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The Voice of Christ
As I offered Myself willingly to God the Father for
your sins with hands outstretched and body naked on
the cross, so that nothing remained in Me that had
not become a complete sacrifice to appease the divine
wrath, so ought you to be willing to offer yourself
to Me day by day in the Mass as a pure and holy
oblation, together with all your
faculties and affections, with as much inward
devotion as you can.
What more do I ask than that you give yourself
entirely to Me? I care not for anything else you may
give Me, for I seek not your gift but you. Just as it
would not be enough for you to have everything if you
did not have Me, so whatever you give cannot please
Me if you do not give yourself.Offer yourself to
Me, therefore, and give yourself entirely for God --
your offering will be accepted. Behold, I offered
Myself wholly to the Father for you, I even gave My
whole Body and Blood for food that I might be all
yours, and you Mine forever.
But if you rely upon self, and do not offer your
free will to Mine, your offering will be incomplete
and the union between us imperfect. Hence, if you
desire to attain grace and freedom of heart, let the
free offering of yourself into the hands of God
precede your every action. This is why so few are
inwardly free and enlightened -- they know not how to
renounce themselves entirely.
My word stands: "Everyone of you that doth not
renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be My
disciple."(1)
If, therefore, you wish to be My disciple, offer
yourself to Me with all your heart.
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The Disciple
All things in heaven and on earth, O Lord, are Yours. I long to
give myself to You as a voluntary offering to remain forever
Yours. With a sincere heart I offer myself this day to You, O
Lord, to Your eternal service, to Your homage, and as a sacrifice
of everlasting praise. Receive me with this holy offering of Your
precious Body which also I make to You this day, in the presence
of angels invisibly attending, for my salvation and that of all
Your people.O Lord, upon Your altar of expiation, I offer You
all the sins and offenses I have committed in Your presence and in
the presence of Your holy angels, from the day when I first could
sin until this hour, that You may burn and consume them all in the
fire of Your love, that You may wipe away their every stain,
cleanse my conscience of every fault, and restore to me Your grace
which I lost in sin by granting full pardon for all and receiving
me mercifully with the kiss of peace.
What can I do for all my sins but humbly confess and lament
them, and implore Your mercy without ceasing? In Your mercy, I
implore You, hear me when I stand before You, my God. All my sins
are most displeasing to me. I wish never to commit them again. I
am sorry for them and will be sorry as long as I live. I am ready
to do penance and make satisfaction to the utmost of my power.
Forgive me, O God, forgive me my sins for Your Holy Name. Save my
soul which You have redeemed by Your most precious Blood. See, I
place myself at Your mercy. I commit myself to Your hands. Deal
with me according to Your goodness, not according to my malicious
and evil ways.
I offer to You also all the good I have, small and imperfect
though it be, that You may make it more pure and more holy, that
You may be pleased with it, render it acceptable to Yourself, and
perfect it more and more, and finally that You may lead me, an
indolent and worthless creature, to a good and happy end.
I offer You also all the holy desires of Your devoted servants,
the needs of my parents, friends, brothers, sisters, and all who
are dear to me; of all who for Your sake have been kind to me or
to others; of all who have wished and asked my prayers and Masses
for them and theirs, whether they yet live in the flesh or are now
departed from this world, that they may all experience the help of
Your grace, the strength of Your consolation, protection from
dangers, deliverance from punishment to come, and that, free from
all evils, they may gladly give abundant thanks to You.
I offer You also these prayers and the Sacrifice of Propitiation
for those especially who have in any way injured, saddened, or
slandered me, inflicted loss or pain upon me, and also for all
those whom I have at any time saddened, disturbed, offended, and
abused by word or deed, willfully or in ignorance. May it please
You to forgive us all alike our sins and offenses against one
another.
Take away from our hearts, O Lord, all suspicion, anger, wrath,
contention, and whatever may injure charity and lessen brotherly
love. Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on those who ask Your mercy,
give grace to those who need it, and make us such that we may be
worthy to enjoy Your favor and gain eternal life.
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