, poverty, and obedience,
and to ask of thee what I have
asked above. Also to know
thee, to adore thee, and praise
thee as a God infinite, immeasurable, immutable, eternal,
almighty, wise, good, holy,
bountiful, provident, merciful, just, and our last end.
And to show that this is now
fully my purpose, I declare,
with the greatest humility,
in the presence of thy divine
majesty and the whole court
of heaven, that I desire, with
my whole heart, and with all
the virtue, purity of intent,
and ability that I can, to observe all those things that I
have mentioned above. And
this as often as I breathe,
and as often as I turn my
thoughts to any act of this
kind that is acceptable and
pleasing to thee. Accept this
resolution, O Lord, now, for
that, and for all time. And
may this desire of my soul be
ratified and confirmed by thy
most gracious will for ever
and ever. Amen.