Jubilee 2025

1. Preparation
2. Prayer of St Thomas Aquinas
3. Prayer to our Divine Lord
4. From St John Henry Cardinal Newman
5. Invitation to Jesus by St Gertrude
6. From Father Surin SJ
7. After Holy Communion
8. Thanksgiving
9. An Act of Thanksgiving and Oblation To God the Father
10. To God the Son
11. To God the Holy Ghost
12. Act of Adoration
13. Love
14. Sorrow
15. Prayer of St Thomas Aquinas
16. From St Bonaventure
17. Pious aspirations to Jesus
18. Anima Christi

Saint Thomas Aquinas in his beautiful prayer expresses the feelings which we should approach Holy Communion: because he is weak, because he is blind, because he is sinful, he receives Our Lord, that he may be strengthened, enlightened, healed.

The best preparation for Holy Communion, says Father Faber, is that which consists in emptying ourselves of self, in banishing distractions, in realising our own needs, and poverty, and nothingness, and malice; and so coming to Jesus in the same temper that the humble sufferers came to Him in the Gospel, to be healed of their diseases.

Our preparation for Confession and for Holy Communion, and our thanksgiving after them, must be actions which rank practically among the most important of our life.

To go to Communion is to incorporate with yourself the Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ, — to nourish your divine life of grace. It is the most august and sanctifying action that you can perform, if you bring to it the proper dispositions.

Preparation

Some time beforehand, on the eve especially, prepare your soul by more recollection, vigilance against all deliberate faults, fidelity to the duties of your state, desire of Jesus, and contrition in your Confession and Examen.

Immediately before receiving endeavour to excite in yourself these holy dispositions:

Lively Faith. Ask yourself Whom you are going to receive? The Master answers: “This is my Body, my Blood.” It is our Lord Jesus Christ, immolated on the Cross, triumphant in Heaven.. It is the Eternal Word, the Sovereign Lord and Creator, my Supreme Judge Continue repeating: “Yes, my God, it is Thou indeed, it is Thou, I believe it more firmly on Thy word, Thy infallible word, than it, with my own eyes, I beheld Thy resplendent Majesty.”

Adoration. Acknowledge Him with all your heart to be your absolute Master, from Whom you hold everything and to Whom you entirely belong.

Humble Compunction. “Who am I who am about to receive Him?… — Lord, Thou art the Holy of Holies before Thee Thy very Angels are not sufficiently pure… and I am the last of sinners…My heart has been defiled with many and many a sin… it is so ungrateful, so unworthy…so tepid and inclined to fall again. Lord, I am not worthy… And yet Thou desirest me to come to Thee with filial confidence, as to my kind Saviour, my charitable Physician!”

Endeavour to strengthen your soul more and more by exciting yourself to hearty Contrition at the sight of so much goodness and love. — “Forgive me, O my good master! I detest all ms sins…may I rather die than ever again wound Thy loving Heart!”

Generous Love. Like that of Jesus, — He gives you all… all… in an ineffable union… His Flesh to purify yours, His Soul to impregnate yours with His spirit of abnegation and contempt of the world, — His Heart to inflame yours with His generous devotedness… His Divinity to transform you… His treasures of merit to enrich you… and His graces to strengthen you, Love Him then in return generously, nobly, practically, that is to say, give yourself to Him without reserve, by the flight of all sin, the fulfilment of every duty, the struggle against pride, sensuality, cowardice… What sacrifice did Jesus refuse to make for you? Can you then deny Him anything ?… Desire Him earnestly… Call upon Him ardently: “Come, Lord Jesus, come!” —

Prayer of St Thomas Aquinas

O almighty, everlasting God, behold, I draw near to the Sacrament of Thine only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ: I draw near, as a sick man to the Physician of life, as one defiled to the Fountain of mercy, as one blind to the Light of the eternal splendour, as one poor and needy to the Lord of Heaven and earth.

Wherefore, I implore the fulness of Thine infinite bounty that thou wouldst vouchsafe to heal all my sickness, to wash away my defilement, to give light to my blindness, to enrich my poverty, and to clothe my nakedness, so that I may receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings and Lord of lords, with such reverence and humility, such contrition and devotion, such purity and faith, such purpose and intention, as may avail to the welfare and salvation of my soul. Grant me, I beseech Thee, to receive not only the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of my Lord, but also the very reality and substance of the Sacrament. O most gracious God, grant me so to receive the Body or Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that very Body which He took of the Virgin Mary, that I may be truly incorporated into His mystical Body and so numbered amongst Its members. O most loving Father, grant me at last to behold with open face and for evermore the same Thy beloved Son Whom I propose to receive now in my pilgrimage beneath the veils of the Sacrament. Who liveth and reigneth for ever. Amen.

