may my heart and soul turn to Thee, and bless Thee, "the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion for ever." When my hands toil, may my heart love Thee, O Lord. On the lonely roads, may I offer to Thee the homage of Thy Angels, O Lord. At the morning's dawn, O God, be Thou the first object of my thoughts; and retiring to rest, may I fall asleep in the Lord.

A Prayer to obtain the Patronage of St. Joseph.

"O God, who, by thy ineffable providence, didst vouchsafe to choose blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may have as our intercessor in heaven, him whom we venerate as our protector on earth: Who livest and reignest one God, world without end. Amen.

PRACTICE.

To-day choose some few holy aspirations, and keep them continually on thy tongue and in thy heart.

ASPIRATION.

"The sins of my youth and my ignorance remember not, O Lord." "Turn away thy

face from my sins, and blot out my iniquities." "From my secret sins cleanse me, O Lord, and from those of others spare thy servant' (Ps.)

MARCH 22ND.

TWENTY-SECOND MEDITATION.

St. Joseph and "Union with Jesus." Invocation of the Holy Ghost, as at page 278, "Come, O Holy Ghost," &c.

"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. xvii. 5). Who, in the days of his flesh, offering up prayers and supplications with a strong cry and tears, to hi that was able to save him from death, was heard from his reverence" (Heb. v. 7).

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to take the book and to open the seals thereof: because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and, divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction" (Apoc. v. 9-12).

Meditate on the infinite goodness of Jesus.

Oh! how many and how wonderful are the means Jesus has given us for our salvation and sanctification.

Not only did our loving Saviour die upon the Cross, and shed His Precious Blood to the last drop for our Redemption, but every moment of our lives we can make the most profitable use of His Life, Death, and Precious Blood for our salvation and sanctification.

What means "Union with Jesus?" "Union with Jesus" means this: that in intention and desire we unite each and all the actions of the day and night, and of our whole lives, with the sacred actions of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, with His Life, Death, and Precious Blood, and thus united, offer them to His Eternal Father; and beg of the Father, through the name and merits of Jesus to accept them.

Man is so frail and sinful that our very best actions in themselves are imperfect, and of little value in the presence of infinite sanctity; but when united with the infinite actions of Jesus, the Eternal Word Incarnate, they become precious and acceptable in the sight of God.

The ivy, left to itself, can never lift its branch or leaf from the ground; but it will

grasp the trunk of the tallest tree in the forest, and climb to the summit. Jesus to us is the tree of life, the pillar to paradise. When we twine our actions round the infinite actions of Jesus they ascend to the highest heavens, in the presence of the Eternal Father.

We see at a glance the value of this holy practice-" Union with Jesus." Our Blessed Lord while on earth prayed and fasted, ate and drank, toiled and slept, just as we do; and in the end suffered, and died upon the Cross for our Redemption. Each act of Jesus, being the act of the Man-God, was of infinite value in the sight of His Eternal Father. We may humbly hope that our actions, united to and sanctified by the holy actions of Jesus, will be acceptable to the Eternal Father through love for His beloved Son, "in whom he is well pleased."

St. Teresa says: "Everyone will gain the desired end of his prayers more efficaciously by offering his actions to the Eternal Father, in union with the merits of Jesus Christ." St. Gertrude, St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, and St. Mechtildis, have practised in a special manner this devotion, and tell us that Jesus Christ Himself taught them the value of it.

From the Holy House at Nazareth went up to the Eternal Father supreme homage in all its perfection from Jesus, Mary and Joseph. "Union with Jesus," the blessed company of Jesus for thirty years, elevated to the highest pinnacle of sanctity the souls of Mary and Joseph.

PRACTICAL RESOLUTIONS.

Oh, the infinite goodness, love, and mercy of Jesus! For man's salvation did Jesus live and die. Jesus is our Redeemer, our Advocate, our Mediator with His Heavenly Father. Since every act of Jesus is of infinite value, being the act of the Man-God, how precious in the sight of His Eternal Father must be the whole Life, the Death, and the Precious Blood of Jesus?

I resolve, therefore, every morning, and often during the day, to offer all my little works to the Eternal Father, in union with the actions of Jesus.

O merciful Jesus, help me to love and serve Thee.

PRAYER.

O Jesus! may I ever think of Thee, love Thee, and serve Thee. O sweet Jesus! be