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THE 


LITUKGICAL     YEAE. 


PASSIONTIDE 


AND 


HOLY    WEEK. 


THE 


IStturattal  W>t&v> 


BY  THE 


V.  R.  DOM  PROSPER  GUERANGER, 

ABBOT    OF    SOLESMES. 


Cranslateti  from  tfje  jftentib, 

BY    THE 

REV.  DOM  LAURENCE  SHEPHERD, 

MONK   OF   THE   ENGLISH-BENEDICTINE   CONGREGATION. 


PASSIONTTDE 

AND 

HOLY   WEEK. 


[second  edition.] 


DUBLIN : 
JAMES  DUFFY,  15.  WELLINGTON- QUAY ; 

AND 
22   PATERNOSTER-ROW,    LONDON. 

1886. 


i 


PRINTED    AT 
SAINT   MARY'S   ABBEY,    STANBROOK, 
WORCESTER. 


36.</t>l 


PASSIONTIDE 

AND 

HOLY  WEEK 


PREFACE. 

This  Volume  completes  our  explanation  of 
the  Lenten  Liturgy ;  but  it  has  its  own 
special  character,  because  of  the  subject  it 
treats  of.  The  Church  devotes  the  last  two 
weeks  cf  Lent  to  the  Sufferings  and  Death 
of  Jesus  :  the  Passion,  therefore,  is  the 
great  subject  of  this  portion  of  our  Litur- 
gical Tear, 

Though  the  Volume  be  so  bulky,  yet  we 
are  far  from  having  exhausted  our  subjedt. 
We  have  been  obliged  to  limit  ourselves 
to  a  choice  from  the  riches  offered  to  us  in 
the  magnificent  Offices  of  these  fourteen 
days ;  and  such  a  choice  was  no  easy  mat- 
ter, when  it  had  to  be  made  from  such 
abundant  Mysteries,  teeming  with  sublime 
and  pathetic  teachings.  We  are  far  from 
flattering  ourselves  that  we  have  said  all 
that  can  be  said  of  Holy  Week.     We  have 


IV  PREFACE. 

but  given  a  short  compendium  of  its  won- 
derful beauties  ;  and  we  shall  have  gained 
the  object  we  proposed  to  ourselves,  if  these 
pages  assist  the  Faithful  to  relish  the 
Divine  Mystery  of  the  Passion,  and  to  fol- 
low the  Church  in  her  celebration  of  it. 

We  have  not  inserted  in  this  Volume  the 
Saints'  Feasts,  which  may  be  kept  during 
Passion  Week.  The  number  of  such  Feasts 
is  very  great,  owing  to  the  variation  of 
Easter-Tide ;  and  their  insertion  would 
have  made  our  Volume  inconveniently 
large.  Our  readers,  therefore,  must  refer 
to  our  "Lent"  for  the  Feasts  of  that  Week. 


CONTENTS. 


Preface,  iii 

PASSIONTIDE  AND  HOLY  WEEK. 

Chapter  I. — The  History  of  Passiontide  and  Holy- 
Week,  .         ...         .         .         1 

Chap.       II. — The  Mystery  of  Passiontide  and  Holy 

Week, 11 

Chap.      III. — Practice  during  Passiontide  and   Holy 

Week,  .         .         .         .         .         .       15 

Chap.  IV. — Morning  and  Night  Prayers  for  Passion- 
tide and  Holy  Week,  .         .         .25 

Chap.        V. — On  hearing  Mass,   during  Passiontide 

and  Holy  Week,  38 

Chap.  VI.— On  Holy  Communion,  during  Passion- 
tide and  Holy  Week,  .         .         .73 

Chap.  VII. — Of  the  Office  of  Vespers  for  Sundays 
and  Feasts,  during  Passiontide  and 
Holy  Week, 80 

Chap.  VIII. — On  the  Office  of  Compline,  during  Pas- 
siontide and  Holy  Week,  .         .       91 


PROPER  OF  THE  TIME. 

Passion  Sunday, 103 

Mass, 107 

Vespers, 118 

Monday  in  Passion  Week, 121 

Tuesday, 132 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


*¥&szaj-c  ^ 


,   Wednesday,         ^±.    , 
■<cf    Thursday,  <2^<y/  f$  /$f-vx 

Friday  in  Passion  Week. — The  Seven 

the  Blessed  Virgin. — 161 

Saturday, 182 


Palm  Sunday,    .... 

The  Blessing  of  the  Palms, 
The  Procession, 

Mass,  . 

Vespers, 
Monday  in  Holy  Week, 
Tuesday  in  Holy  Week, 
Wednesday  in  Holy  Week, 

Office  of  Tenebrae, 


194 
203 
214 
219 

238 
244 

258 
277 
300 


Maundy  Thursday,  .... 
The  Night  Office, 
The  Morning, 

The  Reconciliation  of  Penitents, 
The  Blessing  of  the  Holy  Oils,  • 
The  Mass,    .... 
Vespers,       .... 
The  Stripping  of  the  Altars, 
The  Washing  of  the  Feet,    . 
The  Office  of  Tenebrae, 
The  Evening, 


.  306 

.  ibid. 

.  352 

.  354 

.  360 

.  368 

.  386 

.  392 

.  396 

.  402 

.  ibid. 


Good  Friday,     . 

The  Night  Office, 

The  Morning, 

The  Morning  Service, 

The  Lessons, 

The  Prayers, 

The  Veneration  of  the  Cross, 

The  "  Improperia  "  or  "  Reproaches,' 


414 
ibid. 
450 
464 
465 
479 
485 
490 


CONTENTS. 


Vll 


Mass  of  the  Presanctified, 

Vespers, 

Afternoon,   . 

The  Office  of  Tenebrae, 

The  Evening, 


495 
500 
501 
510 

ibid. 


Holy  Saturday, 

The  Night  Office,  .... 

The  Morning,       ..... 

The  Morning  Service,  .... 

The  blessing  of  the  new  Fire  and  Incense, 
The  Paschal  Candle,     .... 

The  Prophecies,    ..... 

The  blessing  of  the  Font,     . 
Baptism,      ...... 

Confirmation,        ..... 

The  Litany, 

Mass, 

Vespers,       ...... 

The  Evening,       ..... 


.  519 

.  ibid. 

.  546 

.  550 

.  552 

.  560 

.  566 

.  603 

.  614 

.  616 

.  619 

.  622 

.  630 

.  632 


PASSIONTIDE 


AND 


HOLY     WEEK. 


CHAPTER  THE  FIRST. 

THE    HISTORY    OF    PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

After  having  proposed  the  forty-days'  Fast  of  Jesus 
in  the  Desert  to  the  meditation  of  the  Faithful  during 
the  first  four  weeks  of  Lent,  the  Holy  Church  gives 
the  two  weeks,  which  still  remain  before  Easter,  to 
the  commemoration  of  the  Passion.  She  would  not 
have  her  children  come  to  the  great  Day  of  the  immo- 
lation of  the  Lamb,  without  their  having  prepared  for 
it  by  compassionating  with  him  in  the  sufferings  he 
endured  in  their  stead. 

The  most  ancient  Sacramentaries  and  Antiphona- 
ries  of  the  several  Churches  attest,  by  the  Prayers,  the 
Lessons,  and  the  whole  Liturgy  of  these  two  weeks, 
that  the  Passion  of  our  Lord  is  now  the  one  sole 
thought  of  the  Christian  world.  During  Passion 
Week,  a  Saint's  Feast,  if  it  occur,  will  be  kept ;  but 
Passion  Sunday  admits  no  Feast,  however  solemn  it 
may  be ;  and  even  on  those  which  are  kept  during 
the  days  intervening  between  Passion  and  Palm 
Sundays,  there  is  always  made  a  commemoration  of 
the  Passion,  and  the  holy  Images  are  not  allowed  to 
be  uncovered. 

We  cannot   give  any  historical  details  upon  the 


2  PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY   WEEK. 

first  of  these  two  Weeks ;  its  ceremonies  and  rites 
have  always  been  the  same  as  those  of  the  four  pre- 
ceding ones.1  We,  therefore,  refer  the  reader  to  the 
following  Chapter,  in  which  we  treat  of  the  mysteries 
peculiar  to  Passiontide.  The  second  week,  on  the 
contrary,  furnishes  us  with  abundant  historical 
details ;  for  there  is  no  portion  of  the  Liturgical 
Year,  which  has  interested  the  Christian  world  so 
much  as  this,  or  which  has  given  rise  to  such  fervent 
manifestations  of  piety. 

This  week  was  held  in  great  veneration  even  as 
early  as  the  3rd  century,  as  we  learn  from  St.  Denis, 
Bishop  of  Alexandria,  who  lived  at  that  time.2  In 
the  following  century,  we  find  St.  John  Chrysostom 
calling  it  the  Great  Week:1  "not,"  says  the  holy 
Doctor,  "that  it  has  more  days  in  it  than  other  weeks, 
"  or  that  its  days  are  made  up  of  more  hours  than 
"  other  days ;  but  we  call  it  Great,  because  of  the 
"  great  Mysteries  which  are  then  celebrated."  We 
find  it  called  also  by  other  names  :  the  Painful  Week 
(Hebdomada  Poenosa) ,  on  account  of  the  Sufferings 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the  fatigue  required 
from  us  in  celebrating  them;  the  Week  of  Indulgence, 
because  sinners  are  then  received  to  penance  ;  and, 
lastly,  Holy  Week,  in  allusion  to  the  holiness  of  the 
Mysteries  which  are  commemorated  during  these 
seven  days.  This  last  name  is  the  one,  under  which 
it  most  generally  goes  with  us  ;  and  the  very  days 
themselves  are,  in  many  countries,  called  by  the 
same  name,  Holy  Monday,  Holy  Tuesday,  Good 
Friday,  Holy  Saturday. 

The  severity  of  the  Lenten  Fast  is  increased  during 
these  its  last  days ;  the  whole  energy  of  the  spirit  of 
penance  is  now  brought  out.     Even  with  us,  the 

1  It  would  be  out  of  place  to  enter  here  on  a  discussion  with  reg  ml 
to  the  name  Mediana,  under  which  title  we  find  Passion  Sunday 
mentioned  both  in  ancient  Liturgies  and  in  Canon  La 

2  Epist.  <td  ihisUuimi.  Canon  I.  :;  Horn  \x\.  in  (<• 


HISTORY.  6 

dispensation  which  allows  the  use  of  eggs  ceases 
towards  the  middle  of  this  Week.  The  Eastern 
Churches  have  kept  up  far  more  of  the  ancient 
traditions;  and  their  observance  of  abstinence,  during 
these  days,  is  far  more  severe  than  ours.  The  Greeks 
call  this  week  Xeropliagia,  that  is,  the  week  when 
no  other  food  is  allowed  but  that  which  is  dry,  such 
as  bread,  water,  salt,  dried  fruits,  raw  vegetables : 
every  kind  of  seasoning  is  forbidden.  In  the  early 
ages,  Fasting,  during  Holy  Week,  was  carried  to  the 
utmost  limits  that  human  nature  could  endure.  We 
learn  from  St.  Epiphanius,1  that  there  were  some  of 
the  Christians  who  observed  a  strict  fast  from  Mon- 
day morning  to  cock-crow  of  Easter  Sunday.  Of 
course,  it  must  have  been  very  few  of  the  Faithful 
who  could  go  so  far  as  this.  Many  passed  two, 
three,  and  even  four  consecutive  days,  without  tast- 
ing any  food  ;  but  the  general  practice  was  to  fast 
from  Maundy  Thursday  evening  to  Easter  morning. 
Many  Christians  in  the  East,  and  in  Russia,  observe 
this  fast,  even  in  these  times : — would  that  such  severe 
penance  were  always  accompanied  by  a  firm  faith 
and  union  with  the  Church,  out  of  which,  the  merit 
of  such  penitential  works  is  of  no  avail  for  salvation ! 
Another  of  the  ancient  practices  of  Holy  Week 
were  the  long  hours  spent,  during  the  night,  in  the 
Churches.  On  Maundy  Thursday,  after  having  cele- 
brated the  divine  mysteries  in  remembrance  of  the 
Last  Supper,  the  faithful  continued  a  long  time  in 
prayer.2  The  night  between  Friday  and  Saturday  was 
spent  in  one  uninterrupted  vigil,  in  honour  of  our  Lord's 
Burial.3  But  the  longest  of  all  these  vigils  was  that 
of  Saturday,  which  was  kept  up  till  Easter  Sunday 
morning  :  it  was  one  in  which  the  whole  of  the  people 


1  JExpositio  fidei.  ix.  Hceres.  xxii. 

2  St.  John  Chrysostom,  Horn.  xxx.  in  Genes. 

3  St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  Catech.  xviii. 


4  fASSlONTlDE   AND   HOLY   WEEK. 

joined  :  they  assisted  at  the  final  preparation  of 
the  Catechumens,  as  also  at  the  administration  of 
Baptism,  nor  did  they  leave  the  Church  until  after 
the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  which  was  not 
over  till  sunrise.1 

Cessation  from  servile  work  was,  for  a  long  time, 
an  obligation  during  Holy  Week.  The  civil  law 
united  with  that  of  the  Church  in  order  to  bring 
about  this  solemn  rest  from  toil  and  business,  which 
so  eloquently  expresses  the  state  of  mourning  of  the 
christian  world.  The  thought  of  the  sufferings  and 
death  of  Jesus  was  the  one  pervading  thought :  the 
divine  Offices  and  Prayer  were  the  sole  occupation  of 
the  people  :  and,  indeed,  all  the  strength  of  the  body 
was  needed  for  the  support  of  the  austerities  of 
fasting  and  abstinence.  We  can  readily  understand 
what  an  impression  was  made  upon  men's  minds, 
during  the  whole  of  the  rest  of  the  year,  by  this  uni- 
versal suspension  of  the  ordinary  routine  of  life. 
Moreover,  when  we  call  to  mind  how,  for  five  full 
weeks,  the  severity  of  Lent  had  waged  war  on  the 
sensual  appetites,  we  can  imagine  the  simple  and 
honest  joy,  wherewith  was  welcomed  the  feast  of 
Easter,  which  brought  both  the  regeneration  of  the 
soul,  and  respite  to  the  body. 

In  the  preceding  volume,  we  mentioned  the  laws 
of  the  Theodosian  Code,  which  forbade  all  law  busi- 
ness during  the  forty  days  preceding  Easter.  This 
law  of  Grratian  and  Theodosius,  which  was  pub- 
lished in  380,  was  extended  by  Theodosius,  in  389  ; 
this  new  decree  forbade  all  pleadings  during  the 
seven  days  before,  and  the  seven  days  after,  Easter. 
We  meet  with  several  allusions  to  this  then  recent 
laAV,  in  the  Homilies  of  St.  John  Chrysostom,  and  in 
the  Sermons  of  St.  Augustine.  In  virtue  of  this 
decree,  each  of  these  fifteen  days  was  considered,  as 
far  as  the  courts  of  law  were  concerned,  as  a  Sunday. 

1  Const.  Apost.  lib.  i.  cap.  xviii. 


HISTORY.  O 

But  christian  Princes  were  not  satisfied  with  the 
mere  suspension  of  human  justice  during  these  days, 
which  are  so  emphatically  days  of  mercy  ;  they  would, 
moreover,  pay  homage,  by  an  external  act,   to  the 
fatherly  goodness  of  God,  who  has  deigned  to  pardon 
a  guilty  world,  through  the  merits  of  the  death  of  his 
Son.     The  Church  was  on  the  point  of  giving  Recon- 
ciliation to  repentant  sinners,  who  had  broken  the 
chains  of  sin,  whereby  they  were  held  captives  :  chris- 
tian Princes  were   ambitious  to   imitate   this   their 
Mother,  and  they  ordered  that  prisoners  should  be 
loosened  from  their  chains,  that  the  prisons  should  be 
thrown  open,  and  that  freedom  should  be  restored  to 
those  who  had  fallen  under  the  sentence  of  human 
tribunals.     The  only  exception   made  was  that  of 
criminals,  whose  freedom  would  have  exposed  their 
families  or  society  to  great  danger.     The  name  of 
Theodosius  stands  prominent  in  these  acts  of  mercy. 
We  are  told  by   St.  John   Chrysostom,1  that   this 
Emperor  sent  letters  of  pardon  to  the  several  cities, 
ordering  the  release  of  prisoners,  and  granting  life  to 
those  that  had  been  condemned  to  death,  and  all  this 
in  order  to  sanctify  the  days  preceding  the  Easter 
Feast.    The  last  Emperors  made  a  law  of  this  custom, 
as  we  find  in  one  of  St.  Leo's  Sermons,  where  he  thus 
speaks  of  their  clemency :  "  The  Roman  Emperors 
"  have  long  observed  this  holy  practice.    In  honour  of 
<'  our  Lord's  Passion  and  Resurrection,  they  humbly 
«*  withhold  the  exercise  of  their  sovereign  justice,  and, 
ll  laying  aside  the  severity  of  their  laws,  they  grant 
<'  pardon  to  a  great  number  of  criminals.     Their  in- 
<'  tention  in  this  is  to  imitate  the  divine  goodness  by 
«'  their  own  exercise  of  clemency  during  these  days, 
<'  when  the  world   owes  its  salvation  to  the  divine 
«'  mercy.     Let,  then,  the  christian  people  imitate  their 

lHomil .   in  magn.  Hebdom.   Homil.  xxx.  in  Genes.   Homil.  vi.  ad 
popul.  Antioch. 


6  PASSIONTIDE   AND   HOLY  WEEK. 

"  Princes,  and  let  the  example  of  kings  induce  subjects 
"  to  forgive  each  other  their  private  wrongs,  for,  surely 
"it  is  absurd  that  private  laws  should  be  less  un- 
"  relenting  than  those  which  are  public.  Let  tres- 
"  passes  be  forgiven,  let  bonds  be  taken  off,  let 
"  offences  be  forgotten,  let  revenge  be  stiflled  ;  that 
"  thus  the  sacred  Feast  may,  by  both  divine  and  human 
"  favours,  find  us  all  happy  and  innocent."1 

This  christian  amnesty  was  not  confined  to  the 
Theodosian  Code  ;  we  find  traces  of  it  in  the  laws  of 
several  of  our  western  countries.  We  may  mention 
France  as  an  example.  Under  the  first  race  of  its 
kings,  St.  Eligius,  Bishop  of  Noyon,  in  a  sermon 
for  Maundy  Thursday,  thus  expresses  himself  :  "  On 
"  this  day,  when  the  Church  grants  indulgence  to 
"  Penitents  and  absolution  to  sinners, — Magistrates, 
"  also,  relent  in  their  severity,  and  grant  pardon  to 
"  the  guilty.  Throughout  the  whole  world,  prisons 
"  are  thrown  open  ;  Princes  show  clemency  to  crimi- 
"  nals  ;  Masters  forgive  their  slaves."2  Under  the 
second  Race,  we  learn,  from  the  Capitularia  of 
Charlemagne,  that  Bishops  had  a  right  to  exact  from 
the  Judges,  for  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  (as  it  is 
expressed,)  that  prisoners  should  be  set  free  on  the 
days  preceding  Easter,3  and,  should  the  Magistrates 
refuse  to  obey,  the  Bishops  could  refuse  them  ad- 
mission into  the  Church.4  And  lastly,  under  the 
third  Race,  we  find  Charles  the  6th,  after  quelling 
the  rebellion  at  Rouen,  giving  orders,  later  on,  that 
the  prisoners  should  be  set  at  liberty,  because  it  was 
Painful  "Week,  and  very  near  to  the  Easter  Feast.5 

A  last  vestige  of  this  merciful  legislation  was  a 
custom  observed  by  the  Parliament  of  Paris.  The 
ancient  christian  practice  of  suspending  its  sessions 

1  Serm.  xl.  de  Quadragesima,  ii.  a  Serin,  x. 

3  We  learn  from  the  same  Capitularia,  that  this  privilege  was  also 
extended  to  Christmas  and  Pentecost. 

4  Capitular,  lib.  vi.  5  Jean  Juvenal  des  Ursins,  year  1382. 


HISTORY.  ( 

during  the  whole  of  Lent,  had  long  been  abolished  : 
it  was  not  till  the  Wednesday  of  Holy  "Week  that 
the  House  was  closed,  which  it  continued  to  be  from 
that  day  until  after  Low  Sunday.  On  the  Tuesday 
of  Holy  Week,  which  was  the  last  day  granted  for 
audiences,  the  Parliament  repaired  to  the  Palace 
prisons,  and  there,  one  of  the  Grand  Presidents, 
generally  the  last  installed,  held  a  session  of  the 
House.  The  prisoners  were  questioned ;  but,  without 
any  formal  judgment,  all  those  whose  case  seemed 
favourable,  or  who  were  not  guilty  of  some  capital 
offence,  were  set  at  liberty. 

The  revolutions  of  the  last  eighty  years  have  pro- 
duced in  every  country  in  Europe  the  seculari- 
sation of  society,  that  is  to  say,  the  effacing  from 
onr  national  customs  and  legislation  everything 
which  had  been  introduced  by  the  supernatural 
element  of  Christianity.  The  favourite  theory  of 
the  last  half  century  or  more,  has  been  that  all  men 
are  equal.  The  people  of  the  Ages  of  Faith  had 
something  far  more  convincing  than  theory,  of  the 
sacredness  of  their  rights.  At  the  approach  of  those 
solemn  anniversaries  which  so  forcibly  remind  us  of 
the  Justice  and  Mercy  of  God,  they  beheld  Princes 
abdicating,  as  it  were,  their  sceptre,  leaving  in 
God's  hands  the  punishment  of  the  guilty,  and 
assisting  at  the  holy  Table  of  Paschal  Communion, 
side  by  side  with  those  very  men,  whom,  a  few  days 
before,  they  had  been  keeping  chained  in  prison,  for 
the  good  of  society.  There  was  one  thought,  which, 
during  these  days,  was  strongly  brought  before  all 
nations  :  it  was  the  thought  of  God,  in  whose  eyes  all 
men  are  sinners, — of  God,  from  whom  alone  proceed 
justice  and  pardon.  It  was  in  consequence  of  this 
deep  christian  feeling,  that  we  find  so  many  diplomas 
and  charts  of  the  Ages  of  Faith  speaking  of  the  days 
of  Holy   Week  as  being  the  Reign  of  Christ :  such 

B 


7 


8  PASSIONTIDF    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

an  event,  they  say,  happened  on  such  a  day,  "  Under 
the  Eeign  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  ':  Regnante 
Domino  nostro  Jem  Christo. 

When  these  days  of  holy  and  christian  equality 
were  over,  did  subjects  refuse  submission  to  their 
Sovereigns  ?  Did  they  abuse  the  humility  of  their 
Princes,  and  take  occasion  for  drawing  up  what 
modern  times  call  the  Rig  Jits  of  Man  ?  No  :  that 
same  thought  which  had  inspired  human  justice  to 
humble  itself  before  the  Cross  of  Jesus,  taught  the 
people  their  duty  of  obeying  the  powers  established 
by  Grod.  The  exercise  of  power,  and  submission  to 
that  power,  both  had  Grod  for  their  motive.  They 
who  wielded  the  sceptre  might  be  of  varions  dynas- 
ties :  the  respect  for  authority  was  ever  the  same. 
Now-a-days,  the  Liturgy  has  none  of  her  ancient  in- 
fluence on  society;  Religion  has  been  driven  from  the 
world  at  large,  and  her  only  life  and  power  is  now 
with  the  consciences  of  individuals ;  and  as  to  politi- 
cal institutions,  they  are  but  the  expression  of  human 
pride,  seeking  to  command,  or  refusing  to  obey. 

And  yet,   the  4th  century,  which,   in  virtue  of  the 
christian   spirit,   produced   the  laws   we  have   been 
alluding  to,   was  still  rife  with  the  pagan  element. 
How  comes  it,  that  we,  who  live  in  the  full  light  of 
Christianity,  can  give   the  name  of   Progress  to  a 
system,  which  tends  to  separate  society  from  every- 
thing that  is  supernatural  ?     Men  may  talk  as  they 
please, — there  is  but  one  way  to  secure  order,  peace, 
morality,  and  security  to  the  world  ;    and  that  is 
God's  way,  the  way  of  Faith,  the  living  in  accordance 
with  the  teachings  and  spirit  of  Faith.     All  other 
systems  can,  at  best,  but  flatter  those  human  passions, 
which  are  so  strongly  at  variance  with  the  mysteries 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  we  are  now  celebrat- 
ing. 

We  must  mention  another  law  made  by  the  Chris- 
tian Emperors  in  reference  to  Holy  Week.      If  the 


HISTORY.  9 

spirit  of  charity,  and  a  desire  to  imitate  Divine  Mercy, 
led  them  to  decree  the  liberation  of  prisoners  ;  it  was 
but  acting  consistently  with  these  principles,  that, 
during  these  days,  when  our  Saviour  shed  his  blood 
for  the  emancipation  of  the  human  race,  they  should 
interest  themselves  in  what  regards  Slaves.  Slavery, 
a  consequence  of  sin,  and  the  fundamental  institu- 
tion of  the  pagan  world,  had  received  its  death-blow, 
by  the  preaching  of  the  Q-ospel ;  but  its  gradual 
abolition  was  left  to  individuals,  and  to  their  practical 
exercise  of  the  principle  of  Christian  Fraternity.  As 
our  Lord  and  his  Apostles  had  not  exacted  the  im- 
mediate abolition  of  Slavery,  so,  in  like  manner,  the 
Christian  Emperors  limited  themselves  to  passing 
such  laws  as  would  give  encouragement  to  its  gradual 
abolition.  We  have  an  example  of  this  in  the  Jus- 
tinian Code,  where  this  Prince,  after  having  forbidden 
all  law- proceedings  during  Holy  Week  and  the  week 
following,  lays  down  the  following  exception  :  "It 
"  shall,  nevertheless,  be  permitted  to  give  Slaves  their 
"  liberty  ;  in  such  manner,  that  the  legal  acts  neces- 
"  sary  for  their  emancipation  shall  not  be  counted 
"  as  contravening  this  present  enactment."1  This 
charitable  law  of  Justinian  was  but  the  applying  to 
the  fifteen  days  of  Easter  the  decree  passed  by  Con- 
stantine,  which  forbade  all  legal  proceedings  on  the 
Sundays  throughout  the  year,  excepting  only  such 
acts  as  had  for  their  object  the  emancipation  of 
Slaves. 

But  long  before  the  peace  given  her  by  Constantine, 
the  Church  had  made  provision  for  Slaves,  during 
these  days  when  the  mysteries  of  the  world's  re- 
demption were  accomplished.  Christian  Masters  were 
obliged  to  grant  them  total  rest  from  labour  during 
this  holy  fortnight.  Such  is  the  law  laid  down  in 
the   Apostolic   Constitutions,  which  were   compiled 

1  Cod.  lib.  iii.  tit.  xii.  de  feriis.  Leg.  8. 


10  PASSIONTIUE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

previously  to  the  4th  century.  "  During  the  Great 
"  Week  preceding  the  Day  of  Easter,  and  during  the 
"  week  that  follows,  Slaves  rest  from  labour,  inasmuch 
"  as  the  first  is  the  Week  of  our  Lord's  Passion,  and 
"  the  second  is  that  of  his  Resurrection,  and  the 
"  Slaves  require  to  be  instructed  upon  these  mys- 
"  teries."1 

Another  characteristic  of  the  two  Weeks,  upon 
which  we  are  now  entering,  is  that  of  giving  more 
abundant  alms,  and  of  greater  fervour  in  the  exercise 
of  works  of  mercy.  St.  John  Chrysostom  assures  us 
that  such  was  the  practice  of  his  times  ;  he  passes  an 
encomium  on  the  Faithful,  many  of  whom  redoubled, 
at  this  period,  their  charities  to  the  poor,  which  they 
did  out  of  this  motive, — that  they  might,  in  some 
slight  measure,  imitate  the  Divine  generosity,  which 
is  now  so  unreservedly  pouring  out  its  graces  on 
sinners. 

1  Constit.  Apost.  Lib.  viii.  cap.  xxxiii. 


CHAPTER  THE  SECOND. 

THE    MYSTERY    OF    PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

The  holy  Liturgy  is  rich  in  mystery,  during  these 
days  of  the  Church's  celebrating  the  anniversaries  of 
so  many  wonderful  events  ;  but  as  the  principal  part 
of  these  mysteries  is  embodied  in  the  rites  and  cere- 
monies of  the  respective  days,  we  shall  give  our 
explanations  according  as  the  occasion  presents  itself. 
Our  object,  in  the  present  Chapter,  is  to  say  a  few 
words  respecting  the  general  character  of  the  Myste- 
ries of  these  two  Weeks. 

We  have  nothing  to  add  to  the  explanation, 
already  given  in  our  "Lent,"  on  the  mystery  of 
Forty.  The  holy  season  of  expiation  continues  its 
course,  until  the  fast  of  sinful  man  has  imitated,  in 
its  duration,  that  observed  by  the  Man-God  in  the 
desert.  The  army  of  Christ's  faithful  children  is 
still  fighting  against  the  invisible  enemies  of  man's 
salvation ;  they  are  still  vested  in  their  spiritual 
armour,  and,  aided  by  the  Angels  of  light,  they  are 
struggling  hand  to  hand  with  the  spirits  of  darkness, 
by  compunction  of  heart  and  by  mortification  of  the 
flesh. 

As  we  have  already  observed,  there  are  three 
objects  which  principally  engage  the  thoughts  of  the 
Church  during  Lent.  The  Passion  of  our  Re- 
deemer, which  we  have  felt  to  be  coming  nearer  to 
us  each  week ;  the  preparation  of  the  Catechumens 
for  Baptism,  which  is  to  be  administered  to  them 
on  the  Easter  eve ;  the  Reconciliation  of  the 
public  Penitents,  who  are  to  be  re-admitted  into  the 
Church,  on  the  Thursday,  the  day  of  the  Last  Supper. 


12  PASSIONTIDE   AND   HOLY  WEEK. 

Each  of  these  three  objects  engages  more  and  more 
the  attention  of  the  Church,  the  nearer  she  ap- 
proaches the  time  of  their  celebration. 

The  miracle  performed  by  our  Saviour,  almost  at 
the  very  gates  of  Jerusalem,  and  by  which  he  restored 
Lazarus  to  life,  has  roused  the  fury  of  his  enemies  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  phrensy.  The  people's  enthu- 
siasm has  been  excited  at  seeing  him,  who  had  been 
four  days  in  the  grave,  walking  in  the  streets  of  their 
City.  They  ask  each  other,  if  the  Messias,  when  he 
comes,  can  work  greater  wonders  than  these  done  by 
Jesus,  and  whether  they  ought  not  at  once  to  receive 
this  Jesus  as  the  Messias,  and  sing  their  Hosanna  to 
him  for  he  is  the  Son  of  David  ?  They  cannot  con- 
tain their  feelings  : — Jesus  enters  Jerusalem,  and 
they  welcome  him  as  their  King.  The  High  Priests 
and  Princes  of  the  people  are  alarmed  at  this  de- 
monstration of  feeling  ;  they  have  no  time  to  lose  ; 
they  are  resolved  to  destroy  Jesus.  We  are  going  to 
assist  at  their  impious  conspiracy  :  the  Blood  of  the 
Just  Man  is  to  be  sold,  and  the  price  put  on  it  is 
thirty  silver  pieces.  The  Divine  Victim,  betrayed 
by  one  of  his  Disciples,  is  to  be  judged,  condemned, 
and  crucified.  Every  circumstance  of  this  awful 
tragedy  is  to  be  put  before  us  by  the  Liturgy,  not 
merely  in  words,  but  with  all  the  expressiveness  of  a 
sublime  ceremonial. 

The  Catechumens  have  but  a  few  more  days  to 
wait  for  the  Fount  that  is  to  give  them  Life.  Each 
day,  their  instruction  becomes  fuller  ;  the  figures  of 
the  Old  Law  are  being  explained  to  them  ;  and  very 
little  now  remains  for  them  to  learn  with  regard  to 
the  mysteries  of  Salvation.  The  Symbol  of  Faith  is 
soon  to  be  delivered  to  them.  Initiated  into  the 
glories  and  the  humiliations  of  the  Redeemer,  they 
will  await  with  the  Faithful,  the  moment  of  his 
glorious  Resurrection ;  and  we  shall  accompany 
them  with  our  prayers  and  hymns,  at  that  solemn 


MYSTERY.  13 

hour,  when  leaving  the  defilements  of  sin  in  the  life- 
giving  waters  of  the  Font,  they  shall  come  forth 
pure  and  radiant  with  innocence,  be  enriched  with 
the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  be  fed  with  the 
divine  Flesh  of  the  Lamb  that  liveth  for  ever. 

The  Eeconciliation  of  the  Penitents,  too,  is  close 
at  hand.  Clothed  in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  they  are 
continuing  their  work  of  expiation.  The  Church 
has  still  several  passages  from  the  Sacred  Scriptures 
to  read  to  them,  which,  like  those  we  have  already 
heard  during  the  last  few  weeks,  will  breathe  conso- 
lation and  refreshment  to  their  souls.  The  near 
approach  of  the  day,  when  the  Lamb  is  to  be  slain, 
increases  their  hope,  for  they  know  that  the  Blood 
of  this  Lamb  is  of  infinite  worth,  and  can  take  away 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  Before  the  day  of 
Jesus'  Kesurrection,  they  will  have  recovered  their 
lost  innocence ;  their  pardon  will  come  in  time  to 
enable  them,  like  the  penitent  Prodigal,  to  join  in 
the  great  Banquet  of  that  Thursday,  when  Jesus 
will  say  to  his  guests  :  With  desire  I  have  desired  to 
eat  this  Pasch  ivith  you,  before  I  suffer.1 

Such  are  the  sublime  subjects  which  are  about  to 
be  brought  before  us  :  but,  at  the  same  time,  we 
shall  see  our  holy  Mother  the  Church  mourning,  like 
a  disconsolate  widow,  and  sad  beyond  all  human 
grief.  Hitherto  she  has  been  weeping  over  the  sins 
of  her  children  ;  now  she  bewails  the  death  of  her 
Divine  Spouse.  The  joyous  Alleluia  has  long  since 
been  hushed  in  her  canticles  ;  she  is  now  going  to 
suppress  another  expression,  which  seems  too  glad 
for  a  time  like  the  present.  Partially,  at  first,2  but 
entirely  during  the  last  three  days,  she  is  about  to 
deny  herself  the  use  of  that  formula,   which  is  so 

1  St.  Luke,  xxii.  15. 

2  Unless  it  be  the  Feast  of  a  Saint,  as  frequently  happens  during 
the  first  of  these  two  Weeks.  The  same  exception  is  to  be  made 
in  what  follows. 


14  PASSIONTIDE    AND   HOLY  WEEK. 

dear  to  her  :  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son, 
and  to  the  Holy  Ghost.  There  is  an  accent  of  jubi- 
lation in  these  words,  which  would  ill  suit  her  grief 
and  the  mournfulness  of  the  rest  of  her  chants. 

Her  Lessons,  for  the  Night  Office,  are  taken  from 
Jereniias,  the  Prophet  of  lamentation  above  all 
others.  The  colour  of  her  Vestments  is  the  one 
she  had  on  when  she  assembled  us  at  the  commence- 
ment of  Lent  to  sprinkle  us  with  ashes  ;  but  when 
the  dreaded  day  of  Good  Friday  comes,  purple  would 
not  sufficiently  express  the  depth  of  her  grief ;  she 
will  clothe  herself  in  black,  as  men  do  when  mourn- 
ing the  death  of  a  fellow-mortal,  for  Jesus,  her 
Spouse,  is  to  be  put  to  death  on  that  day :  the 
sins  of  mankind  and  the  rigours  of  the  Divine  Jus- 
tice are  then  to  weigh  him  down,  and,  in  all  the 
realities  of  a  last  agony,  he  is  to  yield  up  his  soul  to 
his  Father. 

The  presentiment  of  that  awful  hour  leads  the 
afflicted  Mother  to  veil  the  image  of  her  Jesus  : 
the  Cross  is  hid  from  the  eyes  of  the  Faithful.  The 
statues  of  the  Saints,  too,  are  covered  ;  for  it  is  but 
just,  that  if  the  glory  of  the  Master  be  eclipsed,  the 
Servant  should  not  appear.  The  interpreters  of 
the  Liturgy  tell  us,  that  this  ceremony  of  veiling 
the  Crucifix,  during  Passiontide,  expresses  the  humi- 
liation, to  which  our  Saviour  subjected  himself,  of 
hiding  himself  when  the  Jews  threatened  to  stone 
him,  as  is  related  in  the  Gospel  of  Passion  Sunday. 
The  Church  begins  this  solemn  rite  with  the  Vespers 
of  the  Saturday  before  Passion  Sunday.  Thus  it  is, 
that  in  those  years,  when  the  Feast  of  our  Lady's 
Annunciation  falls  in  Passion  Week,  the  statue  of 
Mary,  the  Mother  of  God,  remains  veiled,  even  on 
that  very  day  when  the  Archangel  greets  her  as 
hemgfull  of  grace,  and  blessed  among  women. 


CHAPTER  THE  THIED. 

PRACTICE    DURING    PASSIONTIDE     AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

The  past  four  weeks  seem  to  have  been  but  a  pre- 
paration for  the  intense  grief  of  the  Church  during 
these  two.  She  knows  that  men  are  in  search  of  her 
Jesus,  and  that  they  are  bent  on  his  Death.  Before 
twelve  days  are  over,  she  will  see  them  lay  their  sacri- 
legious hands  upon  him.  She  will  have  to  follow  him 
up  the  hill  of  Calvary  ;  she  will  have  to  receive  his 
last  breath  ;  she  must  witness  the  stone  placed  against 
the  Sepulchre  where  his  lifeless  body  is  laid.  We 
cannot,  therefore,  be  surprised  at  her  inviting  all  her 
children  to  contemplate,  during  these  weeks,  Him 
who  is  the  object  of  all  her  love  and  all  her  sadness. 

But  our  Mother  asks  something  more  of  us  than 
compassion  and  tears  ;  she  would  have  us  profit  by 
the  lessons  we  are  to  be  taught  by  the  Passion  and 
Death  of  our  Redeemer.  He  himself,  when  going 
up  to  Calvary,  said  to  the  holy  women,  who  had  the 
courage  to  show  their  compassion  even  before  his 
very  executioners  :  Weep  not  over  me ;  but  tceep  for 
yourselves  and  for  pour  children}  It  was  not  that 
he  refused  the  tribute  of  their  tears,  for  he  was 
pleased  with  this  proof  of  their  affection  ;  but  it  was 
his  love  for  them  that  made  him  speak  thus.  He 
desired,  above  all,  to  see  them  appreciate  the  impor- 
tance of  what  they  were  witnessing,  and  learn  from 
it  how  inexorable  is  Grod's  justice  against  sin. 

During  the  four  weeks  that  have  preceded,  the 
Church  has  been  leading  the  Sinner  to  his  conversion ; 
so  far,  however,  this  conversion  has  been  but  begun  ; 

1  St.  Luke,  xxiii.  28. 


16  PASSIONTIDE    AND   HOLY   WEEK. 

now  she  would  perfect  it.  It  is  no  longer  our  Jesus 
fasting  and  praying  in  the  Desert,  that  she  offers  to 
our  consideration  ;  it  is  this  same  Jesus,  as  the  great 
Victim  immolated  for  the  world's  salvation.  The 
fatal  hour  is  at  hand;  the  power  of  darkness  is 
preparing  to  make  use  of  the  time  that  is  still  left ; 
the  greatest  of  crimes  is  about  to  be  perpetrated. 
A  few  days  hence,  and  the  Son  of  Grod  is  to  be  in  the 
hands  of  sinners,  and  they  will  put  him  to  death. 
The  Church  no  longer  needs  to  urge  her  children  to 
repentance  ;  they  know  too  well,  now,  what  sin  must 
be,  when  it  could  require  such  expiation  as  this. 
She  is  all  absorbed  in  the  thought  of  the  terrible 
event,  which  is  to  close  the  life  of  the  Grod-Man  on 
earth ;  and  by  expressing  her  thoughts  through  the 
holy  Liturgy,  she  teaches  us  what  our  own  sentiments 
should  be. 

The  pervading  character  of  the  prayers  and  rites 
of  these  two  weeks,  is  a  profound  grief  at  seeing  the 
Just  One  persecuted  by  his  enemies  even  to  death, 
and  an  energetic  indignation  against  the  deicides. 
The  formulas,  expressive  of  these  two  feelings,  are, 
for  the  most  part,  taken  from  David  and  the 
Prophets.  Here,  it  is  our  Saviour  himself,  disclosing 
to  us  the  anguish  of  his  soul ;  there,  it  is  the  Church, 
pronouncing  the  most  terrible  anathemas  upon  the 
executioners  of  Jesus.  The  chastisement,  that  is  to 
befal  the  Jewish  nation,  is  prophesied  in  all  its 
frightful  details  ;  and  on  the  last  three  days,  we  shall 
hear  the  Prophet  Jeremias  uttering  his  Lamentations 
over  the  faithless  City.  The  Church  does  not  aim 
at  exciting  idle  sentiment;  what  she  principally 
seeks,  is  to  impress  the  hearts  of  her  children  with  a 
salutary  fear.  If  Jerusalem's  crime  strike  them  with 
horror,  and  if  they  feel  that  they  have  partaken  of 
her  sin,  their  tears  will  flow  in  abundance. 

Let  us,  therefore,  do  our  utmost  to  receive  these 
strong  impressions,  too  little  known,  alas  !  by  the 


PRACTICE.  17 

superficial  piety  of  these  times.  Let  us  reflect  upon 
the  love  and  affection  of  the  Son  of  Grod,  who  has 
treated  his  creatures  with  such  unlimited  confidence, 
lived  their  own  life,  spent  his  three  and  thirty  years 
amidst  them,  not  only  humbly  and  peaceably,  but  in 
going  about,  doing  good}  And  now,  this  life  of  kind- 
ness, condescension  and  humility,  is  to  be  cut  short 
by  the  disgraceful  death,  which  none  but  slaves  en- 
dured— the  death  of  the  Cross.  Let  us  consider,  on 
the  one  side,  this  sinful  people,  who  having  no  crimes 
to  lay  to  Jesus'  charge,  accuse  him  of  his  benefits, 
and  carry  their  detestable  ingratitude  to  such  a  pitch, 
as  to  shed  the  Blood  of  this  innocent  and  Divine 
Lamb ;  and  then,  let  us  turn  to  this  Jesus,  the  Just 
by  excellence,  and  see  him  become  a  prey  to  every 
bitterest  suffering, — his  Soul  sorrowful  even  unto 
death,2 — weighed  down  by  the  malediction  of  our 
sins, — drinking,  even  to  the  very  dregs,  the  Chalice 
he  so  humbly  asks  his  Father  to  take  from  him  ; — 
and,  lastly,  let  us  listen  to  his  dying  words  :  My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ? 3  This  it  is 
that  fills  the  Church  with  her  immense  grief ;  this  it 
is  that  she  proposes  to  our  consideration :  for  she 
knows,  that  if  we  once  rightly  understood  the  Suffer- 
ings of  her  Jesus,  our  attachments  to  sin  must  needs 
be  broken,  for,  by  sin,  we  make  ourselves  guilty  of 
the  crime  we  detest  in  these  Jews. 

But  the  Church  knows,  too,  how  hard  is  the  heart 
of  man,  and  how,  to  make  him  resolve  on  a  thorough 
conversion,  he  must  be  made  to  fear.  For  this  rea- 
son, she  puts  before  us  those  awful  imprecations, 
which  the  Prophets,  speaking  in  Jesus'  person,  pro- 
nounced against  them  that  put  our  Lord  to  death. 
These  prophetic  anathemas  were  literally  fulfilled 
against  the  obdurate  Jews.  They  teach  us  what  the 
Christian,  also,  must  expect,  if,  as  the  Apostle  so 

1  Acts,  x.  38.  2  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  38.  3  Ibid,  xxvii.  46. 


18  PASS10NT1DE   AND   HOLY  WEEK. 

forcibly  expresses  it,  we  again  crucify  the  Son  of 
God.1  In  listening  to  what  the  Church  now  speaks 
to  us,  we  cannot  but  tremble  as  we  recal  to  mind 
those  other  words  of  the  same  Apostle  :  Sow  much 
more,  think  ye,  cloth  he  deserve  worse  punishments, 
who  hath  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and 
hath  esteemed  the  Blood  of  the  testament  unclean, 
(as  though  it  were  some  vile  thing,)  by  which  he  toas 
sanctified,  and  hath  offered  an  affront  to  the  Spirit 
of  grace  ?  For  ice  know  Him  that  hath  said  :  Ven- 
geance belongeth  to  me,  and  I  will  repay.  And 
again :  The  Lord  shall  judge  his  people.  It  is  a 
fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living 
lGod? 

Fearful  indeed  it  is  !  Oh !  what  a  lesson  God  gives 
us  of  his  inexorable  Justice,  during  these  days  of  the 
Passion  ?  He  that  spared  not  even  his  own  Son,3 — 
his  beloved  Son,  in  whom  he  is  well  pleased? — will 
he  spare  us,  if,  after  all  the  graces  he  has  bestowed 
upon  us,  he  should  find  us  in  sin,  which  he  so  un- 
pitifully  chastised  even  in  Jesus,  when  he  took  it 
upon  himself,  that  he  might  atone  for  it  ?  Considera- 
tions such  as  these, — the  Justice  of  Grod  towards  the 
most  innocent  and  august  of  Victims,  and  the  punish- 
ments that  befel  the  impenitent  Jews, — must  surely 
destroy  within  us  every  affection  to  sin,  for  they  will 
create  within  us  that  salutary  fear,  which  is  the  solid 
foundation  of  firm  hope  and  tender  love. 

For,  if,  by  our  sins,  we  have  made  ourselves  guilty 
of  the  death  of  the  Son  of  Grod,  it  is  equally  true,  that 
the  Blood,  which  flows  from  his  sacred  Wounds,  has 
the  power  to  cleanse  us  from  the  guilt  of  our  crime. 
The  Justice  of  our  heavenly  Father  cannot  be  ap- 
peased, save  by  the  shedding  of  this  precious  Blood  ; 
and  the  Mercy  of  this  same  Father  of  ours  wills  that 

1  Heb.  vi.  6.  *  Rom.  viii.  32. 

2  Ibid.  x.  29,  30,  31.  *  St.  Matth.  iii.  17. 


PRACTICE.  19 

it  be  spent  for  our  ransom.  The  cruelty  of  Jesus' 
executioners  have  made  Five  Wounds  in  his  sacred 
Body ;  and  from  these,  there  flow  Five  sources  of 
salvation,  which  purify  the  world,  and  restore  within 
each  one  of  us  that  image  of  Grod,  which  sin  had 
destroyed.  Let  us,  then,  approach  with  confidence 
to  this  redeeming  Blood,  which  throws  open  to  the 
sinner  the  gates  of  heaven,  and  whose  worth  is  such 
that  it  could  redeem  a  million  worlds,  were  they  even 
more  guilty  than  this  of  ours.  We  are  close  upon  the 
anniversary  of  the  day  when  it  was  shed  ;  long  ages 
have  passed  away  since  it  flowed  down  the  wounded 
body  of  our  Jesus,  and  fell  in  streams,  from  the  cross, 
upon  this  ungrateful  earth  ;  and  yet,  its  power  is  as 
great  as  ever. 

Let  us  go,  then,  and  draw  from  the  Saviour's 
fountains  ;}  our  souls  will  come  forth  full  of  life,  all 
pure,  and  dazzling  with  heavenly  beauty  ;  not  one 
spot  of  their  old  defilements  will  be  left  ;  and  the 
Father  will  love  us  with  the  love  wherewith  he  loves 
his  own  Son.  Why  did  he  deliver  up  unto  death  this 
his  tenderly  beloved  Son  ?  Was  it  not  that  he  might 
regain  us,  the  children  whom  he  had  lost  ?  We  had 
become,  by  our  sins,  the  possession  of  Satan  ;  hell 
had  undoubted  claims  upon  us ;  and  lo  !  we  have 
been  suddenly  snatched  from  both,  and  all  our  prim- 
itive rights  have  been  restored  to  us.  Yet,  Grod 
used  no  violence  in  order  to  deliver  us  from  our 
enemy ;  how  comes  it,  then,  that  we  are  now  free  ? 
Listen  to  the  Apostle  :  Ye  are  bought  at  a  great 
price.2  And  what  is  this  price  ?  The  Prince  of  the 
Apostles  explains  it :  Know  ye,  says  he,  that  ye  were 
not  redeemed  with  corruptible  things,  as  gold  or 
silver, — but  with  the  precious  Blood  of  Christ  as  of 
a    Lamb    unspotted    and    undefiled}       This    divine 

•      l  Is.  xii.  3.  3  gt.  Pet.  i.  18,  19. 

2  I.  Cor.  \i.  20. 


20  PASSIONTIDE    AND   HOLY   WEEK. 

Blood  was  placed  in  the  scales  of  God's  Justice,  and 
so  far  did  it  outweigh  the  weight  of  our  iniquities,  as 
to  make  the  bias  in  our  favour.  The  power  of  this 
Blood  has  broken  the  very  gates  of  hell,  severed  our 
chains,  and  made  peace  both  as  to  the  things  on  earth, 
and  the  things  that  are  in  heaven}  Let  us  receive 
upon  us,  therefore,  this  precious  Blood,  wash  our 
wounds  in  it,  and  sign  our  foreheads  with  it  as  with 
an  indelible  mark,  which  may  protect  us,  on  the  day 
of  wrath,  from  the  sword  of  vengeance. 

There  is  another  object  most  dear  to  the  Church, 
and  which  she,  during  these  two  weeks,  recommends 
to  our  deepest  veneration  ;  it  is  the  Cross,  which  is, 
as  it  were,  the  altar  upon  which  our  incomparable 
Victim  is  immolated.  Twice,  during  the  course  of 
the  year,  that  is,  on  the  Feasts  of  its  Invention  and 
Exaltation,  this  sacred  Wood  will  be  offered  to  us 
that  we  may  honour  it  as  the  trophy  of  our  Jesus' 
victory  ;  but  now,  it  speaks  to  us  but  of  his  Sufferings, 
it  brings  with  it  no  other  idea  than  that  of  his 
humiliation.  God  had  said  in  the  ancient  Covenant : 
Accursed  is  he  that  hangeth  on  a  tree.2  The  Lamb, 
that  saved  us,  disdained  not  to  suffer  this  curse ;  but, 
for  that  very  cause,  this  tree,  this  wood  of  infamy, 
has  become  dear  to  us  beyond  measure.  It  is  the 
instrument  of  our  salvation,  it  is  the  sublime  pledge 
of  Jesus'  love  for  us.  On  this  account,  the  Church 
is  about  to  lavish  her  veneration  and  love  upon  it; 
and  we  intend  to  imitate  her,  and  join  her,  in  this  as 
in  all  else  she  does.  An  adoring  gratitude  towards 
the  Blood  that  has  redeemed  us,  and  a  loving  vene- 
ration of  the  holy  Cross, — these  are  the  two  senti- 
ments which  are  to  be  uppermost  in  our  hearts, 
during  these  two  weeks. 

But  for  the  Lamb  himself, — for  him  that  gave  us 
this  Blood,  and  so  generously   embraced  the  Cross 

1  Coloss.  i.  20.  2  Deut.  xxi.  23. 


PRACTICE.  21 

that  saved  us, — what  shall  we  do  ?  Is  it  not  just, 
that  we  should  keep  close  to  him,  and  that,  more 
faithful  than  the  Apostles  who  abandoned  him  during 
his  Passion,  we  should  follow  him  day  by  day,  nay, 
hour  by  hour,  in  the  way  of  the  Cross,  that  he  treads 
for  us  ?  Yes, —  we  will  be  his  faithful  companions, 
during  these  last  days  of  his  mortal  life,  when  he  sub- 
mits to  the  humiliation  of  having  to  hide  himself  from 
his  enemies.  We  will  envy  the  lot  of  those  devoted 
few,  who  shelter  him  in  their  houses,  and  expose 
themselves,  by  this  courageous  hospitality,  to  the 
rage  of  his  enemies.  We  will  compassionate  his 
Mother,  who  suffered  an  anguish  that  no  other  heart 
could  feel,  because  no  other  creature  could  love  him 
as  She  did.  We  will  go,  in  spirit,  into  that  most 
hated  Sanhedrim,  where  they  are  laying  the  impious 
plot  against  the  life  of  the  Just  One.  Suddenly,  we 
shall  see  a  bright  speck  gleaming  on  the  dark  horizon  ; 
the  streets  and  squares  of  Jerusalem  will  re-echo 
with  the  cry  of  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David.  That 
unexpected  homage  paid  to  our  Jesus,  those  palm 
branches,  those  shrill  voices  of  admiring  Hebrew 
children,  will  give  a  momentary  truce  to  our  sad 
forebodings.  Our  love  shall  make  us  take  part  in 
the  loyal  tribute  thus  paid  to  the  King  of  Israel,  who 
comes  so  meekly  to  visit  the  daughter  of  Sion,  as  the 
Prophet  had  foretold  he  would  :  but,  alas !  this  joy 
will  be  short-lived,  and  we  must  speedily  relapse  into 
our  deep  sorrow  of  soul  ! 

The  traitorous  disciple  will  soon  strike  his  bargain 
with  the  High  Priests  ;  the  last  Pasch  will  be  kept, 
and  we  shall  see  the  figurative  lamb  give  place  to  the 
true  One,  whose  Flesh  will  become  our  food,  and  his 
Blood  our  drink.  It  will  be  our  Lord's  Supper. 
Clad  in  the  nuptial  robe,  we  will  take  our  place 
there,  together  with  the  Disciples ;  for  that  day  is  the 
day  of  Reconciliation,  which  brings  together,  to  the 
same  Holy  Table,  both  the  penitent  sinner,  and  the 


22  PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY   WEEK. 

just  that  has  been  ever  faithful.  Then,  we  shall 
have  to  turn  our  steps  towards  the  fatal  Grarden, 
where  we  shall  learn  what  sin  is,  for  we  shall  behold 
our  Jesus  agonising  beneath  its  weight,  and  asking 
some  respite  from  his  Eternal  Father.  Then,  in  the 
dark  hour  of  mid-night,  the  servants  of  the  High 
Priests  and  the  soldiers,  led  on  by  the  vile  Iscariot, 
will  lay  their  impious  hands  on  the  Son  of  (rod ;  and 
yet,  the  legions  of  Angels  who  adore  him,  will  be 
withheld  from  punishing  the  awful  sacrilege  !  After 
this,  we  shall  have  to  repair  to  the  various  tribunals, 
whither  Jesus  is  led,  and  witness  the  triumph  of  in- 
justice. The  time  that  elapses  between  his  being 
seized  in  the  Grarden  and  his  having  to  carry  his 
Cross  up  the  hill  of  Calvary,  will  be  filled  up  with 
the  incidents  of  his  mock  trial, — lies,  calumnies,  the 
wretched  cowardice  of  the  Roman  Grovernor,  the 
insults  of  the  by-standers,  and  the  cries  of  the  un- 
grateful populace  thirsting  for  innocent  Blood !  We 
shall  be  present  at  all  these  things ;  our  love  will 
not  permit  us  to  separate  ourselves  from  that  dear 
Redeemer,  who  is  to  suffer  them  for  our  sakes,  for 
our  salvation. 

Finally,  after  seeing  him  struck  and  spit  upon,  and 
after  the  cruel  scourging  and  the  frightful  insult  of  the 
crown  of  thorns,  we  will  follow  our  Jesus  up  Mount 
Calvary ;  we  shall  know  where  his  sacred  feet  have 
trod  by  the  Blood  that  marks  the  road.  We  shall 
have  to  make  our  way  through  the  crowd,  and,  as  we 
pass,  we  shall  hear  terrible  imprecations  uttered 
against  our  Divine  Master.  Having  reached  the 
place  of  execution,  we  shall  behold  this  august  Victim 
stripped  of  his  garment,  nailed  to  the  cross,  hoisted 
into  the  air,  as  if  the  better  to  expose  him  to  insult ! 
We  will  draw  near  to  the  Tree  of  Life,  that  we  may 
lose  neither  one  drop  of  that  Blood  which  flows  for 
the  cleansing  of  the  world,  nor  one  single  Word 
spoken,  for  its  instruction,  by  our  dying  Jesus.     We 


PRACTICE.  23 

will  compassionate  his  Mother,  whose  Heart  is  pierced 
through  with  a  sword  of  sorrow  ;  we  will  stand  close 
to  her,  when  her  Son,  a  few  moments  before  his 
Death,  shall  consign  us  to  her  fond  care.  After  his 
three  hours'  agony,  we  will  reverently  watch  his 
sacred  Head  bow  down,  and  receive,  with  adoring 
love,  his  last  breath. 

A  bruised  and  mangled  corpse,  stiffened  by  the 
cold  of  death, — this  is  all  that  remains  to  us  of  that 
Son  of  Man,  whose  first  coming  into  the  world  caused 
us  such  joy  !  This  Son  of  the  Eternal  Father  was 
not  satisfied  with  emptying  himself  and  taking  the 
form  of  a  servant};1  this  his  being  born  in  the  flesh 
was  but  the  beginning  of  his  sacrifice ;  his  love 
was  to  lead  him  even  unto  death,  even  to  the  death 
of  the  Cross.  He  foresaw  that  he  would  not  win  our 
love  save  at  the  price  of  such  a  generous  immolation, 
and  his  heart  hesitated  not  to  make  it.  Let  us, 
therefore,  love  God,  says  St.  John,  because  God  first 
loved  us.2  This  is  the  end  the  Church  proposes  to 
herself  by  the  celebration  of  these  solemn  anniver- 
saries. After  humbling  our  pride  and  our  resistance 
to  grace,  by  showing  us  how  Divine  Justice  treats  sin, 
— she  leads  our  hearts  to  love  that  Jesus,  who  de- 
livered himself  up,  in  our  stead,  to  the  rigours  of  that 
Justice.  Wo  to  us,  if  this  great  Week  fail  to  pro- 
duce in  our  souls  a  just  return  towards  Him,  who 
loved  us  more  than  himself,  though  we  were,  and 
had  made  ourselves,  his  enemies.  Let  us  say  with 
the  Apostle:  The  charity  of  Christ  presseth  us; 
that  they  who  live,  may  not  now  live  to  themselves, 
but  unto  Kim  who  died  for]  them,3  We  owe  this 
return  to  Him  who  made  himself  a  Victim  for  our 
sakes,  and  who,  up  to  the  very  last  moment,  instead 
of  pronouncing  against  us  the  curse  we  so  justly 

»  Philipp.  ii.  7.  3  2  Cor.  v.  14,  15. 

2  1  St.  John,  iv.  19.  C 


24  PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY   WEEK. 

deserved,  prayed  aud  obtained  for  us  mercy  and 
grace.  He  is,  one  day,  to  re-appear  on  the  clouds  of 
heaven,  and,  as  the  Prophet  says,  men  shall  look 
upon  Sim,  whom  they  have  pierced.1  (rod  grant  that 
we  may  be  of  the  number  of  those  who,  having  made 
amends,  by  there  love,  for  the  crimes  they  have  com- 
mitted against  the  Divine  Lamb,  will  then  find  con- 
fidence at  the  sight  of  those  Wounds  ! 

Let  us  hope  that,  by  God's  mercy,  the  holy  time  we 
are  now  entering  upon  will  work  such  a  happy  change 
in  us,  that,  on  the  Day  of  Judgment,  we  may  con- 
fidently fix  our  eyes  on  Him  we  are  now  about  to  con- 
template crucified  by  the  hands  of  sinners.  The 
Death  of  Jesus  puts  the  whole  of  nature  in  commotion ; 
the  mid-day  sun  is  darkened,  the  earth  is  shaken  to 
its  very  foundations,  the  rocks  are  split ; — may  it  be 
that  our  hearts,  too,  be  moved,  and  pass  from  in- 
difference to  fear,  from  fear  to  hope,  and,  at  length, 
from  hope  to  love  ;  so  that,  having  gone  down,  with 
our  Crucified,  to  the  very  depths  of  sorrow,  we  may 
deserve  to  rise  again  with  him  unto  light  and  joy, 
beaming  with  the  brightness  of  his  Resurrection  upon 
us,  and  having  within  ourselves  the  pledge  of  a  new 
life,  which  shall  then  die  no  more ! 

1  Zach.  xii.  10. 


CHAPTER  THE  FOUKTH. 

MORNING    AND    NIGHT    PRAYERS, 

FOR     PASSIONTIDE     AND     HOLY     WEEK. 

During  these  two  weeks,  the  Christian,  on  waking 
in  the  morning,  should  unite  himself  with  the 
Church,  who  repeats  these  words  of  St.  Paul  at  every 
Hour  of  the  Divine  Office  during  the  last  three  days 
of  Holy  Week. 

Christ    became,     for     our  Christus    factus    est,    pro 

sakes,    obedient  unto   death,  nobis      obediens     usque     ad 

even    to    the    death    of   the  mortem,  mortem  autem  cru- 

Cross.  cis. 

He  should,  after  this,  profoundly  adore  that  great 
Gtad,  who  was  not  to  be  appeased  but  by  the  Blood  of 
Jesus  ;  he  should,  also,  adore  the  infinite  goodness  of 
this  Jesus,  who  made  himself  a  Victim,  that  he  might 
save  us  sinners.  It  is  with  these  two  sentiments, 
that  he  must  perform  the  first  acts  of  religion,  both 
interior  and  exterior,  wherewith  he  begins  each  day 
of  this  present  Season.  The  time  for  Morning  Prayer 
being  come,  he  may  use  the  following  method,  which 
is  formed  upon  the  very  prayers  of  the  Church : — 

MORNING    PRAYER. 

First,  praise  and  adoration    of  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity : — 

y.  Let  us  bless  the  Father  f.     Benedicamus     Patrem 

and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  et  Filium  cum   Sancto   Spi- 

Ghost.  ritu : 

#.  Let  us  praise  him  and  $.  Laudemus  et  super- 
extol  him  above  all,  for  ever,  exaltemus  eum  in  saecula. 


26  PASSIONTJDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

p.  Gloria  Patri  et  Filio,  et  f.  Glory  be  to  the  Father, 
Spiritui  Sancto ;  and  to  the  Son,   and  to  the 

Holy  Ghost. 

&.  Sicut  erat  in  principio,  #.  As  it  was  in  the  begin  - 
et  nunc  et  semper,  et  in  sse-  ning  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be, 
cula  sseculorum.     Amen.  world  without  end.     Amen. 

Then,  praise  to  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ : 

f.  Adoramus  te,  Christe,  f.  We  adore  thee,  0  Christ, 
et  benedicimus  tibi.  and  we  bless  thee. 

#.  Quia  per  Crucem  iuam  gt.  Because  by  thy  Cross 
redemisti  mundum.  thou  hast  redeemed  the  world. 

Thirdly,  invocation  of  the  Holy  Ghost : 

Veni,   Sancte  Spiritus,  re-         Come,  0  Holy   Spirit,   fill 

pie   tuorum,  corda  fidelium,  the  hearts  of  thy  faithful,  and 

et   tui   amoris  in   eis  ignem  enkindle  within  them  the  fire 

accende.  of  thy  love. 

After  these  fundamental  acts  of  Religion,  recite 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  begging  your  Heavenly  Father  to 
be  mindful  of  his  infinite  mercy  and  goodness, — to 
forgive  you  your  trespasses,  through  the  merits  of 
the  Blood  of  Jesus, — to  come  to  your  assistance  in 
the  temptations  and  dangers  which  so  thickly  beset 
the  path  of  this  life, — and  finally,  to  deliver  you 
from  evil,  by  removing  from  you  every  remnant  of 
sin,  which  is  the  great  evil,  the  evil  that  offends 
God,  and  entails  the  sovereign  evil  of  man  himself. 

THE    LORD'S    PRAYER. 

Pater    noster,    qui    es    in  Our  Father,    who   art    in 

coelis,     sanctificetur     nomen  heaven,      hallowed    be     thy 

tuum :    adveniat  regnum  tu-  name  :   thy    kingdom   come  : 

um  :    fiat  voluntas  tua  sicut  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it 

in  ccelo,  et  in  terra.     Panem  is  in  heaven.    Give  us  this  day 

nostrum      quotidianum      da  our  daily  bread ;    and  forgive 

nobis  hodie  :  et  dimitte  nobis  us  our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive 

debita  nostra,    sicut    et  nos  them  that  trespass  against  us  : 

dimittimus   debitoribus   nos-  and  lead  us  not  into  tempta- 

tris :    et  ne   nos  inducas  in  tion :    but  deliver    us    from 

tentationem :    sed  libera  nos  evil.     Ameu. 
a  malo.     Amen. 


MORNING    PRAYERS. 


27 


Then,  address  our  Blessed  Lady,  using  the  words 
of  the  Angelical  Salutation.  Pray  to  her  with  con- 
fidence and  love,  for  she  is  the  Refuge  of  Sinners. 


THE    ANGELICAL    SALUTATION. 


Hail  Mary,  full  of  grace; 
the  Lord  is  with,  thee ;  blessed 
art  thou  among  women,  and 
blessed  is  the  fruit  of  thy 
womb,  Jesus. 

Holy  Mary,  Mother  of  God, 
pray  for  us  sinners,  now  and 
at  the  hour  of  our  death. 
Amen. 


Ave  Maria,  gratia  plena, 
Dominus  tecum ;  benedicta 
tu  in  mulieribus,  et  bene- 
dictus  fructus  ventris  tui, 
Jesus. 

Sancta  Maria,  Mater  Dei, 
ora  pro  nobis  peccatoribus, 
nunc  et  in  hora  mortis  nos- 
trse.     Amen. 


After  this,  you  should  recite  the  Creed,  that  is,  the 
Symbol  of  Faith.  It  contains  the  dogmas  we  are  to 
believe ;  and  during  this  Season,  you  should  dwell 
with  loving  attention  on  that  Article,  of  our  having 
been  redeemed  by  the  Sufferings  and  Death  of  Jesus. 
Let  us  lovingly  confess  this  mystery  of  a  Grod  suffer- 
ing and  dying  for  us.  Let  us,  by  our  repentance  and 
amendment,  merit  that  this  Precious  Blood  may  per- 
fect the  conversion,  that  has  been  begun  in  us. 


THE    APOSTLES     CREED. 


I  believe  in  God  the  Father 
Almighty,  Creator  of  heaven 
and  earth.  And  in  Jesus 
Christ,  his  only  Son  our  Lord, 
who  was  conceived  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  Vir- 
gin Mary ;  suffered  under 
Pontius  Pilate,  was  crucified, 
dead,  and  buried ;  he  descend- 
ed into  hell,  the  third  day  he 
arose  again  from  the  dead ; 
he  ascended  into  heaven,  sit- 
teth  at  the  right  hand  of  God 


Credo  in  Deum  Patrem 
omnipotentem,  Creatorem 
coeli  et  terrae.  Et  in  Jesum 
Christum  Filium  ejus  uni- 
cum,  Dominum  nostrum : 
qui  conceptus  est  de  Spiritu 
Sancto,  natus  ex  Maria  Vir- 
gine,  passus  sub  Pontio  Pi- 
lato,  crucifixus,  mortuus,  et 
sepultus :  descendit  ad  in- 
feros, tertia  die  resurrexit  a 
mortuis  :  ascendit  ad  ccelos, 
sedet  ad  dexteram  Dei  Pa- 


28 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


tris  omnipotentis  :  inde  ven- 
turus  est  judicare  vivos  et 
mortuos. 

Credo  in  Spiritum  Sanc- 
tum, sanctam  Ecclesiam  Ca- 
tholicam,  Sanctorum  com- 
munionem,  remissionem 

peccatorum,  carnis  resurrec- 
tionem,  vitam  seternam. 
Amen. 


the  Father  Almighty ;  from 
thence  he  shall  come  to  judge 
the  living  and  the  dead. 

I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost; 
the  Holy  Catholic  Church ; 
the  communion  of  Saints,  the 
forgiveness  of  sins,  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body,  and  life 
everlasting.    Amen. 


After  having  thus  made  the  Profession  of  your 
Faith,  endeavour  to  excite  yourself  to  sorrow  for  the 
sins  you  have  committed.  Ask  our  Lord  to  give  you 
the  graces  appropriate  to  this  holy  Season  ;  and,  for 
this  end,  recite  the  following  Hymn,  which  the 
Church  uses  in  her  Lauds  for  Lent : 


HYMN. 


O  sol  salutis,  intimis, 
Jesu,  refulge  mentibus, 
Dum  nocte  pulsa  gratior 
Orbi  dies  renascitur. 


Dans  tempus  acceptabile, 
Da  lacrymarum  rivulis 
Lavare  cordis  victimam, 
Quam  lseta  adurat  charitas. 


Quo  fonte  manavit  nefas, 
Fluent  perennes  lacrymse, 
Si  virga  poenitentiae 
Cordis  rigorem  conterat. 

Dies  venit,  dies  tua, 
In  qua  reflorent  omnia  : 
Lsetemur  et  nos,  in  viam 
Tua  reducti  dextera. 


O  Jesus !  thou  Sun  of  the 
world's  salvation !  shine  in 
the  depth  of  our  souls ;  for 
now  is  the  hour  of  night's  de- 
parture, and  sweeter  day- 
break dawns  upon  the  earth. 

O  thou  that  givest  us  this 
acceptable  time !  give  us  to 
wash,  with  our  tears,  the  vic- 
tim we  offer  thee, — which  is 
our  heart ;  and  grant  that  it 
may  burn  with  joyous  love. 

If  the  rod  of  penaDce  but 
strike  these  hearts  of  stone,  a 
flood  of  ceaseless  tears  will 
flow  from  that  same  fount, 
whence  came  our  many  sins. 

The  day,  thine  own  day,  is 
at  hand,  when  all  things  bloom 
afresh  ;  oh  !  grant,  that  we, 
too,  may  rejoice,  being 
brought  once  more  to  the 
path,  by  thy  right  hand, 


MORNING     PRAYERS. 


29 


0  merciful  Trinity  !  may 
the  world  prostrate  itself  be- 
fore thee,  and  adore;  and  we, 
made  new  by  grace,  sing  a 
new  canticle  of  praise.  Amen. 


Te  prona  mundi  machina, 
Clemens,  adoret,  Trinitas, 
Et  nos  novi  per  gratiam 
Novum  canamus  canticum. 

Amen. 


Theo,  make  an  humble  confession  of  your  sins, 
reciting  the  general  formula  made  use  of  by  the 
Church. 


THE    CONFESSION    OF    SINS. 


I  confess  to  Almighty  God, 
to  blessed  Mary  ever  Virgin, 
to  blessed  Michael  the  Arch- 
angel, to  blessed  John  Baptist 
to  the  holy  Apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  and  to  all  the  saints, 
that  I  have  sinned  exceeding- 
ly in  thought,  word,  and  deed ; 
through  my  fault,  through 
my  fault,  through  my  most 
grievous  fault.  Therefore  I 
beseech  the  blessed  Mary  ever 
Virgin,  blessed  Michael  the 
Archangel,  blessed  John  Bap- 
tist, the  holy  Apostles  Peter 
and  Paul,  and  all  the  saints  to 
pray  to  our  Lord  God  for  me. 

May  Almighty  God  have 
mercy  on  us,  and,  our  sins 
being  forgiven,  bring  us  to 
life  everlasting.     Amen. 

May  the  Almighty  and 
merciful  Lord  grant  us  par- 
don, absolution,  and  remis- 
sion of  our  sins.     Amen. 


Oonfiteor  Deo  Omnipotenti, 
beatae  Marise  semper  Virgini, 
beato  Michaeli  Archangelo, 
beato  Joanni  Baptistse,  Sanctis 
Apostolis  Petro  et  Paulo,  et 
omnibus  Sanctis,  quia  peccavi 
nimis  cogitatione,  verbo,  et 
opere  :  mea  culpa,  mea  culpa, 
mea  maxima  culpa.  Ideo 
precor  beatam  Mariam  sem- 
per Virginem,  beatum  Micha- 
elem  Archangelum,  beatum 
Joannem  Baptistam,  sanctos 
Apostolos  Petrum  et  Pau- 
lum,  et  omnes  sanctos,  orare 
pro  me  ad  Dominum  Deum 
nostrum. 

Misereatur  nostri  omnipo- 
tens  Deus,  et  dimissis  peccatis 
nostris,  perducat  nos  ad  vi- 
tam  aeternam.     Amen. 

Indulgentiam,  absolutio- 
nem,  et  remissionem  pecca- 
torum  nostrorum  tribuat 
nobis  omnipotens  et  miseri- 
cors  Dominus.     Amen. 


This  is  the  proper  time  for  making  your  Medita- 
tion, as  no  doubt  you  practice  this  holy  exercise. 
During  these  two  weeks,  the  following  should  be  the 
leading  subjects  of  our  Meditations  ; — The  severity  of 


30  PASSIONTIDE     AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

God's  Justice  towards  his  Divine  Son,  who  had  taken 
upon  himself  our  sins  ;  the  ingratitude  of  the  Jews, 
who,  though  laden  hy  Jesus  with  favours,  clamour  for 
his  Death  ;  the  share  we  have  taken,  by  our  sins,  in 
the  Crucifixion  ;  the  Sufferings,  both  of  body  and 
soul,  endured  by  our  Redeemer ;  his  patience  and 
meekness  under  every  injury  ;  and  finally,  the  infinite 
love  he  shows  he  has  for  us,  by  saving  us  at  the  cost 
of  his  Blood,  yea,  of  his  very  Life. 

The  next  part  of  your  Morning  Prayer  must  be  to 
ask  of  Grod,  by  the  following  prayers,  grace  to  avoid 
every  kind  of  sin  during  the  day  you  are  just  begin- 
ning. Say,  then,  with  the  Church,  whose  prayers 
must  always  be  preferred  to  all  others  : 

f.     Domine,  exaudi  orati-  y.     O      Lord,     hear     my 

onem  meam.  prayer. 

5t.     Et  clamor  meus  ad  te  gt.     And  let  my  cry  come 

veniat.  unto  thee. 

OREMTJS.  LET   US   PRAY. 

Domine,  Deus  omnipotens,  Almighty  Lord  and  God, 

qui  ad  principium  hujus  diei  who  hast  brought  us  to  the 

nos  pervenire  fecisti,  tua  nos  beginning  of  this  day,  let  thy 

hodie  salva  virtute,  ut  in  hac  powerful  grace  so  conduct  us 

die    ad    nullum    declinemus  through  it,  that  we  may  not 

peccatum,     sed     semper     ad  fall  into  any  sin,  but  that  all 

tuam     justitiam     faciendam  our    thoughts,     words,     and 

nostra      procedant      eloquia,  actions     may    be     regulated 

dirigantur      cogitationes     et  according  to  the  rules  of  thy 

opera.     Per   Dominum    nos-  heavenly  justice,  and  tend  to 

trum   Jesum    Christum    Fi-  the    observance    of  thy  holy 

Hum  tuum,   qui  tecum  vivit  law.      Through  Jesus  Christ 

et  regnat  in  unitate  Spiritus  our  Lord.     Amen. 
Sancti      Deus,      per     omnia 
saecula  sseculorum.     Amen. 

Then,  beg  the  divine  assistance  for  the  actions  of 
the  day,  that  you  may  do  them  well ;  and  say  thrice  : 

y.     Deus,    in    adjutorium  f.     Incline  unto  my  aid,  O 

meum  intencle.  God. 

gt.     Domine,  ad  adjuvan-  £.     O  Lord,  make  haste  to 

dum  me  festina.  help  me. 


NIfiHT     PRATERS. 


31 


^ .  Incline  unto  my  aid,  O 
God. 

#.  0  Lord,  make  haste  to 
help  me. 

$.  Incline  unto  my  aid,  0 
God. 

gt.  0  Lord,  make  haste  to 
help  me. 


~f.  Deus,  in  adjutorium 
meum  intende. 

gt.  Domine,  ad  adjuvan- 
dum  me  festina. 

f.  Deus,  in  adjutorium 
meum  intende. 

gr.  Domine,  ad  adjuvan- 
dum  me  festina. 


LET   US   PRAY. 

Lord  God,  and  King  of 
heaven  and  earth,  vouchsafe 
this  day  to  rule  and  sanctify, 
to  direct  and  govern  our  souls 
and  bodies,  our  senses,  words, 
and  actions  in  conformity  to 
thy  law,  and  strict  obedience 
to  thy  commands ;  that  by 
the  help  of  thy  grace,  O  Sa- 
viour of  the  world  !  we  may 
be  fenced  and  freed  from  all 
evils.  Who  livest  and  reign- 
est  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 


OREMUS. 

Dirigere  et  sanctificare,  re- 
gere  et  gubernare  dignare, 
Domine  Deus,  Rex  coeli  et 
terrae,  hodie  corda  et  corpora 
nostra,  sensus,  sermones,  et 
actus  nostros  in  lege  tua,  et  in 
operibus  mandatorum  tuo- 
rum,  ut  hie  et  in  oeternum,  te 
auxiliante,  salvi  et  liberi  esse 
mereamur,  Salvator  mundi. 
Qui  vivis  et  regnas  in  ssecula 
saeculorum.     Amen. 


During  the  day,  you  will  do  well  to  use  the  in- 
structions and  prayers  which  you  will  find  in  this 
volume,  for  each  clay  of  the  Season.  In  the  Even- 
ing, you  may  use  the  following  Prayers. 

NIGHT     PEAYEES. 

After  having  made  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  let  us 
adore  that  Sovereign  Lord,  who  has  so  mercifully  pre- 
served us  during  this  day,  and  blessed  us,  every  hour, 
with  his  grace  and  protection.  For  this  end,  let  us 
recite  the  following  Hymn,  which  the  Church  sings 
in  her  Vespers  of  Passiontide  : 

HYMN. 


The  Standard  of  our  King 
comes  forth ;  the  mystery  of 


Yexilla    Regis    prodeunt ; 
Fulget  Crucis  mysterium, 


32 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


Qua  Vita  mortem  pertulit, 
Et  morte  vitam  protulit. 


Quae  vulnerata  lanceae 
Mucrone  diro,  criminum 
Ut  nos  lavaret  sordibus, 
Manavit  unda  et  sanguine. 

Impleta  sunt  quae  concinit 
David  fideli  carmine, 
Dicendo  nation  ibus : 
Regnavit  a  ligno  Deus. 

Arbor  decora  et  fulgida, 
Ornata  regis  purpura, 
Electa  digno  stipite 
Tarn    sancta    membra    tan- 
gere. 

Beata  cujus  brachiis 
Pretium  pependit  sseculi, 
Statera  facta  corporis, 
Tulitque  prredam  tartari. 


O  Crux,  ave,  spes  unica, 
Hoc  Passionis  tempore, 
Piis  adauge  gratiam, 
Beisque  dele  crimina. 

Te,  fons  salutis,  Trinitas, 
Collaudet  omnis  spiritus  : 
Quibus  Crucis  victoriam 
Largiris,  adde  praemium. 

Amen. 


the  Cross  shines  upon  us, — 
that  Cross  on  which  Life  suf- 
fered death,  and  by  his  Death 
gave  Life. 

He  was  pierced  with  the 
cruel  Spear,  that,  by  the 
Water  and  the  Blood,  which 
flowed  from  the  wound,  he 
might  cleanse  us  from  sin. 

Here,  on  the  Cross  was  ful- 
filled the  prophecy  foretold  in 
David's  truthful  words :  "God 
hath  reigned  from  the  Tree." 

0  fair  and  shining  Tree  ! 
beautified  by  the  scarlet  of  the 
King,  and  chosen  as  the  noble 
trunk  that  was  to  touch  such 
sacred  limbs ! 

O  blessed  Tree  !  on  whose 
arms  hung  the  ransom  of  the 
world  !  It  was  the  balance, 
wherein  was  placed  the  Body 
of  Jesus,  and  thereby  hell  lost 
its  prey. 

Hail,  0  Cross !  our  only 
hope !  During  these  days  of 
the  Passion,  increase  to  the 
good  their  grace,  and  cleanse 
sinners  from  their  guilt. 

May  every  spirit  praise 
thee,  0  Holy  Trinity,  thou 
Fount  of  Salvation !  and  by 
the  Cross,  whereby  thou  gav- 
est  us  victory,  give  us,  too, 
our  recompense.     Amen. 


After  this  Hymn,  say  the  Our  Father,  Rail  Mary, 
and  the  Apostles'  Creed,  as  in  the  Morning. 

Then,  make  the  Examination  of  Conscience,  going 
over  in  your  mind  all  the  faults  you  have  committed 
during  the  day.  Think,  how  great  is  the  obstacle  put 
by  sin  to  the  merciful  designs  your  Grod  would  work 
in  you  ;  and  make  a  firm  resolution  to  avoid  it  for 
the  time  to  come,  to  do  penance  for  it,  and  to  shun 
the  occasions  which  might  again  lead  you  into  it, 


NIGHT    PRAYERS.  33 

The  Examination  of  Conscience  concluded,  recite 
the  Confitcor  (or  I  confess)  with  heartfelt  contrition, 
and  then  give  expression  to  your  sorrow  by  the  fol- 
lowing Act,  which  we  have  taken  from  the  Venerable 
Cardinal  Bellarmine's  Catechism  : 

ACT   OF  CONTRITION. 

O  my  God,  I  am  exceedingly  grieved  for  having  offended 
thee,  and  with  my  whole  heart  I  repent  for  the  sins  I  have 
committed  :  I  hate  and  abhor  them  above  every  other  evil, 
not  only  because,  by  so  sinning,  I  have  lost  Heaven  and 
deserve  Hell,  but  still  more  because  I  have  offended  thee, 
0  infinite  Goodness,  who  art  worthy  to  be  loved  above  all 
things. ^1  most  firmly  resolve,  by  the  assistance  of  thy  grace, 
never  more  to  offend  thee  for  the  time  to  come,  and  to  avoid 
those  occasions  which  might  lead  me  into  sin. 

You  may  then  add  the  Acts  of  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity,  to  the  recitation  of  which  Pope  Benedict  the 
Fourteenth  has  granted  an  indulgence  of  seven  years 
and  seven  quarantines  for  each  time. 

ACT   OF  FAITH. 

0  my  God,  I  firmly  believe  whatsoever  the  Holy  Catholic 
Apostolic  Roman  Church  requires  me  to  believe  :  I  believe 
it,  because  thou  hast  revealed  it  to  her,  thou  who  art  the 
very  Truth. 

ACT   OF   HOPE. 

0  my  God,  knowing  thy  almighty  power,  and  thy  infinite 
goodness  and  mercy,  I  hope  in  thee  that,  by  the  merits  of 
the  Passion  and  Death  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  thou 
wilt  grant  me  eternal  life,  which  thou  hast  promised  to  all 
such  as  shall  do  the  works  of  a  good  Christian  ;  and  these  I 
resolve  to  do,  with  the  help  of  thy  grace. 

ACT   OF   CHARITY. 

0  my  God,  I  love  thee  with  my  whole  heart  and  above  all 
things,  because  thou  art  the  sovereign  Good  :  I  would  rather 
lose  all  things  than  offend  thee.  For  thy  love  also,  I  love 
and  desire  to  love  my  neighbour  as  myself, 


34 


PASSTONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


Then  say  to  our  Blessed  Lady  the  following  An- 
them which  the  Church  uses  from  the  Feast  of  the 
Purification  to  Easter  : 


ANTHEM   TO    THE    BLESSED    VIRGIN. 


Ave  Eegina  coelorum, 
Ave  Domina  Angelorum  : 
Salve  radix,  salve  porta, 
Ex  qua  mundo  lux  est  orta ; 
Gaude,  Virgo  gloriosa, 
Super  omnes  speciosa : 
Vale,  0  valde  decora, 
Et  pro  nobis  Christum  exora. 

y.  Dignare  me  laudare  te, 
Virgo  sacrata. 

$.  Da  mihi  virtutem  con- 
tra hostes  tuos. 


Hail  Queen  of  Heaven ! 
Hail  Queen  of  Angels  !  Hail 
blest  Root  and  Gate,  from 
which  came  Light  upon  the 
world !  Rejoice,  0  glorious 
Virgin,  that  surpassest  all  in 
beauty !  Hail,  most  lovely 
Queen  !  and  pray  to  Christ 
for  us. 

y.  Vouchsafe,  0  Holy  Vir- 
gin, that  I  may  praise  thee. 

$.  Give  me  power  against 
thine  enemies. 


OREMUS. 

Concede,  misericors  Deus, 
fragilitati  nostrse  presidi- 
um ;  ut,  qui  sanctse  Dei 
Genitricis  memoriam  agimus, 
intercessionis  ejus  auxilio, 
a  nostris  iniquitatibus  re- 
surgamus.  Per  eumdem 
Christum  Dominum  nos- 
trum.    Amen. 


LET  US  PRAY. 

Grant,  O  merciful  God,  thy 
protection  to  us  in  our  weak- 
ness ;  that  we  who  celebrate 
the  memory  of  the  Holy 
Mother  of  God,  may,  through 
the  aid  of  her  intercession, 
rise  again  from  our  sins. 
Through  the  same  Christ  our 
Lord.     Amen. 


You  would  do  well  to  add  the  Stabat  Mater,  which 
is  given  further  on,  for  Friday  in  Passion  Week. 

Here  invoke  the  Holy  Angels,  whose  protection 
is,  indeed,  always  so  much  needed  by  us,  but  never 
so  much  as  during  the  hours  of  night.  Say  with  the 
Church : 


Sancti  Angeli,  custodes 
nostri,  defendite  nos  in  prse- 
lio,  ut  non  pereamus  in  tre- 
mendo  judicio. 


Holy  Angels,  our  loving 
Guardians,  defend  us  in  the 
hour  of  battle,  that  we  may 
not  be  lost  at  the  dreadful 
judgment. 


NIGHT     PRAYERS. 


35 


p.  God  hath  given  his 
Angels  charge  of  thee. 

Bt.  That  they  may  guard 
thee  in  all  thy  ways. 

LET  TJS  PRAY. 

0  God,  who  in  thy  wonder- 
ful providence  hast  been 
pleased  to  appoint  thy  holy 
Angels  for  our  guardians : 
mercifully  hear  our  prayers, 
and  grant  we  may  rest  secure 
under  their  protection,  and 
enjoy  their  fellowship  in  hea- 
ven for  ever.  Through  Christ 
our  Lord.     Amen. 


y.  Angelis  suis  Deus  man- 
davit  de  te. 

gt.  Ut  custodiant  te  in  om- 
nibus viis  tuis. 

OREMUS. 

Deus,  qui  ineffabili  provi- 
dentia  sanctos  Angelos  tuos 
ad  nostram  custodiam  mit- 
tere  dignaris  :  largire  suppli- 
cibus  tuis,  et  eorum  semper 
protectione  defendi,  et  aeterna 
societate  gaudere.  Per  Chris- 
tum Dominum  nostrum. 
Amen. 


Then  beg  the  assistance  of  the  Saints  by  the  follow- 
ing antiphon : 


Ant.  All  ye  Saints  of  God, 
vouchsafe  to  intercede  for  us 
and  for  all  men,  that  we  may 
be  saved. 


Ant.  Sancti  Dei  omnes, 
intercedere  dignemini  pro 
nostra  omniumque  salute. 


And  here  you  may  add  a  special  mention  of  the 
Saints  to  whom  you  bear  a  particular  devotion,  either 
as  your  Patrons  or  otherwise ;  as  also  of  those  whose 
feast  is  kept  in  the  Church  that  day,  or  at  least  who 
have  been  commemorated  in  the  Divine  Office. 

This  done,  remember  the  necessities  of  the  Church 
Suffering,  and  beg  of  God  that  he  will  give  to  the 
souls  in  Purgatory  a  place  of  refreshment,  light,  and 
peace.     For  this  intention  recite  the  usual  prayers. 


PSALM 

From  the  depths  I  have 
cried  to  thee,  O  Lord ;  Lord, 
hear  my  voice. 

Let  thine  ears  be  attentive 
to  the  voice  of  my  supplica- 
tion. 

If  thou  wilt  observe  iniqui- 


129. 

De  profundis  clamavi  ad 
te,  Domine  :  Domine,  exaudi 
vocem  meam. 

Fiant  aures  tuse  intenden- 
tes :  in  vocem  deprecationis 
mese. 

Si    iniquitates    observave- 


36 


PASS10NTIDE    AND   HOLY   WEEK. 


ris,  Domine :    Donrine,    quis 
sustinebit  ? 

Quia  apud  te  propitiatio 
est :  et  propter  legem  tuam 
sustinui  te,  Domine. 

Sustinuit  anima  mea  in 
verbo  ejus :  speravit  anima 
mea  in  Domino. 

A  custodia  matutina  usque 
ad  noctem  :  speret  Israel  in 
Domino. 

Quia  apud  Dominum  mi- 
sericordia  :  et  copiosa  apud 
eum  redemptio. 

Et  ipse  redimet  Israel ;  ex 
omnibus  iniquitatibus  ejus. 

Requiem  aeternam  dona  eis, 
Domine. 

Et  lux  perpetua  luceat  eis. 

ft.     A  porta  inferi. 

gt.  Erue,  Domine,  animas 
eorum. 

ft.     Eequiescant  in  pace. 

gt.     Amen. 

y.  Domine,  exaudi  ora- 
tionem  meam. 

gt.  Et  clamor  meus  ad  te 
veniat. 

OREMTJS. 

Eidelium  Deus  omnium 
Conditor  et  Eedemptor,  ani- 
mabus  famulorum  famula- 
rumque  tuarum,  remissio- 
nem  cunctorum  tribue  pec- 
catorum ;  ut  indulgentiam, 
quam  semper  optaverunt, 
piis  supplicationibus  conse- 
quantur.  Qui  vivis  et  regnas 
in  ssecula  sseculorum.    Amen. 


ties,  0  Lord,  Lord,  who  shall 
endure  it  ? 

For  with  thee  there  is  mer- 
ciful forgiveness  ;  and  by  rea- 
son of  thy  law  I  have  waited 
for  thee,  O  Lord. 

My  soul  hath  relied  on  his 
word  ;  my  soul  hath  hoped  in 
the  Lord. 

From  the  morning  watch 
even  until  night,  let  Israel 
hope  in  the  Lord. 

Because  with  the  Lord  there 
is  mercy,  and  with  him  plen- 
tiful redemption. 

And  he  shall  redeem  Israel 
from  all  his  iniquities. 

Eternal  rest  give  to  them, 
0  Lord. 

And    let    perpetual    light 
shine  upon  them. 
f.  From  the  gate  of  hell, 
gt.  Deliver    their   souls,    0 
Lord. 
f.  May  they  rest  in  peace, 
gu  Amen. 
f.  O  Lord,  hear  my  prayer. 

Be.  And   let    my  cry  come 
unto  thee. 

LET  US  PRAY. 

0  God,  the  Creator  and 
Eedeemer  of  all  the  faithful, 
give  to  the  souls  of  thy  ser- 
vants departed  the  remission 
of  all  their  sins  :  that  through 
the  help  of  pious  supplica- 
tions, they  may  obtain  the 
pardon  they  have  always  de- 
sired. Who  livest  and  reign  - 
est  for  ever  and  ever.   Amen. 


Here  make  a  special  memento  of  such  of  the 
Faithful  departed  as  have  a  particular  claim  upon 
your  charity  ;  after  which,  ask  of  God  to  give  you  his 


NIGHT    PRAYERS. 


37 


assistance,  whereby  you  may  pass  the  night  free  from 
danger.  Say  then,  still  keeping  to  the  words  of  the 
Church  : 


Ant.  Save  us,  O  Lord, 
whilst  awake,  and  watch  us 
as  we  sleep ;  that  we  may 
watch  with  Christ,  and  rest 
in  peace. 

f.  Vouchsafe,  0  Lord, 
this  night. 

&.     To  keep  us  without  sin. 

y.  Have  mercy  on  us,  0 
Lord. 

&.     Have  mercy  on  us. 

y.  Let  thy  mercy,  0 
Lord  be  upon  us. 

gt.  As  we  have  hoped  in 
thee. 

y.  O  Lord,  hear  my 
prayer. 

$.  And  let  my  cry  come 
unto  thee. 

LET  US  PRAY. 

Visit,  we  beseech  thee,  O 
Lord,  this  house  and  family, 
and  drive  from  it  all  snares 
of  the  enemy  :  let  thy  holy 
Angels  dwell  herein,  who  may 
keep  us  in  peace,  and  may 
thy  blessing  be  always  upon 
us.  Through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  thy  Son,  who  liveth 
and  reigneth  with  thee,  in  the 
unity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  God, 
world  without  end.     Amen. 


Ant.  Salva  nos,  Domine, 
vigilantes,  custodi  nos  dor- 
mientes ;  ut  vigilemus  cum 
Christo,  et  requiescamus  in 
pace. 

y.     Dignare,  Domine, 

nocte  ista. 

gt.  Sine  peccato  nos  cus- 
todire. 

y.  Miserere  nostri,  Do- 
mine. 

gt.     Miserere  nostri. 

$".  Fiat  misericordia  tua, 
Domine,  super  nos. 

$ ,  Quemadmodum  spe- 
ravimus  in  te. 

^.  Domine,  exaudi  ora- 
tionem  meam. 

gt.  Et  clamor  meus  ad  te 
veniat. 

0REMTJS. 

Visita,  qusesumus,  Do- 
mine, habitationem  istam, 
et  omnes  insidias  inimici 
ab  ea  longe  repelle  :  Angeli 
tui  sancti  habitent  in  ea, 
qui  nos  in  pace  custodiant, 
et  benedictio  tua  sit  super 
nos  semper.  Per  Dominum 
nostrum  Jesum  Christum, 
Pilium  tuum,  qui  tecum  vi- 
vit  et  regnat  in  unitate  Spi- 
ritus  Sancti  Deus,  per  omnia 
ssecula  saeculorum.     Amen. 


And  that  you  may  end  the  day  in  the  same  senti- 
ments wherewith  you  began  it,  say  once  more  these 
words  of  the  Apostle  : 


Christ  became,  for  our  sake, 
obedient  unto  death,  even  to 
the  death  of  the  Cross. 


Christus  f actus  est  pro  no- 
bis obediens  usque  ad  mor- 
tem, mortem  autem  crucis. 


CHAPTER  THE  FIFTH. 

ON    HEARING    MASS,  DURING    PASSIONT1DE    AND 
HOLY    WEEK. 

If  there  be  any  time  in  the  Year,  when  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  should  excite  the  heart  of  the 
Christian  to  devotion,  it  is  Passiontide.  During 
these  days  set  apart  for  the  celebration  of  the  Death 
of  our  Redeemer,  the  faithful  soul  can  scarcely  turn 
her  thoughts  from  her  Jesus  expiring  on  the  Cross  : 
she  envies  those  who  were  witnesses  of  the  sublime 
mystery  on  Calvary  ;  she  wishes  that  she  could  have 
stood  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  have  compassionated 
the  Sufferings  of  her  Saviour,  have  heard  his  last 
words,  and  reverently  have  taken  up  each  drop  of 
the  precious  Blood  and  applied  it  to  her  own  wounds. 
These  holy  desires  have  not  been  given  to  the 
Christian  that  they  might  be  nothing  but  desires : 
God  has  given  him  the  means  of  carrying  them  into 
effect,  for  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  no  other  than 
the  Sacrifice  of  Calvary.  Jesus  offered  himself  but 
once  on  the  Cross  for  our  sins ;  but  he  renews  the 
offering,  by  an  unbloody,  yet  by  a  real  and  complete, 
immolation  on  our  Altars.  He  comes  down  on  the 
Altar  as  soon  as  the  sacred  words  of  Consecration  are 
pronounced  by  the  Priest,  and  he  comes  as  the 
Victim  of  the  world's  salvation.  His  Body  is  really 
present  there,  under  the  appearance  of  bread  ;  the 
chalice  contains  his  Blood  under  the  species  of  wine ; 
and  why  this  mystic  separation  of  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  the  Man- God,  who  can  die  now  no  more, 
if  it  be  not  to  represent  before  the  Divine  Majesty 
the  real  Death  which  was  once  suffered  in  a  bloody 


MASS.  .",'1 

manner  on  Calvary,  and  to  renew,  in   man's  favour, 
the  merits  and  fruits  of  that  Death  ? 

This  is  the  Sacrifice  of  the  New  Law,  as  far  above 
all  the  sacrifices  of  the  Old,  both  in  holiness  and 
efficacy,  as  the  Creator  is  above  all  his  creatures. 
Our  Jesus  in  the  omnipotence  of  his  love,  has  invented 
a  means  for  uniting  his  dignity,  as  Immortal  King  of 
ages,  with  his  office  of  our  Victim.  He  can  die  now 
no  more  ;  but  his  Death  is  truly  represented  on  the 
Altar :  it  is  the  self- same  Body,  bearing  on  it  its 
five  precious  Wounds  ;  it  is  the  self-same  Blood,  the 
Blood  which  redeemed  us.  If  it  were  possible  for 
him  to  die  again,  the  power  of  the  mysterious  words, 
which  produce  the  presence  of  his  Blood  in  the 
chalice,  would  be  the  sword  of  his  immolation. 

Let,  then,  the  Christian  approach  with  confidence  ; 
on  the  holy  Altar,  he  will  find  his  Saviour  dying  for 
him,  and  offering  himself  as  the  great  High  Priest. 
Yes,  he  is  there,  with  the  same  love  he  had  for  us  on 
Calvary  ;  he  is  there,  making  intercession  for  all  men, 
but,  in  a  special  manner,  for  those  who  are  present 
at  the  Mass,  and  unite  themselves  with  him.  Let 
us  see,  in  the  action  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  that  same 
Immolation  of  which  we  have  read  the  history  in  the 
(lospel.  Let  us  hope  for  everything  from  that 
adorable  goodness,  which  thus  makes  use  of  omni- 
potence in  order  to  facilitate,  by  such  stupendous 
means,  the  salvation  and  sanctification  of  man. 

We  will  now  endeavour  to  embody  these  sentiments 
in  our  explanation  of  the  Mysteries  of  the  Holy  Mass, 
and  initiate  the  Faithful  into  these  divine  secrets ; 
not,  indeed,  by  indiscreetly  presuming  to  translate 
the  sacred  formulae,  but  by  suggesting  such  Acts,  as 
will  enable  those  who  hear  Mass,  to  enter  into  the 
ceremonies  and  spirit  of  the  Church  and  the   Priest. 

The  purple  vestments,  and  the  other  rites  of  which 
we  have  already  treated,  give  to  the  Holy  Sacrifice 

D 


40 


PASSIONTIDE     AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


an  appearance  of  mournfulness,  so  well  suited  to  the 
Season.  Nevertheless,  if  there  occur  the  Feast  of  a 
Saint,  between  Passion  and  Palm  Sunday,  the  Ghurch 
lays  aside  her  purple,  and  celebrates  the  Mass  in 
honour  of  the  Saint.  The  Crucifix  and  the  holy 
Images,  however,  continue  to  be  veiled,  beginning 
from  the  first  Vespers  of  Passion  Sunday. 

On  the  Sundays,  if  the  Mass,  at  which  the  Faithful 
assist,  be  the  Parochial,  or,  as  it  is  often  called,  the 
Public  Mass,  two  solemn  rites  precede  it,  and  they 
are  full  of  instruction  and  blessing  ;  the  Asperges,  or 
sprinkling  of  the  Holy  Water,  and  the  Procession. 

