Part five (4): X. Acts of Love in Honor of the Birth and Holy Childhood of Jesus

1X. ACTS OF LOVE FOR JESUS, PRISONER IN THE SACRED WOMB OF His MOST BLESSED

Mother

0 Jesus, my love, I behold Thee a prisoner in the most pure womb of Thy Blessed Mother, but more imprisoned in the sacred bonds of Thy divine love. Let me love Thee, 0 Good Jesus, in the infinite love that binds Thee and make me with Thee a prisoner of divine love.

0 love that holds Jesus captive in Mary and Mary in Jesus, take my heart, my mind, my thoughts, desires and affections prisoner and establish Jesus in me, in order that I may be completely filled with Him, and that He may live and reign perfectly in me.

0 Jesus, my sweet love, I love Thee with all the love with which Thou wast loved, during Thy nine months' imprisonment, by Thy Eternal Father, Thy Holy Spirit, Thy Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, St. Gabriel, and all the angels and saints who took some special part in this mystery of love.

0 abyss of love, when I behold Thee in the sacred womb of Thy most holy Mother, I see Thee as i t were divinely lost and annihilated in the ocean of Thy divine love. Let me lose myself, and be destroyed with Thee in this same love!

X. Acts of Love in Honor of the Birth and Holy Childhood of Jesus

0 Jesus, Thou art infinite love in all the moments, states and mysteries of Thy life, but, above all , Thou art pure love and sweetness, at the moment of Thy birth and during Thy most Holy Childhood

Let me love Thee at this precious moment, in this hidden state. May heaven and earth join with me and may the whole world be transformed into love for its Creator and God, Who is completely ,transformed into gentleness and love for the world.

0 most amiable Child, Thou art born by love, in love and for love. ,At the moment of Thy birth, Thou dost love Thy Eternal Father more than all angels and men together could do in all eternity. So, too, the Heavenly Father loves Thee more at this moment than He ever did or will love all men and angels together. 0 Jesus, I offer Thee all the love concentrated on Thee at birth by Thy Eternal Father, by Thy Holy S pirit , Thy Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, St. Gabriel and all the angels .and saints who participated so intimately i n this most lovable mystery.

0 love of Jesus, that dost triumph over Him in all His mysteries, but particularly in His subline Childhood and the consummation of His Cross, 0 love that in these two mysteries, dost transform His .Omnipotence into helplessness, His plenitude into poverty, His sovereignty into dependence, His eternal wisdom into infancy, His joy and bliss into sufferings, and His life into death, conquer my selflove, my own will and my passions, and put me in a state of powerlessness, indigence, dependence, holy and divine childhood, and death to the world and to myself, which state may adore and glorify the powerlessness, the dependence, Childhood and death to which Thou Aidst reduce my Jesus in the mysteries of His Nativity and of His Cross.

These acts of love upon the Nativity and Childhood of Jesus will suffice to show how to make similar acts in honor of the other mysteries of the life of our Most Lovable Jesus.

Xi. Acts of Love for Jesus Crucified

Here are ten acts of love for Jesus Crucified, which may be made when you kiss the crucifix, which it would be well to do each day, in the evening, after your examination of conscience, so that you may end your day in the love of your divine Redeemer and obtain from Him the grace to end your life in acts of love of Him. This is how .you proceed:

I. Kiss the foot of the cross, saying:

"0 Jesus, in honor of and in union with the love with which Thou didst kiss, embrace and love the Cross presented to Thee on the day of Thy holy Passion, but actually embraced from the moment of Thy Incarnation, with all my heart I love and embrace all the crosses, bodily or spiritual, it may please Thee to send me in my whole life, uniting them to Thine, and begging Thee to grant me a share of that great love with which Thou didst bear them."

2. Kiss the wounds in the holy feet of Jesus with the following desire:

"0 Jesus, if it please Thee, I desire to kiss Thy holy feet with love like that of St. Mary Magdalen when she kissed those blessed feet in the pharisee's house, when she won the reward of hearing these sweet words from Thy holy lips, "Thy sins are forgiven thee."

3. Again kiss the feet of Jesus with this desire:

"0 Jesus, I desire to kiss Thy holy feet with all the love of all the just souls on earth, offering Thee all their love in satisfaction for all the times in my life when I have let myself fall away from Thy love."

4. Kiss the wound in the left hand with this intention:

"0 Jesus, I desire, if it please Thee, to kiss this sacred wound in union with the love of Thy archangel Gabriel, all the Seraphim and all the angels, especially my guardian angel, offering Thee all this love in satisfaction for the many times I have been guilty of falling away from Thy holy love."

