Prayer of the Blessed Father to obtain Poverty,
O Lord Jesus ! show me the ways of Thy beloved Poverty. For I know that the Old Testament is a figure of the New. In the Old Testament it is said : ‘Every place that your foot shall tread on shall beyours.’ To tread under foot means to despise ; Poverty tramples on all things, therefore she is the queen of all. But, O my most sweet Lord Jesus Christ, have pity on me, and on my Lady Poverty, for I burn with love of her, and without her I cannot rest. O my Lord, Who didst cause me to be enamoured of her, Thou knowest that she is sitting in sadness, rejected by all ; ‘ the mistress of nations is become as a widow,’ vile and contemptible; the queen of all virtues, seated on a dunghill, complains that all her friends have despised her, and are become her enemies ; — they have proved themselves deceivers and not spouses. Behold, O Lord Jesus ! how truly Poverty is the queen of all virtues ; for, leaving the abode of Angels, Thou didst come down to earth that Thou mightest espouse her to Thyself with constant love, and produce from her, in her, and by her, the children of all perfection. And she clung to Thee with such fidelity that she began her service even when Thou wert in Thy Mother’s womb, for Thy Body was of all the smallest ; at Thy Birth she received Thee in a manger and a stable ; and during Thy life she so stripped Thee of all things that she would not even allow Thee a stone whereon to rest Thy Head. As a most faithful consort she accompanied Thee when Thou didst go forth to fight for our Redemption ; and in the conflict of Thy Passion she alone stood by as Thy armour-bearer ; when Thy disciples fled, and denied Thy Name, she did not leave Thee, but with the whole band of her princes, she fearlessly adhered to Thee, On account of the height of Thy Cross, even Thy Mother (who so devotedly loved Thee, and shared so deeply in the bitterness of Thy Passion) could not reach Thee ; but Thy Lady Poverty, with her companion Want, embraced Thee more closely than ever, and was more firmly united to Thee in Thy sufferings. Therefore she would not allow Thy Cross to be smoothed or in any way polished ; the very nails were (as is believed) too few in number, not sharpened nor ground ; but she provided only three, — blunt, thick, and rough, — in order to increase Thy torments. And when Thou wast consumed with thirst, she, Thy faithful spouse, was there, and did not allow Thee to have even a drop of water ; but by means of the impious executioners, she prepared for Thee a draught so bitter, that Thou couldst only taste, not drink it. In the strong, embrace of this Thy spouse, Thou didst breathe forth Thy Soul, Nor did she forsake Thee at Thy burial, but she took care that Thou shouldst have neither sepulchre, nor ointments, nor winding-clothes, except what were lent Thee by others. This Thy most holy spouse was not absent from Thy Resurrection, for rising gloriously in her embrace Thou didst leave in the Sepulchre all these borrowed things. Thou didst bear her with Thee to heaven, leaving all that is in the world. And now Thou hast given to Thy Lady Poverty the seal of Thy Kingdom, that she may sign the elect who walk in the way of perfection. Oh, who would not love the Lady Poverty above all ! I beseech Thee to grant me this privilege ; I beg to be enriched with this much-desired treasure. O most poor Jesus, I ask this favour for myself and my children for ever, that for love of Thee they may never possess anything of their own, that they may use the goods of others sparingly, and that they may suffer Poverty as long as they live in this miserable world. Amen.