Page:The Catholic prayer book.djvu/180

 souls, far  from  participating  in  the  divine  treasures contained in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  defile  themselves with the  guilt  of  the  most  horrible  of  all  sacrileges; they insult  the  Almighty  himself — attack  and  profane the  adorable  humanity  of  Jesus  Christ — they trample on  the  blood  of  the  new  covenant — and  to crown  all  their  misfortunes,  they,  as  the  Apostle says, eat  awl  drink  their  own  damnation. Ponder well the import  of  those  awful  words:  consider,  that like the  Jews,  who  consented  that  the  blood  of  Jesus should fall  on  them  to  their  destruction,  unworthy communicants ratify  themselves  the  sentence  of  their condemnation — a sentence which  they,  as  it  were, write on  their  own  hearts — a sentence,  which  begins to be  in  some  measure  executed,  even  in  this  life,  for the justice  of  God  often  abandons  the  profaners  of his  adorable  body  to  such  obduracy  and  insensibility, that they  at  length  sink  into  a species  of  spiritual lethargy: after  having  braved  the  greatest  of  all dangers, they  seem  to  fear  no  other,  and  they thoughtlessly run  on  from  sin  to  sin,  until  at  length the time  for  repentance  and  mercy  is  over. Trace these dreadful  evils  to  their  source,  and  you  will  find them all  to  originate  in  mortal  sin,  that  sovereign evil, without  which  there  would  be  no  evil; — that great and  only  obstacle  to  the  designs  of  Jesus  in the  institution  of  the  adorable  Eucharist — that  fatal source of  the  sacrileges  which  have  ever  been  committed against  the  most  holy  of  all  mysteries. Endeavour to  conceive  a lively  horror  of  mortal  sin — a sincere conviction  that  it  is  the  greatest  of  all  evils, the most  dreadful  of  all  misfortunes. If your  heart be deeply  impressed  with  these  sentiments,  they  will prove your  greatest  security  against  incurring  the guilt of  sacrilege. Divine Jesus! penetrate my  heart