Fifth Exercise: The Exercise of Love

The aim of this Exercise is to excite in the Christian soul the dispositions necessary for fulfilling with the utmost possible perfection the first and great commandment, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. The seraphic soul of St. Gertrude reveals itself therein without reserve; and it is scarcely possible to hear her express the transports of her love for the Supreme Good without being moved, and without asking ourselves how we fulfil the obligation of loving the infinitely good God, who has condescended to reveal himself as our last End, and to draw us to himself in ways so manifold and so marvellous.

In this lofty lyric the depth of the thoughts is as striking as the beauty of the poetry in which they are expressed, and St. Gertrude is always and unconsciously sublime. But in her school we have other work than to admire merely. It is no barren speculation that she brings before us. She teaches us by her example how we ought to love God, who is our first Beginning and our last End—God, who hath first loved us—God, our Mediator and our Redeemer, the Spouse of our souls.

And if by reason of our frailty we cannot follow her to the heights whereon she already possesses the Object of her love in the most intimate union to which the creature can attain on earth, let us at least gather up the crumbs which fall from the table of this queenly bride of the great King. Her transcendent holiness enabled her to love more than others; but there is not one among us who is not called to love God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his strength.

When you wish to employ yourself in the exercise of love, first of all purge your heart of every irregular affection ; remove all impediments and banish all vain images ; choose a day, and set apart a fitting time in that day—that is to say, three hours, which you will divide between the morning, midday, and the evening—and employ these hours with the intention of raking reparation for your sin in having never loved the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Maintain yourself in union with God by praying, with all your love, all your devotion and your full ` intention, as though Jesus your Spouse, who is present in your soul, were visibly present to your bodily eyes.

In order to dispose your heart to go forth to meet your God, begin with the following prayer :

O GOD, my God: to thee do I watch at break of day. For thee my soul hath thirsted: for thee my flesh is consumed. In this barren land, where there is no way and no water: so in the sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.

O GOD, who art love, thou alone art my true sufficing love. Thou art my Saviour, dear to me above all; my hope and my consummate joy, my supreme and all-transcending good. In the morning thou shalt hear my voice, O my God and my dearest love; in the morning I will stand before thee and will look up unto thee, for thou art uncloying sweetness and charm inexhaustible. Thou art my soul's thirst, thou alone canst allay the hunger of my heart: and yet the more I taste of thee, and more doth my hunger crave; the more deeply I drink of thee, the more eagerly do I thirst for thee.

O God my love, the day when I shall sce thee as thou art will be the brightest, fairest, gladdest of days; that unending day spent in the courts of the house of the Lord, which is above thousands; that day for which sighs my soul, which thou hast ransomed for thyself. O when wilt thou satisfy my longing by giving me to see thy face? My soul languishes and faints at thought of the delights which are in thee. I have chosen to be an abject in thy house, O my God, that I may with fuller hope aspire to see thy beauty and thy glory. O God my love, to see thee is to feel the soul sunk and lost in thee; to cleave unto thee is to be united to thine essence by the bond of a divine espousal. O thou my soul's calm untroubled Light! O dawn of morning, soft-gleaming with thy beauteous light, become in me the perfect day; shine on me with such splendour that in thy light I too may see light, and that so my night may be clear as the day. O balmy dawn of morning, grant that all which is not thee may for love of thee be to me as nothing, as a vain thing. Visit me early in the morning! and in a moment transform me wholly into thee.

O my Love, who dost not only enlighten but deify, come unto me in all thy might; come and gently melt my whole being. May all that is of me be destroyed utterly; may I wholly pass into thee, so that I may no more find myself in time, but may be already and most intimately united to thee for all eternity.

