"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord God" (Apoc. i. 8). All creation proceeds from an infinite source and aspires to return thither. Development or progress begins in the lowest stages, and rises irresistibly higher and higher, till completeness is attained at the summit of being. Hence it is written, "The Lord hath made all things for Himself" (Prov. xvi. 4). Necessarily so:
1. Because God is the apex of all being to which all others must aspire.
2. Because it would be a false progress, a perversion of order, a degradation, for any action to terminate in an object lower than its own source, and for divine energy to find its end in a mere creature. God can operate only for the highest and noblest purpose, for the Infinite in Himself. God is especially the object of human energy, the goal of human development. The desires of human nature are insatiable, its aspirations unlimited; they will never stop short of that which is absolutely highest and best; they will never find their felicity except in the Infinite. It is a perversion of all right order and progress for man to look below himself, or to make any creature the object of his energies, or to expect full enjoyment in anything finite. In the end he will find nothing but failure; he will have exhausted his energies on that which is utterly unprofitable, and will have lost the only thing that can make him happy in eternity. Here as well as hereafter you will find no satisfaction but in God. Continue Reading.
Look down on me, good and gentle Jesus while before your face I humbly kneel and, with burning soul, pray and beseech You to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity; true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment. While I contemplate, with great love and tender pity, Your five most precious wounds, pondering over them within me and calling to mind the words which David, Your prophet, said to You, my Jesus: "They have pierced my hands and My feet, they have numbered all my bones." Amen.
This rare image of The Holy Passion of Jesus was scanned in high resolution from An Hour Before the Blessed Sacrament published in 1878. Feel free to copy it from the PDF file uploaded to the link below. Use the tools provided to increase of decrease the size for viewing. Keep the Faith!
