Morning Meditation: HOLY COMMUNION THE MEANS OF PERSEVERANCE IN DIVINE GRACE
St. Denis says that when Jesus Christ comes to a soul in Holy Communion, He brings with Him boundless treasures of grace; and therefore after Communion we can truly say: Now all good things come to me together with it.
Meditation I:
When Jesus comes to the soul in the Holy Communion He brings with Him every good, every grace, and especially the grace of holy perseverance. The principal effect of the Holy Sacrament of the Altar is to nourish the soul that receives it with the Bread of Life, by imparting great strength to advance towards perfection, and to resist those enemies who seek to effect its eternal ruin. Hence Jesus Christ calls Himself in this Sacrament heavenly Bread: I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever. — (John, vi., 51, 52). As earthly bread maintains the life of the body, so this heavenly Bread maintains the life of the soul by enabling it to persevere in the state of God’s grace. Hence the Council of Trent teaches that the Holy Communion is “a medicine which frees us from daily faults and preserves us from mortal sins.”
Oh, how miserable I am O Lord, bewailing my weakness while at the same time I stay away from Thee! How can I resist my internal enemies without Thee, Who art my Strength? Had I approached Thee more frequently in the Holy Communion, I should not have been so frequently overcome by my enemies. For the future it shall not be so: In thee, O Lord, have I hoped; let me not be confounded forever. — (Ps. xxx., 2). No, I will no more rely on my own strength, but will place my whole confidence in Thee, my Jesus, Who will give me strength to fall no more into sin.
Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: CORAM SANCTISSIMO
FOURTH VISIT
Her conversation hath no bitterness, nor her company any tediousness. — (Wisd. viii., 16). Friends on earth find such pleasure in being together, that they lose entire days in each other’s company; with Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament, those who love Him not, get weary. After her death, St. Teresa, who was already in Heaven, said to a nun: “Those who are in Heaven and those who are on earth should be one and the same in purity and in love; we enjoying, and you suffering; and that which we do in Heaven with the Divine Essence, you should do on earth with the Most Blessed Sacrament.” Behold, then, our Paradise on earth – the Most Blessed Sacrament!
O Immaculate Lamb, sacrificed for us upon the Cross, remember that I am one of those souls Thou hast redeemed by so many sufferings and by Thy Death. Grant that Thou mayest be mine and that I may never lose Thee, since Thou hast given Thyself to me, and givest Thyself every day, sacrificing Thyself for my love on the altar; and grant that I may be all Thine. I give myself to Thee without reserve, that Thou mayest dispose of me as Thou pleasest. I give Thee my will; chain it with the sweet bonds of Thy love, that it may forever be the slave of Thy most holy will. I wish no longer to live for the satisfaction of my desires, but only to please Thy goodness. Destroy in me all that does not please Thee; grant me the grace never to have any other thought than to please Thee, any other desire than that which Thou desirest. I love Thee, O my dear Saviour, with my whole heart; I love Thee because Thou desirest that I should love Thee; I love Thee because Thou art indeed worthy of my love. I grieve that I love Thee not as much as Thou deservest. I desire, Lord, to die for Thy love; accept my desire, and give me Thy love. Amen.
Ejac. O good pleasure of my God, I sacrifice myself all to Thee!
VISIT TO MARY
Mary says: I am the mother of fair love. – (Ecclus. xxiv., 24). That is to say, she is the Mother of that love which beautifies souls. St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi saw the Most Blessed Virgin Mary going about dispensing a sweet liquid, which was divine love. This gift is dispensed only by Mary; from Mary let us seek it.
Ejac. My Mother, my hope, make me belong wholly to Jesus.
Evening Meditation: THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
“Charity is not puffed up.”
XVII. HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST IS NOT VAIN OF HIS OWN WORTH, BUT HUMBLES HIMSELF, AND IS GLAD TO BE HUMBLED
Meditation I:
A proud person is like a balloon filled with air, which seems, indeed, great; but whose greatness in reality, is nothing more than a little air; which, as soon as the balloon is opened is quickly dispersed. He who loves God is humble, and is not elated at seeing any worth in himself; because he knows that whatever he possesses is the gift of God, and that his knowledge of the Divine favours bestowed on him, humbles him more, for he is conscious of being so unworthy, and yet so favoured by God.
