Visit XXVI

Exulta et lauda habitatio Sion, quia magnus in medio tui sanctus Israel (Is. XII, 6). O God, what joy should we men conceive, what hopes and what affections, in knowing that in the midst of our cities, in our churches, near our homes, there dwells and lives in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar the Holy of Holies, the true God! He whose presence makes the saints blessed in paradise! He who is love itself! Amorem non tam habet, quam ipse est, says St. Bernard. This Sacrament is not only a Sacrament of love; it is love itself, God himself, who for the immense love he bears his creatures is called and is love itself: Deus caritas est. But I hear you lament, O my Jesus in the Sacrament: Hospes eram et non collegistis me. That you came to be our guest on earth for our good, and that we did not welcome you. You are right, Lord, you are right; and I am one of those ungrateful ones who left you alone, without even coming to visit you. Chastise me as you will, but not with the punishment I would deserve of being deprived of your presence. No, for I wish to amend my rudeness and the discourtesies I have shown you. From this day forward I wish not only to visit you often but to linger with you whenever I can. O most compassionate Savior, grant that I may be faithful to you and that by my example I may also kindle others to keep you company in the Blessed Sacrament. I hear the Eternal Father saying: Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui (Matth. XVII, 5). If, then, God finds in you all his delights, shall I not find them too, wretched worm that I am, in staying with you in this valley of tears? O consuming fire, destroy in me all affection for created things, for these alone can make me unfaithful and drive me from you. You can do it if you will: Domine, si vis, potes me mundare. You have done so much for me; do this also: drive from my heart every love that does not tend to you. Behold, I give myself entirely to you; I dedicate today all the life that remains to me to the love of the Blessed Sacrament. You, my Jesus in the Sacrament, are to be my comfort, my love in life and at the time of my death, when you will come to be my Viaticum and my guide to your blessed kingdom. Amen, amen. So I hope; so may it be. -- When, my Jesus, shall I see your beautiful face?

Spiritual Communion.

To Mary

In you, O most holy Mother, we find a remedy for all our ills. In you we find the restoration of our weakness, for St. Germanus calls you Potentia debilitatis nostrae. In you we find the gate to escape from the slavery of sin, for St. Bonaventure calls you Porta libertatis. In you we find our sure peace: Quies tuta hominum, the same calls you. In you we find the comfort of our miserable life: Solatium peregrinationis nostrae, as St. Lawrence Justinian says. In you, in short, we find divine grace and God himself, for St. Bonaventure calls you Thronus gratiae Dei; and Proclus: Pons per quem Deus ad homines descendit -- a happy bridge by which God, made distant by our sins, passes to dwell with his grace in our souls. -- O Mary, you are my strength, my liberation, my peace, and my salvation.

O Mary, I will say to you with St. Bernard: Tu es Regina misericordiae, et qui subditi misericordiae nisi miseri? Tu Regina misericordiae, et ego miserrimus peccator, subditorum maximus. Rege nos ergo, o Regina misericordiae. Since, then, you are the Queen of mercy and I am the most miserable of sinners, I am the greatest of all your subjects, and you must have more care for me than for all the others. Eja ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. O my Queen and Advocate, look upon me and have pity on me.

O Mary, my refuge, pray to Jesus for me.