I offer Thee, in atonement, all which my Lord Jesus suffered in this sense.

God of my soul! I repent, with my whole heart, of all the offences which I have committed against Thee by my tongue, and by my sense of taste. I offer, in satisfaction, all the good which my Lord Jesus Christ performed by His divine words.

God of my soul! I ask pardon for all the sins which I have committed against Thee with my hands. I offer Thee, in exchange, all that my Lord Jesus Christ endured when His sacred hands were transfixed by blunt nails.

God of my soul! I repent, with all my heart, for all the sins which I have committed by my iniquitous steps. I offer for them all that my Lord Jesus Christ suffered in His most holy feet.

God of my soul! I ask pardon, with the most sincere and ardent grief, for all the offences which I have committed with my body, by indulging it in pleasures which were displeasing to Thee. I offer Thee, in satisfaction, all the sufferings which were endured by the virginal flesh of my Lord Jesus Christ.

THIRD VISIT.

Lastly, in the third visit, you should recommend your soul to God, and finish by reciting the lamentations and supplications which follow; pausing briefly, that you may the better reflect on what you say; your heart accompanying all your words, and always imagining yourself at the point of death.

Recommendation of the soul.

Behold, O my soul, thou art arrived at the last step which remains to thee in this life. Take courage; leave voluntarily the ruined house of thy body, that thou mayest go to enjoy for ever the house of thy Lord. Ah, my Lord Jesus Christ, who didst die on the cross for me, receive my soul into Thine hands. I confess that I have made myself unworthy of such a favour by my sins. My wretchedness is great and my demerits enormous; but

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they are not greater than Thy mercies. Thy blood, Thy wounds, Thy cross are my only hope. Alas! my Jesus, grant that these precious proofs of Thy love to man may not have been manifested in vain for me. I commend to Thee, O my adorable Saviour, this sinful soul, which I render into Thine hands. I desire to behold Thee, that I may adore and love Thee eternally, and address Thee in heaven with that reverence which I have failed to attain on earth. O my Jesus, finisher of all good works, who, after having on the cross tasted the bitter draught of vinegar and gall, said, It is consummated; now that I have consummated my journey through this valley of tears, grant me the grace to come to Thee, my Creator, to receive the glory which Thou hast promised me through Thy goodness and mercy. O hope and salvation of all believers, Jesus Christ, who, on the cross, cried out, Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit," I pray Thee to have pity on me, and take me to Thy blessed kingdom.

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Lamentation and supplications for a good death.

O my good Jesus! I present myself before Thee, and with my whole heart bowed down with grief and humility, I recommend myself to Thee in this, my last hour, and in all which may follow. When my eyes, obscured and darkened by the mists of death, cast their sad and expiring glance on Thee, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When my cold and livid lips tremblingly pronounce, for the last time, Thine adorable name, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When my pale and expiring face excites pain and terror, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When my hair, steeped in the damps of death, announces the immediate dissolution of my body, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When my ears, already deaf to the voice of man, tremble to hear Thee pronounce the last fatal sentence, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When my feeble knees, no longer able to support my body, assure me that my career in this life is almost ended, 0 merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When my imagination, haunted by dark and fearful phantoms, is overpowered

with mortal sadness, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When my soul, agitated at the sight of my sins, and by the fear of Thy justice, wrestles with the angel of darkness, who is endeavouring to take from me the sweet expectation of Thy mercy, and drive me to despair, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When my heart, amidst all the sufferings of my sickness, is oppressed by the horror of death, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When my relations and friends stand around my bed compassionating my situation, and imploring Thy aid in my behalf, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When the world recedes from my sight, and the use of all my senses is passing away from me, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me. When the last tear, the harbinger of death, is falling from my eyes, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! In my last agony, at the moment of my death, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When the last sigh of my heart announces that my soul is on the point of leaving the body, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When my soul trembles on my lips, ready to leave my pale corpse, cold and lifeless, accept the dissolution of my whole frame, as a homage due from me to Thy Divine Majesty, O merciful Jesus, have pity on me! When at last my soul presents itself all alone before Thy judgment, and when it first beholds the bright splendour of Thy Majesty, ah, cast me not away from Thine adorable presence! O merciful Jesus, have pity on me!

Conclusion.

O God, who hast willed that we should be ignorant of the day and hour of our death, grant that I may live all my life in justice and holiness, and so obtain the grace of leaving this world in the peace of a good conscience; grant that I may die in Thy love, through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen.

It will be useful to repeat these prayers sometimes during the course of the month, because you will thus become accustomed to the acts of religion contained in

them, which will better prepare you for the awful passage. It is necessary that you should examine with diligence whatever would most disturb or distress you at the hour of your death, that you may apply yourself during the following month to remove it.

A SHORT INSTRUCTION ON THE MANNER OF EMPLOYING WELL THE TIME OF SICKNESS.

HENSOEVER God shall be pleased to visit thee with sickness, thou oughtest to prepare thyself with all diligence to die well: expel from thy heart all the cares of the world, receive devoutly the Sacraments of the Church, and earnestly recommend thy soul to God, that thou mayest obtain strength to prosecute thy journey.

Think devoutly on the Passion of our sweet Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ, embrace in thy heart His holy cross, kiss His sacred feet, and hide Thyself in His blessed wounds, that thou mayest be safe, and happily escape all the snares and enticements of the devil; humbly beseeching our Saviour Jesus Christ to vouchsafe to wash thy soul with His precious blood, and to pardon all thy sins.

And remembering the unprofitableness and imperfec