 |
But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the
Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things
to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you. John 14:26
|
Love
Is a Bond Which Binds
O Holy Spirit, sweet guest of my soul, abide in
me and grant that I may ever abide in Thee. Amen.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy
on us. Amen.
AFFECTIONS AND PRAYERS
As the Holy Spirit, who is
uncreated love, is the indissoluble bond which binds the Father to the eternal
Word, so he also unites the soul with God. “Charity is a virtue,” says Saint
Augustine, “uniting us with God.” Hence, full of joy, Saint Laurence Justinian
exclaims: ‘Love, your bond has such strength that it is able to bind even God
and unite him to our souls. The bonds of the world are bonds of death; but the
bonds of God are bonds of life and salvation, because the
bonds of God by means of love unite us to God, who is our true and only life.
Before the coming of Jesus
Christ, men fled from God and being attached to the earth refused to unite
themselves to their Creator. But a loving God has drawn them to himself by the
bonds of love as he promised through the prophet Osee (Hosea): “I will draw
them with the cords of Adam, with the bands of love”. These bands are
the benefits, the lights, the calls to his love, the promises of paradise which
he makes to us, the gift which he has bestowed upon us of Jesus Christ in the
sacrifice of the cross and in the sacrament of the altar, and finally, the gift
of his Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the prophet
exclaims, “Loose the bonds from off your neck, O captive daughter of Sion”. Oh my soul, you who are created for heaven, loose yourself from
the bonds of earth, and unite yourself to God by the bonds of holy love: “Have
charity, which is the bond of perfection”. Love is a bond
which unites with herself all other virtues and makes the soul perfect. “Love,
and do what you will,” said Saint Augustine. Love God, and do what you wish,
because he who loves God tries to avoid causing any displeasure to his beloved
and seeks in all things to please him.
Affections and prayers
O my
dear Jesus, You have put me under a sweet obligation to love You, and how much
it has cost You to win my love! I would be an ungrateful wretch if I loved You
little after that, or if I let creatures share my heart with You Who have given
Your life and Your blood for me. I wish to detach myself from
everything and place all my affections in You alone. But I am weak and unable
to realize this desire. You Who have inspired it, help me to bring it into
effect. O my beloved Jesus, pierce my
heart with the arrows of Your love so that it may sigh ever after You and be
melted in You! You alone I seek, You alone may I always seek. None but You may
I desire and find!
My Jesus, I desire only You and
nothing more. Grant that I may repeat it always during my life, and especially
at the moment of my death: I desire only You and nothing more.
O my Mother Mary, from
henceforward make me desire nothing but God.
Act
of Filial Submission
O Holy Spirit, beloved of my
soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me
what I should do, give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that
You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only
know Your will. Amen.
Our
Father
Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in
Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil.
Hail
Mary
Hail Mary, full of Grace, the
Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of
thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the
hour of our death. Amen.
Glory
Be
Glory be to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever
shall be, world without end. Amen.
Prayer
for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost
O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before
ascending into heaven, didst promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Thy work
in the souls of Thy Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit
to me that He may perfect in my soul the work of Thy grace and Thy love. Grant
me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world
and aspire only after the things that are eternal; the Spirit of Understanding
to enlighten my mind with the light of Thy divine truth; the Spirit of Counsel
that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven; the
Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with Thee and that I may overcome
with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation; the Spirit of Knowledge
that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the
Saints; the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and
amiable; the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence
towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with
the sign of Thy true disciples and animate me in all things with Thy
Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment