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llllllllllll
600102397S

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MONTH OF THE SACRED HEART OF
JESUS.

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 MONTH
OF THE

SACRED HEART OF JESUS.

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.

(from the eighteenth edition.)

BY
THE REV. GEORGE TIOKELL, S.J.

LONDON:
RICHARDSON AND SON, 147, STRAND;
9, CAPEL STREET, DUBLIN; AND DEBBT.
MDCCCLVIII.

/Jf.

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 ❖
Leyton, N, E.
June 13, 1858.
Dear F. Tickell,
Through an accident, I have been pre­
vented acknowledging, till to-day, the receipt
of your “Month of the S. Heart.” I thank
you very sincerely for it, and trust that it will
do all the good it is calculated to do, and tend
to promote the devotion, now so dear to all
faithful Souls, of all countries, towards the Love
of our B. Redeemer.

Wishing you every blessing,

I am ever
Your affect® Sort. in Xt.
N. CARD. WISEMAN.

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 We approve of this Translation from the
French of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by the
Rev. George Tickell, S. J., trusting that it will
promote devotion amongst the Faithful, and
* answer the ends which the Translator professes
in his Preface.
WILLIAM, Bishop of Salford.
Bishop's House, Salford,
Juno ist, 1858.

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 TO MISS TEMPEST,
OF BROUGHTON HALL,
TO WHOSE PIETY

THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

IN ENGLAND

IS INDEBTED FOB, THE FIRST CHURCH,

RAISED IN HONOUR OF THE

SACKED HEARTS OF JESUS AND MARY,

THIS TRANSLATION

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.

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TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN' MARY.

O Virgin, purer than the light!

Mother of God! Thy welcome Name,
Linked by a Mother’s dearest right,
Still by Thy Son’s its place must claim.

To form Thy Jesus’ Sacred Heart,

Mary! Thy Heart its life-blood gave;
With His in joy it bears its part,
With His it bleeds, mankind to save.

In vain an entrance do we seek

To Jesus’ Heart, except through Thine;
To Thy dear Son, O Mother! speak,
And bid His Heart enkindle mine.

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 CONTENTS.

DAT TAGS
i. Origin and establishment of the devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus .. .. .. .. .. i
2. Abundant graces promised to those who embrace this
devotion .. .. .. .. .. 6
3. Divine love, the principal effect of devotion to the Sacred
Heart .. .. .. .. .. .. 10
4. Object and end of the devotion to the Heart of Jesus;
points of difference and resemblance, in this devotion,
and that of the Blessed Sacrament .. .. 15
5. Of the nobility and excellence of the Heart of Jesus .. 19
6, Of the nobility and excellence of the Heart of Jesus .. 23
7. Of the nobility and excellence of the Heart of Jesus .. 27
8. Tenderness of the Heart of Jesus for men .. .. 31
9. Tenderness of the Heart of Jesus for men .. .. 36
10. Riches of the Heart of Jesus .. •. 41
11. Sorrows of the Heart of Jesus .. .. .. 46
12. The wound of the Heart of Jesus .. .. .. 49
13. Four desires of the Heart of Jesus .. .. .. 54
14. What the Heart of Jesus asks of man .. .. 58
15. The Heart of Jesus invites all to Him . .. 63
16. How we should approach the Heart of Jesus .. .. 67
17. The Heart of Jesus is an unfailing remedy against
every malady of our souls, whatever may be their
disposition .. . .. «« 73
18. Of the Agony of the Heart *of Jesus in the Garden of
Olives .. .. . .. .. .. 77

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X CONTENTS.

DAT. PAGE.
19. Of the Agony of the Heart of Jesus in the Garden of
Olives .. •• .. .. .. .. 82
20. Souls, devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, love to
meditate on Ws Passion .. .. ..86
21. Ingratitude of men towards the Heart of Jesus 91
22. Complaints of the Heart of Jesus .. .. ..95
23. Practice in honour Of the Heart of Jesus .. .. 100
24. Devotion of the saints towards the Heart of Jesus .. 103
25. Pictures of the Heart of Jesus .. .. .107
26. Four obstacles which prevent our obtaining abundant
fruit from devotion to the Sacred Heart .. ..in
27. Means of surmounting the obstacles to the devotion to
the Sacred Heart; mortification .. .. .. 118
28. Means of obtaining devotion to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus—first means; prayer ., .. ..123
29
* Second means of obtaining a devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus; frequent communion . .. ..127
30. Third means of obtaining a devotion to the Sacred
Heart; visits to the Blessed Sacrament .. .. 131
31. Fourth means of obtaining devotion to the Sacred
Heart; a great devotion towards the Immaculate
HeartofMary .. .. .. .. 135
32. Fifth means of obtaining a devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus; a particular devotion to St. Joseph,
St. John the Evangelist, and St. Aloysius .. ..140
33. Of the zeal, which the Heart of Jesus looks for in those
who are devoted to Him, in spreading the devotion
to the Sacred Heart .. .. .. .. 144
Conclusion .. .. .. . •• 149

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 TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE.

The fact, that the devotion to the Sacred

Heart of Jesus, as it was first made known to
the Venerable Mary Margaret, rests upon the
foundation of a private revelation, can present
. no difficulty to the mind of any one, who re- 1
fleets upon the wonderful condescension shown,
in every age, by Almighty God, in His dealings
with holy souls. Not to speak, in detail, ofv v
His communications with our first Parents,
with the Patriarchs, with holy Job, with
Samuel, David, Solomon, and with the Prophets
in general; what a marvellous familiarity is
implied in the account, given in Holy Scrip­
ture, of His intercourse with Moses; “ the
Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man is
wont to speak to his friend.” (Exod. xxxiii.
11.)
If such was His conduct under the Jewish
Law, what might we not expect under the
Law of Grace, which was to be delivered to
man by the Incarnate Son of God with His
own lips ? This Law had been already cha­
racterized by the Prophet Joel, as a dispensa­
tion, in which such communications should be
frequent. “ It shall come to pass, after this,

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Xii TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE.

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh;

*
and your sons and your daughters shall pro­
phesy ; your old men shall dream dreams, and
your young men shall see visions.” (ii. 28.)
This was verified, in the first instance, accord­
ing to the explanation of SL’f’eter, when the
Holy Ghost came down in tongues of fire, on
the day of Pentecost; we witness its farther
fulfilment in the lives of the Saints, through­
out the subsequent history of the Church. It
is enough, without entering into an enumera­
tion, which might begin with the Apostolic
age, and be continued to the present, to refer
to the lives of St. Theresa, St. Bridget, St.
Mechtildis, St. Gertrude. A well known
spiritualist, Master John Avila, speaking of
God's secret dealings with His servants, as
far as they had come under his notice, says,
that they are so wonderful, that, if published,
they would hardly be believed.
Many of the devotions, most familiar to the
Faithful, have taken their rise in private revela­
tions. Two instances may be cited, which are
familiar to all. The devotion to the Scapular of
our Lady of Mount Carmel, which is so widely
spread and so deeply rooted amongst the Faith­
ful, owes its origin, as most Catholics are aware,
to the apparition of our Blessed Lady, in the
thirteenth century, to St. Simon Stock, a
countryman of our own, General of the Car­
melites, to whom she communicated this holy
badge of her servants. This apparition (to

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 TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE; xiii

cite Ho other testimonies in its support) is

spoken of, as well known, by Benedict XIV.,
no mean authority upon such a question. (De
Canoniz. Lib. iv., P. 2. c. ix. § 10.) It is to
a private revelation, that the Faithful are in­
debted for the Feast of Corpus Christi. In the
year 1210, our divine Lord made known to
Blessed Juliana His wish, that a special Feast
should be instituted to honour His Sacred
Body. Urban IV. alludes to this, in the Bull
of the institution of that Feast; “ We under­
stood formerly,” are his words, “ whilst in an
inferior rank, that certain Catholics had re­
ceived a revelation from heaven, to the effect
that such a Feast should be generally cele­
brated in the Church.”
No objection, then, can be urged against the
devotion to the Sacred Heart, on the ground
of its resting upon a private revelation; as we
see that Almighty God has been pleased so
frequently to communicate in this manner
with His servants, and that two devotions, so
well known amongst Catholics, owe their
existence to such an origin.
But it should never be forgotten that, though
the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in
the particular manner in which it is now prac­
ticed by the Faithful, dates from the revela­
tion made by our divine Lord Himself to the
Venerable Mary Margaret; still it rests, sub­
stantially, upon its own intrinsic grounds,
irrespective of any particular revelation.

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xiv translator’s preface.

The Sacred Heart forms a part of the

Sacred Body of our Blessed Lord; and, as
such, by reason of its hypostatic union with
the Eternal Word, claims, by its own right,
our highest adoration. As such, it has been
the object of the adoration of the Faithful,
from the very beginning of the Church. Saints,
in all ages, have adored the Sacred Heart of
Jesus. St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Ger­
trude, recommend this devotion, in language
which might be mistaken for that with which
we are familiar, at the present day. St.
Gertrude was given to understand by our
Divine Lord, that this same devotion, which she
had so much at heart, was reserved by Him,
to be revealed in a special manner, at a later
time, as a last effort of His love. This reve­
lation He has made, through the means of His
servant, the Venerable Mary Margaret.
What, then, are the peculiar characteristics
which distinguish the devotion to the Sacred
Heart, as thus revealed ? In the first place,
our Blessed Lord has declared His wish, that
such a devotion should be practiced by the
Faithful; He has specified, in what manner
He would have it practiced; He has expressed
the end to which these practices should be
directed; and He has attached to them the
most abundant promises. I ask,” are His
words,“ that the first Friday, after the Octave
of Corpus Christi, be set apart for a special
Feast to honour my Heart, by making an act

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 translator’s PREFACE. XV

of reparation to it, and by receiving Holy

Communion, on that day. in order to repair
the indignities, which it nas received, during
the time that it has been exposed on my
altars; and I promise, that my Heart shall
dilate itself, to shed in abundance the influ­
ence of its divine love upon all who shall pay
it this honour, or procure it to be paid.” Our
Blessed Saviour would have this honour paid
to His Sacred Heart; and He would have it
paid, in order to repair the indignities, which
that Sacred Heart has met with at the hands
*
of men, especially in the Blessed Sacrament
The object, then, of the devotion to the
Sacred Heart, as our Blessed Saviour has
Himself declared, is the Sacred Heart itself;
the end of the devotion is, to acknowledge the
love of that Sacred Heart, and to make repa­
ration to it.
Now; any honour which is paid to the
Sacred Body of our Lord, or to any portion of
that Sacred Body, has, for its ultimate object,
the Person of the Eternal Word, to which the
Sacred Body, and every portion of it, is hypo-
statically united. The devotion, then, to the
Sacred Heart, as a portion of that Sacred
Body, has, for its ultimate object, the divine
Person of our Blessed Lord; the immediate
object of this devotion is, if the material object
be considered, the Sacred Heart itself; if the
spiritual object, the love of our Blessed
Saviour, shown especially in His Death, and

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xvi translator’s preface.

in the Blessed Sacrament as a inemorial of

His Death. The Sacred Heart may be aptly
regarded as the seat of this love, and it is also
the symbol of it. As revealed to the Venera­
ble Mary Margaret by Jesus Himself, how
powerfully does it speak the tale of His love.
The flames, which burst forth from the Sacred
Heart, express the ardour of its divine love;
the Cross, with which it is surmounted, and
the crown of thorns which encircles it, are
emblems of the Passion and Death of our divine
Lord, by which His love has been especially
shown for man. The end of the devotion, is
to acknowledge this love, and to make repara­
tion for the indignities which it has met with,
especially in the Blessed Sacrament. The
reward, attached to the practice of this devo­
tion, is an abundant communication of divine
grace.
The Month of the Sacred Heart is divided
into thirty-three days ; this number has been
selected in order to honour the thirty-three
years of our Blessed Lord’s mortal life upon
earth. Although this devotion may be prac­
tised, with advantage, during any period of the
year, the Month of June is commonly chosen
as the most appropriate, for honouring the
Sacred Heart. It is the month, in which the
Feast of Corpus Christi most frequently falls,
and that of the Sacred Heart always. It
follows, also, immediately upon the Month of
May; and there can be no better introduction

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 TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE. Xvii

to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, than through

the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
A consideration is given for each day, to­
gether with a pious practice for the day, and
an ejaculatory prayer. Those who join in the
devotion of the Month of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus, are recommended to renew the Act of
Consecration, at the beginning of the Exercises
for each day; and to repeat the double invo­
cation of the Sacred Hearts, three times, at the
conclusion of the consideration.
A translation of this work appeared in Eng­
lish, several years ago; the author of the
present translation became aware of the fact,
only after the present translation had been
completed.
It may be interesting to the reader to know,
that the work, from which this translation is
made, is held in high esteem on the Continent.
It first appeared in 1836, and has already
reached the eighteenth Edition ; no fewer than
10,000 copies are sold annually.

Stonyhurst,
Feast of the Invention
of the Holy Cross, 1858.

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 ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE
SACRED HEART OF JESUS;

To be recited each day of the Month,

To Thee., O Jesus I I consecrate my heart;

do Thou secure it within Thine. In Thy
Heart I wish to take up my abode, and
through the love of Thy Heart I wish to love.
May I live in Thy Heart, unknown to the
world, and known only to Thee. In Thy
Heart, I shall find that consuming love, with
which mine should be all on fire; in it I hope
to find strength, light, and true consolation.
If I am fainting, it will give me courage; if I
am sad, it will give me joy; if I am disquieted
and troubled, it will give me confidence.
O Heart of Jesus! may my heart be
an altar ever burning with the fire of Thy
love ; may my tongue be employed in making
known Thy goodness; may my eyes be un­
ceasingly fixed upon Thy wound; may my
mind constantly meditate on Thy adorable

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XX ACT OF CONSECRATION, ETC.

perfections; may my memory for ever pre­

serve the recollection of Thy mercies; may
my whole being, O Jesus! express my love
for Thy Sacred Heart; and may my heart be
ever ready to make any sacrifice for Thee.
O Heart of Mary! next to the Heart of
Jesus, the most amiable, compassionate, and
merciful of all hearts, present this my conse­
cration, my love, and my resolutions to the
Heart of Thy Son. Through Thee He will
be moved to compassion for our miseries, and
will deliver us from them; and thus, Q
Mother of Jesus! after being our protectress
upon earth, Thou wilt be our Queen for ever
in heaven. Amen.

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MONTH OF THE SACRED HEART OF
JESUS.

FIRST DAY.
ORIGIN AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEVOTION
TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

is as ancient as the Church. It commenced
upon the Cross, from the moment when this
divine Heart, pierced by the soldier’s spear,
opened to the faithful an inviolable place of
refuge. When the first Christians and the
martyrs, with that faith and love, which made
them triumph over torments and death itself,
kissed the wounds of Jesus crucified, who can
doubt that in applying their lips to the
wounded side of their Redeemer, as they
meditated on His Passion, they thought at the
same time of His Sacred Heart, and of its
infinite love which seemed to burst forth in
flames through that sacred opening in His
side? Thus too did the greatest saints of
every age, St. Augustin, St. Bernard, St.
Bonaventure, St. Gertrude, St. Mechtildis,
1

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2 MONTH OF THE

St. Catharine of Sienna, penetrate the secret of

this devotion, long before it was proposed in
any special revelation. But it was reserved
for the seventeenth century to see the Sacred
Heart of Jesus honoured by a public worship,
and for France to give birth to this devotion.
The person whom God employed to make
known His designs of mercy in the establish­
ment of this devotion, was a simple Religious
of the Visitation, at Paray le Monial, in
Charolais, known by the name of Mary
Margaret.
Jesus Christ, who had already favoured her
with His most precious gifts, appeared to her
one day, and said; “ My divine Heart is so
full of love for men, that, no longer able to
restrain the flames of its burning charity, it
must needs spread them abroad by every
means, and manifest itself to men, to enrich
them with the treasures which it contains.
To you I disclose these priceless treasures;
they contain the graces of sanctification and
salvation necessary to draw mankind from the
abyss of perdition.”
The designs of our Divine Lord were made
known to Ven. Mary Margaret some time after­
wards in a still clearer manner. “ Whilst pray­
ing before the B. Sacrament,” she says, “ one
day within its octave, I received from God
excessive graces of His love. As I felt myself
moved with the desire of making Him a return
of love for love, He said to me; ‘ You cannot

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 SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 3
give me any greater mark of your love than
by doing what I have already so often asked
of you.’ Upon this, disclosing to me Uis
Divine Heart, He said to me: ‘ Behold this
Heart, which has so loved men that it has
spared nothing, even to exhausting and con­
suming itself, in order to testify to them its
love ; and in return I receive from the greater
part only ingratitude, in the neglect, irrever­
ence, sacrileges and coldness which I meet
with from them in my Sacrament of love.
But what afflicts me most is, that I receive
this treatment from hearts which are specially
consecrated to me. For this reason, I ask
you to procure the first Friday after the octave
of Corpus Christi to be set apart as a
special feast in honour of my Heart, by
making an act of reparation, and communi­
cating on that day, in order to atone for the
indignities which it has received during the
time that it has been exposed upon my altars:
and I promise that my Heart shall dilate itself
to shed in abundance the influence of its divine
love upon those who shall render it this
honour, or procure it to be rendered.’ ” The
humble religious replied; “ To whom, O Lord,
dost Thou address Thyself? to so wretched a
creature, so poor a sinner, that her unworthi­
ness would be even capable of hindering the
accomplishment of Thy design. Thou hast so
many generous souls to execute it.” “ Do
you not know then,’’ replied our Lord, “ that

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4 MONTH OF THE

I make use of the weakest instruments to con­

found the strong, and that it is in the little
and poor of spirit that I display my power
with greater splendour, in order that they
may attribute nothing to themselves ?” “ Do
Thou give me, then,” rejoined the sister,“ the
means of doing what Thou commandest.”
Upon this our Lord added: “ Address
yourself to my servant (this was Father de la
Colombi&re, S. J.) and tell him from me to do
what he can to establish this devotion, and to
afford this gratification to my heart. Let him
not be discouraged at the difficulties which he
will meet with, for there will be no lack of
them ; but let him remember that those alone
are all-powerful who distrust themselves, and
place all their confidence in me.”
Father de la Colombiere, who had examined
the sanctity of this religious with great care,
and was satisfied by evident marks of the truth
of her communications with God, considered
himself called to contribute to the establish­
ment of so holy a devotion, especially as it
presented nothing which was open to sus­
picion. He began with himself, and wished
to be the first disciple of the Heart of Jesus,
and the first adorer of His love, according to
the directions prescribed to the sister Mary
Margaret. He accordingly consecrated him­
self to this Sacred Heart, on the Friday after
the octave of Corpus Christi, June 21, 1675,
a day which may be regarded as that on

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 SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 5
which the Heart of Jesus made its first
conquest.
Since that time, this devotion, censured and
combatted, as are all the works of God, has
been at length established with marvellous
success throughout the whole world, especially
after it had received the solemn approval of
the Holy See. Thus did the event prove how
justly founded was the confidence of the
Venerable Mary Margaret, when she said:
“ Though I should see the whole world let
loose in opposition to this devotion, I should
never despair of seeing it established, since I
have received an assurance of it from the
mouth of our B. Saviour Himself.”—Life of
Mary Margaret by Languet.
Practice,—Engage eveiy one, over whom
you have any influence, to celebrate the feast
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Friday
after the Octave of Corpus Christi; to re­
ceive Holy Communion on that day, and
to make an act of reparation in atonement
for the negligences, scandals, sacrileges, and
other faults committed against the adorable
Eucharist.
Ejaculatory Prayer,—Draw me, O Heart of
Jesus ; we will run after thee to the odour of
thy ointments. Trahe me post te; curremus
in odorem unguentorum tuorum, (Cant. i. 3.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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6 MONTH OP THE

These invocations should be repeated three

times after each meditation. Many persons
have acknowledged that they owe to the fre­
quent recitation of this ejaculatory prayer
their advancement and perseverance in the
service of God.

SECOND DAY.
ABUNDANT GRACES PROMISED TO THOSE WHO
EMBRACE THIS DEVOTION.

We cannot begin this month better, or

better excite ourselves to celebrate it with
fervour, than by recalling to mind the magnifi­
cent promises which Jesus Christ Himself has
made to all those who shall embrace the
devotion to His Sacred Heart. Our Lord
expressed Himself very clearly upon this sub­
ject to the Venerable Mary Margaret; «I
would have you know,” said He to her, “ that
you are not to appropriate to yourself those
graces which are designed for others also; I
wish to make use of your heart as a channel
to communicate them to souls according to my
designs.” He then gave her to understand
that it was by a last effort of His love to­
wards men that He had resolved to discover
to them the treasures of His Heart, by in­
spiring them with this devotion, which is to

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 SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 7

awaken the hearts of the most insensible to

the love of Jesus Christ, and to enkindle those
of the least fervent. “ Publish everywhere,”
were the words of Jesus Christ to her, " sug­
gest, recommend this devotion to persons of
the world as a sure and easy means of ob­
taining from me a true love of God; to
ecclesiastical and religious persons as a power­
ful means of attaining to the perfection of
their state; and in fine, to all the faithful, as
a most solid devotion, and a most powerful
means of overcoming the strongest passions,
healing the most violent dissensions and quar­
rels in families, removing the most inveterate
imperfections, obtaining a most ardent and
tender love of me; in fine, arriving in a short
time and in a most easy manner, at the
highest perfection.” What can be more ca­
pable of engaging us to embrace this devotion
than such promises, coming as they do from
the mouth of Jesus Christ Himself? Why
cannot I recount,” writes the Venerable Mary
Margaret, the depositary of the secrets of the
Heart of Jesus, “why cannot I recount all
that I know of this devotion, and discover to
the whole world the treasures of grace which
Jesus Christ has laid up in this adorable Heart,
and which He designs to pour forth in pro­
fusion upon all those who shall practice this
devotion? Our Lord proposes by this means
to restore many to life by drawing them out
of the path of perdition, and to destroy the

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empire of Satan in souls in order to establish

that of His love, which will never suffer any
one to perish who shall be consecrated to Him.
Yes, I say it with confidence, did men but
know how pleasing this devotion is to Jesus
Christ, there is not a single Christian, however
feeble may be his love for this amiable Saviour,
who would not at once practice it. Endeavour
to induce religious persons to embrace it; for
they will derive so great a support from it,
that it will be sufficient, of itself, to reestab­
lish primitive fervour and the most exact
observance in the most irregular communities;
and to raise those which lived before in the
most exact observance to the height of perfec­
tion. My divine Saviour gave me to under­
stand that those who labour for the salvation
of souls will have the art of touching the most
hardened hearts, and will labour with marvel­
lous success, if they are themselves penetrated
with a tender devotion to this Sacred Heart.”
Father de la Colombiere was the first to
experience this. He recommended this power­
ful means of salvation to many who addressed
themselves to him for the direction of their
souls, and amongst them even to Protestants,
with whom all the other resources of his zeal
had failed, and this with a success at which he
was himself astonished. Some obtained an
entire conversion of heart by the practice of
this devotion, which they had at first rejected:
others found in it a means of advancing in

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perfection, through the abundant graces which
they received from God,
“Nothing astonishes me,” exclaimed a great
servant of God of our age, “ when I think of
the adorable Heart of our divine Master. In
Him we can do all things, even lead unob­
served a poor, humble, and loving life in the
midst of the world. This Sacred Heart of our
Divine Lord is anxious to intercede for us
with the Eternal Father, and to inspire us
with holy desires; and comes to our aid when
it sees us nearly sinking. It removes from
our heart, whilst we are little thinking of it,
the obstacles which opposed the execution of
the will of God; it enables us to surmount
difficulties which, a moment before, we looked
upon with terror; it is this adorable Heart
which takes from us the attraction of the
world, and enables us to discover its deceits
and false principles.
“ Everything, in a word, comes to us from
this most Sacred Heart; let it then be all in
all to us; let us offer our whole being to it;
let nothing remain in us unconsumed by its
flames, until at length, after it has purified
our souls, it take them wholly to itself, and
secure them in this furnace of love for all
eternity.”
“ One day,” says St. Mechtildis, “ the Son
of God appeared to me, holding in His hands
His own Heart, brighter than the sun, and
shedding on every side rays of light; it was

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then that this amiable Saviour gave me to

understand that it was from this divine Heart
that all those graces issue which God pours
forth unceasingly upon men.”
Practice.—Do not let a week of this month
pass without speaking of the Heart of Jesus,
and of the boundless treasures of grace which
He has promised to those who shall honour it
with a special devotion.
Ejaculatory prayer.—Give me Thy love
alone, O Heart of Jesus, and I am rich
enough! Amorem tui solum et dives sum
satis. (St. Ignatius.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

THIRD DAY.
DIVINE LOVE THE PRINCIPAL EFFECT OF DEVOTION
TO THE SACRED HEART.

