Blessed Sacrament Book/All Day Long
Holy thoughts and tender words
Are at best mere leaves and flowers,
But the fruits are generous deeds —
Where, oh! coward soul, are ours?
Soon, too soon, will come the end:
God forgive what's past and gone!
Mary Mother! Angels! Saints!
Pray for me and help me on.
Prayers and good words within your memory store,
And at stray moments say them o'er and o'er.
'Twill help to hallow all your work and play,
And holy thoughts will keep bad thoughts away.
ON through your round of duties plod,
Poor child of God!
Raising betimes your thoughts above
In faith and love;
And in your hearts a holy song
All day long.
1
Another day begins for me,
What day shall be my last?
Grant, Lord, that each new day may see
My heart more pure, more dear to Thee.
And oh! forgive the past.
2
Good day, my Guardian Angel,
The night is past and gone.
And thou hast watched beside me
At midnight as at dawn.
The day is now before me,
And, as it glides away,
O help me well to make it A good and holy day!
3
Jesus, I offer up this day
And all my life to Thee—
My thoughts, words, prayers, and all that may Be done or borne by me.
All, all, to gain Thy heart's desires:
O light in mine its heavenly fires!
4
Dear Mother of Our Lord ! throughout this coming day
May'st thou be pleased with all I do and think and say!
O look on me with love, and keep sin far away!
At Mass
The Four Ends of Sacrifice
Adore till the Gospel,
Give thanks till the bell;
Till Communion ask pardon —
Then all your wants tell.
O Sacrum constutum!
O Sacred Banquet! where on Christ we feed,
The memory of His passion is recalled,
The soul is filled with grace for every need,
And heavenly glory in this pledge forestalled.
After Communion
Believe and grieve and hope, thank, love, adore,
Show your soul's wounds, and holy gifts implore.
Before Leaving Your House or Room
Lord, send me forth to do Thy will,
But let me feel Thee present still.
Before Spiritual Reading
God speaks to us through every holy page
Of uninspired or inspired sage.
O listen humbly to each counsel given,
As to a message sent to you from heaven.
Before the Rosary
MOTHER, now I'll say my beads,
For my soul some comfort needs;
And what better can there be
Than to raise my thoughts to thee,
Sweet Mother!
To Jesus
Jesus, my heart's sole love, my heart's sole fear Thou art;
My heart to Thee I give, give now to me Thy heart.
Forgive Me
FORGIVE me, Lord, forgive me!
'Tis all that I can say.
I love Thee: make me love Thee
More truly day by day.
More and More and More
WITH all my heart I love Thee and adore; Lord, make me love Thee more and more and more.
God's Household
LET us love and help each other!
Our Father is in heaven,
And Jesus is our brother,
And Mary is our mother,
And the blessed saints above
And the friends on earth we love,
Nay, every human creature is the child
Of our Father dear, in heaven.
Let us love and be loved, forgive and be forgiven.
Pray for the Dying
THIS hour for some poor souls is life's last hour.
Saved, saved — or lost! — when this short: hour's gone by.
A Cry from Purgatory
Have pity on me, you at least, my friends!
No, not with death true love, true pity ends.
Your prayers can still assist me on my way.
Take pity on me, O dear friends, and pray.
A thought from St. Augustine
OUR hearts were made for Thee, O Lord!
And restless must they be
Until — O Lord, this grace accord!
Until they rest in Thee.
In the Evening
Another day is ended;
How many more to live?
Alas, too many wasted!
My God, forgive, forgive.
To my Angel
Good night, my Guardian Angel!
The day has sped away;
Well spent or ill, its story
Is written down for aye.
And now, of God's kind providence
Thou image pure and bright!
Watch o'er me while sleeping —
My Angel dear, good night!
Lead, Kindly Light
Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home.
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene — one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that Thou
Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path, but now Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone;
And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.
"Show, O Lord, Thy ways to me; direct me in Thy truth and teach me, for Thou art God my Saviour; and on Thee have I waited all the day long" (Ps. xxiv).
Just for To-Day
Lord, for to-morrow and its needs.
I do not pray
Keep me, my God; from stain of sin
Just for to-day.
Let me both diligently work
And duly pray;
Let me be kind in word and deed
Just for to-day.
Let me be slow to do my will,
Prompt to obey;
Help me to mortify my flesh
Just for to-day.
Let me no wrong or idle word,
Unthinking, say;
Set Thou a seal upon my lips
Just for to-day.
Let me in season, Lord, be grave,
In season gay;
Let me be faithful to Thy grace
Just for to-day.
And if to-day my tide of life
Should ebb away,
Give me Thy sacraments divine,
Dear Lord, to-day.
In purgatory's cleansing fires
Brief be my stay;
Oh, bid me, if to-day I die,
Go home to-day.
So, for to-morrow and its needs
I do not pray;
But keep me, guide me, love me, Lord,
Just for to-day.
Prayer for Grace to be the Will of God[2]
Grant me, most kind Jesus, Thy grace, that it may abide with me, labor with me, and persevere with me to the end.
Grant me ever to desire and to will that which is the more acceptable to Thee, and pleases Thee more dearly.
May Thy will be mine, and my will ever follow Thine, and be in closest accord with it.
May it be my one care to will and to be unwilling with Thee, and may I be unable to will or not will anything but what Thou wiliest or wiliest not.
200 days, once a day. — Leo XIII, Feb. 27, 1886.
St. Teresa's Book-Mark
Let nothing disturb thee,
Nothing affright thee;
All things are passing.
God never changeth;
Patient endurance
Attaineth to all things;
Who God possesseth,
In nothing is wanting;
Alone God sufficeth.
— (Longfellow's translation.)
Paraphrase of St. Teresa's Book-Mark
LET nothing trouble thee,
Let nothing affright thee.
All things pass; away?
God never changes.
Patience obtains everything.
God alone suffices!
When crosses would afflict thee.
Oh! let thy watchword be,
Thy holy Mother's lesson, "Let nothing trouble thee:"
If darkness round thee gathers,
And fills thy soul with fear,
"Let nothing e'er affright thee,"
She whispers in thy ear.
In every joy or sorrow
Which, meets thee day by day,
She bids thee to remember "That all things pass away."
If lonely or forsaken,
By friends thou art forgot,
Thy Spouse, she doth remind thee,
"Is one that changeih not."
When hope within thee wavers,
And distant seems the goal,
How patience winneth all things,
She tells thy weary soul,
That nothing in the wide world
Is needful unto one
Whose happy soul possesses
God's own eternal Son.
To drink the living waters
At any cost or price,
To quench thy thirst she whispers,
"God only doth suffice"
Oh! sweet, seraphic Mother.
May these dear words of thine
Help to unite me closer
Unto my Spouse divine.
Indulgenced Prayer and Ejaculations for a Happy Death
PRAYER
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. O my God, I have certainly to die, but I know not when, how, or where I shall die; this only I know: that if I die in mortal sin, I shall be lost for ever. Amen.
Most blessed Virgin Mary, holy Mother of God, pray for me, a sinner, now and at the hour of my death. Amen.
Ejaculations
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.
300 days, every time. 100 days for saying one of these ejaculations. — Pius VII, April 28, 1807.