O my Love, thou art that peerless beauty, thou that sovereign splendour, on which none upon earth can gaze, except as veiled by the wings of seraphim. O when shall I be renewed by the vision of thine incomparable loveliness? O thou morning star, who dost shine forth in thy supreme majesty with a radiance all divine, when shall thy light enlighten me ¢

O beauty so worthy of love, when wilt thou make me wholly thine? O wouldst thou but send down on me one least and faintest ray. Then should I have a foretaste of thy sweetness, and anticipate the blessed inheritance which awaits me. O Flower of flowers, bend down thy face on me, that I may for one brief moment feast my eyes upon thee.

Thou art the mirror of the Holy Trinity, whom the dwellers in heaven see face to face, but we here far away only darkly, and with the cleansed eye of faith. O sprinkle me with the waters of thy holiness, and I shall be cleansed; grant unto my heart that it may but touch thy consummate purity, and so shall I be whiter than snow. Let the greatness of thy love triumph over all; let the infinite sanctity of thy merits wrap me all around, and let not the absence of all beauty in me lead thee to spurn me from thee.

Look down upon me, and teach me to know thee. Thou hast first loved me; it is thou who hast chosen me, and not I who have first chosen thee. Thou art he who of his own accord runneth towards his thirsting creature; and on thy kingly brow gleams the fair splendour of the everlasting light.

Show me thy countenance, and let me gaze upon thy beauty. How mild and full of charms is that face, all radiant with the rosy light of the dawn of the divine Sun! Thy freshness speaks of him who never groweth old, for he is the Alpha and the Omega.! Eternity looks forth from thine eyes; and I know thee who thou art, my Saviour and my God, by the splendours which clothe thee round about. In thee truth, manifold in its converging rays, and love, beauteous in its fervid glow, meet, and are one. The fragrance of immortal life breathes forth from thee, and thy sacred lips drop down milk and honey.? How fair thou

1 Apoc, i. 8, 2 Cantaiventie art, O Love, very essence of God! How dost thou draw all hearts, and compel them to wonder and adoration! How dear the delights we taste in thee! Thou hast the highest place upon thy throne, as the queen of the heavenly court; and thou art filled to overflowing with all the riches of the sovereign Trinity. Thou art eternally united to God as his spouse, and the tie which binds thee to the Son of God can never be broken.

O Love, when the shadows of evening fall upon my life, deign to shine forth on me as the morning dawn; and when I lie down in death give me to draw eternal life from thee. When I go forth from this land of exile lead me up thyself to the marriage-supper of the Lamb; bring me to the Bridegroom and true Friend of my soul. Do thou, O Love eternal, unite me for ever to him, that none may take me from his divine embrace.

O Love, thou key of David, open to me then the Holy of Holies. Make me to enter in, that I may without delay behold the God of gods in Sion, even him whose face of love my heart pineth to see.

At noon you will beseech your most loving Spouse, who is the Sun of justice, to warm your tepid soul with the beams of his ardent love, so that the coal of love divine may never more be

extinguished on the altar of your heart. Begin with these verses of Psalm xvii.:

I WILL love thee: O Lord, my strength. O my God, thou art my strong rock: my defender, and my salvation.

O LOVE, thou art my first and fairest flower, the pledge of the plighted faith of my Betrothed, and the dowry of mine espousals. For love of thee I have despised and forsaken the world, and have put from me all its joys, that I might aspire to thine alliance. Vouchsafe to admit me to thy tenderness, most intimate love; my heart languisheth for thy kiss divine! Open to me the sanctuary of thine infinite tenderness; my soul thirsteth for thine eternal embrace.

Prepare for me the feast of thine abounding mercy; call me to the table where thou dost impart all thy sweetness; set before me the exquisite food of thine everlasting forgiveness, which alone can give peace to my soul.

Let us sit down together at thy banquet, O my sovereign good! Thou dost abound and superabound in all manner of riches, and thou dost communicate thyself to thy creatures in ways ineffable.

Be thou thyself my food. How can the spark live and glow far from the fire that gave it being? Or how can the drop of water abide far from the spring from whence it was taken ¢

Let thy longed-for flame consume my whole substance, seize upon my whole soul. Thus let thine almighty munificence deal with this grain of dust.

