by St. Therese the Little Flower
(often said while meditating upon an image of the face of Christ)
O Jesus, who in Thy bitter passion didst become “the most abject of men, a man of sorrow,” I venerate Thy sacred Face whereon there once did shine the beauty and sweetness of the Godhead; but now It has become as it were the face of a leper! Nevertheless under those disfigured features, I recognize Thine infinite Love, and I am consumed with desire to love Thee and make Thee loved by all men. The tears which well up so abundantly in Thy sacred eyes appear to me as so many precious pearls that I love to gather up, in order to purchase the souls of poor sinners by means of their infinite value. O Jesus, whose adorable Face ravishes my heart, I implore Thee to fix deep within me Thy divine image and to set me on fire with Thy love, that so I may be found worthy to come to the contemplation of Thy glorious Face in Heaven. Amen
