one favour, O Lord, I ask and expect of thee, that whensoever thou wilt have me to die, whether to-day or to-morrow, in the midst of my years, or in a good old age, to grant me to die, at least, in thy grace. Enlighten my eyes, that I may never sleep in death, lest at any time my enemy say, I have prevailed against him. Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth! Whether living or dying, O Lord, I am thine. Let thy will be done in me; but never suffer me to be separated from thee, O my God and my all!
Here, good reader, thou hast the Doctrine of dying well, which is, as it were, a remote preparation for death, yet essentially necessary to one who would die well. The immediate preparation consists in the Acts and Exercises of a lively Faith, Hope, Charity, &c., and in the good use of the Sacraments, namely. Penance, the Eucharist, and Extreme Unction, for which see the Exercise on the Lord’s Prayer, &c., in the second Section of this Part.
CHAPTER II.
Meditation on the Lord's Prayer,
ADAPTED TO THE WORSHIP AND VENERATION OF THE MOST
BLESSED VIRGIN
Our Father who art in heaven.
O Jesus, the Word and the only-begotten Son of the eternal Father! who, when thou wert in the form of God, and in the bosom of the Father, thoughtest it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptiedst thyself, by coming from heaven to earth, and entering the womb of an unspotted Virgin, vouchsafedst to become the Son of man, and our brother, and even tookest the form of a servant; and thus wert seen on the earth, conversedst with men, and wroughtest our salvation in the midst of the earth. And at length, having accomplished the work of Redemption, thou wentest back to him who sent thee; that thou mightst receive us too into heaven, as heirs of God, and co-heirs with thee!
Therefore, let us have access to thee, O Jesus, by thy Mother, for by her wert thou given to us. Let her integrity excuse in thy sight the guilt of our corruption, and her humility, that is so pleasing to thee, obtain pardon for