O Love, O noontide, whose ardours are so soothing, thou art the hour of sacred rest, and the unruffled peace I taste in thee is all my delight. This hour of rest, so longed for, is filled with thy divine presence, and my soul is inebriated with the serene beauty of the face of my Beloved. O thou whom my soul loveth, thou who art my chosen and my elect above all creatures, tell me, show me, where thou feedest thy flock, where thou liest to rest in the midday.! My heart kindles with rapture at thought of thy tranquil rest at noon.

O Love, my one hope, my sure trust, is to rest beneath the beloved shadow of thy goodness. Thine Israel doth dwell confidently in the bosom of thy peace; and my soul doth pine within me for this sacred rest, this high eternal Sabbath.

O Love, to enjoy thee is the union of the soul with the divine Word, the closest union with God. To commune with thee is to be plunged into thy very essence, and to become partaker thereof; to enjoy thee is to become one with God. For thou art the Peace which passeth all understanding, and thou the sure way along which the bride moves to the object of her humble hope.

O that it were given me, miserable as I am, to rest but for one moment beneath the shadow

1 Cant. í, 6, go ACTS OF LOVE TO GOD of thy love! Then wouldst thou strengthen my heart with one of the thrilling, consoling words of thy mouth; then should my soul hear from thee the glad assurance: “ I am thy salvation; the sanctuary of my heart is open to thee.”

O compassionate Love, why hast thou loved a creature so defiled and so covered with shame, but that thou hast willed to render it all fair in thee? O thou delicate flower of the Virgin Mary, thy goodness and thy tender mercy have won and ravished my heart.

Let me not be confounded in my hope; but grant that my soul may find its rest in thee. Nothing have I met so to be desired, nothing known so to be loved, nothing have I seen so to be longed for, as to be pressed to thy heart, O Love, and to rest beneath the shadow of the wings of my Jesus; to dwell with him in the tent of his divinest love.

O Love, my glorious noontide, to take my rest in thee gladly would I die a thousand deaths. Turn then, O my supreme good, thy beloved face towards me.

O that it were given me to come so near to thee that I might no longer be near thee only, but in thee. Beneath thy genial ray, O Sun of justice, all the flowers of virtue would spring forth from me, who am but dust and ashes. Then would my soul, rendered fruitful by thee, my Master and my Spouse, bring forth noble fruit unto perfection. Then should I be led forth from this valley of sorrow, and admitted to behold thy face, so hong, so wistfully longed for; and then would it be my everlasting happiness to think that thou hast not abhorred, O thou spotless Mirror, to unite thyself tc a sinner like me.

O Charity, O Love, at the hour of my death thou wilt sustaia me with thy words, more gladdening far than choicest wine; and thy lips, sweeter than the honeycomb, shall distil oa me their consolations. Thou wilt then be my way, my unobstructed way, that I may wander no more nor stray. Thou wilt aid me then, O Love, thou queen of heaven; thou wilt clear my way before me to those fair and fertile pastures hidden in the divine wilderness, and my soul shall be inebriate with bliss; for there shall I see the face of the Lamb, my Spouse and my God. Let everything that hath being and life say Amen !

At evening cast yourselfo all tremulous and languishing with desire of the eternal vision of the divine Lamb, into the arms of Jesus your Spouse, even as the thrifty bee darts on a fragrant flower. Place yourself on his heart, so full of love ; implore him to bestow on you that heavenly kiss whose virtue is such that it will cause you to die to yourself, and pass into God through this blissful death, aud make you one spirit with him. And express your eager thirst in the words of the Psalm :

S the hart panteth after the fountains of waters: so my soul panteth after thee, O

My soul hath thirsted after God, the strong, the living: when shall I come and appear before the face of God ?

