Tractatus Prior, Pars Prior, Cap. 18. De sancta praedicatione et salutari doctrina lesu.

Tractatus Prior, Pars Prior, Cap. 18. De sancta praedicatione et salutari doctrina lesu.

I bless you and give thanks to you, Lord Jesus Christ, good shepherd and faithful guardian of your sheep, for your loving concern for the salvation of souls and for the ardent desire to proclaim the word of God to the people, who after your departure came from the desert to preach the kingdom of heaven and sounded the saving trumpet throughout all Judea, so that all might repent, despise the life of this world, and hasten to seek the heavenly goods. O sweetest Jesus, with such diligent care you went through the streets and squares, towns and castles, to convert sinners, heal the brokenhearted, and grant forgiveness to those truly repentant. I praise and glorify you with all my heart for your sweet teaching and fervent preaching, which spread throughout all of Galilee and Judea, and for your renowned fame that has been proclaimed far and wide to foreign nations. Blessed are your holy lips and your most gracious tongue, through which you have so often expressed the sweetness of heavenly life and revealed the eternal truths of reality, and you have announced to the whole world the true and wonderful light, which you yourself are, with a voice that is clear and open. I ask you, most loving Jesus, best of teachers, to grant me the flowing streams of your saving doctrine, that I may drink deeply with a thirsty heart, diligently observe, wisely understand, sweetly taste, and shape all my actions according to the sacred words of your mouth, because I find the path to perfection so clearly and promptly, just as it is revealed to me and to all in the most brilliant mirror of the holy Gospel. In you, Lord, is the fountain of eternal wisdom, the light of life, and the fullness of all goodness that overflows and endures. So incline my heart to your testimonies. Open my ear to the words of your mouth. Turn away my eyes, so they won’t see vanity; revive me in the way of your life. Although the style of the Gospel may seem simple and easy, it is, however, profound and lofty, full of heavenly mysteries, which the whole world is not sufficient to grasp.