Obi

“ Lord, if my heart had the love of all hearts, my conscience the purity of all angels, and my soul the beauty of all souls, so that by Thy grace I should be worthy of Thee, I wish to receive Thee to-day so affectionately, and so to bury and sink Thee to the bottom of my heart and soul, that neither joy nor sorrow, neither life nor death, could separate me from Thee. ”

“ Has thy heart been turned to fear and to love and to serve the Lord thy God, or does thy conscience witness against thee, that thou art yet a stranger to peace and joy, as well as to the obedience of the gospel. ”

“ Create in me a pure heart, O my God, and renew a tranquil conscience within me, O my Hope! Through the spirit of power confirm Thou me in Thy Cause, O my Best-Beloved, and by the light of Thy glory reveal unto me Thy path, O Thou the Goal of my desire! ”

“ Were my faith as animated as I hope it is sincere, my heart would be inflamed at the near approach of its heavenly guest, and every movement of my body, and soul would be a transport of gratitude and ardent love. ”

“ O ETERNAL, Infinite, and Almighty God, Whose glory the heaven of heavens cannot contain, look down on thy unworthy servant, prostrate at the feet of thy mercy, and humbly confessing to thee, in the sight of all thy holy angels and blessed saints, the sinfulness and vanity of my life, but especially the transgressions of this day, by which I have so grievously wounded my own soul. ”

“ One look at our loving and living Saviour will do more towards softening the heart than hours spent in the scrutiny of feeling, or whole books of self-examination. If you want to grow in grace, in tenderness of conscience, in holy abhorrence of sin, in purity of heart, in lowliness of spirit, and in thankful love for your blessed Saviour,—then look on Him, keep your eyes on Him. ”

“ In confidence of Thy goodness and great mercy, O Lord, I draw near unto Thee, as a sick person to the healer, as one hungry and thirsty to the fountain of life, a creature to the creator, a desolate soul to my own tender comforter. Behold, in Thee is all whatsoever I can or ought 83 to desire; Thou art my salvation and my redemption, my hope and my strength. Rejoice therefore this day the soul of Thy servant; for unto Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. ”

“ If the flesh is weak, let Thy grace prevent, come in the middle, and follow; for without Thee I can do nothing, and, especially, for Thy sake I cannot go to a cruel death. Grant me a ready spirit, a fearless heart, a right faith, a firm hope, and a perfect love, that for Thy sake I may lay down my life with patience and joy. ”

“ Permit me to feel Thy sacred presence, to be immersed in Thy pure light, and to be comforted by it, so that I may always, but especially on this day, serve Thee faithfully, and bear the trials which Thou sendest me with love and courage. In consideration of the tears and the precious blood of Thy divine Son, by Whom I knock at the gates of Thy mercy and kindness, grant that all misfortunes of body and soul may be averted from me, through Christ Our Lord, Who is ever praised with Thee and the Holy Ghost, for all eternity. ”

“ Thou know'st my heart, and hast me tried;
I on Thy mercies roll."
"O heal my soul," Thou know'st I said,
"Though flesh consume to nought,
What though in dust it shall be laid,
To glory t' shall be brought." ”

“ Give me, O gracious Saviour, speedy and efficacious feelings of thy divine succour and comfort, who, according to the accustomed sweetness of thy tender heart, art wont to grant the requests of them who really fear and love thee, even to their own soul’s desire and satisfaction. ”

“ Yet, though soul and body are precious to all men, Life will I resign, and clothe myself with a shroud— And this I swear by the righteous God— Ere I will break the faith which I have pledged thee. I will bow myself before Him, and offer my adoration, And supplicate Him as those who worship Him in truth, That He will cleanse the heart of Saum, king of the earth, From opposition, and rage, and rancor. ”

