The paradise of the Christian soul/Chap. VI. Containing other Exercises for Communicants.
CHAPTER VI.
CONTAINING OTHER EXERCISES FOR COMMUNICANTS.
A Shorter Exercise
FOR MAKING A GOOD COMMUNION, SUITED BOTH FOR PRIESTS AND LAICS,
Both before and after Mass and Communion.
I. Direct thy Intention.
O most high and mighty God, I, an unworthy sinner, desire to reflect upon (or to receive) the mysteries of the most holy Body and Blood of thy Son, for the praise and glory of thy supreme majesty; in memory of the most holy life, passion, and death of Jesus Christ my Saviour; in thanksgiving for all thy gifts and blessings bestowed upon me, an unworthy sinner, and on thy whole Church; for the propitiation of my numberless sins; for the salvation of myself and my relations, N.; and for the repose of the departed N., &c. Truly, O Lord, in thee alone is all that can satisfy my heart’s desire. For beside thee what have I in heaven, or what do I desire upon earth? Wilt thou not thyself be our reward exceeding great?
2. Exercise Contrition.
But I also humbly offer thee, O Lord, the sacrifice of a contrite spirit, in union with the Sacrifice and Sacrament of the Body and Blood of thy Son my Saviour. For I am sorry from the bottom of my heart, my God, my sovereign Good, who art so kind to me, and so often refreshest me in this Sacrament, that I have ever offended thee by my sins, such as N. and N., which thou knowest, O searcher of hearts! and I, a miserable sinner, with sorrow confess to thee, in the bitterness of my soul. Oh, that I had never offended thee! But a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise; thou who, for love of us, hast given us thy only-begotten Son, that he might wash us from our sins in his own Blood.
3. Exercise Faith.
I firmly believe, O my most loving Jesus, and with a lively faith I profess that thou thyself, who art equal to God the Father in glory and power, true God and man, art truly and really present in this Sacrament; who wert sent from heaven, and camest upon earth, to seek and to save that which was lost. Therefore thou wert truly born of a Virgin, didst suffer, wert crucified, and dead; and, in memory of thy love, has left us in this Sacrament thy Body and Blood.
4. Exercise Hope.
And why should I not hope in thee, O sovereign hope and only salvation of my soul? or whether can I fly, if not to thee, O Jesus, my only refuge? who with thy sacred lips hast said, Come to me, all you that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you.
Oh, how sweet to my mouth are these words of thine, O Lord, sweeter than honey to my lips! and therefore I come confidently to thy altar, and here, full of hope, I receive thee thyself. For if I have thee, what shall I not have? Because thou hast and canst do all things, and art good above all.
The Lord rules me, and I shall want nothing; he has set me in a place of pasture, namely, where he himself, the Good Shepherd, who has laid down his life for his sheep, feeds us with no other food than his own Body and Blood.
What wilt thou not give to man, who hast given him thyself? Surely, O good Jesus, thou wilt not suffer me to want anything necessary to salvation, when I so often receive thee, and have thee, the Author of salvation, with me. No, thou surely wilt not, for thy Name’s sake, which is Jesus.
5. Exercise Charity.
For thou truly art God my Saviour, and art good above all good. And therefore I love thee, O Christ Jesus, because thou, of thy exceeding love for me, hast come into the flesh, and hast loved me even to the death; and in the Sacrament hast given me thyself for a pledge of this love. I love thee, I say, more than myself, and than all things; at least, I most earnestly desire so to love thee, and always to adhere to thee alone. Oh, that by the force of this Sacrament there may be cemented between thee and me a union of love so great, that nothing may be able to separate me from the love of Christ my Saviour!
6. Renew thy Resolution.
But whatever is opposed to this my desire and thy command, and whatever even is an obstacle to the relish and sweetness of this heavenly Manna, such as are this N. and that N., I seriously and sincerely resolve to avoid, and this only for the love of thee. Oh, that by the power of, and in union with, this Sacrament, thy abundant and efficacious grace may assist the resolution of my will, so weak and unstable, thou knowest, O Lord, of itself! Thy eyes see my imperfection, but all my sufficiency is from thee.
7. Exercise Humility.
But how dare I approach thee? Art not thou, O God, the Lord, my Creator and Redeemer, King of heaven and earth, &c.? And what am I? A poor worm of earth! dust and ashes; and, what is worse, so often a disobedient and ungrateful sinner towards thee, &c. Worthy, indeed, I am not, O Lord, that thou shouldst enter under my roof; but, O Lord, remember that, though thou wert Lord of all, thou tookst the form of a servant, to come to us, and conversedst familiarly with publicans and sinners. Finally, thou humbledst thyself even to death. Let that humility move thee, I beseech thee, not to despise me, mean and humble as I am; but mercifully come to me, or receive me graciously when I come to thee.
