“My child, give Me thy heart.” Oh, let me print on my memory such a phrase of love! “My child!” Oh, how sweet it sounds when uttered by the lips of a God! He wishes to dwell in our hearts, not for a certain time, but forever; not as a guest only, but as its Master and its Lord. Jesus says the heart He asks of me is mine: “Give Me thy heart,” instead of claiming it as His right, as a matter of strictest obligation, since all that I am and have comes from Him. Oh, why should it be so difficult for me to yield up my heart to that sweet Lord Who so endearingly says, “My child, give Me thy heart”? The name of friend being insufficient to tell all Thy love, O dear Jesus, Thou dost employ the loving name of child to sweetly compel me to grant Thy fond request. Why is it, my Jesus, that Thou wishest my love? Why dost Thou, by every means, try to gain, by permission, that love which is Thine by every right and title? Oh, how many years Thou hast followed me, and I ever fled away from Thee! How hardened my heart was! It is true I have often returned to Thee for a little while, and Thou didst welcome me, and gave me Thy very self as my food. But too soon I fled away from Thee again. O my dearest Jesus, what favors and benefits I have abused! Pardon me, sweet Jesus: behold me at last here at Thy feet, never to leave Thee more. Take my heart, sweet Lord, and clasp it tightly to Thy Sacred Heart even to the hour of my death; never let me stray from Thee again. Prayer. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, with my whole soul I adore Thy impulses of goodness and mercy towards sinners, the effects of which I have most singularly experienced! Thy loving kindness is so desirous of mercy, that it threatens to show no mercy to him who is not merciful. And what mercy can I exercise towards my neighbor? What can be compared to those mercies I have received, and every day receive from Thee? O Heart of Jesus, loving fountain of mercy, teach me to know and worthily imitate Thy mercy. Amen. Fifteenth Day. The Heart of Jesus at the Hour of Death.