My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said unto me daily: Where is thy God ¢

O LOVE, whose kiss divine hath such sweetness, thou art that fountain after which my thirsting soul doth pant. Thine are all the transports of my soul. O thou boundless, shoreless Ocean, why delayest thou to receive into thy fulness this feeble, tremulous drop? All the desire of my soul, impetuous even in its calm assurance, is to come forth from myself and to enter into thee.

Open me thy much-loved heart as a sure city of refuge. As for my heart, it is no longer mine; for thou, my beloved treasure, hast long Since taken it and keepest it in thee. Of thee alone it liveth, and thou hast communicated to it, frail and wretched though it is, thine own divine essence. My soul is melted into thine with the glowing ardour of its love, and liveth for thee alone.

How ineffable is this union! How infinitely far this close familiarity with thee is above all other manner of life! How enrapturing is thy fragrance! What fulness of bliss to breathe the peace divine, the largeness of mercy, there isin thee! Thou art the rich and overflowing treasure of manifold consolation. O love, thou who art queen in the court of heaven, bring me into thy mystic storerooms,! and give me to drink of the wine thou keepest therein. For ali the vessels which contain it are filled with God, and the Holy Spirit filleth them even to the brim.

O that I could obtain even here below my soul’s desire, its one intensest longing, that it might at length turn to thee alone, and that thou mightest bid it live again with the gentle kiss of thy mercy. O my chosen, cherished good, let me clasp thee with my soul’s very inmost being; let me impress on thee my reverent kiss, that so I may be united to thee and cleave indissolubly to thee.

O Love, O Holy Spirit, who art in the most holy Trinity that ineffable kiss which is the mighty unity of the Father and the Son; thou art also that kiss, the cause of our salvation, which the eternal Son hath given to our weak nature.

O sweetest kiss, let me not be deprived of thee for that I am but vile and worthless dust. O Love, lavish upon me thy caresses until I become one with God. Give me to feel how sweet it is to be united to thee, and to find in thee the living God the much-loved object of my reverent tenderness.

O Love, who art God, thou art my best beloved possession. Without thee neither earth nor heaven could excite in me one hope, nor draw forth one desire. Thou art my one true inheritance, my one and only expectation, the one end towards which my being tends.

O Love, vouchsafe to effect and perfect within me that union which thou thyself desirest; may it be the end, the crown, and consummation of my being. O show me, when the shades of evening fall thick around me, this covenant of espousal which my soul now ratifieth with thee. In the countenance of my God thy light beameth soft and fair as the evening star; O thou fair and solemn Evening, let me see thy ray when my eye shall close in death. Be thou the end of my weary wistful exile; in thee may I lay me down and rest in sweet refreshing sleep.

O Love, who art very God, amidst the crash and ruin of earth open to my soul a sure refuge in thee. Cover it over as with a garment, encompass it with thy kingly pomp, that I may come and appear before the eternal Bridegroom with the wedding garment and the dowry of mine espousals.

O Love, set on the hour of my death the seal of thy tenderness; impress upon it the stamp of thy boundless unfailing mercy. May thine abounding blessing go with me, and in its strength may I triumph over every foe and every hindrance, till I come to thee, to joy which fadeth not, to a possession which hath no end.

O Love, thou much-loved Evening-tide, at the hour of my death cheer and gladden me with the sight of thee. At that dread moment let the sacred flame which burneth evermore in thy divine essence, consume all the stains of my mortal life.

O thou my calm and peaceful Evening, when the evening-time of my life shall come give me to sleep in thee in tranquil sleep, and to taste that blissful rest which thou hast prepared in thyself for them that love thee. With thy serene, enchanting look vouchsafe to order all things, and prepare all things for my everlasting espousal. Cover my poverty with the riches of thy goodness, and hide the wretchedness of my unworthy life; let my soul dwell with confidence in the delights of thy charity.

