MEDITATIONS ON THE
PASSION OF OUR LORD.
By ST ALPHONSUS LIGUORI.
CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY of
FOREWORD.
Three great devotions sanctified the long life of St. Alphonsus — devotion to Our
Lord in His Passion, in the Holy Eucharist, and devotion to His Immaculate
Mother. These three devotions the holy doctor not only practised, but
constantly recommended to others both by voice and pen.
In the latest edition of the saint's ascetical works, a volume of 488
large pages was needed to reproduce and annotate his writings on the Passion.
The present little work counts only a dozen pages of this large volume, but it
contains most of the favourite thoughts and prayers of the saint.
"The crown of prayer is the worship of God through the subjection of our
passions," wrote Father Faber, and in this sentence, he struck a
characteristic note of the prayers of St. Alphonsus: they seek the true worship
of God by the subjection of pride and sensuality and other passions ever
quivering within the weak framework of human nature. However holy a soul may
be, or however lacking in holiness, it will find the prayers of St. Alphonsus
suitable to its needs. And the prayers of this booklet are no exception.
THE PRAYERS OF THIS BOOK ARE WRITTEN
FOR SINNERS — AND FOR SAINTS.
THE
PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST.*
*The reader is urged to read
the great Christian thoughts which follow in these pages, and the prayers which
accompany them, very slowly, letting them sink deeply into the heart. Otherwise
the reading will profit him but little. — Editor's Note.
THE POWER OF MEDITATION ON THE PASSION TO ENKINDLE DIVINE LOVE IN THE SOUL
The great servant of God, Father Balthassar Alvarez, used to say: "We must
not suppose that we have made any progress in the way that leads to God until
we keep Jesus Crucified ever in our hearts." And St. Francis de Sales
wrote: "The love which is not the fruit of the Passion is feeble."
And so it is; for we can have no more pressing motive for loving God than the
Passion of Jesus Christ, in which we learn that the Eternal Father, in order to
make manifest the exceeding love which He had for us, sent on earth His only
begotten Son to die for us sinners. Hence, the Apostle wrote that God, through
the too great love wherewith He loved us, willed that the death of His Son
should bring life to us: For exceeding charity wherewith He loved us, even
when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together in Christ. (Eph. 2:4.)
And it was in like terms Moses and Elias (Elijah) expressed themselves on
When our Saviour came into the world to die for men, the shepherds heard
the angels sing: Glory to God on high. But the Son of God, humbling
Himself thus in becoming man for the love of man, seemed to obscure rather than
to manifest the divine glory; but no; there was no means better adapted to
manifest the glory of God to the world than the death of Jesus Christ for the
salvation of mankind, since the Passion of our Blessed Lord has made manifest
the attributes of God.
It has made known to us the greatness of the Mercy of God, inasmuch as
He was willing to die to save sinners, and to die in the Most painful and
ignominious manner. "The sufferings of Jesus Christ," says St. John
Chrysostom, " were not ordinary sufferings, nor was His death a simple
death like that of other men."
It has also made known to us the Wisdom of God. Had our Redeemer been only God,
He could not have made satisfaction for man, and God could not have made
satisfaction to Himself in place of man, nor could He make satisfaction by way
of suffering. On the other hand, had He been merely man, He could not have made
satisfaction to God for the grievous injury done by man to the Divine Majesty.
What, then, did God do? He sent His own Son, true God with the Father, to take
human flesh, so that as Man, by dying might pay the debt due to divine
justice, and, as God, might make to it full satisfaction. The Passion
has, moreover, made known how strict is the Justice of God. According to
Saint John Chrysostom, it is not so much in hell that the strictness of divine
justice is seen; it is revealed rather in seeing Jesus on the Cross; for in
hell creatures are punished for sins of their own, while on the Cross we see a
God cruelly treated to make satisfaction for the sins of men. And what
obligation had Jesus to die for us? None: He was offered because it was His
own will. (Isaiah 53: 7.) He might have, with justice, abandoned man to
perdition; but the love which He had for us, would not allow Him to see us
lost; therefore, He chose to give Himself up to so painful a death, that He
might save us: He has loved us and has delivered Himself for us. (Eph.