During  the  Asperges,  let  us  ask  with  David,  whose 
words  are  used  by  the  Church  in  this  ceremony,  that 
our  souls  may  be  purified  by  the  hyssop  of  humility 
and  become  whiter  than  snow. 


ANTTPHON    OF    THE    ASPERGES. 


Asperges  me,  Domine, 
hyssopo,  et  mundabor  ;  lava- 
bis  me,  et  super  nivem  deal- 
babor. 

Ps.  Miserere  mei,  Deus, 
secundum  magnam  miseri- 
cordiam  tuam. 

Ant.  Asperges  me,  &c. 

y.  Ostende  nobis,  Domino, 
misericordiam  tuam. 

gt.  Et  salutare  tuum  da 
nobis. 

<tf.  Domine,  exaudi  ora- 
tionem  meam. 

gt.  Et  clamor  meus  ad  te 
veniat. 

1?.  Dominus  vobiscum. 

gc.  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

OREMUS. 

Exaudi  nos,  Domine  sanc- 
te,  Pater  omnipotens,  seterne 
Deus :    et    mittere     digneris 


Thou  shalt  sprinkle  me  with 
hyssop,  O  Lord,  and  I  shall  be 
cleansed ;  thou  shalt  wash 
me,  and  I  shall  be  made 
whiter  than  snow. 

Ps.  Have  mercy  on  me,  O 
God,  according  to  thy  great 
mercy. 

Ant.  Sprinkle  me,  &c. 

y.  Show  us,  0  Lord,  thy 
mercy. 

gi.  And  grant  us  thy  sal- 
vation. 

^ .  0  Lord,  hear  my  prayer. 

gt.  And  let  my  cry  come 
unto  thee. 

^.     The  Lord  be  with  you. 
gt.     And  with  thy  spirit. 

LET   US    PRAY. 

Graciously  hear  us,  0  holy 
Lord,  Father  Almighty,  Eter- 
nal God :    and   vouchsafe   to 


ASSUMPTION  COLLEGE 
crHOLASMCS'  LIBRARY 


THE    ORDINARY    OF    THE    MASS. 


41 


send  thy  holy  Angel  from 
heaven,  who  may  keep,  cher- 
ish, protect,  visit,  and  defend 
all  who  are  assembled  in  this 
place. 
Lord. 

&.     Amen 


Through    Christ  our 


sanctum  Angelum  tuum  de 
ccelis,  qui  custodiat,  foveat, 
protegat,  visitet  atque  de- 
fendat  omnes  habitantes  in 
hoc  habitaculo.  Per  Chris- 
tum Dominum  nostrum, 
gt.     Amen. 


The  Procession,  which  immediately  precedes  the 
Mass,  shows  us  the  ardour  wherewith  the  Church  ad- 
vances towards  her  Grod.  Let  us  imitate  her  fervour, 
for  it  is  written  :  The  Lord  is  good  to  them  that  hope 
in  him,  to  the  soul  that  seeketh  him. 1 

But  see,  Christians  !  the  Sacrifice  begins !  The 
Priest  is  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  ;  Grod  is  attentive,  the 
Angels  are  in  adoration,  the  whole  Church  is  united 
with  the  Priest,  whose  priesthood  and  action  are  those 
of  the  great  High  Priest,  Jesus  Christ.  Let  us  make 
the  sign  of  the  cross  with  him. 

THE    OKDINARY    OF    THE    MASS. 


In  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

I  unite  myself,  0  my  God, 
with  thy  Church,  whose  heart 
is  filled  with  the  hope  of  soon 
seeing,  and  in  all  the  splen- 
dour of  his  Resurrection, 
Jesus  Christ  thy  Son,  who  is 
the  true  Altar. 

This  my  hope  comes  not  to 
me  as  thinking  that  I  have 
any  merits,  but  from  the  all- 
powerful  help  of  my  Creator. 


In  nomine  Patris,  et  Filii, 
et  Spiritus  Sancti.     Amen. 

~ft.     Introibo  ad  altare  Dei. 
£.     Ad  Deum  qui  laetificat 
juventutem  meam. 


f.  Adjutorium  nostrum 
in  nomine  Domini. 

gt.  Qui  fecit  coelum  et 
terram . 


The  thought  of  his  being  about  to  appear  before 
his  Grod,  excites,  in  the  soul  of  the  Priest,  a  lively 
sentiment  of  compunction.  He  cannot  go  further  in 
the  holy  Sacrifice  without  confessing,    and  publicly, 


1  Lament,  hi.  25. 


42 


FASSIOJJTIDE    AND    HOLY   WEEK. 


that  he  is  a  sinner,  and  deserves  not  the  grace  he  is 
about  to  receive.  Listen,  with  respect,  to  this  con- 
fession of  Grod's  Minister,  and  earnestly  ask  our  Lord 
to  show  mercy  to  him  ;  for  the  Priest  is  your  Father  ; 
he  is  answerable  for  your  salvation,  for  which  he 
every  day  risks  his  own.  When  he  has  finished, 
unite  with  the  Servers,  or  the  Sacred  Ministers,  in 
this  prayer  : 

May  Almighty  God  have 
mercy  on  thee,  and  forgiving 
thy  sins,  bring  thee  to  ever- 
lasting life. 

The  Priest  having  answered  Amen,  make  your 
confession,  saying  with  a  contrite  spirit : 


Misereatur  tui  omnipo- 
tens  Deus,  et  dimissis  pec- 
catis  tuis,  perducat  te  ad 
vitam  seternam. 


I  confess  to  Almighty  God, 
to  blessed  Mary  ever  Virgin, 
to  blessed  Michael  the  Arch- 
angel, to  blessed  John  Baptist, 
to  the  holy  Apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  to  all  the  saints,  and  to 
thee,  Father,  that  I  have  sin- 
ned exceedingly  in  thought, 
word,  and  deed;  through  my 
fault,  through  my  fault, 
through  my  most  grievous 
fault.  Therefore  I  beseech  the 
blessed  Mary  ever  Virgin, 
blessed  Michael  the  Arch- 
angel, blessed  John  Baptist, 
the  holy  Apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  and  all  the  saints,  and 
thee,  Father,  to  pray  to  our 
Lord  God  for  me. 

Receive   with  gratitude   the  paternal  wish  of  the 
Priest,  who  says  to  you  : 


Confiteor  Deo  Omnipotenti, 
beatse  Marise  semper  Virgini, 
beato  Michaeli  Archangelo, 
beato  Joanni  Baptistse,  Sanc- 
tis Apostolis  Petro  et  Paulo, 
omnibus  Sanctis,  et  tibi, 
Pater :  quia  peccavi  nimis, 
cogitatione,  verbo,  et  opere  : 
mea  culpa,  mea  culpa,  mea 
maxima  culpa.  Ideo  precor 
beatam  Mariam  semper  Vir- 
ginem,  beatum  Michaelem 
Archangelum,  beatum  Joan- 
nem  Baptistam,  sanctos 
Apostolos  Petrum  et  Pau- 
lum,  omnes  sanctos,  et  te, 
Pater,  orare  pro  me  ad  Do- 
minum  Deum  nostrum. 


May  Almighty  God  be 
merciful  to  you,  and,  forgiv- 
ing your  sins,  bring  you  to 
everlasting  life. 

§l.    Amen. 

May    the    Almighty      and 


Misereatur  vestri  omnipo- 
tens  Deus,  et  dimissis  peccatis 
vestris,  perducat  vos  ad  vi- 
tam seternam. 

$.     Amen. 

Indulgentiam,      absolutio- 


THE    ORDINARY     OF    THE    MASS.  43 

neni,   et  remission  em  pecca-  merciful   Lord  grant  us  par- 

torum      nostrorum      tribuat  don,   absolution,   and  remis- 

nobis   omnipotens  et  miseri-  sion  of  our  sins. 
cors  Dominus. 

gt.     Amen.  &•     Amen. 

Invoke  the  divine  assistance,  that  you  may  ap- 
proach to  Jesus  Christ. 

y.     Deus,  tu  conversus  vi-  f.  0  God,  it  needs  but  one 

vificabis  nos.  look  of  thine  to  give  us  life. 

#.     Et  plebs  tua  lsetabitur  #.  And    thy   people   shall 

in  te.  rejoice  in  thee. 

p.     Ostende   nobis,  Domi-  V.  Show   us,    0   Lord,   thy 

ne,  misericordiam  tuam.  mercy. 

&.     Et  Salutare  tuum  da  &.  And  give   us   to   know 

nobis.  and  love  the  Saviour  whom 

thou  hast  sent  unto  us. 

f.  Domine,  exaudi  ora-  f.  O  Lord,  hear  my  prayer, 
tionem  meam. 

#.     Et  clamor  meus  ad  te  #.  And   let    my   cry   come 

veniat.                       .  unto  thee. 

The  Priest  here  leaves  you  to  ascend  to  the  altar  ; 
but  first  he  salutes  you  : 

Vr.  Dominus  vobiscum.  JP.  The  Lord  be  with  you. 

Answer  him  with  reverence  : 

I£.  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo.  #.  And  with  thy  spirit. 

OREMTJS.  LET   US   PRAY. 

He  ascends  the  steps,  and  comes  to  the  Holy  of 
Holies.  Ask,  both  for  him  and  yourself,  the  deliver- 
ance from  sin  : 

Aufer  a  nobis  qusesumus,  Take  from  our   hearts,    O 

Domine,      iniquitates      nos-  Lord,  all   those   sins,    which 

tras ;  ut  ad  Sancta  sanctorum  make  us  unworthy  to  appear 

puris     mereamur     mentibus  in  thy  presence,  we  ask  this  of 

introire.      Per  Christum  Do-  thee  by  thy   divine  Son,  our 

minum  nostrum.     Amen.  Lord. 

When  the  Priest  kisses  the  altar,  out  of  reverence 
for  the  relics  of  the  Martyrs  which  are  there,  say  : 

Oramus  te,    Domine,     per         Generous   soldiers  of  Jesus 


44  PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

Christ,  who  have  mingled  merita  sanctorum  tuorum, 
your  own  blood  with  his,  quorum  reliquiae  hie  sunt,  et 
intercede  for  us  that  our  sins  omnium  sanctorum  :  ut  in- 
inay  be  forgiven  :  that  so  we  dulgere  digneris  omnia  pec- 
may,  like  you,  approach  unto  cata  mea.  Amen. 
God. 

If  it  be  a  High  Mass  at  which  you  are  assisting, 
the  Priest  incenses  the  Altar  in  a  most  solemn  man- 
ner ;  and  this  white  cloud,  which  you  see  ascending 
from  every  part  of  the  Altar,  signifies  the  prayer  of 
the  Church,  who  addresses  herself  to  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  which  this  Divine  Mediator  then  causes  to 
ascend,  united  with  his  own,  to  the  throne  of  the 
inaj  esty  of  his  Father. 

The  Priest  then  says  the  Introit.  It  is  a  solemn 
opening-anthem,  in  which  the  Church,  at  the  very 
commencement  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  gives  expres- 
sion to  the  sentiments  which  fill  her  heart. 

It  is  followed  by  nine  exclamations,  which  are 
even  more  earnest, — for  they  ask  for  mercy.  In 
addressing  them  to  Grod,  the  Church  unites  herself 
with  the  nine  choirs  of  Angels,  who  are  standing 
round  the  altar  of  Heaven,  one  and  the  same  as  this 
before  which  you  are  kneeling. 

To  the  Father  : 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  us  !  Eyrie  eleison. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  us  !  Kyrie  eleison. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  us !  Kyrie  eleison. 

To  the  Son  : 

Christ,  have  mercy  on  us  !  Christe  eleison. 

Christ,  have  mercy  on  us  !  Christe  eleison. 

Christ,  have  mercy  on  us  !  Christe  eleison. 

To  the  Holy  Ghost: 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  us  !  Kyrie  eleison. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  us  !  Kyrie  eleison. 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  us  !  Kyrie  eleison. 


THE    ORDINARY    OF    THE    MASS. 


45 


As  we  have  already  mentioned,  the  Church 
abstains,  during  this  Season,  from  the  heavenly 
Hymn  which  the  Angels  sang  over  the  Crib  of 
the  Divine  Babe.  But,  if  she  be  keeping  the  Feast 
of  a  Saint  she  recites  this  beautiful  Canticle  on 
that  day.  The  beginning  of  the  Angelic  Hymn 
seems  more  suitable  for  heavenly  than  for  earthly 
voices  ;  but  the  second  part  is  in  no  ways  out  of 
keeping  with  the  sinner's  wants  and  fears,  for  we 
there  remind  the  Son  of  the  Eternal  Father  that  he 
is  the  Lamb  who  came  down  from  heaven  that  he 
might  take  away  the  sins  of  the  world.  We  beseech 
him  to  have  mercy  on  us,  and  receive  our  humble 
prayer.  Let  us  foster  these  sentiments  within  us, 
for  they  are  so  appropriate  to  the  present  Season. 


THE    ANGELIC    HYMN. 


Gloria  in  excelsis  Deo,  et 
in  terra  pax  hominibus  bonae 
voluntatis. 

Laudamus  te :  benedicimus 
te :  adoramus  te :  glorificamus 
te  :  gratias  agimus  tibi  prop- 
ter magnam  gloriam  tuam. 

Domine  Deus,  Rex  cceles- 
tis,  Deus  Pater  omnipotens. 

Domine  Fili  unigenite, 
Jesu  Christe. 

Domine  Deus,  A.gnus  Dei, 
Filius  Patris. 

Qui  tollis  peccata  mundi, 
miserere  nobis. 

Qui  tollis  peccata  mundi, 
suscipe  deprecationem  nos- 
tram. 

Qui  sedes  ad  dexteram 
Patris,  miserere  nobis. 

Quoniam  tu  solus  sanctus, 
tu  solus  Dominus,  tu  solus 
Altissimus,      Jesu     Christe, 


Glory  be  to  God  on  high, 
and  on  earth  peace  to  men  of 
good  will. 

"We  praise  thee :  we  bless 
thee :  we  adore  thee :  we 
glorify  thee :  we  give  thee 
thanks  for  thy  great  glory. 

O  Lord  God,  Heavenly 
King,  God  the  Father  Al- 
mighty. 

O  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
only  begotten  Son. 

O  Lord  God,  Lamb  of  God, 
Son  of  the  Father. 

Who  takest  away  the  sins  of 
the  world  have  mercy  on  us. 

Who  takest  away  the  sins 
of  the  world,  receive  our 
humble  prayer. 

Who  sittest  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father,  have 
mercy  on  us. 

For  thou  alone  art  holy, 
thou  alone  art  Lord,  thou 
alone,  0  Jesus  Christ,  together 


46  PASSIONTTDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

cum  Sancto  Spiritu,  in  gloria     with  the  Holy  Ghost,  art  most 
Dei  Patris.     Amen.  high,  in  the  glory  of  God  the 

Father.     Amen. 

The  Priest  then  turns  towards  the  people,  and 
again  salutes  them,  as  it  were  to  make  sure  of  their 
pious  attention  to  the  sublime  act,  for  which  all  this 
is  but  the  preparation. 

Then  follows  the  Collect  or  Prayer,  in  which  the 
Church  formally  expresses  to  the  divine  Majesty  the 
special  intentions  she  has  in  the  Mass  which  is  being 
celebrated.  You  may  unite  in  this  prayer,  by  recit- 
ing with  the  Priest  the  Collects  which  you  will  find 
in  their  proper  places  :  but  on  no  account  omit  to 
join  with  the  server  of  the  Mass  in  answering  Amen. 
After  this,  comes  the  Epistle,  which  is,  generally, 
a  portion  of  one  or  other  of  the  Epistles  of  the 
Apostles,  or  a  passage  from  some  Book  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Whilst  it  is  being  read,  ask  of  Grod  that 
you  may  profit  of  the  instructions  it  conveys. 

The  Gradual  is  an  intermediate  formula  of  prayer 
between  the  Epistle  and  Grospel.  It  again  brings  to 
us  the  sentiments  already  expressed  in  the  Introit. 
Read  it  with  devotion,  that  so  you  may  enter  more 
and  more  into  the  spirit  of  the  mystery  proposed  to 
you  by  the  Church. 

During  every  other  portion  of  her  Year,  the  Church 
here  repeats  her  joyous  Alleluia ;  but  now  she  denies 
herself  this  demonstration  of  gladness,  until  such 
time  as  her  Divine  Spouse  has  passed  through  that 
sea  of  bitterness,  into  which  our  sins  have  plunged 
him.  Instead  of  the  Alleluia,  then,  she  sings  in  a 
plaintive  tone  some  verses  from  the  Psalms,  appro- 
priate to  the  rest  of  that  day's  Office.  This  is  the 
Tract,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken. 

If  it  be  a  High  Mass,  the  Deacon,  meanwhile, 
prepares  to  fulfil  his  noble  office, — that  of  announcing 
the    Good    Tidings  of  salvation.      He    prays    God    to 


THE    ORDINARY    OF    THE    MASS.  47 

cleanse  his  heart  and  lips.  Then  kneeling  before 
the  Priest,  he  asks  a  blessing ;  and,  having  received 
it,  at  once  goes  to  the  place  where  he  is  to  sing  the 
Gospel. 

As  a  preparation  for  hearing  it  worthily,  you  may 
thus  pray,  together  with  both  Priest  and  Deacon  : 

Munda  cor  meum,  ac   la-  Alas !  these  ears  of  mine  are 

bia  mea,   Omnipotens  Deus,  but  too  often  defiled  with  the 

qui    labia    Isaise     Prophetse  world's  vain  words :   cleanse 

calculo  mundasti  ignito  :   ita  them,  0  Lord,  that  so  I  may 

me     tua    grata     miseratione  hear  the  words  of  eternal  life, 

dignare   mundare,    ut    sane-  and    treasure    them     in     rrry 

turn  Evangelium  tuum  dig-  heart.       Through    our  Lord 

ne     valeam     nuntiare.     Per  Jesus  Christ.      Amen. 
Christum      Dominum      nos- 
trum.    Amen. 

Dominus  sit  in  corde  meo,  Grant  to  thy  ministers  thy 

et   in  labiis  meis  :    ut  digne  grace,  that  they  may  faith  - 

et     competenter     annuntiem  fully  explain  thy  law ;    that 

Evangelium  suum  :    In    no-  so  all,  both  pastors  and  flock, 

mine  Patris,  et  Filii,  et  Spi-  may   be   united   to   thee   for 

ritus  Sancti.     Amen.  ever.     Amen. 

You  will  stand  during  the  Gospel,  as  though  you 
were  waiting  the  orders  of  your  Lord ;  and  at  the 
commencement,  make  the  sign  of  the  Cross  on  your 
forehead,  lips,  and  breast  ;  and  then  listen  to  every 
word  of  the  Priest  or  Deacon.  Let  your  hearts  be 
ready  and  obedient.  Whilst  my  beloved  arts  speak- 
ing, says  the  Spouse  in  the  Canticle,  my  soul  melted 
within  me,1  If  you  have  not  such  love  as  this,  have 
at  least  the  humble  submission  of  Samuel,  and  say  : 
Speak,  Lord  !  thy  servant  heareth.2 

After  the  Gospel,  if  the  Priest  says  the  Symbol  of 
Faith,  the  Credo,  you  will  say  it  with  him.  Faith  is 
that  gift  of  God,  without  which  we  cannot  please 
him.  It  is  Faith  that  makes  us  see  the  Light  which 
shineth  in  darkness,  and  which  the  darkness  of  un- 
belief did  not  comprehend.     It  is  Faith   alone  that 

1  Cant.  v.  6.  -  1  Kings,  iii.  10. 


48 


PAS8I0NTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


teaches  us  what  we  are,  whence  we  come,  and  the 
end  for  which  we  are  made.  It  alone  can  point  out 
to  us  the  path  whereby  we  may  return  to  our  God, 
when  once  we  have  separated  ourselves  from  him. 
Let  us  love  this  admirable  Faith,  which,  if  we  but 
make  it  fruitful  by  good  works,  will  save  us.  Let  us, 
then,  say  with  the  Catholic  Church,  our  Mother  : 


THE  NICENE  CREED. 


I  believe  in  one  God,  the 
Father  Almighty,  maker  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  of  all 
things  visible  and  invisible. 

And  in  one  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  only  begotten  Son 
of  God.  And  born  of  the 
Father  before  all  ages ;  God 
of  God,  light  of  light ;  true 
God  of  true  God.  Begotten, 
not  made ;  consubstantial  to 
the  Father,  by  whom  all 
things  were  made.  Who  for 
us  men,  and  for  our  salvation, 
came  down  from  heaven. 
And  became  incarnate  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  ;  and  was  made  MAN. 
He  was  crucified  also  for  us, 
under  Pontius  Pilate,  suffer- 
ed, and  was  buried.  And  the 
third  day  he  rose  again,  ac- 
cording to  the  Scriptures. 
And  ascended  into  heaven, 
sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father.  And  he  is  to 
come  again  with  glory,  to 
judge  the  living  and  the  dead; 
of  whose  kingdom  there  shall 
be  no  end. 

And  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
the  Lord  and  giver  of  life, 
who  proceedeth  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son.     Who 


Credo  in  unum  Deum, 
Patrem  omnipotentem,  fac- 
torem  coeli  et  terrae,  visibi- 
lium  omnium  et  invisibi- 
lium. 

Et  in  unum  Dominum 
Jesum  Christum,  Filium  Dei 
unigenitum.  Et  ex  Patre 
natum  ante  omnia  ssecula, 
Deum  de  Deo,  lumen  de 
lumine,  Deum  verum  de  Deo 
vero.  Genitum  non  factum, 
consubstantialem  Patri,  per 
quern  omnia  facta  sunt.  Qui 
propter  nos  homines,  et  prop- 
ter nostram  salutem,  descen- 
dit  de  ccelis.  Et  incarnatus 
est  de  Spiritu  Sancto,  ex 
Maria  Yirgine ;  ET  HOMO 
factus  EST.  Crucifixus  etiam 
pro  nobis  sub  Pontio  Pilato, 
passus,  et  sepultus  est.  Et 
resurrexit  tertia  die,  secun- 
dum Scripturas.  Et  ascendit 
in  ccelum  ;  sedet  ad  dexteram 
Patris.  Et  iterum  venturus 
est  cum  gloria  judicare  vivos 
et  mortuos  ;  cujus  regni  non 
erit  finis. 


Et  in  Spiritum  Sanctum, 
Dominum  et  vivificantem, 
qui  ex  Patre  Filioque  proce- 
dit.     Qui  cum  Patre  et  Filio 


THE    ORDINARY    OF    THE    MASS.  49 

simul  adoratur,  et  conglori-  together  with  the  Father  and 

ficatur  ;   qui  locutus  est   per  the  Son,  is  adored   and  glori- 

Prophetas.     Et  unam    sane-  fied  ;  who  spoke  by  the  Pro- 

tam  Catholicam  et  Apostoli-  phets.     And  one  holy  Catho- 

cam     Ecclesiam.       Confiteor  lie   and  Apostolic   Church.  I 

unum  Baptisma  in  remissio-  confess  one  Baptism  for  the 

nem    peccatorum.      Et    ex-  remission    of    sins.      And  I 

specto   resurrectionem    mor-  expect  the  resurrection  of  the 

tuorum,     et    vitam    venturi  dead,  and  the  life  of  the  world 

saeculi.     Amen.  to  come.     Amen. 

The  Priest  and  the  people  should,  by  this  time, 
have  their  hearts  ready  :  it  is  time  to  prepare  the 
offering  itself.  And  here  we  come  to  the  second  part 
of  the  Holy  Mass,  which  is  called  the  Oblation,  and 
Mass  of  Catechumens,  on  account  of  its  being  formerly 
the  only  part,  at  which  the  candidates  for  Baptism 
had  a  right  to  be  present. 

See,  then,  dear  Christians  !  bread  and  wine  are 
about  to  be  offered  to  (rod,  as  being  the  noblest  of 
inanimate  creatures,  since  they  are  made  for  the 
nourishment  of  man  ;  and  even  that  is  only  a  poor 
material  image  of  what  they  are  destined  to  become 
in  our  Christian  Sacrifice.  Their  substance  will  soon 
give  place  to  God  himself,  and  of  themselves  nothing 
will  remain  but  the  appearances.  Happy  creatures, 
thus  to  yield  up  their  own  being,  that  Grod  may  take 
its  place !  We,  too,  are  to  undergo  a  like  transfor- 
mation, when,  as  the  Apostle  expresses  it,  that  which  to 
us  is  mortal,  shall  put  on  immortality.1  Until  that 
happy  change  shall  be  realised,  let  us  offer  ourselves 
to  Grod,  as  often  as  we  see  the  bread  and  wine  pre- 
sented to  him  in  the  Holy  Sacrifice  ;  and  let  us 
glorify  Him,  who,  by  assuming  our  human  nature, 
has  made  us  partakers  of  the  divine  nature} 

The  Priest  again  turns  to  the  people  with  the 
usual  salutation,  as  though  he  would  warn  them  to 
redouble  their  attention.     Let  us  read  the  Offertory 

1  Cor.  xv.  53.  2  2  St.  Pet.  i.  4. 


Jti^bf 


50 


PASSIONTIDK    AND    HOLY     WEEK. 


with  him,  and  when  he  offers  the  Host  to  (rod,  let  us 
unite  with  him  in  saying : 

Suscipe,  sancte  Pater, 
omnipotens  aeterne  Deus, 
hanc  immaculatam  hostiam, 
quam  ego  indignus  famulus 
tuus  offero  tibi  Deo  meo 
vivo  et  vero,  pro  innumera- 
bilibus  peccatis  et  offensio- 
nibus  et  negligentiis  meis, 
et  pro  omnibus  circumstan- 
tibus,  sed  et  pro  omnibus 
fidelibus  christianis  vivis 
atque  defunctis  ;  ut  mihi  et 
illis  proficiat  ad  salutem  in 
vitam  aeternam.     Amen. 


All  that  we  have,  0  Lord, 
comes  from  thee,  and  belongs 
to  thee;  it  is  just,  therefore, 
that  we  return  it  unto  thee. 
But  how  wonderful  art  thou 
in  the  inventions  of  thy  im- 
mense love !  This  bread 
which  we  are  offering  to  thee, 
is  to  give  place,  in  a  few 
moments,  to  the  sacred  Body 
of  Jesus.  We  beseech  thee, 
receive,  together  with  this 
oblation,  our  hearts  which 
long  to  live  by  thee,  and  to 
cease  to  live  their  own  life  of 
self. 

When  the  Priest  puts  the  wine  into  the  chalice, 
and  then  mingles  with  it  a  drop  of  water,  let  your 
thoughts  turn  to  the  divine  mystery  of  the  Incarna- 
tion, which  is  the  source  of  our  hope  and  our 
salvation  ;  and  say  : 


Deus  qui  humanae  sub- 
stantias dignitatem  mirabi- 
liter  condidisti,  et  mirabi- 
lius  reformasti :  da  nobis  per 
hujus  aquae  et  vini  myste- 
terium,  ejus  divinitatis  esse 
consortes,  qui  humanitatis 
nostrae  fieri  dignatus  est 
particeps,  Jesus  Christus 
Filius  tuus  Dominus  noster  : 
qui  tecum  vivit  et  regnat 
in  unitate  Spiritus  Sancti 
Deus,  per  omnia  saecula 
saeculorum.     Amen. 

The  Priest  then  offers  the  mixture  of  wine  and 
water,  beseeching  Grod  graciously  to  accept  this 
oblation,  which  is  so  soon  to  be  changed  into  the 
reality,  of  which  it  is  now  but  the  figure.  Meanwhile, 
say,  in  union  with  the  Priest  : 


O  Lord  Jesus,  who  art  the 
true  Vine,  and  whose  Blood, 
like  a  generous  wine,  has 
been  9poured  forth  under  the 
pressure  of  the  Cross  !  thou 
hast  deigned  to  unite  thy 
divine  nature  to  our  weak 
humanity,  which  is  signified 
by  this  drop  of  water.  O 
come  and  make  us  partakers 
of  thy  divinity,  by  showing 
th}Tself  to  us  in  thy  sweet  and 
wondrous  visit. 


THE    ORDINARY    OF    THK    MASS. 


Ol 


Offerimus  tibi,  Domine, 
calicem  salutaris,  tuam  de- 
precantes  clementiam  :  ut  in 
couspectu  divinse  Majestatis 
tuse,  pro  nostra  et  totius 
mundi  salute,  cum  odore 
suavitatis  ascendat.      Amen. 


Graciously  accept  these 
gifts,  O  sovereign  Creator  of 
all  things.  Let  them  be  fitted 
for  the  divine  transformation, 
which  will  make  them,  from 
being  mere  offerings  of  created 
things,  the  instrument  of  the 
world's  salvation. 


After  having  thus  held  up  the  sacred  gifts  towards 
heaven,  the  Priest  bows  down  :  let  us,  also,  humble 
ourselves,  and  say  : 


In  spiritu  humilitatis,  et 
in  animo  contrito  suscipia- 
mur  a  te,  Domine  :  et  sic  fiat 
sacrificium  nostrum  in  con- 
spectu  tuo  hodie,  ut  placeat 
tibi,  Domine  Deus. 


Though  daring,  as  we  do,  to 
approach  thy  altar,  O  Lord, 
we  cannot  forget  that  we  are 
sinners.  Have  mercy  on  us, 
and  delay  not  to  send  us  thy 
Son,  who  is  our  saving  Host. 


Let  us  next  invoke  the  Holy  Grhost,  whose  opera- 
tion is  about  to  produce  on  the  altar  the  presence  of 
the  Son  of  Grod,  as  it  did  in  the  womb  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  in  the  divine  mystery  of  the  Incarna- 
tion : 


Veni,  Sanctificator  omni- 
potens  leterne  Deus,  et  be- 
nedic  hoc  sacrificium  tuo 
sancto  nomini  prreparatum. 


Come,  O  Divine  Spirit, 
make  fruitful  the  offering 
which  is  upon  the  altar,  and 
produce  in  our  hearts  Him 
whom  they  desire. 

If  it  be  a  High  Mass,  the  Priest  before  proceeding 
any  further  with  the  Sacrifice,  takes  the  thurible  a 
second  time.  He  first  incenses  the  bread  and  wine 
which  have  been  just  offered,  and  then  the  altar 
itself ;  hereby  inviting  the  faithful  to  make  their 
prayer,  which  is  signified  by  the  incense,  more  and 
more  fervent,  the  nearer  the  solemn  moment  ap- 
proaches. 

But  the  thought  of  his  own  unworthiness 
more  intense  than  ever  in  the  heart  of  tke 


52 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


The  public  confession,  which  he  made  at  the  foot  of 
the  altar,  is  not  enough ;  he  would  now,  at  the  altar 
itself,  express  to  the  people,  in  the  language  of  a 
solemn  rite,  how  far  he  knows  himself  to  be  from 
that  spotless  sanctity,  wherewith  he  should  approach 
to  God.  He  washes  his  hands.  Our  hands  signify 
our  works ;  and  the  Priest,  though  by  his  priesthood 
he  bear  the  office  of  Jesus  Christ,  is,  by  his  works, 
but  man.  Seeing  your  Father  thus  humble  himself, 
do  you  also  make  an  act  of  humility,  and  say  with 
him  these  verses  of  the  Psalm. 

psalm  25. 


I,  too,  would  wash  my 
hands,  0  Lord,  and  become 
like  unto  those  who  are  in- 
nocent, that  so  I  may  be  wor- 
thy to  come  near  thy  altar, 
and  hear  thy  sacred  Canticles, 
and  then  go  and  proclaim  to 
the  world  the  wonders  of  thy 
goodness.  I  love  the  beauty 
of  thy  House,  which  thou  art 
about  to  make  the  dwelling- 
place  of  thy  glory.  Leave  me 
not,  0  God,  in  the  midst  of 
them  that  are  enemies  both 
to  thee  and  me.  Thy  mercy 
having  separated  me  from 
them,  I  entered  on  the  path  of 
innocence,  and  was  restored  to 
thy  grace  ;  but  have  pity  on 
my  weakness  still ;  redeem  me 
yet  more,  thou  who  hast  so 
mercifully  brought  me  back 
to  the  right  path.  In  the 
midst  of  these  thy  faithful 
people,  I  give  thee  thanks. 

The  Priest,  taking  encouragement  from  the  act  of 
humility  he  has  just  made,  returns  to  the  middle  of 
the  altar,   and  bows  down  full   of   respectful   awe, 


Lavabo  inter  innocentes 
manus  meas  :  et  circumdabo 
altare  tuum,  Domine. 

Ut  audiam  vocem  laudis  ; 
et  enarrem  universa  mira- 
bilia  tua. 

Domine,  dilexi  decorem 
domus  tuse,  et  locum  habi- 
tationis  gloriae  tuse. 

Ne  perdas  cum  impiis, 
Deus,  animam  meam,  et  cum 
viris  sanguinum  vitam  meam. 

In  quorum  manibus  iniqui- 
tates  sunt  :  dextera  eorum 
repleta  est  muneribus. 

Ego  autem  in  innocentia 
mea  ingressus  sum  :  redime 
me,  et  miserere  mei. 

Pes  meus  stetit  in  directo  : 
in  ecclesiis  benedicam  te 
Domine. 


THE    ORDINARY    OF    THE    MASS.  58 

begging  of  Gk>d  to  receive  graciously  the  Sacrifice 
which  is  about  to  be  offered  to  him,  and  expresses 
the  intentions  for  which  it  is  offered.  Let  us  do  the 
same. 

Suscipe,     Sancta   Trinitas,  O  Holy  Trinity,  graciously 

hanc  oblationem,   quam   tibi  accept  the  Sacrifice,  we  have 

offerimus  ob  memoriam  Pas-  begun.    We  offer  it  in  rem  em  - 

sionis,      Eesurrectionis,      et  brance  of  the  Passion,  Resur- 

Ascensionis      Jesu       Christi  rection,  and  Ascension  of  our 

Domini  nostri :   et  in  honore  Lord   Jesus    Christ.     Permit 

beatee  Marise   semper  Virgi-  thy  Church  to  join  with  this 

nis,   et  Beati  Johannis  Bap-  intention  that  of   honouring 

tistae,   et  sanctorum  Aposto-  the     ever     glorious     Virgin 

lorum    Petri     et    Pauli,     et  Mary,    the    Blessed    Baptist 

istorum,    et   omnium    Sane-  John,  the  holy  Apostles  Peter 

torum  :   ut  illis   proficiat   ad  and  Paul,  the  Martyrs  whose 

honorem,     nobis    autem    ad  relics  lie  here  under  our  altar 

salutem :     et  illi   pro   nobis  awaiting    their  resurrection, 

intercedere      dignentur      in  and  the  Saints  whose  memory 

coelis,      quorum     memoriam  we   this  day  celebrate.     In- 

agimus  in  terris.     Per  eum-  crease  the  glory  they  are  en- 

dem      Christum      Dominum  joying,  and  receive  the  pray- 

nostrum.     Amen.  ers  they  address  to  thee  for  us. 

The  Priest  again  turns  to  the  people ;  it  is  for  the 
last  time  before  the  sacred  Mysteries  are  accomplished. 
He  feels  anxious  to  excite  the  fervour  of  the  people. 
Neither  does  the  thought  of  his  own  unworthiness 
leave  him ;  and  before  entering  the  cloud  with  the 
Lord,  he  seeks  support  in  the  prayers  of  his  brethren 
who  are  present.     He  says  to  them  : 

Orate,    fratres  :    ut  meum  Brethren,  pray  that  my  Sa- 

ac  vestrum   sacrificium    ac-  crifi.ee,   which  is  yours  also, 

ceptabile    fiat    apud     Deum  may   be   acceptable   to  God, 

Patrem  omnipotentem.  our  Almighty  Father. 

This  request  made,  he  turns  again  to  the  altar,  and 
you  will  see  his  face  no  more,  until  our  Lord  himself 
shall  have  come  down  from  heaven  upon  that  same 
altar.  Assure  the  Priest  that  he  has  your  prayers, 
and  say  to  him  : 


54  PASS10NTIDE     VXD    HOLY    WEEK. 

May  our  Lord  accept  this  Suscipiat    Dominus    sacri- 

Sacrifice  at  thy  hands,  to  the  ficium   de   manibus   tuis,  ad 

praise  and  glory  of  his  name,  laudem    et   gloriam    nominis 

and  for  our  benefit  and  that  of  sui,    ad     utilitatein     quoque 

his  holy  Church  throughout  nostram    totiusque   Ecclesise 

the  world.  suae  sanctse. 

Here  the  Priest  recites  the  prayers  called  the  Se- 
crets, in  which  he  presents  the  petition  of  the  whole 
Church  for  Grod's  acceptance  of  the  Sacrifice,  and 
then  immediately  begins  to  fulfil  that  great  duty  of 
religion, — Thanksgiving.  So  far  he  has  adored  Grod, 
and  has  sued  for  mercy  ;  he  has  still  to  give  thanks 
for  the  blessings  bestowed  on  us  by  the  bounty  of 
our  heavenly  Father,  the  chief  of  which,  during  this 
Season,  is  his  giving  us  his  Only  Begotten  Son,  to 
be  our  Mediator  by  his  Blood.  The  Priest,  in  the 
name  of  the  Church,  is  about  to  give  expression 
to  the  gratitude  of  all  mankind.  In  order  to  excite 
the  Faithful  to  that  intensity  of  gratitude  which 
is  due  to  Grod  for  all  his  gifts,  he  interrupts  his 
own  and  their  silent  prayer  by  terminating  it  aloud, 
saying  : 

For  ever  and  ever  !  Per  omnia  ssecula  saeculo- 

rum  ! 

In  the  same  feeling,  answer  your  Amen  !  Then  he 
continues  : 

V.     The  Lord  be  with  you.         t .     Dominus  vobiscum. 
R.     And  with  thy  spirit.  R.     Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

y.     Lift  up  your  hearts  !  f.     Sursum  corda  ! 

Let  your  response  be  sincere  : 

R.  We  have  them  fixed  on  R.  Habemus  ad  Domi- 
God.  num. 

And  when  he  adds  : 

^.  Let  us  give  thanks  to  V .  G  rati  as  aganms  Do- 
the  Lord  our  God.  mino  Deo  nostro. 


THE    ORDINARY    OF    THE    MASS. 


55 


Answer  him  with  all  the  earnestness  of  your  soul  : 
$.  Dignum    et    justum  est.         #.  It  is  meet  and  just. 
Then  the  Priest : 


THE    PREFACE. 


It  is  truly  meet  and  just, 
right  and  available  to  salva- 
tion, that  we  should  always 
and  in  all  places  give  thanks 
to  thee,  0  Holy  Lord,  Father 
Almighty,  Eternal  God.  Who 
hast  appointed,  that  the  sal- 
vation of  mankind  should  be 
wrought  on  the  wood  of  the 
Cross ;  that  from  whence 
death  came,  thence  life  might 
arise ;  and  that  he  who  over- 
came by  the  tree,  might  also 
by  the  Tree  be  overcome ; 
through  Christ  our  Lord  ;  by 
whom  the  Angels  praise  thy 
maj  esty ,  the  Dominations 
adore  it,  the  Powers  tremble 
before  it ;  the  Heavens  and  the 
heavenly  Virtues,  and  the 
blessed  Seraphim,  with  com- 
mon jubilee,  glorify  it.  To- 
gether with  whom,  we  beseech 
thee  that  we  may  be  admitted  to 
j  oin  our  humble  voices  saying : 

Here  unite  with  the  Priest,  who,  on  his  part,  unites 
himself  with  the  blessed  Spirits,  in  giving  thanks  to 
(rod  for  the  unspeakable  Grift :    bow  down  and  say  : 


Vere  dignum  et  justum 
est,  sequum  et  salutare,  nos 
tibi  semper,  et  ubique  gra- 
tias  agere,  Domine  sancte, 
Pater  omnipotens,  aeterne 
Deus.  Qui  salutem  humani 
generis  in  ligno  Crucis  con- 
stituisti,  ut  unde  mors  orie- 
batur,  inde  vita  resurgeret ; 
et  qui  in  ligno  vincebat,  in 
Ligno  quoque  vinceretur  ; 
per  Christum  Dominum 
nostrum ;  per  quern  majes- 
tatem  tuam  laudant  Angeli, 
adorant  Dominationes,  tre- 
munt  Potestates,  Coeli,  coe- 
lorumque  Virtutes,  ac  beata 
Seraphim,  socia  exsultatione 
concelebrant.  Cum  qui  bus 
et  nostras  voces,  ut  admitti 
jubeas  deprecamur,  supplici 
confessionedicentes. 


Sanctus,  Sanctus,  Sanctus, 
Dominus  Deus  sabaoth ! 

Pleni  sunt  coeli  et  terra 
gloria  tua. 

Hosanna  in  excelsis  ! 

Benedictus  qui  venit  in 
nomine  Domini. 


Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord 
God  of  hosts  ! 

Heaven  and  earth  are  full 
of  thy  glory. 

Hosanna  in  the  highest ! 

Blessed  be  the  Saviour  who 
is  coming  to  us  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  who  sends  him. 


56  PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY   WEEK. 

Hosanna  be  to  him  in  the        Hosanna  in  excelsis  ! 
highest ! 

After  these  words  commences  the  Canon,  that 
mysterious  prayer,  in  the  midst  of  which  heaven  bows 
down  to  earth,  and  Grod  descends  nnto  us.  The  voice 
of  the  Priest  is  no  longer  heard  ;  yea,  even  at  the 
altar,  all  is  silence.  Let  a  profound  respect  stay  all 
distractions,  and  keep  our  senses  in  submission  to 
the  soul.  Let  us  fix  our  eyes  on  what  the  Priest 
does  in  the  Holy  Place. 

THE   CANON   OF   THE   MASS. 

In  this  mysterious  colloquy  with  the  great  Grod  of 
heaven  and  earth,  the  first  prayer  of  the  sacrificing 
Priest  is  for  the  Catholic  Church,  his  and  our  Mother. 

0  God,  who  manifestest  thy-  Te  igitur,  clementissime 
self  unto  us  by  means  of  the  Pater,  per  Jesum  Christum 
mysteries  which  thou  hast  in-  Filium  tuum  Dominum  nos- 
trusted  to  thy  holy  Church,  trum,  supplices  rogamus  ac 
our  Mother  ;  we  beseech  thee,  petimus,  uti  accepta  habeas, 
by  the  merits  of  this  sacrifice,  et  benedicas  hsec  dona,  haec 
that  thou  wouldst  remove  all  munera,  hsec  sancta  sacri- 
those  hindrances  which  op-  ficia  illibata,  in  primis  quae 
pose  her  during  her  pilgrim-  tibi  offerimus  pro  Ecclesia 
age  in  this  world.  Give  her  tua  sancta  catholica :  quam 
peace  and  unity.  Do  thou  pacificare,  custodire,  adu- 
thyself  guide  our  Holy  Father  nare,  et  regere  digneris  toto 
the  Pope,  thy  Vicar  on  earth,  orbe  terrarum,  una  cum  fa- 
Direct  thou  our  Bishop,  who  mulo  tuo  Papa  nostro  N. ,  et 
is  our  sacred  link  of  unity;  Antistite  nostro  N.,  et  om- 
and  watch  over  all  the  ortho-  nibus  orthodoxis,  atque  ca- 
dox  members  of  the  Catholic  tholicse  et  apostolicoe  fidei 
Apostolic  Roman  Church.  cultoribus. 

Here  pray,  together  with   the  Priest,   for  those 
whose  interests  should  be  dearest  to  you. 

Permit  me,  0  God,  to  inter-  Memento,  Domine,  famu- 

cede  with  thee  in  more  earnest  lorum  f  amularumque  tuarum 

prayer  for  those,   for  whom  N.  et  N.,  et  ominum  circum- 

thou  knowest  that   I  have  a  stantium,   quorum  tibi  fides 


THE   ORDINARY   OF   THE   MASS. 


57 


cognita  est,  et  nota  devotio  : 
pro  quibus  tibi  offerimus,  vel 
qui  tibi  offerunt  hoc  sacrifi- 
cium  laudis,  pro  se,  suisque 
omnibus,  pro  redemptione 
animarum  suarum,  pro  spe 
salutis  et  incolumitatis  suae  ; 
tibique  reddunt  vota  sua 
seterno  Deo,  vivo  et  vero. 


special  obligation  to  pray  : 
*  *  *  Pour  down  thy  bless- 
ings upon  them.  Let  them 
partake  of  the  fruits  of  this 
divine  Sacrifice,  which  is  offer- 
ed unto  thee  in  the  name  of  all 
mankind  Visit  them  by  thy 
grace,  pardon  them  their  sins, 
grant  them  the  blessings  of 
this  present  life  and  of  that 
which  is  eternal. 


Here  let  us  commemorate  the  Saints  :  they  are 
that  portion  of  the  Body  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  is 
called  the  Church  Triumphant. 


Communicantes,  et  memo- 
riam  venerantes,  in  primis 
gloriosae  semper  Virginis  Ma- 
rise,  Genitricis  Dei  et  Domini 
nostri  Jesu  Christi :  sed  et  bea  - 
torum  Apostolorum  ac  Mar- 
tyr umtuorum,  Petri  et  Pauli, 
Andreae,  Jacobi,  Joannis, 
Thomae,  Jacobi,  Philippi, 
Bartholomaei,  Matthaei,  Si- 
monis,  etThaddaei:  Lini,  Cle- 
ti,  Clementis,  Xysti,  Cornelii, 
Cypriani,  Laurentii,  Chryso- 
goni,  Joannis  et  Pauli,  Cosmae 
et  Damiani,  et  omnium  sanc- 
torum tuorum,  quorum  men- 
tis precibusque  concedas,  ut  in 
omnibus  protectionis  tuae  mu- 
niamurauxilio.  Pereumdem 
Christum  Dominum  nostrum. 
Amen. 


But  the  offering  of  this  Sa- 
crifice, O  my  God,  does  not 
unite  us  with  those  only  of  our 
brethren  who  are  still  in  this 
transient  life  of  trial  :  it 
brings  us  closer  to  those  also, 
who  are  already  in  possession 
of  heaven.  Therefore  it  is, 
that  we  wish  to  honour  by  it 
the  memory  of  the  glorious 
and  ever  Virgin  Mary,  of 
whom  Jesus  was  born  to  us  ; 
of  the  Apostles,  Confessors, 
Virgins,  and  of  all  the  Saints ; 
that  so  they  may  assist  us,  by 
their  powerful  intercession, 
to  become  worthy  to  con- 
template thee,  as  they  now 
do,  in  the  mansion  of  thy 
glory. 


The  priest,  who,  up  to  this  time,  had  been  praying 
with  his  hands  extended,  now  joins  them,  and  holds 
them  over  the  bread  and  wine,  as  the  High  Priest  of 
the  Old  Law  did  over  the  figurative  victim  :  he  thus 
expresses  his  intention  of  bringing  these  gifts  more 
closely  under  the  notice  of  the  Divine  Majesty,  and 
of  marking  them  as  the  material  offering  whereby 


58 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


we  profess  our  dependence,  and  which  is,  in  a  few 
instants,  to  yield  its  place  to  the  living  Host,  upon 
whom  are  laid  all  our  iniquities. 


Vouchsafe,  0  God,  to  accept 
this  offering  which  this  thy 
assembled  family  presents  to 
thee  as  the  homage  of  its  most 
happy  servitude.  In  return, 
give  us  j>eace,  save  us  from 
thy  wrath,  and  number  us 
among  thy  elect,  through  Him. 
who  is  coming  to  us — thy  Son 
our  Saviour. 

Yea,  Lord,  this  is  the  mo- 
ment when  this  bread  is  to 
become  his  sacred  Body,  which 
is  our  food  ;  and  this  wine  is 
to  be  changed  into  his  Blood, 
which  is  our  drink.  Ah  !  de- 
lay no  longer,  but  send  to  us 
this  divine  Son  our  Saviour  ! 


Hanc  igitur  oblationem  ser- 
vitutis  nostrae,  sed  et  cunctao 
familise  tuse,  qusesumus  Do- 
mine,  ut  placatus  accipias  : 
diesque  nostros  in  tua  pace 
disponas,  atque  ab  eeterna 
damnatione  nos  eripi,  et  in 
electorum  tuorum  jubeas  gre- 
ge  numerari.  Per  Christum 
Dominum  nostrum.     Amen. 

Quam  oblationem  tu  Deus 
in  omnibus  quaesumus,  be- 
nedictam,  adscriptam,  ratam, 
rationabilem,  acceptabilem- 
que  facere  digneris  ;  ut  nobis 
Corpus  et  Sanguis  fiat  dilec- 
tissitni  Filii  tui  Domini  nostri 
Jesu  Christi. 


And  here  the  Priest  ceases  to  act  as  man  ;  he  now 
becomes  more  than  a  mere  minister  of  the  Church. 
His  word  becomes  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  with  all  its 
power  and  efficacy.  Prostrate  yourself  in  profound 
adoration  ;  for  God  himself  is  about  to  descend  upon 
our  Altar,  coming  down  from  heaven. 


What,  0  God  of  heaven  and 
earth,  my  Jesus,  the  long  ex- 
pected Messias,  what  else  can 
I  do  at  this  solemn  moment 
but  adore  thee,  in  silence,  as 
my  sovereign  Master,  and 
open  my  whole  heart  to  thee, 
as  to  its  dearest  King !  Come, 
then,  Lord  Jesus,  come  ! 


Qui  pridie  quam  pateretur, 
accepit  panem  in  sanctas  ac 
venerabiles  manus  suas  :  et 
elevatis  oculis  in  coelum,  ad  te 
Deum  Patrem  suum  omnipo- 
tentem,  tibi  gratias  agens, 
benedixit,  fregit,  deditque 
discipulis  suis,  dicens:  Acci- 
pite,  et  manducate  ex  hoc 
omnes.  Hoc  est  exim 
Corpus  Meum. 


The  Divine  Lamb  is  now  lying  on  our  Altar !  Glory 
and  love  be  to  him  for  ever  !  But  he  is  come,  that 
he  may  be  immolated.     Hence,  the  Priest,  who  is  the 


THE    ORDINARY    OF    THE    MASS. 


59 


minister  of  the  will  of  the  Most  High,  immediately 
pronounces  over  the  Chalice  those  sacred  words,  which 
will  produce  the  great  mystical  immolation,  by  the 
separation  of  the  Victim's  Body  and  Blood.  The 
substances  of  bread  and  wine  have  ceased  to  exist : 
the  species  alone  are  left,  veiling,  as  it  were,  the  Body 
and  Blood,  lest  fear  should  keep  us  from  a  mystery, 
which  God  gives  us  in  order  to  give  us  confidence. 
Let  us  associate  ourselves  to  the  Angels,  who  trem- 
blingly look  upon  this  deepest  wonder. 

O  Precious  Blood !  thou 
price  of  my  salvation  !  I  adore 
thee  !  Wash  away  my  sins, 
and  give  me  a  purity  above  the 
whiteness  of  snow.  Lamb 
ever  slain,  yet  ever  living, 
thou  comest  to  take  away  the 
sins  of  the  world  !  Come  also 
and  reign  in  me  by  thy  power 
and  by  thy  love. 


Simili  modo  postquam  cce- 
natum  est,  accipiens  et  hunc 
prseclarum  Calicem  in  sanctas 
ac  venerabiles  manus  suas  : 
item  tibi  gratias  agens,  bene- 
dixit,  deditque  discipulis  suis, 
dicens  :  Accipite  et  bibite  ex 
eo  omnes.  Hie  est  enim 
Calix  Sanguinis  mei,  novi 
et  ^eterni  testamenti  i 
mysterium  fidei  l  qui  pro 
vobis  et  pro  multis  effun- 
detur  in  remissionem  pec- 
catorum.  Haecquotiescum- 
que  feceritis,  in  mei  memo- 
nam  facietis. 

The  Priest  is  now  face  to  face  with  Gtad.  He 
again  raises  his  hands  towards  heaven,  and  tells  our 
heavenly  Father,  that  the  oblation,  now  on  the  altar, 
is  no  longer  an  earthly  offering,  but  the  Body  and 
Blood,  the  whole  Person,  of  his  divine  Son. 


Unde  et  memores,  Domine, 
nos  servi  tui,  sed  et  plebs  tua 
sancta,  ejusdem  Christi  Filii 
tui  Domini  nostri  tarn  beatee 
Passionis,  necnon  et  ab  inferis 
Resurrectionis,  sed  et  in  ccelos 
gloriosse  Ascensionis  :  offeri- 
mus  prseclarse  majestati  tute 
de  tuis  donis  ac  datis  Hostiam 
puram,     Hostiam     sanctain, 


Father  of  infinite  holiness, 
the  Host  so  long  expected  is 
here  before  thee !  Behold  this 
thy  eternal  Son,  who  suffered 
a  bitter  Passion,  rose  again 
with  glory  from  the  grave, 
and  ascended  triumphantly 
into  heaven.  He  is  thy  Son  : 
but  he  is  also  our  Host,  Host 
pure  and  spotless  , — our  Mea 


60 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


and  Drink  of  everlasting  life. 


Heretofore  thou  didst  accept 
the  sacrifice  of  the  innocent 
lambs  offered  to  thee  by  Abel ; 
and  the  sacrifice  which  Abra- 
ham made  thee  of  his  sod 
Isaac,  who,  though  immolated 
yet  lived;  and,  lastly,  the 
sacrifice,  which  Melchisedech 
presented  thee,  of  bread  and 
wine.  Receive  our  Sacrifice, 
which  is  above  all  those  others. 
It  is  the  Lamb,  of  whom  all 
others  could  be  but  figures  ;  it 
is  the  undying  Victim  :  it  is 
the  Body  of  thy  Son,  who  is 
the  Bread  of  Life,  and  his 
Blood,  which,  whilst  a  Drink 
of  immortality  for  us,  is  a  tri- 
bute adequate  to  thy  glory. 


Hostiam  immaculatam  :  Pa- 
nem  sanctum  vitse  seternse,  et 
Calicem  salutis  perpetuse. 

Supra  quae  propitio  ac 
sereno  vultu  respicere  dig- 
neris :  et  accepta  habere, 
sicuti  accepta  habere  digna- 
tus  es  munera  pueri  tui  justi 
Abel,  et  sacrificium  Patri- 
archs nostri  Abrahae,  et 
quod  tibi  obtulit  summus 
Sacerdos  tuus  Melchisedech, 
sanctum  sacrificium,  imma- 
culatam hostiam. 


The  Priest  bows  down  to  the  altar,  and  kisses  it  as  the 
throne  of  love  on  which  is  seated  the  Saviour  of  men. 


But,  0  God  of  infinite  pow- 
er, these  sacred  gifts  are  not 
only  on  this  altar  here  below  ; 
they  are  also  on  that  sublime 
Altar  in  heaven,  which  is  be- 
fore the  throne  of  thy  divine 
Majesty.  These  two  altars  are 
one  and  the  same,  on  which 
is  accomplished  the  great  mys- 
tery of  thy  glory  and  our  sal- 
vation. Vouchsafe  to  make  us 
partakers  of  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  the  august  Victim, 
from  whom  flow  every  grace 
and  blessing. 

Nor  is  the  moment  less  favourable  for  making  sup- 
plication for  the  Church  suffering.  Let  us,  therefore, 
ask  the  divine  Liberator,  who  has  come  down  among 
us,  that  he  mercifully  visit,  by  a  ray  of  his  consoling 


Supplices  te  rogamus,  om- 
nipotens  Deus :  jube  hsec 
perferri  per  manus  sancti 
Angeli  tui  in  sublime  Altare 
tuum,  in  conspectu  divinee 
Majestatis  tuae  :  ut  quotquot 
ex  hac  altaris  participatione, 
sacrosanctum  Filii  tui  Cor- 
pus et  Sanguinem  sumpseri- 
mus,  omni  benedictione  cce- 
lesti  et  gratia  repleamur. 
Per  eumdem  Christum  Do- 
minum  nostrum.     Amen 


THE    ORDINARY    OF    THE    MASS. 


61 


light,  the  dark  abode  of  Purgatory,  and  permit  his 
Blood  to  flow,  as  a  stream  of  mercy's  dew,  from  this 
our  altar,  and  refresh  the  panting  captives  there. 
Let  us  pray  expressly  for  those  among  them,  who 
have  a  claim  on  our  suffrages. 

Dear  Jesus !  let  the  happi- 
ness of  this  thy  visit  extend  to 
every  portion  of  thy  Church. 
Thy  face  gladdens  the  elect  in 
the  holy  City ;  even  our  mortal 
eyes  can  see  thee  beneath  the 
veil  of  our  delighted  faith; 
ah !  hide  not  thyself  from 
those  brethren  of  ours,  who  are 
imprisoned  in  the  place  of  ex- 
piation. Be  thou  refreshment 
to  them  in  their  flames,  light 
in  their  darkness,  and  peace 
in  their  agonies  of  torment. 

This  duty  of  charity  fulfilled,  let  us  pray  for  our- 
selves, sinners,  alas !  and  who  profit  so  little  by  the 
visit,  which  our  Saviour  pays  us.  Let  us,  together 
with  the  Priest,  strike  our  breast,  saying : 


Memento  etiam,  Domine, 
famulorum  famularumque 
tuarum  N.  et  N. ,  qui  nos 
prsecesserunt  cum  signo  fidei, 
et  dormiunt  in  somno  pacis. 
Ipsis  Domine,  et  omnibus  in 
Christo  quiescentibus,  locum 
refrigerii,  lucis  et  pacis,  ut 
indulgeas,  deprecamur.  Per 
eumdem  Christum  Dominum 
nostrum.     Amen. 


Nobis  quoque  peccatoribus 
famulis  tuis,  de  multitudine 
miserationum  tuarum  spe- 
rantibus,  partem  aliquam  et 
societatem  donare  digneris 
cum  tuis  Sanctis  Apostolis  et 
Martyribus  :  cum  Johanne, 
Stephano,  Mathia,  Barnaba, 
Ignatio,  Alexandra,  Marcelli- 
no,  Petro,  Felicitate,  Perpe- 
tua,  Agatha,  Lucia,  Agnete, 
Csecilia,  Anastasia,  et  omnibus 
Sanctis  tuis ;  intra  quorum  nos 
consortium,  non  sestimator 
meriti,  sed  venize,  quaesumus, 
largitor  admitte,  Per  Chris- 
tum Dominum  nostrum.  Per 
quern  hsec  omnia,  Domine, 
semper  bona  creas,  sanctificas, 


Alas  !  we  are  poor  sinners, 
O  God  of  all  sanctity  !  yet  do 
we  hope  that  thy  infinite 
mercy  will  grant  us  to  share 
in  thy  kingdom,  not  indeed, 
by  reason  of  our  works,  which 
deserve  little  else  than  pun- 
ishment, but  because  of  the 
merits  of  this  Sacrifice,  which 
we  are  offering  to  thee.  Re- 
member, too,  the  merits  of  thy 
holy  Apostles,  of  thy  holy 
Martyrs,  of  thy  holy  Virgins, 
and  of  all  thy  Saints.  Grant 
us,  by  their  intercession,  grace 
in  this  world,  and  glory  eter- 
nal in  the  next :  which  we  ask 
of  thee,  in  the  name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son.  It 


62  PASSI0NT1DE     AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

is  by  him  thou  bestowest  upon  vivificas,  benedicis,  et  prsestas 

us  thy  blessings  of  life  and  nobis:  per  ipsum,  et  cum  ipso 

sanctification;andbyhimalso,  et  in  ipso,   est  tibi  Deo  Patri 

with  him,  and  in  him,  in  the  omnipotenti,  in  unitate  Spiri- 

unity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  may  tus   Sancti,    omnis  honor  et 

honour  and  glory  be  to  thee  !  gloria. 

Whilst  saying  these  last  few  words,  the  Priest  has 
taken  up  the  sacred  Host,  which  was  on  the  altar  ;  he 
has  held  it  over  the  chalice,  thus  re-uniting  the  Body 
and  Blood  of  the  divine  Victim,  in  order  to  show  that 
He  is  now  immortal.  Then  raising  up  both  Chalice 
and  Host,  he  offers  to  God  the  most  noble  and  perfect 
homage  which  the  divine  Majesty  could  receive. 

This  sublime  and  mysterious  rite  ends  the  Canon. 
The  silence  of  the  Mysteries  is  broken.  The  Priest 
concludes  his  long  prayers,  by  saying  aloud,  and  so 
giving  the  faithful  the  opportunity  of  expressing 
their  desire  that  his  supplications  be  granted  : 

For  ever  and  ever.  Per  omnia    ssecula  ssecu- 

lorum. 

Answer  him  with  faith,  and  in  a  sentiment  of 
union  with  your  holy  Mother,  the  Church  : 

Amen  !  I  believe  the  mys-  Amen, 
tery  which  has  just  been  ac- 
complished. I  unite  myself 
to  the  offering  which  has  been 
made,  and  to  the  petitions  of 
the  Church. 

It  is  time  to  recite  the  Prayer,  which  our  Saviour 
himself  taught  us.  Let  it  ascend  up  to  heaven 
together  with  the  sacrifice  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of 
Jesus  Christ.  How  could  it  be  otherwise  than  heard, 
when  he  himself  who  made  it  for  us,  is  in  our  very 
hands  whilst  we  say  it  ?  As  this  prayer  belongs  in 
common  to  all  (rod's  children,  the  Priest  recites  it  aloud 
and  begins  by  inviting  us  all  to  join  in  it  : 


THE    ORDINARY    OK    THE    MASS. 


63 


OREMUS. 


Pneceptis  salutaribus  mo- 
niti,  et  divina  institutione 
formati,  audemus  dicere  : 


LET   US    PRAY. 

Having  been  taught 


by 


saving  precept,  and  following 
the  form  given  us  by  divine 
instruction,  we  thus  presume 
to  speak : 


THE    LORDS    PRAYER. 


Our  Father,  who  art  in 
heaven,  hallowed  be  thy 
name :  thy  kingdom  come : 
thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it 
is  in  heaven.  Give  us  this  day 
our  daily  bread ;  and  forgive 
us  our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive 
them  that  trespass  against  us  : 
and  lead  us  not  into  tempta- 
tion. 


Pater  noster,  qui  es  in 
ccelis,  sanctificetur  nomen 
tuum  :  adveniat  regnum  tu- 
um  :  fiat  voluntas  tua  sicut 
in  ccelo,  et  in  terra.  Panem 
nostrum  quotidianum  da 
nobis  hodie  :  et  dimitte  nobis 
debita  nostra,  sicut  et  nos 
dimittimus  debitoribus  nos- 
tris :  et  ne  nos  inducas  in 
tentationem. 

Let  us  answer,  with  deep  feeling  of  our  misery. 

Sed  libera  nos  a  malo.  But  deliver  us  from  evil. 

The  Priest  falls  once  more  into  the  silence  of  the 
holy  Mysteries.  His  first  word  is  an  affectionate 
Amen  to  your  last  petition — deliver  us  from  evil — 
on  which  he  forms  his  own  next  prayer  :  and  could 
he  pray  for  anything  more  needed  ?  Evil  surrounds 
us  everywhere,  and  the  Lamb  on  our  altar  has  been 
sent  to  expiate  it,  and  deliver  us  from  it. 


Libera  nos,  qusesumus, 
Domine,  ab  omnibus  malis, 
prseteritis,  praesentibus  et 
futuris :  et,  intercedentebeata 
et  gloriosa  semper  Virgine 
Dei  Genitrice  Maria,  cum 
beatis  Apostolis  tuis  Petro 
et  Paulo,  atqne  Andrea,  et 
omnibus  Sanctis,  da  propitius 
pacem  in  diebus  nostris  : 
ut  ope  misericordise  tuse 
adjuti,   et    a   peccato     simus 


How  many,  0  Lord  are  the 
evils  which  beset  us  !  Evils 
past,  which  are  the  wounds  left 
on  the  soul  by  her  sins,  and 
strengthen  her  wicked  propen  - 
sities.  Evils  preset,  that  is  the 
sins  now  at  this  very  time  upon 
our  soul ;  the  weakness  of  this 
poor  soul ;  and  the  temptations 
which  molest  her.  There  are, 
also,  future  evils,  that  is  the 
chastisement  which  our  sins 


64 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


semper  liberi,  et  ab  omni 
perturbatione  securi.  Per 
eumdem  Dominum  nostrum 
Jesum  Christum  Filium 
tuum,  qui  tecum  vivit  et 
regnat  in  unitate  Spiritus 
Sancti  Deus. 


deserve  from  the  hand  of  thy 
justice.  In  presence  of  this 
Host  of  our  Salvation,  we  be- 
seech thee  0  Lord,  todeliverus 
from  all  these  evils,  and  to  ac- 
cept in  our  favour  the  interces- 
sion of  Mary  the  Mother  of 
Jesus,  of  thy  holy  Apostles 
Peter  and  Paul  and  Andrew. 
Liberate  us,  break  our  chains, 
give  us  peace  :  through  Jesus 
Christ,  thy  Son,  who  with  thee 
liveth  and  reigneth  God. 

The  Priest  is  anxious  to  announce  the  Peace,  which 
he  has  asked  and  obtained ;  he  therefore  finishes  his 
prayer  aloud,  saying  : 

World  without  end.  Per  omnia   ssecula     ssecu- 


Per   omnia 
lorum. 


gt.     Amen. 


semper 


&.     Amen. 

Then  he  says : 

May  the  Peace  of  our  Lord        Pax    Domini    sit 
be  ever  with  you.  vobiscum. 

To  this  paternal  wish,  reply  : 

gt.     And  with  thy  spirit.  $.     Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

The  Mystery  is  drawing  to  a  close  :  Grod  is  about  to 
be  united  with  man,  and  man  with  God,  by  means  of 
Communion.  But  first,  an  imposing  and  sublime  rite 
takes  place  at  the  altar.  So  far  the  Priest  has  an- 
nounced the  Death  of  Jesus  ;  it  is  time  to  proclaim  his 
Resurrection.  To  this  end,  he  reverently  breaks  the 
sacred  Host ;  and  dividing  it  into  three  parts,  he  puts 
one  into  the  Chalice  thus  reuniting  the  Body  and  Blood 
of  the  immortal  Victim.     Do  you  adore  and  say  : 

Glory  be  to  thee,  0  Saviour  Hsec  commixtio  et  conse- 

of  the  world,  who  didst,  in  thy  cratio   Corporis  et  Sanguinis 

Passion,  permit  thy  precious  Domini    nostri  Jesu  Christi, 

Blood   to  be   separated   from  fiat    accipientibus    nobis     in 

thy  sacred  Body,   afterwards  vitam  seternam.     Amen. 


THE    ORDINARY    OF    THE    MASS. 


65 


uniting  them  again  together 
by  thy  divine  power. 

Offer  now  your  prayer  to  the  ever-living  Lamb, 
whom  St.  John  saw  on  the  Altar  of  Heaven  standing, 
though  slain  : l  say  to  this  your  Lord  and  King,  who 
has  taken  upon  himself  all  our  iniquities,  in  order  to 
wash  them  away  by  his  Blood : 


Agnus  Dei,  qui  tollis  pec- 
cata  mundi,   miserere  nobis. 

Agnus  Dei,  qui  tollis  pec- 
cata  mundi,  miserere  nobis. 

Agnus  Dei,  qui  tollis  pec- 
cata  mundi,  dona  nobis  pa- 
cem. 


Lamb  of  God,  who  takest 
away  the  sins  of  the  world, 
have  mercy  on  us. 

Lamb  of  God,  who  takest 
away  the  sins  of  the  world, 
have  mercy  on  us. 

Lamb  of  God,  who  takest 
away  the  sins  of  the  world, 
give  us  Peace. 


Peace  is  the  grand  object  of  our  Saviour's  coming 
into  the  world :  he  is  the  Prince  of  Peace.2  The  divine 
Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist  ought  therefore  to  be  the 
Mystery  of  Peace,  and  the  bond  of  Catholic  Unity  ; 
for,  as  the  Apostle  says,  all  ive  who  partake  of  one  Bread, 
are  all  one  Bread  and  one  Body?  It  is  on  this  account 
that  the  Priest,  now  that  he  is  on  the  point  of  receiving, 
in  Communion,  the  Sacred  Host,  prays  that  fraternal 
Peace  may  be  preserved  in  the  Church,  and  more  es- 
pecially in  this  portion  of  it,  which  is  assembled  round 
the  altar.    Pray  with  him,  and  for  the  same  blessing  : 


Domme  Jesu  Christe,  qui 
dixisti  Apostolis  tuis :  Pa- 
cem  relinquo  vobis,  pacem 
meam  do  vobis :  ne  respicias 
peccata  mea,  sed  fidem  Eccle- 
sise  tuae  :  eamque  secundum 
voluntatemtuam  pacificare,  et 
coadunare  digneris.  Qui  vivis 
et  regnas  Deus,  per  omnia  sse- 
cula  seeculorum.     Amen. 


Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
saidst  to  thy  Apostles,  "my 
peace  I  leave  with  you,  my 
peace  I  give  unto  you :"  re- 
gard not  my  sins,  but  the  faith 
of  thy  Church,  and  grant  her 
that  peace  and  unity  which  is 
according  to  thy  will.  Who 
livest  and  reignest  God  for 
ever  and  ever.    Amen. 


Apoc. 


6. 


2  Is. ix.  6. 


3  1  Cor.  x.  17. 


66 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


If  it  be  a  High  Mass,  the  Priest  here  gives  the  kiss 
of  peace  to  the  Deacon,  who  gives  it  to  the  Sub- 
Deacon,  and  he  to  the  Choir.  During  this  cere- 
mony, you  should  excite  within  yourself  feelings  of 
Christian  charity,  and  pardon  your  enemies,  if  you 
have  any.     Then  continue  to  pray  with  the  Priest : 


Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Son  of 
the  living  God,  who,  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  the  Father, 
through  the  co-operation  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  hast  by  thy 
death  given  life  to  the  world  ; 
deliver  me  by  this  thy  most 
sacred  Body  and  Blood  from 
all  my  iniquities,  and  from  all 
evils  ;  and  make  me  always 
adhere  to  thy  commandments, 
and  never  suffer  me  to  be  sep- 
arated from  thee,  who  with 
the  same  God  the  Father  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  livest  and 
reignest  God  for  ever  and 
ever.     Amen. 


Domine  Jesu  Christe,  Fili 
Dei  vivi,  qui  ex  voluntate 
Patris,  cooperante  Spiritu 
Sancto,  per  mortem  tuam 
mundum  vivificasti  :  libera 
me  per  hoc  sacrosanctum 
Corpus,  et  Sanguinem  tuum, 
ab  omnibus  iniquitatibus 
meis,  et  universis  malis,  et 
fac  me  tuis  semper  inhaerere 
mandatis,  et  a  te  nunquam 
separari  permittas.  Qui  cum 
eodem  Deo  Patre  et  Spiritu 
Sancto  vivis  et  regnas,  Deus, 
in  ssecula  sseculorum.  Amen. 


If  you  are  going  to  Communion  at  this  Mass,  say 
the  following  prayer  ;  otherwise  prepare  yourself  to 
make  a  Spiritual  Communion  : 


Let  not  the  participation  of 
thy  Body,  O  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
which  I,  though  unworthy, 
presume  to  receive,  turn  to  my 
judgment  and  condemnation  ; 
but  through  thy  mercy  may  it 
be  a  safeguard  and  remedy 
both  to  my  soul  and  body. 
Who  with  God  the  Father,  in 
the  unity  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
livest  and  reignest  God  for 
ever  and  ever.     Amen. 


Perceptio  Corporis  tui  Do- 
mine Jesu  Christe,  quod  ego 
indignus  sumere  prsesumo, 
non  mihi  proveniat  in  judici- 
um et  condemnationem  :  sed 
pro  tua  pietate  prosit  mihi  ad 
tutamentum  mentis  et  corpo- 
ris, et  ad  medelam  percipien- 
dam.  Qui  vfvis  et  regnas  cum 
Deo  Patre, i  n  unitate  Spiritus 
Sancti  Deus,  per  omnia  sae- 
cula  sseculomm.    Amen. 


When  the  Priest  takes  the  Host  into  his  hands,  in 
order  to  his  receiving  it  in  Communion,  say  : 


THE    ORDINARY    OF    THE    MASS.  67 

Panem  coelestem  accipiam,  Come,  my  dear  Jesus,  come! 
et  nomen  Domini    invocabo. 

When  he  strikes  his  breast,  confessing  his  un worthi- 
ness, say  thrice  with  him  these  words,  and  in  the  same 
disposition  as  the  Centurion  of  the  Gospel,  who  first 
used  them : 

Domine,  non  sum  dignus,  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  thou 
ut  intres  sub  tectum  meum  :  shouldst  enter  under  my  roof; 
sed  tantum  die  verbo,  et  sana-  say  it  only  with  one  word  of 
bitur  anima  mea.  thine,   and  my  soul  shall  be 

healed. 

Whilst  the  Priest  receives  the  sacred  Host,  if  you  also 
are  to  communicate,  adore  profoundly  your  God,  who 
is  ready  to  take  up  his  abode  within  you,  and  again 
say  to  him  with  the  Bride  :  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  ! 
But  if  you  are  not  going  to  receive  sacramentally, 
make  a  Spiritual  Communion.  Adore  Jesus  Christ 
who  thus  visits  your  soul  by  his  grace,  and  say  to  him  : 

Corpus  Domini  nostri  Jesu  I  give  thee,  O  Jesus,    this 

Christi,      custodiat     animam  heart  of  mine,  that  thou  may  - 

meam    in    vitam     aeternam.  est  dwell  in  it,  and  do  with 

Amen.  me  what  thou  wilt. 

Then  the  Priest  takes  the  Chalice,  in  thanksgiving, 
and  says  : 

Quid    retribuam     Domino  What  return  shall  I  make 

pro  omnibus,    quse   retribuit  to  the  Lord  for   all   he  hath 

mihi  ?     Calicem  salutaris  ac-  given  to  me  P    I  will  take  the 

cipiam,  et  nomen  Domini  in-  Chalice  of  salvation,  and  will 

vocabo.     Laudans    invocabo  call  upon   the   name   of   the 

Dominum,  et  ab  inimicis  meis  Lord.      Praising   I   will   call 

salvus  ero.  upon  the  Lord,  and  I  shall  be 

saved  from  mine  enemies. 

But  if  you  are  to  make  a  Sacramental  Communion, 
you  should,  whilst  the  Priest  is  receiving  the  Precious 
Blood,  again  adore  the  God  who  is  coming  to  you,  and 
keep  to  your  prayer:   Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  ! 

If,  on  the  contrary,  you  are  to  communicate  only 


68  PASSIONTIDE    AND   HOLY   WEEK. 

spiritually,  again  adore  your  Grod,  and  say  to  him  : 

I  unite  myself  to  thee,  my  Sanguis      Domini      nostri 

beloved  Jesus  !  do  thou  unite  Jesu   Christi    custodiat    ani- 

thyself  to  me  !  and  never  let  mam   meam  in  vitam  aeter- 

us  be  separated.  nam.     Amen. 

It  is  here  that  you  must  approach  to  the  altar,  if 
you  are  going  to  Communion.  The  dispositions 
suitable  for  Holy  Communion,  during  this  season  of 
Passiontide,  are  given  in  the  next  Chapter. 

The  Communion  being  finished,  and  whilst  the 
Priest  is  purifying  the  Chalice  the  first  time,  say : 

Thou  hast  visited  me,  0  Quod  ore  sumpsimus,  Do- 
God,  in  these  days  of  my  pil-  mine,  pura  mente  capiamus  : 
grimage ;  give  me  grace  to  et  de  munere  temporali  fiat 
treasure  up  the  fruits  of  this  nobis  remedium  sempiter- 
visit  for  my  future  eternity.  num. 

Whilst  the  Priest  is  purifying  the  Chalice  the 
second  time,  say : 

Be  thou  for  ever  blessed,  0  Corpus      tuum,      Domine, 

my  Saviour,  for  having  admit-  quod     sumpsi,      et    Sanguis 

ted  me  to  the  sacred  mystery  quern  potavi,   adhaereat  vis- 

of  thy  Body  and  Blood.  May  ceribus  meis  :   et  praesta  ut 

my  heart  and  senses  preserve,  in  me   non   remaneat   scele- 

by  thy  grace,  the  purity  which  rum  macula,    quern  pura  et 

thou  hast  imparted  to  them  ;  sanctarefeceruntSacramenta. 

and  I  thus  be  rendered  less  un-  Qui  vivis  et  regnas  in  saecu- 

worthy  of  thy  divine  visit.  la  saeculorum.     Amen. 

The  Priest  having  read  the  Antiphon  called  the 
Communion,  which  is  the  first  part  of  his  Thanks- 
giving for  the  favour  just  received  from  Cod,  where- 
by he  has  renewed  his  divine  presence  among  us, — 
turns  to  the  people  with  the  usual  salutation  :  after 
which  he  recites  the  Prayers,  called  the  Postcom- 
munion,  which  are  the  completion  of  the  Thanks- 
giving. You  will  join  him  here  also,  thanking  God 
for  the  unspeakable  gift  he  has  just  lavished  on  you, 
and  asking  him,  with  most  earnest  entreaty,  that  he 
will  bestow  upon  you  a  lasting  spirit  of  compunction. 


THE    ORDINARY   OF    THE    MASS.  69 

These  prayers  having  been  recited,  the  Priest  again 
turns  to  the  people,  and  full  of  joy  for  the  immense 
favour  he  and  they  have  been  receiving,  he  says  : 

Dominus  vobiscum.  The  Lord  be  with  you. 

Answer  him : 

&.  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo.  #.  And  with  thy  spirit. 

Ite,  Missa  est.  Go,  the  Mass  is  finished. 

&.  Deo  gratias.  gt.  Thanks  be  to  God. 

The  Priest  makes  a  last  Prayer,  before  giving  you 
his  blessing  ;  pray  with  him  : 

Placeat  tibi,  sancta  Trini-  Eternal  thanks  be  to  thee,  0 
tas,  obsequium  servitutis  adorable  Trinity,  for  the  mer- 
mese,  quod  oculis  tuse  ma-  cy  thou  hast  showed  to  me,  in 
jestatis  indignus  obtuli,  tibi  permitting  me  to  assist  at  this 
sit  acceptabile,  mihique,  et  divine  Sacrifice.  Pardon  me 
omnibus,  pro  quibus  illud  the  negligence  and  coldness 
obtuli,  sit,  te  miserante,  wherewith  I  have  received  so 
propitiabile.  Per  Christum  great  a  favour,  and  deign  to 
Dominum  nostrum.     Amen.      confirm   the  Blessing   which 

thy  Minister  is  about  to  give 
me  in  thy  Name. 

The  Priest  raises  his  hand,  and  thus  blesses  you  : 

Benedicat  vos  omnipotens  May    the  Almighty    God, 

Deus,    Pater,    et   Filius,     et  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 

Spiritus  Sanctus.  bless  you  ! 

$.  Amen.  gt.  Amen. 

He  then  concludes  the  Mass,  by  reading" the  first 
fourteen  verses  of  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  John, 
which  tell  us  of  the  eternitv  of  the  Word,  and  of  the 
mercy  which  led  him  to  take  upon  himself  our  flesh, 
and  to  divell  among  us.  Pray  that  you  may  be  of  the 
number  of  those,  who,  now  that  he  has  come  unto  his 
own,  receive  him,  and  are  made  the  sons  of  God. 

f.  Dominus  vobiscum.  $.  The  Lord  be  with  you. 

&•  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo.  &.  And  with  thy  spirit. 


70 


FASSICXNTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


THE   LAST   GOSPEL. 


The  beginning  of  the  Holy- 
Gospel  according  to  John. 

Ch.  I. 

In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God. 
The  same  was  in  the  beginning 
with  God.      All  things  were 
made  by  him,  and  without  him 
was  made  nothing  that  was 
made.      In  him  was  life,  and 
the  life  was  the  light  of  men ; 
and  the  light  shineth  in  the 
darkness,  and  the  darkness  did 
not  comprehend  it.  There  was 
a  man  sent  from  God,  whose 
name  was  John.     This  man 
came  for  a  witness,   to  give 
testimony  of  the  light,  that  all 
men  might  believe   through 
him.      He  was  not  the  light, 
but  was  to  give  testimony  of 
the  light.     That  was  the  true 
light  which  enlighteneth  every 
man   that   cometh    into   this 
world.     He  was  in  the  world, 
and  the  world  was  made  by 
him,  and  the  world  knew  him 
not.     He  came  unto  his  own, 
and  his  own  received  him  not. 
But  as  many  as  received  him, 
to  them  he  gave  power  to  be 
made  the  sons  of  God ;  to  them 
that  believe  in  his  name,  who 
are  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of 
the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the 
will  of  man,  but  of  God.    Atntd 
the  Word  was  made  flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  us  ;  and  we 
saw  his  glory,    as  it  were  the 
glory  of  the  Only-Begotten  of 
the  Father,  full  of  grace  and 
truth. 

£.     Thanks  be  to  God. 


Initium    sancti    Evangelii 
secundum  Joannem. 

Cap.  I. 

In  principio  erat  Verbum, 
et  Verbum  erat  apud  Deum, 
et  Deus  erat  Verbum.     Hoc 
erat  in  principio  apud  Deum. 
Omnia  per  ipsum  facta  sunt ; 
et  sine  ipso  factum  est  nihil. 
Quod  factum  est,  in  ipso  vita 
erat,   et  vita  erat  lux  homi- 
num :     et    lux    in    tenebris 
lucet,    et  tenebrse   earn   non 
comprehenderunt.  Fuit  homo 
missus  a  Deo,  cui  nomen  erat 
Joannes.     Hie  venit  in  tes- 
timonium,    ut    testimonium 
perhiberet    de     lumine,     ut 
omnes   crederent  per  ilium. 
Non   erat    ille    lux,    sed  ut 
testimonium     perhiberet     de 
lumine.     Erat  lux  vera,  quae 
illuminat   omnem     hominem 
venientem  in  hunc  mundum. 
In  mundo   erat,    et  mundus 
per    ipsum    factus    est,     et 
mundus      eum      non      cog- 
novit.    In  propria  venit,  et 
sui     eum     non     receperunt. 
Quotquot  autem   receperunt 
eum,    dedit    eis    potestatem 
filios  Dei  fieri,  his,   qui  cre- 
dunt  in    nomine    ej  us ;    qui 
non   ex   sanguinibus,    neque 
ex   voluntate   carnis,    neque 
ex  voluntate  viri,  sed  ex  Deo 
nati     sunt.      Et     Verbum 
caro  factum  est,  et  habi- 
tavit  in    nobis :   et  vidimus 
gloriam  ejus,   gloriam  quasi 
Unigeniti    a   Patre,    plenum 
gratis©  et  veritatis. 

gi.  Deo  gratia  >. 


CHAPTER    THE    SIXTH. 

ON    HOLY    COMMUNION 
DURING    PASSIONT1DE    AND    HOLY   WEEK. 

The  Holy  Mass  is  the  true  Sacrifice,  of  which  the 
sacrifices  of  the  Old  Law  were  but  figures.  This 
Sacrifice  was  expected  by  mankind  for  four  thousand 
years.  It  was  during  the  present  season  that  it  was 
first  offered  up.  It  is  now  mysteriously  renewed, 
each  day,  upon  our  Christian  Altars. 
[  No  greater  glory  can  be  given  to  God  than  the 
celebration  of >  this  Sacrifice,  wherein  God  himself  is 
the  Victim ;  at  the  same  time,  nothing  can  be  more 
advantageous  to  man  than  the  partaking  of  this 
divine  Victim, — the  becoming  himself  this  Victim, 
the  incorporating  it  with  himself  by  Holy  Com- 
munion, whereby  is  realised  that  wonderful  promise 
of  our  Redeemer  :  He  that  eateth  my  Flesh  and  drink- 
eth  my  Blood,  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him.1 

Now,  it  is  by  the  immolation  of  our  Redeemer  on 
the  Cross,  that  the  Flesh  of  this  Lamb  of  God  has 
become  truly  our  food,2  and  his  Blood  truly  our 
drink.'6  By  the  mysteries  of  his  Incarnation  and 
Birth,  we  had  him  as  our  Brother  ;  his  Passion  and 
Death  have  made  him,  both  our  Saviour,  and  our 
Food.  Thus  was  realised  that  figurative  sacrifice, 
which  God  prescribed  to  his  people  through  Moses, 
and  in  which  the  victim,  after  being  immolated,  was 
to  be  eaten  by  the  priest  who  offered  it,  and  by  the 
person  in  whose  name  it  was  offered. 

1  St.  John,  vi.  57.  3  Ibid.  55.  3  Ibid. 

F 


72  PASSIONTIDE   AND   HOLY   WEEK. 

St.  Paul,  writing  to  the  Corinthians,  speaks  thus  : 
As  often  as  you  shall  eat  tin's  bread,  and  drink  the 
chalice,  you  shall  show  the  Death  of  the  Lord,  until 
he  come.1  Therefore,  there  is  a  close  relation  between 
Holy  Communion  and  our  Saviour's  Passion ;  and  it 
is  on  this  account  that  we  are  going  to  celebrate, 
during  this  present  Season,  the  institution  of  the 
Holy  Eucharist  and  the  sacrifice  of  the  Lamb,  our 
Redeemer.  The  two  anniversaries  come  close  to  each 
other.  If  Jesus  has  desired  with  so  ardent  a  desire 
to  eat  this  last  Pasch  with  his  Disciples,2  it  is  because 
he  had  something  infinitely  grander  to  give  them 
than  he  had  given  them  the  two  preceding  years  : 
then,  he  gave  them  to  eat  of  the  flesh  of  the  figura- 
tive lamb ;  but  now,  in  this,  the  last  Pasch,  he  is 
going  to  give  them  a  pledge  of  pardon  and  immor- 
tality, by  making  them  partake  of  the  very  substance 
of  the  true  Lamb,  whose  Blood  imparts  remission  of 
sin  and  opens  the  gate  of  heaven.  He  immolates 
himself  on  the  Table  of  the  Last  Supper  before  men 
immolate  him  on  Calvary  ;  and  this  wondrous  anti- 
cipation of  his  Sacrifice,  in  which  he  gives  such  a 
rich  proof  of  his  love  and  his  power,  is  founded  on 
the  real  Sacrifice  of  the  morrow,  which  is  to  cost  him 
every  drop  of  his  Blood. 

In  approaching,  therefore,  the  Holy  Table,  during 
this  Season  of  the  Passion,  the  Faithful  must  be 
absorbed  in  the  remembrance  of  the  Lamb  that  was 
sacrificed  for  us :  they  must  keep  this  great  truth 
uppermost  in  their  hearts, — that  the  divine  Food 
which  nourishes  their  souls,  was  prepared  on  Calvary; 
and  that,  although  this  Lamb  is  now  living  and 
impassible,  yet  it  was  by  his  Death  on  the  Cross 
that  he  became -our  Food.  The  Sinner,  reconciled 
to  his  offended  (rod,  must  receive  the  Body  of  Jesus 
with  sentiments  of  hearty  contrition,  and  reproach 

1  Cor.  ari.  26.  2  St.  Luke,  xxii.  15. 


BEFORE    COMMUNION.  73 

himself  in  all  the  bitterness  of  his  soul,  for  having 
shed  that  precious  Blood  by  his  multiplied  sins. 
The  Just  man  must  make  his  Communion,  and 
humble  himself  with  the  thought,  that  he,  too,  has 
had  too  great  a  share  in  causing  suffering  to  the 
innocent  Lamb  ;  and  that  if  he  now  have  reason  to 
believe  himself  to  be  in  the  state  of  grace,  he  owes  it 
to  the  Blood  of  the  Victim  who  is  about  to  be  given 
to  him  for  the  increase  of  his  spiritual  life. 

We  will  here  give,  as  in  our  other  Volumes,  Acts 
which  may  serve  as  a  preparation  for  Holy  Com- 
munion during  these  two  weeks.  There  are  souls 
that  feel  the  want  of  some  such  assistance  as  this  ; 
and,  for  the  same  reason,  we  will  add  a  form  of 
Thanksgiving  for  after  Communion. 

BEFORE    COMMUNION. 

ACT    OF    FAITH. 

The  signal  grace  which  thou,  O  my  God,  hast  granted  to 
me,  that  I  should  know  the  wounds  of  my  soul,  has  revealed 
to  me  the  greatness  of  my  misery.  I  have  been  taught  how 
deep  was  the  darkness  that  covered  me,  and  how  much  I 
needed  thy  Divine  Light.  But,  whilst  the  torch  of  Faith 
has  thus  shown  me  the  abyss  of  my  own  poor  nature,  it  has 
also  taught  me  how  wonderful  are  the  works,  which  thy  love 
of  thy  ungrateful  creature  has  made  thee  undertake,  in  order 
that  thou  mightest  raise  him  up  and  save  him.  It  was  for 
me  thou  didst  assume  my  human  nature,  and  wast  born  at 
Bethlehem  ;  it  is  for  me  that  thou  fastest  forty  days  in  the 
Desert ;  it  is  for  me  that  thou  art  soon  to  shed  thy  Blood 
on  the  Cross.  Thou  commandest  me  to  believe  these  mira- 
cles of  thy  love.  I  do  believe  them,  O  my  God,  humbly  and 
gratefully.  I  also  believe,  and  with  an  equally  lively  Faith, 
that  in  a  few  moments,  thou  art  to  give  thyself  to  me  in  this 
ineffable  Mystery  of  Holy  Communion.  Thou  sayest  to  me  : 
This  is  my  Body — this  is  my  Blood  : — thy  word  is  enough; 
in  spite  of  my  unworthiness  seeming  to  forbid  the  possibility 
of  such  Communion,  I  believe,  I  consent,  I  bow  me  down 
before  thine  infinite  Truth.  Oh !  can  there  be  Communion 
between  the  God  of  all  holiness  and  a  Sinner  such  as  I  ? — 
And  yet,  thou  assurest  me,  that  thou  art  verily  coming  to 


74  FASSTONTTDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

me  !  I  tremble,  0  Eternal  Truth — but  I  believe.  I  confess 
that  thy  love  of  me  is  infinite,  and  that  having  resolved  to 
give  thyself  to  thy  poor  and  sinful  creature,  thou  wilt  suffer 
no  obstacle  to  stand  in  thy  way ! 

ACT     OF     HUMILITY. 

During  the  season  just  past,   I  have  often  contemplated, 

0  my  Jesus,  thy  coming  from  thy  high  throne  into  the 
bosom  of  Mary,  thy  uniting  thy  divine  person  to  our  weak 
mortal  nature,  and  thy  being  born  in  the  crib  of  a  poor 
stable  :  and  when  I  thought  on  these  humiliations  of  my 
God,  they  taught  me  not  only  to  love  thee  tenderly,  but  to 
know  also  my  own  nothingness,  for  I  saw  more  clearly  what 
an  infinite  distance  there  is  between  the  creature  and  his 
Creator ;  and,   seeing  these  prodigies  of  thy  immense  love, 

1  gladly  confessed  my  own  vileness.  But  now,  dearest  Saviour, 
I  am  led  to  consider  something  far  more  humiliating  than 
the  lowliness  of  my  nature.  That  nothingness  should  be  but 
nothingness,  is  not  a  sin.  No, —  it  is  my  sins  that  appal 
me.  Sin  has  so  long  tyrannised  over  me  ;  its  consequences 
are  still  upon  me  ;  it  has  given  me  such  dangerous  tendencies  ; 
and  I  am  so  weak  in  resisting  its  bidding.  When  my  first 
Parent  sinned,  he  hid  himself,  lest  he  should  meet  thee  ;  and 
thou  biddest  me  come  unto  thee,  not  to  sentence  me  to  the 
punishment  I  deserve,  but  to  give  me,  oh !  such  a  mark  of 
love,— union  with  thyself  !  Can  this  be  ?  Art  thou  not  the 
infinitely  holy  God  ? — I  must  needs  yield,  and  come,  for  thou 
art  my  sovereign  Master ;  and  who  is  there  that  dares  resist 
thy  will  ?  I  come,  then,  humbling  myself,  even  to  my  very 
nothingness,  before  thee,  and  beseeching  thee  to  pardon  my 
coming,  for  I  come  because  thou  wilt  have  it  so. 

ACT   OF   CONTRITION. 

And  shall  I,  O  my  Jesus,  confess  thus  the  grievousness 
and  multitude  of  my  sins,  without  promising  thee  to  sin  no 
more  ?  Thou  wishest  this  sinner  to  be  reconciled  with  thee, 
thou  desirest  to  press  him  to  thy  Sacred  Heart :— and  could 
he,  whilst  thanking  thee  for  this  thy  wonderful  condescen- 
sion, still  love  the  accursed  cause  which  made  him  thine 
enemy  ? — No,  mine  infinitely  merciful  God,  no  !  I  will  not, 
like  my  first  Parent,  seek  to  escape  thy  justice,  but,  like  the 
Prodigal  Son,  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  Father ;  like  Magda- 
lene, I  will  take  courage  and  enter  the  banquet-hall ;  and, 
though  trembling  at  the  sight  of  my  sins,  I  will  comply  with 
thy  loving  invitation.  My  heart  has  no  further  attachment 
to  sin,  which  I  hate  and  detost  as  the  enemy  of  thy  honour 


AFTER    COMMUNION.  75 

and  my  own  happiness.  I  am  resolved  to  shun  it  from  this 
time  forward,  and  to  spare  no  pains  to  free  myself  from  its 
tyranny.  There  shall  be  no  more  of  that  easy  life  which 
chilled  my  love,  nor  of  that  studied  indifference  which  dulled 
my  conscience,  nor  of  those  dangerous  habits  which  led  me 
to  stray  from  my  loyalty  to  thee.  Despise  not,  O  God,  this 
my  humble  and  contrite  heart. 

ACT    OF    LOVE. 

Such  is  thjr  love  for  us  in  this  world,  O  my  Jesus,  that,  as 
thyself  sayest,  thou  art  come  not  to  judge,  hut  to  save.  I 
should  not  satisfy  thee,  in  this  happy  Communion  hour, 
were  I  to  offer  thee  but  this  salutary  fear,  which  has  led  me 
to  thy  sacred  feet,  and  this  shame -stricken  conscience,  which 
makes  me  tremble  in  thy  holy  presence.  The  visit  thou  art 
about  to  pay  me,  is  a  visit  of  Love.  The  Sacrament,  which  is 
going  to  unite  me  to  thee,  is  the  Sacrament  of  thy  Love. 
Thou,  my  Good  Shepherd,  hast  said,  that  he  loves  most,  who 
has  been  forgiven  most.  My  heart  then  must  dare  to  love 
thee  ;  it  must  love  thee  with  all  its  warmth ;  the  very  recollec- 
tion of  its  past  disloyalty  must  make  its  loving  thee  doubly 
needed  and  doubly  fervent.  Ah  !  sweet  Lord  ! — see  this 
poor  heart  of  mine  ;  strengthen  it,  console  it,  drive  away  its 
fears,  make  it  feel  that  thou  art  its  Jesus  !  It  has  come 
back  to  thee,  because  it  feared  thee  ;  if  it  love  thee,  it  will 
never  again  leave  thee. 

And  thou,  0  Mary,  Refuge  of  Sinners,  help  me  to  love 
Him,  who  is  thy  Son,  and  our  Brother.— Holy  Angels  ! — ye 
who  live  eternally  on  that  love,  which  has  never  ceased  to 
glow  in  your  mighty  spirits,— remember,  I  reverently  pray 
you,  that  this  God  created  me,  as  he  did  you,  that  I  might 
love  him. — All  ye  holy  Saints  of  God  !  I  beseech  you,  by  the 
love  wherewith  ye  are  inebriated  in  heaven,  graciously  give 
me  a  thought,  and  prepare  now  my  heart  to  be  united  with 
him.     Amen. 

AFTEE    COMMUNION. 

ACT   OF    ADORATION. 

Thou  art  here  within  me,  great  God  of  heaven  !  Thou 
art,  at  this  moment,  residing  in  a  sinner's  heart !  I,  yea,  I, 
am  thy  temple,  thy  throne,  thy  resting-place !— How  shall  I 
worthily  adore  thee,  thee  that  hast  deigned  to  come  down 
into  this  abyss  of  my  lowliness  and  misery  ?  The  angels 
veil  their  faces  in  thy  presence  ;   thy  Saints  lay  their  crowns 


76  PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

at  thy  feet ;  and  I,  that  am  but  a  sinful  mortal,  how  shall  I 
sufficiently  honour  thee,  O  Infinite  Power,  Infinite  Wisdom, 
Infinite  Goodness  ? — This  soul  wherein  thou  art  now  dwell- 
ing, has  presumed  so  many  times  to  set  thee  at  defiance,  and 
boldly  disobey  and  break  thy  commands.  And  thou  canst 
come  to  me  after  all  this,  and  bring  all  thy  beauty  and 
greatness  with  thee  ! — What  else  can  I  do,  but  give  thee  the 
homage  of  a  heart,  that  knows  not  how  to  bear  the  immen- 
sity of  the  honour  thou  art  now  lavishing  on  me  ?  Yes,  my 
own  wonderful  and  loving  God,  I  adore  thee ;  I  acknowledge 
thee  to  be  the  Sovereign  Being,  the  Creator  and  preserver  of 
all  creatures,  and  the  undisputed  Master  of  everything  that 
belongs  to  me.  I  delightedly  confess  my  dependence  on 
thee,  and  offer  thee,  with  all  my  heart,  my  humble  service. 

ACT  OF  THANKSGIVING. 

Thy  greatness,  0  my  God,  is  infinite ;  but  thy  goodness 
to  me  is  incomprehensible.  Thy  being  now,  present  within 
this  breast  of  mine  is,  I  know,  a  proof  of  that  immense 
power,  which  shows  itself  where  and  when  it  wills  ;  but  it 
is  also  a  mark  of  thy  love  for  me.  Thou  art  come  to  my 
soul  that  thou  mayest  be  closely  united  with  her,  comfort 
her,  give  her  a  new  life,  and  bring  her  all  good  things. 
Oh  !  who  will  teach  me  how  to  value  this  grace,  and  thank 
thee  for  it  in  a  becoming  way  ?  But  how  shall  I  hope  to 
value  it  as  I  ought,  when  I  am  not  able  to  understand  either 
the  love,  that  brings  thee  thus  within  me,  nor  my  own  need 
of  having  thee  ?  And  when  I  think  of  my  inability  to 
make  thee  a  suitable  return  of  thanks,  I  feel  as  though  I 
can  give  thee  nothing  but  my  speechless  gratitude.  Yet 
thou  wiliest  that  this  my  heart,  poor  as  it  is,  should  give  thee 
its  thanks ;  thou  takest  delight  in  receiving  its  worthless 
homage.  Take  it,  then,  my  loving  Jesus  !  I  give  it  thee 
with  all  possible  joy,  and  beseech  thee  to  reveal  unto  me 
the  immensity  of  thy  gift,  and  to  enrich  me  more  that  I 
may  give  thee  more. 

ACT     OF    LOVE. 

