Twelfth Saturday

The Ascension of our Lord.

Before Communion.—Jesus quits the earth, and takes with him to heaven the holy patriarchs.

O my God, vouchsafe that we may seek the things that are above. Dwell in our hearts by faith, and pour down upon us thy plenteous benedictions. Come, O Bread of Angels, sweet viaticum; fortify me on my journey to eternity, and take me to thyself, that where thou art I also may be.

After Communion.—In leaving us, O sweet Jesus, thou didst find by means of the Holy Eucharist, the secret of remaining with us to the end of the world. Eternal thanks be given to thee for this wonderful invention of thy charity. I know not how to thank thee, my God, for the favour thou hast just bestowed upon me in feeding me with the body and blood of thy Divine Son.

Henceforth I will visit thee as often as I am able; I will come to thy altar to adore thee, to praise thee, to lament my sins before thee, to seek light and comfort in all my difficulties, until the day arrives when I shall behold thee unveiled, and when thou wilt receive me to thy love for ever. Amen.

Prayer.—O glorious Virgin, Queen of the most holy Rosary, by the joy which filled thy soul in the mystery of the Ascension of thy dear Son, obtain for me, I beseech thee, the grant of my earnest petitions.

Practice.—Contempt of the riches and honours of the world.

Example.—Fra Girolamo Monsignori, of the Third Order of Preachers, was chiefly distinguished for his love of prayer and his indifference to the world. The money which he earned by his artistic works was hung up in an old box without a lid, so that anyone who wished might use it.

When Mantua was visited by the plague and every one fled in alarm, he, moved by charity, attended the sick with his own hands. Thus, sacrificing his life to God, he caught the contagion, and died at the age of sixty.