5:2.)
God had from all eternity
loved man: I have loved you with an everlasting love. (Jer. 31:3) But afterwards
seeing that His justice obliged Him to condemn man and to keep him ever at a
distance from Him and in hell, His mercy urged Him to find a way by which He
might save him. But how? By making satisfaction to divine justice by His own
death. And, consequently He willed that the condemnation to eternal death which
man had merited should have been fixed to that very Cross on which He died,
that thus it might be cancelled in His blood: Blotting out the writing of
the decree that was against us, which was contrary to us, He has taken the same
out of the way, fastening it to the Cross. (Col. 2:14.) Thus, by the merits
of His own blood, He pardoned all our sins: Forgiving you all offences (Col.
2:13-14.) At the same time He deprived the devils of the rights which they had
acquired over us, carrying with Him in His triumph both His enemies and
ourselves whom He had delivered, and who were till then the prey of the devils:
And despoiling the principalities and powers, He has exposed them
confidently in open show, triumphing over them in Himself. (Col. 2:15.)
Theophylactus thus explains these words: "As a triumphant conqueror He
carries with Him in His triumph the booty and the enemy."
Hence, while making
satisfaction to divine justice as He died on the Cross, Jesus spoke only of
mercy. He prayed His Father to have mercy even on the Jews who had brought
about His death, and on the murderers who were putting Him to death: Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34.) While on the
Cross instead of punishing the two thieves who at first reviled Him, (Mark
15:32) on hearing one ask for mercy (Lord, remember me when You shall come
into Your kingdom) (Luke 24:42), He promised him Paradise that very day: This
day you shall be with Me in
Behold by the death of Jesus,
man is freed from sin and from the power of the devil; he is, moreover, raised
to a life of grace, and to a higher degree of grace than that which Adam lost: And
where sin abounded, says
Ah, my Jesus, I love You above
all things, and whom shall I ever love if I love not You, Who are infinite
goodness, and Who has died for me? Would that I could die of grief often as I
think how I have driven You from my soul by my sins, and thus separated myself
from You. You, Who are my only good, and Who has loved me so much. Who shall
separate me from the charity of Christ? (Rom. 8:35.) It is sin and sin only
that can separate me from You. But I hope in the blood You have shed for me,
that You will never again allow me to separate myself from Your love, and lose
Your grace, which I value more than all else in this world. I give my whole
self to You.
CHAPTER II
WHAT THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST REQUIRES OF US.
PERHAPS Jesus claims too much in expressing His desire that we give
ourselves entirely to Him because He has given us all His blood and His life by
dying for us on the Cross? The apostle answers: The charity of Christ
presses us. (2 Cor. 5:14.)
Listen to St. Francis de Sales' explanation of these words: "To know that
Jesus has loved us unto death, even to the death of the Cross, is not this to
feel our hearts constrained by a certain violence, which is all the greater
because it is full of love?" And he adds: "My Jesus gives Himself
entirely to me; and I give myself entirely to Jesus. On His bosom I will live
and die; neither death nor life shall ever separate me from Him."
It was for this purpose, says St. Paul, that Jesus Christ died, that each one
of us should no longer live for the world, nor for himself; but only for Him
Who has given Himself entirely to us: And Christ died for all: that they who
live may not now live to themselves, but unto Him who died for them. (2
Cor. 5:15) He who lives for this world seeks to please the world; he who lives
for himself seeks to please himself; but he who lives for Jesus seeks only to
please Jesus, and fears only to displease Him; his joy is to see Jesus loved,
his sorrow to see Him despised. This is to live for Jesus Christ; and this is
what He claims from each one of us. I ask again, does He claim too much from
us, seeing that He has given us His blood and His life?