O Love, be thou unto me an eventide so bright and calm that my ravished soul may bid a loving farewell to its body, and return to God who gave it, and rest in peace beneath thy beloved shadow. Say unto me then with thy thrilling voice, sweeter far than sweetest music: “* Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go forth to meet him, and be united to him closely and for ever; go, taste the joy of gazing throughout eternity on his glorious face."

Happy, thrice happy the soul whose exile shall thus end in love. Alas, alas! how long shall my hope be deferred? How long shall my weary exile last¢ O when shall the glad word fall on my transported ears: “ Now, now it is over and gone"? Then shall the glory of my Spouse and my King be revealed unto me and shine upon me, bringing with it joy and bliss unending. When shall I at length behold the face of my Jesus, so fair, so eagerly longed for, for whom my soul is athirst, with whose beauty it is wounded and smitten? Then shall I be satisfied with the torrent of delights yet in store for me in the treasures of the Godhead. Then shall I see and gaze upon thee my God, my sweetest Love, for longing love of whom my heart and my soul are faint.

O when wilt thou show thyself unto me, that I may see thee as thou art, and drink of thee with rapture, thou Fountain of Life and my God¢ Then shall I slake my burning thirst, then shall I be inebriated with those living waters, whose fair source is the excellent beauty of him towards whom my soul aspires.

O thou beauty most ravi:hing, when wilt thou fulfil this yearning desire$ Then shall I go into that wondrous tabernacle where mine eye shall see God. But I am still at the portal, and my heart pineth and moaneth by reason of the length of its exile. When wilt thou consummate my bliss by showing thyself to me arrayed in all thy loveliness? Then shall mine eyes behold my Jesus, and the Spouse of my soul will kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; yea, even now am I his in my heart’s impetuous longing, in the going forth of my whole soul after him.

O who will free me from the anguish of my weary pilgrimage * Who will take my feet out of the snares of this world? When shall I quit this wretched body, to see thee without a veil or cloud between, O my God, my Love, thou Star of stars¢ In thee alone, O my beloved, shall I be set free from the temptations of this abode of death. When I drop this garment of flesh, I shall be in thee, O thou God who hast so loved me. Then shall I be in safety, transported with unending joy, there where I shall see thee in very truth, no longer in types and fieures, but face to face.

O thou Fount of everlasting light, draw me away to thee, into the ocean of thy divine essence, whence came forth the word which spoke me into being. There shall I know even as I am known, and love even as I am loved; and I shall see thee, O my God, see thee as thou art, with a clear vision, a gladness, and a possession, which will be my bliss for evermore.

On this day, thus set apart for the exercise of divine love, you will offer your heart to the Lord seven times, in order to quicken and to excite your love of his sacred Heart. And first of all, at the hour of Matins, implore our Lord, who is the sovereign Master, to teach you, by the unction of his Holy Spirit, how to love him, to receive you as his scholar, and to exercise you unceasingly in the virtue of love. Say therefore:

O thee I flee for refuge, O Lord Jesus Christ; teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God.

O Love, most skilfu: of masters; O my Lord, who art high above the heavens, and deeper than the mighty deep; thou whose wondrous wisdom is the bliss of all that live; thou who sittest above the cherubim, and lookest down in thine infinite love on the lowliest things in heaven and in earth; thou who gatherest little children, and dost impart to them thy saving knowledge; let me not be deprived of thy teaching, though I be but the lowest refuse of thy creatures; but deign to quicken me with thy living doctrine. My soul desires above all things that thou wouldst adopt me as thy child, and hold me as thine own possession. O my Love, from this moment begin to put forth on me thine authority as my master; detach me from myself, that I may seek nothing but to love thee with a fervent love. O Love, possess and sanctify and fill my whole soul with thyself. Amen.

At the hour of Prime implore our Lord to bring you into his school of love, that therein you may learn to know and to love Jesus only.

Behold, I am thy servant, my most loving Jesus; give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.