But  nothing  will  satisfy  thee,  O  my  Infinite  Treasure, 
unless  I  give  thee  my  love.  Thou  hast  ever  loved  me,  and 
thou  art  still  loving  me  ;  I  must  love  thee  in  return  !  Thou 
hast  borne  with  me,  thou  hast  forgiven  me,  thou  art,  at  this 
moment,  overpowering  me  with  honour  and  riches ;  and  all 
this  out  of  love  for  me  !  The  return  thou  askest  of  me,  is 
my  love.  Gratitude  will  not  content  thee — thou  wilt  have 
my  love  ! — But,   Jesus,  my  dear  Jesus  ! — my  past  life — the 


AFTER   COMMUNION.  77 

long  years  I  have  spent  in  offending  thee— rise  up  before 
me,  and  tell  me  to  hide  myself  from  thee  !  And  yet, 
whither  could  I  go  without  carrying  thee  within  me,  for 
thou  hast  taken  up  thine  abode  in  my  inmost  soul  ?  No, — 
I  will  not  run  from  thee  !  I  will  summon  all  the  energies 
of  my  heart,  to  tell  thee,  that  I  love  thee  ;  that  thy  love  for 
me  has  emboldened  me  ;  that  I  belong  to  thee  ;  that  I  love 
thee  above  all  else  that  I  love  ;  and  that  henceforth,  all  my 
joy  and  happiness  shall  be  in  pleasing  thee,  and  doing 
whatsoever  thou  askest  of  me. 

ACT   OF  OBLATION. 

I  know,  dear  Jesus,  that  what  thou  askest  of  me  is  not 
the  passing  sentiment  of  a  heart  excited  by  the  thought  of 
thy  goodness  towards  it.  Thou  hast  loved  me  from  eternity; 
thou  lovedst  me,  even  when  I  was  doing  nothing  for  thee  ; 
thou  hast  given  me  light  to  know  my  miseries ;  thou  hast 
shielded  me  against  thine  own  angry  justice ;  thou  hast 
mercifully  pardoned  me  a  countless  number  of  times  ;  thou 
art  even  now  embracing  me  with  tenderest  love ;— and  all 
these  works  of  thy  almighty  hand  have  been  but  for  one 
end, — to  make  me  give  myself  to  thee,  and  live,  at  last,  for 
thee.  It  is  this  thou  wouldst  obtain  of  me,  by  granting  me 
this  precious  earnest  of  thy  love,  which  I  have  just  received. 
Thou  hast  said,  speaking  of  this  ineffable  gift :  As  I  live 
by  the  Father ;  so  he  that  eateth  me,  the  same  also  shall  live 
by  me.1  Henceforth,  0  Bread,  which  came  doivn  from 
heaven2  thou  art  the  source  of  my  life.  Now,  more  than 
ever,  my  life  belongs  to  thee.  I  give  it  unto  thee.  I  dedi- 
cate unto  thee  my  soul,  my  body,  my  faculties,  my  whole 
being.  Do  thou  direct  and  govern  me.  I  resign  myself 
entirely  into  thy  hands.  I  am  blind,  but  thy  light  will 
guide  me  :  I  am  weak,  but  thy  power  will  uphold  me ;  I  am 
inconstant,  but  thy  unchangeableness  will  give  me  stability. 
I  trust  unreservedly  in  thy  mercy,  which  never  abandons 
them  that  hope  in  thee. 

0  Mary !  pray  for  me,  that  I  lose  not  the  fruit  of  this 
"Visit. — Holy  Angels  !  watch  over  this  dwelling-place  of 
your  Lord,  which  he  has  so  mercifully  chosen  :  let  nothing 
defile  it. — Oh  !  all  ye  Saints  of  God  !  pray  for  the  sinner, 
unto  whom  he  has  given  this  pledge  of  his  Divine  pardon. 

1  St.  John,  vi.  58.  2  Ibid.  51. 


CHAPTER  THE  SEVENTH. 

OF    THE    OFFICE    OF    VESPERS    FOR   SUNDAYS   AND 

FEASTS, 

DURING   FASSIONTIDE   AND    HOLY   WEEK. 

The  Office  of  Vespers,  or  Even- Song,  consists 
firstly  of  the  Five  following  Psalms,  and  Antiphons. 
According  to  our  custom,  we  preface  each  Psalm 
with  a  short  explanation,  in  order  to  draw  the  atten- 
tion to  what  is  most  in  harmony  with  the  Spirit  of 
this  Season. 

After  the  Pater  and  Ave  have  been  said  in  secret, 
the  Church  commences  this  Hour  with  her  favourite 
supplication  : 


f.     Deus     in    adjutorium  ^,  Incline  unto  my  aid,  O 

meum  intende.  God. 

#.     Domine,  ad  adjuvan-  gt.  0  Lord,  make  haste  to 

dum  me  festina.  help  me. 

Gloria  Patri  et  Filio,    et  Glory   be    to   the   Father, 

Spiritui  Sancto:  and  to  the  Son,   and  to  the 

Holy  Ghost. 

Sicut     erat    in     principio,  As    it   was    in  the  begin  - 

et  nunc  et  semper,  et  in  sae-  ning  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be, 

cula  saeculorum.     Amen.  world  without  end.     Amen. 

Laus    tibi,    Domine,    Eex  Praise  be  to  thee,  0  Lord, 

seternse  gloriae.  King  of  eternal  glory. 

Ant.  Dixit  Dominus.  Ant.  The  Lord  said. 


The  first  Psalm  is  a  prophecy  of  the  future  glory 
of  the  Messias ;  but  it  also  speaks  of  his  humilia- 
tions. It  tells  of  the  triumphs  of  Christ ;  but,  before 
his  exaltation,  he  is  to  drink  of  the  torrent  of  suf- 
ferings. 


SUNDAY  S     VESPERS. 


79 


PSALM     109. 


The  Lord  said  to  my  Lord, 

his  Son :  Sit  thou  at  rny  right 
hand,  and  reign  with  me. 

Until,  on  the  day  of  thy  hist 
coming \  I  make  thy  enemies 
thy  footstool. 

0  Christ  !  the  Lord  thy 
Father,  will  send  forth  the 
sceptre  of  thy  power  out  of 
Sion  :  from  thence  rule  thou 
in  the  midst  of  thy  enemies. 

With  thee  is  the  principality 
in  the  day  of  thy  strength,  in 
the  brightness  of  the  saints  : 
For  the  Father  hath  said  to 
thee  :  From  the  womb  before 
the  day-star  I  begot  thee. 

The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and 
he  will  not  repent :  he  hath 
said,  speaking  of  thee,  the  God- 
Man  :  Thou  art  a  Priest  for 
ever,  according  to  the  order 
of  Melchisedech. 

Therefore,  0  Father,  the 
Lord  thy  Son  is  at  thy  right 
hand  :  he  hath  broken  kings 
in  the  day  of  his  wrath. 

He  shall  also  judge  among 
nations  :  in  that  terrible  com- 
ing, he  shall  fill  the  ruins  of 
the  ivorld  :  he  shall  crush  the 
heads  in  the  land  of  many. 

He  cometh  now  in  humility ; 
he  shall  drink,  in  the  way,  of 
the  torrent  of  sufferings :  there- 
fore, shall  he  lift  up  the  head. 

Ant.  The  Lord  said  to  my 
Lord,  sit  thou  at  my  right 
hand. 

Ant.  Faithful. 


Dixit  Dominus  Domino 
meo  :    *  Sede  a  dextris  meis. 

Donee  ponam  inimicos 
tuos  :  *  scabellum  pedum 
tuorum. 

Virgam  virtutis  tuse  emit- 
tet  Dominus  ex  Sion  :  *  do- 
minare  in  medio  inimicorum 
tuorum. 

Tecum  principium  in  die 
virtutis  tuse  in  splendoribus 
sanctorum :  *  ex  utero  ante 
luciferum  genui  te. 


Juravit  Dominus,  et  non 
poenitebit  eum  :  *  Tu  es  Sa- 
cerdos  in  seternum  secundum 
ordinem  Melchisedech. 


Dominus  a  dextris  tuis  :  * 
conf regit  in  die  iree  suse  re- 
ges. 

Judicabit  in  nationibus, 
implebit  ruinas  :  *  conquas- 
sabit  capita  in  terra  multo- 
rum. 

De  torrente  in  via  bibet :  * 
propterea  exaltabit  caput. 

Ant.  Dixit  Dominus  Do- 
mino meo,  sede  a  dextris 
meis. 

Ant.  Fidelia. 


The  following  Psalm  commemorates  the  mercies  of 
Grod  to  his  people  :  but  of  these,  the  greatest  is  his 


a 


80 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY   WEEK. 


having  given  us  a  Redeemer.  He  has  made  an 
eternal  Covenant  with  us :  but  this  Covenant  was 
signed  with  the  Blood  of  his  own  Bon. 

psalm    110. 


Oonfitebor  tibi,  Domine, 
in  toto  corde  meo  :  *  in  con- 
silio  justorum  et  congrega- 
tione. 

Magna  opera  Domini :  * 
exquisita  in  omnes  volunta- 
tes  ejus. 

Confessio  et  magnificentia 
opus  ejus  :  *  et  justitia  ejus 
manet  in  seeculum  saeculi. 

Memoriam  fecit  mirabi- 
lium  suorum,  misericors  et 
miserator  Dominus  :  *  escam 
dedit  timentibus  se. 

Memor  erit  in  sseculum 
testamenti  sui :  *  virtutem 
operum  suorum  annuntiabit 
populo  suo. 

Ut  det  illis  hsereditatem 
Gentium :  *  opera  manuum 
ejus  Veritas  et  judicium. 

Fidelia  omnia  mandata 
ejus,  confirmata  in  speculum 
sneculi :  *  facta  in  veritate  et 
sequitate. 

Eedemptionem  misit  po- 
pulo suo  :  *  mandavit 
in  seternum  testamentum 
suum. 

Sanctum  et  terribile  110- 
men  ejus  :  *  initium  sapien- 
tise  timor  Domini. 

Intellectus  bonus  omnibus 
f'acientibus  eum  :  *  laudatio 
ejus  manet  in  saeculum  sse- 
culi. 

Ant.    Fidelia  omnia  man- 


I  will  praise  thee,  0  Lord, 
with  my  whole  heart  :  in  the 
council  of  the  just,  and  in  the 
congregation. 

Great  are  the  works  of  the 
Lord :  sought  out  according 
to  all  his  wills. 

His  work  is  praise  and  mag- 
nificence :  and  his  justice  con- 
tinueth  for  ever  and  ever. 

He  hath  made  a  remem- 
brance of  his  wonderful  works , 
being  a  merciful  and  gracious 
Lord  :  he  hath  given  food  to 
them  that  fear  him. 

He  will  be  mindful  for  ever 
of  his  covenant  with  men  :  he 
will  show  forth  to  his  people 
the  power  of  his  works. 

That  he  may  give  them,  his 
Church,  the  inheritance  of  the 
Gentiles  :  the  works  of  his 
hand  are  truth  and  judgment. 

All  his  commandments  are 
faithful,  confirmed  for  ever 
and  ever  :  made  in  truth  and 
equity. 

He  hath  sent  redemption 
to  his  people  ;  he  hath  thereby 
commanded  his  covenant  for 
ever. 

Holy  and  terrible  is  his 
name:  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  beginning  of  wisdom. 

A  good  understanding  to  all 
that  do  it :  his  praise  con- 
tinueth  for  ever  and  ever. 

Ant.     Faithful  are  all  his 


SUNDAY  S    VKSPKKS. 


81 


commandments  ; 
for  ever  and  ever. 
Ant.     In    his 
ments. 


confirmed     data     ejus  ;     confirmata 

saeculum  saeculi. 
command-         Ant.  In  mandatis. 


in 


The  next  Psalm  sings  the  happiness  of  the  Just 
man,  and  his  hopes  on  the  day  of  his  Lord's  coming. 
It  tells  us,  likewise,  of  the  confusion  and  despair 
which  will  torment  the  sinner,  who,  during  life,  was 
insensible  to  his  own  interests,  and  deaf  to  the  invita- 
tions made  him  by  the  Church. 

PSALM     111. 


Blessed  is  the  man  that 
feareth  the  Lord ;  he  shall 
delight  exceedingly  in  his 
commandments. 

His  seed  shall  be  mighty 
upon  earth ;  the  generation 
of  the  righteous  shall  be 
blessed. 

Glory  and  wealth  shall  be 
in  his  house  :  and  his  justice 
remaineth  for  ever  and  ever. 

To  the  righteous  a  light  is 
risen  up  in  darkness  :  he  is 
merciful,  and  compassionate, 
and  just. 

Acceptable  is  the  man  that 
showeth  mercy  and  lendeth  ; 
he  shall  order  his  words  with 
judgment :  because  he  shall 
not  be  moved  for  ever. 

The  just  shall  be  in  ever- 
lasting remembrance :  he  shall 
not  fear  the  evil  hearing. 

His  heart  is  ready  to  hope 
in  the  Lord;  his  heart  is 
strengthened :  he  shall  not 
be  moved  until  he  look  over 
his  enemies. 

He  hath  distributed,  he 
hath  given   to  the  poor  ;  his 


Beatus  vir,  qui  timet  Do- 
minum  :  *  in  mandatis  ejus 
volet  nimis. 

Potens  in  terra  erit  semen 
ejus :  *  generatio  rectorum 
benedicetur. 

Gloria,  et  divitiae  in  domo 
ejus  :  *  et  justitia  ejus  manet 
in  saeculum  ssuculi. 

Exortum  est  in  tenebris 
lumen  rectis  :  *  misericors, 
et  miserator,  et  Justus. 

Jucundus  homo,  qui  mise- 
retur  et  commodat,  disponet 
sermones  suos  in  judicio  :  * 
quia  in  seternum  non  com- 
movebitur. 

In  memoria  aeterna  erit 
Justus  *  ab  auditione  mala 
non  timebit. 

Paratum  cor  ejus  sperare 
in  Domino,  confirmatum  est 
cor  ejus  :  *  non  commovebi- 
tur  donee  despiciat  inimicos 
suos. 

Dispersit,  dedit  pauperi- 
bus,  justitia  ejus  manet  in 


82 


PASS10NT1DE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


sseculum  sseculi :     *     cornu 
ejus  exaltabitur  in  gloria. 

Peccator  videbit,  et  irasce- 
tur,  dentibus  suis  fremet  et 
tabescet :  *  desiderium  pec- 
catorum  peribit. 

Ant.  In  mandatis  ejus 
cupit  nimis. 

Ant.     Sit  nomen  Domini. 


justice  remaineth  for  ever 
and  ever :  his  horn  shall  be 
exalted  in  glory. 

The  wicked  shall  see,  and 
shall  be  angry ;  he  shall  gnash 
with  his  teeth,  and  pine  away : 
the  desire  of  the  wicked  shall 
perish. 

Ant.  In  his  commandments 
he  delighteth  exceedingly. 

Ant.  May  the  name  of  the 
Lord. 


The  Psalm,  Laudate  pueri,  is  a  Canticle  of  praise 
to  the  Lord,  who,  from  his  high  heaven,  has  taken 
pity  on  the  fallen  human  race,  and  facilitated  its 
return  to  its  Maker. 


psalm    112. 


Laudate  pueri,  Domi- 
num  :  *  laudate  nomen  Do- 
mini. 

Sit  nomen  Domini  bene- 
dictum  :  #  ex  hoc  nunc  et 
usque  in  sseculum. 

A  solis  ortu  usque  ad  oc- 
casum :  *  laudabile  nomen 
Domini. 

Excelsus  super  omnes 
Gentes  Dominus  :  *  et  super 
ccelos  gloria  ejus. 

Quis  sicut  Dominus  Deus 
noster  qui  in  altis  habitat :  * 
et  humilia  respicit  in  ccelo 
et  in  terra  ? 

Suscitans  a  terra  inopem  :  * 
etde  stercore  erigens  paupe- 
rem. 

TJt  collocet  eum  cum  prin- 
cibus :  *  cum  principibus 
populi  sui. 

Qui  habitare  facit  sterilem 


Praise  the  Lord,  ye  chil- 
dren :  praise  ye  the  name  of 
the  Lord. 

Blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord  :  from  henceforth  now 
and  for  ever. 

From  the  rising  of  the  sun 
unto  the  going  down  of  the 
same,  the  name  of  the  Lord 
is  worthy  of  praise. 

The  Lord  is  high  above  all 
nations  :  and  his  glory  above 
the  heavens. 

Who  is  as  the  Lord  our 
God,  who  dwelleth  on  high  : 
and  looketh  down  on  the  low 
things  in  heaven  and  in  earth  ? 

Eaising  up  the  needy  from 
the  earth :  and  lifting  up  the 
poor  out  of  the  dunghill. 

That  he  may  place  him  with 
princes :  with  the  princes  of 
his  people. 

Who  maketh  a  barren  wo- 


SUNDAY  S    VESPERS. 


&s 


man  to  dwell  in  a  house,  the 
joyful  mother  of  children. 

Ant.  May  the  name  of  the 
Lord  be  for  ever  blessed. 

Ant.  We  that  live. 


in  domo  :  *  matrem  filiorum 
lfetantem. 

Ant.  Sit  uomen  Domini 
benedictum  in  ssecula. 

Ant.  Nos  qui  vivimus. 


The  fifth  Psalm,  In  esdtu,  recounts  the  prodigies 
witnessed  under  the  ancient  Covenant :  they  were 
figures,  whose  realities  are  to  be  accomplished  in  us, 
if  we  will  but  return  to  the  Lord  our  (rod.  He  will 
deliver  Israel  from  Egypt,  emancipate  the  Gentiles 
from  their  idolatry,  and  pour  out  a  blessing  on  every 
man  who  will  consent  to  fear  and  love  the  Lord. 

PSALM    113. 


When  Israel  went  out  of 
Egypt,  the  house  of  Jacob 
from  a  barbarous  people. 

Judea  was  made  his  sanc- 
tuary, Israel  his  dominion. 

The  sea  saw  and  fled  ;  Jor- 
dan was  turned  back. 

The  mountains  skipped  like 
rams  :  and  the  hills  like  the 
lambs  of  the  flock. 

What  ailed  thee,  O  thou 
sea,  that  thou  didst  flee  :  and 
thou,  O  Jordan,  that  thou 
wast  turned  back  ? 

Ye  mountains  that  ye  skip- 
ped like  rams :  and  ye  hills 
like  lambs  of  the  flock  ? 

At  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
the  earth  was  moved,  at  the 
presence  of  the  God  of  Jacob. 

Who  turned  the  rock  into 
pools  of  water,  and  the  stony 
hills  into  fountains  of  waters. 

Not  to  us,  0  Lord,  not  to 
us  :  but  to  thy  name  give 
glory. 

For  thy  mercy,  and  for  thy 


fugisti 


In  exitu  Israel  de  iEgyp- 
to  :  *  domus  Jacob  de  populo 
barbaro. 

Facta  est  Judiea  sanctifi- 
catio  ejus  :  *  Israel  potestas 
ejus. 

Mare  vidit,  et  fugit :  *  Jor- 
danis  conversus  est  retror- 
sum. 

Montes  exsultaverunt  ut 
arietes  :  *  et  colles  sicut  agni 
ovium. 

Quid  est  tibi,  mare,  quod 
et  tu,  Jordanis, 
quia  conversus  es  retror- 
sum  ? 

Montes  exsultastis  sicut 
arietes  :  *  et  colles  sicut  agni 
ovium  ? 

A  facie  Domini  mota  est 
terra :  a  facie  Dei  Jacob. 

Qui  convertit  petram  in 
stagna  aquarum  :  *  et  rupem 
in  fontes  aquarum. 

Non  nobis,  Domine,  non 
nobis  :  *  sed  nomini  tuo  da 
gloriam. 

Super  misericordia  tua,  et 


84 


PASS10NTIDE    AND    HOLY    MEEK. 


veritate  tua :  *  nequando 
dicant  Gentes  :  Ubi  est  Deus 
eorum  ? 

Deus  autem  noster  in 
ccelo  :  *  omnia  qusecumque 
voluit,  fecit. 

Simulacra  Gentium  ar- 
gentum  et  aurum  :  *  opera 
manuum  hominum. 

Os  habent,  et  non  loquen- 
tur  :  *  oculos  habent,  et  non 
videbunt. 

Aures  habent  et  non  au- 
dient :  *  nares  habent  et  non 
odorabunt. 

Manus  habent  et  non  pal- 
pabunt,  pedes  habent  et  non 
ambulabunt :  *  non  clama- 
bunt  in  gutture  suo. 

Similes  illis  fiant  qui  fa- 
ciunt  ea  :  *  et  omnes  qui 
confidunt  in  eis. 

Domus  Israel  speravit  in 
Domino :  *  adjutor  eorum, 
et  protector  eorum  est. 

Domus  Aaron  speravit  in 
Domino :  *  adjutor  eorum, 
et  protector  eorum  est. 

Qui  timent  Dominum, 
speraverunt  in  Domino :  * 
adjutor  eorum,  et  protector 
eorum  est. 

Dominus  memor  fuit  nos- 
tri :  *  et  benedixit  nobis. 

Benedixit    domui    Israel : 

*  benedixit  domui  Aaron. 

Benedixit  omnibus  qui  ti- 
ment Dominum  :  *  pusillis 
cum  majoribus. 

Adjiciat  Dominus  super 
vos :  *  super  vos,  et  super 
filios  vestros. 

Benedicti   vos  a   Domino  : 

*  qui  fecit  coelum  et  ter- 
rain. 

Coelum    cceli    Domino  :    * 


truth's  sake :  lest  the  Gentiles 
should  say  :  Where  is  their 
God  ? 

But  our  God  is  in  heaven  : 
he  hath  done  all  things  what- 
soever he  would. 

The  idols  of  the  Gentiles 
are  silver  and  gold :  the  works 
of  the  hands  of  men. 

They  have  mouths,  and 
speak  not :  they  have  eyes, 
and  see  not. 

They  have  ears,  and  hear 
not :  they  have  noses,  and 
smell  not. 

They  have  hands,  and  feel 
not :  they  have  feet,  and  walk 
not :  neither  shall  they  cry 
out  through  their  throat. 

Let  them  that  make  them 
become  like  unto  them  :  and 
all  such  as  trust  in  them. 

The  house  of  Israel  hath 
hoped  in  the  Lord  :  he  is  their 
helper  and  their  protector. 

The  house  of  Aaron  hath 
hoped  in  the  Lord  :  he  is  their 
helper  and  their  protector. 

They  that  feared  the  Lord 
have  hoped  in  the  Lord :  he 
is  their  helper  and  their  pro- 
tector. 

The  Lord  hath  been  mindful 
of  us,  and  hath  blessed  us. 

He  hath  blessed  the  house 
of  Israel :  he  hath  blessed  the 
house  of  Aaron. 

He  hath  blessed  all  that 
fear  the  Lord,  both  little  and 
great. 

May  the  Lord  add  blessings 
upon  you  :  upon  you,  and  up- 
on your  children. 

Blessed  be  you  of  the  Lord , 
who  made  heaven  and  earth. 

The  heaven  of  heaven  is  the 


SUNDAYS    VESPERS. 


85 


Lord's :  but  the  earth  he  has 
given  to  the  children  of  men. 

The  dead  shall  not  praise 
thee,  O  Lord :  nor  any  of 
them  that  go  down  to  hell. 

But  we  that  live  bless  the 
Lord :  from  this  time  now 
and  for  ever. 


Ant.    We 
the  Lord. 


that  live  bless 


terram  autern  dedit  filiis 
hominum. 

Non  mortui  laudabunt  te, 
Domine :  neque  omnes  qui 
descendunt  in  infernum. 

Sed  nos  qui  vivimus,  be- 
nedicimus  Domino :  *  ex 
hoc  nunc  et  usque  in  ssecu- 
lum. 

Ant.  Nos  qui  vivimus, 
benedicimus  Domino. 


After  these  five  Psalms,  a  short  Lesson  from  the 
holy  Scriptures  is  read.  It  is  called  Capitulum, 
because  it  is  always  very  short.  Those  for  the 
Sundays  of  Lent  are  given  in  the  Proper  of  each. 

After  the  Capitulum,  follows  the  Hymn,  Vexilla 
Regis*  It  is  the  "  Hymn  of  the  Cross,"  and  was 
composed  by  St.  Yenantius  Fortunatus,  at  the  re- 
quest of  St.  Radegund. 


According  to  the  Monastic  Rite,  it  is  as  follows 


breve.     De  ore  leonis,    * 
me,    Domine.      De   ore. 
Then  is  repeated  :     1^7.  De  ore. 


Libera 


Yexilla  Regis  prodeunt ; 
Fulget  Crucis  mysterium, 
Quo  carnc  carnis  Conditor 
Suspensus  est  patibulo. 

Quo  vulneratus  insuper 
Mucrone  diro  lanceae, 
Ut  nos  lavaret  crimine, 
Manavit  unda  et  sanguine. 

Impleta  sunt  quae  concinit 
David  fideli  carmine, 
Dicens  :    In  nationibus 
Regnavit  a  ligno  Deus. 

.  Arbor  decora  et  fulgida, 
Ornata  Regis  purpura, 


^ .     Et  a  cornibus  unicornium 
humilitatem  meam.     *  Libera. 


Electa  digno  stipite 

Tarn  sancta  membra  tangere. 

Beata,  cujus  brachiis 
Ssecli  pependit  pretium, 
Statera  facta  corporis, 
Praedamque  tulit  tartari. 

0  Crux,  ave,  spes  unica, 
Hoc  Passionis  tempore, 
Auge  piis  justitiam, 
Reisque  dona  veniam. 

Te  summa,  Deus,  Trinitas, 
Collaudet  omnis  spiritus  : 
Quos  per  Crucis  mysterium 
Salvas,  rege  per  saecula.    Amen. 


86 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


HYMN. 


Vexilla    Eegis    prodeunt ; 
Fulget  Crucis  mysterium, 
Qua  Yita  mortem  pertulit, 
Et  morte  vitam  protulit. 


Quae  vulnerata  lancese 
Mucrone  diro,  criminum 
Ut  nos  lavaret  sordibus, 
Manavit  unda  et  sanguine. 

Impleta  sunt  quae  concinit 
David  fideli  carmine, 
Dicendo  nation  ibus : 
Regnavit  a  ligno  Deus. 

Arbor  decora  et  fulgida, 
Ornata  regis  purpura, 
Electa  digno  stipite 
Tarn    sancta    membra    tan- 
gere. 

Beata  eujus  brachiis 
Pretium  pependit  saeculi, 
Statera  facta  corporis, 
Tulitque  praedam  tartari. 


O  Crux,  ave,  spes  unica, 
Hoc  Passionis  tempore, 
Piis  adauge  gratiam, 
Reisque  dele  crimina. 

Te,  fons  salutis,  Trinitas, 
Collaudet  omnis  spiritus  : 
Quibus  Crucis  victoriam 
Largiris,  adde  prsemium. 

Amen. 


ff.  Eripe  me,  Domine,  ab 
homine  malo. 

R.  A  viro  iniquo  eripe 
me. 


The  Standard  of  our  King 
comes  forth ;  the  mystery  of 
the  Cross  shines  upon  us, — 
that  Cross  on  which  Life  suf- 
fered death,  and  by  his  Death 
gave  Life. 

He  was  pierced  with  the 
cruel  Spear,  that,  by  the 
Water  and  the  Blood,  which 
flowed  from  the  wound,  he 
might  cleanse  us  from  sin. 

Here,  on  the  Cross,  was  ful- 
filled the  prophecy  foretold 
to  the  nations  in  David's 
truthful  words  :  "God  hath 
reigned  from  the  Tree.'' 

O  fair  and  shining  Tree  ! 
beautified  by  the  scarlet  of  the 
King,  and  chosen  as  the  noble 
trunk  that  was  to  touch  such 
sacred  limbs ! 

O  blessed  Tree  !  on  whose 
arms  hung  the  ransom  of  the 
world  !  It  was  the  balance, 
wherein  was  placed  the  Body 
of  Jesus,  and  thereby  hell  lost 
its  prey. 

Hail,  O  Cross !  our  only 
hope !  During  these  days  of 
the  Passion,  increase  to  the 
good  their  grace,  and  cleanse 
sinners  from  their  guilt. 

May  every  spirit  praise 
thee,  0  Holy  Trinity,  thou 
Fount  of  Salvation !  and  by 
the  Cross,  whereby  thou  gav- 
est  us  victory,  give  us,  too, 
our  recompense.     Amen. 

y.  Deliver  me,  0  Lord, 
from  the  evil  man. 

R.  Rescue  me  from  the 
unjust  man. 


Sunday's  vespers.  87 

Then  is  said  the  Magnificat  Antiphon,  which  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Proper.  After  this,  the  Church 
sings  the  Canticle  of  Mary,  the  Magnificat,  in  which 
are  celebrated  the  Divine  Maternity  and  all  its  con- 
sequent blessings.  This  exquisite  Canticle  is  an 
essential  part  of  the  Vespers  throughout  the  year. 
Let  us  unite  with  all  generations,  and  call  her 
"Blessed;"  but  let  us,  also,  enter  into  those  senti- 
ments of  Humility,  which  she  recommends  to  us 
both  by  her  words  and  her  example.  Her  inspired 
lips  speak  to  us  this  promise  :  If  the  great  God 
whose  triumph  is  to  gladden  us  on  the  glorious  Day 
of  Easter,  find  us  humble  and  submissive, — he  will 
exalt  us,  yea,  raise  us  up  even  to  himself  ;  if  we  con- 
fess our  misery  and  poverty  to  him,  he  will  enrich  us, 
even  to  the  full,  with  every  blessing. 


our  lady's  canticle. 


(St.  Luke,  i.) 

My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Magnificat :   *    anima  mea 

Lord ;  Dominum  : 

And  my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  Et  exsultavit   spiritus  me- 

in  God  my  Saviour.  us  ;  *  in  Deo  salutari  meo. 

Because  he  hath  regarded  Quia     respexit     humilita- 

the  humility  of  his  handmaid  :  tern  ancillse  suae  :  *  ecce  enim 

for,  behold   from  henceforth  ex    hoc   Beatam   me    dicent 

all  generations  shall  call  me  omnes  generationes. 
Blessed. 

Because  he  that  is  mighty  Quia  fecit  mihi  magna  qui 

hath  done  great  things  to  me  :  potens     est :  *    et      sanctum 

and  holy  is  his  name.  nomen  ejus. 

And  his  mercy  is  from  gen-  Et  misericordia  ejus  a  pro- 

eration   unto   generation,    to  genie  in  progenies  :  *  timen- 

them  that  fear  him.  tibus  eum. 

He  hath  showed  might  in  Fecit  potentiam  in  brachio 

his  arm :  he  hath  scattered  the  suo  :    *     dispersit     superbos 

proud  in  the  conceit  of  their  mente  cordis  sui. 

heart.  H 


88 


FASS10NTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


He  hath  put  down  the 
mighty  from  their  seat :  and 
hath  exalted  the  humble. 

He  hath  filled  the  hungry 
with  good  things :  and  the  rich 
he  hath  sent  empty  away. 

He  hath  received  Israel  his 
servant,  being  mindful  of  his 
mercy. 

As  he  spake  to  our  fathers, 
to  Abraham  and  to  his  seed 
for  ever. 


Deposuit  potentes  de  sede  : 
*  et  exaltavit  humiles. 

Esurientes  implevit  bo- 
nis :  *  et  divites  dimisit 
inanes. 

Suscepit  Israel  puerum 
suum  :  *  recordatus  miseri- 
cordiae  suae. 

Sicut  locutus  est  ad  pa- 
tres  nostros :  *  Abraham  et 
semini  ejus  in  saecula. 


The  Magnificat  Antiphon  is  then  repeated.  The 
Prayer,  or  Collect,  will  be  found  in  the  Proper  of 
each  Sunday. 


The  Vespers  end  with  the  following  Versicles  : 


t.  Benedicamus  Domino. 

$.  Deo  gratias. 

W.  Fidelium  animae  per 
misericordiam  Dei  requies- 
cant  in  pace. 

Bt.  Amen. 


f.     Let  us  bless  the  Lord. 

£.     Thanks  be  to  God. 

y.  May  the  souls  of  the 
Faithful  departed,  through 
the  mercy  of  God,  rest  in 
peace. 

Br.     Amen. 


CHAPTER    THE    EIGHTH. 

ON    THE    OFFICE    OF    COMPLINE, 
DURING  PASSIONTIDE  AND   HOLY  WEEK. 

This  Office,  which  concludes  the  day,  commences  by 
a  warning  of  the  dangers  of  the  night :  then  imme- 
diately follows  the  public  Confession  of  our  sins,  as 
a  powerful  means  of  propitiating  the  divine  justice, 
and  obtaining  God's  help,  now  that  we  are  going  to 
spend  so  many  hours  in  the  unconscious  and  there- 
fore dangerous  state  of  sleep,  which  is  also  such  an 
image  of  death. 

The  Lector,  addressing  the  Priest,  says  to  him  : 

Pray,    Father,     give    thy        ^.    Jube,   Domne,  benedi- 
blessing.  cere. 

The  Priest  answers  : 

May    the   Almighty  Lord  Noctem  quietam,   et  finem 

grant  us  a  quiet  night  and  a  perfectum      concedat     nobis 

perfect  end.  Dominus  omnipotens. 

?t.     Amen.  gt.     Amen. 

The  Lector  then  reads  these  words,  from  the  first 
Epistle  of  St.  Peter  : 

Brethren,    be    sober    and  Fratres :    Sobrii  estote,  et 

watch :    for   your   adversary  vigilate :      quia     adversarius 

the   devil  goes   about  like  a  vester    diabolus,      tamquam 

roaring  lion,  seeking  whom  he  leo   rugiens  circuit   quaerens 

may  devour:  resist  him,  being  quern   devoret :    cui   resistite 

strong  in  faith.     But  thou,  O  fortes   in   fide.       Tu   autem, 

Lord,  have  mercy  on  us.  Domine,  miserere  nobis. 


90  PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

The  Choir  answers : 
&.  Deo  Gratias.  gt.  Thanks  be  to  God. 

Then,  the  Priest : 

y.  Adjutorium  nostrum  in  f.  Our  help  is  in  the  name 
nomine  Domini.  of  the  Lord. 

The  Choir  : 

gt.  Qui  fecit  coelum  et  gt.  Who  hath  made  heaven 
terrain.  and  earth. 

Then  the  Lord's  Prayer  is  recited  in  secret ;  after 
which  the  Priest  says  the  Confiteor ;  and,  when  he 
has  finished,  the  Choir  says  : 

Misereatur     tui     omnipo-  May  Almighty  God  have 

tens   Deus,  et   dimissis   pec-  mercy  on  thee,  and  forgiving 

catis   tuis,     perducat   te     ad  thy  sins,  bring  thee  to  ever- 

vitam  aeternam.  lasting  life. 

The  Priest  having  answered  Amen,  the  Choir  re- 
peats the  Confiteor,  thus : 

Confiteor  Deo  Omnipotenti,  I  confess  to  Almighty  God, 

beatse  Marise  semper  Virgini,  to  blessed  Mary  ever  Virgin, 

beato   Michaeli    Archangelo,  to  blessed  Michael  the  Arch- 

beato  Joanni  Baptistse,  sane-  angel,  to  blessed  John  Baptist, 

tis  Apostolis  Petro  et  Paulo,  to  the  holy  Apostles  Peter  and 

omnibus     Sanctis,      et     tibi,  Paul,  to  all  the  saints,  and  to 

Pater  :    quia  peccavi  nimis,  thee,  Father,  that  I  have  sin- 

cogitatione,  verbo,  et  opere  :  ned  exceedingly  in  thought, 

mea  culpa,  mea  culpa,  mea  word,  and  deed,   through  my 

maxima  culpa.      Ideo  precor  fault,     through    my     fault, 

beatam  Mariam  semper  Vir-  through   my   most    grievous 

ginem,    beatum     Michaelem  fault.  Therefore  I  beseech  the 

Archangelum,  beatum  Joan-  blessed    Mary    ever    Virgin, 

nem      Baptistam,       sanctos  blessed    Michael   the    Arch- 

Apostolos     Petrum   et  Pau-  angel,  blessed  John  Baptist, 

lum,    omnes   sanctos,    et  te,  the  holy  Apostles  Peter  and 

Pater,  orare  pro  me  ad  Do-  Paul,  and  all  the  saints,  and 

minum  Deum  nostrum.  thee,  Father,  to  pray  to  our 

Lord  God  for  me. 


COMPLINE. 


91 


The  Priest  then  says  : 


May  Almighty  God  be 
merciful  to  you,  and,  forgiv- 
ing your  sins,  bring  you  to 
everlasting  life. 

gt.     Amen. 

May  the  Almighty  and 
merciful  Lord  grant  us  par- 
don, absolution,  and  remis- 
sion^of  our^sins. 

&.    Amen. 

f.  Convert  us,  0  God,  our 
Saviour. 

gt.  And  turn  away^thy  an- 
ger from  us. 

y.  Incline  unto  my  aid,  0 
God. 

&.  0  Lord,  make  haste^to 
help  me. 

Glory,  &c. 

Praise  be  to  thee,  0  Lord, 
King  of  eternal  glory. 

Ant.    Have  mercy. 


Misereatur  vestri  omnipo- 
tens  Deus,  et  dimissis  peccatis 
vestris,  perducat  vos  ad  vi- 
tam  seternam. 

$.     Amen. 

Indulgentiam,  absolutio- 
nem,  et  remissionem  pecca- 
torum  nostrorum  tribuat 
nobis  omnipotens  et  miseri- 
cors  Dominus. 

gt.    Amen. 

f.  Converte  nos,  Deus, 
Salutaris  noster. 

#.  Et  averte  iram  tuam  a 
nobis. 

^.  Deus,  in  adjutorium 
meum  intende. 

gt.  Domine,  ad  adjuvan- 
dum  me  festina. 

Gloria  Patri,  &c. 

Laus  tibi,  Domine,  Rex 
seternse  glorise. 

Ant.   Miserere. 


The  first  Psalm  expresses  the  confidence  with 
which  the  just  man  sleeps  in  peace;  but  it,  also, 
rebukes  those  tepid  Christians,  whose  dull  hearts  are 
but  too  often  enslaved  to  vanity  and  lies,  and  exhorts 
them  to  examine,  at  the  close  of  the  day ,  the  thoughts 
of  their  hearts,  and  be  sorry  for  them  at  that  time  of 
stillness  and  repose. 

psalm   4. 


When  I  called  upon   him, 
the  God  of  my  justice  heard 
me  :  when  I  was  in  distress,^ 
thou  hast  enlarged  me. 

Have  mercy   on  me  :    and 
hear  my  prayer. 

O  ye  sons  of  men,  how  long 


Cum  invocarem  exaudivit 
me  Deus  justitise  mese :  * 
in  tribulatione  dilatasti  mihi. 

Miserere  mei :  *  et  exaudi 
orationem  meam. 
Filii  hominum,    usquequo 


92 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


gravi  corde ;  *  ut  quid  dili- 
gitis  vanitatein,  et  quseritis 
mendacium  ? 

Et  scitote  quoniam  miri- 
ficavit  Dominus  sanctum 
suum  :  *  Dominus  exaudiet 
me,  cum  clamavero  ad  eum. 

Irascimini,  et  nolite  pec- 
care  :  *  quae  dicitis  in  cordi- 
bus  vestris,  in  cubilibus  ves- 
tris  compungimini. 

Sacrificate  sacrificiumf  jus- 
titiae,   et  sperate  in  Domino  : 

*  multi  dicunt :  Quis  osten- 
dit  nobis  bona  ? 

Signatum  est  super  nos 
lumen   vultis    tui     Domine  : 

*  dedisti  lsetitiam  in  corde 
meo. 

A  fructu  frumenti,  vini  et 
olei  sui  :    *  multiplicati  sunt. 

In  pace  in  idipsum  :  * 
dormiam  et  requiescam. 

Quoniam  tu,  Domine,  sin- 
gulariter  in  spe  :  *  constitu- 
isti  me. 


will  you  be  dull  of  heart  ?  why 
do  you  love  vanity,  and  seek 
after  lying  ? 

Know  ye  also  that  the  Lord 
hath  made  his  Holy  One  won- 
derful :  the  Lord  will  bear  me, 
when  I  shall  cry  unto  him. 

Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not : 
the  things  you  say  in  your 
hearts,  be  sorry  for  them  upon 
your  beds. 

Offer  up  the  sacrifice  of 
justice,  and  trust  in  the  Lord : 
many  say,  who  showeth  us 
good  things  ? 

The  Light  of  thy  counte- 
nance, 0  Lord,  is  signed  upon 
us  :  thou  hast  given  gladness 
in  my  heart. 

By  the  fruit  of  their  corn, 
their  wine,  and  oil,  they  are 
multiplied. 

In  peace,  in  the  self  same,  I 
will  sleep,  and  I  will  rest. 

For  thou,  O  Lord,  singu- 
larly hast  settled  me  in  hope. 


The  Church  has  introduced  here  the  first  six 
Verses  of  the  thirtieth  Psalm,  because  they  contain 
the  prayer  which  our  Saviour  made  when  dying  : 
Into  thy  hands,  0  Lord,  I  commend  my  spirit  ! — 
words  so  beautifully  appropriate  in  this  Office  of  the 
close  of  the  day. 

psalm  30. 


In  te,  Domine,  speravi, 
non  confundar  in  seternum  : 
*  in  justitia  tua  libera  me. 


Inclina 
tuam :  * 
me, 


ad     me     aurem 
accelera   ut   eruas 


In  thee,  O  Lord,  have  I 
hoped,  let  me  never  be  con- 
founded :  deliver  me  in  thy 
justice. 

Bow  down  thy  ear  to  me : 
make  haste  to  deliver  me, 


COMPLINE. 


93 


Be  thou  unto  me  u  God,  a 
protector  and  a  house  of  re- 
fuge, to  save  me. 

For  thou  art  my  strength, 
and  my  refuge  :  and  for  thy 
name's  sake  thou  wilt  lead 
me,  and  Dourish  me. 

Thou  wilt  bring  me  out  of 
this  snare,  which  they  have 
hidden  for  me  :  for  thou  art 
my  protector. 

Into  thy  hands  I  commend 
my  spirit :  thou  hast  redeem- 
ed me,  0  Lord  the  God  of 
truth. 


psto  mihi  in  Deum  pro- 
tectorum,  et  in  domum  re- 
fugii  :  *  ut  salvum  me  fa- 
cias. 

Quoniam  fortitudo  mea, 
et  refugium  meum  es  tu  :  * 
et  propter  nomen  tuum  de- 
duces me,  et  enutries  me. 

Educes  me  de  laqueo  hoc, 
quern  absconderunt  mihi  :  * 
quoniam  tu  es  protector 
meus. 

In  manus  tuas  commendo 
spiritum  meum  :  *  rede- 
misti  me,  Domine,  Deus 
veritatis. 


The  third  Psalm  gives  the  motives  of  the  Just 
man's  confidence,  even  during  the  dangers  of  the 
night.  The  description  here  given  of  Peace  of  mind, 
should  make  the  sinner  long  for  a  reconciliation  with 
his  Grod,  that  so  he,  too,  may  enjoy  that  divine  pro- 
tection, without  which  there  can  be  no  security  or 
happiness  in  this  life  of  peril  and  misery. 


psalm  90. 


He  that  dwelleth  in  the  aid 
of  the  Most  High,  shall  abide 
under  the  protection  of  the 
God  of  heaven. 

He  shall  say  to  the  Lord  : 
Thou  art  my  protector,  and  my 
refuge  :  my  God,  in  him  will 
I  trust. 

For  he  hath  delivered  me 
from  the  snare  of  the  hunters  : 
and  from  the  sharp  word. 

He  will  overshadow  thee 
with  his  shoulders :  and  under 
his  wings  thou  shalt  trust. 

Histruth  shall  compass  thee 
with  a  shield  :  thou  shalt  not 
be  afraid  of  the  terror  of  the 
night, 


Qui    habitat 
Altissimi  : 
Dei  coeli  commorabitur 


in    adjutorio 
in    protectione 


Dicet  Domino  :  Suscep- 
tor  meus  es  tu,  et  refugium 
meus :  *  Deus  meus,  spe- 
rabo  in  eum. 

Quoniam  ipse  liberavit 
me  de  laqueo  venantium  :  * 
et  a  verbo  aspero. 

Scapulis  suis  obumbrabit 
tibi:  *  et  sub  pennis  ejus 
sperabis. 

Scuto  circumdabit  te  Ve- 
ritas ejus  :  *  non  timebis  a 
timore  nocturno. 


94 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


A  sagitta  volante  in  die,  a 
negotio  perambulante  in  te- 
nebris  :  *  ab  incursu,  et  dae- 
monic) meridiano. 

Cadent  a  latere  tuo  mille, 
et  decern  millia  a  dextris 
tuis  :  *  ad  te  autem  non  ap- 
propinquabit. 

Verumtamen  oculis  tuis 
considerabis  :  *  et  retribu- 
tionem  peccatorum  videbis. 

Quoniam  tu  es,  Domine, 
spes  mea  :  *  Altissimum  po- 
suisti  refugium  tuum. 

Non  accedet  ad  te  malum  : 

*  et  flagellum  non  appropin- 
quabit  tabernaculo  tuo. 

Quoniam  Angelis  suis 
mandavit  de  te :  *  ut  custo- 
diant  te  in  omnibus  viis  tuis. 

In  manibus  portabunt  te  : 

*  ne  forte  offendas  ad  lapi- 
dem  pedem  tuum. 

Super  aspidem  et  basilis- 
cum  ambulabis  :  *  et  concul- 
cabis  leonem  et  draconem. 

Quoniam  in  me  speravit, 
liberabo  eum :  *  protegam 
eum,  quoniam  cognovit  no- 
men  meum. 

Clamabit  ad  me,  et  ego 
exaudiam  eum  :  *  cum  ipso 
sum  in  tribulatione,  eripiam 
eum,  et  glorificabo  eum. 

Longitudine  dierum  re- 
plebo  eum :  *  et  ostendam 
illi  Salutare  meum. 


Of  the  arrow  that  flieth  in 
the  day  :  of  the  business  that 
walketh  about  in  the  dark  : 
of  invasion,  or  of  the  noonday 
devil. 

A  thousand  shall  fall  at  thy 
side,  and  ten  thousand  at  thy 
right  hand :  but  it  shall  not 
come  nigh  thee. 

But  thou  shalt  consider 
with  thy  eyes  :  and  shalt  see 
the  reward  of  the  wicked. 

Because  thou  hast  said : 
Thou,  O  Lord,  art  my  hope  : 
thou  hast  made  the  Most  High 
thy  refuge. 

There  shall  no  evil  come  to 
thee,  nor  shall  the  scourge 
come  near  thy  dwelling. 

For  he  hath  given  his  Angel  s 
charge  over  thee  :  to  keep  thee 
in  all  thy  ways. 

In  their  hands  they  shall 
bear  thee  up  :  lest  thou  dash 
thy  foot  against  a  stone. 

Thou  shalt  walk  upon  the 
asp  and  basilisk :  and  thou 
shalt  trample  under  foot  the 
lion  and  the  dragon. 

God  will  say  of  thee  :  Be- 
cause he  hoped  in  me,  I  will 
deliver  him :  I  will  protect 
him,  because  he  hath  known 
my  Name. 

He  will  ciy  to  me,  andlwill 
hear  him  :  I  am  with  him  in 
tribulation,  I  will  deliver  him, 
and  I  will  glorify  him. 

I  will  fill  him  with  length 
of  days  :  and  I  will  show  him 
my  Salvation. 


The  fourth  Psalm  invites  the  Servants  of  God  to 
persevere,  with  fervour,  in  the  prayers  they  offer 
during  the  Night.  The  Faithful  should  say  this 
Psalm  in  a  spirit  of  gratitude  to  Gk>d,  for  his  raising 


COMPLINE. 


up  in  the  Church,  adorers  of  his  holy  name,  whose 
grand  vocation  is  to  lift  up  their  hands,  day  and 
night,  for  the  safety  of  Israel.  On  such  prayers 
depend  the  happiness  and  destinies  of  the  world. 

psalm    133. 


Behold  now  bless  ye  the 
Lord,  all  ye  servants  of  the 
Lord. 

Who  stand  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord,  in  the  courts  of  the 
house  of  our  God. 

In  the  nights  lift  up  your 
hands  to  the  holy  places,  and 
bless  ye  the  Lord. 

Say  to  Israel :  May  the 
Lord  out  of  Sion  bless  thee, 
he  that  made  heaven  and 
earth. 

Ant.  Have  mercy  on  me, 
O  Lord,  and  hear  my  prayer. 


Ecce  nunc  benedicite  Do- 
minum :  *  omnes  servi  Do- 
mini. 

Qui  statis  in  domo  Domi- 
ni:  *  in  atriis  domus  Dei 
nostri. 

In  noctibus  extollite  ma- 
nus  vestras  in  sancta  :  *  et 
benedicite  Dominum. 

Benedicat  te  Dominus  ex 
Sion :  *  qui  fecit  ccelum  et 
terram. 

Ant.  Miserere  mei,  Do- 
mine,  et  exaudi  orationem 
meam. 


HYMN. 


Before  the  closing  of  the 
light,  we  beseech  thee,  Crea- 
tor of  all  things  !  that  in  thy 
clemency,  thou  be  our  pro- 
tector and  our  guard. 

May  the  dreams  and  phan- 
toms of  night  depart  far  from 
us  ;  and  do  thou  repress  our 
enemy,  lest  our  bodies  be 
profaned. 

Most  merciful  Father  !  and 
thou,  his  Only  Begotten  Son, 


Te  lucis  ante  terminum, 
Eerum  Creator,  poscimus, 
TJt  pro  tua  dementia 
Sis  prsesul  et  custodia. 

Procul  recedant  somnia, 
Et  noctium  phantasmata  ; 
Hostemque   nostrum     com- 

prime, 
Ne  polluantur  corpora. 

Praesta,  Pater  piisime, 
Patrique  compar  Unice, 


*  According  to  the  Monastic  Kite,  as  follows  : — 

Hostemque  nostrum  comprime 
Ne  polluantur  corpora. 

Praesta  Pater  omnipotens, 
Per  Jesum  Christum  Dominum, 
Qui  tecum  in  perpetuum 
Regnat  cum  Sancto  Spirit  u . 


Te  lucis  ante  terminum, 
Rerum  Creator,  poscimus, 
Ut  solita  dementia 
Sis  prsesul  ad  custodiam. 

Procul  recedant  somnia 
Et  noctium  phantasmata 


96  PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 

Cum  Spiritu  Paraclito  co-equal  with  him  !   reigning 

Kegnans  per  omne  soeculum.      for  ever  with  the  Holy  Para- 

Amen.  clete !    grant  this  our  prayer. 

Amen. 

CAPITULUM. 

fJeremias,  xiy.J 

Ta    autem    in     nobis    es,  But  thou  art  in  us,  O  Lord, 

Domine,  et  nomen  sanctum  and  thy  holy  name  has  been 

tuum    invocatum  est    super  invoked  upon  us  :   forsake  us 

nos ;      ne    derelinquas     nos,  not,  0  Lord  our  God. 
Domine  Deus  noster. 

gt.     In  manus  tuas,  Domi-  $.  Into  thy  hands,  0  Lord: 

ne  :    *     Commendo   spiritum  *  I  commend  my  spirit.    Into 

meum.     In  manus  tuas.  thy  hands. 

y.     Eedemisti  nos,  Domi-  ^.  Thou  hast  redeemed  us, 

ne   Deus  veritatis.     *  Com-  0  Lord   God  of  truth.      *  I 

mendo.  commend. 

Gloria.     In  manus  tuas.  Glory.     Into  thy  hands. 

f.     Custodi  nos,  Domine,  TjT.  Preserve  us,  O  Lord,  as 

ut  pupillam  oculi.  the  apple  of  thine  eye. 

gt.  Sub      umbra      alarum  gt.  Protect    us   under  the 

tuarum  protege  nos.  shadow  of  thy  wings. 

Ant.  Salva  nos.  Ant.  Save  us. 

The  Canticle  of  the  venerable  Simeon — who,  whilst 
holding  the  divine  Infant  in  his  arms,  proclaimed 
him  to  be  the  Light  of  the  Gentiles,  and  then  slept 
the  sleep  of  the  jnst, — admirably  expresses  the  repose 
of  heart  which  the  sonl,  that  is  in  the  Grace  of  God, 
will  experience  in  her  Jesus ;  for  as  the  Apostle  says, 
we  may  live  together  with  Jesus,  whether  we  are 
awake  or  asleep.1 

CANTICLE    OF    SIMEON. 

(St.  Luke,  \\.J 

Nunc  dimittis  servum  Now  dost  thou  dismiss  thy 
tuum  Domine  :  *  secundum  servant,  0  Lord,  according  to 
verbum  tuum  in  pace.  thy  word  in  peace. 

1  Thess.  v.  10. 


COMPLINE. 


97 


Because  my  eyes  have  seen 
thy  Salvation. 

Which  thou  hast  prepared 
before  the  face  of  all  peoples. 

The  light  to  the  revelation 
of  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory 
of  thy  people  Israel. 

Glory,  &c. 

Ant.  Save  us,  0  Lord, 
whilst  awake,  and  watch  us  as 
we  sleep ;  that  we  may  watch 
with  Christ,  and  rest  in  peace. 


Quia  viderunt  oculi  mei  : 
*  salutare  tuum. 

Quod  parasti  :  *  ante  fa- 
ciem  omnium  populorum. 

Lumen  ad  revelationem 
Gentium :  *  et  gloriam  ple- 
bis  tuse  Israel. 

Gloria  Patri,  et  Filio,  &c. 

Ant.  Salva  nos,  Domine, 
vigilantes :  custodi  nos  dor- 
mientes,  ut  vigilemus  cum 
Christo,  et  requiescamus  in 
pace. 


PRAYERS. 


Lord  have  mercy  on  us. 
Christ  have  mercy  on  us. 
Lord  have  mercy  on  us. 

Our  Father. 

$ .  And  lead  us  not  into 
temptation. 

gt.  But  deliver  us  from  evil. 

I  believe  in  God,  &c. 

f.  The  resurrection  of  the 
body. 

gt.  And  life  everlasting. 
Amen. 

ft.  Blessed  art  thou,  0  Lord 
God  of  our  fathers. 

gt.  And  praiseworthy  and 
glorious  for  ever. 

ft.  Let  us  bless  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  with  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

gt .  Let  us  praise  and  mag- 
nify him  for  ever. 

f.  Thou  art  blessed,  0 
Lord,  in  the  firmament  of 
heaven. 

gt.  And  praiseworthy,  and 
glorious,  and  magnified  for 
ever. 

T .  May  the  Almighty  and 
merciful  Lord  bless  us  and 
keep  us.     gt.    Amen. 


Kyrie  eleison. 
Christe  eleison. 
Kyrie  eleison. 
Pater  noster. 

ft.  Et  ne  nos  inducas  in 
tentationem. 

gt.     Sed  libera  nos  a  malo. 

Credo  in  Deum,  &c. 

f.     Carnis  resurrectionem. 

gt.  Vitamseternam.  Amen. 

y.  Benedictus  es,  Domine 
Deus  patrum  nostrorum. 

gt.  Et  laudabilis  et  glorio- 
sus  in  specula. 

y.  Benedicamus  Patrem 
et  Filium  cum  Sancto  Spi- 
ritu. 

gt.  Laudemus,  et  super- 
exaltemus  eum  in  ssecula. 

$.  Benedictus  es,  Domine , 
in  firmamento  coeli. 

gt.  Et  laudabilis,  et  glori- 
osus  et  superexaltatus  in 
specula. 

y.  Benedicat  et  custodiat 
nos  omnipotens  et  miseri- 
cors  Dominus.     gt.    Amen, 


98 


PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


y.  Dignare,  Domine,  noc- 
te  ista. 

gu  Sine  peccato  nos  cus- 
todire. 

^.  Miserere  nostri,  Do- 
mine. 

gt.  Miserere  nostri. 

f.  Fiat  misericordia  tua, 
Domine,  super  nos. 

gt.  Quemadmodum  spera- 
vimus  in  te. 

^.  Domine,  exaudi  ora- 
tionem  meam. 

gt.  Et  clamor  meus  ad  te 
veniat. 


f.  Vouchsafe,  0  Lord,  this 
night. 
gt.  To  keep  us  without  sin. 

$.  Have  mercy  on  us,  O 
Lord. 

gt.  Have  mercy  on  us. 

f.  Let  thy  mercy  be  upon 
us,  0  Lord. 

gt.  As  we  have  hoped  in 
thee. 

f.  O  Lord,  hear  my  prayer. 

gt.  And  let  my  cry  come 
unto  thee. 


After  these  Prayers,   (which  are  omitted  if  the 
Office  be  of  a  double  rite,)  the  Priest  says  : 

$\  Dominus  vobiscum.  $ .  The  Lord  be  with  you. 

gt.  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo.  gt.  And  with  thy  spirit. 


OREMT7S. 

Visita,  quaesumus,  Do- 
mine, habitationem  istam, 
et  omnes  insidias  inimici 
ab  ea  longe  repelle  :  Angeli 
tui  sancti  habitent  in  ea, 
qui  nos  in  pace  custodian  t, 
et  benedictio  tua  sit  super 
nos  semper.  Per  Dominum 
nostrum  Jesum  Christum, 
Filium  tuum,  qui  tecum  vi- 
vit  et  regnat  in  unitate  Spi- 
ritus  Sancti  Deus,  per  omnia 
ssecula  saeculorum.     Amen. 

f.  Dominus  vobiscum. 

gt.  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

^.  Benedicamus  Domino. 

gt.  Deo  gratias. 

Benedicat  et  custodiat  nos 
omnipotens  et  misericors 
Dominus,  Pater,  et  Filius, 
et  Spiritus  Sanctus. 

gt.  Amen. 


LET  US  PRAY. 

Visit,  we  beseech  thee,  O 
Lord,  this  house  and  family, 
and  drive  from  it  all  snares 
of  the  enemy  :  let  thy  holy 
Angels  dwell  herein,  who  may 
keep  us  in  peace,  and  may 
thy  blessing  be  always  upon 
us.  Through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  thy  Son,  who  liveth 
and  reigneth  with  thee,  in  the 
unity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  God, 
world  without  end.     Amen. 

$".  The  Lord  be  with  you. 

gt.  And  with  thy  spirit. 

y.  Let  us  bless  the  Lord. 

gt.  Thanks  be  to  God. 

May  the  Almighty  and 
merciful  Lord,  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,  bless  and 
preserve  us. 

#.  Amen, 


COMI'LINK. 


99 


ANTHEM    TO    THE    BLESSED    VIRGIN. 


Hail  Queen  of  Heaven ! 
Hail  Queen  of  Angels !  Hail 
blest  Root  and  Gate,  from 
which  came  Light  upon  the 
world !  Rejoice,  0  glorious 
Virgin,  that  surpassest  all  in 
beauty !  Hail,  most  lovely 
Queen  !  and  pray  to  Christ 
for  us. 

f.  Vouchsafe,  O  Holy  Vir- 
gin, that  I  may  praise  thee. 

Bt.  Give  me  power  against 
thine  enemies. 


Ave  Regina  coelorum, 
Ave  Domina  Angelorum  : 
Salve  radix,  salve  porta, 
Ex  qua  mundo  lux  est  orta  ; 
Gaude,  Virgo  gloriosa, 
Super  omnes  speciosa : 
Vale,  O  valde  decora, 
Et  pro  nobis  Christum  exora. 

y.  Dignare  me  laudare  te, 
Virgo  sacrata. 

&.  Da  mihi  virtutem  con- 
tra hostes  tuos. 


LET  US  PRAY. 

Grant,  0  merciful  God,  thy 
protection  to  us  in  our  weak- 
ness ;  that  we  who  celebrate 
the  memory  of  the  Holy 
Mother  of  God,  may,  through 
the  aid  of  her  intercession, 
rise  again  from  our  sins. 
Through  the  same  Christ  our 
Lord. 

Bt.  Amen. 

f.  May  the  divine  assis- 
tance remain  always  with  us. 

gt.  Amen.* 


OREMUS. 

Concede,  misericors  Deus, 
fragilitati  nostrae  prsesidi- 
um ;  ut,  qui  sanctse  Dei 
Genitricis  memoriam  agimus, 
intercessionis  ejus  auxilio, 
a  nostris  iniquitatibus  re- 
surgamus.  Per  eumdem 
Christum  Dominum  nos- 
trum. 

gt.  Amen. 

f.  Divinum  auxilium  ma- 
neat  semper  nobiscum. 

Amen.* 


Then,  in  secret,  Pater,  Ave,  and  Credo ;  page  26. 


*  In  the  Monastic  Rite,  this  Response  is  as  follows  : 


P/.  And  with  our  absent  Breth-         Py'.  Et    cum  fratribus  nostris 
ren.     Amen.  absentibus.     Amen. 


PROPER  OF  THE  TIME. 


PASSION  SUNDAY. 

To-day,  if  ye  shall  hear  the  Hodie,  si  vocem  Domini 
voice  of  the  Lord,  harden  not  audieritis,  nolite  obdurare 
your  hearts.  corda  vestra. 

The  Holy  Church  begins  her  Night  Office  of  this 
Sunday  with  these  impressive  words  of  the  Royal 
Prophet.  Formerly,  the  faithful  considered  it  their 
duty  to  assist  at  the  Night  Office,  at  least  on  Sundays 
and  Feasts ;  they  would  have  grieved  to  have  lost 
the  grand  teachings  given  by  the  Liturgy.  Such 
fervour  has  long  since  died  out ;  the  assiduity  at  the 
Offices  of  the  Church,  which  was  the  joy  of  our 
Catholic  forefathers,  has  now  become  a  thing  of  the 
past ;  and  even  in  countries  which  have  not  aposta- 
tised from  the  faith,  the  clergy  have  ceased  to  cele- 
brate publicly  Offices  at  which  no  one  assisted. 
Excepting  in  Cathedral  Churches  and  in  Monasteries, 
the  grand  harmonious  system  of  the  Divine  Praise 
has  been  abandoned,  and  the  marvellous  power  of 
the  Liturgy  has  no  longer  its  full  influence  upon  the 
Faithful. 

This  is  our  reason  for  drawing  the  attention  of  our 
readers  to  certain  beauties  of  the  Divine  Office, 
which  would  otherwise  be  totally  ignored.  Thus, 
what  can  be  more  expressive  than  this  solemn  In- 
vitatory  of  to-day's  Matins,  which  the  Church  takes 
from  one  of  the  psalms,  and  which  she  repeats  on 
every  Feria  between  this  and  Maundy  Thursday  ? 


102  PASSION    WEEK. 

She  says  :  To-day,  if  ye  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the 
Lord,  harden  not  your  hearts !  The  sweet  voice 
of  your  suffering  Jesus  now  speaks  to  you,  poor 
sinners  !  be  not  your  own  enemies  by  indifference 
and  hardness  of  heart.  The  Son  of  Grod  is  about  to 
give  yew.  the  last  and  greatest  proof  of  the  love  that 
brought  him  down  from  heaven  ;  his  Death  is  nigh 
at  hand  :  men  are  preparing  the  wood  for  the  im- 
molation of  the  new  Isaac :  enter  into  yourselves, 
and  let  not  your  hearts,  after  being  touched  with 
grace,  return  to  their  former  obduracy, — for  nothing 
could  be  more  dangerous.  The  great  anniversaries 
we  are  to  celebrate  have  a  renovating  power  for 
those  souls  that  faithfully  correspond  with  the  grace 
which  is  offered  them ;  but  they  increase  insensi- 
bility in  those  who  let  them  pass  without  working 
their  conversion.  To-day,  therefore,  if  you  hear  the 
voice  of  the  Lord,  harden  not  your  hearts  ! 

During  the  preceding  four  weeks,  we  have  noticed 
how  the  malice  of  Jesus'  enemies  has  been  gradually 
increasing.  His  very  presence  irritates  them  ;  and 
it  is  evident,  that  any  little  circumstance  will  suffice 
to  bring  the  deep  and  long  nurtured  hatred  to  a 
head.  The  kind  and  gentle  manners  of  Jesus  are 
drawing  to  him  all  hearts  that  are  simple  and  up- 
right ;  at  the  same  time,  the  humble  life  he  leads, 
and  the  stern  purity  of  his  doctrines,  are  perpetual 
sources  of  vexation  and  anger,  both  to  the  proud 
Jew  that  looks  forward  to  the  Messias  being  a  mighty 
conqueror,  and  to  the  Pharisee,  who  corrupts  the 
Law  of  (rod,  that  he  may  make  it  the  instrument  of 
his  own  base  passions.  Still,  Jesus  goes  on  working 
miracles  ;  his  discourses  are  more  than  ever  energetic  ; 
his  prophecies  foretell  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and 
such  a  destruction  of  its  famous  Temple,  that  not  a 
stone  is  to  be  left  on  a  stone.  The  doctors  of  the  Law 
should,  at  least,  reflect  upon  what  they  hear  ;  they 
should  examine  these  wonderful  works,  which  render 


PASSION   WEEK.  103 

suoh  strong  testimony  in  favour  of  the  Son  of  David, 
and  they  should  consult  those  divine  prophecies 
which,  up  to  the  present  time,  have  been  so  literally 
fulfilled  in  his  person.  Alas !  they  themselves  are 
about  to  carry  them  out  to  the  very  last  iota.  There 
is  not  a  single  outrage  or  suffering  foretold  by  David 
and  Isaias,  as  having  to  be  put  upon  the  Messias, 
which  these  blind  men  are  not  scheming  to  verify. 

In  them,  therefore,    was  fulfilled  that  terrible  say- 
ing :     He  that  shall  speak  against  the  Holy  Ghost,   it 
shall   not  be  forgiven  him,    neither  in  this  world,   nor 
in  the  world  to  aome.1     The  Synagogue  is  nigh  to  a 
curse.     Obstinate  in  her  error,   she  refuses  to  see  or 
to    hear  ;  she   has  deliberately   perverted  her   judg- 
ment :  she  has  extinguished  within  herself  the  light 
of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  she   will   go  deeper  and   deeper 
into  evil,  and  at  length  fall  into  the  abyss.     This 
same  lamentable  conduct  is  but  too  often  witnessed 
now-a-days,  in  those  sinners,  who,  by  habitual  resis- 
tance to  the  light,  end  by  finding  their  happiness  in 
sin.     Neither  should  it  surprise  us,  that  we  find  in 
people  of  our  own  generation  a  resemblance  to  the 
murderers  of  our  Jesus :    the  history  of  his  Passion 
will  reveal  to  us  many  sad    secrets  of  the  human 
heart  and  its  perverse  inclinations ;    for  what  hap- 
pened in  Jerusalem,  happens  also  in  every  sinner's 
heart.     His  heart,  according  to   the  saying  of  St. 
Paul,  is  a  Calvary,  where  Jesus  is  crucified.     There 
is  the  same  ingratitude,  the  same  blindness,  the  same 
wild  madness,  with  this  difference, — that  the  sinner 
who  is  enlightened  by  faith,  knows  Him  whom  he 
crucifies ;    whereas  the  Jews,  as  the  same  Apostle 
tells  us,  knew  not  the  Lord  of  Grlory.2     Whilst,  there- 
fore,  we   listen   to   the   Grospel,   which   relates   the 
history  of  the  Passion,  let  us  turn  the  indignation 
we   feel   for   the   Jews    against   ourselves  and   our 

1  St.  Matth.  xii.  32.  2  1  Cor.  ii.  8. 


104  PASSION    WEEK. 

own  sins :    let  us  weep  over  the  sufferings  of   our 
Victim,  for  our  sins  caused  him  to  suffer  and  die. 

Everything  around  us  urges  us  to  mourn.  The 
images  of  the  Saints,  the  very  crucifix  on  our  Altar, 
are  veiled  from  our  sight.  The  Church  is  oppressed 
with  grief.  During  the  first  four  weeks  of  Lent,  she 
compassionated  her  Jesus  fasting  in  the  desert ;  his 
coming  Sufferings  and  Crucifixion  and  Death  are 
what  now  fill  her  with  anguish.  We  read  in  to-day's 
Gospel,  that  the  Jews  threaten  to  stone  the  Son  of 
Grod  as  a  blasphemer  :  but  his  hour  is  not  yet  come. 
He  is  obliged  to  flee  and  hide  himself.  It  is  to  ex- 
press this  deep  humiliation,  that  the  Church  veils  the 
Cross.  A  Grod  hiding  himself,  that  he  may  evade 
the  anger  of  men, — what  a  mystery  !  Is  it  weak- 
ness ?  Is  it,  that  he  fears  death  ?  No, — we  shall 
soon  see  him  going  out  to  meet  his  enemies  :  but,  at 
present,  he  hides  himself  from  them,  because  all  that 
had  been  prophesied  regarding  him  has  not  been 
fulfilled.  Besides,  his  death  is  not  to  be  by  stoning ; 
he  is  to  die  upon  a  Cross,  the  tree  of  malediction,  which, 
from  that  time  forward,  is  to  be  the  Tree  of  Life. 
Let  us  humble  ourselves,  as  we  see  the  Creator  of 
heaven  and  earth  thus  obliged  to  hide  himself  from 
men,  who  are  bent  on  his  destruction  !  Let  us  go 
back,  in  thought,  to  the  sad  day  of  the  first  sin, 
when  Adam  and  Eve  hid  themselves  because  a  guilty 
conscience  told  them  they  were  naked.  Jesus  is 
come  to  assure  us  of  our  being  pardoned  !  and  lo  ! 
he  hides  himself,  not  because  he  is  naked, — He  that 
is  to  the  Saints  the  garb  of  holiness  and  immortality, 
— but  because  he  made  himself  weak,  that  he  might 
make  us  strong.  Our  first  parents  sought  to  hide 
themselves  from  the  sight  of  Grod ;  Jesus  hides  him- 
self from  the  eye  of  men  ;  but  it  will  not  be  thus  for 
ever.  The  day  will  come,  when  sinners,  from  whose 
auger  he  now  flees,  will  pray  to  the  mountains  that  they 
fall  on  them  to  shield  them  from  his  gaze  ;   but  their 


PASSION    SUNDAY.  105 

prayer  will  not  be  granted,  and  they  shall  see  the  Son 
of  man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  with  much 
power  and  majesty} 

This  Sunday  is  called  Passion  Sunday,  because 
the  Church  begins,  on  this  day,  to  make  the  suffer- 
ings of  our  Redeemer  her  chief  thought.  It  is  called 
also,  Judica,  from  the  first  word  of  the  Introit  of  the 
Mass ;  and  again,  Neomania,  that  is,  the  Sunday  of 
the  new  (or,  the  Easter)  moon,  because  it  always 
falls  after  the  new  moon  which  regulates  the  Feast 
of  Easter  Day. 

In  the  Greek  Church,  this  Sunday  goes  under  the 
simple  name  of  the  Fifth  Sunday  of  the  Holy 
Fasts. 


MASS. 


At  Rome,  the  Station  is  in  the  Basilica  of  St. 
Peter.  The  importance  of  this  Sunday,  which  never 
gives  way  to  any  Feast,  no  matter  what  its  solemnity 
may  be,  required  that  the  place  for  the  assembly  of 
the  Faithful  should  be  in  one  of  the  chief  Sanctuaries 
of  the  Holy  City. 

The  Introit  is  taken  from  the  first  verses  of  the  42nd 
Psalm.  The  Messias  appeals  to  Grod's  tribunal,  and 
protests  against  the  sentence  about  to  be  pronounced 
against  him  by  men.  He  likewise  expresses  his  con- 
fidence in  his  Father's  help,  who,  after  his  Sufferings 
and  Death,  will  lead  him  in  triumph  into  the  Holy 
Mount. 

INTROIT. 

Judge  me,  0  God,  and  dis-  Judica  me,  Deus,  et  dis- 
tinguish my  cause  from  the  cerne  causam  meam  de 
nation  that  is  not  holy  ;  de-     gente  non  sancta  :     ab    ho- 

1  St.  Matth.  xxiv.  30. 


106 


PASSION    WEEK. 


mine  iniquo  et  doloso  eripe 
me :  quia  tu  es  Deus  meus, 
et  fortitudo  mea. 

Ps.  Emitte  lucem  tuam  et 
veritatem  tuam  :  ipsa  me  de- 
duxerunt  et  adduxerunt  in 
montem  sanctum  tuum,  et 
in  tabernacula  tua.  Judica 
me. 


liver  me  from  the  unjust  and 
deceitful  man  ;  for  thou  art 
my  God  and  my  strength. 

Ps.  Send  forth  thy  light 
and  thy  truth ;  for  they  have 
conducted  me,  and  brought 
me  to  thy  holy  mount,  and 
into  thy  tabernacles.  Judge 
me,  &c. 


The  Gloria  Patri  is  not  said  during  Passiontide 
and  Holy  Week,  (unless  a  Saint's  Feast  be  kept,) 
but  the  Introit  is  repeated  immediately  after  the 
Psalm. 

In  the  Collect,  the  Church  prays  that  there  may 
be  produced,  in  her  children,  that  total  reformation, 
which  the  holy  Season  of  Lent  is  intended  to  pro- 
duce. This  reformation  is  such,  that  it  will  not  only 
subject  the  body  to  the  spirit,  but  preserve  also  the 
spirit  itself  from  those  delusions  and  passions,  to 
which  it  has  been,  hitherto,  more  or  less  a  slave. 

COLLECT. 


Quaesumus,  omnipotens 
Deus,  familiam  tuam  pro- 
pitius  respice :  ut,  te  lar- 
giente,  regatur  in  corpore, 
et,  te  servante,  custodiatur 
in  mente.  Per  Dominum. 


Mercifully  look  down  on 
thy  people,  we  beseech  thee, 
O  Almighty  God,  that  by  thy 
bounty  and  protection,  they 
may  be  governed  and  guard- 
ed both  in  body  and  soul. 
Through,  &c. 


Then  is  added  one  of  the  following  Prayers  : 


AGAINST   THE    PERSECUTORS    OF    THE    CHURCH. 


Ecclesise  tuse,  quaesu- 
mus, Domine,  preces,  pla- 
catus  admitte :  ut,  destruc- 
tis  adversitatibus  et  er- 
roribus  universis,  secura' 
tibi  serviat  libertate.  Per 
Dominum. 


Mercifully  hear,  we  beseech 
thee,  0  Lord,  the  prayers  of 
thy  Church :  that,  all  opposi- 
tions and  errors  being  re- 
*  moved,  she  may  serve  thee 
with  a  secure  liberty. 
Through,  &c. 


PASSION   SUNDAY. 


107 


FOR   THE    POPE. 


0  God,  the  Pastor  and 
Ruler  of  all  the  Faithful,  look 
down,  in  thy  mercy,  on  thy 
servant  N. ,  whom  thou  hast 
appointed  Pastor  over  thy 
Church  ;  and  grant  we  be- 
seech thee,  that  both  by  word 
and  example,  he  may  edify  all 
those  that  are  under  his 
charge  :  and,  with  the  flock 
intrusted  to  him,  arrive  at 
length  at  eternal  happiness. 
Through,  &c. 


Deus,  omnium  fidelium 
Pastor  et  Rector,  famulum 
tuum  N-,  quern  Pastorem 
Ecclesise  tuae  praeesse  vo- 
luisti,  propitius  respice  : 
da  ei,  quaesumus,  verbo 
et  exemplo,  quibus  prae- 
est,  proficere  ;  ut  ad  vitam, 
una  cum  grege  sibi  credi- 
to,  perveniat  sempiternam. 
Per  Dominum. 


EPISTLE. 

Lesson  of  the  Epistle  of  St.     Lectio  Epistolae  beati  Pauli 
Paul  the  Apostle  to     the  Apostoli  ad  Hebraeos. 

Hebrews. 


Ch.  IX. 

Brethren :  Christ  being 
come,  an  High  Priest  of  the 
good  things  to  come,  by  a 
greater  and  more  perfect 
tabernacle  not  made  with 
hands,  that  is,  not  of  this 
creation,  neither  by  the  blood 
of  goats  or  of  calves,  but 
by  his  own  Blood,  entered 
once  into  the  Holies,  having 
obtained  eternal  redemption. 
For,  if  the  blood  of  goats 
and  of  oxen,  and  the  ashes 
of  an  heifer  being  sprinkled, 
sanctify  such  as  are  defiled, 
to  the  cleansing  of  the  flesh  ; 
how  much  more  shall  the 
Blood  of  Christ  (who  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  offered  himself 
unspotted  unto  God),  cleanse 
our  conscience  from  dead 
works  to  serve  the  living 
God  ?    And  therefore,   he  is 


Cap.  IX. 

Fratres  :  Christus  assis- 
tens  Pontifex  futurorum 
bonorum,  per  amplius  et 
perfectius  tabernaculum 

non  manufactum,  id  est, 
non  hujus  creationis  :  ne- 
que  per  sanguinem  hirco- 
rum  aut  vitulorum,  sed 
per  proprium  Sanguinem 
introivit  semel  in  Sancta, 
aeterna  redemptione  inven- 
ta.  Si  enim  sanguis  hir- 
corum  et  taurorum,  et  cinis 
vitulae  aspersus  inquinatos 
sanctificat  ad  emundatio- 
nem  carnis :  quanto  magis 
Sanguis  Christi,  qui  per 
Spiritum  Sanctum  semet- 
ipsum  obtulit  immacula- 
tum  Deo,  emundabit  con- 
scientiam  nostram  ab  operi- 
bus  mortuis,  ad  servien- 
dum  Deo    viventi  P    Et  ideo 


108  PASSION    WEEK. 

novi    Testamenti      mediator  the  mediator    of     the    New 

est :    ut  morte  intercedente,  Testament  ;    that  by  means 

in       redemptionem       earum  of  his  death,  for  the  redemp- 

prsevaricationum,   quae  erant  tion  of  those   transgressions 

sub   priori    Testamento,    re-  which  were  under  the  former 

promissionem   accipiant,    qui  testament,  they  that  are  called 

vocati   sunt,     seternse  hsere-  may  receive  the  promise  of 

ditatis :     in      Christo      Jesu  eternal  inheritance. 
Domino  nostro. 

It  is  by  Blood  alone  that  man  is  to  be  redeemed. 
He  has  offended  God.     This  God  cannot  be  appeased 
by  anything  short  of  the  extermination  of  his  rebel- 
lious creature,  who,  by  shedding  his  blood,  will  give 
an  earnest  of  his  repentance  and  his  entire  submis- 
sion to  the  Creator,  against  whom  he  dared  to  rebel. 
Otherwise,  the  justice  of  God  must  be   satisfied   by 
the  sinner's    suffering    eternal    punishment.     This 
truth  was  understood  by  all  the  people  of  the  ancient 
world,  and  all  confessed  it  by  shedding  the  blood  of 
victims,  as  in  the  sacrifices  of  Abel,  at  the  very  com- 
mencement  of    the   world ;    in    the    hecatombs   of 
Greece  ;  in  the  countless  immolations  whereby  So- 
lomon   dedicated  the  Temple.     And  yet  God  thus 
speaks  to   his   people :    Hear,    0  my  people,   and  I 
will  speak  :    0  Israel,   and  I  will  testify   to   thee :  I 
am    God  thy  God.     I  will  not  reprove  thee  for  thy 
sacrifices,   and  thy   burnt-offerings  are  always  in  my 
sight.     I  will  not  take  calves  out  of  thy  house,  nor  he- 
goats   out   of  thy  flocks.     I  need  them  not :  for   all 
the   beasts   of  the   ivoods  are   mine.      If  I  should  be 
hungry,  I  would  not  tell  thee ;  for  the  world  is  mine, 
and  the  fulness  thereof.     Shall  I  eat  the  flesh  of  bul- 
locks? or   shall  I  drink  the   blood  of  goats?1    Thus, 
God  commands  the  blood  of  victims  to  be  offered  to 
him,  and,  at  the  same  time,  declares  that  neither  it 
nor  they  are  precious  in  his  sight.     Is  this  a  contra- 

1  Ps.  xlix.  7-13. 


PASSION    SUNDAY.  109 

diction  ?  No  :  God  would  hereby  have  man  under- 
stand, that  it  is  only  by  Blood  that  he  can  be 
redeemed,  but  that  the  blood  of  brute  animals  cannot 
effect  this  redemption.  Can  the  blood  of  man  him- 
self bring  him  his  own  redemption,  and  appease  God's 
justice  ?  No,  not  even  man's  blood,  for  it  is  denied  ; 
and  even  were  it  undefiled,  it  is  powerless  to  com- 
pensate for  the  outrage  done  to  God  by  sin.  For 
this,  there  was  needed  the  Blood  of  a  God  ;  that  was 
the  Blood  of  Jesus,  and  he  has  come  that  he  may 
shed  it  for  our  redemption. 

In  him  is  fulfilled  the  most  sacred  of  the  figures  of 
the  Old  Law.  Once  each  year,  the  High- Priest  en- 
tered into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  there  to  make  interces- 
sion for  the  people.  He  went  within  the  Yeil,  even  to 
the  Ark  of  the  Covenant ;  but  he  was  not  allowed  to 
enjoy  this  great  privilege,  unless  he  entered  the  holy 
place  carrying  in  his  hands  the  blood  of  a  newly- 
offered  victim.  The  Son  of  God,  the  true  High- 
Priest,  is  now  about  to  enter  heaven,  and  we  are  to 
follow  him  thither ;  but  unto  this,  he  must  have  an 
offering  of  blood,  and  that  Blood  can  be  none  other 
than  his  own.  We  are  going  to  assist  at  this  his 
compliance  with  the  divine  ordinance.  Let  us  open 
our  hearts,  that  this  precious  Blood  may,  as  the 
Apostle  says  in  to-day's  Epistle,  cleanse  our  conscience 
from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God. 

The  Gradual  is  taken  from  the  Psalms.  Our 
Saviour  here  prays  to  be  delivered  from  his  enemies, 
and  protected  from  the  rage  of  them  that  have  risen 
up  against  him  ;  yet,  is  he  ready  to  do  the  will  of  his 
Father,  by  whom  he  will  be  avenged. 

In  the  Tract,  which  is  also  taken  from  the  Psalms, 
the  Messias,  under  the  name  of  Israel,  complains  of 
the  persecution  he  has  met  from  the  Jews,  even  from 
his  youth.  They  are  now  about  to  scourge  him  in  a 
most  cruel  manner.  But  he  also  foretells  the  punish- 
ment their  deicide  is  to  bring  upon  them. 


110 


PASSION    WEEK. 


GRADUAL. 


Eripe  me,  Domine,  de  ini- 
micis  meis  :  doce  me  facere 
voluntatem  tuam. 

y.  Liberator  meus,  Do- 
mine, de  gentibus  iracundis : 
ab  insurgentibus  in  me  exal- 
tabis  me  :  a  viro  iniquo  eri- 
pies  me. 


Deliver  me,  0  Lord,  from 
my  enemies  ;  teach  me  to  do 
thy  will. 

f.  Thou,  0  Lord,  art  my 
deliverer  from  the  enraged 
Gentiles :  thou  wilt  put  me 
out  of  the  reach  of  those  that 
assault  me ;  and  thou  wilt 
rescue  me  from  the  unright- 
eous man. 


TRACT. 


Ssepe  expugnaverunt  me  a 
juventute  mea. 

y.  Dicat  nunc  Israel : 
Ssepe  expugnaverunt  me  a 
juventute  mea. 

y.  Etenim  non  potuerunt 
mihi :  supra  dorsum  meum 
fabricaverunt  peccatores. 

y.  Prolongaverunt  iniqui- 
tates  suas  :  Dominus  Justus 
concidet  cervices  peccato- 
rum. 


Many  a  time  have  they 
fought  against  me  from  my 
youth. 

y.  Let  Israel  now  say  : 
They  have  often  attacked  me 
from  my  youth. 

y .  But  they  could  not  pre- 
vail over  me  :  the  wicked  have 
wrought  upon  my  back. 

y .  They  have  lengthened 
their  iniquity  :  the  Lord  who 
is  just,  will  cut  the  necks  of 
sinners. 


GOSPEL. 


Sequentia  sancti  Evangelii 
secundum   Joannem. 
Cap.     VIII. 

In  illo  tempore  :  Dicebat 
Jesus  turbis  Judseorum  : 
Quis  ex  vobis  arguet  me  de 
peccato  ?  Si  veritatem  dico 
vobis,  quare  non  creditis 
mihi  ?  Qui  ex  Deo  est,  verba 
Dei  audit.  Propterea  vos 
non  auditis,  quia  ex  Deo 
non  estis.  Eesponderunt 
ergo  Judsei,   et  dixerunt  ei : 


Sequel  of  the  Holy  Gospel, 
according  to  John. 
Ch.    VIII. 

At  that  time  :  Jesus  said  to 
the  multitude  of  the  Jews : 
Which  of  you  shall  convince 
me  of  sin  ?  If  I  say  the  truth 
to  you,  why  do  you  not  believe 
me?  He  that  is  of  God,  hear- 
eth  the  words  of  God,  There- 
fore, you  hear  them  not,  be- 
cause you  are  not  of  God.  The 
Jews,  therefore,  answered  and 


PASSION   SUNDAY. 


Ill 


said  to  him :  Do  not  we  say 
well  that  thou  art  a  Samari- 
tan, and  hast  a  devil  ?  Jesus 
answered  :  I  have  not  a  devil ; 
but  I  honour  my  Father,  and 
you  have  dishonoured  me. 
But  I  seek  not  my  own  glory  : 
there  is  one  that  seeketh  and 
judgeth.  Amen,  amen,  I  say 
to  you  :  If  any  man  keep  my 
word,  he  shall  not  see  death 
for  ever.  The  Jews  therefore 
said :  Now  we  know  that  thou 
hast  a  devil.  Abraham  is  dead, 
and  the  prophets :  and  thou 
sayest :  If  any  man  keep  my 
word,  he  shall  not  taste  death 
for  ever.  Art  thou  greater 
than  our  Father  Abraham, 
who.  is  dead  ?  And  the  pro- 
phets are  dead.  Whom  dost 
thou  make  thyself  ?  Jesus 
answered :  If  I  glorify  myself 
my  glory  is  nothing.  It  is  my 
Father  that  glorifieth  me,  of 
whom  you  say  that  he  is  your 
God;  and  you  have  not  known 
him,  but  I  know  him.  And 
if  I  should  say  that  I  know 
him.  not,  I  should  be  like  to 
you,  a  liar.  But  I  do  know 
him,  and  do  keep  his  word. 
Abraham  your  father  rejoiced 
that  he  might  see  my  day :  he 
saw  it,  and  was  glad.  The 
Jews  then  said  to  him  :  Thou 
art  not  yet  fifty  years  old, 
and  hast  thou  seen  Abraham  ? 
Jesus  said  to  them  :  Amen, 
amen,  I  say  unto  you,  before 
Abraham  was  made,  I  am. 
They  took  up  stones  therefore 
to  cast  at  him.  But  Jesus 
hid  himself,  and  went  out  of 
the  temple. 


Nonne  bene  dicimus  nos 
quia  Samaritanus  es  tu,  et 
daemonium  habes  ?  Kespon- 
dit  Jesus  :  Ego  daemonium 
non  habeo :  sed  honorifico 
Patrem  meum,  et  vos  in- 
honorastis  me.  Ego  autem 
non  quaero  gloriam  meam  : 
est  qui  quserat  et  judicet. 
Amen,  amen  dico  vobis  :  Si 
quis  sermonem  meum  ser- 
vaverit,  mortem  non  vide- 
bit  in  aeternum.  Dixerunt 
ergo  Judaei  :  Nunc  cogno- 
vimus  quia  dsemonium  ha- 
bes. Abraham  mortuus  est, 
et  Prophetae  :  et  tu  dicis  : 
Si  quis  sermonem  meum 
servaverit,  non  gustabit 
mortem  in  aeternum.  Num- 
quid  tu  major  es  patre  nos- 
tro  Abraham,  qui  mortuus 
est  ?  et  Prophetae  mortui 
sunt.  Quern  teipsum  facis  ? 
Eespondit  Jesus :  Si  ego 
glorifico  meipsum,  gloria 
mea  nihil  est :  est  Pater 
meus,  qui  glorificat  me, 
quern  vos  dicitis  quia  Deus 
vester  est,  et  non  cogno- 
vistis  eum ;  ego  autem  novi 
eum :  et  si  dixero  quia  non 
scio  eum,  ero  similis  vobis 
mendax.  Sed  scio  eum,  et 
sermonem  ejus  servo.  Abra- 
ham pater  vester  exsultavit 
ut  videret  diem  meum :  vidit, 
et  gavisus  est.  Dixerunt  ergo 
Judaei  ad  eum :  Quinquaginta 
annos  nondum  habes,  et  Abra- 
ham vidisti  ?  Dixit  eis  Jesus  : 
Amen,  amen,  dico  vobis, 
antequam  Abraham  fieret, 
ego  sum.  Tulerunt  ergo 
lapides  ut  jacerent  in  eum  : 
Jesus  autem  abscondit  se, 
et  exivit  de  templo. 


112  PASSION     WEEK. 

The  fury  of  the  Jews  is  evidently  at  its  height,  and 
Jesus  is  obliged  to  hide  himself  from  them.  But  he 
is  to  fall  into  their  hands  before  many  days  are 
over  ;  then  will  they  triumph  and  put  him  to  death. 
They  triumph,  and  Jesus  is  their  victim  :  but  how 
different  is  to  be  his  lot  from  theirs  !  In  obedience 
to  the  decrees  of  his  heavenly  Father,  and  out  of 
love  for  men,  he  will  deliver  himself  into  the  hands 
of  his  enemies,  and  they  will  put  him  to  death  ;  but 
he  will  rise  victorious  from  the  tomb,  he  will  ascend 
into  heaven,  he  will  be  throned  on  the  right  hand  of 
his  Father.  His  enemies  on  the  contrary,  after 
having  vented  all  their  rage,  will  live  on  without 
remorse,  until  the  terrible  day  come  for  their  chas- 
tisement. That  day  is  not  far  off,  for  observe  the 
severity  wherewith  our  Lord  speaks  to  them  :  You 
hear  not  the  words  of  God,  because  you  are  not  of 
God.  Yet  there  was  a  time,  when  they  were  of  God, 
for  the  Lord  gives  his  grace  to  all  men ;  but  they 
have  rendered  this  grace  useless ;  they  are  now  in 
darkness,  and  the  light  they  have  rejected  will  not 
return. 

You  say  that  my  Father  is  your  God,  and  you 
have  not  known  him;  but  I  know  him.  Their 
obstinacy  in  refusing  to  acknowledge  Jesus  as  the 
Messias,  has  led  these  men  to  ignore  that  very  Grod, 
whom  they  boast  of  honouring  ;  for  if  they  knew  the 
Father,  they  would  not  reject  his  Son.  Moses,  and 
the  Psalms,  and  the  Prophets,  are  all  a  dead  letter  to 
them  ;  these  sacred  Books  are  soon  to  pass  into  the 
hands  of  the  Gentiles,  who  will  both  read  and  under- 
stand them.  If  continues  Jesus,  /  should  say  that 
I  know  him  not,  I  should  be  like  to  you,  a  liar. 
This  strong  language  is  that  of  the  angry  Judge  who 
is  to  come  down,  at  the  last  day,  to  destroy  sinners. 
Jerusalem  has  not  known  the  time  of  her  visitation  : 
the  Son  of  Grod  has  visited  her,  he  is  with  her,  and 
she  dares  to  say  to  him  :  Thou  hast  a  devil !     She 


PASSION    SUNDAY.  113 

says  to  the  Eternal  Word,  who  proves  himself  to  be 
God  by  the  most  astounding  miracles,  that  Abraham 
and  the  Prophets  are  greater  than  He !  Strange 
blindness,  that  comes  from  pride  and  hardness  of 
heart !  The  Feast  of  the  Pasch  is  at  hand :  these 
men  are  going  to  eat,  and  with  much  parade  of 
religion,  the  flesh  of  the  figurative  lamb  ;  they  know 
full  well,  that  this  lamb  is  a  symbol,  or  a  figure, 
which  is  to  have  its  fulfilment.  The  true  Lamb  is  to 
be  sacrificed  by  their  hands,  and  they  will  not  know 
him.  He  will  shed  his  Blood  for  them,  and  it  will 
not  save  them.  How  this  reminds  us  of  those  sin- 
ners, for  whom  this  Easter  promises  to  be  as  fruitless 
as  those  of  the  past  years  !  Let  us  redouble  our 
prayers  for  them,  and  beseech  our  Lord  to  soften 
their  hearts,  lest  trampling  the  Blood  of  Jesus  under 
their  feet,  they  should  have  it  to  cry  vengeance 
against  them  before  the  throne  of  the  heavenly 
Father. 

At  the  Offertory,  confiding  in  the  merits  of  the 
Blood  that  has  redeemed  us,  let  us,  in  the  words  of 
the  Psalm,  give  praise  to  God,  and  proclaim  him  to 
be  the  author  of  that  New  Life,  of  which  the  sacrifice 
of  the  Lamb  is  the  never-failing  source. 

OFFERTORY. 

I  will  praise  thee,  0  Lord,         Confitebor    tibi,    Domine, 

with,  my  whole  heart :  reward  in  toto  corde   meo  :   retribue 

thy  servant  :  I  shall  live,  and  servo   tuo  ;   vivam,  et  custo- 

keep  thy  commandments:  save  diam    sermones    tuos  :   vivi- 

me  according  to  thy  word,  O  fica  me    secundum    verbum 

Lord.  tuum,  Domine. 

The  Sacrifice  of  the  spotless  Lamb  has  produced 
two  effects  upon  the  sinner  :  it  has  broken  his  fetters, 
and  has  made  him  the  object  of  God's  love.  The 
Church  prays,  in  the  Secret,  that  the  Sacrifice  she  is 
about  to  offer,  and  which  is  one  with  that  of  the 
Cross,  may  work  these  same  results  in  us. 


114 


PASSION   "WEEK. 


SECRETS. 


Haec  munera,  quaesumus, 
Domine,  et  vinoula  nostras 
pravitatis  absolvant,  et  tuse 
nobis  misericordiae  dona 
concilient.     Per  Dominum. 


May  these  offerings,  0 
Lord,  both  loosen  the  bonds 
of  our  wickedness,  and  obtain 
for  us  the  gifts  of  thy  mercy. 
Through,  &c. 


AGAINST   THE    PERSECUTORS    OF    THE    CHURCH. 


Protege  nos,  Domine, 
tuis  mysteriis  servientes : 
ut  divinis  rebus  inhaeren- 
tes,  et  corpore  tibi  famule- 
mur  et  mente.  Per  Domi- 
num. 


Protect  us,  O  Lord,  while 
we  assist  at  thy  sacred  mys- 
teries :  that  being  employed 
in  acts  of  religion,  we  may 
serve  thee  both  in  body  and 
mind.     Through,  &c. 


FOR   THE    POPE. 


Oblatis,  quaesumus,  Do- 
mine, placare  muneribus : 
et  famulum  tuum  N.  quern 
Pastorem  Ecclesiae  tuae 
praeesse  voluisti,  assidua 
protectione  guberna.  Per 
Dominum. 


Be  appeased,  0  Lord,  with 
the  offering  we  have  made : 
and  cease  not  to  protect  thy 
servant  N. ,  whom  thou  hast 
been  pleased  to  appoint 
Pastor  over  thy  Church. 
Through,  &c. 


The  Communion-Antiphon  is  formed  out  of  the 
very  words  spoken  by  Jesus,  when  instituting  the 
august  Sacrifice  that  has  just  been  celebrated,  and 
of  which  the  Priest  and  people  have  partaken,  in 
memory  of  the  Passion,  for  it  renews  both  the 
remembrance  and  the  merits  of  the  Passion. 


COMMUNION. 


Hoc  corpus,  quod  pro 
vobis  tradetur :  hie  calix 
novi  testamenti  est  in  meo 
sanguine,  dicit  Dominus : 
hoc  facite,  quotiescumque 
sumitis  in  meam  comme- 
morationem. 


This  is  the  body  which  shall 
be  delivered  up  for  you  ;  this 
is  the  cup  of  the  new  covenant 
in  my  blood,  saith  the  Lord. 
As  often  as  you  receive  them, 
do  it  in  remembrance  of  me. 


PASSION     SUNDAY. 


115 


In  the  Postcommunion,  the  Church  prays  to  Q-od, 
that  he  would  maintain  in  the  Faithful  the  fruits  of 
the  visit  he  has  so  graciously  paid  them,  for,  by  their 
participation  in  the  Sacred  Mysteries,  he  has  entered 
into  them. 


POSTCOMMUNIONS. 


Help  us,  0  Lord  our  God, 
and  for  ever  protect  those 
whom  thou  hast  refreshed 
with  thy  sacred  mysteries. 
Through,  &c. 


Adesto  nobis,  Domine 
Deus  noster :  et,  quos  tuis 
mysteriis  recreasti,  perpe- 
tuis  defende  subsidiis.  Per 
Dominum. 


AGAINST    THE    PERSECUTORS     OF    THE    CHURCH. 


We  beseech  thee,  0  Lord 
our  God,  not  to  leave  exposed 
to  the  dangers  of  human  life, 
those  whom  thou  hast  per- 
mitted to  partake  of  these 
divine  mysteries.  Through, 
&c. 


Qusesumus,  Domine  Deus 
noster  :  ut  quos  divina  tri- 
buis  participatione  gaudere, 
humanis  non  sinas  subjacere 
periculis.     Per  Dominum. 


FOR    THE    POPE. 


May  the  participation  of 
this  divine  Sacrament  protect 
us,  we  beseech  thee,  0  Lord  ; 
and  always  procure  safety  and 
defence  to  thy  servant  N. , 
whom  thou  hast  appointed 
Pastor  over  thy  Church,  to- 
gether with  the  flock  com- 
mitted to  his  charge. 
Through,  &c. 


Hsec  nos  quaesumus,  Do- 
mine, divini  Sacramenti 
perceptio  protegat :  et  fa- 
mulum  tuum  N.  quern  Pas- 
torem  Ecclesise  tuse  prse- 
esse  voluisti,  una  cum  com- 
misso  sibi  grege  salvet  sem- 
per et  muniat.  Per  Domi- 
num. 


116 


PASSION    WEEK. 


VESPERS. 

The  Psalms  and  Antiphons  are  given  in  page  80. 


CAPITULUM. 


(Heb.  IX.) 


Fratres :  Christus  assis- 
tens  Pontifex  futurorum 
bonorum,  per  amplius  et 
perfectius  tabernaculum 

non  manuf  actum,  id  est, 
non  hujus  creationis,  neque 
per  sanguinem  hircorum, 
aut  vitulorum,  sed  per  pro- 
prium  sanguinem,  introivit 
semel  in  Sancta,  seterna  re- 
demptione  inventa. 


Brethren :  Christ  being 
come  an  High  Priest  of  the 
good  things  to  come,  by  a 
greater  and  more  perfect  tab- 
ernacle not  made  with  hands, 
that  is,  not  of  this  creation, 
neither  by  the  blood  of  goats 
or  of  calves,  but  by  his  own 
Blood,  entered  once  into  the 
Holies,  having  obtained  eter- 
nal redemption. 


For  the  Hymn  and  Versicle,  see  page  87. 

antiphon  of  the  Magnificat. 

Abraham  pater  vester  ex-  Abraham  your  father  re- 
sultavit  ut  videret  diem  joiced  that  he  might  see  my 
meum  :  vidit  et  gavisus  est.        day  :  he  saw  it,  and  was  glad . 


OREMT7S. 

Qusesumus,  omnipotens 
Deus,  familiam  tuam  pro- 
pitius  respice :  ut,  te  lar- 
giente,  regatur  in  corpore, 
et,  te  servante,  custodiatur 
in  mente.     Per  Dominum. 


let  us  pray. 

Mercifully  look  down  on 
thy  people,  we  beseech  thee, 
0  Almighty  God,  that  by  thy 
bounty  and  protection,  they 
may  be  governed  and  guarded 
both  in  body  and  soul. 
Through,  &c. 