St. Teresa says, in speaking of the especial favours she received from God: “God does with me as they do with a house, which, when about to fall, they prop up with supports.” When a soul receives a loving visit from God, and feels within herself an unwonted fervour of Divine love, accompanied with tears, or with a great tenderness of heart, let her beware of supposing that God so favours her in reward for some good action; but let her then humble herself the more, concluding that God caresses her in order that she may not forsake Him; otherwise, were she to make such favours the subject of vain complacency, imagining herself more privileged because she receives greater gifts from God than others, such a fault would induce God to deprive her of His favours. Two things are chiefly requisite for the stability of a house, the foundation and the roof: the foundation in us must be humility, in acknowledging ourselves good for nothing, and capable of nothing; and the roof is the Divine assistance, in which alone we ought to put all our trust.
Meditation II:
Morning Meditation: PREPARATION AND THANKSGIVING
The Saints derived great advantage from Holy Communion because they were most careful in preparing themselves for it. The fire immediately burns dry wood, but not green wood, because it is not fit for burning.
Meditation I:
Cardinal Bona asks how it happens that so many souls after so many Communions make such little advancement in the ways of God? And he answers: “The fault is not in the Food, but in the dispositions of those who receive it.” There is nothing wanting in the Holy Communion, but preparation is wanting on the part of those who receive it. The fire immediately burns dry wood, but not green wood, because it is not fit for burning. The Saints derived great advantage from Holy Communion because they were most careful in preparing themselves for it. There are two things which we should endeavour to acquire in preparing ourselves for Holy Communion. The first is detachment from creatures, by banishing from our hearts everything that is not of God and for God. Although the soul is in the state of grace, yet if the heart be taken up by any earthly affection, the less room will there be for Divine love. One day St. Gertrude asked our Lord what preparation He required of her for the Holy Communion; and Jesus answered: “I require no other of thee but that thou come to receive Me devoid of thyself.” The second thing we should endeavour to acquire, in order to be prepared to reap great fruit from the Holy Communion, is a desire to receive Jesus Christ with a view to love Him much more for the future. Gerson says that at this banquet only those are filled who feel great hunger. Hence St. Francis of Sales writes that the principal intention of the soul in communicating should be to advance in the love of God. “He,” says the Saint, “should be received for love, Who for love alone gives Himself to us.” And on this account our Lord once said to St. Mechtilde: “When thou art about to communicate, desire all the love that any soul ever had for Me, and I will receive thy love as though it were what thou wouldst have it to be.”
O God of love, dost Thou so much desire to dispense Thy graces to us, and are we careless in seeking for them? How great will be our distress when we come to die, to think of this neglect, so pernicious to us! Forget, O Lord, what is past; for the future, with Thy holy assistance, I will prepare myself in a better manner, by being careful to detach my affections from everything that can hinder me from receiving all those graces Thou desirest to impart to me.
Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: CORAM SANCTISSIMO
FIFTH VISIT
The sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest for herself, where she may lay her young ones: thy altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God! — (Ps. lxxxiii., 4). The sparrow, says David, finds a dwelling in houses; turtle-doves in nests; but Thou, my King and my God, hast made Thyself a nest and found a dwelling on earth on our altars, that we might find Thee, and that thou mightest dwell amongst us.
Lord, we cannot but say, that Thou art too much enamoured of men; Thou no longer knowest what to do to gain their love. But do Thou, my most amiable Jesus, give us the grace that we also may be passionately enamoured of thee. It would indeed be unreasonable were we cold in our love towards a God Who loves us with such affection. Draw us to thee by the sweet attractions of Thy love; make us understand the endearing claims which Thou hast on our love.
