Chapter 16: Exercises of Love and Devotion to the: Sacred Heart of Jesus, from Pharetra

Exercises of Love and Devotion to the

Sacred Heart of Jesus, from Pharetra

Divini Amoris, "quiver of Divine Love,"

By Lanspergius the Carthusian

"AROUSE AND STIMULATE in your soul the devotion to the most gentle Heart of Jesus, that Heart entirely filled with love and mercy for you. Seek out the divine Heart frequently, with deep fervor and devotion, embracing it in spirit with the kiss of reverence and affection, and making it your dwelling-place.

"Ask God Almighty, through the Sacred Heart, everything you seek to ask. Offer to the Divine Majesty all your devotional exercises, through the Sacred Heart which encloses all the graces and gifts of heaven. It is the door through which you must go to God and God will come to you. To encourage yourself in this practice, and to benefit by it in stirring up true love for God, you should set up in a prominent place in your house a picture or statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

"Whenever you look at it, remember your exile, your misery and your sins. Whenever you pass it, raise your heart to God. Even though you may speak no words, let your soul cry out. If you find that words are helpful, say a prayer that your heart be purified and your will perfectly united to the divine Heart and the will of God. If it helps your devotion, take the picture and kiss it reverently, directing your homage to the real Heart. Earnestly desire to imprint the real image of His Heart upon your own, surrendering your own mind and letting your heart draw into itself die spirit, grace and holiness of the vast abyss of virtue and sanctity abounding in the Sacred

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Heart. It is very pleasing to God for you to give special honor to the adorable Heart.

"Have recourse to the most kind Heart of Jesus in all your necessities, and you shall receive all the consolation and help you need. Even if all men should deceive and forsake you, do not be discouraged. Abide in peace, for the Sacred Heart, so good, so faithful, so loving, can never deceive you and will never forsake you.(1)

Prayer

"0 most noble, most merciful, most gentle Heart of my faithful lover, of my God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, I beseech Thee to draw me to Thyself, and absorb my heart, all my powers, to Thy greater glory and for the accomplishment of Thy most holy will.

"0 Jesus, most merciful Lord, I commend myself to Thy divine Heart, I resign myself and abandon myself entirely into Thy hands. 1 beg Thee also, 0 Most Gracious God, to take away this wicked heart, this impious and thankless heart, and to give me Thy Sacred Heart. Let my heart be according to Thy Heart and according to Thy holy will!

"0 my Lord God, my Saviour and my Redeemer, take away all my sins and destroy in me everything displeasing to Thee; pour from Thy Heart into mine whatever will please Thee most. Wholly convert me and take full possession of everything within me, to use it according to Thy good pleasure and for Thine own sake. Unite my heart with Thine, my will with Thy will, so that I may never will and may never be able to will anything or in any other way than Thou willest and what Thou willest. 0 Sweet Jesus, 0 my God, let me love Thee with all my heart, in all things and above all things." (2)

Another Prayer

"0 my Most Loving Jesus, dearest spouse of my soul, I conjure Thee by the Sacred Heart pierced by a lance and rent by love, pierce, wound, break, enkindle and inflame my heart from that great brazier of love burning in Thy Heart, so that I may love Thee with all my ( l ) . Pharetra divini amoris, liber 1, part 5. (2) Lanspergius, loc. cit.

heart; that is, with the whole gamut of my desires and with a perfect will that shall consider only Thee, seek only Thee, and only aspire to Thee, loving Thee in all things and above all things."(3)

Prayer to the Sacred Wound in the Side of Jesus, Drawn from

« the Rosary of Our Lord's Passion», by Lanspergius

"0 my Most Loving and Gentle Jesus, I desire with all the affections of my heart, that all beings created and uncreated, should praise Thee, honor Thee and glorify Thee eternally for that sacred wound wherewith Thy divine side was rent. I deposit, enclose, conceal in that wound and in that opening to Thy Heart, my heart and all my feelings, thoughts, desires, intentions and all the faculties of my soul. I entreat Thee, by the precious blood and water that flowed from Thy most loving Heart, to take entire possession of me, that Thou mayest guide me in all things. Consume me in the burning fire of Thy h oly love, so that I may be so absorbed and transformed into Thee that I may be no longer but one with Thee."(4)

Another Prayer

"0 Most Loving and Kind Father, in satisfaction for all my sins and for those of the whole world, and in reparation for my sloth, my tepidity, my neglect and my disordered love, I offer Thee that sacred wound in the Heart of Thy Son, the blood and the water which flowed therefrom, and the boundless love wherewith He didst love Thee. I beseech Thee that Thou wouldst pour from that sacred wound into my soul a love most pure, most intense, most perfect and eternal, wherewith I may love Thee with all my heart and bless Thee 'in all things and above all things. Grant that I may think of Thee only, that I may seek Thee only, that I be attached to Thee only, wish to please Thee only, and that I may wholly employ all the faculties of my body and soul to love Thee and glorify Thee."(5) (3). ibid., liber 11, part 5. (4). Loc. cit. (5). Ibid., liber1, part.5.

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