ing from henceforth in His holy ways; draw near with faith, and take this holy Sacrament to your comfort.' And in her charity to our souls, she no less plainly warns us of the great sin and danger of a wrong receiving. The danger,' she says, 'is great, if we receive the same unworthily. For then we are guilty of the body and blood of CHRIST our Saviour; we eat and drink our own damnation, not considering the LORD's body; we kindle GOD's wrath against us; we provoke Him to plague us with divers diseases, and sundry kinds of death.' But how shall we escape the danger of a wrong receiving? and how shall we take to ourselves the blessings of a right receiving? Merciful LORD! Thou hast not left us without a guide in this our difficulty. The SPIRIT and the Bride' (Rev. xxii. 17) both come to our help. The HOLY SPIRIT says, 'Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.'-1 Cor. xi. 28. And the Church says: 'Judge therefore yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the LORD; repent you truly for your sins past; have a lively faith in CHRIST Our Saviour; amend your lives, and be in perfect charity with all men; so shall ye be meet partakers of these holy mysteries.' Prayer for a fit preparation. O most merciful SAVIOUR, who hast ordained this holy Sacrament in memory of Thy most precious death, and also to feed and renew my weak and sinful soul by the spiritual food of Thy most precious body and blood; Help me, unworthy though I am, worthily to approach Thy holy Table; save me from the sin and danger of coming unprepared; May Thy Holy Spirit assist me faithfully to examine both my life and my heart; and to search out all that is wrong in me: Give me a true sorrow and repentance for all my sins past; and grace utterly to forsake them, and to find mercy: LORD hear me, LORD help me for Thy own most precious merits. Amen. Amen. 2. Having prayed to GOD to assist you in examining yourself, consider, (1) How carefully and how strictly the Examination must be made, if it is to be of any use to you; for, (2) You make it under the eye of GOD, before Whom your whole life past, and your whole heart, lies open. You may deceive others; you may deceive yourself; but you cannot deceive GOD. Judge therefore yourself' truly and honestly,' that you be not judged of the LORD." (3) Be sure that you have sins to confess, and to carry to your LORD for His mercy and pardon; for 'if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.' (4) Remember that your heart is by nature wicked and deceitful, slow to see the greatness of its own sin, unwilling to confess all its sinfulness; and therefore a true and honest examination of yourself requires great resolution and great pains. It will be well, therefore, in the course of your examination, often to lift up your heart to GOD and say, Try me, O GOD, and search the ground of my heart; prove me and examine my thoughts; Look well if there be any way of wickedness in me; aud lead me in the way everlasting.' Psalm cxxxix. 23, 24. Method of examining ourselves. When the Church says, Search and examine your consciences, so that ye may come holy and clean to such a Heavenly Feast, and be received as worthy partakers of that holy Table;' she adds, 'the way and means thereto is; First, "to examine your lives and conversation by the rule of GOD's commandments." As the LORD JESUS taught: If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.'-St. Matt. xix. 17. And again JESUS said: 'Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment; and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’—St. Matt. xxii. 37-39. The questions, therefore, which you have to ask yourself are these: 'Do I love GOD as the LORD JESUS CHRIST commanded me to love Him?' 'Do I love my neighbour as myself?' 3. Before you can answer these questions you must examine yourself; and what follows is intended to help you in doing this. You should therefore ask yourself: 1. Me.' I. Do I love God? 6 Thou shalt have none other Gods but 'My duty towards GoD is to believe in Him, to fear Him, and to love Him,' &c.-Church Catechism. How can I answer this question without considering who God is, and why I ought to love Him? Is He not the GOD of the Gospel as well as of the Law? Has He not made Himself known to me as The FATHER who hath made me ; The SON who hath redeemed me; C Must I not then take into account the love of God, as seen in the birth, the life on earth, the sufferings, the death, the burial, the resurrection, and the ascension of His only-begotten Son, my SAVIOUR? For He it was who loved me and gave Himself for me,' to save me from perishing and to bring me to the glory and blessedness of Heaven? How do I return this great love? How does it affect my heart? Do I believe in GOD, and think of Him, as His holy Word represents Him? Do I see Him in His works? in the beauties of His creation? in the sun and moon and stars of Heaven? in the trees, the fruits, the flowers, and the many other beautiful things of the earth?-Psalm xix. 1-6; cxlv. 10. As I behold these things, do I think of God Who made them? Do I believe that He not only gave me my life, but also keeps me alive from day to day? that He sees me and hears me? and do I try to think, to speak, and to do all things as in His sight? Above all, does His love, in redeeming me from sin and from death, make me love Him? Am I truly thankful that I was born in a Christian land; baptized; taught the Faith of CHRIST; preserved from falling away; or, when I have fallen, brought back as a lost sheep by the Good Shepherd? Do I think as I should of my Heavenly Father's patience in so often bearing with my sins? His mercy in pardoning them? |