Acts Of Virtue After Communion.
To Be Used According To Each Person's Leisure Or Opportunity.
Now, whilst the plenitude of the Divinity dwelleth corporally within you, meditate most profoundly, with the Blessed Virgin, upon the great wonders which the Almighty hath wrought in your favour. Consider yourself as a living tabernacle, wherein resideth the Holy of Holies. Let this single reflection prevent all distractions, and keep your mind in the most perfect composure and recollection.
An Act Of Confidence.
"Now there was leaning on the bosom of Jesus one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved."—John, xiii. 16. What a glorious privilege was this which St. John had! What consolation must he not have felt from the impression of the Divinity! What delightful repose! Pour forth thy heart, as he did his, into that of Jesus, and abandon thyself to the most lively sentiments of confidence.
Behold! here he is, then, the treasure of my soul! I am now in possession of the Sovereign Good! O what advantage upon earth can be compared to this? What glory! what comfort! to feel my God so near me! "My soul hath found whom she loveth: I have hold of him, nor will I let him go."—Cant, iv. The first thought, O God! with which thy presence inspires me, is a sentiment of adoration and respect. Permit me, then, in union with the blessed in heaven, to offer thee my most profound homage. Yes, under these sacred veils, where thy love for me hath concealed the splendour of thy Majesty, I most humbly adore thee. I acknowledge thee as my master, my creator, and the supreme arbiter of my eternal destiny. The less thou wouldst make thyself for my sake, the more real respect and veneration have I for thee. But these thoughts are absorbed in the greatness of my confidence. This I cannot contain, nor yet am I able to express it. If thou takest pleasure in, if thou even enjoinest us to place our trust in thee, is it not in this mystery, where thou dost communicate thyself without reserve, where thou literally verifiest that tender promise of treating us no longer as servants, but as friends? These words, which thou never didst address to thy angels or prophets, thou dost accomplish for sinners in this sacrament: yes, it would be an insult offered to thee, not to have the greatest hopes in thy mercy; for it is not here, O God, that thou exercisest thy justice; thou art glorious in heaven! all-powerful on earth! and terrible in hell! but in the Eucharist, thou art mild, consoling, sweet, and liberal. Ah! what canst thou refuse me, when thou hast given me thyself? and where is the confidence that can be too tender? Why should I envy the beloved disciple who leaned on thy breast at thy last supper, for dost thou not at present rest in my heart? O let me, then, be for ever inviolably attached to thee. Let the sweets of thy presence so captivate my soul, that disgusted with sin, it may be fixed in the contemplation of thee alone, and listen with docility to thy holy inspirations. "All you, then, that doubt of the goodness of God, come now and learn! come and admire! come and taste with me his infinite mercies! come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what great things he hath done for my soul!"—Psalm xiv. Who would have believed it? What! one of his disciples, not prostrate at his feet, but reclining upon his breast, and honoured with his particular affection! Yes, all this he hath done for him, and is ready to do the same for me also. "Behold the Lord my Saviour; I will act confidently, and I will not fear."—Isaias, ii. "The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever."—Psalm, lxxviii.
An Act Of Love.
"Lord, where art thou going, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thee."—John, xiii. "How can I consent to be separated from thee? (saith St. Peter to Jesus:) no; I will never leave thee, were I to follow thee even unto death." This is a model of that generous love which a faithful soul should testify unto God in the holy Communion.
If I cannot approach thee, O my God, with as much confidence as thy apostle St. Peter did, yet I come with equal warmth and sincerity, to assure thee of my eternal attachment. Accept, therefore, the offering I now make thee, not only of my whole being, but of all I possess. Unhappy and miserable should I think myself, were I not in the disposition of mind to sacrifice the most precious advantage this world can afford, at the first intimation of thy will. Dispose of the life thou hast given me according to thy pleasure. I offer myself entirely to thee; my employments, talents, and every power and faculty of soul and body, that they may be ever and always employed in promoting thy honour and glory. In justice I am obliged, if necessary, to die for thee, since thou hast generously given up thy life for my salvation. But thy regard for me, O sweet Jesus, was not to be confined within the boundaries of this life; for after having loved me even unto death, thou hast besides left me this divine food as a sensible pledge of thy affection. Ah, dear Lord! what more couldst thou possibly do for me? and how ungrateful a wretch would T not be, if such wonderful marks of thy tenderness were not capable of exciting the most lively sentiments of love and gratitude in my soul? The very damned would then be less culpable than I; for if they do not love thee, it is because they cannot possibly love thee; and therefore thou dost not expect love from them. But I can love thee; because every thing induces me to love thee; and thou art even mercifully pleased to command that I should love thee with my whole heart, &c. O thou eternal Beauty! too late have I begun to love thee: O amiable Lord! who art ever lovely, and never sufficiently beloved, I consider every moment of my life as lost, which has not been consecrated to thy love; accept, at least, the remainder thereof. If I cannot love thee as much as I could wish, or as much as thou hast loved me, or as much as thou dost deserve, yet I will love thee as much as I am able. Angels of heaven! O Mother of God! and all ye saints! lend me now your hearts; for I have, alas! but one to love my God, and that too small, and too much polluted with the love of creatures. Diminish in me, O Lord, all other advantages, provided thou dost grant me an increase of divine charity. I imagine, O my God, that thou art now enkindling this sacred fire within my breast, and that I could answer thee, with as much confidence as St. Peter, "Lord, thou knowest I love thee," and that for thy sake alone; I love thee with my whole heart, without reserve, firmly resolving never to fix my affections on any thing besides thyself. Yes, I am content to find nothing but disgust, bitterness, and affliction, in every other attachment, that I may be thus happily compelled to repose in thee for ever. O establish now a solid, efficacious, lively, ardent, and persevering love within my heart; and though thou remain therein but for a few moments, let the effectual influence of thy grace for ever remain behind. "My beloved to me, and I to my beloved."—Cant. xvi. "Thou knowest, Lord, that I love thee."—John, xxi.