SUNDAY EVENING.

HAIL, sweet Jesus! praise, and honour, and glory, be to Thee, O Christ, who was pleased for my sake, to descend from Thy royal throne, and from the sweet bosom of the Father, into this valley of tears, and was conceived incarnate by the Holy Ghost, in the most chaste womb of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. Take, I beseech Thee, my heart as Thine habitation, enrich it, fill it with all spiritual gifts, make it wholly Thine. O that I may invite Thee to come unto me with deep humility, and that I may receive Thee with ardent love, and never let Thee go. O may I be bound to Thee by the chains of such fervent love, that I may never be able to depart or turn away my heart from Thee.

Hail, sweet Jesus! praise, and honour, and glory, be to Thee, O Christ, who didst 16will that Thy virgin mother, when She had conceived Thee, should hasten to Her kinswoman Elizabeth, and didst inspire Her to salute and minister unto Her: in whose most chaste womb Thou didst not disdain to be concealed for nine months, God and man. Pour upon me the grace of perfect humility, and so thoroughly implant it in my heart, that I may be ever found ready to follow and obey Thee. Grant that my heart may eschew all perishable things, and that it may ever feel Thee to be its sole inmate and possessor.

Hail, sweet Jesus! praise, and honour, and glory be to Thee, O Christ, whom Thy Virgin Mother, without pain or the loss of her virginity, brought forth in a miserable stable to poverty and suffering, and whom, as soon as born, She humbly worshipped, O mayest Thou, by renewed fervour of spirit, be daily born again within me, and may I be wholly consumed by the fire of Thy love: mayest Thou be the only consolation of my heart, my only desire, my only joy: may I seek Thee alone, know Thee alone, love Thee alone.

Hail, sweet Jesus! praise, and honour, and glory be to Thee, O Christ, who didst vouchsafe 17to be born during the cold of winter, to be wrapt in swaddling clothes, and to be laid with sobbings in a manger, nor didst refuse to hang as a little infant upon Thy mother’s breasts. I adore Thee, O my dearest Redeemer, the King of angels: Hail, lovely Child, God most high, O sweetest Jesus. Hail, Prince of peace, Light of the Gentiles, the long-looked-for Saviour. Grant, O Lord, that I may for ever stand before Thee in deep humility and poorness of spirit. Grant that I may willingly undergo all vexations for Thy Name’s sake, may love nothing in this world save Thee alone, may desire to possess nothing but Thee.

Hail, sweet Jesus! praise, and honour, and glory be to Thee, O Christ, whom as soon as Thou wast born, the heavenly hosts praised with joyful hymns, and the shepherds sought with reverence, and when they had found Thee, worshipped with admiration and delight. Grant that I may with a Joyful spirit, persevere unwearied in praising and serving Thee, and that in purity, steadfastness, calmness, and quietness of soul, I may find my only joys, my only pleasures in Thy service.

Hail, sweet Jesus! praise, and honour, 18and glory be to Thee, O Christ, who on the eighth day wast circumcised after the manner of Thy countrymen, and even as an infant didst shed Thy blood, and didst vouchsafe for our exceeding consolation to be called Jesus. O that I may be circumcised in heart from every wicked thought, and word, and deed, and may be numbered amongst Thy children. Thou, O Lord, art called Jesus, that is, Saviour: salvation, therefore, is Thy gift. Let the remembrance, I beseech Thee, of this most longed-for Name drive from me all inordinate weakness of purpose, and make me steadfastly faithful unto Thee. By the virtue of this Name, protect me, as with an impenetrable shield, against all the snares and plottings of my invisible enemies.

Hail, sweet Jesus! praise, and honour, and glory be to Thee, O Christ, whom the wise men sought for in holy faith, and found by the guiding of a star, and having found Thee, fell down and worshipped Thee, offering Thee gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Grant, O Lord, that I may with these blessed men always seek for and worship Thee in spirit and in truth, 19and that I may ever offer Thee the gold of burning charity, the frankincense of fragrant devotion, and the myrrh of perfect mortification. Give me grace to spend the whole strength of my soul in praising and worshipping Thee, according to Thy holy will, Amen.