The whole law of our Lord Jesus Christ is

summed up in this single word, Diliges9 Thou
shalt love. How sweet and admirable a law!
worthy of God who gives it, and alone worthy
of man, to whom it is announced. He who
made the human heart knows well that there
are no chains strong enough to bind it, but
those of love. He may have imposed other
obligations on His creatures, but they are all

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summed up in this; Thou shalt love. This is
the distinctive commandment of Jesus Christ.
" This is my commandment, that you love."
Hoc est prceceptum meum, ut diligatis. (St.
John, xv. 12.) My chief injunction, the only
commandment which I give you is, that you
love Me, that you love one another as I have
loved you. It is by keeping this command­
ment that you shall be known as My disciples.
Qui diligit, legem implevit. “ He that loveth
"hath fulfilled the law." (Rom. xiii. 8.) He
that abideth in love abideth in God, and God
in him. He that loveth not, abideth in death.
(1 John, iii. 14.)
O Jetus! what return shall we make to
Thee for having commanded us to love Thee,
and for having assured us so often and so
solemnly of Thy love for us?
If, then, all our duties, labours, combats,
triumphs, may be reduced to the gaining this
single good, the love of God, we are fortunate
in having at our disposal a sweet, easy, and
infallible means of securing it. This means,
and it is within the reach of all, is devotion to
the Sacred Heart; the Person who has at­
tached such promises to it is, as we have seen,
no other than Jesus Christ Himself. W1 pro­
mise you,” says lie, “that my Heart shall
dilate itself, to pour in abundance the influence
of its divine love upon those who shall render
it this homage.” And on another occasion,
“ This devotion shall awaken love in the

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hardest hearts, and enkindle the least fervent

•with its flames.”
" God shall reign in spite of His enemies,”
•wrote the Ven. Mary Margaret, “ and make
Himself master of our hearts; for this is the
principal end of this devotion, to convert souls
to His love.”
It may be easily conceived that such is the
effect of devotion to the Sacred Heart. For,
indeed, everything about it breathes love. Its
object is the Heart of Jesus Christ burning
•with love; its end is to repair the injuries
done to love; its practice, exercises of love.
It invites to an attentive consideration of all
that can enkindle this love, the remembrance
and acknowledgment of the love and benefits
of our Lord, especially in the sacrament of the
Eucharist.
What would not Jesus Christ have done for
any one who should have faithfully borne Him
company during His sorrowful passion, when
all others abandoned Him? Or rather, what
did He not do for St. John, who alone attend­
ed Him to His last sigh ? He made him, in
some sort, a second self, leaving him the last
and most touching pledges of His love; His
divine Mother for his own, His cross for a
token of remembrance, His Heart for his place
of abode.
He reserves the same inestimable gifts of
His liberality for those who are touched by
the abandonment and solitude of His churches,

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and the outrages, contempt, and coldness of
Christians towards the sacrament of His love,
and who resolve to bear Him company, to
receive Him into their hearts, and to make
reparation each day by their diligence and
fervour, in prayer and their self-annihilation
in His presence, for the indignities which He
meets with so repeatedly at the hands of men.
He will not allow Himself to be outdone in
generosity; their love will be recompensed by
love. He will give it them not by measure;
non ad mensuram ; (St. John xiii. 34.) but
with a profusion which will crown and surpass
the ardour of those desires which He has
formed within them Himself. He has pro­
mised to do so ; He has pledged His word to
it. “ He that loveth me shall be loved by my
Father, and I will love him, and will manifest
myself to him,” (St. John xiv. 21.)
He has given His word for it. If, in worldly
promises, this puts an end to all doubt, what
shall we say when the word of Jesus Christ
is pledged? Ahl from henceforth, then, let
us say, full of confidence, with the apostle:
I live in the faith of Jesus Christ who has
loved me, and has promised me His love, and
in these last times has given me His Heart in
pledge of it.
We read in the life of St. Gertrude that,
one day, when she was favoured with an
apparition of St. John the Evangelist, sho
asked him why it was that, though he had

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reclined during the last supper upon the breast

of Jesus Christ, he had written nothing for our
instruction on the movements of His Heart;
and that the Saint replied in these remarkable
words; " I was charged to write for the infant
Church the words of the uncreated Word of
God; but God has reserved the sweetness of
the movements of His Heart to be revealed in
the latter times, in the decrepitude of the
world, in order to rekindle charity - which will
be greatly cooled.” We have reached the
period of which the beloved disciple spoke to
this saint. The fire of charity is extinct in
almost every heart; but why should we not
have confidence? The devotion to the
Sacred Heart, which is extending every where,
will rekindle its flames.
Practice.—The Heart of Jesus has an infinite
desire to be known and loved; it wishes that
we should address ourselves to it with great
confidence, especially in the holy Sacrifice of
the Mass. In order to rekindle your devo­
tion, remember that a single Mass procures
greater glory to God than the merits of all the
saints together, and that the blessings attached
to this adorable sacrifice, are greater than
those which you can gain from your other
prayers during your whole life. Many do not
know how to occupy themselves during Mass.
What rapid progress they would make in the
love of Jesus Christ, if they applied themselves
to meditate on the Passion and sorrows of His

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Heart, each time that they assist at this divine
sacrifice.
Ejaculatory prayer.—Who shall separate us
from Thy love, O Heart of Jesus? Quis nos
separabit a charitate Christi? (Bom. viii. 35.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

FOURTH DAY.
OBJECT AND END OF THE DEVOTION TO THE HEART
OF JESUS ; POINTS OF DIFFERENCE AND RESEM­
BLANCE IN THIS DEVOTION AND THAT OF THE
BLESSED SACRAMENT.

The devotion to the Heart of Jesus, is an

exercise of religion, which has for its object
the adorable Heart of Jesus Christ, burning
with love for men, and outraged by their in­
gratitude. (Galliffet).
It is easy to see that this devotion to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus does not merely con­
sist in loving and honouring by a peculiar
worship that heart of flesh, like our own,
which forms part of the body of Jesus Christ.
The object and principal motive of this devo­
tion are, as has been already said, the un­
bounded love of Jesus Christ for men; and
because, in our exercises of devotion, even in
those which are themselves the most spiritual,

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we require some sensible object to remind us

of them, and facilitate their practice, Jesus
Christ Himself has presented to us His Heart,
as an object the most capable of recalling to
our memory the love which induced Him to
sacrifice Himself for us, and to remain with us
even to the end of the world in the adorable
Eucharist. As the heart of man is, in some
sort, the source and seat of love, it is with
reason that we attribute to it the most tender
sentiments of the soul. Jesus Christ has a
Heart; and if His precious Body and Blood
deserve our adoration, who will not allow that
His Sacred Heart has still stronger claims
upon our homage?
The end which is proposed in the worship
rendered to this divine Heart is,
1. To acknowledge and honour, as far as
is in our power, by frequent acts of adoration,
by a return of love, by a boundless gratitude
and devotion, the infinite love of the Heart of
Jesus for men, especially in the adorable
Eucharist, in which He is so little known, or
at least so little loved even by those by whom
He is known.
2. To repair, in every possible manner, the
indignities and outrages to which His love ex­
posed Him during the course of His mortal
life, and still exposes Him every day in the
Blessed Sacrament.
The Heart of Jesus burning with love for
us is, then, the object of this devotion; repa­

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ration for the contempt shown towards this
love, especially in the Blessed Eucharist, is
the end; a most ardent love for our Blessed
Saviour, and numberless graces, will be the
fruit and reward.
The devotion to the Heart of Jesus differs
from the devotion to His Sacred Body in the
Blessed Eucharist; the one has for its object
the Heart of Jesus, without any particular
reference to His adorable Body; the other the
Body of Jesus Christ under the sacramental
species, without any special reference to His
Heart. In the devotion to the Blessed Sacra­
ment, the motive is to honour the sacred flesh
of Jesus Christ, united w’ith the Word, and
by reason of that union truly worthy of the
adoration of angels and men. In the devotion
to the Sacred Heart, the essential motive is to
honour the Heart of Jesus united to the
Divinity, and especially to acknowledge the
love with which it burns for men, and to
make reparation to it for all that it has suf­
fered, and for all that it is willing to suffer
daily in His sacrament of love, the most mar­
vellous invention that has ever issued from
His divine Heart.
We see, then, that the devotion to the
Heart of Jesus, and that to the Blessed Sacra­
ment, though differing in their object, are
intimately united; and that the devotion to
the Sacred Heart, so far from destroying the
devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, or weaken­

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ing it by dividing our homage, embellishes

and perfects it. Oh ! how rich a treasure we
have in the heart of Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament! if we do not avail ourselves of it,
it is because we do not know how to turn it to
account.
Our divine Lord appeared to St. Mechtildis,
and commanded her to love His Sacred Heart
in the Blessed Sacrament, and to honour it
to the best of her power; and at the same
time He gave it to her as a pledge of His
love, and as a place of refuge in life and
death. From that moment the saint was
penetrated with an extraordinary devotion fur
the Sacred Heart, and received so many graces
from it that she was wont to say, “ Were
I to write down all the graces which I have re­
ceived from the most amiable Heart of Jesus,
I should write a book larger than the Bre­
viary?’
Practice.—It is not only a pious practice,
but it is a duty, to offer our actions every day
to God, for He gave us our being only that we
might serve Him. Be careful, then, to do so;
but in order to make your actions still more
meritorious, offer them through the Heart of
Jesus, somewhat in the following manner:
“ My God! I offer Thee all my actions in
union with the merits of the Heart of Jesus,
of the Blessed Virgin, and of all the saints,
and in union with all the good, in opposition
to all the evil, which has been, or ever will be

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done.” Or with St. Mechtildis, who was
taught the following manner by our Blessed
Saviour Himself: “ Most loving Jesus ! to
Thee I address the first sigh that issues this
day from my heart; deign to accept all my
actions, that they may be perfected and puri­
fied in Thy most gentle Heart, and thus offered,
in union with Thy merits, in eternal praise to
Thy Heavenly Father.”
Ejaculatory prayer.—The sparrow hath
found herself a house, and the turtle a nest
for herself, where she may lay her young
ones; Thy Heart, O Jesus! shall be my
place of refuge. Passer invenit sibi domum, et
turtur nidum sibi, ubi ponat pullos suos ; cor
tuum, Domine, Rex meus et Deus meus.
O Sacred Heart of Jcsus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

FIFTH DAY.
OF THE NOBILITY AND EXCELLENCE OF THE
HEART OF JESUS.

"I remark several prerogatives of the

Sacred Heart of Jesus, which may help us to
understand its excellence and nobility.
“ The Heart of Jesus is animated by the
most beauteous soul that God ever drew
forth from His treasures. This beauteous soul

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brought to it from the first moment of their

holy alliance, all the riches of grace and glory,
and from that moment inspired it with move­
ments so generous, inclinations so noble, quali­
ties so royal, that there is nothing in all other
hearts together that can be compared to them.
We shall find none that has loved us so much,
or that has compassionated our miseries so
tenderly, or that has conceived designs so great
and so advantageous for us, or, in fine, that
has felt such joy at our good.” (Nouet.)
“ Though the hearts of all men should be
closed against you, yet do not be troubled, for
the Heart of Jesus will always be faithful and
open to you.” (Lanspergius.)
Yes, my Lord Jesus! though the enemies
of my soul should range their legions against
me, sheltered within Thy Heart mine can
never fear; though the combat should thicken,
my confidence in Thy Heart shall make me
come forth victorious; though I should even
have one foot in hell, still would I hope in
Thy Heart. Si consistant adversum me castra,
non timebit cor meum, si exurgat adversus me
prcelium, in hoc ego sperabo. (Ps. xxvi. 3.)
The Heart of Jesus is holy with the sanctity
of God Himself; every movement, then, of
the Sacred Heart, every sigh, every affection,
every request, every action, every desire, as
the dignity of His Person demands, becomes
infinite in price and value. It is just, then,
that it should be honoured by a worship pecu­

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 SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 21
liar to itself, for in honouring it we honour
His divine Person.
It is within the Heart of Jesus that all the
designs of our salvation were conceived, and it
is by the love of this same Heart that those
designs have been executed. I may truly say
that it is to this amiable Heart that I am in­
debted for every favour, which I owe to each
part of His Sacred Body, in the work of my
salvation.' It is the Heart of Jesus which
wept by His eyes over the tomb of Lazarus,
and the city of Jerusalem, sad emblems of the
piteous condition to which the world was re­
duced before His Passion, and to which it will
be reduced at the consummation of ages; it
healed the sick, and raised the dead, by the
touch of His sacred hands; it was His Sacred
Heart that guided every step, and directed
every journey of this good Shepherd in search
of His lost sheep; it forced that bloody sweat
from every part of His Body in the garden of
olives; it trembled in all His limbs, and cried
aloud upon the cross with a voice so mighty,
that it shook the earth, and penetrated the
heavens, where He was heard for His rever­
ence. Exauditus est pro sud reverentid. (Heb.
v. 7.) (Eouet.)
What worship, then, what love do we not
owe to this Heart, through which every good
has come to us! If the heart of an Augustine,
a Francis of Sales, an Aloysius, a Theresa,
were presented to our veneration, how lively

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Would be our faith, how fervent our love!

But here we have the Heart of Jesus, that
Heart compared with which all others are but
imperfection; that Heart which has ever
beat, and still beats for our happiness, is really
present in His sacrament of love. And shall
we remain cold and insensible? No, Lord,
no! I believe, I adore, I love ; but do Thou
increase my faith and love !
St. Clare never allowed a day to pass with­
out saluting the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and
paying her homage to it with extraordinary
care and diligence; and God, to recompense
the fervour of His humble servant, never failed
whilst she was engaged in this holy exercise,
to fill her soul with the purest delights.
Practice.—Imitate the conduct of St. Clare,
and never allow a single day to pass without
honouring the Heart of Jesus; if you are a
member of the association
* which is conse­
crated to it, be faithful to the prescribed devo­
tion at nine and at four o’clock, and let your
heart accompany the words of your mouth,
• This association, established in Rome, and spread through
the whole world, is enriched with the most ample indulgences.
It imposes no other obligation than that of a special devotion to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by a study and imitation of His vir­
tues. To become a member of it, it is enough to apply to any
priest possessed of the power to admit members; or to have
one’s name entered on the register of any religious house in
which this association is established, and where the pious exer­
cises, which are usually practiced in it, may be learnt more in
detail. The conditions of this Confraternity are explained in a
work entitled, 27m Practice qf Love towards the Heart qfJetue.

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for Jesus wishes only for the heart, and looks

only to the heart. Deus autem intuetur cor.
Ejaculatory Prayer.—I will sleep and rest
in peace in Thy Heart, O Jesus ! In pace in
idipsum dormiam et requiescam. (Ps. iv. 9.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

SIXTH DAY.
OF THE NOBILITY AND EXCELLENCE OF THE
HEART OF JESUS.

The Heart of Jesus is King of all hearts,

by its greatness, power, and merit.
It is the greatest of all hearts, for it bears
all enclosed within itself. It is the most pow­
erful, for it can dispose them as seems good
to itself. It knows all their secrets, all their
springs of action, and can give them whatever
movement it pleases. It is the most worthy
to command, for it is the kindest, the most
amiable, and the most loving; it was through
love that it would be wounded to heal all
hearts, and to prepare for them a bath of its
blood.
Its wound forms its crown; the right which
it has over us, is most legitimate. We cannot
refuse it obedience without injustice, for we
are indebted to it for everything; nor with­

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out madness, for it commands nothing but

what is for our good: its sole object, in the
pressing invitations which it makes us to give
ourselves to it, is to render us happy as well
as holy.
Let us honour, then, the Sacred Heart,
since it possesses such nobility and excellence;
let us adore it, since it is the Heart of a God;
let us follow all its movements, since it is the
infallible rule and principle of all the good
which is done in the world ; let us submit our
wills to it, since it is the King of all hearts.
Let us regard it as a royal and divine signet;
let us stamp it upon our own hearts that we
may receive from it all its characters. “ Put
me,” says Jesus Christ, “ as a seal upon thy
heart;99 that is to say, according to the expla­
nation of St. Anselm, let me rule your heart
and your thoughts, that I may be the director
of all the actions of your life. “We must
place Jesus Christ as a seal upon our forehead,
upon our heart, and upon our arm,” says St.
Ambrose; “ upon our forehead, to make pub­
lic profession of our faith; upon our heart, to
establish there the reign of His love ; upon our
arm, to labour without ceasing for the increase
of His glory by the practice of good works.”
Let us exhibit the image of His greatness in
our words, affections, and works, and, if pos­
sible, let us try to express His virtues in our­
selves, for He is the seal of uncreated sanctity
which the Eternal Father has engraved with

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the point of the nails, the thorns, and the

lance, in order to stamp our souls with the
seal of His humility, sweetness, patience,
love, and His other perfections.
Whenever, then, O Christian soul, worldly
ambition flatters your heart with treacherous
promises, or the world dazzles your eyes with
its false lustre, raise your mind aloft to heaven,
and, as St. Jerome advises, give ear to those
words of the Spouse: “Put me as a seal upon
thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm.” (Cant,
viii. 6).
Let us beg of Jesus Christ, then, to turn
our hearts and those of all men towards His
own, and to make them docile to the pressing
invitation by which He urges us to devote
ourselves to His Divine Heart, when He says,
« O all ye who are parched with thirst amid
the false pleasures of all the world, come to
My Heart, the centre of true joys, the foun­
tain of Eving waters; poor needy beggars,
thirsting for the gifts of grace, draw near,
drink and quench your thirst; come, receive
without money; why wear yourselves out in
seeking after deceitful goods, which cannot
satisfy your craving hearts ? Here true riches
are to be found; My Heart is their source;
the deeper you draw from thence, the more
will your hearts be satisfied.” All you that
thirst, come to the waters, &c., (Is. Iv. 1).
Yes, it is amongst Christians, the truly
favoured people, that the prediction of the same

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prophet is fulfilled; “Zou shall draw waters

with joy out of the Saviour9s fountains."
Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus Salva-
toris. (Is. xii. 3). But if all His wounds are
so many fountains of grace, we may say with
truth, that that of His Heart is the most life­
giving and abundant.
St. Frances of Rome relates that she saw
the wound of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and
that there issued from it a spring of living
water, and that she heard these words; “I
am that love which calls aloud, if any one
thirst, let him come to me and drink. I wish
to refresh those who answer to my call; it is
for this that I have opened my Heart, to re­
ceive them within it as in a place of refuge.”
(B. iii. c. 4.)
Practice.—Offer your prayers to God each
day through the Heart of Jesus; it is the way
to render them no less meritorious than power­
ful. The following is the form which Mary
Margaret employed for this purpose:
“ My God! I offer Thee the Heart of Jesus,
Thy well-beloved Son, in thanksgiving for all
the blessings which Thou hast conferred upon
me; for my petition, my offering, my adora­
tion, and all my resolutions. Receive it, O
Eternal Father, to supply for all that Thou
desirest of me, for I have nothing to offer
Thee which is not unworthy of Thee except
Jesus, my Saviour, the possession and enjoy­
ment of whom Thou Thyself hast given me.”

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 BACHED HEABT OF JESUS. 27
P^aculatory Prayer.—O Heart of Jesus,
Victim of love, be propitious to me a poor
sinner ! O Cor, amoris victima.........propitius
esto mihi peccatori!
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

SEVENTH DAY.
0? THE NOBILITY AND EXCELLENCE OF THE
HEART OF JESUS.

The Heart of Jesus is the altar upon which

He offered to the Creator the most agreeable
sacrifice in the world. It is upon this same
altar that we should place all our vows, and
offer our whole hearts; for it is from thence
that He receives and listens to them. It is
from thence that all the honour that creatures
have ever paid Him, all their praises, sacri­
fices, adoration, and love, derive their efficacy,
and even this united homage is as nothing in
comparison with the honour which this same
Heart singly renders to the Sovereign Majesty,
for it alone loves and honours Him as He
deserves.
We can do nothing, then, so pleasing to
God as to offer Him the homage and ado­
ration of the Heart of His Son; the surest
means of obtaining what we pray for is to

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address our prayers through the Heart of

Jesus, saying to Him in the same spirit as the
royal Prophet; Look down upon me, O Lord,
in Thy mercy; but, as Thou canst find nothing
there which does not deserve punishment, turn
Thine eyes upon the face, upon the Heart of
Thy well-beloved Son. “ Protector nosier,
aspice Deus, et respice in faciem Christi tui.”
(Ps. Ixxxiii. 10.) Regard me not except
through those wounds, which cry to Thee for
mercy, and which are all-powerful to obtain
it; call to mind the boundless love of the
Heart of Thy Son for me a wretched crea­
ture, and destroy not the work of Thine own
mercy, the fruit of Thy labours.
Saint Gertrude was given to understand
one day that all the Religious of her commu­
nity, who were praying before the Blessed
Sacrament, received each a share of divine
grace. Some appeared to draw the sacred
stream from the Heart of Jesus, others from
His hands, or from His feet, pierced with
nails, but with this difference, that the further
the source was from the Heart, the greater
difficulty did they experience, whilst those
who drew directly from the adorable Heart
obtained more readily and easily what they
desired.
It is from the Heart of Jesus that the
Church drew her birth; the faithful, then
should love it as their cradle, and never quit
it. It was whilst Jesus was wrapped in the

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sleep of death that the Church came forth
from His Heart; He wished His Heart to be
opened, in order that she might be able to
glory in having issued from her Saviour’s side.
Happy the soul who shall be able to say, at
the moment of entering on her eternity, in the
words of one of the most ardent Apostles of
the devotion to the Sacred Heart: “ I used
often to say to myself, as I thought of the
love of the Heart of Jesus for me; ‘ the Heart
of Jesus is my cradle, my refuge during life,
may it be my tomb at death !’ He has made
me understand the sense of those words,—
cradle, refuge, tomb.”
“The Heart of Jesus is the Heart of the
Church; it watches whilst she sleeps. Ego
dormio, et cor meum vigilat. (Cant. v. 2.)
Holy Scripture says that the first Christians
had but one heart and one soul. I am not
surprised; it is the Heart of Jesus which
lived in them, and inspired them all with the
love of heavenly things.” (Nouet.) O happy
time, when all conspired in holy concord! why
may it not reappear amongst those who are
united, by one and the same devotion, in the
Heart of Jesus? Let us at least direct all our
efforts to this object, by setting an example of
an unreserved devotion to the Sacred Heart;
let us exert ourselves by our prayers and good
works, in union with those of this divine
Heart, that all true Christians may, as in the
first ages of the Church, make but one heart

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to love the Heart of Jesus, but one voice to

praise and bless it, but one and the same soul,
the united movements of which may be con­
secrated to the love and glory of the divine
Heart.
Practice.—The Heart of Jesus is the cradle
of all the Faithful; it is through it that you
have been called to the spiritual birth of holy
baptism. You will please this Divine Heart
if, every morning, on waking, you renew your
baptismal engagements. You may make use
of the following form, or of any other like it.
“ 0 Heart of Jesus ! I renounce anew Satan
with his pomps and works, and I engage
myself wholly to Thee for every moment of
my life!” Oh ! what graces will this practice
draw down upon you ! It is enough to defeat
all the efforts of the tempter.
Itfaculatory prayer.—If any one love not
Thee, O Heart of Jesus 1 let him be anathema.
Si quis non amat Dominum Nostrum Jesum
Christum, sit anathema. (1 Cor. xvi. 22).
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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EIGHTH DAY.

