Part two (3): PLEASING To GOD

Morning Exercise 115

O Mother of Jesus, bless and love thy Son Jesus for me.

O blessed St. Joseph, 0 angels of Christ and His saints, adore and love my Saviour for me.

And besides this, I now accept for the love of Thee, 0 my Lord Jesus, all the annoyances, contradictions, and afflictions, whether of body or of spirit, which may befall me today and during m y whole life, offering myself to Thee to suffer everything Thou art pleased that I should suffer for Thy pure glory and good pleasure.

Furthermore, I declare that from now on I shall renounce all the suggestions and temptations of the devil and I disavow and detest all the motions, feelings and effects of pride, of self-love and of all other passions and evil inclinations that are in me.

And I beg Thee, 0 my Saviour, to imprint in my heart the hatred and horror and fear of sin, which i s greater than all the evils in the world. Grant that I may die rather than offend Thee wilfully. Give me the grace to serve Thee today and all the rest of my life, with fidelity and love, meekness, patience, obedience and humility.

Vii. Another Morning Prayer to Sanctify All Your Actions and to Make Them

PLEASING To GOD

0 my God, my Creator and Sovereign Lord, since I belong entirely to Thee, so also everything that proceeds from me should belong to Thee. Thou hast created me for Thyself; therefore, it is fitting that I should offer Thee myself and all my acts, which can have no value unless they be referred to Thee. And so do I, Thy truly insignificant creature, now and for all the moments of my life offer Thee myself and all m y works, especially those that I am to do today, the good as well as the indifferent, the free as well as the natural acts. In order that they may be more pleasing to Thee, my God, I unite them to all the works of Our Lord and of His most holy Mother, as well as to those of all the souls of the blessed and of just men in heaven and on earth. I consecrate to Thee every step I take, every word, every breath, in short, all my actions, with the intention and the desire of giving Thee infinite glory and of losing Thee with an infinite love.

I offer Thee my heart, my will, my understanding and myself not only in the manner most agreeable to Thee (for this is my intention

in each one of my acts), but also with these acts, I refer to Thee the actions of all other creatures, especially those actions that are not offered to Thee. I offer Thee the perfection of all the angels, the virtue of the patriarchs, of the prophets and of all the apostles, the sufferings of the martyrs, the penance of the confessors, the purity of the virgins, the sanctity of all the blessed and finally Thy very Self. All this I do, not to obtain favors from Thee, not even paradise, but only to please Thee more and give Thee greater glory.

Moreover, I mean to offer Thee from this moment on in my present state of freedom, all the acts of love by which I shall love Thee necessarily in the blissfulness of eternity, as I hope to do by Thy bounty. I n like manner, I offer Thee all the virtuous acts that I shall ever perform and all the perfect acts to be done by the blessed in the homeland of glory. Since all things are excellent in proportion as they are pleasing to Thee and in conformity with Thy divine will, I desire not only to conform my will to Thine in everything, but I also long to accomplish nothing but what is pleasing to Thee, desiring that Thy holy will and not m y own may be done in all things. And I would do this, saying always with my lips and with my heart and by all the actions of my life: Fiat, Domine, voluntas tua sicut in caelo et in terra. "Lord, may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." May it please Thee, 0 my God, to grant me this grace, in order that I may always love Thee more ardently, serve Thee more perfectly and act more purely for Thy glory, that I may become so transformed into Thee as to live in Thee alone, for Thee alone, and to find my paradise both in time and eternity in giving pleasure to Thee.

Prayer to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary 0 Mother of Jesus, Queen of heaven and earth, I hail thee and honor thee as my sovereign Lady, to whom I belong by right and upon whom I depend after God. I pay thee all the honor that I can and must, according to God's will and thy own greatness. I give myself all to thee; may it please thee to give me thy Son. Grant that by thy prayers all that is in me may be consecrated to His glory and to thine and that I may die rather than lose His grace.

Morning Exercise 115

Prayer to St. Joseph

0 blessed St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus and worthy spouse of Mary, be my father, my protector and my guide today and all my life.

Prayer to Your Guardian Angel

0 my holy guardian Angel, I give myself to thee: offer me to Jesus and His most holy Mother and ask them to give me the grace to honor and love them with all the perfection they demand of me.

