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The Voice of Christ
I am the Lover of purity, the Giver of all holiness.
I seek a pure heart and there is the place of My
rest.Prepare for Me a large room furnished and I
with My disciples will keep the Pasch with you.
If you wish that I come to you and remain with
you, purge out the old leaven and make clean the
dwelling of your heart. Shut out the whole world with
all the din of its vices. Sit as the sparrow lonely
on the housetop, and think on your transgressions in
bitterness of soul.
Everyone who loves prepares the best and most
beautiful home for his beloved, because the love of
the one receiving his lover is recognized thereby.
But understand that you cannot by any merit of
your own make this preparation well enough, though
you spend a year in doing it and think of nothing
else. It is only by My goodness and grace that you
are allowed to approach My table, as though a beggar
were invited to dinner by a rich man and he had
nothing to offer in return for the gift but to humble
himself and give thanks.
Do what you can and do that carefully. Receive the
Body of the Lord, your beloved God Who deigns to come
to you, not out of habit or necessity, but with fear,
with reverence, and with love.
I am He that called you. I ordered it done. I will
supply what you lack. Come and receive Me.
When I grant the grace of devotion, give thanks to
God, not because you are worthy but because I have
had mercy upon you. If you have it not and feel
rather dry instead, continue in prayer, sigh and
knock, and do not give up until you receive some
crumb of saving grace.
You have need of Me. I do not need you. You do not
come to sanctify Me but I come to sanctify you and
make you better. You come to be sanctified and united
with Me, to receive new grace and to be aroused anew
to amend. Do not neglect this grace, but prepare your
heart with all care, and bring into it your Beloved.
Not only should you prepare devoutly before
Communion, but you should also carefully keep
yourself in devotion after receiving the Sacrament.
The careful custody of yourself afterward is no less
necessary than the devout preparation before, for a
careful afterwatch is the best preparation for
obtaining greater grace. If a person lets his mind
wander to external comforts, he becomes quite
indisposed.
Beware of much talking. Remain in seclusion and enjoy
your God, for you have Him Whom all the world cannot
take from you.
I am He to Whom you should give yourself entirely,
that from now on you may live, not in yourself, but
in Me, with all cares cast away.
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