Friday, June 16 : Attributed to Saint Bonaventure

Let us draw near to the heart of our most sweet Lord Jesus and we shall be glad and rejoice in it. How good and how sweet it is to dwell in this heart! This is the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price that we discover, O Jesus, when we dig in the field of your body (cf. Mt 13,44f.). Who, then, would cast aside this pearl? Far from it! For it I will give away all my goods and offer in exchange all my concerns and affections. I will lay down all my cares in the heart of Jesus: it is he who will suffice for me and who will, without fail, supply all I need to live on. It is within this temple, this Holy of holies, this ark of the covenant, that I shall come to offer worship and praise to the Lord’s name. “I have found a heart with which to pray to my God” said David (1Ch 17,25 Vg.). And I too have found the heart of my Lord and King, my brother and friend. Shall I not pray to him, then? Indeed I shall pray for, I dare to say it: his heart is all mine… O Jesus, deign to receive and answer my prayer. Draw me wholly into your heart. Though the deformity of my sins prevents me from entering in yet you can receive and purify me from my impurities since, through an incomprehensible love, this heart has expanded and opened wide. O most pure Jesus, wash me from my iniquities so that, purified by you, I may dwell in your heart all the days of my life to see and do your will. If your side has been pierced, then it is so that our entrance there should be opened. If your heart has been wounded, then it is so that, sheltered from outward distress, we can make our home within it. And, too, it is so that in this visible wound we might see the invisible wound of love.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team