obtaining the reward of thy infinite bliss and eternal felicity.

For what else is this world, but a school to discipline souls, and fit them for the other? And how are they fitted for it but by an eager desire of enjoying God, their only end?

Break my froward spirit, O Jesus; make it humble and obedient; grant me grace to depart hence with a contempt for this world, and with a joyful hope of coming to thee in

the next.

Let the memory of thy passion make me cheerfully embrace all occasions of suffering here for thy love; whilst my soul longs after that blissful life, and immortal glory, which thou hast ordained in heaven for thy servants.

O Jesus, let me frequently and attentively consider, that whatsoever I gain, if I lose thee, all is lost; and whatsoever I lose, if I gain thee, all is gained.

Have mercy on all sinners, &c., as before.

"Our Lord Jesus Christ humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."-PHIL. ii. 8.

Hear these my petitions, O most merciful Saviour, and grant me thy grace so frequently to repeat and consider them, that they may prove easy steps, whereby my soul may climb up to the knowledge, love, and per

formance of my duty to thee and to my neighbour, through the whole course of my life. Amen.

AN ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS.

O my most amiable and loving God, who callest upon me to give thee my heart, and commandest me to love thee with my whole heart, I most earnestly desire to perform this duty; for what have I in heaven; and besides thee, what do I desire upon earth? For thee my flesh and my heart have fainted away: thou the God of my heart, and the God that art my portion for ever. Thou art

the source of all perfection and all being, whom the angels delight to behold. Thou hast thought of me in thy love and bounty from all eternity, and hast bestowed upon me in time this excellent being, that I possess, a little inferior to the angels, and thou dost support me every instant of my existence, to prevent my falling back into my original nothingness. When I was lost in sin, and had become the destined victim of hell's unquenchable flames, thou, the co-equal Son of the Eternal Father, according to the riches of thy grace, and thy super-abundant

love for me, didst offer thyself an atoning victim to the justice of thy Father, taking upon thee my imperfect nature, in order to suffer in my stead. And, O my loving Redeemer, what dreadful ignominies and torments hast thou not suffered for this purpose? What deadly anguish oppressed thee in the Garden of Gethsemani! What unparalleled insults and torments didst thou endure from the Jews and Pagan soldiers! What more than mortal pangs convulsed thy body and soul, whilst thou pouredst out thy Precious Blood on the cross, derided by thy enemies, and forsaken by thy heavenly Father! O thou, my too loving and bountiful Saviour, is it possible that this excess of thy love for me should not engage me to love thee in return? No, sweet Jesus, I will and do love thee, because thou hast loved me first. I will and do love thee, as thou commandest me, with my whole heart, with my whole soul, and with my whole mind. Trusting in thy allpowerful grace, I resolve, with thy Apostle, that henceforth neither tribulation, nor distress, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor danger, nor persecution, nor the sword, shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. But, in order that I may thus love thee, divest me, O my

divine Master, of the inordinate love which I bear to myself: enable me to take up thy sweet yoke, and to learn of thee to be meek and humble of heart. Penetrate my heart with a deep sense of its own misery and sinfulness, that in humility I may esteem others better than myself. O thou meek and humble Heart of my Jesus! O thou most amiable Heart, ever glowing with love for me, frame my heart to resemble thine. Teach me to know myself, by a deep conviction of my own unworthiness: teach me to know thee, by an ardent love of thee, that henceforward thou mayest be the moving principle of my heart, in all that I shall think, and say, and do, during the remainder of this mortal life, till it is absorbed in the abyss of pure love for all eternity. Amen.

AN ACT OF ATONEMENT TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS.

O adorable Jesus! how insensible are the hearts of men, how insensible is my heart in particular, of the infinite love of us, with which thy Sacred Heart is inflamed! The blessed spirits celebrated the mysteries of thy incarnation and birth; they ministered to thee in the agony that preceded thy passion, and at thy resurrection from the dead;

they surround our altars, to adore thy real presence upon them; yet how little impression do these mysteries make upon our frozen hearts, for the love of whom they have all been wrought! How feeble is our faith in them! how tepid is our gratitude for them! How little love or respect do we prove to thee in the most holy Sacrament of the Altar, in which, nevertheless, thou art as truly present as thou wert upon the cross on Mount Calvary, and as thou wilt be in the clouds of heaven at the last day, when thou wilt pronounce our everlasting doom! But we are not only insensible, we are perfidious and rebellious. How grievously do we transgress thy holy commands by wilful sin! how unconcernedly do we drink down iniquity like water! How frequently have I myself, like the traitor Judas, betrayed thee into the hands of thy enemies, and of mine own, for some unlawful gratification! How have I ever trodden under foot the Son of God, and esteemed the blood of the testament unclean, by which I was sanctified, by abusing the institutions of his mercy, for conveying the merits of his precious sufferings to my soul! O the base return of my unfeeling heart, to the unparalleled mercy and love of the most tender and generous heart of my Saviour!