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 sake upon the Cross, covered with wounds, but still praying for Thy enemies.

Draw me therefore to Thee from the flesh to the Cross, from earth to Heaven. I long to depart, to die with Thee upon the Cross, to be washed by Thy Wounds from my sins, and to be rescued from everlasting death.

Thou art my God, and I will confess my sins unto Thee: heal me by Thy sacred Wounds, so cruelly for my sake inflicted upon Thee. Who can cleanse me from all my sins and from all my negligences, but Thou alone, O God my Redeemer, Who for me wast crucified and wounded with many wounds. Among these stand specially forth, shedding sweet perfume, shining as seals reddened with the Blood of the Lamb of God, Thy five precious Wounds, pierced with the nails and the lance. Burnt in are They with the brand of God's love, indelible and most sure proofs of my eternal redemption: full are they of grace and sweetness, displayed for me and all mankind to behold with the eye of faith, and to caress: offered are They to weeping penitents as passports into the inmost recesses of the courts of Heaven.

Enter then, enter boldly, O my soul, through the bowels of the mercy of Thy God as He hangs upon the Cross; enter into the deep clefts of His Wounds, and take refuge there from the serpent who everywhere, both openly and secretly, is laying snares for thee. There lie still in safety, as a turtle-dove cooing in the wilderness, as a cushat lying hid in the cleft of a mighty rock; spurn all earthly joys; meditate on the sacred Wounds of Christ; and hope, relying on Them, to win those heavenly rewards which He Himself has in store for thee.