Jacob Merlo Horstius

“ I indeed it was who inflicted on thee all those dreadful wounds; I pressed down that crown of thorns upon thy sacred Head; I fastened thee upon that Cross.
But, oh, the greatness of thy charity, clemency, and mercy! It is I that have sinned, and it is thou that art tortured, and payest for me the penalty of the death which I deserve. It is I who have been myself thy enemy, but by thy Cross thou makest me thy son. It is I who have been a slave, but thou, by thy Blood, proclaimest me free. ”

“ IV. O innocent Lamb of God! who by thy Cross and Death takest away the sins of the world; by thy innocence, thy tortures, thy pains, and anguish of thy Heart endured upon the Cross, spare me in the day of thy terrible judgment, and have mercy on the living and the dead. Amen.
V. O Son, obedient to God the Father! who so readily and cheerfully drankest the cup of thy awful Passion, and in thy thirst wast also given gall and vinegar to drink. By all thy most cruel torments and wounds, make me to be meek and patient, and obedient to the eternal Father even to death. ”

“ I will praise thee, O Lord, as long as I live. For, since thou needest not anything, what is man that thou art mindful of him, or why hast thou set thy heart towards him? Didst thou, then, create us for any need that thou hast of our goods? Yet what have we that we have not received? Thine, is the world, with all its fulness. Thou hast created us only to display in us the riches of thy goodness and glory. For since thy nature is goodness supreme, it desires nothing more than to communicate and diffuse itself around. ”

“ Oh, would that I might be like a tree planted near the running waters, which renders thee its fruit in due season; lest if thou come, and find upon it no fruit of true to be cut down and cast into the fire.
My soul, therefore, sighs after thee, my eyes look up to thee, who dwellest in the heavens: far be from me to resolve to turn my eyes downwards to the earth, and to choose rather to toil for worthless dirt, than for thy love and honour, and the reward of the heavenly life. The pursuit of vain glory is no enjoyment to one who has the promise of that which is eternal. ”

“ It is true, O Lord, that I owe myself to thee entirely, since thou, to redeem me, a guilty creature, hast given up entirely thy innocent Son. Oh, that I could present my body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God! Oh, that my soul may live to thee, and that all that I have may serve thee! Behold, my heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready. Thou, O Lord, who lookest rather to the will than the gift, despise not, I beseech thee, thy poor servant, who have nothing more acceptable to offer thee than him in whom thou art well pleased ”

“ Do you not believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living? Is it thus you aspire after the eternal happiness that I have prepared for them that love and follow me? Is this the way that I have shewn to you? Bethink thee at least, O man, of my poverty, my wormwood, and my gall.
Man. O King of kings! the whole world and all that is in it is thine, and yet for our sakes thou vouchsafedst to become destitute of all things: truly blessed is he who understands thee in thy poverty and want! ‘Well hast thou called the poor in spirit blessed, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ”

“ Stretch forth the right hand of thy mercy to the work of thy hands, which thou, the Creator of all things, hast formed of the slime of the earth, which thou hast framed with bones and sinews, and on which, by dying, thou hast bestowed life!
It is time that dust be turned again to dust, and the spirit return to thee the Saviour, who hast sent it hither. Open to it, O Lord, the gate of life; for it is for me that thou hast hung like a thief upon the Wood of the Cross; receive me, O merciful God, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. ”

“ I know, O Lord, that the way of a man is not his, neither is it in a man to walk and to direct his steps. Man is a stranger and a pilgrim upon the earth, and is ignorant of his end; he knows not when he comes into the world, nor when he goes out of it. Without thee we are like sheep going astray that have no shepherd. Seek, then, thy servant, O thou good shepherd! Direct me in thy truth, and teach me, for thou art God my Saviour, and see if there be in me the way of iniquity, and lead me in the eternal way. ”