5. Kiss the wound in the right hand with this elevation of the soul to Jesus:

"0 Jesus, I desire to kiss this holy wound in union with all the love which all the saints in heaven have for Thee, offering Thee their immense love in satisfaction for all the sins I have committed against Thy divine love."

6. Kiss the sacred wound in the side of Jesus, in union with the love of the Blessed Virgin; or rather, consider yourself unworthy to kiss this holy wound, and ask the most Blessed Virgin to kiss it for you:

"0 Mother of Jesus, I implore thee to kiss the holy wound in the side of Thy Son for me, and by this holy kiss make Him a hundred

fold return for all the love I should have given Him in my whole life." And instead of kissing the wound in His side, kiss the wound in the feet, with the following desire:

"0 Jesus, if it please Thee, I desire to kiss Thy holy feet in union with all Thy holy Mother's love for Thee, offering Thee all this love in reparation for the faults I have committed against Thy love."

7. Kiss the holy wounds of the sacred head crowned with thorns; or rather, considering yourself too unworthy for this, address yourself to the Eternal Father, and say to Him:

"0 Father of Jesus, if it please Thee, imprint a most holy kiss on the sacred brow of Thy W ell - Beloved Son, and by this kiss render to Him a thousand times the love I should have given Him in my whole life!' And instead of kissing the wounds of the sacred head, once more kiss the feet of the Crucified Saviour saying:

"0 Jesus, let me kiss Thy holy feet with all the love Thy Eternal Father bears Thee, and let me offer Thee this infinite love in reparation for my failures to love Thee."

8. Also kiss the holy feet of Jesus in union with the love of the Holy Spirit:

"0 Jesus, let me kiss Thy holy feet in union with all the love of Thy Holy Spirit for Thee, offering Thee that burning love in satisfaction for the faults I have committed against Thy divine love."

9. Once again kiss the sacred feet in union with the divine love of Christ for His own person, saying to Him in your heart and with your lips also, if you wish:

"0 Jesus, once again I kiss Thy sacred feet, with all the love Thou hast for Thyself. I offer Thee all this love to satisfy for my failings, imploring Thee to recompense Thyself a hundred thousand times for all the love I ought to have given Thee since I came into the world."

10. Finally, kiss these divine feet once more with all the holy love in earth and heaven together, saying:

"0 Jesus, let me once more kiss Thy divine feet with all the love that ever was, is now and ever shall be accorded Thee from all eternity to all eternity, in heaven and on earth, by all the divine and

holy persons who love Thee. Let me offer Thee this matchless love in satisfaction for all my sins and infidelities, for all the failures to love Thee of which I have ever been guilty in my whole life." Note that, when you make these acts of love, there is no necessity to pronounce the words with your lips, nor even to have actually present in your mind the thoughts I have set down. It is quite enough to kiss the crucifix ten times, with the above intentions. Each of these acts may be performed in an instant. It i s nevertheless a good thing, at the beginning, to apply your mind to these thoughts and intentions. Later on, when you have been following this exercise for some time, the whole veneration of the cross may be performed with great facility in a very short time.

These ten acts may also be made without a crucifix, if you say ten times the holy words: 0 Jesus! and each time will to say them with the above intentions.

Xii. Rosary of the Holy Love of Jesus

This rosary consists of three decades and four beads, a total of thirty four small beads, in honor of the thirty-four years of the life of Our Lord on earth, a life all of love.

To start with, you say: Veni sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium, et tui amoris in eis ignem accende: "Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love." This invocation draws down upon you the holy love of Jesus, which is His holy spirit, and gives you to Him, that He may destroy everything in you that opposes Him, and perfect the love of the Holy Ghost for the Son of God. - On each small bead, you say the following words, taken partly from the Gospel and partly from St. Augustine, who repeats St. Peter's triple repetition of Amo te to Our Lord after His resurrection, when asked whether he loved Him. Amo te, amantissime Jesu; amo te bonitas infinita, amo te ex toto corde meo, ex tota anima mea, et ex totis viribus meis, et magis atque magis amare volt. I love Thee, Most Amiable Jesus, I love Thee, 0 infinite goodness, I love Thee with my whole heart and with all my might, and I desire ever to love Thee more and more!'

The first Amo te, I love thee," should be said in union with all the love of the Eternal Father for His Son, the second should be said with the intention of sharing all the love of the Son of God for Himself. The third should be recited with all the love of the Holy Spirit for Jesus, bearing in mind that, in giving you His Son, the Eternal Father gave you everything with Him, as St. Paul says (Rom. 8, 32), and it follows that the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost belongs to you,.and that you are entitled to, employ i t in order to love Jesus.

