r our prayers through Jesus Christ. "By
him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to God, that
is to say, the fruit of lips confessing to His name" (Heb. xiii. 15).

3. The Church wishes this union with Christ and mentions it several
times in her prayers, _Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum_. She
expresses her wish in the preparatory prayer, _Aperi, Domine_; she
wishes the words and sentiments of the psalms to be applied to Jesus,
the Saviour, whom David typified, and to whom the psalms in great
number relate. And in the frequent repetition of the _Pater Noster_, we
speak Christ's sentiments and words.

4. The lives of the saints furnish many examples and precepts of this
union with Christ in our prayer. To the examples of St. Gertrude and St.
Bernard many others can be added. Several such examples are quoted by
Bacquez in his work on the Office.

5. The remembrance of the sublime work of the Office should aid in its
fervent recitation. Priests should remember the words of St. Alphonsus:
"After the sacrifice of the Mass the Church possesses no treasure so
great as the Divine Office." "It is God's Church, the Spouse of Christ,
who has done me the honour of choosing me for this great work--me, in
preference to a hundred others. She puts into my hand her holy book of
heavenly language, and asks me to read its words before God, to unite
with the angels and saints in honouring God."

6. To propose some particular intention before the recitation of the
Hours begins, and to renew it during the recitation is an excellent
means of guarding against distractions and mechanical routine. It
sustains during the prayer the fervour with which it was begun. St.
Bonaventure said to priests "Give _great_ attention to the signs
(_i.e._, to the directions, about kneeling, standing, sign of cross,
etc.), _greater_ attention to the words, and the _greatest_ attention to
the (particular) intention."

But what intention ought we to have?

We should have general intentions and particular intentions. We must
have the general intentions of the Church, whose ambassadors we are. We
must pray that God be known and adored, loved and thanked and praised.
We must pray that the Church have freedom, that she may be exalted, that
the kingdom of Christ may spread and flourish, that the Pope and clergy
of the world may be blessed and guided by God, that holy souls may be
confirmed in virtue and that sinners may be converted.

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