Page:Prayersmeditatio01thom.djvu/306

 that, after granting peace and pardon to Thy holy Apostle Thomas, as he knelt humbly and reverently before Thee, earnestly entreating Thy pardon, Thou didst manifest Thy love to him by showing to him Thy all-holy and glorious wound-prints, of more worth than all the treasures of the world, more precious than any jewels, more beauteous than the reddest of roses, sweeter than all spices or the sweetest-scented flowers. Those Wounds are more beauteous than all the stars which bespangle the firmament of Heaven; more than all else besides, those Wounds rejoice the souls of the Saints, inflame the hearts of the faithful, soften the hard hearts of sinners, and draw from them bitter tears; they rouse the slothful to more earnest prayers; they lead the devout to kiss them over and over again; they move men of good-will to fervent thankfulness. The frequent remembrance and earnest contemplation of those Wounds of Christ so stirred the inmost soul of the holy and most devout Father Francis, and made his eyes so run with tears, that their all-holy prints could be plainly seen upon his own body. And to this day those five holy Wounds of Jesus, worthy of all love, stir to their inmost depths the hearts of many a devout Religious, and even of many a man and woman living in the world; the sight of those Wounds brings tears to their eyes, as they gaze in church upon a picture of the Crucified, or hear the Passion of Christ preached, or read, or ponder thereon to the praise of God. Amen.

O my God, how great was the grace of devotion which that holy Apostle Thomas received by