O God, who art love, with what tender care dost thou gather and cherish beneath thy wings thy feeble chickens! Open to me, I most earnestly implore thee—open to me the school wherein thou teachest holy love, that I may hear thy sweetest lessons, and receive from thee a soul which shall not be good alone, but holy and perfect in thy truth.

O Love, plunge my spirit into the very spring and source of thy love, that I may become thy wise and understanding child. Be thou my Father, thou my Master and my Teacher in the truth. Beneath thy fatherly benediction and in the fire of thy love, purge my understanding from all the dross of sin, . that it may be rendered fit to receive the glowing flame of thy teachings, O Love; and that thy holy Spirit, the author and spring of all uprightness, may dwell and rule with sovereign sway within my soul now and for evermore. Amen.

At Tierce implore our Lord to engrave upon your heart, in the living letters of his Spirit, the law of his divine love, that you may remain inseparably united to him.

O JESUS, full of love, may all my thoughts, my words, and my actions, be directed to keep thy holy laws evermore. How near art thou, O God of love, to them that seek thy face! How sweet and how fair to those who have found thee! O that thou wouldst deign to open to me now the wondrous alphabet of thy love, and to teach my ravished heart to read therein. Teach me to know by my own experience what is the glorious and sovereign Alpha of fair love. Suffer me not to languish in ignorance of the Beta of thy kingly wisdom, that fruitful letter by which is signified the life thou givest unto all that live. Point out to me, with thy divine finger, thy Holy Spirit, all and each of the letters of thy love, that the eye of my soul may be purged and cleansed by thy truth, so that I may penetrate into thy most secret and hidden delights, and may search out, and read and learn and know and possess, so far as is possible in this mortal life, all the letters of that heavenly alphabet.

Teach me, by the aid of thy Holy Spirit, the Tau of finished perfection, and lead me up to the Omega of perfect consummation. Grant me so perfectly to learn, even in this life, thy handwriting of most tender love, that there be not in me one Iota void of thy love, and that I be not delayed by my ignorance when thou shalt call me to behold thee everlastingly in thyself, O God my love, thou fairest object of my heart's affections. Amen.

At Sext beseech our Lord to enable you to make such progress in the art of his love, that you may be the apt and ready instrument of that love, prepared to fulfil all its commands, so that you may become wholly conformed to the heart of God.

O JESUS, my well-beloved, my Lawgiver and my King, pour forth on me thy Sweetest benediction, that I may go from virtue to virtue, till I see thee, the God of gods, in Sion.

He who loveth thee not, O God who art love, is like a child which hath not learned to use its tongue. He alone grows and unfolds all his powers who cleaves to thee alone, and gives all his love irrevocably and for ever. Leave me not to myself in the school of thy love, like a callow chicken which is still a prisoner in the egg; but grant that I may, day by day, grow in all virtues, in thee, through thee, and with thee. I cannot rest content with knowing how to spell thee out; my everincreasing desire is to know thee in thyself; to love thee fervently with a heart not only charmed by thee, but understanding thee; to cleave inseparably to thee; that I may begin at length to live no longer in myself, but in thee and for thee alone. Wherefore, O Love, give me now to know thee in truth, and set up thine abode in my heart in all holiness. Amen.

At the hour of None you will beseech our Lord, who is King of kings, to deign to receive you into the chosen chivalry of his love, and to teach you to bear under his command his easy yoke and his light burden, so that you may henceforward follow Jesus your Lord, bearing your cross after him and cleaving unto him with an inseparable love. To this end you will say :

Thou art my hope, O Lord, my protector and my refuge; thou art with me in all my tribulations.

O God who art love, he who shall be found ready and courageous in the works of thy love will be admitted into thy kingly presence for all eternity. O love, thou queen of queens, let it now be my privilege to swear fealty to thee in the hallowed chivalry of love. Teach me to put out my hand to strong things,’ to attempt in thee and through thee such exploits as may prove my fidelity to thee, and to bring them to a happy issue by putting forth my valour, and by enduring hardness. Gird on me the sword of the Holy Spirit; arm me with a manly courage and an unflinching resolve in the great struggle, so that I may be solidly stablished in thee and abide invincibly with thee.

