dost pardon me. In my perseverance I will praise Thee, because Thou wilt crown me. Thus, O Lord! my mouth will be filled with Thy praise, and I will sing Thy glory all the day long."
It would be fitting to speak here of the sacraments, the instruments of justification, particularly of Baptism, and the divine light and principle of faith which it imprints on our souls. But as this subject has been more fully treated in another work, we will confine ourselves, for the present, to the Eucharist, that Sacrament of sacraments, which gives to us as our daily food and sovereign remedy God Himself. He was offered once for us on the cross, but He is daily offered for us on the altar. "This is My Body," Christ has declared; "do this for a commemoration of Me."[1] Oh! sacred Pledge of our salvation! Oh! incomparable Sacrifice! Oh! Victim of love! Oh! Bread of life! Oh! sweet and delicious Banquet! Oh! Food of kings! Oh! Manna containing all sweetness and delight! Who can fittingly praise Thee? Who can worthily receive Thee? Who can love and venerate Thee as Thou dost deserve? My soul faints at the thought of Thee; my lips are mute in Thy presence, for I cannot extol Thy marvels as I desire.
Had our Lord reserved this favor for the pure and innocent it would still be a mercy beyond our comprehension. But in His boundless love He does not refuse to descend into depraved hearts, or to pass through the hands
- ↑ St. Luke xxii. 19.
