CHAPTER XIV
☙ Of the Holy Innocents, put to death by Herod for the Name of Jesus
BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee,
O Lord Jesus Christ, Hope of those
who die young, glory of the lowly, and
crown of all the saints, for the deaths
of so many innocent children put to death on account of Thy Holy Name.
I praise and magnify Thee for these first fruits of the Holy Martyrs, who suffered without having ever sinned, whom Thou didst deliver out of this world pure in body and in soul; thus bestowing the crown of martyrdom upon those who had not yet come to the use of reason.
I adore the equity of Thy judgements, manifested in all Thy works: Thou didst exalt the pure and humble to Thy everlasting glory; but didst cast down into Hell, there to be confounded for ever, Herod and the partners in his guilt.
I earnestly implore Thee, O most pure Jesus, to give me, of Thy mercy, grace to follow, in heart and life, the innocence, and the humility of those little ones; so that, laying aside all rancour and arrogance, I may henceforth show myself among my brethren, more gentle, more pure, more lowly, more patient, and more cheerful. May no weakness of the flesh defile me; but by a thorough mortification of my faults may I be kept pure and without offence.
