Nor be our grosser taste en- The open'd fountain of thy chain'd To pamp'ring pleasure's dull delight! V. AT THE STRIPPING. were Against Avarice. Hail Jesu, bared again to view, [forth afresh, Thy open'd Wounds burst Divested of the robes that [Flesh! Adhesive to thy bleeding Disrobe us, like thyself, O Lord, [sion freed, That we, from selfish pasMay closely cling to thee alone, [indeed! And follow in thy steps VI. AT THE CRUCIFIXION. Against Sloth. Hail Jesu, when was pierced thy Side, Then didst thou to us all impart grace, [Heart! Thy own divine and tender Untorn by Envy's cank'ring care, [from its flood: Let twofold love spring Its Water purify our souls, And be their ornament its Blood! S. AUGUSTINE. Look upon his Wounds made in hanging for us; his Blood shed in dying for us; the price he paid to redeem us. His Head he bows to kiss us; his Heart he opens to love us; his Arms he stretches out to embrace us; his whole Body he exposes to redeem us! Think how great are these things: weigh them in the balance of thy heart, that he may be all fixed within thy heart, who, for thee, was all fixed upon the Cross. Salutations TO THE FIVE WOUNDS OF CHRIST, With Prayers for obtaining the principal Virtues. Jesu, thy sweetest Heart! TO THE WOUND OF THE LEFT Love! open wide thy portal HAND. there, And all its bliss impart ; Bright Charity! into souls Thy rays of virtue dart. our By penitence, to highest grace, And hope of Paradise! By such contrition bring us now, And in death's gasping hour, Like him to merit pardon too, By thy same Passion's pow'r ! III. WORD. Hail Jesu, thy loved Mother thou, Beheld beneath thy Cross, To thy Disciple didst com mend, Left lonesome by thy loss! Protect us too, thy children, Make us to thirst for hea Lord, v'nly things, The things that never cloy, Of world and flesh alike to loathe The transitory joy! VI. WORD. Hail Jesu, all accomplish'd now Thy Father's sweet commands, [stow'd Thy merits are on us beBy thy all-bounteous hands! Grant that we too our heav'nward race Accomplish all thy dear be- VII. WORD. Hail Jesu, with thy closing speech Is closed thy earthly strife, And, to thy Father's hands resign'd, Thou yieldest up thy life! Oh, let thy Death cleanse us from sin, With good our life supply, And hopeful of thy promised bliss, Securely give to die! CHAPTER V. Various Prayers on the Passion of our Lord. A VERY HOLY PRAYER, TO BE SAID BEFORE AN IMAGE OF THE CRUCIFIED. From the German Prayers of F. Canisius. O Jesus Christ, King of sweet Saviour and Redeemer ! heaven and earth, our most I adore and bless thee, be cause thou hast, by the holy Cross, so wonderfully and lovingly redeemed me and the whole world. Oh, how excellent, precious, and efficacious a Victim hast thou immolated for us on the altar of the Cross! Oh, how greatly hast thou toiled, how much wast thou straitened, until thou hadst accomplished the sacrifice which thou hadst begun! By a tree Satan seduced and ruined us of old; but by a Tree again thou hast overcome our enemy, redeemed us graciously, and obtained for us eternal salvation! O precious wood! O potent sign! O glorious mystery, worthy of all veneration! O excellent Tree, that hast borne the fruit of life! But alas! most loving Jesus, with what toil, what weariness hast thou carried on thy shoulders that heavy burden of the Cross along that steep and tedious road to Mount Calvary! With what pain and torture were thy most holy Hands and Feet pierced through with nails, and fastened to the Cross! How cruelly hast thou endured to have thy whole body stretched out upon it, so that the joints and ligatures of thy limbs were loosened, and all thy bones could be numbered! And why all this, but to blot out the handwriting of the decree that was 1 Luke xii. 50. against us, and take it out of the way, fastening it to the Cross? To wash away, I say, our sins with thy own innocent Blood, and rescind the sentence of condemnation passed upon us, and so reconcile all things, making peace by the Blood of the Cross, both as to the things on earth, and the things that are in heaven.' Henceforth, O most sweet Saviour Jesus Christ, most faithful Pastor of my soul, receive me, thy unworthy creature, and silly, wandering sheep! Open to me thy Heart and thy Wounds, that in them I may hide myself, with my miseries and sins, and be protected and purified. Crucify in me my flesh, with its vices and concupiscences. Extinguish all my pride, and tear out of me my vanity, with all my evil affections. Renew also a right spirit within my bowels. Awaken in me an earnest and effectual will towards every good work, with sincerity of love, unweariedness of service, and constancy of obedience to thee alone; that so it may be far from me to glory, save in the Cross of my Lord Jesus Christ, by whom may the world be crucified to me, and I to the world." Thou hast said, If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself. Now thereI Col. i. 20. 2 Gal. vi. 14. 3 John xii. 32. fore draw me after thee, that nothing may ever be able to separate me from thee, who for me hast ascended the Cross, and camest not down from thence, until thou hadst fully accomplished the work of my salvation! Amen. Short and Forcible Prayers TO CHRIST IN HIS PASSION. I. O Jesus Christ, my only Saviour! let not, I beseech thee, thy most bitter Passion and Death be lost or deprived of its fruit in a wretch like myself. By all thy ignominy, thy most bitter death, and thy wounded heart, bestow on me thy grace, now and in the hour of my death. Amen. II. O Jesus Christ, the crucified Saviour of the world! interpose all thy pains, thy precious Blood and Death, and all thy mercies, between thy stern justice and my wretched soul. Amen. III. O Jesus Christ, good Shepherd! who feedest and purifiest thy sheep with thy own precious Blood; let the abundant outpouring of thy most holy Blood, and all thy Passion, be for comfort and salvation to me and to all sinners. Amen. IV. O innocent Lamb of God! who by thy Cross and Death takest away the sins of the world; by thy innocence, thy tortures, thy pains, and anguish of thy Heart endured upon the Cross, spare me in the day of thy terrible Judg ment, and have mercy on the living and the dead. Amen. V. O Son, obedient to God the Father! who so readily and cheerfully drankest the cup of thy awful Passion, and in thy thirst wast also given gall and vinegar to drink. By all thý most cruel torments and wounds, make me to be meek and patient, and obedient to the eternal Father even to death. Amen. VI. O Jesus, our High Priest! who offeredst to God the Father a clean Oblation, that is fully effectual for the reconciliation of sinners to God; by the infinite merits of thy Life, Passion, and Death, grant that I may die to the world, and live only to thee, and finally be dismissed from hence in peace. Amen. VII. O Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews! by the victory and triumph which thou hast gained over thy enemies and ours, preserve me from my enemies. Defend my body and soul from all danger. Bestow on thy Church peace and concord, on the departed pardon and rest, on sinners penitence |