from my sin.

Create a clean heart in me, O God. and renew a right spirit within my bowels, Ps. 1.

An Act of Hope.

THOU Comest to me, O my divine Redeemer! thou seekest to become my guest, and to abide in the inmost recesses of my soul. What may I not expect from thy excessive goodness and unbounded liberality? I present myself before thee with all the confidence which thy tenderness inspires. I come on thy gracious invitation, and confidently hope that thou wilt enlighten, comfort, and strengthen me; for art thou not, O divine Lord! the master of my heart? and when shall that heart be more absolutely under the in fluence of thy grace, than when thou shalt have taken possession of it by thy sacramental presence?

An Act of Humility.

WHO am I, O God of glory and majesty! who am I, that thou shouldst deign even to look on my unworthiness? Whence am I honoured with this unspeakable favour, that my Lord and my God should come in person to visit me? How shall I, a sinner, a worm of the earth, a mere contemptible nothing, venture to approach the God of all sanctity? How shall I presume to eat the bread of angels? Ah, Lord! I do not deserve this mark of thy predilection, this additional proof of thy tenderness and love. The consideration of thy exalted greatness and my profound misery, penetrates me with awe and confusion. I have not words to express the sentiments of my heart. With the utmost sincerity, I can only declare the extent of iny unworthiness, and admire that infinite goodness which induces thee to stoop to the lowest and basest of thy creatures. O compassionate Lord! thou knowest all my wants, and thou art desirous to relieve them for this purpose thou hast expressly invited me to approach thy altar, and to become a guest at thy sacred table. Behold, I come on thy invitation; 1

present myself before thee with all my necessities and miseries, acknowledging that I am but dust and ashes, and infinitely unworthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof. Whence is this to me? Luke xi. What is man, O Lord, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou shouldst visit him? Ps. viii

An Act of Desire.

O My God, my joy, my life, my treasure! hasten the moment which my heart desires. Come, O amiable Jesus! come and delay no longer. Come, to purify, sanctify, and inflame my soul. When shall I have the happiness to be truly thine? When, O infinite Charity shall I live only by thee and for thee? Come, and work this miracle of mercy, in giving thyself wholly and entirely to thy unworthy creature. O my sovereign Beatitude! disengage from this moment my heart from the slavery of its passions and vices; adorn it with thy virtues, and extinguish in it every other desire but that of loving and pleasing thy divine Majesty. Let others sigh after the false enjoyments of this life; for my part, nothing, without thee, in heaven or on earth, shall ever content the desires which thou thyself hast excited; for what have I in heaven, and besides thee, what do I desire on earth? Let me see thee, love thee, seek thee alone, O God of my heart, my consolation, my life, my happiness, and my all!

An Act of Love.

O DIVINE JESUS! the God of my heart and the life of my soul! as the hart pants after the fountains of water, so does my soul pant after thee, the fountain of life, and the ocean of all good. I am overjoyed at the happy tidings, that I am to go into the house of the Lord; or rather, that our Lord is to come and take up his abode under my roof. O happy moments! when shall I be admitted to the embraces of the liv ing God? O! come, divine Jesus! and take full

possession of my heart for ever. I offer it to thee without reserve, and I desire to consecrate it to thee eternally. I love thee with my whole heart and soul, at least I desire to love thee sovereignly and entirely. nothing less than infinite love could induce thee to visit thy unworthy creature. O! teach me to nake

a suitable return of love, and to serve thee faithfully during the remainder of my life.

A METHOD OF HEARING MASS

BEFORE COMMUNION.

From the Beginning of Mass to the Gloria in ex celsis.

