My GOD, how richly hast Thou blessed me!
Treasures of love, I offer them to Thee!
_I have relations_, dear ones, Thou knowest how I love them.... Ah, if it
be Thy Will to take them from this world, before me, though I say it
weeping, still I say it, Thy Will be done!
_I have friends._... If it be Thy Will they should forget me, think ill of
me, leave me alone, with that loneliness of heart so bitter and so keen
... I yield them to Thee!
_I have worldly goods_ that give me a certain degree of comfort, by
affording me the means of helping others poorer than myself.... Should it
be Thy Will to deprive me of them, little by little, till at last I have
only the bare necessaries of life left ... I yield them to Thee!
_I have limbs_ that Thou hast given me. If it be Thy Will that paralysis
should fetter my arms, my eyes no longer see the light, my tongue be
unable to articulate, my GOD, I yield them to Thee!
In exchange, grant me Thy Love, Thy Grace, and then ... nothing more, only
Heaven!
* * * * *
O JESUS, abandoned by all in the garden of Gethsemane, in need then of
comfort and strength:
JESUS, Thou Who knowest that at this moment there are some on earth who
have no strength, no comfort, no support, oh! send to them some angel who
will give them a little joy, a little peace! Oh, if only _I_ might be that
messenger! What must I suffer, LORD?
If an outward trouble or inward pain be needful to make of me but for one
moment a consoling angel to some poor lonely heart, oh! however keen the
pain, or bitter the trouble, I pray Thee, grant it to me, JESUS!
O JESUS, in search of _lips_ to tell the love Thou bearest for Thy
children; _lips_ to tell the poor and lonely they are not despised, the
sinful they are not cast away, the timid they are not unprotected. O
JESUS! grant that my lips may speak words of strength, love, comfort, and
pardon. Let each day seem to me wasted that passes without my having
spoken of help and sympathy, without having made some one bless Thy Name,
be it but a little child.
O JESUS! so _patient_ towards those who wearied Thee with their
importunity and ignorance! JESUS, so long-suffering in teaching, and
awaiting the hour of grace! JESUS, grant that I may be patient to listen,
to teach, though over and over again I may have to instruct the same
thing. Grant me help, that I may always show a smiling face, even though
the importunity of some be keenly felt! and if through physical weakness I
manifest ennui or weariness, grant, O JESUS, that I may speedily make
amends, with loving words, for the pain I have caused.
O JESUS! Who with infinite tact didst await, seated at the roadside, the
opportunity for doing good, simply asking a small service of the poor
Samaritan woman Thou wouldst save, and draw to Thee.
O JESUS! grant that I may feel and understand all the pain that timidity,
shyness, or reserve keep buried within the recesses of the soul. Grant me
the tact and discretion that draws near without paining, that asks without
repulsing, without humiliating, and thus enable me to bring peace and
comfort to the wounded heart.
O JESUS! seeking some one as faithful dispenser of Thy blessings, grant
_much_ to me, that I may have much to bestow on others. Grant that my
hands may dispense Thine alms, that they may be as Thine, when Thou didst
wash the feet of Thine Apostles, working for all, helping all; let me
never forget that, like Thee, I am placed on this earth to minister, not
to be ministered unto.
Grant that my lips may speak comforting words and give forth cheering
smiles, that I may be as the well by the roadside, where the weary
traveller stoops to drink, as the shade of the tree whose branches laden
with fruit are extended over all that pass beneath.
O JESUS! to Whom all Thy children are so dear, and whatever they may be
Thou carest for them, and rememberest they are the much-loved children of
GOD! Oh! grant that in all my intercourse with others, I may only see,
love, and care for their _souls_, that soul for whom, O GOD, Thou hast
died, who like myself can call Thee FATHER, and with whom, near Thee, I
hope to dwell, throughout the ages of Eternity.