Prayer.
O sweet Jesus! O loving Jesus! O Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary, full of piety and of love! O sweet Jesus, according to Thy great mercy have mercy on me; blot out my iniquities, and look with tenderness upon me, a miserable sinner invoking Thy holy name, Jesus. Amen.
Sixth Day.
The Lord has commended His holy name to every Christian as a precious jewel which he is to use to obtain mercy and grace. “That whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you.” We all belong to the army of the Lord, stand under His banner, and are supposed to be ever ready to make battle in His cause. How often have not you received the body and blood of the Lord? Think, then, what efficacy your prayers have when you appear before God, with the sign of the blood of Jesus on your soul; you then pray with a power to which nothing is equal, for not only do [pg 017] you pray, but Christ prays in and by you. By this holy name God is honored, as He is honored in His adorable Son. “God hath given Him a name which is above all names.”—Phil. ii. 9. The Lord is always an intercessor for us—it is His office of Redeemer and Saviour that has merited this name, by His life on earth and His death on the cross. To-day is the feast of the Epiphany, the manifestation of the Lord Himself to the Gentiles. Let us thank God during the day by frequent outbursts of love, for our vocation to the faith in the person of the Magi.
Prayer.
O God! Who didst this day reveal Thy only-begotten Son to the Gentiles by the guidance of a star; grant in Thy mercy, that we, who already know Thee by faith, may be brought to contemplate the beauty of Thy majesty, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Seventh Day.
The Lord has shown Himself to you also, as He did to the three Wise Men from the East who represented you on the feast of Epiphany. You have had mercy shown you on this day because now you have the right to choose the true faith, and you should be thankful for this grace. You have had a singular privilege extended to you, which all Christians do not enjoy to the fulness. There are among us many who have not the consolation of dying in the arms of Jesus. They cannot claim that He said to them, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” We know that they, too, are hastening with us to [pg 018] the Last Judgment, but with what a difference! When a misfortune befalls these men in life they have no peace of mind; when a humiliation meets them, the ungentle spirit of nature is aroused in them at being despised. They are unhappy in privations, impatient in disputes, and they are selfish. The life of those who think not of Christ is full of misery, disappointment, and dissatisfaction; they sit in the darkness of heathenism; but you who have the faith find relief in all your ills. Be not one of those who by their sinfulness deserve to be deserted by God.