“ His head is bent to kiss you; His arms are extended to embrace you; His Heart is open to receive you. O superabundance of love! Jesus, the Son of God dies that man may live and be delivered from everlasting death. Prayer O MOST amiable Jesus! Who will grant me that I may die for love of Thee? I will at least endeavor to die to the world. How must I regard the world and its vanities, when I behold Thee hanging on the cross, covered with wounds? O Jesus, receive me into Thy wounded Heart; I belong entirely to Thee; for Thee alone do I desire to live and to die. ”
Summary
General Catholic Devotions, an anonymous work centered on Catholic spiritual practice, offers a collection of prayers, meditations, and devotional texts aimed at fostering repentance, piety, and intercessory prayer. Focused on themes of mercy, redemption, and the transformative power of Christ’s sacrifice, the text emphasizes the Eucharist, the cross, and the intercession of saints as routes to grace and plenary indulgence.
Through vivid appeals to Jesus Christ’s wounded heart and the Blessed Virgin’s compassion, it guides the faithful toward contrition, humility, and union with divine love, portraying the Church as a maternal conduit for salvation. Its structure reflects a manual for daily spiritual engagement, blending personal confession with communal intercession for the Church, the dying, and the world.
Quotes from General Catholic Devotions ()
“ I love thee, Lady most worthy of love, and by the love which I bear thee I promise ever in the future to serve thee, and to do what in me lies to win others to thy love. In thee I put all my trust, all my hope of salvation. Receive me as thy servant, and cover me with the mantle of thy protection, thou who art the Mother of mercy! And since thou hast so much power with God, deliver me from all temptations, or at least obtain for me the grace ever to overcome them. From thee I ask a true love of Jesus Christ, and the grace of a happy death. ”
“ Heart of my Jesus, abyss of love and of mercy, how is it possible that I do not die of sorrow when I reflect on Thy goodness to me and my ingratitude to Thee? Thou, my Creator, after having created me, hast given Thy blood and Thy life for me; and, not content with this, Thou hast invented a means of offering Thyself up every day for me in the Holy Eucharist, exposing Thyself to a thousand insults and outrages. O Jesus, do Thou wound my heart with a great contrition for my sins, and a lively love for Thee. ”
