Sweet Jesus! O amiable Saviour! who, by an effect of thy infinite goodness and love, hast vouchsafed to remain really present amongst us in the adorable Sacrament of the altar; I acknowledge thee for my Sovereign Lord and God; I adore thee with the most profound sentiments of humility; I give thee thanks, from the bottom of my heart, for the numberless instances of thy love and tenderness towards me, a most wretched and miserable sinner, who, for my manifold offences, have rather deserved to be cast into the infernal abyss, and there punished according to the rigour of thy severest justice. Penetrated with grief at the sight of my ingratitude, I come, O God of Majesty! to crave pardon for all the profanations, sacrileges, and impieties which ever have been committed, or may be committed against thee, in this adorable sacrament. { 167} And O that I could sufficiently express the grief which I now feel, for having so often appeared before thee with irreverence, and so often approached thee with so little fervour and devotion.
Forget, O Lord, our iniquities, and remember only thy mercies. Accept my sincere desire to honour, and see thee honoured, in this admirable sacrament of thy love. Yes, I ardently desire to bless, praise, and adore thee therein, with as much love and fervour as the saints and angels bless, praise, and adore thee, encircled with the rays of ineffable glory in thy heavenly kingdom. O amiable Jesus! I conjure thee by thy precious body and blood, before which I now prostrate myself, that I may adore thee for the future with such reverence, and receive thee so worthily, as to deserve after death to be admitted into thy divine presence, and with the choirs of celestial spirits, praise and glorify thee for ever and ever. Amen.
It is not sufficient that we carefully avoid whatever can renew the passion and death of our divine Redeemer, but we must also endeavour to honour them, by every pious exercise which a tender devotion can inspire. The holy sacrifice of the Mass, offered with this intention; fervent communion; prayer before a crucifix; frequent reflections on the sufferings of our Lord; voluntary acts of penance, such as fasting on Fridays; patience and perseverance under the inevitable troubles and afflictions of this life; or, in other words, carrying our cross, after the example of our divine Redeemer, and with the same intentions; will serve as so many pious practices, by which we may testify the excess of our love, and apply to ourselves the fruit of his passion.