And when the hour for Sacraments has passed; when the Church has stretched her hand to the utmost to hold me to the last, up to the very confines of that world where her jurisdiction stops; when my soul is passing beyond the reach of that hand which has stayed me up till then, and been help and healing all my life through--then, O my Saviour, do for me immediately, by Yourself, what You have done for me through Your Church. Hear Yourself my last confession made straight to Your Heart. Hear my last avowal “of my so many sins”; of those for which I have sorrowed most bitterly, which have been brought oftenest under the absolving hand of Your priest. When my last words in this world are said; when my eyes are closed to the crucifix, and my hands can grasp the rosary no longer; when my ears are shut to all the sounds of earth, and all things are sinking round me--then let me feel You near. Inspire Yourself my last cry for mercy. Sweep away the clouds that will gather thick and fast before the eyes of my soul, seeking to hide that mercy from me. Let Your hand hold me. Let Your arm be round me when all else is falling away. You have passed, O Lord, through the agony of death: be with me in my agony. All the nameless terrors of that hour are known to You. All the dangers that await me then are clear to You here in the tabernacle--the weakness, the weariness, the pains of spirit, and of sense, the temptations kept for the last, the loneliness, the unsuspected snares, the lack of human help. O human Heart, be my secure refuge in that awful hour. I call upon You now to fulfil in my favour then the promise to those devoted to Your sacred Heart: “I will be their assured refuge in life and more especially at death.” Recordare, Jesu pie, Quod sum causa Tuae viae Ne me perdas illa die. Quaerens me sedisti lassus, Redemisti crucem passus: Tantus labor non sit cassus. Recollect, O love divine, ’Twas for this lost sheep of Thine Thou Thy glory didst resign. Sattest weary seeking me, Suff’redst upon the tree: Let not vain Thy labour be. XXXV. “DOMINE, ECCE QUEM AMAS INFIRMATUR.” --_John_ xi. 3. How many Bethanies, Lord Jesus, have there been in the world since the day You stood with Martha and Mary by the grave of Lazarus! How many there are at this hour! And each with all its pain is known to Your pitying Heart. Every detail known--the fear, the anxiety, the weary yet unwearied prayer, the long, long waiting for Your coming; the hope that rises and falls and clings the faster for its less foothold to Your promises, Your mercy, Your dear human Heart. You know it all. You have seen all, heard all for years. And still You wait, just as You waited beyond the Jordan whilst the sisters wept beside their brother’s bed, beside his grave.