85. Act Of Contrition, Hope And Confidence Before Holy Communion
O Jesus, loving Spouse of my soul,
the longed-for moment draws near;
the happy moment, in which I, Thy unworthy creature,
shall receive the most Holy Sacrament of Thy Body and Blood,
as the most effectual remedy for all my miseries.
For the love the Thee
I grieve most bitterly for every one of my sins
and for all my negligences,
whereby I have offended Thy tender goodness,
and defiled my soul,
which Thou didst ransom with Thine own most precious Blood.
How shall I presume to receive Thee into a heart
all surrounded with briers and thorns of earthly attachments,
reeking with unwholesome vapours of worldliness and vain desires!
But, my merciful Jesus,
though I am sick of soul,
I remember the words which fell from Thine own gracious lips,
that they who are whole need not the physician,
but they who are sick,
and this gives me confidence.
Surely, my Lord,
if anyone has cause to trust Thee it is I!
Others may have their innocence or their virtues to fall back on,
but I have Thy mercy,
Thy great mercy, only.
I have made myself undeserving of it,
but when hast Thou ever treated me as I deserved?
Where should I be now if justice and not mercy had had its way?
Good Jesus, Who didst invite the blind and the lame,
the poor and the needy,
to Thy supper, behold, as one of them, yea,
even as the poorest and most wretched of them all,
I will draw near to the most sacred Feast of Thy Body and Blood,
the banquet of the angels,
not in presumption,
but with a contrite and humble heart,
with lowly confidence,
with hope in Thy goodness and mercy,
with love in return for all Thy love,
with fervent desire to please Thee,
to live henceforth according to Thy Spirit,
and in the imitation of the virtues of Thy sacred Heart
that I may praise and glorify Thee eternally.
Amen.
