Many do not know about Saint John Eudes. (This was written prior to his canonization.) The Breviary tells us that he is the author of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary in his fight against the terrible heresy of Jansenism in the 1600s. Of this we read that John Eudes is: "Blessed Margaret Mary's precursor in promoting a special devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and styled by the Sovereign Pontiff himself, Pius X., the originator of their liturgical worship." Let us consider this: "The first adorer of the Sacred Heart was the Blessed Mother herself. The first line of Father Faber's hymn to St. John the Evangelist calls him" Saint of the Sacred Heart." With him Divine Love carried into reality the fancy of human love, making him" rather feel than see the beatings of His Heart." Long afterwards St. Gertrude in one of her ecstasies asked St. John why he had not explained for the good of the Church all the beatings of the Heart of Jesus, having himself drunk them in from Their source as he leaned on the bosom of Our Lord; and this favoured Apostle of the Sacred Heart replied to the holy Virgin that the full persuasive sweetness of that Divine Heart was reserved to be revealed at a later time when the world should have grown old and be sunk in tepidity, that it might thus be rekindled and reawakened to the love of God." And this on Eudes' progress: "More fully than any other before the wonderful revelation, in which Jesus said, "Behold this Heart, so loving and so little loved " Father Eudes entered into the spirit of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart; but this, instead of lessening, increases the glory of Blessed Margaret Mary. Not he with his marvellous powers of sacred eloquence, and with his devoted disciples to second his efforts, and with his wide influence already acquired over priests and people-not he, but a timid, cloistered nun in an obscure village was chosen to inaugurate that mighty development of the devotion to the Heart of our Divine Redeemer as the living symbol of His Love, which has ever since been so marvellously blessed by God -never and nowhere more marvellously than in our own day and in our own country. In the development of this devotion Father Eudes followed the usual order, Per Mariam ad Jesum, "Through Mary to Jesus." From the dawn of bis spiritual life he cherished a chivalrous allegiance to the Queen of Heaven, and he soon learned to dwell lovingly in his prayers and sermons and writings on the tenderness and holiness of her Immaculate Heart. The greatest, perhaps, and certainly the longest of his' works, has for its theme and its name, "Le Coeur Admirable de la tres sacree Mere de Dieu, ou la Devotion au tres Saint Coeur de la Bienheureuse Vierge Marie." This has just been reprinted, very carefully edited and annotated, in the very admirable edition of his complete works with which the filial piety of his sons has enriched the ascetic literature of the Church. In this series it fills three large volumes (sixth, seventh, and eighth), containing between them eighteen hundred ample pages, full of solid learning and the most ardent piety; full also of holy prayers like this: - "0 Jesus, only Son of God, Who hast willed to be the only Son of Mary, and to place us in the rank of her children and Thy brothers, make us sharers, we beseech Thee, in the love that Thou bearest to her, as also in the love that she bears to Thee, in order that we may love Jesus with Mary's heart and that we may love Mary with the Heart of Jesus, and that we may have only one heart and one love with Jesus and Mary."

A daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament is recommended to all faithful Catholics, and yet what to do, during that visit. How can we keep it from becoming a routine of the same prayers rattled off day after day? How can we go and spend quality time with the Prisoner of Love? Father Russell offers us an observation: "In these Visits the thoughts suggested are not always thrown into the form of a prayer. One cannot at all times command the attention and fervour that one desires to have while addressing directly the Divine Tenant of the Tabernacle. It is useful sometimes to interrupt our prayer and to let the mind rest quietly on some thought holy enough for the sacred spot where we are kneeling or sitting." And let us consider this: "SACRAMENTUM altaris est amor amorum. This phrase of St. Bernard means, no doubt, that the Sacrament of the Altar is the supreme proof of God's love for man. But the Sacrament of the Altar is also the supreme incentive to love the most tender and most ardent that man can have for God. We have all of us good right to be frightened when we think of the return that we have made to Our Lord for this marvel of His love. In nothing else do we fail more sadly than in all that regards our visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Whatever was done by the Faithful in past centuries, whatever may be done at present by persons in other ranks of life, in other circumstances of occupation, residence, etc.-it is certain that he who writes these words and many of those who will read them are so circumstanced in every respect that they have no valid excuse for the manner in which they have neglected and, perhaps, continue to neglect the sources of grace that are open to them through that exercise of faith and piety which we call "a visit to the Blessed Sacrament." There are persons in the world so absorbed in the duties and interests of their state, so circumstanced altogether that they are free from blame for acting almost as if they forgot the dogma of the Real Presence except during one hour of the day out of the whole week. Many of them, indeed, could by a generous effort do something more for their faith; but God in H is mercy will take all things into account, and will not expect much fronl such as these. But He expects much more from us, and, alas have we yet reached that low standard, the least that can be expected?"

