THE FIFTH CHAPTER.

A devout Prayer to the Worshipful Sacrament.

Almighty God, and Lord Jesus Christ, Word of the Father, Eternal Truth, most merciful Redeemer, most just Judge, how incomprehensible are Thy judgments over the children of men! how terrible art Thou to the wicked, how tender and loving to the good! Behold I, Thy poor, vile, and sinful creature, trembling and groaning, come before Thee, the Eternal Truth, from Whom no secrets are hid, Whose eyes search out, in all clearness, not only the works, but the very inmost depth of man, as to the intention of his heart, wherewith all his works are done. O my God, Thou art very good, yet Thine infinite Justice, all piercing Truth, awful Wisdom, and terrible judgments, press sore upon me even unto death, and make me fear to come into Thy presence; for I am stained with many sins, whereby I have grievously stirred Thee to anger. But Thine infinite loving-kindness, and great tenderness and goodness, which are over all Thy works, these make me 45breathe again, and hope for salvation and pardon.

Behold, that deceitful and envious serpent hath held out to me the food of death under a pleasing shape, and I, a stranger to the light of Thy grace, discerning not good from evil, have given consent to the wicked one: I have eaten, and am poisoned. To whom now shall I fly, O most tender God, save to Thee? Thou art the salvation of man, the Lamb without stain, that takest away all the stains of sin, and washest and healest in Thine own most pure Blood, all the corruption and infection of the poisonous serpent. Wherefore, with tender trust I fly beneath the wings of Thy gentle loving-kindness. Before Thee I throw myself in all lowliness, not presuming on any virtue of mine, but laden with the heavy burden of my sins, that by groans, and tears, and prayer, I may move Thee to pity, O my God, Whom I have offended by my lusts, and pleasures, and pride, and vanity, and, alas! too much by my own evil will. All unclean I come unto Thee, but Thou art the source of mercy and grace; if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. Wounded unto death I come to Thee, but Thou art my God, Thou art the medicine of life. Behold! I confess to Thee my sins. Lord! if Thou wilt, Thou canst help me; and, indeed, Thou alone canst help me.

Oh! of a truth, it is but little for Thee to give what to me is most profitable to receive. Remember, I beseech Thee, O tender Jesus, that comforting word of Thine, which Thou, the Eternal Truth, Last spoken; that “Thou desirest not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live.” O faithful Lover of men, lo, with my whole heart, and with every power of my soul, I turn to Thee. Help me, before my soul die! For without Thee I cannot but die, since Thou hast said: “Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, ye shall have no life in you.” Behold! I am nigh unto death, for I have turned away from Thee, the medicine of my soul, and the Bread of Life! My heart hath withered within me, so that I am forced to beg my bread upon the earth, that is to say, to go after earthly and temporal consolation, for I have gone far away from Thee, the food and nourishment of heaven. Wherefore it is, that, hungry, and sick, and crippled, I now come to Thee, the Father of mercy, the well of loving-kindness. With lowly prayer I knock at the door of Thy divine grace and mercy, and at Thy fatherly Heart. Oh! hear my prayer: grant unto me the desire of my heart, fill the hungry one with good things, refresh the thirsty one, 47quicken my languor, heal my sickness, for Thou alone canst heal me.

O most merciful Samaritan, pass not by on the other side of Thy poor weak servant, but take pity upon me, and pour into my wounds Thy wine and oil. It was love that drew Thee down from heaven, that Thou mightest redeem Adam our father; let that same love move Thee now to heal me, the weakest of his children. Nor is it only, O kind Jesus, because Thou art so very necessary unto me in my weakness, that I desire to receive Thee, but it is also by reason of the great love and longing which I feel for Thee, O my Lord and Saviour, the only love of my heart. For Thy grace preventing me, and Thy love first shown unto me, have so strengthened my heart in faith, and hope, and love towards Thee, that I cannot fear Thee or fly from Thee, as if Thou wert a terrible judge that can never be appeased. But I am forced to go and meet Thee, that I may take Thee, and embrace Thee with inmost love, as my tender-hearted Father and sweet Lover. In power Thou art most mighty, in wisdom most glorious, in goodness most perfect, in gifts most bountiful, in nature most beautiful, in conversation most holy, in fruit most delightful, in taste most sweet. Thou art full of comfort and grace, Thou art all-desirable. O sweetest Lord, although the heavens cannot 48contain Thy greatness, and I am such a poor, little, vile worm of earth, that I am not worthy to receive from Thee even the least of Thy good gifts, yet not even by all Thy gifts canst Thou fulfil the longing of my heart, unless Thou givest me Thyself! Nay, the viler I am, the more Thy goodness will be praised, and the more will all men marvel thereat, that Thou, the Lord of glory, shouldst vouchsafe to come unto me, a poor, wretched, and weak man. O most merciful Jesus, Who didst not shrink from the feasts of publicans and sinners, nor didst abhor the touch of the woman who was a sinner, do Thou visit my soul in its desolation! Come, and say unto my soul: “I am thy salvation.” O out-flowing abyss of divine goodness, that fillest the heavens and the earth, and all that in them is, out of Whose plenitude all the saints flow over with delights, and are satisfied in all abundance, fill me wholly with Thyself! To do this, belongeth to Thy power; but how to do this, and by what means, belongeth to Thy wisdom, while the perfecting of the work belongeth to Thy goodness. Vouchsafe, also, so to adorn my heart with the riches of Thy grace, that I may seek for no curious adornment beneath Thyself, but that all things temporal may be to me vile as dung. O heavenly Sweetness, I long to eat Thee all; and to be all eaten by Thee. 49I desire, O my Lord, to be all consumed by Thee, and in myself to be brought down to nothing. I wish to die in myself, and to live in Thee, to be likewise transformed and incorporated by Thee, and to rest for everlasting in Thee, my blessed origin. Thou art the source and origin of all things that are, and by Thee, and in Thee, according to Thine eternal thought of us, we live and are. Of a truth, our heart is restless, unless it find rest in Thee, its origin.

O Almighty upholder of my being, draw me into Thyself, and do Thou Thyself come down in mercy to me. Form again in Thee, according to its first purity and integrity, that fair likeness of Thee, which I have corrupted within me. O purest principle of my essence, which is created, indeed, within me, but increate in Thee according to Thine eternal idea, I beseech Thee, by that burning love of Thine, whereby Thou didst suffer Thy pure Heart to be pierced, that through its pierced opening Thou mightest lead me back into the uncreated Heart of God, come down, come down, quickly to me, and bring together with Thee Thy most gracious Father, for in grace Thou knowest it is His Will, not to send Thee out of Himself, but to be Himself together with Thee! O sweet Jesus, I beseech Thee, baptize me many times, purify and cleanse me in 50Thy pierced and wounded Heart, that I may be made worthy to be brought into the loving Heart of Thy Eternal Father, where He may vouchsafe to receive me as His adopted son, through Thee His own Son, co-eternal and co-equal. Amen.