O my God, how is it then that we use our hearts to love creatures,
relations, friends, the great ones of the world, who have suffered for us
neither scourges, nor thorns, nor nails, nor have they shed for us one drop of
blood. Why not use our hearts to love a God who came down from heaven and
became man and shed all His blood for us under the pressure of torments, and
finally died of grief on the Cross, to win to Himself the love of these very
hearts? And this is not all. Besides dying for us, He, in order to unite
Himself more closely to us, left Himself on our altars, where He makes Himself
one with us, that thereby we may understand how ardent is the love which He
bears us. "He has united Himself to us," cries out St. John
Chrysostom, "that we may be one with Him; for this is the desire of those
who ardently love." And St. Francis de Sales speaking of Holy Communion,
adds: "There is no action in which we can consider our Saviour more loving
or more tender than in this, in which He, as it were, annihilates Himself,
reducing Himself to food in order to unite Himself to the hearts of the
faithful."
But how comes it, O my Lord, that having received from You so many proofs of
the most tender love, I should, nevertheless, have had the heart to despise
You? And with this You do justly reproach me: I have nourished and brought
up children, and they have despised me. (Isaiah 1:2.) How could I have
turned my back upon You to follow the bent of my wicked inclinations? How could
I have driven You from my soul? The wicked have said to God: Depart from us.
(Job 21:14.) How could I have afflicted Your heart which loved me so much?
But what am I now to do? Must I cease to hope in Your mercy? Ah no! O my
Saviour, would that I had died a thousand times rather than that I had over
offended You! O Lamb of God! You did bleed to death on the Cross to wash away
our sins. O my Jesus, have pity on me and pardon me; but You know my weakness,
take then my whole will that it may never more rebel against You. Drive out of
my heart all love which is not for You. The God of my heart, and the God
that is my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26 or 72:26 in the Vulgate.)
O Little Sheep, beloved of God (it is thus, ‘Pecorella’, that St.
Teresa used to call the Blessed Virgin), Mother of the Divine Lamb, recommend
me to your Son: you are, after Jesus, my hope, since you are the hope of
sinners. In your hands, I place my salvation. Spes nostra, salve. (Our
Hope, Hail and Greetings.)
CHAPTER III.
LOVING CONVERSE OF A SOUL WITH JESUS CRUCIFIED.
1. SUFFERINGS OF JESUS ON THE
CROSS.
JESUS on the Cross! Oh, stupendous sight for heaven and for earth of
mercy and of love! To behold the Son of God die through pain on an infamous
gibbet, condemned as a malefactor to so painful and shameful a death in order
to save sinful men from the punishment which they had merited!
This sight has been and ever will be the contemplation of the saints; it has
led them to renounce willingly all the goods of this earth, and to embrace,
with heroic courage, sufferings and death in order to make themselves pleasing
to a God who died for their love. The sight of Jesus so despised in having been
placed between two thieves has made them love contempt more than worldlings
have loved the honours of the world. Beholding Jesus covered with wounds on the
Cross, they have turned away with horror from the pleasures of sense, and
afflicted their bodies in order to unite their sufferings to the sufferings of
Him Who was crucified for them. In contemplating the patience with which our
Saviour died, they have accepted with joy the most painful forms of illness and
the most cruel torments of tyrants. Finally, from beholding the love of Jesus
Christ shown in the willing sacrifice which He made of His life for us in a sea
of sufferings, they have sacrificed to Him all that they had — property,
children, and even life itself.
St. Paul, speaking of the love
which the Eternal Father bore us, when He saw us dead through sin and willed to
restore us to life by sending His own Son to die for us, calls this too great a
love: But God (who is rich in mercy), for His exceeding charity wherewith He
loved us, even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together in Christ. (Eph.
