OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN
O JESUS! it is Thou Who biddest me say, FATHER! _My Father!_ Oh how that Name rejoices my heart! _My Father!_ I can no longer feel alone; and whatever may happen to me this day, I feel I am protected, comforted, beloved.
JESUS! let me dwell on the sweetness of those words: _My Father!_ I need not lift my eyes to heaven, Thou art within me, and where Thou dwellest heaven must be.
Yes! heaven is within me! heaven with all its peace and love; and if I keep free from guile this day, my day will be one of heavenly joy, and in addition, the privilege of suffering for Thee.
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
To hallow Thy Name, O LORD, is to p.r.o.nounce it with reverence and awe.
To-day I will pray more fervently, try to realize Thy Presence, Thy Goodness, Thy Love; and my heart shall be a sanctuary into which nothing shall penetrate that could be displeasing unto Thee.
To _hallow Thy Name_ is to call upon it fervently, to have it constantly upon my lips; above all, before taking an important step, when there are difficulties to be overcome, I will softly whisper the Invocation, which is the secret of all holy living! "JESUS, meek and humble of heart, have pity upon me."
THY KINGDOM COME
O JESUS, Thy kingdom is within my heart, reign there in all Thy sovereignty and power, reign there absolutely!
My King! what dost Thou require of me to-day? Thy commandments, my rule of life, my daily duties,--these are Thy commands that I will promise to obey; more than that, I will regard all in authority over me as Thine Amba.s.sadors, speaking to me in Thy Name. What matters the tone or the harshness of the order?
What does it signify if some unexpected command upsets all my previous plans? It is Thy Voice I hear, Thou LORD, Whom I will obey always, and in all things.
Thy kingdom is also in the hearts of others; and there would I see Thee reigning. Then to whom can I speak of Thee this day? What counsels can I give? What moments may I seize, in which, without wounding the feelings, or parading my zeal, I may be allowed to speak a few words of piety? LORD, let me have the opportunity to help another to love Thee!
THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
Yes, yes! Thy Will be done! Thy sweet all-perfect Will!
What wilt Thou send me to-day?
Humiliation? Provocation? Sufferings? A fresh rending of the heart? A disappointment? Shall I see myself misjudged, falsely suspected, despised?
I accept beforehand all that Thou sendest me; and if through weakness I weep, suffer it to be so; if I murmur, check me; if I am vexed, correct me; if hopeless, encourage me.
Yes, yes! Let Thy sweet and holy Will be done!
Even, O LORD, if to glorify Thee, I must be humiliated, suffering, useless, and forsaken, still, LORD, stay not Thine Hand, I am wholly Thine.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
How blessed, O LORD, to depend only upon Thee ... behold me, Thy child, waiting with outstretched hand to receive Thy benefits.
Grant me my temporal blessings,--clothing, nourishment, shelter ... but not too much of anything; and let me have the happiness of sharing my blessings with those poorer than myself to-day. Grant me the blessing of intelligence, that I may read, or hear one of those golden counsels that elevate the soul, and lend wings to the thoughts.
Grant me the loving heart, O my FATHER! that I may feel for a moment how I love Thee, and Thy love towards me; let me sacrifice myself for the welfare of another. Give me the Bread of Life, the Holy Eucharist! I have just received it, LORD! Grant me again ere long that great blessing.
And then, give all these blessings to those I love, and who love me!
FORGIVE US OUR TRESPa.s.sES, AS WE FORGIVE THEM THAT TRESPa.s.s AGAINST US
When I p.r.o.nounce the word of pardon, what a weight seems lifted from my heart.
I will not only banish every feeling of hatred, I will efface every painful remembrance. O G.o.d, if Thou forgivest me, as I forgive others, what mercy for me!
Thou seest I bear no malice, that I forget all injuries....
I have been offended by _words_; I forget them; by actions, I forget them; by omissions, thoughts, desires; they are all forgotten.
Ah! in all these ways I have offended Thee, and Thou wilt forget, even as I have forgotten.
I will be very merciful, so that Thou mayst have mercy upon me.
LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL
Now, as I leave Thine altar, I go to encounter temptation.
O SAVIOUR! help me, keep me, and warn me of my danger!
Let me shun all occasions of evil, and if by weakness or allurements I am led into paths of sin, if I fall, oh! rescue me speedily, that I may fall upon my knees, confessing my sin, and imploring pardon.
Sin! this is the evil from which I beseech Thee to deliver me; other troubles that may happen, I accept; they are sent to try me and to purify, and come from Thee; but sin, I have no pleasure in it! Oh! when in the hour of temptation I fall away, LORD, hearken to the cry that I now raise to Thee in all sincerity; I _will_ it not! it is not wilful! I go from Thy Presence, but, JESUS, Thou art with me! In work, in prayer, in suffering, let all be done in Thee!
x.x.xIII.
"Mother," asked a child, "since nothing is ever lost, where do all our thoughts go?"
"To G.o.d," answered the mother gravely, "who remembers them forever."
"Forever!" said the child. He bent his head, and, drawing closer to his mother, murmured, "I am frightened!"
Which of us have not felt the same?
x.x.xIV.
One more solemn thought: How old are you? Nineteen. Have you reckoned the number of minutes that have elapsed since your birth? The number is startling: nine millions, three hundred and thirty-three thousand, two hundred.... Each of those minutes has flown to G.o.d; G.o.d has examined them and weighed them, and for them you must give account.
Each minute bears its own impress (as a coin bears the impress of the Sovereign), and only those marked with the image of G.o.d will avail you for eternity.
Is not this thought one to make you tremble?
"I never could understand," writes Guerin, "the feeling of security some have that their works must find favor with G.o.d--as if our duties were confined to the narrow limits of this little world. To be a good son, statesman, or brother, is not all that is required of us; G.o.d demands far more than this from those for whom He has destined a crown of glory hereafter."
x.x.xV.
One great characteristic of holiness is never to be exacting, never to complain.