and to inflame us with Thy holy love; we adore Thee as our Creator and Redeemer, we accept and choose Thee for our King and Lord, and for tribute we offer Thee all the affections of our poor hearts. Dear Jesus, Our Lord and God, deign to accept this offering, and that it may be worthy of Thine acceptance, pardon us our faults, enlighten us, and inflame us with that holy fire which Thou earnest to bring into the world and enkindle in men's hearts. May our souls thus become a perpetual sacrifice in Thy honor. Grant that we may ever seek Thy greater glory here on earth, so that we may one day come to rejoice in Thy infinite loveliness in Heaven. Amen.
Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. — Leo XIII, Jan. 18, 1894.
Prayer Before the Crib
I ADORE Thee, O Word incarnate, true Son of God from all eternity, and true Son of Mary ever Virgin in the fulness of time. When I adore Thy divine person, and the humanity united to Thy divinity, I venerate the poor manger which welcomed Thee when an infant, and which was truly the throne of Thy love. I prostrate myself before it with the simplicity of the shepherds, with the faith of Joseph, with the love of Mary. I bow down in veneration of this precious memorial of our salvation with the same spirit of mortification, poverty, and humility with which Thou, though the Lord of heaven and earth, didst choose for Thyself a manger wherein to lay Thy tender infant limbs. And Thou, O Lord, who in Thine infancy didst deign to lay Thyself in this manger, vouchsafe also to pour into my heart a drop of that joy to which the sight of Thy lovely childhood, and the miracles which accompanied Thy birth, gave rise. By that holy birth, I now implore Thee to grant to all the world peace and goodwill, and in the name of the whole human race I render thanks and honor to God the Father, and to God the Holy Spirit, who with Thee live and reign one God world without end. Amen.
Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. — Pius IX, Oct. 1, 1861.