Prayer to all the Angels and Saints

0 holy angels, 0 blessed saints, I offer myself to you; offer me to Jesus and beg Him to give me His holy blessing, that I may faithfully employ this day in His service and that I may die rather than offend Him.

Prayer to beg a blessing from Jesus and Mary

0 Jesus, 0 Mary, Mother of Jesus, I beseech you to give me to your holy blessing. Nos cum prole pia, benedicat Virgo Maria. "May the Virgin Mary with her Divine Child bless us. Amen." 116-

Exercise During the Day

Viii. Jesus is the Center of Your Being and Should be the Sole Object of Your

Life

The first, most important, and, indeed, the only object of the contemplation, love, and delight of the Eternal Father is His Son, Jesus. I repeat: the only object. The Divine Father has willed that His Son Jesus should be "all in all things" (Eph. 1, 23), and that "He is before all, and by Him all things consist (Col. 1 , 17), according to the words of St. Paul. This is why God the Father beholds and loves all things in His Son and sees nothing but Him in all things. The same Apostle also teaches that God made all things in Jesus and by Jesus (Col. 1, 16), and that likewise He made all things for Jesus (Heb. 2, 10). He has embodied in His Son "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2, 3), of His goodness and beauty, of His glory and joy, and of all His other divine perfections. He tells us most clearly, and on several occasions, that He has placed all His complacency and delight in this Only and Well-beloved Son. This does not, of course, exclude the Holy Spirit, since He is the Spirit of Jesus and is one with Jesus.

After the example of the Heavenly Father, whom you are obliged to follow and imitate as your own Father, you must make Jesus Christ the sole object of your mind and heart. You must see and love all things in Him; you must not see nor love anything except Him in all things. You must perform all your actions i n Him and for Him. You must seek all your happiness and your paradise in Him; as He is the paradise of the Eternal Father, and as the Father takes all His pleasure in Him, so also this Holy Father has given Him to you to be your paradise. Therefore, He commands you to dwell in Him: Manete in me, "Abide in me" (John 15, 4). And His beloved disciple twice repeats this commandment to us. "Abide in him" he says, "And now little children, abide in him" (I John 2, 27-28). And St. Paul would lead you to do this by assuring you that "there is ... no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8, 1). You may truly say

Exercise During the Day 117

even further that outside of Him there is nothing but perdition, malediction and hell.

Yet notice once more at this point, that when I say that Jesus Christ must be the only object of your life I do, not exclude the Father and the Holy Ghost. As Jesus Himself assures you that "he that seeth me seeth the Father also" (John 14, 9), it follows that whoever speaks of HIM also speaks of His Father and of His Holy Spirit; whoever honors and loves Him likewise honors and loves His Father and His Holy S pirit ; and whoever makes Him the only object Of his life, includes the Father and the Holy Ghost.

Make our most amiable Saviour the sole object of your thoughts, desires and affections, the single end of all your actions, the centre of your being, your paradise, and your all. Wherever you may be, have recourse to Him, as to a place of refuge, by lifting up your mind and heart to Him. Remain always in Him, that is, let your mind and your heart, all your thoughts, desires and affections be His. Let all your actions be done in Him and for Him, in the manner that will be explained in greater detail in 'Tart Three" of this book.

Meditate often His own words: Unum est necessarium, "but one thing is necessary" (Luke 10, 4 2 ) , namely to serve, love and glorify Jesus.

Consider that apart from Him all is but madness, deceit, illusion, loss of time, affliction of body and spirit, nothingness, vanity of vanities; that you are on earth for this one thing alone, the principal, the most necessary, the most urgent, in fact, the only business you have in this world. It must be your chief and only care. All your thoughts, words, and actions must be directed to this one end. So you must be most careful, at the beginning of all your actions, especially the most important ones, to offer them to Our Lord, protesting that you wish to do them for His glory.

If you should fall Into some sin, do not be discouraged-not even if you fall many times-but profoundly humble yourself before God in spirit and retire sometimes, if circumstances permit, into some secluded place where you may kneel down and ask His pardon, making an act of contrition and begging our Lord Jesus Christ to repair

your fault and to give you fresh grace and strength to keep you from falling again. Ask Him to implant within you, once again, your resolution to die rather than to offend Him.

