-and even into Latin; fifty thousand copies were sold in a very little time, and such great blessings at- tended it that, eighty thousand persons in the town of Augsburg (in Germany) and the neighbourhood gave in their names to take an hour for the adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament.
If there be one thing that is astonishing after such a success, it is that this work and others from the pen of the holy author, should have been almost entirely forgotten; or, rather, we think we perceive in this forgetfulness a sad proof of the
Preface.
falling off of faith in our age, when even persons who make profession of piety too often seek a pleasing style in devotional books, instead of substantial and practical teaching.
However it may be, we think it a good work to give a new edition of this book, which is now no longer in circulation, but which nevertheless, according to the judgment of a venerable priest, known especially for his prudence and the rectitude of his judgment,* is the most beautiful of all books written in honour of the Most Holy Sacrament.
In this new edition, the style and words of the author have been preserved with religious respect. Only certain passages or parts of sentences have been curtailed, which are no longer in keeping with our customs.
We have only allowed ourselves to substitute the Practice indicated by Boudon, which refers to candidates for the Priesthood (and which in these days would not have the same application to the subject, viz., to present and receive to benefices, such persons only as are proved to be thoroughly worthy of the office) by a little article on spiritual communion, a great part of which we have taken from St. Alphonsus Liguori, (Visits to the Blessed Sacrament.)
* M. PAbbe de Courson, of pious memory, Superior of the Society and Seminary of St. Sulpice.
Preface.
We may say, however, that those who have a holy habit of paying a daily visit to Our Lord Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, can easily find in this little work, subject for reading and meditation for every day in the month. Thus, the general convocation of all the faithful will serve for the first day ; the Motives for the eighteen following days, and the nine Practices, with the Conclusion, the Instruction for the Perpetual Adoration and Meditation on the Litanies of the Blessed Sacrament, will complete the thirty-one days. If required, there may be added to them, the hymns and prose of the Church, which are the most perfect compendium of the Catholic faith which that precious belief ought to produce in the hearts of all christians.
May it please our divine Saviour, who is really present, though hidden in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, that this little book, written for His sole glory, may help to excite in the hearts of all who read it, that love of God alone, which burnt in the heart of its pious author, Henri Marie Boudon. He died in 1702, aged 89 years.
DEDICATION.
_____________________
TO THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD.
GREAT QUEEN OF HEAVEN in whom reigns divine love in the fulness of perfection ; holy Mother of fair love, who didst begin to love as soon as thou didst begin to live, and whose chaste and immaculate heart was, from the first moment of thy conception, more inflamed with the fire of divine love than the hearts of even all the Saints in the fulness of their perfection; behold me at thy feet, the feet of my kind Mother, and the sweet sovereign of my heart, to offer thee, as a thing that belongs to thee, this little work, written in honour of the love of thy Divine Son for man, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Thou knowest, O most divine Virgin, O most sweet Mary, that for a long time past, all my thoughts, all my words, all my actions, and every impulse of my soul are entirely dedicated to the honour and glory of God only ; desiring continually to worship in thee and during every moment
Dedication.
of my life, Him who has done such great things. Receive therefore, O most amiable Mary, these thoughts with which it has pleased the God of love to inspire me. May thy maternal heart obtain from thy divine Son, a holy abundance of graces to all those who read this little work, so that their hearts and mine, dying to all love of created beings, may live by God alone, and for God alone. Amen.
GENERAL CONVOCATION
OF ALL THE FAITHFUL TO THE LOVE AND ADORA- TION OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR.
Ignem veni mittere in terra, et quid volo nisi ut
accendatur.
SOME of the holy fathers, in explaining the Scriptural account of how, at the beginning of the world, the Holy Spirit brooded on the face of the waters, tell us, that He did so, not only to render them productive, but to teach us that that Divine Spirit, who is love itself, by dwelling in a particular manner in created things, endowed them at the same time with divine love, so that all creation, if it be well considered, strongly urges us to love the Divine Goodness. This is what caused St. Bonaventura to say, (in Stim. div. amor.) that we were surrounded on every side by the flames of divine love. Is it not therefore most astonishing and
General Convocation of the Faithful
more surprising than we can express, that we find nothing but frozen hearts, and souls insensible to divine truth ?
But in order that men should have no excuse for their cold indifference, the Adorable Jesus has come to kindle new fire, by loading us with new graces, particularly in the institution of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, where His love bursts forth to such an excess that our hearts must indeed change their nature, or they must be quite consumed in the furnace of divine love. This is why Our Lord shewed to St Catherine of Sienna, one of His most faithful lovers, that the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar was a furnace of infinite love: and she plainly saw issue from It such torrents of sacred fire, the pure flames of which spread every where, that she wondered that the hearts of all creatures were not entirely transformed into love for so loving a God As for me, when I consider what my God does in His presence in the Most Holy Sacrament, when I reflect on the excess of love He has for men, and that I know He is left alone in all the churches of our country parishes, that He is so little known by the greater number of persons who live in them in a state of great ignorance ; when I see that He is so little loved, though He is so loving, I confess that I cannot understand it; I feel my heart and mind fail at sight of the
to the Love of the Holy Sacrament.
infinite love of my Sovereign, and I am glad to say it before all men, in accusing myself of my enormous ingratitude, that I must have a heart harder than a rock to be able to live on, instead of dying with love, at beholding in His presence, the inconceivable love of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Weep, you who read these words, shed tears at my insensibility and at the icy coldness of my miserable heart, sigh deeply to see the God of love so little loved!
But, my Lord, what dost Thou? Dost Thou forget, O infinite greatness, Who Thou art, giving Thyself up to my care, leaving the charge of Thy adorable Body and the tabernacle in which Thou dwellest, to a frail creature? O my heart, it is time that thou shouldst once for all be sensible to the love of thy God !
O faithful souls, how sad are the days of our pilgrimage! How painful is it to see so few souls entirely captivated to the reign of the love of Jesus ! These reflections have urged me to give you a few motives, accompanied with practices, to inflame you and help you to love my King and yours, in the Most Holy Sacrament. The motives are most powerful if you consider them well, and the practices very holy, though written in a simple, poor style, and the language not very carefully chosen.
General
