An Act of Hope.
In thee, O Jesus, do I place all my hope, because thou alone art my salvation, my strength, my refuge, and the foundation of all my happiness; and were it not for the confidence I place in thy merits, and in the precious blood wherewith thou didst redeem me, I would not presume to partake of this banquet. Encouraged by thy goodness, I come to thee as a poor and infirm sheep to its shepherd; as a sick man to his physician; as a condemned criminal to his powerful intercessor: that, as the true shepherd of my soul, thou mayest strengthen me; heal me, as my physician; and, as my merciful advocate, deliver me from the sentence of sin and death. I, who am an abyss of nothing, invoke thee, who art the abyss of all goodness; for though my sins are innumerable, and very grievous, yet they are but light and trivial when compared to thy boundless mercy, and the infinite ransom of thy blood. Have pity, therefore, on me, O Jesus, and save me, for thou forsakest none that put their trust in thee.
An Act of Charity.
How strong was the force of thy love, my dear Redeemer, when, being about to depart out of this world to thy eternal Father, thou providedst for us this divine banquet, enriched with all heavenly sweetness. It was through the wonderful effects of thy divine goodness that thou didst humble thyself to such an excess for our redemption, as to take upon thee the infirmity of our nature. And is it not through an infinite excess of thy love, that thou hast left us thy body and blood for the food and nourishment of our souls; that, as thou didst unite thyself to our humanity, so we might here be made partakers of thy divinity? In return for this thy infinite love, I desire to love thee, O Lord Jesus, who art my only comfort in this place of banishment, the only hope of my infirm soul, and my happiness, above all else that I can enjoy. Make me to love thee, my God, with my whole heart, with my whole soul, with all my mind, and