O infinite Majesty, O infinite Goodness, Thou lovest men so much, Thou hast done so much that Thou mightest be loved by men, how is it that amongst men there are so few who love Thee? I will no longer be as I have hitherto been, of the unhappy number of those ungrateful creatures. I am resolved to love Thee as much as I can, and to love no other than Thee. Thou deservest it, and Thou commandest me with so much earnestness to do so, I am resolved to satisfy Thee. Grant, O God of my soul, that I may fully satisfy Thee. I entreat Thee to grant me this favour by the merits of Thy Passion, and I confidently hope for it. Bestow the goods of the earth on those who desire then; I desire and seek the great treasure of Thy love alone. I love Thee, my Jesus; I love Thee, infinite Goodness. Thou art all my riches, my whole satisfaction, my entire love.
Ejac. My Jesus, Thou hast given Thy whole self to me; I give my whole self to Thee!
VISIT TO MARY
My Lady, St. Bernard calls thee “the ravisher of hearts.” He says that thou goest about stealing hearts by the charms of thy beauty and goodness. Steal also my heart and will, I beseech thee: I give them wholly to thee: offer them to God with thine own.
Ejac. Mother most amiable, pray for me!
Evening Meditation: THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
XVIII. HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST IS NOT VAIN OF HIS OWN WORTH, BUT HUMBLES HIMSELF, AND IS GLAD TO BE HUMBLED
Meditation I:
It was the saying of St. Teresa, “Think not that thou hast advanced far in perfection till thou considerest thyself the worst of all, and desirest to be placed below all.” And on this maxim the Saint acted, and so have done all the Saints; St. Francis of Assisi, St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, and the rest, considered themselves the greatest sinners in the world, and were surprised that the earth sheltered them, and did not rather open under their feet to swallow them up alive; and they expressed themselves to this effect with the sincerest conviction. The Blessed John of Avila, who from his earliest infancy had led a holy life, was on his death-bed; and the priest who came to attend him said many sublime things to him, taking him for what indeed he was, a great servant of God and a learned man; but Father Avila thus spoke to him: “Father, I pray you to make the recommendation of my soul, as of a criminal condemned to death; for such I am.” This is the opinion which Saints entertain of themselves in life and death.
Meditation II:
Morning Meditation: JESUS DELIGHTS TO COME TO US IN HOLY COMMUNION
Oh, how delighted Jesus is to be united to our souls! To excite souls to receive Him He exhorts them to do so by many invitations. Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine which I have mingled for you. — (Prov. ix., 5). Eat, O friends, and drink, — speaking of this Heavenly Bread and Wine. These invitations all proceed from the ardent desire Jesus has to come to us in this Sacrament.
Meditation I:
Eat, O friends, and drink, and be inebriated, my dearly beloved. — (Cant. v., 1). The “friends,” that is, beginners, who scarcely enjoy the Divine friendship, when they receive the Holy Communion, feed indeed on the Flesh of Jesus Christ, but they eat with labour; while those who are on the way to perfection eat with less difficulty. But by the “dearly beloved” are meant the perfect, who, inebriated with holy love, live almost out of the world, forgetting all things, even themselves, and think only how they may love and please their God.
My beloved Jesus, I am not yet perfect, but Thou canst make me perfect. I am not dear to Thee, and it is my own fault, because I have been ungrateful and unfaithful; but Thou canst make me dear to Thee by inebriating me this morning with Thy love. Thy kingdom come. — (Matt. vi., 10). Come, my beloved Lord, and take possession of my whole soul. Establish Thy kingdom in me; so that Thou alone mayest reign in me, that Thy love alone may command me, and that Thy love alone may I obey. Inebriate me, inebriate me entirely; make me forget all creatures, myself, my interests, and all, that I may love nothing but Thee, my God, my Treasure, all my Good, my All! May I sigh for Thee alone, seek Thee alone, think of Thee alone, and please Thee alone. Do this by the merits of Thy Passion. This only do I ask of Thee; for this I hope.
Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: CORAM SANCTISSIMO
SIXTH VISIT
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. — (Luke xii., 34). Jesus Christ says that where a person esteems his treasure to be, there also he keeps his affections. Therefore the Saints, who neither esteem nor love any other treasure than Jesus Christ, centre their hearts and their love in the Most blessed Sacrament.