Prayer to our Divine Lord

St. Gertrude, having recited this prayer before Communion, sought to know what she had gained by it, and received this answer from our Lord: “Thou hast gained this, that thou dost now appear before the inhabitants of Heaven arrayed in those ornaments which thou didst ask of Me.”

O most loving Lord Jesus Christ, I beseech Thee, by all the love of Thy sweetest Heart, that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to offer for me all that perfection wherewith Thou didst stand arrayed in the presence of God the Father when Thou didst ascend on high to enter into Thy glory; and through Thy sinless and unspotted Manhood to render my polluted soul pure and free from every sin, and through Thy most glorious Divinity to endow and adorn it with every virtue, and through the virtue of that love, which has for ever united Thy supreme Divinity to Thine immaculate Humanity, to furnish it befittingly with Thy best gifts. Amen.

When you are about to receive Holy Communion, follow the counsel which our Lord gave to St. Mechtildis, saying: “When you approach to receive Me, receive Me, with the intention of feeling all the glowing desire and love with which the heart of man has ever been inflamed. And I will accept this love, not as it is in you, but as it it were what you desire it to be.”

O Jesus, most ardently desired and longed for, behold the moment draws near, the rapturous moment in which I shall receive Thee, my God, into my soul. Behold, O my Jesus, I come unto Thee, and run to meet Thee with the utmost devotion and reverence of which I am capable. Stretch forth, therefore, Thy most sacred Hands to embrace my soul, those very pierced Hands of Thine which Thou didst stretch forth amidst the anguish of Thy Passion to embrace all sinners.

O my crucified Jesus, I stretch forth not my hands only, but my heart and my soul, to embrace Thee and to lead Thee into the most inner and secret recess of my heart. Oh, would that I had within me such and so great devotion, such and so great love such and so great purity, as heart of man has been ever adorned withal! Would that I were filled with all virtues, with all holy desires, with perfect and consummate devotion! Would that I had the purity of all Thine Angels, the charity of all Thine Apostles, the holiness of all Confessors, the chastity and cleanness of heart of all Virgins! Would that I could receive Thee now with all that devotion, reverence and love wherewith Thy most blessed Mother received Thee in Thine Incarnation and in Thine adorable Sacrament! O would that I had Thy own Sacred and Divine Heart, that I might therein receive Thee as becomes Thy ineffable Majesty!

O sweetest Jesus, I offer Thee for my fitting preparation, and to make amends for all my unworthiness and all my negligences, all the preparation of heart, the devotion, the affections, the love wherewith all Thy Saints, and above all Thy most blessed Mother, have ever received Thee in this holy Sacrament. I offer Thee, O most holy Jesus, Thine own transcendently meritorious Heart, and all the ineffable virtues and graces which the Most Blessed Trinity bestowed without measure upon It, that therewith all my vileness and all my unworthiness may be covered, and that a befitting and most peaceful abode may be prepared for Thee in my soul. Amen.

O sweet mercy of my God, I a wretched creature, now have recourse to Thee, for Thou art all my hope and all my trust. Never hast Thou repelled the sinner, how loathsome soever the wounds of his soul; never hast Thou cast out him who sought in Thee a refuge. O cast me not away from Thee, because of my sins; cast me not away because of the uncleanness in which my life has flowed away. — I come before Thee, poor and utterly destitute of merit! Author of pardon, deign to extend to me Thy tender love; shew forth Thy loving mercy to me by cleansing my heart from all its stains. How shall I dare appear in Thy presence, bowed down as I am beneath the load of my iniquity, and the burden of my lost and wasted life, and the crushing weight of all my negligences?

O Jesus, pass not by me, wretched and forlorn without showing forth Thy charity upon me.

O my sweet Jesus, may thy sufferings be the reparation of all my sins, the satisfaction for all my negligences. Deign, then, to enter into the vile hovel of my heart, and there rest awhile with me. There let me hear Thy gentle voice, and I shall no more remember, as I hang on Thy lips, my tribulation and my anguish. Be Thou my companion all along the way I must go; open to me a sure refuge in Thee, wherein I may lay my heart, torn by a thousand fears and cares.