Proportion thou my strength to the enterprises I must undertake for love of thee; confirm me and strengthen me in thee, and impart unto my feebler sex that manly courage which may give me the right to enter one day into the mystic chamber wherein is perfected the union of the soul with thee. Take possession of me from this hour, O Love, and keep me ever as thine own; for henceforth I will have neither soul nor will apart from thee. Amen.

At the hour of Vespers you will put on in spirit the armour of love, and go forth with unshaken courage to meet every temptation in company with Jesus who loves you; prepared to fight against the flesh, the world, and the devil, in union with him whose mercy is your abiding resource, and resolved to triumph gloriously in every conflict.

MY sweetest Jesus, suffer not my feet to be moved, O thou who watchest over my soul, and who neither slumberest nor sleepest.

Prov, xxxi, 19.

O God who art love, thou art my strong wall and my defence. Those who are amidst the trials of this world know how effectual a shelter is the peace which thou bestowest, from the glowing noontide heat, from the whirlwind and the rain. Look down upon me now, O my God: see how many my conflicts are; teach thou my hands to war and my fingers to fight... Then, even though armies stand encamped against me, yet my heart shall not fear,” for thou art with me, within me and without, O thou my sure fortress, my strong impregnable tower.

Where is mine enemy, now that thou dost give me strength for the fight?’ Let him now come near against me, now whilst thou art with me to cover my head in the day of battle. Thou dost teach mine eye to detect the wiles of the devil, and thy word with its lightest breath doth overturn them. Even although mine enemy seek a thousand times to overthrow me, is not thy strong right hand ready to uphold mef Let me grasp thine hand, and cover it with my kisses; and may I ever remain beneath thy shadow undaunted and uninjured amidst the dangers of the fight.

Tread down Satan under my feet; destroy and scatter all my sins and shortcomings. Let all mine enemies fall before thy presence, even though they be a thousand at my right hand, and ten thousand on my left; let no evil come near me, O my sovereign truth and my supreme good. But thou hast also thy sharp

1 Ps, cxliii, 1. 2 Ps, xxvi. 3.

arrows; send them forth upon me, pierce my heart with the arrow of thy love; then shall I dwell with surer trust in thee. Grant unto me that I may here fall, stricken with thine arrows, O Love divine; so shall I rest in thine arms throughout eternity. Amen.

At the hour of Compline desire with eagerness to be inebriated with the wine of love which the Beloved poureth out for you, to close your eyes to all that is in the world, to die to yourself in the embrace of the divine Spouse, to be stripped of all that is mortal and human, and so to rest on the bosom of Jesus. Aspire to an entire detachment from yourself by the force of love to live to God alone ; prepare yourself to meet death with confidence, regarding it as the end of your long exile, and the portal of the heavenly kingdom.

O JESUS, full of love, hide me in the secret of thy face; hide me from all those who lay a snare for my feet. Suffer not my soul to be put to confusion, when it shall defend itself against its enemies at thy judgment-seat, but fill it with joy and gladness by lifting upon it thy face of love.

O God who art love, thou art the consummation and crown of all good; thou lovest even to the end those whom thou hast chosen. Whosoever cometh unto thee thou wilt in nc

IOS wise cast him out, but wilt keep him carefully for thyself. Deign, therefore, to claim all my whole being for thine own, and to employ it even to the end in virtue of an inalienable possession. Spare me not henceforward, but ever pierce and wound my heart, and leave no in me the faintest spark of life that is mine only. Take away my life, the life I live of myself, and keep my soul in thee.

Who will give me, O Love, to be made perfect in thee, to be set free by death from the prison of the body, and to return home from this weary exile? What bliss to see thee, O Love, and to possess thee for all eternity! At the hour of my death be thou near to comfort me; bless me then, and let thy presence be to me the fair dawn of the resplendent day I shall spend in gazing upon thee. And now, O Love, I leave my soul and my earthly life with thee; I will lay me down and take my rest in thee in peace. Amen.