“ We adore thee, O Christ, King alike of Israel and of the Gentiles, and Prince of the kings of the earth; to thee we offer up, O Christ, the Sacrifice of praise, for the multitude of thy goodness which thou hast shown to us, a wicked seed, children of perdition. When we were still thy enemies, thou rememberedst thy mercy. Thou sawest the affliction of thy people, and, touched inwardly with the sweetness of love, proceededst to think thoughts of peace and redemption towards us. ”

“ Behold, O good Samaritan, here lies by the wayside a man that has fallen among robbers, bleeding from many a wound, and left half dead by all. Behold, there lies in my house a paralytic; my slothful soul is powerless to do works of virtue: come and heal it.
But yet, if thou so determine, even burn me and cut me, for this too is the physician’s part, not from hatred, but from love for his patient. Pour into my wounds wine and oil: it may be that the one smarts, yet the other soothes the pain. ”

“ But let us hear the praises of this honey-dropping Name from the Doctor whose words drop honey.
Jesus, he says, is honey to the mouth, melody to the ear, joy, nay, and medicine also, to the heart. Is any one of us sad? Let Jesus come into his heart, and leap up thence to his lips. Behold, at the rising light of this Name are all the clouds Scattered, and calmness returns to the sky.
If any one fall into sin, does he by despairing rush also into the snare of death? No; but if he invoke the name of Life, shall he not instantly breathe again and live? ”

“ Hail, beatific wound of the Left Hand of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, empurpled with his most precious Blood! With thy mighty hand and outstretched arm, O Lord, bring to nought whatever sinister, perverse, and unjust designs they contrive who devise evil against me. Repress the power of my enemies, who seek my life. Defend me, and be present with me in all my troubles and adversities; and deliver me most mercifully from all evils, past, present, and to come. Save me out of the hand of my persecutors, and from them that hate me without cause. Say to my soul: I am thy salvation. ”

“ I am a sheep that has gone astray; seek it, O good Shepherd, and bring it back to thy fold, that thou mayest be justified in thy words; for thou hast promised me, that in what hour soever a sinner shall cry to thee, he shall be saved. I am sorrowful: I know my iniquities, and my sins are before me.
True it is, I am not worthy to be called thy son, for I have sinned against heaven and before thee. But to my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness. Turn away thy face from my sins, and, according to thy great mercy, blot out my iniquities. ”

“ My most glorious God and Lord, with joy of heart I declare, proclaim, publish, and make known to the whole world, as far as I know and am able, thy inestimable greatness, excellence, and magnificence; that thou art with out end or limit, unchangeable, and everlasting; most powerful, most wise, most good, most holy, and of infinite perfection; the Creator of heaven and earth, the first beginning and last end of all things; and that by thy supreme providence thou rulest and governest all things. For all this I rejoice, and give thee praise. ”

“ Will it be any pleasure to thee to foster and pamper thy flesh with luxuries, which will shortly be the portion of snakes, and vermin, and worms? How canst thou set thy heart upon the riches and honours and vanities of the world, from which cruel death will separate thee, to-day perhaps, or to-night, however unprepared and unwilling? And then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? Oh, how easy is it for him to despise all things, who is ever reflecting that he must die! Oh, that men would be wise, and would understand, and would provide for their last end. ”

“ Virgin Mary, my patroness! full of the bowels of mercy, help me, a wretched sinner, before a sudden and unforeseen death overtake me; that I may not pass out of this world suddenly and unprepared. Pray for me, blessed Virgin Mary, for the most bitter Passion and Death of thy only Son our Lord Jesus Christ, that I may pass out of this world reconciled to Him, in detestation of all sin, in the renunciation of the devil and all his works, with true contrition, with sincere and humble confession, penitence, and satisfaction, worthy of acceptance with God, and in full charity with my neighbour. ”