O Jesus, I come to Thee today as if it were to be the last time, and that after Thy visit I were to appear before Thee, Jesus, Judge of the living and the dead. Be pleased to receive my present Communion for the one I would wish to make in my last moments: I offer it Thee now, as if it were my Viaticum. Why should I fear to think of death? Death is a union with God, death is the threshold of happiness, and the last sigh breathed in this valley of tears, is followed by eternal bliss. Grant, O God, that my thoughts passing from death to judgment, may determine me to lead a holy and irreproachable life, so that according to their value, my days may be prolonged till the measure of my merits be abundantly filled… May I atone for my sins here below, so that without passing through the flames of Purgatory I may fly from my exile to my home.

From St John Henry Cardinal Newman

O my God, holiness becometh Thy House, and yet Thou dost make Thy abode in my breast. My Lord, my Saviour, to me Thou comest hidden under the semblance of earthly things, yet in that very flesh and blood which Thou didst take from Mary. Thou. Who didst first inhabit Mary’s breast dost come to me.

My God, Thou seest me; I cannot see myself. Were I ever so good a judge about myself, ever so unbiassed and with ever so correct a rule of judging, still, from my very nature, I cannot look at myself and view myself truly and wholly. But, Thou as Thou comest to me, contemplatest me. When I say, “Domine, non sum dignus” “Lord, I am not worthy,” Thou whom I am addressing, alone understandest in their fulness the words which I use. Thou seest how unworthy so great a sinner is to receive the One Holy God, whom the Seraphim adore with trembling.

Thou seest not only the stains and scars of past sins, but the mutilations, the deep cavities, the chronic disorders which they have left in my soul. Thou seest the innumerable living sins, though they be not mortal, living in their power and presence, their guilt and their penalties which clothe me; Thou seest all my bad habits, all my mean principles, all my wayward lawless thoughts, my multitude of infirmities and miseries, yet Thou comest. Thou seest most perfectly how little I really feel what I am now saying, yet Thou comest. O my God, left to myself should I not perish under the awful splendour and the consuming fire of Thy Majesty? Enable me to bear Thee, lest I have to say with Peter: “Depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Invitation to Jesus by St Gertrude

O Jesus, surpassingly sweet, Who hast said with Thine own gracious lips that Thy delights are to be with the children of men, my sou longeth for Thee, my heart yearneth now towards Thee. Wherefore I invite Thee to come unto me with all that devotion and that love wherewith any loving soul hath ever invited Thee to itself. Come, then, O most beloved Spouse of my soul; come, O most beloved and only Love of my soul; come and turn aside awhile into the poor and wretched hovel of my heart. Come, Thou heavenly Physician, come and heal my stricken soul. Come, O Friend, a thousandfold above all others beloved, come and enrich my utter poverty.

Come, Thou bright and genial Sun, and scatter the thick darkness which hangs upon my heart. Come, Thou sweetest Manna, and satisfy my soul’s exceeding hunger. Come, O Jesus, incomparable in Thy loveliness; come, Thou be loved of my heart’s vows; come and sup with me in the vile chamber of my heart. And although I have made ready nothing which may beseem Thy dazzling magnificence, yet wilt Thou find therein one dish of savoury meat such as Thou lovest, a will which tends to Thee alone, and affections wholly Thine.

O Thou, my only Love, I long for Thy coming with most eager desire, I await Thy coming with yearning love. O Thou fairest of the sons of men, O spring of inexhaustible sweetness, O Thou sweeter than all sweetest delights, come, oh! come unto me, and disdain not Thy poor and needy servant. Amen.

Here kiss a crucifix, and say with St Gertrude:

O most loving Jesus, I embrace Thee with the profoundest love of my heart, and in union with all the love of the prayers which ever flowed forth from Thy sweetest lips, I beseech Thee that Thou wouldst deign to turn aside into the mean and wretched inn of my heart.

As you draw near to the Holy Table, repeat the words which our Lord taught to St Gertrude:

Behold, O Lord, I, a vile sinner, poor and guilty and unworthy, come unto Thee, the overflowing abyss of compassion, that I may be washed from every stain and filled with every grace.