TENDERNESS OF TEIE HEART OF JESUS FOR MEN

To dazzling qualities and magnificent titles

Jesus Christ joins a tenderness for us, which
appears excessive. “ My delights,” He says,
“ are to be with the children of men” DeUcios
meat esse cum filiis hominum. (Prov. viii. 31.)
His gentleness is so amiable, that it charmed
His most deadly enemies. When a woman
taken in adultery is brought to His feet, He
refuses to condemn her, and covers her ac­
cusers with shame. He allows Himself to be
approached by sinners; He mingles with
them; He allows Himself to be called, and is,
in some sort, the friend of sinners. He sits
at the table of publicans and sinners. Whom
do you see at His feet, which she appears to
have chosen as her place of refuge ? Magda­
len, a sinner by profession, whom, in return
for one single act of love, He pardoned a whole
life of disorders and scandals. It was not
Magdalen that made the first approach
towards this good Master; He knocked, He
waited at the door of her heart, before He saw
her bending at His feet, bathing them with
her tears, and wiping them with her hair.
Many sins are forgiven her, because she has

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loved much; but far more still because she

has been much beloved.
Jesus extends His care even to little chil­
dren ; they are incapable as yet of knowing
Him, but His gentleness attracts them to Him.
The Apostles repel them; suffer them, says
He, suffer little children to come to me; and
He caresses them, blesses them, and deigns to
take them into His sacred arms. Should
their father and mother abandon them, He
will take care of them; for though even a
mother should forget her children, yet will He
never forget them. See also how He receives
the prodigal, who, prostrate at His feet, con­
fesses that He is no longer worthy to be called
His son; how He runs to meet him, folds
him in His arms, bathes him with His tears,
and fully restores him at the first token of
repentance, to his inheritance and his father’s
love. This incomparable Pastor passed
through the land, scattering his benefits on
every side. Pertransiit benefaciendo. His
fold alas! presents but too many sick; with
His own hand He dresses their sores, heals
their wounds, and pours in oil and wine; He
restores sight to the blind; at His command
the paralytic and lame arise and walk. A
mother mourns the loss of her only child; the
Heart of Jesus is touched at the sight; He
knows what sorrow and tears so many fondly
loved children will cost Him by falling into
the frightful death of sin, and forthwith says,

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Young man I say to thee, arise I and restores
him to his mother.
See Him seated by the well of Jacob,
wearied with His journey ; He is waiting for
the Samaritan woman; His Heart seeks for
her, and leads her to come in search of the
waters which spring up to eternal life. He
excites in her soul a heavenly thirst, to which
she had been hitherto a stranger; He reveals
to this great sinner the secret of His divine
mission. See Him at the grave of Lazarus,
whom He deigns to call His friend. He
weeps, and the Jews cannot refrain from ex­
claiming in admiration; “ Behold how He loved
him !” Ecce quomodo amabat eum. (St. John
xi. 36.) A little later, and the approaching
ruin of Jerusalem, that guilty city, which is
ere long to demand His death, will force from
Him with tears, that touching lamentation,
“ Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! how often would I
have gathered together thy children as the
hen doth gather her chickens under her wings,
and thou wouldst not!”
What is His behaviour with His Apostles ?
With what patience does He bear with them?
Judas betrays Him, and He deigns still to
address Him by the gentle name of friend;
Amice, ad quid venisti ? (St. Matt. xxvi. 50.) It
is the name He had given them all in the
touching discourse which He addressed to
them after the Supper, when He said to them;
“ I will not now call you servants, but I have

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called you friends.” Jam non dicam vos ser­

vos t vos autem dixi amicos. (St. John xv. 15.)
Peter denies Him, and, without complaint or
reproach, by the sweetness of a single look,
Jesus melts the unfaithful Apostle into tears.
In a word, the whole life of our Blessed
Saviour is nothing but gentleness and love for
men.
But these toils, labours, and watchings are
not yet enough. This amiable Saviour has
said ; “ The good Shepherd gives His life for
His sheep,” Jesus will give His life, and will
suffer Himself to be put to death by His
sheep for them. Before completing His sacri­
fice, having loved His own who were in the
world, He loved them to the end. He assem­
bles His Apostles, and at His last supper,
what does He ? Ah ! whoever knows this
gift of God, can find no expressions to speak of
it worthily. O loving invention of that
amiable Heart, above all His works ! Other
shepherds feed themselves at the cost of the
lives of their sheep, but Jesus finds a means
of giving Himself as food to His; He loves
them to such an excess, that He would become
one with each of them, and remain even to
the end of the world as the comforter and
companion of their exile.
And yet these ungrateful sheep have attacked
their Shepherd; they have reduced Him to
such a condition, that He can say with truth,
that from head to foot He is but one wound.

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Will Jesus avenge Himself upon His sheep ?
Yes, by loading them with fresh favours. He
is on the point of breathing His last, He has
nothing remaining of Himself. He has given,
He has sacrificed all. But He has yet a
Mother; He will give her to us to be our own.
Jesus looks down from His cross upon His
beloved disciple, who, during the Supper, had
reposed upon His Heart; “Behold Thy
Mother He says to him ; and Mary adopts
us for her children. He died for the sins of
men, He will rise again for their justification,
to give an incontestable proof of His life and
death. He will ascend to heaven and pour
down His graces in greater abundance upon
His favoured people. The most precious gift
amongst His treasures, His holy Spirit, He
sends down upon them; and He ceases not even
now to make His wounds, and especially that
of His Sacred Heart, plead like eloquent
mouths for mercy upon sinners, and for grace
and love for the just.
Practice.—One day, as St. Gertrude was
laying before our Lord a trouble which sensi­
bly afflicted her, our Divine Master, making
her repose upon His Heart, said to her; “ It
is here that you will live sheltered from all
affliction; but everytime that you abandon this
spot, you will be again seized with bitterness of
heart, as a salutary antidote to remind you that
I am the only all-powerful Comforter.” Profit
by this lesson; in all your doubts, distresses,

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and affliction; address yourself to the Heart of

Jesus, as a child to its parent, as a friend to
his friend, beseeching Him to be your light,
your support, your comforter, and not to allow
you to find peace or consolation except in
Him.
Ejaculatory prayer.—I have found the Heart
of my King, my Brother, my loving friend
Jesus ; what more can I desire in heaven, or
seek upon earth? Inveni cor regis, patris, et
amici benigni Jesu: quid mihi est in coelo, et
quid volui super terram ? (fife. Bernard).
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

NINTH DAY.
TENDERNESS OF THE HEART OF JESUS FOR MEN.

The activity with which fire consumes in­

flammable matter; the rapidity with which a
stone seeks its attracting centre ; the impetu­
osity with which the swiftest rivers hasten to
the ocean, do not equal the ardour with which
the Heart of Jesus burns to communicate itself
to souls, when they dispose themselves by
removing sin, which alone presents an obstacle
to the effects of His divine love.
Before I had any being, the Heart of Jesus
already beat for me, sighed for my salvation,

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desired to give itself to me, thought of me,
watched over me, was anxious for me. That
Heart is so full of love for me, that it conde­
scends to come and knock at the door of my
heart, and to beg an entrance. 8to ad ostium
st pulso. (Apoc. iii.)
Our Lord revealed one day to St. Gertrude
two admirable and loving pulsations of His
Divine Heart. “ By each of these two move­
ments,” He ’said, “ I work the salvation of
men. The first is for sinners, the second for
the just. By the first beating of my Heart,
I speak, in the first place, uninterruptedly to
God my Father : I appease Him, and incline
Him to mercy towards sinners; I then ad­
dress myself to all my elect, leading them to
excuse, with fraternal charity, the faults of
sinners, and to pray for them ; lastly, I speak
to the sinner himself, mercifully calling him
to penance, and awaiting his conversion with
unspeakable desire. By the second beating
of my Heart, I speak in the same manner to
God, my Father, and invite Him to congratu­
late me for the blood which I shed so fruit­
fully for the redemption of my just, in whose
hearts I find my delight in so many ways;
I then call upon all the host of heaven to
praise me for the admirable lives of my saints,
and to render me thanks, in their behalf, for
all the benefits with which I have loaded them,
and continue to load them. Lastly, I address
myself to the just themselves, caressing them

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in different ways, and exciting them to ad­

vance daily and hourly in my love. And, as
the beatings of the human heart are not
checked by the action either of sight or hear­
ing, or of any other sense, so in like manner,
neither the government of heaven or earth, or
of the whole universe, nor anything else in the
world, can arrest, moderate, or slacken for a
single instant, even to the end of time, these
two movements of my Heart for men.” (Inst,
iii. 52.)
Ah! Lord, Thou hast said, “ Where thy
treasure is, there is thy heart also.” We must
needs, then, be Thy treasure, since Thy Heart
is so continually occupied with ours. O in­
comprehensible love of God, how small is the
number of souls to whom thou art known!
Why art thou not known to all? Why art
thou not proclaimed throughout the whole
world to the learned, and to the ignorant, to
the just and to sinners, to those who seek
thee, and to those who flee from thee, since
all are loved by thee?
“ The saints are ravished at the excess of
this love, and truly they would have reason to
be astonished, if all hearts were made like our
own; but God has placed such merits in the
Heart of His Son, that He cherishes even our
own in consideration of Him.
« No, O Lord ! I am no longer astonished
at Thy wishing to be called the God of my
heart, Deus cordis mei; at Thy being jealous

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 SACKED HEART OF JESUS. 39
of my love, at Thy seeking its affection so
earnestly; but I am astonished that my heart
should reject Thee, and that it can hesitate to
give itself wholly to Thee.” (Nouet.) What,
O Lord I can then Thy Heart, so great, so
holy, so perfect, love me ? What do I say ?
He commands me to love Him, and shall I not
do so, I who should rather beg on my knees,
that I might be allowed to do so ? For alas I
who am I that I should be raised to such an
honour, that Thou shouldest deign to unite
Thy Heart to mine, and think only of me ?
Quid est homo, quia magnificas eum ? aut quid
apponis erga eum cor tuum ? (Job. vii.) Quid
est homo, quod memor es ejus ? (Ps. viii. 5.)
My body is nothing but a heap of dust; my
soul is the grave in which Thy favours lie
entombed; my heart is mere ingratitude, my
memory forgetfulness, my understanding dark­
ness. (Jfincet) Alas! how then canst Thou
love me, my God and my love ? How canst
Thou love me, and permit me to love Thee ?
Quomodo me amas Deus meus, amor meus ?
quomodo me amas? (St. Bernard.) This in­
comprehensible love of God towards His crea­
tures not only astonishes and ravishes the
angels and saints who meditate upon it; it
is also the terror of the devils, the object of
their constant jealousy, the only good which
engages their attention in this world, and of
which they would fain rob the souls of men.
Forced by the power of the prayers of the

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Church to make this remarkable avowal f

Satan once said; “ I traverse the whole earth,
I observe the interests which occupy the
minds of men, their wars, their politics, their
governments; I see the buildings they raise,
their arts, their sciences; I laugh at all this,
as I would at the labours of an anthill; what
wholly engages my attention, is to thwart
the love of God towards His creatures; I
gladly quit idolatrous empires for Christen­
dom, to harass and trouble a soul as soon as
it has undertaken to serve God. Our joy con­
sists in disquieting a heart which tends to
union with God.” (Surin.)
Defeat, then, the tempter’s designs, by giving
wholly to God that heart of which He is so
jealous; love Him, Christian soul, whom He
cherishes so fondly, with all your heart, with
all that heart winch He has Himself given
you, so large, so generous, so tender, so de­
voted, so insatiable in its affections, only that
it may be turned towards Him who alone can
fill it; answer to the invitation which He
makes you; “ My son, give me thy heart."
Probe, fili mi, cor tuum mihi. (Prov. xxiii. 26).
Practice.—We are told in the life of Mary
Margaret, that the angels did not disdain to
join her, in paying an uninterrupted homage
of love, adoration, and praise to the Heart of
Jesus. Address yourself, then, to the holy
angels, and especially to your guardian angel
who watches at your side, and prays unceas­

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ingly with you and for you; conjure them to
supply, by their ardent love and continual
union with the Heart of Jesus, for the cold­
ness and unworthiness of your prayers. Ask
also sometimes the angel guardians of those
with whom you have to do, to inspire them
with devotion to this Divine Heart.
Ityaculatory prayer,—As the hart pants
after the fountains of waters, so my soul pants
after Thy love, O Heart of Jesus! Quemad-
modum desiderat cervus ad fantes aquarum, ita
desiderat anima mea ad te, (Ps. xli. 1.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

TENTH DAY.
BICHES OF THE HEART OF JESUS.
Our Lord informed me, says the venerable
Mary Margaret, that it was His great desire
of being loved perfectly by men that had made
Him form the design of manifesting His Heart
to them, and of giving it to them in these
latter times as the last effort of His love; that
in it He opened to them all the treasures of
love, grace, mercy, sanctification, and salva­
tion, which this Heart contains, in order that
all who wish to pay to Him, and procure for
Him all the honour and love in their power.

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might be enriched in profusion with the trea­

sures of which that divine Heart is the inex­
haustible source. " Behold my Heart,” said
He, at another time, to the same saint: “ it
is so impassioned with love for men that,
unable to contain within itself the flames of
its charity, it must needs shed them abroad by
your means. It wishes to manifest itself to
them in order to enrich them with those pre­
cious treasures which I discover to you, and
which contain sanctifying graces suited to
draw them from perdition.”
“ The Sacred Heart of Jesus,” says a great
servant of God, “ is the seat of all virtues, the
source of all blessings, the retreat for all holy
souls; this adorable Heart is ever burning
with love for men, ever open to shed upon
them every sort of grace, ever touched with a
sense of their evils, ever disposed to receive us,
to serve as an asylum to us, a place of rest, a
heaven even in this life. Come to it, then,
you especially who are laden with crosses,
temptations, and miseries; the Sacred Heart
invites you, waits for you, presses you; it
wishes to give you consolation; it is to you
that it addresses itself when it says,“ Come to
me all you that labour, and are burdened, and
I will refresh you.” Venite ad me omnes qui
laboratis, et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos.
(Matt. xi. 28.)
It is in this adorable Heart, says St. Peter
Damian, that we find every weapon proper

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 SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 43
for our defence, every remedy for the cure of
our ills, the most powerful succour against the
assaults of our enemies, the sweetest consola­
tions to relieve our sufferings, the purest de­
lights to crown our souls with joy. Are you
afflicted, do your enemies persecute you, are
you troubled at the remembrance of your sins,
is your heart tossed with uneasiness, fears, or
passions ? Ah ! come, throw yourself at the
foot of the altar; cast yourself into the arms
of Jesus Christ; enter into His very Heart;
it is a refuge and retreat for holy souls, and a
place of perfect safety; it is the treasure of
heaven. St. Thomas says that, in his time, it
was usual to represent at the foot of the cruci­
fix a virgin, who received in a chalice the
Blood that issued from the sacred Wound of
the side, and another who shed it on the earth;
the one bore a rich crown upon her head, the
other allowed hers to fall to the ground; the
one wore a smiling aspect, all radiant with
light, the other had a sad and gloomy look.
The first represented the faithful soul, who by
meditation receives from the Heart of Jesus
joy, light, and a crown of glory; the other,
the unfaithful soul, who by sin loses these
three incomparable gifts, the light of grace, the
joy of a good conscience, and the crown of
glory.
“O sweet Jesus!’’ exclaims St. Bernard,
“ what riches dost Thou contain within Thy
Heart, and how easy is it for us to enrich our­

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selves, for in the Blessed Eucharist we possess

this infinite treasure! What riches do we lose
from not knowing how to use them! Jesus
Christ Himself has promised that those who
beg for graces through His Sacred Heart shall
receive them in abundance; and we see that
those who have practised this devotion with a
lively and ardent faith, have obtained by this
means what they had failed to obtain before
by repeated and persevering prayer.”
As St. Gertrude heard one day at Mass
those words of Holy Scripture, “ Tibi et semini
tuo dabo has regiones “ To thee and to thy
seed I will give all these countries our Lord,
placing His hand upon His Heart, explained
to her what that land was of which, in His
boundless liberality towards His creatures, He
here spoke. Upon this, the Saint, entering
into this mystery of love, exclaimed;“ O blessed
and beatific land, region of delights! so over­
flowing is the beatitude Thou containest, that
the smallest grain were enough to satisfy the
eager desires of all the elect, and surpasses all
that the heart of man could ever imagine as
desirable, amiable, agreeable, delectable, and
sweet.”
Practice,—You know what are the terms in
which the sentence of life will be pronounced
by the Son of God, on the last day, upon His
elect: “ Come, ye blessed of my Father; I
was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was
naked, and you covered me," These words

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are applicable, in their true sense, to the care

which we shall have taken of His suffering
members, the poor; and we cannot meditate
on them too often, for the Son of God makes
our charity towards our brethren the rule and
measure of His eternal mercy towards us.
But it must be acknowledged that, owing to
the indifference of the greater part of Chris­
tians for Jesus Christ, this amiable Saviour is
truly in the Blessed Sacrament the first among
the poor whom we ought to relieve. Be care­
ful to see, then, especially in country churches,
that whatever is employed in the service of
the adorable Sacrament be kept with becom­
ing cleanliness and decency. Work with your
own hands, or get others to work, for churches;
and in preference to any brilliant decorations,
offer linen necessary for the service of the
altar. Your offering will be pleasing to Jesus
Christ in proportion as it admits of less osten­
tation, and as He sees in it a proof of the
reverence which you bear towards His Sacred
Body. This is a good work, of which He
deigns to be Himself the object; this is that
ointment which He would willingly see poured
over His divine Body, and the pouring out
of which He praised on the eve of His death.
Ejaculatory Prayer.—O Heart of Jesus!
how late have I begun to love Thee! “ Sero
te amavi ?” Augustine.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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ELEVENTH DAY.
SORROWS OF THE HEART OF JESUS.

“ It was not the lance that first wounded

the Heart of Jesus; He had been wounded by
love from the first moment of His life; this
was His first and deepest wound which He
could not Himself conceal.” “ Thou hast
wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse,
thou hast wounded my heart." “ Vulnerasti
cor meum, soror mea, sponsa” (Cant. iv. 9.)
(Nouet.)
The Heart of Jesus was again wounded by
His compassion for our miseries, which in­
flicted on Him as many wounds as He beheld
evils in us.
He was wounded by sorrow for our sins,
bearing in His Heart sorrow and contrition
for the crimes of the whole world, as He after­
wards bore their punishment in His Body.
This was a far heavier cross than that of Cal­
vary, on which He died, for it began with His
life, and ended only with His death.
“ The sufferings in store for Him,” we are
told by St. Angela of Foligno, “presented them­
selves to His mind, and saddened His Heart,
from the first moment of His existence, and this
not confusedly, but in the clearest and most
distinct manner. He foresaw that after a sad

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and toilsome life of thirty-three years, all the
circumstances of which were ever present
before His eyes, He should be sold and be­
trayed by one of His disciples, denied by
another, abandoned by all, chained, struck,
bufietted, accused, blasphemed, calumniated,
scourged, crowned with thorns, led to Calvary,
loaded with His cross, crucified, put to death,
and pierced with a lance; this He saw and
meditated upon during His whole life. Such
a prospect could not but be attended by a
bitter sadness, and an inconceivable grief of
heart and mind.” You may judge by this
how lively and constant were the sorrows of
the Heart of Jesus.
Let us hear the venerable Mary Margaret,
or rather Jesus Christ Himself, on this sub­
ject : “ One day, as I was praying before the
Blessed Sacrament, which was exposed upon
the altar, Jesus Christ, my divine Master, pre­
sented Himself to me all radiant with glory,
His five wounds shining like five suns. Flames
issued on every side from His Sacred huma­
nity, but especially from His adorable breast,
which resembled a furnace; in the midst of
this burning furnace He showed me His amia­
ble Heart, which was the source from whence
those flames burst forth. It was then that
He discovered to me the inexplicable wonders
of His love, and to what an excess He had
carried it towards men, from whom He re­
ceived in return only forgetfulness and ingra­

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titude. It is this, He said, which afflicts me

more than all that I suffered in my Passion,
so much so that if they did but make me a
return, I should count but little all that I have
done for them, and I would willingly, were it
possible, do more still; but they show me only
coldness and aversion, in return for all my
eagerness to do them good.”
The Heart of Jesus suffered not only every
hour, but every instant of His mortal life; for,
as He taught the venerable Mary Margaret,
His whole life was passed in love and priva­
tion, and consumed in sacrifice. Oh! what
courage this sight should give us! how light,
and how short are our sufferings, when com­
pared with those of the Heart of Jesus ! I am
no longer astonished, O Lord, that a St. John
of the Cross, who had meditated upon them,
on Thy demanding what He desired in recom­
pense for his services, should have replied; To
suffer and to be despised for Thee; pati et
contemni pro te; that a St. Theresa, animated
with the same sentiments, should have ex­
claimed: To suffer or die! If the barren
soil of my heart does not yield such generous
sentiments, at least, O Jesus, let me practice
a perfect resignation amidst all the sufferings
Thy love shall provide for me.
Practice.—Our Lord Himself begged the
Venerable Mary Margaret to set apart the first
Friday of each month for the remembrance of
the sorrows of His Heart. Form the resolu­

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 SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 49
tion, then, to offer a Communion to the Heart
of Jesus, as far as may be in your power, on
the first Friday of every month, with the act
of reparation, in atonement for all the negli­
gences which may have attended the Commu­
nions you have made in the interval. It would
also be very pleasing to our Lord, if you formed
the intention of making reparation, not only
for your own negligences, but also for those of
all Christians.
Ejaculatory Prayer.—O Heart of Jesus,
overwhelmed with insults ! teach me to bear
with patience contempt and contradictions.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

TWELFTH DAY.
THE WOUND OF THE HEART OF JESUS.

