Eleventh Visit.

From St. Alphonsus Liguori, Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament (New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1870). Wording reflects its time. Public domain; the text is given word for word as printed.

"Let us endeavor," says St. Teresa, "not to stray far from our dear pastor, Jesus, nor to lose sight of him; for the sheep that remain near their pastor are always more caressed, and better attended: they also receive from him some chosen morsels of the food which he himself eats. Should the pastor slumber, the sheep do not wander away from him, but remain near him till he awakes, or till they rouse him from sleep, and then he gives them new proofs of his love." O my Redeemer, concealed in this sacrament, behold me present before thee. I wish for no other favor than fervor and perseverance in the love.

I thank thee, O holy Faith: thou dost teach and assure me that the divine sacrament of the altar, that heavenly bread, contains not bread, but my Lord Jesus Christ, and that he dwells in that sacrament for the love of me. My Lord, and my all, I believe that thou art present in the holy sacrament; and, though I do not see thee with the eyes of the body, still, guided by the light of faith, I adore thee, under the consecrated host, as the Monarch of heaven and earth, and as the Saviour of the world. Ah! my most sweet Jesus, as thou art my hope, my salvation, my strength, my consolation, so, also, I wish that thou be the sole object of my love, of all my thoughts, of all my desires, of all my affections. I rejoice more in the supreme felicity which thou dost enjoy, and which thou wilt eternally enjoy, than in any good which I could possess for time or for eternity. My greatest happiness consists in knowing that thou, my beloved Redeemer, art perfectly happy, and that thy felicity is infinite. Reign, O my Lord, reign over my whole soul. I consecrate it to thee entirely, take possession of it for ever. May my will, my senses, my powers, be all slaves of thy love, and may they serve only to please thee. Such was thy life, O most holy Mary, the Mother of my Jesus; the first of all lovers: assist me, obtain for me the grace to live henceforth, as thou didst live, always happy in belonging entirely to God.

Ejac. My Jesus, may I be entirely thine, and mayest thou be entirely mine.

The Spiritual Communion.

ELEVENTH VISIT TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN.

Mother of mercy! appease the anger of thy Son. Whilst thou wast upon earth, thou didst occupy only a small portion of it: but being now seated in the highest heavens, we look up to thee as the general mediatrix of all nations. We entreat thee, O sacred Virgin! to grant us the assistance of thy prayers, which are more desirable and more precious than all the treasures of the earth. Thy prayers move the Almighty to pardon our sins, and obtain for us the most abundant graces, to enable us to practise the virtues of a Christian life; they arrest the progress of our enemies, frustrate their designs, and triumph over the efforts of their malice.

Ejac. Mary! thou art my consolation, and, after Jesus, the foundation of my hope.

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