2:4-5.) In like manner, we ought to call the love wherewith Jesus willed to die
for us too great a love. Hence, the same Apostle writes: We preach Christ
crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling-block, and unto the Gentiles
foolishness. (1 Cor. 1:23.) The death of Jesus on the Cross, according to
St. Paul, appeared a stumbling- block to the Jews, because they expected Him to
appear on earth full of worldly majesty, and not as one condemned to die as a
criminal on the Cross. On the other hand, it seemed to the Gentiles folly that
God should be willing to die, and such a death, for His creatures. Hence, St.
Laurence Justinian has daringly explained: "We have seen wisdom itself
infatuated through excessive love!"
And in truth, does it not seem folly that God who is Almighty and
infinitely happy in Himself should be willing of His own accord to be scourged,
treated as a mock king, buffeted, spat upon in the face, condemned as a
malefactor, abandoned by all and left to die on a Cross of shame to save
miserable worms He Himself had created? Considering these things, the enamoured
St. Francis, as he went through the country, wept and exclaimed, "Love is
not loved! Love is not loved!" Hence, St. Bonaventure said that he who
wishes to persevere in loving Jesus Christ should ever represent to himself his
divine Lord hanging on the Cross and dying for him: "Let him ever have
before the eyes of his heart Christ dying on the Cross."
Oh! happy the soul that frequently puts itself in spirit in the presence
of Jesus dying on the Cross, and remains there to contemplate with tender
affection the pains which Jesus suffered, and the love with which He offered
Himself to His Father as He lay agonizing on that bed of sorrow. Souls full of
God's love, when hard pressed by temptations of the devil, and by fears for
their eternal salvation, derive great comfort from considering in silence, and
all alone, Jesus hanging on the Cross and shedding blood from all His wounds.
At the sight of Jesus crucified all desire of the goods of this world leaves
us, and there comes from this Cross a breath of heavenly air which causes us to
forget the things of earth, and enkindles within us a desire to quit all in
order to use the affections of our hearts only to love that Lord Who was
pleased to die for love of us.
Isaiah foretold that our Redeemer would be a man of sorrows: And we have
seen Him . . . despised and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows. (Isa.
53:2-3.) If, then, you wish to behold this man of sorrows, foretold by Isaiah,
look at Jesus dying on the Cross: there, behold His hands and feet nailed, and
the whole weight of His body pressing on the wounds; behold all His members
wounded and suffering, causing Him bitter and continual torment. Wherever He
turns He finds no relief; His sufferings increase more and more till at last
they deprive Him of life: because this man of sorrows is condemned by His
Father to die of sheer sorrow to atone for our sins.
O my Jesus! what Christian,
knowing by faith that You have died on the Cross for love of him, can live
without loving You! Pardon me, my Lord, first of all, this great sin, to have
lived so many years without loving You. O my dear Saviour, death fills me with
fear, thinking that it is then I shall have to give an account of all the
offences I have committed against You; but the blood which I see flowing from
Your wounds gives me hope of Your pardon, and hope that You will at the same
time give me grace to love You for the future with my whole heart, and this in
virtue of the merit which You have acquired with so much suffering. I give
myself entirely to You; I do not wish to be any longer my own; I wish to do and
to suffer all that pleases You.
2. DEATH OF JESUS.
Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit. These words, uttered by Jesus on
the Cross when on the point of expiring, bring much comfort to the dying in
their last combat with hell, when about to pass into eternity.
O my beloved Jesus! I do not
wish to wait till the hour of my death to recommend my soul to You; from this
very moment I recommend my soul to You. By the precious blood which You have
shed for me, permit not that my soul be ever separated from You. Henceforth I
desire to be Yours, all Yours, without reserve. O my Jesus! in Your lacerated
flesh, torn by scourges, by thorns, by nails, I recognise the burning love You
have borne me, and the ingratitude of which I have been guilty towards You; but
Your blood is my hope. Wretch that I am, how often have I not renounced Your
grace, and by my own acts condemned myself to hell! What would have become of
me if You had not chosen to die for me? Would that I could die of grief as
often as I think of my conduct in having despised Your infinite goodness. But
never shall this be again; from this day forward, aided by Your grace, I leave
everything; it is enough for me to be united to You, my God and my all!
