service ; and this I will do in the hope of winning Thee, the infinite and eternal Good, and beholding for evermore Thy infinite beauty. Nay, even did I know that I should be lost, I would still love Thee. For I do not love Thee because I hope for eternal salvation through Thee, but I love Thee because Thou art perfect Beauty and infinite Goodness, worthy to be the sole object of our affections and aspirations.
Thus believing and thus hoping, I desire to live and die, and I call the Angels and Saints to witness to the truth of what I say.
And in attestation of the same I repeat with heart and voice:
My God, I love Thee, not because
I hope for Heaven thereby;
Nor because they who love Thee not
Must burn eternally.
Not with the hope of gaining aught,
Not seeking a reward;
But as Thyself hast loved me,
O ever-loving Lord.
