Prayer to the Infant Jesus for His Holy Love
From The Incarnation, Birth, and Infancy of Jesus Christ, by St. Alphonsus Liguori Tools
Affections and Prayers
Source
| Printed in | The Incarnation, Birth, and Infancy of Jesus Christ |
|---|---|
| Imprint | New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago, Benziger Brothers |
| Scan | the Internet Archive copy |
| Approval | Approbation, dated Baltimore, Md., September 8, 1886, signed Elias Fred. Schauer, Sup. Prov. Baltimorensis (a religious superior's sanction of publication under the Superior-General of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer). Not labelled imprimatur or nihil obstat; no ecclesiastical imprimatur or nihil obstat appears on any rendered leaf. |
| Transcription | Transcribed from the scan. |
| Rights | Public domain in the United States. |
- Prayers for
- love of God, union with Jesus, forgiveness of sins, contrition, perseverance
Albrecht Dürer, The Virgin with a Starry Crown, 1508. Cleveland Museum of Art.
My dear Jesus, inflame me with Thy holy love; since for this end Thou didst come upon this earth. It is true that I am so wretched as to have often offended Thee, after the many special lights and graces which have been bestowed on me; I am no longer worthy to be consumed in those blessed flames with which the saints are inflamed, I ought rather to burn in the fire of hell; but now, being free from that prison which I have deserved, I feel that Thou dost also turn towards me notwithstanding my ingratitude, and say, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. 1 I thank Thee, my God, that Thou dost again give me this sweet precept; and as Thou dost command me to love Thee, I will obey Thee, and will love Thee with my whole heart. Lord, I have hitherto been ungrateful and blind, because I have not been mindful of the love Thou hast borne me. But now Thou dost enlighten me again, and dost make me understand how much Thou hast done for my sake: now that I think that Thou didst become man for me, that Thou didst take upon Thee my miseries; now that I see Thee trembling with cold on the straw, crying and weeping for me,—O my infant God, how can I live without loving Thee? Ah, my Love, pardon me for all the displeasure I have caused Thee. O God, how could I, knowing as I did by faith how much Thou hast suffered for me, how could I have offended Thee so much? But this straw that torments Thee, that vile manger in which Thou art lying, those tender cries which Thou dost put forth, those loving tears which Thou dost shed,—these all make me firmly hope for pardon and grace to love Thee for the rest of my life. I love Thee, O Incarnate Word; I love Thee, O Divine Child; and I give myself all to Thee. For the sake of those pains which Thou didst suffer in the stable of Bethlehem, accept, O my Jesus! this miserable sinner, who desires to love Thee. Help me, give me perseverance; I hope for all things from Thee. O Mary! great Mother of this great Son, and most beloved by him, pray to him for me.
- “Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo.”—Matt. xxii. 37.
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