O men, O men! how can you show
such contempt for a God who suffered so much for you? Behold Him on the Cross
sacrificing Himself by death to atone for your sins, and to win your
affections. O my Jesus! I do not wish to live any longer ungrateful for such
goodness. O wounds of Jesus! wound me with love! O blood of Jesus! inebriate me
with love! O death of Jesus! make me die to every affection which is not for
You! In mercy receive me; do not drive me from You, now that I give myself to
You without reserve.
Behold, finally, how our
Saviour on the Cross, weighed down with sorrow and pain, bows His head and
dies; And bowing His bead, He gave up the ghost. (John 19:30.)
O Eternal Father! I, a
wretched creature, have dishonoured You by my wicked life; but Jesus Christ in
making satisfaction for me by His death, has fully restored Your honour.
O Jesus, my Saviour, I see You
now dead on the Cross; You no longer speak; You breath no more, because You are
dead; having willed to lose Your life to save our souls. There is no longer any
blood in Your veins, because You have shed it all to wash away our sins. In a
word, You have given Yourself up to death through love for us: He has loved
us, and has delivered Himself for us. (Eph. 5:2.) "Ah! why do we not,
in spirit," says St. Francis de Sales, "throw ourselves upon Him to
die with Him on that Cross on which He willed to die for love of us. I will
hold Him, we ought to say, and I will never let Him go; I will die with Him,
and be set on fire by the flames of His love. One and the same fire shall
consume the Divine Creator and His miserable creature. My Jesus is all mine,
and I am all His. I will live and die pressed to His bosom; neither death nor
life shall ever separate me from Him."
Yes, my sweet Redeemer, I
embrace with tenderness Your pierced feet, and, full of confidence in seeing
You dead for love of me, and I love You with my whole soul. At the foot of Your
Cross, I give to You, and leave to You, my heart and my will; nail You,
Yourself, my heart to this Cross, so that it may never be separated from You,
and may have no other desire than to please You.
3. FRUITS OF THE DEATH OF
JESUS CHRIST.
We read in the Gospel of St. John, that our divine Saviour, in order to
make known to His disciples the death He was to suffer on the Cross, said to
them: And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to
myself. (Now this He said, signifying what death He should die.) (John,
12:32-33.) And, in effect, by showing Himself thus crucified and dead on the
Cross, how many souls has not Jesus drawn to Himself, so that they have
abandoned all and have given themselves entirely to His love. Ah! my Jesus,
draw also to Yourself my soul, which at one time was lost to You; draw it by
the chains of love, so that it may forget the world to think of nothing but of
loving and pleasing You: Draw me: we will run after You to the odour of Your
ointments. (Cant. 1:3.) O my Lord, You know my weakness and the offences
which I have committed against You. Take possession of all my affections, so
that I may occupy myself only with what pleases You, my God, most worthy of all
in love. Hear me, O Jesus! through the merits of Your death, and make me all
Your own.
St. Leo tells us that he who
looks with confidence on Jesus dead on the Cross is healed of the wounds
inflicted by his sins: "Those who with faith look on Jesus dead on the
Cross are healed from the wounds of sin." This is why every Christian
should constantly keep before his eyes Jesus crucified, and say with St. Paul: I
judged not myself to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ, and Him
crucified. (1 Cor. 2:2.) From which words it is clear that the Apostle did
not desire any other knowledge in this world than that of knowing how to love
Jesus crucified.