The   following   appropriate   Prayer    is   from   the 
Mozarabic  Breviary. 


PASSION    SUNDAY. 


117 


CAPITULUM. 


The  course  of  the  year  has 
brought  us  to  the  time  for  cel- 
ebrating, with  devout  hearts 
and  offices,  the  Feast  of  thy 
Passion,  O  Jesus,  Son  of  God ! 
wherein,  for  our  sakes,  thou 
didst  suffer  the  calumnies  of 
thine  enemies,  and  wast  cru- 
cified by  the  wounds  of  them 
that  betrayed  thee.  We  pray 
and  beseech  thee,  that  thou 
depart  not  from  us  ;  and 
whereas  tribulation  is  nigh  at 
hand,  and  there  is  none  to 
help  us,  do  thou,  by  the  help 
of  thy  Passion,  become  our 
sole  protector.  Deliver  us 
not,  therefore,  into  the  hands 
of  our  enemies  unto  evil,  but 
receive  us,  as  thy  servants, 
unto  good ;  that  the  haughty 
ones  who  calumniate  us, 
namely  the  enemies  of  our 
souls,  may  be  repelled  by  the 
might  of  thy  power.  Thou, 
by  the  human  nature  thou 
hast  assumed,  art  the  lamp 
set  on  the  stand  of  the  Cross  : 
we  beseech  thee,  therefore, 
that  thou  enkindle  us  by  thy 
flame,  lest  we  beome  a  prey 
to  punishment.  Behold  us 
now  entering,  with  devout 
hearts,  upon  the  feast  of  thy 
Passion  ;  oh  !  grant  that  we 
partake  of  the  merits  of  thy 
Passion  :  that  thus,  being  de- 
livered from  the  error  of  our 
darkness,  we  may  be  fortified 
by  the  help  of  thy  Light. 

That  we  may  the  better  honour  the  holy  Cross, 
we  give,  for  each  day  of  this  week,  an  appropriate 
Hymn   from  one   or  other   of  the   various   ancient 


Passionis  tuse  festum, 
Christe  Dei  Filius,  devotis 
cordium  ofiiciis,  recursu 
temporis  inchoantes,  quo 
pro  nobis  et  linguas  fuisti 
persequentium  passus,  et 
tradentium  te  vulneribus 
crucifixus ;  rogamus  atque 
exposcimus  ne  te  elonges 
a  nobis :  ut  quia  proxi- 
mante  tribulatione,  non  est 
qui  adjuvet ;  tu  solus  Pas- 
sionis tuse  nos  subleves 
ope :  ne  tradas  ergo  nos 
inimicis  nostris  in  malum, 
sed  excipe  servos  tuos  in 
bonum :  ut  nos  calumnian- 
tes  superbi,  inimici  scilicet 
animarum  nostrarum,  vir- 
tutis  tuse  potentia  propel- 
lantur ;  tu  es  enim  divina 
lucerna  per  humanitatem 
super  candalabrum  crucis 
imposita ;  ideo  te  rogamus, 
ut  nos  accendas,  ne  venia- 
mus  in  pcenam.  Quos  ergo 
perspicis  initiatum  Passio- 
nis tuse  festum  devotis  cor- 
dibus  excepisse,  facito  eos 
Passioni  tuse  communicare  : 
ut  tenebrarum  nostrarum 
errore  discusso,  lucis  tuse 
muniamur  prsesidio. 


118 


PASSION    WEEK. 


Liturgies.  The  one  we  have  selected  for  to-day  is 
the  composition  of  St.  Venantius  Fortunatus,  Bishop 
of  Poitiers. 


HYMN. 


Crux  benedicta  nitet,  Do- 
minus    qua     carne    pe- 
pendit. 
Atque    cruore    suo    vulnera 
nostra  lavat. 
Mitis  amore  pio  pro  nobis 
victima  f actus, 
Traxit  ab  ore  lupi  qua  sacer 
Agnus  oves. 

Transfixis       palmis       ubi 
mundum   a    clade  rede- 
mit, 
Atque     suo     clausit     funere 
mortis  iter. 
Hie  manus  ilia  fuit  clavis 
confixa  cruentis, 
Quae     eripuit    Paulum    cri- 
mine,  morte  Petrum. 
Fertilitate  potens,  o  dulce 
et  nobile  lignum, 
Quando  tuis  ramis  tarn  nova 
poma  geris. 
Cujus  odore  novo  defunc- 
ta  cadavera  surgunt, 
Et  redeunt  vitae  qui  caruere 
die. 
Nullum    uret    sestus   sub 
frondibus    arboris     hu- 
jus: 
Luna  nee  in  noctem,   sol  ne- 
que  meridie. 
Tu    plantata    micas   secus 
est     ubi    cursus     aqua- 
rum  : 
Spargis   et  t>rnatas   flore  re- 
cente  comas. 
Appensa    est    vitis    inter 
tua  brachia,  de  qua 
Dulcia   sanguineo    vina   ru- 
bore  fluunt. 


Briglitly  shineth  the  blessed 
Cross,  whereon  hung  the  body 
of  our  Lord,  when,  with  his 
Blood,  he  washed  our  wounds. 

Become,  out  of  tender  love 
for  us,  a  meek  Victim,  this 
divine  Lamb  did  by  the  Cross 
rescue  us  his  sheep  from  the 
jaws  of  the  wolf. 

'Twas  there,  with  his  hands 
nailed  to  the  wood,  that  he 
redeemed  the  world  from  ruin, 
and  by  his  own  death,  closed 
the  way  of  death. 

Here  was  fastened  with 
cruel  nails  that  hand  which 
delivered  Paul  from  sin,  and 
Peter  from  death. 

O  sweet  and  noble  Tree  ! 
how  vigorous  is  thy  growth, 
when,  on  thy  branches,  hang 
fruits  so  rare  as  these  ! 

Thy  fresh  fragrance  gives 
resurrection  to  many  that  lay 
in  the  tomb,  and  restores  the 
dead  to  life. 

He  that  shelters  beneath 
thy  shade,  shall  not  be  scorch- 
ed either  by  the  moon  at  night 
or  by  the  mid -day  sun. 

Planted  near  the  running 
waters,  thou  art  lovely  in  thy 
verdure,  and  blossoms  ever 
fresh  blow  on  each  fair  branch. 

Between  thine  arms  hangs 
the  pendant  jVine,  whence 
wine  most  sweet  flows  in  a 
ruddy  stream. 


MONDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


119 


MONDAY 


IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


The  Station,  at  Rome,  is  in  the  Church  of  Saint 
Chrysogonus,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  Martyrs  of 
the  Church  of  Rome.  His  name  is  inserted  in  the 
Canon  of  the  Mass. 


COLLECT. 


Sanctify,  O  Lord,  we  be- 
seech thee,  our  fasts,  andmer- 
cifully  grant  us  the  pardon  of 
all  our  sins.  Through  Christ 
our  Lord.     Amen. 


Sanctifica,  quaesumus,  Do- 
mine,  nostra  jejunia :  et 
cunctarum  nobis  indulgen- 
tiam  propitius  largire  cul- 
parum.  Per  Christum  Do- 
minum  nostrum.     Amen. 


EPISTLE. 


Lesson  from  Jonas  the  Prophet. 

Gh.  III. 

In  those  days  :  The  word  of 
the  Lord  came  to  Jonas  the 
second  time,  saying :  Arise 
and  go  to  Ninive,  the  great 
city :  and  preach  in  it  the 
preaching  that  I  bid  thee. 
And  Jonas  arose,  and  went  to 
Ninive,  according  to  the  word 
of  the  Lord.  Now  Ninive 
was  a  great  city  of  three  days' 
j  ourney .  And  Jonas  began  to 
enter  into  the  city  one  day's 


Lectio  Jonae  Prophetae. 
Cap.  III. 

In  diebus  illis  :  Factum  est 
verbum  Domini  ad  Jonam 
Prophetam  secundo,  dicens  : 
Surge,  et  vade  in  Niniven 
civitatem  magnam  :  et  prae- 
dica  in  ea  praedicationem 
quani  ego  loquor  ad  te.  Et 
surrexit  Jonas,  et  abiit  in 
Niniven  juxta  verbum 
Domini.  Et  Ninive  erat 
civitas  magna  itinere  trium 
dierum.       Et     ccepit    Jonas 


120 


PASSION    WEEK. 


introire  in  civitatem  itinere 
diei  unius :  et  clamavit,  et 
dixit :  Adhuc  quadraginta 
dies  et  Ninive  subvertetur. 
Et  crediderunt  viri  Nini- 
vitse  in  Deum :  et  prsedi- 
caverunt  jejunium,  et  vestiti 
sunt  saccis  a  majore  usque 
ad  minorem.  Et  pervenit 
verbum  ad  regem  Ninive : 
et  surrexit  de  solio  suo,  et 
abjecit  vestimentum  suum 
a  se,  et  indutus  est  sacco,  et 
sedit  in  cinere.  Et  clamavit, 
et  dixit  in  Ninive  ex  ore 
regis,  et  principum  ejus, 
dicens  :  Homines,  et  jumen- 
ta,  et  boves,  et  pecora  non 
gustent  quidquam  :  nee  pas- 
cantur,  et  aquam  non  bi- 
bant.  Et  operiantur  saccis 
homines,  et  jumenta,  et 
clament  ad  Dominum  in 
fortitudine,  et  convertatur 
vir  a  via  sua  mala,  et  ab 
iniquitate,  quae  est  in  mani- 
bus  eorum.  Quis  scit  si 
convertatur,  et  ignoscat 
Deus :  et  revertatur  a  fu- 
rore irae  suse,  et  non  peribi- 
mus  ?  Et  vidit  Deus  opera 
eorum,  quia  conversi  sunt 
de  via  sua  mala  :  et  miser- 
fcus  est  populo  suo  Dominus 
Deus   noster. 


Ninive, 
of  the 
princes. 


journey  :  and  he  cried  and 
said :  Yet  forty  days  and 
Ninive  shall  be  destroyed. 
And  the  men  of  Ninive  be- 
lieved in  God  :  and  they  pro- 
claimed a  fast,  and  put  on 
sackcloth  from  the  greatest  to 
the  least.  And  the  word  came 
to  the  king  of  Ninive :  and 
he  rose  up  out  of  his  throne, 
and  cast  away  his  robe  from 
him,  and  was  clothed  with 
sackcloth,  and  sat  in  ashes. 
And  he  caused  it  to  be  pro- 
claimed and  published  in 
from  the  mouth 
king  and  of  his 
saying :  Let  neither 
men  nor  beasts,  oxen  nor 
sheep,  taste  any  thing :  let 
them  not  feed  nor  drink 
water.  And  let  men  and 
beasts  be  covered  with  sack- 
cloth, and  cry  to  the  Lord 
with  all  their  strength,  and  let 
them  turn  every  one  from  his 
evil  way,  and  from  the  iniqui- 
ty that  is  in  their  hands.  Who 
can  tell  if  God  will  turn  and 
forgive  :  and  will  turn  away 
from  his  fierce  anger,  and  we 
shall  not  perish  ?  And  God 
saw  their  works,  that  they 
were  turned  from  their  evil 
way  :  and  the  Lord  ,our  God 
had  mercy  on  his  people. 

The  Church's  intention  in  this  day's  lesson,  is  to 
encourage  us  to  earnestness  and  perseverance  in  our 
penance.  Here  we  have  an  idolatrous  city,  a  haughty 
and  debauched  capital,  whose  crimes  have  merited 
the  anger  of  heaven.  Grod  threatens  it  with  his  ven- 
geance :  yet  forty  days,  and  Ninive  and  its  in- 
habitants shall  be  destroyed.  How  came  it,  that  the 
threat  was  not  carried  into  effect  ?     What  was  it 


MONDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK.  121 

that  caused  Ninive  to  be  spared  ?  Its  people  re- 
turned to  the  Q-od  they  had  left  ;  they  sued  for 
mercy  ;  they  humbled  themselves,  and  fasted  ;  and 
the  Church  concludes  the  Prophet's  account  by  these 
touching  words  of  her  own  :  "  And  the  Lord  our 
Q-od  had  mercy  on  his  people."  They  are  Gentiles, 
but  they  became  his  people,  because  they  did  pen- 
ance at  the  Preaching  of  the  Prophet.  (rod  had 
made  a  covenant  with  one  only  nation, — the  Jews  ; 
but  he  rejected  not  the  Grentiles,  as  often  as  they 
renounced  their  false  gods,  confessed  his  holy  name, 
and  desired  to  serve  him.  We  are  here  taught  the 
efficacy  of  corporal  mortification  ;  when  united  with 
spiritual  penance,  that  is,  with  the  repentance  of  the 
heart,  it  has  power  to  appease  Grod's  anger.  How 
highly,  then,  should  we  not  prize  the  holy  exercises 
of  penance,  put  upon  us  by  the  Church,  during  this 
holy  Season  !  Let  us  also  learn  to  dread  that  false 
spirituality,  which  tells  us  that  exterior  mortification 
is  of  little  value  :  such  doctrine  is  the  result  of  ra- 
tionalism and  cowardice. 

This  passage  from  the  Prophet  Jonas  is  also  in- 
tended for  the  Catechumens,  whose  baptism  is  so 
close  at  hand.  It  teaches  them  to  have  confidence 
in  this  merciful  Grod  of  the  Christians,  whose  threats 
are  so  terrible,  but,  who,  notwithstanding,  turns  from 
his  threats  to  forgive  the  repentant  sinner.  These 
Catechumens,  who  had  hitherto  lived  in  the  Ninive 
of  paganism,  were  here  taught  that  Grod,  even  before 
sending  his  Son  into  the  world,  invited  all  men  to 
become  his  people.  Seeing  the  immense  obstacles 
their  Grentile  ancestors  had  to  surmount  in  order  to 
receive  and  persevere  in  the  grace  offered  them,  they 
would  bless  Grod  their  Saviour,  for  having,  by  his  In- 
carnation, his  Sacrifice,  his  Sacraments,  and  his 
Church,  facilitated  salvation  for  us  who  live  under 
the  New  Testament.  True,  he  was  the  source  of 
salvation   to   all   preceding   generations :    but    with 


122 


PASSION    WEEK, 


what  incomparable  richness  is  he  the  source  of  our%  ? 
The  Public  Penitents,  too,  had  their  instruction  in 
this  Epistle.  What  an  encouragement  for  them  to 
hope  for  pardon  !  Gk>d  has  shown  mercy  to  Ninive, 
sinful  as  it  was,  and  sentenced  to  destruction :  he 
would,  therefore,  accept  their  repentance  and  pen- 
ance, he  would  stay  his  justice,  and  show  them  mercy 
and  pardon. 


GOSPEL. 


Sequentia  sancti  Evangelii 
secundum  Joannem. 

Cap.   VIT. 

In.  illo  tempore  :  Miserunt 
principes  et  Pharisaei,  mini- 
stros,  ut  apprehenderent 
Jesum.  Dixit  ergo  eis 
Jesus :  Adhuc  modicum 
tempus  vobiscum  sum :  et 
vado  ad  eum  qui  me  misit. 
Quaeretis  me,  et  non  in- 
venietis  :  et  ubi  ego  sum 
vos  non  potestis  venire. 
Dixerunt  ergo  Judaei  ad 
semetipsos :  Quo  hie  iturus 
est,  quia  non  inveniemus 
eum  ?  Numquid  in  disper- 
sionem  Gentium  iturus  est, 
et  docturus  (rentes  ?  Quis 
est  hie  sermo,  quern  dixit : 
Quaeretis  me,  et  non  inveni- 
etis :  et  ubi  sum  ego,  vos 
non  potestis  venire  ?  In 
novissimo  autem  die  magno 
festivitatis  stabat  Jesus,  et 
clamabat  dicens  :  Si  quis 
sitit,  veniat  ad  me,  et  bibat. 
Qui  credit  in  me,  sicut  dicit 
Scriptura,  flumina  de  ventre 
ejus  fluent  aquae  vivae.  Hoc 
autem  dixit  de  Spiritu, 
quern  accepturi  erant  cre- 
dentes  in  eum. 


Sequel  of  the  holy  Gospel 
according  to  John. 

Ch.   VI I. 

At  that  time :  The  rulers 
and  Pharisees  sent  ministers 
to  apprehend  Jesus.  Jesus 
therefore  said  to  them  :  Yet  a 
little  while  I  am  with  you  : 
and  then  I  go  to  him  that  sent 
me.  You  shall  seek  me,  and 
shall  not  find  me  :  and 
where  I  am,  thither  you  can- 
not come.  The  Jews  there- 
fore, said  among  themselves  : 
Whither  will  he  go,  that  we 
shall  not  find  him  ?  Will  he 
go  to  the  dispersed  among  the 
Gentiles,  and  teach  the  Gen- 
tiles ?  What  is  this  saying 
that  he  hath  said  :  You  shall 
seek  me,  and  shall  not  find 
me  ;  and  where  I  am,  you 
cannot  come  ?  And  on  the  last 
and  great  day  of  the  festival, 
Jesus  stood  and  cried,  saying : 
If  any  man  thirst,  let  him 
come  to  me,  and  drink.  He 
that  belie veth  in  me,  as  the 
Scripture  saith,  "Out  of  his 
belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living 
water."  Now  this  he  said  of 
the  Spirit  which  they  should 
receive  who  believed  in  him. 


MONDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK.  123 

The  enemies  of  Jesus   sought  to   stone   him   to 
death,  as  we  were  told  in  yesterday's  Gospel ;  to-day 
they  are  bent  on  making  him  a  prisoner,  and  send 
soldiers  to  seize  him.     This  time  Jesus  does  not  hide 
himself ;  but  how  awful  are  the  words  he  speaks  :  I 
go  to  Him  that  sent  me  :  you  shall  seek  me,  and  shall 
not  find  me  !    The  sinner,  then,  who  has  long  abused 
the  grace  of  God,  may  have  his  ingratitude  and  con- 
tempt punished  in  this  just,  but  terrific  way, — that 
he  shall  not  be  able  to  find  the  Jesus  he  has  despised : 
he  shall  seek,  and  shall  not  find.     Antiochus,  when 
humbled  under  the  hand  of  God,  prayed,  yet  obtained 
not   mercy.1       After   the   Death   and   Resurrection 
of  Jesus,  whilst  the  Church  was  casting  her  roots  in 
the  world,  the  Jews,  who  had  crucified  the  Just  One, 
were  seeking  the  Messias  in  each  of  the  many  impostors, 
who  were  then  rising  up  in  Judea,  and  fomenting 
rebellions,  which  led  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
Surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  Roman  legions,  with 
their  temple  and  palaces  a  prey  to  flames,  they  sent 
up  their  cries  to  heaven,  and  besought  the  God  of 
their   fathers   to    send,     as   he   had   promised,     the 
Deliverer !     It   never   occurred  to   them,  that  this 
Deliverer   had   shown   himself   to   their   fathers,  to 
many  even  of  themselves  ;    that  they  had  put  him  to 
death,   and  that  the  Apostles  had  already  carried  his 
name  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.     They  went  on  look- 
ing for  him,   even  to  the  very  day  when  the  deicide 
city  fell,  burying  beneath  its  ruins  them  that  the 
sword  had  spared.     Had  they  been  asked,  what  it 
was  they  were  awaiting,  they  would  have  replied, 
that  they  were  expecting  their  Messias  !      He  had 
come,  and  gone.      You  shall  seek  me,  and   shall  not 
find  me !      Let   them,   too,    think   of   these   terrible 
words  of  Jesus,  who  intend  to  neglect  the   graces 
offered  them  during  this  Easter.     Let  us  pray,  let  us 
make  intercession  for  them,  lest  they  fall  into  that 

l2  Mach.  ix.  13. 


124  PASSION    WEEK. 

awful  threat,  of  a  repentance  that  seeks  mercy  when 
it  is  too  late  to  find  aught  save  an  inexorable 
Justice. 

But,  what  consoling  thoughts  are  suggested  by  the 
concluding  words  of  our  Grospel !  Faithful  souls,  and 
you  that  have  repented  !  listen  to  what  your  Jesus 
says,  for  it  is  to  you  that  he  speaks  :  If  any  man 
thirst,  let  him  come  to  me  and  drink.  Remember 
the  prayer  of  the  Samaritan  woman  :  Give  me  0 
Lord,  to  drink  of  this  icater  !  This  water  is  divine 
grace:  come  and  drink  your  fill  at  the  fountains  of 
your  Saviour,  as  the  Prophet  Isaias  bids  you.1  This 
water  gives  purity  to  the  soul  that  is  defiled,  strength 
to  them  that  are  weak,  and  love  to  them  that  have  no 
fervour.  Nay,  our  Saviour  assures  us,  that  he  who 
believes  in  Him,  shall  himself  become  as  a  fountain 
of  living  water,  for  the,  Holy  Ghost  will  come  upon 
him,  and  this  soul  shall  pour  out  upon  others  of  the 
fulness  that  she  herself  has  received.  With  what 
joy  must  not  the  Catechumen  have  listened  to  these 
words,  which  promised  him  that  his  thirst  should 
soon  be  quenched  at  the  holy  Font !  Jesus  has  made 
himself  everything  to  the  world  he  has  come  to  save  : 
Light  to  guide  us,  Bread  to  nourish  us,  a  Vine  to 
gladden  our  hearts  with  its  fruit,  and,  lastly,  a 
Fountain  of  Living  Water  to  quench  our  thirst. 


Humiliate    capita     vestra  Bow  down  your  heads  to 

Deo.  God. 

Da,    qusesumus,    Domine,  Grant,  0  Lord,  we  beseech 

populo    tuo   salutem    mentis  thee,   to   thy  people,   health 

et  corporis  :    ut  bonis  operi-  both  of  body  and  mind,  that 

bus  inhserendo,   tua   semper  being   constant  in  the  prac- 

mereatur      protectione      de-  tice  of  good  works,  they  may 

fendi.     Per  Christum  Domi-  always  be  safe  under  thy  pro- 

num  nostrum.     Amen.  tection.     Through  Christ  our 

Lord.     Amen. 

1  Is.  xii.  3. 


MONDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


125 


This  being  the  day  on  which  the  Church  offers  to 
our  meditations  the  history  of  the  Prophet  Jonas 
preaching  to  Ninive,  we  subjoin  a  new  fragment 
from  the  Hymn  of  Prudentius  on  Fasting.  It  is  the 
passage  where  he  relates  the  life  of  this  Prophet, 
and  the  repentance  of  the  wicked  City. 


HYMN. 


I  fain  would  now,  in  holy 
Fasting's  praise,  tell,  from  the 
book  of  truth,  how  God  our 
Father,  with  his  wonted  love, 
repressed  the  fire  and  thunder 
of  his  wrath,  and  spared  the 
city  doomed  to  be  destroyed. 


In  ancient  days,  a  city 
flourished,  whose  mighty 
power  drove  her  into  haughti- 
ness extreme.  Criminal  in- 
dulgence and  lewd  corruption 
had  destroyed  the  morals  of 
her  people,  so  brutalising 
them,  that  they  left  the 
worship  of  the  God  of  heaven. 

At  length,  the  tired  pa- 
tience of  God's  long-suffering 
gave  way  to  justice,  which 
moves  his  hand  to  prepare 
his  arrowed  lightnings,  and 
storm-voiced  clouds,  and  jar- 
ring whirlwinds,  and  thunder- 
bolts that  shake  the  vault  of 
heaven. 

Yet  does  he  grant  them 
time  for  penitence,  wherein  to 
tame  and  break  the  wicked- 
ness of  their  lust  and  wonted 
follies.  Mercy,  that  waits  for 
prayer,  holds  back  the  blow  of 


Eeferre      prisci      stemma 

nunc  jejuni! 
Libet,   fideli  proditum  volu- 

mine, 
TJt  diruendae   civitatis   inco- 

lis 
Fulmen  benigni  mansuefac- 

tum  Patris, 
Pie    repressis    ignibus,    pe- 

percerit. 
Gens   insolenti    prsepotens 

jactantia 
Pollebat  olim  :   quam  fluen- 

tem  nequiter 
Corrupta  vulgo   solverat   la- 

scivia  ; 
Et  inde  bruto  contumax  fa- 

stidio 
Cultum    superni    negligebat 

Numinis. 
Offensa  tandem  jugis  in- 

dulgentise 
Censura,      justis      excitatur 

motibus, 
Dextram     perarmat     rhom- 

phseali  incendio, 
Nimbos    crepantes,     et    fra- 

gosos  turbines 
Vibrans       tonantum       nube 

flammarum  quatit. 
Sed    pcenitendi    dum    da- 

tur  diecula, 
Si   forte    vellent    improbam 

libidinem 
Veteresque     nugas      condo- 

mare,  ac  frangere. 


126 


PASSION    WEEK. 


Suspendit  ictum  terror  exo- 

rabilis, 
Paulumque     dicta     substitit 
sententia. 
Jonam     prophetam     mitis 
ultor  excitat, 
Poense     imminentis    iret    ut 

prsenuncius  ; 
Sed  nosset  ille  quum  mina- 

cem  judicem 
Servare   malle,    quam   ferire 

ac  plectere, 
Tectam    latenter    vertit     in 
Tharsos  fugam. 
Celsam    paratis    pontibus 
scandit  ratem  : 
TJdo     revincta   fune     puppis 

solvitur. 
Itur   per   altum :    fit   procel- 

losum  mare  : 
Turn    causa     tanti   quseritur 

perieuli  : 
Sors  in  fugacem  missa  va- 
tem  decidit. 
Jussus  perire  solus  e  cunc- 
tis  reus, 
Cujus    voluta    crimen    urn  a 

expresserat, 
Prseceps    rotatur,      et     pro- 

fundo  immergitur : 
Exceptus  inde  belluinis  fau- 

cibus, 
Alvi  capacis   vivus  hauritur 
specu. 
Intactus  exin  tertise   noc- 
tis  vice 
Monstri     vomentis     pellitur 

singultibus, 
Qua  murmuranti    fine   fluc- 

tus  frangitur, 
Salsosque     candens     spuma 

tundit  pumices, 
Buctatus     exit,     seque      ser- 
vatum  stupet. 
In    Ninivitas    se     coactus 
percito 


anger ;  a  brief  delay  puts  off 
the  day  of, doom. 


The  meek  Avenger  sends  a 
herald  of  the  coming  woe  :  it 
is  Jonas  the  Prophet.  But  he, 
well  knowing  that  the 
threatening  Judge  is  prone  to 
save,  rather  than  to  strike  and 
punish,  stealthily  to  Tharsis 
flees. 


A  noble  vessel  was  prepared 
for  sail,  whereon  he  takes  his 
place.  The  anchor  weighed, 
the  vessel  puts  from  shore. 
She  ploughs  the  deep,  when, 
lo  !  a  storm.  Endangered 
thus,  the  crew  would  know 
the  cause,  and  casting  lots,  it 
falls  upon  the  fugitive,  the 
Prophet. 

Of  all,  the  only  one  in  fault 
is  he.  His  guilt  is  clear,  the 
lot  has  told  the  tale.  Head- 
long is  he  cast,  and  buried  in 
the  deep  ;  and  as  he  falls,  a 
whale's  huge  jaw  receives  the 
Prophet,  burying  him  alive  in 
the  sepulchre  of  his  capacious 
womb. 

There  for  three  nights,  does 
Jonas  lie  unhurt ;  which 
passed,  the  sick  monster 
heaves  him  from  his  womb, 
j  ust  where  the  murmuring  bil- 
lows break  upon  the  shore, 
and  whiten  the  salty  rocks 
with  foam.  The  Prophet 
comes  forth, — wondering,  but 
safe. 
"J  Compelled,  'to  Ninive  he 
turns  his  hurried  steps.     He 


MONDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


127 


chides,  hecensures,  lie  charges 
her  with  all  her  shameless 
crimes,  saying  :  "  The  anger 
"  of  the  great  Avenger  shall 
"  fall  upon  you,  and  speedily 
"  your  City  shall  be  made  a 
"prey  to  fire.  Believe  the 
11  prophecy  I  speak." 

Then  to  the  summit  of  a 
lofty  hill  he  goes,  from  whence 
to  see  the  thickened  clouds  of 
smoke  rising  from  the  ruined 
heap,  and  gaze  upon  the  pile 
of  unpitied  dead.  Suddenly 
there  grows  upon  the  spot 
an  ivy-tree,  whose  knotted 
branches  yield  a  shaded  cover. 

But  scarce  had  the  mourn- 
ful City  felt  the  wound  of  her 
coming  grief,  than  deathly 
fear  possesses  her.  Her 
people  and  her  senate,  her 
young  and  old,  youths  pale 
with  panic,  and  women  wail- 
ing loud,  scamper  in  groups 
along  the  spacious  walls. 

It  is  decreed, — the  anger  of 
Christ  shall  by  fasting  be  ap- 
peased. Henceforth,  they 
spurn  to  eat.  Matrons  doff 
their  trinkets,  and  vest  in 
dingy  garbs,  and,  for  their 
wreaths  of  pearls  and  silks, 
sprinkle  ashes  on  their  hair. 


Patricians  put  on  robes  of 
sombre  hue ;  the  people, 
weeping,  take  hair-shirts  for 
their  dress  ;  dishevelled  maid- 
ens clad  in  skins  of  beasts, 
and  hide  their  faces  in  veils 
of  black.  Children,  too,  make 
the  dust  of  earth  their  bed. 


Gressu     reflectit ;    quos      ut 

increpaverat, 
Pudenda     censor     imputans 

opprobria. 
Impendet,    inquit,    ira   sum- 
mi  vindicis, 
Urbemque       flamma       mox 

cremabit :  credite. 
Apicem      deinceps      ardui 

montis  petit, 
Visurus     inde    conglobatum 

turbidse 
Fumum     ruinse,     cladis     et 

dirse  struem, 
Tectus      flagellis     multinodi 

germinis, 
Nato    et    repente    perfruens 

umbraculo. 
Sed  mcesta  postquam    ci- 

vitas  vulnus  novi 
Hausit  doloris,  heu  !  supre- 

mum  palpitat. 
Cursant  per   ampla   congre- 

gatim  mcenia 
Plebs,     et     senatus,      omnis 

setas  civium, 
Pallens   juventus,    ejulantes 

feminEe. 
Placet    frementem   publi- 

cis  jejuniis 
Placare       Christum :       mos 

edendi  spernitur. 
Glaucos  amictus   induit  mo- 

nilibus 
Matrona      demptis,     proque 

gemma,  et  serico 
Crinem      fluentem     sordidus 

spargit  cinis. 

Squalent     recincta     veste 

pullati  patres, 
Setasque       plangens      turba 

sumit  textiles, 
Impexa  villis  virgo  bestialibus 
Nigrante     vultum     contegit 

velamine, 
Jacens   arenis  et   puer   pro- 
volvitur. 


128 


PASSION    WEEK. 


Rex  ipse  Coos  sestuantem 
murices 
Laenam     revulsa    dissipabat 

fibula, 
Gemmas    virentes,    et  lapil- 

los  sutiles, 
Insigne  frontis  exuebat  vin- 
culum 
Turpe       capillos     impeditus 
pulvere. 
Nullus  bibendi,   nemo  ve- 
scendi  memor : 
Jejuna  mensas  pubes  omnis 

liquerat : 
Quin  et  negato  lacte  vagien- 

tium 
Fletu     madescunt    parvulo- 

rum  cunulse : 
Succum  papillae     parca  nu- 
trix  derogat. 
Greges    et    ipsos    claudit 
armentalium 
Solers     virorum     cura,      ne 

vagum  pecus 
Contingat       ore       rorulenta 

gramina, 
Potum  strepentis  neve  fontis 

hauriat ; 
Vacuis    querelas     personant 
praesepibus. 
Mollitus  his,    et    talibus, 
brevem  Deus 
Iram    refraenat,      temperans 

oraculum 
Prosper     sinistrum :      prona 

nam  dementia 
Haud    difficulter     supplicum 

mortalium 
Solvit  reatum,     fitque    fau- 
trix  flentium. 


The  king  himself  from  his 
shoulders  tears  the  Cossian 
purple  robe,  and  for  the 
diadem  that  decks  his  brow 
with  emeralds  and  gems, 
strews  grim  ashes  on  his  head . 


None  think  of  drink  or 
meat.  Among  the  youths, 
not  one  would  touch  the  food 
prepared.  Nay,  babes  are 
kept  from  their  mothers' 
breasts,  and  in  their  cradles, 
wet  with  tears,  these  little 
f asters  lie. 


The  herdsman,  too,  pens  up 
his  flock  with  care,  lest,  left 
to  roam,  the  dewy  grass  or 
rippling  fount  should  tempt 
them  to  transgress  the  uni- 
versal fast;  but  now,  pent  up, 
their  moans  rebellow  through 
their  prison-cave. 


Thus  is  God  appeased,  his 
anger  brief  restrained,  and 
threatened  evil  yields  to  prof- 
fered love  :  for  mercy  leans  to 
pardon  men  their  sins,  if  they 
but  humbly  pray  ;  and  when 
they  weep,  she  makes  herself 
their  friend. 


Let  us  close  the  day  with  these  stanzas  in  honour 
of  the  holy  Cross.  We  have  taken  them  from  the 
Triodion  of  the  Greek  Church. 


MONDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


129 


HYMN. 


(Feria   VI.  medics  Septimance.) 

Purified  by  our  fast,  let  us,         Sanctissimum   lignum,    in 

quo    Christus    manibus  ex- 
tensis     adversarias    potesta- 


to  the  praise  and  glory  of  the 
Omnipotent  God,  venerate 
that  most  holy  Cross,  whereon 
Christ,  with  his  arms  stretched 
forth,  overcame  the  power  of 
our  enemy. 

The  saving  Cross,  thatsanc- 
tifies  us,  is  now  exposed  before 
our  eyes.  Let  us  draw  nigh, 
having  purified  our  body  and 
our  soul. 

Cleanse  me,  O  merciful 
Saviour,  by  the  fire  of  thy 
commandments,  and  grant 
that  I  may  contemplate  thy 
saving  Passion,  and  lovingly 
adore  it,  having  the  Cross  for 
my  protection  and  defence. 

Having  our  hearts  purified 
by  the  waters  of  our  fast,  let 
us,  with  faith,  embrace  the 
wood  of  the  Cross,  on  which 
Christ  was  crucified,  and  gave 
us  the  water  of  immortality. 

Having  thy  Cross  as  our 
sail,  we  have  already  winged 
our  way  half  through  the 
saving  voyage  of  our  fast. 
Lead  us  by  the  same,  0  Jesus 
our  Saviour,  into  the  haven  of 
thy  Passion. 

Moses  on  the  mount  was  a 
figure  of  thee,  0  holy  Cross, 
(when  lie  grayed  with  his  out- 
stretched arms,  J  unto  the  de- 
struction of  the  Amalekites. 
Grant  that  we,  who  sign  thee 
on  ourselves,  and  lovingly 
gaze  on  and  venerate  thee, 
may,  by  thy  power,  put  our 
spiritual  enemies  to  flight. 


tes  devicit,  adoremus  jeju- 
nio  nitidi,  ad  laudem  et 
gloriam  Omnipotentis. 

Crux  salutifera  sanctifi- 
cationem  suppeditans  pro- 
posita  cernitur.  Acceda- 
mus,  cor  et  corpus  emun- 
dantes. 

Igne  mandatorum  tuo- 
rum  munda  me,  benigne, 
et  da,  ut  salutiferam  Pas- 
sionem  tuam  intuear,  et  cum 
desiderio  adorem,  Cruce  val- 
latus  et  conservatus. 


Aquis  jejunii  pectora  pur- 
gati,  lignum  Crucis  fideliter 
amplectamur,  in  quo  Chris- 
tus crucifixus  aquam  im- 
mortalitatis  nobis  emisit. 

Crucis  velut  velo  alati, 
salutarem  jejunii  navigatio- 
nem  jam  mediam  emensi 
sumus,  Jesu  Salvator,  per 
quam  deduc  nos  ad  Passio- 
nis  tuse  portum. 

Prsemonstrabat  te  Moy- 
ses  in  monte,  o  Crux,  in 
gentium  interitum.  Nos  ve- 
ro  efformantes  te,  et  corde 
intuentes  et  adorantes,  hos- 
tes  carnis  expertes  virtute 
tua  profligamus. 


130 


PASSION    WEEK. 


TUESDAY 


IN     PASSION    WEEK. 


The  Station,  in  Rome,  was  formerly  the  Church  of 
the  Martyr  Saint  Cyriacus,  and  as  such  it  is  still 
given  in  the  Roman  Missal ;  but  this  holy  sanctuary 
having  been  destroyed,  and  the  relics  of  the  holy 
Deacon  translated  to  the  Church  of  Saint  Mary  in 
Via  lata,  it  is  here  that  the  Station  is  now  held. 


COLLECT. 


Nostra  tibi,  Domine,  quse- 
sumus,  sint  accepta  jeju- 
nia :  quae  nos  expiando, 
gratia  tua  dignos  efficiant ; 
et  ad  remedia  perducant 
seterna.  Per  Christum  Do- 
minum  nostrum.     Amen. 


May  our  fast,  0  Lord,  we 
beseech  thee,  be  acceptable  to 
thee,  and,  having  purified  us 
from  sin,  make  us  worthy  of 
thy  grace ,  and  procure  us  ever- 
lasting remedies.  Through 
Christ  our  Lord.      Amen. 


EPISTLE. 


Lectio  Danielis  Prophetse. 

Cap.  XIV 

In  diebus  illis  :  Congre- 
gati  sunt  Babylonii  ad  re- 
gem,  et  dixerunt  ei :  Trade 
nobis  Danielem,  qui  Bel  de- 
struxit,  et  draconem  interfe- 
cit  ;  alioquin  interficiemus 
te  et  domum  tuam.  Vidit 
ergo   rex   quod    irruerent  in 


Lesson  from  Daniel  the 
Prophet. 

Oh.  XIV. 

In  those  days  :  The  people 
of  Babylon  gathered  together 
against  the  king,  and  said  to 
him  :  Deliver  up  to  us  Daniel, 
who  hath  destroyed  Bel,  and 
killed  the  Dragon,  otherwise 
we  will  destroy  thee  and  thy 
house.   And  the  king  saw  that 


TUE8DAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


131 


they  pressed  upon  him  vio- 
lently ;  and  being  constrained 
by  necessity,  he  delivered 
Daniel  to  them.  And  they 
cast  him  into  the  den  of  lions, 
and  he  was  there  six  days. 
And  in  the  den  there  were 
seven  lions,  and  they  had  given 
to  them  two  carcasses  every 
day,  and  two  sheep  :  but  then 
they  were  not  given  unto 
them,  to  the  intent  that  they 
might  devour  Daniel.  Now 
there  was  in  Judea  a  prophet 
called  Habacuc,  and  he  had 
boiled  pottage,  and  had  broken 
bread  in  a  bowl ;  and  was 
going  into  the  field  to  carry  it 
to  the  reapers.  And  the  Angel 
of  the  Lord  said  to  Habacuc  : 
Carry  the  dinner  which  thou 
hast,  into  Babylon,  to  Daniel, 
who  is  in  the  lions'  den.  And 
Habacuc  said :  Lord,  I  never 
saw  Babylon,  nor  do  I  know 
the  den.  And  the  Angel  of 
the  Lord  took  him  by  the  top 
of  his  head,  and  carried  him 
by  the  hair  of  his  head,  and 
set  him  in  Babylon,  over  the 
den,  in  the  force  of  his  spirit. 
And  Habacuc  cried,  saying  : 
O  Daniel,  thou  servant  of 
God,  take  the  dinner  that  God 
hath  sent  thee.  And  Daniel 
said  :  Thou  hast  remembered 
me,  O  God,  and  thou  hast 
not  forsaken  them  that 
love  thee.  And  Daniel  arose 
and  ate.  And  the  Angel  of 
the  Lord  presently  set  Ha- 
bacuc again  in  his  own  place. 
And  upon  the  seventh  day  the 
king  came  to  bewail  Daniel : 
and  he  came  to  the  den,  and 
looked  in,  and  behold  Daniel 
was  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the 


oum  vehementer :  et  neces- 
sitate compulsus  tradidit 
eis  Danielem.  Qui  miserunt 
eum  in  lacum  leonum,  et 
erat  ibi  diebus  sex.  Porro  in 
lacu  erant  leones  septem,  et 
dabantur  eis  duo  corpora 
quotidie,  et  duae  oves :  et 
tunc  non  data  sunt  eis,  ut 
devorarent  Danielem.  Erat 
autem  Habacuc  propheta  in 
Judsea,  et  ipse  coxerat  pul- 
mentum,  et  intriverat  panes 
in  alveolo  :  et  ibat  in  cam- 
pum,  ut  ferret  messoribus. 
Dixitque  Angelus  Domini 
ad  Habacuc  :  Fer  prandium 
quod  habes,  in  Babylonem 
Danieli,  qui  est  in  lacu  leo- 
num. Et  dixit  Habacuc :  Do- 
mine,  Babylonem  non  vidi, 
et  lacum  nescio.  Et  appre- 
hendit  eum  Angelus  Domini 
in  vertice  ejus,  et  portavit 
eum  capillo  capitis  sui,  po- 
suitque  eum  in  Babylone 
supra  lacum  in  impetu  spi- 
ritus  sui.  Et  clamavit  Haba- 
cuc, dicens :  Daniel,  serve 
Dei,  tolle  prandium  quod 
misit  tibi  Deus.  Et  ait  Da- 
niel :  Becordatus  es  mei 
Deus,  et  non  dereliquisti 
diligentes  te.  Surgensque 
Daniel  comedit.  Porro  An- 
gelus Domini  restituit  Ha- 
bacuc confestim  in  loco 
suo.  Venit  ergo  rex  die 
septimo,  ut  lugeret  Danie- 
lem :  et  venit  ad  lacum,  et 
introspexit,  et  ecce  Daniel 
sedens  in  medio  leonum. 
Et  exclamavit  voce  magna 
rex,  dicens :  Magnus  es, 
Domine  Deus  Danielis.  Et 
extraxit  eum  de  lacu  leo- 
num.     Porro  illos  qui  perdi- 


132  PASSION    WEEK. 

tionis  ejus  causa  fuerant,  lions.  And  the  king  cried  out 
intromisit  in  lacum,  et  de-  with  a  loud  voice,  saying : 
vorati  sunt  in  momento  co-  Great  art  thou,  0  Lord,  the 
ram  eo.  Tunc  rex  ait :  Pa-  God  of  DaDiel.  And  he  drew 
veant  omnes  habitantes  in  him  out  of  the  lions'  den. 
universa  terra  Deum  Da-  But  those  that  had  been  the 
nielis ;  quia  ipse  est  salva-  cause  of  his  destruction,  he 
tor,  faciens  signa  et  mira-  cast  into  the  den,  and  they 
bilia  in  terra :  qui  liberavit  were  devoured  in  a  moment 
Danielem  de  lacu  leonum.  before  him.     Then  the  king 

said  :  Let  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  whole  earth  fear  the 
God  of  Daniel ;  for  he  is  the 
Saviour,  working  signs  and 
wonders  in  the  earth ;  who 
hath  delivered  Daniel  out  of 
the  lions'  den. 

This  Lesson  was  intended,  in  an  especial  manner, 
as  an  instruction  to  the  Catechumens.  They  were 
preparing  to  enrol  themselves  as  Christians  ;  it  was, 
therefore,  necessary  that  they  should  have  examples 
put  before  them,  which  they  might  study  and  imi- 
tate. Daniel,  cast  into  the  Lion's  Den  for  having 
despised  and  destroyed  the  idol  Bel,  was  the  type  of 
a  Martyr.  This  Prophet  had  confessed  the  true  Grod 
in  Babylon  ;  he  had  put  to  death  a  Dragon,  to  which 
the  people,  after  Bel  had  been  destroyed,  had  given 
their  idolatrous  worship  :  nothing  less  than  Daniel's 
death  could  appease  their  indignation.  The  holy 
man  full  of  confidence  in  Grod,  allowed  himself  to  be 
thrown  into  the  Lions'  Den,  thus  setting  an  example 
of  courageous  faith  to  the  future  Christians  :  they 
would  imitate  him,  and  for  three  centuries,  would 
nobly  shed  their  blood  for  the  establishment  of  the 
Church  of  Christ.  In  the  Roman  catacombs,  we 
continually  meet  with  the  representation  of  Daniel 
surrounded  by  lions,  and  many  of  these  paintings 
date  from  the  ages  of  Persecution.  Thus,  the  eye  of 
the  Catechumens  could  see  what  their  ear  heard, — 
both  told  them  to  be  ready  for  trial  and  sacrifice, 


TUESDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK.  133 

It  is  true,  the  history  of  Daniel  showed  them  the 
power  of  Cod  interfering  and  delivering  him  from 
death  ;  but  they  were  fully  aware,  that  in  order  to 
merit  a  like  deliverance,  they  would  have  to  show  a 
like  constancy,  and  be  ready  to  suffer  death,  rather 
than  deny  their  faith.  From  time  to  time,  a  Chris- 
tian was  led  to  the  amphitheatre,  and  the  wild  beasts 
would  fawn  at  his  feet :  but  such  miracles  only  put 
off  the  Martyr's  sacrifice,  and  perhaps  won  others  to 
the  faith. 

It  was  the  Prophet's  courage,  and  not  his  victory 
over  the  lions,  that  the  Church  proposed  to  her 
Catechumens.  The  great  thing  for  them  to  bear  in 
mind,  was  this  maxim  of  our  Lord  :  Fear  not  them 
that  kill  the  body,  and  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul ; 
but  rather  fear  him  that  can  destroy  both  soul  and 
body  into  hell.1  We  are  the  descendants  of  these 
early  Christians  ;  but  our  faith  has  not  cost  us  what 
it  cost  them.  And  yet  we  have  a  tyrant  to  try  even 
ours :  we  have  to  confess  our  faith,  not  indeed  be- 
fore Proconsuls  or  Emperors,  but  before  the  world. 
Let  the  example  of  the  brave  Martyrs  send  us  forth 
from  our  Lent  with  a  courageous  determination  to 
withstand  this  tyrant,  with  his  maxims,  his  pomps, 
and  his  works.  There  has  been  a  truce  between  him 
and  us,  during  these  days  of  retirement  and  penance  ; 
but  the  battle  will  soon  be  renewed,  and  then  we 
must  stand  the  brunt,  and  show  that  we  are  Chris- 
tians. 

GOSPEL. 

Sequel  of  the  hoty  Gospel  ac-     Sequentia     sancti     Evange- 
cording  to  John.  lii  secundum  Joanne m. 

Ch.  VII.  Cap.   VII. 

At  that  time  :  Jesus  walked        In  illo  tempore  :    Ambula- 
in  Galilee ;  for  he  would  not    bat  Jesus  in  Galilaeam,    non 

1  St.  Matth.  x.  28. 


134 


PASSION    WEEK. 


enim  volebat  in  Judaeam 
ambulare,  quia  quaerebant 
eum  Judaei  interficere.  Erat 
autem  in  proximo  dies  fes- 
tus  Judaeorum,  Scenope- 
gia.  Dixerunt  autem  ad 
eum  fratres  ejus :  Transi 
hinc,  et  vade  in  Judaeam, 
ut  et  discipuli  tui  videant 
opera  tua,  quae  facis.  Nemo 
quippe  in  occulto  quid  fa- 
cit,  et  quaerit  ipse  in  palam 
esse :  si  haec  facis,  mani- 
festa  teipsum  mundo.  Ne- 
que  enim  fratres  ejus  cre- 
debant  in  eum.  Dicit  ergo 
eis  Jesus :  Tempus  meum 
nondum  advenit  :  tempus 
autem  vestrum  semper  est 
paratum.  Non  potest  mun- 
dus  odisse  vos ;  me  autem 
odit :  quia  ego  testimonium 
perhibeo  de  illo,  quod  opera 
ejus  mala  sunt.  Vos  ascen- 
dite  ad  diem  festum  hunc, 
ego  antem  non  ascendo  ad 
diem  festum  istum  :  quia 
meum  tempus  nondum  im- 
pletum  est.  Haec  cum  dixis- 
set,  ipse  mansit  in  Gali- 
laea.  Ut  autem  ascenderunt 
fratres  ejus,  tunc  et  ipse 
ascendit  ad  diem  festum 
non  manifeste,  sed  quasi  in 
occulto.  Judaei  ergo  quae- 
rebant  eum  in  die  festo,  et 
dicebant :  Ubi  est  ille  ?  et 
murmur  multum  erat  in 
turba  do  eo.  Quidam  enim 
dicebant :  Quia  bonus  est. 
Alii  autem  dicebant :  Non, 
sed  seducit  turbas.  Nemo 
tamen  palam  loquebatur  de 
illo,  propter  metum  Judaeo- 
rum. 


walk  in  Judea,  because  the 
Jews  sought  to  kill  him.  Now 
the  Jews'  feast  of  Tabernacles 
was  at  hand.  And  his  breth- 
ren said  to  him  :  Depart 
from  hence,  and  go  into  Judea, 
that  thy  disciples  also  may 
see  thy  works  which  thou  dost. 
For  there  is  no  man  that  doth 
anything  in  secret,  and  he 
himself  seeketh  to  be  known 
openly ;  if  thou  do  these 
things,  manifest  thyself  to  the 
world.  For  neither  did  his 
brethren  believe  in  him.  Then 
Jesus  said  to  them  :  My  time 
is  not  yet  come;  but  your 
time  is  always  ready.  The 
world  cannot  hate  you ;  but 
me  it  hateth  :  because  I  give 
testimony  of  it,  that  the  works 
thereof  are  evil.  Go  you  up 
to  this  festival  day,  but  I  go 
not  up  to  this  festival  day ; 
because  my  time  is  not  accom- 
plished. When  he  had  said 
these  things,  he  himself  .staid 
in  Galilee.  But  after  his 
brethren  were  gone  up,  then 
he  also  went  up  to  the  feast, 
not  openly,  but  as  it  were  in 
secret.  The  Jews  therefore 
sought  him  on  the  festival 
day,  and  said :  Where  is  he  ? 
And  there  was  much  murmur- 
ing among  the  multitude  con- 
cerning him.  For  some  said : 
He  is  a  good  man.  And 
others  said  :  No,  but  he 
seduceth  the  people.  Yet  no 
man  spoke  openly  of  him,  for 
fear  of  the  Jews. 


The  facts  here  related  refer  to  an  earlier  part  of 


TUESDAY    IN     1'ASSION     WEEK.  l'Si) 

our  Lord's  life  ;  but  the  Church  proposes  them  to 
our  consideration  to-day,  on  account  of  their  con- 
nection with  those  given  us  in  the  Gospels  read  to  us 
during  the  last  few  days.  We  learn  from  these 
words  of  St.  John,  that  the  Jews  were  plotting  the 
death  of  Jesus,  not  only  when  this  the  last  Pasch 
for  the  Synagogue  was  approaching,  but  even  so  far 
back  as  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  which  was  kept  in 
September.  The  Son  of  God  was  reduced  to  the 
necessity  of  going  from  place  to  place  as  it  ivere  in 
secret ;  if  he  would  go  to  Jerusalem,  he  must  take 
precautions  !  Let  us  adore  these  humiliations  of 
the  Man- Grod,  who  has  deigned  to  sanctify  every 
position  of  life,  even  that  of  the  just  man  persecuted 
and  obliged  to  hide  himself  from  his  enemies.  It 
would  have  been  an  easy  matter  for  him  to  con- 
found his  adversaries  by  working  miracles,  such  as 
those  which  Herod's  curiosity  sought  for ;  he 
could  have  compelled  them  to  treat  him  with  the 
reverence  that  was  due  to  him.  But  this  is  not 
God's  way  ;  he  does  not  force  man  to  duty  ;  he  acts, 
and  then  leaves  man  to  recognise  his  Creator's 
claims.  In  order  to  do  this,  man  must  be  attentive 
and  humble,  he  must  impose  silence  on  his  passions. 
The  divine  light  shows  itself  to  the  soul  that  thus 
comports  herself.  First,  she  sees  the  actions,  the 
works,  of  God ;  then,  she  believes,  and  ivishes  to 
believe  :  her  happiness,  as  well  as  her  merit,  lies  in 
Faith,  and  faith  will  be  recompensed  in  eternity 
with  Light, — with  the  Vision. 

Flesh  and  blood  cannot  understand  this ;  they 
love  show  and  noise.  The  Son  of  God,  having  come 
down  upon  this  earth,  could  not  subject  himself  to 
such  an  abasement  as  that  of  making  a  parade  of 
his  infinite  power  before  men.  He  had  to  work 
miracles,  in  order  to  give  a  guarantee  of  his  mission  ; 
but,  as   Man,   everything   he  did  was  not  to  be  a 


136  PASSION    WEEK. 

miracle.  By  far  the  longest  period  of  his  life  was 
devoted  to  the  humble  duties  of  a  creature ;  had  it 
not  been  so,  how  should  we  have  learned  from  him 
what  we  so  much  needed  to  know  ?  Sis  Brethren, 
(the  Jews  gave  the  name  of  Brothers  to  all  who  were 
collaterally  related,)  his  Brethren  wished  Jesus  to 
make  a  display  of  his  miraculous  power,  for  some  of 
the  glory  would  have  accrued  to  them.  This  their 
ambition  caused  our  Lord  to  address  them  in  these 
strong  words,  upon  which  we  should  meditate  during 
this  holy  season,  for,  later  on,  we  shall  stand  in  need 
of  the  teaching  :  "The  world  cannot  hate  you  ;  but 
me  it  hateth."  Let  us,  therefore,  for  the  time  to  come, 
not  please  the  world ;  its  friendship  would  separate 
us  from  Jesus  Christ. 


Humiliate     capita     vestra  Bow  down  your  heads  to 

Deo.  God. 

Da  nobis,  qusesumus,  Do-  Grant  us,  O  Lord,  we  be- 

mine,   perseverantem  in  tua  seech   thee,    perseverance   in 

voluntate  f amulatum  :    ut  in  thy  service;  that  in  our  days, 

diebus   nostris,  et  merito  et  thy    faithful     may    increase 

numero,    populus    tibi    ser-  both  in   number   and    good- 

viens  augeatur.     Per  Chris-  ness.      Through    Christ    our 

turn      Dominum      nostrum.  Lord.     Amen. 
Amen. 

The  following  devout  Hymn,  taken  from  the 
ancient  Roman-French  Missals,  may  serve  us  as  an 
expression  of  the  sentiments  we  entertain  towards 
our  loving  Redeemer. 

HYMN. 

Eex   Christe   factor  omni-  O  Jesus  !   thou  King   and 

urn.  Creator  of  all,  Eedeemer,  too, 

Eedemptor    et     credentium  :  of  believers,  be  appeased  by 

Placare  votis  supplicum  the  prayer  and  praise  of  thy 

Te  laudibus  colentium.  humble  suppliants. 


TUESDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


137 


'Twas  thy  loving  grace  that, 
by  the  dear  wounds  of  the 
Cross,  broke  so  powerfully  the 
fetters  forged  by  our  first 
Parents. 

Thou,  that  art  the  Creator 
of  the  stars,  didst  deign  to  as- 
sume a  body  of  flesh,  and  en- 
dure the  most  humiliating 
sufferings. 

Thy  hands  were  tied,  that 
thou  mightest  loosen  sinners, 
accomplices  of  a  world  con- 
demned:  thou  didst  suffer 
shame,  so  to  cleanse  away  the 
manifold  sins   of  the   world. 

Thou,  our  Redeemer,  art 
fastened  to  the  Cross,  but  thou 
movest  the  whole  earth :  thou 
breathest  forth  thy  mighty 
Spirit,  and  the  world  is  buried 
in  darkness. 

But  soon  we  see  thee  shin- 
ing triumphantly  on  the  high 
throne  of  thy  Father's  glory  : 
do  thou,  0  best  of  Kings,  de- 
fend us  by  the  protection  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.     Amen. 


Cujus  benigna  gratia 
Crucis  per  alma  vulnera, 
Virtute  solvit  ardua 
Primi  parentis  vincula. 

Qui  es  Creator  siderum 
Tegmen  subisti  carneum : 
Dignatus  es  vilissimam 
Pati  doloris  f ormulam. 

Ligatus  es  ut  solveres 
Mundi  mentis  complices  : 
Per  probra  tergens  crimina 
Quae    mundus    auxit  pluri- 
ma. 

Cruci  Redemptor  figeris, 
Terram    sed   omnem   concu- 

tis  : 
Tradis  potentem  spiritum, 
Nigrescit  atque  sseculum. 

Mox  in  paternse  glorise 
Victor    resplendens      culmi- 

ne : 
Cum  Spiritus  munimine 
Defende  nos,  Rex  optime. 
Amen. 


Let  us  pay  our  homage  to  the  holy  Cross,  in  these 
words  of  the  Greek  Liturgy. 


HYMN. 


(Fevia  IV.  medice  SeptimmwB.) 


Thou,  0  Lord,  God,  the 
Creator  of  all  things,  wast 
lifted  up  on  the  Cross,  in  the 
middle  of  the  earth ;  thou 
didst  draw  up  to  thyself  that 
human  nature,  which  had  fall- 
en by  the  most'wicked  persua- 
sion of  the  enemy.  Wherefore 
we  pay  thee  our  loyal  homage, 
for  thy  Passion  has  strength- 
ened us. 


Dominus  omnium  et  con- 
ditor  Deus,  in  medio  terrae 
in  Crucem  elevatus  es,  attra- 
hens  ad  te  earn,  qu£e  pessimo 
inimici  suasu  corruerat,  hu- 
manam  naturam.  Quaprop- 
ter  sincere  te  concelebramus, 
"Passione  tuaroborati. 


138 


PASSION    WEEK. 


Mundatis  sensibus  jejunii 
lumine,  intellectualibus  Cru- 
cis  radiis  largissime  illustre- 
mur,  eamque  hodie  proposi- 
tam  reverenter  conspicien- 
tes,  castis  labiis,  ore  et  corde 
adoremus. 

Locum  ubi  steterunt  pe- 
des Domini  adoremus,  Cru- 
cem  videlicet  divinam ;  ob- 
secrantes  ut  animse  nostrse 
pedes  in  petra  divinorum 
mandatorum  firmentur,  et 
ut  gressus  ejus,  divina  gra- 
tia in  viam  pacis  dirigantur. 

Plaudite  omnes  fines  ter- 
rse  in  hymnis,  quando  ado- 
rari  videtis  lignum  in  quo 
Christus  suspensus,  et  dia- 
bolus  vulneratus  est. 

Vivifica  Crux  hodie  pro- 
ponitur :  cum  gaudio  igi- 
tur  et  timore  adoremus  Do- 
mini Crucem,  ut  Spiritum 
Sanctum  accipiamus. 

Accedens  ut  te  tangam, 
vivifica  Crux,  cohorresco  et 
lingua  et  mente,  cernens  in 
te  divinum  Domini  mei  san- 
guinem  efrusum  esse. 

Confirma,  Domine,  Eccle- 
siam  tuam,  quam  acquisi- 
visti  virtute  Crucis  tuse ;  in 
ilia  enim  inimicum  trium- 
phasti,  totumque  mundum 
illuminasti. 


The  light  of  fasting  has  puri- 
fied our  senses  ;  may  we  be 
most  brightly  enlightened  by 
the  spiritual  rays  of  thy  Cross. 
On  this  day  it  is  exposed  to 
our  view  ;  grant  that  we  may 
devoutly  kiss  it,  and  venerate 
it  in  our  hymns  and  hearts. 

Let  as  adore  the  place  where 
stood  his  feet,  that  is,  the  holy 
Cross,  and  beseech  him  to 
firmly  fix  the  feet  of  our  soul 
on  the  rock  of  his  divine  com- 
mandments, and,  by  his  holy 
grace,  guide  her  steps  into  the 
way  of  peace. 

Loudly  sing  your  hymns,  0 
all  ye  ends  of  the  earth,  when 
ye  behold  men  venerating 
that  wood,  whereon  Christ 
was  fastened,  and  whereby 
Satan  received  his  wound. 

The  life-giving  Crosses  this 
day  exposed :  let  us,  then, 
with  joy  and  fear,  venerate 
the  Cross  of  our  Lord,  that  we 
may  receive  the  Holy  Ghost. 
O  life-giving  Cross,  my 
tongue  andheart  tremble  with 
fear,  as  I  draw  nigh  to  touch 
thee,  for  I  see  the  divine  Blood 
of  my  Lord  poured  forth  upon 
thee. 

Strengthen,  0  Lord,  thy 
Church,  which  thou  didst  pur- 
chase to  thyself  by  the  power 
of  thy  Cross  ;  for  by  the  Cross 
thou  didst  triumph  over  the 
enemy  and  enlighten  the 
whole  world. 


WEDNESDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


139 


WEDNESDAY. 


IN     PASSION    WEEK. 


At  Rome,  the  Station  is  in  the  Church  of  Saint 
Marcellus,  Pope  and  Martyr.  This  Church  was  once 
the  house  of  the  holy  lady  Lucina,  who  gave  it  to 
the  Pontiff,  that  he  might  consecrate  it  to  God. 


COLLECT. 


Enlighten,  O  God  of  mercy, 
the  hearts  of  thy  people  by 
means  of  this  holy  fast ;  and 
since  all  our  devotion  is  the 
effect  of  thy  bounty,  merciful- 
ly hear  the  petitions  we  make. 
Through  Christ  our  Lord. 
Amen. 


Sanctificato  hoc  jejunio, 
Deus,  tuorum  corda  fi.de- 
lium  miserator  illustra  :  et 
quibus  devotion  is  prsestas 
affectum,  praebe  supplican- 
tibus  pium  benignus  audi- 
tum.  Per  Christum  Domi- 
num  nostrum.     Amen. 


EPISTLE. 


Lesson  from  the  book  of  Levi- 
ticus. 
Cap.  XIX. 

In  those  days :  The  Lord 
spake  to  Moses,  saying:  Speak 
to  all  the  assembly  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  thou 
shalt  say  to  them  :  I  am  the 
Lord  your  God.  You  shall 
not  steal.  You  shall  not  lie  : 
neither  shall  any  man  deceive 
his  neighbour.  Thou  shalt  not 


Lectio   Libri  Levitici. 

Cli.  XIX. 

In  diebus  illis :  Locutus 
est  Dominus  ad  Moysen,  di- 
cens :  Loquere  ad  omnem 
coy  turn  filiorum  Israel,  et 
dices  ad  eos  :  Ego  Dominus 
Deus  vester.  Non  facietis 
furtum.  Non  mentiemini, 
nee  decipiet  unusquisque 
proximum  suum.      Non  per- 


140 


PASSTON    WEEK. 


tuo. 

nee 

Non 


swear  falsely  by  my  name,  nor 
profane  the  name  of  thy  God. 
I  am  the  Lord.     Thou   shalt 
not  calumniate  thy  neighbour, 
nor  oppress  him  by  violence. 
The  wages  of  him  that  has 
been  hired  by  thee,  shall  not 
abide    with   thee    until    the 
morning.      Thou    shalt    not 
speak  evil  of  the  deaf,  nor  put 
a  stumbling  block  before  the 
blind  :  but  thou  shalt  fear  the 
Lord  thy  God,  because  I  am 
the  Lord.     Thou  shalt  not  do 
that    which    is   unjust,    nor 
judge  unjustly.     Respect  not 
the  person  of  the  poor,   nor 
honor  the  countenance  of  the 
mighty.  Judge  thy  neighbour 
according  to  justice.     Thou 
shalt  not  be  a  detractor  nor  a 
whisperer  among  the  people. 
Thou  shalt  not  stand  against 
the  blood  of  thy  neighbour. 
I  am  the  Lord.     Thou  shalt 
not  hate  thy  brother  in  thy 
heart,  but  reprove  him  openly, 
lest  thou  incur  sin  through 
him.     Seek  not  revenge,  nor 
be  mindful  of  the  injury  of 
thy  citizens.     Thou  shalt  love 
thy  friend  as  thyself.     I  am 
the  Lord.     Keep  ye  my  laws, 
for  I  am  the  Lord  your  God. 

This  passage  from  Leviticus,  wherein  our  duties  to 
our  neighbour  are  so  clearly  and  so  fully  denned,  is 
read  to  us  to-day,  in  order  that  we  may  see  how  we 
fulfil  these  important  duties,  and  correct  whatever 
short-comings  we  may  discover  in  ourselves.  It  is 
God  who  here  speaks ;  it  is  God  who  commands. 
Observe  that  phrase  :  i"  am  the  Lord :  he  repeats  it 
several  times,  to  show  us  that  if  we  injure  our  neigh- 
bour, He,  God  himself,   will   become  the  avenger. 


jurabis  in    nomine  meo,    nee 
pollues  nomen  Dei  tui.     Ego 
Dominus.     Non    facies     ca- 
lumniam   proximo   tuo,    nee 
vi  opprimes  eum.     Non  mo- 
rabitur   opus  mercenarii   tui 
apud   te  usque  mane.      Non 
maledices    surdo,   nee  coram 
cseco     pones     offendiculum : 
sed  timebis  Dominum  Deum 
tuum,    quia    ego    sum    Do- 
minus.     Non  facies  quod  ini- 
quum   est,    nee   in  juste    ju- 
dicabis.         Non     consideres 
personam  pauperis,   nee  ho- 
nores  vultum  potentis.     Jus- 
te    judica       proximo 
Non     eris     criminator, 
susurro      in      populo. 
stabis      contra       sanguinem 
proximi  tui.      Ego  Dominus. 
Non    oderis  fratrem  tuum  in 
corde  tuo,  sed  publice  argue 
eum,    ne    habeas   super    illo 
peccatum.     Non  quaeras  ul- 
tionem,   nee  memor  eris  in- 
jurise  civium  tuorum.      Dili- 
ges  amicum  tuum  sicut  teip- 
sum.      Ego    Dominus.     Le- 
ges   meas    custodite.       Ego 
enim     sum    Dominus    Deus 
vester. 


WEDNESDAY    TN    PASSION    WEEK.  141 

How  strange  must  not  such  doctrine  have  seemed 
to  the  Catechumens,  who  had  been  brought  up  in 
the  selfish  and  heartless  principles  of  Paganism  ! 
Here  they  are  told,  that  all  men  are  Brethren,  and 
that  (rod  is  the  common  Father  of  all,  commanding 
all  to  love  one  another  with  sincere  charity,  and 
without  distinction  of  nation  or  class.  Let  us  Chris- 
tians resolve  to  fulfil  this  precept  to  the  letter  :  these 
are  days  for  good  resolutions.  Let  us  remember  that 
the  commandments  we  have  been  reading  were  given 
to  the  Israelite  people,  many  ages  before  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Law  of  Love.  If,  then,  Grod  exacted  from 
the  Jew  a  cordial  love  of  his  fellow-men,  when  the 
divine  law  was  written  on  mere  tablets  of  stone  ; 
what  will  he  not  require  from  the  Christian,  who  can 
now  read  that  Law  in  the  Heart  of  the  Man-Grod, 
who  has  come  down  from  heaven  and  made  himself 
our  Brother,  in  order  that  we  might  find  it  easier 
and  sweeter  to  fulfil  the  precept  of  charity  ?  Human 
nature  united  in  his  Person  to  the  Divine,  is  hence- 
forth sacred  ;  it  has  become  an  object  of  the  heavenly 
Father's  love.  It  was  out  of  fraternal  love  for  this 
our  nature  that  Jesus  suffered  death,  teaching  us, 
by  his  own  example,  to  have  such  love  for  our  breth- 
ren, that,  if  necessary,  we  ought  to  lay  down  our 
lives  for  them.1  It  is  the  Beloved  Disciple  that 
teaches  us  this,  and  he  had  it  from  his  Divine  Master. 

GOSPEL. 

Sequel  of  the   holy   Gospel     Sequentia    sancti     Evangelii 
according  to  John.  secundum  Joannem. 

Oh.  X.  Gap.   X. 

At  that  time  :    It  was  the  In    illo     tempore  :     Facta 

feast    of    the   Dedication    at  sunt    encaenia    in    Jerosoly- 

Jerusalem:  and  it  was  winter,  mis  :   et  hiems  erat.     Et  am- 

And    Jesus    walked    in    the  bulabat    Jesus    in     templo, 

H.  St.  John,  iii.  16. 


142 


PASSION    WEEK. 


in  porticu  Salmonis.  Cir- 
cumdederunt  ergo  eum 
Judaei,  et  dicebant  ei : 
Quousque  animam  nostram 
tollis  ?  Si  tu  es  Christus, 
die  nobis  palam.  Respondit 
eis  Jesus  :  Loquor  vobis,  et 
non  creditis.  Opera  quae 
ego  facio  in  nomine  Patris 
mei,  hoec  testimonium  per- 
hibent  de  me.  Sed  vos  non 
creditis,  quia  non  estis  ex 
ovibus  meis.  Oves  mese 
vocem  meam  audiunt :  et 
ego  cognosco  eas,  et  sequun- 
tur  me  :  et  ego  vitam  seter- 
nam  do  eis  :  et  non  peribunt 
in  seternum,  et  non  rapiet 
eas  quisquam  de  manu  mea. 
Pater  meus  quod  dedit  mihi, 
majus  omnibus  est  :  et  nemo 
potest  rapere  de  manu 
Patris  mei.  Ego,  et  Pater 
unum  sumus.  Sustulerunt 
ergo  lapides  Judsei,  ut  lapi- 
darent  eum.  Respondit  eis 
Jesus  :  Multa  bona  opera 
ostendi  vobis  ex  Patre  meo  ; 
propter  quod  eorum  opus 
me  lapidatis  ?  Responde- 
runt  ei  Judsei  :  De  bono 
opere  non  lapidamus  te,  sed 
de  blasphemia  :  et  quia  tu 
homo  cum  sis,  facis  teipsum 
Deum.  Respondit        eis 

Jesus :  Nonne  scriptum  est 
in  lege  vestra  :  Quia  ego 
dixi,  Dii  estis  ?  Si  illos 
dixit  deos,  ad  quos  sermo 
Dei  factus  est,  et  non  potest 
solvi  Scriptura  :  quern  Pater 
sanctificavit,  et  misit  in 
mundum,  vos  dicitis  :  Quia 
blasphernas  ;  quia  dixi, 
Films  Dei  sum  ?  Si  non 
facio  opera  Patris  mei, 
nolite      credere      mihi.      Si 


temple  in  Solomon's  porch  : 
the  Jews  therefore  came  round 
about  him,  and  said  to  him  : 
How  long  dost  thou  hold  our 
souls  in  suspense  ?  If  thou  be 
the  Christ,  tell  us  plainly. 
Jesus  answered  them :  I  speak 
to  you  and  you  believe  not. 
The  works  that  I  do  in  the 
name  of  my  Father,  they  give 
testimony  of  me.  But  you  do 
not  believe  because  you  are 
not  of  my  sheep.  My  sheep 
hear  rny  voice  :  and  I  know 
them,  and  they  follow  me  : 
and  I  give  them  eternal  life  : 
and  they  shall  not  perish  for 
ever,  and  no  man  shall  pluck 
them  out  of  my  hand.  That 
which  my  Father  hath  given 
me,  is  greater  than  all :  and 
no  man  can  snatch  it  out  of 
the  hand  of  my  Father.  I 
and  the  Father  are  one.  The 
Jews  then  took  up  stones  to 
stone  him.  Jesus  answered 
them :  Many  good  works  I 
have  shewed  you  from  my 
Father ;  for  which  of  those 
works  do  you  stone  me  ? 
The  Jews  answered  him  :  For 
a  good  work  we  stone  thee  not, 
but  for  blasphemy :  and  be- 
cause that  thou,  being  a  man, 
makest  thyself  God.  Jesus 
answered  them :  Is  it  not 
written  in  your  law  :  I  said 
you  are  gods  ?  If  he  called 
them  Gods,  to  whom  the  word 
of  God  was  spoken,  and  the 
Scripture  cannot  be  broken  ; 
do  you  say  of  him,  whom  the 
Father  hath  sanctified  and 
sent  into  the  world  :  Thou 
blasphemest ;  because  I  said  I 
am  the  Son  of  God  ?  If  I  do 
not  the  works  of  my  Father, 


WEDNESDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK.  143 

believe  me  not.     But  if  I  do,  autem  facio,    et  si  mini  non 

though  you  will   not  believe  vultis  credere,  operibus  cre- 

me,  believe  the  works,   that  dite,    ut   cognoscatis,   et  cre- 

you  may  know,   and  believe  datis   quia  Pater  in  me  est, 

that  the  Father  is  in  me,  and  et  ego  in  Pater. 
I  in  the  Father. 

After  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  came  that  of  the 
Dedication,  and  Jesus  remained  in  Jerusalem.  The 
hatred  his  enemies  bore  him  is  greater  than  ever. 
They  come  round  about  him,  that  they  may  make 
him  say  he  is  the  Christ,  and  then  accuse  him  of 
claiming  a  mission  which  does  not  belong  to  him. 
Jesus  deigns  not  to  reply  to  their  question,  but  tells 
them  that  they  have  seen  his  works,  and  that  these 
give  ample  testimony  of  his  being  Christ,  the  Son  of 
Grod.  It  is  by  faith,  and  by  faith  alone,  that  man 
can  here  know  his  Grod.  Grod  manifests  himself  by 
his  divine  works  :  man  sees  them,  and  is  bound  to 
believe  the  truth  to  which  they  bear  testimony.  By 
thus  believing,  he  has  both  the  certitude  of  what  he 
believes,  and  the  merit  of  his  believing.  The  proud 
Jew  rebels  against  this  :  he  would  fain  dictate  to  Grod 
how  he  should  act,  and  sees  not  that  such  a  preten- 
sion is  impious  and  absurd. 

But,  if  Jesus  openly  declare  the  truth,  he  will 
scandalise  these  evil-minded  men  !  Be  it  so ;  the 
truth  must  be  preached.  Our  Lord  has  others  to 
consult  besides  them  ;  there  are  the  well-intentioned, 
and  they  will  believe  what  he  teaches.  He,  therefore, 
utters  these  sublime  words,  whereby  he  declares,  not 
only  that  he  is  Christ,  but  that  he  is  God  :  i"  and  the 
Father  are  one.  He  knew  that  this  would  enrage 
his  enemies ;  but  he  had  to  make  himself  known  to 
the  world,  and  arm  the  Church  against  the  false 
doctrines  of  heretics,  who  were  to  rise  up  in  future 
ages.  One  of  these  is  to  be  Arius,  who  will  teach 
that  Jesus  is  not  Grod,  but  only  the  most  perfect  of 
creatures  ;  the  Church  will  answer,    that  Jesus  is  one 


144  PASSION    WEEK. 

with  the  Father, — consubstantial  to  the  Father : 
and,  then,  after  causing  much  trouble  and  sin, 
Arianism  will  die  out,  and  be  forgotten.  The  Jews, 
mentioned  in  to-day's  Gospel,  are  the  fore-runners  of 
Arius ;  they  understand  what  our  Lord  says, — he 
says  he  is  God,  and  they  seek  to  stone  him.  Jesus 
gives  them  a  fresh  grace  ;  he  shows  them  why  they 
should  receive  what  he  here  teaches :  he  reminds 
them,  by  the  Scriptures  they  knew  off  by  heart,  that 
the  name  god  has  sometimes  been  applied,  in  a 
limited  sense,  to  men  who  had  certain  high  offices 
put  upon  them  by  heaven  ;  and  then,  he  bids  them 
think  of  all  the  miracles  they  have  seen  him  work, 
which  so  plainly  testify  to  his  being  assisted  by  his 
Father,  and  once  more  declares  himself  to  be  Grod, 
saying :  The  Father  is  in  me,  and  I  in  the  Father. 
But  men,  hardened  in  obstinacy  as  these  are,  cannot 
be  convinced ;  and  the  sin  they  have  committed 
against  the  Holy  Ghost  is  working  its  effects,  How 
different  is  it  with  the  Sheep  of  this  divine  Shep- 
herd!  They  hear  his  voice;  they  follow  him;  he 
gives  them  eternal  life ;  no  man  shall  pluck  them 
out  of  his  hand.  Happy  Sheep  indeed  !  They  be- 
lieve, because  they  love  ;  and  as  it  is  through  the 
heart  that  Truth  gains  ascendency  over  them,  so  is 
it  by  pride  of  intellect  that  darkness  gets  admission 
into  the  soul  of  the  unbeliever,  and  lasts  as  long  as 
pride  lasts.  Alas  !  poor  unbeliever !  he  loves  his 
darkness  ;  he  calls  it  light ;  he  blasphemes  when  he 
thinks  he  reasons,  just  as  these  Jews  crucified  the 
Son  of  God,  that,  as  they  said,  they  might  give  glory 
to  God. 


Humiliate     capita     vestra  Bow  down  your  heads  to 

Deo.  God. 

Adesto        supplicationibus  Hear  our  prayers  and  en- 

nostris,     omnipotens    Deus  ;  treaties,  0  Almighty  God,  and 

et   quibus  fiduciam    speran-  grant  that  those  to  whom  thou 

dse    pietatis   indulges,    con-  givest   hopes   of  thy   mercy, 


WEDNESDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


145 


may  experience  the  effects  of 
thy  usual  clemency.  Through 
Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 


suetre  misericordise  tribue 
benignus  effectum.  Per 
Christum  Dominum  nos- 
trum.    Amen. 


The  Mozarabic  Breviary  gives  us  the  following 
beautiful  prayer,  which  consists  of  exclamations  to 
our  suffering  Jesus. 


PRAYER. 


(Sabbato  Dominicce  V.  Quadragesimce.) 

thou  true  Son        f.    Verus  Dei  Filius  Chris- 


t.    0  Jesus 
of  God. 

&.  Graciously  hear  us  ! 
have  mercy  on  thy  suppliant 
people. 

i?"..  Thou  that  alone  didst 
save  the  world  by  the  triumph 
of  thy  Cross,  do  thou,  by  the 
Blood  thou  didst  shed,  deliver 
us. 

# •    And  graciously  hear  us. 

# .  By  thy  Death,  thou  didst 
destroy  death ;  By  thy  Kesur- 
rection,  thou  didst  give  us 
life;  for  our  sakes,  thou  didst 
suffer  undue  punishment. 

&.    And  graciously  hear  us. 

y.  May  we  celebrate,  in 
peace,  these  days  of  thy  Pas- 
sion, and  thereby  be  consoled 
by  thy  sweetness. 

Ifc .    And  graciously  hear  us. 

y .  Let  not  them  perish ,  for 
whom  thou  didst  suffer  the 
Cross ;  but,  by  thy  Cross, 
lead  them  to  life  everlasting. 

&  •    And  graciously  hear  us . 


te, 

gt.  Exaudi :  populo  sup- 
plicanti  miserere. 

f.  Qui  triumpho  Crucis 
tuee  salvasti  solus  orbem,  tu 
cruoris  tui  poena  nos  libera. 


gt.     Et  exaudi. 

^.  Qui  moriens  mortem 
damnas,  resurgens  vitam 
praestas,  sustinens  pro  nobis 
pcenam  indebitam. 

Ri.     Et  exaudi. 

f.  Passionis  tuse  dies  ce- 
lebremus  indemnes  :  ut  per 
hoc  dulcedo  tua  nos  foveat. 

gt.     Et  exaudi. 

f.  Pro  quibus  passus  es 
crucem,  non  permittas  per- 
ire  ;  sed  per  crucem  due  ad 
vitam  perpetuam. 

Ri.     Et  exaudi. 


Let  us  now  turn  towards  the  Holy  Cross.  These 
words  of  the  Greek  Church,  in  her  Triodion,  will 
assist  our  devotion. 


146 


PASSION    WEEK. 


HYMN. 


(Ferice  V.  medics  Septimance.) 


Crucis  speciem  insinuans, 
manus,  permutato  ordine, 
olim  expandit  decantatissi- 
mus  Jacob,  benedictionem 
nepotibus  impertiens ;  si- 
mulque  salutiferam  bene- 
dictionem quae  ad  nos  om- 
nes  pertingit  indicans. 

Te  salutiferam  armatu- 
ram,  te  invictum  trophaeum, 
laetitiae  signum,  quo  mors 
occisa  est,  amplectimur, 
illustres  effecti  ejus  gloria 
qui  in  te,  Crux  honora- 
tissima,  affixus  est. 

Assistunt  incorporearum 
Virtutum  ordines  tremen- 
tes  coram  ligno  vitam  prae- 
bente.  In  te  enim  Christus 
sanguinem  effudit,  pretium 
redemptionis  repraesentans, 
daemonibus  piaculare  et 
capitale,  ob  perniciem  ho- 
minibus  illatam. 

Percussum  me  hostis  gla- 
dio  sana  sanguine  tuo,  Ver- 
bum,  et  lancea  celeriter  pec- 
catorum  meorum  chirogra- 
phum  disrumpe,  et  in  li- 
brum  vitae  inscribe. 

Inferni  habitaculum  con- 
cussisti,  ubi  in  terra  defixa 
es :  fidelibus  autem  ful- 
crum inconcussum  et  sta- 
bilis  protectio  effecta  es,  6 
veneranda  Crux. 

Feraces  virtutum  effecti 
decerpamus  divini  ligni  vi- 
yificos  fructus,  quos  protulit 


When  the  most  praise- 
worthy Patriarch  Jacob,  was, 
of  old,  about  to  bless  his  chil- 
dren, he  crossed  his  arms  ;  in 
this  he  represented  the  Cross, 
and  prefigured  that  saving 
blessing  which  thence  came 
to  each  of  us. 

We  embrace  thee,  most 
venerable  Cross,  as  our  ar- 
mour of  salvation,  the  invin- 
cible trophy,  the  standard  of 
joy,  whereby  Death  was  put  to 
death;  for  we  have  been  made 
to  share  in  the  glory  of  Him, 
that  was  nailed  upon  thee. 

The  choirs  of  the  angelic 
Powers  stand  in  holy  awe 
around  thee,  O  life-giving 
Tree  !  For  it  was  on  thee  that 
Christ  shed  his  Blood,  which 
was  the  price  of  our  redemp- 
tion, and  which  utterly  des- 
troyed all  those  rights  that 
sin  had  given  the  devil  over 
mankind. 

O  Word  (made  Flesh) !  the 
sword  of  the  enemy  hath 
struck  me  ;  heal  me  by  thy 
Blood.  Speedily  tear,  with 
thy  Spear,  the  hand-writing 
of  my  sins,  and  write  my 
name  in  the  book  of  life. 

O  venerable  Cross !  when 
thou  wast  fixed  in  the  earth, 
thou  didst  make  to  tremble 
the  region  of  hell ;  but  thou 
wast  made  a  firm  support  and 
unshaken  protection  to  the 
Faithful. 

Being  made  fruitful  in  vir- 
tue, let  us  pluck  from  the 
divine  Tree  those  life-giving 


WEDNESDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


147 


fruits,  offered  unto  us  by  that 
rich  Vine,  Jesus,  who  lay 
stretched  upon  it. 

O  Jesus  !  we  praise  thy  im- 
mense goodness,  as  we  vene- 
rate the  Cross,  and  Spear,  and 
Eeed,  whereby,  0  merciful 
God,  thou  didst  remove  the 
wall  of  enmity  that  stood 
between  us  and  thee. 


nobis  in  hoc  extensus  Jesus 
vitis  ilia  fructifera. 

Laudemus,  Jesu,  immen- 
sam  bonitatem  tuam  ado- 
rantes  Crucem,  lanceam  et 
arundinem  per  quam  sus- 
tulisti,  misericors,  inimici- 
tiarum  medium  parietem. 


148 


PASSION    WEEK. 


THUESDAY 


IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


The  Station  at  Rome,  is  in  the  Church  of  Saint 
Apollinaris,  who  was  a  disciple  of  St.  Peter,  and, 
afterwards,  Bishop  of  Ravenna,  and  Martyr. 


collect. 

Prsesta,  qusesumus,  omni-  Grant,  we  beseech  thee,  O 

potens     Deus,      Tit    dignitas  Almighty    God,      that     the 

conditionis       hunianse       per  dignity    of    human    nature, 

immoderantiam         sauciata,  which  hath    been    wounded 

medicinalis  parcimoniae  stu-  by  excess,  may  be  cured  by 

dio   reformetur.     Per   Chris-  the  practice  of  healing  tern- 

turn       Dominum      nostrum,  perance.    Through  Christ  our 

Amen.  Lord.     Amen. 


EPISTLE. 


Lectio    Danielis     Prophetse.     Lesson 


Cap.  III. 

In  diebus  illis :  Oravit 
Azarias  Dominum,  dicens : 
Domine  Deus  noster,  ne 
qusesumus,  tradas  nos  in 
perpetuum  propter  nomen 
tuum,  et  ne  dissipes  testa- 
mentum  tuum :  neque  au- 
feras  misericordiam  tuam  a 
nobis  propter  Abraham 
dilectum     tuum      et      Isaac 


from      Daniel 
Prophet. 

Ch.  Ill 


the 


In  those  days,  Azarias 
prayed  to  the  Lord,  saying  : 
0  Lord  our  God,  deliver  us 
not  up  for  ever,  we  beseech 
thee,  for  thy  name's  sake,  and 
abolish  not  thy  covenant :  and 
take  not  away  thy  mercy 
from  us,  for  the  sake  of 
Abraham  thy  beloved,  and 
Isaac  thy  servant,  and  Israel 


THURSDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


149 


thy  holy  one  :  to  whom  thou 
hast  spoken,  promising  that 
thou  wouldst  multiply  their 
seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven, 
and  as  the  sand  that  is  on  the 
sea  shore.  For  we,  0  Lord, 
are  diminished  more  than  any 
nation,  and  are  brought  low 
in  all  the  earth  this  day  for 
our  sins.  Neither  is  there  at 
this  time  prince,  or  leader,  or 
prophet,  or  holocaust,  or  sac- 
rifice, or  oblation,  or  incense, 
or  place  of  first-fruits  before 
thee,  that  we  may  find  thy 
mercy :  nevertheless,  in  a 
contrite  heart  and  humble 
spirit,  let  us  be  accepted.  As 
in  holocausts  of  rams,  and 
bullocks,  and  as  in  thousands 
of  fat  lambs  :  so  let  our  sacri- 
fice be  made  in  thy  sight  this 
day,  that  it  may  please  thee  : 
for  there  is  no  confusion  to 
them  that  trust  in  thee.  And 
now  we  follow  thee  with  all 
our  heart,  and  we  fear  thee, 
and  seek  thy  face.  Put  us 
not  to  confusion,  but  deal 
with  us  according  to  thy 
meekness,  and  according  to 
the  multitude  of  thy  mercies. 
And  deliver  us  according  to 
thy  wonderful  works,  and 
give  glory  to  thy  name,  O 
Lord ;  and  let  all  them  be 
confounded  that  shew  evils  to 
thy  servants,  let  them  be 
confounded  in  all  thy  might, 
and  let  their  strength  be 
broken  ;  and  let  them  know 
that  thou  art  the  Lord,  the 
only  God,  and  glorious  over 
all  the  world,  0  Lord  our 
God. 


servum  tuum,  et  Israel 
sanctum  tuum  :  quibus  lo- 
cutus  es,  pollicens  quod 
multiplicares  semen  eorum 
sicut  stellas  cceli,  et  sicut 
arenam,  quse  est  in  littore 
maris :  quia,  Domine,  im- 
minuti  sumus  plus  quam 
omnes  gentes,  sumusque 
humiles  in  universa  terra 
hodie  propter  peccata  nos- 
tra. Et  non  est  in  tempore 
hoc  princeps,  et  dux,  et 
propheta,  neque  holocaus- 
tum,  neque  sacrificium, 
neque  oblatio,  neque  in- 
censum,  neque  locus  primi- 
tiarum  coram  te,  ut  pos- 
simus  invenire  misericor- 
diam  tuam :  sed  in  animo 
contrito,  et  spiritu  humili- 
tatis  suscipiamur.  Sicut  in 
holocausto  arietum,  et  tau- 
rorum,  et  sicut  in  millibus 
agnorum  pinguium :  sic 
fiat  sacrificium  nostrum  in 
conspectu  tuo  hodie,  ut 
placeat  tibi  :  quoniam  non 
est  confusio  confidentibus 
in  te.  Et  nunc  sequimur  te 
in  toto  corde,  et  timemus 
te,  et  quserimus  faciem  tuam. 
Ne  confundas  nos,  sed  fac 
nobiscum  juxta  mansuetu- 
dinem  tuam,  et  secundum 
multitudinem  misericordise 
tuae.  Et  erue  nos  in  mira- 
bilibus  tuis,  et  da  gloriam 
nomini  tuo,  Domine  :  et  con- 
fundantur  omnes  quia  osten- 
dunt  servis  tuis  mala,  con- 
fund  antur  in  omnipotentia 
tua,  et  robur  eorum  conte- 
ratur ;  et  sciant  quia  tu  es  Do- 
minus  Deus  solus,  et  gloriosus 
super  orbem  terrarum,  Do- 
mine Deus  noster. 


150  PASSION    WEEK. 

Thus  did  Juda,  when  captive  in  Babylon,  pour 
forth  her  prayers  to  God,  by  the  mouth  of  Azarias. 
Sion  was  desolate  beyond  measure  ;  her  people  were 
in  exile  ;  her  solemnities  were  hushed.  Her  children 
were  to  continue  in  a  strange  land  for  seventy  years ; 
after  which  God  would  be  mindful  of  them,  and  lead 
them,  by  the  hand  of  Cyrus,  back  to  Jerusalem, 
when  the  building  of  the  second  Temple  would  be 
begun,  that  Temple  which  was  to  receive  the  Messias 
within  its  walls.  What  crime  had  Juda  committed, 
that  she  should  be  thus  severely  punished  ?  The 
Daughter  of  Sion  had  fallen  into  idolatry  ;  she  had 
broken  the  sacred  engagement  which  made  her  the 
Spouse  of  her  (rod.  Her  crime,  however,  was  ex- 
piated by  these  seventy  years  of  captivity,  and  when 
she  returned  to  the  land  of  her  fathers,  she  never 
relapsed  into  the  worship  of  false  gods.  When  the 
Son  of  God  came  to  dwell  in  her,  he  found  her  inno- 
cent of  idolatry.  But  scarcely  had  forty  years  elapsed 
after  the  Ascension  of  this  Divine  Redeemer,  than 
Juda  was  again  an  exile ;  not,  indeed,  led  captive 
into  Babylon,  but  dispersed  in  every  nation  under 
the  sun,  after  having  first  seen  the  massacre  of  thou- 
sands of  her  children.  This  time,  it  is  not  merely 
for  seventy  years,  but  for  eighteen  centuries,  that  she 
is  without  prince,  or  leader,  or  prophet,  or  holocaust, 
or  sacrifice,  or  Temple.  Her  new  crime  must  be 
greater  than  idolatry,  for,  after  all  these  long  ages  of 
suffering  and  humiliation,  the  justice  of  the  Father 
is  not  appeased  !  It  is,  because  the  blood  that  was 
shed,  by  the  Jewish  people,  on  Calvary,  was  not  the 
blood  of  a  man, — it  was  the  blood  of  a  God.  Yes,  the 
very  sight  of  the  chastisement  inflicted  on  the  mur- 
derers proclaims  to  the  world  that  they  were  deicides. 
Their  crime  was  an  unparalleled  one  ;  its  punishment 
is  to  be  so  too  ;  it  is  to  last  to  the  end  of  time,  when 
God,  for  the  sake  of  Abraham  his  beloved,  and  Isaac  his 
servant,    and   Jacob   his    holy   one,   will    visit   Juda 


THURSDAY    IN    PASSION   WEEK.  151 

with  an  extraordinary  grace,  and  her  conversion  will 
console  the  Church,  whose  affliction  is  then  to  be 
great  by  reason  of  the  apostacy  of  many  of  her  chil- 
dren. This  spectacle  of  a  whole  people  bearing  on 
itself  the  curse  of  Grod  for  having  crucified  the  Son 
of  God,  should  make  a  Christian  tremble  for  himself. 
It  teaches  him,  that  Divine  justice  is  terrible,  and 
that  the  Father  demands  an  account  of  the  Blood  of 
his  Son,  even  to  the  last  drop,  from  those  that  shed 
it.  Let  us  lose  no  time,  but  go  at  once,  and,  in  this 
precious  Blood,  cleanse  ourselves  from  the  share  we 
have  had  in  the  sin  of  the  Jews  ;  and,  throwing  off 
the  chains  of  iniquity,  let  us  imitate  those  among 
them,  whom  we  see,  from  time  to  time,  separating 
themselves  from  their  people  and  returning  to  the 
Messias  : — let  us,  also,  be  converts,  and  turn  to  that 
Jesus,  whose  hands  are  stretched  out  on  the  Cross, 
ever  ready  to  receive  the  humble  penitent. 

GOSPEL. 

Sequel  of  the   holy  Gospel     Sequentia    sancti     Evangelii 
according  to  Luke.  secundum  Lucam. 

Ch.   VII.  Cap.    VII. 

At  that  time  :    One  of  the  In  illo  tempore  :    Rogabat 

Pharisees  desired  him  to  eat  Jesum  quidam   de  Pharisae- 

with  him.     And  he  went  into  is,  ut  manducaret  cum  illo. 

the  house  of  the  Pharisee,  and  Et  ingressus  domum  Phari- 

sat  down  to  meat.     And  be-  ssei,  discubuit.     Et  ecce  mu- 

hold  a  woman  that  was  in  the  lier,    quae    erat    in    civitate 

city,  a  sinner,  when  she  knew  peccatrix,  ut  cognovit   quod 

that  he   sat  at   meat  in  the  accubuisset  in  domo   Phari- 

Pharisee's  house,  brought  an  saei,   attulit   alabastrum  un- 

alabaster  box  of  ointment  ;  guenti ;    et  stans  retro  secus 

and   standing   behind  at  his  pedes   ejus,     lacrymis   coepit 

feet,   she  began  to  wash  his  rigare   pedes  ejus,   et   capil- 

feet  with   tears,    and   wiped  lis   capitis    sui    tergebat,    et 

them   with   the  hairs   of  her  osculabatur  pedes    ejus,     et 

head,  and  kissed  his  feet,  and  unguento   ungebat.      Videns 

anointed  them  with  the  oint-  autem  Pharisseus,    qui  voca- 

ment.  And  the  Pharisee,  who  verat  eum,    ait  intra  se  di- 

had  invited  him,    seeing  it,  cens  :    Hie  si  esset  Propheta, 

M 


152 


PASSION    WEEK. 


sciret  utique,   quae,   et  qua- 
lis    est  mulier,     quae   tangit 
eum  :     quia     peccatrix     est. 
Et   respondens   Jesus,     dixit 
ad  ilium  :    Simon,   habeo  tibi 
aliquid  dicere.      At  ille  ait : 
Magister,   die.     Duo  debito- 
res    erant    cuidam    foenera- 
tori  :    unus  debebat  denarios 
quingentos,    et    alius    quin- 
quaginta.      Non  habentibus 
illis    unde     redderent,      do- 
navit  utrisque.       Quis  ergo 
eum  plus   diligit  ?     Eespon- 
dens   Simon,    dixit:  -ZEstimo 
quia    is,     cui  plus   donavit. 
At  ille  dixit  ei  :    Eecte  judi- 
casti.     Et  conversus  ad  mu- 
lierem,    dixit    Simoni  :     Vi- 
des  hanc  mulierem?     Intra- 
vi  in  domum  tuam  :    aquam 
pedibus    meis    non    dedisti ; 
hsec   autem  lacrymis  rigavit 
pedes   meos,    et   capillis  suis 
tersit.       Osculum   mihi   non 
dedisti  ;  hsec  autem,  ex  quo 
intravit,     non     cessavit     os- 
culari    pedes    meos.        Oleo 
caput    meum    non    unxisti ; 
hsec   autem  unguento   unxit 
pedes  meos.      Propter   quod 
dico  tibi  :       Eemittuntur   ei 
peccata  multa,  quoniam  di- 
lexit  multum.       Cui    autem 
minus      dimittitur,       minus 
diligit.     Dixit   autem   ad  il- 
lam  :  Eemittuntur  tibi  pec- 
cata.    Et  coeperunt   qui    si- 
mul      accumbebant,      dicere 
intra  se  :    Quis  est  hie,  qui 
etiam       peccata       dimittit  ? 
Dixit  autem  ad    mulierem  : 
Fides  tua  te  salvam   fecit  : 
vade  in  pace. 


spoke  within  himself,  saying  : 
This  man,  if  he  were  aprophet, 
would  know  surely  who  and 
what  manner  of  woman  this  is 
that  touches  him,  that  she  is  a 
sinner.       And  Jesus  answer- 
ing, said  to  him :    Simon,  I 
have  somewhat  to  say  to  thee. 
But  he  said  :    Master,  say  it. 
A   certain   creditor  had  two 
debtors  :    the  one  owed  five 
hundred  pence,  and  the  other 
fifty.     And  whereas  they  had 
not  wherewith  to  pay,  he  for- 
gave  them   both.         "Which 
therefore  of   the   two  loveth 
him  most  ?    Simon  answering, 
said  :     I  suppose  that  he  to 
whom  he  forgave  most.     And 
he  said  to  him  :    Thou  hast 
j  udged  rightly .     And  turning 
to  the  woman,  he  said  unto 
Simon :    Dost   thou   see   this 
woman  ?     I  entered  into  thy 
house  ;    thou   gavest  me  no 
water  for  my  feet,  but  she  with 
tears  hath  washed  my  feet  and 
with    her    hairs    hath  wiped 
them.       Thou  gavest  me  no 
kiss  ;  but  she,  since  she  came 
in,  hath  not  ceased  to  kiss  my 
feet.     My  head  with  oil  thou 
didst  not  anoint ;  but  she  with 
ointment  hath   anointed   my 
feet.   "Wherefore  I  say  to  thee : 
Many  sins  are  forgiven  her, 
because  she  hath  loved  much. 
But  to  whom  less  is  forgiven, 
he  loveth  less .    And  he  said  to 
her:    Thy   sins  are  forgiven 
thee.     And  they  that  sat  at 
meat  with  him  began  to  say 
within  themselves  :     "Who  is 
this  that  f orgiveth  sins  also  ? 
And  he  said  to  the  woman : 
Thy   faith   hath   made    thee 
safe  :  go  in  peace. 


THURSDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK.  153 

What  consolation  there  is  for  us  in  this  Gospel, 
and  how  different  are  the  reflections  it  suggests, 
from  those  we  were  just  making  upon  the  Epistle ! 
The  event  here  related  does  not  belong  to  the  time 
of  our  Saviour's  Passion  ;  but,  during  these  days  of 
mercy,  does  it  not  behove  us  to  glorify  the  meekness 
of  that  Divine  Heart,  which  is  preparing  to  grant 
pardon  to  countless  sinners  throughout  the  world  ? 
Besides,  is  not  Magdalene  the  inseparable  Companion 
of  her  dear  Crucified  Master,  even  to  Calvary  ?  Let 
us,  then,  study  this  admirable  penitent,  this  type  of 
love  faithful  even  to  death. 