“ All the wounds of our Lord are so many

gates of salvation, thrown open to all the
world; but the wound of His Heart is the
widest.
“ All His wounds are so many fountains,
whence His graces flow in abundance; but the
wound of His Heart is the clearest and most
refreshing.
“ All His wounds are so many streams of
purple, in which we may plunge the powers of

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our soul, and thus heighten the price of our

thoughts, words, and actions; but the wound
of His Heart gives them a deeper colour, a
brighter lustre, a more precious tint.
“^All His wounds are so many characters of
the book of life, in which is contained the
science of the saints; but the wound of His
Heart instructs us in a deeper learning than
them all.
“All Hs wounds are places of refuge, in
which the greatest criminals may find their
retreat; but the wound of His Heart is the
most favourable and most secure.
“ The wound of His Heart speaks, like an
eloquent tongue, within the secret depth of
our hearts, it reminds us of the love which
Jesus bears us, and asks for our love in
return?’ (Nouet.)
Let us hear the devout St. Bernard on this
subject: “This adorable Heart,” says he,
“ was pierced, that by means of this visible
wound we might gain some knowledge of the
invisible wound which love has inflicted on it.
Ah! how could Jesus convince us more power­
fully of His love, than by allowing not only
His body, but even His Heart to be pierced
for us?”
The melancholy and disgust, which we feel
in. this life, are often hurtful to our souls; it is
for this reason that the Heart of Jesus has
taught us to enter into Uis wounds, especially
into that of Bis Sacred Heart, in order that

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we may find there a source of joy and conso­

lation. Blessed Henry Suso, whilst plunged
one day in a deep melancholy at the thought
of the uncertainty of his salvation, heard a
voice from heaven, which consoled him greatly.
“Arise,” it said to him, “ and enter into
my wounds; for it is in them that your
only happiness is to be found.” “I can
feel no terror at the sight of the multitude
of my sins,” says St. Austin, “as often as
I call to mind the death of our divine Lord;
for my sins cannot outweigh the merits of
such a death. The nails and the spear tell me
that I am truly reconciled to Jesus Christ, if I
love Him. Longinus opened for me the side
of Jesus Christ with his lance; I entered
therein, and there I rest full of security. Let
him who fears, love; love casts out fear.”
“O amiable wound!” exclaims St. Bona- *
venture, “ it is by you that I have found an
entrance even into the very bowels of the
charily of Jesus Christ. There I take up my
abode; there I find an abundance of consola­
tion beyond all that I can express. Oh I the
blindness of the children of Adam, who know
not how to enter into Jesus Christ by His
sacred wounds ! Through them the happiness
of angels is opened to us; the wall, which
closed the entrance against us, is broken down,
and yet we neglect to enter! Believe me,
blinded men, did you but know how to enter
into Jesus Christ by these sacred openings, you

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would there find an admirable abode. What

sweetness does the soul taste in uniting itself,
through those sacred wounds, to the Heart of
Jesus ! I have not words to explain it; make
but the experiment, and you will find therein
a treasure of every good.
" Here the gate of Paradise is thrown open;
the flaming sword, which guarded its entrance,
has been turned aside by the soldier’s lance;
the treasure of wisdom and eternal charity is
disclosed; enter in, then, by the opening of
those divine wounds. O happy lance, which
was found worthy to make such an opening!
Oh! had I been in its place, never would I
have quitted my Saviour’s side, but I should
have said; ‘ This is the place of my rest for
ever ; here will I dwell, for I have chosen ii.’
Faithful soul, created to the image of God,
how canst thou fail to be transported out of
thyself! behold thine amiable spouse, who, by
an excess of love, has opened for thee His
side, in order that He might give thee His
Heart!’’
We read in the Chronicles of St. Francis,
that a gentleman of rank, who had entered a
monastery of the order, not finding there the
enjoyment and pleasures which he had aban­
doned, resolved to betake himself again to the
world. The temptation was so strong, that no
consideration could restrain him. But ob­
serving, as he was going away, a crucifix, on
the road by which he passed, he threw himself

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on his knees before it, to beg for mercy. Oli!

how tender and good is the Heart of Jesus I
He had no sooner finished his short prayer,
than he felt himself raised in ecstasy; at
the same time our Lord presented Himself to
him, with His Blessed Mother, and asked him
why he was going away; he replied that,
having been accustomed to live delicately in
the world, he could not bear the austerity of
the rule. Upon this, our Saviour, showing him
the wound of His side, comforted him, say­
ing : “ My son, bring hither thy hand, and dip
it in the blood of my wound, and you will find
that everything will be easy to you, however
difficult it may appear in itself.” The novice
obeyed; and afterwards, whenever any temp­
tation or annoyance came upon him, he called
to mind the Passion of the Son of God, and
the loving wound of His Heart, and found
that every difficulty changed at once into holy
delights.
Practice.—Set apart one day in the week to
honour the Heart of Jesus in a special man­
ner ; the Friday, for example, which has been
appointed for this purpose by the Church.
Pay a longer visit than usual, that day, to
Jesus in His Blessed Sacrament, and read
some book which treats of His Sacred
Heart; this will help you to keep alive
your fervour in this devotion; for, if you do
not supply it with fuel, it will be in danger
of soon dying out.

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Ejaculatory prayer.—May my eyes, and

my heart, O Jesus! remain for ever fixed on
the wound of Thy Heart! “ Oculi mei et cor
mcum ibi cunctis diebus.” (2 Paralip. vii. 16.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us^
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

THIRTEENTH DAY.
FOUR DESIRES OF THE HEART OF JESUS.

I find four vivid flames which burnt con-*

tinually in the Heart of Jesus.
The first is the desire which He expressed
to His Apostles, the night of the Last Supper,
when He addressed them in these words:
“ With desire I have desired to eat this Pasch
with you before I suffer?9 “ Desiderio deside-
ravi hoc Pascha manducare vobiscum antequam
patiar.” (St. Luke, xxii. 15.) This shows us
with what ardour we should go to the holy
Table, to receive the Bread from heaven ; we
can never desire to receive it as earnestly as
He did to give it to us. For it seems as if
this adorable mystery was the centre of all His
actions, and that, when He had accomplished
it, He regarded himself as having so happily
finished the course of His life, that, after this
masterpiece of love, nothing remained for Him
but to suffer and die for us.

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And this is the second desire, which His

Sacred Heart, so insatiable in showing its love
for mankind, sufficiently manifested when He
said; “ I have a baptism, wherewith I am to be
baptised, and how am I straitened, until it be
accomplished.'9 (St. Luke, xii. 50.) What was
this baptism, but a baptism of blood ? The
Heart of Jesus regarded the Cross as the
altar, upon which He was to consummate the
sacrifice of propitiation for the redemption of
the world; and it was for this reason that He
sighed after it, and so eagerly desired it.
The ardour, with which He longed to suffer,
was but the effect of a third and still stronger
desire, that burning thirst for the salvation of
souls, which made Him exclaim in the extre­
mity of His sufferings; “ Sitio,
* 9 “ I thirst."
O Heart of Jesus! what is this burning thirst
which consumes Thee, and makes Thee droop
upon the cross? I burn with the desire of
your salvation, your repose, your sanctifica­
tion, your eternal happiness.
But the fourth and strongest of all His
desires was to glorify His Father, and to make
Him reign by love in the hearts of men. “I am
come to cast fire on the earth, and what will I
but that it be kindled ?” “ Ignem veni mittere
in terram, et quid volo nisi ut accendatur
(St. Luke, xii. 49.) Such were the holy
ardours of the Heart of Jesus; such is the
example, upon which all the saints form them­

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selves; such is the fire which warms, bums,

and inflames their hearts. (Nouet.)
They go with an indescribable hunger to
the holy Table, like St. Catherine of Genoa,
who, at sight of the Sacred Host in the hands
of the priest, exclaimed: “Quick, quick,
bring me the bread of life I” They desire to
suffer, in order that they may become like to
Jesus Christ. Thus St. Andrew, on catching
sight of the cross which was prepared for him,
exclaimed, in transports of joy; “Dear Cross !
so long desired, so tenderly beloved, object of
my unceasing search, and now at last ready to
meet the ardent longing of my soul, I welcome
thee with joy.” It is the glory of God alone
that touches them; to procure it they forget
themselves, they take for their maxim the
device of St. Ignatius, Ad majorem Dei glo-
riam, To the greater glory of God. So strongly
does their zesd for the salvation of souls burn
within them, that, at the prospect of the suf­
ferings and labours which are before them, far
from being daunted, they exclaim with St.
Francis Xavier; “Yet more, O Lord, yet
more!” or with a great servant of God, of our
own age, “ Oh! how sad is it to see so many
souls, redeemed by the blood of a God, cast
themselves into hell with a smile upon their
lips, like madmen leaping from some lofty
tower ! To say the truth, I know of no other
sorrow than this, except that which I feel at the

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thought of nay own sins. All else is of the
world, and does not deserve a thought.”
How far are we from such generous senti­
ments ! how little do we long for the holy
Table! how hard does the Cross appear to us!
how little are we affected by the salvation of
our brethren, and the glory of God! O Heart
of Jesus ! how ardent is Thy love for me, and
how cold is my heart towards Thee! Do
Thou change it, for Thou hast the power and
the desire to do so.
Practice,—Help Jesus Christ to slake that
burning thirst for the salvation of souls, with
which He is consumed. They are lost, alas !
by thousands, whilst you are enriched in pro­
fusion with every kind of spiritual good. Jesus
complains of your indifference for souls which
have cost Him so dear; He waits but for your
prayer, to allow Himself to be disarmed:
“ I sought among them for a man that might
set up a hedge, and stand in the gap before me
in favour of the land, that I might not destroy
it; and I found none," “ Qucesivi de iis virum
qui interponeret sepem, et staret oppositus con­
tra me pro terra, ne dissiparem earn; et non
inveni,” (Ezech. xxii. 30.) Oh! if you are
insensible to this loving complaint, you do not
love the Heart of Jesus. Pray, then, for those
poor souls; pray, and you will become an
excellent preacher, however little you may
think it. It was made known to St. Theresa

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that her prayers alone had converted many

thousands of Indians.
Ejaculatory Prayer,—O love of the Heart
of Jesus, ever burning, and never extinguished,
light up Thy flames within my heart! O
amor qui semper ardes, et nunquam extingue-
ris, accende me. (8. Aug.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

FOURTEENTH DAY.
WHAT THE HEART OF JESUS ASKS OF MAN.

“The Heart of Jesus has given itself up

wholly to us. His Heart is the source of all
His gifts, the principle of all His favours.
And what does He ask for in return ? He
asks but for one thing, our hearts. Our Lord
asked of St. Ludegarde, one day, what she
desired of Him; “ All that I desire,” replied
she, “ is Thy Heart.” “ I,” rejoined our
amiable Lord, “ desire on my part rather to
have thine.” It is truly marvellous that the
Heart of Jesus, the source of every good,
should follow unceasingly after man, and un­
ceasingly solicit him, as if He could not be
satisfied without him. And what does He
beg of him ? His heart; “ My son, give me
thy heart. Jerusalem, cleanse thy heart;

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wash away the stains which disfigure it. Thou
shalt love the Lord with all thy heart.” Is
there anything, then, that the Heart of Jesus
stands in need of ? And even should this be
so, can the heart of man satisfy it ? What
treasure, then, do we carry in this little portion
of dust, that Jesus should be jealous of it?
Ah! the reason is, that the heart is the first
of all gifts, and itself gives a value to all
besides. Jesus looks not so much to what we
give Him, as to the heart with which we give
it. He is jealous of our heart; a single look,
a single elevation of the heart towards Him, is
capable of ravishing Him with joy; the rea­
son is, that there is nothing which is more
truly the property of Jesus, than our heart;
it is His own by conquest. Jesus is a warlike
and generous monarch, who delights in giving
battle and gaining victories. Now there is
nothing that can resist Him but the heart.
The heart once gained, all is gained. It is for
this reason that He places His glory in con­
quering it; and, when He has once made
Himself master of it, I am not astonished that
He makes it His kingdom, His heaven, His
paradise upon earth.
“ The heaven of His glory has not cost Him
near so dear as this. To gain this, He is not
satisfied, says St. Bernard, with a word ; He
purchases it at the price of Uis blood and
of His life. For what is it that He seeks in
the crib, and the stable of Bethlehem ? What

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does He ask by His tears and cries ? a heart

that will love Him. What does He seek, as
He journeys through province after province
of Palestine? What does He propose to Him­
self in undergoing so many toils and hard­
ships? it is to gain the hearts of men and
secure their love. What does He seek upon
the cross? what in the Blessed Sacrament?
what, in fine, in offering to mankind, in this
our age, by a last effort of His love, His own
most Sacred Heart ? It is our hearts that He
seeks; and yet He finds none to satisfy His
desire. He looks over the earth; He con­
siders all mankind; and amid this vast multi­
tude of hearts, which give themselves each
to what they love, there is hardly one that
gives itself without reserve to Him.” (Nouet.)
One day, our divine Lord said to St. Angela
of Foligno; " Were I to find any one who
wished to receive me into his soul, so far from
resisting, I should willingly comply with this
desire; were I to find any one who wished to
see me, I should discover myself to him with
joy. Should any one wish to converse with
me, I should speak to him with gladness and
affability; for so dear to me are souls that love
me, that were I to find one that loved me more
tenderly than my saints in time past, of whom
such marvels are recounted, I should enrich it
with still more signal favours than I have
lavished upon them.” Now, no one can allege
any just excuse for his being destitute of this

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love. No; every one has it in his power to

love God, for He requires nothing of the soul
but that she seek Him; and, if she seek Him,
she will be sure to find Him, for she is truly
loved by Him, and He is Himself the love of
souls. “The love which I bear towards a
soul that loves me without disguise,” continued
our Blessed Saviour, “knows no bounds.”
It seems to me, adds the Saint, that the wish
of our divine Lord was, that the soul should
burn, as far as she can, with the same love
with which He was consumed for her, and
which He would communicate to her, did she
only on her part desire it.
“ But alas ! how few souls are there who
aspire after this love! O my Lord! how
poor, how abandoned, and neglected art Thou !
How am I touched with compassion at the
sight of Thy indigence! Tender pity has
moved Thy servants to beg for alms in
order to relieve the poor. I would fain
beg for Thee ; I would fain find a heart that
will love Thee, and joyfully subject itself
to Thy sovereign will. 0 man! Jesus would
have your heart. The heart must needs give
itself to some one, for it cannot live without
loving, nor love without selling or giving itself
away. If your heart, then, is for sale, who
has better claim to buy it than He who
alone is its happiness, its end, its everlasting
reward ? and if it is to be given away, who is
so worthy to become its owner as He who

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made it? The world demands your heart in

order to change it into a hell; the Heart of
Jesus asks for your heart in order to make of
it a heaven even in this life;—whose claim is
to be preferred?” (Nouet.) Ah! Lord, my
heart is already Thine; I give Thee back
what is Thine own. Would that I were
master of every other heart, that I might
secure them all in Thine!
Practice.—Set aside a week every year, and
a day in each month, for the sole purpose of
repairing the strength of your soul in holy
retirement; this is one of the most infallible
means of securing your salvation and perfec­
tion, and of entering into the interior of the
Heart of Jesus, according to the words of Holy
Scripture: “ I will lead her into the wilder­
ness, and I will speak to her heart'9 “Ducam
earn in solitudinem et loquar ad cor ejus.”
(Os. ii. 14.) O sweet converse ! what mar­
vellous secrets will it teach you!
Ejaculatory prayer.—O Heart of Jesus !
Thou sough test me when I fled from Thee;
wilt Thou flee from me now that I seek
Thee?
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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FIFTEENTH DAY.
THE HEART OF JESUS INVITES US ALL TO HIM.

Venite ad me omnes. (St. Matt. xi. 28.)

“ How beautiful are these words!” says St.
Basil of Seleucia, " Come to me all: I place
no bounds to my promises; my Heart is an
inexhaustible source of goodness; it can wash
away every crime.
“ Come to me all, and I will refresh you.
The crimes are yours; the remedy is mine;
yours are the wounds, mine the cure.
“ Come to me all; my Heart is wide
enough for all. The ocean of my mercy is
vast enough to receive all sinners, who cast
themselves therein, like rivers, to drown their
offences in its waves.
“ Come to me all; for my word cannot re­
main without effect. It is a net, which I have
cast into the sea of the world, to take and
enclose all mankind.
“ Come to me all; ah ! what power is there
in these words, which have triumphed over
all the nations of the world! what saving,
sovereign efficacy, which has bowed the uni­
verse in obedience to the yoke of faith.”
(Nouet)
Venite ad me omnes. Come to me all;
come all to my Heart. Come, children, to

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the Heart of Jesus: never did the most loving

mother feel anything that approaches the
tenderness with which this Heart burns for
you. Come, ye aged, to the Heart of Jesus;
He will renew your youth like the eagle’s.
Come, ye just, to the Heart of Jesus; secured
within this retreat, you shall advance each
day from virtue to virtue. Come, sinners,
come all to the Heart of Jesus, and the robe
of your iniquities, were it red as scarlet, shall
be made as white as snow. Si fuerint peccata
vestra ut coccinum, quasi nix dealbabuntur,
(Is. i. 18.)
’Tis towards those sinners, especially, who
have most abused His benefits, that the Heart
of Jesus shows itself most liberal; it takes
pleasure in verifying in them the saying of
Holy Scripture; Where sin abounded, there
shall grace more abound.
Strayed sheep of the house of Israel, poor
soul, who have wearied yourself in the way of
iniquity, perchance you say to yourself in the
sad condition to which your wanderings have
reduced you; Our Lord has forsaken me for
ever; He thinks no more of me. Deretiquit
me Dominus, et Dominus oblitus est mei. (Is.
xlix. 14.) Hear how He speaks to a soul, St.
Angela of Foligno, whom He had drawn from
the abyss of sin, to impart to her the treasures
of His mercy ; “ My children, who have re­
nounced my kingdom by sinning, and have
made themselves slaves of the devil, are

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received kindly by their Father when they

return to Him; and, in the transport of joy
which He feels at their return, He bestows
graces upon them, which He does not always
grant to innocent souls. Why is this ? First,
on account of the boundless love which He
bears them; secondly, because the misery in
which they are plunged awakens His mercy
towards them; and lastly, on account of the
sorrow which they feel for having offended so
great and so good a God, of whose mercy they
esteem themselves unworthy, acknowledging
in their hearts that they have deserved hell.
For all these reasons, a person who has sinned
more may obtain a fuller share of grace, and
meet with more abundant mercy.”
When shall I at length respond, O Heart of
Jesus! to such goodness and condescension?
When shall I give ear to the voice of Thy
love ? When shall I begin to love Thee ?
Alas! whenever I give Thee my heart, had I
given it Thee from the first moment of my life,
still it would be ever true that Thou hadst
loved me first, and with a love which I shall
never be able to repay.
“The strongest friendship amongst men is
that which lasts till death, and for which they
count it a glory to die. But the Heart of
Jesus is our friend during life, in death, and
after death; for He gives eternity to those
who love Him. Take, then, this amiable
Heart for your friend, in preference to all

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others, for it alone will remain true to you at

the day of your death, when all things else
will be severed from you. Be assured that it
will never leave you, not even when you see
yourself abandoned by your truest friends, but
that it will remain at your side in your last
combat against the devil, and that it will
deliver you from the power of darkness, and
from the fury of those roaring lions which are
on the watch to devour their prey at the hour
of death.’’ (S$. Augustine.)
“ Ah ! how sweet is it,’’ exclaimed a great
servant of God upon his death-bed, “ to fall
into the hands of Jesus dying for us How
sweet, too, will it be for you to cast yourself, on
quitting this life, into the Heart of Jesus
wounded for you, if you respond now to the
invitation which He holds out to you, of choos­
ing it as your abode!
Practice.—An effectual means of giving
comfort to the Heart of Jesus, and one within
the reach of all, is to do what you can for the
relief of the souls in purgatory. The holy
sacrifice of the mass, the application of indul­
gences, prayers, the least action directed to
this intention, are so many means of relieving
these souls, to which Jesus has an extreme
desire of uniting Himself; His justice prevents
His satisfying this desire ; He waits, if I may
say so, for you to place Him under the sweet
obligation of making His divine justice yield
to His mercy.

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Ejaculatory Prayer.—One thing I have
asked of the Lord; this will I seek after, all
the days of my life, that I may dwell con­
tinually in His Sacred Heart. Unam petii
a Domino, hanc requiram. (Ps. xxvi. 4.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

SIXTEENTH DAY.
ITOW WE SHOULD APPROACH THE HEART OF
JESUS.

Approach the Heart of Jesus, in the first

place, in the spirit of penance, that you may
bewail your sins, and obtain pardon for them;
adore Him, like the apostle St. Thomas, with
profound respect, and say to Him with a con­
trite and humble heart, “ My Lord and my
God! Dominus meus et Deus meus !” Suffer
me, my only hope! to seek the remedy for
my wounds in the wound of Thy Sacred Heart.
Permit me, too, to place my hand in Thy
Sacred Side; not to assure myself of the truth
of Thy resurrection, but to touch Thy burning
Heart, and to replace my hand, thus warmed
in this sacred fire, upon my own poor heart,
that I may inflame it with Thy powerful love,
and consume it with regret at the remembrance
of those offences, that forgetfulness, and ingra­

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titude, which have made you sorrowful even

to death. " 0 Heart infinitely holy, and so
filled with a sovereign love of purity, that
Thou canst not endure the smallest stains,
stamp upon my heart a fear and horror of the
slightest faults. O Heart, that hast paid the
ransom of us all, enable me to break my bonds,
to combat my bad habits, to mortify my senses,
and to restore to Thee, by my penance, the
glory of which I have robbed Thee.” (JVbteet)
Be assured that this humble prayer will
draw down upon you the compassion of this
Divine Heart; for, if it is willing to endure
that its own creature, this rebellious nothing,
this animated dust, should offend and despise
it, it is certain that, by a generosity without
example, the least act of humility is capable
of making it forget all its baseness and ingra­
titude.
“ Go, in the second place, in the spirit of con­
fidence, to the Heart of Jesus, as to your place
of refuge, and drown all your sadness, your
weariness, your troubles, your pains, and
uneasiness in this abyss of sweetness and good­
ness.” (Nouet), The greater sinner you are,
the stronger should be your hope in the Heart
of Jesus; love alone is never tired of pardon­
ing. Jesus came not for the just, or those,
rather, who think themselves such, but for
sinners; it is amongst them that He loves to
be found; He would be called the Friend of
sinners; He runs to meet them, and bathes

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them in His tears; He would have greater
joy in heaven at the return of a single sinner than
at the perseverance of ninety-nine just. Oh!
how pleasing, how honourable to Him is your
confidence after your falls. It inflicts, as He
Himself told St. Gertrude, a delightful wound
upon His Heart. One Holy Innocents’ Day,
finding herself hindered, by strange tumultu­
ous thoughts which crossed her mind, from
preparing herself for Holy Communion, she
implored the aid of God, and received this
answer; “ Whoever, on finding himself
attacked by any temptation, takes refuge with
a firm hope under my protection, is of the
number of those of whom I can say; ‘ My
dove is one, chosen among a thousand; she
has wounded my heart with one of her eyes J
So that, were I unable to come to her aid, the
desolation, which my divine Heart would feel,
would be so great, that all the joys of heaven
could not give it relief.” And our Lord added;
“ This look of my well beloved, which pierces
my Heart, is the unshaken confidence, which
she should have in me, and the assurance, that
I can and will come to her aid in everything;
this confidence offers such violence to my
mercy that it would be impossible for me to
abandon her.” St. Gertrude replied; “But
since this confidence is so great a blessing, and
yet no one can procure it without Thy aid,
what are those to do who have it not ?” Our
Lord replied; “ It is in the power of every

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one to overcome this distrust by calling to

mind the words of scripture, and to say with
Job, if not with all his heart, at least with his
lips; * Though I should be buried in the depth
of hell, my God would deliver me from it;
though He should slay me, I should still hope
in Hun;’ and other similar words.”
A great servant of God, whose filial confi­
dence and abandonment of himself into the
hands of Providence, formed, so to say, his
distinctive characteristic, illumined, at death,
by a still clearer light, upon the greatness of
the mercy of God, exclaimed; “ Would that I
might be restored to health, in order that I
might live henceforth by confidence alone.’’ •
* We think we shall be rendering a service to souls, that stand
In special need of being excited to confidence, if we give the well-
known prayer of F. de la Colombibre.
Act of confidence in God. My God, I believe so firmly that
Thou watchest over all those who hope in Thee, and that we
can want for nothing whilst we look for everything from Thee,
that I am resolved to live henceforth without any anxiety, and
to cast all my care upon Thee. In pace in idiptum dormiam et
requieecam, quoniam tu, Domine, mngulariler in xpe consti-
tuietime. Men may strip me of wealth and honour; sickness
may take from me my strength, and the means of serving Thee;
I may even lose Thy grace by sin; but I will never lose my hope;
I will keep it even to the last moment of my life, and ail the
demons in hell shall try in vain to tear it from me. In pace in
tdipnm dormiam et requiacam. Others may look for happiness
from their riches, or their talents; they may rely upon the inno­
cence of their lives, the rigour of their penance, the number of
their good works, or the fervour of their prayers; but, as for me,
O Lord, all my confidence shall be my confidence itself. Quoni*
am, tu Domine singulariter in xpe corutituuti me. This confi­
dence has never deceived any one; Nullus tperatit in Domino
et confuxue ext. I am sure, then, that I shall be eternally happy,'
because I hope firmly to be so, and because it Is from Thee, 0
God, that I hope it. In te Domine, tperavi, non confundar in
atemum. I know, alas 1 I know but too well, that lam frail and
changeable; I know the power of temptation against virtues the

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In the third place, approach the Heart of
Jesus in a spirit of recollection and prayer,
by withdrawing yourself from the hurry of
business. Then will our Lord hide you under
the shadow of His protection, and draw
near to you in love, and say to your heart, as
He said to St. Gertrude: “ Keep but me in
view, direct all the powers of your soul to me
alone, and you shall enjoy the sweetness of my
grace. Intende mihi soli, et fruere dulcedine
gratis me^e.,, (iii. Insin. 9.) It is the Heart
of Jesus that invites you to this repose of
solitude and prayer, as He invited His apostles
at the close of their labours. Venite seorsum
in desertum locum, et requiescite pusilium.
Come alone into this retreat, apart from the
bustle of the world; and, with the beloved dis­
ciple, repose awhile upon the Heart of your
Divine Master. Oh! how soon will your
strength be repaired; and what deep truths
will you learn 1
Practice.—You have heard, a thousand
times, the great maxim of Jesus; “Learn of

most firmly based; I have seen the stars of heaven and the
pillars of the firmament fall; but not even this can make me
fear. As long as I hope, I am safe from every evil; and I am
sure of always hoping, because I hope still this unchanging hope.
In fine, I am sure that I cannot hope too much in Thee, and that
I cannot obtain less than I hope for from Thee. Thus J hope
that Thou wilt uphold me in the greatest dangers, protect me
against the most violent assaults, and make my weakness tri­
umph over my most formidable enemies. I hope that Thou wilt
love me always, and that I shall also love Thee without abating;
and, to carry at once my hope as far as it can go, I hope for Thee
from Thyself, my Creator 1 both in time and eternity. Amen.

