His faithfulness and truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night: nor for the arrow that flieth by day.

For the pestilence that walketh in darkness nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day.

A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee.

Yea, with thine eyes shalt thou behold: and see the reward of the ungodly.

For Thou, LORD, art my hope: Thou hast set Thine house of defence very high. There shall no evil happen unto thee: neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee in their hands: that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder : the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet.

Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him up, because he hath known My Name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will hear him yea, I am with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and bring him to honour.

With long life will I satisfy him: and show him My salvation.

Glory be to the FATHER, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c.

QUINQUAGESIMA.

"And now abideth Faith, Hope, and Charity, these three ;-but the greatest of these is Charity."-1 Cor. xiii. 13.

Hope increases charity, and charity increases hope. Hope in the Divine goodness undoubtedly gives an increase to our love of JESUS CHRIST ;-in the very moment we hope to receive some benefit from a person, we also begin to love him. On this account our LORD forbids us to put our trust in creatures. 66 Cursed be he that trusteth in man." Let us beware of resting too much upon man, for when GOD beholds us leaning overmuch upon earthly consolations, He Himself withdraws from us; but the more we trust in Him, the more we shall advance in His holy love“I have run the way of Thy Commandments, and Thou dost enlarge my heart." O how rapidly does that soul advance in

perfection, who has her heart filled with confidence in GOD! She flies rather than runs, for by making GOD the foundation of all her hope, she flings aside her own weakness, and borrows the strength of GOD Himself, which is communicated to all who place their confidence in Him. " They that hope in the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." The eagle is the bird that soars nearest the sun; in like manner, the soul that has GOD for her trust becomes detached from the earth, and more and more united to GOD by love.

And as hope increases love, so does love help to increase hope; for charity makes us the adopted sons of GOD. In the natural order we are the work of His Hands; but in the supernatural order we are made sons of GOD, and partakers of the Divine Nature, through the merits of JESUS CHRIST, as S. Peter writes, "That by these ye might be partakers of the Divine Nature." And if charity makes us the sons of GOD, it consequently makes us heirs of Heaven, as S. Paul says, "And if children, then heirs." Now a son claims the right of abiding under his father's roof; an heir is entitled to his father's property; and thus charity increases the hope of Paradise: so that the souls that

love GOD cry out incessantly, "Thy Kingdom come."

The greatest of all is Charity-love, pure, holy, unfeigned-love to men; above all, love of GOD; and a perfect, absorbing love of Him is the fulness of joy promised to the faithful in Paradise. Hence the soul can never enjoy perfect repose on earth; because it is only in Heaven that she can obtain perfect union with GOD. It is true that those who love JESUS CHRIST fervently find peace in wholly conforming their wills to the Will of GOD; but they cannot in this life find complete repose; this is only obtained when our last end is attained; that is, when we see GOD face to face, and are fulfilled with His Divine Love; and until the soul reaches this end, she is unsatisfied, and groaning within herself, cries out, "I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul."

O my Eternal GOD, I offer Thee my whole heart; but what sort of heart, O GOD, is it that I offer unto Thee? A heart that Thou hast made to love Thee, but which has too often rebelled against Thee? For all such rebellion I heartily repent, and exceedingly grieve; I desire to obey Thee henceforth in all things, and to love Thee with every faculty of my soul. I love Thee, O JESUS, True and Only Lover of my soul,

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for there is none save Thee that has died for me. This shall be my life, to love Thee always, O my Sovereign Good. O then confirm my faith, increase and perfect my hope, and above all, O Blessed LORD, consume my whole heart with the most fervent love of Thee. Even so, LORD JESUS. Amen.

O Blessed JESUS, Who hast said, If ye love Me, keep My Commandments,

Guide and teach us that we keep those Thy Commandments.

Ŏ Blessed JESUS, Who dost promise that whoso loveth Thee, shall be loved of Thy FATHER,

May we attain to that Love.

O Blessed JESUS, Who hast promised to manifest Thyself to those who love Thee, Manifest Thyself unto us.

O Blessed JESUS, Who hast promised to make Thine abode with them that love Thee,

Come and dwell within our hearts.

O Blessed JESUS, Who hast said, By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another,

Fill our hearts with love towards all men.

O Blessed JESUS, Who didst teach Thy chosen friend who lay in Thy Bosom, that love is of GOD,

Evermore fill us with holy love.