Magdalene  had  led  a  wicked  life  :  as  the  Grospel 
tells  us  elsewhere,1  seven  devils  had  taken  up  their 
abode  within  her.  But,  no  sooner  has  she  seen  and 
heard  Jesus,  than  immediately  she  is  filled  with  a 
horror  for  sin  ;  divine  love  is  enkindled  within  her 
heart ;  she  has  but  one  desire,  and  that  is  to  make 
amends  for  her  past  life.  Her  sins  have  been  pub- 
lic :  her  conversion  must  be  so  too.  She  has  lived  in 
vanity  and  luxury ;  she  is  resolved  to  give  all  up. 
Her  perfumes  are  all  to  be  for  her  Q-od,  her  Jesus  ; 
that  hair  of  hers,  of  which  she  has  been  so  proud, 
shall  serve  to  wipe  his  sacred  feet ;  her  eyes  shall 
henceforth  spend  themselves  in  shedding  tears  of 
contrite  love.  The  grace  of  the  Holy  Grhost  urges 
her  to  go  to  Jesus.  He  is  in  the  house  of  a  Pharisee, 
who  is  giving  an  entertainment.  To  go  to  him  now, 
would  be  exposing  herself  to  observation.  She  cares 
not.  Taking  with  her  an  ointment  of  great  worth, 
she  makes  her  way  into  the  feast,  throws  herself  at 
Jesus'  feet,  washes  them  with  her  tears,  wipes  them 
with  the  hair  of  her  head,  kisses  them,  anoints  them 
with  the  ointment.  Jesus  himself  tells  us  with  what 
interior  sentiments  she  accompanies  these  outward 
acts  of  respect :    but  even  had  he  not  spoken,  her 

1  St.  Mark,  xvi.  9. 


154  PASSION   WEEK. 

tears,  her  generosity,  her  position  at  his  feet,  tell  us 
enough  ;  she  is  heart-broken,  she  is  grateful,  she  is 
humble  :  who,  but  a  Pharisee,  could  have  mistaken 
her? 

The  Pharisee,  then,  is  shocked  !  His  heart  had 
within  it  much  of  that  Jewish  pride  which  is  soon 
to  crucify  the  Messias.  He  looks  disdainfully  at 
Magdalene  ;  he  is  disappointed  with  his  Guest,  and 
murmurs  out  his  conclusion  :  This  man,  if  he  were 
a  Prophet,  would  surely  know  who  and  what  man- 
ner of  woman  this  is  !  Poor  Pharisee  ! — if  he  had 
the  spirit  of  Grod  within  him,  he  would  recognise 
Jesus  to  be  the  promised  Saviour,  by  this  wonderful 
condescension  shown  to  a  penitent.  With  all  his 
reputation  as  a  Pharisee,  how  contemptible  he  is, 
compared  with  this  woman  !  Jesus  would  give  him 
a  useful  lesson,  and  draws  the  parallel  between  the 
two, — Magdalene  and  the  Pharisee  : — he  passes  his 
own  divine  judgment  on  them,  and  the  preference  is 
given  to  Magdalene.  What  is  it,  that  has  thus  trans- 
formed her,  and  made  her  deserve,  not  only  the  par- 
don, but  the  praise,  of  Jesus  ?  Her  love  :  She  hath 
loved  her  Redeemer,  she  hath  loved  him  much  ;  and, 
therefore,  she  was  forgiven  much.  A  few  hours  ago, 
and  this  Magdalene  loved  but  the  world  and  its 
pleasures ;  now,  she  cares  for  nothing,  sees  nothing, 
loves  nothing,  but  Jesus  :  she  is  a  Convert.  Hence- 
forward, she  keeps  close  to<  her  Divine  Master  ;  she 
is  ambitious  to  supply  his  wants  ;  but  above  all,  she 
longs  to  see  and  hear  him.  When  the  hour  of  trial 
shall  come,  and  his  very  Apostles  dare  not  be  with 
him,  she  will  follow  him  to  Calvary,  stand  at  the 
foot  of  the  Cross,  and  see  Him  die  that  has  made 
her  live. — What  an  argument  for  hope  is  here,  even 
for  the  worst  of  sinners  !  He  to  whom  most  is  for- 
given, is  often  the  most  fervent  in  love  !  You,  then, 
whose  souls  are  burdened  with  sins,  think  of  your 
sins  and  confess  them  ;    but,  most  of  all,  think  how 


THURSDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


155 


you  may  most  love.  Let  your  love  be  in  proportion 
to  your  pardon,  and  doubt  it  not :  Your  sins  shall 
be  forgiven. 


Bow  down  your  heads  to 
God. 

Be  propitious,  0  Lord,  we 
beseech  thee,  to  thy  people  ; 
that,  forsaking  what  dis- 
pleaseth  thee,  they  may  find 
comfort  in  keeping  thy  law. 
Through  Christ  our  Lord. 
Amen. 


Humiliate  capita  vestra 
Deo. 

Esto  qusesumus,  Domine, 
propitius  plebi  tuse  :  ut  quae 
tibi  non  placent  respuentes, 
tuorum  potius  repleantur 
delectationibus  mandatorum. 
Per  Christum  Dominum  nos- 
trum.    Amen. 


Let  us  close  this  Thursday  of  Passion  Week  with 
the  following  devout  Hymn,  taken  from  the  Moza- 
rabic  Breviary. 


HYMN. 


O  Word  of  the  Father,  that 
earnest  into  this  world,  and 
wast  made  Flesh  !  O  Lamb 
of  God,  that  takest  away  the 
sins  of  the  world  !  to  thee  do 
we  come,  and,  in  prostrate 
adoration,  beseech  thee  to 
give  us  to  drink  of  the  Blood 
shed  for  us  in  thy  sacred  Pas- 
sion. 

Show  unto  us  the  marks  of 
thy  divine  wounds  !  Let  the 
invincible  Standard  of  thy 
glorious  Cross  be  raised  on 
high,  and,  by  its  imperishable 
power,  bring  salvation  to 
them  that  believe. 

The  Eeed,  the  Nails,  the 
Spittle,  the  Gall,  the  Crown 


pro- 


Yerbum  Patris  quod 

diit  factum  caro ; 
Agnus    Dei    peccata    mundi 

auferens  : 
Ad  te     venimus   cernui,     ut 

inclytum 
Bibamus       almse      Passionis 

sanguinem. 


Ostende    vulnerum    sacro- 

rum  stigmata  : 
Exsurgat  insignis  Crucis  for- 

tissimum 
Signum,  quod  in  vigore  per- 

petim 
Manens,    credentibus    salva- 

tionem  conferat. 
Arundo,  clavi,  sputa,    po- 

tus  myrrheus, 


156 


PASSION    WEEK. 


Corona    spinarum,     flagella, 

lancea, 
Impressa    sunt    damnationis 

verbera : 
Jam   nostra  pro  his   cuncta 

dele  crimina. 
Fons  vulneris   sacri    riget 

prsecordia, 
Lavet      cruor,       malitiseque 

contagia  : 
Sit    vita     prsesens      absque 

omni  crimine ; 
Futura   detur  in  beata  niu- 

nere. 
Ut    cum    resurgendi    dies 

efrulserit, 
Orbique  regni  claritas  illux- 

erit, 
Sequamur      setheris       viam 

quae  nos  trahat 
In   se   receptos    jam   peren- 

nes  incolas. 
Honor  sit  seterno  Deo,  sit 

gloria 
Uni  Patri,  ej  usque  soli  Filio 
Cum   Spiritu ;    quse  Trinitas 

perenniter 
Vivit    potens   in   sseculorum 

sseculis. 
Amen. 


Thorns,  the  Whips,  the  Spear, 
— these  were  the  instruments 
of  thy  sufferings :  oh !  cleanse 
us  by  them  from  all  our  sins. 


May  the  Blood  that  gushed 
from  thy  sacred  Wounds,  flow 
on  our  hearts  and  purify  them 
from  their  stains  of  guilt,  en- 
able us  to  pass  through  this 
world  without  sin,  and  give 
us,  in  the  next,  the  reward 
of  bliss. 

That  when  the  resurrection 
day  shall  break  upon  the 
world,  brightening  it  with 
the  splendours  of  the  eternal 
kingdom,  we  may  ascend  by 
the  path  that  leads  above, 
and  dwell  in  heaven,  citizens 
eternal. 

Honour  be  to  the  Eternal 
God  !  Glory  be  to  the  One 
Father,  and  to  his  Only  Son, 
together  with  the  Holy  Ghost : 
— the  Almighty  Trinity,  that 
liveth  unceasingly  for  ever 
and  ever.     Amen. 


Let  us  again  borrow  from  the  Greek  Church  the 
expression  of  our  devotion  to  the  Holy  Cross. 


HYMN. 

(Feria  V.  medice  Septimance.) 


Securis  quam  Elisseus  ex 
Jordane  retulit,  Crucem  sig- 
nificabat,  qua  ex  profundo 
vanitatis  retraxisti  gentes 
lsetis  vocibus  cantantes  :  Be- 
nedictus  es,  Deus  patruni 
nostrorum. 


The  wood  wherewith  Eli- 
seus  drew  the  axe  from  the 
Jordan,  was  a  figure  of  thy 
Cross,  0  Jesus !  wherewith 
thou  didst  draw,  from  the 
depths  of  their  vanities,  the 
nations  that  thus  sing  to  thee 


THURSDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


157 


in  joy  :  Blessed  art  thou  the 
God  of  our  Fathers  ! 

Let  the  heavens  rejoice  to- 
gether with  the  earth,  as  we 
venerate  thy  Cross ;  for  it  was 
by  thee  that  Angels  and  men 
are  united,  and  sing :  Blessed 
is  the  Lord  our  God  ! 

Venerating  the  Cross  of  our 
Lord,  and  glorifying  our  Ee- 
deemer,  who  was  nailed  upon 
it,  let  us  present  him  a  three- 
fold homage1  :  our  Compas- 
sion, like  the  fragrant  cy- 
press; our  Faith,  like  the 
cedar ;  ourLove,  like  the  pine. 

Thou  didst  stretch  forth  thy 
hands  upon  the  Cross,  to  show 
that  'twas  thou  didst  destroy 
the  sin  done  by  the  hand  of 
licentious  man.  Thou  wast 
wounded  with  the  Spear,  that 
thou  mighest  wound  our  foe. 
Thou  didst  taste  Gall,  that 
thou  mightest  turn  evil  plea- 
sures from  us.  Thy  drink  was 
Vinegar,  that  thou  mightest 
be  a  joy  to  each  of  us. 

I  have  eaten  of  the  Tree  of 
sin,  and  it  was  my  ruin  ;  I 
have  tasted  a  pleasure  that 
has  caused  me  death.  Bring 
me  to  life,  0  Lord  !  Eaise  me 
from  my  fall.  Make  me  an 
adorer  of  thy  Sufferings,  a 
partner  in  thy  Eesurrection, 
a  co-heir  of  them  that  love 
thee. 

O  Cross  !  thou  standard  of 
j  oy ,  thou  armour  invulnerable , 
thou  glory   of  the  Apostles, 


Lsetantur  cum  terra  coe- 
lestia  ob  adorationem  Crucis 
tuse ;  etenim  per  te  Angeli 
et  homines  conjuncti  sunt, 
clamantes :  Benedictus  Do- 
minus  Deus  noster. 

Compassionem  tamquam 
cupressum  suaveolentem,  fi- 
dem  tanquam  cedrum,  ve- 
ram  charitatem  tanquam  pi- 
num  afferentes.1  Domine 
crucem  adoremus,  glorifl- 
cantes  eum  qui  in  ilia  affix- 
us  est,  liberatorem. 

Extendisti  manus  tuas  in 
ligno,  incontinentis  manus 
peccatum  dissolvens ;  lan- 
cea  vulneratus  es,  eadem- 
que  inimicum  sauciasti. 
Fel  gustasti,  et  male  blan- 
dam  malitiam  exemisti ; 
aceto  potatus  es,  qui  om- 
nium lcetitia  es. 


Ligno  peccati  interemptus 
sum,  gustuque  voluptuoso 
morti  traditus.  Vivifica  me, 
Domine.  Excita  jacentem  : 
fac  me  cruciatuum  tuorum 
adoratorem,  et  participem 
divinae  resurrectionis,  et 
cohseredem  eorum  qui  te  di- 
ligunt. 

Gaudii  signum,  armatura 
invicta,  Apostolorum  de- 
cus,    Pontificum   robur,     yi- 


1  This  is  an  allusion  to  the  tradition,  that  the  Cross  was  formed  of 
the  three  kinds  of  wood  here  mentioned.     (Translator. J 


158 


PASSION    WEEK. 


res  suffice  languenti  animse 
mese,  et  dignare  me  ut  te 
adorem,  laudesque  tibi  de- 
cantem,  clamans :  Omnia 
opera  Domini,  laudate  Do- 
minum  et  superexaltate  in 
ssecula. 


thou  strength  of  Pontiffs, — 
supply  my  languid  soul  with 
power,  and  oh !  may  I  vener- 
ate thee,  and  thus  cry  out  thy 
praises :  '  'All  ye  works  of  the 
Lord,  praise  the  Lord,  and 
extol    him,    above    all,    for 


ever 


FRIDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK.  109 


FRIDAY 


IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


THE  SEVEN  DOLOUKS  OF  THE  BLESSED 

VIRGIN. 


The  Station,  at  Rome,  is  in  the  Church  of  Saint 
Stephen,  on  Monte  Celio.  By  a  sort  of  prophetic 
presentiment,  this  Church  of  the  great  Proto-Martyr 
was  chosen  as  the  place  where  the  Faithful  were  to 
assemble  on  the  Friday  of  Passion  Week,  which  was 
to  be,  at  a  future  time,  the  Feast  consecrated  to  the 
Queen  of  Martyrs. 

COLLECT. 

Mercifully,  O  Lord,  we  be-  Cordibus  nostris,  qusesu- 
seech  thee,  pour  forth  thy  mus,  Domine,  gratiam  tuam 
grace  into  our  hearts ;  that  benignus  infunde ;  ut  pec- 
repressing  our  sins  by  volun-  cata  nostra  castigatione 
tary  mortifications,  we  may  voluntaria  cohibentes,  tem- 
rather  suffer  for  them  in  this  poraliter  potius  macere- 
life,  than  be  condemned  to  mur,  quam  suppliciis  depu- 
eternal  torments  for  them  in  temur  seternis.  Per  Ohris- 
the  next.  Through  Christ  turn  Dominum  nostrum, 
our  Lord.     Amen.  Amen. 


EPISTLE. 

Lesson  from  Jeremias  the        Lectio  Jeremiae  Prophetae. 
Prophet. 
Ch.  XVII.  Cap.  XVII. 

In  those  days,  Jeremias  said;         In  diebus  illis,   dixit  Je- 


160 


PASSION    WEEK. 


0  I^ord,  all  that  forsake  thee 
shall  be  confounded :  they 
that  depart  from  thee,  shall 
be  written  in  the  earth," 
(as  on  sand,  from  which  their 
names  shall  soon  he  effaced,  J 
because  they  have  forsaken 
the  Lord,  the  vein  of  living 
waters.  Heal  me,  O  Lord, 
and  I  shall  be  healed,  save  me 
and  I  shall  be  saved :  for  thou 
art  my  praise.  Behold  they 
say  to  me :  where  is  the  word 
of  the  Lord  ?  let  it  come.  And 

1  am  not  troubled,  following 
thee  for  my  pastor,  and  I  have 
not  desired  the  day  of  man, 
thou  knowest  it.  That  which 
went  out  of  my  lips,  hath  been 
right  in  thy  sight.  Be  not  thou 
a  terror  unto  me ;  thou  art 
my  hope  in  the  day  of  afflic- 
tion. Let  them  be  confounded 
that  persecute  me,  and  let  me 
not  be  confounded  :  let  them 
be  afraid,  and  let  not  me  be 
afraid  :  bring  upon  them  the 
day  of  affliction,  and  with  a 
double  destruction  destroy 
them,  0  Lord  our  God. 

Jeremias  is  one  of  the  most  striking  figures  of  the 
Messias  persecuted  by  the  Jews.  It  is  on  this  ac- 
count, that  the  Church  selects  from  this  Prophet  so 
many  of  her  lessons,  during  these  two  weeks  that  are 
sacred  to  the  Passion.  In  the  passage  chosen  for  to- 
day's Epistle,  we  have  the  complaint  addressed  to 
(rod,  by  this  just  man,  against  those  that  persecute 
him ;  and  it  is  in  the  name  of  Christ  that  he  speaks. 
He  says  :  They  have  forsaken  the  Lord,  the  vein  of 
living  waters.  How  forcibly  do  these  words  describe 
the  malice,  both  of  the  Jews  that  crucified,  and  of 
sinners  that  still  crucify,  Jesus  our  Lord !  As  to 
the  Jews,  they  had  forgotten  the  Kock,  whence  came 


remias  :  Domine,  omnes  qui 
te  derelinquunt,  confun- 
dentur :  recedentes  a  te,  in 
terra  scribentur :  quoniam 
derelinquerunt  venam  aqua- 
rum  viventium,  Dominum. 
Sana  me,  Domine,  et  sana- 
bor :  salvum  me  fac,  et 
salvus  ero :  quoniam  laus 
mea  tu  es.  Ecce  ipsi  dicunt 
ad  me  :  Ubi  est  verbum  Do- 
mini ?  veniat.  Et  ego  non 
sum  turbatus,  te  Pastorem 
sequens  :  et  diem  hominis 
non  desideravi,  tu  scis. 
Quod  egressum  est  de  la- 
biis  meis,  rectum  in  con- 
spectu  tuo  fuit.  Non  sis  tu 
mihi  formidini ;  spes  mea 
tu  in  die  afflictionis.  Con- 
fundantur,  qui  me  perse- 
quuntur,  et  non  confundar 
ego :  paveant  illi,  et  non 
paveam  ego :  indue  super 
eos  diem  afflictionis,  et  du- 
plici  contritione  contere  eos, 
Domine  Deus  noster. 


FRIDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK.  161 

to  them  the  living  water,  which  quenched  their  thirst 
in  the  desert :  or,  if  .they  have  not  forgotten  the 
history  of  this  mysterious  Rock,  they  refuse  to  take 
it  as  the  type  of  the  Messias. 

And  yet,  they  hear  this  Jesus  crying  out  to  them 
in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  and  saying :  If  any 
man  thirst,  let  him  come  to  Me,  and  drink.1  His 
virtues,  his  teachings,  his  miracles,  the  prophecies 
that  are  fulfilled  in  his  person,  all  claim  their  confi- 
dence in  him ;  they  should  believe  every  word  he 
says.  But,  they  are  deaf  to  his  invitation ;  and  how 
many  Christians  imitate  them  in  their  obduracy  ? 
How  many  there  are,  who  once  drank  at  the 
vein  of  living  waters,  and  afterwards  turned 
away,  to  seek  to  quench  their  thirst  in  the  muddy 
waters  of  the  world,  which  can  only  make  them 
thirst  the  more !  Let  them  tremble  at  the  punishment 
that  came  upon  the  Jews  ;  for,  unless  they  return  to 
the  Lord  their  God,  they  must  fall  into  those  devour- 
ing and  eternal  flames,  where  even  a  drop  of  water 
is  refused.  Jesus,  by  the  mouth  of  his  Prophet,  tells 
the  Jews,  that  the  day  of  affliction  shall  overtake 
them  ;  and  when,  later  on,  he  comes  to  them  himself, 
he  forewarns  them,  that  the  tribulation  which  is  to 
fall  on  Jerusalem,  in  punishment  for  her  deicide,  shall 
be  so  great,  that  such  hath  not  been  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world  until  now,  neither  shall  be.2 
But,  if  Grod  so  rigorously  avenged  the  Blood  of  his 
Son  against  a  City,  that  was,  so  long  a  time,  the 
place  of  the  habitation  of  his  glory,  and  against  a 
people  that  he  had  preferred  to  all  others, — will 
he  spare  the  sinner,  who,  in  spite  of  the  Church's 
entreaties,  continues  obstinate  in  his  evil  ways  ? 
Jerusalem  had  filled  up  the  measure  of  her  iniqui- 
ties ;  we,  also,  have  a  measure  of  sin,  beyond  which 
the  Justice  of  Grod  will  not  permit  us  to  go.     Let  us 

1  St.  John,  vii.  37.  2  St.  Matth.  xxiv.  21, 


162 


PASSION    WEEK. 


sin  no  more ;  let  us  fill  up  that  other  measure,  the 
measure  of  good  works.  Let  us  pray  for  those  sin- 
ners who  are  to  pass  these  days  of  grace  without  be- 
ing converted ;  let  us  pray,  that  this  Divine  Blood, 
which  is  to  be  so  generously  given  to  them,  but  which 
they  are  about  again  to  trample  upon,  let  us  pray 
that  it  may  again  spare  them. 


GOSPEL. 


Sequentia  sancti  Evangelii 
secundum    Joannem. 
Cap.  XL 

In  illo  tempore  :  College  - 
runt  Pontifices  et  Pharissei 
concilium  adversus  Jesum, 
et  dicebant :  Quid  facimus, 
quia  hie  homo  multa  signa 
f  acit  ?  Si  dimittimus  eum 
sic,  omnes  credent  in  eum; 
et  venient  Romani,  et  tol- 
lent  nostrum  locum  et  gen- 
tem.  Unus  autem  ex  ipsis, 
Caiphas  nomine,  cum  esset 
pontifex  anni  illius,  dixit 
eis :  Vos  nescitis  quidquam, 
nee  cogitatis  quia  expedit 
vobis  ut  unus  moriatur  ho- 
mo pro  populo,  et  non  tota 
gens  pereat.  Hoc  autem  a 
semetipso  non  dixit;  sed 
cum  esset  pontifex  anni  il- 
lius prophetavit,  quod  Je- 
sus moriturus  erat  pro  gen- 
te,  et  non  tantum  pro  gente, 
sed  ut  filios  Dei,  qui  erant 
dispersi,  congregaret  in 
unum.  Ab  illo  ergo  die  co- 
gitaverunt  ut  interficerent 
eum.  Jesus  ergo  jam  non 
in  palam  ambulabat  apud 
Judaeos,  sed  abiit  in  regio- 
nem  juxta  desertum,  in  civi- 
tatem  quae  dicitur  Ephrein, 


Sequel  of  the  holy  Gospel 
according  to  John. 

Ch.  XL 

At  that  time :  the  chief 
priests  and  Pharisees  assem- 
bled in  council  against  Jesus, 
and  said  :  What  do  we,  for  this 
man  doth  many  miracles  ?  If 
we  let  him  alone  so,  all  men 
will  believe  in  hi-m  ;  and  the 
Romans  will  come,  and  take 
away  our  place  and  nation. 
But  one  of  them,  named 
Caiphas,  being  the  high- 
priest  that  year,  said  to  them  : 
You  know  nothing,  neither 
do  you  consider  that  it  is 
expedient  for  you  that  one 
man  should  die  for  the  people, 
and  that  the  whole  nation 
perish  not.  And  this  he 
spoke  not  of  himself ;  but 
being  the  high -priest  that 
year,  he  prophesied  that  Jesus 
should  die  for  the  nation,  and 
not  only  for  the  nation,  but 
to  gather  in  one  the  children 
of  God,  that  were^dispersed. 
From  that  day  therefore  they 
devised  to  put  him  to  death. 
Wherefore  Jesus /walked  no 
more  openly  among  the  Jews, 
but  he  went  into  a  country 
near  the  desert,  unto  a  city 


FRIDAY    IN    PASSION   WEEK.  168 

that  is  called  Ephrem,    and    et  ibi  morabatur  cum  disci- 
there  he  abode   with  his  dis-     pulis  suis. 
ciples. 

Jesus  is  more  than  ever  in  danger  of  losing  his 
life  !     The   Council  of  the  nation  assembles  to  devise 
a  plan  for  his  destruction.      Listen  to  these  men, 
slaves  of  that  vilest  of  passions, — jealousy.     They 
do  not  deny  the  miracles  of  Jesus ;  therefore,  they 
are  in  a  condition  to  pass  judgment  upon  him,  and 
the  judgment  ought   to  be   favourable.     But   they 
have  not  assembled  to  examine  if  he  be  or  be  not 
the  Messias  ;  it  is  to  discuss  the  best  plan  for  putting 
him  to  death.     And  what  argument  will  they  bring 
forward  to  palliate  the  evident   murder   they   con- 
template ?     Political  interests, — their  country's  good. 
They  argue  thus :    "If  Jesus  be  longer  allowed  to 
appear  in  public  and  work  miracles,  Judea  will  rise 
up  in  rebellion  against  the  Romans,  who  now  govern 
us,  and  will  proclaim  Jesus  to  be  their  King  ;  Rome 
will  never  allow  us,  the  weakest  of  her  tributaries, 
to  insult  her  with  impunity,  and,  in  order  to  avenge 
the  outrage  offered  to  the  Capitol,  her  armies  will 
come  and  exterminate  us." — Senseless  Counsellors ! 
If  Jesus  had  come  that  he  might  be  King  after  this 
world's  fashion,  all  the  powers  of  the  earth  could  not 
have  prevented   it.     Again, — how  is   it    that   these 
Chief  Priests  and  Pharisees,  who  know  the  Scrip- 
tures by  heart,  never  once  think  of  that  prophecy 
of  Daniel,  which  foretells,  that  in  seventy  weeks  of 
years,  after  the  going  forth  of  the  decree  for  the  re- 
building of  the  Temple,  the  Christ  shall  be  slain,  and 
the  people  that  shall  deny  him,  shall  cease  to  be  His  i1 
moreover,  that,  after  this  crime,  a  people,  led  on  by 
a  commander,  shall  come  and   destroy  Jerusalem  ; 
the  abomination  of  desolation  shall  enter  the  Holy 
Place,  the  temple  shall  be  destroyed,  and  the  deso- 

1  Dan.  ix.  25. 


164  PASSION    WEEK. 

lation  shall  last  even  to  the  end  r1  how  comes  it,  that 
this  prophecy  is  lost  sight  of  ?  Surely,  if  they 
thought  of  it,  they  would  not  put  Christ  to  death, 
for  by  putting  him  to  death,  they  ruin  their 
country  ! 

But  to  return  to  the  Council.  The  High-Priest, 
who  governed  the  Synagogue  during  the  last  days  of 
the  Mosaic  Law,  is  a  worthless  man,  by  name 
Caiphas  ;  he  presides  oves  the  Council.  He  puts  on 
the  sacred  Ephod,  and  he  prophesies ;  his  prophecy 
is  from  Grod,  and  is  true.  Let  us  not  be  astonished  : 
the  veil  of  the  temple  is  not  yet  rent  asunder ;  the 
covenant  between  Grod  and  Juda  is  not  yet  broken. 
Caiphas  is  a  blood-thirsty  man,  a  coward,  a  sacri- 
legious wretch ;  still,  he  is  High-Priest  ,  and  Grod 
speaks  by  his  mouth.  Let  us  hearken  to  this 
Balaam :  Jesus  shall  die  for  the  nation,  and  not 
only  for  the  nation,  but  to  gather  in  one  the 
children  of  God,  that  were  dispersed.  Thus,  the 
Synagogue  is  near  her  end,  and  is  compelled  to 
prophesy  the  birth  of  the  Church,  and  that  this 
birth  is  to  be  by  the  shedding  of  Jesus'  Blood.  Here 
and  there,  throughout  the  world,  there  are  Children 
of  God  who  serve  him,  among  the  Grentiles,  as  did 
the  Centurion,  Cornelius ;  but  there  was  no  visible 
bond  of  union  among  them.  The  time  is  at  hand, 
when  the  great  and  only  City  of  God  is  to  appear  on 
the  mountain,  and  all  nations  shall  floiv  unto  it.2 
As  soon  as  the  Blood  of  the  New  Testament  shall 
have  been  shed,  and  the  Conqueror  of  death  shall 
have  risen  from  the  grave,  the  day  of  Pentecost  will 
convoke,  not  the  Jews  to  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem, 
but  all  nations  to  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  By 
that  time,  Caiphas  will  have  forgotten  the  prophecy 
he  uttered  ;  he  will  have  ordered  his  servants  to  piece 
together  the  Veil  of  the  Holy  of  Holies,  which  was 

1  Dan.  ix,  26,  27.  3  Is.  i.  2. 


FRIDAY    IN    FASSI0N    WEEK.  165 

torn  in  two  at  the  moment  of  Jesus'  death ;  but  this 
Veil  will  serve  no  purpose,  for  the  Holy  of  Holies 
will  be  no  longer  there ;  a  clean  oblation  will  be 
offered  up  in  every  place,  the  Sacrifice  of  the  New 
Law  ;l  and  scarcely  shall  the  avengers  of  Jesus'  death 
have  appeared  on  Mount  Olivet,  than  a  voice  will  be 
heard  in  the  Sanctuary  of  the  repudiated  Temple, 
saying  :    "  Let  us  go  out  from  this  place  !  " 


Bow   down  your  heads  to        Humiliate     capita     vestra 

God.  Deo. 

Grant,  we  beseech  thee,  O  Concede,  qusesumus,  om- 
Almighty  God,  that  we  who  nipotens  Deus,  ut  qui  pro- 
seek  the  honour  of  thy  pro-  tectionis  tuse  gratiam  quse- 
tection,  may  be  delivered  from  rimus,  liberati  a  malis  om- 
all  evil,  and  serve  thee  with  a  nibus,  secura  tibi  mente 
secure  mind.  Through  Christ  serviamus.  Per  Christum 
our  Lord.     Amen.  Dominum  nostrum.     Amen. 


THE    SEVEN    DOLOURS    OF    OUR    LADY. 

This  Friday  of  Passion  Week  is  consecrated,  in  a 
special  manner,  to  the  sufferings  which  the  Holy 
Mother  of  Grod  endured  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross. 
The  whole  of  next  week  is  fully  taken  up  with  the 
celebration  of  the  mysteries  of  Jesus'  Passion  ;  and 
although  the  remembrance  of  Mary's  share  in  those 
sufferings  is  often  brought  before  the  Faithful  during 
Holy  Week,  yet,  the  thought  of  what  her  Son,  our 
Divine  Redeemer,  goes  through  for  our  salvation,  so 
absorbs  our  attention  and  love,  that  it  is  not  then 
possible  to  honour,  as  it  deserves,  the  sublime  mys- 
tery of  the  Mother's  Com-passion. 

It  was  but  fitting,  therefore,  that  one  day  in  the 

1  Malaeh.  i.  11. 


166  PASSION    WEEK. 

year  should  be  set  apart  for  this  sacred  duty  ;  and 
what  day  could  be  more  appropriate,  than  the  Friday 
of  this  Week,  which,  though  sacred  to  the  Passion, 
admits  the  celebration  of  Saints'  Feasts,  as  we  have 
already  noticed  ?     As  far  back  as  the  15th  century, 
(that  is,  in  the  year  1423,)  we  find  the  pious  Arch- 
bishop of  Cologne,  Theodoric,  prescribing  this  Feast 
to  be  kept  by  his  people.1     It  was  gradually  intro- 
duced, and  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Holy  See, 
into  several  other  countries ;  and  at  length,  in  the 
last  century,  Pope  Benedict   the  Thirteenth,   by  a 
decree  dated  August  22nd,   1727,  ordered  it  to  be 
kept  in  the  whole  Church,  under  the  name   of  the 
Feast   of  the    Seven   Dolours   of  the   Blessed    Virgin 
Mary,  for,  up  to  this  time,  it  had  gone  under  various 
names.     We  will  explain  the  title  thus  given  to  it, 
as  also  the  first  origin  of  the  devotion  of  the  Seven 
Dolours,  when  our  Liturgical  Year  brings  us  to  the 
Third  Sunday  of  September,   the  second   Feast  of 
Mary's  Dolours.     What  the  Church  proposes  to  her 
children's  devotion  for  this  Friday  of  Passion  Week, 
is  that  one  special  Dolour  of  Mary, — her  standing  at 
the  Foot  of  the  Cross.     Among  the  various  titles 
given  to  this  Feast, — before  it  was  extended,  by  the 
Holy  See  to  the  whole  Church, — we  may  mention, 
Our  Lady  of  Pity,   The  Compassion  of  our  Lady,  and 
the   one   that   was  so   popular  throughout   France, 
Notre  Dame  de  la  Pamoison.     These  few  historical 
observations  prove  that  this  Feast  was  dear  to  the 
devotion  of  the  people,   even  before  it  received  the 
solemn  sanction  of  the  Chureh. 

That  we  may  clearly  understand  the  object  of  this 
Feast,  and  spend  it,  as  the  Church  would  have  us  do, 
in  paying  due  honour  to  the  Mother  of  God  and  of 
men, — we  must  recall  to  our  minds  this  great  truth  : 
that  God,  in  thft  designs  of  his  infinite  wisdom,   has 

1  Labb.  Concil.  t.  xiii.  p.  365. 


FEAST    OF    THE    SEVEN    DOLOURS.  167 

willed  that  Mary  should  have  a  share  in  the  work  of 
the  world's  Redemption.  The  mystery  of  the  present 
Feast  is  one  of  the  applications  of  this  Divine  law,  a 
law  which  reveals  to  us  the  whole  magnificence  of  God's 
Plan ;  it  is,  also,  one  of  the  many  realisations  of  the 
prophecy,  that  Satan's  pride  was  to  be  crushed  by  a 
Woman.  In  the  work  of  our  Redemption,  there  are 
three  interventions  of  Mary,  that  is,  she  is  thrice  called 
upon  to  take  part  in  what  God  himself  did.  The  first 
of  these  was  in  the  Incarnation  of  the  Word,  who  takes 
not  flesh  in  her  virginal  womb  until  she  has  given  her 
consent  to  become  his  Mother  ;  and  this  she  gave  by 
that  solemn  Fiat  which  blessed  the  world  with  a 
Saviour.  The  second  was  in  the  sacrifice  which  Jesus 
consummated  on  Calvary,  where  she  was  present,  that 
she  might  take  part  in  the  expiatory  offering.  The 
third  was  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  she  received 
the  Holy  G-host,  as  did  the  Apostles,  in  order  that  she 
might  effectively  labour  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Church.  We  have  already  explained  on  the  Feast  of 
the  Annunciation,  the  share  Mary  had  in  that  wonder- 
ful mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  which  God  wrought 
for  his  own  glory  and  for  man's  redemption  and  sancti- 
fication.  On  the  Feast  of  Pentecost  we  shall  speak  of 
the  Church  commencing  and  progressing  under  the 
active  influence  of  the  Mother  of  God.  To-day  we 
must  show  what  part  she  took  in  the  mystery  of  her 
Son's  Passion ;  we  must  tell  the  sufferings,  the  Dolours, 
she  endured  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  and  the  claims 
she  thereby  won  to  our  filial  gratitude. 

On  the  fortieth  day  after  the  Birth  of  our  Em- 
manuel, we  followed,  to  the  Temple,  the  happy 
Mother  carrying  her  Divine  Babe  in  her  arms.  A 
venerable  old  man  was  there,  waiting  to  receive  her 
Child  ;  and,  when  he  had  him  in  his  arms,  he  pro- 
claimed him  to  be  the  Light  of  the  Gentiles,  and  the 
glory  of  Israel.     But,   turning   to   the   Mother,   he 

N 


168  PASSION    WEEK. 

spoke  to  her  these  heart-rending  words  :  Behold ! 
this  Child  is  set  to  be  a  sign  that  shall  be  contra- 
dicted, and  a  sword  shall  pierce  thine  own  soul. 
This  prophecy  of  sorrow  for  the  Mother  told  us  that 
the  holy  joys  of  Christmas  were  over,  and  that  the 
season  of  trial,  for  both  Jesus  and  Mary,  had  begun. 
It  had,  indeed,  begun  ;  for,  from  the  night  of  the 
Flight  into  Egypt,  up  to  this  present  day,  when  the 
malice  of  the  Jews  is  plotting  the  great  crime, — 
what  else  has  the  life  of  our  Jesus  been,  but  the 
bearing  humiliation,  insult,  persecution,  and  ingra- 
titude ?  And  if  so,  what  has  the  Mother  gone 
through  ? — what  ceaseless  anxiety  ?  what  endless 
anguish  of  heart  ?  But,  let  us  pass  by  all  her  other 
sufferings,  and  come  to  the  morning  of  the  great 
Friday. 

Mary  knows,  that  on  the  previous  night,  her  Son 
has  been  betrayed  by  one  of  his  Disciples,  that  is,  by 
one  that  Jesus  had  numbered  among  his  intimate 
friends ;  she  herself  had  often  given  him  proofs  of 
her  maternal  affection.  After  a  cruel  Agony,  her 
Son  has  been  manacled  as  a  malefactor,  and  led 
by  armed  men  to  Caiphas,  his  worst  enemy. 
Thence,  they  have  dragged  him  before  the  Roman 
Governor,  whose  sanction  the  Chief  Priests  and  the 
Scribes  must  have  before  they  can  put  Jesus  to 
death.  Mary  is  in  Jerusalem  ;  Magdalene,  and  the 
other  holy  women,  the  Friends  of  Jesus,  are  with  her ; 
but  they  cannot  prevent  her  from  hearing  the  loud 
shouts  of  the  people,  and  if  they  could,  how  is  such 
a  heart  as  hers  to  be  slow  in  its  forebodings  ?  The 
report  spreads  rapidly  through  the  City  that  the 
Roman  Governor  is  being  urged  to  sentence  Jesus  to 
be  crucified.  Whilst  the  entire  populace  is  on  the 
move  towards  Calvary,  shouting  out  their  blasphe- 
mous insults  at  her  Jesus, — will  his  Mother  keep  away, 
she  that  bore  him  in  her  womb,  and  fed  him  at  her 
breast?     Shall  his  enemies  be  eager  to  glut  their 


FEAST    OF    THE    SEVEN    DOLOURS.  169 

eyes  with  the  cruel  sight,  and  his  own  Mother  be 
afraid  to  be  near  him  ? 

The  air  resounded  with  the  yells  of  the  mob.  Jo- 
seph of  Arimathea,  the  noble  counsellor,  was  not 
there,  neither  was  the  learned  Nicodemus ;  they 
kept  at  home,  grieving  over  what  was  done.  The 
crowd  that  went  before  and  after  the  Divine  Victim 
was  made  up  of  wretches  without  hearts,  saving  only 
a  few  who  were  seen  to  weep  as  they  went  along ; 
they  were  women ;  Jesus  saw  them,  and  spoke  to 
them.  And  if  these  women  from  mere  sentiments 
of  veneration,  or,  at  most,  of  gratitude,  thus  testified 
their  compassion — would  Mary  do  less  ?  could  she 
bear  to  be  elsewhere  than  close  to  her  Jesus  ?  Our 
motive  for  insisting  so  much  upon  this  point,  is  that 
we  may  show  our  detestation  of  that  school  of  modern 
rationalism,  which  regardless  of  the  instincts  of  a 
mother's  heart  and  of  all  tradition,  has  dared  to  call 
in  question  the  Meeting  of  Jesus  and  Mary  on  the 
way  to  Calvary.  These  systematic  contradictors  are 
too  prudent  to  deny  that  Mary  was  present  when 
Jesus  was  crucified ;  the  Grospel  is  too  explicit, — 
Mary  stood  near  the  Cross  :l  but,  they  would  per- 
suade us,  that  whilst  the  Daughters  of  Jerusalem 
courageously  walked  after  Jesus,  Mary  went  up  to 
Calvary  by  some  secret  path  !  What  a  heartless  in- 
sult to  the  love  of  the  incomparable  Mother. 

No, — Mary,  who  is,  by  excellence,  the  Valiant 
Woman?  was  with  Jesus  as  he  carried  his  Cross. 
And  who  could  describe  her  anguish  and  her  love, 
as  her  eye  met  that  of  her  Son  tottering  under  his 
heavy  load  ?  Who  could  tell  the  affection,  and  the 
resignation,  of  the  look  he  gave  her  in  return  ?  Who 
could  depict  the  eager  and  respectful  tenderness 
wherewith  Magdalene  and  the  other  holy  women 
grouped  around  this  Mother,  as  she  followed  her 
Jesus  up  Calvary,  there  to  see  him  crucified  and  die  ? 

1  St.  John,  xix.  25.  2  Prov.  xxxi.  10. 


170  PASSION    WEEK. 

The  distance  between  the  Fourth  and  Tenth  Station 
of  the  Dolorous  Way  is  long  : — it  is  marked  with 
Jesus'  Blood,  and  the  Mother's  tears. 

Jesus  and  Mary  have  reached  the  summit  of  the 
hill,  that  is  to  be  the  Altar  of  the  holiest  and  cruelest 
Sacrifice  :  but  the  divine  decree  permits  not  the 
Mother  as  yet  to  approach  her  Son.  When  the 
Victim  is  ready,  then  She  that  is  to  offer  him  shall 
come  forward.  Meanwhile,  they  nail  her  Jesus  to  the 
Cross  ;  and  each  blow  of  the  hammer  was  a  wound  to 
Mary's  heart.  When,  at  last,  she  is  permitted  to 
approach,  accompanied  by  the  Beloved  Disciple,  (who 
has  made  amends  for  his  cowardly  flight,)  and  the 
disconsolate  Magdalene  and  the  other  holy  women, 
— what  unutterable  anguish  must  have  filled  the 
soul  of  this  Mother,  when  raising  up  her  eyes,  she 
sees  the  mangled  Body  of  her  Son,  stretched  upon 
the  Cross,  with  his  face  all  covered  with  blood,  and 
his  head  wreathed  with  a  crown  of  thorns  ! 

Here,  then,  is  this  King  of  Israel,  of  whom  the 
Angel  had  told  her  such  glorious  things  in  his  pro- 
phecy !  Here  is  that  Son  of  hers,  whom  she  has 
loved  both  as  her  Grod  and  as  the  fruit  of  her  own 
womb  !  And  who  are  they  that  have  reduced  him  to 
this  pitiable  state  ?  Men, — for  whose  sakes,  rather 
than  for  her  own,  she  conceived  him,  gave  him  birth, 
and  nourished  him  !  Oh  !  if  by  one  of  those  miracles, 
which  his  Heavenly  Father  could  so  easily  work,  he 
might  be  again  restored  to  her !  If  that  Divine 
Justice,  which  he  has  taken  upon  himself  to  appease, 
would  be  satisfied  with  what  he  has  already  suffered  ! 
— but  no ;  he  must  die ;  he  must  breathe  forth  his 
blessed  Soul  after  a  long  and  cruel  agony. 

Mary  then  is  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  there  to 
witness  the  death  of  her  Son.  He  is  soon  to  be 
separated  from  her.  In  three  hours'  time,  all  that 
will  be  left  her  of  this  beloved  Jesus  will  be  a  lifeless 
Body,  wounded  from  head  to  foot.     Our  words  are 


FEAST   OF  THE    SEVEN    DOLOURS.  171 

too  cold  for  such  a  scene   as  this :    let  us  listen  to 
those  of  St.  Bernard,  which  the  Church  has  inserted 
in  her  Matins  of  this  Feast.     "  0  Blessed  Mother  ! 
"  a  sword   of  sorrow  pierced  thy  soul,  and  we  may 
"  well  call  thee  more  than  Martyr,  for  the  intensity 
"  of  thy  compassion  surpassed  all  that  a  bodily  passion 
"  could  produce.     Could  any  sword  have  made  thee 
"  smart  so  much  as  that  word  which  pierced  thy  heart, 
"reaching    unto    the    division    of  the   soul    and    the 
"  spirit :  'Woman  !   behold  thy  son  ! '     What  an  ex- 
"  change  ! — John,  for  Jesus  !    the  servant,  for  the 
"  Lord  J  the  disciple,  for  the  Master  !  the  Son  of  Ze- 
"  bedee,  for  the  Son  of  Grod  !  a  mere  man,  for  the  very 
"  Gk>d  !     How  must  not  thy  most  loving  heart  have 
"  been  pierced  with  the  sound  of  these  words,  when 
"  even  ours,  that  are  hard  as  stone  and  steel,  break 
"  down  as  we  think  of  them  !    Ah  !  my  Brethren,  be 
"  not  surprised  when  you  are  told  that  Mary  was  a 
"  Martyr  in  her  soul.     Let  him  alone  be  surprised, 
"  who  has  forgotten  that  St.  Paul  counts  it  as  one  of 
"  the  greatest   sins  of  the  Grentiles,  that   they  were 
11  without  affection.     Who  could  say  that  of  Mary  ? 
"  Grod  forbid  it  be  said  of  us,  the  servants  of  Mary  !  "* 
Amidst  the  shouts  and  insults  vociferated  by  the 
enemies  of  Jesus,  Mary's  quick  ear  has  heard  these 
words,  which  tell  her,  that  the  only  son  she  is  hence- 
forth to  have  on   earth  is  one  of  adoption.     Her  ma- 
ternal joys  of  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth  are  all  gone  ; 
they  make  her  present  sorrow  the  bitterer  ;    she  was 
the  Mother  of  a  Grod,  and  men  have  taken  him  from 
her !     Her  last  and  fondest  look  at  her  Jesus,  her 
own   dearest  Jesus,  tells  her  that  he  is  suffering  a 
burning  thirst,   and  she   cannot  give  him  to  drink  ! 
His  eyes  grow  dim  ;  his  head  droops  ; — all  is  con- 
summated ! 

Mary  cannot  leave  the  Cross ;  love  brought  her 

1  Sermon  On  the  Twelve  Stars. 


172  PASSION    WEEK. 

thither  ;  love  keeps  her  there,  whatever  may  happen  ! 
A  soldier  advances  near  that  hallowed  spot ;  she  sees 
him   lift  up  his  spear,  and  thrust   it  through   the 
breast  of  the  sacred  Corpse.  "Ah,"  cries  outSt.  Bernard, 
"  that  thrust  is  through  thy  soul,  0  Blessed  Mother  ! 
"  It  could  but  open  his  Side,  but  it   pierced  thy  very 
"  soul.     His  Soul  was  not  there  ;  thine  was,  and  could 
"  not  but  be  so."1     No,  the  undaunted  Mother  keeps 
close  to  the  Body  of  her  Son.     She  watches  them  as 
they  take  it  down  from  the  Cross  ;  and  when,  at  last, 
the  friends  of  Jesus,  with  all  the  respect  due  to  both 
Mother  and  Son,  enable  her  to  embrace  it,  she  raises 
it  upon  her  lap,   and  He  that   once  lay  upon  her 
knees  receiving  the  homage  of  the  Eastern  Kings, 
now  lays  there  cold,  mangled,  bleeding,  dead  !     And 
as  she  looks  upon  the  wounds  of  the  divine  Victim, 
she  gives  them  the  highest  honour  in  the  power  of 
creatures, — she   kisses  them,   she  bathes  them  with 
her  tears,  she  adores  them,  but  oh !    with  what  in- 
tensity of  loving  grief ! 

The  hour  is  far  advanced  ;  and  before  sunset,  he, 
— Jesus, — the  author  of  life, — must  be  buried.  The 
Mother  puts  the  whole  vehemence  of  her  love  into 
a  last  kiss,  and  oppressed  with  a  bitterness  great  as 
is  the  sea,2  she  makes  over  this  adorable  Body  to 
them  that  have  to  embalm  and  then  lay  it  on  the 
sepulchral  slab.  The  sepulchre  is  closed  ;  and  Mary, 
— accompanied  by  John,  her  adopted  son,  and  Mag- 
dalene, and  the  holy  women,  and  the  two  disciples 
that  have  presided  over  the  burial, — returns  sorrow- 
ing to  the  deicide  City. 

Now,  in  all  this,  there  is  another  mystery  besides 
that  of  Mary's  sufferings.  Her  Dolours  at  the  Foot 
of  the  Cross  include  and  imply  a  truth,  which  we 
must  not  pass  by,  or  we  shall  not  understand  the 
full  beauty   of   to-day's  Feast.     Why   would   God 

1  Sermon  On  the  Twelve  Stais.  2  Lament,  i.  4,  ii.  13. 


FEAST  OF  THE  SEVEN  DOLOURS.        178 

have  her  assist  in  person  at  such  a  scene  as  this  of 
Calvary  ?  Why  was  not  she  as  well  as  Joseph, 
taken  out  of  this  world  before  this  terrible  day  of 
Jesus'  Death  ? — Because  God  had  assigned  her  a 
great  office  for  that  day,  and  it  was  to  be  under  the 
Tree  of  the  Cross  that  she,  the  second  Eve,  was  to 
discharge  her  office.  As  the  heavenly  Father  had 
waited  for  her  consent  before  he  sent  his  Son  into 
the  world :  so,  likewise,  he  called  for  her  obedience 
and  devotedness,  when  the  hour  came  for  that  Son 
to  be  offered  up  in  sacrifice  for  the  world's  Redemp- 
tion. Was  not  Jesus  hers  ?  her  Child  ?  her  own  and 
dearest  treasure  ?  And  yet,  Grod  gave  him  not  to 
her,  until  she  had  assented  to  become  his  Mother  ; 
in  like  manner,  he  would  not  take  him  from  her,  un- 
less she  gave  him  back. 

But,  see  what  this  involved,  see  what  a  struggle 
it  entailed  upon  this  most  loving  Heart !  It  is  the 
injustice,  the  cruelty,  of  men  that  rob  her  of  her 
Son  ;  how  can  she,  his  Mother,  ratify,  by  her  con- 
sent, the  Death  of  Him,  whom  she  loved  with  a  two- 
fold love, — as  her  Son,  and  as  her  Grod  ?  But,  on  the 
other  hand, — if  Jesus  be  not  put  to  death,  the 
human  race  is  left  a  prey  to  Satan,  sin  is  not  atoned 
for,  and  all  the  honours  and  joys  of  her  being 
Mother  of  Grod  are  of  no  use  or  blessing  to  us.  This 
Virgin  of  Nazareth,  this  noblest  heart,  this  purest 
creature,  whose  affections  were  never  blunted  with 
the  selfishness  which  so  easily  makes  its  way  into 
souls  that  have  been  wounded  by  original  sin, — what 
shall  she  do  ?  Her  devotedness  to  mankind,  her 
conformity  with  the  will  of  her  Son  who  so  ve- 
hemently desires  the  world's  salvation,  lead  her,  a 
second  time,  to  pronounce  the  solemn  Fiat  : — she 
consents  to  the  immolation  of  her  Son.  It  is  not 
G-od's  justice  that  takes  him  from  her  ;  it  is  she  her- 
self that  gives  him  up  ; — but,  in  return,  she  is  raised 
to  a  degree  of  greatness,   which  her  humility  could 


174  PASSION    WEEK. 

never  have  suspected  was  to  be  hers  : — an  ineffable 
union  is  made  to  exist  between  the  two  offerings, 
that  of  the  Incarnate  Word  and  that  of  Mary  ;  the 
Blood  of  the  Divine  Victim,  and  the  Tears  of  the 
Mother,  flow  together  for  the  redemption  of  mankind. 

We  can  now  understand  the  conduct  and  the 
courage  of  this  Mother  of  Sorrows.  Unlike  that 
other  mother,  of  whom  the  Scripture  speaks, — the 
unhappy  Agar,  who  after  having  sought  in  vain  how 
she  might  quench  the  thirst  of  her  Ismael  in  the 
desert,  withdrew  from  him  that  she  might  not  see 
him  die  ; — Mary  no  sooner  hears  that  Jesus  is  con- 
demned to  death,  than  she  rises,  hastens  to  him,  and 
follows  him  to  the  place  where  he  is  to  die.  And 
what  is  her  attitude  at  the  foot  of  his  Cross  ?  Does 
her  matchless  grief  overpower  her  ?  Does  she 
swoon?  or  fall?  No:  the  Evangelist  says  :  "There 
"  stood  by  the  Cross  of  Jesus,  his  Mother."1  The 
sacrificing  Priest  stands,  when  offering  at  the  altar ; 
Mary  stood  ior  such  a  sacrifice  as  hers  was  to  be.  St. 
Ambrose, —  whose  affectionate  heart  and  profound 
appreciation  of  the  mysteries  of  religion  have  re- 
vealed to  us  so  many  precious  traits  of  Mary's 
character, — thus  speaks  of  her  position  at  the  foot  of 
the  Cross  :  "  She  stood  opposite  the  Cross,  gazing, 
"  with  maternal  love,  on  the  wounds  of  her  Son  ;  and 
"  thus  she  stood,  not  waiting  for  her  Jesus  to  die,  but 
"  for  the  world  to  be  saved."2 

Thus,  this  Mother  of  Sorrows,  when  standing  on 
Calvary,  blessed  us  who  deserved  but  maledictions  ; 
she  loved  us  ;  she  sacrificed  her  Son  for  our  sal- 
vation. In  spite  of  all  the  feelings  of  her  maternal 
heart,  she  gave  back  to  the  Eternal  Father  the 
divine  treasure  he  had  intrusted  to  her  keeping.  The 
sword  pierced  through  and  through  her  soul, — but 
we  were  saved  ;  and  she,  though  a  mere  creature,  co- 

1  St,  John,  xix.  25.  z  I»  Lucatn,  cap.  xxiii. 


FEAST    OF  THE    SEVEN    DOLOURS. 


175 


operated  with  her  Son  in  the  work  of  our  salvation. 
Can  we  wonder,  after  this,  that  Jesus  chose  this 
moment  for  the  making  her  the  Mother  of  men,  in 
the  person  of  John  the  Evangelist,  who  represented 
us  ?  Never  had  Mary's  Heart  loved  us  as  she  did 
then  ;  from  that  time  forward,  therefore,  let  this 
second  Eve  be  the  true  Mother  of  the  Living  ! l  The 
Sword,  by  piercing  her  Immaculate  Heart,  has  given 
us  admission  there.  For  time  and  eternity,  Mary 
will  extend  to  us  the  love  she  has  borne  for  her  Son, 
for  she  has  just  heard  him  saying  to  her  that  we  are 
her  children.  He  is  our  Lord,  for  he  has  redeemed 
us ;  She  is  our  Lady,  for  she  generously  co-operated 
in  our  redemption. 

Animated  by  this  confidence,  0  Mother  of  Sor- 
rows !  we  come  before  thee,  on  this  Feast  of  thy 
Dolours,  to  offer  thee  our  filial  love.  Jesus,  the 
Blessed  Fruit  of  thy  Womb,  filled  thee  with  joy  as 
thou  gavest  him  birth ;  we,  thy  adopted  children, 
entered  into  thy  Heart  by  the  cruel  piercing  of  the 
Sword  of  Suffering.  And  yet,  0  Mary  !  love  us,  for 
thou  didst  co-operate  with  our  Divine  Redeemer  in 
saving  us.  How  can  we  not  trust  in  the  love  of  thy 
generous  Heart,  when  we  know,  that,  for  our  sal- 
vation, thou  didst  unite  thyself  to  the  Sacrifice  of 
thy  Jesus  ?  What  proofs  hast  thou  not  unceasingly 
given  us  of  thy  maternal  tenderness,  0  Queen  of 
Mercy  !  0  Refuge  of  Sinners  !  0  untiring  Advo- 
cate for  us  in  all  our  miseries  !  Deign,  sweet  Mother, 
to  watch  over  us,  during  these  days  of  grace.  Give 
us  to  feel  and  relish  the  Passion  of  thy  Son.  It 
was  consummated  in  thy  presence  ;  thine  own  share 
in  it  was  magnificent  !  Oh  !  make  us  enter  into  all 
its  mysteries,  that  so  our  souls,  redeemed  by  the 
Blood  of  thy  Son,  and  helped  by  thy  Tears,  may  be 
thoroughly  converted  to  the  Lord,  and  persevere, 
henceforward,  faithful  in  his  service. 

1  Gen.  iii.  20. 


176 


PASSION    WEEK. 


Let  us  now  recite  the  devout  Complaint,  whereby 
the  Church  unites  herself  with  Mary's  Dolours. 


SEQUENCE. 


Stabat  Mater  dolorosa 
Juxta  crucem  lacrymosa, 
Dum  pendebat  Filius. 

Cujus  animam  gementem, 
Contristatam,  et  dolentem, 
Pertransivit  gladius. 

0   quam  tristis   et   afflicta 
Fuit  ilia  benedicta 
Mater  Unigeniti ! 

Quae  mcerebat,  et  dolebat, 
Pia  Mater  dum  videbat 
Nati  poenas  inclyti. 

Quis     est    homo    qui    non 
fleret, 
Matrem    Christi    si    videret 
In  tanto  supplicio  ? 

Quis  non  posset  contristari, 
Christi  Matrem  confcemplari 
Dolentem  cum  Filio  ? 

Pro  peccatis  suae  gentis 
Vidit  Jesum  in  tormentis, 
Et  flagellis  subditum. 

Vidit  suum  dulcem  Natum 
Moriendo  desolatum, 
Dum  emisit  spiritum. 

Eia,  Mater,  fons  amoris, 
Me  sentire  vim  doloris 
Fac,  ut  tecum  lugeam. 

Fac  ut  ardeat  cor  meum 
In  amando  Christum  Deum, 
Ut  sibi  complaceam. 

Sancta  Mater,  istud  agas, 
Crucifixi  fige  plagas 
Cordi  meo  valide. 

Tui  Nati  vulnerati, 
Tarn  dignati  pro  me  pati, 
Poenas  mecum  divide. 


Near  the  Cross,  whilst  on 
it  hung  her  Son,  the  sorrow- 
ing Mother  stood  and  wept. 

A  sword  pierced  her  soul, 
that  sighed,  and  mourned, 
and  grieved. 

Oh !  how  sad,  and  how 
afflicted,  was  that  Blessed 
Mother  of  an  Only  Son  ! 

The  loving  Mother  sor- 
rowed and  mourned  at  seeing 
her  divine  Son  suffer. 

Who  is  there  would  not 
weep  to  see  Jesus'  Mother  in 
such  suffering  ? 

Who  is  there  could  con- 
template the  Mother  and  the 
Son  in  sorrow,  and  not  join 
his  own  with  theirs  ? 

Mary  saw  her  Jesus  tor- 
mented and  scourged  for  the 
sins  of  his  people. 

She  saw  her  sweet  Child 
abandoned  by  all,  as  he 
breathed  forth  his  soul  &  died. 

Ah,  Mother,  Fount  of  love, 
make  me  feel  the  force  of  sor- 
row ;  make  me  weep  with  thee! 

Make  this  heart  of  mine 
burn  with  the  love  of  Jesus 
my  God,  that  so  I  may  con- 
tent his  heart. 

Do  this,  0  holy  Mother! 
— deeply  stamp  the  wounds  of 
the  Crucified  upon  my  heart. 

Let  me  share  with  thee  the 
sufferings  of  thy  Son,  for  it 
was  for  me  he  graciously 
deigned  to  be  wounded  and 
to  suffer. 


FEAST  OF  THE  SEVEN  DOLOURS. 


177 


Make  me  lovingly  weep 
with  thee :  make  me  compas- 
sionate with  thee  our  Crucified 
Jesus,  as  long  as  life  shall  last. 

This  is  my  desire, — to  stand 
nigh  the  Cross  with  thee,  and 
be  a  sharer  in  thy  grief. 

Peerless  Virgin  of  virgins  ! 
be  not  displeased  at  my 
prayer :  make  me  weep  with 
thee. 

Make  me  to  carry  the  death 
of  Jesus ;  make  me  a  partner 
of  his  Passion,  an  adorer  of 
his  Wounds. 

Make  me  to  be  wounded 
with  his  Wounds  ;  make  me 
to  be  inebriated  with  the  Cross 
and  Blood  of  thy  Son. 

And  that  I  may  not  suffer 
the  eternal  flames,  let  me  be 
defended  by  thee,  0  Virgin, 
on  the  Day  of  Judgment ! 

0  Jesus !  when  my  hour  of 
death  comes,  let  me,  by  the 
Mother's  aid,  come  to  my 
crown  of  victory. 

And  when  my  body  dies, 
oh  !  give  to  my  soul  the  re- 
ward of  heaven's  glory. 

Amen. 


Fac  me  tecum  pie  flere, 
Crucifixo  condolere, 
Donee  ego  vixero. 

Juxta  Crucem  tecum  stare, 
Et  me  tibi  sociare 
In  planctu  desidero. 

Virgo  virginum   prseclara, 
Mihi  jam  non  sis  amara  : 
Fac  me  tecum  plangere. 

Fac     ut     portem     Christi 
mortem, 
Passionis  fac  consortem, 
Et  plagas  recolere. 

Fac  me  plagis  vulnerari, 
Fac  me  cruce  inebriari, 
Et  cruore  Filii. 

Flammis  ne  urar  succen- 
sus, 
Per  te,  Virgo,  sim  defensus, 
In  die  judicii. 

Christe,  cum  sit  hinc  exire, 
Da  per  Matrem  me  venire 
Ad  palmam  victorise. 

Quando  corpus  morietur, 
Fac  ut  animae  donetur 
Paradisi  gloria. 

Amen. 


Let  us  recite  the  concludiug  stanzas  of  the  Greek 
Hymn  in  honour  of  the  Holy  Cross. 


HYMN. 

(Feria  IV.  medics  Septimance.) 


Come,  let  us  devoutly  em- 
brace the  Cross  of  our  Lord 
that  is  exposed  before  us,  for 
our  fasts  have  made  us  pure. 
The  Cross  is   a  treasure   of 


Adeste,  Crucem  Domini 
propositam,  jejuniis  ex- 
piati,  cum  desiderio  am- 
plectamur.  Est  enim  the- 
saurus     sanctificationis      et 


178 


PASSION    WEEK. 


potentiae,    per  quam  lauda- 
mus  Christum  in  saecula. 

Hsec  Crux  tripartita  et 
magna,  vilis  initio  appa- 
rens,  nunc  coelum  tangit 
virtute  sua,  hominesque 
ad  Deum  semper  sursum 
ducit;  per  quam  laudamus 
Christum  in  ssecula. 

Honoretur  hoc  sacratis- 
simum  lignum,  quod  jam 
olim  Propheta  in  panem 
Christi  immissum  esse  ab 
Israelitis,  qui  eum  cruci- 
fixerunt,  vaticinatus  est  ; 
quern  superexaltamus  in  sse- 
cula. 

Montes  dulcedinem,  et 
colles  exsultationem  stillate. 
Ligna  campi,  cedri  Libani, 
choreas  ducite  ob  hodiernam 
vivificse  Crucis  adorationem. 
Prophetse,  Martyres,  Apostoli 
et  spiritus  justorum,  exilite. 

Eespice  in  populum  et  in 
clerum  tuum,  Domine,  qui 
cum  desiderio  laudes  tuas 
canit,  cujus  gratia  mortem 
subiisti.  Ne  vincat  miseri- 
cord iam  tuam  infinita  mul- 
titude malorum  nostro- 
rum,  sed  salva  omnes,  o 
benignissime,  per  Crucem 
tuam. 

Divina  armatura  vitae 
meae  es,  o  Crux ;  in  te  Do- 
minus  ascendens,  servavit 
me.  Latere  vulnerato  fudit 
sanguinem  et  aquam,  cu- 
jus particeps  f actus  exsulto, 
Christum  glorificans. 


Divinum    Regis     sceptrum 


holiness  and  power,  and  by  it 
we  give  eternal  praise,  to 
Christ. 

This  triple  and  glorious 
Cross,  contemptible  as  it 
seemed  at  first,  now  reaches  to 
the  very  heavens  with  its 
power,  ever  raising  and  lead- 
ing men  up  to  God.  By 
it  we  give  eternal  praise  to 
Christ. 

Honour  to  this  most  sacred 
Wood,  which,  as  the  Prophet 
anciently  foretold,  was  to  be 
put  in  the  bread  of  Christ,  by 
them  that  crucified  him  ;  to 
whom  be  praise  above  all  for 
ever! 

Rain  down  sweetness,  O  ye 
mountains  !  and  ye,  0  hills, 
your  gladness  !  Trees  of  the 
field,  Cedars  of  Libanus,  exult 
with  joy,  for  on  this  day  we 
venerate  the  life-giving  Cross. 
Prophets,  Martyrs,  Apostles, 
Spirits  of  the  Just,  rejoice  ! 

Look  down,  O  Lord,  upon 
thy  people  and  clergy,  who 
now  devoutly  sing  thy  praise, 
and  for  whose  sakes  thou  didst 
suffer  death.  Let  not  the 
countless  number  of  our  sins 
outdo  thy  mercy,  but  save  us, 
most  loving  Jesus,  by  thy 
Cross ! 

O  Cross !  thou  art  the 
sacred  armour  of  my  life.  My 
Lord  saved  me  by  his  ascend- 
ing upon  thee.  From  his 
wounded  Side  there  flowed 
Blood  and  Water,  of  which 
being  made  a  partaker,  I 
exult,  and  give  glory  to 
Christ. 

O  Cross  !     thou  art  the  di- 


FEAST  OF  THE  SEVEN  DOLOURS. 


179 


vine  sceptre  of  the  King ;  thou 
art  the  strength  of  them  that 
wage  war ;  it  is  our  confidence 
in  thee  that  makes  us  put  our 
enemies  to  flight.  Oh  !  ever 
grant  to  us  who  honour  thee, 
victory  over  the  Barbarians. 


Crux  es,  exercitus  forti- 
tudo  ;  in  tua  fiducia  profli- 
gamus  hostes  ;  nobis  qui  te 
adoramus,  semper  concede 
adversus  Barbaros  victorias. 


180  PASSION    WEEK. 


SATURDAY 


IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


To-day,  we  begin,  as  does  the  holy  Gospel,  to  num- 
ber the  days  which  precede  the  Death,  the  Sacrifice, 
of  the  Lamb  of  God.  St.  John,  in  the  12th  Chapter 
of  his  Gospel,  tells  us  that  this  is  the  Sixth  day 
before  the  Pasch. 

Jesus  is  in  Bethania,  where  a  feast  is  being  given 
in  his  honour.     Lazarus,  he  whom  Jesus  has  restored 
to  life,  was  present  at  this  repast,  which  was  given  in 
the  house   of  Simon  the   Leper.     Martha   is  busy 
looking  after  the  various  arrangements ;    her  sister, 
Mary  Magdalene,  has  a  heavenly  presentiment  that 
the  death  and  burial  of  her  beloved  Master  are  soon 
to  be,  and  she  has  poured  upon  him  a  precious  per- 
fume.    The  Holy  Gospel  which  ever  observes  such  a 
mysterious  reserve   with   regard  to   the  Mother  of 
Jesus,  does  not  tell  us  that  Marv  was  at  Bethania  on 
this  occasion,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  her  being 
present.     The  Apostles  were  also  there,  and  partook 
of  the  repast.     Whilst   the  friends   of  our  Saviour 
were  thus  grouped  around  him,  in  this  village,  which 
was  about  two  thousand  paces  from  Jerusalem,  the 
aspect  of  the  faithless  City  becomes  more  and  more 
threatening  ;  and  yet,  though  his  Disciples  are  not 
aware  of  it,  Jesus  is  to  enter  the  City  to-morrow,  and 
in  a  most  public  manner.     The  heart  of  Mary  is  a 


SATURDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK.  181 

prey  to  sadness ;  Magdalene  is  absorbed  in  grief ; 
everything  announces  that  the  fatal  day  is  near. 

The  Church  has  reserved  for  Monday  next  the 
Gospel  which  relates  the  history  of  this  Saturday. 
The  reason  is,  that  formerly,  and  up  to  the  12th 
century,  there  was  no  Station  held  on  this  day  in 
Rome :  it  was  left  free,  in  order  that  the  Pope 
might  rest  before  the  great  fatigues  of  Holy  Week, 
whose  long  and  solemn  services  were  to  begin  on  the 
morrow.  But,  although  he  did  not  preside  over  the 
assembly  of  the  Faithful,  he,  on  this  day,  had  to  ob- 
serve two  usages,  which  had  been  handed  down  by 
tradition,  and  which  had  almost  become  of  liturgical 
importance  in  the  Church  at  Rome. 

During  the  whole  year,  the  Pope  used,  every 
Sunday,  to  send  a  portion  of  the  sacred  species, 
consecrated  by  him,  to  each  of  the  priests  of  the 
presbyterial  Titles,  or  parochial  Churches,  of  the 
City.  But  it  was  to-day  that  this  distribution  was 
made  for  the  whole  of  Holy  Week,  perhaps  on  ac- 
count of  to-morrow's  long  service.  We  know  from 
the  ancient  liturgical  books  of  Rome,  that  it  was 
in  the  Lateran  Consistory  that  to-day's  sacred  dis- 
tribution was  made,  and  it  is  probable  (as  the 
Blessed  Cardinal  Tommasi  and  Benedict  the  Four- 
teenth tell  us,)  that  the  Bishops  of  the  suburbica- 
rian  Churches  were  of  the  number  of  those  who 
received  it.  We  have  several  instances  proving  that, 
formerly,  Bishops  occasionally  sent  to  one  another 
the  Blessed  Sacrament,  as  a  sign  of  the  union  that 
existed  between  them.  With  regard  to  the  priests 
of  the  city  Parochial  Churches,  to  whom  a  Particle 
was  sent  by  the  Pope,  they  put  a  portion  of  it  in 
the  Chalice  before  receiving  the  Precious  Blood. 

The  other  custom,  peculiar  to  this  day,  consisted 
in  giving  alms  to  all  the  poor.  The  Pope  presided 
at  this  distribution,  which  was  no  doubt  made  ample 
enough  to  last  the  whole  of  the  coming  Week,  when, 


182 


PASSION    WEEK. 


on  account  of  the  long  Ceremonies,  it  would  scarcely 
be  possible  to  attend  to  individual  cases  of  poverty. 
The  Liturgists  of  the  Middle-Ages  allude  to  the 
beautiful  appropriateness  of  the  Roman  Pontiff's  dis- 
tributing alms  with  his  own  hand,  to  the  poor,  on 
this  day,  the  same  on  which  Mary  Magdalene  em- 
balmed, with  her  perfumes,  the  feet  of  Jesus. 

Since  the  12th  century,  a  Station  has  been  as- 
signed to  this  Saturday ;  it  takes  place  in  the  Church 
of  Saint  John  before  the  Latin  Gate.  This  ancient 
Basilica  is  built  near  the  spot  where  the  Beloved 
Disciple  was  by  Domitian's  order,  plunged  into  the 
cauldron  of  boiling  oil. 


COLLECT. 


Proficiat,  quaesumus,  Do- 
mine,  plebs  tibi  dicata 
pise  devotionis  affectu :  ut 
sacris  actionibus  erudita, 
quanto  majestati  tuae  fit 
gratior,  tanto  donis  potio- 
ribus  augeatur.  Per  Chris- 
tum Dominum  nostrum. 
Amen. 


May  the  people  consecrated 
to  thy  service,  we  beseech 
thee,  0  Lord,  improve  in  the 
affections  of  piety ;  that  in- 
structed by  these  holy  mys- 
teries, they  may  be  so  much 
the  more  enriched  with  thy 
heavenly  gifts,  as  they  be- 
come more  acceptable  to 
thy  divine  majesty.  Through 
Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 


EPISTLE. 


Lectio  Jeremiae  Prophetae. 

Cap.  XVIII. 

In  diebus  illis :  Dixerunt 
impii  Judaei  ad  invicem : 
Venite,  et  cogitemus  con- 
tra Justum  cogitationes : 
non  enim  peribit  Lex  a 
sacerdote,  neque  consilium 
a  sapiente,  nee  sermo  a 
propheta  :  venite,  et  percu- 
tiamus  eum  lingua,    et   non 


Lesson  from  Jeremias  the 
Prophet. 

Ch.  XVTII. 

In  those  days,  the  wicked 
Jews  said  to  one  another  : 
Come,  and  let  us  invent  de- 
vices against  the  Just :  for 
the  Law  shall  not  perish  from 
the  priest,  nor  counsel  from 
the  wise,  nor  the  word  from 
the  prophet.  Come,  and  let 
us  strike  him  with  the  tongue, 


SATURDAY    IN    PASSION   WEEK. 


183 


and  let  us  give  no  heed  to  all 
his  words.  Give  heed  to  me, 
0  Lord,  and  hear  the  voice  of 
my  adversaries.  Shall  evil  be 
rendered  for  good,  because 
they  have  digged  a  pit  for  my 
soul  ?  Remember  that  I  have 
stood  in  thy  sight,  to  speak 
good  for  them,  and  to 
turn  away  thy  indignation 
from  them.  Therefore  de- 
liver up  their  children  to  fa- 
mine, and  bring  them  into  the 
hands  of  the  sword ;  let  their 
wives  be  bereaved  of  children, 
and  widows ;  and  let  the  hus- 
bands be  slain  by  death ;  let 
their  young  men  be  stabbed 
with  the  sword  in  battle.  Let 
a  cry  be  heard  out  of  their 
houses ;  for  thou  shalt  bring 
the  robber  upon  them  sud- 
denly, because  they  have 
digged  a  pit  to  take  me,  and 
have  hid  snares  for  my  feet. 
But  thou,  O  Lord,  knowest 
all  their  counsel  against  me 
unto  death ;  forgive  not  their 
iniquity,  and  let  not  their  sin 
be  blotted  out  from  thy  sight; 
let  them  be  overthrown  before 
thy  eyes,  in  the  time  of  thy 
wrath  do  thou  destroy  them, 
0  Lord  our  God. 


attendamus  ad  imiversos 
sormones  ejus.  Attende, 
Domine,  ad  me ;  et  audi 
vocem  adversariorum  meo- 
rum.  Numquid  redditur  pro 
bono  malum,  quia  foderunt 
foveam  animae  meae  ?  Ee- 
cordare  quod  steterim  in 
conspectu  tuo,  ut  loquerer 
pro  eis  bonum,  et  averte- 
rem  indignationem  tuam  ab 
eis.  Propterea  da  nlios  eo- 
rum  in  famem,  et  deduc 
eos  in  manus  gladii ;  fiant 
uxores  eorum  absque  liberis, 
et  viduse :  et  viri  earum  in- 
terficiantur  morte :  juvenes 
eorum  confodiantur  gladio 
in  prselio.  Audiatur  clamor 
de  domibus  eorum :  adduces 
enim  super  eos  latronem 
repente :  quia  foderunt  fove- 
am ut  caperent  me,  et  laqueos 
absconderunt  pedibus  meis. 
Tu  autem,  Domine,  scis  omne 
consilium  eorum  adversum 
me  in  mortem  :  ne  propitieris 
iniquitati  eorum,  et  peccatum 
eorum  a  facie  tua  non  de- 
leatur  :  fiant  corruentes  in 
conspectu  tuo,  in  tempore 
furoris  tui  abutere  eis,  Do- 
mine Deus  noster. 


It  makes  us  tremble  to  read  these  awful  ana- 
themas, which  Jeremias,  the  figure  of  Christ,  speaks 
against  his  enemies,  the  Jews.  This  prophecy,  which 
was  literally  fulfilled  at  the  first  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem by  the  Assyrians,  received  a  more  terrible  ful- 
filment at  the  second  visitation  of  (rod's  anger  upon 
this  city  of  malediction.  This  time,  it  was  not  be- 
cause the  Jews  had  persecuted  a  Prophet ;  it  was 
because  they  had  rejected  and  crucified  the  very  Son 


o 


184  PASSION  WEEK. 

of  Gk>d.  It  was  to  their  long-expected  Messias  that 
they  had  rendered  evil  for  good.  It  was  not  a  Saint, 
like  Jeremias,  that  had  spoken  good  for  them  to  the 
Lord,  and  besought  him  to  turn  aicay  his  indigna- 
tion from  them ;  the  Man- God  himself  had,  without 
ceasing,  made  intercession  for  them,  and  treated 
them  with  the  tenderest  mercy.  But  all  was  in 
vain ;  this  ungrateful  people  seemed  to  hate  their 
divine  Benefactor  in  proportion  to  his  love  of  them  ; 
and  at  length,  in  the  transport  of  their  fury,  they 
cried  out :  His  blood  be  upon  us  and  upon  our 
children ! l  What  a  frightful  chastisement  they 
entailed  on  themselves  by  this  imprecation  !  Grod 
heard  and  remembered  it.  Alas  !  the  sinner,  who 
knows  Jesus  and  the  worth  of  his  Blood,  yet  who 
again  sheds  this  precious  Blood, — does  not  he  expose 
himself  to  the  severity  of  that  same  Justice,  which 
fell  so  heavily  on  the  Jews  ?  Let  us  tremble  and 
pray  :  let  us  implore  the  divine  mercy  in  favour  of 
those  many  obstinately  blind  and  hardened  sinners, 
who  are  hastening  to  destruction.  Oh  !  that  by  the 
fervour  of  our  supplications  addressed  to  the  merci- 
ful Heart  of  our  common  Redeemer,  we  could  obtain 
a  reversion  of  their  sentence,  and  secure  them  pardon ! 

GOSPEL. 

Sequentia  sancti  Evangelii        Sequel  of  the  holy  Gospel 
secundum    Joannem.  according  to  John. 

Cap.  XII.  Oh.  XII. 

In  illo   tempore:     Cogita-  At   that   time:     the   chief 

verunt     principes      sacerdo-  priests  thought  to  kill  Lazarus 

turn,   ut  et  Lazarum  inter-  also,   because    many    of  the 

ficerent  :  quia  multi  propter  Jews  by  reason  of  him  went 

ilium    abibant    ex     Judseis,  away,    and  believed  in  Jesus, 

et  credebant  in   Jesum.     In  And  on  the  next  day  a  great 

crastinum  autem  turba  mul-  multitude,    that  was  come  to 

ta,   quae  venerat  ad  diem  fes-  the  festival  day,   when   they 

St.  Matth.  xxvii.  25. 


SATURDAY    IN    PASSION    WKEK. 


185 


had  heard  that  Jesus  was 
coining  to  Jerusalem,  took 
branches  of  palm  trees,  and 
went  forth  to  meet  him,  and 
cried  :  Hosanna,  blessed  is  he 
that  comoth  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  the  King  of  Israel ! 
And  Jesus  found  a  young  ass, 
and  sat  upon  it,  as  it  is  writ- 
ten :  Fear  not,  daughter  of 
Sion ;  behold  thy  king  cometh 
sitting  on  an  ass's  colt. 
These  things  his  disciples  did 
not  know  at  first ;  but  when 
Jesus  was  glorified,  they  then 
remembered  that  these  things 
were  written  of  him,  and  that 
they  had  done  these  things  to 
him. 

The  multitude  therefore 
gave  testimony,  which  was 
with  him,  when  he  called 
Lazarus  out  of  the  grave,  and 
raised  him  from  the  dead.  For 
which  reason  also  the  people 
came  to  meet  him,  because 
they  heard  he  had  done  this 
miracle.  The  Pharisees  there- 
fore said  among  themselves  : 
Do  you  see  that  we  prevail 
nothing  ?  behold,  the  whole 
world  is  gone  after  him.  Now 
there  were  certain  Gentiles 
among  them  that  came  up  to 
adore  on  the  festival  day. 
These  therefore  came  to  Phi- 
lip, who  was  of  Bethsaida  of 
Galilee,  and  desired  him  say- 
ing :  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus. 
Philip  cometh,  and  telleth 
Andrew.  Again  Andrew  and 
Philip  told  Jesus. 

But  Jesus  answered  them, 
saying:  The  hour  is  come 
that  the  Son  of  man  shall  be 
glorified.    Amen,  amen,  I  say 


turn,  cum  audissent  quia 
venit  Jesus  Jerosolymam : 
acceperunt  ramos  palma- 
rum,  et  processerunt  obviam 
ei,  et  clamabant :  Hosanna  : 
benedictus  qui  venit  in 
nomine  Domini,  Rex  Israel. 
Et  invenit  Jesus  asellum,  et 
sedit  super  eum,  sicut  scrip  - 
turn  est :  Noli  timere,  filia 
Sion  :  ecce  Rex  tuus  venit 
sedens  super  pullum  asinse. 
Hsec  non  cognoverunt  dis- 
cipuli  ejus  primum  :  sed 
quando  glorificatus  est  Jesus, 
tunc  recordati  sunt  quia  haec 
erant  scripta  de  eo  :  et  hsec 
fecerunt  ei. 

Testimonium  ergo  per- 
hibebat  turba,  quae  erat 
cum  eo  quando  Lazarum 
vocavit  de  monumento,  et 
suscitavit  eum  a  mortuis. 
Propterea  et  obviam  venit 
ei  turba  :  quia  audierunt 
eum  fecisse  hoc  signum. 
Pharissei  ergo  dixerunt  ad 
semetipsos  :  Videtis  quia 
nihil  proficimus  ?  Ecce  mun- 
dus  totus  post  eum  abiit. 
Erant  autem  quidam  Gen- 
tiles ex  his,  qui  ascende- 
rant  ut  adorarent  in  die 
festo.  Hi  ergo  accesserunt 
ad  Philippum,  qui  erat  a 
Bethsaida  Galilsese,  et  roga- 
bant  eum,  dicentes  :  Do- 
mine,  volumus  Jesum  vi- 
dere.  Venit  Philippus,  et 
dicit  Andrese  :  Andreas 
rursum  et  Philippus  dixe- 
runt Jesu. 

Jesus  autem,  respondit 
eis,  dicens  :  Venit  hora, 
ut  clarificetur  Filius  homi- 
nis.     Amen,   amen,  dico  vo- 


186 


PASSION    WEEK. 


bis,  nisi  graniim  frumenti 
cadens  in  terram,  mortuum 
fuerit,  ipsum  solum  manet. 
Si  autem  mortuum  fuerit, 
multum  fructum  affert.  Qui 
amat  animam  suam,  perdet 
earn  :  et  qui  odit  animam 
suam  in  hoc  mundo,  in  vi- 
tam  seternam  custodit  earn. 
Si  quis  mihi  ministrat,  me 
sequatur  :  et  ubi  sum  ego, 
illic  et  minister  meus  erit. 
Si  quis  mihi  ministrave- 
rit  honorificabit  eum  Pater 
meus.  Nunc  anima  mea  tur- 
bata  est.  Et  quid  dicam  ? 
Pater,  salvifica  me  ex  hac 
hora.  Sed  propterea  veni  in 
horam  hanc.  Pater,  clari- 
fica  nomen  tuum.  Venit  ergo 
vox  de  ccelo  :  Et  clarificavi, 
et  iterum  clarificabo.  Turba 
ergo,  quae  stabat  et  audie- 
rat,  dicebat  tonitruum  esse 
factum.  Alii  dicebant  :  An- 
gelas ei  locutus  est. 

Eespondit  Jesus,  et  dixit : 
Non  propter  me  hsec  vox 
venit,  sed  propter  vos. 
Nunc  judicium  est  mundi  : 
nunc  princeps  hujus  mundi 
ejicietur  foras.  Et  ego  si 
exaltatus  fuero  a  terra,  om- 
nia traham  ad  meipsum 
(hoc  autem  dicebat,  signi- 
ficans  qua  morte  esset  mo- 
riturus).  Eespondit  ei  tur- 
ba :  Nos  audivimus  ex  Le- 
ge, quia  Christus  manet  in 
seternum  :  et  quomodo  tu 
dicis  :  Oportet  exaltari  Mi- 
lium hominis  ?  Quis  est  iste 
Filius  hominis  ?  Dixit  ergo 
eis  Jesus  :  Adhuc  modicum 
lumen  in  vobis  est.  Ambu- 
late dum  lucem  habetis,  ut 
non     vos     tenebrse    compre- 


to  you,  unless  the  grain  of 
wheat  falling  into  the  ground 
die,  itself  remaineth  alone. 
But  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth 
much  fruit.  He  that  loveth  his 
life,  shall  lose  it ;  and  he  that 
hateth  his  life  in  this  world, 
keepeth  it  unto  life  eternal. 
If  any  man  minister  to  me, 
let  him  follow  me  ;  and  where 
I  am,  there  also  shall  my 
minister  be.  If  any  man  minis- 
ter to  me,  him  will  my  Father 
honour.  Now  is  my  soul 
troubled.  And  what  shall  I 
say  ?  Father,  save  me  from 
this  hour.  But  for  this  cause  I 
came  unto  this  hour.  Father, 
glorify  thy  name.  A  voice 
therefore  came  from  heaven : 
I  have  both  glorified  it,  and 
will  glorify  it  again.  The 
multitude  therefore  that  stood 
and  heard,  said  that  it  thun- 
dered. Others  said :  An  Angel 
spoke  to  him. 

Jesus  answered  and  said  : 
This  voice  came  not  because 
of  me,  but  for  your  sakes. 
Now  is  the  judgment  of  the 
world ;  now  shall  the  prince 
of  this  world  be  cast  out.  And 
I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the 
earth,  will  draw  all  things  to 
myself.  ( Now  this  he  said, 
signifying  what  death  he 
should  die.)  The  multitude 
answered  him  :  We  have 
heard  out  of  the  law,  that 
Christ  abideth  for  ever  ;  and 
now  sayest  thou  :  The  Son 
of  Man  must  be  lifted  up  ? 
Who  is  this  Son  of  Man  ? 
Jesus  therefore  said  to  them : 
Yet  a  little  while,  the  light  is 
among  you.  Walk  whilst  you 
have  the  light,  that  the  dark- 


SATURDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK.  187 

ness  overtake  you  not ;  and  hendant :    et  qui  ambulat  in 

he   that    walketh    in    dark-  tenebris,     nescit   quo   vadat. 

ness  knoweth  not  whither  he  Dum  lucem  habetis,    credite 

goeth.     Whilst  you  have  the  in  lucem,  ut  filii  lucis  sitis. 

light,    believe   in   the   light,  Hsec  locutus   est  Jesus :    et 

that  you  may  be  the  children  abiit,    et  abscondit  se  ab  eis. 
of  light.     These  things  Jesus 
spoke,  and  he  went  away  and 
hid  himself  from  them. 

The  enemies  of  Jesus  have  come  to  that  pitch  of 
hatred,  which  robs  a  man  of  his  senses.  Lazarus, 
who  has  been  restored  from  death  to  life,  is  here 
standing  before  them  ;  and  instead  of  his  resuscita- 
tion convincing  them  of  Jesus'  being  the  Messias,  it 
sets  them  thinking  how  best  to  make  away  with  this 
irresistible  witness.  0  senseless  men !  that  Jesus 
who.  raised  him  to  life  when  dead,  can  again  bring 
him  to  life  if  you  murder  him. — Jesus'  triumphant 
entry  into  Jerusalem,  which  we  are  solemnly  to  com- 
memorate to-morrow,  adds  to  their  jealousy  and 
hatred.  Behold,  say  they,  we  prevail  nothing :  the 
whole  world  goes  after  him.  Alas !  this  ovation  is 
to  be  soon  followed  by  one  of  those  reverses  to 
which  a  populace  is  so  subject.  Meanwhile,  how- 
ever, we  have  certain  Gentiles  who  desire  to  see 
Jesus.  It  is  the  beginning  of  the  fulfilment  of  Jesus' 
prophecy  :  The  kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  from 
you,  and  shall  be  given  to  a  nation  yielding  the 
fruits  thereof1  Then  shall  the  Son  of  man  be  glori- 
fied; then  shall  all  nations,  by  their  humble  homage 
to  the  Crucified,  protest  against  the  sinful  blindness 
of  the  Jews.  But,  before  this  comes  to  pass,  it  is  re- 
quisite, that  the  Divine  Wheat  be  cast  into  the 
ground,  and  die.  Then,  the  glorious  harvest ;  and 
the  beautiful  seed  shall  yield  a  hundredfold. 

And  yet,  Jesus  feels,  in  his  human  nature,  a  mo- 
mentary fear  at  the  thought  of  this  death  he  is  to 

1  St.  Matth.  xxi.  43. 


188  PASSION    WEEK. 

undergo.  It  is  not  the  agony  in  the  Garden  ;  it  is  a 
trouble  of  soul.  Let  us  listen  to  his  words  :  Father  ! 
save  me  from  this  hour.  It  is  our  God  who  foresees 
all  that  he  is  about  to  suffer  for  our  sakes,  and  it 
fills  him  with  fear  :  he  asks  to  he  freed  from  it, 
though  his  will  has  decreed  and  accepted  it.  He 
immediately  adds  :  But  for  this  cause  I  came  unto 
this  hour :  Father  !  glorify  thy  name.  His  soul  is 
now  calm ;  he  once  more  accepts  the  hard  conditions 
of  our  salvation.  After  this,  his  words  bespeak  a 
triumph ;  by  virtue  of  the  sacrifice  about  to  be 
offered,  Satan  shall  be  dethroned  :  The  Prince  of  this 
world  shall  be  cast  out.  But  the  defeat  of  Satan  is 
not  the  only  fruit  of  our  Saviour's  immolation : — 
man,  earthly  and  depraved  creature  as  he  is,  is  to  be 
raised  from  this  earth  to  heaven.  The  Son  of  God  is 
to  be  the  heavenly  loadstone,  attracting  man  to  him- 
self :  And  /,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  trill 
draw  all  things  to  myself  He  forgets  his  sufferings, 
and  the  terrible  death  which  just  now  troubled  him  ; 
he  thinks  but  of  the  defeat  of  our  implacable  enemy, 
and  of  our  being  saved  and  glorified  by  his  Cross. 
These  few  words  reveal  the  whole  Heart  of  our 
Redeemer :  if  we  attentively  weigh  them,  they  will 
suffice  to  inflame  us  with  devotion  as  we  celebrate 
the  ineffable  Mysteries  of  Holy  Week. 


Humiliate     capita     vestra  Bow   down  your  heads  to 

Deo.  God. 

Tueatur    qusesumus,    Do-  May    thy   right  hand,    O 

mine,   dextera  tua  populum  Lord,  we  beseech  thee,  pro- 

depiecantem,      et      purinca-  tect  thy  people  making  sup- 

tum   dignanter   erudiat :     ut  plication  to  thee,  and  purify  - 

consolatione      prsesenti,      ad  ing    them    from    their   sins, 

futura  bona  proficiat.      Per  make  them  wise,   that  they 

Christum      Dominum     nos-  may   make  such   use  of  the 

trum.     Amen.  comforts  of  this  present  life, 


SATURDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


189 


as  to  arrive  at  that  which  is 
eternal.  Through  Christ  our 
Lord.     Amen. 

Let  us  sue  for  mercy  from  the  Saviour  of  our 
souls,  in  these  words  of  supplication  used  in  the 
G-othic  Liturgy  of  Spain. 

SUPPLICATION. 

(Feria  VI.  Dominicce  V.) 


y.  Have  mercy  upon,  and 
spare,  thy  people,  0  most 
merciful  Lord ! 

gt.  For  we  have  sinned 
against  thee. 

y.  Look  down,  from  the 
throne  of  thy  Cross,  upon  us 
miserable  creatures,  who  are 
fettered  by  the  chains  of  our 
passions.  Deliver  us,  O  thou 
our  Redeemer,  from  the  pun- 
ishments we  deserve. 

gt.  For  we  have  sinned 
against  thee. 

y.  O  thou  that  wast 
scourged,  ignominiously  cru- 
cified, and  insulted  by  them 
that  persecuted  thee  !  grant 
us  repentance  for  our  sins. 

gt.  For  we  have  sinned 
against  thee. 

$ .  0  thou,  the  just  Judge, 
that  wast  judged  unjustly, 
and,  though  innocent,  made 
to  suffer  the  tortures  of  the 
Cross !  save  us  from  our 
merited  punishments,  for 
thou  art  our  Redeemer. 

Bt.  For  we  have  sinned 
against  thee. 

^.  O  thou,  that  heretofore 
wast  silent  before  the  judge  ! 
raise  up  thy  voice  in  pleading 
for  us  to  thy  Father,  that  we 
may  be  happy  with  thee,  our 
King  and  Lord. 


f.  Miserere,  et  parce,  cle- 
mentissime  Domine,  populo 
tuo. 

§i.  Quia   peccavimus    tibi. 

y.  De  crucis  throno  aspice 
nos  miseros,  et  passionum 
compeditos  vinculis  nostris 
absolve,  Redemptor,  suppli- 
ciis. 


gt.  Quia  peccavimus    tibi. 

~ft.  Passus  flagella,  et  cru- 
cis injuriam,  persecutorum 
sustinens  convicia,  dona 
delictis  nostris  poeniten- 
tiam. 

gt.  Quia   peccavimus    tibi. 

1?.  Qui  Justus  judex,  male 
judicatus  es,  et  pcenas 
crucis  suscepisti  innocens ; 
tu  nos  a  poenis  nostris  salva 
redimens. 


gt.  Quia   peccavimus    tibi. 

1?.  Yox  tua  Patrem  pro 
nobis  expostulet,  quae  si- 
lens  fuit  olim  ante  judicem, 
ut  te  regnante  perfruamur 
Pomino. 


190 


PASSION    WEEK. 


Be.     Quia  peccavimus  tibi.         &.      For  we  have   sinned 

against  thee. 

The  following  Sequence,  in  praise  of  Mary,  is  most 
appropriate  for  this  Saturday  of  Passion  Week.  It 
sweetly  blends  together  the  homages  we  owe  to  the 
Cross  of  Jesus  and  to  the  Dolours  of  Mary.  We 
have  taken  it  from  the  Horce  of  the  6th  century. 


SEQUENCE. 


Lignum  vitse  quserimus, 
Qui  vitam  amisimus 
Fructu  ligni  vetiti. 

Nee  inventum  noverit 
Qui  fructum  non  viderit 
Adhserentem  stipiti. 

Fructus  per  quern  vivitur 
Pendet,  sicut  creditur, 
Virginis  ad  ubera. 

Et  ad  Crucem  iterum, 
Inter  viros  scelerum, 
Passus  quinque  vulnera. 

Hie  Virgo  puerpera, 
Hie  Crux  salutifera  : 
Ambo  ligna  mystica. 

Haec  hyssopus  humilis, 
Ilia  cedrus  nobilis  : 
Utraque  vivifica. 

Positus  in  medio, 
Quo  me  vertam  nescio. 

In  hoc  dulci  dubio, 
Dulcis  est  collatio. 

Hie  complexus  brachiis, 
Modis  vagit  variis. 

Hie  extendit  brachia, 
Complexurus  omnia. 

Charum  Mater  tenere 
Novit  hie  tenere. 

Charitas  sub  latere, 
Nescit  hie  latere. 

Hie  adhserens  pectori, 
Pascitur  ab  ubere. 


We,  that  by  the  fruit  of  the 
forbidden  tree,  lost  our  life, 
now  seek  the  Tree  of  life. 

He  alone  hath  found  this 
Tree,  who  sees  the  Branch 
whereon  is  fixed  the  Fruit. 

Our  faith  tells  us,  that  the 
Fruit,  that  gives  us  life,  hangs 
on  Mary's  breast. 

And  on  the  Cross,  between 
two  thieves,  though,  here,  he 
is  pierced  with  five  wounds. 

The  Virgin-Mother,  and  the 
saving  Cross, — yea,  both  are 
mystic  Trees ; 

The  Cross,  humble  as  the 
hyssop ;  Mary,  noble  as  the 
cedar, — both  are  trees  of  life. 

Placed  between  the  two,  I 
know  not  to  which  to  turn. 

0  sweet  perplexity  !  0 
sweet  comparison ! 

Here,  my  Jesus  lies,  fondled 
in  his  Mother's  arms,  a  weep- 
ing little  Babe ; 

There,  with  his  arm  stretch- 
ed out,  calling  all  to  his  em- 
brace. 

Here,  'tis  a  burden  sweet 
to  a  Mother's  love ; 

There,  'tis  Love  itself,  too 
ardent  to  be  hid. 

Here,  leaning  on  his  Mo- 
ther's heart,  he  is  fed  at  her 
breast ; 


SATURDAY    IN    PASSION    WEEK. 


191 


There,  fastened  to  the  tree, 
he  feeds  us  from  his  wounds. 

The  Cross  supplies  us  with 
the  food  of  its  refreshing 
Fruit ; 

The  Mother  forestalls  the 
Cross,  feeding  the  very  Fruit, 
feeding  him  for  us. 

This,  then,  is  my  decision ; 
— we  cannot  have  the  one 
without  the  other. 

He  that  chooses  the  Cross, 
must  have  the  Mother;  for 
when  he  comes  to  the  Cross, 
he  will  find  the  Mother  stand- 
ing at  the  foot. 

He  that  chooses  the  Mother, 
meets  the  Cross  as  well,  for 
it  was  whilst  standing  at  the 
Cross,  that  the  Mother's  heart 
was  pierced. 

0  Jesus  !  crucified  Son  of  a 
crucified  Mother  !  look  upon 
us  from  thy  Cross. 

0  living  Fruit!  O  Fruit 
of  the  Tree  of  life  !  refresh  us 
with  thyself,  give  us  the  en- 
joyment of  thine  own  dear 
self.     Amen. 


Hie  affixus  arbori, 
Pascit  nos  ex  vulnere. 

Crux  ministrat  pabula, 
Fructu  nos  reficiens. 

Mater  est  praeambula, 
Fructum  nobis  nutriens. 

Tandem  ad  hoc  trahitur 
Finalis  sententia : 
Quod  nemo  consequitur 
Unam  sine  alia. 

Qui  Crucem  elegerit, 
Nee  sic  Matrem  deserit : 
Cum  ad  Crucem  venerit, 
Matrem  ibi  poterit 
Stantem  invenire. 

Nee  qui  Matrem  elegit, 
Crucem  prorsus  abigit, 
Si  modum  intelligit 
Quo  per  Matrem  contigit 
Gladium  transire. 

Fili  Matris  unice, 
Matris  crucifixae, 
Nos  de  Cruce  respice, 
Fili  crucifixe. 

Fructus  o  vivifice, 
Fructus  ligni  vitae, 
Nos  teipso  refice, 
Nobis  da  frui  te. 
Amen. 


192  HOLY    WEEK. 


PALM     SUNDAY. 


Hodie,  si  vocem  Domini  To-day,  if  ye  shall  hear  the 
audieritis,  nolite  obdurare  voice  of  the  Lord,  harden  not 
corda  vestra.  your  hearts. 


Early  in  the  morning  of  this  day,  Jesus  sets  out  for 
Jerusalem,  leaving  Mary,  his  Mother,  and  the  two 
sisters  Martha  and  Mary  Magdalene,  and  Lazarus, 
at  Bethania.  The  Mother  of  Sorrows  trembles  at 
seeing  her  Son  thus  expose  himself  to  danger,  for 
his  enemies  are  bent  upon  his  destruction  ;  but  it  is 
not  Death,  it  is  Triumph,  that  Jesus  is  to  receive  to- 
day in  Jerusalem.  The  Messias,  before  being  nailed 
to  the  Cross,  is  to  be  proclaimed  King  by  the  people 
of  the  great  City ;  the  little  children  are  to  make 
her  streets  echo  with  their  Hosannas  to  the  Son  of 
David  ;  and  this  in  presence  of  the  soldiers  of  Home's 
Emperor,  and  of  the  High  Priests  and  Pharisees, — 
the  first,  standing  under  the  banner  of  their  Eagles ; 
the  second,  dumb  with  rage. 

The  Prophet  Zachary  had  foretold  this  Triumph 
which  the  Son  of  Man  was  to  receive  a  few  days  be- 
fore his  Passion,  and  which  had  been  prepared  for 
him  from  all  eternity.  Rejoice  greatly,  0  Daughter 
of  Sion  !  Shout  for  joy,  0  daughter  of  Jerusalem  ! 
Behold  thy  King  will  come  to  thee;  the  Just  and 
the  Saviour.     He  is  poor,   and  riding  upon  an  ass, 


PALM    SUNDAY  '.    ITS    HISTORY.  193 

and  upon  a  colt,  the  foal  of  an  ass.1  Jesus,  know- 
ing that  the  hour  was  come  for  the  fulfilment  of  this 
prophecy,  singles  out  two  from  the  rest  of  his  Dis- 
ciples, and  bids  them  lead  to  him  an  ass  and  her 
colt,  which  they  would  find  not  far  off.  He  had  got 
to  Bethphage,  on  Mount  Olivet.  The  two  Disciples 
lose  no  time  in  executing  the  order  given  them  by 
their  divine  Master ;  and  the  ass  and  the  colt  are 
soon  brought  to  the  place  where  he  stands. 

