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nierciful, and ready to repent of the evil, and hast in thy best and wisest manner preordained all things to the most high and perfect good, impute it not to me for eternal punishment, and let me not be blotted out of the book of life; but offer for me, for my relief, the portion that falls to me, namely, of thy precious passion, in return for which it has been thy will to have man to be joint-heir with thee in the land of the living.

Let, then, O Lord, the consideration of human frailty stir and incline thee to mercy; for thou knowest what is man's substance, and that thou hast not placed him for nought upon the earth; and

preserve me, who am the work of thy love, lest thou shouldst have laboured for it in vain, and that the shedding of thy spotless blood may not be fruitless in my regard.

Thou who makest purification for sins, grant that I may be cleansed from the filth of my sins, and enlightened to know thee with the eye of my mind; and that I may ever confess thee, tend towards thee, and aspire to thee in the bent of my heart; that, finally, by a happy death, I may come to thee, O Jesus Christ, who, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

CHAPTER IV.

THE LORD'S PRAYER, VARIOUSLY ADAPTED TO THE USE

OF PENITENTS.

A method of reciting the Lord's Prayer while the mind is reflecting on the parable of the Prodigal Son, for eliciting affections of compunction, by the following and similar expressions of grief.

From F. Christopher Mayer, Missionary Apostolic in Hindustan.

Our Father.

O most loving Father, who art solicitous for the welfare of thy children, however unworthy, with greater affection and care than any father, nay, than ever was mother

for the son of her womb; to what misery, alas! have I been reduced by my own fault and wilfulness in forsaking such a Father, and squandering the grace and blessings which he so bountifully bestowed upon

me! Woe is me, that I was once as it were cherished in my Father's most tender bosom, brought up in his house, shared his table, and was in all respects as a son, in want of nothing! Now I am living in a far country, a foreigner among strangers that know me not, an exile, starving, and naked.

1. Hallowed be thy name.

On how many accounts have I been bound, in how many ways been able, to hallow thy name, return thy love, and glorify thee, the Father of infinite majesty, power, wisdom, and goodness, anticipated as I have been by so many benefits, and strengthened by so many aids! I grieve that I have not done so. Behold, to do so for ever, from this moment, is my most anxious desire from the inmost depths of my heart.

2. Thy kingdom come. Oh, how foolishly have I preferred the cruel tyranny of the world, the flesh, and the devil, to thy sweet yoke! and now, wearied out in the way of sin and perdition, how greedily I long again for my Father's kingdom, the kingdom of thy grace and glory, wherein is peace and joy in the Holy Ghost!

suffered from my own perverse will, by the abuse of which, in opposition to thy most holy will, I have made myself liable to punishment, when I ought to have used it to merit for myself an increase of grace and glory! May, not mine, but thy most holy will be done by and for me henceforward, for ever, and in all things, as it is done by the blessed in heaven.

4. Our daily bread.

O most bountiful Father, who satisfiest thy elect with the plenty of thy house, from which I have but too foolishly separated myself! How many hired servants in my Father's house abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger! Time was, alas! when I was clothed in scarlet, and fed with the bread of sons; but now I hardly fill my empty belly with the husks of swine! Oh, that, if not as a son, yet at least as a hired servant, I might be fed again with the bread of thy grace.

5. And forgive us. Behold, I cry out, prostrate before thee, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, I am not now worthy to be called thy son, make me as one of thy hired servants. I am sorry that I have ever offended thee. Forgive me, as I too forgive all Oh, how many evils have I for thy sake.

3. Thy will be done.

6. And lead us not. Thou hast now, O Lord, received me back indeed to grace with the kiss of peace, and embracest me with loving arms; but thou knowest my infirmity; let me not, I beseech thee, be ever again separated from thee, nor go astray after my own heart's desire.

7. But deliver us. Preserve and deliver me

from all the evils of my present and future life, as far as they are opposed to the advancement of thy glory and my own salvation, that I may suffer no hindrance in serving thee perfectly upon earth, and may happily enjoy thee in heaven, where no evil can enter in, but thou art all in all, and art for ever the highest good of those that love thee. Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER OPPOSED TO THE SEVEN CAPITAL SINS.

The Lord's Prayer is most fruitful in holy meanings, and is, as it were, a complete armory, or, if you will, a universal charm against the plagues and diseases of the soul, which all spring up out of the direful root of the seven capital sins. Against these the Lord's Prayer is the most suitable defence.