“ If conscious at the time it is the supreme desire of your soul to be washed in his blood, clothed with his righteousness, sanctified by his Spirit, go and take this water of life freely; go as a sinner to a Saviour; go at his command, put honor on his appointment, and repeat the dedication of all that you are, have, or can have, over the symbols of his body broken for you, his blood shed for you; go, trusting in his mercy, and leave all to his management, believing that he will shed abroad his love in your heart, order your footsteps in his ways, and in due time perfect his image in your soul. ”

“ Can you convert a sinner from the error of his way? Can you give me the heart of stone broken down and melted into the humble and contrite heart? Can you display a compassionate and crucified Saviour, till men love Him fervently, and mourn for their sins which pierced Him? Can you heal a wounded spirit? ”

“ Then mind and heart become twin prophets,—clairvoyant concerning what hides behind the veil; comprehending with divine clair-audience what the Three Sisters whisper there—hearing even the whirr of the spindle—the very snipping of the Eternal Shears!
The soul finds itself; the mind knows itself; the heart perfectly understands. ”

“ COME, sweet Saviour! come and take possession of my heart; it is thine by many titles: sustain, comfort, and encourage it against the terrors of death and fears of my salvation. Say to my poor soul at the hour of my death, as thou didst say to thy apostles, “ Peace be to you , it is I; fear not.” ”

“ Here give the troubled conscience ease, The wounded spirit heal. The feeling heart, the melting eye, The humble mind bestow; And shine upon us from on high, To make our graces grow! May we in faith receive Thy Word, In faith present our prayers ”

“ The human heart is the throne of God, the council-chamber of the devil, the dwelling of angels, the vile heath of witches' Sabbaths, the nursery of sweet children, the blood-spattered scene of nameless tragedies. ”

“ Does the Spirit of God dwell in my heart? And can I by faith behold a reconciled God, and interceding Saviour, at his right hand? Well, then, welcome sickness, contempt, poverty, and death. If I meet with worldly troubles, ’tis to make my crown the brighter. ”

“ Turn, then, Oh ! turn to Him, alone hath power to give
An angel's courage when you die, and peace while yet you live:
In meekness bend thy knee, commence the needful task,
Beg heaven's pardon for your sins, while you have strength to ask! ”

“ To thee, great omnipresent Spirit, whose mercy is over all thy works, who now beholdest me, who hearest me, who hast framed my heart to seek and to trust in thee, in the name of my Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus, I humbly commit and commend my body, soul, and spirit. ”

“ Oh, that by thy infinite power, to which nothing is impossible, I could possess, besides this narrow heart of mine, other hearts of boundless extent, whose whole wish, occupation, and continual endeavour, should be constantly to look up to, acknowledge, reflect upon, love, and praise thee, my God and my Lord. ”

“ They leave us the spiritual—that is, command of the conscience, soul, heart, and judgment—the spiritual—that is, the distribution of heaven's rewards, and punishments, and pardons—without check, without control, in the secrecy of the confessional—and that dolt, the temporal, has nothing but brute matter for his portion, and yet rubs his paunch for joy. ”

“ Tall hollyhocks, golden snapdragon, sweet-william, pansies, marigolds, ragged robin, and musk carnations: all these grew in artistic profusion and confusion, making the quadrangle a world of beauty and color and perfume. In the center of the lawn rose an antique sundial, supported by three battered female figures, and over all this dreamy, old-world haven of rest arched the shadowy sky, blending night and day in vapory blue and rosy flushings. ”

“ And yet Thou speakest, ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit.’ Yes, Lord! when the soul takes the low place, and has low thoughts of itself, that it feels it is nothing, Thou dost love to come and comfort, to dwell with it and revive it. ”

“ Hearts are heavy, and souls are in anguish. Have mercy on these poor souls and do not leave them to the excesses of their own desires.
O Lord! Make manifest in Thy lands humble and submissive souls, their faces illumined with the rays of guidance, severed from the world, extolling Thy Name, uttering Thy praise, and diffusing the fragrance of Thy holiness amongst mankind. ”

“ Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts, shut not thy most merciful ears to our prayers, but spare us, O Lord most holy,—O God most mighty,—O holy and merciful Saviour,—suffer us not, at our last hour, for any pains of death to fall from thee. ”

“ When I sometimes offer up supplications with strong crying to God to bring down my spirit into the dust I endeavor calmly to contemplate the infinite majesty of the most high God and my own meanness and wickedness, or else I quietly tell the Lord, who knows the heart, I would give Him all the glory of everything if I could. ”

“ Their kindred spirits, their guardian angels then hover about them with the fondest affection, the most anxious solicitude. Spirit communes with spirit, thought meets thought, soul blends with soul, in all the raptures of mutual, pure, and eternal love. ”

“ They have been through the depths of affliction, and know the needs of the human soul. It will find its God in the unseen,—Father, Saviour, Divine Spirit, Virgin Mother, it must and will breathe its longings and its griefs into the heart of a Being capable of understanding all its necessities and sympathizing with all its woes. ”

“ Endeavoured to meditate, whilst dressing, on 'My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.' Alas, my soul, how different it is with thee! ”

“ The unction which every word breathes in the writings of this holy doctor pierces the heart, and his concise expression is an abyss, or rather a treasure of most profound sentiments of humility, compunction, love, and devotion, the riches of which a pious heart finds everywhere boundless. ”

“ The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge..... Behold all souls are mine, as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sinneth it shall die. ”

“ These are passion's vision-flights. But God himself points out the way by which the Soul that loves shall come to Him: she—the Soul—shall come, surmounting the need of penitence and penance, surmounting love of the world, conflicts with the devil, carnal appetite, and the promptings of her own will. ”

“ Here and there, moreover, a soul bowed under the weight of recent affliction, or shaken with the terrors of a newly-awakened conscience, was both awed and glad to be able to give itself audible expression in words so fit and forcible as those of the Confession and the Litany, and thankful if it might pick up so much as a crumb of pardon and peace from the Master's bountiful table. ”

“ Leave aside enquiry concerning God and Creation and the like, and enquire about Him from thyself, and learn who it is who simply makes His own all that is within thee, saying ‘My God, my mind, my understanding, my soul, my body.’ Learn also what are grief and rejoicing, and love and hate, and undesired watching and sleep, and undesired anger and love. ”

“ Remain with me, O divine Lord, by the influence of thy all-powerful grace; take my whole being, and reign over me so absolutely, that I may never acknowledge any kind of master but thee. May I rather die than forget thy infinite goodness and unspeakable mercies ”

“ Almighty God our heavenly father, the spirit of thy life is within us all, and in thee we live and move and have our being. We pray thee, that we may look on death as a part of life, and find in death and life together the living witness of thy spirit. ”

“ And though man be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling. ”

“ Receive us in the yet gaping wound of that loving Heart, that in it we may admire thy divine attributes, practise thy heavenly virtues, find the effect of thy sacred passion, and our poor, afflicted souls be thereby encouraged to shelter themselves within thy sacred wounds. ”

“ When you love him with the heart, you believe on him with the heart; and when you believe on him with the heart, you have a desire in your heart to obey him by doing his commandments. You will purify your souls by obeying the truth. ”

“ Souls such as these treat you as gods would; walk as gods in the earth, accepting without any admiration your wit, your bounty, your virtue even, — say rather your act of duty, for your virtue they own as their proper blood, royal as themselves, and over-royal, and the father of the gods. ”

“ Let the spirit reign predominant over the flesh, and bring into subjection the whole man, every feeling and every desire of his heart, and let him be devoted wholly, body and spirit, to the end for which he has been created. ”

“ Take courage from the past, not its counsel; fear not now to be a man. You may find a new Eden where you go, a river of God in it, and a tree of life, an angel to guard it; not the warning angel to repel, but the guiding angel to welcome and to bless. ”