life’s pilgrimage, till I shall one day happily arrive at thy heavenly kingdom, where, with thy blessed angels and saints, I shall more clearly contemplate thee, more perfectly enjoy thee, and more worthily celebrate thy infinite goodness and mercy with uninterrupted canticles of eternal praise, admiration, and gratitude. Amen.
Method of assisting at Mass,
Divide the Mass into four parts. In the first part, which will be from the beginning to the Gospel, humble yourself with Jesus, and, sinking into the abyss of your own nothingness, confess sincerely that you are a most miserable nothing before the majesty of God; and thus humbled interiorly, and also with a composed and modest exterior, say:
AH! my God, I adore thee. I acknowledge thee for my Lord and Master of my soul. I protest that all I am and have are thy gifts. And because thy majesty merits infinite honour and homage, I, who am a poor, miserable creature, utterly incapable of paying the great debt which I owe to thee, offer to thee the humiliations and homage which Jesus pays to thee on the altar. What Jesus does, I also intend to do. I humble and prostrate myself with him before thy majesty. I adore thee with the same adoration which Jesus offers to thee. I am filled with joy and delight in reflecting that Jesus gives thee, for me, infinite honour and homage.
Repeat many internal acts of this kind. You need not adhere to the words: it is better to use the language which your own devotion will dictate. Oh, how fully will you pay your first debt by assisting at the first part of the Mass in this manner,