Remember from time to time that you are before God, in fact, in God Himself (Act. 17, 28); that our Lord Jesus Christ, in His divinity, surrounds you on all sides, and so completely penetrates and fills you that He is more intimately in you than you are in yourself; and that He is constantly thinking of you and keeps His eyes and heart ever turned toward you. May this arouse you in turn if not to think always of Him, at least never to allow a full hour to go by without lifting up your mind and heart to Him by one or another of the following aspirations or other prayers, it may please His divine spirit to inspire in you.

Ix. Aspirations to be Said During the Course of the Day

0 Jesus! 0 Good Jesus! 0 Possessor of my heart! 0 Beloved of my Soul!

O Object of all my love, when shall I love Thee perfectly?

O Divine Son, fill with light the shadows of my mind, set fire to the coldness of my heart!

0 Light of my eyes, let me know Thee and know myself, that I may love Thee and hate myself!

0 my sweet light, make me clearly see that all that is not Thee is nothingness, deceit and vanity!

0 my God and my All, take away all that is not Thee, to unite me all with Thee!

0 my beloved All, be all to me, and may all else be nothing to me!

O my Jesus, be Jesus to me!

O Life of my soul, 0 King of my love, live and reign in me perfectly!

Live, Jesus, live, King of my heart, live, Life of my life. Glory and love to Thee forever, in all and from all things!

0 divine Fire, immense Fire, who art everywhere, consuming and devouring Fire, why dost Thou not consume me altogether in Thy sacred flames?

Exercise During the Day 119

0 Fire, 0 celestial Flame, come, transform me into a pure flame of love for my Jesus!

0 Jesus, Thou art all fire and all flame of love for me! Oh, why am I not all flame and fire of love for Thee?

0 Jesus, Thou art all mine; may I be all Thine forever!

Ah, God of my heart! Ah, my soul's only heritage! What is there for me to desire on earth or i n heaven save Thee?

0 Unum Necessarium! Unum quaero, unum desidero, unum volo, unum mihi est necessarium, Jesus meus et omnia! 0 Thou only Necessary One! It is Thou whom I seek, it is Thou whom I desire, it is Thou whom I long for, it is Thou whom I need, my Jesus, who art in all things and beyond whom all is nothing!

Veni Domine Jesu! Come, Lord Jesus, come into my heart, into my soul, there to love Thyself in all perfection!

Alas, Jesus, when will there be nothing left in me to oppose Thy love ?

0 Mother of Jesus, show me that thou art the Mother of Jesus by forming Him and making Him live in my soul!

O Mother of Love, love thy Son for me!

O Good Jesus, give back to Thyself a hundredfold all the love I ought to have given Thee in all m y life, and the love of all creatures ought to have given Thee!

O Jesus, I offer Thee all the love in heaven and earth!

O Jesus, I give Thee my heart; fill it with holy love!

O Jesus, may all my steps pay homage to the steps that Thou didst take on earth!

0 Jesus, may all my thoughts be consecrated to the honor of Thy holy thoughts!

0 Jesus, may all my words give homage to Thy holy wordsI O Jesus, may all my acts give glory to Thy divine actions!

O my Glory, may I be wholly sacrificed to Thy glory forever!

O my All, I give up all that is not Thee and give myself to Thee forever!

Jesus, without whom all is nothing, is my all.

Thus I want all things, though I want not one!

For, having nothing, then will I have all,

If you take all, and leave me Him alone!

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Evening Exercise

IT IS just as important to end as it is to begin the day well and to make a special consecration to God of the last actions of each day as well as the first. To this end, before taking your rest in the evening, make a point of going on your knees for a quarter of an hour to thank God for the graces He has given you during the day, to examine your conscience and to renew the offering of yourself to Him by the following exercises and practices.

X. Act of Thanksgiving

0 Jesus, my Lord, I adore Thee as the One who, together with Thy Father and Thy Holy Spirit, art the source of all that is good and holy and perfect in heaven and on earth, in the orders of nature, of grace, and of glory. To Thee do I refer all the gifts and benefits, both earthly and heavenly, temporal and eternal, which ever came forth from-Thee, but especially this day, both on earth and in heaven.