My beloved Saviour, to obtain
for me a good death, You have chosen one so full of suffering and desolation! I
cast myself unreservedly into the arms of Your mercy. You have called me to
penance, and, I hope, have pardoned me; but if, through my own fault, You have
not yet pardoned, ah! pardon me now. I repent, O my Jesus! of having ever
turned my back upon You, and of having driven You out of my soul. Give me Your
grace; but this is not enough, give me as well strength to love You with my
whole soul during the remainder of my life; and when I come to die, grant me
the grace to expire burning with love for You, and saying: My Jesus, I love
You, I love You, in order to continue to love You for all eternity. From
this moment, I unite my death to Your holy death, through which I hope to be
saved: In You, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded. (Psalm
31: 2 or 30: 2 in the Vulgate.)
O great Mother of God! you are, after Jesus, my hope. In you, O Lady, have I
hoped; I shall not be confounded for ever.
Devout souls, when the devil strives to make you distrustful about your
salvation by recalling your past sins, lift up your eyes to Jesus dead on the
Cross to deliver you from eternal death. Since God has made known to you by
means of your holy faith the desire He has of your salvation (having sacrificed
His life for you, if only you are resolved to love Him truly the rest of your
lives, cost what it may) be on your guard against any weakness in your
confidence in His mercy. Having given us so many proofs of His love, and of His
desire to save us, it would be an offence offered to God if we did not trust
Him fully and place all our confidence in His goodness.
Full of holy confidence, therefore, let us hope for every good from the hands
of a God so liberal and so loving; and at the same time let us give ourselves
to Him without reserve, let us say: O Eternal God. We are indeed sinners; but
You, Who are Almighty, can make us saints; grant that for the time to come we
may omit nothing which we know to be for Your glory, and that we may in all
things labour to give You pleasure. Grant that we may spend the rest of our
days in pleasing You alone. Punish us, as You will for our past sins, but not
with the chastisement of not being able to love You; deprive us of all, but not
of Yourself. You have loved us without reserve, without reserve also do we wish
to love You, O infinite Love! O infinite Goodness!
O Mary, ever Virgin, draw us wholly to God; you can do so; do it for the love
which you bear to Jesus.
######
4. CONCLUSION.
Let us finish this little book with the prayer of St. Francis de Sales
"O Eternal Love, my soul seeks You, and chooses You now and for ever.
Come, Holy Ghost! Enkindle in our hearts the fire of Your love,
To die and to love: to die to every other love, in order to live eternally to
love Jesus. O Saviour of our souls! grant that we may sing for ever: Hail
Jesus! I love Jesus! Hail Jesus, whom I love! I love Jesus, who lives and
reigns for ever and ever. Amen."
Ah! my Jesus! and who, seeing that You, who are the Son of God, have willed to
end Your life by so bitter a death for love of us, who, I say, will be so
hard-hearted and ungrateful as to prefer to You the miserable things of this
world? My God, and my all, I prefer You to all knowledge, all wealth, all
honours, all glory, all hopes, and to all the gifts that You could bestow upon
me. You are my all. You are infinitely deserving of my love, how, then, can I
love any other but You? Every gift short of Yourself is too little for me, and
cannot satisfy me; You only do I desire, and nothing more. If, then, You must
punish me for my sins, take from me everything; but deprive me not of Yourself.
You alone are sufficient for me; I repeat, I desire Yourself and nothing more.
I am resolved, my Jesus, to
spend the remainder of my life in loving and pleasing You. What have not the saints
done to please You? They have stripped themselves of their possessions; they
have renounced the greatest dignities of the world; they have welcomed as
treasures, contempt, torments, and deaths the most cruel that tyrants could
invent.
O Lord, I now understand that
You have created us to love You and to give You pleasure. In the past, I, a
miserable wretch, instead of giving You pleasure, caused You so much
displeasure. What can I say? Ah! that I could die of grief at the thought! But
thanks to Your mercy, I hope that You have already pardoned me. And since You
have pardoned me, I now give to You my will and my whole being. Take full
possession of me for ever, and make me all Your own. Draw me ever closer and
closer to Your heart. You are my only good, my only love.
