CHAPTER XXVII.
Of the Birth Aid.
THE practice of being present during the offering of the Holy Sacrifice is the sixth help of the human will;—Communion also, and Confession. Since the grace of God is the principal and necessary succour of our will, so as to guard it from evil and direct it to good, it cannot but follow that every thing by which we gain an increase of grace is a support to the will.
To gain an increase of grace by being present at the Holy Mysteries, you should attend in the following manner.
In the first part (for there are three parts in the Celebration), which extends from the Introit to the Offertory, strive to excite in yourself a great desire, that, as the Son of God came down from Heaven, and was born in the world, in order to send upon the earth the fire of His Love, so He would deign to come and be born by His own power in your inmost heart, that it may burn, and have no other thought but that of pleasing Him at all times, as long as you live, and evermore.
When the priest is saying the prayers, with burning desire ask, O needy soul, for yourself
