Christ has given His priests a power He would not give to His angels, for has He not said to them, "Whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven"?

St. John Chrysostom (347-407AD) on Repentance

 

Oh! Why have I ever pained Thee?  Why have I not loved Thee always and served Thee with all the strength and nobility of my heart?

 

I love Thee now, my dearest Lord.  Take my heart.  It is Thine.  May it never pain Thee more.  May it never stray from Thee.  May it never seek repose outside of Thee.

 

Were it to happen, dearest King, that I should think to find rest and peace away from Thee,-were I to look for contentment outside of Thee, let me drink of bitterness and sorrow until driven back to Thee, my King, my Lord, my tender and forgiving Friend.

 

 

 

Desire to imitate Christ – and study His life. Do the most difficult, the harshest, the less pleasant, the unconsoling, the lowest and most despised, want nothing, look for the worst.

St. John of the Cross

 

 

Beloved Lord, forgive me.  I grieve for having pained Thee, because I love Thee who art so good, so true, so patient.

Thou hast waited for me time and time again, on the roadside of life and I have passed Thee by.  Thou hast whispered to me in the midst of the pleasures of the world, thou hast called to me through the din of merry voices and I have not listened,-I have not heeded, but rushed on madly, bowing and paying court to the votaries of fashion and of mirth.

I cast myself into Thy dear sacred Arms and beg Thee to take from me my load of infidelities.  Cleanse me from my sins beloved Lord, and heal me of my wounds.

Let Thy tender Hand rest upon my breast, sweet Saviour, and quiet the passions that surge therein.  Place They Finger as a seal upon my lips that I may utter naught that may offend Thee, my beloved King.

 

My Tender and Forgiving Lord
(Confession)

Tender Lord, art Thou willing that I should kneel before Thee ere I make my way to beg absolution of Thy Priest?

I want to thank Thee, sweet forgiving Lord, for Thy powerful grace that has shone so brightly upon my soul, revealing to me stains long since forgotten,-wounds of years gone by, which though confessed and forgiven, have left their mark behind.

I scarce know what words to utter to my darling, tender Lord, for while I grieve for having caused Thee pain, I long to fly to Thee in love and confidence.

It may be, sweet Lord, that my soul is not scarred with crime and vice, great shame if it were, but are  not my infidelities, my coldness and my resistance to grace as painful in Thy sight on a soul so steeped in grace, as are the mortal wounds on the soul of an ignorant, pitiful sinner?

My soul, darling Lord, my soul, flooded with light and inundated with grace, is weighed down and heavy with the vapors of the world, nauseated and bewildered with its incessant whirl.

Insensible to Thy sweet influence, deaf to the pleadings of Thy Voice, heedless of Thy constant knocking at my heart, indifferent to Thy appeal, I turn from Thee day after day, my tender Christ, nor do I hasten to return; but Thou, in Thy exquisite mercy, comest to me and I hear Thee whisper to my soul:- "Come to me, all ye, who are weary and heavily laden and I will refresh you."

Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God.

 If there is much to be given away, my darling Lord, before Peace takes up her abode in the soul,-I know that I must  not reach out in desire for those things which destroy peace,-I know that I must not seek honor, praise consideration, preference, but that I must bend all my energy to give honor, praise, consideration, and preference to others.

My dear King, I am willing to give up every thing,-I am willing to sacrifice  every satisfaction to win Peace.-I am willing to give up my will in every circumstance to purchase Peace.-I want to empty my heart of every self-seeking in order that peace and love and strength may enter.

O my cherished Rabboni, let me be Thy little servant giving out Thy precious gifts to all whom Thou sendest along my pathway.  Let me overflow with Peace,-overflow into the troubled hearts of others.  Let me pour love into the sad and lonely hearts in the world.  Let me strengthen the weak wills and steady the steps of Thy wayward children.

O dearest King, take me and use me as Thou wilt.  Give me nothing that this world treasures.  Pay no heed to the dryness of my poor timid nature, but let me be Thy tool.- Thy lowly, humble tool.-happy to be used by my cherished Rabboni in His fashioning of souls for His Mansion of eternal joy and peace unending.
 

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Another picture, the translation on the holy card is this: There, recollected and alone, in the Heart of Jesus I lose myself. Letaille