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me; because I am meek and humble of heart.

Discite d me quia mitis sum et humilis corde : ”
but you do not understand as yet all its mean­
ing ; beg of Him earnestly to give you grace
to understand it. Meekness and humility are
the virtues, which He brings forth from the
good treasure of His Heart, and which He
teaches us with the authority of a Master.
We are not His true disciples, we cannot be
truly devoted to His Heart, unless we are
firmly resolved to study and practice them;
for the proper character, the soul and substance
of all true devotion, is to imitate what we
honour. Summa religionis est imitari quod
colimus. (St. Augustine).
Ejaculatory prayer.—0 love of the Heart of
Jesus, how little art Thou known ! how little
art Thou loved 1 do Thou make Thyself known
and loved!
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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 BACHED HEART OF JESUS. 73

SEVENTEENTH DAY.
THE HEART OF JESUS IS AM UNFAILING REMEDY
AGAINST EVERY MALADY OF OUR SOULS, WHAT­
EVER MAY BE THEIR DISPOSITION.

The Heart of Jesus is an abyss of wisdom;

sapienticB atyssus; it is the fulness of every
good; you will find in it a sure remedy for all
the evils of your soul. Above all, it is an
abyss of love, in which we should lose every
other love, especially the love of self, with its
evil fruits, human respect, the desire of raising
ourselves, and the love of our own satisfaction.
It is by burying these inclinations in this abyss
of divine love, that you will find every assis­
tance you may require, according to the differ­
ent states of your soul.
“ Are you in an abyss of aridity and helpless­
ness? go, plunge yourself into the Heart of
Jesus Christ, that abyss of power and love;
but do not be too eager to taste the sweetness
of that love, except when it shall please Him
to impart it to you.
“ Are you in an abyss of privation and deso­
lation? this Divine Heart is an abyss of every
consolation, in which we must lose ourselves,
though without desiring to feel its sweetness.
“Are you in an abyss of poverty, and stripped
of everything? plunge yourself into the Heart
4

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of Jesus; it is filled with treasures, and will

enrich you, if you leave it to do with you as it
pleases.
“ Are you in an abyss of weakness and mise­
ries? go to the Heart of Jesus; it is an abyss
of mercy and strength, and will raise you up
and strengthen you.
“Do you feel within yourself an abyss of
pride and self-esteem ? bury it at once in the
profound self-annihilation of the Heart of
Jesus; this humble Heart is an abyss of
humility.
“Are you in an abyss of ignorance and
darkness ? the Heart of Jesus is an abyss
of knowledge and light; learn, above all
things, to love it, and never do anything but
what it wishes of you.
“ Are you in an abyss of infidelity and in­
constancy? the Heart of Jesus is an abyss
of constancy and fidelity; plunge yourself
therein, and you will find in it a love that
loves us constantly, and constantly does us
good.
“ Do you find yourself buried, as it were, in
death? go to the Heart of Jesus; you will
find there an abyss of life, a new life, in
which, from henceforth, you will see but with
the eyes of Jesus Christ, act only by His
movements, speak only with His tongue, and
love only with His Heart.
“ Do you find yourself in an abyss of ingrati­
tude? the Heart of Jesus is an abyss of

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thankfulness; draw from its depths all that
you would fain offer to God, for all the bless­
ings you have received, and beg of Jesus to
supply for you out of His abundance.
“ Do you find yourself in an abyss of agita­
tion, impatience, and anger ? go to the Heart
of Jesus; it is an abyss of gentleness.
“ Are you in an abyss of dissipation and dis­
traction? you will find in the Heart of
Jesus an abyss of recollection and fervour,
which will supply for all your deficiencies, and
fix your heart and imagination, by uniting
them to Him.
“ Are you plunged in an abyss of sadness ?
bury this sadness itself in the Heart of Jesus;
for it is an abyss of heavenly joy, and the
treasure of delight to saints and angels.
“ Are you troubled and uneasy ? this divine
Heart is an abyss of peace; and this peace will
be communicated to you.
u When you are in an abyss of bitterness and
sufferings, unite them to the abyss of the
infinite sufferings of the Heart of Jesus ; and
you will learn from Him to suffer, and to be
happy in suffering.
“ If you are in an abyss of fear, the Heart of
Jesus is an abyss of confidence and love;
abandon yourself to it; in it you will learn
that fear should give place to love.
M In fine, on every occasion, and under every
circumstance, plunge yourself into this abyss,
of love and charity, and, if possible, never

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more quit it, until, like iron in the furnace^

you are penetrated with the fire with which
this Heart burns for God and man.” (Fen.
Mary Margaret.)
St. Mechtildis, whilst absorbed one day in
God, beheld in spirit Charity, under the form
of a virgin, who dipped a diamond in the
Heart of Jesus Christ, and frequently repeated
the action, in order to give her to understand,
that there is no heart, however hard and im­
penitent, which the Heart of Jesus will not
soften to contrition. Though our hearts
should be as hard as the diamond, they will
be softened by being steeped in the blood of
the spotless Lamb, and by being united to the
Heart of Jesus.
Practice.—Never allow yourself to fall into
discouragement, however strong may be your
natural inclinations, or however great your
faults; call to mind immediately, that you have
at your disposal the merits of the'Heart of Jesus,
to make reparation for them all. Cast your­
self into this Heart, which is ever open to
receive even the greatest sinners, and say to
Him; Ah, Lord ! may the deep abyss of my
miseries call upon the abyss of Thy mercies;
for Thou hast said by the Prophet, that deep
calleth on deep. Abyssus abyesum invocat.
(Ps. xli. 8.) It would be as impossible for
a spark of fire to fall into the sea with­
out being extinguished, as for our fault not
to be effaced by this means. It is only

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in hell that there is no longer hope in the
Heart of Jesus. As long as we are in this
life, He invites and calls us to Him, how­
ever ungrateful we may have been.
Ejaculatory Prayer,—O Heart of Jesus!
Thou shalt be my hope in trouble, and a re­
freshing shade against the burning heat of my
passions. Spes a turbine, umbraculum ab
cestu, (Is. xxv. 4.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

EIGHTEENTH DAY.
OF THE AGONY OF THE HEART OF JESUS IN THE
GARDEN OF OLIVES.

Though the whole life of our Lord was a

cross and continual martyrdom, from His con­
stantly having before His mind the prospect
of all that He was to suffer for mankind, yet
it may be truly said, that the most painful
moment of this life of bitterness was that in
which He allowed all those evils to press
together upon His Heart, and endured their
full weight and suffering during His three
hours’ agony in the Garden of Olives. It is
hither that souls, who are devoted to this
Divine Heart, should repair, to contemplate
Him every day, and to measure the full extent
of His love. This is the time of the martyr­

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dom of His divine Heart. The physical

sufferings of His Passion acted, in some sort,
as an alleviation to His sorrow of Heart, and
as a satisfaction to His love; but here He
suffers without relief and without consolation ;
He refuses His soul every thought that might
give Him comfort. Renuit consolari anima
mea. (Ps. Ixxvi. 4.)
Let us consider, then, what were His suffer­
ings during that cruel agony.
The first suffering of the Heart of Jesus
was His compassion for His Father. Deus
charitas est; (1 John iv. 8.) God is charity ;
says the Apostle whom Jesus loved: the defi­
nition is worthy of St. John ; it is worthy of
the Heart of Jesus, from whence he drew it,
as he reclined upon the breast of his divine
Master. This God of love has loved us with
an everlasting love; from all eternity have we
occupied His thoughts and designs of mercy.
In charitate perpetud dilexi te. (Jer. xxxi. 3.)
When man had forfeited by sin all those gifts
which His goodness had destined for him,
God, in a still greater excess of liberality, loved
him so far as to give him His only-begotten
Son, the object of His complacency and affec­
tion, and to deliver up this divine Son to the
most painful and ignominious death in order
to save sinful man. Sic Deus dilexit mundum,
ut Filium unigenitwm daret. (St. John iii. 16.)
But the world ignored this incomprehensible

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 SACKED HE A KT OF JESUS. 79
love; it would not believe it; it lost all re­
membrance of it; non crediderunt charitati.
Indeed, who is there that meditates on
this wondrous prodigy of love, which ravishes
the angels and saints of heaven, with aston­
ishment? Who is there that tries to fathom
its depths ? Who is there that shows his
gratitude for it, as far as it is in the power of
any creature to be grateful for so unspeakable
a gift?
As no one is so truly a father as God, so it
may be said, never did Son feel for the most
tenderly loved father so deep a love as that
of the Son of God for His Eternal Father;
in His agony, then, the Heart of Jesus com­
passionated, beyond all expression, this in­
comprehensible love of His Father, outraged
by the ingratitude and innumerable crimes
with which mankind have repaid it.
The second suffering of the Heart of Jesus,
was His compassion for the sorrows of His
Mother. To understand what Mary suffered
during the sorrowful passion of her divine
Son, we should have to penetrate the secrets
of her Heart. This Heart was gifted with a
power of feeling so noble, so deep, so excel­
lent, that no other mother’s heart can bear
comparison with it. Sho alone could say with
truth, that the outrages heaped upon her divine
Son, rebounded upon her heart;' opprobria
exprobrantium tibi ceciderunt super me. She
alone felt all the bitterness of the scorn, the

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insults, the blasphemies directed against Jesus.

She heard the sighs, the groans, the last words
of her Son; she saw Him abandoned by His
Father, stretched upon the ground, nailed to
the cro&s, and expiring in the most cruel
agony^ without being able to wipe away the
tears which flowed from His eyes, to staunch
the blood which streamed from His wounds,
or to render Him any of those sad offices
which might soothe His last sufferings; above
all, without being able to pout the least com­
fort into His afflicted Heart. As she looked
on, she spoke only by her silence and her
tears; Stabat Mater dolorosa juxta crucem
lacrymosa, dum pendebat Filius.
What a martyrdom it is to see those, whom
we love, suffering; and, still more, to see them
suffering on our account! Thus the unspeaka­
ble sorrows of Mary added to the sorrows of
her divine Son; He made them His own,
and bore them in His own Heart, by His com­
passion for her, during His agony.
Measure then, if you can, the weight of
these sorrows which were endured for you;
beg of the Heart of Jesus to pour into your
heart one drop from that sea of bitterness,
which encompasses and penetrates His own ;
that the sense of the sorrows, which He en­
dures, may give you generosity to suffer and
undertake everything, in order to make some
return to so much love.
Practice,—Amongst the different practices,

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which our divine Lord Himself prescribed to
the Venerable Mary Margaret, in honour of
His Sacred Heai’t, He taught her that, which
is now known under the name of the Holy
Hour. “ I beg of you,” He said to her, “to
spend in prayer each Thursday night, from
eleven o’clock until midnight, that you may
share with me the sorrow which I experienced
in my agony; in order to appease my anger
against sinners, and to sweeten, in some man­
ner, the bitterness which I felt at that time, at
being abandoned by them, and which forced
me to reproach them with not being able to
watch with me one hour/’ If age, health,
or the wishes of your superiors do not allow
your adopting this salutary practice, you can­
not at least excuse yourself from forming the
intention, and from offering to our Lord, every
Thursday evening, in place of the prayer
which you cannot make yourself, the prayers
of so many holy souls who are faithful to this
practice; and you may pray your good angel
to take your place near the Heart of Jesus.
Ejaculatory prayer,—Oh ! who will give
me to enter into the interior of Thy Heart,
O Jesus !
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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nineteenth day.
OF THE AGONY OF THE HE\RT OF JESUS IN THE
GARDEN OF OLIVES.

One day, whilst Mary Margaret was ab­

sorbed in meditation on the sadness and agony
of our Lord in the Garden of Olives, our
Divine Master said to her; “ It was here that
my interior sufferings were greater than in any
other part of my Passion, for I saw myself
wholly abandoned by heaven and earth, and
loaded with all the sins of mankind. I
appeared thus before the sanctity of God, who,
without regard to my innocence, punished me
in His fury, making me drain the chalice which
was charged with all the gall and bitterness of
His just indignation; as if He had forgotten
the name of Father, that He might sacrifice
me to His wrath. No creature can understand
the greatness of the torments, which I endured
at that time for mankind.”
In the next place, compassion for His own
sufferings, and for those of the whole human
race, combined with this terrible view of His
Father’s wrath, to fill the Heart of Jesus with
agony.
The third suffering of the Heart of Jesus
was His compassion for Himself. The antici­
pation of evils is ordinarily more painful than

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the endurance of the evils themselves; now
Jesus Christ, during His agony, allowed all
the torments of His Passion to fall together
upon Him, and present themselves to His
mind with all the circumstances which made
them so full of sorrow and ignominy; He
would give Himself a foretaste of all their
bitterness, and bear them in His Heart, before
actually enduring them in His body. The
nails, the cords, the cross, the rods, the thorns,
the gall, the vinegar, the spittle, the blows,
the purple robe, the sceptre of scorn, the in­
sults of His enemies, the abandonment of Uis
friends, the treachery of one of His Apostles,
the denial of the other—He foresaw all, He
accepted all, during that painful and sorrowful
agony.
The fourth suffering of the Heart of Jesus
was His compassion for mankind, whom He
loved with a sovereign love. “ He did not con­
fine Himself to deploring their loss in general;
He felt for the evils of each one of that vast
multitude, and grieved for their sins, not in­
discriminately, and in a mass, but individually,
and in detail; so that there was no sin that
ever was, or ever will be committed, mortal or
venial, which did not contribute, in its mea­
sure, to rend the Heart of our Lord” (St Angela
of Foligno). Whoever we are, just or sinners,
we all contributed to cast our share of bitter­
ness into this compassionate Heart; we all
caused Him this cruel agony. Wre should

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count, then, the vast multitude of men who

have ever lived, or who ever shall live to the
end of time ; measure the number and fright­
ful enormity of their crimes, the unbounded
love for souls which burnt in this Heart, the
ardent desire which urged it to save them all,
if we would form an idea of the anguish of the
agony of this divine Heart.
To this sight of the loss of so many souls,
and of their ingratitude, must be added all the
sufferings, all the physical and moral trials of
the human race, which cast themselves into
this ocean of bittemess> and which our divine
Lord was pleased to endure by compassion in
His Sacred Heart, in order that we might be
able to say truly with the Apostle, We have
not a High Priest who is unable to compas­
sionate our infirmities.
Such are the incomprehensible sorrows
which eticompass on every side> and rend in
pieces the Heart of Jesus. Hence it is you
hear Him exclaim ; My soul is sorrowful even
unto death. My Father, if it be possible, let
this chalice pass from me! You see Him
abandoned by His Father, given over to fear
and sadness) and reduced to such a state, that
a sweat of blood streams from His Sacred
Body, and runs even to the ground, forced
from Him by the violence of His sorrow and
love, before the executioners, the nails, the
thorns, or the scourges, have done their work.
Alas I it is because the Heart of Jesus suffers

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almost as much here as upon the cross; it is
because He would be the model, the refuge,
and the consolation of all afflicted hearts. The
Jews, who witnessed the tears shed by Jesus
over the grave of Lazarus, exclaimed in admi­
ration ; Behold, hoti) Ite loved him ! Ecce quo-
modo amabat etim. (St. John, xi. 36.) What
should you, then, say or think, O Christian
soul! at sight, not merely of the tears, but of
the blood, which Jesus sheds to-day, in order
to prove to you His love?
Draw near, then, to your agonizing Saviour;
compare, if you have the courage, your pains
with those which transpierce His Heart, and
beg of the Eternal Father to allow you, all
unworthy as you are, to take the place of the
angel sent by Him to console Him, to stay
beside Him, to watch with Him, as He invites
you to do Himself; Bustinete hie, et vigilate
mecum. (St. Mark, xiv. 34.)
Patience and resignation under your suffer­
ings are the consolation, which the afflicted
Heart of Jesus looks for at your hands.
Practice,—When you are preparing for con­
fession, beseech the Heart of Jesus to deign to
receive your heart within His own ; that you
may have some share of the bitter sorrow
which He felt for those sins of which you are
going to accuse yourself, and which were
present to Him during His sorrowful agony.
Ejaculatory Prayer.—By Thy Heart, O

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Jesus! pierced with sorrow, I beg Thee to

pierce mine with regret for all its sins.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

TWENTIETH DAY.
SOULS DEVOTED TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS
LOVE TO MEDITATE ON HIS PASSION
*

Those burning Barnes which consumed the

Heart of Jesus, those unspeakable sorrows
which plunged Him into a sea of bitterness,
that immense thirst for our salvation, are pro­
digies of the love of a God, which would
surpass all belief, and defy all conception,
had not our divine Lord given us some strik­
ing and palpable proof of them.
To suffer and to die for our friends is the
greatest proof of love. Majorem h&c dilec-
tionem nemo habet quamutanimam suamponat
quit pro amicis suis, (St. John, xv. 13.) This
proof the Heart of Jesus has given us; or no ;
it is not for His friends, it is for His enemies,
for those who put Him to death that He dies.
And who of us is there, whom He could have
loved, says St. Augustine, if He had not loved
His enemies? He loved us whilst we were
His enemies, in order to make us worthy of
being called His friends. Our Blessed Saviour

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desires that we should never lose sight of this
inconceivable proof of love, the sufferings and
death which He endured for us. It is for this
that He would renew the remembrance of it
every day, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
It is impossible to be devoted to His Heart
without taking pleasure in meditating on the
means, so inconceivable and so worthy of our
gratitude, invented by that divine Heart in
the excess of its love, in order to give a proof
of this love to the insensible hearts of men.
It is not only, then, in the garden of Olives,
but in the hands of the soldiery; in the streets
of Jerusalem; before Annas, Caiphas, and
Herod; at the pillar, in the Praetorium, upon
Calvary; that hearts devoted to the Heart of
Jesus should follow their divine Saviour, and
unite themselves to His sorrows, which finished
only with His life.
As regards the fruit and merits of such
meditation, all the saints agree in extolling
them with one voice. St. Austin tells us, that
a single tear, shed at the remembrance of the
Passion of Jesus Christ, is of more value than
a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and fasting for a
year upon bread and water. Why is the
number of those who love Jesus Christ so
small ? asks St. Liguori; because there are so
few who meditate on the pains which He en­
dured for us; whoever meditates on them
frequently cannot live without loving Jesus
Christ. He will feel himself so constrained by

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IIis love, that it will not be possible for him

to refuse to love a God, who has shown such
love, and suffered so much, only that He might
be loved. Our Lord Himself said to Blessed
Veronica, of the order of St. Augustine; “ I
would have all men honour my Passion, by a
sincere sorrow, and lively compassion for my
sufferings. Should they but shed a single tear,
they may be sure that they have done a great
deal; for the tongue of man cannot express the
joy which is given me by this single tear.”
The angels revealed to Blessed Jane of the
Cross, that the divine Majesty took such plea­
sure in the tears shed over the Passion of
Jesus Christ, that they have a value in His
sight equal to that of shedding our blood, or of
Buffering the greatest pains.
Our Lord said one day to St. Angela of
Foligno; t( Whoever wishes to find grace
should neter turn away his eyes from the
Cross, in whatever state he be, whether of
sorrow or joy. Those who employ themselves
in meditating on my Passion and death, the
source of life and salvation, are my true chil­
dren ; others are my children only in name.”
The same saint, having been favoured with
an apparition of Jesus Christ crucified, heard
Him pronounce upon those who compassionate
His sufferings, and love to take part in them,
these consoling benedictions: “ Blessed of my
Father are ye, who by compassionating my
pains, sharing in my tribulations, and walking

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in my footsteps, have merited to wash your
robes in my precious blood. Blessed are ye,
who, compassionating my immense sufferings,
and the death which I endured to rescue you
from eternal torments, to make satisfaction for
you, and to work your redemption, have been
found worthy to share my poverty, humilia­
tion and sufferings. Blessed are ye, who
faithfully cherish the remembrance of my
Passion, the greatest miracle of all ages, the
salvation and life of those who were lost,
the only refuge of sinners; for you shall
share in my resurrection, and in the king­
dom and glory which are the reward of
my sufferings, and shall be my heirs through
all eternity. ‘^Blessed are ye of my Father,
and the Holy Spirit; blessed are ye with
that blessing which I shall myself give on
the day of my justice; for, instead of re­
jecting me, like my persecutors, when I came
into my own kingdom, by your lively sense of
my abandonment, you gave me an asylum in
your hearts ; seeing me tormented with hun­
ger and thirst, pierced with nails, agonizing
and dying upon the cross, you would be my
comforters and associates, fulfilling thus the
works of true inercy. Therefore shall you
hear, on the terrible day, those words so full
of joy for you; Come, ye blessed of my Father,
possess the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world. Your title is incon­

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testable; for I was hungry, and you gave mo

the bread of compassion to eat.”
Practice.—The Blessed Virgin, according
to a pious tradition, never passed a day with­
out visiting the spots sprinkled by the blood
of her divine Son; the Apostles, following her
example, and, after them, the Faithful of every
age, hastened to traverse this way of sorrows.
The Way of the Cross was established in
order to supply, in some manner, the place of
this pious pilgrimage. The Sovereign Pontiflb
enriched it with- the most abundant indul­
gences. Benedict XIV. assures us, that it is
the most powerful means of converting sinners,
reviving the tepid, and sanctifying the just.
Contrive, then, to practice this holy exercise
from time to time, especially at the season at
which the Church invites us to meditate on
the sufferings of our Lord.
*
Ifyaculatory prayer.—Never will I forget the
sufferings of my God; my heart shall preserve
a continual remembrance of them, and my soul
shall languish with amazement and gratitude.
Memorid memor ero, et tdbescet in me anima
mea. (Lament, iii. 20.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us,
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
• Wherever the Way of the Cross is not publicly erected in
churches, its place may be supplied by a crucifix indulgence* for
this purpose.

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TWENTY-FIRST DAY.
INGRATITUDE OF MEN TOWARDS THE
HEART OF JESUS.

