Exclamation IV

1. My soul, O my Lord, finds some repose in thinking of the happiness in store for it if, through Thy mercy, it is one day permitted to enjoy Thee! Yet I long to labour for Thee first,¹ since Thy labour won this joy for me. What shall I do, my Lord, and what wilt Thou do, O my God?

2. How late has my desire for Thee caught flame, but how early didst Thou seek to win me, calling me to give myself wholly to Thee!² Hast thou ever, O Lord, rejected the wretched, or turned away from the poor mendicant who sought to draw near Thee? Are there limits to Thy power, or to Thy mighty works?

3. O my God, Source of mercy to me! Now is the time indeed in which to prove so to Thy handmaid, for Thou art almighty. Now it will be shown whether my soul is right in believing, while recalling the wasted years that are past, that Thou, Lord, canst in an instant turn this loss to gain. I seem to rave, for men say that time once spent can never be recovered. Blessed be my God!

4. Lord, 1 acknowledge Thy sovereign power. Almighty as Thou art, what is impossible to Thee, Who canst do all things? Do Thou only will it, O my God, do Thou but will it! Miserable as I am, yet I believe firmly that Thou canst do all Thou wilt. The more I hear Thy wonders spoken of, the better I know Thou canst perform still greater things: thus my faith and my confidence grow stronger that Thou wilt grant my request. Why wonder at what is done by the Omnipotent?

5. Thou knowest, O my God, that, in spite of all my faults, I ever recognised the greatness of Thy power and mercy; O Lord, may this one thing, in which I have not offended Thee, stand in my favour! Restore to me the time lost, giving me Thy grace, both now and in the future, so that I may appear before Thee in " wedding garments," * as Thou canst do if it be Thy will.

' St. Matt. xxii. II, 12: Intravit autem rex ut videret discumbentes, et vidit ibi hominem non vestitum veste nuptiali, et ait illi: Amice, quomodo hue intrasti non habens vestem nuptialem? At ille obmutuit.