Today, for many people, is Mercy Sunday. I do not live near a church which will celebrate this. However, I found an old holy card, dated July 31, 1923 which includes an Act of Oblation composed by St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Doctor of the Church. The oblation is made to the Merciful Love of the Good God.
I share the prayer here. There is a Plenary Indulgence connected with this prayer "once a month on the ordinary conditions to those who have daily recited the Act, Given at Rome." Conditions are usually Confession once every two weeks, daily Mass if possible, or a Mass for the Plenary Indulgence, and prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father, usually three Our Fathers, three Hail Marys and three Glory Bes. One must check the local diocese and country, as conditions for indulgences vary, for example, from Europe to England to America in certain cases.
"That my life may be one act of perfect love, I offer myself as Victim of Holocaust to Thy Merciful Love, imploring Thee to consume me unceasingly, and to let the floodtide of infinite tenderness pent up in Thee, flow into my soul, that so I may become a martyr of Thy Love, O my God! May this martyrdom, after having prepared me to appear before Thee, break life's web at last, and my my soul take its flight, unhindered, to the eternal embrace of They Merciful Love. I desire, O my Beloved, at every heartbeat to renew this oblation an infinite number of times, till the shadows fade away and I can tell Thee my love eternally face to face..."
"That my life may be one Act of perfect Love".
Later this week, I shall continue my series on Perfection, and look more closely on the need for purification before seeing God's Face at death. Purgation is necessary either now, or later, in Purgatory. By giving ourselves over to God's Love now, we engage in that purification. God is Mercy and Love and this is the time of Mercy and Love. For those who have asked for a compilation of this series, I promise I shall get to it this week, when I have, hopefully, some time to do so. Thank you for the request.