The  holy  Fathers  have  explained  to  us  the  mystery 
of  these  two  animals.  The  ass  represents  the  Jewish 
people,  which  had  been  ]ong  under  the  yoke  of  the 
T-jaw ;  the  colt,  upon  which,  as  the  Evangelist  says,  no 
man  yet  hath  sat,2  is  a  figure  of  the  Grentile  world, 
which  no  one  had  ever  yet  brought  into  subjection. 
The  future  of  these  two  peoples  is  to  be  decided  in  a 
few  days  hence  :  the  Jews  will  be  rejected,  for  having 
refused  to  acknowledge  Jesus  as  the  Messias ;  the 
Gentiles  will  take  their  place,  to  be  adopted  as  (rod's 
people,  and  become  docile  and  faithful. 

The  Disciples  spread  their  garments  upon  the  colt ; 
and  our  Saviour,  that  the  prophetic  figure  might  be 
fulfilled,  sat  upon  him?  and  advances  towards  Jeru- 
salem. As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  Jesus  was 
near  the  City,  the  Holy  Spirit  worked  in  the  hearts 
of  those  Jews,  who  had  come,  from  all  parts,  to  cele- 
brate the  Feast  of  the  Passover.  They  go  out  to  meet 
our  Lord,  holding  palm  branches  in  their  hands,  and 
loudly  proclaiming  him  to  be  King.*  They  that  had 
accompanied  Jesus  from  Bethania,  join  the  enthusi- 
astic crowd.  Whilst  some  spread  their  garments  on 
the  way,  others  cut  down  boughs  from  the  Palm- 
trees,  and  strewed  them  along  the  road.  Hosanna  is 
the  triumphant  cry,  proclaiming  to  the  whole  city, 
that  Jesus,  the  Son  of  David,  has  made  his  entrance 
as  her  King. 

1  Zac.  ix.  9.  3  Ibid.  xi.  7,  and  St.  Luke,  xix.  35. 

2  St.  Mark,  xi.  2.  i  St.  Luke,  xix.  38. 


194  HOLY    WEEK. 

Thus  did  Gk>d,  in  his  power  over  men's  hearts,  pro- 
cure a  triumph  for  his  Son,  and  in  the  very  City, 
which,  a  few  days  after,  was  to  clamour  for  his  Blood. 
This  day  was  one  of  glory  to  our  Jesus,  and  the  holy 
Church  would  have  us  renew,  each  year,  the  memory 
of  this  triumph  of  the  Man-Grod.  Shortly  after  the 
Birth  of  our  Emmanuel,  we  saw  the  Magi  coming 
from  the  extreme  East,  and  looking  in  Jerusalem  for 
the  King  of  the  Jews,  to  whom  they  intended  offer- 
ing their  gifts  and  their  adorations  :  but  it  is  Jerusa- 
lem herself  that  now  goes  forth  to  meet  this  King. 
Each  of  these  events  is  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
Kingship  of  Jesus  :  the  first,  from  the  Grentiles  ;  the 
second,  from  the  Jews.  Both  were  to  pay  him  this 
regal  homage,  before  he  suffered  his  Passion.  The 
Inscription  to  be  put  upon  the  Cross,  by  Pilate's 
order,  will  express  the  kingly  character  of  the  Cruci- 
fied :  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  King  of  the  Jeivs.  Pilate, — 
the  Roman  Governor,  the  pagan,  the  base  coward, — 
has  been,  unwittingly,  the  fulfiller  of  a  prophecy  ;  and 
when  the  enemies  of  Jesus  insist  on  the  Inscription 
being  altered,  Pilate  will  deign  them  no  answer  but 
this  :  What  I  have  written,  I  have  written.  To-day, 
it  is  the  Jews  themselves  that  proclaim  Jesus  to  be 
their  King :  they  will  soon  be  dispersed,  in  punish- 
ment for  their  revolt  against  the  Son  of  David ;  but 
Jesus  is  King,  and  will  be  so  for  ever.  Thus  were 
literally  verified  the  words  spoken  by  the  Archangel 
to  Mary,  when  he  announced  to  her  the  glories  of 
the  Child  that  was  to  be  born  of  her  :  The  Lord  God 
shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  David,  his  father ; 
and  he  shall  reign  in  the  house  of  Jacob  for  ever} 
Jesus  begins  his  reign  upon  the  earth  this  very  day  ; 
and  though  the  first  Israel  is  soon  to  disclaim  his 
rule,  a  new  Israel,  formed  from  the  faithful  few  of  the 
old,  shall  rise  up  in  every  nation  of  the  earth,  and 

1  St.  Liike,  i.  32. 


PALM    SUNDAY  I    ITS    HISTORY.  195 

become  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  a  kingdom  such  as 
no  mere  earthly  monarch  ever  coveted  in  his  wildest 
fancies  of  ambition. 

This  is  the  glorious  Mystery  which  ushers  in  the 
Great  Week,  the  Week  of  Dolours.  Holy  Church 
would  have  us  give  this  momentary  consolation  to 
our  heart,  and  hail  our  Jesus  as  our  King.  She  has 
so  arranged  the  Service  of  to-day,  that  it  should  ex- 
press both  joy  and  sorrow ;  joy,  by  uniting  herself 
with  the  loyal  Hosannas  of  the  City  of  David ;  and 
sorrow,  by  compassionating  the  Passion  of  her  Divine 
Spouse.  The  whole  function  is  divided  into  three 
parts,  which  we  will  now  proceed  to  explain. 

The  first  is  the  blessing  of  the  Palms,  and  we  may 
have  an  idea  of  its  importance  by  the  solemnity  used 
by  the  Church  in  this  sacred  rite.  One  would  sup- 
pose that  the  Holy  Sacrifice  has  begun,  and  is  going 
to  be  offered  up  in  honour  of  Jesus'  Entry  into 
Jerusalem.  Introit,  Collect,  Epistle,  Gradual,  Gospel, 
even  a  Preface,  are  said  as  though  we  were,  as  usual, 
preparing  for  the  immolation  of  the  Spotless  Lamb  ; 
but,  after  the  triple  Sanctus !  Sanctus !  Sanctus ! 
the  Church  suspends  these  sacrificial  formulas,  and 
turns  to  the  Blessing  of  the  Palms.  The  Prayers 
she  uses  for  this  Blessing  are  eloquent  and  full  of 
instruction ;  and,  together,  with  the  sprinkling  with 
Holy  Water  and  the  Incensation,  impart  a  virtue  to 
these  Branches,  which  elevates  them  to  the  super- 
natural order,  and  makes  them  means  for  the  sancti- 
fication  of  our  souls  and  the  protection  of  our  persons 
and  dwellings.  The  Faithful  should  hold  these 
Palms  in  their  hands  during  the  procession,  and 
during  the  reading  of  the  Passion  at  Mass,  and 
keep  them  in  their  homes  as  an  outward  expression 
of  their  faith,  and  as  a  pledge  of  God's  watchful  love. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  tell  our  reader,  that  the 
Palms  or  Olive  branches,  thus  blessed,  are  carried  in 
memory  of  those  wherewith  the  people  of  Jerusalem 


196  HOLY   WEEK. 

strewed  the  road,  as  our  Saviour  made  his  trium- 
phant Entry  ;  but  a  word  on  the  antiquity  of  our 
ceremony  will  not  be  superfluous.  It  began  very 
early  in  the  East.  It  is  probable,  that  as  far  as 
Jerusalem  itself  is  concerned,  the  custom  was  estab- 
lished immediately  after  the  Ages  of  Persecution. 
St.  Cyril,  who  was  Bishop  of  that  City  in  the  4th 
century,  tells  us,  that  the  Palm-tree,  from  which  the 
people  cut  the  branches  when  they  went  out  to  meet 
our  Saviour,  was  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Vale  of 
Cedron.1  Such  a  circumstance  would  naturally  sug- 
gest an  annual  commemoration  of  the  great  event. 
In  the  following  century,  we  find  this  ceremony 
established,  not  only  in  the  Churches  of  the  East, 
but  also  in  the  Monasteries  of  Egypt  and  Syria.  At 
the  beginning  of  Lent,  many  of  the  holy  monks  ob- 
tained permission  from  their  Abbots  to  retire  into 
the  desert,  that  they  might  spend  the  sacred  season 
in  strict  seclusion  ;  but  they  were  obliged  to  return 
to  their  monasteries  for  Palm  Sunday,  as  we  learn 
from  the  Life  of  St.  Euthymius,  written  by  his  disciple 
Cyril.2  In  the  West,  the  introduction  of  this  cere- 
mony was  more  gradual :  the  first  trace  we  find  of  it, 
is  in  the  Sacramentary  of  St.  Gregory,  that  is,  the 
end  of  the  6th,  or  the  beginning  of  the  7th,  century. 
When  the  Faith  had  penetrated  into  the  North,  it 
was  not  possible  to  have  Palms  or  Olive  branches ; 
they  were  supplied  by  branches  from  other  trees. 
The  beautiful  prayers  used  in  the  Blessing,  and 
which  are  based  on  the  mysteries  expressed  by  the 
Palm  and  Olive  trees,  are  still  employed  in  the 
blessing  of  our  willow,  box,  or  other  branches  ;  and 
rightly,  for  they  represent  the  symbolical  ones  which 
nature  has  denied  us. 

The  second  of  to-day's  ceremonies  is  the  Proces- 
sion, which  comes  immediately  after  the  Blessing  of 

1  Cateches.  x.  versus  fin.  -  Act.  SS. — xx.  Januarii. 


PALM   SUNDAY  :    ITS   HISTORY.  197 

the  Palms.  It  represents  our  Saviour's  journey  to 
Jerusalem,  and  his  Entry  into  the  City.  To  make 
it  the  more  expressive,  the  Branches  that  have 
just  been  blessed,  are  held  in  the  hand  during 
it.  With  the  Jews,  to  hold  a  branch  in  one's 
hand,  was  a  sign  of  joy.  The  Divine  Law  had 
sanctioned  the  practice,  as  we  read  in  the  follow- 
ing passage  from  Leviticus,  where  (rod  commands 
his  people  to  keep  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  :  And 
you  shall  take  to  you,  on  the  first  day,  the  fruits  of 
the  fairest  tree,  and  branches  of  Palm-trees,  and 
boughs  of  thick  trees,  and  willows  of  the  brook,  and 
you  shall  rejoice  before  the  Lord  your  God.1  It  was, 
therefore,  to  testify  their  delight  at  seeing  Jesus 
enter  within  their  walls,  that  the  inhabitants,  even 
the  little  children,  of  Jerusalem,  went  forth  to  meet 
him  with  Palms  in  their  hands.  Let  us,  also,  go 
before  our  King,  singing  our  Hosannas  to  him  as  the 
Conqueror  of  death,  and  the  Liberator  of  his  people. 
During  the  Middle  Ages,  it  was  the  custom,  in 
many  Churches,  to  carry  the  Book  of  the  Holy 
Gospels  in  this  Procession.  The  Gospel  contains  the 
words  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  was  considered  to  represent 
him.  The  Procession  halted  at  an  appointed  place, 
or  Station  :  the  Deacon  then  opened  the  sacred 
Volume,  and  sang  from  it  the  passage  which  describes 
our  Lord's  Entry  into  Jerusalem.  This  done,  the 
Cross,  which,  up  to  this  moment,  was  veiled,  was 
uncovered  ;  each  of  the  clergy  advanced  towards  it, 
venerated  it,  and  placed  at  its  foot  a  small  portion  of 
the  palm  he  held  in  his  hand.  The  Procession  then 
returned,  preceded  by  the  Cross,  which  was  left 
unveiled,  until  all  had  re-entered  the  Church.  In 
England  and  Normandy,  as  far  back  as  the  11th 
century,  there  was  practised  a  holy  ceremony,  which 
represented,  even  more  vividly  than  the  one  we  have 
just  been  describing,  the  scene  that  was  witnessed, 

1  Levit.  xxiii.  40. 


198  HOLY   WEEK. 

on  this  day,  at  Jerusalem  : — the  Blessed  Sacrament 
was  carried  in  Procession.  The  heresy  of  Beren- 
garius,  against  the  Real  Presence  of  Jesus  in  the 
Eucharist,  had  been  broached  about  that  time  ;  and, 
the  tribute  of  triumphant  joy  here  shown  to  the  Sacred 
Host,  was  a  distant  preparation  for  the  Feast  and 
Procession,  which  were  to  be  instituted  at  a  later 
period. 

A  touching  ceremony  was  also  practised  in  Jeru- 
salem, during  to-day's  Procession,  and,  like  those  just 
mentioned,  was  intended  to  commemorate  the  event 
related  by  the  Grospel.  The  whole  community  of  the 
Franciscans,  (to  whose  keeping  the  Holy  Places  are 
intrusted,)  went,  in  the  morning  to  Bethphage. 
There,  the  Father  Guardian  of  the  Holy  Land,  being 
vested  in  pontifical  robes,  mounted  upon  an  ass,  on 
which  garments  were  laid.  Accompanied  by  the 
Friars  and  the  Catholics  of  Jerusalem,  all  holding 
Palms  in  their  hands,  he  entered  the  City,  and 
alighted  at  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  where 
Mass  was  celebrated  with  all  possible  solemnity. 

This  beautiful  ceremony,  which  dated  from  the 
period  of  the  Latin  Kingdom  in  Jerusalem,  has  been 
forbidden,  for  now  almost  two  hundred  years,  by  the 
Turkish  authorities  of  the  City. 

We  have  mentioned  these  different  usages,  as  we 
have  done  others  on  similar  occasions,  in  order  to 
aid  the  Faithful  to  the  better  understanding  of  the 
several  mysteries  of  the  Liturgy.  In  the  present 
instance,  they  will  learn,  that,  in  to-day's  Procession 
the  Church  wishes  us  to  honour  Jesus  Christ  as 
though  he  were  really  among  us,  and  were  receiving 
the  humble  tribute  of  our  loyalty.  Let  us  lovingly 
go  forth  to  meet  this  our  King,  our  Saviour,  wlio 
comes  to  visit  the  Daughter  of  Sion,  as  the  Prophet 
has  just  told  us.  He  is  in  our  midst ;  it  is  to  him 
that  we  pay  honour  with  our  Palms  ; — let  us  give 
him  our  hearts  too.     He  comes  that  he  may  be  our 


PALM    SUNDAY  :    ITS    HISTORY.  199 

King ;  let  us  welcome  him  as  such,   and  fervently 
cry  out  to  him  :  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David  ! 

At  the  close  of  the  Procession,  a  ceremony  takes 
place,  which  is  full  of  the  sublimest  symbolism.  On 
returning  to  the  church,  the  doors  are  found  to  be 
shut.  The  triumphant  Procession  is  stopped ;  but 
the  songs  of  joy  are  continued.  A  hymn  in  honour 
of  Christ  our  King  is  sung  with  its  joyous  chorus  ; 
and  at  length,  the  Subdeacon  strikes  the  door  with 
the  staff  of  the  cross  ;  the  door  opens,  and  the  people, 
preceded  by  the  clergy,  enter  the  church,  proclaim- 
ing the  praise  of  Him,  who  is  our  Resurrection  and 
our  Life. 

This  ceremony  is  intended  to  represent  the  entry 
of  Jesus  into  that  Jerusalem,  of  which  the  earthly 
one  was  but  the  figure, — the  Jerusalem  of  heaven, 
which  has  been  opened  for  us  by  our  Saviour.  The 
sin  of  our  first  parents  had  shut  it  against  us  ;  but 
Jesus,  the  King  of  glory,  opened  its  gates  by  his 
Cross,  to  which  every  resistance  yields.  Let  us, 
then,  continue  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Son 
of  David,  for  he  is  also  the  Son  of  Grod,  and  he 
invites  us  to  share  his  Kingdom  with  him.  Thus,  by 
the  Procession,  which  is  commemorative  of  what 
happened  on  this  day,  the  Church  raises  up  our 
thoughts  to  the  glorious  mystery  of  the  Ascension, 
whereby  heaven  was  made  the  close  of  Jesus' 
mission  on  earth.  Alas  !  the  interval  between  these 
two  triumphs  of  our  Redeemer  are  not  all  days  of 
joy  ;  and  no  sooner  is  our  Procession  over,  than  the 
Church,  that  had  laid  aside,  for  a  moment,  the 
weight  of  her  grief,  falls  back  into  sorrow  and 
mourning. 

The  third  part  of  to-day's  Service  is  the  offering 
of  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  The  portions  that  are  sung  by 
the  Choir,  are  expressive  of  the  deepest  desolation  ; 
and  the  history  of  our  Lord's  Passion,  which  is  to  be 


200  HOLY   WEEK. 

now  read  by  anticipation,  gives  to  the  rest  of  the  day 
that  character  of  sacred  gloom,  which  we  all  know 
so  well.  For  the  last  five  or  six  centuries,  the 
Church  has  adopted  a  special  chant  for  this  narrative 
of  the  holy  Grospel.  The  historian,  or  the  Evangelist, 
relates  the  events  in  a  tone  that  is  at  once  grave  and 
pathetic  ;  the  words  of  our  Saviour  are  sung  to  a 
solemn  yet  sweet  melody,  which  strikingly  contrasts 
with  the  high  dominant  of  the  several  other  inter- 
locutors and  the  Jewish  populace.  During  the 
singing  of  the  Passion,  the  Faithful  should  hold 
their  Palms  in  their  hands,  and,  by  this  emblem  of 
triumph,  protest  against  the  insults  offered  to  Jesus 
by  his  enemies.  As  we  listen  to  each  humiliation 
and  suffering,  all  of  which  were  endured  out  of  love 
for  us,  let  us  offer  him  our  Palm  as  to  our  dearest 
Lord  and  King.  When  should  we  be  more  adoring, 
than  when  he  is  most  suffering  ? 

These  are  the  leading  features  of  this  great  day. 
According  to  our  usual  plan,  we  will  add  to  the 
Prayers  and  Lessons  any  instructions  that  seem  to 
be  needed. 


This  Sunday,  besides  its  liturgical  and  popular 
appellation  of  Palm  Sunday,  has  had  several  other 
names.  Thus  it  was  called  Hosanna  Sunday,  in 
allusion  to  the  acclamation  wherewith  the  Jews 
greeted  Jesus  on  his  Entry  into  Jerusalem.  Our 
forefathers  used  also  to  call  it  Pascha  Floridum, 
because  the  Feast  of  the  Pasch  (or  Easter),  which 
is  but  eight  days  off,  is  to-day  in  bud,  so  to  speak, 
and  the  Faithful  could  begin  from  this  Sunday  to 
fulfil  the  precept  of  Easter  Communion.  It  was  in 
allusion  to  this  name,  that  the  Spaniards,  having  on 
the  Palm  Sunday  of  1513,  discovered  the  peninsula 
on  the  Ghilf  of  Mexico,  called  it  Florida.  We  also 
find  the  name  of  Capitilavium  given  to  this  Sunday, 


PALM   SUNDAY!    BLESSING    THE    PALMS.        201 

because  during  those  times,  when  it  was  the  custom 
to  defer  till  Holy  Saturday  the  baptism  of  infants 
born  during  the  preceding  months,  (where  such  a 
delay  entailed  no  danger,) — the  parents  used,  on  this 
day,  to  tvash  the  heads  of  these  children,  out  of 
respect  to  the  Holy  Chrism  wherewith  they  were  to 
be  anointed.  Later  on,  this  Sunday  was,  at  least  in 
some  Churches,  called  the  Pasch  of  the  Competents, 
that  is,  of  the  Catechumens,  who  were  admitted  to 
Baptism  ;  they  assembled  to-day  in  the  Church,  and 
received  a  special  instruction  on  the  Symbol,  which 
had  been  given  to  them  in  the  previous  scrutiny. 
In  the  Gothic  Church  of  Spain,  the  Symbol  was  not 
given  till  to-day.  The  Greeks  call  this  Sunday 
Ba'iphoros,  that  is,  Palm-Bearing. 


THE  BLESSING   OF  THE  PALMS. 

It  begins  with  the  chanting  the  following  Anti- 
phon,  which  serves  as  an  Introit. 

ANTIPHON. 

Hosaima    to   the    Son    of  Hosanna      filio       David  ! 

David !     Blessed   is   he  that  Benedictus      qui      venit    in 

cometh   in   the  name  of  the  nomine    Domini.         O    Rex 

Lord.      O    King  of  Israel  !  Israel  !     Hosanna  in  excel- 

Hosanna  in  the  highest !  sis  ! 

The  Priest  then  sums  up,  in  the  following  Prayer, 
the  petitions  of  the  Faithful.  This  is  what  he  asks 
for  his  people  :  that  after  this  short  life  is  over,  they 
may  come  to  that  eternal  kingdom,  which  has  been 
prepared  for  them  by  the  Death  and  Resurrection  of 
Jesus. 

t .    The  Lord  be  with  you.        f.    Dominus  vobiscum. 
Ifc.     And  with  thy  spirit.  $.     Et  cum  spiritu  tuo, 


202  HOLY    WEEK. 


OREMUS.  LET  US  PRAY. 

Deus     quem      diligere     et  O   God,   whom   to  love  is 

amare,   justitia   est,     ineffa-  true  righteousness,  multiply 

bilis     gratiso    tuae    in   nobis  in  our  hearts  the  gifts  of  thy 

dona  multiplica;    et  qui  fe-  holy  grace;  and  since,  by  the 

cisti  nos  in   morte   Filii  tui  death  of  thy  only  Son,   thou 

sperare   quae    credimus,    fac  hast  made  us  to  hope  for  those 

nos    eodem  resurgente   per-  things     which    we     believe, 

venire   quo   tendimus.      Qui  grant  that  by  his  resurrection, 

tecum    vivit     et    regnat    in  we  may  arrive  at  the  happy 

unitate  Spiritus  Sancti  Deus  end   of  our  journey.      Who 

per      omnia     ssecula     ssecu-  liveth  and  reigneth  with  thee, 

lorum.  in    the  unity   of    the    Holy 

Ghost,  world  without  end. 

gt.     Amen.  #.     Amen. 


After  this  Prayer,  the  Subdeacon  chants  a  passage 
from  the  Book  of  Exodus,  which  relates  how  the 
people  of  (rod,  after  they  have  gone  forth  from 
Egypt,  pitch  their  tents  at  Elim,  beneath  the  shade 
of  seventy  Palm-trees,  where  also  are  twelve  foun- 
tains. Whilst  here,  they  are  told  by  Moses  that 
God  is  about  to  send  them  manna  from  heaven,  and 
that,  on  the  very  next  morning,  their  hunger  shall 
be  appeased.  These  were  figures  of  what  is  now 
given  to  the  Christian  people.  The  Faithful,  by  a 
sincere  conversion,  have  separated  themselves  from 
the  Egypt  of  a  sinful  world,  They  are  offering  the 
Palms  of  their  loyalty  and  love  to  Jesus,  their  King. 
The  Fountains  typify  the  Baptism,  which,  in  a  few 
days  hence,  is  to  be  administered  to  our  Catechu- 
mens. These  Fountains  are  twelve  in  number ;  the 
Twelve  articles  of  the  Symbol  of  our  Faith  were 
preached  to  the  world  by  the  Twelve  Apostles.  And 
finally,  on  the  Morning  of  Easter  Day,  Jesus,  the 
Bread  of  life,  the  heavenly  Manna,  will  arise  from 
the  tomb,  and  manifest  his  glory  to  us. 


PALM   SUNDAY:    BLESSING   THE    PALMS. 


203 


Lesson    from    the    book 
Exodus. 

Ch.  XV 


In  those  days,  the  children 
of   Israel     came    into    Elim, 
where  there  were  twelve  foun- 
tains  of  water,   and  seventy 
palm-trees ;     and    they    en- 
camped by  the  waters.     And 
they  set  forward  from  Elim  ; 
and  all  the  multitude  of  the 
children  of  Israel  came  into 
the  desert  of  Sin,  which  is  be- 
tween Elim  and  Sinai,  the  fif- 
teenth   day    of    the    second 
month  after  they  came  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt.     And  all 
the  congregation  of  the  chil- 
dren    of     Israel     murmured 
against  Moses  and  Aaron  in 
the  wilderness.  And  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  said  to  them  : 
Would  to  God  we  had  died  by 
the  hand  of  the  Lord  in  the 
land  of  Egypt,   when  we  sat 
over  the  flesh  pots,   and  ate 
bread  to  the  full.     Why  have 
you  brought  us  into  this  desert, 
that  you  might  destroy  all  the 
multitude  with  famine  ?  And 
the  Lord  said  to  Moses :  Be- 
hold I  will  rain  bread  from 
heaven  for  you  ;  let  the  people 
go  forth,  and   gather  what  is 
sufficient  for  every  day,  that  I 
may  prove  them  whether  they 
will  walk  in  my  law,  or  no. 
But  the  sixth  day  let  them 
provide  for  to  bring  in,  and 
let  it  be  double  to  that  they 
were   wont   to   gather   every 
day.     And  Moses  and  Aaron 
said  to  the  children  of  Israel : 
In  the  evening  you  shall  know 


LESSON. 


of        Lectio  libri  Exodi. 


Cap.  XV. 

In  diebus   illis :   Yenerunt 
filii     Israel     in     Elim,     ubi 
erant        duodecim        fontes 
aquarum,      et       septuaginta 
palmse :       et      crastrametati 
sunt  juxta  aquas.      Profecti- 
que  sunt  de  Elim  :   et  venit 
omnis      multitudo     filiorum 
Israel  in  desertum  Sin,  quod 
est    inter    Elim     et    Sinai : 
quintodecimo      die       mensis 
secundi,     postquam     egressi 
sunt  de  terra    iEgypti.     Et 
murmuravit    omnis    congre- 
gatio   filiorum   Israel   contra 
Moysen   et   Aaron     in    soli- 
tudine.      Dixeruntque       filii 
Israel  ad  eos  :  Utinam  rnor- 
tui      essemus     per     manum 
Domini     in     terra     .ZEgypti, 
quando      sedebamus      super 
ollas    carnium :    et    comede- 
bainus  panem  in  saturitate. 
Cur    induxistis    nos   in    de- 
sertum istud,   ut   occideretis 
omnem  multitudinem  fame  ? 
Dixit     autem     Dominus     ad 
Moysen :     Ecce    ego    pluam 
vobis  panes  de  coelo.      Egre- 
diatur    populus,     et   colligat 
quae   sufnciunt  per   singulos 
dies  :  ut  tentem  eum,  utrum 
ambulet  in  lege  mea,  an  non. 
Die      autem     sexto     parent 
quod   inf  erant :     et    sit    du- 
plum,    quam   colligere    sole- 
bant      per      singulos      dies. 
Dixeruntque       Moyses       et 
Aaron  ad  omnes  filios  Israel : 
Vespere  scietis,   quod  Domi- 
nus   eduxerit  vos    de  terra 


W)4. 


HOLY    WEEK. 


iEgypti  :    et   mane 
gloriam  Domini. 


videbitis  that  the  Lord  hath  brought 
you  forth  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt  :  and  in  the  morning 
you  shall  see  the  glory  of  the 
Lord. 


After  this  Lesson,  the  choir  sings  one  of  the  two 
following  Responsories,  which  commemorate  the 
Passion  of  our  Lord. 


RESPONSOEY. 


gt.  Oollegerunt  Pontifices 
et  Pharissei  concilium,  et 
dixerunt  :  Quid  facimus, 
quia  hie  homo  multa  signa 
facit  ?  Si  dimittimus  eum 
sic,  omnes  credent  in  eum  : 
*  Et  venient  Eomani,  et 
tollent  nostrum  locum  et 
gentem. 

"p.  Unus  autem  ex  illis, 
Caiphas  nomine,  cum  esset 
Pontifex  anni  illius,  pro- 
phetavit  dicens  :  Expedit 
vobis,  ut  unus  moriatur  ho- 
mo pro  populo,  et  non  tota 
gens  pereat.  Ab  illo  ergo 
die  cogitaverunt  interficere 
eum  dicentes  : 

*  Et  venient  Eomani,  et 
tollent  nostrum  locum  et 
gentem. 

gi.  In  Monte  Oliveti  ora- 
vit  ad  Patrem  :  Pater,  si 
fieri  potest,  transeat  a  me 
calix  iste.  *  Spiritus  quidem 
prornptus  est  :  caro  autem 
infirma  ;   fiat  voluntas  tua. 

f.  Vigilate  et  orate,  ut 
non  intretis  in  tentationem. 

*  Spiritus  quidem  prornp- 
tus est  :  caro  autem  infirma  : 
fiat  voluntas  tua. 


gt.  The  chief  priests  there- 
fore and  thePharisees  gathered 
a  council,  and  said  :  What 
are  we  doing,  for  this  man 
performeth  many  wonders  ? 
If  we  let  him  go  on  thus,  all 
will  believe  in  him.  *  And 
the  Eomans  will  come  and 
destroy  both  our  country  and 
people. 

^ .  But  one  of  them ,  named 
Caiphas,  being  the  high  priest 
of  that  year,  said  to  them  :  It 
is  for  your  interest  that  one 
man  should  die  for  the  people, 
and  not  the  whole  nation 
perish.  Therefore  from  that 
day  they  devised  to  kill  him, 
saying  : 

*  And  the  Eomans  will 
come  and  destroy  both  our 
country  and  people. 

gt.  Jesus  prayed  unto  his 
Pather  on  Mount  Olivet  :  0 
Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let 
this  cup  pass  from  me.  *  The 
spirit  indeed  is  ready,  but  the 
fleshisweak.  Thy  will  be  done. 

y .  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye 
enter  not  into  temptation. 

*  The  spirit  indeed  is  ready, 
but  the  flesh  is  weak.  Thy 
will  be  done. 


PALM    SUNDAY  .'    BLESSING    THE    PALMS. 


205 


The  Deacon  then  chants,  from  the  Gospel  of  St. 
Matthew,  the  history  of  Jesus'  triumphant  Entry 
into  Jerusalem.  The  Palms  of  the  New  Testament 
entwine  with  those  of  the  Old,  in  honour  of  the  Man- 
God,  who  is  the  connecting  link  of  both. 


GOSPEL. 


Sequel    of    the   holy   Gospel 
according  to  Matthew. 

Oh.  XXI. 

At  that  time  :  Jesus  draw- 
ing near  to  Jerusalem,  and 
being  come  to  Bethphage,  at 
mount  Olivet,  he  sent  two  of 
his  disciples,  and  said  to  them : 
Go  ye  into  the  village  that  is 
over  against  you,  and  imme- 
diately you  shall  find  an  ass 
tied  and  a  colt  with  her;  loose 
them  and  bring  them  to  me. 
And  if  any  man  shall  say  any- 
thing to  you,  say  ye,  that  the 
Lord  hath  need  of  them ;  and 
forthwith  he  will  let  them  go. 
Now  all  this  was  done  that  it 
might  be  fulfilled  which  was 
spoken  by  the  prophet,  saying  : 
Tell  ye  the  daughter  of  Sion  : 
Behold,  thy  King  cometh  to 
thee,  meek,  and  sitting  upon 
an  ass,  and  a  colt,  the  foal  of 
her  that  is  used  to  the  yoke. 
And  the  disciples  going,  did 
as  Jesus  commanded  them  : 
and  they  brought  the  ass  and 
the  colt,  and  laid  their  gar- 
ments upon  them,  and  made 
him  sit  thereon.  And  a  very 
great  multitude  spread  their 
garments  in  the  way,  and 
others  cut  down  boughs  from 
the  trees,  and  strewed  them  in 
the  way ;  and  the  multitudes 


Sequentia     sahcti    Evangelii 
secundum  Matthseum. 

Cap.  XXI. 

In  illo  tempore  :  Cum  ap- 
propinquasset  Jesus  Jero- 
solymis  et  venisset  Beth- 
phage, ad  montem  Oliveti ; 
tunc  misit  duos  discipulos 
suos,  dicens  eis  :  Ite  in  cas- 
tellum,  quod  contra  vos 
est:  et  statim  invenietis 
asinam  alligatam,  et  pul- 
lum  cum  ea :  solvite,  et  ad- 
ducite  mihi.  Et  si  quis  vo- 
bis  aliquid  dixerit :  dicite, 
quia  Dominus  his  opus  ha- 
bet :  et  confestim  dimittet 
eos.  Hoc  autem  totum  fac- 
tum est,  ut  adimpleretur 
quod  dictum  est  per  Pro- 
phetam  dicentem :  Dicite 
filise  Sion :  Ecce  Eex  tuus 
venit  tibi  mansuetus  sedens 
super  asinam,  et  pullum  fi- 
lium  sub j  ugalis .  Euntes  au  - 
tern  discipuli,  fecerunt  si- 
cut  prtecepit  illis  Jesus. 
Et  adduxerunt  asinam,  et 
pullum  :  et  imposuerunt  su- 
per eos  vostimenta  sua,  et 
eum  desuper  sedere  fece- 
runt. Plurima  autem  turba 
straverunt  vestimenta  sua 
in  via.  Alii  autem  caede- 
bant  ramos  de  arboribus,  et 
sternebant    in    via.      Turbae 


206 


HOLY    WEEK. 


autem  quse  prsecedebant,  et 
quae  sequebantur,  clama- 
bant,  dicentes  :  Hosanna 
filio  David  !  benedictus  qui 
venit  in  nomine  Domini  ! 


that  went  before  and  that 
followed,  cried,  saying :  Ho- 
sanna to  the  Son  of  David ! 
Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  ! 


And  now  the  mystery-speaking  Palms  are  to  re- 
ceive the  Church's  blessing.  The  Priest  begins  by 
two  scriptural  allusions :  the  first  is  to  Noah,  who 
received  an  olive-branch,  when  the  waters  of  the 
deluge  had  subsided  ;  the  second  is  to  Moses,  whose 
people,  after  quitting  Egypt,  encamped  under  the 
seventy  palm-trees.  Then  in  the  solemn  tone  of 
the  Preface,  he  calls  upon  all  creatures  to  give  praise 
to  the  adorable  Name  of  Jesus,  for  whom  we  are 
preparing  the  homage  of  our  devoted  love.  Let  us 
respond  to  the  invitation,  and  sing  with  all  our 
hearts  :    Holy  !   Holy  !  Holy  ! — Hosanna  in  excelsis  ! 


Tjr.     Dominus  vobiscum. 
Bt.     Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 


y.     The  Lord  be  with  you. 
$.     And  with  thy  spirit. 


OREMUS. 

Auge  fidem  in  te  speran- 
tium,  Deus,  et  supplicum 
preces  clementer  exaudi  : 
veniat  super  nos  multiplex 
misericordia  tua  ;  benedi- 
cantur  et  hi  palmites  pal- 
marum,  seu  olivarum  :  et 
sicut  in  figura  Ecclesise 
multiplicasti  Noe  egredien- 
tem  de  area,  et  Moysen 
exeuntem  de  JEgypto  cum 
filiis  Israel  :  ita  nos  portan- 
tes  palmas,  et  ramos  oliva- 
rum bonis  actibus  occurra- 
mus  obviam  Christo,  et  per 
ipsum  in  gaudium  introea- 
mus  seternum.  Qui  tecum 
vivit  et  regnat  in  unitate 
Spiritus  Sancti  Deus, 


LET  TJS  PRAY. 

Increase,  O  God,  the  faith 
of  them  that  hope  in  thee,  and 
mercifully  hear  the  prayers  of 
thy  suppliants ;  let  thy  mani- 
fold mercy  come  upon  us,  and 
let  these  branches  of  palm- 
trees,  or  olive-trees,  be  blessed; 
and  as  in  a  figure  of  the  Church 
thou  didst  multiply  Noah 
going  out  of  the  ark,  and 
Moses  going  out  of  Egypt 
with  the  children  of  Israel,  so 
let  us,  carrying  palms  and 
branches  of  olive-trees,  go  and 
meet  Christ  with  good  works, 
and  enter  through  him  into 
eternal  joys.  Who  liveth  and 
reigneth  with  thee,  in  the 
unity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  God, 


PALM    SUNDAY  1    BLESSING    THE    PALMS. 


207 


fl.  For  ever  and  ever. 

#.  Amen. 

y.  The  Lord  be  with  you. 

f.  And  with  thy  spirit. 
.  Lift  up  your  hearts. 

&.  We  have  fixed  them  on 
God. 

^.  Let  us  give  thanks  to 
the  Lord  our  God. 

gt.  It  is  meet  and  just. 

It  is  truly  meet  and  just, 
right  and  available  to  salva- 
tion, always  and  in  all  places 
to  give  thee  thanks,  O  Holy 
Lord,  Almighty  Father,  Eter- 
nal God,  who  art  glorious  in 
the  assembly  of  thy  saints. 
For  thy  creatures  serve  thee, 
because  they  acknowledge 
thee  for  their  only  Creator  and 
God.  And  the  whole  creation 
praiseth  thee,  and  thy  saints 
bless  thee,  because  they  con- 
fess with  freedom,  before  the 
kings  and  powers  of  this 
world,  the  great  name  of  thy 
Only  Begotten  Son.  Before 
whom  the  Angels  and  Arch- 
angels, the  Thrones  and  Do- 
minations, stand,  and  with  all 
the  troops  of  the  heavenly 
host,  sing  a  hymn  to  thy 
glory,  saying  without  ceasing: 

Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord 
God  of  hosts ! 

Heaven  and  earth  are  full 
of  thy  glory. 

Hosanna  in  the  highest ! 

Blessed  is  he  that  cometh 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

Hosanna  in  the  highest  ! 


"ft.  Per  omnia  saecula  sae- 
culorum. 

f.  Amen. 
.  Dominus  vobiscum. 

&.  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

y.  Sursum  corda. 

#.  Habemus  ad  Domi- 
num. 

H? .  Gratias  agamus  Do- 
mino Deo  nostro. 

gt.  Dignum  et  justum  est. 

Vere  dignum  et  justum 
est,  sequum  et  salutare,  nos 
tibi  semper  et  ubique  gra- 
tias agere,  Domine  sancte, 
Pater  omnipotens,  seterne 
Deus.  Qui  gloriaris  in  con- 
silio  sanctorum  tuorum. 
Tibi  enim  serviunt  crea- 
turse  tuse :  quia  te  solum 
auctorem  et  Deum  cognos- 
eunt:  et  omnis  factura  tua 
te  collaudat,  et  benedicunt 
te  sancti  tui.  Quia  illud  mag- 
num Unigeniti  tui  nomen, 
coram  regibus  et  potesta- 
tibus  hujus  sseculi,  libera 
voce  confitentur.  Cui  assis- 
tunt  Angeli  et  Archangeli, 
Throni  et  Dominationes  : 
cumque  omni  militia  cceles- 
tis  exercitus,  hymnum  glo- 
rise  tuse  concinunt,  sine 
fine  dicentes : 

Sanctus,  Sanctus,  Sanc- 
tus,  Dominus  Deus  Saba- 
oth. 

Pleni  sunt  cceli  et  terra 
gloria  tua. 

Hosanna  in  excelsis. 

Benedictus  qui  venit  in 
nomine  Domini. 

Hosanna  in  excelsis. 


The  Prayers  which  now  follow,  explain  the  mys- 
tery of  the  Palms,  and  draw  down  the  blessing  of 


208 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Grod  upon  both  them  and  the  Faithful  who  receive 
and  keep  them  with  proper  dispositions. 


y.     Doniinus  vobiscum. 
gt.     Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

OREMTJS. 

Petimus,  Domine  sancte, 
Pater  omnipotens,  seterne 
Deus :  ut  hanc  creaturam 
olivse,  quam  ex  ligni  mate- 
ria prodire  jussisti,  quam- 
que  columba  rediens  ad  ar- 
cam,  proprio  pertulit  ore  : 
benedicere,  et  sanctificare 
digneris  :  ut  quicumque  ex 
ea  receperint,  accipiant  si- 
bi  protectionem  animse  et 
corporis,  fiatque,  Domine, 
nostrae  salutis  remedium, 
tuse  gratiee  sacramentum. 
Per  Dominum  nostrum. 

gt.     Amen. 


y.     The  Lord  be  with  you. 
gt.     And  with  thy  spirit. 

LET  XJS    PRAY. 

We  beseech  thee,  0  Holy 
Lord,  Almighty  Father,  Eter- 
nal God,  that  thou  wouldst  be 
pleased  to  bless  and  sanctify 
this  creature  of  the  olive  tree, 
which  thou  madest  to  shoot 
out  of  the  substance  of  the 
wood,  and  which  the  dove, 
returning  to  the  ark,  brought 
in  its  bill ;  that  whoever  re- 
ceiveth  it,  may  find  protection 
of  soul  and  body,  and  that  it 
may  prove,  0  Lord,  a  saving 
remedy,  and  a  sacred  sign  of 
thy  grace.     Through,  &c. 

Bt.     Amen. 


OBEMUS. 

Deus,  qui  dispersa  con- 
gregas,  et  congregata  con- 
servas :  qui  populis  obviam 
Jesu  ramos  portantibus  be- 
nedixisti :  benedic  etiam  hos 
ramos  palmse  et  olivae,  quos 
tui  famuli  ad  honorem  nomi- 
nis  tui  fideliter  suscipiunt : 
ut  in  quemcumque  locum- 
introducti  fuerint,  tuam 
benedictionem  habitatores  loci 
illius  consequantur :  et  omni 
adversitate  effugata,  dextera 
tua  protegat  quos  redemit 
Jesus  Christus  Filius  tuus 
Dominus  noster.    Qui  tecum. 


&.     Amen. 


LET   US    PRAY. 

O  God,  who  gatherest  what 
is  dispersed,  and  preservest 
what  is  gathered  :  who  didst 
bless  the  people,  that  carried 
boughs  to  meet  Jesus  ;  bless 
also  these  branches  of  the 
palm-tree  and  olive-tree 
which  thy  servants  take  with 
faith  in  honour  of  thy  name  ; 
that  into  whatever  place  they 
may  be  carried,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  that  place  may  obtain 
thy  blessing,  and  thy  right 
hand  preserve  from  all  adver- 
sity, and  protect  those  that 
have  been  redeemed  by  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  thy  Son. 
Who  liveth,  &c. 

gi.     Amen. 


PALM    SUNDAY  :    BLESSING    THE    PALMS. 


209 


LET   US   PRAY. 

O  God,  who  by  the  wonder- 
ful order  of  thy  providence 
wouldst,  even  in  insensiblo 
things,  show  us  the  manner  of 
our  salvation  ;  grant,  we  be- 
seech thee,  that  the  devout 
hearts  of  thy  faithful  may 
understand  to  their  benefit 
the  mystical  meaning  of  that 
ceremony,  when  the  multi- 
tude, by  direction  from  hea- 
ven, going  this  day  to  meet  our 
Redeemer,  strewed  under  his 
feet  palms  and  olive-branches. 
The  palms  represent  his  tri- 
umph over  the  prince  of 
death;  and  the  olive-branches 
proclaim,  in  some  manner,  the 
coming  of  a  spiritual  unction. 
For  that  pious  multitude  then 
knew,  what  was  by  them 
signified,  that  our  Redeemer, 
compassionating  the  misery  of 
mankind,  was  to  fight  for  the 
life  of  the  whole  world  with 
the  prince  of  death  ;  and  to 
triumph  over  him  by 
his  own  death.  And  there- 
fore in  that  action  they  made 
use  of  such  things,  as  might 
declare  both  the  triumph  of 
his  victory,  and  the  riches  of 
his  mercy.  We  also  with  a 
firm  faith,  retaining  both  the 
ceremony  and  its  signification, 
humbly  beseech  thee,  0  holy 
Lord,  Almighty  Father,  Eter- 
nal God,  through  the  same 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  we, 
whom  thou  hast  made  his 
members,  gaining  by  him,  and 
in  him,  a  victory  over  the  em- 
pire of  death,  may  deserve  to 
be  partakers  of  his  glorious 
resurrection.    Who  liveth  and 


OREMUS. 

Deus,  qui  miro  dispo- 
sitionis  ordine,  ex  rebus 
etiam  insensibilibus,  dis- 
pensationem  nostrse  salutis 
ostendere  voluisti:  da  quoo- 
sumus,  ut  devota  tuorum 
corda  fidelium  salubriter 
intelligant,  quid  mystice  de- 
signet  in  facto,  quod  hodie 
coelesti  lumine  afnata,  Re- 
demptori  obviam  proce- 
dens  palmarum  atque  oli- 
varurn  ramos  vestigiis  ejus 
turba  substravit.  Palmarum 
igitur  rami  de  mortis  prin- 
cipe  triumphos  exspectant : 
surculi  vero  olivarum  spiri- 
tualem  unctionem  advenisse 
quodammodo  clamant.  In- 
tellexit  enim  jam  tunc  ilia 
hominum  beata  multitudo 
prsefigurari :  quia  Redemp- 
tor  noster  humanis  con- 
dolens  miseriis,  pro  totius 
mundi  vita  cum  mortis 
principe  esset  pugnaturus, 
ac  moriendo  triumphatu- 
rus.  Et  ideo  talia  obsequens 
administravit,  quae  in  illo 
et  triumphos  victorise,  et 
misericordise  pinguedinem 
declararent.  Quod  nos  quo- 
que  plena  fide,  et  factum  et 
significatum  retinentes,  te 
Domine  sancte,  Pater  om- 
nipotens,  aeterne  Deus,  per 
eumdem  Dominum  nos- 
trum Jesum  Christum  sup- 
pliciter  exoramus :  ut  in 
ipso,  atque  per  ipsurn,  cujus 
nos  membra  fieri  voluisti, 
de  mortis  imperio  victoriarn 
reportantes,  ipsius  gloriosae 
resurrectionis  participes  esse 
mereamur.     Qui  tecum  vivit 


210 


HOLY     WEEK. 


et  regnat  in  unitate  Spiritus 
Sancti  Deus,  per  omnia  sse- 
cula  sseculorum. 
R.     Amen. 


reigneth  with   thee,    in    the 
unity    of    the    Holy    Ghost, 
world  without  end. 
R.  Amen. 


OREMUS. 

Deus,  qui  per  olivse  ra- 
mum,  pacem  terris  colum- 
bam  nuntiare  jussisti :  prses- 
ta  qusesumus :  ut  hos  olivae 
caeterarumque  arborum  ra- 
mos,  coelesti  benedictione 
sanctifices :  ut  cuncto  populo 
tuo  pronciant  ad  salutem. 
Per  Christum  Dominum  nos- 
trum. 

R.     Amen. 

OREMUS. 

Benedic  qusesumus,  Do- 
mine,  hos  palmarum,  seu 
olivarum  ramos :  et  praesta 
ut  quod  populus  tuus  in  tui 
veneratioDem  hodierna  die 
corporaliter  agit,  hoc  spiri- 
tualiter  summa  devotione 
perficiat,  de  hoste  victoriam 
reportando,  et  opus  mise- 
ricordise  summopere  dili- 
gendo.     Per  Dominum. 

St.  Amen. 


LET  US  PRAY. 

O  God,  who  by  an  olive 
branch  didst  command  the 
dove  to  proclaim  peace  to  the 
world ;  sanctify,  we  beseech 
thee,  by  thy  heavenly  bene- 
diction, these  branches  of 
olives  and  other  trees ;  that 
they  may  be  serviceable  to 
all  thy  people  unto  salvation. 
Through,  &c. 

St.     Amen. 

LET  US  PRAY. 

Bless,  O  Lord,  we  beseech 
thee,  these  branches  of  the 
palm-tree,  or  olive-tree  ;  and 
grant  that  what  thy  people 
this  day  act  corporally  for  thy 
honour,  they  may  perform 
the  same  spiritually  with  the 
greatest  devotion,  by  gaining 
a  victory  over  their  enemy, 
and  ardently  loving  the  work 
of  thy  mercy.     Through.  &c. 

R.  Amen. 


The  Priest  completes  the  Blessing  of  the  Palms 
by  sprinkling  them  with  Holy  Water  and  thurifying 
them  with  Incense.  After  which,  he  adds  the  fol- 
lowing Prayer. 


^.  Dominus  vobiscum, 
R.  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 


t.  The  Lord  be  with  you. 
R.  And  with  thy  spirit. 


OREMUS. 


LET  US  PRAY. 


Deus,    qui    Filium    tuum        O  God,  who,   for  our  sal- 
Jesum    Christum    Dominum    vation,   didst   send  into   this 


PALM    SUNDAY  I    BLESSING    THE    PALMS. 


211 


world  thy  Son  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord  that  he  might  hum- 
ble himself  to  our  condition, 
and  call  us  back  to  thee  :  for 
whom  also,  as  he  was  coming 
to  Jerusalem,  to  fulfil  the 
scriptures,  a  multitude  of 
faithful  people,  with  a  zealous 
devotion,  spread  their  gar- 
ments together  with  palm 
branches  in  the  way  :  grant, 
we  beseech  thee,  that  we  may 
prepare  him  the  way  of  faith, 
out  of  which  the  stone  of 
offence  and  the  rock  of  scandal 
being  removed,  our  actions 
may  flourish  with  branches  of 
righteousness,  so  that  we  may 
be  worthy  to  follow  his  steps. 
Who  liveth  and  reigneth  with 
thee,  in  the  unity  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  world  without  end. 
Bt.  Amen. 


nostrum,  pro  salute  nostra 
in  hunc  mundum  misisti, 
ut  so  humiliaret  ad  nos,  et 
nos  revocaret  ad  te :  cui 
etiam  dum  Jerusalem  veni- 
ret,  ut  adimpleret  Scriptu- 
ras,  credentium  populorum 
turba,  fidelissima  devo- 
tione,  vestimenta  sua  cum 
ramis  palmarum  in  via  ster- 
nebant :  prsesta,  qusesu- 
mus,  ut  illi  fidei  viam  prse- 
paremus :  de  qua  remoto 
lapide  offensionis,  et  petra 
scandali,  frondeant  apud 
te  opera  nostra  justitiae  ra- 
mis :  ut  ejus  vestigia  sequi 
mereamur.  Qui  tecum  vivit 
et  regnat  in  unitate  Spiritus 
Sancti  Deus,  per  omnia  sse- 
cula  sseculorum. 

$.  Amen. 


After  this  prayer,  the  Priest  distributes  the  Palms 
to  the  Faithful.1  During  the  distribution,  the  Choir 
reminds  us,  by  the  two  following  Antiphons,  of  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  little  children  of  Jerusalem,  who, 
with  their  Palms  in  their  hands,  sang  their  loud 
Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David  / 


ANTIPHON. 


The  Hebrew  children  carry- 
ing olive-branches  met  the 
Lord,  crying  out,  and  saying: 
Hosanna  in  the  highest ! 


Pueri  Hebrseorum  por- 
tantes  ramos  olivarum  ob- 
viaverunt  Domino,  claman- 
tes,  et  dicentes :  Hosanna  in 
excel  sis ! 


The  Hebrew  children  spread 
their  garments  in   the   way, 


ANTIPHON. 

Pueri    Hebrseorum    vesti- 
menta prosternebant  in  via, 


1  In  receiving  the  Palm,  the  Faithful  should  kiss  first  the  Palm 
itself,  and  then  the  Priest's  hand. 


212 


HOLY    WEEK. 


et  clamabant  dicentes  :   Ho-  and  cried  out  saying  :  Hosan- 

sanna  filio  David  ;    benedic-  na  to  the  Son  of  David :  bless- 

tus    qui     venit    in     nomine  ed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the 

Domini  !  name  of  the  Lord  ! 


As  soon  as  the  distribution  is  over,  the  Priest  con- 
cludes this  first  part  of  the  Service  by  the  following 
Prayer. 


y.     Dominus  vobiscum.  7?. 

&.     Et  cum  spiritu  tuo.  &. 


The  Lord  be  with  you. 
And  with  thy  spirit. 


OREMUS. 

Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  qui  Dominum  nostrum 
Jesum  Christum  super  pullum 
asinse  sedere  f ecisti :  et  turbas 
populorum  vestimenta,  vel 
ramos  arborum  in  via  sternere, 
et  Hosanna  decantare  in  lau- 
dem  ipsius  docuisti :  da  quse- 
sumus,  ut  illorum  innocen- 
tiam  imitari  possimus,  et 
eorum  meritum  consequi 
mereamur.  Per  eumdem 
Christum  Dominum  nostrum. 
$.     Amen. 


LET  US    PRAY. 

0  Almighty  and  Eternal 
God,  who  wouldst  have  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  ride  on  the 
colt  of  an  ass,  and  didst  in- 
spire the  crowds  of  people  to 
spread  their  garments,  and 
branches  of  trees  in  the  way, 
and  to  sing  Hosanna  to  his 
praise:  grant,  we  beseech  thee, 
that  we  may  imitate  their  in- 
nocence, and  deserve  to  par- 
take of  their  merits.  Through 
the  same  Christ  our  Lord. 

$.     Amen. 


THE    PEOCESSION. 


The  Priest  having  blessed  the  Incense — which, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  Church,  always  heads 
a  Procession  and  sheds  its  perfume  along  the  path 
that  is  to  be  taken, — the  Deacon  turns  towards  the 
people,  and  gives  the  signal  for  departure,  with 
these  words : 


Procedamus  in  pace, 


Let  us  proceed  in  peace, 


PALM    SUNDAY  :    THE    PROCESSION.  213 

The  Choir  answers  : 

In  nomine  Christ!.    Amen. 


In    the    name    of  Christ 
Amen. 


The  Procession  then  advances,  the  Clergy  and 
people  holding  the  Palms  in  their  hands.  The  Choir 
chants  the  following  Antiphons,  in  honour  of  Jesus, 
the  King  of  Israel. 


ANTIPHON. 


When  the  Lord  drew  nigh 
to  Jerusalem,  he  sent  two  of 
his  disciples,  saying :  Go  ye 
into  the  village  that  is  over 
against  you ;  and  you  will 
find  the  colt  of  an  ass  tied, 
upon  which  no  man  hath  sat ; 
loose  it,  and  bring  it  to  me. 
If  any  one  ask  you  any  ques- 
tions, say  :  The  Lord  wanteth 
it.  They  untied,  and  brought 
it  to  Jesus,  and  laid  their  gar- 
ments upon  it ;  and  he  seated 
himself  on  it.  Others  spread 
their  garments  in  the  way ; 
others  cut  branches  from  the 
trees  ;  and  those  who  follow- 
ed, cried  out,  Hosanna!  Bless- 
ed is  he  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord;  and  bless- 
ed be  the  reign  of  our  father 
David  !  Hosanna  in  the  high- 
est !  0  Son  of  David,  have 
mercy  on  us  ! 


Cum  approqinquaret  Do- 
minus  Jerosolymam,  misit 
duos  ex  discipulis  suis,  di- 
cens  :  Ite  in  castellum,  quod 
contra  vos  est :  et  inve- 
nietis  pullum  asinae  alliga- 
tum,  super  quern  nullus  ho- 
minum  sedit :  solvite,  et 
adducite  mihi.  Si  quis  vos 
interrogaverit,  dicite :  Opus 
Domino  est.  Solventes  ad- 
duxerunt  ad  Jesum  :  et  im- 
posuerunt  illi  vestimenta 
sua,  et  sedit  super  eum  :  alii 
expandebant  vestimenta  sua 
in  via :  alii  ramos  de  arboribus 
sternebant,  et  qui  sequeban- 
tur,  clamabant :  Hosanna  ! 
benedictus  qui  venit  in  no- 
mine Domini,  et  benedictum 
regnum  patris  nostri  David  ! 
Hosanna  in  excelsis!  Mise- 
rere nobis,  fili  David ! 


ANTIPHON. 


When  the  people  heard  that 
Jesus  was  coming  to  Jerusa- 
lem, they  took  palm-branches 
and  went  out  to  meet  him ; 
and  the  children  cried  out, 
saying :     This  is  he,  who  is 


Cum  audisset  populus, 
quia  Jesus  venit  Jeresoly- 
mam,  acceperunt  ramos 
palmarum,  et  exierunt  ei 
obviam,  et  clamabant  pue- 
ri    (Jicentes :      Hie    est,    qui 


214 


HOLY    WEEK. 


venturus  est  in  salutem  po- 
puli :  Hie  est  salus  nostra, 
et  redemptio  Israel.  Quan- 
tus  est  iste,  cui  Throni  et 
Dominationes  occurrunt  ! 
Noli  timere,  filia  Sion  !  ecce 
Rex  tuus  venit  tibi,  sedens 
super  pullum  asinse,  sicut 
scriptum  est.  Salve  Rex  fa- 
bricator mundi,  qui  venisti 
redimere  nos  ! 


come  for  the  salvation  of  the 
people.  He  is  our  salvation, 
and  the  redemption  of  Israel. 
How  great  is  he,  whom  the 
Thrones  and  Dominations  go 
out  to  meet  !  Fear  not,  O 
daughter  of  Sion :  behold  thy 
King  cometh  to  thee  sitting  on 
an  ass's  colt,  as  it  is  written. 
Hail,  0  King,  the  Creator  of 
the  world,  who  art  come  to 
redeem  us  ! 


ANTIPHON. 


Ante  sex  dies  solemnis 
Paschse,  quando  venit  Do- 
minus  in  civitatem  Jerusa- 
lem, occurrerunt  ei  pueri : 
et  in  manibus  portabant  ra- 
mos  palmarum :  et  clama- 
bant  voce  magna,  dicentes : 
Hosanna  in  excelsis !  Bene- 
dictus  qui  venisti  in  multi- 
tudine  misericordiae  tuse ; 
Hosanna  in  excelsis ! 


Six  days  before  the  solem- 
nity of  the  Passover,  when  the 
Lord  was  coming  into  the  city 
of  Jerusalem,  the  children 
met  him,  and  carried  palm- 
branches  in  their  hands  ;  and 
they  cried  out  with  a  loud 
voice,  saying  :  Hosanna  in  the 
highest :  blessed  art  thou  who 
art  come  in  the  multitude  of 
thy  mercy :  Hosanna  in  the 
highest ! 


ANTIPHON. 


Occurrunt  turbae  cum  flo- 
ribus  et  palmis  Redemptori 
obviam :  et  victori  trium- 
phanti  digna  dant  obsequia. 
Filium  Dei  ore  gentes  prae- 
dicant :  et  in  laudem  Christi 
voces  tonant  per  nubila : 
Hosanna  in  excelsis ! 


The  multitude  goeth  out  to 
meet  their  Redeemer  with 
flowers  and  palms,  and  payeth 
the  homage  due  to  a  trium- 
phant conqueror :  the  Gen- 
tiles proclaim  the  Son  of  God : 
and  their  voices  rend  the  skies 
in  the  praise  of  Christ :  Ho- 
sanna in  the  highest ! 


ANTIPHON. 

Cum  Angelis  et  pueris  fi-         Let  us  faithfully  join  with 
deles     inveniamur,     tiium-    the  Angels  and  children,  sing- 


PALM    SUNDAY:    THE    PROCESSION.  215 

ing  to  the  Conqueror  of  death  :     phatori     mortis     clamantes  : 
Hosanna  in  the  highest !  Hosanna  in  excelsis  ! 


ANTIPHON. 

A  great  multitude  that  was  Turba  multa  quae  conve- 

met  together  at  the  festival  nerat  ad  diem  festum,   cla- 

cried  out  to  the  Lord :  Blessed  mabat  Domino  :    Benedictus 

is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  qui  venit  in  nomine  Domini  ! 

of  the  Lord !    Hosanna  in  the  Hosanna  in  excelsis  ! 
highest ! 

The  Procession  is  now  on  its  return  to  the  Church  : 
but  it  cannot  enter,  for  the  doors  are  shut.  We 
have  already  explained  the  meaning  of  this  part  of 
the  ceremony.  Immediately,  there  are  heard  voices 
within  the  holy  place ;  they  are  singing  the  praises 
of  Christ,  our  King  and  Saviour.  These  chanters 
represent  the  holy  Angels  in  heaven,  who  are 
greeting  the  Entry  of  Jesus  into  the  eternal  Jeru- 
salem. Outside  the  Church,  there  stands  the  choir, 
re-echoing  the  Hymn  of  triumph  ;  but  it  is  man 
celebrating  the  Entry  of  the  Son  of  David  into  the 
earthly  Jerusalem.  The  two  Choirs  are  thus  kept 
separated  from  each  other,  until,  at  length,  the 
victorious  Cross  throws  open  the  door,  which  repre- 
sents the  gate  of  heaven,  and  unites  the  Church  mili- 
tant with  the  Church  triumphant.  The  hymn  which 
is  sung  during  this  ceremony,  was  composed  by 
Theodulph,  Bishop  of  Orleans,  when  prisoner  at 
Angers,  by  order  of  Louis  the  Good.  The  Church  of 
Rome,  by  her  using  the  first  six  stanzas  of  this  short 
poem,  has  immortalised  it  throughout  the  world. 

The  Chanters  within  the  Church  begin  the  first 
stanza,  which  is  repeated  by  the  Choir  without,  not 
only  after  this,  but  also  after  each  of  the  following 
five  stanzas. 


216 


HOLY   WEEK. 


HYMN. 


Gloria,    laus  et  honor  tibi 

sit,     Rex     Christe     Re- 

dernptor  ! 
Cui  puerile   decus    prompsit 

Hosanna  pium. 
gt.  Gloria,  laus. 
Israel  es  tu   Rex,    Davidis 

et  inclyta  proles : 
Nomine  qui  in  Domini,   rex 

benedicte,  venis. 

gt.  Gloria,  laus. 

Ccetus  in  excelsis,  te  lau- 

dat  ccelicus  omnis, 
Et  mortalis  homo,  et  cuncta 

creata  simul. 
gt.  Gloria,  laus. 
Plebs    Hebraea    tibi    cum 

palmis  obvia  venit : 
Cum   prece,    voto,    hymnis, 

adsumus  ecce  tibi. 


gt.  Gloria,  laus. 

Hi  tibi  passuro  solvebant 

munia  laudis ; 
Nos  tibi  regnanti  pangimus 

ecce  melos. 

gt.  Gloria,  laus. 

Hi  placuere  tibi,    placeat 

devotio  nostra, 
Rex  bone,  rex  clemens,  cui 

bona  cuncta  placent. 

gt.     Gloria,  laus. 


Glory,  praise,  and  honour 
be  to  thee,  0  Christ,  our 
King,  our  Saviour  ;  to  whom 
the  innocent  children  sang 
their  fervent  Hosanna. 

gt.     Glory,  praise,  &c. 

Thou  art  the  King  of  Israel, 
the  glorious  Son  of  David  ! 
Blessed  art  thou  our  King  ! 
that  comest  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord. 

gt.     Glory,  praise,  &c. 

The  whole  heavenly  host,  in 
the  highest  heavens  above, 
and  men  on  earth,  and  all 
created  things  praise  thee. 

gt.     Glory,  praise,  &c. 

The  Hebrew  people,  with 
Palms,  went  forth  to  meet 
thee :  behold,  we,  too,  pre- 
sent ourselves  before  thee, 
with  our  prayers,  desires,  and 
hymns. 

gt.     Glory,  praise,  &c. 

They  offered  the  tribute  of 
their  praise  to  thee,  when 
thou  wast  about  to  suffer;  we 
sing  our  hymn  to  thee  seated 
on  thy  throne. 

gt.     Glory,  praise,  &c. 

They  were  pleasing  to  thee  ; 
grant  that  our  devotion  may 
also  please  thee,  0  dear  and 
merciful  King  !  to  whom  all 
is  pleasing  that  is  good. 

gt.     Glory,  praise,  &c. 


As  soon  as  the  Choir  has  sung  its  Response  to  the 
last  stanza,  the  Subdeacon  knocks  with  the  Cross  at 
the  door,  which  is  immediately  opened.  In  some 
places,  it  is  the  Celebrant  himself  who  performs  this 
ceremony,  and  whilst  doing  it,  he  recites  the  words 


PALM   SUNDAY  :    MASS.  217 

of  the  23rd  Psalm,  in  which  David  celebrates  the 
entrance  of  our  Redeemer  into  heaven,  on  the  day 
of  his  Ascension. 

The  Procession  then  enters  the  Church,  singing 
the  following  Responsory : 

RESPONSORY. 

IJu  As  our  Lord  entered  the  &•  Ingrediente  Domino  in 

holy  city,  the  Hebrew  child-  sanctam   civitatem,    Hebrse- 

ren  declaring  the  resurrection  orum    pueri    resurrectionem 

of  life,  *  With  palm-branches,  vitse   pronuntiantes ;    *    Cum 

cried   out :    Hosanna  in  the  ramis    palmarum,     Hosanna 

highest !  clamabant  in  excelsis. 

y.  When  the  people  heard  y.    Cum  audisset  populus, 

that  Jesus   was    coming    to  quod   Jesus   veniret    Jeroso- 

Jerusalem,  they  went  out  to  lymam,  exierunt  obviam  ei. 
meet  him. 

*  With  palm-branches,  *  Cum  ramis  palmarum, 
cried  out :  Hosanna  in  the  Hosanna  clamabant  in  ex- 
highest  !  celsis. 


MASS. 


The  Station  at  Rome,  is  in  the  Basilica  of  Saint 
John  Lateran,  the  Mother  and  Mistress  of  all 
Churches.  The  Papal  function,  however,  now  takes 
place  at  Saint  Peter's ;  but  the  usual  Indulgences 
are  still  granted  to  those  who  visit  the  Arch- 
Basilica. 

The  Mass  of  this  Sunday  retains  no  vestige  of  the 
joy,  which  characterised  the  ceremony  of  the  Palms. 
The  Introit  is  taken  from  the  21st  Psalm,  in  which 
the  Royal  Prophet  expresses  the  anguish  of  soul 
suffered  by  Jesus  on  the  Cross. 

INTROIT. 

O  Lord,  keep  not  thy  help  Domine,  ne  longe  facias 
far  from  me  ;  look  to  my  de-  auxilium  tuum  a  me,  ad  de- 
fence; save  me  from  the  lion's     fensionem     meam     adspice : 


218  HOLY    WEEK. 

libera  me  de  ore  leonis,  et  mouth,  and  rescue  me  in  my 

a   cornibus   unicornium    hu-  distress,    from  the  horns   of 

militatem  meam.  unicorns. 

Ps.    Deus,      Deus    meus,  Ps.     O  God,  my  God,  look 

respice  in  me,  quare  me  de-  upon  me :  why  hast  thou  for- 

reliquisti  ?     longe    a     salute  saken  me  ?  They  are  my  sins 

mea  verba  delictorum   meo-  that  keep  salvation  far  from 

rum.  me. 

Domine,  ne  longe.  Lord,  keep  not,  &c. 

In  the  Collect  the  Church  prays  that  we  may- 
have  grace  to  imitate  the  patience  and  humility  of 
our  Saviour.  Jesus  suffers  and  humbles  himself  for 
us  ;  it  is  but  just  that  we  should  work  out  our  sal- 
vation by  following  his  example, — that  we  should 
surfer,  and  be  humble. 


COLLECT. 

Omnipotens  sempiterne  De-         O   Almighty    and  Eternal 

us,    qui    humano    generi   ad  God,  who  wouldst  have  our 

imitandum  humilitatis  exem-  Saviour    become   man,     and 

plum,     Salvatorem    nostrum  suffer  on  a  Cross,  to  give  man  - 

carnem   sumere,     et    crucem  kind  an  example  of  humility  ; 

subire   fecisti :    concede  pro-  mercifully  grant,  that  we  may 

pitius  :   ut  et  patientiae  ipsius  improve  by  the  example  of  his 

habere  documenta,  et  resur-  patience,   and  partake  of  his 

rectionis  consortio  mereamur.  resurrection.      Through    the 

Per  eumdem.  same,  &c. 


EPISTLE. 

Lectio    Epistolse     B.     Pauli    Lesson  of  the  Epistle  of  Saint 
Apostoli  ad  Philippenses.  Paul    the  Apostle   to  the 

Philippians. 

Cap.  II.  Ch.  II. 

Fratres,   hoc  enim  sentite  Brethren:  For  let  this  mind 

in  vobis,  quod  et  in  Christo  be  in  you,    which  was  also  in 

Jesu.     Qui  cum  in  forma  Dei  Christ  Jesus  ;    who  being  in 

esset,   non  rapinam  arbitra-  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not 

tus    est,     esse    se    eequalem  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God, 


PALM    SUNDAY  :    MASS.  219 

but  emptied  himself,  taking  Deo  :     sed  semetipsum  exi- 

the  form  of  a  servant,  being  nanivit,     formam    servi    ac- 

made  in  the  likeness  of  men,  cipiens,  in  similitudinem  ho- 

and  in  habit  found  as  a  man.  minum     f actus,      et    habitu 

He  humbled  himself ,  becom-  inventus  ut  homo.     Humilia- 

ing  obedient  unto  death,  even  vit  semetipsum,   factus  obe- 

to  the  death  of  the  cross.    For  diens  usque  ad  mortem,  mor- 

which  cause  God  also  hath  tern  autem  crucis.      Propter 

exalted  him  and  hath  given  quod    et   Deus  exaltavit   il- 

him  a  name  which  is  above  all  lum  :  et  donavit  illi  nomen, 

names  ;    that  in  the  Name  of  quod     est   super    omne    no- 

Jesus  (here,  all  kneel,  J  every  men  :     ut  in   nomine    Jesu 

knee  shall  bow,  of  those  that  (here,  all  kneel,  J  omne  genu 

are  in  heaven,  on  earth,  and  flectatur,    ccelestium,   terres- 

under  the  earth.     A.nd  that  trium,  et  infernorum  :  et  om- 

every  tongue  should  confess  nis  lingua   confiteatur,    quia 

that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  Dominus   Jesus    Christus   in 

in  the  glory  of  the  Father.  gloria  est  Dei  Patris. 

In  obedience  to  the  wishes  of  the  Church,  we  have 
knelt  down  at  those  words  of  the  Apostle,  where  he 
says,  that  every  knee  should  bow  at  the  Holy  Name 
of  Jesus.  If  there  be  one  time  of  the  Year  rather 
than  an  other,  when  the  Son  of  God  has  a  right  to 
our  fervent  adorations,  it  is  this  Week,  when  we  see 
him  insulted  in  his  Passion.  Not  only  should  his 
Sufferings  excite  us  to  tender  compassion  ;  we  should 
also,  keenly  resent  the  insults  that  are  heaped  upon 
this  Jesus  of  ours,  this  God  of  infimte  Majesty.  Let 
us  strive,  by  our  humble  homage,  to  make  him  amends 
for  the  indignities  he  suffered  in  atonement  for  our 
pride. 

Let  us  unite  with  the  holy  Angels,  who,  witnessing 
what  he  has  gone  through  out  of  love  for  man,  pros- 
trate themselves,  in  profoundest  adoration,  at  the 
sight  of  his  humiliations. 

In  the  Gradual,  the  Church  makes  use  of  the  words 
of  the  Royal  Prophet,  who  foretells  the  future  glories 
of  the  Victim  that  dies  on  Calvary ;  but  he  also  con- 
fesses, that  the  success  permitted  to  the  enemies  of 
Jesus  had  well  nigh  shaken  his  confidence. 


220 


HOLY   WEEK. 


GRADUAL. 


Tenuisti  manum  dexte- 
ram  meam :  et  in  voluntate 
tua  deduxisti  me :  et  cum 
gloria  assumpsisti  me. 

"ft.  Quam  bonus  Israel 
Deus  rectis  corde !  mei  au- 
tem  pene  moti  sunt  pedus, 
pene  efrusi  sunt  gressus 
mei :  quia  zelavi  in  peccator- 
ibus,  pacem  peccatorum  vi- 
dens. 


Thou  hast  held  me  by  my 
right  hand,  and  by  thy  will 
thou  hast  conducted  me ;  and 
with  glory  thou  hast  received 
me. 

t.  How  good  is  the  God  of 
Israel,  to  them  that  are  of  a 
right  heart !  But  my  feet  were 
almost  moved,  my  steps  had 
well  nigh  slipt,  because  I  had 
a  zeal  on  sinners,  seeing  the 
prosperity  of  sinners. 


The  Tract  consists  of  several  verses  taken  from  the 
21st  Psalm,  the  last  words  of  which  were  spoken  by 
our  Redeemer  on  the  Cross.  So  clear  and  explicit 
are  the  words  of  this  Psalm,  that  it  might  almost  be 
called  a  history,  as  well  as  a  prophecy,  of  the  Passion. 


TRACT. 


Deus,  Deus  meus,  respice 
in  me :  quare  me  dereli- 
quisti  ? 

1?.  Longe  a  salute  mea 
verba  delictorum  meorum. 

^.  Deus  meus,  clamabo 
per  diem,  nee  exaudies ;  in 
nocte,  et  non  ad  insipien- 
tiam  mihi. 

^.  Tu  autem  in  sancto 
habitas,  laus  Israel. 

y.  In  te  speraverunt  pa- 
tres  nostri :  speraverunt  et 
liberasti  eos. 

y.  Ad  te  clamaverunt,  et 
salvi  facti  sunt :  in  te  spe- 
raverunt, et  non  sunt  con- 
usi. 


O  God,  my  God,  look  upon 
me :  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me? 

f.  Far  from  my  salvation 
are  the  words  of  my  sins. 

f.  0  my  God,  I  shall  cry 
by  day,  and  thou  wilt  not 
hear ;  and  by  night,  and  it 
shall  not  be  imputed  as  folly 
in  me. 

f.  But  thou  dwellest  in  the 
holy  place,  0  thou  the  praise 
of  Israel ! 

f .  In  thee  have  our  fathers 
hoped  :  they  hoped,  and  thou 
hast  delivered  them. 

^.  They  cried  out  to  thee, 
and  they  were  saved :  they 
trusted  in  thee,  and  were  not 
confounded. 


PALM    SUNDAY  I    MASS. 


221 


y.  But  I  am  a  worm,  and 
no  man :  the  reproach  of  men, 
and  the  outcast  of  the  people. 

y.  All  they  that  saw  me, 
have  laughed  me  to  scorn  : 
they  have  spoken  with  the 
lips,  and  wagged  the  head. 

y.  He  hoped  in  the  Lord, 
(say  they, J  let  him  deliver 
nim :  let  him  save  him,  seeing 
he  delighted  in  him. 

y.  They  considered  me, 
and  viewed  me  attentively : 
they  divided  my  garments 
among  them,  and  cast  lots  for 
my  vest. 

^.  Deliver  me  from  the 
lion's  mouth:  and  my  lowness 
from  the  horns  of  the  unicorns. 

W.  Ye  that  fear  the  Lord, 
praise  him :  0  all  ye  of  the 
seed  of  Jacob,  magnify  him. 

y.  A  people  that  is  to 
come,  shall  be  declared  the 
Lord's :  and  the  heavens  shall 
publish  his  justice, 

y.  To  a  people  to  be  born, 
whom  the  Lord  hath  made. 


p.  Ego  autem  sum  ver- 
mis, et  non  homo  :  oppro- 
brium hominum,  et  abjectio 
plebis. 

f.  Omnes  qui  videbant 
me,  aspernabantur  me :  lo- 
cuti  sunt  labiis,  et  moverunt 
caput. 

y.  Speravit  in  Domino, 
eripiat  eum  :  salvum  faciat 
eum,  quoniam  vult  eum. 

~ft.  Ipsi  vero  considerave- 
runt,  et  conspexerunt  me : 
diviserunt  sibi  vestimenta 
mea,  et  super  vestem  meam 
miserunt  sortem. 

"ft.  Libera  me  de  ore  leo- 
nis  :  et  a  cornibus  unicor- 
nium  humilitatem  meam. 

1?.  Qui  timetis  Dominum 
laudate  eum :  universum 
semen  Jacob  magnificate 
eum. 

Jf .  Annuntiabitur  Domi- 
no generatio  ventura  :  et  an- 
nuntiabunt  cceli  justitiam 
ejus, 

y.  Populo  qui  nascetur, 
quern  fecit  Dominus. 


It  is  now  time  that  we  should  hear  the  history  of 
our  Saviour's  Passion :  but,  in  order  that  we  may 
show  both  heaven  and  earth  that  we  are  not  scan- 
dalised, as  were  the  Disciples,  at  the  sight  of  his 
apparent  weakness  and  the  triumph  of  his  enenmies, 
we  hold  in  our  hands  the  Palms,  wherewith  we  have 
been  proclaiming  him  as  our  King. 

The  Church  reads,  on  four  different  days  of  this 
Week,  the  four  Evangelists'  narration  of  the  Passion. 
She  begins  with  that  of  St.  Matthew,  who  was  the 
first  to  write  the  Gospel.  To  express  the  sorrow 
which  fills  the  hearts  of  the  Faithful,  the  Acolytes 


222 


HOLY    WEEK. 


do  not  carry  the  lights,  nor  is  the  Book  incensed. 
Omitting  the  customary  salutation,  the  Deacon,  who 
is  to  take  the  part  of  the  Evangelist,  at  once  begins 
the  mournful  history  of  our  Lord's  Sufferings  and 
Death. 


THE    PASSION    AND    GOSPEL. 


Passio  Domini  nostri  Jesu 
Christi  secundum  Mat- 
thseum. 


The  Passion  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  according  to  Mat- 
thew. 


Cap.   XXVI.   et  XXVII.         Ch.  XXVI.  and  XXVII. 


In  illo  tempore  :  Dixit  Je- 
sus discipulis  suis :  Scitis, 
quia  post  biduum  Pascha 
fiet :  et  Filius  hominis  tra- 
detur,  ut  crucifigatur.  Tunc 
congregati  sunt  principes 
sacerdotum  et  seniores  po- 
puli  in  atrium  principis 
sacerdotum,  qui  dicebatur 
Caiphas  :  et  concilium  fece- 
runt,  ut  Jesum  dolo  tene- 
rent,  et  occiderent.  Dice- 
bant  autem :  Non  in  die 
festo,  ne  forte  tumultus  fie- 
ret  in  populo. 


Cum  autem  Jesus  esset 
in  Bethania,  in  domo  Si- 
monis  Leprosi,  accessit  ad 
eum  mulier  habens  alabas- 
trum  unguenti  pretiosi  :  et 
effudit  super  caput  ipsius 
recumbentis.  Videntes  au- 
tem discipuli,  indignati 
sunt,  dicentes  :  Ut  quid 
perditio  hsec  ?  Potuit  enim 
unguentum  istud  venundari 
multo,  et  dari  pauperibus. 
Sciens  autem  Jesus,  ait 
illis  :  Quid  molesti  estis 
huic    mulieri?     Opus    enim 


At  that  time  :  Jesus  said  to 
his  disciples  :  You  know  that 
after  two  days  shall  be  the 
Pasch,  and  the  Son  of  man 
shall  be  delivered  up  to  be 
crucified.  Then  were  gathered 
together  the  chief  priests  and 
ancients  of  the  people  into 
the  court  of  the  High  Priest, 
who  was  called  Caiphas ;  and 
they  consulted  together,  that 
by  subtilty  they  might  appre- 
hend Jesus,  and  put  him  to 
death.  But  they  said :  Not 
on  the  Festival  day,  lest  per- 
haps there  should  be  a  tumult 
amongst  the  people. 

And  when  Jesus  was  in 
Bethania,  in  the  house  of 
Simon  the  Leper,  there  came 
to  him  a  woman  having  an 
alabaster-box  of  precious 
ointment,  and  poured  it  on 
his  head  as  he  was  at  table. 
And  the  disciples  seeing  it 
had  indignation,  saying  :  To 
what  purpose  is  this  waste  ? 
For  this  might  have  been  sold 
for  much,  and  given  to  the 
poor.  And  Jesus  knowing  it, 
said  to  them  :  Why  do  you 
trouble  this  woman  ?    For  she 


PALM    SUNDAY  I    MASS. 


223 


has  wrought  a  good  work  upon 
me.  For  the  poor  you  have 
always  with  you,  but  me  you 
have  not  always.  For  she,  in 
pouring  this  ointment  upon 
my  body,  hath  done  it  for  my 
burial.  Amen,  I  say  to  you, 
wheresoever  this  gospel  shall 
be  preached  in  the  whole 
world,  that  also  which  she 
hath  done,  shall  be  told  for  a 
memory  of  her. 

Then  went  one  of  the  twelve, 
who  was  called  Judas  Iscariot, 
to  the  chief  priests  and  said 
to  them  :  What  will  you  give 
me,  and  I  will  deliver  him 
unto  you  ?  But  they  appoint- 
ed him  thirty  pieces  of  silver. 
And  .  from  thenceforth  he 
sought  an  opportunity  to  be- 
tray him.  And  on  the  first 
day  of  the  Azymes,  the  dis- 
ciples came  to  Jesus,  saying  : 
Where  wilt  thou  that  we 
prepare  for  thee  to  eat 
the  Pasch  ?  But  Jesus  said  : 
Go  ye  into  the  city  to  a  cer- 
tain man,  and  say  to  him, 
The  Master  saith  my  time  is 
near  at  hand.  I  will  keep  the 
Pasch  at  thy  house  with  my 
disciples.  And  the  disciples 
did  as  Jesus  appointed  to 
them,  and  they  prepared  the 
Pasch. 

Now  when  it  was  evening, 
he  sat  down  with  his  twelve 
disciples  ;  and  whilst  they 
were  eating,  he  said :  Amen, 
I  say  to  you,  that  one  of  you 
is  about  to  betray  me.  And 
they  being  very  much  troub- 
led, began  every  one  to  say :  Is 
it  I,  Lord  ?  But  he  answering 
said :     He  that  dippeth  his 


bonum  operata  est  in  me. 
Nam  semper  pauperes  ha- 
betis  vobiscum :  me  autem 
non  semper  habetis.  Mit- 
tens enim  hsec  unguentum 
hoc  in  corpus  meum,  ad  se- 
peliendum  me  fecit.  Amen 
dico  vobis,  ubicumque  prse- 
dicatum  fuerit  hoc  Evan- 
gelium  in  toto  mundo,  dice- 
tur  et  quod  hsec  fecit  in 
memoriam  ejus. 

Tunc  abiit  unus  de  duo- 
decim,  qui  dicebatur  Judas 
Iscariotes,  ad  principes  sa- 
cerdotum  :  et  ait  illis  :  Quid 
vultis  mihi  dare,  et  ego  vo- 
bis eum  tradam  ?  At  illi 
constituerunt  ei  triginta  ar- 
genteos.  Et  exinde  quaere- 
bat  opportunitatem,  ut  eum 
traderet.  Prima  autem  die 
Azymorum  accesserunt  dis- 
cipuli  ad  Jesum  dicentes  : 
Ubi  vis  paremus  tibi  come- 
dere  Pascha  ?  At  Jesus 
dixit  :  Ite  in  civitatem  ad 
quemdam,  et  dicite  ei :  Ma- 
gister  dicit :  Tempus  meum 
prope  est :  apud  te  facio 
Pascha  cum  discipulis  meis. 
Et  fecerunt  discipuli,  sicut 
constituit  illis  Jesus  :  et  pa- 
raverunt  Pascha. 


Vespere  autem  facto,  dis- 
cumbebat  cum  duodecim 
discipulis  suis.  Et  edenti- 
bus  illis,  dixit  :  Amen  dico 
vobis :  quia  unus  vestrum 
me  traditurus  est.  Et  con- 
tristati  valde,  coeperunt  sin- 
guli  dicere :  Numquid  ego 
sum,  Domine  ?  At  ipse  re- 
spondens,  ait :     Qui  intingit 

R 


224 


HOLY     WEEK. 


mecum  manum  in  parop- 
side,  hie  me  tradet.  Filius 
quidem  hominis  vadit,  sicut 
scriptum  est  de  illo.  Vae  au- 
tem  homini  illi,  per  quern 
Filius  hominis  tradetur.  Bo- 
num  erat  ei,  si  natus  non 
fuisset  homo  ille.  Eespon- 
dens  autem  Judas  qui  tra- 
didit  eum,  dixit :  Numquid 
ego  sum,  Eabbi  ?  Ait  illi : 
Tu  dixisti. 

Coenantibus  autem  eis, 
accepit  Jesus  panem :  et 
benedixit,  ac  fregit,  dedit- 
que  discipulis  suis,  et  ait  : 
Accipite,  et  comedite :  Hoc 
est  corpus  meum.  Et  acci- 
piens  calicem,  gratias  egit : 
et  dedit  illis,  dicens  :  Bibite 
ex  hoc  omnes.  Hie  est  enim 
sanguis  meus  novi  testa- 
menti,  qui  pro  multis  effun- 
detur  in  remissionem  pec- 
catorum.  Dico  autem  vo- 
bis :  Non  bibam  amodo  de 
hoc  genimine  vitis  usque 
in  diem  ilium,  cum  illud  bi- 
bam vobiscum  novum  in 
regno  Patris  mei. 

Et  hymno  dicto,  exierunt 

in  montem    Oliveti.       Tunc 

dicit  illis  Jesus  :    Omnes  vos 

scandalum  patiemini  in  me, 

in  ista  nocte.     Scriptum  est 

enim  :     Percutiam  pastorem, 

et     dispergentur    oves    gre- 

gis :     postquam     autem    re- 

surrexero,      prsecedam     vos 

in     Galileam.       KespoDdens 

autem  Petrus,    ait  illi :  Etsi 

omnes     scandalizati    fuerint 

in   te,    ego   nunquam    scan- 

dalizabor.       Ait  illi  Jesus  : 

Amen  dico   tibi   quia  in  hac 

nocte,  antequam  gallus  can- 

tet,  ter  me  negabis,    Ait  illi 


hand  with  me  in  the  dish,  he 
shall  betray  me.  The  Son  of 
man  indeed  goeth,  as  it  is 
written  of  him  ;  but  woe  to 
that  man,  by  whom  the  Son  of 
man  shall  be  betrayed.  It 
were  better  for  him,  if  that 
man  had  not  been  born.  And 
Judas,  that  betrayed  him, 
answering  said  :  Is  it  I, 
Eabbi  ?  He  saith  to  him  : 
Thou  hast  said  it. 

And  whilst  they  were  at 
supper,  Jesus  took  bread,  and 
blessed,  and  broke,  and  gave 
to  his  disciples,  and  said : 
Take  ye,  and  eat ;  this  is  my 
body.  And  taking  the  chalice 
he  gave  thanks  and  gave  to 
them,  saying :  Drink  ye  all  of 
this ;  for  this  is  my  blood  of 
the  new  testament,  which 
shall  be  shed  for  many  for 
the  remission  of  sins.  And 
I  say  to  you,  I  will  not  drink 
from  henceforth  of  this  fruit 
of  the  vine,  until  that  day 
when  I  shall  drink  it  new 
with  you  in  the  kingdom  of 
my  Father. 

And  a  hymn  being  said, 
they  went  out  into  mount 
Olivet.  Then  Jesus  said  to 
them :  All  you  shall  be  scan- 
dalised in  me  this  night.  For 
it  is  written  :  "I  will  strike 
the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep 
of  the  flock  shall  be  dis- 
persed." But  after  I  shall  be 
risen  again,  I  will  go  before 
you  into  Galilee.  And  Peter 
answering  said  to  him  :  Al- 
though all  shall  be  scandalised 
in  thee,  I  will  never  be  scan- 
dalised. Jesus  said  to  him  : 
Amen,  I  say  to  thee,  that  in 
this  night,   before  the  cock 


PALM    SUNDAY  .*    MASS. 


225 


crow,  thou  wilt  deny  me 
thrice.  Peter  saith  to  him  : 
Yea,  though  I  should  die  with 
thee,  I  will  not  deny  thee. 
And  in  like  manner  said  all 
the  disciples. 

Then  Jesus  came  with  them 
into  a  country  place  which  is 
called   Gethsemani  ;    and  he 
said  to  his  disciples  :    Sit  you 
here,   till  I  go  yonder,    and 
pray.      And  taking  with  him 
Peter   and   the   two   sons   of 
Zebedee,   he  began  to  grow 
sorrowful,     and   to    be   sad. 
Then  he  said  to  them  :    My 
soul  is  sorrowful  even  unto 
death ;     stay  you   here    and 
watch  with  me.     And  going 
a  little  further  he  fell  upon 
his  face,  praying,  and  saying : 
My  Father,  if  it  be  possible, 
let  this  chalice  pass  from  me. 
Nevertheless,  not  as  I  will, 
but   as  thou   wilt.     And  he 
cometh  to  his  disciples,   and 
findeth  them  asleep,  and  he 
saith  to  Peter :  What !   could 
you  not  watch  one  hour  with 
me  ?  watch  ye,  and  pray  that 
ye  enter  not  into  temptation. 
The  spirit  indeed  is  willing, 
but  the  flesh  is  weak.     Again 
the  second  time  he  went  and 
prayed,  saying  :    My  Father, 
if  this  chalice  may  not  pass 
away,  but  I  must  drink  it,  thy 
will  be  done.    And  he  cometh 
again,  and  findeth  them  sleep- 
ing ;  for  their  eyes  were  heavy. 
And  leaving  them,  he  went 
again ;     and   he   prayed  the 
third  time,   saying  the  self- 
same words.  Then  he  cometh 
to  his  disciples,  and  saith  to 
them :  Sleep  ye  now,  and  take 


Petrus  :  Etiam  si  opportue- 
rit  me  mori  tecum,  non  te 
negabo.  Similiter  et  omnes 
discipuli  dixerunt. 


Tunc  venit  Jesus  cum  il- 
lis  in  villain,  quae  dicitur 
Gethsemani :  et  dixit  disci- 
pulis  suis :  Sedete  hie  do- 
nee vadam  illuc,  et  orem. 
Et  assumpto  Petro,  et  duo- 
bus  filiis  Zebedsei,  ccepit 
contristari,  et  mcestus  esse. 
Tunc  ait  illis :  Tristis  est 
anima  mea  usque  ad  mor- 
tem. Sustinete  hie  et  vigi- 
late  mecum.  Et  progressus 
pusillum,  procidit  in  faciem 
suam,  orans  et  dicens : 
Pater  mi,  si  possibile  est, 
transeat  a  me  calix  iste. 
Verumtamen  non  sicut  ego 
volo,  sed  sicut  tu.  Et  venit 
ad  discipulos  suos,  et  in- 
venit  eos  dormientes :  et 
dicit  Petro :  Sic,  non  po- 
tuistis  una  hora  vigilare 
mecum  ?  Vigilate,  et  orate  : 
ut  non  intretis  in  tentatio- 
nem.  Spiritus       quidem 

promptus  est,  caro  autem  in- 
firma.  Iterum  secundo  abiit, 
et  oravit  dicens :  Pater  mi, 
si  non  potest  hie  calix  trans- 
ire,  nisi  bibam  ilium :  fiat 
voluntas  tua.  Et  venit 
iterum,  et  invenit  eos  dor- 
mientes. Erant  enim  oculi 
eorum  gravati.  Et  relictis 
illis,  iterum  abiit :  et  oravit 
tertio  eumdem  sermonem 
dicens.  Tunc  venit  ad  dis- 
cipulos suos,  et  dicit  illis  : 
Dormite  jam,  et  requiescite. 
Ecce    appropinquavit    hora : 


226 


HOLY   WEEK. 


et  Filius  hominis  tradetur 
in  manus  peccatorum.  Sur- 
gite,  eamus :  ecce  appro - 
pinquavit  qui  me  tradet. 


Adhuc  eo  loquente,  ecce 
Judas  unus  de  duodecim 
venit,  et  cum  eo  turba  mul- 
ta  cum  gladiis  et  fustibus, 
missi  a  principibus  sacerdo- 
tum,  et  senioribus  populi. 
Qui  autem  tradidit  eum, 
dedit  illis  signum  dicens : 
Quemcumque  osculatus  fu- 
ero,  ipse  est,  tenete  eum. 
Et  confestim  accedens  ad 
Jesum,  dixit :  Ave,  Rabbi. 
Et  osculatus  est  eum.  Dixit- 
que  illi  Jesus :  Amice,  ad 
quid  venisti  ?  Tunc  acces- 
serunt,  et  manus  injecerunt 
in  Jesum  :  et  tenuerunt 
eum.  Et  ecce  unus  ex  his 
qui  erant  cum  Jesu,  exten- 
dens  manum,  exemit  gla- 
dium  suum  :  et  percutiens 
servum  principis  Sacerdo- 
tum,  amputavit  auriculam 
ejus.  Tunc  ait  illi  Jesus  : 
Converte  gladium  tuum  in 
locum  suum.  Omnes  enim, 
qui  acceperint  gladium, 
gladio  peribunt.  An  putas, 
quia  non  possum  rogare 
Patrem  meum  :  et  exhibebit 
mihi  modo  plus  quam  duo- 
decim legiones  Angelorum  ? 
Quomodo  ergo  implebuntur 
Scripturae,  quia  sic  oportet 
fieri  ?  In  ilia  hora  dixit 
Jesus  turbis  :  Tamquam  ad 
latronem  existis  cum  gladiis 
et  fustibus  comprehendere 
me :  quotidie  apud  vos 
sedebam  docens  in  Ternplo  : 
et  non   me   tenuistis.      Hoc 


your  rest ;  behold  the  hour  is 
at  hand,  and  the  Son  of  man 
shall  be  betrayed  into  the 
hands  of  sinners.  Rise,  let  us 
go  :  behold  he  is  at  hand  that 
will  betray  me. 

As  he  yet  spoke,  behold  Ju- 
das, one  of  the  twelve  came, 
and  with  him  a  great  multitude 
with  swords  and  clubs,  sent 
from  the  Chief  Priests  and  the 
ancients  of  the  people.  And 
he  that  betrayed  him,  gave 
them  a  sign,  saying :  Whom- 
soever I  shall  kiss,  that  is  he, 
hold  him  fast.  And  forthwith 
coming  to  Jesus,  he  said : 
Hail,  Eabbi  !  And  he  kissed 
him.  And  Jesus  said  to  him : 
Eriend,  whereto  art  thou 
come  ?  Then  they  came  up, 
and  laid  hands  on  Jesus,  and 
held  him.  And  behold  one  of 
them  that  were  with  Jesus, 
stretching  forth  his  hand,  drew 
out  his  sword  ;  and  striking 
the  servant  of  the  High  Priest, 
cut  off  his  ear.  Then  Jesus 
said  to  him  :  Put  up  again 
thy  sword  into  its  place  ;  for 
all  that  take  the  sword  shall 
perish  with  the  sword.  Think- 
est  thou  that  I  cannot  ask  my 
Father,  and  he  will  give  me 
presently  more  than  twelve 
legions  of  Angels  ?  How  then 
shall  the  Scriptures  be  ful- 
filled, that  so  it  must  be  done? 
In  that  same  hour  Jesus  said 
to  the  multitude :  You  are 
come  out  as  it  were  to  a  rob- 
ber, with  swords  and  clubs,  to 
apprehend  me.  I  sat  daily 
with  you  teaching  in  the 
temple,  and  you  laid  not 
hands  on  me.  Now  all  this 
was  done,  that  the  Scriptures, 


PALM    SUNDAY  I    MASS. 


227 


of  the  prophets  might  be  ful- 
filled. Then  the  disciples  all 
leaving  him,  fled. 


But  they  holding  Jesus,  led 
him  to  Caiphas  the  High 
Priest,  where  the  scribes  and 
the  ancients  were  assembled. 
And  Peter  followed  him  afar 
off,  even  to  the  court  of  the 
High  Priest ;  and  going  in,  he 
sat  with  the  servants,  that  he 
might  see  the  end.  And  the 
chief  priests  and  the  whole 
council  sought  false  witness 
against  Jesus,  that  they  might 
put  him  to  death  ;  and  they 
found  not,  whereas  many  false 
witnesses  had  come  in.  And 
last  of  all  there  came  two  false 
witnesses ;  and  they  said: 
This  man  said,  I  am  able  to  de- 
stroy the  temple  of  God,  and 
after  three  days  to  rebuild  it. 
And  the  High  Priest  rising 
up  said  to  him  :  Answerest 
thou  nothing  to  the  things 
which  these  witness  against 
thee  ?  But  Jesus  held  his 
peace.  And  the  High  Priest 
said  to  him :  I  adjure  thee,  by 
the  living  God,  that  thou  tell 
us  if  thou  be  the  Christ  the 
Son  of  God.  Jesus  saith  to 
him:  Thou  hast  said  it.  Never- 
theless I  say  to  you,  hereafter 
you  shall  see  the  Son  of  man 
sitting  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  power  of  God,  and  coming 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven.  Then 
the  High  Priest  rent  his  gar- 
ments, saying  :  He  hath  blas- 
phemed, what  further  need 
have  we  of  witnesses  ?  Be- 
hold, now  you  have  heard  the 
blasphemy  :  what  think  you  ? 


autem  totum  factum  est, 
ut  adimplerentur  Scripturse 
Prophetarum.  Tunc  disci - 
puli  omnes,  relicto  eo,  fuge- 
runt. 

At  illi  tenentes  Jesum 
duxerunt  ad  Caipham  prin- 
cipem  sacerdotum,  ubi  scri- 
bse  et  seniores  convenerant. 
Petrus  autem  sequebatur 
eum  a  longe,  usque  in  atri- 
um principis  sacerdotum. 
Et  ingressus  intro,  sedebat 
cum  ministris,  ut  videret 
finem.  Principes  autem  sa- 
cerdotum, et  omne  conci- 
lium, quserebant  falsum 
testimonium  contra  Jesum, 
ut  eum  morti  traderent  :  et 
non  invenerunt,  cum  multi 
falsi  testes  accessissent.  No- 
vissime  autem  venerunt  duo 
falsi  testes,  et  dixerunt  : 
Hie  dixit :  Possum  destrue- 
re  Templum  Dei,  et  post 
triduum  resedificare  illud. 
Et  surgens  princeps  sacerdo- 
tum, ait  illi  :  Nihil  respon- 
des  ad  ea,  quae  isti  adver- 
sum  te  testificantur  ?  Jesus 
autem  tacebat.  Ft  princeps 
sacerdotum  ait  illi:  Adjuro 
te  per  Deumvivum,  ut  di- 
cas  nobis,  si  tu  es  Christus 
Eilius  Dei.  Dicit  illi  Jesus  : 
Tu  dixisti.  Verumtamen 
dico  vobis,  amodo  videbitis 
Filiuin  hominis  sedentem 
a  dextris  virtutis  Dei,  et 
venientem  in  nubibus  cceli. 
Tunc  princeps  sacerdotum 
scidit  vestimenta  sua,  di- 
cens :  Blasphemavit.  Quid 
adhuc  egemus  testibus  ? 
Ecce  :  nunc  audistis  blas- 
phemiam.  Quid  vobis  vide- 
tur  ?     At    illi    respondentes, 


228 


HOLY   WEEK. 


dixerunt :  Beus  est  mortis. 
Tunc  expuerunt  in  faciem 
ejus  :  et  colaphis  eum  cseci- 
derunt.  Alii  autem  palmas 
in  faciem  ejus  dederunt  di- 
centes :  Prophetiza  nobis, 
Christe,  quis  est,  qui  te 
percussit  ? 

Petrus  vero  sedebat  foris 
in  atrio.  Et  accessit  ad  eum 
una  ancilla  dicens  :  Et  tu 
cum  Jesu  Galilseo  eras.  At 
ille  negavk  coram  omnibus, 
dicens :  Nescio  quid  dicis. 
Exeunte  autem  illo  januam, 
vidit  eum  alia  ancilla :  et 
ait  his,  qui  erant  ibi  :  Et  hie 
erat  cum  Jesu  Nazareno.  Et 
iterum  negavit  cum  jura- 
mento  :  Quia  non  novi  ho- 
minem.  Et  post  pusillum 
accesserunt  qui  stabant,  et 
dixerunt  Petro  :  Vere  ettu 
ex  illis  es  ;  nam  et  loque- 
la  tua  manifestum  te  facit. 
Tunc  coepit  detestari  et  ju- 
rare  quia  non  novisset  ho- 
minem.  Et  continuo  gallus 
cantavit.  Et  recordatus  est 
Petrus  verbi  Jesu  quod 
dixerat :  Priusquam  gallus 
cantet,  ter  me  negabis.  Et 
egressus  foras,  flevit  amare. 


