Page:The Catholic prayer book.djvu/248

 body with  all  its  senses,  and  of  your  heart  and  soul with all  their  powers  and  affections. First, you should consecrate  your  body  to  God;  that  is,  you should in  future  bear  in  mind  the  union  you  have contracted with  God,  and  respect  in  yourself  the temple of  the  Divinity — a temple  of  which  he  has so lately  taken  possession; consecrated  by  his presence, purified  by  his  blood,  and  enriched  with  the most precious  gifts  of  his  holy  spirit:  This  is  the sacrifice to  which  St.  Paul  exhorts  all  Christians,  but particularly Communicants,  when  he  says: I beseech you, brethren, by the  mercy  of  God, that  you  present your bodies  a living  sacrifice, holy,  pleasing  unto  God. (Horn. xii.  1.)  Reflect  also,  that  as  a material  temple is not  alone  consecrated  to  God  externally,  but  is known  before  it  is  entered  to  be  a house  of  God,  by its  external  solemnity; so  should  your  modesty  and Christian deportment  manifest  to  every  one  that  you are really  consecrated  to  God,  and  become  the  living temple of  Jesus  Christ. To animate  you  to  this meritorious consecration  of  your  senses  to  God, consider how  strongly  St.  Chrysostom  recommends it, when  he  says: It  is  not  just  that  those  eyes  which have beheld  the  divine  and  sacred  Host  should afterwards delight  in  the  vanity  and  idle  follies  of the  world — that  those  lips,  which  received  and touched the  God  of  heaven,  should  ever  be  profaned by frivolous  discourses — that  your  tongue,  on  which the body  of  Jesus  Christ  reposed,  should  ever become instrumental  in  lessening  the  reputation  of others,  or  in  wounding  charity. Present your resolutions  on  this  head  to  God  through  the  glorious Queen of  Virgins. Set before  your  eyes,  and  resolve in every  action  of  your  life,  to  imitate  this  incomparable model  of  perfection,  whom  St  Anselm