Throughout this day, thus set apart for the exercise of love, use the following aspirations, in order to warm your soul in the clear shining of the true Sun, which is God himself, so that your fervour may never more grow cold, and that your love may grow from day to day.

Blessed are the eyes which see thee, O God who art love. When shall I be admitted to that happiest place where thou, who art God and the Lamb of God, art the true and everlasting light? O Jesus, my God and my Saviour, I know that I shall one day see thee with these eyes. Blessed are the ears which hear thee, O God who art love, thou

Word of life. O when shall I hear that sweet. voice which shall console me by calling me hence to theel Drive far from me the dread of hearing the voice of the evil one ;! but tarry not to make me hear thine own most glorious and majestic voice. Amen.

Blessed is he who breathes thy sweet odours, O God who art love. When shall the ineffable fragrance of thy Godhead be shed around me ¢ O tarry not to open to me the fruitful pastures of eternal contemplation. Amen.

Blessed are the lips which taste how sweet thou art, O God who art love; which taste thy tenderest words, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. When shall my soul be fed with the very substance of thy Godhead, and inebriated with the abundance of thy delights ¢ O give me here to taste how sweet thou art, my loving Master; and grant me soon to enjoy thee fully throughout eternity, thou God of my life. Amen.

O when shall I be clasped in thine everlasting embrace, thou God of my heart ¢ When, O when shall I see thee without a veil between ? O come quickly; and quickly snatch my soul from this exile, and render me for ever happy in the vision of thy face of love. Amen.

At the close of this exercise of love, abandon yourself wholly into the power of God who loves you, that he may possess you as his instrument, may use you according to the good pleasure of his divine heart, and may be in you and you in him for all eternity. To these ends say :

Y love holdeth thee, O loving Jesus, nor will I let thee go. I ask not that thou bless me ere thou go; but I will hold thee ever mine, my better part, my expectation, and my hope. O Love, who art the Life, thou art also the living Word of God; kindle anew thy life within me; make amends for all the losses my love has suffered.

O God who art love, who hast created me, create me anew in thy love. O Love who hast redeemed me, redeem and give back to me all that I have lost of thy love through my negligence. O Love, who hast purchased me for thyself with thy precious Blood, sanctify me in thy truth. O God who art love, who hast adopted me as thy daughter, train and fashion me according to thine own heart. O Love, who hast chosen me for thyself, and not for another; grant me that I may wholly cleave to thee alone. O God who art love, thou hast loved me freely, gratuitously; grant that I may love thee with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength.

O Love, who art the very God Almighty; strengthen me in love. O Love, who art the sovereign wisdom; give me the spirit of wisdom to love thee withal. O Love, thou art the spring and source of all delights; give me to taste thine ineffable sweetness. O Love, thou art dear to me above all things; give me to live for thee alone. O Love, thou art ever true; console and succour me in all my trials. O Love, thou art the chosen companion of my life; do thou work all my works in me. O Love, it is thou who gainest the victory; grant me to persevere in thee even to the end. O Love, sweetest and most tender of loves, never hast thou failed nor forsaken me; to thee I commend my spirit. At the hour of my death draw me gently to thyself. Say unto me, " This day shalt thou be with me. Come forth from thine exile to enjoy that blessed morrow whose stin never goeth down. There shalt thou find me, even Jesus, the true to-day of the unfailing Light, Beginning and End of all creatures. No longer shalt thou know the changeful morrows of thine exile, but thou shalt have in me the everlasting, unchanging to-day. For ever, as I live an undying life, so shalt thou live in me—in Jesus, thy God and thy Love; in the transports and delights of a love which can never end nor change." Let all the powers of my being, all the feelings and all the energies of my soul and body, say, and say again, Amen, Amen.