I give Thee infinite praise and thanks for all that Thou art in Thyself, and for all the effects of Thy goodness that Thou hast ever brought about, especially during this day, for the benefit of all Thy creatures. But I thank Thee more especially for those Thou hast accomplished for me, the most insignificant of Thy creatures, as well as for all the benefits Thou hast designed on my behalf from all eternity.

I offer Thee all the love and all the praises that have ever been given Thee, especially all those that have been given Thee today in heaven and on earth. May all the angels, all the saints, all creatures and all powers of Thy divinity and Thy humanity bless Thee forever.

Xi. Examination of Conscience

0 Lord Jesus, I adore Thee as my sovereign judge. Most willingly do I submit to Thy power of judging me and I rejoice that Thou hast this power over me. May it please Thee to let me share a little of that

Evening Exercise 121

light by which Thou wilt show me my sins, when I shall appear before Thy judgment scat at the hour of death, so that, in the bright ness of that light, I may know the sins I have committed against Thy divine majesty. Let me share in the zeal of Thy divine justice and in Thy hatred for sin, so that I may hate my sins as Thou dost hate them.

Having said this prayer, make a brief examination of the whole day to see whether you have offended God. When you have recalled your sins, accuse yourself before Him and ask pardon of Him, making use of the following acts of contrition.

Xii. Act of Contrition Before Retiring

0 my Saviour, I accuse myself before Thee and before all Thy angels and saints, of all the sins that I have committed in my whole life, especially today, against Thy divine majesty. I implore Thee, my Lord, by Thy great mercy, by the Precious Blood which Thou didst shed for me and by the prayers and merits of Thy most holy Mother and of all Thy angels and saints, to give me grace, at this time, to conceive true contrition and repentance for my sins.

0 my God, I detest my sins with my whole heart and with all the power of my will. I detest them because of the offense, injury and dishonor which I have given Thee by means of them. I hate them because Thou dost hate them and because they are infinitely displeasing to Thee. 0 Good Jesus, these sins of mine have been the reason for which Thou didst suffer the most frightful tortures that have ever been suffered, and Thou didst die the most cruel of all deaths. That is why I hold them in abhorrence, 0 my good Saviour, and renounce them forever. Ob, who will give me all the anguish of St. Peter or St. Mary Magdalen and all the penitent saints, that I may weep for the offenses I have committed against my God with all the feeling and all the regret with which they wept for theirs! Oh, who will bring me to hate all my iniquities as much as the angels and saints hate them!

Oh, my God, if it were only possible for me to have as great a horror for my sins as Thou hast Thyself! Lord, let me detest them, let me hold them in abhorrence even as Thou dost and let me abominate all that is not pleasing to Thee!

0 my sweet Lord, let me die a thousand times rather than offend Thee mortally again, or, indeed, rather than offend Thee in any way at all, by a deliberate act of will. I promise, with the help Of Thy grace, that I will accuse myself of all my sins at my next confession and I assure Thee of my firm resolution to avoid them in the future for love of Thee. Yes, my God, with my whole heart, I renounce every sort of sin forever and I offer myself to Thee to do and to suffer all Thou dost please, in satisfaction for my sins. I n homage to Thy divine justice, I now willingly accept all the sufferings and penances it shall please Thee to inflict upon me, whether in this world or in the next, in expiation of my faults, to satisfy for the dishonorI have given Thee today by Thyself, Thy holy Mother, by Thy angels and saints and by all the holy souls there are on earth.

0 Good Jesus, I give myself all to Thee. Destroy in me all that does not please Thee. Make reparation, on my behalf, for all the offenses I have committed before Thy Eternal Father, Thyself, Thy Holy Spirit, Thy Blessed Mother, Thy angels, Thy saints and all Thy creatures. Give me the strength and grace to offend Thee no more.

0 angels of Jesus, saints of Jesus, Mother of Jesus, make up for my defects, I beg you; atone on m y behalf for the dishonor I have given God by my sins, and return to Him a hundredfold all the honor and glory I should have given Him today and in my whole life.

0 Mother of Jesus, Mother of Mercy, ask thy Beloved Son to show me His mercy. Mother of Grace, implore thy Son to give me grace never to offend Him again and to serve and love Him faithfully.

0 blessed St. Joseph, 0 my Guardian Angel, 0 blessed St. John and blessed St. Mary Magdalen, intercede for me that I may obtain mercy and grace to be more faithful to God.