“ Although the Heart of Jesus is no longer

actually wounded, yet He has ever endured
strange indignities in His person, since the in­
stitution of the Sacrament of His love. Can
any greater indignity be imagined than the
outrages, which the Jew, the heretic, the
Atheist, have made Him suffer during so
many ages, and will continue to make Him
suffer until the end of time ?” (Nouet,)
But, perhaps, even more deplorable still, is
the conduct of those who bear the name of
Christians, and who still retain some Chris­
tian practices. Jesus condescends to dwell
amongst men; et habitavit in nobis; (St.
John i.) and to enter even into their hearts;
He goes even so far as to express Himself, (O-
incomprehensible excess of love!) in those
astounding words; My delights are to be
with the children of men; Delicias meee
esse cum filiis hominwn, (Prov. viii. 31.)
But, O Lord! how art Thou treated by un­
grateful men ? Thou deignest to reside in the
midst of them; and they refuse Thee even a
decent dwelling. Whilst they are living in
palaces, they have the effrontery to lodge Thee

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in a hovel. “Dost thou see,” said the holy

king David, with bitterness of heart, to the
Prophet Nathan, “ that I dwell in a house of
cedar, and the ark of God is lodged within
skins ?” (2 Kings vii. 2.) O true ark of the
New Covenant, of whom the ancient ark was
but a feeble figure, O Lord Jesus! who is
there, now-a-days, who is disturbed, amidst the
wealth that surrounds him, at the thought of
the poverty which attends Thee in our
churches ? Even this would seem but little to
Thee, didst Thou but find, in our hearts at least,
in the absence of all splendour in our material
temples, a ready and respectful welcome.
But no! day and night in our sanctuaries
Thou art waiting for and calling upon men ;
whilst days, and nights, and weeks, pass with­
out their answering to Thy call; or if, at times,
they make Thee a brief visit, it is but custom
and human respect that brings them. They
are present, indeed, before Thee in Jbody ; but
how far from Thee are their hearts! Thou
abidest in Thy sacrament of love, ever occupied
with the thought of them ; ever as a victim in
the presence of Thy Father, offering to Him
Thy wounds for them; and they, whilst in
Thy presence, think of nothing less than of
adoring Thee; their very attitude shows so
little respect, that heretics themselves, who
deny Thy real presence, reproach them with
it. At the time of Holy Communion, during
Mass, Jesus offers Himself to them: they hear

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those words; “Behold the Lamb of God!
behold Him who taketh away the sin of the
world ;'9 come all to Him! Jesus Himself
invites them in those admirable words: “ Eat
0 friends! and drink, and be inebriated
with the torrents of my delights, my dearly
beloved. Come eat my bread, and drink the
wine which I have mingled for you." Comedite,
amici, et bibite, et inebriamini, carissimi. (Cant,
v. 1.) Venite, comedite panern meum, et bibite
vinum quod miscui vobis. (Prov. ix. 5.) But
all go their way, as though they had no wounds
to heal, no stains to efface; they reply, that
others have invited them; that they have other
friends to serve. Be astonished, O ye heavens!
at the sight of this prodigy of ingratitude!
obstupescite coeli super hoc ! (Jer. ii. 12.) O
Christians! O senseless and perverse na­
tion ! is this the return you make to your Lord
and God? “ Generatio prava atqueperversa :
hceccine reddis Domino, popule stulte et in-
sipiens?" (Deut. xxxii. 6.)
O Jesus! so tender, so generous, so full of
love for us, could we inflict a more cruel wound
on Thy Divine Heart ? Ah ! I hear Thee
say to me ; I looked for one of those whom I
love, to compassionate my sorrow, but there
was none; and for one that would comfort me,
and I found none. “ Sustinui qui simul con-
tristaretur, et non fuit; et qui consolaretur, et
non inveni. (Ps. Ixviii. 21.) “Non est qui con­
soletur eum ex omnibus charis efus.9'

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94 MONTH OF THE

Our Lord Himself testified to the Venerable

Mary Margaret bow much He felt this indif­
ference ; *I suffer,” said He, “ a burning
thirsty to be honoured and loved by men in the
Blessed Sacrament; and yet I find scarce any
one who exerts himself, according to my
desire, to allay my thirst, by making me any
return.”
Practice.—The benefits of God are like a
river that flows unceasingly, watering your
soul, that city which God has chosen for Him­
self. Flwminis impetus lastificat civitatem Dei.
(Ps. xlv. 5.) In this world, you can discover
but the smallest part of these precious gifts;
and, as gratitude is one of the distinctive cha­
racteristics of devotion to the Sacred Heart,
you should never allow a single day to pass,
without recalling to mind the benefits which you
have received from God; your creation, pre­
servation, vocation to the true faith, a Chris­
tian education, the sacraments, particular
graces, graces decisive for salvation, &c. Nay,
more; thank God for all the graces, with which
He would have loaded you, had you been more
faithful, and for all those which He has in
store for you; thank Him in behalf of others
who, nourished by His favours, either do not
think of returning Him thanks for them, or
make use of them only to offend Him. Gra­
titude is a necessity felt by noble and generous
souls, and the surest means of drawing down

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fresh blessings; whilst ingratitude, on the Con­

trary, dries up their source.
Ejaculatory prayer.—What shall I render
to the Lord, for all the things that He hath
rendered to me ? Quid retribuam Domino pro
omnibus quas retribuit mihi ? (Ps. cxv. 3.) I
will take the Heart of His divine Son, and I
will offer it to Him with confidence, that I may
thus discharge all my obligations.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

TWENTY-SECOND DAY.
COMPLAINTS OF THE HEART OF JESUS.
Let us give ear to the complaints, which the
Heart of Jesus deigns to make to us; they are
a fresh proof of His love; for He complains,
only because He loves; and He loves us, solely
for our happiness, without any consideration
of His own, which is neither lessened by our loss,
nor increased by our salvation. What more
ought I to have done for you, says He, O
Christian people, and have not done it ? Quid
ultra debui facere tibi, et non feci 1 in what
have I grieved you ? answer me. Aut in quo
contristavi te? Responde mihi. I have set
you apart from amongst the nations, which I
left seated in darkness, and in the shadow of

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everlasting death, to impart to you the incom­

parable gift of the true faith; and you have
rendered it fruitless, by your indifference. You
were a beauteous vine, which I had planted
with my own hands, and you have borne me
but bitter fruit; for, in my thirst, you gave me
vinegar to drink; and by your ingratitude and
coldness, much more than by the point of the
lance, you have pierced your Saviour’s side.
I shed for you all ipy blood even to the last
drop; and what value have you set upon it ?
what profit have you derived from it? Qua
utilitas in sanguine meo ? I called you to my
kingdom and my inheritance; and you have
given me a peed for my sceptre, ^nd a crown
of thorns for my diadem, by the inconstancy
of your heart, and by the pride and haughti­
ness of your behaviour. In taking upon me
your nature I have raised you to a participa­
tion of my divinity, and you nailed me to the
cross by your offences.
I fed you, not with the manna which your
fathers ate, and which did not preserve them
from death, but with that bread from heaven
which contains in itself eternal life, and you
have torn my mystical body, by denying even
this ineffable benefit, which is the admiration
of angels. O all ye, then, that pass by the
way of life, attend and see if there be any
sorrow like to that which my Heart feels at
such ingratitude. 0 vos omnes, qui transitis

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jpsr vt<wn, attendite et videte si est dolor sicirt
dolor meus, (Lam. i. 12.)
Oar divine Saviour complains, again, to Hia
faithful servant, Mary Margaret, in a manner
no less moving; “ Behold,” said He to her,
discovering to her His Heart, “behold tins
Heart which has so loved men that it has
spared nothing, even to wasting and consuming
itself, to testify to them its love. And never­
theless 1 receive, from the greater part, but
ingratitude in return, through the neglect,
irreverence, sacrileges, and coldness which they
show towards me in my sacrament of love;
and what afflicts me still more is, that I meet
with this treatment from hearts which are
specially consecrated to me.” Another time
disclosing to her His Heart all torn and
pierced with wounds; “ Behold,” said He to
her, “ the wounds which I receive from my
chosen people; others are satisfied with
wounding my body, but these assail my Heart,
that Heart which has never ceased to love
them.7
Alas! are we not of the number of these
ungrateful souls ? Is it not of us that Jesus
^complains; of us, who have been enlisted in His
service by holy baptism, and are fed so often
with His sacred Body; of us, who are conse­
crated, perhaps, to His Heart in some associa-
tion charged with the task of repairing so many
^outrages, and who are nevertheless so cold, so
indifferent, towards this divine Heart? Alas!
5

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■with what truth may He not say to us by the

mouth of the royal Prophet; If my enemy
had reviled me, I would verily have borne
with it; but, to be despised and abandoned
by my friends, my children, the chosen objects
of my love! JSi inimicus maledixisset mihi,
sustinuissem utique. Ps. liv. 13.)
“My Heart,” adds our divine Master to
His faithful servant, “ may truly complain in
this mystery (of the Blessed Sacrament) as it
did upon the Cross, that it is exposed to shame
and grief without consolation. In this aban­
donment, it seeks for consolation from you,
and from a chosen number of fervent souls;
I look to you to repair, by your homage, those
injuries which are inflicted on me.” AhLif
to-day we hear the voice of His complaints
and sorrows, let us not harden our hearts;
Hodie si vocem ejus audieritis, nolite ebdurart
corda vestra. How happy should we be, if the
Heart of Jesus itself were pleased to choose
us, as He chose His Apostles, to make Him
some amends, and to console Him for the
abandonment in which He is left by so many
ungrateful hearts! Let us redouble our
fidelity, then, in our practices of devotion
towards this amiable Heart, and let us protest
to Him that, with the help of His grace, we
will never abandon Him.
Practice.—It is in prayer that you will learn
the excess of the love of Jesus for you, and
the ingratitude with which you have repaid it.

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This knowledge will awaken in you regret and

love, and will enable you to undertake all for
Jesus. Never pass a single day, then, with­
out making at least a quarter of an hour’s
prayer. It is one of the most powerful means
of salvation; so that St. Theresa does not
hesitate to say, that she will answer for the
perseverance of those who are faithful, in mak­
ing their prayer; and that, on the contrary,
those who neglect this holy exercise, have no
need of devils to drag them down to hell; for
that they throw themselves into it, of their own
accord. In this, she advances nothing beyond
the truth; for Holy Scripture tells us, that the
earth is desolate, and filled with woe, because
there is no one who considers, or enters into
his own heart. Desolations desolata est omnis
terra, quia nullus est qui recogitet corde, (Jer.
xii. 11.)
Ejaculatory prayer,—O Heart of Jesus ! by
a prodigy of Thy grace, inflame even my
heart, hitherto so ungrateful, with the fire of
Thy love.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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TWENTY-THIRD DAY.

PRACTICE IN HONOUR OF THE HEART OF JESUS.

God bestows His graces upon us, every

moment of our lives, in consideration of the
merits and blood of His Son, and thus places
us in the way of gaining boundless treasures
for eternity. But we must acknowledge that
we every day incur, through our negligence,
inconceivable losses. The greater number of
our actions lose their value, from want of a
right intention. It is time to rouse ourselves
from this lethargy ; and the best way of ren­
dering our actions as meritorious towards our
■salvation, and as glorious to God, as possible,
is to make use of the following practice taught
us by Blosius. “ It consists,” he tells us,
in offering our good works, and all our actions,
to the most sweet and sacred Heart of Jesus,
that they may be purified by this divine
Heart; for it is so full of love and tenderness
towards us, that it is ever ready to complete
and perfect the good, with which it has itself
inspired us.” The Venerable Mary Margaret
gave the same advice to a person who had
consulted her; “ You are grieved at leading
a listless life in the sendee of God: what He
seems to suggest to me to say to you in reply,

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is this ; do not be disturbed; to satisfy Him
on this point, you have but to unite yourself
*
in all your actions, to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus; this will serve, before beginning, by
way of disposition, and at the end, by way of
satisfaction. If, for example, you find that you
can do nothing in prayer, content yourself
with offering the prayer, which our divine
Saviour is ever making in our behalf, in the
adorable Sacrament of the Altar; offer the
ardour of His love, in reparation for your
tepidity; and say, as you perform each action ;
“ My God I I wish to do or to suffer this, in
union with the Sacred Heart of Thy divine
Son, and according to His holy intentions,
which I offer to Thee in reparation for all that
is impure and imperfect in my own?’ In a
word, this amiable Heart will supply for all
that may be wanting on your part; for it will
love God for you, and you will love Him in it,
and by it.
One day, as St. Gertrude was endeavouring
to pray with all the attention in her power,
she could not avoid, through human weakness,
several distractions. Greatly afflicted at this,
she said within herself; Alas ! what fruit can I
hope for from such a prayer, made with so dis­
tracted a heart? Upon which, our Blessed
Tx>rd, to console her, presented to her His
Heart, and said to her; “ Behold my Heart,
the delight of the Blessed Trinity ; I present
it to you, that you may make use of it, to

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supply for all that is wanting in you; recom­

mend all your actions to it with confidence;
it will render them perfect in my eyes; my
Heart shall be ever ready to serve you, and
will supply for your negligences.’’
Profit by this instruction ; and, whatever you
love; whenever you pray, labour, or endure
any suffering; love, pray, labour, suffer in
union with the affections, prayers, labours, and
sufferings of the Heart of Jesus; and, still
more, when you have fallen into any fault,
after humbling yourself for it, go seek in the
Heart of Jesus the virtue which is contrary
to your natural inclination, whether it be
humility, charity, resignation, or bearing with
your neighbour’s defects, and offer it to the
eternal Father in expiation for your faults.
It is a short and easy means of paying your
debts, as soon as you have contracted them,
and of acquiring an immense treasure of
merits. It was the habitual practice of the
Venerable Mary Margaret. Address yourself
with simplicity, like her, to the Heart of Jesus,
and say to Him after your falls ; « You see, O
Lord ! the evil which I have done : pay, if
you please, for your poor slave.’’ At night,
lay up, within this adorable Heart, all the
actions of the day, that it may purify what­
ever it finds imperfect in them.
Ejaculatory Prayer.—I sleep; but Thy
Heart, which Thou permittest me to call mine,

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watches for me, over me, and within me.
Ego dormio, et cor meum vigilat. (Cant. v. 2.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

TWENTY-FOURTH DAY.
DEVOTION OF THE SAINTS TOWARDS THE HEART
OF JESUS.

“ There is no one so poor as not to have some

place to serve him as a dwelling. The very
birds, as our Lord tells us, have their nests,
and the foxes their holes. A Christian alone
should not be without a home, a wanderer
throughout the world. But where can he
make his abode so well as in the Heart of
Jesus, a more august, magnificent, and holy
dwelling than any monarch’s palace? The
saints knew this well, and it was here they
fixed their abode. St. Bonaventure bore a
holy envy towards the lance that opened for
us an entrance into this adorable Heart, and
said that, had he been in its place, he would
never have quitted it. “ Would you find me,”
wrote St. Elzear to St. Delphine, “ seek me in
the wound of the side of Jesus Christ; it is
the place of my abode.”
“ Learn,” says Lanspergius, “to take up your
abode in this wound. Do you love repose?

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 104 MONTH OF THU

it is the bed of the Spouse, besprinkled with

roses and lilies. Would you rear your good
desires to maturity, and bring to light yonr
good works? it is the nest of tlie Dove. Do
you love recollection? it is the solitary spar­
row s haunt. Do you love tears and sighs? '
' it is here that the moanings of the turtle are
heard. Are you pressed by hunger? you will
find here the manna that falls from heaven in
the desert. Are you parched with thirst ?
> . , you will find here the fountain of living water,
’ ...which issues from paradise, and pours its
abundant streams into the hearts of the faith­
ful. Nor need you fear to be badly received ;
you know too well the endearments which the
Son of God lavishes upon those who honour
Him. He invites them to repose sweetly
upon His Heart, like St. John; He shows /
them His opened side, as to St. Thomas; and
gives them to drink from this sacred source.” |
(Afouet) |
“Let us draw near,’’ says St. Bernard,
let us draw near to Jesus; let us exult and
be transported with joy, St the remembrance
of His Heart. Oh! how good, how delight--
ful it is, to take up our abode in this Heart!
I will adore and praise the name of our Lord
in this His Temple, in this Holy of Holies, in
this ark of the Covenant, and say with David ;
I have found a Heart, wherewith to pray to my
God; and this Heart is no other than that of

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my King, my brother, and my most loving
friend, Jesus.
“ Having then found this Heart, which is
also mine, O most amiable Jesus! I will adore
Thee, my God! Receive my prayers in this
sanctuary of propitiation ; or rather draw me
wholly within this Heart. O Jesus! a thou­
sand times fairer, and more amiable than all
that is most beauteous upon the earth, wash
me yet more from my iniquities ; cleanse me
from my sin ; in order that I may be able to
approach Thee, and be allowed to dwell within
Thy Heart all the days of my life ; for Thy
Heart has been thus wounded, in order to offer
us a secure retreat. Yes, Thy Heart has been
opened, that, delivered from distracting cares,
we might dwell therein. Who is there, then,
that can refuse to love this Heart, thus wounded
for us? Who does not feel his heart burn
with love for one by whom he is so much
beloved? Let us, then, whilst we are still
bound in the fetters of this body, make such
return as we are able; let us love and embrace
this our divine Lord who was wounded for us,
and pierced by impious executioners in His
hands, feet, and side; let us keep constantly
near to Him ; that our hearts, still so hard and
impenitent, may at length be wounded by the
darts, and bound by the chains, of His love.’’
St. Thomas of Villanova thus developes
the text of the royal Prophet; “ The sparrow
hath found herself a house, and the turtle a

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nest for herself where she may lay her young

ones. As the Son of God has His abode in
the bosom of His Father, so the Church has
established her nest in the Heart of her be­
loved ; and, entering in by the opening of His
sacred side, she reposes there in peace, and
there she hides her children, and shelters them
from the storm. This is the Sacred Altar,
the inviolable retreat, where the mourning
dove secures her young, until the time when,
opening their wings for flight, they shall clothe
this corruptible body with immortality.”
Our Lord gave the Venerable Mary
Margaret to understand, that St. Francis of
Assisium was especially united to His Sacred
Heart, and that he possessed a particular
power of obtaining from it the graces which
he asked. St. Francis of Sales made the
Sacred Heart of Jesus his abode, during his
life; nor would he allow his holy repose to be
interrupted by the most important business, in
which he might be engaged. It would be
necessary to give the entire life of St. Gertrude
and St. Mechtildis, if we wished to cite the
places in which they speak of the Heart of
Jesus.
St. Francis Xavier, and an infinity of other
saints, whom it would be too long to name,
had a singular devotion towards this amiable
Heart, even before it had made itself known,
as 4t has done in our own days, to the Ven­
erable Mary Margaret.

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Practice,—If you cannot go and preach
Jesus Christ in distant countries, as a mis­
sionary, you can at least make Him known
to the hearts of your friends: this is your
mission. You are under an obligation to look
to the instruction of your household. God
will demand of you an account of their souls.
These functions, though less brilliant, are not
the less meritorious.
Ifyaculatory Prayer,—Happy inhabitants of
heaven I who see the Heart of Jesus unveiled,
* and love it with an undivided and constant
love; obtain for me the grace to know and
love it, like yourselves, for ever.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

TWENTY-FIFTH DAY.
PICTURES OF THE HEART OF JESUS.
*

Whoever loves a friend, consoles himself, in

some sort, for his absence, by the sight of his
portrait; he carries it with him, kisses it
tenderly, and often looks 'at it. This is what
• Any one of the faithful, who visits a picture of the Sacred
Heart, exposed for public veneration in a Church or Oratory, or
upon any altar, and prays before it, for some time, according to the
intention of the Sovereign Pontiff, gains each time an Indul­
gence of seven years and seven quarantines, applicable to the
souls in purgatory. (Pius VI. 1799.)

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the devout Lanspergius advises us to do, with

regard to pictures of the Heart of Jesus.
“ Have by you/’ says he, " to keep alive your
devotion, some picture of this adorable Heart;
place it in a position in which you may see it
frequently, that the sight of it may enkindle
in you the fire of divine love; kiss the picture
with the same devotion, with which you would
kiss the Heart of Jesus Christ; enter in spirit
within this divine Heart; impress your own
heart upon it; bury your whole soul within it;
pray that it may be absorbed in it; strive to
draw into your own heart the spirit which
animates that of Jesus, His graces, His virtues,
in a word, all the saving power of this sacred
Heart; for the Heart of Jesus is an over­
flowing fountain of every good.”
To say no more; if this were not a salutary
practice, would the Church teach her children,
as she does, to pay honour to holy images?
St. Theresa remarks, in her life, with that
admirable simplicity which is so characteristic
of her; " Having but little talent for repre­
senting objects to myself, I was extremely
fond of pictures. Oh! how much those are to
be pitied who lose, through their own fault,
the help they might derive from them. It is
evident that they have no love for our Lord ;
for they would be glad if they really loved
Him, to see His picture; just as persons in the
world are glad to look on the portraits of
those whom they love.”

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But nothing is better calculated to excite
us to this veneration for pictures of the Heart
of Jesus, than the pleasure, which we know it
gives Him, to see them honoured. Hear what
Mary Margaret says on this subject. « One
day, on the Feast of St. John the Evangelist,
after Holy Communion, the Heart of Jesus
Was represented to me as on a throne, formed
of fire and flames, shedding rays on every side,
and brighter than the sun. Ilie wound, which
He received upon the Cross, was clearly visi­
ble ; a crown of thorns encircled this sacred
Heart; and it was surmounted by a cross. Our
divine Saviour gave me to understand, that those
instruments of the Passion signified, that the
source of all His sufferings had been the bound­
less love of His Heart for men ; that all those
torments and insults had been placed before
Him, from the first moment of His incarnation;
and that the Cross was, so to say, planted in
His Heart, from that moment; that, from that
same moment, He accepted all the sorrows
and humiliations, which His sacred humanity
was to suffer during the course of His mortal
life, together with all the outrages to which
He was to expose Himself to the end of time,
for the love of mankind, by dwelling amongst
them in the Blessed Sacrament. My Saviour,”
she adds, “assured me, that He took a singular
pleasure in seeing the interior sentiments of
His Heart honoured under the figure of this
heart of flesh, in the manner in which it had

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been represented to me, environed with flames,

crowned with thorns, and surmounted by a
cross; and that He wished that this represen­
tation should be publicly exposed ; in order, j
He added, to touch the insensible hearts of
men. He promised me, at the same time,
that He would shed in abundance the treasures
of graces, with which His Heart is filled, upon
the hearts of those who honoured Him; and
that, wherever this image should be exposed
for particular veneration, it should draw down
upon the spot every kind of blessing.”
It is said, that the inhabitants of Antioch
arrested a violent earthquake, by writing the
following words over the doors of their houses:
Christus nobiscum: state. Hold: Christ is
with us! Let us bear upon our heart the
image of the Heart of Jesus; and, in all our
temptations, we may boldly defy the enemy of
our salvation, and say to him; Hold: the Heart
of Jesus is with me!
Practice.—Bear about you a medal or pic­
ture of the Heart of Jesus, and place one in
your oratory ; do your best to have a chapel
dedicated to this amiable Heart, in the parish,
or country church, where you reside.
Ejaculatory prayer.—Let us go with confi­
dence to this throne of grace, the Heart of
Jesus, that we may experience the effects of
His mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid.
Adeamus ergo cum fiducia ad thronum gra- |
ties, ut misericordiam consequamur^ et gratiam

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inveniamus in auxitio opportwno. (Heb. iv.
16.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

TWENTY-SIXTH DAY;
FOUR OBSTACLES WHICH PREVENT OUR OBTAINING
ABUNDANT FRUIT FROM DEVOTION TO THE
SACRED HEART.