8. Ask for Grace.
I beseech thee, therefore, O eternal Father, by the force of that most powerful love which drew down from thy bosom thy only-begotten Son into the Virgin’s womb, that for us men he might become man.
I beseech thee, by that earnestness of desire with which at his last supper he desired to eat the Pasch with his disciples, and to perfect the work of our redemption; by the force also of that love by which he gave himself to them and to us all, to be our food, when he instituted the Sacrifice and Sacrament of his Body and Blood, in memory of his boundless love, and for a pledge of future glory.
I beseech thee, also, by the force of that most ardent charity with which he offered himself to thee, his eternal Father, on the altar of the Cross, to be a sacrifice and ransom for the redemption of us sinners, so to direct me by thy saving grace, and so to cause me ever worthily to use the sacred Mysteries of thy Body and Blood, that I may gain from them abundant benefit and strength against all the snares of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and avoid all sins, especially these, N.
Grant, moreover, that I may practise more diligently the virtues most necessary to my state, as charity, humility, purity, N. and N., and endeavour to serve thee more faithfully every day.
9. Offer thyself and thy all to God.
For what other return shall I make thee, O Lord, for all that thou hast done for me? Do I not owe thee my life, my body and soul, and my all, when thou hast freely given me all things, even thy very own Son, who has laid down for me his life and his soul?
It is true, O Lord, that I owe myself to thee entirely, since thou, to redeem me, a guilty creature, hast given up entirely thy innocent Son. Oh, that I could present my body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God! Oh, that my soul may live to thee, and that all that I have may serve thee! Behold, my heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready. Thou, O Lord, who lookest rather to the will than the gift, despise not, I beseech thee, thy poor servant, who have nothing more acceptable to offer thee than him in whom thou art well pleased; and who also cast in two mites;[1] that is, my body and soul, which I resign absolutely and completely to thy pleasure and service.
10. Unite thy oblation or communion with the oblation and merits of Christ.
And thou, my most sweet Redeemer, my Advocate and Mediator with God the Father, despise me not, but, in union with thy most holy works, done in sovereign charity, favourably offer and commend to thy eternal Father the oblation of an unworthy sinner.
Unite this my service with that most precious Sacrifice, by which thou offeredst thyself to thy eternal Father, in the most eminent charity and obedience, on the altar of tho Cross.
Behold, O Lord, I am poor and needy, while thou art rich in merits and mercy. But for whom is it that thou hast heaped up the riches of thy goodness, if not for poor sinners? Relieve, then, my poverty out of the boundless treasure of thy merits, and perfect all my actions out of the abundance of thy infinite love. And now especially, mercifully supply my want of preparation and devotion, that have been too small and insufficient for these tremendous Mysteries.
11. Represent to God the Father the merits of his Son.
O eternal Father! look upon the face of thy Christ. Behold, this is thy Beloved Son, in whom thou art well pleased; and yet thou hast so loved the world as to give for the world’s salvation thy only-begotten Son, so that, to redeem a slave, thou hast delivered up thy Son. Thou hast willed him also to be an Advocate and Mediator for us with thee, that by his merits we may obtain what we cannot by our own. Most perfect as are his Sacrifice offered for us on the Cross, his works and merits, they cannot be otherwise than most pleasing to thee. Oh, that his abundance may supply my want, that for the love and honour of thy Son thou mayest be pleased with the service of so mean a servant.
12. Invoke the Saints, especially thy Patrons.
To you, too, O Saints and friends of God, I humbly fly for aid, especially to thee, O most holy Virgin, Mother of God, my Patroness! who, being full of grace, didst in thy most pure womb merit to bear God and man.
To you also, O holy N. N., my signally chosen and beloved Patrons, you now see, face to face, and eat to the full of that Bread, which we see only in a glass in a dark manner, and receive veiled under figures. Oh, that by the aid of your intervention I may be very often worthily refreshed on the way by this heavenly Bread and Viaticum, so that at last I may merit with you to be satisfied with it in our home. Amen.
A Short Exercise for Celebration and Communion,
USEFUL TO PRIESTS AND LAICS, BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER MASS AND COMMUNION.
Here observe the Acts of the Principal Virtues.
O most sweet Saviour, Christ Jesus! with all my heart I adore thee, and than thee from the very bottom of my soul, because with love so great thou hast redeemed us, when miserably lost, with the price of thy Blood ; and with such admirable power, wisdom, and goodness, hast given us for meat and drink thy very Body and Blood, in memory of this thy love, and for a pledge of future glory ; and lastly, by thy unspeakable mercy, hast called me, a Page:TheParadiseOfTheChristianSoul.djvu/420
- ↑ Luke xxi. 2.