I pray Thee, speedily to myself by the sacred words of Thy mouth, spoken to me as it were from Heaven, and sweeter far than any earthly food.
Give me a clear understanding of difficult passages in Holy Writ ; and, where the meaning of Thy Word is plain and spiritual, kindle in my heart the fire of Thy love, as Thou didst in the hearts of the two disciples, which were warmed by Thy appearance to them and by Thy discourse ; so that, being refreshed on their journey by the Word of God as well as by the food of which they partook, they gave thanks and said : " Was not our heart burning within us concerning Jesus, whilst He spoke in the way, and opened to us the Scriptures ? " These words are very sweet and pious, and are read and sung in choir with devout mind and joyful voice to the praise of God and His Saints by clerks and priests, by Canons and by Monks, by recluses and by nuns, of every habit and order, chiefly at Easter-tide and on the festivals of certain saints.[1]
O all ye Saints of God, pray for me in all my
shortcomings during my pilgrimage on earth ;
for to this day I am often vexed by evil passions
warring against me both from within and from
without ; pray for me that I be not overcome by
the devil and his angels, and so fall short of those
everlasting joys which are laid up in Heaven for
- ↑ [In the Offices for Easter week some of the verses and antiphons are taken from the Easter Monday Gospel, in which these words occur; and it is probable that in the diocese of Utrecht in the fifteenth century, upon a feast of "the Disciples of Emmaus," and possibly upon the Feasts of some other Saints, the words quoted were similarly used.]