“ With what unceasing affection have I loved thee; with what sweetness, what promises of reward have I invited thee to return my love! But thou hast run like an adulteress after many lovers, and hast not been afraid to become my enemy, that thou mightst be the friend of the world. Thou hast forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and hast dug to thyself broken cisterns, that can hold no water, when thou mightst have drawn waters with joy out of the Saviour’s fountains. ”

“ Preserve me by their power from the artifices of Satan, and strengthen me, that the yoke of thy commandments may become sweet to me, and the burden of the Cross, which thou biddest me bear after thee, may be light to the shoulders of my soul.
For what is my strength, that, according to thy precept, I should endure with unsubdued spirit all the manifold afflictions of the world? Are my feet like hart’s feet, that I should be able to follow thee in thy swift course through the thorns and rugged paths of thy sufferings? ”

“ O infinite goodness, I thank thee from the bottom of my heart for all the blessings which, this day and during my whole life, thou hast so bountifully bestowed upon me, however unworthy. To thee be praise and glory from me, and from thy elect, in heaven and in earth, and from all creatures, for ever and ever.
II. PRAYER FOR LIGHT.
O eternal wisdom, in many things, alas! we all offend; but who can understand sins? Enlighten my darkness, O thou true Light, that I may see and know my failings. Thou knowest all the secrets of my heart, and considerest all my steps. ”

“ Ah, fools! what if this very night death take you by the throat ; your poor souls, whither will they go? Shall not the tree lie where it fell? What, if that sleep be succeeded by a long and ever-lasting sleep, what, then, will those rich men find in their hands? What, if those unhappy persons be placed before their judge, still reeking with wine? Oh, how dreadful will it be for such people to fall into the hands of the living God! ”

“ Thou art he who hast borne our infirmities, and by whose bruises we are healed. Have mercy on me, O Lord, in this my last hour! O Lord, make haste to help me ere my soul die and perish for ever I O Jesus, I am that unhappy sinner, and one that is guilty of many crimes. But thou art my Advocate with the Father, and the Propitiation for my sins. For thou wiliest not the death of the sinner, but his life. It was to save sinners that thou earnest into this world. Show mercy to me, therefore, in this last hour of my life! ”

“ Having, then, learnt the end of thy creation, which is my glory, take care to make it the aim and object of all thy actions, that is, to direct all thy works to the greater glory of my name. For the practice of a pure and right intention is as it were the sum of all piety and perfection. If thy eye be single and right, thy whole body will have light; therefore, whether thou eat or drink, or whatever else thou dost, remember to do all to the glory of my name.
Behold a labour that is slight, but whose fruit is without measure; small to the sower, but wonderfully productive of harvest. ”

“ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive praise, and glory, and honour from every creature; and why not from me also, who am created to thy own image, and bought by thee with so great a price, that in my heart and my body I might glorify thee, my God? Who is there that plants a tree or a vine, and eats not of its fruit? But thou, O Lord, hast formed me, and placed me on this earth. ”

“ Grant to me that, by taking to myself the armour of God, I may be able to resist in the evil day, and to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one, that he snatch not away the crown of justice laid up for me. If thou art with us, who is against us? Though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death. I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. ”

“ Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight no man living shall be justified! Remember me, thou who only art without sin, Christ, the Saviour of the world; bring me out of the death of this body, and translate me to thy kingdom! I know that I merit not to behold thee, yet thou knowest that my hope has been ever in thy mercy! ”

“ Know that nothing is done on earth without cause, and that pain springs not from the ground. It is I who command the sea, the wind, and the elements; and forthwith all obey me. I kill, and I make alive; I strike, and I heal. In my hand are all the ends of the earth, and in my power are all things, good and evil, life and death, and all that men can desire. ”

“ For thou hast created us for thyself, and our heart is disquieted until it return and rest in thee. For where my Father is, there is my country! there is my hope and my inheritance, and my portion in the land of the living. My heart sighs after thee; my soul has adhered to thee. Oh, that thy right hand would uphold me, for thy mercy is better than life! ”