I find four obstacles, which stop our progress

in true devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The first is tepidity; a truly deplorable state.
The tepid soul does only what she cannot omit.
Without charity, without fervour, she is a bur­
den to herself.; and, so far from advancing in
the way of virtue, she falls back. The danger
to which persons, engaged in daily practices of
piety, are exposed, is that of growing familiar
with these holy exercises. To guard against
this, they should be constantly afraid of going
through them without reverence, attention,
and fervour; and should make an effort to
arouse and awaken themselves, by meditating
on the great truths of faith, and by rekindling
in themselves the vivid flames of divine love.
“ The state of tepidity is so much the more to
be dreaded, as it appears the less dangerous:
we avoid more obvious sins, and think that by

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bo doing we are safe ; but we forget the words

of our divine Lord in the Apocalypse; ‘Because
thou art neither cold nor hot, I will begin to
vomit thee out of my mouth.9 As if He would
say: ‘ You deserve not to live within me;
you shall have no entrance into my Heart;
since you repay my kindness only by the most
guilty coldness.’ Confessions without amend­
ment, communions without fruit, are the ordi­
nary consequences of this deplorable tepidity.
Imagine, then, that our divine Lord, in His
desire to draw you out of this sad state, says
to you, as He said to St. Gertrude; ‘You have
been long enough attached to the earth, in
company with my enemies; you have gath­
ered the honey of the consolations of this
world from amidst its thorns, long enough;
return at length to me, and I will inebriate
you with the torrent of my delights.’ Accept
this invitation of our divine Lord; embrace
His hand, pierced with nails for the love of
you, which He stretches forth to you in His
mercy ; and promise Him, that you will follow
Him from henceforth, whithersoever He may
lead you. Operi manuum tuarum porriges
dexteram. (Job, xiv. 15.) Domine, seguar
te guocumgue ieris. (St. Matt. viii. 19.)
“ The second obstacle is self-love. The prac­
tice of the Gospel is shortly summed up in
that saying of Jesus Christ; < If any man
will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ And

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yet, how few there are who think seriously of
this I They have no love or taste for any
virtues, but those which are agreeable to them­
selves, and suit their humour; but how can a
heart thus disposed be united to the Heart of
Jesus? This divine Heart abandoned itself
wholly to us; it reserved nothing for itself.
It asks, then, for generous hearts, who have
no fear of going, too far; of engaging them­
selves ; of placing themselves in the impossi­
bility of drawing back; and to whom all reserve
is unknown.
“ The third obstacle is our predominant pas­
sion, which we would fain humour, and which
we cannot bring ourselves to renounce. Even
though we had sacrificed them nearly all, yet
if there remain but one of this kind, there can
be no union of hearts. Examine sincerely
what it is that you still reserve to yourself,
and sacrifice it generously to the Heart of
Jesus; and be assured, that it will cost you
less to renounce it altogether, than to gratify
it by halves.
“ The fourth obstacle is a secret pride. We
overcome or weaken all other enemies by the
practice of virtues; but it too often happens
that this enemy gains strength even by means
of certain virtues themselves. It may be said,
that, of all vices, there is none which has arrested
so many souls in the path of piety; none which
has thrown back so many from the highest

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perfection 'into tepidity, or even into a dis­

ordered life.
“ From this spirit of vanity comes the desire
we have, to bring ourselves into notice, to
succeed in all we undertake; that sadness
and discouragement, which we feel when we
have met with bad success; that expansion
which is produced in us at the sight of the
honours which are paid us, or on hearing the
praises which are bestowed upon us. This
same spirit insinuates itself into the practice of
the highest virtues : we are mortified, it may
be, obliging, charitable, filled with zeal for the
salvation of souls; we are given to meditation,
prayer, &c., but we are well pleased, for the
edification, as we say, of our neighbour, that
we should be known to be so.
“ From the same source spring that sensi­
tiveness on the point of honour, those little
coolnesses, those annoyances which approach
so near to envy; that secret pain we feel at
the success of others, whom we are ever ready”
to find a means of lowering; that excess even
of sorrow and discouragement, upon falling
again into some humiliating fault.
“ In fine; we pass for spiritual men, we be­
lieve ourselves to be such ; and yet, our conduct
is regulated only by maxims of worldly pru­
dence ; we wear but the appearance of piety,
whilst, beneath the surface, our passions are
alive in all their strength ; and, at the hour of
death, those who are looked upon as loaded

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with spiritual riches, And their hands empty of
good works: this self-love, this paltry ambi­
tion, this secret pride, have robbed or spoiled
all. This is the leaven, which sooner or later
corrupts the whole mass, the worm which eats
into the life of the loftiest oaks. This is the
beginning of those stupendous falls, which hap­
pen from time to time, in different ages, to
afflict the Church, and to give to the Faithful
a sad but salutary lesson.” (Croiset.)
The following instruction, given by our
divine Lord to the devout Armella, confirms
what we have just said of the obstacles that
oppose the reign of the Heart of Jesus within
us. “ On the eve of the Presentation, it
seemed to me,” says she, “that I was enclosed
within the Heart of Jesus, with so much glory
and liberty, that it surpassed all my compre­
hension. I found myself at large, and at my
ease; this divine Heart appeared of so vast
an extent, that a thousand worlds would not
have sufficed to fill it. I saw, besides, how
those, who dwell therein by love, enjoy true
and entire liberty, and a wondrous peace;
but, on the other hand, I saw that the gate
to enter therein, was so small and narrow, that
but very few found entrance. Surprised at
this, I said ; O my love and my all! whence
comes it, that Thy Heart is so large and spa­
cious ; that we are so much at large when we
are once within; and yet, that the entrance is
so small and narrow? Upon this our Lord

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gave me to understand, that it was because He

wished that none but the little, the naked, and
the solitary, should find entrance. The little
are those, who, with all their heart, abase and
humble themselves, for the love of Him. Such
as these can enter, but others not; for how
can anyone, who is puffed up with vain glory,
pass through so small a gate? The naked
are those, who detach their hearts from all
covetousness of the riches and comforts of this
life: as for others, who are burdened with
heavy loads of gold and silver, or other things,
it is impossible that they should be able to
pass through so narrow a way, unless they first
discharge themselves of this burthen. The
solitary are those, who detach their affections
from all creatures: for the effect of love is to
bind and attach the heart to the object beloved;
but it is impossible for two persons, bound and
attached to each other, to enter together by
a way, in which there is barely room for only
one.
Practice.—If you desire to obtain a true
devotion to the Heart of Jesus, it is important
to ascertain whether you have still some one
of these obstacles to overcome. The true
means of succeeding in this enquiry is by the
daily and constant use of the general examen,
which St. Ignatius esteemed and recommended,
in some sort, even more than prayer.
To make it well; you should follow the

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method, which he has himself traced out, and

observe these five points.
1. Thank God for the benefits, which He
has bestowed upon you.
2. Beg of Him to give you grace, to know
and detest your sins.
3. Examine the thoughts, words, and actions
of the present day, going through each hour in
succession.
4. Beg pardon for your faults.
5. Make a purpose of amendment; and con­
clude with the Our Father, or any other prayer
you may prefer.
Ejaculatory prayer.—O Heart of Jesus!
give me grace to know Thee, and to know
myself. Nwerim te, noverim me. (St. Augus­
tine.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY.

MEANS OF SURMOUNTING THE OBSTACLES TO THE

DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART I MORTIFICA­
TION.

If you would know how to overcome the

obstacles, which your examen has discovered
to you, embrace courageously interior and
exterior mortification; both are absolutely
necessary for arriving at perfection ; the one
cannot exist without the other.
*
But the most necessary, beyond all contra
diction, is interior mortification; and from
this no one can dispense himself. This
is the violence which we must unceasingly
offer to ourselves in order to seize the
kingdom of heaven. In fact, it is impossible
to live the life of faith for any length of time,
without dying, a thousand times a day, to your
inclinations, and the self-seeking of self-love ;
for the whole employment of a soul in this
life consists in loving and hating; loving God
with our whole heart, and hating ourselves
without reserve.
Opportunities for practising this mortifica­
tion are constantly presenting themselves:
there is no one who cannot mortify his natural
disposition, desires and inclinations; who can­

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not keep silence, when his natural vivacity
would urge him to reply, or vanity prompt
him to speak. It is in such acts as these that
interior mortification principally consists; and
we succeed by this means in weakening self-
love, and subjecting it to reason, and thus
gradually ridding ourselves of our imperfec­
tions. It is useless to flatter ourselves that
we love Jesus Christ, if we are not mortified;
all our practices of devotion, the finest senti­
ments of piety, are to be suspected, if unattended
by this perfect mortification. It was for this
reason that when some one was spoken of as a
saint, in the presence of St. Ignatius, “ He will
truly be so,” he replied, “ if he is truly mor­
tified.”
But it is not enough to mortify ourselves for
a time only, and in some one particular; we
must mortify ourselves, as far as possible, in
everything, and at all times; with prudence,
however, and discretion. A single irregular
satisfaction, that you allow to nature, has more
effect in rendering her overbearing and rebel­
lious, than a hundred victories, which you
might gain over her, would have in weakening
her power.
The practice of this mortification is familiar
to all such as have a true desire of being per­
fect. There is nothing that does not afford
them an occasion for thwarting their natural
inclinations. It is enough, that they have a

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great desire to see or to speak, to make them

cast down their eyes or hold their tongue.
The desire of hearing news, or of knowing
what is passing or what is said, is to .them a
constant subject of mortification, and it is the
more meritorious, in proportion as it recurs
more frequently and is known to God alone.
A happy expression, a witty pleasantry, might
.distinguish them in conversation ; but it may
also furnish them with matter for a noble sa­
crifice. Are they interrupted, a hundred times,
in some occupation of great importance? a
hundred times they will reply with as much
patience and sweetness, as if they had not been
at all engaged.
Inconveniences, arising from circumstances
of place, weather, variety of character, &c.,
again supply innumerable occasions of morti­
fying oneself with great merit; and it may be
.said, that the greatest graces and the highest
sanctity depend ordinarily upon the generosity
we show in mortifying ourselves, with con­
stancy, on those little occasions, which are
unceasingly presenting themselves.” (Groiset)
Do not, however, suppose that, by entering
on the practice of mortification, you will have
to lead a melancholy and hard life ; the yoke
of Jesus Christ is sweet, and His burthen light.
Did the saints deceive themselves when they
exclaimed ; I am filled with comfort; I ex­
ceedingly abound with joy in all our tribu-

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lotion? JR^olctus sum consolationsf superabwndo
gaudio in omni tribulations. (2 Cor. vii. 4.)-
“ I am in a country/’ says St * Francis Xavier,
writing to his brethren in Rome,“ where I am
in want of all the conveniences of life; but I
experience so many interior consolations, that
I am in danger of losing my sight, from the
tears of joy which I shed.” Where is the
worldling, who, at the pinnacle of his ambition,
or in the full enjoyment of his pleasures, can
make a similar avowal ?
“ A little courage! ’tis the first step only,
that demands a sacrifice; make the experi­
ment for yourself; a thing must be worth but
little, which is not worth tbe trial.
“ If, after a fortnight of entire and constant
mortification,” said a great servant of God,
“ we do not taste that sweetness, which others
have experienced, I will allow it to be said,
that the life of those who truly love Jesus
Christ is wearisome, and that the yoke of our
Lord is heavy.” (Croiset.)
Whatever difficulties you may meet with in
renouncing yourself, have recourse to the Hearts
of Jesus, and they will disappear. One day,
as the Ven. Mary Margaret felt so strong a
repugnance within herself, that it seemed as
if she could not bring herself to obey, upon
our Lord reproaching her for her cowardice in
conquering herself for the love of Him ; “What
wouldest Thou have me do ?” she said to Him,
“ my will is stronger than myself.” M Place
6

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it,” said our Lord to her, “ in the wound of

my Heart; there it will find strength to over­
come itself.” “ O my God I” she exclaimed
with transport; “ do Thou bury it so deep
within Thy Heart, and secure it there so
firmly, that it may never escape from thence 1”
Practice,—Together with the general exa­
men, practice also the particular examen;
take, for the subject of it, your predominant
defect, or some virtue which you wish to
acquire; and practice it in the following
manner;
1. On rising, make a firm resolution to be
on your guard against this particular defect.
2. About noon, examine whether you have
committed any faults, in regard of the point
you proposed to yourself.
3. In the evening, institute a similar exa­
men.
The fruit of this examen depends upon the
fervour with which our morning resolution has
been made, the exactness of our inquiry, our
watchfulness over ourselves, the fervour with
which we beg the divine assistance, and the
care we take to note down our failings, in
order that we may observe the progress we
make from one day to another.
St. Ignatius practiced this exercise with
such exactness, from the time of his conver­
sion, that, even on the day of his death, he was
still careful to note his faults in a little book
which was found under his pillow. The most

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eminent persons of his order have imitated the
fidelity of their Founder in this salutary prac­
tice. If they thought that they were not
doing too much, in taking such precautions,
can we regard them as beneath us, or as
imposing too irksome a restraint upon us?
Ejaculatory prayer.-—O Jesus! may Thy
desolate Heart teach me to avoid, despise, and
hate all earthly satisfactions. (B. Henry Suso.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY.
MEANS OF OBTAINING DEVOTION TO THE SACRED
HEART OF JESUS. FIRST MEANS; PRAYER.

The first means for obtaining an ardent love

for Jesus Christ, and a tender devotion to His
Sacred Heart, is prayer.
“We may well be astonished that Chris­
tians are not, so to say, all powerful, possessing
as they do a sure and infallible means of ob­
taining all that they desire, and this means
consisting only in asking. There is nothing, to
which Jesus Christ has so frequently and
solemnly pledged Himself, as to hear our
prayers.” (Croiset.) Ask, and it shall be
given you; seek and you shall find; knock and

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it shall Se opened to you. Hitherto you have

not asked anything in my name ; ask, and you
shall receive, that your joy may be full. AU
things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer
believing, you shall receive.
Prayer is the first want, which the soul feels
*
When the Holy Ghost begins to draw it from
the abyss of perdition ; the first sign of con­
version. Ananias was afraid to go in quest of
Saul, to whom he was sent by our Lord : what
was the proof given him, by which to know
that he was no longer a persecutor, but already
of the number of the Faithful in heart and
will? He prayeth. Ecce enim orat. (Act.
ix. 11.)
Prayer is also the first exercise, which the
enemy of souls induces them to abandon, when
he would draw them into his snares. Hence
it was, that St. Theresa said; “ Would that I
had a voice, that might be heard throughout
the whole world, and that might repeat un­
ceasingly in the ears of all; Pray, pray I”
Let us pray, then, and pray with confi­
dence, humility, and, above all, with perse­
verance. Let us never grow weary, never
abandon it in disgust. The moment we cease
to importune the divine mercy is, perhaps, the
very moment, at which it was on the point
of granting our request. Prayer, says St.
Laurence Justinian, appeases the anger of
God ; He pardons the sinner when he prays
with humility. Prayer obtains all that it asks.

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for; it triumphs over all the efforts of the ene­
mies of our salvation; it purifies sinners,
changes them, and makes them saints. No
sooner had I recourse to God, says Solomon,
than He granted me wisdom. I had no sooner
opened my mouth to pray, says David, than I
received help from God.
► Our Lord told St. Bridget, that His bounty
goes far beyond our requests and wishes; and
that He would be ready to give, at any mo­
ment, did we but bring, on our part, suitable
dispositions.
“ But, of all prayers, there is none that can be
more pleasing to Jesus Christ than that in
which we beg of Him a love of Bis Sacred
Heart. Let us pray; let us entreat: it is im­
possible to beg this earnestly, and not obtain it.
The means are easy and efficacious, and we
may say that, in this matter, to ask is to ob­
tain. Make use of this Sacred Heart itself to
support your request, and doubt not but that
it will be favourably received.” (Croiset)
St. Mechtildis declared, a short time before
her death, that having, one day, begged of our
Lord some great grace, in behalf of a person
who had asked her to do so, Jesus Christ said
to her; " My daughter, tell the person for
whom you are praying, that she must seek all
that she desires, in my Heart, and that there
she will infallibly find it. Let her cherish a
great devotion to this Sacred Heart; let her
ask all that she desires through this Sacred

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Heart, like a child that knows no other artifice

than that which love suggests to her, of asking
of her father all that she wishes.”
Practice.—You can do nothing more pleas­
ing to the Heart of Jesus, than to unite yourself
to Him frequently by spiritual communion,
which consists, according to St. Thomas, in an
ardent desire of receiving Jesus Christ, and an
affectionate gratitude, as if we had actually
received Him; these desires and affections you
can awaken in yourself, at every hour of the
day or night. Our Lord expressed to the
Foundress of the Convent of St. Catharine of
Sienna, at Naples, the pleasure He takes in
these spiritual communions, by showing her
two precious vases, one of gold and the other
•of silver, and telling her that in the golden
vase He kept her sacramental communions,
and in the silver vase her spiritual commu­
nions.
Eja,culatory prayer.—If I forget Thee, O
Heart of Jesus! let my right hand be forgot­
ten ; let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do
not remember Thee ! Si oblitus fuero tui, ob-
livioni detur dextera mea; adhcereat lingua
mea faudbus meis, si non meminero tui. (Ps.
cxxxvi. 5.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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TWENTY-NINTH DAY.
SECOND MEANS OF OBTAINING A DEVOTION TO THE
SACRED HEART OF JESUS; FREQUENT COMMU­
NION.

Devotion towards the Sacred Heart of Jesus

is properly an exercise of love. It is enough,
then, to know what Holy Communion is, to
understand that there is no surer means of
being soon inflamed with love for Jesus Christ,
than by frequently approaching to this divine
Sacrament. It is impossible, says the Wise
man, to carry fire in one’s bosom and not be
burnt. This sacred fire is the adorable Eucha­
rist; which, as St. Bernard calls it, is the love
of loves. Oh I did the soul but consider at­
tentively what passes in this Divine Sacra­
ment, says St. Angela of Foligno, it is certain
that, seeing herself so strangely loved, all the
iciness of her heart would be changed into
flames of love and gratitude.
Let us frequently approach this source of
all good; there, united and incorporated with
Jesus Christ, the author of grace, we shall
daily receive its streams in fresh profusion;
our evil passions, imperceptibly weakened, will
at length wholly disappear; that inclination
for evil, which we carry about with us, will be
changed into a sweet attraction towards every

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virtue of which the Heart of Jesus is the sanc­

tuary, and of which He gives us an example
in this adorable sacrament. There, possessing,
though hidden from our eyes, the treasure of
Heaven, we shall receive the pledge of ever­
lasting happiness, promised to those who wor­
thily approach this Sacrament of love; for,
whoever possesses Jesus Christ in the Blessed
Sacrament, can want nothing for his perfec­
tion, and eternal salvation ; so that, after Com­
munion, the faithful soul may say, with St.
Mary Magdalen of Pazzi; All is accomplished.
For, indeed, this heavenly food contains in
itself eveiy good, and lays up in the soul every
grace, gift, and virtue; so that the faithful
soul, that enjoys it, has nothing more to
desire.
Alas! how many graces do we lose, by not
placing ourselves in a condition to communi­
cate more frequently. The Faithful of the
primitive Church communicated every day;
and how great, in consequence, was their faith
and fervour! Alas ! did we but know what
pain we inflict on the Heart of Jesus by our
indifference towards the Blessed Eucharist!
One day, our divine Lord said to the Ven.
Mary Margaret; “ I have a burning thirst to
be honoured and loved by men in the Blessed
Sacrament; and yet I find scarce any one, who
tries to allay this thirst, as I desire, by making
me some return.”
Let us be no longer of the number of these

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ungrateful souls; let us often approach the *.
Holy Table with due dispositions; it is the
surest means of giving consolation to Jesus
Christ, and gaining His Heart. But, if we
already have the happiness of communicating
often, ah ! why do we not make a better use
of so powerful a means of perfection and sal­
vation ? Why, after so many communions,
do we continue still the same, still tepid, cold,
and without energy to conquer our defects?
Alas! is it not because we go to Jesus Christ
with a heart attached to creatures, filled with
an esteem for the goods, the honours, the en­
joyments of this world; with a heart impene­
trably barred against the shafts of divine love ?
Is it not because, though Jesus willingly re-r
ceives our hearts within His own, we on the
contrary close our hearts against Him ? for, as
He has Himself said, he alone that abideth in
me and I in him can bring forth abundant
fruit. Qui manet in me, et ego in eo, hie fert
fructum multum” (St. John xv. 5.)
Why, then, do we not cast ourselves with
faith and confidence at the feet of Jesus Christ,
really present within us, and say to Him from
the bottom of our hearts; “No, Lord 1 I will
not let Thee go, until Thou hast blessed me; I
will not rise until Thou hast given me strength
to overcome those inclinations which separate
me so frequently from Thee, and an efficacious
and insatiable desire of doing and suffering all
for Thy love, and always and on every occa-

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Bion accomplishing Thy holy will.” Let us

remind Him that His own glory requires Him
to make a heart, which has become His sanc­
tuary, worthy of Himself. And what is there
that He can refuse us, after having given Him­
self wholly to us ?
Practice.—Endeavour to make yourself wor­
thy, as far as is possible, to communicate
frequently; and do not forget that, on the pre­
paration and thanksgiving, which should ac­
company this great action, depends all its
fruit. St. Theresa says, that one of the reasons,
why we receive so scanty a supply of grace, is
that we do not turn to sufficient account those
moments during which Jesus Christ is really
present within us; and that He has hardly
entered our hearts when we turn our back, as
it were, upon Him, and entertain ourselves
with other thoughts.
Ejacalatory Prayer.—When shall I come
and appear before the face of my God ? when
shall I be allowed to possess Him within my
heart? Quando veniam et apparebo ante faciem
Pei? (Ps. xli. 3.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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THIRTIETH DAY.
THIRD MEANS OF OBTAINING A DEVOTION TO THE
SACRED HEART; VISITS TO THE BLESSED
SACRAMENT.