O Mary, Mother of God! you are, after Jesus, my hope. Ask for me from God, that
I may be all His; I do not desire anything else. You are all-powerful with God;
it is for you then to obtain me this grace.
O Divine Love! how is it that You are so despised by men? O men, behold
on this Cross the Son of God, like a lamb, sacrificing Himself amidst the pains
of death for your sins; behold Him, and love Him.
My Jesus, infinitely deserving of love, permit not that I live any longer
ungrateful for such goodness. In the past I have thought but little of
corresponding to the love which You have borne me; for the future, I will think
only of loving and pleasing You.
Let us strip ourselves of
self-love and of attachment to earthly things; let us give to God our whole
will, entirely and without reserve, saying: O Lord! dispose of me, and all that
belongs to me, as You will, in life and in death. I only will what You will. My
only desire is to love You always in this life, and for ever in the next. And
what else could I desire, save only You, O God of my heart?
O blood of Jesus, inebriate me
with the love of Jesus! O wounds of Jesus, pierce me with the love of Jesus! O
death of Jesus, make me die to all love which is not for Jesus! My Jesus, I
love You above all things; I love You with my whole soul; I love You more than
I love myself. I repent, my Love, of having despised You in the past. My
beloved Lord, give me Your love, and make me all Your own.
O Mary, my Mother! again I pray you, to make me all to Jesus; you must do it; I
hope for this from you.
5. DEVOUT ASPIRATIONS.
O Loving heart of Jesus, inflame this poor heart of mine.
My Jesus, when shall I begin to love You, as You have loved me?
My God, when shall I die to
everything, to live for You alone?
My beloved, make me love You
even in the midst of sufferings.
You have loved me without
reserve; I wish to love You without reserve.
My Jesus, make Yourself known,
make Yourself loved by all.
My Jesus, grant that I may
die, saying, I love You, I love You.
My God, suffer me not to lose
You for ever.
Give me the grace to love You,
and then do with me what You will.
At this hour, I might have
been in hell, but now I love You, and I hope always to love You.
And what else do I desire, my
God! but You, my chief, my only good?
My Jesus, in the day of
judgment do not send me away from You.
My Jesus, how lovely are You;
but by how few are You loved!
My Jesus, grant me Your love;
I ask for nothing more.
You have died for me, I wish
also to die for You.
O death of Jesus, from you I hope for a happy death.
O blood of Jesus, from you I hope for pardon of all my sins.
O wounds of Jesus, from you I hope to love Jesus for ever.
O agony of Jesus, from you I
hope to bear peacefully the agony of my death.
O sorrows of Jesus, from you I hope for patience in contradictions.
O scourges of Jesus, deliver me from everlasting despair.
O tears of Mary, obtain for me sorrow for my sins.
O my own St. Joseph, by your happy death, obtain for me a good death.
O holy Apostles, by your
blessed deaths obtain for me the grace to die in the love of God.
And what do I desire, either
in this life or in the next, but You alone, my God?
O my Jesus, had I died in sin, I could never more love You; now I desire
to love You and You alone.
My God, I love You, and I will
love none but You.
St. Teresa, St. Philip Neri, my patrons, make me burn with the love of
God with which you were inflamed.
My Jesus, by the pain which You did endure when Your right hand was pierced
with the nail, give me perseverance in Your grace.
My Jesus, by the pain which
You did endure when Your left hand was pierced with the nail, give me a true
sorrow for my sins.
My Jesus, by the pain which
You did endure when Your left foot was pierced with the nail, deliver me from
the pains of hell.
My Jesus, by the pains which
You did endure when Your right foot was pierced with the nail, give me the
grace to love You eternally in heaven.
My Jesus, by the wound that was made in Your Sacred Heart, give me the
grace to love You always in this life and in the next.
*****