My most amiable Jesus, hidden under the sacramental veils, Who for the love which Thou bearest me, remainest night and day imprisoned in this Tabernacle, draw, I beseech Thee, my whole heart to Thee, that I may think of none but Thee, that I may love and seek and hope for Thee alone. Do this by the merits of Thy Passion, through which I seek and hope for it.
Ah, my sacramental Lord and divine Lover, how amiable and tender are the inventions of Thy love to gain the love of souls! O Eternal Word, Thou, in becoming Man, wast not satisfied with dying for us; Thou hast also given us this Sacrament as a Companion, as Food, and as a pledge of Heaven. Thou reducest Thyself so as to appear amongst us, at one time as an Infant in a stable, at another as a poor Man in a workshop, then as a Criminal on a gibbet, and now as Bread on an altar. Tell me, couldst Thou invent other means to win our love?
O infinite Goodness, when shall I really begin to correspond with such refinements of love? Lord, I will live only to love Thee alone. And of what use is life to me, if I do not spend it wholly in loving and pleasing Thee, my beloved Redeemer, Who hast poured out Thy whole life for me? And what have I to love if it is not Thee, Who art all beauty, all condescension, all goodness, all loving, all worthy of love? May I live only to love Thee! May the mere remembrance of Thy love dissolve my soul with love! May the very names of Crib and Cross and Sacrament inflame it with the desire to do great things for Thee, O my Jesus, Who hast indeed done and suffered such great things for me!
Ejac. Grant, O my Lord, that before I die I may do something for Thee!
VISIT TO MARY
As a fair olive-tree in the plain. — (Ecclus. xxiv., 19). I am, says Mary, the beautiful olive-tree from which the oil of mercy always flows. And I stand in the plain that all may see me. “Remember,” let us say in the words of the prayer of St. Bernard, “O most compassionate Mary, that it has never been heard of in any age, that any one having recourse to thy protection was abandoned by thee.” Most merciful Queen, such a thing was never heard of, that any one having recourse to thy aid was abandoned; I will not be the first unfortunate creature who, having recourse to thee, was abandoned.
Ejac. O Mary, grant me the grace always to have recourse to thee!
Evening Meditation: THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
XIX. HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST IS NOT VAIN, BUT HUMBLES HIMSELF, AND IS GLAD TO BE HUMBLED
Meditation I:
But it is not enough, in order to be humble, to have a lowly opinion of ourselves, and to consider ourselves the miserable beings that we really are; the man who is truly humble, says Thomas à Kempis, despises himself, and wishes also to be despised by others. This is what Jesus Christ so earnestly recommends us to practise, after His example: Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart. — (Matt. xi., 29). Whoever styles himself the greatest sinner in the world, and then is angry when others despise him, plainly shows humility of tongue, but not of heart. St. Thomas Aquinas says that a person who resents being slighted may be certain that he is far distant from perfection, even though he should work miracles. The Divine Mother sent St. Ignatius Loyola from Heaven to instruct St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi in humility; and behold the lesson which the Saint gave her: “Humility is a gladness at whatever leads us to despise ourselves.” Mark well, a gladness; if the feelings are stirred to resentment at the contempt we receive, let us be glad, at least, in spirit.
Meditation II:
Morning Meditation: HOLY COMMUNION THE GREAT GIFT OF JESUS CHRIST TO MAN
Take ye and eat: this is my body. — (Matt. xxvi., 26). Let us consider how great a Gift Jesus Christ has bestowed upon us in giving us His entire Self to be our Food in Holy Communion.
