Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

his cross and passion, bless, govern, and keep me this day, and for evef.

Amen.

I laid me down and slept, and rose up again, for the Lord hath sustained me.

Amen.

When you are ready, look on your Soul as still undressed, till you have said your Prayers.

O BLESSED Lord! who hast invited and commanded us to pray unto thee, let thy spirit help mine infirmities; and do thou so dispose my mind, and influence my heart in my preparation for a worthy receiving of thy most holy sacrament, that my prayers and praises may be accept"able in thy sight, through the mediation, and for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.. Amen.

O ALMIGHTY Lord God, mortify and kill all vices in me; and so strengthen me with thy grace, that by the innocency of my life, and the constancy of my faith, I may always glorify thy great and holy name.. Grant me the true circumcision of the spirit; that, my heart and all. my members being mortified from all worldly and carnal lusts, I may in all things obey thy blessed will. Enable me to love my enemies, and to do good to those that hate me, and to pray for them that despitefully use me, and persecute me, in obedience to the command, and in imitation of the example of my great Lord and Master, Christ Jesus Amen.

Here may be added (if time will permit) the Morning. Prayer, on page 114 of this first Part.

Thy will
Give us

OUR Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. be done in earth, as it is in heaven. this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

So far may be used every Morning before the Meditation..

Meditation for Monday Morning, Upon our Saviour's loving Invitation to the Communion of his Body and Blood.

sin not.

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John ii. 1.

1. COME now, O my soul, and let us retire from the pursuits of this vain deceitful world; and let us well consider the gracious and condescending invitations wherewith our blessed Lord and only Saviour has called us, in his holy gospel, to be partakers of his holy table. Why then this wavering, or coldness, O my soul! give ear to the eternal truth, who will remove all thy doubts and fears by the following invitation,

COME unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will refresh you. The bread that I will give, is my flesh; which I will give for the life of the world. Take, eat, this is my body, which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

The words, which I spake unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. Matth. xi. 28. John vi. 51. 1 Cor. xi. 24. John vi. 56, 63.

2. Rise then, my soul, and take thy swiftest wings, fly to this great mystery. There we shall see the prince of peace sacrifice himself to reconcile us with the Father: there we shall see, O stupendous mercy! the Son of God with heavenly food entertaining the sons of men. Can we, O dear Redeemer! believe the wonders of this mystery, and not be ravished with admiration of thy great goodness? can we acknowledge thy perfect veracity, and not believe this wonder of thy love? let us not then refuse to believe our God, because his mercies transcend our capacities. None but infinite wisdom could ever have invented so strange, and high, and prodigious a mystery.None but an inconceiveable infinite goodness would ever have imparted so dear, and tender, and rich a blessing.

3. When the impiety of men was at the height, and their treacherous heads plotting to betray thee; then did thy wisdom mercifully consult to overcome our malice with thy bounty, Immediately thou contrivedst an admirable way to invite all the world to a feast of wonders: a feast! where thy sacred body should be our food, and thy precious blood our drink. A feast! in which are continually wrought new miracles of love for us. Thus, as if it had not been love enough to have given thyself on the cross for us; thou hast found out a way to give thyself to us in the holy sacrament; to unite us with thyself by the most

[ocr errors]

intimate union that is possible for us to conceive, and which we can better feel than express: to become the life, the strength, the support, and comfort of our beings: nay, to become even one with me, and be unto me the very soul of my soul. O Lord my God! this is so inconceivable a blessing, this is so divine a union, that the very angels, with awful admiration, contemplate thy wonderful condescension in it.

4. Lord, who are we, unworthy sinners, that thou thus regardest our wretched dust? what is all the world compared to thee, that thus thou seemest to disregard thyself? It was for our sakes, and to draw us up to thy love, that thou hast commanded us to commemorate and represent thy passion; and present the merits of it before thy father, on earth, as thou dost present them to him in heaven. It was for our sakes, and to help the infirmities of our nature, that thou didst appoint a commemorative sacrifice, of that one oblation of thyself once offered upon the cross; and bread and wine so offered and blessed as symbols of thy body and blood. What great blessings are these, O Jesu! that demand my praises!

5. Yet more blessed is the heart that desires. thy coming, and longs to see thee in thy glorious self. O my adored Redeemer! when will that happy day appear, when mine eyes may behold thee without a veil? when will the clouds and shadows pass away, that thy beams may shine on me in their full brightness? object not against me, dearest Lord, that none can see thy face and live. Those fears thy love has changed, and my

fixed-hope is now to live by seeing thee. Say not, O thou mild and gracious majesty, if I approach thy presence I must die. Rather instruct me so to die, that I may live for ever in thy pre

sence.

Here if thou desirest to know the reason why Christ ordained this Sacrament, consult the NEW WHOLE DUTY OF MAN, Sunday 6. Section 1.

The Prayer on Monday Morning, to implore God's assistance in the Course of this Week's Preparation for receiving the Holy Sacrament. I acknowledge my faults, and my sin is ever before me. Psalm li. 3.

O MOST glorious and ever-blessed God, in whose presence is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore; vouchsafe, I beseech thee, to discharge my mind of all superfluous cares, and immoderate desires of the things of this world, and enable me so to: employ my time this week, as may effectually prevent or resist all temptations. Let thy grace, O Lord, so powerfully assist my endeavours, and direct my will, and strengthen my intentions, that I may do such things as are agreeable to thee, and suitable to the dignity of a christian: and that I may fill up all the spaces of this week with meditations upon the most holy sacrament, with acts of religion, and fervent charity, so that when the devil assaults me, he may not find me idle, and that my dearest Lord, at his sudden coming, may find me improving the talent committed to my care, that I may enter into the joy of my Lord;

« AnteriorContinuar »