of gratitude and ardent love. Come, then, O Lord; thou art the God in whom I firmly believe. Come, for thou art the support and term of my hope, and thou art, by excellence, the adorable object of my most fervent love. Come, enliven and increase in my soul the divine virtues infused therein on my admission into the bosom of thy Church. Come, and purify my baptismal robe, that I may present myself before thee with a nuptial garment, and may not deserve to be excluded from the marriage feast.
AT THE OFFERTORY.
RECEIVE, O Lord, this spotless host, which thy minister offers thee in the name of thy Church. Receive, eternal Majesty, this oblation of bread and wine, which will soon become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, who — to render thee, in the name of weak mortals, the adoration thou meritest — vouchsafed to clothe himself with our miseries; to become susceptible of death: and to immolate himself daily on our altars as the precious victim of our salvation. O Omnipotent Lord, behold me at thy feet, loaded with miseries, and charged with innumerable debts, which would overwhelm me, were I not provided by thyself with a treasure of infinite value to acknowledge thy mercies, to satisfy thy justice, and to obtain for myself and others the graces thou desirest to bestow. Animated with the most lively confidence in the merits of my Redeemer, I offer thee once more his sufferings and death; and I make this offering for the great ends for which he instituted this adorable mystery. I offer thee this sacred Victim to adore thee as my God; to testify my love for thee, my sovereign Benefactor; to thank thee for the blessings thou hast bestowed on all mankind; to
