28th Visit to the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Mary
4 min • Digitized on April 28, 2023
From Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament, by St. Alphonsus de Liguori, page 103
By St. Alphonsus de Liguori
Twenty-eighth visit.
God has given to us his only son; why, then, says St. Paul, should we fear that he will refuse us any good gift which we stand in need of? “How hath he not, also, with him given us all things?” Rom. vii. 32. We know that “the Father hath given all things into his hands.” St. John xiii. 3.
Let us, then, thank the most loving God, who wished to enrich us with all gifts and graces, by giving us Jesus in the holy sacrament. “In all things you are made rich in him … so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace.” 1 Cor. i. 5.
Thus, O Saviour of the world, O incarnate Word, I can say that thou art mine, and altogether mine, if I wish to possess thee. But can I also say that I belong entirely to thee, who dost wish that I should be thine without reserve? Ah! Lord, put an end to such a deordination and to such ingratitude as that I should refuse to yield to thy desire, and to give my whole being to thee.
If such has hitherto been the case, O may it never happen again! I this day resolutely consecrate myself entirely to thee; I consecrate to thee for time and for eternity my life, my will, my thoughts, my actions, and all my acts of repentance.
Behold me entirely thine. As a victim devoted to thee, I renounce all creatures, and offer my whole being to thee. Consume me with the flames of thy divine love. I wish that no creature may ever again have any share in my heart.
The proofs of love which thou gavest me when I did not love thee, make me confidently hope that thou dost accept me now that I love thee, and through love offer myself to thee.
Eternal Father, I offer to thee this day all the virtues, the acts, the affections of thy beloved Jesus. Accept them for me, through his merits, which are all mine, for he has given them to me: grant me the graces which he asks for me.
With these merits, I thank thee for so many mercies which thou hast shown me. With them I atone for the debt which I have contracted by my sins. Through them, I hope for every grace which I stand in need of, for pardon, for perseverance, for paradise, and, above all, for the great gift of thy pure love.
I see that all obstacles to my salvation come from myself: but to this evil, also, do thou, O Lord, apply a remedy. I ask this favor, in the name of Jesus Christ, who has said: “Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, that I will do.” John xiv. 13. Then thou canst not reject my petition.
Lord, I wish only to love thee, to give myself entirely to thee, and never more to be, as I have hitherto been ungrateful to thee. Hear me, O Lord, and grant that I may be this day converted entirely to thee; so that I may never cease to love thee. I love thee, my God; I love thee, O infinite goodness; I love thee, my love, my paradise, my life, and my all.
Prayer: My Jesus, my all, thou dost wish me to be thine; I wish thee to be mine.
The Spiritual Communion.
Twenty-eighth visit to the Blessed Virgin.
O Mary, how lovely is the name given to thee by thy faithful servants: most amiable Mother. Yes, thou art truly amiable: thy beauty and thy goodness have won the heart of the King of kings, even of God himself. He has said to thee, “How beautiful thou art, my beloved;” and again, “Thou art all beautiful, and there is no spot in thee.”
If, then, thou art so dear to God, how can I, a miserable sinner, and indebted to thee for so many benefits, refuse to love thee? I love thee, therefore, my most amiable queen, and I desire to be of the number of thy most devoted lovers. Accept my desire, and obtain for me from God the iove which I ask, since nothing is more pleasing to him than to love thee.
Prayer: O my amiable Mother, grant that I may love thee with the greatest ardor.