To hear Mass with fruit, and to obtain from that adorable Sac rifice abundant treasures of grace, there is no method more effi cacious than to unite ourselves with Jesus Christ, who is at once our Priest, Mediator, and Victim. Separated from him, we are nothing; but even in the eyes of God himself we are truly great by and with his beloved Son. United thus with Jesus Christ, covered as it were with his merits, present yourself before the throne of mercy, saying:

DIVINE Jesus! Mediator of the New Testament! who didst ascend into heaven, to appear in the presence of God for us, (Heb. ix. 24.) yet daily descendest on our altars, to renew that sacrifice by which we were all redeemed, mercifully penetrate my heart with a just sense of the happiness and the advantage of assisting at a sacrifice, by which I can abundantly satisfy the justice of God, honour his divine Majesty, acknowledge his infinite mercies, and obtain the graces necessary for serving him on earth and enjoying him in heaven. Permit me, O divine Jesus! to ascend this new Calvary with thee, that my whole soul may do homage to the greatness of thy majesty; that my heart, with all its affections, may acknowledge thy infinite love; that my memory may dwell on the admirable mysteries here renewed; and

that the sacrifice of my whole being may accon pary that which thou art about to offer. Alas! I am upworthy to join with thy minister in adoring thee; I can neither feel the extent of thy blessings, nor acknowledge them as I ardently desire to do; but, O Lord! be thou with me, that by thee, and with thee, I may worthily assist at these tremendous mysteries

From the Gloria in excelsis to the Epistle.

At the Gloria in excelsis you may devoutly join in the prayer of the Church, and at the Dominus vobiscum and following prayers, imagine you behold Jesus Christ himself turning, as he did to Magdalen, with the consolatory assurance of your sins having been remitted.

O SAVIOUR of my soul! how sweet is the hope, that thou hast absolved me from my transgressions; that thy sacred blood has washed them away; and that thou art about to seal my pardon by the most precious gift thou canst possibly bestow. O divine Lord! let this encouraging hope be realized; say to my soul, that thou art her salvation. With the fervent penitent of the gospel, I cast myself at thy sacred feet; let me hear with her, from thy own adorable lips, the consolatory sentence of peace and mercy; let me experience with her, the conviction that thou hast accepted my repentance, and granted me pardon. Alas! I well know that I have neither her humility nor her contrition, her fervour nor her love to offer; but, O my God! I venture to say, that my hopes are established on still surer grounds than would be those virtues, were I happy enough to possess them. If many sins were pardoned her, because she loved thee much, still greater crimes will he remitted to me, because thou hast infinitely loved me, a wretched creature. O adorable Jesus! in thy love and mercy I firmly trust; deign then to do for me what is altogether above my strength and capacity; purify my soul, and prepare it for the reception of thy life-giving sacrament.

At the Epistle and Gospel.

I BELIEVE, O my God! every article proposed by the holy Catholic Church to my belief; and through thy grace I am disposed to die, rather than relinquish the precious gift of faith, which elevates me to the adoption of the Sons of God, and makes me heir and joint-heir with Jesus Christ. Rom. viii. 15, 17. I believe; O divine Lord! penetrate my heart and soul with the entire import of these short but comprehensive words, and let them produce one of those prodigies of grace and conversion, which so often followed from similar confessions. I believe all thou hast revealed, without exception or reserve; for thou hast the words of eternal life, and thou art likewise the way and the truth. St. John xix. 6. On thy unerring word I also most firmly believe that thou art really present in the august sacrament of which I am about to participate. Ŏ what miracles are contained in this sacred and ever adorable mystery! Incomprehensible as they are, I believe them all; I adore thy omnipotence, which is a sufficient pledge of their possibility; and thy boundless love proves to me, in an endearing manner, that they are real. Were my faith as animated as I hope it is sincere, my heart would be inflamed at the near approach of its heavenly guest, and every movement of my body and soul would be a transport of gratitude and ardent love. Come, then, O Lord! thou art the God in whom I firmly believe. Come, for thou art the support and term of my hope, and thou art, by excellence, the adorable object of my most fervent love. Come, enliven and increase in my soul the divine virtues infused therein on my admission into the bosom of thy Church. Come, and purify my bap tismal rube, that I may present myself before thee with a nuptial garment, and may not deserve o be excluded from the marriage feast.