O Jesus, my soul hunger and thirsts after Thee.
I long to receive every day Thy most Holy Body.
I implore, at least, Thy spiritual presence,
I beg of Thee to descend into my soul.
And give me some share in the infinite merits of Thy death,
the memory of which we celebrate in this Mass.
Grant, O living Saviour, that I may be made one
in union with Thee and thy Mystical Body.
My adorable Savior, in expiation of our sins, and specially those of impurity, Thou didst vouchsafe to have Thy most pure Flesh torn in pieces. Ah! my Lord, smitten with the scourge, I return Thee thanks for such great love, and I grieve that I am myself, by reason of my sins, one of those who scourge Thee. O my Jesus! I detest all those wicked pleasures which have cost Thee so much pain. Oh, how many years ought I not already to have been in the flames of hell! And why hast Thou so patiently awaited me till now? Thou hast borne with me in order that at length, overcome by so many wiles of love, I might give myself up to love Thee, abandoning sin. O my beloved Redeemer! I will offer no further resistance to Thy loving affection; I desire to love Thee henceforth to the uttermost of my power. But Thou already knowest my weakness; Thou knowest how often I have betrayed Thee. Do Thou detach me from all earthly affections which hinder me from being all Thine own. Remind me frequently of the love which Thou hast borne me, and of the obligation I am under of loving Thee. InThee I place all my hopes, my God, my Love, my All.
Thy soul was inflamed by the zeal of God's House, O Peter! God gave thee to his Church in those sad times when the wickedness of the world had robbed her of well nigh all her beauty. Thou hadst the spirit of an Elias within thee, and it gave thee courage to waken the servants of the Lord: they had slept, and while they were asleep, the enemy came, and the field was oversown with tares. Then did better days dawn for the Spouse of Christ; the promises made her by our Lord were fulfilled; but who was the Friend of the Bridegroom? who was the chief instrument used by God to bring back to his House its ancient beauty? A Saint who bore the glorious name of Peter Damian!--In those days, the Sanctuary was degraded by secular interference. The Princes of the earth said: Let us possess the Sanctuary of God for an inheritance.(Ps. lxxxii. 13.) The Church, which God intended to be Free, was but a slave, in the power of the rulers of this world; and the vices, which are inherent to human weakness, defiled the Temple.
But God had pity on the Spouse of Christ, and for her deliverance he would use human agency: he chose thee, Peter, as his principal cooperator in restoring order. Thy example and thy labours prepared the way for Gregory, the faithful and dauntless Hildebrand, into whose hands the Keys once placed, and the work of regeneration was completed. Thou hast fought the good fight; thou art now in thy rest; but thy love of the Church, and thy power to help, are greater than ever. Watch, then, over her interests. Obtain for her Pastors that Apostolic energy and courage, which alone can cope with enemies so determined as hers are. Obtain for her Priests the holiness which God demands from them that are the salt of the earth.(St. Matth. v. 13) Obtain for the Faithful the respect and obedience they owe to those who direct them in the path of salvation. Thou wast not only the Apostle, thou wast moreover the model, of penance in the midst of a corrupt age; pray for us, that we may be eager to atone for our sins by works of mortification. Excite within our souls the remembrance of the sufferings of our Redeemer, that so his Passion may urge us to repentance and hope. Increase our confidence in Mary, the Refuge of Sinners, and make us, like thyself, full of filial affection towards her, and of zeal that she may be honoured and loved by those who are around us.
Almighty God! I unite myself at the beginning of this holy season of penance with the Church militant, endeavoring to make these really days of sorrow for my sins and crucifixion of the sensual man. O Lord Jesus! in union with Thy fasting and passion, I offer Thee my fasting in obedience to the Church, for Thy honor, and in thanksgiving for the many favors I have received, in satisfaction for mine and others' sins, and that I may receive the grace to avoid the sin of___________, and to practise the virtue of___________ .
Prayer
O my God! who art all love, I thank Thee for having established the fast of Lent to purify my conscience, to strengthen my virtue, and to make me worthy of approaching Thy holy table. Grant me the grace to keep the fast as a Christian. I am resolved to love God above all things, and my neighbor as myself for the love of God; and, in testimony of this love, I will join fasting with prayer and alms. Amen
Dear Spouse of the Lamb! Innocent and simple Dove! How rapid was thy flight to thy Jesus, when called home from thine exile! Thy brother's eye followed thee for an instant, and then heaven received thee, with a joyous welcome from the choirs of the Angels and Saints. Thou art now at the very source of that love which here filled thy soul, and gained thee everything thou asked of thy Divine Master. Drink of this fount of life to thy heart's eternal content. Satiate the ambition taught thee by thy brother in his Rule, when he says that we must "desire Heaven with all the might of our spirit." Feed on that sovereign Beauty, Who himself feeds, as he tells us, among the lilies?