Taken from Father Benson’s, “A book of the love of Jesus” published by Isbister & Co.

Look not, Lord, on my wickedness and manifold unkindness and great negligence, but rather, Gracious Lord, on Thy sovereign mercy and endless goodness. For Thou sayest Thyself, Lord, that at what hour a sinner sorroweth for his sins at that hour Thou receivest him into Thy grace. Lord, this is the hour and the time that I would be very sorry, and forsake my sins, and follow Thee with holy virtues: therefore now I trust Thy mercy descendeth into my soul.

Also, Lord, Thou sayest that if a sinner have true sorrow for his sins, Thou wilt never have mind of those sins afterward. Now, gracious Lord, put all my wretched sins out of thy mind, so that they hinder not the fruit of virtues nor the influence of Thy holy grace in my needy soul. Amen.

O Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, I turn from all to turn to Thee !

O Jesus, teach me, touch me, wound me, and win me unto Thee !

From Father Surin SJ

Before Holy Communion let us reflect that

Christ Our Lord is:

1. The Fountain of Life.
2. The Remedy for all evils.
3. Our Consoler.

In receiving we may make Acts of :

1. Reverence.
2. Contrition.
3. Love.

Alter receiving Our Lord let us remain at His sacred Feet, conversing with Him, telling Him all, showing Hin our miseries, our needs and defects, and asking earnestly for :

1. True Recollection, and
2. Entire disengagement of heart from all creatures, especially self. Let us beg for strength to overcome self that Jesus Christ may reign in us by His spirit, His grace, His wisdom and doctrine.

We should ask for this recollection and disengagement in all our spiritual exercises; they will help us to acquire:

1. A childlike spirit, i. e. obedience.
2. A habit of acting from a principle of grace, not of nature.
3. A love of being looked down upon, set aside, contemned.

Then shall we truly love.

After Holy Communion

Look upon our Lord as a treasure you carry away and have all to yourself, God is looking upon this treasure in your heart wondering what you will do with it, to whom you will give it. This treasure is the One whom His Heart loves, – His only Son! You are no longer a poor miserable petitioner, you are now rich and can offer a gift infinite in value. For what will you offer it? Know what you are about, and do not spend the time in doing nothing for want of a method. Realise Who is within you — ratify His acts, and as soon as your devotion thoughts again.

Thanksgiving

Returning from the Holy Table remain as long as possible under this impression: “God is in the midst of my heart!” Listen to Him… love Him.. give yourself to Him.. it is the most precious time of grace. Then during a quarter of an hour, penetrate yourself with these sentiments expressed by the anagram ARDOR.

Adoration. Jesus is in the most inner recess of your soul, seated as a King on His throne, expecting your homage. Prostrate at His feet, tell Him again that He is your Lord, your All… that you wish to belong entirely to Him… to obey Him in everything… to live only for His glory. “O Godhead hid devoutly I adore Thee.”

Retribution (or Thanksgiving). What return can you make for this infinite Gift? You are so poor.. Offer at least your love… your transports of gratitude. “Praised, loved and adored be forever Jesus, in the most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.” Beg Mary, and the Seraphim to supply for your inability by their ardour.

Demand. Jesus wishes to give you everything… and He can… Ask earnestly, with immense confidence, for necessary graces for yourself, for your dear ones, for all the Church, sinners, the souls in Purgatory. “Soul of Christ, sanctity me”.

Oftering (or Oblation). Jesus has just given you all, the infinite… Will you keep anything back? … He has a right to all. Offer then all to Him, that He may govern it according to His good pleasure. “Take, O Lord, and receive all that I am and have.”

Resolutions. Renew, with strong determination, the promises of your retreat: Exercises of piety, Combats of self-love. Purity… Duties of your state. Charity… Zeal… your Particular Examen.

You carry God away with you… Let every one see it by your recollection, your devotedness, your spiritual progress

“In all places and times I will never depart From the Heart of my God and the God of my heart.”

An Act of Thanksgiving and Oblation To God the Father

What return shall I make to Thee, O Father of mercies, who hast so loved the world that Thou didst give Thine only-begotten Son, not only to suffer death for our salvation, but also to remain with us as the food of our souls to the end of the world? In thanksgiving I offer to Thee this same most dearly beloved Son of Thine Whom, by Thy grace, I have now received, and I offer myself together with Him.

