love of God, desired to remain in the presence of the most Holy Sacrament. You will find that all the saints have been enamoured of this sweet devotion. On this earth we cannot find a more brilliant jewel, or a more lovely treasure, than Jesus in the Sacrament. O how delightful it is to remain with faith, and with a tender devotion, at the foot of the altar, and to converse familiarly with Jesus Christ, who dwells in our tabernacles for the purpose of hearing the prayers of all who visit him! How delightful to implore his pardon for our offences, to lay before him all our wants, as one friend does to another in whom he places all his confidence, to ask his grace, his love, and his glory! But O, what a paradise to continue in acts of love to that Lord, who remains on the altar interceding before his Father in our behalf, and burning with love for us! Blessed Henry Suso used to say, that Jesus on the altar hears the prayers of the faithful more readily than he does in any other place. Make a trial of this devotion, and you will see the great fruit which you will gather from it. Be sure that of all the moments of your life, the time which you spend in devotion before this divine Sacrament will be that which shall give you the greatest support during life, and the greatest consolation at the hour of death and for all eternity. And be persuaded that you will gain more in a quarter of an hour spent in prayer before the Holy Eucharist, than in all the other spiritual exercises of the day.
Do not, then, O devout soul, refuse to begin this devotion. From this day forward, retire each day from the conversation of men, and remain for some time, for a half-hour, or at least a quarter, in some church, before Jesus Christ in the Holy Sacrament.