But forget not this lower world, which was to thee, what it is to us,--a place of trial, for winning heavenly honours. During thy sojourn here, thou wast the Dove in the clifts of the rock, as the Canticle describes a soul like thine own; there was nothing on this earth which tempted thee to spread thy wings in its pursuit, there was nothing worthy of thy giving it the treasure of the love, which God had put in thy heart. Timid before men, and simple as innocence ever is, thou knewest not that thou hadst wounded the Heart of the Spouse. Thy prayers were made to him with all the humility and confidence of a soul that had never been disloyal; and he granted thee thy petitions with the promptness of tender love: so that thy brother,--the venerable Saint,--he who was accustomed to see nature obedient to his command,--yes, even Benedict was overcome by thee in that contest, wherein thy simplicity was more penetrating than his profound wisdom.
And who was it, O Scholastica, that gave thee this sublime knowledge, and made thee, on that day of thy last visit, wiser than the great Patriarch, who was raised up in the Church to be the living rule of them that are called to Perfection? It was the same God who chose Benedict to be one of the pillars of the Religious State; but who wished to show, that a holy and pure and tender charity is dearer to him, than the most scrupulous fidelity to rules, which are only made for leading men to what thou hadst already attained. Benedict, himself such a lover of God, knew all this; the subject so dear to thy heart was renewed, and brother and sister were soon lost in the contemplation of that Infinite Beauty, who had just given such a proof that he would have you neglect all else. Thou wast ripe for heaven, O Scholastica! Creatures could teach thee no more love of thy Creator; he would take thee to Himself. A few short hours more, and the Divine Spouse would speak to thee those words of the ineffable Canticle, which the Holy Spirit seems to have dictated for a soul like thine: Arise, make haste, my Love, my Dove, my beautiful one, and come ! Show me thy face; let thy voice sound in mine ears; for thy voice is sweet, and comely is thy face.
Thou hast left us, O Scholastica! but do not forget us. Our souls have not the same beauty in the eyes of our God as thine, and yet they are called to the same heaven. It may be that years are still needed to fit them for the celestial abode, where we shall see thy grand glory. Thy prayer drew down a torrent of rain upon the earth; let it now be offered for us, and obtain for us tears of repentance. Thou couldst endure no conversation which had not eternity for its subject; give us a disgust for useless and dangerous talk, and a relish for hearing such as are on God and Heaven. Thy heart had mastered the secret of fraternal charity, yea of that affectionate charity, which is so well-pleasing to our Lord; soften our hearts to the love of our neighbor, banish from them all coldness and indifference, and make us love one another as God would have us love.
Dear Dove of holy solitude! remember the Tree, whose branches gave thee shelter here on earth. The Benedictine cloister venerates thee, not only as the sister, but also as the Daughter of its sainted Patriarch. Cast thine eye upon the remnants of that Tree, which was once so vigorous in its beauty and its fruits, and under whose shadow the nations of the West found shelter for so many long ages. Alas! the hack and hew of impious persecutions have struck its root and branches. Every land of Europe, as well as our own, sits weeping over the ruins. And yet, root and branches, both must needs revive, for we know that it is the will of thy Divine Spouse, O Scholastica, that the destinies of this venerable Tree keep pace with those of the Church herself. Pray that its primitive vigor be soon restored; protect, with thy maternal care, the tender buds it is now giving forth; cover them from the storm; bless them; make them worthy of the confidence wherewith the Church deigns to honour them!
When asked some special graces Don Bosco always responded: “If you wish to obtain some graces from the Holy Virgin, pray a novena” (MB IX, 289). Such a novena, according to him, had to take place possibly “in church, with lively faith” and was an act of fervent tribute to the Most Holy Eucharist. The soul’s dispositions, in order to be efficient, according to Don Bosco were to be as follows:•Faith in God: no hope in human virtues.
Day 1 O Miraculous Saint Charbel, from whose immaculate body, which overpowers corruption, radiates the scent of heaven, come to my rescue...