Mane  autem  Sacto,  consi- 
lium inierunt  omnes  prin- 
cipes  sacerdotum,  et  senio- 
res  populi  adversus  Jesum, 
ut  eum  morti  traderent.  Et 
vinctum  adduxerunt  eum, 
et  tradiderunt  Pontio  Pilato, 
preesidi.  Tunc  videns  Ju- 
das, qui  eum  tradidit,  quod 
damnatus  esset,  poenitentia 
ductus,     retulit   triginta  ar- 


But  they  answering,  said:  He 
is  guilty  of  death.  Then  did 
they  spit  in  his  face,  and  buffet 
him,  and  others  struck  his 
face  with  the  palms  of  their 
hands,  saying :  Prophesy  unto 
us,  0  Christ,  who  is  he  that 
struck  thee  ? 

But  Peter  sat  without  in  the 
court ;  and  there  came  to  him 
a  servant-maid,  saying:  Thou 
also  wast  with  Jesus  the 
Galilean.  But  he  denied  be- 
fore them  all,  saying  :  I  know 
not  what  thou  sayest.  And 
as  he  went  out  of  the  gate, 
another  maid  saw  him,  and 
she  saith  to  them  that  were 
there :  This  man  also  was  with 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  And  again 
he  denied  with  an  oath :  That 
I  know  not  the  man.  And 
after  a  little  while  they  came 
that  stood  by,  and  said  to 
Peter  :  Surely  thou  also  art 
one  of  them;  for  even  thy 
speech  doth  discover  thee. 
Then  he  began  to  curse  and 
swear  that  he  knew  not  the 
man.  And  immediately  the 
cock  crew.  And  Peter  remem- 
bered the  words  of  Jesus 
which  he  had  said :  Before  the 
cock  crow,  thou  wilt  deny  me 
thrice.  And  going  forth,  he 
wept  bitterly. 

And  when  morning  was 
come,  all  the  chief  priests  and 
ancients  of  the  people  took 
counsel  against  Jesus,  that 
they  might  put  him  to  death. 
And  they  brought  him  bound, 
and  delivered  him  to  Pontius 
Pilate  the  governor.  Then 
Judas,  who  betrayed  him, 
seeing  that  he  was  condemned, 
repenting    himself,    brought 


PALM    SUNDAY  '.    MASS. 


229 


back  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver 
to  the  chief  priests  and  an- 
cients, saying  :  I  have  sinned 
in  betraying  innocent  blood. 
But  they  said  :  What  is  that 
to  us  P  look  thou  to  it.  And 
casting  down  the  pieces  of  sil- 
ver in  the  Temple,  he  depart- 
ed, and  went  and  hanged  him- 
self with  an  halter.  But  the 
chief  priests  having  taken  the 
pieces  of  silver,  said :  It  is  not 
lawful  to  put  them  into  the 
corbona,  because  it  is  the  price 
of  blood.  And  after  they  had 
consulted  together,  they 
bought  with  them  the  potter's 
field,  to  be  a  burying-place  for 
strangers.  For  this  cause  that 
field  was  called  Haceldama, 
that  is,  the  field  of  blood,  even 
to  this  day.  Then  was  fulfilled 
that  which  was  spoken  by 
Jeremias  the  prophet,  saying : 
"And  they  took  the  thirty 
pieces  of  silver,  the  price  of 
him  that  was  prized,  whom 
they  prized  of  the  children  of 
Israel.  And  they  gave  them 
unto  the  potter's  field,  as  the 
Lord  appointed  to  me." 

And  Jesus  stood  before  the 
governor,  and  the  governor 
asked  him,  saying :  Art  thou 
the  king  of  the  Jews  ?  Jesus 
saith  to  him  :  Thou  sayest  it. 
And  when  he  was  accused  by 
the  chief  priests  and  ancients, 
he  answered  nothing.  Then 
Pilate  saith  to  him :  Dost  thou 
not  hear  how  great  testimonies 
they  allege  against  thee  ?  And 
he  answered  him  to  never  a 
word ;  so  that  the  governor 
wondered  exceedingly. 

Now  upon  the  solemn  day 
the  governor  was  accustomed 


genteos  principibus  sacer- 
dotum  et  senioribus,  dicens  : 
Peccavi  tradens  sanguinem 
justum.  At  illi  dixerunt  : 
Quid  ad  nos  ?  Tu  videris. 
Et  projectis  argenteis  in 
Templo,  recessit :  et  abiens 
laqueo  se  suspendit.  Prin- 
cipes  autem  sacerdotum, 
acceptis  argenteis,  dixe- 
runt :  Non  licet  eos  mittere 
in  corbonam,  quia  pretium 
sanguinis  est.  Consilio  au- 
tem inito,  emerunt  ex  illis 
agrum  figuli,  in  sepulturum 
peregrinorum.  Propter  hoc 
vocatus  est  ager  ille  Hacel- 
dama, hoc  est,  ager  sangui- 
nis, usque  in  hodiernum 
diem.  Tunc  impletum  est 
quod  dictum  est  per  Je- 
remiam  prophetam  dicen- 
tem  :  Et  acceperunt  trigin- 
ta  argenteos,  pretium  ap- 
pretiati  quern  appretiave- 
runt  a  filiis  Israel ;  et  dede- 
runt  eos  in  agrum  figuli, 
sicut  constituit  mihi  Domi- 
nus. 


Jesus  autem  stetit  ante 
prsesidem.  Et  interrogavit 
eum  praeses  dicens  :  Tu  es 
Rex  Judseorum  ?  Dicit  illi 
Jesus :  Tu  dicis.  Et  cum 
accusaretur  a  principibus 
sacerdotum  et  senioribus, 
nihil  respondit.  Tunc  dicit 
illi  Pilatus  :  Non  audis, 
quanta  adversum  te  dicunt 
testimonia  ?  Et  non  respon- 
dit ei  ad  ullum  verbum  :  ita 
ut  miraretur  prseses  vehe- 
menter. 

Per  diem  autem  solem- 
nem      consueverat      prseses 


230 


HOLY    WEEK. 


populo  dimittere  unum  vinc- 
tum,  quern  voluissent.  Ha- 
bebat  autem  tunc  vinctum 
insignem,  qui  dicebatur  Ba- 
rabbas.  Congregatis  ergo 
illis,  dixit  Pilatus  :  Quern 
vultis  dimittam  vobis,  Ba- 
rabbam, an  Jesum  qui 
dicitur  Christus  ?  Sciebat 
enim,  quod  per  invidiam 
tradidissent  eum.  Sedente 
autem  illo  pro  tribunali, 
misit  ad  eum  uxor  ejus,  di- 
cens  :  Nihil  tibi  et  justo  illi  : 
multa  enim  passa  sum  ho- 
die  per  visum  propter  eum. 
Principes  autem  sacerdo- 
tum  et  seniores  persuase- 
runt  populis,  ut  peterent 
Barabbam  :  Jesum  vero  per- 
derent.  Respondens  autem 
prseses,  ait  illis  :  Quern  vul- 
tis vobis  de  duobus  dimit- 
ti  ?  At  illi  dixerunt :  Barab- 
bam. Dicit  illis  Pilatus :  Quid 
igitur  faciam  de  Jesu,  qui 
dicitur  Christus  ?  Dicunt 
omnes  :  Crucifigatur.  Ait 
illis  praeses :  Quid  enim 
mali  fecit  ?  At  illi  magis 
clamabant  dicentes  :  Cruci- 
figatur. 


Videns  autem  Pilatus, 
quia  nihil  proficeret,  sed 
magis  tumultus  fieret  :  ac- 
cepta  aqua,  lavit  manus 
coram  populo,  dicens :  In- 
nocens  ego  sum  a  sanguine 
justi  hujus  :  vos  videritis. 
Et  respondens  universus 
populus,  dixit  :  Sanguis 
ejus  super  nos,  et  super 
filios  nostros.  Tunc  di- 
misit  illis  Barabbam  :     Je- 


to  release  to  the  people  one 
prisoner,  whom  they  would. 
And  he  had  then  a  notorious 
prisoner,  that  was  called  Ba- 
rabbas .  They  therefore  being 
gathered  together,  Pilate  said : 
Whom  will  you  that  I  release 
to  you,  Barabbas,  or  Jesus 
that  is  called  Christ?  For 
he  knew  that  for  envy  they 
had  delivered  him.  And  as 
he  was  sitting  in  the  place  of 
judgment,  his  wife  sent  to 
him,  saying :  Have  thou 
nothing  to  do  with  that  just 
man.  For  I  have  suffered 
many  things  this  day  in  a 
dream  because  of  him.  But 
the  chief  priests  and  ancients 
persuaded  the  people,  that 
they  should  ask  Barabbas, 
and  make  Jesus  away.  And 
the  governor  answering,  said 
to  them  :  Whether  will  you  of 
the  two  to  be  released  unto 
you  ?  But  they  said,  Barab- 
bas. Pilate  saith  to  them  : 
What  shall  I  do  then  with 
Jesus  that  is  called  Christ  ? 
They  say  all  :  Let  him  be 
crucified.  The  governor  said 
to  them :  Why,  what  evil  hath 
he  done  ?  But  they  cried  out 
the  more,  saying :  Let  him.  be 
crucified. 

And  Pilate  seeing  that  he 
prevailed  nothing,  but  that 
rather  a  tumult  was  made ; 
taking  water  he  washed  his 
hands  before  the  people,  say- 
ing: I  am  innocent  of  the 
blood  of  this  just  man  :  look 
you  to  it.  And  the  whole 
people  answering,  said :  His 
blood  be  upon  us  and  upon 
our  children.  Then  he  re- 
leased  to    them    Barabbas : 


PALM    SUNDAY  :    MASS. 


231 


and  having  scourged  Jesus 
delivered  him  unto  them  to 
be  crucified. 

Then  the  soldiers  of  the 
governor  taking  Jesus  into 
the  hall,  gathered  together 
unto  him  the  whole  band ;  and 
stripping  him,  they  put  a 
scarlet  cloak  about  him.  And 
platting  a  crown  of  thorns, 
they  put  it  upon  his  head,  and 
a  reed  in  his  right  hand.  And 
bowing  the  knee  before  him, 
they  mocked  him,  saying : 
Hail,  king  of  the  Jews.  And 
spitting  upon  him,  they  took 
the  reed,  and  struck  his  head. 
And  after  they  had  mocked 
him,  they  took  off  the  cloak 
from  him,  and  put  on  his  own 
garments,  and  led  him  away 
to  crucify  him. 

And  going  out  they  met  a 
man  of  Cyrene,  named  Simon : 
him  they  forced  to  take  up 
the  cross.  And  they  came  to 
the  place  that  is  called  Gol- 
gotha, which  is  the  place  of 
Calvary.  And  they  gave  him 
wine  to  drink  mingled  with 
gall.  And  when  he  had 
tasted,  he  would  not  drink. 
And  after  they  had  crucified 
him,  they  divided  his  gar- 
ments, casting  lots  :  that  it 
might  be  fulfilled  which  was 
spoken  by  the  prophet,  saying: 
"  They  divided  my  garments 
among  them  ;  and  upon  my 
vesture  they  cast  lots  :  "  and 
they  sat  and  watched  him. 
And  they  put  over  his  head 
his  cause  written :  This  is 
Jesus  the  King  of  the 
Jews.    Then    were  crucified 


sum  autem  flagellatum 
tradidit  eis,  ut  crucifigere- 
tur. 

Tunc  milites  praesidis 
suscipientes  Jesum  in  prae- 
torium,  congregaverunt  ad 
eum  universam  cohortem. 
Et  exuentes  eum  chlamy- 
dem  coccineam  circumde- 
derunt  ei.  Et  plectentes 
coronam  de  spinis,  posue- 
runt  super  caput  ejus,  et 
arundinem  in  dextera  ejus. 
Et  genu  flexo  ante  eum,  illu- 
debant  ei,  dicentes  :  Ave 
Eex  Judseorum !  Et  exspuentes 
in  eum,  acceperunt  arundi- 
nem, et  percutiebant  caput 
ejus.  Et  postquam  illuserunt 
ei,  exuerunt  eum  chlamyde  : 
et  induerunt  eum  vestimentis 
ejus,  et  duxerunt  eum  ut 
crucifigerent. 

Exeuntes  autem,  invene- 
runt  hominem  Cyrenaeum, 
nomine  Simonem.  Hunc  an- 
gariaverunt,  ut  tolleret  cru- 
cem  ejus.  Et  venerunt  in 
locum,  qui  dicitur  Golgo- 
tha :  quod  est,  Calvariae 
locus.  Et  dederunt  ei  vinum 
bibere  cum  felle  mixtum. 
Et  cum  gustasset,  noluit 
bibere.  Postquam  autem 
crucifixerunt  eum,  divise- 
runt  vestimenta  ejus  sortem 
mittentes :  ut  impleretur 
quod  dictum  est  per  Pro- 
phetam  dicentem :  divise- 
runt  sibi  vestimenta  mea, 
et  super  vestem  meam  mi- 
serunt  sortem.  Et  sedentes, 
servabant  eum.  Et  impo- 
suerunt  super  caput  ejus 
causam  ipsius  scriptam : 
Hie   est  Jesus  Eex  Jud&eo- 


B 


232 


HOLY    WEEK. 


rum.  Tunc  crucifixi  sunt 
cum  eo  duo  latrones,  unus 
a  dextris,  et  unus  a  sinis- 
tris. 

Prsetereuntes  autem  blas- 
phemabant  eum,  moven- 
tes  capita  sua,  et  dicentes  : 
Vah  !  qui  destruis  Templum 
Dei,  et  in  triduo  illud  reae- 
dificas.  Salva  temetipsum. 
Si  Filius  Dei  es,  descende 
de  cruce.  Similiter  et  prin- 
cipes  sacerdotum  illuden- 
tes  cum  scribis  et  seniori- 
bus,  dicebant :  Alios  salvos 
fecit  :  seipsum  non  potest 
salvum  facere.  Si  Rex  Is- 
rael est,  descendat  nunc 
de  cruce,  et  credimus  ei. 
Confidit  in  Deo  :  liberet 
nunc  si  vult  eum  :  dixit 
enim,  quia  Filius  Dei  sum. 
Idipsum  autem  et  latrones, 
qui  crucifixi  erant  cum  eo, 
improperabant  ei. 

A  sexta  autem  hora,  tene- 
brae  factae  sunt  super  uni- 
versam  terram,  usque  ad 
horam  nonam.  Et  circa 
horam  nonam  clamavit  Jesus 
voce  magna,  dicens  :  Eli, 
Eli,  lamma  sabacthani  ? 
Hoc  est  :  Deus  meus,  Deus 
meus,  ut  quid  dereliquisti 
me  ?  Quidam  autem  illic 
stantes,  et  audientes,  dice- 
bant :  Eliam  vocat  iste.  Et 
continuo  currens  unus  ex 
eis  acceptam  spongiam  im- 
plevit  aceto,  et  imposuit 
arundini,  et  dabat  ei  bibere. 
Caeteri  vero  dicebant:  Sine, 
vidoamus,  an  veniat  Elias 
liberans  eum.  Jesus  autem 
iterum  clamans  voce  magna, 
emisit  spiritum, 


with  him  two  thieves  ;  one  on 
the  right  hand,  and  one  on 
the  left. 

And  they  that  passed  by, 
blasphemed  him,  wagging 
their  heads,  and  saying  :  Vah, 
thou  that  destroyest  the  tem- 
ple of  God,  and  in  three  days 
dost  rebuild  it,  save  thy  own 
self :  if  thou  be  the  Son  of  God , 
come  down  from  the  cross. 
In  like  manner  also  the  chief 
priests,  with  the  scribes  and 
ancients,  mocking,  said  :  He 
saved  others;  himself  he  can  - 
not  save  :  if  he  be  the  king  of 
Israel,  let  him.  now  come  down 
from  the  cross,  and  we  will  be- 
lieve him.  He  trusted  in  God : 
let  him  now  deliver  him,  if  he 
will  have  him :  for  he  said :  I 
am  the  Son  of  God.  And  the 
self  same  thing  the  thieves 
also  that  were  crucified  with 
him  reproached  him  with. 

Now  from  the  sixth  hour 
there  was  darkness  over  the 
whole  earth,  until  the  ninth 
hour.  And  about  the  ninth 
hour  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  saying:  Eli,  Eli,  lamma 
sabacthani  ?  that  is  '  'my  God, 
4 'my  God,  why  hast  thou  for- 
"saken  me  ?"  And  some  that 
stood  there  and  heard,  said  : 
This  man  calleth  Elias.  And 
immediately  one  of  them  run- 
ning, took  a  sponge,  and  filled 
it  with  vinegar,  and  put  it  on 
a  reed,  and  gave  him  to  drink. 
And  the  others  said  :  Let  us 
see  whether  Elias  will  come 
and  deliver  him.  And  Jesus 
again  crying  with  a  loud  voice, 
yielded  up  the  ghost. 


PALM   SUNDAY  :    MASS. 


233 


Here  the  Deacon  pauses,  and  honours  the  Death  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  by  a  solemn  act  of  adoration. 
All  the  Faithful  kneel  down,  and  remain  for  some 
time  in  that  position.  In  many  places,  it  is  the  cus- 
tom to  prostrate,  and  kiss  the  ground.  The  Deacon 
then  resumes  his  narration. 


And    behold    the    veil    of 
the     Temple     was     rent    in 
two    from    the   top   even   to 
the   bottom,    and    the    earth 
quaked,   and  the  rocks  were 
rent.     And  the   graves  were 
opened  ;    and  many  bodies  of 
the  saints  that  had  slept  arose ; 
and  coming  out  of  the  tombs 
after  his  resurrection,  came  in- 
to the  holy  city  and  appeared 
to  many.    Now  the  centurion, 
and  they  that  were  with  him 
watching  Jesus,  having  seen 
the  earthquake  and  the  things 
that    were    done,   were   sore 
afraid,   saying:     Indeed  this 
was  the  Son  of  God.  And  there 
were  there  many  women  afar 
off  who  had  followed   Jesus 
from  Galilee,  ministering  un- 
to  him  :    among  whom  was 
Mary  Magdalen,  and  Mary  the 
mother  of  James  and  Joseph, 
and  the  mother  of  the  sons  of 
Zebedee.     And  when  it  was 
evening,  there  came  a  certain 
rich  man  of  Arimathea,  named 
Joseph,  who  also  himself  was 
a  disciple  of  Jesus.     He  went 
to  Pilate,  and  asked  the  body 
of  Jesus.     Then  Pilate  com- 
manded that  the  body  should 
be    delivered.     And    Joseph 
taking  the  body,  wrapped  it 
up  in  a  clean  linen  cloth,  and 
laid  it  in  his  own  new  monu- 
ment, which  he  had  hewn  out 


Et     ecce    velum     Templi 
scissum   est  in   duas  partes, 
a    summo    usque     deorsum. 
Et  terra  mota  est,   et  petrae 
scissae    sunt,   et  monumenta 
aperta  sunt :   et  multa    cor- 
pora   sanctorum,     qui     dor- 
mierant,     surrexerunt.       Et 
exeuntes      de      monumentis 
post     resurrectionem      ejus, 
venerunt  in    sanctam  civita- 
tem  et  apparuerunt    multis. 
Centurio   autem,  et  qui   cum 
eo    erant,     custodientes    Je- 
sum,    viso    terrae    motu,    et 
his   quae    fiebant,    timuerunt 
valde,  dicentes  :   Vere  Filius 
Dei  erat  iste.     Erant  autem 
ibi    mulieres  multae  a  longe, 
quae    secutae  erant  Jesum  a 
Galilaea  ministrantes   ei  :  in- 
ter   quas  erat  Maria    Mag- 
dalene,   et   Maria    Jacobi   et 
Joseph  mater,    et  mater    fi- 
liorum   Zebedaei.     Cum  sero 
autem    factum    esset,    venit 
quidam      homo      dives      ab 
Arimathaea,    nomine  Joseph, 
qui   et   ipse    discipulus    erat 
Jesu.     Hie  accessit  ad  Pila- 
tum,    et   petiit   corpus  Jesu. 
Tunc     Pilatus    jussit     reddi 
corpus.     Et  accepto  corpore, 
Joseph  involvit  illud  in  sin- 
done  munda  :    et  posuit  illud 
in    monumento     suo     novo, 
quod  exciderat  in  petra.    Et 
advolvit  saxum  magnum  ad 


234 


HOLY    WEEK. 


ostium  monumenti,  et  abiit. 
Erant  autem  ibi  Maria  Mag- 
dalene, et  altera  Maria,  se- 
dentes  contra  sepulchrum. 


in  a  rock.  And  he  rolled  a 
great  stone  to  the  door  of  the 
monument,  and  went  his  way. 
And  there  was  there  Mary- 
Magdalen,  and  the  other  Mary 
sitting  over  against  the  se- 
pulchre. 


That  the  Mass  of  this  Sunday  may  not  be  deprived 
of  that  essential  rite,  which  we  call  the  Gospel,  the 
Deacon  reserves  a  portion  of  his  narrative  ;  and  going 
to  the  Altar,  he  asks  the  Priest  to  bless  the  Incense. 
Which  done,  the  Deacon  himself  also  having  received 
the  Priest's  blessing,  goes  to  the  place  appointed  for 
chanting  the  Grospel  ;  but  the  Acolytes  do  not  carry 
their  Lights.  After  having  thurified  the  book,  he 
thus  closes  the  history  of  the  Passion. 


Altera  autem  die,  quae 
est  post  Parasceven,  conve- 
nerunt  principes  sacerdo- 
tum,  et  pharisaei  ad  Pilatum, 
dicentes  :  Domine,  recorda- 
ti  sumus,  quia  seductor  ille 
dixit  adhuc  vivens  :  Post 
tres  dies  resurgam.  Jube 
ergo  custodiri  sepulchrum 
usque  in  diem  tertium  ;  ne 
forte  veniant  discipuli  ejus 
et  furentur  eum  :  et  dicant 
plebi  :  Surrexit  a  mortuis.  Et 
erit  novissimus  error  pejor 
priore.  Ait  illis  Pilatus  :  Ha- 
betis  custodiam  :  ite,  et  cus- 
todite  sicut  scitis.  Illi  au- 
tem abeuntes,  munierunt 
sepulchrum,  signantes  la- 
pidem,  cum  custodibus. 


And  the  next  day,  which 
followed  the  day  of  prepara- 
tion, the  chief  priests  and  the 
Pharisees  came  together  to 
Pilate,  saying :  Sir,  we  have 
remembered,  that  that  seducer 
said,  while  he  was  yet  alive  : 
After  three  days  I  will  rise 
again.  Command  therefore 
the  sepulchre  to  be  guarded 
until  the  third  day :  lest  per- 
haps his  disciples  come  and 
steal  him  away,  and  say  to  the 
people  he  is  risen  from  the 
dead :  and  the  last  error  shall 
be  worse  than  the  first.  Pilate 
said  to  them  :  You  have  a 
guard  ;  go,  guard  it  as  you 
know.  And  they  departing, 
made  the  sepulchre  sure, 
sealing  the  stone,  and  setting 
guards. 


The  Offertory  is  again  a  prophecy  by  David.  It 
foretells  the  state  of  abandonment,  to  which  our 
Saviour  was  to  be  reduced  in  the  midst  of  all  his 


PALM   SUNDAY  :    MASS.  235 

Sufferings,  and  the  cruelty  of  his  enemies,  who  would 
feed  him  with  gall  and  vinegar.  Thus  is  He  treated 
who  is  preparing  to  give  us  his  Body  for  our  food, 
and  his  Blood  for  our  drink. 

OFFERTORY. 

My  heart  hath  expected  re-  Improperium     exspectavit 

proach  and  misery :     and  I  cor  meum,   et  miseriam :    et 

looked    for  one    that  would  sustinui    qui    simul  mecum 

grieve  together  with  me ;  but  contristaretur,   et  non   f uit : 

there  was  none  :    and  for  one  consolantem  me  qusesivi,  et 

that  would  comfort  me,  and  I  non  inveni  :    et  dederunt  in 

found  none :    they  gave  me  escam  meam  fel,   et  in  siti 

gall  for  my  food,   and  in  my  mea  potaverunt  me  aceto. 
thirst  they  gave  me  vinegar 
to  drink. 

The  Secret  asks  of  (rod,  that  he  would  impart  to 
his  servants  the  twofold  fruit  of  Jesus'  Passion : 
grace  in  this  life,  and  glory  in  the  next. 

SECRET. 

Grant,  we  beseech  thee,  O  Concede,  qusesumus,  Do- 
Lord,  that  what  hath  been  mine,  ut  oculis  tuse  majes- 
offered  in  the  presence  of  thy  tatis  munus  oblatum,  et 
Divine  Majesty  may  procure  gratiam  nobis  devotionis 
us  the  grace  of  devotion,  and  obtineat,  et  effectum  beatae 
effectually  obtain  a  blessed  perennitatis  acquirat.  Per 
eternity.     Through,  &c.  Dominum. 

In  the  Communion-Anthem,  the  Church, — after 
receiving  into  herself  the  life  of  Christ  by  the  chalice 
of  salvation, — calls  to  our  minds  that  other  Chalice, 
which  Jesus  was  to  drink,  in  order  that  he  might 
gift  us  with  immortality. 

COMMUNION. 

Father,  if  this  cup  cannot  Pater,  si  non  potest  hie 
pass  away,  but  I  must  drink  calix  transire,  nisi  bibam 
it,  thy  will  be  done.  ilium  :  fiat  voluntas  tua. 


236 


HOLY   WEEK. 


The  Church  concludes  the  prayers  of  the  Sacri- 
fice she  has  just  been  offering,  by  asking  the  remis- 
sion of  sin  for  all  her  children,  and  that  they  may 
see  fulfilled  that  longing  of  their  souls, — a  share  in 
the  glorious  Resurrection  of  Jesus. 


POSTCOMMUNION. 


Per  hujus,  Domine,  ope- 
rationem  mysterii,  et  vitia 
nostra  purgentur,  et  justa 
desideria  compleantur.  Per 
Dominum. 


May  our  vices,  O  Lord,  be 
destroyed,  and  our  righteous 
desires  fulfilled  by  the  efficacy 
of  these  mysteries.  Through, 
&c. 


VESPERS. 


The  Psalms  and  Antiphon  are  given  in  page  78. 


CAPITULUM. 


{Phil. 

Fratres,  Hoc  enim  sentite 
in  vobis,  quod  et  in  Christo 
Jesu :  qui  cum  in  forma  Dei 
esset,  non  rapinam  arbitra- 
tes est  esse  se  sequalem 
Deo  :  sed  semetipsum  exi- 
nanivit,  formam  servi  ac- 
cipiens,  in  similitudinem 
hominum  f actus,  et  habitu 
inventus  ut  homo. 


ILJ 

Brethren :  For  let  this  mind 
be  in  you,  which  was  also  in 
Christ  Jesus  ;  who  being  in 
the  form  of  God,  thought  it 
not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God,  but  emptied  himself, 
taking  the  form  of  a  servant, 
being  made  in  the  likeness  of 
men,  and  in  habit  found  as  a 
man. 


For  the  Hymn  and  Yersicle,  see  page*  85 — 86. 
antiphon  or  the  Magnificat. 

For  it  is  written  :  I  will 
strike  the  shepherd,  and  the 
sheep  of  the  flock  shall  be  dis- 
persed :  but  after  I  shall  be 
risen  again,  I  will  go  before 
you  into  Galilee  :  there  ye 
shall  see  me,  saith  the  Lord. 


Scriptum  est  enim  :  Per- 
cutiam  pastorem,  et  disper- 
gentur  oves  gregis  :  post- 
quam  autem  resurrexero, 
prsecedam  vos  in  Galiloeam  : 
ibi  me  videbitis,  dicit  Do- 
minus. 


PALM    SUNDAY!    AFTER   VESPERS.  237 


LET  US  PRAY.  0REMUS. 

O  Almighty  and  Eternal  Omnipotens  sempiterne 
God,  who  wouldst  have  our  Deus,  qui  humano  generi 
Saviour  become  man,  and  ad  imitandum  humilitatis 
suffer  on  a  cross,  to  give  man-  exemplum,  Salvatorem  nos- 
kind  an  example  of  humility ;  trum  carnem  sumere  et 
mercifully  grant  that  we  may  crucem  subire  fecisti,  con- 
improve  by  the  example  of  his  cede  propitius  ;  ut  et  pa- 
patience,  and  partake  of  his  tientise  ipsius  habere  docu- 
resurrection.  Through  the  menta,  et  resurrectionis 
same,  &c.  consortia     mereamur.        Per 

eumdem. 

Let  us  now  go  over  in  our  minds  the  other  events, 
which  happened  to  our  Divine  Lord  on  this  day  of  his 
solemn  Entry  into  Jerusalem.  St.  Luke  tells  us,  that 
it  was  on  his  approach  to  the  City,  that  Jesus  wept 
over  it,  and  spoke  these  touching  words  :  If  thou 
also  hadst  known,  and  that  in  this  thy  day,  the 
things  that  are  to  thy  peace !  But  now  they  are 
hidden  from  thine  eyes.  For  the  days  shall  come 
upon  thee,  and  thine  enemies  shall  cast  a  trench 
about  thee,  and  compass  thee  round,  and  straiten 
thee  on  every  side,  and  beat  thee  flat  to  the  ground, 
and  thy  children  who  are  in  thee ;  and  they  shall 
not  leave  in  thee  a  stone  upon  a  stone ;  because 
thou  hast  not  known  the  time  of  thy  visitation.1 

A  few  days  ago,  we  were  reading  in  the  holy 
G-ospel,  how  Jesus  wept  over  the  tomb  of  Lazarus ; 
to-day  he  sheds  tears  over  Jerusalem.  At  Bethania, 
his  weeping  was  caused  by  the  sight  of  bodily  death, 
the  consequence  and  punishment  of  sin ;  but  this 
death  is  not  irremediable  :  Jesus  is  the  resurrection 
and  the  life,  and  he  that  believeth  in  Him  shall 
live.2  Whereas,  the  state  of  the  unfaithful  Jeru- 
salem is  a  figure  of  the  death  of  the  soul,  and  from 
this  there  is  no  resurrection,  unless  the  soul,  whilst 

1  St.  Luke,  xix.  42-44.  2  St.  John,  xi.  25. 


238 


HOLY   WEEK. 


time  is  given  to  her,  return  to  the  Author  of  life. 
Hence  it  is,  that  the  tears  shed  by  Jesus,  over 
Jerusalem,  are  so  bitter.  Amidst  the  acclamations 
which  greet  his  Entry  into  the  City  of  David,  his 
heart  is  sad  ;  for  he  sees  that  many  of  her  inhabitants 
will  not  profit  of  the  time  of  her  visitation.  Let  us 
console  the  Heart  of  our  Jesus,  and  be  to  him  a 
faithful  Jerusalem. 

The  sacred  historian  tells  us,  that  Jesus,  imme- 
diately upon  his   entrance  into   the   City,  went   to 
the  Temple,  and   cast  out  all  them  that  sold  and 
bought  there.1     This  was  the  second  time  that  he 
had  shown  his  authority  in  his  Father's  House,  and 
no  one  had  dared  to  resist  him.     The  Chief  Priests 
and  Pharisees  found  fault  with  him,  and  accused 
him  to  his  face  of  causing  confusion  by  his  entry 
into  the  City  ;   but  our  Lord  confounded  them  by 
the  reply  he  made.     It  is  thus,  that  in   after  ages, 
when  it  has  pleased   God  to  glorify  his  Son  and  the 
Church  of  his  Son,  the  enemies  of  both  have  given 
vent  to  their  rage  ;  they  protested  against  the  tri- 
umph, but  they  could  not  stop  it.     But,  when  Grod, 
in  the  unsearchable   ways   of  his   wisdom,  allowed 
persecution  and  trial  to  follow  these  periods   of  tri- 
umph, then  did  these  bitter  enemies  redouble  their 
efforts  to   induce   the  very   people,  that  had   cried 
Hosanna  to   the   Son  of  David,  to    clamour   for  his 
being  delivered  up  and  crucified.     They  succeeded 
in   fomenting   persecution,    but    not  in   destroying 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  his  Church.     The  king- 
dom  seemed,    at  times,   to  be    interrupted   in   its 
progress  ;  but  the  time  for  another  triumph  came. 
Thus  will  it  be   to   the   end  ;   aud  then,   after  all 
these  changes  from  glory  to  humiliation,  and  from 
humiliation  to  glory,  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  and  his 
Spouse  will  gain  the  last  and  eternal  triumph  over 

1  St.  Matth.  xi.  25. 


PALM  SUNDAY  :  AFTER  VESPERS.        239 

this  world,  which  would  not  know  the  time   of  its 
visitation. 

We  learn  from  St.  Matthew,1  that  our  Saviour 
spent  the  remainder  of  this  day  at  Bethania.  His 
Blessed  Mother  and  the  house  of  Lazarus  were  com- 
forted by  his  return.  There  was  not  a  single  offer 
of  hospitality  made  to  him  in  Jerusalem,  at  least, 
there  is  no  mention  in  the  Grospel  of  any  such  being 
offered.  We  cannot  help  making  the  reflection,  as 
we  meditate  upon  this  event  of  our  Lord's  life  : — 
an  enthusiastic  reception  is  given  to  him  in  the 
morning,  he  is  proclaimed  by  the  people  as  their 
King  ;  but  when  the  evening  of  that  day  comes  on, 
there  is  not  one  of  all  those  thousands  to  offer  him 
food  or  lodging.  In  the  Carmelite  Monasteries  of 
St.  Teresa's  Reform,  there  is  a  custom,  which  has 
been  suggested  by  this  thought,  and  is  intended  as  a 
reparation  for  this  ingratitude  shown  to  our  Re- 
deemer. A  table  is  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
Refectory  ;  and  after  the  Community  have  finished 
their  dinner,  the  food,  which  was  placed  upon  that 
table,  is  distributed  among  the  poor,  and  Jesus  is 
honoured  in  them. 


We  give,  as  a  conclusion  to  this  day,  a  selection 
from  the  hymn  used  by  the  Greek  Church  on  Palm 
Sunday.  It  was  written  by  the  celebrated  hymno- 
grapher,  Cosmas  of  Jerusalem. 

HYMN. 

(In  Dominica  Palmarum.) 

Lo !  the  God  that  sitteth,  Qui  in  altissimis  sedet 
in  the  highest  heavens,  upon    super     Cherubim      Deus    et 

1  St.  Matth.  xxi.  17. 


240 


HOLY    WEEK. 


humilia  respicit,  ecce  venit 
in  gloria  cum  potestate,  et 
replebuntur  omnia  divina 
laude  ipsius.  Pax  super  Is- 
rael, et  salutare  gentibus. 

Clamaverunt  in  lsetitia  jus- 
torum  animse  :  Nunc  mun- 
do  testamentum  novum  dis- 
ponitur,  et  aspersione  in- 
novatur  populus  divini  san- 
guinis. 

Genu  flexo  populi  et  cum 
discipulis  gaudentes,  cum 
palmis  Hosanna  filio  Da- 
vid clamabant :  Superlau- 
dabilis  Domine  Deus  pa- 
trum,  benedictus  es. 

Simplex  multitudo,  adhuc 
infantilis  aetas,  ut  Deum 
decet,  te  rex  Israel  et  Ange- 
lorum  laudavit :  Superlau- 
dabilis  Domine  Deus  pa- 
trum,  benedictus  es. 

Juvenum  pullum  ascen- 
dens  rex  tuus  Sion  adstitit 
Christus.  Irrationabilem  e- 
nim  idolorum  errorum  sol- 
vere, effrsenum  impetum 
compescere  omnium  gen- 
tium advenit,  ut  cantent : 
Benedicite,  opera,  Domi- 
num,  et  superexaltate  in 
omnia  ssecula. 

Deus  tuus  regnavit  in  sse- 
cula  Christus.  Iste,  ut  scrip - 
turn  est,  mitis  et  salvator, 
Justus  redemptor  noster  ve- 
nit super  pullo  equitans, 
ut  audaciam  perderet  ini- 
micorum  non  clamantium : 
Benedicite,  opera,  Dominum, 
et  superexaltate  in  omnia 
ssecula. 


the  Cherubim,  and  looketh 
down  on  lowly  things,  cometh 
in  glory  and  power ;  all  crea- 
tures are  full  of  his  divine 
praise.  Peace  upon  Israel,  and 
Salvation  to  the  Gentiles  ! 

The  souls  of  the  just  cried 
out  with  joy  :  Now  is  pre- 
pared a  new  Covenant  for  the 
world,  and  mankind  is  re- 
newed by  the  sprinkling  of 
the  Divine  Blood ! 

The  people  fell  upon  their 
knees,  and,  rejoicing  with  the 
Disciples,  sang,  with  palms  in 
their  hands :  Hosanna  to  the 
Son  of  David  !  Praiseworthy 
and  blessed  art  thou,  0  Lord 
God  of  our  Fathers  ! 

The  simple-hearted  people, 
yea,  and  little  children,  (the 
fittest  to  adore  a  God,)  praised 
thee  as  King  of  Israel  and 
Angels  :  Praiseworthy  and 
blessed  art  thou,  O  Lord  God 
of  our  Fathers ! 

0  Sion !  there  came  to  thee 
Christ,  thy  King,  seated  on  a 
young  colt :  for  he  came  that 
he  might  loosen  mankind  from 
the  senseless  error  of  idolatry, 
and  tame  the  wild  passions  of 
all  nations ;  that  thus  they 
might  praise  thee,  singing : 
Bless  the  Lord,  all  ye  his 
works,  and  extol  him  above 
all  for  ever  ! 

Christ  thy  Lord  hath  reigned 
for  ever.  He,  as  it  is  written, 
the  meek  one,  the  Saviour,  our 
Just  Eedeemer,  came  riding 
on  an  ass's  colt,  that  he  might 
destroy  the  pride  of  his  ene- 
mies, who  would  not  sing 
these  words  :  Bless  the  Lord, 
all  ye  his  works,  and  extol  him 
above  all  for  ever ! 


PALM    SUNDAY  I    AFTER   VESPERS. 


241 


The  unjust  and  obstinate 
Sanhedrim  the  usurpers  of 
the  Holy  Temple,  are  put  to 
flight  ;  for  they  had  made 
God's  House  of  prayer  a  den 
of  thieves,  and  shut  their 
hearts  against  the  Redeemer, 
to  whom  we  cry  :  bless  the 
Lord,  all  ye  his  works,  and 
extol  him  above  all  for  ever  ! 

God  is  our  Lord,  he  hath 
appeared  unto  us.  Appoint 
a  solemn  feast,  and  come,  let 
us  rejoice  and  magnify  the 
Christ,  praising  him,  with 
palms  and  branches  in  our 
hands  :  Blessed  is  he  that 
cometh  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  our  Saviour ! 

Why,  O  ye  Gentiles,  have  ye 
raged  against  the  Scriptures  ? 
Why,  0  ye  Priests,  have  ye 
devised  vain  things,  saying  ; 
Who  is  this,  unto  whom  chil- 
dren, with  palms  and  branches 
in  their  hands,  cry  aloud  this 
praise  :  Blessed  is  he  that 
cometh  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  our  Saviour  ? 

Why,  O  ye  perverse  of  heart, 
have  ye  thrown  stumbling- 
blocks  in  the  way  ?  Your  feet 
are  swift  to  shed  the  Blood  of 
the  Lord.  But  he  will  rise 
again,  that  he  may  save  all 
that  cry  to  him  :  Blessed  is  he 
that  cometh  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  our  Saviour  ! 


Dissipatur  sacri  Templi 
iniquum  Synedrium  contu- 
macium  ;  orationis  enim  Dei 
domum  speluncam  effece- 
rant  latronum,  a  corde  Re- 
demptorem  excludentes, 

cui  clamamus  :  Benedicite, 
opera,  Dominum,  et  super- 
exaltate  in  omnia  saecula. 

Deus  Dominus,  et  appa- 
ruit  nobis ;  constituite  diem 
solemnem,  et  exsultantes 
venite,  magnificemus  Chri- 
stum, cum  palmis  et  ramis 
laudibus  clamantes :  Bene- 
dictus  qui  venit  in  nomine 
Domini  Salvatoris  nostri. 

Gentes,  ut  quid  fremuistis 
in  Scripturas  ?  et  sacerdo- 
tes,  ut  quid  inania  meditati 
estis,  dicentes  :  Quis  est  iste 
cui  pueri  cum  palmis  et 
ramis  laudibus  clamant  : 
Benedictus  qui  venit  in 
nomine  Domini  Salvatoris 
nostri  ? 

Scandala  semitas  occu- 
pantia  quid  vos  ponitis  im- 
morigeri  ?  Veloces  pedes 
vestri  ad  effundendum  san- 
guinem  Domini.  Sed  resur- 
get  ut  salvet  omnes  qui  cla- 
mant :  Benedictus  qui  venit 
in  nomine  Domini  Salvato- 
ris nostri. 


242  HOLY   WEEK. 


MONDAY 

IN    HOLY   WEEK. 


This  morning,  also,  Jesus  goes  with  his  Disciples  to 
Jerusalem.  He  is  fasting,  for  the  Gospel  tells  us, 
that  he  was  hungry}  He  approaches  a  fig-tree, 
which  is  by  the  way-side  ;  but  finds  nothing  on  it, 
save  leaves  only.  Jesus,  wishing  to  give  us  an  in- 
struction, curses  the  fig-tree,  which  immediately 
withers  away.  He  would  hereby  teach  us  what 
they  are  to  expect,  who  have  nothing  but  good 
desires,  and  never  produce  in  themselves  the  fruit  of 
a  real  conversion.  Nor  is  the  allusion  to  Jerusalem 
less  evident.  This  City  is  zealous  for  the  exterior 
of  Divine  Worship  ;  but  her  heart  is  hard  and  ob- 
stinate, and  she  is  plotting,  at  this  very  hour,  the 
death  of  the  Son  of  God. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  day  is  spent  in  the 
Temple,  where  Jesus  holds  long  conversations  with 
the  Chief  Priests  and  Ancients  of  the  people.  His 
language  to  them  is  stronger  than  ever,  and  triumphs 
over  all  t-heir  captious  questions.  It  is  principally 
in  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,2  that  we  shall  find 
these  answers  of  our  Redeemer,  which  so  energeti- 
cally accuse  the  Jews  of  their  sin  of  rejecting  the 
Messias,  and  so  plainly  f  oretel  the  punishment  their 
sin  is  to  bring  after  it. 

1  St.  Matth.  xxi.  18.  2  Chapters  xxi.  xxii.  and  xxiii. 


MONDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK.  243 

At  length,  Jesus  leaves  the  Temple,  and  takes  the 
road  that  leads  to  Bethania.  Having  come  as  far  as 
Mount  Olivet,  which  commands  a  view  of  Jerusalem, 
he  sits  down,  and  rests  awhile.  The  Disciples  make 
this  an  opportunity  for  asking  him,  how  soon  the 
chastisements  he  has  been  speaking  of  in  the  Temple 
will  come  upon  the  City.  His  answer  comprises  two 
events  :  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  final 
destruction  of  the  world.  He  thus  teaches  them  that 
the  first  is  a  figure  of  the  second.  The  time  when  each 
is  to  happen,  is  to  be  when  the  measure  of  iniquity 
is  filled  up.  But,  with  regard  to  the  chastisement 
that  is  to  befal  Jerusalem,  he  gives  this  more  defi- 
nites  answer  :  Amen  I  say  to  you  :  this  generation 
shall  not  pass,  till  all  these  things  be  done}  History 
tells  us  how  this  prophecy  of  Jesus  was  fulfilled  : 
forty  years  had  scarcely  elapsed  after  his  Ascension, 
when  the  Roman  army  encamped  on  this  very  place 
where  he  is  now  speaking  to  his  Disciples,  and  laid 
siege  to  the  ungrateful  and  wicked  City.  After 
giving  a  prophetic  description  of  that  Last  Judgment, 
which  is  to  rectify  all  the  unjust  judgments  of  men, 
he  leaves  Mount  Olivet,  returns  to  Bethania,  and 
consoles  the  anxious  heart  of  his  most  holy  Mother. 

The  Station,  at  Rome,  is  in  the  Church  of  Saint 
Praxedes.  It  was  in  this  Church,  that  Pope  Paschal 
the  Second,sin  the  9th  century,  placed  two  thousand 
three  hundred  bodies  of  holy  Martyrs,  which  he  had 
ordered  to  be  taken  out  of  the  Catacombs.  The 
Pillar,  to  which  our  Saviour  was  tied  during  his 
scourging,^  is  also  here. 


1  St.  Matth.  xxiv.  34. 


244 


HOLY   WEEK. 


MASS. 

The  Introit  is  taken  front  the  34th  Psalm.  Jesus, 
by  these  words  of  the  Royal  Prophet,  prays  to  his 
Eternal  Father,  that  he  would  defend  him  against 
his  enemies. 

INTROIT. 


Judica,  Domine,  nocentes 
me,  expugna  impugnantes 
me  :  apprehende  arma  et 
scutum,  et  exsurge  in  adju- 
torium  meum,  Domine  vir- 
tus salutis  meae. 

Ps.     Effunde  frameam,  et 
conclude    adversus    eos    qui 
persequuntur  me : 
mse  meae :     Salus 
sum. 

Judica,  Domine. 


die  ani- 
tua    ego 


Judge  thou,  O  Lord,  them 
that  wrong  me;  overthrow 
them  that  fight  against  me  : 
take  hold  of  arms  and  shield, 
and  rise  up  to  help  me,  O 
Lord,  my  mighty  deliverer. 

Ps.  Bring  out  the  sword, 
and  shut  up  the  way  against 
them  that  persecute  me ;  say 
to  my  soul,  I  am  thy  salva- 
tion. 

Judge  thou,  &c. 


In  the  Collect,  the  Church  teaches  us  to  have  re- 
course to  the  merits  of  our  Saviour's  Passion,  in  order 
that  we  may  obtain  from  Grod  the  help  we  stand  in 
need  of  amidst  our  many  miseries. 


COLLECT. 


Da,  quaesumus,  omnipo- 
tens  Deus  :  ut,  qui  in  tot  ad- 
versis  ex  nostra  infirmitate 
deficimus,  intercedente  Uni- 
geniti  Filii  tui  Passione  re- 
spiremus.     Qui  tecum. 


Grant,  we  beseech  thee,  0 
Almighty  God,  that  we,  who 
through  our  weakness,  faint 
under  so  many  adversities, 
may  recover  by  the  Passion 
of  thy  Only  Begotten  Son. 
"Who  liveth,  &c. 


Then  is  added  one  of  the  following  Collects. 


AGAINST   THE    PERSECUTORS    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

Ecclesiae      tuae,      quaesu-        Mercifully  hear,  we  beseech 
mus,   Domine,    preces,    pla-     thee,  0  Lord,  the  prayers  of 


MONDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


245 


thy  Church :  that,  all  opposi- 
tions and  errors  being  re- 
moved, she  may  serve  thee 
with  a  secure  liberty. 
Through,  &c. 


catus  admitte :  ut,  destruc- 
tis  adversitatibus  et  er- 
roribus  universis,  secura 
tibi  serviat  libertate.  Per 
Dominum. 


FOR   THE    POPE. 


O  God,  the  Pastor  and 
Euler  of  all  the  Faithful,  look 
down,  in  thy  mercy,  on  thy 
servant  N. ,  whom  thou  hast 
appointed  Pastor  over  thy 
Church  ;  and  grant  we  be- 
seech thee,  that  both  by  word 
and  example,  he  may  edify  all 
those  that  are  under  his 
charge  :  and,  with  the  flock 
intrusted  to  him,  arrive  at 
length  at  eternal  happiness. 
Through,  &c. 


Deus,  omnium  fidelium 
Pastor  et  Eector,  famulum 
tuum  N.,  quern  Pastorem 
Ecclesise  tuse  praeesse  vo- 
luisti,  propitius  respice  : 
da  ei,  qusesumus,  verbo 
et  exemplo,  quibus  prae- 
est,  proficere  ;  ut  ad  vitam, 
una  cum  grege  sibi  credi- 
to,  perveniat  sempiternam. 
Per  Dominum. 


EPISTLE. 


Lesson     from    Isaias 
Prophet. 

Ch.  L. 


the        Lectio  Isaiae  Prophetse. 


In  those  days,  Isaias  said  : 
The  Lord  hath  opened  my 
ear,  making  knoivn  his  ivill  to 
me,  and  I  do  not  resist :  I  have 
not  gone  back.  I  have  given 
my  body  to  the  strikers,  and 
my  cheeks  to  them  that  pluck- 
ed them  :  I  have  not  turned 
away  my  face  from  them  that 
rebuked  me,  and  spit  upon 
me.  The  Lord  God  is  my 
helper,  therefore  am  I  not 
confounded.  He  is  near  that 
justifieth  me,  who  will  con- 
tend with  me  ?  let  us  stand 
together.  Who  is  my  adver- 
sary ?  let  him  come  near  to 
me.  Behold  the  Lord  God  is 
my  helper :    who  is  he  that 


Cap.  L. 

In  diebus  illis  :  Dixit 
Isaias  :  Dominus  Deus  ape- 
ruit  mihi  aurem :  ego  au- 
tem  non  contradico :  re- 
trorsum  non  abii.  Corpus 
meum  dedi  percutientibus, 
et  genas  meas  vellentibus. 
Faciem  meam  non  averti 
ab  increpantibus  et  conspu- 
entibus  in  me.  Dominus 
Deus  auxiliator  meus,  ideo 
non  sum  confusus.  Ideo 
posui  faciem  meam  ut  pe- 
tram  durissimam  :  et  scio 
quoniam  non  confundar. 
Juxta  est  qui  justificat  me  : 
quis  contradicet  mihi  ?  Ste- 
mus  simul  :  quis  est  adver- 
sarius    meus  ?    Accedat    ad 


246  HOLY  WEEK. 

me.      Ecce  Dominus  Deus,  shall  condemn  me  ?    Lo,  they 

auxiliator   meus  :      quis    est  shall  all  be    destroyed   as  a 

qui   condemnet  me  ?     Ecce,  garment,  the  moth  shall  eat 

omnes     quasi     vesthnentum  them  up.  Who  is  there  among 

conterentur :     tinea  comedet  you  that  feareth  the  Lord, 

eos.      Quis  ex  vobis   timens  that  heareth  the  voice  of  his 

Dominum,      audiens    vocem  servant?    He  that  hath  walk  - 

servi   sui  ?      Qui   ambulavit  ed  in  darkness,  and  hath  no 

in  tenebris,    et   non   est  lu-  light,    let  him  hope  in  the 

men    ei,    speret    in  nomine  name  of  the  Lord,   and  lean 

Domini    et    innitatur  super  upon  his  God. 
Deum  suum. 

The  Sufferings  of  our  Redeemer,  and  the  patience 

wherewith  he  is  to  bear  them,  are  thus  prophesied 

by  Isaias,  who  is  always  so  explicit  on  the   Passion. 

Jesus  has  accepted  the  office  of  victim  for  the  world's 

salvation  ;  he  shrinks  from  no  pain  or  humiliation  : 

he   turns   not   his   Face  from    them    that   strike  him 

and  spit  upon  him.     What  reparation    can  we  make 

to  this  Infinite  Majesty,  who,  that  he  might  save  us, 

submitted  to  such  outrages  as  these  ?     Observe  these 

vile  and  cruel  enemies  of  our  Divine  Lord  :  now  that 

they  have   him  in  their  power,  they  fear  him  not. 

When  they  came  to  seize  him  in  the  Grarden,  he  had 

but  to  speak,  and  they  fell  back  upon  the  ground  ; 

but  he  has  now  permitted  them  to  bind  his  hands 

and  lead  him  to  the  High  Priest.     They  accuse  him  ; 

they  cry  out  against  him  ;  and  he  answers  but  a  few 

words.     Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  great  Teacher,  the 

wonder-worker,  has  seemingly  lost  all  his  influence  ; 

they  can  do  what   they  will  with   him.     It  is  thus 

with   the   sinner ;    when  the   thunder-storm  is  over, 

and  the  lightning  has  not  struck  him,  he  regains  his 

courage.     The  holy  Angels  look  on  with  amazement 

at  the  treatment  shown  by  the  Jews  to  Jesus,  and 

falling  down,  they  adore  the  Holy  Face,  which  they 

see  thus  bruised  and  defiled  :   let  us,  also,  prostrate 

and  ask  pardon,  for  our  sins  have^outraged  that  same 

Face. 


MONDAY   IN    HOLY   WEEK.  247 

But  let  us  hearken  to  the  last  words  of  our  Epistle  : 
He  that  hath  walked  in  darkness,  and  hath  no  light, 
let  him  hope  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  and  lean  upon 
his  God.  "Who  is  this  hut  the  Gentile,  abandoned  to 
sin  and  idolatry  ?  He  knows  not  what  is  happening 
at  this  very  hour  in  Jerusalem  ;  he  knows  not  that 
the  earth  possesses  its  Saviour,  and  that  this  Saviour 
is  being  trampled  beneath  the  feet  of  his  own  chosen 
people  :  but,  in  a  very  short  time,  the  light  of  the 
Gospel  will  shine  upon  this  poor  G-entile  :  he  will 
believe ;  he  will  obey  ;  he  will  love  his  Redeemer, 
even  to  the  laying  down  his  life  for  him.  Then  will 
be  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  the  unworthy  Pontiff, 
who  prophesied  against  his  will  that  the  death  of 
Jesus  would  bring  salvation  to  the  Gentiles,  by  gather- 
ing  into  one  family  the  children  of  God,  that  hitherto 
had  been  dispersed} 

In  the  Gradual,  the  Royal  Prophet  again  calls 
down,  on  the  executioners  of  our  Lord,  the  chastise- 
ments they  have  deserved  by  their  ingratitude  and 
their  obstinacy  in  sin. 

The  Tract  is  the  one  used  by  the  Church  on  every 
Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday,  during  Lent.  It 
is  a  prayer,  begging  God  to  bless  the  works  of  pen- 
ance done  during  this  holy  Season. 

GRADUAL. 

Arise,  O  Lord,  and  be  at-  Exsurge,   Domine,   et  in- 

tentive  to  my  trial ;    my  God  tende    judicio     meo,      Deus 

and  my  Lord,    undertake  my  meus   et   Dominus  meus,  in 

cause.  causam  meam. 

^.     Draw  thy  sword,  and  f.     Effunde   frameam,    et 

stop  those  that  are  in  pursuit  conclude    ad  versus    eos    qui 

of  me.  me  persequuntur. 

TRACT. 

f.    O  Lord,  deal  not  with  us        ^.     Domine,  non  secundum 
according  to  our  sins,   which     peccata  nostra,  quae  fecimus 

1  St.  John,  xi.  52. 

T 


248 


HOLY    WEEK. 


nos :  neque  secundum  ini- 
quitates  nostras  retribuas 
nobis. 

$.  Domine,  ne  memine- 
ris  iniquitatum  nostrarum 
antiquarum  :  cito  antici- 
pent  nos  misericordise  tuse, 
quia  pauperes  facti  sumus 
nimis. 

^.  Adjuva  nos,  Deus  salu- 
taris  noster  :  et  propter  glo- 
riam  Nominis  tui,  Domine, 
libera  nos :  et  propitius  esto 
peccatis  nostris  propter  No- 
men  tuum. 


we  have  done,  nor  reward  us 
according  to  our  iniquities. 

#.0  Lord,  remember  not 
our  former  iniquities :  let  thy 
mercies  speedily  prevent  us, 
for  we  are  become  exceeding 
poor. 

y.  Help  us,  O  God,  our 
Saviour  :  and  for  the  glory  of 
thy  Name,  O  Lord,  deliver 
us :  and  forgive  us  our  sins, 
for  thy  Name's  sake. 


GOSPEL. 


Sequentia  sancti  Evangelii 
secundum    Joannem. 
Cap.  XII. 

Ante  sex  dies  Paschse  ve- 
nit  Jesus  Bethaniam,  ubi 
Lazarus  fuerat  mortuus, 
quern  suscitavit  Jesus.  Fe- 
cerunt  autem  ei  ccenam 
ibi :  et  Martha  ministra- 
bat ;  Lazarus  vero  unus  erat 
ex  discumbentibus  cum  eo. 
Maria  ergo  accepit  libram 
unguenti  nardi  pistici  pre- 
tiosi :  et  unxit  pedes  Jesu, 
et  extersit  pedes  ejus  ca- 
pillis  suis  ;  et  domus  imple- 
ta  est  ex  odore  unguenti. 
Dixit  ergo  unus  ex  disci - 
pulis  ejus,  Judas  Iscariotes, 
qui  erat  eum  traditurus : 
Quare  hoc  unguentum  non 
vseniit  trecentis  denariis,  et 
datum  est  egenis  ?  Dixit 
autem  hoc  non  quia  de 
egenis  pertinebat  ad  eum  : 
sed  quia  fur  erat,  et  loculos 
habens,  ea    quce    mitteban- 


Sequel  of  the  holy  Gospel 
according  to  John. 

Gh.  XII. 

Jesus,  six  days  before  the 
Pasch,  came  to  Bethania, 
where  Lazarus  had  been  dead, 
whom  Jesus  raised  to  life. 
And  they  made  him  a  supper 
there;  and  Martha  served,  but 
Lazarus  was  one  of  them  that 
were  at  table  with  him.  Mary 
therefore  took  a  pound  of 
ointment  of  right  spikenard, 
of  great  price,  and  anointed 
the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  wiped 
his  feet  with  her  hair :  and 
the  house  was  filled  with  the 
odour  of  the  ointment.  Then 
one  of  his  disciples,  Judas 
Iscariot,  he  that  was  about  to 
betray  him,  said  :  Why  was 
not  this  ointment  sold  for 
three  hundred  pence,  and 
given  to  the  poor  ?  Now  he 
said  this,  not  because  he  cared 
for  the  poor,  but  because  he 
was  a  thief,  and,  having  the 


MONDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK.  249 

purse,  carried  the  things  that  tur,  portavit.  Dixit  ergo 
were  put  therein.  Jesus  there-  Jesus  :  Sinite  illam,  ut  m 
fore  said  :  Let  her  alone,  that  diem  sepulturse  mese  ser- 
she  may  keep  it  against  the  vet  illud.  Pauperes  enim 
day  of  my  burial  ;  for  the  semper  habetis  vobiscum : 
poor  you  have  always  with  me  autem  non  semper  ha- 
you,  but  me  you  have  not  betis.  Cognovit  ergo  turba 
always.  A  great  multitude  multa  ex  Judseis,  quia  illic 
therefore  of  the  Jews  knew  est :  et  venerunt,  non  prop- 
that  he  was  there  ;  and  they  ter  Jesum  tantum,  sed  ut 
came  not  for  Jesus'  sake  only,  Lazarum  viderent,  quern 
but  that  they  might  see  Laza-  suscitavit  a  mortuis. 
rus,  whom  he  had  raised  from 
the  dead. 

As  we  have  already  said,  the  event  related  in  this 
passage  of  the  Gospel  took  place  on  Saturday,  the 
eve  of  Palm  Sunday  ;  but,  as  formerly  there  was  no 
Station  for  that  day,  the  reading  of  this  Gospel  was 
deferred  till  the  following  Monday.  The  Church 
brings  this  episode  of  the  last  days  of  our  Saviour 
before  us,  because  it  enables  us  to  have  a  clearer 
understanding  of  the  history  of  the  Passion. 

Mary  Magdalene,  whose  conversion  was  the  subject 
of  our  meditation  a  few  days  back,  is  a  prominent 
figure  in  the  Passion  and  Resurrection  of  her  Divine 
Master.  She  is  the  type  of  a  soul  that  has  been 
purified  by  grace,  and  then  admitted  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  God's  choicest  favours.  It  is  of  importance 
that  we  study  her  in  each  of  the  several  phases, 
through  which  divine  grace  led  her.  We  have 
already  seen  how  she  keeps  close  to  her  Saviour 
and  supplies  his  sacred  wants  ;  elsewhere,  we  shall 
find  Jesus  giving  the  preference  to  her  over  her  sister 
Martha,  and  this  because  Mary  chose  a  better  part 
than  Martha  ;  but  now,  during  these  days  of  Passion- 
tide,  it  is  her  tender  love  for  Jesus  that  makes  her 
dear  to  us.  She  knows  that  the  Jews  are  plotting 
Jesus'  death  ;  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  guides  her  through 
the  different  degrees  of  perfection,  inspires  her,  on 
the  occasion  mentioned  iu  to-day's  Gospel,  to  the  per^ 


250 


HOLY   WEEK. 


formance  of  an  action  which  prophesied  what  she 
most  dreaded. 

One  of  the  three  gifts  offered  by  the  Magi  to  the 
Divine  Infant,  was  Myrrh  ;  it  is  an  emblem  of  death, 
and  the  Gospel  tells  us  that  it  was  used  at  the  Burial 
of  our  Lord.  Magdalene,  on  the  day  of  her  con- 
version, testified  the  earnestness  of  her  change  of 
heart  by  pouring  on  the  feet  of  Jesus  the  most  precious 
of  her  perfumes.  She  gives  him,  to-day,  the  same 
proof  of  her  love.  Her  divine  Master  is  invited  by 
Simon  the  Leper  to  a  feast :  his  Blessed  Mother  and 
his  Disciples  are  among  the  guests  :  Martha  is  busy, 
looking  after  the  service.  Outwardly,  there  is  no 
disturbance  ;  but  inwardly,  there  are  sad  forebod- 
ings. During  the  repast,  Magdalene  is  seen  enter- 
ing the  room,  holding  in  her  hand  a  vase  of  precious 
spikenard.  She  advances  towards  Jesus,  kneels  at 
his  feet,  anoints  them  with  the  perfume,  and  wipes 
them  with  her  hair,  as  on  the  previous  occasion. 

Jesus  lay  on  one  of  those  couches,  which  were  used 
by  the  Eastern  people  during  their  repasts.  Magda- 
lene, therefore,  could  easily  take  her  favourite  place 
at  His  feet,  and  give  him  the  same  proof  of  her 
love  as  she  had  already  done  in  the  Pharisee's 
house.  The  Evangelist  does  not  say  that  this  time, 
she  shed  tears.  St.  Matthew,1  and  St.  Mark2  add,  that 
she  poured  the  ointment  on  his  head  also  Whether 
or  no  Magdalene  herself  understood  the  full  import 
of  what  the  Holy  Grhost  inspired  her  to  do,  the 
Grospel  does  not  say  ;  but  Jesus  himself  revealed  the 
mystery  to  his  Disciples,  and  we  gather  from  his 
words  that  this  action  of  Magdalene  was,  in  a  certain 
manner,  the  commencement  of  his  Passion  :  She,  in 
pouring  this  ointment  upon  my  body,  hath  done  it 
for  my  burial.3 

The  fragrance  of  the  Ointment  fills   the   whole 


1  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  7.       2  St.  Mark,  xiv.  3.      3  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  12. 


MONDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK.  251 

house.  One  of  the  Disciples,  Judas  Iscariot,  dares  to 
protest  against  this  waste ,  as  he  calls  it.  His  base 
avarice  deprives  him  of  feeling  and  respect  for  his  Di- 
vine Master.  His  opinion  was  shared  in  by  several  of 
the  other  Disciples,  for  they  were  still  carnal-minded. 
For  several  reasons  Jesus  permits  Magdalene's 
generosity  to  be  thus  blamed.  And  firstly,  he  wishes 
to  announce  his  approaching  death  which  is  mysti- 
cally expressed  by  the  pouring  of  this  ointment  upon 
his  body.  Then,  too,  he  would  glorify  Magdalene  ; 
and  he  therefore  tells  them  that  are  present,  that  her 
tender  and  ardent  love  shall  be  rewarded,  and  that 
her  name  shall  be  celebrated  in  every  country, 
wheresoever  the  Gospel  shall  be  preached.1  And 
lastly,  he  would  console  those  whose  generous  love 
prompts  them  to  be  liberal  in  their  gifts  to  his 
Altars,  for  what  he  here  says  of  Magdalene  is,  in 
reality,  a  defence  for  them,  when  they  are  accused  of 
spending  too  much  over  the  beauty  of  God's  House. 

Let  us  prize  each  of  these  divine  teachings.  Let 
us  love  to  honour  Jesus,  both  in  his  own  person,  and 
in  his  poor.  Let  us  honour  Magdalene,  and  imitate 
her  devotion  to  the  Passion  and  Death  of  our  Lord. 
In  fine,  let  us  prepare  our  perfumes  for  our  Divine 
Master  :  there  must  be  the  Myrrh  of  the  Magi,  which 
signifies  penance,  and  the  precious  Spikenard  of 
Magdalene,  which  is  the  emblem  of  generous  and 
compassionating  love. 

In  the  Offertory,  our  Bedeemer  implores  his  Eter- 
nal Father  to  deliver  him  from  his  enemies,  and  to 
fulfil  the  decrees  regarding  the  salvation  of  mankind. 


OFFERTORY. 

Deliver  me  from  my  ene-        Eripe     me      de      inimicis 
mies,  O  Lord  ;  to  thee  have  I    meis,  Domine  :     ad  te  con- 

1  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  13. 


252 


HOLY    WEEK. 


fugi,  doce  me  facere    volun-     fled,  teach  me  to  do  thy  will, 
tatem    tuam  :       quia     Deus     because  thou  art  my  God. 
meus  es  tu. 

The  Secret  tells  us  the  wonderful  power  of  the 
Sacred  Mysteries.  Not  only  does  this  Sacrifice 
purify  our  souls  ;  it  also  raises  them  to  perfect  union 
with  Him  who  is  their  Creator. 

SECRET. 


Hsec  sacrificia  nos,  om- 
nipotens  Deus,  potenti  vir- 
tute  mundatos,  ad  suum 
faciant  puriores  venire  prin- 
cipium.     Per  Dominum. 


Grant,  0  Almighty  God, 
that  being  purified  by  the 
powerful  virtue  of  this  sacri- 
fice, we  may  arrive  with  greater 
purity  to  the  author  and  in- 
stitutor  thereof.  Through,  &c. 


Then  is  added  one  of  the  following  Prayers  : 


AGAINST    THE    PERSECUTORS     OF    THE    CHURCH. 


Protege  nos,  Domine, 
tuis  mysteriis  servientes : 
ut  divinis  rebus  inhseren- 
tes,  et  corpore  tibi  famule- 
mur  et  mente.  Per  Domi- 
num. 


Protect  us,  O  Lord,  while 
we  assist  at  thy  sacred  mys- 
teries :  that  being  employed 
in  acts  of  religion,  we  may 
serve  thee  both  in  body  and 
mind.     Through,  &c. 


FOR    THE    POPE. 


Oblatis,  qusesumus,  Do- 
mine, placare  muneribus : 
et  famulum  tuum  N.  quern 
Pastorem  Ecclesise  tuse 
praeesse  voluisti,  assidua 
protectione  guberna.  Per 
Dominum. 


Be  appeased,  0  Lord,  with 
the  offering  we  have  made  : 
and  cease  not  to  protect  thy 
servant  N. ,  whom  thou  hast 
been  pleased  to  appoint 
Pastor  over  thy  Church. 
Through,  &c. 


After  the  Faithful  have  partaken  of  the  Divine 
Mystery,  there  is  read,  in  the  Communion- Anthem, 
a  malediction  against  the  enemies  of  our  Saivour. 
Thus  does  Grod  act  in  his  government  of  the  world  : 
they  who  refuse  his  mercy,  cannot  escape  his  justice. 


MONDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


253 


COMMUNION. 


Let  them  blush  and  be 
ashamed,  who  rejoice  at  my 
misfortunes  ;  let  them  be 
covered  with  shame  and  con- 
fusion, who  speak  maliciously 
against  me. 


Erubescant,  et  reverean- 
tur  simul,  qui  gratulantur 
malis  meis  :  induantur  pu- 
dore  et  reverentia,  qui  ma- 
ligna loquuntur  adversus 
me. 


The  Church  concludes  her  Prayers  of  this  morn- 
ning's  Sacrifice,  by  begging  that  her  children  may 
persevere  in  the  holy  fervour,  which  they  have  re- 
ceived at  its  very  source. 


POSTCOMMUNION. 


Let  thy  holy  mysteries,  O 
Lord,  inspire  us  with  divine 
fervour  ;  that  we  may  delight 
both  in  their  effect  and  cele- 
bration.    Through,  &c. 


Prsebeant  nobis,  Domine, 
divinum  tua  Sancta  fervo- 
rem  ;  quo  eorum  pariter  et 
actu  delectemur  et  fructu. 
Per  Dominum. 


To  this  is  added  one  of  the  following  : 

AGAINST   THE    PERSECUTORS    OF    THE    CHURCH. 


We  beseech  thee,  0  Lord 
our  God,  not  to  leave  exposed 
to  the  dangers  of  human  life, 
those  whom  thou  hast  per- 
mitted to  partake  of  these 
divine  mysteries.  Through  &c. 


Qusesumus,  Domine,  De- 
us  noster  :  ut  quos  divina 
tribuis  participatione  gau- 
dere,  humanis  non  sinas 
subjacere  periculis.  Per 
Dominum. 


FOR   THE    POPE. 


May  the  participation  of 
this  divine  Sacrament  protect 
us,  we  beseech  thee,  0  Lord ; 
and  always  procure  safety  and 
defence  to  thy  servant  N. , 
whom  thou  hast  appointed 
Pastor  over  thy  Church,  to- 
gether with  the  flock  com- 
mitted to  his  charge .  Through , 
&c, 


Hsec  nos  qusesumus,  Do- 
mine, divini  Sacramenti 
perceptio  protegat :  et  fa- 
mulum  tuum  N.  quern  Pas- 
torem  Ecclesise  tuse  prae- 
esse  voluisti,  una  cum  com- 
misso  sibi  grege  salvet  sem- 
per, et  muniat.  Per  Do- 
minum. 


254 


HOLY    WEEK. 


OREMTJS.  LET  US  PRAY. 


Humiliate     capita     vestra  Bow  down  your  heads  to 

Deo.  God. 

Adjuva  nos,  Deus  salu-  Help  us,  0  God,  our  sal- 
tans noster ;  et  ad  beneficia  vation ;  and  grant  that  we  may 
recolenda,  quibus  nos  in-  celebrate  with  joy  the  memory 
staurare  dignatus  es,  tri-  of  these  benefits,  by  which 
bue  venire  gaudentes.  Per  thou  hast  been  pleased  to 
Dominum.  redeem  us.     Through,  &c. 


As  an  appropriate  conclusion  to  this  day,  we  may 
use  the  following  beautiful  Prayer,  taken  from  the 
ancient  Q-allican  Liturgy  : 

PRAYER. 

fOratio  ad  Bextam.J 

Christe  Deus,  Adonai  mag-         O     great     and     Sovereign 

ne,   nos    tecum    quasi    huic  Lord !    (Adonai ! )    Christ  our 

mundo  crucifige ;    ut  vita  tua  God  !    crucify  us,  with  thy- 

in     nobis     sit :       nostraque  self,  to  this  world,  that  so  thy 

peccata  super  te  pone,  ut  ea  life  may  be    in    us.      Take 

crucifigas :     nos    quoque   ad  upon    thee     our    sins,     that 

teipsum     trahe,      cum     pro  thou    mayst    crucify    them, 

nobis   exaltatus   es  a    terra,  Draw  us  unto   thyself,  since 

ut   nos  eripias    ab    adultero  it   was   for    our   sakes    that 

tyranno :    quia  licet  carne  et  thou  wast  raised    up    from 

vitiis   diabolo    noxii  sumus;  the  earth;    and  thus  snatch 

tibi  tamen,  non  illi  optamus  us   from   the    power    of  the 

servire :     et    sub    tuo    jure  unclean  tyrant :    for,  though 

vivere   desideramus,   et  a  te  by  flesh  and  our  sins,  we  be 

gubernari  rogamus  ;    qui  nos  exposed  to  the  insults  of  the 

mortales  et    a  morte    inva-  devil,  yet  do  we  desire  to  serve, 

sos,   per  mortem    crucis    li-  not  him,  but  thee.    We  would 

berare    voluisti.       Pro    quo  be  thy  subjects  ;  we  ask  to  be 

singulari    beneficio     hodier-  governed  by  thee ;  for,  by  thy 

na  tibi  nostra  famulatur  de-  death  on  the  cross,  thou  didst 

votio :      teque     nunc    hodie  deliver  us,  who  are  mortals 

supplices    adoramus,   implo-  and  surrounded  by  death.    It 

ramus,    invocamus ;     ut    ad  is  to  bless  thee  for  this  won- 

nos  properes,   virtus   seterna  derful  favour,  that  we  this  day 

Deus  :     quod  nobis  proficiat  offer  thee  our  devoted  service  ; 

tua  crux,  triumphans  scili-  and    humbly    adoring   thee, 


MONDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


255 


we  now  implore  and  beseech 
thee,  to  hasten  to  our  assist- 
ance, O  thou  our  God,  the 
Eternal  and  Almighty  !  Let 
thy  Cross  thus  profit  us  unto 
good,  that  thou,  by  its  power, 
mayst  triumph  over  the  world 
in  us,  and  thine  own  mercy 
restore  us,  by  thy  might  and 
grace,  to  the  ancient  blessing. 
0  thou,  whose  power  hath 
turned  the  future  into  the  past 
and  whose  presence  maketh 
the  past  to  be  present — grant, 
that  thy  Passion  may  avail  us 
to  salvation,  as  though  it  were 
accomplished  now  on  this  very 
day.  May  the  drops  of  thy 
holy  Blood,  which  heretofore 
fell  upon  the  earth  from  the 
Cross,  be  our  present  salva- 
tion :  may  it  wash  away  all 
the  sins  of  our  earthly  nature, 
and  be,  so  to  say,  commingled 
with  the  earth  of  our  body, 
rendering  itall  thine,  since  we, 
by  our  reconciliation  withthee, 
our  Head,  have  been  made 
one  body  with  thee.  Thou 
that  ever  reignest  with  the 
Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
now  begin  to  reign  over  us, 
O  God-Man,  Christ  Jesus, 
King  for  ever  and  ever  ! 


cet  de  mundo  in  nobis  per 
crucis  virtutem  :  atque  tua 
pietas  nobis  illud  antiquum 
restituat  beneficium,  vir- 
tute  scilicet  et  gratia  :  qui 
per  potentiam  futura  prse- 
terita  ;  per  prsesentiam  facis 
similiter  praeterita  praesen- 
tia  :  redde,  ut  nobis  tua  Pas- 
sio  salutaris  sit,  quasi  prae- 
sens  et  hodierna  :  et  sic  no- 
bis hodie,  ilia  gutta  sancti 
sanguinis  super  terram  olim 
de  cruce  stillantis,  sit  salus  : 
ut  omnia  terrae  nostrae  de- 
licta  lavans,  et  corporis  nos- 
tri  humo  quodam  modo  im- 
mixta,  nos  de  terra  tuos 
efficiat ;  nos  quoque  tibi 
quasi  corpus  idem  recon- 
ciliati  capitis.  Qui  regnas 
cum  Patre  semper  et  Spi- 
ritu  Sancto  ;  nunc  nobis 
regnare  incipe,  Homo  Deus, 
Christe  Jesu,  Eex  in  saecula 
sseculorum. 


256  HOLY    WEEK. 


TUESDAY 

IN    HOLY   WEEK. 


To-dav,  again,  our  Saviour  sets  out  in  the  morning 
for  Jerusalem.  His  intention  is  to  repair  to  the 
temple,  and  continue  his  yesterday's  teachings.  It 
is  evident  that  his  mission  on  earth  is  fast  drawing 
to  its  close.  He  says  to  his  Disciples  :  You  know 
that  after  two  days  shall  be  the  Pasch,  and  the  Son 
of  Man  shall  be  delivered  up  to  be  crucified.1 

On  the  road  from  Bethania  to  Jerusalem,  the 
Disciples  are  surprised  at  seeing  the  fig-tree,  which 
their  Divine  Master  had  yesterday  cursed,  now  dead. 
Addressing  himself  to  Jesus,  Peter  says  :  Rabbi,  be- 
hold,  the  fig-tree,  which  thou  didst  curse,  is  withered 
away.2  In  order  to  teach  us  that  the  whole  of  mate- 
rial nature  is  subservient  to  the  spiritual  element, 
when  this  last  is  united  to  Q-od  by  faith, — Jesus 
replies  :  Have  the  faith  of  God.  Amen  I  say  to  you, 
that  whosoever  shall  say  to  this  mountain :  Be  thou 
removed  and  cast  into  the  sea  !  and  shall  not  stagger 
in  his  heart,  but  believe,  that  whatsoever  he  saith 
shall  be  done,  it  shall  be  done  unto  him.3 

Having  entered  the  City,  Jesus  directs  his  steps 
towards  the  Temple.  No  sooner  has  he  entered, 
than  the  Chief  Priests,  the  Scribes,  and  the  Ancients 
of  the  people,  accost  him  with  these  words  :  By  what 
authority  dost  thou  these  things  ?  and  who  has  given 

1  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  2.  2  St.  Mark,  xi.  21. 

3  Idem,  ibid.  22,  23. 


TUESDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK.  257 

thee  this  authority,  that  thou  shouldst  do  these 
things  ?l  We  shall  find  our  Lord's  answer  given  in 
the  Gospel.  Our  object  is  to  mention  the  leading 
events  of  the  last  days  of  our  Redeemer  on  earth ; 
the  holy  Volume  will  supply  the  details. 

As  on  the  two  preceding  days,  Jesus  leaves  the 
City  towards  evening  :  he  passes  over  Mount  Olivet, 
and  returns  to  Bethania,  where  he  finds  his  Blessed 
Mother  and  his  devoted  friends. 

In  to-day's  Mass,  the  Church  reads  the  history  of 
the  Passion  according  to  St.  Mark,  who  wrote  his 
Grospel  the  next  after  St.  Matthew ;  hence  it  is,  that 
the  second  place  is  assigned  to  him.  His  account 
of  the  Passion  is  shorter  than  St.  Matthew's,  of  which 
it  would  often  seem  to  be  a  summary  ;  and  yet  cer- 
tain details  are  peculiar  to  this  Evangelist,  and  prove 
him  to  have  been  an  eye-witness.  Our  readers  are 
aware  that  St.  Mark  was  the  disciple  of  St.  Peter, 
and  that  his  Grospel  was  written  under  the  very  eye 
of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles. 

In  Rome,  the  Station  for  to-day  is  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Prisca,  which  is  said  to  have  been  the  house 
of  Aquila  and  his  wife  Prisca,  to  whom  St.  Paul 
sends  his  salutations,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 
In  the  3rd  century,  Pope  St.  Eutychian  had  trans- 
lated thither,  on  account  of  the  sameness  of  the  name, 
the  body  of  St.  Prisca,  a  Virgin  and  Martyr  of  Rome. 


MASS. 


Three  days  hence,  and  the  Cross  will  be  lifted  up 
on  Calvary,  bearing  upon  itself  the  Author  of  our 
Salvation.  The  Church,  in  the  Introit  of  to-day's 
Mass,  bids  us  at  once  pay  our  homage  to  this  trophy 
of  our  victory,  and  glory  in  it. 

1  St.  Mark,  xi.  28. 


258 


HOLY     WEEK. 


INTROIT. 


Nos  autem  gloriari  opor- 
tet  in  cruce  Domini  nostri 
Jesu  Christi :  in  quo  est  sa- 
lus,  vita,  et  resurrectio  nos- 
tra, per  quern  salvati,  et 
liberati  sumus. 

Ps.  Deus  misereatur  nos- 
tri, et  benedicat  nobis  ; 
iiluminet  vultum  suum  su- 
per nos,  et  misereatur  nos- 
tri. 

Nos  autem. 


We  ought  to  glory  in  the 
Cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  in  whom  is  our  salva- 
tion, life  and  resurrection  ; 
by  whom  we  have  been  saved 
and  delivered. 

Ps.  May  God  have  mercy  on 
us,  and  bless  us  ;  may  his 
countenance  shine  upon  us, 
and  may  he  have  mercy  on  us 

We  ought,  &c. 


In  the  Collect,  the  Church  prays  that  the  sacred 
anniversaries  of  our  Saviour's  Passion  may  be  to  us 
a  source  of  pardon  ;  and  that  they  may  work  in  us  a 
full  reconciliation  with  the  Divine  Justice. 


COLLECT. 


Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  da  nobis  ita  Domini - 
cae  Passionis  sacramenta 
peragere,  ut  indulgentiam 
percipere  mereamur.  Per 
eumdem. 


O  Almighty  and  everlasting 
God,  gant  that  we  may  so 
celebrate  the  mysteries  of  our 
Lord's  Passion,  as  to  obtain 
thy  pardon.  Through  the 
same,  &c. 


For  the  other  Collects,  see  page  244. 


EPISTLE. 


Lectio  Jeremiae  Prophetae.      Lesson 


Cap.  XL 

In  diebus  illis  :  Dixit  Je- 
remias  :  Domine,  demon- 
strasti  mihi,  et  cognovi  ;  tunc 
ostendisti  mihi  studia  eo- 
rum,      Et  ego  quasi  agnus 


from  Jeremias 
Prophet. 

Ch.  XL 


the 


In  those  days  :  Jeremias 
said  :  Thou,  O  Lord,  hast 
shewed  me,  and  I  have  known  : 
then  thou  shewedst  me  their 
doings.    And  I  was  as  a  meek 


TUESDAY  IN   HOLY  WEEK.  259 

lamb,  that  is  carried  to  be  a  mansuetus,   qui  portatur  ad 

victim  ;   and  I  knew  not  that  victimam  :     et  non   cognovi 

they  had    devised    counsels  quia  cogitaverunt  super  me 

against  me,   saying ;    Let  us  consilia,     dicentes  :     Venite, 

put  wood  on  his  bread,  and  mittamus   lignum  in  panem 

cut  him  off  from  the  land  of  ejus,    et   eradamus   eum   de 

the  living,  and  let  his  name  be  terra  viventium,     et  nomen 

remembered  no  more.      But  ejus    non    memoretur     am- 

thou,  0  Lord  of  Sabaoth,  who  plius.       Tu   autem,   Domine 

j udgest  justly,  and  triest  the  Sabaoth,    qui  judicas   juste, 

reins  of  the  heart,  let  me  see  et   probas     renes    et    corda, 

thy  revenge  on  them  ;    for  to  videam    ultionem    tuam    ex 

thee  I  have  revealed  my  cause,  eis  :    tibi  enim  revelavi  cau- 

0  Lord,  my  God  !  sam    meam,     Domine    Deus 

meus. 

Again,  we  have  the  plaintive  words  of  Jeremias  : 
he  gives  us  the  very  words  used  by  his  enemies, 
when  they  conspired  his  death.  It  is  evident, 
however,  that  the  Prophet  is  here  a  figure  of  one 
greater  than  himself.  Let  us,  say  these  enemies,  put 
tvood  upon  his  bread  :  that  is,  let  us  put  poisonous 
wood  into  what  he  eats,  that  so  we  may  cause  his 
death.  This  is  the  literal  sense  of  these  words,  as 
applied  to  the  Prophet  ;  but  how  much  more  truly 
were  they  fulfilled  in  our  Eedeemer  !  He  tells  us, 
that  his  Divine  Flesh  is  the  True  Bread  that  came 
down  from  heaven.  This  Bread,  this  Body  of  the 
Man- God,  is  bruised,  torn,  and  wounded ;  the  Jews 
nail  it  to  the  Wood ;  so  that,  it  is,  in  a  manner,  made 
one  with  the  Wood,  and  the  Wood  is  all  covered  with 
Jesus'  Blood.  This  Lamb  of  Grod  was  immolated  on 
the  Wood  of  the  Cross :  it  is  by  his  immolation,  that 
we  have  had  given  to  us  a  Sacrifice,  which  is  worthy 
of  Q-od ;  and  it  is  by  this  Sacrifice,  that  we  partici- 
pate in  the  Bread  of  Heaven,  the  Flesh  of  the  Lamb, 
our  true  Pasch. 

The  Gradual,  which  is  taken  from  the  34th  Psalm, 
shows  us  the  humility  and  meekness  of  our  Jesus 
under  his  sufferings.  How  they  contrast  with  the 
haughty  pride  of  his  enemies  ! 


260 


HOLY    WEEK. 


GRADUAL. 


Ego  autem,  dum  mihi  mo- 
lesti  essent,  induebam  me 
cilicio,  et  humiliabam  in 
jejunio  animam  meam;  et 
oratio  mea  in  sinu  meo  con- 
vertetur. 

f.  Judica,  Domine,  no- 
centes  me,  expugna  impug- 
nantes  me :  apprehende 
arma  et  scutum,  et  exsurge 
in  adjutorium  mihi. 


When  they  were  troublesome 
to  me,  I  clothed  myself  with 
hair -cloth,  and  I  humbled 
my  soul  with  fasting  ;  and  I 
will  yet  continue  to  pour 
forth  my  prayer  in  my  bosom. 

f.  Judge  thou,  0  Lord, 
them  that  wrong  me,  over- 
throw them  that  fight  against 
me ;  take  hold  of  arms  and 
shield,  and  rise  to  help  me. 


After  the  Gradual,  is  sung  the  Passion  according 
to  Saint  Mark.  The  same  ceremonies  are  observed 
as  during  the  Passion,  which  was  read  to  us  on  Sun- 
day, excepting  only  what  regarded  the  Palms. 


THE    PASSION    AND    GOSPEL. 


Passio   Domini    nostri    Jesu 
Christi  secundum  Marcum. 

Cap.    XIV.    et   XV. 

In  illo  tempore  :  Erat 
Pascha,  et  Azyma  post  bidu- 
um  :  et  quserebant  summi 
sacerdotes  et  scribae  quomo- 
do  Jesum  dolo  tenerent,  et 
occiderent.  Dicebant  au- 
tem :  Non  in  die  festo  ne 
forte  tumultus  fieret  in  po- 
pulo. 

Et  cum  esset  Jesus  Be- 
thanise  in  domo  Simonis  Le- 
prosi,  et  recumberet  :  venit 
mulier  habens  alabastrum 
unguenti  nardi  spicati  pre- 
tiosi,  et  fracto  alabastro, 
effudit  super  caput  ejus. 
Erant  autem  quidam  indig- 
ne  ferentes  intra  semetipsos, 


The  Passion  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  according  to    Mark. 

Cli.  XIV.  and  XV. 

At  that  time,  The  Feast  of 
the  Pasch  and  of  Azymes  was 
after  two  days  ;  and  the  chief 
priests  and  the  scribes  sought 
how  they  might  by  some  wile 
lay  hold  on  Jesus,  and  kill  him. 
But  they  said  :  Not  on  the 
festival  day,  lest  there  should 
be  a  tumult  among  the  people. 

And  when  Jesus  was  in  Be- 
thania,  in  the  house  of  Simon 
the  Leper,  and  was  at  meat, 
there  came  a  woman  having 
an  alabaster  box  of  ointment 
of  precious  spikenard  ;  and 
breaking  the  alabaster  box, 
she  poured  it  out  upon  his 
head.     Now  there  were  some 


TUESDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


261 


that  had  indignation  within 
themselves,  and  said :  Why 
was  this  waste  of  the  ointment 
made  ?  For  this  ointment 
might  have  been  sold  for  more 
than  three  hundred  pence,  and 
given  to  the  poor.  And  they 
murmured  against  her.  But 
Jesus  said :  Let  her  alone, 
why  do  you  molest  her  ?  She 
hath  wrought  a  good  work 
upon  me.  For  the  poor  you 
have  always  with  you,  and 
whensoever  you  will,  you  may 
do  them  good ;  but  me  you 
have  not  always.  What  she 
had,  she  hath  done ;  she  is 
come  beforehand  to  anoint 
my  body  for  the  burial.  Amen 
I  say  to  you,  wheresoever  this 
gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the 
whole  world,  that  also  which 
she  hath  done  shall  be  told  for 
a  memorial  of  her. 

And  Judas  Iscariot,  one  of 
the  twelve,  went  to  the  chief 
priests,  to  betray  him  to  them. 
Who  hearing  it  were  glad  ; 
and  promised  to  give  him 
money.  And  he  sought  how 
he  might  conveniently  betray 
him. 

Now  on  the  first  day  of  the 
unleavened  bread,  when  they 
sacrificed  the  Pasch,  the  dis- 
ciples say  to  him  :  Whither 
wilt  thou  that  we  go  and  pre- 
pare for  thee  to  eat  the  Pasch  ? 
And  he  sendeth  two  of  his 
disciples  and  saith  to  them  : 
Go  ye  into  the  city,  and  there 
shall  meet  you ,  a  man  carrying 
a  pitcher  of  water ;  follow  him , 
and  whithersoever  he  shall  go 
in,  say  to  the  master  of  the 
house  :  The  Master  saith  : 
Where  is  my  refectory,  that  I 


et  dicentes  :  Ut  quid  per- 
ditio  ista  unguenti  facta  est  ? 
Poterat  enim  unguentum 
istud  venundari  plus  quam 
trecentis  denariis,  et  dari 
pauperibus.  Et  fremebant 
in  earn.  Jesus  autem  dixit  : 
Sinite  earn  :  quid  illi  mo- 
lesti  estis  ?  Bonum  opus 
operatus  est  in  me.  Semper 
enim  pauperes  habetis  vo- 
biscum,  et  cum  volueritis, 
potestis  illis  benefacere  :  me 
autem  non  semper  habetis. 
Quod  habuit  haec,  fecit : 
praevenit  ungere  corpus  me- 
um  in  sepulturam.  Amen 
dico  vobis :  Ubicumque- 
prsedicatum  fuerit  evangeli- 
um  istud  in  universo  mun- 
do,  et  quod  fecit  hsec,  narra- 
bitur  in  memoriam  ejus. 


Et  Judas  Iscariotes  unus 
de  duodecim  abiit  ad  sum- 
mos  sacerdotes,  ut  proderet 
eum  illis.  Qui  audientes, 
gavisi  sunt :  et  promiserunt 
ei  pecuniam  se  daturus.  Et 
quserebat,  quomodo  ilium 
opportune  traderet. 

Et  primo  die  Azymorum, 
quando  Pascha  immolabant, 
dicunt  ei  discipuli :  Quo  vis 
eamus,  et  paremus  tibi,  ut 
manduces  Pascha  ?  Et  mit- 
tit  duos  ex  discipulis  suis, 
et  dicit  eis :  Ite  in  civita- 
tem  :  et  occurret  vobis  homo 
lagenam  aquae  bajulans  ;  se- 
quimini  eum  :  et  quocum- 
que  introierit,  dicite  domino 
domus,  quia  Magister  dicit : 
Ubi  est  refectio  mea,  ubi 
Pascha  cum  discipulis  meis 
manducem  ?     Et   ipse    vobis 


262 


HOLY   WEEK. 


demonstrabit  coenaculum 
grande,  stratum,  et  illic 
parate  nobis.  Et  abierunt 
discipuli  ejus,  et  venerunt 
in  civitatem;  et  invenerunt 
sicut  dixerat  illis,  et  para- 
verunt  Pascha. 


Vespere   autem   facto,  ve- 
nit  cum  duodecim.     Et  dis- 
cumbentibus  eis,   et  mandu- 
cantibus   ait  Jesus :     Amen 
dico  vobis,   quia  unus  ex  vo- 
bis  tradet  me,   qui  mandu- 
cat  mecum.      At  illi   ccepe- 
runt  contristari,  et  dicere  ei 
singulatim :     numquid  ego  ? 
Qui   ait  illis :  unus  ex  duo- 
decim,    qui   intingit  mecum 
manum  in  catino.     Et  Filius 
quidem    hominis   vadit,     si- 
cut  scriptum  est  de  eo  ;  vse 
autem  homini  illi,  per  quern 
Filius  hominis  tradetur.    Bo- 
num   erat  ei,    si    non    esset 
natus  homo  ille.     Et   man- 
ducantibus  illis,   accepit  Je- 
sus  panem  :     et    benedicens 
fregit,    et  dedit  eis,   et   ait : 
Sumite  :      Hoc    est    corpus 
meum.       Et   accepto   calice, 
gratias  agens   dedit  eis  :    et 
biberunt  ex  illo  omnes.     Et 
ait  illis  :      Hie   est  sanguis 
meus  novi    testamenti,    qui 
pro        multis        effundetur. 
Amen  dico  vobis  :  quia  non 
bibam   de  hoc  genimine  vi- 
tis,   usque    in    diem    ilium, 
cum  illud  bibam   novum  in 
regno  Dei. 

Et  hymno  dicto,  exierunt 
in  montem  Olivarum.  Et 
ait  eis  Jesus :  Omnes  scan- 
dalizabimini  in  me,  in  nocte 


may  eat  the  Pasch  with  my 
disciples  ?  And  he  will  shew 
you  a  large  dining-room  fur- 
nished ;  and  there  prepare  ye 
for  us.  Ajid  his  disciples  went 
their  way,  and  came  into  the 
city  ;  and  they  found  as  he 
had  told  them,  and  they  pre- 
pared the  Pasch. 

And  when  evening  was 
come,  he  cometh  with  the 
twelve.  And  when  they  were 
at  table  eating,  Jesus  saith  : 
Amen  I  say  to  you,  one  of  you 
that  eateth  with  me  shall  be- 
tray me.  But  they  began  to 
be  sorrowful,  and  to  say  to 
him  one  by  one  :  Is  it  I  ? 
Who  saith  to  them  :  One  of 
the  twelve,  who  dippeth  his 
hand  in  the  dish  with  me. 
And  the  Son  of  Man  indeed 
goeth,  as  it  is  written  of  him  ; 
but  wo  to  that  man  by  whom 
the  Son  of  Man  shall  be  be- 
trayed. It  were  better  for 
him,  if  that  man  had  not  been 
born.  And  whilst  they  were 
eating,  Jesus  took  bread  :  and 
blessing,  broke,  and  gave  to 
them,  and  said  :  Take  ye,  this 
is  my  body.  And  having 
taken  the  chalice,  giving 
thanks,  he  gave  it  to  them, 
and  they  all  drank  of  it ;  and 
he  said  to  them :  This  is  my 
blood  of  the  new  testament, 
which  shall  be  shed  for  many. 
Amen  I  say  to  you,  that  I  will 
drink  no  more  of  this  fruit  of 
the  vine,  until  that  day  when 
I  shall  drink  it  new  in  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

And  when  they  had  sung 
a  hymn,  they  went  forth  to 
the  mount  of  Olives.  And 
Jesus  saith  to  them :  You  will 


TUESDAY   IN   HOLY    WEEK. 


263 


all  be  scandalized  in  my  regard 
this  night ;  for  it  is  written  : 
"I will  strike  the  shepherd, 
' '  and  the  shoop  shall  bo  dis- 
"  persed."  But  after  I  shall 
be  risen  again,  I  will  go  before 
yon  into  Galilee.  But  Peter 
saith  to  him :  Although  all 
shall  be  scandalized  in  thee, 
yet  not  I.  And  Jesus  saith  to 
him  :  Amen  I  say  to  thee, 
to-day,  even  in  this  night 
before  the  cock  crow  twice, 
thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice. 
But  he  spoke  the  more  vehe- 
mently :  Although  I  should 
die  together  with  thee,  I  will 
not  deny  thee.  And  in  like 
manner  also  said  they  all. 

And  they  came  to  a  farm 
called'  Gethsemani.  And  he 
saith  to  his  disciples  :  Sit  you 
here,  while  I  pray.  And  he 
taketh  Peter,  and  James,  and 
John  with  him ;  and  he  began 
to  fear  and  to  be  heavy.  And 
he  saith  to  them :  My  soul  is 
sorrowful  even  unto  death; 
stay  you  here,  and  watch. 
And  when  he  had  gone  for- 
ward a  little,  he  fell  flat  on 
the  ground;  and  he  prayed 
that,  if  it  might  be,  the  hour 
might  pass  from  him  :  and  he 
saith :  Abba,  Father,  all  things 
are  possible  to  thee,  remove 
this  chalice  from  me ;  but  not 
what  I  will,  but  what  thou 
wilt.  And  he  cometh,  and 
findeth  them  sleeping.  And 
he  saith  to  Peter :  Simon, 
sleepest  thou  ?  couldst  thou 
not  watch  one  hour  ?  Watch 
ye,  and  pray,  that  ye  enter 
not  into  temptation.  The 
spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but 
the  flesh  is  weak.    And  going 


ista :  quia  scriptum  est. 
Percutiam  pastorem,  et  dis- 
pergentur  oves;  sed  post- 
quam  resurrexero,  praece- 
dam  vos  in  Galilseam.  Pe- 
trus  autem  ait  illi  :  Et  si 
omnes  scandalizati  fuerint 
in  te,  sed  non  ego.  Et  ait 
illi  Jesus :  Amen  dico  tibi, 
quia  tu  hodie  in  nocte  hac, 
priusquam  gallus  vocem  bis 
dederit,  ter  me  es  negaturus. 
At  ill©  amplius  loquebatur  : 
Et  si  oportuerit  me  simul 
commori  tibi,  non  te  negabo. 
Similiter  autem  et  omnes 
dicebant. 


Et  veniunt  in  prsedium, 
cui  nomen  Gethsemani,  et 
ait  discipulis  suis :  Sedete 
hie  donee  orem.  Et  assu- 
mit  Petrum,  et  Jacobum  et 
Joannem  secum :  et  ccepit 
pavere,  et  tsedere.  Et  ait 
illis  :  Tristis  est  anima  mea 
usque  ad  mortem.  Susti- 
nete  hie,  et  vigilate.  Et 
cum  processisset  paululum, 
procidit  super  terrain :  et 
orabat,  ut  si  fieri  posset, 
transiret  ab  eo  hora  :  et  dixit : 
Abba  Pater,  omnia  tibi  pos- 
sibilia  sunt :  transfer  calicem 
hunc  a  me.  Sed  non  quod 
ego  volo  :  sed  quod  tu.  Et 
venit,  et  invenit  eos  dor- 
mientes.  Et  ait  Petro : 
Simon  dormis  ?  Non  potu- 
isti  una  hora  vigilare  ?  Vigi- 
late, et  orate,  ut  non  intretis 
in  tentationem.  Spiritus 
quidem  promptus  est,  caro 
vero  infirma.  Et  iterum 
abiens  oravit,  eumdem  ser- 
monem  dicens.  Et  -reversus, 
U 


264 


HOLY    WEEK. 


denuo  invenit  eos  dor- 
mientes  ( erant  enim  oculi 
eorum  gravati),  et  ignora- 
bant  quid  responderent  ei. 
Et  venit  tertio,  et  ait  illis  : 
Dormite  jam,  et  requiescite. 
Sumcit :  venit  hora :  ecce 
Filius  hominis  tradetur  in 
manus  peccatorum.  Surgite, 
eamus :  ecce,  qui  me  tradet, 
prope  est. 