This sevenfold evil principle is therefore described in the Apocalypse under the figure of a Beast having seven heads, which, as being exceedingly hateful and inveterate against man, ceases not to assail us with one or other of its heads, and to pour its baneful poison upon us; so that as one is cut down another springs up, and as one loses,another gathers strength, and thus in turn they succeed one another.

Nay, they not unfrequently

combine together, as it were, to attack us in a body, as every one soon knows by experience who is in earnest about his salvation. Hence our Saviour, when he left us this contest for the trial of our virtue and the increase of our merit, gave us in his own prayer a remedy ready to our hand; and this he delivered to us with its seven petitions, as though it were armed with so many weapons, with each of which we might inflict a wound upon every head of the Beast. Therefore in saying,

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Lift up thy eyes to God thy Father, who dwells in heaven, and knows the high afar off; nay, is nigh to all that call upon him, and to them

that are of a contrite heart. Consider, therefore, who, and how great, and how powerful and good, is thy helper in heaven; that he is God, and that he is himself thy Father. Fear not, then, in this conflict, but confide in the fatherly love of God towards thee, and say with the Prophet, The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? And then, in first repeating,

1. Hallowed be thy name,

Aim thy weapon against pride, which is the first head of the beast. For since pride, which is the beginning of all sin, instigates us to vainglory, or the love of our own honour, praise, and pre-eminence, it will be wise in us to dispel the pestilent humour, by referring all praise and glory to him who alone is of himself truly holy and great, and therefore alone is justly to be praised and glorified. Let us say, then, O our heavenly Father, hallowed be thy (not our) name; be thy name confessed holy, and in all things praised and glorified by all men.

For this is truly right and just, whereas, on the contrary, nothing is more misplaced than for the sinner to exalt himself, and seek for honour and praise, who is dust and ashes, corruption and a worm, by arro

gating to himself what helongs to God alone; for, says the apostle, To God alone be honour and glory. The prophet, too, expresses his utter aversion to human glory, in saying, Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy name give glory.

Let this too be our feeling in saying, Hallowed be thy name. For if we ourselves seek not our own glory, another will seek it; if in and by all things we honour God alone, he will honour them that honour him; but upon them that despise him, he will bring ignominy and disgrace. They shall be covered with shame who arrogate to themselves the glory that is due to God.

2. When the head of pride has been struck down and crushed, the devil often resorts to the incitements of avarice, and with persuasion proposes gain next to honour for an object of pursuit. Hence he inflames men's minds with longing for this world's goods, and makes it his sole endeavour to cause them to spend their whole lifetime in acquiring and preserving them, to place their hope in them, and to estimate their happiness by the greatness of their wealth.

On the other hand, reflecting how vain, fleeting, and insufficient to satisfy the heart of man are these things, and that God has promised, as

far as they are necessary, to give us them, even with no care of ours, if we seek first the kingdom of God and his justice; we, deliberately despising the things of earth, lift up the eyes of our mind to that heavenly kingdom, that inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and unfading in heaven, which only they merit to receive who set not their heart upon riches, but despise the kingdom of the world and all its pomp, and sigh continually for the riches of the kingdom of heaven, in praying from their heart,

Thy kingdom come. The kingdom of all ages, when we shall be filled with the good things of thy house, and be satisfied, when thy glory shall appear; for we believe that we shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. Oh, what, and how great, are they! Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for them that love him.

Meantime, may thy king dom of grace and justice come to us also, which may make us, though poor in worldly things, nevertheless rich in the merits of good works. For poor as is the life we lead here, yet, if we

fear God, we shall have many blessings. For not earthly wealth, but virtues and the gifts of grace are the true riches.

But we must beware of being surprised by faintness and sloth in seeking the kingdom of God; for, Not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Next, therefore, to the victory over avarice, will come the struggle against sloth. The weapon to assail it with is this:

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In

That is, oh, that we, inhabitants of earth, may do it like those of heaven! heaven God is praised with the greatest delight. In heaven the angels, with wonderful readiness, obey his pleasure. Oh, that we might do so with similar devotion, alacrity, and promptitude upon earth! Even to wish this is much in the sight of God, who sees into our good will.

But because the weakness of our flesh compels us to refresh our bodily powers with meat and drink, an act which is productive of pleasure, the devil endeavours to make this an occasion of entangling us in the vice of gluttony, and of leading us into excess

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