ACTS OF PATIENCE AND RESIGNATION

An Act of Patience

I WILL speak to Our Lord, I who am but dust and ashes and as the shadow that passes away. Remember, O Lord, what I am, and what my being is.

Remember that Thou hast made me out of clay, and unto earth I shall return again. Show not therefore Thy power against me, for what strength have I to bear it? And how shall I, being so weak as I am, hold out with patience? Why then has my Lord stretched forth His hand against me and let this disorder seize on my spirits and cast me on the bed of sickness? But rather, why do I now lift up my head against Heaven and appear uneasy under the decrees of the Almighty? No, I will rather choose to say that it is Our Lord Who has given health and strength; it is Our Lord Who has taken it away; as it has seemed good to Our Lord, so be it done. Blessed be the name of Our Lord. Thus I say, my God; thus I think. Thou art just, O Lord; Thy judgment is right; I have deserved far greater punishment than this. Were I to be my own judge and the punisher of my own wickedness, I could take nothing off of the evil which I now suffer. In what I feel, I acknowledge the hand of a tender Father, chastising a rebellious child; it is not the arm of a severe judge, punishing me in the justice of His wrath. But this one thing, O merciful Father, I ask of Thee however: that Thou wouldst remember what I am: that I am frail and weak, that of myself I can do nothing and how much I stand in need of Thy grace to support and comfort me. Grant me, therefore, I beseech Thee, strength to suffer; give me patience, for this is necessary for me. Grant this my request, and then behold my heart is ready, O Lord; my heart is ready to accept whatever Thou art pleased to lay upon me---and even to be comforted under Thy scourge. Let it be the effect of Thy mercy, that in patience I may possess my soul. For this end I will often look on the face of Thy Christ, that by considering Him Who suffered so much for me, I may be encouraged to suffer. He became obedient unto death, even to the death of the Cross. But as for me, I have not yet resisted unto blood; I have yet suffered but little. Yet how much shall I then suffer when the time shall come when the pangs of death shall seize upon me!

An Act of Resignation

O LORD Jesus Christ, Thou art my refuge; in Thee I believe and put my trust. Thou hast been my protector from my youth, and now I have none to trust in, none to depend upon, but only Thee, my God. Behold then, the straits I am now in: I have life and death before me, but what to fear or what to hope I know not. I know not what is expedient or best for me; Thou knowest, O Jesus. Do Thou with me, therefore, what Thou dost please; dispose of me as Thou knowest best, for I am Thine with all my heart, and into Thy hands I surrender all that I have or am. Amen.