Thou Who didst first love me,[1]
Thou Who commandest me to love Thee,
With all my heart,
With all my soul,
With all my mind,
With all my strength,
Above all possessions and honors,
Above all pleasures and enjoyments.
More than myself, and everything belonging to me,
More than all my relatives and friends.
More than all men and angels,
Above all created things in heaven or on earth,
Only for Thyself,
Because Thou art the sovereign Good,
Because Thou art infinitely worthy of being loved.
Because Thou art infinitely perfect.
Even hadst Thou not promised me heaven,
Even hadst Thou not menaced me with hell,
Even shouldst Thou try me by want and misfortune.
In wealth and in poverty,
In prosperity and in adversity,
In health and in sickness,
In life and in death,
In time and in eternity.
In union with that love wherewith all the saints and all the angels love Thee in heaven,
In union with that love wherewith the Blessed Virgin Mary loveth Thee,
In union with that infinite love wherewith Thou lovest Thyself eternally.
- ↑ I love Thee, O my God.