Look not upon me a miserable sinner, but upon the image of Thy Christ, and let the sight of His wounds move Thee to have pity on His servant; in the beauty of His sanctity may my wickedness be hidden. This is Thy Son in Whom Thou art well pleased. Through Him and in Him may I also become pleasing in Thy sight, that I may thus deserve to be counted among Thy elect, and praise and worship Thee for evermore.

To God the Son

What return shall I make to Thee, O Jesus, Son of the Living God, Who hast not only vouchsafed to become man and to die for me, but Who deignest to be my food and thus to make me one with Thee? O wondrous love: — What is man that Thou shouldst thus magnify him, that Thou shouldst love him thus? If Thou exalt him, he can add nothing to Thine infinite magnificence; if Thou condemn him, Thou wilt lose nought thereby.

O Jesus, how may I thank Thee, how may I in any degree repay that boundless love with which Thou hast ever encompassed me? To thee do I offer myself without reserve, and to make amends for the unworthiness of this oblation, I offer unto Thee Thy most loving Father, together with the Holy Ghost: I also offer unto Thee Thy most beloved Virgin Mother, dearer far to Thee than aught else save God alone. Despise not my unworthiness, O Jesus, but receive me in union with this oblation, and grant me to rejoice for ever in the glory of which Thou hast already given me a pledge in the reception of Thy Sacrament.

To God the Holy Ghost

What return shall I make to Thee, O Holy Spirit, Who art the fountain and source of that love which flows from the Father and the Son? The Father, at Thy inspiration, bequeathed to us His only begotten Son. Led by Thy promptings, Jesus offered Himself for our Redemption. The spotless holiness of His Immaculate Mother was the work of Thy grace, and His most pure Body was fashioned by Thee from her virginal flesh. In Holy Communion Thou makest me partaker of His merits, and all grace proceeds from Thee. What thanks shall I render to Thee, O Holy Spirit? Receive the offering of my heart which Thou hast deigned to love and to load with Thy favours. Cleanse it, I beseech Thee, from the defilement of sin, adorn it with Thy seven Gifts and render it a fit dwelling for Thyself. Come, O Holy Spirit Come, Thou Father of the poor!

Act of Adoration

I will take upon myself to speak to my Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. O my God! whose greatness is infinite, my mind and my soul have failed me while I recall Thine infinite benefits. O God of my life, what praises and adoration worthy of Thee can I offer Thee? What shall I render unto Thee, O Thou Whom I love above all? Thou in me, and I in Thee, O Jesus, my one good: this is the thank-offering I set before Thy glory; my one only offering is what I am in Thee, my life in Thee.

Let all Thy wonderful works, and all the gifts of Thy bounty unto me, bless Thee, glorify Thee, and praise Thee for me, O God of my life. O God of my heart, dearest object of my desires, deign to grant that the feeble note which sings my worthless praise and thanksgiving, may mingle with the melody ever flowing from Thy Sacred Heart. When, oh when ! shall I be sweetly absorbed in Thee, Thou divine centre, and thus become, all unworthy as I am, one only love, one spirit with Thee?

Love

O sweetest Jesus, I offer Thee all the love of my heart, in choosing Thee for my companion and guide. I offer Thee my body and soul to be employed in Thy service alone and evermore. Oh! that I could love Thee as Thou lovest me. Oh! that I could humble myself as Thou didst humble Thyself, to be able to honour and serve Thee, as Thou deservest. Joy and gladness be to Thee, O Jesus, from Thy sweetest Heart my one refuge and shelter in my exile, from that Heart so full of care for me. Joy and gladness be to Thee from my heart and my soul, and from all the creatures of Thy Hand. O God, transform me so entirely into Thine intense love that all my imperfection may be consumed, and that I may have no life apart from Thee.

Sorrow

O Jesus, God of my salvation, what have I done unto Thee! O Thou who comest from the land of Angels, Thou art all majestic in Thy beauty; but alas, my soul is plunged in blindness. Deign, then to be my healing and my light. O my Beloved. By the innocence of Thine own life, by Its holiness and purity, vouchsafe me a tender compunction of heart, that I may be ever striving to render my sins fewer.

