To Jesus nailed to the Cross.
The wounds of Jesus are wounds which soften the hardest hearts and inflame the most frozen souls.
H, my Jesus, what was it that nailed Thy Hands
and Thy Feet to this wood but the love Thou
didst bear to men? Thou, by the pain of
Thy pierced Hands, wast willing to pay the penalty
due to all the sins of touch that men have committed;
and, by the pain of Thy Feet, Thou wast willing to
pay for all the steps by which we have gone our way
to offend Thee. O my crucified Love, with these
pierced Hands give me Thy benediction! Oh, nail
this ungrateful heart of mine to Thy Feet, that so I
may no more depart from Thee, and that this will
of mine, which has so often rebelled against Thee,
may remain ever steadily fixed in Thy love. Grant
that nothing else but Thy love, and the desire of
pleasing Thee, may move me. Although I behold
Thee suspended upon this gibbet, I believe Thee to
be the Lord of the world, the true Son of God, and
the Saviour of mankind. For pity's sake, O my
Jesus, never abandon me again at any period of my
life; and more especially at the hour of my death, in
those last agonies and struggles with hell, do Thou
assist me, and strengthen me to die in Thy love. I
love Thee, my crucified Love, I love Thee with all
my heart.
To Jesus dead on the Cross.
Had He not loved me He would not have died for me!
Saviour of the world, O my Jesus, behold to
what Thy love for men has at length reduced
Thee! I thank Thee that Thou hast been
willing, Thou, Our God, to lose Thy life that we
might not lose our souls. I thank Thee for all men,
but especially for myself. And who is there more
than I that has reaped the fruits of Thy death? I,
