As for us thy servants, our chief delight shall be, to meditate upon the happiness prepared for us above.

All the years we have to live, shall be spent in endeavouring to purchase that one eternal day;

That day whose brightness knows no night, nor fears the slightest obscuration;

Whose cheerful sky no clouds overcast; whose animating light no storms can darken; Which still shines on serene and clear, and fills with splendor the palace of the Deity. It needs not the fading lustre of the sun, nor the silvery rays of the moon.

The sun that rises there, is the Lamb; and the light that shines there, the glory of God.

O how enchanting the truths that are sung of thee, thou city of the king of heaven!

Thy walls are built with precious stones, and every gate is one vast, magnificent pearl. Thy mansions are constructed of the choicest jewels, and the pavement of thy streets is transparent gold.

Down in the midst runs a crystal river, perpetually flowing from the throne of God.

There along its pleasant banks, deliciously grows the tree of life;

Healing all wounds with its balmy leaves, and rendering immortal all that taste of its fruit.

Thus is the holy city built; thus is the new Jerusalem adorned.

O fortunate and glorious city! how free and happy are thy glad inhabitants!

Every head wears a royal crown, and every hand bears the palm of victory.

Every eye overflows with joy, and every tongue sounds forth the hymn of praise. Behold, O my soul! the inheritance we look for: where can we find greater riches to inflame our desires?

Behold the felicity to which we are called; where shall we meet with similar enjoyments?

Away then, all vain and worldly attachments: depart, and never more disturb the peace of my soul.

Descend, thou bliss of heaven! into my heart; or rather draw my heart to thee.

Thy joys are too great to enter into me; O make me fit to enter into them.

Enrapture me with that kingdom which is above, that there I may establish my eternal home,

Where I shall dwell perpetually in the presence of my God, and contemplate forever the splendors of his infinite perfection. Glory be to the Father, &c.

Ant. Glorious things are said of thee, thou city of the king of heaven! Alleluia. Ant. If the imperfect shadow is so sweetly pleasing, how will the reality transport our hearts! Alleluia.

Psalm IX.

BLESSED be thy gracious wisdom, O Lord! that so mercifully stoops to our weak conceptions.

Under the veil of created things thou hidest thy glorious mysteries, too high and spiritual for flesh and blood.

Thou hidest, or rather so revealest thy sublime rewards, to gain us by those things which we most admire.

Sceptres and crowns, thou knowest, are apt to win the hearts of us thy children;

Children, alas! too truly in useful knowledge: O that we were so in love and duty!

What is a drop of water to the boundless ocean, or a grain of sand to the vast globe we inhabit?

Such, O my God! and infinitely less, are the richest kingdoms here below when compared with the happiness of thy saints.

All their grandeur and magnificence dwindle into nothing, when we think even of the lowest place in heaven.

When thou hast fed us a while with milk, thou invitest us to partake of more solid food. Thou makest known to us a sweet, delicious life, in the blest society of saints and angels,

With whom we shall dwell in perpetual friendship, by whom we shall be loved and esteemed forever.

Thou tellest us of a pure soul-ravishing joy; in beholding the benign countenance of thy divine Son,

Whose gracious smiles, diffusing far and

wide their peaceful light, awaken a holy gladness throughout the city of God.

Thou tellest us of incomparably higher delights; hearken, O my soul! and humbly adore thy God,

Whose bounty has provided such magnificent rewards, no less than his very self.

Himself he will clearly unfold to our view, and our hearts will be enchanted with his boundless perfections.

What is it, O Lord! to behold thy face, but to know thee as thou art in thy own glorious nature?

To know the immensity of thy self-subsisting being, and the infinite excellence of all thy attributes;

To know the power of the eternal Father, and the wisdom of the increated Son;

To know the goodness of the Holy Ghost, and the incomprehensible glories of the undivided Trinity!

This, O my soul! is the summit of happiness; this is the supreme perfection of our

nature.

This, this alone is the end of our being; the motive and the object of all our labours.