all the contempt and ignominy which thy peerless and excelling dignity sustains at the hands of ungrateful men. Amen.
ASPIRATIONS OF A LOVING SOUL.
He who ardently desires and firmly resolves to love and praise me more than I am praised and loved by any other creature shall undoubtedly, said our Lord to St. Gertrude, receive an abundant reward from my divine bounty; a reward oftentimes greater than that which he could obtain by good works.
O God of my heart, I love thee with all my heart, and I would that I could love thee a thousandfold more. Would that I could praise and love thee beyond every other of thy creatures; that I could give thee thanks and condole with thee, and practise all virtues in greatest perfection: most eagerly and gladly would I do so, according to the sovereign good pleasure of thy divine Heart.
O my sweet Love, could I bring before thee, my Lord and my God, all men in whom thou hast vouchsafed to take thy delights, I would most gladly go barefoot throughout the world, and bring to thee in my arms all in whose hearts thou dost deign and delight to dwell, that I might thus satisfy the yearnings of thy infinite, thy divine love. And moreover, were it possible, I would divide my heart into as many fragments as there are men on the
