Other Prayers after the holy Communion.

WHAT shall I give thee, my Lord and my God, my divine Saviour, my Redeemer, and my good Father! What can I give thee for the inestimable benefit, for the signal favour, thou hast conferred upon me? Was not it enough to have draws me out of nothing, to have redeemed me with the price of thy blood; and by laying down thy life, was it not enough to have heaped all sorts of blessings upon me? No-thou hast been pleased to give me the fountain itself of all blessings, in giving me thyself? What affectionate thanks do I not owe to thee, O Lord, for so incomprehensible a benefit? But what thanks am I capable of returning thee, that can correspond to the senti ments of a just acknowledgement? A God, infinitely holy, a God omnipotent, a God of majesty, in whose presence all created beings are less than an atom; a God, whom the immensity of heaven cannot contain, has vouchsafed to come to me, and to shut himself up in a habitation so narrow, so poor, so unworthy of him! What can I say, what can I do to thank him for so great a fa

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O my soul, bless the Lord; all ye powers of my soul join together to glorify his holy name, and to render him eternal thanks, for the infinite favour he has bestowed upon me. May all men and angels, may heaven and earth, may all creatures bless him, and give thanks unto him for me. O salvation of my soul, my God and my all! thy goodness, thy mercy, altho' infinite, have, as it were, exhausted themselves in my favour, in giving me for my food thy body and thy blood, and thy whole self, in this adorable sacrament. Yes, my amiable Jesus, thou canst give me nothing more holy, nothing more precious, nothing more divine, as an evident proof of thy affection, than what I have received in this communion.

What favour wilt thou deny me, after having given me the principal and cause, the treasure and source, of all favours? It is true, that my unworthiness may with some reason, weaken my confidence; but, O Lord, since my iniquities, my unworthiness, and all my miseries, have not been able to hinder this signal miracle of thy infinite mercy, I ought to expect every thing from thy inexhaustible and unalterable bounty. Yes, my divine Saviour, thou hast given thyself to me, I may then, and ought, to expect every thing from thee.

I expect, then, O my God, from thy mercy, and I expect with a firm hope, the pardon of all my sins, which I humbly beg of thee. Great confidence ought to arise from great goodness; but a goodness without measure, such as thine, ought to inspire a confidence without measure; and, on this full confidence, I make also a full purpose not to offend thee any more. For this, I stand in need of the omnipotent power of thy grace, and depend upon it-But it is not enough not to displease thee, I design likewise to please thee in all things; and for this reason I beg of thee, my divine Saviour, such a purity as may be proof against all temptations-a sincere humility -a patience without weakness-a charity without bounds an inviolable. fidelity-a perseverance without end.

I consecrate myself for ever, without division, to thy service-I consecrate myself absolutely, and without reserve, to thy greater glory:-I resolve for the future, that thy will shall be the only rule of my will; so that, what I will, or will not, shall be always what thou willest. I renew, at thy feet, the sacred promises of my baptism, which so many times I have unfortunately, or rather perfidiously, violated.

With my whole heart I renounce all sinful

amusements, the inclinations of the flesh, the perfidious solicitations of the devil, and all the pompous and proud vanities of the world, thy declared enemy, and all its pernicious maxims.

I resolve not to live for the future, but only according to thy holy gospel; to follow its wholesome precepts, to have no other rule of my life, but thy words and thy example; and I detest, with my whole heart, every thing that can make me depart from thee. What is there in this world that I ought not to sacrifice to thee, and that I do not sacrifice to thee in this moment? Pleasures, esteem of the world, friendship of creatures, earthly goods, human respects, commodities of life, every thing, O Lord, every thing ought to yield to thy glory, to thy divine will, and to my salvation. From thee alone I ought to expect all my joy, all my repose, all my glory, all my happiness. Thee only will I serve, thee only will I love, thee only will I obey; to thee only, for that purpose, do I consecrate all the moments of my life, all my thoughts, all my words, all my actions, all my desires. Thou knowest, O Lord, my weakness; I know likewise my inconstancy in good, the inclination I have, every moment, to depart from thy holy law; I feel the weight of my wicked customs-but thou also knowest, that I can do every thing with the help of thy grace: deny it not to me, I beg of thee; render me constant in the good resolutions thou hast inspired; make me faithful and diligent in the practice of them; and grant, that after having possessed thee, hidden under the veils of the adorable sacrament of the Eucharist, through the whole course of this life, I may praise thee, bless thee, and hereafter enjoy thee in the splendour of thy glory, throughout a blessed eternity. Amen.

Most blessed Virgin, Mother of God, my next refuge in all my necessities, my advocate with thy

dear Son, permit me to beg of thee to thank my Saviour for the signal favour he has granted me, in giving me his sacred body for the food of my soul, in this most holy sacrament. This body of his was formed of thy purest blood, by the Holy Ghost, in thy chaste womb; never will I profane it by any relapses into sin. Obtain by thy powerful intercession, that I may preserve my heart and my body in perfect purity-that I may live in innocence-and that I may die in his love and fa

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O my Angel Guardian who takest so much concern in my happiness, and dost always interest thyself in my behalf; help me, I beseech thee, to be thankful to God for so great a benefit-to render the fruits thereof eternal-and all the good purposes, which I have made effectual. Amen.*

PRAYERS FOR SUCH NON-CATHOLICS AS ARE PERPLEXED WITH DOUBTS ON THE SUBJECT OF RELIGION.

¶ Religion is a Gift of God, and must, therefore, be sought in humble and fervent Prayer.

Place yourself on your Knees in the Presence of God, and say the Our Father, and Apostles' Creed.

¶ Then as follows:

HAVE Compassion on me, O God, and mercifully deliver me from the perplexity in which I am: be a helper to me, and direct me in fulfill

Should some individuals be inclined to indulge their piety in longer devotions after or before communion, they may repeat the little office, inserted at page 8.

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ing thy blessed will. Thou seest the danger in which I am of ruining myself-of being misled by my own deceitful passions-of being drawn into the snares of the enemy-of framing to myself, a false, rash, and erroneous conscience of mistaking light for darkness, and darkness for light. And if this be my unhappy condition, what will become of my soul?

Direct me, therefore, in this important inquiry, O my God, and never let me be so miserable as to forsake my duty and lose my soul. As thou didst shew mercy to Cornelius, and direct him to Peter, by whom he was to be taught the way to heaven; as thou didst shew mercy to Saul, and send him to Auanias, by whom he was to be instructed concerning thy holy will; so, likewise, O God of infinite goodness, shew mercy to me, though an unworthy sinner, that I may have both light to know my duty, and courage to comply entirely with it. And if thou seest, O Lord, that I have been deceived in the choice I have made of religion, and that in reality I have taken part with false teachers, behold here in thy presence I renounce the errors I have professed, whatever they are. I disown the congregation by which I have been misled, and now lay before thee my most sincere desires of becoming a member of thy true Catholic church.

Hear my prayer, O God, in this great affair of eternity; and so temper my soul, by thy grace, that while I seek the truth, I may not be obstinate against it. In order to this, I beseech thee to take from me all blindness and corruption. of judgment; let no kind of interest, worldly considerations, or human respects, put any bias upon me; let not education, custom, or affection, prevail against truth; but let my soul be prepared with that freedom which is due to thee.

Assist me, most merciful Father, in this pro