Prayer of St Thomas Aquinas

I give Thee thanks, O holy Lord, Father Almighty, Eternal God, that Thou hast vouchsafed, for no merit of my own, but of the mere condescension of Thy mercy, to satisfy me, a sinner and Thine unworthy servant, with the Precious Body and Blood of Thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ. I implore Thee, let not this Holy Communion be to me an increase of guilt unto my punishment, but an availing plea unto pardon and forgiveness. Let it be to me the armour of faith and the shield of good will. Grant that it may work the extinction of my vices, the rooting out of concupiscence and lust, and the increase within me of charity and patience, of humility and obedience. Let it be my strong defence against the snares of all my enemies, visible and invisible; the stilling and the calm of all my impulses, carnal and spiritual; my indissoluble union with Thee the one and true God, and a blessed consummation at my last end. And I beseech Thee that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to bring me, sinner as I am, to that ineffable banquet where Thou, with the Son and the Holy Ghost, art to Thy Saints true and unfailing light, fulness of content, joy for evermore, gladness without alloy, consummate and everlasting bliss. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

From St Bonaventure

O sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, pierce, I beseech Thee, the inmost marrow of my soul with the tender and life-giving wound of Thy love, with true, and calm, and holy apostolical charity, so that my whole soul may ever languish and faint for love of Thee, and for desire of Thee alone.

May it long for Thee and pine for Thee in the courts of Thy house; may it desire to be dissolved and to be with Thee. Grant that my soul may hunger for Thee, Thou Bread of angels, Thou refreshment of holy souls, our daily supersubstantial Bread, having all manner of sweetness and savour, and all most thrilling delights. May my heart ever hunger for Thee and feed on Thee, on Whom angels long to look; and may my inmost soul be flled with the sweetness of the taste of Thee. May it ever thirst for Thee, Thou well of life, Thou fountain of wisdom and knowledge, Thou source of everlasting light, Thou torrent of pleasures, Thou fatness and abundance of the house of God; may it ever yearn towards Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, tend towards Thee, attain to Thee, meditate ever on Thee, speak of Thee, and work all things to the praise and glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with ready care and glad affection, with perseverance even unto the end; and do Thou be alone and evermore my hope, my whole trust, my riches, my delight, my gladness and my joy, my rest and my calm repose, my peace and my sweet content, my fragrance and my sweetness, my food and my refreshment, my refuge and my help, my wisdom, my portion, my own possession and my treasure, in Whom my mind and my heart are fixed and rooted firmly and immovably for evermore. Amen.

I humbly implore Thine ineffable mercy, O my Lord Jesus Christ, that this Sacrament of Thy Body and Blood, which I unworthy have now received, may be to me the cleansing of all my sins, the strengthening of what is weak within me, and my sure defence against all the perils of the world. May it bestow on me Thy forgiveness and establish me in grace; may it be to me the medicine of life, the abiding memory of Thy Passion, my stay in weakness, the Viaticum and sure supply of all my pilgrimage. May it lead me as I go, bring me back when I wander, receive me when I return, uphold me when I stumble, raise me again when I fall, strengthen me to persevere even unto the end, and bring me to Thy glory. O Most High God, may the blissful presence of Thy Body and Blood so change the taste of my heart, that I may find no sweetness more in aught besides Thee alone, may I love no other beauty, seek no unpermitted love, desire no consolation, admit no other delight, care for no honour but Thine, stand in fear of no enemy or suffering. Wholivest and reignest for ever.

Pious aspirations to Jesus

I have found Him Whom my soul loveth; I hold Him, and will not let Him go. I embrace Thee, O my Jesus, and receive the full joy of my love. I possess Thee, Thou treasure of my heart, in Whom I possess all things. I implore Thee, let my soul feel the power of Thy presence; let it taste how sweet Thou art, O my Lord, that led captive by Thy love, it may seek none else besides Thee, nor love any else but for Thy sake. Thou art my King ; forget not my tribulation and my need. Thou art my Judge; spare me, and be merciful to my sins. Thou art my Physician; heal all my infirmities. Thou art the Spouse of my soul; betroth me to Thyself for evermore. Thou art my Leader and my Defender; place me by Thy side, and then I care not who lifteth his hand against me. Thou hast offered Thyself a Victim for me, and I will sacrifice to Thee a sacrifice of praise. Thou art my Redeemer; redeem my soul from the power of Hell, and preserve me. Thou art my God and my All; for what have I in Heaven but Thee, and besides Thee what do I desire upon earth? Thou, O my God, art the God of my heart, and my portion for ever. Amen.

Anima Christi