Meditation I:
Consider how great a Gift Jesus Christ has bestowed upon us in giving us His entire Self to be our Food in the Holy Communion. St. Augustine says that Jesus, though He is the Almighty God, yet could give us no more: “Omnipotent though He is, He could give no more.” And St. Bernardine of Sienna adds that no greater treasure can be in the heart of man than the Body of Christ: “What greater treasure can a soul desire or achieve than the most holy Body of Jesus Christ?” The Prophet Isaias exclaims: Make his works known among the people. — (Is. xii., 4). Publish, O men, the loving invitations of our good God! If our Redeemer had not given us this Gift, who could ever have asked It of Him? Who could ever have dared to say to Him: Lord, if Thou wilt make us know Thy love, conceal Thyself under the species of bread, and allow us to feed on Thee? This very idea would have been reckoned folly. “Would it not have been thought madness,” says St. Augustine, “to say: Eat My Flesh, drink My Blood?” When Christ announced to His disciples this gift of the Most Holy Sacrament, which He intended to leave them, they could not bring themselves to believe, and many left Him saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat . . . This saying is hard, and who can hear it? — (John vi., 53-61). But what men could never have imagined, the great love of Jesus Christ has thought of and accomplished.
St. Bernardine says that our Lord has left us this Sacrament as a Remembrance of the love He showed us in His Passion: “This Sacrament is a memorial of His love.” And this agrees with what St. Luke records of the words of Jesus Christ Himself: Do this for a commemoration of me. — (Luke xxii., 19). St. Bernardine adds that the love of Our Lord was not satisfied in sacrificing His life for us: before He died, He was constrained by this very love to give us the very greatest of all His gifts, by giving us Himself to be our Food: “In that excess of fervour, when He was ready to die for us, He was forced by exceeding love to do a greater work than He had ever yet accomplished, to give us Himself to be our Food.”
O my Jesus, what has led Thee to give Thy whole Self to be our Food? After this Gift, what hast Thou left to give us to force us to love Thee? O Lord, give us light, and make us know how excessive is the love which has made Thee reduce Thyself into Food to unite Thyself with us poor sinners. That Thou thus givest Thyself wholly to us is a reason why we should give ourselves wholly to Thee. My Redeemer, how could I have offended Thee Who hast loved me, and Who didst leave nothing undone to win my love? Thou didst become Man for me, Thou didst die for me, and didst make Thyself my Food; tell me what remains for Thee to do. I love Thee, O Infinite Goodness, Infinite Love!
Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: CORAM SANCTISSIMO
SEVENTH VISIT
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Evening Meditation: THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
XX. HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST IS NOT VAIN, BUT HUMBLES HIMSELF, AND IS GLAD TO BE HUMBLED
Meditation I:
St. Francis of Sales said, “to support injury is the touchstone of humility and of true virtue.” If a person aspiring to spirituality practises prayer, frequent Communion, fasts, and mortifies himself, and yet cannot put up with an affront, or a biting word, what is it a sign of? It is a sign that he is a hollow reed, without humility and without virtue. And what indeed can a soul do that loves Jesus Christ, if she is unable to endure a slight for the love of Jesus Christ, Who has endured so much for her. Thomas à Kempis, in his golden little book of the Imitation of Christ, writes as follows: “Since you have such an abhorrence of being humbled, it is a sign that you are not dead to the world, have no humility, and that you do not keep God before your eyes. He that has not God before his eyes is disturbed at every syllable of censure that he hears.” Thou canst not endure cuffs and blows for God – endure at least a passing word.
Meditation II:
Morning Meditation: THE LOVE OF JESUS IN GIVING US HIMSELF IN HOLY COMMUNION
The Most Holy Sacrament is the Gift of God’s pure love. Jesus had already given Himself to us in many ways; as our Companion, our Master, our Father, our Light, our Example, our Victim. “It was the last effort of love when He gave Himself to be our Food.” — (St. Bernardine).
Meditation I:
Let us consider the great love Jesus has shown us in giving us Himself in the Holy Eucharist. The Most Holy Sacrament is the Gift of pure love. According to the Divine decree it was necessary that our Redeemer should die in order to save us, and should by the sacrifice of His life, satisfy the Divine justice for our sins; but what necessity was there that Jesus Christ, after dying for us, should leave us Himself to be our Food? Yet, thus His love willed. St. Laurence Justinian says His excessive charity alone led Him to institute the Most Holy Sacrament, only to make us understand the immense love He bears us; and this is precisely what St. John writes: Jesus, knowing that his hour was come that he should pass out of this world to the Father: having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end. — (John xiii., 1). Knowing that the time had come for Him to quit this world, Jesus would leave us the greatest possible proof of His love, which was this Gift of the Most Blessed Sacrament, as we are taught in these words, He loved them unto the end; that is, “with extreme love He loved them to the utmost,” as Theophylact and St. Chrysostom explain it.