A kneeling bench or kneeler for one person is also called a priedieu, that is to pray to God from the French. Let us read some of these papers that came forth from holy prayer. "The desire of a desire As we speak of the delusive pleasures of this sinful and fleeting world as being false as the dream of a dream, meaning this to denote the very extreme of deceitfulness, the maximum of unreality, so the minimum of earnestness in our good desires, the least possible amount of determination in a holy purpose, might seem to be conveyed by the phrase, "the desire of a desire." Yet it is this that the penitent king puts forward as one of his claims on the mercy and bounty of his Creator, that at all times, in his very worst time, he had at least always coveted to desire the justifications of God." Let us indeed have a true desire for Almighty God Let us consider this in a talk about uncharitable talk: "We have all of us often been surprised at the disagreeable things that very pious and amiable people can allow themselves to say about other people. Persons who deny themselves every other sinful indulgence make compensation to themselves by indulging pretty freely in this. No doubt conversation is made more spicy by being well sprinkled over with proper names. The index at the end of most volumes is generally nothing more than a list of the persons referred to in the preceding pages; and the summary of most conversations might also be, not an Index Rerum, but an Index Nominum. When the interest flags, some one breaks in with the question, "Did you, hear what happened to So-and-so last week?" In public and private discourse personality is a sovereign somnifuge." Commenting on the sacred text: "Child, give Me thy heart," Father Russell says: "This simple phrase furnishes a key to all the dealings of God with man. It does not explain-for mysteries cannot be explained-but it summarizes, it announces clearly and briefly, the mystery of mysteries, which alone explains all other mysteries: namely, the supreme mystery of God's love for man." A chapter is devoted to considering the four 'fiats' that is let it be done, such as the fiat that created the world and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And let us consider some thoughts on pain: "THERE have been many things written on the blessings of pain. "Pain," says a recent writer, "is a hideous fairy, repulsive yet benevolent. It is a protector and monitor, a companion whose good offices are not valued until he has departed. The traps and snares of life would remain hidden without pain. Imagine," he adds, "the consequences resulting from the absence of any pain-for instance, hunger, indigestion, fatigue, etc." Yes, both in the physical and in the moral order pain plays a very useful part. This thesis, however, is not to be proved here, except in as far as a proof of its spiritual efficacy may be implied in some of the testimonies which we now proceed to adduce from various quarters in favour of pain." He then proceeds to quote from Father Faber, Saint Teresa and Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi. He follows with thoughts for Good Friday, Ascension and several other times of the year. ""To Thee, O Lord have I lifted up my soul." A good beginning for every prayer and every meditation, but especially for a meditation, however brief and slight, on my sins. Before daring to think of my sins I must first try to lift up my soul to God, to live in the white light of His sanctity. To grope among the sins and the miseries of the past may be dangerous in some states of the soul It may be a fresh temptation."

St. Alphonsus writes: "a single bad book will be sufficient to cause the destruction of a monastery." Pope Pius XII wrote in 1947 at the beatification of Blessed Maria Goretti: "There rises to Our lips the cry of the Saviour: 'Woe to the world because of scandals ' (Matthew 18:7). Woe to those who consciously and deliberately spread corruption-in novels, newspapers, magazines, theaters, films, in a world of immodesty " We at St. Pius X Press are calling for a crusade of good books. We want to restore 1,000 old Catholic books to the market. We ask for your assistance and prayers. This book is a photographic reprint of the original. The original has been inspected and some imperfections may remain. At Saint Pius X Press our goal is to remain faithful to the original in both photographic reproductions and in textual reproductions that are reprinted. Photographic reproductions are given a page by page inspection, whereas textual reproductions are proofread to correct any errors in reproduction.