As you say ex toto corde meo, "with all my heart," you must understand by this the Heart of Jesus, the Heart of Mary, the heart of each of the angels and saints in heaven, all comprising a tremendous Heart one with the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and of Mary, by virtue of the union existing between all hearts. And this is likewise your heart, for St. Paul assures you that all things, without exception, belong to you: omnia vestra sunt (1 Cor. 3, 22), and consequently in loving Jesus you can and must use this universal Heart as if it were your own.

The words ex tota anima mea, "with my whole soul," denote the holy soul of Jesus, that of the Blessed Virgin, and all the holy souls in heaven which together form one single soul by virtue of the union wrought by charity. This soul is yours, and you must make use of it to love Him who gave it to you.

When you say, ex totis viribus meis, "with all my might," you ought to have the intention of employing all the powers of the divinity and humanity of Jesus and all the strength of all the creatures i n heaven, on earth and even in hell, as your own power to love Jesus.

When you say the last words: Et magis atque magis amare volo, "and I desire to love Thee ever more and more," you should have the intention of employing all your will in desiring to love Jesus, and also of exerting the full extent and infinite capacity of the divine will in order to desire to love Jesus with awill that is infinite and worthy of Him, since your own natural will is not capable of loving Him as He deserves.

On the large beads of the rosary say these words of St. Augustine:

0 ignis, qui semper ardes et numquam extinguerit, 0 amor! qui semper ferves et numquam tepescis, accende me, accende me totus, ut totus diligam te. "0 fire, who art ever burning and never extinguished, 0 love, who art ever fervent and never growest cold, enkindle me, set me on fire, that I may be all aflame with love for Thee." Or else, instead of this, you may say: Veni Sancte Spiritus ... etc.

I might also add at this point that it is sometimes very beneficial to recite the above words: Amo te, amantissime Jesu, etc., after Holy Communion, for at that moment you possess within yourself most intimately the love of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, with the divine Heart and holy soul of Jesus, and all the powers of His divinity and humanity, and you are then more than ever entitled to direct all these infinite powers as your own in loving Jesus. Then you can indeed say to Him truly amo te amantissime Jesu, amo te, etc., with the intentions you have given above.

It is also a good thing to repeat, after Communion, this verse of the Psalmist: Benedic anima mea Domino, et omnia quae intra me sunt, nomini sancto ejus: "Bless the Lord, 0 my soul: and let all that i s within me bless his holy name" (Ps. 102, 1). By this you refer to Jesus, Who is at that time within your heart as the soul of your soul, to the Most Holy Trinity, and all the wonders of heaven and earth. For they are within you in the Holy Eucharist, which is a compendium of God's wonders. And you should desire that everything within you may be employed in blessing, glorifying and loving Jesus and the Most Holy T rinity , and all the plenitude of the divinity that dwells in Jesus Christ.

Xiii. Patron Saint for Each Month

The angels and saints are most pleased, most willingly hear and answer most gladly the prayer that they may love Jesus for you and help you to love Him. It is in this that they place all their happiness and so it should be your chief prayer to them. In addition to the saints to whom you should have special devotion all your life, it is a most holy practice to choose one particular saint every month, and ask him each day to love Our Lord for you and help you to love Him, to make use of you to love and glorify Him, to atone for the faults

you commit during the month against His love. You should love and glorify Our Lord in the saint of your choice, uniting yourself to the praises given Our Lord by him, and striving to imitate the works and virtues he practised for Christ's glory.

Xiv. the Month of March

Of all the months of the year, the month of March deserves your particular consideration. It was i n this month that the greatest works and the holiest mysteries of God were accomplished. The world was created in the time corresponding to March. Many learned doctors are of the opinion that during this month the waters of the deluge receded, the People of God were delivered from the captivity of Egypt, and passed dry-shod through the Red Sea. It was in this month that the Son of God was made flesh, suffered, was crucified, died, delivered the souls of the saints from Limbo and rose again from the dead. It was also in this month that the Most Holy Sacrament~ merit of the Altar was instituted, that the Blessed Virgin entered upon her dignity of Mother of God, and that the holy apostles were consecrated priests by the Son of God. Thus the month of March is, in a proper and particular way, Christ's own month, because it was in this month that Jesus began and ended His life on earth, and accomplished His greatest works. It is a special month in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, because during March she became Mother of God. It is the month of divine love, wherein the Son of God brought about the greatest mysteries of His love namely, the Incarnation, the Passion, and the divine Sacrament of His Body and Blood. It is also specially dedicated to St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus and Spouse of the Most Blessed Virgin, and includes his feast as well as that of St. Gabriel, the angel who ever waited upon Jesus, the guardian angel of the Mother of Jesus and the herald of the Annunciation.

Hence you should make this month the occasion of most special zeal, devotion, and renewal of ferver. 245-