An Act of Love
“Lord, where art thou going, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thee.”— John , xiii. “How can I consent to be separated from thee? (saith St. Peter to Jesus:) no; I will never leave thee, were I to follow thee even unto death.” This is a model of that generous love which a faithful soul should testify unto God in the holy Communion.
If I cannot approach thee, O my God, with as much confidence as thy apostle St. Peter did, yet I come with equal warmth and sincerity, to assure thee of my eternal attachment. Accept, therefore, the offering I now make thee, not only of my whole being, but of all I possess. Unhappy and miserable should I think myself, were I not in the disposition of mind to sacrifice the most precious advantage this world can afford, at the first intimation of thy will. Dispose of the life thou hast given me according to thy pleasure. I offer myself entirely to thee; my employments, talents, and every power and faculty of soul and body, that they may be ever and always employed in promoting thy honour and glory. In justice I am obliged, if necessary, to die for thee, since thou hast generously given up thy life for my salvation. But thy regard for me, O sweet Jesus, was not to be confined within the boundaries of this life; for after having loved me even unto death, thou hast besides left me this divine food as a sensible pledge of thy affection. Ah, dear Lord! what more couldst thou possibly do for me? and how ungrateful a wretch would T not be, if such wonderful marks of thy tenderness were not capable of exciting the most lively sentiments of love and gratitude in my soul? The very damned would then be less culpable than I; for if they do not love thee, it is because they cannot possibly love thee; and therefore thou dost not expect love from them. But I can love thee; because every thing induces me to love thee; and thou art even mercifully pleased to command that I should love thee with my whole heart, &c. O thou eternal Beauty! too late have I begun to love thee: O amiable Lord! who art ever lovely, and never sufficiently beloved, I consider every moment of my life as lost, which has not been consecrated to thy love; accept, at least, the remainder thereof. If I cannot love thee as much as I could wish, or as much as thou hast loved me, or as much as thou dost deserve, yet I will love thee as much as I am able. Angels of heaven! O Mother of God! and all ye saints! lend me now your hearts; for I have, alas! but one to love my God, and that too small, and too much polluted with the love of creatures. Diminish in me, O Lord, all other advantages, provided thou dost grant me an increase of divine charity. I imagine, O my God, that thou art now enkindling this sacred fire within my breast, and that I could answer thee, with as much confidence as St. Peter, “Lord, thou knowest I love thee,” and that for thy sake alone; I love thee with my whole heart, without reserve, firmly resolving never to fix my affections on any thing besides thyself. Yes, I am content to find nothing but disgust, bitterness, and affliction, in every other attachment, that I may be thus happily compelled to repose in thee for ever. O establish now a solid, efficacious, lively, ardent, and persevering love within my heart; and though thou remain therein but for a few moments, let the effectual influence of thy grace for ever remain behind. “My beloved to me, and I to my beloved.”—Cant. xvi. “Thou knowest, Lord, that I love thee.”—John, xxi.