Page:ThePathToHeaven.djvu/643

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opened wide, they may be happily received into the bosom of thy mercy. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

O Son of God, Saviour of souls, who didst refresh the three children; in the burning fiery furnace, pour down upon the souls that cry to thee from the flames, thy heavenly dew. Thy precious blood alone can quench the flame of purgatory; oh, let it now flow down upon these suffering souls, and do thou O Lord, have mercy upon them. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

O Spirit of love, have compassion on the cruel torment which these souls endure, that are filled with the purest charity, and, aspiring without, ceasing. towards their God, cry aloud in their distress, "I thirst: I thirst after my God!" and yet cannot attain unto the object of their love, nor receive the least drop of that torrent of pure delights. O Holy Spirit, great that having felt the fiercest pangs of love, they may taste its heavenly delights in a blessed eternity. Amen. Pater, Ave, Gloria.


Prayer that may be used by surviving Friends.

Grant, O Lord, we beseech thee, that while we lament the departure Of thy servant, we may always remember that we are most certainly to follow him. Give us grace to prepare for that last hour by a good and holy life, that we may not be taken unprepared by sudden death, but may be ever on the watch, that, when thou shalt call, we may go forth to meet the bridegroom, and enter with him into glory everlasting. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O most wise and merciful Lord, who hast ordained this life as a passage to the future, confining our repentance to the time of out pilgrimage here, and reserving for hereafter the state of punishment and reward; vouchsafe to us who are yet alive, and have still the opportunity of reconciliation with thee the grace so to watch over all our actions, and to correct every slightest wandering from the true way to heaven, that we may not be surprised with our sins uncancelled or our duties unfulfilled; but when our bodies shall go down into the grave, our souls may ascend, to thee, and dwell with thee for ever in the mansions of eternal bliss. Through: Jesus Christ our Lord and only Saviour. Amen.