Pierce my inmost soul, 0 most sweet Jesus, with the most sweet and beneficial wound of Your love and with true, sincere, apostolic and most holy charity, so that my soul may suffer and wither with longing because of that same love and the desire for You; may it long for You only and consume itself by that desire for Your dwelling, and may it aspire to be free from the bonds of the flesh and to remain always with You.
Grant that my soul may hunger for You, the Bread of the Angels, the Refreshment of holy souls, our daily Bread, that gives us strength and contains in Itself every sweetness, every delight and every pleasing taste. May my heart yearn only to feed upon You, whom the angels desire to look upon, and may my soul be filled with the sweetness of Your savor. May it ever thirst after You, the Fountain of life, the Fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the Fountain of eternal light, the Torrent of every delight, the Wealth of the house of God.
May I always desire ardently for You, search for You, find You, sigh for You, meditate upon You, speak of You, and do all things for the glory of Your Name, with humility and prudence, with love and pleasure, with ease and affection, with perseverance unto the end.
Be always, You alone, my hope, my whole confidence, my wealth, my delight, my joy, my happiness, my rest and my serenity. Be my peace, my sweetness, my perfume, my food, my nourishment, my refuge, my possession. Finally, be my treasure, in whom my mind and my heart may remain fixed, firm and immovably rooted forever. Amen.
St. Bonaventure |