O how great a Lord doth she entertain! How beloved a guest doth she harbour! How pleasant a companion doth she receive! How faithful a friend doth she take in! How lovely and glorious a spouse doth she embrace! She embraceth him, who is to be loved above all that is beloved, and above all things that may be desired. *Let heaven and earth, and all the hosts of them, be silent in thy presence; for what praise and beauty soever they have, it is received from thy bounty, and cannot equal the beauty of thy name, of whose wisdom there is no number. CHAPTER IV. _That many gifts are bestowed upon them that communicate devoutly._ _The voice of the disciple._ *MY Lord God, prevent thy servant with the blessings of thy sweetness, that I may approach worthily and devoutly to thy glorious sacrament. *Stir up my heart unto thee, and deliver me from a heavy numbness of mind. *Visit me with thy salvation, that I may taste in spirit thy sweetness, which plentifully lieth hid in this sacrament as in a fountain. Enlighten also my eyes to behold so great a mystery, and strengthen me to believe it with steady faith. For it is thy work, and not man’s power; thy sacred institution, not man’s invention. For no man is of himself able to comprehend these things, which surpass the understanding even of angels. What therefore shall I, unworthy sinner, dust and ashes, be able to comprehend of so high and sacred a mystery? 2. O Lord, in the simplicity of my heart, at thy commandment I come unto thee, with hope and reverence, and believe thou art present in this sacrament. Thy will is, that I receive thee, and that by love I unite myself unto thee. *Wherefore I implore thy mercy, and crave thy special grace, that I may wholly melt and overflow with love unto thee, and hereafter never seek any comfort out of thee. For this sacrament is the remedy of all spiritual weakness: hereby my vices are cured, my passions bridled, temptations overcome, grace infused, virtue begun increased, faith confirmed, hope strengthened, and love inflamed. 3. For thou dost bestow many benefits in the sacrament upon thy beloved ones that communicate devoutly. O my God the protector of my soul, the repairer of human frailty, and the giver of inward comfort. Thou impartest unto them much comfort against sundry tribulations. For who is there, that approaching humbly unto the fountain of sweetness, doth not carry away from thence at least some little sweetness? Or who, standing by a great fire, receiveth not some heat thereby? Thou art a fountain always full and overflowing, a fire ever burning and never decaying. 4. Wherefore, if I cannot draw out of the full fountain itself, nor drink my fill; I will, notwithstanding, set my lips to the mouth of this heavenly conduit, that I may draw from thence at least some drop to refresh my thirst; and not be wholly dried up.