And we must observe what the Apostle mentions, that the time in which Jesus Christ was pleased to leave us this Gift was the very time of His Death: The Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye and eat; this is my body. — (1 Cor. xi., 23, 24). While men were preparing scourges and thorns, and a Cross to put Him to death, our loving Saviour wished to leave us this last proof of His love. And why did He institute this Sacrament when He was going to die, and not before? St. Bernardine says that He did so because “the last marks of love given by dying friends remain more easily in our memory, and are more dearly cherished.” The Saint adds that Jesus Christ had already given Himself to us in many ways; He had made Himself our Companion, our Master, our Father, our Light, our Example, and our Victim: “It was the last effort of love when He gave Himself to be our Food; for He gave Himself to be united completely to us, as food and he who eats it are united; so that our Redeemer was not satisfied with merely uniting Himself to our human nature, but He was pleased to find in this Sacrament the means of uniting Himself to each of us in particular.
O infinite love of Jesus, worthy of infinite love! Ah! my Jesus, when shall I love Thee as Thou hast loved me? Thou couldst do nothing more to make me love Thee; and I have forsaken Thee, O infinite Good, for the sake of vile and miserable goods! Ah! enlighten me, my God, and discover to me always more and more the greatness of Thy goodness, that my whole soul may be enamoured of Thee, and that I may labour to please Thee.
Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: CORAM SANCTISSIMO
EIGHTH VISIT
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Evening Meditation: THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
XXI. HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST IS NOT VAIN, BUT HUMBLES HIMSELF, AND IS GLAD TO BE HUMBLED
Meditation I:
It was a saying of St. Jane Frances de Chantal that “a person who is truly humble takes occasion from receiving some humiliation to humble himself the more.” Yes, for he who is truly humble never supposes himself humbled as much as he deserves. Those who behave in this manner are styled blessed by Jesus Christ. They are not called blessed who are esteemed by the world, who are honoured and praised as noble, as learned, as powerful; but they who are spoken ill of by the world, who are persecuted and calumniated; for it is for such that a glorious reward is prepared in Heaven, if they only bear all with patience: Blessed are you when they shall revile you and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you untruly for my sake: be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven. — (Matt. v., 11, 12).
O Incarnate Word, I entreat Thee, by the merits of Thy holy humility, which led Thee to embrace so many ignominies and injuries for our love, deliver me from all pride, and grant me a share of Thy humility. And what right have I, O Jesus, to complain of any affront whatever that may be offered me, after having so often deserved hell? O my Jesus, by the merit of all the scorn and affronts endured for me in Thy Passion, grant me the grace to live and die humbled on this earth, as Thou didst live and die humbled for my sake. For Thy love I would willingly be despised and forsaken by all the world; but without Thee I can do nothing. I love Thee, O my sovereign Good; I love Thee, O Beloved of my soul!
Meditation II:
Morning Meditation: THE AMIABLE HEART OF JESUS
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Meditation I:
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Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: CORAM SANCTISSIMO
NINTH VISIT
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Evening Meditation: THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
“Charity is not ambitious.”
XXII. HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST DESIRES NOTHING BUT JESUS CHRIST
Meditation I:
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Meditation II:
Morning Meditation: THE GENEROUS HEART OF JESUS
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Meditation I:
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Meditation II:
Spiritual Reading: CORAM SANCTISSIMO
TENTH VISIT
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Evening Meditation: THE PRACTICE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST
XXIII. HE THAT LOVES JESUS CHRIST DESIRES NOTHING BUT JESUS CHRIST
Meditation I:
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Meditation II:
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