The Blessed Eucharist does not benefit those

only who receive it; to gain from it some of
the fruits of life which it contains, it is enough
to visit Jesus Christ in this adorable sacrament;
to desire it; to think of it; to turn in spirit
towards some church in which it reposes.
Such was the practice of a great number of
saints, and of Blessed Alphonsus Liguori
amongst others. There is nothing, that gains
the Heart of Jesus more surely, than these
frequent adorations and visits. This adorable
Heart is in His Sacrament as a living fountain,
which flows unceasingly night and day, and
asks only to pour itself into all hearts, to purify
and fertilize them. He Himself invites all to
come and draw from thence the waters of life,
and seems to cry aloud, amidst the silence of
His sanctuaries, as He did formerly from
amidst the crowd of Jews, who were assembled
at Jerusalem for a great solemnity; If any man
thirst, let him come to me and drink. Si quis
sitit, veniat ad me et bibat. (St. John, vii. 37.)
But the solitude, that reigns in His churches,

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tells us too plainly, that He is not more heeded

now, than then. Hence it seems as though He
would fain seek reparation, from among the
small number of faithful souls who answer to
His call, for the insensibility of others; for it
is during these visits, which they pay to Him,
that He delights to shed upon them His graces
in greater abundance ; and it may be said that
there is no favour, which He bestows upon
them more commonly at that time, than the
grace of His love; for, as friendship is main?
tained and increased amongst men by frequent
visits and conversations, so it is by the same
means that we obtain a more ardent love for
Jesus Christ.
Speak to Him, then, faithful soul, during
the visits which you pay to Him, as a child to
its father, as a spouse to the most amiable of
spouses. At one time, lay before Him your
spiritual infirmities; Lord, behold he whom
Thou lovest is sick. Ecce, quern amas infir-
matur. (Joan. xi. 3.) At another, thank
Him for His benefits; Bless the Lord, 0 my
soul, and let all that is within me praise Bis
holy name. Benedic, anima mea, Domino, et
omnia qua intra me sunt nomini sancto ejus.
(Ps. cii. 1.) At another, praise His good­
ness ; How good is God to Israel! Quam bonus
Israel Deus. (Ps. Ixxii. 1.) At another, His
mercy; 0 Lord, Thy mercy is above all Thy
works! Misericordia ejus super omnia opera
ejus. At another, His love; O Heart pf Jesus,

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wounded and languishing with love, what shall
I say of Thee, and of the excess of Thy love ?
O Cor amore nostri saucium, amore nostri
languidum, quid dicam de te ? Annihilate
yourself in His presence; Shall I speak to my
Lord, I who am but dust and ashes ? Loquar
ad Dominwn mewm cum sim pulvis ei cinis f
(Gen. xviii. 27.) Lastly, enter within the
tabernacle itself, and establish your abode
there. Then cast yourself, with Magdalen, at
the feet of Jesus; bedew them with your tears,
kiss His sacred Hands pierced for the love of
you, repose upon His Heart with the disciple
whom He loved, and protest to Him, that it is
there that you wish to take your rest for ever,
both in this world and in the next, without
looking elsewhere for joy or consolation. Hase
requies mea in saculum sceculi, hie habitabo,
guoniam elegi earn. (Ps. cxxxi. 14.)
You cannot urge want of time, as an ex­
cuse for your neglect in visiting our Lord.
How much time do you find to waste in useless
conversation ! Shall it be said that it is for
Jesus alone, that we cannot sacrifice five
minutes ? Yes; five minutes’ conversation
with Him in His adorable Sacrament is enough
to satisfy His Heart. What! perhaps you
live under the same roof with Him; you have
to go but a few steps to visit Him; and you
refuse Him this slight mark of gratitude, which
He is ready to recompense by the most signal
favours. Is it right to pass by the house of a

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friend, an ancient religious was wont to say,

to live so near him, and yet not go in to greet
him?
“ Father Sates, of the Society of Jesus, was
filled with consolation, whenever he heard the
Blessed Sacrament spoken of; he was never
tired of visiting it; if he was asked for at
the gate, if he returned to his room, if he had
to go a few steps through the house, he would
always contrive to renew, on each occasion, his
visits to his dear Lord; so that there was
hardly an hour in the day, in which he did not
visit Him. It was this that merited for him
the happiness of dying by the hands of heretics,
in defence of the doctrine of the real presence
of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.”
Aloysius Gonzaga, Stanislaus Kostka,
Berchmans, those angels upon earth, and ad­
mirable models of youth, found no joy but in
the presence of Jesus in His adorable Sacra­
ment. They left their hearts with Him, when
they were obliged to be absent from Him.
There it was that Xavier would come, to rest
himself after the labours of the apostleship, and
gain fresh strength for encountering new dan­
gers. In a word; devotion towards Jesus,
annihilated upon our altars, has been the devo­
tion of all the saints. Let it be ours also.
Practice.—Make a firm resolution not to
allow a single day to pass without making
several visits to Jesus Christ in the Blessed
Sacrament, if you live in some place where He

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thus resides ; or, if you have not this happiness,
go once a day, at least, into a church, for this
purpose. Let your special object 'in these
visits be to honour the Heart of Jesus, and to
make reparation to Him for all those who are
indifferent towards Him, or who set themselves
against the devotion towards this adorable
Heart.
Ejaculutxiry prayer.—O Jesus, my God!
Thou whose discourse can never tire, speak
but one word to my soul; speak to-day, speak
always; and never bd silent. Tantum die
verbo.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

THIRTY-FIRST DAY.
FOURTH MEANS OF OBTAINING DEVOTION TO THE
SACRED HEART; A GREAT DEVOTION TOWARDS
THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY.

Mary has all power over the Heart of Jesus;

she is the Mother of fair love, Mater pulchras
dilectionis; it is to her that we must address
ourselves, if we would have its flames enkin­
dled in our hearts.
The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary are
too much alike, and too closely united, for one
not to lead infallibly to the other; with this

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difference, that the Heart of Jesus more par

ticularly favours pure souls, whilst the heart
of Mary purifies those which are not so, by
means of the graces which she obtains for
them, and prepares them to be received within
the Heart of Jesus. Sinners should never
despair of obtaining this grace through Mary;
she is the refuge of the miserable, the resource
of the whole world. Without a tender love
towards this Mother of mercy, we can never
hope to obtain an entrance into the Heart of
Jesus.
One day as St. Gertrude was repeating,
with great devotion, those words of the Salve
Regina; Illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos
cbnverte; Turn, then, thine eyes of mercy
towards us; the Blessed Virgin appeared to
her, and showing her the eyes of the Infant
Jesus, whom she held in her arms ; “ These,”
she said, “ are the eyes, full of mercy, which I
can turn at pleasure upon those who invoke
me.” Let us cherish, then, a tender love for
Mary; we shall soon be inflamed with an
ardent love for her Son. This is the recom­
pense, beyond all price, which she obtains for
all who are devoted to her. Every good has
come, and will come, to us through Mary alone;
Omnia per Mariam. Whoever has found her
has found life and salvation.
There can be no difficulty in approaching
this tender Mother, for she tells us herself
that she prevents those who seek her, and that

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die shows herself first to them. Yes; it is she
who inspires us with the desire of loving and
serving her, in order that she may enrich
us with all the treasures which are deposited
in her hands. It is through her hands that
every grace must pass, which the Heart of Jesus
designs to shed upon us.
Let us address ourselves, then, to Mary,
and especially to her heart, the perfect image
of the Heart of Jesus: to that Heart; which
was so constantly united to the Heart of her
Divine Son, that it shared, each moment, His
feelings, His joys, His labours, sorrows, and
His love for us. Never shall we find Jesus
without Mary, nor Mary without Jesus.
Inveneru/nt puerum cum Marid, Matre Ejus.
Let us invoke Mary, especially by her Im­
maculate Conception, her dearest privilege,
which exempted her from the sad necessity
of being, for a single instant, the enemy of her
God ; and let us be sure, that she will never
refuse us anything. Let us never separate the
Heart of Mary from that of Jesus in our devo­
tions ; let us honour and love them both from
the bottom of our hearts; let us devote and
consecrate ourselves wholly to these amiable
Hearts. Let us address our requests to God
the Father through the Heart of Jesus; and
let us approach Jesus by the Heart of Mary;
we shall obtain everything from the Father by
the Heart of the Son, and everything from the
Son by the Heart of the Mother.

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Blessed Hermann never passed a day with­

out paying his homage to the Heart of Mary;
and, every day of his life, he received signal
favours at her hands.
Blessed Mary of the Incarnation used no
other means than this; she had recourse to
the Heart of Mary to present her petitions to
Jesus, and to the Heart of Jesus to present
them to the Eternal Father. The Blessed
Virgin herself deigned to tell St. Gertrude how
pleasing this practice was to her, and how
meritorious it was in the sight of God. On
the eve of Christmas, whilst this saint was
reflecting, with bitterness of heart, that she had
allowed the season of Advent to pass by, with­
out having done anything specially in honour
of the Blessed Virgin; inspired by the Holy
Ghost, she offered to Mary, in reparation for
this negligence, the most noble and gentle
Heart of Jesus, her Divine Son. The Mother
of Mercy gave her to understand, that she
received this precious gift with gratitude and
great joy, and that it incomparably surpassed
in merit all other acts that she could have
performed to honour Her.
O Mary, Mother of Grace, cast an eye of
pity on our miseries, and the afflictions with
which we are overwhelmed in this valley of
tears; pray to Jesus to open His Heart to us,
and teach us to bury our sorrows and our pains
in His Divine Heart, which, whilst He was
upon earth, was truly a sea of bitterness. Let

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it be enough for us, to look upon this amiable
Heart, as the Jews once looked upon the
brazen serpent, to be at once healed of all the
maladies which afflict our souls.
Practice.—As often as you assist at Holy
Mass, offer to the Heart of Jesus the disposi­
tions of His Blessed Mother, as she stood at
the foot of the cross; and, when you go to Com­
munion, offer Him in like manner the dispo­
sitions of Mary, and her holy transports, at
the moment of the Incarnation. He Himself
taught this practice to the Venerable Mary
Margaret; you cannot doubt, then, that it is
most pleasing to Him, and that you can thus
repair, with great advantage, all your coldness
and backwardness in those sacred actions, the
most important in spiritual life.
Ejaculatory Prayer.—O Mary! I will give
myself no repose, until I have obtained from
thee the knowledge and love of the Heart of
Jesus.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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THIRTY-SECOND DAY.
FIFTH MEANS OF OBTAINING A DEVOTION TO THE
SACRED HEART OF JESUS J A PARTICULAR
DEVOTION TO ST. JOSEPH, ST. JOHN THE
EVANGELIST, AND ST. ALOYSIUS.

The saints in heaven take a pleasure in

obtaining for those, who honour them, the
virtue in which they themselves excelled, and
the means of salvation which most powerfully
aided them in attaining perfection. We have
before remarked, what an ardent devotion the
greatest saints have, at all times, manifested
towards the Heart of Jesus; but we will point
out three, in particular, to whom you can have
recourse, in a more special manner, in order to
obtain this devotion.
The first is St. Joseph. Can we doubt,
when we call to mind the privilege, which this
glorious saint enjoyed, of carrying the Infant
Jesus so often in his arms, and of living with
Him familiarly during thirty years; can we
doubt, I say, that in the silence of the life of
continual prayer, which St. Joseph led at
Nazareth, our Divine Saviour discovered to
him, as the first and most highly favoured of
all His saints, after His Divine Mother, all the
treasures of His Sacred Heart ? If, then, you

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would know and love the Heart of Jesus, go
to Joseph; Jesus has placed in his hands all
the treasures of His Heart, in order that he
might have the power of enriching his faithful
clients.
After Joseph, go to the disciple whom Jesus
loved, St. John the Evangelist. To whom
can you better address yourself, if you would
be inflamed with a tender devotion to the
Heart of Jesus, than to the beloved disciple,
who reclined, during the last supper, upon that
Divine Heart, and was the first to penetrate
its secrets; who alone received the last sighs
of that Sacred Heart upon the cross; who
alone shared the sorrows of Mary, as she beheld
that Sacred Heart pierced by the soldier s
lance; who alone saw the blood and water
flow from thence, as he bears testimony him-,
self; and who was the first to enter into that
wound of love, and there to take up his:
abode ?
As for St. Aloysius, devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus, in the exercise of an interior
life and continual union with God, formed his
distinctive characteristic. “Oh! how Aloy­
sius loved upon earth!” exclaims St. Mary
Magdalen of Pazzi, to whom it was given
to behold the glory, which this saint en­
joyed in heaven. “Oh! how Aloysius>
loved! whilst he was in this mortal life, he
was ever winging shafts of heavenly love
towards the Heart of the Word Incarnate;.

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142 MONTH OF THE

now that he is in heaven, those shafts return

into his own heart, and are fixed there for
ever; for the acts of divine charity, which
he then made, fill him now with ineffable
joy.
“ Oh! how great is the glory of Aloysius,
son of Ignatius! Never could I have believed
it, had not my Jesus allowed me to see it!
Would that I might traverse the whole uni­
verse, and proclaim that Aloysius is a great
saint; would that I might make his glory
known to the whole world, that God might be
glorified in him. He is raised so high in
heaven, only because he led an interior life on
earth. Who can ever appreciate the merits
and virtue of the interior life? No; there
can be no comparison between the acts of
an interior and exterior life.’’
This amiable saint is your model, interior
souls; Christian youth, he is your special
patron. You cannot doubt that he interests
himself specially in your welfare; and he has
given such proofs of his desire to see the
devotion to the Heart of Jesus extended, that
you are sure of doing what is agreeable to
him, in addressing yourselves to him to obtain
the promotion of this object. The following
incident will serve to increase your confi-
idence.
In the year 1765, a novice of the Society of
Jesus, Nicholas Aloysius Celestini, whilst
labouring under a serious illness, and almost

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on the point of death, saw the angelical Aloy­
sius approach his bed. The Saint addressed him
in the most consoling words, and exhorted him
to love the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and to pro­
pagate the devotion, as a thing most pleasing
to Heaven. Nicholas promised to do so, and
received, as a recompense, not only the cure of
his malady, but freedom also from any
troublesome effects of it; so that, though
hardly able, the evening before, to turn in his
bed, he was well enough, the following day,
to walk several miles in very cold weather,
and to observe the rule, like any other novice.
This miraculous cure contributed powerfully
to extend the devotion to the Sacred Heart.
Practice.—Acquire the habit of making, from
time to time, ejaculatory prayers, after the ex­
ample of St. Aloysius; there is not a more pow­
erful means for advancing rapidly in a short time
in the love of Jesus. Those short prayers are
like inflamed darts, which go straight to His
Heart, and meet with less hindrance from the
distractions and languor, which so often inter­
fere with our other exercises of piety.
Ejaculatory Prayer.—Who will give Thee
to me, that I may find Thee alone, O Heart of
my Jesus! Quiz mihi det ut inveniam te solum?
(Cant. viii. 1.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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THIRTY-THIRD DAY.
OF THE ZEAL, WHICH THE HEART OF JESUS
LOOKS FOB IN THOSE WHO ARE DEVOTED TO
HIM, IN SPREADING THE DEVOTION TO THE
SACRED HEART.

It is not enough to have conceived a great

devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; you
must also labour, as far as you can, to extend
it. And this will be no difficult matter, if you
have only love: the most unequivocal proof of
love is zeaL Whoever has no zeal, has no
love. Qui non zelat non amat, says St.
Augustine.
But in what way are you to exercise your
zeal ? there are three means of doing it; and
these are within the reach every one. The
first is example; set an example yourself of a
tender devotion to the Heart of Jesus; this is
the shortest and most efficacious lesson. The
second means is to counsel it; to make it
known to those who are unacquainted with it;
to encourage and foster it in those who have
some beginning of it. The third and surest,
as it is also the easiest, is to pray ardently to
this Sacred Heart, to make itself known and
loved, by means of those interior lights, those
secret motions, that enlighten and transform
hearts; for this devotion seems to be in a par-

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 BACHE© HEART OF JE8US. 145
ticiilar manner the fruit of prayer, one of those
special graces winch our Lord has reserved to
be spread in the hearts of His servants by
Himself alone/
Ho one can excuse himself from employing
so easy a means as this. The saints, in their
enterprises of zeal, knew well the power of
prAyer over the Heart of God; and hence they
never failed to join it to their preaching. For
they bore in mind the Saying Of St. Paul, that
Neither Ke that planteth is anything, nor he that
watsreth, but God that giveth ths increase.
Neque qui plantat eSt aliquid, neque qui rigat,
sed qui inerarnentvurn dat Deus. (1 Cor. iii. 7.)
It is related Of a Father of the Society of
Jesus, that he never preached, without having
first spent three hours in fervent prayer, ac­
companied with abundant tears. A lay brother
of the Same society, when asked what were
the means, which he used, to gain so many
sotfls to God, in hie office 6f Porter, replied ;
** For one Word that I address to men, I ad­
dress a hundred to God.
** Let us adopt the
same means, and we may be sure of success.
Let us pray, then ; and if our sins.make us
unworthy to be used as instruments by Jesus
Christ in making His Sacred Heart knoWn,
let ujS beg of Him to choose others in our
place. Let us entreat Him to send into
His vineyard apostles of His Heart; who, pene­
trated with a deep sense of the advantages of
this devotion, may devote themselves to in-
7

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crease and spread it Yes, let us pray ; every

thing is promised to prayer. When a holy
soul once asked of God, why He did not raise
up, in this corrupt age, one of those saints,
whose zeal .changes, aS it were, the face of the
whole, world; /‘Men do not pray to me
enoughwas the reply which she received.
The surest means of succeeding in the
prayers, which we address to God for the good
of souls, is to offer them to Him through the
mediation of the Heart of Jesus. This was
made known to the Ven. Mary of the Incar­
nation, foundress of the Ursulines in Canada,
as she relates in the second book of her life,
■written by herself. “One night, as I was
pleading, before the Eternal Father, the great
cause of the salvation of souls, I understood by
•an interior light, that I was not heard by His
Divine Majesty, and that He did not, as usual,
lend a propitious ear to the vows and urgent
entreaties, which I addressed to Him. I an­
nihilated myself at His feet; I sank to the
centre of my own idleness and nothingness;
that His Divine goodness might deign to teach
•me what was most pleasing to Him, in
order that, so I might obtain my request#
Upon this, I heard these words; * Pray to me
through the Heart of Jesus, my most amiable
Son ; it is through Him, that I will hear, thee,
and grant thee thy petition.’ Since that time,”
continues the saint, “ I have always concluded
my daily devotions by this practice, and by

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this means I gain, each day, a fresh profusion

of graces, beyond all that I can express.”*
It would be well to mention here the mag­
nificent promises of Jesus Christ, in favour of
those who zealously employ themselves in
making known His Sacred Heart. “Our
Lord,” says the Ven. Mary Margaret,“dis­
covered to me the treasures of grace and love,
reserved for those who shall consecrate and
devote themselves, to give and procure to His
Sacred Heart all the honour, love, and glory
in their power; treasures so great, that it is
impossible for me to express them.” And in
another place; " Our Lord showed me the
names of a number of persons, written in His

* Prayer of Mother Mary of the Incarnation.

It is by the Heart of my Jesus, my way, my truth, and my
life, that I approach to Thee, 0 Eternal Father. Through this
divine Heart, I adore Thee, in behalf of those who adore Thee
not: I love Thee, in behalf of those ■ who love Thee not;
I acknowledge Thy goodness, in behalf of all those who,
by voluntary blindness, slight Thy divine Majesty, and acknow­
ledge not Thy favours. I would fain satisfy, through this divine
Heart, for 'the duty of all mankind. I traverse in spirit the
whole world, in search of every soul, purchased by the most
precious Blood of my divine spouse; in order that I may make
reparation to Thee for all, through this divine Heart. I embrace
them all, in order to present them to Thee through Him; and
through Him I beg of Thee their conversion. Wilt Thou suffer
them. 0 Eternal Father, to refuse to acknowledge my Jesus; to
refuse to live for Him, who has did® for all? Thou seest. O
divine Father, that they haVe no life, aS yet. Ah 1 give them life,
in this divine Heart.
Thon knowest,O Incarnate Word, my beloved Jesus 1 all that
I would say to Thy -^atlier by Thy divine Heart, and by Thy
holy Soul. In saying it to Him, I say it to Thee; for Thou art
in Thy Father, and Thy Father in Th'ee. Grant, then, in onion
with Him, all that I ask. I present to Thee all these souls 1
make them one with Thee.

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Sacred Heart, on account of the desire they

felt that He should be loved and honoured;
and He promised, that they should never be
effaced.”
At the same time, let us bear in mind that
our zeal, to be profitable, must be prudent and
enlightened. There is a wide difference be­
tween the affairs of God, and those of the
world; in the affairs of the world, it is neces­
sary to be full of action; in those of God, we
must be content with following His inspira­
tions, leaving grace to act, and following its
movements with all our power. Devotion to
the Sacred Heart must insinuate itself, by the
unction of charity, into the hearts of those
whom God has chosen for Himself. (Mary
Margaret.)
Practice.—Employ a part of your means in
procuring books and medals of the Sacred
Heart; and try to spread them where you can.
The wicked never fail to find means and re­
sources for circulating their pernicious books;
shall we allow ourselves to be outdone by
them?
Ejaculatory prayer.—O Heart of Jesus1,
grant that I may be eaten up with a zeal for
Thy glory. Zelus domus tuce comedlt me. (Ps.
Ixviii. 10.)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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 SACRED HKAUT OF JR SUS. 149

CONCLUSION.

ET INGREDIETUR ET RGREDIETUR, ET PASCUA

INVRNIET.-----AND HE SHAtL GO IE, AND GO
OUr, AND SHALL FIND PASTURES.

“ An important secret, for anting you to carry

ent the good resolutions you have formed during
this month, is to learn to enter into the Heart
of Jesus, to quit the Heart of Jesus, and to
re-enter the Heart of Jesus.
“ 1. Enter into the Heart of Jesus, by recol­
lection and prayer; make great account of
prayer, all your life; and, in it, never lose sight
of Jesus. Remember how strongly St. Theresa
recommends prayer; enter into it, like her,
through Jesus Chrisfc
“ 2. Quit the Heart of Jesus, in order tor go
and labdur for Jesus; quit it, as the Seraphim
quit Paradise, without being absent from it;
preserve, at least, the desire of entering into it
again, as speedily as possible. Live always in
His presence. Carry Jesus with you, in order
io communicate Him to the hearts of those
with whom you Converse. Quit Jesus, as the
ray issues from the sun, without being detach­
ed from it; and as Jesus quitted the bosom of
His Father, without ceasing to be united to
Him.

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150 MONTH OF THE

“ 3. Re-enter the Heart of Jesus, as soon as

possible. This you may do, in two ways; the
first is, by frequently lifting up your mind and
heart to Him. Whilst occupied in your em­
ployments, raise your heart, every hour or
oftener, to Jesus, saying, for example; * O
Heart of Jesus! Thou art my strength, my
joy, my happiness? The second manner of
re-entering the Heart of Jesus is by examina­
tion and penance. Call back your heart from
its wanderings; and let it suffer some punish­
ment for them. Lay your head at the foot of
the Crucifix; and, if you have sinned by pride,
say to Him; ‘Trample this proud head^Q
Lord, beneath Thy feet!’ If by impatience;
* Alas I would that I had the lance which
pierced Thy Sacred Heart, that I might pierce
my own with it, and let forth all its bitter­
ness!’ In every fault, that you may have
committed, whatever it be, have recourse to
our Lord, and say to Him ; ‘ I know well, my
Saviour! that Thou art also my Judge ; and
therefore it is, that I would gain Thee, before
Thou judgest me; happy shall I be, if I do
penance before Thou punishest ine; for I know
well that Thou wilt not have the courage to
punish me twice.’ Enter, then, quit, and re­
enter, in this manner, the Heart of Jesus; it
is a means of remaining united to Him, all
your life.”
Nor have you any reason to doubt that you
will be always wefi received, 'under ’whatever

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 SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 151
circumstances you have recourse to Him; and
thdugh you may have been guilty of some
negligence, in recalling Him to mind. One
Friday, St. Gertrude, turning towards her
Crucifix, said with compunction; “ Alas! my
sweetest Lord, what sufferings didst Thou
endure for my saltation on this day! and I,
ungrateful wretch that I am, engrossed by
other cares, have allowed this day to pass,
without calling to mind all that you deigned
to suffer, each single hoh'r, Thou who art the
life of my life, who for love of my love didst
condescend to die!” Upon which, our Lord
replied to her; “I have supplied for all thy
negligence; for, at each instant, I have formed
in my Heart all those sentiments, which should
have passed through thine; and my divine
Heart waited with impatience for this return
of thine towards me, in order to offer to God,
my Father, all the merits that I accumulated,
and which could not be applied to thy soul
without this intention on thy part.” “In
this,” adds the Saint, “ is manifested the most
faithful love of our God, who supplies, in so
admirable a manner, for our forgetfulness; and
who appeases His Father, by offering Him the
regret which the soul conceives for her neg­
ligences.
Practice.—We cannot better close the dif­
ferent practices, suggested during this month,
than by one, which our Lord Himself proposed
to the Venerable Mary Margaret; “One

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152 MONTH OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS.

Friday, during the Holy Mass, I felt a strong

desire to honour the sufferings of my crucified
Spouse
* Upon this He told me, that He de *
sired that I should present myself, every
Friday, a certain number of times, day and
night, to adore Him upon the Cross, the
throne of His mercy, and prostrate myself
humbly at His feet, in the same dispositions in
which the Blessed Virgin stood by the Cross
during His Passion, and offer to Him those
holy dispositions.” Our Lord said also to St.
Mary Magdalen of Pazzi; “ If you will honour
with particular devotion, every Friday, the
hour at which I expired on the Cross, you
shall receive in return the choicest graces from
:ny soul, which I gave up at that moment to
my Eternal Father; and though you may not
always feel sensibly the effects of this grace,
it shall remain constantly present within
you.”
Ejaculatory prayer.—May I live; no not I,
but may the Heart of Jesus live in me! Vivam
ego, jam non ego, vivat veto in me' cor
Christi.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Maiy, pray for us.

SK
*
£ARDSON AND SON, FKINTBItS, DERBY.

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