Et  adhuc  eo  loquente  ve- 
nit Judas  Iscariotes  unus  de 
duodecim,  et  cum  illo  turba 
multa  cum  gladiis  et  lignis, 
missi  a  summis  sacerdotibus, 
et  scribis,  et  senioribus. 
Dederat  autem  traditor  ejus 
signum  eis,  dicens :  Quem- 
cumque  osculatus  fuero, 
ipse  est :  tenete  eum,  et 
ducite  caute.  Et  cum  ve- 
nisset,  statim  accedens  ad 
eum,  ait :  Ave  Eabbi !  Et 
osculatus  est  eum.  At  illi 
manus  injecerunt  in  eum, 
ettenuerunteum.  Unus  au- 
tem quidam  de  circumstan- 
tibus  educens  gladium,  per- 
cussit  servum  summi  sacer- 
dotis  :  et  amputavit  illi  auri- 
culam.  Et  respondens  Je- 
sus ait  illis :  Tamquam  ad 
latronem  existis  cum  gladiis 
et  lignis  comprehendere  me  : 
quotidie  eram  apud  vos  in 
templo  docens,  et  non  me 
tenuistis.  Sed  ut  impleantur 
Scripturae.  Tunc  discipuli 
ejus  relinquentes  eum,  om- 
nes  fugerunt.  Adolescens 
autem  quidam  sequebatur 
eum  amictus  sindone   super 


away  again,  he  prayed,  saying 
the  same  words.  And  when 
ho  returned,  he  found  them 
again  asleep,  (  for  their  eyes 
were  heavy,)  and  they  knew 
not  what  to  answer  him.  And 
he  cometh  the  third  time,  and 
saith  to  them  :  Sleep  ye  now, 
and  take  your  rest.  It  is 
enough,  the  hour  is  come  ;  be- 
hold the  Son  of  man  shall  be 
betrayed  into  the  hands  of 
sinners.  Rise  up,  let  us  go. 
Behold  he  that  will  betray  me 
is  at  hand. 

And  while  he  was  yet  speak- 
ing, cometh  Judas  Iscariot, 
one  of  the  twelve,  and  with 
him  a  great  multitude  with 
swords  and  staves,  from  the 
chief  priests,  and  the  scribes, 
and  the  ancients.  And  he 
that  betrayed  him  had  given 
them  a  sign,  saying  :  Whom- 
soever I  shall  kiss,  that  is  he, 
lay  hold  on  him,  and  lead  him 
away  carefully.  And  when 
he  was  come,  immediately 
going  up  to  him,  he  saith : 
Hail  Eabbi !  And  he  kissed 
him.  But  they  laid  hands  on 
him,  and  held  him.  And  one 
of  them  that  stood  by,  draw- 
ing a  sword,  struck  a  servant 
of  the  chief  priest,  and  cut  off 
his  ear.  And  Jesus  answer- 
ing, said  to  them :  Are  you 
come  out  as  to  a  robber  with 
swords  and  staves  to  ap- 
prehend me  ?  I  was  daily 
with  you  in  tho  temple  teach- 
ing, and  you  did  not  lay  hands 
on  me.  But,  that  the  scrip- 
ture may  be  fulfilled.  Then 
his  disciples  leaving  him,  all 
fled  away.  And  a  certain 
young    man    followed  him, 


TUESDAY   IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


265 


having  a  linen  cloth  cast 
about  his  naked  body ;  and 
they  laid  hold  on  him.  But 
ho  casting  off  the  linen  cloth, 
fled  from  them  naked. 

And  they  brought  Jesus  to 
the  High  Priest ;  and  all  the 
priests  and  the  scribes  and 
the  ancients  were  assembled 
together.  And  Peter  followed 
hirn  afar  off  even  into  the 
court  of  the  High  Priest;  and 
he  sat  with  the  servants  at  the 
fire  and  warmed  himself.  And 
the  chief  priests  and  all  the 
council  sought  for  evidence 
against  Jesus  that  they  might 
put  him  to  death,  and  they 
found  none.  For  many  bore 
false  witness  against  him,  and 
their  evidences  were  not 
agreeing.  And  some  rising 
up,  bore  false  witness  against 
him,  saying  :  We  heard  him 
say :  I  will  destroy  this  temple 
made  with  hands,  and  within 
three  days  I  will  build  another 
not  made  with  hands.  And 
their  witness  did  not  agree. 


And  the  High  Priest  rising  up 
in  the  midst,  asked  Jesus,  say- 
ing :  Answerest  thou  nothing 
to  the  things  that  are  laid  to 
thy  charge  by  these  men  ? 
But  he  held  his  peace,  and 
answered  nothing.  Again  the 
High  Priest  asked  him,  and 
said  to  him  :  Art  thou  Christ 
the  Son  of  the  Blessed  God  ? 
and  Jesus  said  to  him:  I  am. 
And  you  shall  see  the  Son  of 
Man  sitting  on  the  right  hand 
of  the  power   of  God,    and 


nudo  :  et  tenuerunt  eum. 
At  ille  rejecta  sindone,  nudus 
profugit  ab  ois. 


Et  adduxernnt  Jesum  ad 
summum  sacerdotem  :  et 
convenerunt  omnes  sacer- 
dotes,  et  scribse  et  seniores. 
Petrus  autem  a  longe  secu- 
tus  est  eum  usque  intro  in 
atrium  summi  sacerdotis  : 
et  sedebat  cum  ministris  ad 
ignem,  et  califaciebat  se. 
Summi  vero  sacerdotes  et 
omne  concilium,  quserebant 
adversus  Jesum  testimonium, 
ut  eum  morti  traderent :  nee 
inveniebant.  Multi  enim  tes- 
timonium f  alsum  dicebant  ad- 
versus eum  :  et  convenientia 
testimonia  non  erant.  Et 
quidam  surgentes,  falsum 
testimonium  ferebant  ad- 
versus eum,  dicentes :  Quo- 
mam  nos  audivimus  eum 
dicentem  :  Ego  dissolvam 
templum  hoc  manufactum  : 
et  per  triduum,  aliud  non 
manufactum  aedificabo.  Et 
non  erat  conveniens  testimo- 
nium illorum. 

Et  exsurgens  summus  sa- 
cerdos  in  medium,  inter- 
rogavit  Jesum,  dicens :  Non 
respondes  quidquam  ad  ea, 
quse  tibi  objiciuntur  ab  his  ? 
Ille  autem  tacebat,  et  nihil 
respondit.  Rursum  summus 
sacerdos  interrogabat  eum, 
et  dixit  ei :  Tu  es  Christus 
Filius  Dei  benedicti  ?  Je- 
sus autem  dixit  illi :  Ego 
sum.  Et  videbitis  Eilium  ho- 
minis  sedentem  a  dextris 
virtutis    Dei,    et    venientem 


266 


HOLY    WEEK. 


cum  nubibus  coeli.  Sum- 
mus  autem  sacerdos  scin- 
dens  vestimenta  sua,  ait  : 
Quid  adhuc  desideramus 
testes  ?  Audistis  blasphe- 
miam.  Quid  vobis  videtur  ? 
Qui  omnes  condemnave- 
runt  eum  esse  reum  mortis. 
Et  coeperunt  quidam  con- 
spuere  eum,  et  velare  faciem 
ejus,  et  colaphis  eum  csedere, 
et  dicere  ei  :  Prophetiza. 
Et  ministri  alapis  eum  cse- 
debant. 

Et  cum  esset  Petrus  in 
atrio  deorsum,  venit  una 
ex  ancillis  summi  sacerdo- 
tis :  et  cum  vidisset  Petruin 
calefacientem  se,  aspiciens 
ilium,  ait :  Et  tu  cum  Jesu 
Nazareno  eras.  At  ille  nega- 
vit,  dicens  :  Neque  scio,  ne- 
que  novi  quid  dicas.  Et  exiit 
foras  ante  atrium  :  et  gallus 
cantavit.  Rursus  autem, 
cum  vidisset  ilium  ancilla, 
coepit  dicere  circum  stanti- 
bus :  Quia  hie  ex  illis  est. 
At  ille  iterum  negavit.  Et 
post  pusillum,  rursus  qui 
astabant,  dicebant  Petro : 
Vere  ex  illis  es  :  nam  et  Ga- 
lilseus  es.  Ille  autem  coepit 
anatbematizare  et  jurare : 
quia  nescio  bominem  istum 
quern  dicitis.  Et  statim  gal- 
lus iterum  cantavit.  Et  re- 
cordatus  est  Petrus  verbi, 
quod  dixerat  ei  Jesus : 
Priusquam  gallus  cantet 
bis,  ter  me  negabis.  Et  coe- 
pit flere. 


Et  confestim  mane  conci- 
lium facicntes  summi  sa- 
perdotes   cum   senioribus,   et 


coming  in  tbe  clouds  of  heaven. 
Then  the  High  Priest  rending 
his  garments  saith  :  What 
need  we  any  further  wit- 
nesses ?  You  have  heard  the 
blasphemy.  "What  think  you  ? 
Who  all  condemned  him  to  be 
guilty  of  death.  And  some  be- 
gan to  spit  on  him,  and  to 
cover  his  face,  and  to  buffet 
him,  and  to  say  to  him  :  Pro- 
phesy !  And  the  servants 
struck  him  with  the  palms  of 
their  hands. 

Now  when  Peter  was  in  the 
court  below,  there  cometh  to 
him  one  of  the  maid  servants 
of  the  High  Priest ;  and  when 
she  had  seen  Peter  warming 
himself,  looking  on  him,  she 
saith :  Thou  also  wast  with 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  But  he  de- 
nied, saying :  I  neither  know 
nor  understand  what  thou 
sayest.  And  he  went  forth 
before  the  court,  and  the  cock 
crew.  And  again  a  maid-  ser- 
vant seeing  him,  began  to  say 
to  the  standers-by :  This  is  one 
of  them.  But  he  denied  again. 
And  after  a  while,  they  that 
stood  by  said  again  to  Peter  : 
Surely  thou  art  one  of  them, 
for  thou  also  art  a  Galilean. 
But  he  began  to  curse  and 
swear,  saying :  I  know  not  this 
man  of  whom  you  speak. 
And  immediately  the  cock 
crew  again.  And  Peter  re- 
membered the  word  that  Jesus 
had  said  to  him :  Before  the 
cock  crow  twice,  thou  shalt 
deny  me  thrice.  And  he  be- 
gan to  weep. 

And  st  mi  ghtway  in  the  rnorn- 
ing,  the  chief  priests  hold- 
ing a  consultation  with  the 


TUESDAY   IN   HOLY   WEEK. 


267 


ancients  and  the  scribes,  and 
the  whole  council,  binding 
Jesus,  led  him  away,  and  de- 
livered him  to  Pilate.  And 
Pilate  asked  him  :  Art  thou 
the  king  of  the  Jews?  But 
he  answering,  saith  to  him  : 
Thou  sayest  it.  And  the  chief 
priests  accused  him  in  many 
things.  And  Pilate  again 
asked  him,  saying:  Answerest 
thou  nothing  ?  behold  in  how 
many  things  they  accuse  thee. 
But  Jesus  still  answered  no- 
thing: so  that  Pilate  wondered. 

Now  on  the  festival  day  he 
was  wont  to  release  unto  them 
one  of  the  prisoners,  whomso- 
ever they  demanded.  And 
there  was  one  called  Barabbas, 
who  was  put  in  prison  with 
some  seditious  men,  who  in 
the  sedition  had  committed 
murder.  And  when  the  mul- 
titude was  come  up,  they 
began  to  desire  that  he  would 
do  as  he  had  ever  done  unto 
them.  And  Pilate  answered 
them,  and  said :  Will  you  that 
I  release  to  you  the  King  of 
the  Jews  ?  For  he  knew  that 
the  chief  priests  had  delivered 
him  up  out  of  envy.  But  the 
chief  priests  moved  the  people 
that  he  should  rather  release 
Barabbas  to  them .  And  Pilate 
again  answering,  saith  to 
them  :  What  will  you  then 
that  I  do  with  the  King  of  the 
Jews  ?  But  they  again  cried 
out:  Crucify  him.  And  Pilate 
saith  to  them :  Why ,  what  evil 
hath  he  done  ?  But  they  cried 
out  the  more  :   Crucify  him. 

And  Pilate  being  willing  to 
satisfy  the  people,  released  to 
them  Barabbas,  and  delivered 


scribis,  et  universo  conci- 
lio,  vincientes  Jesum,  duxe- 
runt  et  tradiderunt  Pilato. 
Et  interrogavit  eum  Pila- 
tus  :  Tu  es  Eex  Judseorum  ? 
At  ille  respondens,  ait  illi: 
Tu  dicis.  Et  accusabant 
eum  summi  sacerdotes  in 
multis.  Pilatus  autem  rur- 
sum  interrogavit  eum,  di- 
cens :  Non  respondes  quid- 
quam  ?  Vide,  in  quantis  te 
accusant.  Jesus  autem  am- 
plius  nihil  respondit :  ita  ut 
miiaretur  Pilatus. 

Per  diem  autem  festum 
solebat  dimittere  illis  unum 
ex  vinctis  quemcumque  pe- 
tiissent.  Erat  autem  qui 
dicebatur  Barabbas,  qui 
cum  seditiosis  erat  vinctus, 
qui  in  seditione  fecerat 
homicidium.  Et  cum  ascen- 
disset  turba,  ccepit  rogare, 
sicut  semper  faciebat  illis. 
Pilatus  autem  respondit  eis, 
et  dixit  :  Vultis  dimittam 
vobis  Begem  Judseorum  ? 
Sciebat  enim,  quod  per  invi- 
diam tradidissent  eum  summi 
sacerdotes.  Pontifices  autem 
concitaverunt  turbam  ut  ma- 
gis  Barabbam  dimitteret  eis. 
Pilatus  autem  iterum  respon- 
dens, ait  illis :  Quid  ergo 
vultis  faciam  Eegi  Judse- 
orum  ?  At  illi  iterum  claraa- 
verunt :  Crucifige  eum.  Pi- 
latus vero  dicebat  illis  :  Quid 
enim  mali  fecit  ?  At  illi  ma- 
gis  clamabant  :  Crucifige 
eum. 


Pilatus  autem  volens  po- 
pulo  satisfacere,  dimisit  il- 
lis   Barabbam,     et     tradidit 


268 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Jesum  flagellis  csesum,  ut 
crucifigeretur.  Milites  au- 
tem  duxerunt  eum  in  atri- 
um prsetorii,  et  convocant 
totam  cohortem :  et  in- 
duunt  eum  purpura,  et  im- 
ponunt  ei  plectentes  spi- 
neam  coronam.  Et  coepe- 
runt  salutare  eum  :  Ave, 
Eex  Judseorum.  Et  percu- 
tiebant  caput  ejus  arundi- 
ne  :  et  conspuebant  eum,  et 
ponentes  genua,  adorabant 
eum. 

Et  postquam  illuserunt 
ei,  exuerunt  ilium  purpura, 
et  induerunt  eum  vestimen- 
tis  suis,  et  educunt  ilium,  ut 
crucifigerent  eum.  Et  an- 
gariaverunt  praetereuntem 
quempiam  Simonem  Cyre- 
nseum  venientem  de  villa, 
patrem  Alexandri  et  Eufi, 
ut  tolleret  crucem  ejus.  Et 
perducunt  ilium  in  Golgotha 
locum :  quod  est  interpre- 
tation, Calvarise  locus.  Et 
dabant  ei  bibere  myrrhatum 
vinum  :  et  non  accepit.  Et 
crucifigentes  eum  diviserunt 
vestimenta  ejus,  mittentes 
sortem  super  eis,  quis  quid 
tolleret.  Erat  autem  bora 
tertia :  et  crucifixerunt  eum. 
Et  erat  titulus  causa?  ejus 
inscriptus :  Eex  Judoeorum. 
Et  cum  eo  crucifigunt  duos 
latrones :  unum  a  dextris, 
et  alium  a  sinistris  ejus.  Et 
impleta  est  Scriptura,  quce 
dicit :  Et  cum  iniquis  repu- 
tatus  est. 


Et  prsetereuntes    blasphe- 
mabant  eum,    moventes  ca- 


up  Jesus,  when  he  had 
scourged  him,  to  be  crucified. 
And  the  soldiers  led  him  away 
into  the  court  of  the  palace, 
and  they  called  together  the 
whole  band ;  and  they  clothed 
him  with  purple,  and  platting 
a  crown  of  thorns,  they  put  it 
upon  him.  And  they  began 
to  salute  him  :  Hail,  king  of 
the  Jews.  And  they  struck 
his  head  with  a  reed,  and  they 
did  spit  on  him ;  and  bowing 
their  knees,  they  adored  him. 

And  after  they  had  mocked 
him,  they  took  off  the  purple 
from  him,  and  put  his  own 
garments  on  him,  and  they 
led  him  out  to  crucify  him. 
And  they  forced  one  Simon, 
a  Cyrenean,  who  passed  by, 
coming  out  of  the  country,  the 
father  of  Alexander  and  of 
Eufus,  to  take  up  his  cross. 
And  they  bring  him  into  the 
place  called  Golgotha,  which 
being  interpreted  is,  The  place 
of  Calvary.  And  they  gave 
him  to  drink  wine  mingled 
with  myrrh ;  but  he  took  it 
not.  And  crucifying  him,  they 
divided  his  garments  casting 
lots  for  them,  what  every  man 
should  take.  And  it  was  the 
third  hour,  and  they  cru- 
cified him.  And  the  inscrip- 
tion of  his  cause  was  written 
over,  The  King  of  the  Jews. 
And  with  him  they  crucified 
two  thieves,  the  one  on  his 
right  hand  and  the  other  on 
his  left.  And  the  scripture 
was  fulfilled  which  saith : 
"And  with  the  wicked  he 
"  was  reputed." 

And  they  that  passed  by 
blasphemed    him,     wagging 


TUESDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


269 


their  heads,  and  saying :  Vah, 
thou  that  destroyest  the 
Temple  of  God,  and  in  three 
days  buildest  it  up  again,  save 
thyself,  coming  down  from 
the  cross.  In  like  manner  al- 
so the  chief  priests  with  the 
scribes  mocking,  said  one  to 
another :  He  saved  others, 
himself  he  cannot  save.  Lot 
Christ  the  King  of  Israel 
come  down  from  the  cross, 
that  we  may  see  and  believe. 
And  they  that  were  crucified 
with  him  reviled  him. 

And  when  the  sixth  hour 
was  come,  there  was  darkness 
over  the  whole  earth  until  the 
ninth  hour  ;  and  at  the  ninth 
hour  Jesus  cried  out  with  a 
loud  voice,  saying :  Eloi,  Eloi, 
lamma  Sabacthani  ?  which  is, 
being  interpreted  :  My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  thou  for- 
saken me  ?  And  some  of  the 
standers-by  hearing,  said  : 
Behold,  he  calleth  Elias.  And 
one  running  and  filling  a 
sponge  with  vinegar,  and 
putting  it  upon  a  reed,  gave 
him  to  drink,  saying :  Stay, 
let  us  see  if  Elias  will  come 
to  take  him  down.  And 
Jesus  having  cried  out  with  a 
loud  voice,  gave  up  the  ghost. 


pita  sua,  et  dicentes :  Yah, 
qui  destruis  Templum  Dei 
et  in  tribus  diebus  reaedi- 
ficas :  salvum  fac  temetip- 
sum,  descendens  de  cruce. 
Similiter  et  summi  sacer- 
dotes  illudentes,  ad  alteru- 
truin  cum  scribis  dicebant : 
Alios  salvos  fecit,  seipsum 
non  potest  salvum  facere. 
Christus  Eex  Israel  de- 
scendat  nunc  de  cruce,  ut 
videamus,  et  credamus.  Et 
qui  cum  eo  crucifixi  erant, 
conviciabantur  ei. 

Et  facta  hora  sexta,  te- 
nebrae  factse  sunt  per  to- 
tam  terram,  usque  in  ho- 
ram  nonam.  Et  hora  nona 
exclamavit  Jesus  voce  mag- 
na, dicens :  Eloi,  Eloi, 
lamma  sabacthani  ?  Quod 
est  interpretatum :  Deus 
meus,  Deus  meus,  ut  quid 
dereliquisti  me  ?  Et  quidam 
de  circumstantibus  audien- 
tes  dicebant  :  Ecce,  Eliam 
vocat.  Currens  autem  unus, 
et  implens  spongiam  aceto, 
circumponensque  calamo, 
potum  dabat  ei,  dicens  : 
Sinite  videamus  si  veniat 
Elias  ad  deponendum  eum. 
Jesus  autem  emissa  voce 
magna,  exspiravit. 


Here  a  pause  is  made,  as  on  Palm  Sunday.  All 
kneel  down,  and  if  such  be  the  custom  of  the  place, 
prostrate  and  kiss  the  ground. 


And  the  veil  of  the  temple 
was  rent  in  two  from  the  top 
to  the  bottom  ;  and  the  cen- 
turion who  stood  over  against 
him,  seeing  that  crying  out  in 


Et  velum  templi  scissum 
est  in  duo,  a  summo  usque 
deorsum.  Videns  autem 
centurio,  qui  ex  adverso 
stabat,     quia     sic     clamans 


270 


HOLY  WEEK. 


expirasset,  ait :  Vere  hie 
homo  Filius  Dei  erat.  Erant 
autem  et  mulieres  de  longe 
aspicientes  :  inter  quas  erat 
Maria  Magdalene,  et  Maria 
Jacobi  minoris,  et  Joseph 
mater,  et  Salome :  et  cum 
esset  in  Galiloea,  sequeban- 
tur  eum,  et  ministrabant 
ei :  et  alise  multae,  quae  si- 
mul  cum  eo  ascenderant 
Jerosolymam. 


this  manner  he  gave  up  the 
ghost,  .said  :  Indeed  this  man 
was  the  Son  of  God.  And 
there  were  also  women  looking 
on  afar  off,  among  whom  was 
Maiy  Magdalene,  and  Mary 
the  mother  of  James  the  Less, 
and  of  Josoph,  and  Salome ; 
who  also  when  he  was  in 
Galilee  followed  him,  and 
ministered  to  him,  and  many 
other  women  came  up 
with  him  to  Jerusalem. 


Here,  the  Deacon  presents  the  Incense  to  the 
Priest,  that  it  may  be  blessed ;  and,  after  having  him- 
self received  a  blessing,  he  terminates  the  Passion, 
observing  the  ceremonies  which  are  used  at  the 
singing  of  the  Grospel  in  a  High  Mass. 


Et  quum  jam  sero  esset  fac- 
tum (quia  erat  Parasceve, 
quod  est  ante  Sabbatum)  ve- 
nit  Joseph  ab  Arimathsea, 
nobilis  decurio,  qui  et  ipse 
erat  exspectans  regnum 
Dei.  Et  audacter  introivit 
ad  Pilatum,  et  petiit  corpus 
Jesu.  Pilatus  autem  miraba- 
tur  si  jam  obiisset.  Et  ac- 
cersito  centurione,  interro- 
gavit  eum,  si  jam  mortuus 
esset.  Et  cum  cognovisset 
a  centurione,  donavit  cor- 
pus Joseph.  Joseph  autem 
mercatus  sindonem,  et  de- 
ponens  eum,  involvit  sin- 
done  :  et  posuit  eum  in  mo- 
numento,  quod  erat  exci- 
sum  de  petra,  et  advolvit 
lapidem  ad  ostium  monu- 
menti. 


And  when  the  evening  was 
now  come,  (because  it  was 
the  Parasceve,  that  is,  the  day 
before  the  Sabbath, )  Joseph  of 
Arimathea,  a  noble  counsellor, 
who  was  also  himself  looking 
for  the  kingdom  of  God,  came 
and  went  in  boldly  to  Pilate, 
and  begged  the  body  of  Jesus. 
But  Pilate  wondered  that  he 
should  be  already  dead  ;  and 
sending  for  the  centurion,  he 
asked  him  if  he  were  already 
dead.  And  when  he  had 
understood  it  by  the  centu- 
rion, he  gave  the  body  to 
Joseph.  And  Joseph  buying 
fine  linen,  and  taking  him 
clown,  wrapped  him  up  in  the 
fine  linen,  and  laid  him  in  a 
sepulchre  which  was  hewn  out 
of  a  rock,  and  he  rolled  a 
stone  to  the  door  of  the 
sepulchre. 


TUESDAY   IN    HOLY   WEEK.  271 

At  the  Offertory,  the  Messias  asks  his  Eternal 
Father  to  defend  him  from  the  enemies  that  are 
preparing  his  destruction. 

OFFERTORY. 

Keep  me,  0  Lord,  from  the  Custodi  me,  Domine,  de 
hands  of  the  sinful  man ;  and  manu  peccatoris  :  et  ab  ho- 
from  unjust  men  deliver  me.      minibus  iniquis  eripe  me. 

In  the  Secret,  the  Church  offers  to  the  Majesty  of 
Grod  the  tribute  of  our  fasts,  in  union  with  the  Holy 
Host  on  our  Altar,  and  from  which  they  derive  all 
their  merit  and  efficacy. 

SECRET. 

May  these  sacrifices,  0  Lord,  Sacrificia  nos,  qusesumus, 
we  beseech  thee,  which  are  Domine,  propensius  ista  res- 
accompanied  with  healing  taurent  :  quae  medicinali- 
fasts,  mercifully  repair  us.  bus  sunt  instituta  jejuniis. 
Through,  &c.  Per  Dominum. 

For  the  other  Secrets,  see  page  252. 

The  words  of  the  Psalmist,  used  by  the  Church  in 
her  Communion-Anthem,  show  us  the  blasphemous 
daring  of  our  Saviour's  enemies,  as  also  the  disposi- 
tions in  which  this  dear  Jesus  himself  was  during 
his  sacred  Passion. 

COMMUNION. 

The  judgesinthe  gate  spoke  Adversum  me    exerceban- 

against  me,     and  they  that  tur,   qui  sedebant  in  porta  : 

drank  wine  made  songs  against  et  in  me  psallebant,  qui  bi- 

me.     But  I  poured  forth  my  bebant    vinum  :      ego     vero 

prayer  to  thee,   0  Lord :  it  is  orationem  meam  ad  te,  Do- 


272 


HOLY     WEEK. 


mine  :  tempus  beneplaciti  time,  0  God,  to  shew  thy  good 
Deus,  in  mnltitudine  mi-  will  to  me,  according  to  the 
sericordise  tuae.  multitude  of  thy  mercies. 

In  the  Postcommunion,  the  Church  prays,  that, 
by  the  merits  of  the  Sacrifice  she  has  just  offered, 
we  may  obtain  the  perfect  cure  of  our  spiritual  in- 
firmities ;  for  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb  takes  away  the 
sins  of  the  world. 


POSTCOMMUNION. 

Sanctincationibus  tuis,  om-  May  these  thy  holy  mys- 

nipotens  Deus,  et  vitia  nostra  teries,  O  Almighty  God,  both 

curentur  :     et  remedia  nobis  cure   our  vices   and  become 

sempiterna  proveniant.     Per  an    eternal    remedy    to    us. 

Dominum.  Through,  &c 


See  the  other  Postcommunions  in  page  253. 


OREMUS. 

Humiliate  capita  vestra 
Deo. 

Tua  nos  misericordia, 
Deus,  et  ab  omni  subrep- 
tione  vetustatis  expurget, 
et  capaces  sanctse  novitatis 
efficiat.     Per  Dominum. 


LET  US  PRAY. 

Bow  down  your  heads  to 
God. 

May  thy  mercy,  0  God, 
purify  us  from  the  corruption 
of  the  old  man,  and  enable  us 
to  put  on  the  new.  Through, 
&c. 


We  may  close  this  day,  by  saying  these  few  verses, 
taken  from  a  Hymn  of  the  Greek  Church  on  the 
Passion  of  oar  Lord. 


TUESDAY   IN    HOLY   WEEK. 


273 


HYMN. 


(In  Parasceve.) 


The  life-giving  Wound  of 
thy  Side,  0  Jesus !  like  the 
fountain  that  sprang  from 
Eden,  waters  the  spiritual  gar- 
den of  thy  Church.  Thence, 
dividing  itself  into  the  four 
Gospels,  as  into  so  many  mas- 
ter-streams, it  freshens  the 
world,  gladdens  creation,  and 
teaches  all  nations  to  bow 
down  in  faith,  and  venerate 
thy  Kingdom. 

Thou  wast  crucified  for  me, 
that  thou  mightest  be  to  me 
as  a  fountain  pouring  out 
forgiveness  upon  me.  Thou 
wast  wounded  in  thy  Side, 
that  thou  mightest  open  to  me 
the  sources  of  life.  Thou  wast 
nailed  to  the  Cross,  that  I, 
confessing  the  greatness  of 
thy  power  in  the  depth  of  thy 
Passion,  might  sing  to  thee, 
0  Christ,  thou  Giver  of  life  : 
Glory  be  to  thy  Cross  and 
Passion,  0  Saviour ! 

Thou,  0  Christ,  didst,  on  thy 
Cross,  tear  the  hand- writing 
that  was  against  us .  Thou  wast 
numbered  among  the  dead, 
and  there  didst  bind  down  the 
tyrant,  and,  by  thy  Resurrec- 
tion, didst  set  us  all  free  from 
the  chains  of  death.  It  is  thy 
Resurrection  that  has  given 
us  light,  O  God,  thou  lover  of 
mankind !  To  thee  do  we 
sing  :  Remember  us,  also,  O 
Saviour,  in  thy  Kingdom  ! 

To  thee,  most  merciful  Lord, 
we  bring  thy  Mother,  that  she 


Yitale  latus  tuum,  tan- 
quam  fons  ex  Eden  sca- 
turiens,  Ecclesiam  tuam, 
Christe,  tanquam  rationa- 
lem  hortum  adaquat  :  inde 
tanquam  in  quaedam  initia 
se  dividens  in  quatuor 
Evangelia  :  mundum  irri- 
gans,  creaturam  lsetificans, 
gentesque  fideliter  docens 
venerari  regnum  tuum. 

Crucifixus  es  propter 
me ;  ut  velut  ex  fonte  mi- 
ni effunderes  remissionem. 
Punctus  es  in  latere,  ut 
mihi  vitae  scaturigines  ape- 
rires;  clavis  confixus  es,  ut 
ego  in  passionum  tuarum 
profundo  altitudinem  tuae 
potentiae  confessus,  clamem 
ad  te,  vitae  largitor  Christe  : 
Gloria  Cruci  tuae  Salvator, 
ac  Passioni  tuae. 


Chirographum  nostrum 
in  cruce  dirupisti,  Christe : 
et  inter  mortuos  reputatus, 
tyrannum  illic  ligasti,  libe- 
ratis  omnibus  ex  vinculis 
mortis  resurrectione  tua. 
Per  quam  illuminati  sumus, 
o  amans  hominum  Domine  ! 
tibique  clamamus  :  Memen- 
to et  nostri  Salvator  in  Reg- 
no tuo. 


Tuam,     Christe,     Matrem, 
quae   te   in   carne   sine  virili 


274 


HOLY  WEEK. 


semine  peperit,  et  vere  vir- 
go  etiam  post  partum  in- 
corrupta  permansit ;  hanc 
tibi  adducimus  ad  interces- 
sionem,  Domine  multum 
misericors :  lit  offensarum 
condonationem  jugiter  lar- 
giaris  iis  qui  clamant :  Me- 
mento et  nostri  Domine  in 
Regno  tuo. 


may  intercede  for  us, — she 
that  conceived  thee  and  was  a 
Virgin,  she  that  gave  thee 
birth,  and  was  a  spotless  Vir- 
gin. May  her  prayers  obtain 
from  thee  the  unceasing  par- 
don of  sin  to  all  that  cry  out 
to  thee  :  Eemember  us,  also, 
O  Lord,  in  thy  kingdom  ! 


WEDNESDAY    IN    HOLY   WEEK  275 


WEDNESDAY 


IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


The  Chief  Priests  and  the  Ancients  of  the  people 
are  met  to-day,  in  one  of  the  rooms  adjoining  the 
Temple,  for  the  purpose  of  deliberating  on  the  best 
means  of  putting  Jesus  to  death.  Several  plans  are 
discussed.  Would  it  be  prudent  to  lay  hands  upon 
him  at  this  season  of  the  Feast  of  the  Pasch,  when 
the  City  is  filled  with  strangers,  who  have  received  a 
favourable  impression  of  Jesus  from  the  solemn 
ovation  given  to  him  three  days  back  ?  Then,  too, 
are  there  not  a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem,  who  took  part  in  that  triumph,  and  whose 
enthusiastic  admiration  of  Jesus  might  excite  them 
to  rise  up  in  his  defence  ?  These  considerations  per- 
suade them  not  to  have  recourse  to  any  violent 
measure,  at  least  for  the  present,  as  a  sedition  among 
the  people  might  be  the  consequence,  and  its  pro- 
moters, even  were  they  to  escape  being  ill-treated  by 
the  people,  would  be  brought  before  the  tribunal  of 
the  Boman  Governor,  Pontius  Pilate.  They,  there- 
fore, come  to  the  resolution  of  letting  the  Feast  pass 
quietly  over,  before  apprehending  Jesus. 

But  these  blood-thirsty  men  are  making  all  these 
calculations  as  though  they  were  the  masters.  They 
are,  if  they  will,  shrewd  assassins,  who  put  off  their 
murder  to  a  more  convenient  day  :  but  the  Divine 
decrees, — which,  from  all  eternity,  have  prepared  a 
Sacrifice  for  the  world's  salvation, — have  fixed  this 


276  HOLY   WEEK. 

very  year's  Pasch  as  the  day  of  the  Sacrifioe,  and, 
to-morrow  evening,  the  holy  City  will  re-echo  with  the 
trumpets,  which  proclaim  the  opening  of  the  Feast. 
The  figurative  Lamb  is  now  to  make  way  for  the 
true  one  ;  the  Pasch  of  this  year  will  substitute  the 
reality  for  the  type  ;  and  Jesus'  Blood,  shed  by  the 
hands  of  wicked  priests,  is  soon  to  flow  simulta- 
neously with  that  of  victims,  which  have  only  been 
hitherto  acceptable  to  God,  because  they  prefigured 
the  Sacrifice  of  Calvary.  The  Jewish  priesthood  is 
about  to  be  its  own  executioner,  by  immolating  Him, 
whose  Blood  is  to  abrogate  the  Ancient  Alliance, 
and  perpetuate  the  New  one. 

But  how  are  Jesus'  enemies  to  get  possession  of 
their  divine  Victim,  so  as  to  avoid  a  disturbance  in 
the  city  ?  There  is  only  one  plan  that  could  succeed, 
and  they  have  not  thought  of  it :  it  is  treachery. 
Just  at  the  close  of  their  deliberations,  they  are  told 
that  one  of  Jesus'  Disciples  seeks  admission.  They 
admit  him,  and  he  says  to  them  :  Wlxat  will  you  give 
me,  and  I  will  deliver  him  unto  you  P  They  are 
delighted  at  this  proposition  :  and  yet,  how  is  it, 
that  they,  doctors  of  the  law,  forget  that  this  infa- 
mous bargain  between  themselves  and  Judas  has  all 
been  foretold  by  David,  in  the  108th  Psalm  ?  They 
know  the  Scriptures  from  beginning  to  end  ; — how 
comes  it,  that  they  forget  the  words  of  the  Prophet, 
who  even  mentions  the  sum  of  thirty  pieces  of  silver.2 
Judas  asks  them  what  they  will  give  him  ;  and  they 
give  him  thirty  pieces  of  silver  !  All  is  arranged  : 
to-morrow,  Jesus  will  be  in  Jerusalem,  eating  the 
Pasch  with  his  Disciples.  In  the  evening,  he  will  go, 
as  usual,  to  the  Garden  on  Mount  Olivet.  But  how 
shall  they,  who  are  sent  to  seize  him,  be  able  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  his  disciples  ?  Judas  will  lead 
the  way ;  he  will  show  them  which  is  Jesus,  by 
going  up  to  him  and  kissing  him  ! 

»  gt,  Matth.  xxyi,  15,         2'/<&w,  xxvii.  9,    Zach.  xi.  12, 


WEDNESDAY  IN  HOLY  WEEK.         277 

Such  is  the  impious  scheme  devised  on  this  day, 
within  the  precincts  of  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem. 
To  testify  her  detestation  at  it,  and  to  make  atone- 
ment to  the  Son  of  Grod  for  the  outrage  thus  offered 
him.,  the  Holy  Church,  from  the  earliest  ages,  conse- 
crated the  Wednesday  of  every  week  to  penance.  In 
our  own  times,  the  Fast  of  Lent  begins  on  a  Wednes- 
day ;  and  when  the  Church  ordained  that  we  should 
commence  each  of  the  four  Seasons  of  the  year  with 
Fasting,  Wednesday  was  chosen  to  be  one  of  the 
three  days  thus  consecrated  to  bodily  mortification. 

On  this  day,  in  the  Roman  Church,  was  held  the 
sixth  Scrutiny,  for  the  admission  of  Catechumens  to 
Baptism.  Those,  upon  whom  there  had  been  pre- 
vious doubts,  were  now  added  to  the  number  of  the 
chosen  ones,  if  they  were  found  worthy.  There  were 
two  Lessons  read  in  the  Mass,  as  on  the  day  of  the 
great  Scrutiny,  the  Wednesday  of  the  fourth  Week 
of  Lent.  As  usual,  the  Catechumens  left  the  Church, 
after  the  Gospel ;  but,  as  soon  as  the  Holy  Sacrifice 
was  over,  they  were  brought  back  by  the  Door- 
Keeper,  and  one  of  the  Priests  addressed  them  in 
these  words  :  "  On  Saturday  next,  the  Eve  of  Easter, 
"  at  such  an  hour,  you  will  assemble  in  the  Lateran 
"  Basilica,  for  the  seventh  Scrutiny ;  you  will  then 
"  recite  the  Symbol,  which  you  must  have  learned ; 
"  and  lastly,  you  will  receive,  by  Grod's  help,  the 
"  sacred  laver  of  regeneration.  Prepare  yourselves, 
"zealously  and  humbly,  by  persevering  fasts  and 
"  prayers,  in  order  that,  having  been  buried,  by  this 
"  holy  Baptism,  together  with  Jesus  Christ,  you  may 
"  rise  again  with  him,  unto  life  everlasting.     Amen." 

At  Rome,  the  Station  for  to-day  is  in  the  Basilica 
of  Saint  Mary  Major.  Let  us  compassionate  with 
our  Holy  Mother,  whose  Heart  is  filled  with  poignant 
grief  at  the  foresight  of  the  Sacrifice,  which  is  pre- 
paring. 


278 


HOLY   WEEK. 


MASS. 

The  Church  commences  her  chants  with  one  to 
the  glory  of  the  Holy  Name  of  Jesus,  outraged  as  it 
is,  on  this  day,  by  them  that  plot  his  death.  This 
Name,  which  was  given  him  by  heaven,  and  signifies 
that  he  is  our  Saviour,  is  now  being  blasphemed  by 
his  enemies :  in  a  few  hours,  their  crime  will  bring 
its  full  meaning  before  us,  for  his  Death  will  have 
worked  the  Salvation  of  the  world. 


INTROIT. 


In  nomine  Jesu  omne 
genu  nectatur,  coelestium, 
terrestrium,  et  inferno- 
rum  :  quia  Dominus  f actus 
est ,  obediens  usque  ad  mor- 
tem, mortem  autem  crucis : 
ideo  Dominus  Jesus  Chris- 
tus  in  gloria  est  Dei  Patris. 

Ps.  Domine,  exaudi  ora- 
tionem  meam :  et  clamor 
meus  ad  te  veniat. 

In  nomine. 


At  the  name  of  Jesus  every 
knee  should  bow,  of  those 
that  are  in  heaven,  on  earth, 
and  under  the  earth ;  because 
the  Lord  became  obedient 
unto  death,  even  the  death  of 
the  cross  :  therefore  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  in  the  glory  of 
God  the  Father. 

Ps.  O  Lord,  hear  my 
prayer,  and  let  my  cry  come 
unto  thee. 

At  the  name,  &c. 


In  the  first  Collect,  the  Church  acknowledges  to 
Grod,  that  her  children  have  sinned  against  him  :  but 
she  reminds  him  of  the  Passion,  endured  for  their 
sakes,  by  his  Only  Begotten  Son ;  and  this  revives 
her  hope. 


0REMU8. 

y.  Flectamus  genua. 

gt.  Levate. 

Praosta,  quaesumus,  omni- 
potens  Deus  :  ut  qui  nostris 
excessibus  incessanter  affli- 
gimur,    per    unigeniti    Filii 


LET  US  PRAY. 

y.     Let  us  kneel  down. 

j£.     Stand  up  again. 

Grant,  we  beseech  thee,  O 
Almighty  God,  that  we,  who 
continually  are  punished  for 
our    excesses,     may  be  de- 


WEDNESDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


279 


livered  by  the  Passion  of  thy 
Only  Begotten  Son.  Who 
liveth,  &c. 


tui     Passionem 
Qui  tecum. 


liberemur. 


Lesson    from  Isaias    the        Lectio  Isaise  Prophetae. 

Prophet. 
Ch.  LXIL  and  LXIII.  Cap.  LXII.  et  LXIIL 


Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  : 
Tell  the  daughter  of  Sion  : 
Behold  thy  Saviour  cometh  : 
behold  his  reward  is  with  him. 
Who  is  this  that  cometh  from 
Edom,  with  dyed  garments 
from  Bosra,  this  beautiful  one 
in  his  robe,  walking  in  the 
greatness  of  his  strength  ?  I, 
that  speak  justice,  and  am  a 
defender  to  save.  Why  then 
is  thy  apparel  red,  and  thy 
garments  like  them  that  tread 
in  the  wine-press  ?  I  have 
trodden  the  wine -press  alone, 
and  of  the  Gentiles  there  is 
not  a  man  with  me ;  I  have 
trampled  on  them  in  my  in- 
dignation, and  have  trodden 
them  down  in  my  wrath,  and 
their  blood  is  sprinkled  upon 
my  garments,  and  I  have 
stained  all  my  apparel.  For 
the  day  of  vengeance  is  in  my 
heart,  the  year  of  my  redemp- 
tion is  come.  I  looked  about, 
and  there  was  none  to  help  ; 
I  sought,  and  there  was  none 
to  give  aid  ;  and  my  own  arm 
hath  saved  me,  and  my  indig- 
nation itself  hath  helped  me. 
And  I  have  trodden  down  the 
people  in  my  wrath,  and  made 
them  drunk  in  my  indigna- 
tion and  have  brought  down 
their  strength  to  the  earth.  I 
will  remember  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  Lord,  the  praise 


Hsec  dicit  Dominus  Deus  : 
Dicite  filiae  Sion  :  Ecce 
Salvator  tuus  venit,  ecce 
merces  ejus  cum  eo.  Quis 
est  iste,  qui  venit  de 
Edom,  tinctis  vestibus  de 
Bosra  ?  Iste  formosus  in 
stola  sua,  gradiens  in  mul- 
titudine  fortitudinis  suae. 
Ego,  qui  loquor  justitiam  : 
et  propugnator  sum  ad  sal- 
vandum.  Quare  ergo  ru- 
brum  est  indumentum  tuum, 
et  vestimenta  tua  sicut 
calcantium  in  torculari  ? 
Torcular  calcavi  solus :  et 
de  gentibus  non  est  vir 
mecum.  Calcavi  eos  in 
furore  meo :  et  conculcavi 
eos  in  ira  mea.  Et  asper- 
sus  est  sanguis  eorum  su- 
per vestimenta  mea,  et 
omnia  indumenta  mea  in- 
quinavi.  Dies  enim  ultionis 
in  corde  meo  :  annus  re- 
demptionis  mese  venit.  Cir- 
cumspexi,  et  non  erat  auxi- 
liator :  et  quaesivi,  et  non 
fuit  qui  adjuvaret.  Et 
salvavit  mihi  brachium 
meum  :  et  indignatio  mea 
ipsa  auxiliata  est  mihi.  Et 
conculcavi  populos  in  furore 
meo :  et  inebriavi  eos  in 
indignatione  mea,  et  de- 
traxi  in  terram  virtutem 
eorum.  Miserationem  Do- 
mini     recordabor,       laudem 


280  HOLY    WEEK. 

Domini  super  omnibus,  of  the  Lord,  for  all  the  things 
quae  reddidit  nobis  Dominus  that  the  Lord  hath  bestowed 
Deus  noster.  on  us. 


How  terrible  is  this  our  Defender,  who  tramples 
his  enemies  beneath  his  feet,  as  they  that  tread  in 
the  ivine-press  ;  so  that  their  blood  is  sprinkled  upon  his 
garments  !  But  is  not  this  the  fittest  time  for  us  to 
proclaim  his  power,  now  that  he  is  being  treated 
with  ignominy,  and  sold  to  his  enemies  by  one  of 
his  Disciples  ?  These  humiliations  will  soon  pass 
away  ;  he  will  rise  in  glory,  and  his  might  will  be 
shown  by  the  chastisements,  wherewith  he  will  crush 
them  that  now  persecute  him.  Jerusalem  will  stone 
them  that  shall  preach  in  his  name ;  she  will  be 
a  cruel  step-mother  to  those  true  Israelites,  who, 
docile  to  the  teaching  of  the  Prophets,  have  recog- 
nised Jesus  as  the  promised  Messias.  The  Synagogue 
will  seek  to  stifle  the  Church  in  her  infancy  ;  but 
no  sooner  shall  the  Church,  shaking  the  dust  from 
her  feet,  turn  from  Jerusalem  to  the  Grentiles,  than 
the  vengeance  of  Christ  will  fall  on  the  City,  which 
bought,  betrayed,  and  crucified  him.  Her  citizens 
will  have  to  pay  dearly  for  these  crimes.  We  learn 
from  the  Jewish  historian,  Josephus,  (who  was  an 
eye-witness  to  the  siege,)  that  the  fire  which  was 
raging  in  one  of  the  streets,  was  quenched  by  the 
torrents  of  their  blood.  Thus  were  fulfilled  the 
threats  pronounced  by  our  Lord  against  this  faith- 
less City,  as  he  sat  on  Mount  Olivet,  the  day  after 
his  triumphant  Entry. 

And  yet,  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  was  but 
a  faint  image  of  the  terrible  destruction  which  is  to 
befal  the  world  at  the  last  day.  Jesus,  who  is  now 
despised  and  insulted  by  sinners,  will  then  appear 
on  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  reparation  will  be  made 
for  all  these  outrages.  Now  he  suffers  himself  to 
be  betrayed,  scoffed  at,  and  spit  upon  ;  but  when  the 


WEDNESDAY    TN    HOLY    WEEK.  281 

day  of  vengeance  is  come,  happy  they  that  have  served 
him,  and  have  compassionated  with  him  in  his 
humiliations  and  sufferings  !  Wo  to  them,  that 
have  treated  him  with  contempt !  Wo  to  them,  who 
not  content  with  their  own  refusing  to  bear  his 
yoke,  have  led  others  to  rebel  against  him  !  For  he 
is  King;  he  came  into  this  world  that  he  might 
reign  over  it  ;  and  they  that  despise  his  Mercy, 
shall  not  escape  his  Justice. 

The  Gradual,  which  immediately  follows  upon  this 
sublime  passage  from  Isaias,  is  a  prayer  addressed 
by  Jesus  to  his  Eternal  Father  :  the  words  are  taken 
from  one  of  the  Psalms. 

GRADUAL. 

Turn  not  away   thy  face  Ne    avertas    faciem  tuam 

from  thy  servant,  for  I  am  in  a  puero  tuo,  quoniam  tribu- 

trouble  :   hear  ine  speedily.  lor :  velociter  exaudi  me. 

y.  Save  me,  O  God,  for  the  <f.  Salvum  me  fac,  Deus, 

waters  are  come  in  even  unto  quoniam    intraverunt    aquae 

my  soul ;    I  stick  fast  in  the  usque    ad    animam    meam : 

mire  of  the  deep,  and  there  is  infixus    sum    in    limo   pro- 

no  sure  standing.  fundi,  et  non  est  substantia. 

In  the  second  Collect,  the  Church  again  reminds 
our  Heavenly  Father  of  the  Death,  which  his  Divine 
Son  deigned  to  suffer,  in  order  to  set  us  free  from 
the  yoke  of  Satan ;  she  prays  that  we  may  have 
a  share  in  the  glorious  Resurrection  of  this  our 
Redeemer. 

COLLECT. 

O  God,  who  wouldst  have  Deus,    qui  pro  nobis  Fi- 

thy  Son  suffer  on  the   Cross,  Hum    tuum    Crucis    patibu- 

to  deliver  us  from  the  power  lum      subire      voluisti,      ut 

of  the  enemy  ;    grant  that  we  inimici    a    nobis     expelleres 

thy  servants,  may  obtain  the  potestatem  :     concede    nobis 

grace     of    his     resurrection,  famulis    tuis,     ut     resurrec- 

Through  the  same,  &c.  tionis  gratiam  consequamur. 

Per  eumdem. 

For  the  other  Collects,  see  page  244. 


282 


HOLY   WEEK. 


EPISTLE. 


Lectio  Isaiae  Prophetae. 

Cap.  LIII. 

In  diebus  illis  :  Dixit 
Isaias  :  Domine,  quis  credidit 
auditui  nostro  ;  et  brachium 
Domini  cui  revelatum  est  ? 
Et  ascendet  sicut  virgultum 
coram  eo  :  et  sicut  radix  de 
terra  sitienti.  Non  est  spe- 
cies ei,  neque  decor.  Et 
vidimus  eum  :  et  non  erat 
aspectus,  et  desideravimus 
eum  :  despectum,  et  novis- 
simum  virorum,  virum  do- 
lorum,  et  scientem  infiruii- 
tatem.  Et  quasi  abscon- 
ditus  vultus  ejus,  et  despec- 
tus  :  unde  nee  reputavimus 
eum:  Vere  languores  nos- 
tras ipse  tulit  :  et  dolores 
nostros  ipse  portavit.  Et 
nos  putavimus  eum  quasi 
leprosum,  et  percussum  a 
Deo,  et  humiliatum.  Ipse 
autem  vulneratus  est  prop- 
ter iniquitates  nostras  :  at- 
tritus  est  propter  scelera 
nostra  :  disciplina  pacis 
nostrse  super  eum  :  et 
livore  ejus  sanati  sumus. 
Omnes  nos  quasi  oves  erra- 
vimus  :  unusquisque  in  viam 
suam  declinavit  :  et  posuit 
Dominus  in  eo  iniquitatem 
omnium  nostrum.  Oblatus 
est,  quia  ipse  voluit :  et  non 
aperuit  os  suum.  Sicut  ovis 
ad  occisionem  ducetur  ;  et 
quasi  agnus  coram  tondente 
se,  obmutescet  :  et  non 
aperiet  os  suum.     De  angus- 


Lesson  from  Isaias  the 
Prophet. 

Ch.  LIII. 

In  those  days  :  Isaias  said  : 
Who  hath  believed  our  report  ? 
and  to  whom  is  the  arm  of  the 
Lord  revealed  ?  And  he  shall 
grow  up  as  a  tender  plant  be- 
fore him,  and  as  a  root  out  of 
a  thirsty  ground.  There  is  no 
beauty  in  him,  nor  comeli- 
ness. And  we  have  seen  him, 
and  there  was  no  sightliness 
that  we  should  be  desirous  of 
him  ;  despised,  and  the  most 
abject  of  men,  a  man  of  sor- 
rows, and  acquainted  with  in- 
firmity. And  his  look  was  as 
it  were  hidden  and  despised  ; 
whereupon  we  esteemed  him 
not.  Surely  he  hath  borne 
our  infirmities,  and  carried 
our  sorrows.  And  we  have 
thought  him  as  it  were  a  leper, 
and  as  one  struck  by  God  and 
afflicted.  But  he  was  wound- 
ed for  our  iniquities,  he  was 
bruised  for  our  sins  ;  the 
chastisement  of  our  peace  was 
upon  him,  and  by  his  bruises 
we  are  healed.  All  we  like 
sheep  have  gone  astray,  every 
one  hath  turned  aside  into 
his  own  way  :  and  the  Lord 
hath  laid  upon  him  the  iniqui- 
ty of  us  all.  He  was  offered 
because  it  was  his  own  will, 
and  he  opened  not  his  mouth. 
He  shall  be  led  as  a  sheep  to 
the  slaughter,  and  shall  be 
dumb  as  a  lamb  before  his 
shearer  ;  and  he  shall  not  open 


WEDNESDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


283 


his  mouth.  He  was  taken 
away  from  distress,  and  from 
judgment.  Who  shall  declare 
his  generation  ?  because  he  is 
cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the 
living.  For  the  wickedness 
of  my  people  have  I  struck 
him.  And  he  shall  give  the 
ungodly  for  his  burial,  and 
the  rich  for  his  death  ;  because 
he  hath  done  no  iniquity,  nei- 
ther was  there  deceit  in  his 
mouth.  And  the  Lord  was 
pleased  to  bruise  him  in  infir- 
mity. If  he  shall  lay  down 
his  life  for  sin,  he  shall  see 
a  longlived  seed,  and  the  will 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  prospe- 
rous in  his  hand.  Because  his 
soul  hath  ]aboured,  he  shall 
see  and  be  filled :  by  his  know- 
ledge shall  this  my  j  ust  servant 
justify  many,  and  he  shall  bear 
their  iniquities.  Therefore 
will  I  distribute  to  him  very 
many,  and  he  shall  divide  the 
spoils  of  the  strong,  because 
he  hath  delivered  his  soul  unto 
death,  and  was  reputed  with 
the  wicked ;  and  he  hath  borne 
the  sins  of  many,  and  hath 
prayed  for  the  transgressors. 


tia,  et  de  judicio  sublatus 
est.  Grenerationern  ejus  quis 
enarrabit  ?  Quia  abscissus 
est  de  terra  viventium. 
Propter  scelus  populi  mei 
percussi  eum.  Et  dabit  im- 
pios  pro  sepultura,  et  divi- 
tem  pro  morte  sua  :  eo  quod 
iniquitatem  non  fecerit,  ne- 
que  dolus  inventus  fuerit 
in  ore  ejus.  Et  Dominus 
voluit  conterere  eum  in 
infirmitate.  Si  posuerit  pro 
peccato  animam  suam,  vide- 
bit  semen  longaevum  :  et  vo- 
luntas Domini  in  manu 
ejus  dirigetur.  Pro  eo 
quod  laboravit  anima  ejus, 
videbit  et  saturabitur.  In 
scientia  sua  justificabit  ipse 
Justus  servus  meus  multos  : 
et  iniquitates  eorum  ipse 
portabit.  Ideo  dispertiam 
ei  plurimos,  et  fortium  divi- 
det  spolia :  pro  eo  quod 
tradidit  in  mortem  animam 
suam,  et  cum  sceleratis  re- 
putatus  est.  Et  ipse  pecca- 
ta  multorum  tulit :  et  pro 
transgressoribus  rogavit. 


Again  it  is  Isaias  that  instructs  us,  not  indeed  upon 
the  triumph  which  our  Emmanuel  is  to  win  over 
his  enemies,  but  upon  the  sufferings  of  the  Man  of 
Sorrows.  So  explicit  is  his  description  of  our  Lord's 
Passion,  that  the  holy  Fathers  have  called  him  the 
fifth  Evangelist.  What  could  be  more  sublimely 
plaintive  than  the  language  here  used  by  the  son  of 
Amos  ?  And  we,  after  hearing  both  the  Old  and 
New  Testament  upon  the  sufferings  which  Jesus 
went  through  for  our  sins, — how  shall  we  sufficiently 
love  this  dear   Redeemer,  who   bore   our  infirmities 


284  HOLY   WEEK. 

and  carried  our   Sorrows,  so  as  to  look  as  a  leper, 
and  as  one  struck  by  God  and  afflicted  ? 

We  are  healed  by  his  bruises  !  0  heavenly  Phy- 
sician, that  takes  upon  himself  the  sufferings  of  them 
he  comes  to  cure  !  But  not  only  was  he  bruised  for 
our  sins ;  he  was  also  slaughtered  as  a  lamb  :  and  this 
not  merely  as  a  Victim  submitting  to  the  inflexible 
justice  of  his  Father  who  hath  laid  upon  him  the 
iniquity  of  us  all,  but,  (as  the  Prophet  here  assures 
us,)  because  it  was  his  own  will.  His  love  for  us,  as 
well  as  his  submission  to  his  Father,  led  him  to  the 
great  Sacrifice.  Observe,  too,  how  he  refuses  to  de- 
fend himself  before  Pilate,  who  could  so  easily  deliver 
him  from  his  enemies :  He  shall  be  dumb  as  a 
lamb  before  his  shearers,  and  he  shall  not  open 
his  mouth.  Let  us  love  and  adore  this  divine  Silence, 
which  works  our  Salvation.  Let  us  not  pass  over  an 
iota  of  the  devotedness  which  Jesus  shows  us, — 
a  devotedness  which  never  could  have  existed, 
save  in  the  Heart  of  a  God.  Oh !  how  much 
he  has  loved  us, — his  children,  the  purchase  of  his 
Blood,  his  Seed,  as  the  Prophet  here  calls  us.  0  Holy 
Church !  thou  long-lived  Seed  of  Jesus,  that  laid 
down  his  life  ! — thou  art  dear  to  him,  for  he  bought 
thee  at  a  great  price.  Faithful  souls  !  give  him 
love  for  love.  Sinners !  be  converted  to  this  your 
Saviour;  his  Blood  will  restore  you  to  life,  for  if  we  have 
all  gone  astray  like  sheep,  remember  what  is  added  : 
The  Lord  hath  laid  upon  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all. 
There  is  no  sinner  however  great  may  be  his  crimes  ; 
there  is  no  heretic,  or  infidel,  who  has  not  his  share 
in  this  precious  Blood,  whose  infinite  merit  is  such, 
that  it  could  redeem  a  million  worlds,  more  guilty 
even  than  our  own. 

The  Tract,  which  follows  this  Lesson,  is  taken  from 
the  101st  Psalm,  in  which  the  Poyal  Prophet 
expresses  the  sufferings  of  body  and  mind  endured 
by  Jesus  in  his  human  Nature. 


WEDNESDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


28fi 


TRACT. 


Hear,  0  Lord,  my  prayer, 
and  let  my  cry  come  unto 
thee. 

f.  Turn  not  away  thy  face 
from  me,  in  the  day  when  I 
am  in  trouble,  incline  thine 
ear  to  me. 

~ft.  In  what  day  soever  I 
shall  call  upon  thee,  hear  me 
speedily. 

ft.  For  my  days  are  van- 
ished like  smoke :  and  my 
bones  are  as  if  they  were  fried 
in  a  frying-pan. 

~ft.  I  am  smitten  as  grass, 
and  my  heart  is  withered,  be- 
cause I  forgot  to  eat  my  bread. 

^.  Thou,  O  Lord,  arising, 
wilt  have  mercy  on  Sion,  for 
the  time  to  have  mercy  on  her 
is  come. 


Domino,  exaudi  orationem 
meani,  et  clamor  meus  ad 
te  veniat. 

f.  Ne  avortas  facie  m. 
tuam  a  me,  in  quacumque 
die  tribulor,  inclina  ad  me 
aurem  tuam. 

f.  In  quacumque  die  in- 
vocavero,  velociter  exaudi 
me. 

y.  Quia  defecerunt  sicut 
fumus  dies  mei :  et  ossa 
mea  sicut  in  frixorio  con- 
frixa  sunt. 

^.  Percussus  sum  sicut 
foenum,  et  aruit  cor  meum, 
quia  oblitus  sum  mandu- 
care  panem  meum. 

y.  Tu  exsurgens,  Domine, 
misereberis  Sion,  quia  ve- 
nit  tempus  miser endi  ejus. 


The  Church  then  gives  us  the  history  of  the  Pas- 
sion according  to  St.  Luke.  This  Evangelist  men- 
tions several  details  not  given  by  Saints  Matthew 
and  Mark,  which  will  assist  us  to  a  fuller  under- 
standing of  the  divine  mystery  of  the  Sufferings  and 
Sacrifice  of  the  Man-Grod. 


THE    PASSION    AND    GOSPEL. 


The  Passion  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  according  to 
Luke. 

Ch.  XXII.  and  XXIII. 

At  that  time  :  The  feast  of 
Unleavened  Bread,  which  is 
called  the  Pasch,  was  at  hand. 
And  the  chief  priests  and  the 
scribes  sought  how  they  might 


Passio    Domini  nostri    Jesu 
Christi  secundum  Lucam. 

Carp.  XXII.  et  XXIII. 

In  illo  tempore :  Appro- 
pinquabat  dies  festus  Azy- 
morum,  qui  dicitur  Pas- 
cha :  et  quserebant  princi- 
pes    sacerdotum    et    scribse, 


286 


HOLY   WEEK. 


quomodo  Jesum  interfice- 
rent :  timebant  vero  ple- 
bem.  Intravit  autem  Sata- 
nas  in  Judam,  qui  cognomi- 
nabatur  Iscariotes,  unum 
de  duodecim ;  et  abiit  et 
locutus  est  cum  principi- 
bus  sacerdotum  et  magis- 
tratibus,  quemadmodum 

ilium  traderet  eis.  Et  gavisi 
sunt :  et  pacti  sunt  pecu- 
niam  illi  dare.  Et  spopondit. 
Et  quserebat  opportunita- 
tem  ut  traderet  ilium  sine 
turbis. 

Venit  autem  dies  azymo- 
rum,  in  qua  necesse  erat 
occidi  Pascha.  Et  misit  Pe- 
trum  et  Johannem,  dicens : 
Euntes  parate  nobis  Pas- 
cha, ut  manducemus.  At 
illi  dixerunt :  Ubi  vis  pare- 
mus  ?  Et  dixit  ad  eos  :  Ecce 
introeuntibus  vobis  in  civi- 
tatem,  occurret  vobis  homo 
quidam  amphoram  aquae 
portans;  sequimini  eum  in 
domum,  in  quam  intrat,  et 
dicetis  patrif  amilias  domus  : 
Dicit  tibi  Magister :  Ubi  est 
diver  sorium,  ubi  Pascha 
cum  discipulis  meis  man- 
ducem  ?  Et  ipse  ostendet 
vobis  ccenaculum  magnum 
stratum,  et  ibi  parate. 


Euntes  autem  invene- 
runt  sicut  dixit  illis  :  et  pa- 
raverunt  Pascha.  Et  cum 
facta  esset  hora,  discubuit, 
et  duodecim  Apostoli  cum 
eo :  et  ait  illis :  Desiderio 
desideravi  hoc  Pascha  inan- 
ducare  vobiscum,  ante- 
quam  patiar.  Dico  enim 
vobis :       quia    ex    hoc    non 


put  Jesus  to  death ;  but  they 
feared  the  people.  And  Satan 
entered  into  Judas,  who  was 
surnamed  Iscariot,  one  of  the 
twelve ;  and  he  went,  and  dis- 
coursed with  the  chief  priests 
and  the  magistrates,  how  he 
might  betray  him  to  them. 
And  they  were  glad,  and  cove- 
nanted to  give  him  money. 
And  he  promised;  and  he 
sought  opportunity  to  betray 
him  in  the  absence  of  the 
multitude. 

And  the  day  of  the  un- 
leavened bread  came,  on  which 
it  was  necessary  that  the 
Pasch  should  be  lolled.  And 
he  sent  Peter  and  John,  say- 
ing :  Go  and  prepare  us  the 
Pasch,  that  we  may  eat.  But 
they  said  :  Where  wilt  thou 
that  we  prepare  ?  And  he 
said  to  them  :  Behold,  as  you 
go  into  the  city,  there  shall 
meet  you  a  man  carrying  a 
pitcher  of  water  ;  follow  him 
into  the  house  where  he  en- 
tereth  in,  and  you  shall  say  to 
the  good  man  of  the  house  : 
The  Master  saith  to  thee : 
Where  is  the  guest-chamber, 
where  I  may  eat  the  Pasch 
with  my  disciples  ?  and  he  will 
shew  you  a  large  dining-room 
furnished ;  and  there  prepare. 

And  they  going  found  as 
he  had  said  to  them,  and  they 
made  ready  the  Pasch  ;  and 
when  the  hour  was  come,  he 
sat  down,  and  the  twelve  apos- 
tles with  him.  And  he  said 
to  them  :  With  desire  I  have 
desired  to  eat  this  Pasch  with 
you  before  I  suffer.  For  I  say 
to  you,   that  from  this  time  I 


WEDNESDAY    IN    HOLY   WEEK. 


287 


will  not  eat  it,  till  it  be  ful- 
filled in  the  kingdom  of  God. 
And  having  taken  the  chalice 
he  gave  thanks  and  said :  Take 
and  divide  it  among  you.  For 
I  say  to  you,  that  I  will  not 
drink  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine, 
till  the  kingdom  of  God  come. 
And  taking  bread,  he  gave 
thanks,  and  brake,  and  gave 
to  them,  saying  :  This  is  my 
Body,  which  is  given  to  you  : 
do  this  for  a  commemoration 
of  me.  In  like  manner  the 
chalice  also,  after  he  had 
supped,  saying :  This  is  the 
chalice,  the  new  testament 
of  my  Blood,  which  shall  be 
shed  for  you.  But  yet  be- 
hold, the  hand  of  him  that  be- 
trayeth  me  is  with  me  on  the 
table.  And  the  Son  of  Man 
indeed  goeth  according  to  that 
which  is  determined ;  but  yet 
wo  to  that  man  by  whom  he 
shall  be  betrayed.  And  they 
began  to  enquire  among  them- 
selves which  of  them  it  was 
that  should  do  this  thing. 

And  there  was  also  a  strife 
amongst  them,  which  of  them 
should  seem  to  be  greater. 
And  he  said  to  them :  The 
kings  of  the  Gentiles  lord  it 
over  them;  and  they  that  have 
power  over  them,  are  called 
beneficent.  But  you  not  so  ; 
but  he  that  is  the  greater 
among  you,  let  him  be  as  the 
younger  ;  and  he  that  is  the 
leader,  as  he  that  serveth. 
For  which  is  greater,  he  that 
sitteth  at  table,  or  he  that 
serveth  ?  Is  not  he  that  sit- 
teth at  table  ?  But  I  am  in  the 
midst  of  you,  as  he  that  serv- 
eth; and  you  are  they  who 


manducabo  illud,  donee 
impleatur  in  regno  Dei.  Et 
accepto  calice,  gratias  egit, 
et  dixit  :  Accipite,  et  di- 
vidite  inter  vos.  Dico  enim 
vobis :  quod  non  bibam  de 
generatione  vitis,  donee  reg- 
num  Dei  veniat.  Et  accep- 
to pane,  gratias  egit,  et 
fregit,  et  dedit  eis,  dicens  : 
Hoc  est  corpus  meum,  quod 
pro  vobis  datur.  Hoc  facite 
in  meam  commemoratio- 
nem.  Similiter  et  calicem, 
postquam  ccenavit,  dicens  : 
Hie  est  calix  novum  testa- 
mentum  in  sanguine  meo, 
qui  pro  vobis  fundetur. 
Verumtamen  ecce  manus 
tradentis  me,  mecum  est 
in  mensa.  Et  quidem  Fi- 
lius  hominis,  secundum 
quod  definitum  est,  vadit  : 
verumtamen  vse  homini  illi, 
per  quern  tradetur.  Et  ipsi 
cceperunt  quaerere  inter  se, 
quis  esset  ex  eis,  qui  hoc 
facturus  esset. 

Facta  est  autem  et  con- 
tentio  inter  eos,  quis  eorum 
videretur  esse  major.  Dixit 
autem  eis  :  Eeges  gentium 
dominantur  eorum  :  et  qui 
potestatem  habent  super 
eos,  benefici  vocantur.  Vos 
autem  non  sic  :  sed  qui 
major  est  in  vobis  fiat  sicut 
minor  ;  et  qui  processor  est, 
sicut  ministrator.  Nam  quis 
major  est,  qui  recumbit,  an 
qui  ministrat  ?  Nonne  qui 
recumbit  ?  Ego  autem  in 
medio  vestrum  sum,  sicut 
qui  ministrat  :  vos  autem 
estis,  qui  permansistis  me- 
cum  in   tentationibus    meis. 


288 


HOLY   WEEK. 


Et  ego  dispono  vobis,  sicut 
disposuit  mihi  Pater  meus 
regnum  :  ut  edatis  et  biba- 
tis  super  mensam  meam  in 
regno  meo,  et  sedeatis  super 
thronos,  judicantes  duode- 
cim  tribus  Israel.  Ait  autem 
Dominus  :  Simon,  Simon, 
ecce  Satanas  expetivit  vos, 
ut  cribraret  sicut  triticum. 
Ego  autem  rogavi  pro  te,  ut 
non  deficiat  fides  tua  :  et  tu 
aliquando  conversus,  confir- 
ma  fratres  tuos.  Qui  dixit 
ei  :  Domine,  tecum  paratus 
sum,  et  in  carcerem  et  in 
mortem  ire.  At  ille  dixit  : 
Dico  tibi  Petre,  non  canta- 
bit  hodie  gallus,  donee  ter 
abneges  nosse  me.  Et  dixit 
eis  :  Quando  misi  vos  sine 
sacculo  et  pera  et  calcea- 
mentis,  numquid  aliquid 
defuit  vobis  ?  At  illi  dixe- 
runt :  Nihil.  Dixit  ergo  eis : 
Sed  nunc,  qui  habet,  saccu- 
lum  tollat  similiter  et  pe- 
ram .  Et  qui  non  habet,  ven- 
dat  tunicam  suam  et  emat 
gladium.  Dico  enim  vobis, 
quoniam  adhuc  hoc,  quod 
scriptum  est,  oportet  im- 
pleri  in  me  :  Et  cum  iniquis 
deputatus  est.  Etenim  ea 
quae  sunt  de  me,  finem  ha- 
bent.  At  illi  dixerunt :  Do- 
mine, ecce  duo  gladii  hie. 
At  ille  dixit  eis  :  Satis  est. 


Et  egressus  ibat  secun- 
dum consuetudinem  in  mon- 
tem  Olivarum  :  secuti  sunt 
autem  ilium  et  discipuli.  Et 
cum  pervenisset  ad  locum, 
dixit  illis  :    Orate,  ne  intretis 


have  continued  with  me  in  my 
temptations.  And  I  dispose 
to  you,  as  my  Father  hath  dis- 
posed to  me,  a  kingdom  : 
that  you  may  eat  and  drink 
at  my  table  in  my  kingdom ; 
and  may  sit  upon  thrones 
judging  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel.  And  the  Lord  said  : 
Simon,  Simon,  behold  Satan 
hath  desired  to  have  you,  that 
he  may  sift  you  as  wheat. 
But  I  have  prayed  for  thee 
that  thy  faith  fail  not :  and 
thou,  being  once  converted, 
confirm  thy  brethren.  Who 
said  to  him :  Lord,  I  am  ready 
to  go  with  thee,  both  into 
prison,  and  to  death.  And  he 
said :  I  say  to  thee,  Peter,  the 
cock  shall  not  crow  this  day, 
till  thou  thrice  deniest  that 
thou  knowest  me.  And  he 
said  to  them  :  When  I  sent 
you  without  purse,  and  scrip, 
and  shoes,  did  you  want  any 
thing  ?  But  they  said  :  No- 
thing. Then  said  he  to  them : 
But  now  he  that  hath  a  purse, 
let  him  take  it,  and  likewise 
a  scrip  :  and  he  that  hath  no 
sword,  let  him  sell  his  coat, 
and  buy  one.  For  I  say  to 
you,  that  this  that  is  written 
must  yet  be  fulfilled  in  me, 
'  'And  he  was  reckoned  among 
' '  the  wicked  : ' '  for  the  things 
concerning  me  have  an  end. 
But  they  said :  Lord,  here  are 
two  swords.  And  he  said  to 
them  :  It  is  enough. 

And  going  out,  he  went  ac- 
cording to  his  custom  to  the 
mount  of  Olives.  And  his 
disciples  also  followed  him. 
And  when  he  was  come  to  the 
place,  he  said  to  them :  Pray, 


WEDNESDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


289 


lest  you  enter  into  temptation. 
And  he  was  withdrawn  away 
from  them  a  stone's  cast ;  and 
kneeling  down  he  prayed,  say- 
ing :  Father,  if  thou  wilt,  re- 
move this  chalice  from  me  ; 
but  yet  not  my  will,  but  thine 
be  done.  And  there  appeared 
to  him  an  Angel  from  heaven, 
strengthening  him.  And  being 
in  an  agony,  he  prayed  the 
longer.  And  his  sweat  became 
as  drops  of  blood  trickling 
down  upon  the  ground.  And 
when  he  rose  up  from  prayer, 
and  was  come  to  his  disciples, 
he  found  them  sleeping  for  sor- 
row. And  he  said  to  them  : 
Why  sleep  you  ?  Arise ,  pray, 
lest  you  enter  into  temptation. 
As  he  was  yet  speaking,  be- 
hold a  multitude  ;  and  he  that 
was  called  Judas,  one  of  the 
twelve,  went  before  them,  and 
drew  near  to  Jesus  to  kiss  him. 
And  Jesus  said  to  him :  Judas, 
dost  thou  betray  the  Son  of 
Man  with  a  kiss  ?  And  they 
that  were  about  him,  seeing 
what  would  follow,  said  to 
him  :  Lord  shall  we  strike 
with  the  sword  ?  And  one  of 
them  struck  the  servant  of  the 
High  Priest,  and  cut  off  his 
right  ear.  But  Jesus  answer- 
ing, said  :  Suffer  ye  thus  far. 
And  when  he  had  touched  his 
ear,  he  healed  him.  And  Jesus 
said  to  the  chief  priests  and 
magistrates  of  the  temple,  and 
the  ancients  that  were  come 
to  him :  Are  you  come  out,  as 
it  were  against  a  thief,  with 
swords  and  clubs  ?  When  I 
was  daily  with  you  in  the 
temple,  you  did  not  stretch 
forth  your  hands  against  me. 


in  tentationem.  Et  ipse 
avulsus  est  ab  eis,  quantum 
j  actus  est  lapidis,  et  positis 
genibus  orabat,  dicens  : 
Pater,  si  vis,  transfer  cali- 
cem  istum  a  me  :  verumta- 
men  non  mea  voluntas,  sed 
tua  fiat.  Apparuit  autem 
illi  Angelus  de  coelo,  con- 
fortans  eum.  Et  f actus  in 
agonia,  prolixius  orabat.  Et 
f actus  est  sudor  ejus  sicut 
guttse  sanguinis  decurrentis 
in  terram.  Et  cum  surrexis- 
set  ab  oratione,  et  venisset 
ad  discipulos  suos,  invenit 
eos  'dormientes  prae  tristitia, 
et  ait  illis  :  Quid  dormitis  ? 
Surgite,  orate,  ne  intretis  in 
tentationem. 

Adhuc  eo  loquente,  ecce 
turba :  et  qui  vocabatur 
Judas,  unus  de  duodecim, 
antecedebat  eos  :  et  appro - 
pinquavit  Jesus,  ut  osculare- 
tur  eum.  Jesus  autem  dixit 
illi  :  Juda,  osculo  Filium 
hominis  tradis  ?  Videntes 
autem  hi,  qui  circa  ipsum 
erant,  quod  futurum  erat, 
dixerunt  ei  :  Domine,  si 
percutimus  in  gladio  ?  Et 
percussit  unus  ex  illis  ser- 
vum  principis  sacerdotum : 
et  amputavit  auriculam  ejus 
dexteram.  Respondens  au- 
tem Jesus,  ait :  Sinite  usque 
hue.  Et  cum  tetigisset  au- 
riculam ejus,  sanavit  eum. 
Dixit  autem  Jesus  ad  eos 
qui  venerant  ad  se,  principes 
sacerdotum  et  magistratus 
Templi,  et  seniores :  Quasi 
ad  latronem  existis  cum  gla- 
diis  et  fustibus.  Cum  quoti- 
die  vobiscum  fuerim  in  Tem- 
plo,    non    extendistis  manus 


290 


HOLY   WEEK. 


in  me.    Sed  hsec  est  hora  ves- 
tra,  et  potestas  tenebrarum. 

Comprehendentes  autem 
eum,  duxerunt  ad  domum 
principis  sacerdotuni.  Pe- 
trus vero  sequebatur  a  longe. 
Accenso  autem  igne  in  medio 
atrii,  et  circumsedentibus 
illis,  erat  Petrus  in  medio 
eorum.  Quern  cum  vidisset 
ancilla  qusedam  sedentem 
ad  lumen,  et  eum  fuisset 
intuita,  dixit :  Et  hie  cum 
illo  erat.  At  ille  negavit 
eum,  dicens :  Mulier,  non 
novi  ilium.  Et  post  pusil- 
lum  alius  videns  eum,  dixit : 
Et  tu  de  illis  es.  Petrus  vero 
ait :  O  homo,  non  sum.  Et 
intervallo  facto  quasi  horse 
unius,  alius  quidam  affir- 
mabat,  dicens :  Vere  et  hie 
cum  illo  erat :  nam  et  Gali- 
laeus  est.  Et  ait  Petrus  : 
Homo,  nescio  quid  dicis.  Et 
continuo,  adhuc  illo  loquen- 
te,  cantavit  gallus.  Et  con- 
versus  Dominus  respexit 
Petrum.  Et  recordatus  est 
Petrus  verbi  Domini,  sicut 
dixerat :  Quia  priusquam 
gallus  cantet,  ter  me  negabis. 
Et  egressus  foras  Petrus, 
flevit  amare. 


Et  \iri  qui  tenebant 
eum,  illudebant  ei  cseden- 
tes.  Et  velaverunt  eum  :  et 
percutiebant  faciem  ejus,  et 
interrogabant  eum,  dicen- 
tes  :  Prophetiza,  quis  est 
qui  te  percussit  ?  Et  alia 
multa  blasphemantes  dice- 
bant  in  eum.  Et  ut  f actus 
est  dies,  convenerunt  se- 
niores    plebis,     et    principes 


But  this  is  your  hour  and  the 
power  of  darkness. 

And     apprehending    him, 
they  led  him    to   the   High 
Priest's    house  :     but   Peter 
followed  afar  off.     And  when 
they  had  kindled  a  fire  in  the 
midst  of  the  hall,  and  were 
sitting  about  it,  Peter  was  in 
the  midst  of  them.      Whom 
when  a  certain  servant  maid 
had  seen  sitting  at  the  light, 
and  had  earnestly  beheld  him, 
she  said  :  This  man  also  was 
with  him.      But  he   denied, 
saying :  Woman,  I  know  him 
not.    And  after  a  little  while, 
another    seeing    him,     said : 
Thou  also  art  one  of  them. 
But  Peter  said  :  0  man,  I  am 
not.     And  after  the  space  as 
it  were  of  one  hour,   another 
certain  man  affirmed,  saying  : 
Of  a  truth  this  man  was  also 
with   him :    for  he  is  also  a 
Galilean.      And  Peter  said  : 
Man,  I  know  not  what  thou 
sayest.     And  immediately  as 
he    was    yet    speaking,   the 
cock   crew.      And  the   Lord 
turning  looked  on  Peter.  And 
Peter  remembered  the  word 
of  the  Lord,  as  he  had  said  : 
Before  the   cock   crow,  thou 
shalt  deny  me  thrice.      And 
Peter  going  out  wept  bitterly. 
And  the  men  that  held  him, 
mocked  him,  and  struck  him. 
And   they   blindfolded    him, 
and  smote  him  on  the  face. 
And  they  asked  him,  saying  : 
Prophesy,  who  is  it  that  struck 
thee  ?        And    blaspheming, 
many  other  things  they  said 
against  him.     And  as  soon  as 
it  was  day,  the  ancients  of  the 
people,  and  the  chief  priests, 


WEDNESDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


291 


and  scribes  came  together, 
and  they  brought  him  into 
their  council,  saying :  If  thou 
be  the  Christ,  tell  us.  And 
he  said  to  them :  If  I  shall 
tell  you,  you  will  not  believe 
me ;  and  if  I  shall  also  ask 
you,  you  will  not  answer  me, 
nor  let  me  go.  But  hereafter 
the  Son  of  man  shall  be 
sitting  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  power  of  God.  Then  said 
they  all :  Art  thou  the  Son  of 
God  ?  And  he  said  :  You  say 
that  I  am.  And  they  said  : 
What  need  we  any  further 
testimony  ?  For  ourselves 
have  heard  it  from  his  own 
mouth. 

And  the  whole  multitude  of 
them  rose  up,  and  led  him 
away  to  Pilate.  And  they 
began  to  accuse  him,  saying  : 
We  have  found  this  m  an  per- 
verting our  nation,  and  for- 
bidding to  give  tribute  to 
Csesar,  and  saying  that  he  is 
Christ  the  King.  And  Pilate 
asked  him,  saying  :  Art  thou 
the  "King  of  the  Jews  ?  But  he 
answering,  said:  Thou  say  est 
it.  But  Pilate  said  to  the 
chief  priests  and  to  the 
multitude :  I  find  no  cause 
in  this  man.  But  they 
were  more  earnest,  saying : 
He  stirreth  up  the  people, 
teaching  throughout  all  Ju- 
dea,  beginning  from  Galilee 
to  this  place .  But  Pilate  hear- 
ing Galilee,  asked  if  the  man 
were  of  Galilee.  And  when  he 
understood  that  he  was  of 
Herod's  jurisdiction,  he  sent 
him  away  to  Herod,  who  him- 
self was  also  at  Jerusalem 
in  those  days.     And  Herod 


sacerdotum  et  scribe© ,  et  dux- 
erunt  ilium  in  concilium 
suum,  dicentes :  Si  tu  es 
Christus,  die  nobis.  Et  ait 
illis :  Si  vobis  dixero,  non 
credetis  mihi :  si  autem  et 
interrogavero,  non  respond- 
ebitis  mihi,  neque  dimittetis. 
Ex  hoc  autem  erit  Filius 
hominis  sedens  a  dextris 
virtutis  Dei.  Dixerunt  au- 
tem omnes  :  Tu  ergo  es  Fi- 
lius Dei  ?  Qui  ait :  Vos  di- 
citis,  quia  ego  sum.  At  illi 
dixerunt :  Quid  adhuc  desi- 
deramus  testimonium  ?  Ipsi 
enim  audivimus  de  ore  ejus. 


Et  surgens  omnis  multitu- 
do  eorum,  duxerunt  ilium 
ad  Pilatum.  Coeperunt  au- 
tem ilium  accusare,  dicentes : 
Hunc  invenimus  subverten- 
tem  gentem  nostram,  et  pro- 
hibentem  tributa  dare  Cse- 
sari,  et  dicentem  se  Chris- 
tum regem  esse.  Pilatus 
autem  interrogavit  eum,  di- 
cens :  Tu  es  Eex  Judseo- 
rum  ?  At  ille  respondens, 
ait :  Tu  dicis.  Ait  autem 
Pilatus  ad  principes  sacer- 
dotum et  turbas  :  Nihil  in- 
venio  causae  in  hoc  homine. 
At  illi  invalescebant,  di- 
centes :  Commovet  pppu- 
lum,  docens  per  universam 
Judseam,  incipiens  a  Gali- 
lsea,  usque  hue.  Pilatus  au- 
tem audiens  Galilseam,  in- 
terrogavit, si  homo  Gali- 
laeus  esset.  Et  ut  cognovit, 
quod  de  Herodis  potestate 
esset,  remisit  eum  ad  He- 
rodem,  qui  et  ipse  Jeroso- 
lymis  erat  illis  diebus.     He- 


292 


HOLY   WEEK. 


rodes  autem  viso  Jesu,  ga- 
visus  est  valde.  Erat  enim 
cupiens  ex  multo  tempore 
videre  eum,  eo  quod  au- 
dierat  multa  de  eo :  et  spe- 
rabat  signum  aliquod  vi- 
dere ab  eo  fieri.  Interroga- 
bat  autem  eum  multis  ser- 
monibus.  At  ipse  nihil  illi 
respondebat.  Stabant  au- 
tem principes  sacerdotum 
et  scribse  constanter  accu- 
santes  eum :  sprevit  autem 
ilium  Herodes  cum  exerci- 
tu  suo  :  et  illusit  indutum 
veste  alba,  et  remisit  ad 
Pilatum.  Et  facti  sunt  amici 
Herodes  et  Pilatus  in  ipsa 
die  :  nam  antea  inimici 
erant  ad  invicem.  Pilatus 
autem  convocatis  principi- 
bus  sacerdotum,  et  magis- 
tratibus,  et  plebe,  dixit  ad 
illos  :  Obtulistis  mihi  hunc 
hominem  quasi  avertentem 
populum :  et  ecce  ego  co- 
ram vobis  interrogans  nul- 
lam  causam  inveni  in  no- 
mine isto  ex  his,  in  quibus 
eum  accusatis.  Sed  neque 
Herodes  :  nam  remisi  vos  ad 
ilium  :  et  ecce,  nihil  dignum 
morte  actum  est  ei.  Emen- 
datum  ergo  ilium  dimittam. 

Necesse  autem  habebat 
dimittere  eis,  per  diem  fes- 
tum,  unum.  Exclamavit 
autem  simul  universa  tur- 
ba,  dicens  :  Tolle  hunc,  et 
dimitte  nobis  Barabbam. 
Qui  erat,  propter  seditio- 
nem  quamdam  factum  in 
civitate  et  homicidum, 
missus  in  carcerem.  Ite- 
rum  autem  Pilatus  locutus 
est  ad  eos,  volens  dimittere 


seeing  Jesus  was  very  glad, 
for  he  was  desirous  of  a  long 
time  to  see  him,  because  he 
had  heard  many  things  of  him ; 
and  he  hoped  to  see  some 
sign  wrought  by  him.  And 
he  questioned  him  with  many 
words.  But  he  answered  him 
nothing.  And  the  chief  priests 
and  the  scribes  stood  by, 
earnestly  accusing  him.  And 
Herod  with  his  army  set  him 
at  naught,  and  mocked  him, 
putting  on  him  a  white  gar- 
ment, and  sent  him  back  to 
Pilate .  And  Herod  and  Pilate 
were  made  friends  that  same 
day  :  for  before  they  were 
enemies  to  one  another.  Then 
Pilate  calling  together  the 
chief  priests,  and  the  magis- 
trates, and  the  people,  said  to 
them :  You  have  brought  this 
man  to  me  as  one  that  per- 
verteth  the  people :  and, 
behold  I,  having  examined 
him  before  you,  find  no  cause 
in  this  man  touching  those 
things  wherein  you  accuse 
him.  No,  nor  Herod  neither. 
For  I  sent  you  to  him,  and 
behold,  nothing  worthy  of 
death  is  done  to  him.  I  will 
chastise  him  therefore  and 
release  him. 

Now  of  necessity  he  was  to 
release  unto  them  one  upon 
the  feast  day.  But  the  whole 
multitude  together  cried  out 
at  once  saying  :  Away  with 
this  man,  and  release  unto  us 
Barabbas.  Who,  for  a  certain 
sedition  made  in  the  city,  and 
for  a  murder,  was  cast  into 
prison.  And  Pilate  again 
spoke  to  them,  desiring  to  re- 
lease Jesus,     But  they  cried 


WEDNESDAY    IN    HOLY    WEEK. 


293 


out  again,  saying :  Crucify 
him,  crucify  him.  And  he 
said  to  them  the  third  time  : 
Why,  what  evil  hath  this  man 
done  ?  I  find  no  cause  of 
death  in  him.  I  will  chastise 
him  therefore,  and  let  him  go. 
But  they  were  instant  with 
loud  voices  requiring  that  he 
might  be  crucified ;  and  their 
voices  prevailed.  And  Pilate 
gave  sentence  that  it  should 
be  as  they  required.  And  he 
released  unto  them  him  who 
for  murder  and  sedition  had 
been  cast  into  prison,  whom 
they  had  desired  :  but  Jesus 
he  delivered  up  to  their  will. 

Anc  as  they  led  him  away, 
they  laid  hold  on  one  Simon 
of  Cyrene,  coming  from  the 
country  :    and  they  laid  the 
cross  on  him  to  carry  after 
Jesus.      And  there  followed 
him  a  great  multitude  of  peo- 
ple, and  of  women,  who  be- 
wailed   and    lamented    him. 
But  Jesus  turning  to  them, 
said  :      Daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem, weep  not  over  me,  but 
weep  for  yourselves,  and  for 
your  children.  For  behold  the 
days  shall  come,  wherein  they 
will  say,  Blessed  are  the  bar- 
ren, and  the  wombs  that  have 
not  borne,  and  the  paps  that 
have  not  given  suck.     Then 
shall  they  begin  to  say  to  the 
mountains :  Fall  upon  us ;  and 
to  the  hills  :    Cover  us.     For 
if  in  the  green  wood  they  do 
these   things,   what  shall  be 
done  in  the  dry  ?     And  there 
were  also  two  other  malefac- 
tors led  with  him  to  be  put 
to  death, 


Jesum.  At  illi  succlama- 
bant,  dieentes  :  Crucifigo, 
crucifige  eum.  Ille  autem 
tertio  dixit  ad  illos  :  Quid 
enim  mali  fecit  iste  ?  Nul- 
lam  causam  mortis  invenio 
in  eo.  Corripiam  ergo  il- 
ium, et  dimittam.  At  illi 
instabant  vocibus  magnis 
postulantes,  ut  crucifigere- 
tur  :  et  invalescebant  voces 
eorum.  Et  Pilatus  adjudi- 
cavit  fieri  petitionem  eorum. 
Dimisit  autem  illis  eum 
qui  propter  homicidium  et 
seditionem  missus  fuerat  in 
carcerem,  quern  petebant  : 
Jesum  vero  tradidit  volun- 
tati  eorum. 

Et  cum  ducerent  eum, 
apprehenderunt  Simonem 
quemdam  Cyrenensem  ve- 
nientem  de  villa,  et  impo- 
suerunt  illi  crucem  portare 
post  Jesum.  Sequebatur 
autem  ilium  multa  turba 
populi,  et  mulierum,  quae 
plangebant  et  lamentaban- 
tur  eum.  Conversus  autem 
ad  illas  Jesus,  dixit :  Filise 
Jerusalem,  nolite  flere  su- 
per me :  sed  super  vos 
ipsas  flete,  et  super  filios 
vestros.  Quoniam  ecce  ve- 
nient  dies,  in  quibus  di- 
cent :  Beafcse  steriles,  et  ven- 
tres qui  non  genuerunt, 
et  ubera  quee  non  lactave- 
runt.  Tunc  incipient  dicere 
montibus :  Cadite  super 
nos :  et  collibus  :  Operite 
nos.  Quia  si  in  viridi  ligno 
hsec  faciunt,  in  arido  quid 
fiet  ?  Ducebantur  autem  et 
alii  duo  nequam  cum  eo,  ut 
interficerentur, 


294 


HOLY   WEEK. 


Et  postquam  venerunt  in 
locum,  qui  vocatur  Calva- 
rise,  ibi  crucifixerunt  eum  : 
et  latrones  unum  a  dextris, 
et  alterum  a  sinistris.  Je- 
sus autem  dicebat  :  Pater, 
dimitte  illis :  non  enim 
sciunt  quid  faciunt.  Di- 
videntes  vero  vestimenta 
ejus,  miserunt  sortes.  Et 
stabat  populus  spectans,  et 
diridebant  eum  principes 
cum  eis,  dicentes  :  Alios  sal- 
vos fecit :  se  salvum  faciat, 
si  hie  est  Christus,  Dei  elec- 
tus.  Illudebant  autem  ei  et 
milites,  accedentes,  et  ace- 
tum  offerentes  ei  et  dicen- 
tes :  Si  tu  es  Eex  Judaeo- 
rum,  salvum  te  fac.  Erat 
autem  et  superscriptio  scrip  - 
ta  super  eum  litteris  grsecis, 
et  latinis,  et  hebraicis  :  Hie 
est  Eex  Judseorum. 

Unus  autem  de  his,  qui 
pendebant,  latronibus,  blas- 
phemabat  eum,  dicens :  Si 
tu  es  Christus,  salvum  fac 
temetipsum,  et  nos.  Ke- 
spondens  autem  alter,  incre- 
pabat  eum,  dicens :  Neque 
tu  times  Deum,  quod  in 
eadem  damnatione  es.  Et 
nos  quidem  juste,  nam  dig- 
na  factis  recipimus  :  hie  ve- 
ro nihil  mali  gessit.  Et  di- 
cebat ad  Jesum  :  Domine, 
memento  mei,  cum  veneris 
in  regnum  tuum.  Et  dixit 
illi  Jesus :  Amen  dico  tibi : 
Hodie  mecum  eris  in  Para- 
diso. 

Erat  autem  fere  hora  sex- 
ta  :  et  tenebrae  factae  sunt 
in  universam  terram,  usque 
in  horam  nonam.  Et  obscu- 
ratus  est  sol ;  et  velum  Tem- 


And  when  they  were  come 
to  the  place  which  is  called 
Calvary,  they  crucified  hirn 
there  ;  and  the  robbers,  one 
on  the  right  hand,  and  the 
other  on  the  left.  And  Jesus 
said  :  Eather  forgive  them, 
for  they  know  not  what  they 
do.  But  they  dividing  his 
garments,  cast  lots.  And  the 
people  stood  beholding,  and 
the  rulers  with  them  derided 
him,  saying :  He  saved  others ; 
let  him  save  himself,  if  he  be 
Christ,  the  elect  of  God.  And 
the  soldiers  also  mocked  him, 
coming  to  him  and  offering 
him  vinegar,  and  saying  :  If 
thou  be  the  King  of  the  Jews, 
save  thyself.  Arid  there  was 
also  a  superscription  written 
over  him  in  letters  of  Greek, 
and  Latin,  and  Hebrew :  This 
is  the  King  of  the  Jews. 

And  one  of  the  robbers  who 
were  hanged,  blasphemed  him 
saying :  If  thou  be  Christ,  save 
thyself  and  us.  But  the  other 
answering,  rebuked  him,  say- 
ing :  Neither  dost  thou  fear 
God,  seeing  thou  art  under  the 
same  condemnation.  And  we 
indeed  justly,  for  we  receive 
the  due  reward  of  our  deeds  ; 
but  this  man  hath  done  no 
evil.  And  he  said  to  Jesus  : 
Lord,  remember  me  when  thou 
shalt  come  into  thy  kingdom. 
And  Jesus  said  to  him :  Amen 
I  say  to  thee,  this  day  thou 
shalt  be  with  me  in  paradise. 

And  it  was  almost  the  sixth 
hour;  and  there  was  darkness 
over  all  the  earth  until  the 
ninth  hour.  And  the  sun  was 
darkened ;  and  the  veil  of  the 


WEDNESDAY   IN   HOLY   WEEK. 


295 


Temple  was  rent  in  the  midst. 
And  Jesus  crying  with  a  loud 
voice,  said :  Father,  into  thy 
hands  I  commend  my  spirit. 
And  saying  this,  he  gave  up 
the  ghost. 


pli  scissum  est  medium.  Et 
clamans  voce  magna  Jesus 
ait  :  Pater,  in  manus  tuas 
commendo  spiritum  meum. 
Et  haec  dicens,  exspiravit. 


Here  a  pause  is  made,  as  on  Palm  Sunday.  All 
kneel  down,  and  if  such  be  the  custom  of  the  place, 
they  prostrate  and  kiss  the  ground. 


Now  the  centurion  seeing 
what  was  done,  glorified  God, 
saying :  Indeed  this  was  a 
just  man.  And  all  the  multi- 
tude of  them  that  were  come 
together  to  that  sight,  and  saw 
the  things  that  were  done,  re- 
turned striking  their  breast. 
And  all  his  acquaintance,  and 
the  women  that  had  followed 
him  from  Galilee,  stood  afar 
off,  beholding  these  things. 


Videns  autem  centurio 
quod  factum  fuerat,  glorifi- 
cavit  Deum,  dicens :  Vere 
hie  homo  Justus  erat.  Et 
omnis  turba  eorum,  qui 
simul  aderant  ad  spectacu- 
lum  istud,  et  videbant  quae 
fiebant,  percutientes  pec- 
tora  sua  revertebantur. 
Stabant  autem  omnes  noti 
ejus  a  longe  et  mulieres, 
quae  secutse  eum  erant  a 
Galilaea,  haec  videntes. 


Here  the  Deacon  offers  the  Incense  to  the  Priest, 
that  he  may  bless  it ;  and,  having  himself  received 
a  blessing,  he  concludes  the  history  of  the  Passion, 
observing  the  ceremonies  used  for  singing  the  Gtospel 
at  High  Mass. 


And  behold  there  was  a 
man  named  Joseph,  who  was 
a  counsellor,  a  good  and  just 
man,  (the  same  had  not  con- 
sented to  their  counsel  and 
doing,)  of  Arimathea,  a  city 
of  Judea,  who  also  himself 
looked  for  the  kingdom  of 
God.  This  man  went  to  Pi- 
late and  begged  the  body  of 
Jesus.  And  taking  him  down 
he  wrapped  him  in  fine  linen, 


Et  ecce  vir  nomine  Jo- 
seph, qui  erat  decurio,  vir 
bonus  et  Justus  ;  hie  non 
consenserat  consilio  et  ac- 
tibus  eorum  :  ab  Arima- 
thaea  civitate  Judaeae  :  qui 
exspectabat  et  ipse  regnum 
Dei.  Hie  accessit  ad  Pila- 
tum,  et  petiit  corpus  Jesu. 
Et  depositum  involvit  sin- 
done  :  et  posuit  eum  in 
monumento  exciso,    in  quo 


296  HOLY    WEEK. 

nondum    quisquam    positus    and  laid  him  in  a  sepulchre 
fuerat.  that    was    hewed   in  stone, 

wherein  never  yet  any  man 

had  been  laid. 

The  words  of  the  Offertory  are  those  of  Jesus, 
suppliantly  beseeching  his  Eternal  Father  not  to 
turn  away  his  face  from  his  own  Son,  who  is  a  prey 
to  every  suffering,  both  of  body  and  mind. 

OFFERTORY. 

Domine,  exaudi  orationem  Hear,  O  Lord,  my  prayer  ; 

meam  :  et  clamor  meus  ad  te  and  let  my  cry  come  to  thee  : 

perveniat  :  ne  avertas  faciem  turn  not  away  thy  face  from 

tuam  a  me.  me. 

In  the  Secret  the  Church  prays  that  we  may  have 
a  tender  devotion  for  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass, 
in  which  the  Passion  of  our  Saviour  is  daily  com- 
memorated. 

SECRET. 

Suscipe,    qusesumus,    Do-  Accept,  0  Lord,  we  beseech 

mine,    munus    oblatum,     et  thee,  the  offerings  we  have 

dignanter  operare  :   ut  quod  made  :    and  mercifully  grant 

Passionis   Filii    tui    Domini  that  we   may   receive,    with 

nostri      mysterio      gerimus,  pious   sentiments,    what  we 

piis      affectibus      consequa-  celebrate  in  the  mystery  of 

mur.     Per  eumdem.  the   Passion    of    our    Lord. 

Through  the  same,  &c. 

For  the  other  Secrets,  see  page  252. 

The  Church  takes  her  Communion- Anthem  from 
the  same  Psalm,  which  supplied  her  with  the  Tract 
and  Offertory,  namely  the  101st. 

COMMUNION. 

Potum  meum    cum    fletu        I  mingled  my  drink  with 


WEDNESDAY    £N    HOLT    WEEK. 


297 


weeping ;  for  having  lifted  me 
up,  thou  hast  thrown  me 
down,  and  I  am  withered  like 
grass  ;  but  thou,  O  Lord, 
endurest  for  ever :  thou  shalt 
arise,  and  have  mercy  on  Sion ; 
because  the  time  to  have 
mercy  on  her  is  come. 


temperabam  :  quia  elevans 
allisisti  me  :  et  ego  sicut  fce- 
num  arui  :  tu  autem,  Do- 
mine,  in  aeternum  perma- 
nes :  tu  exsurgens  misere- 
beris  Sion,  quia  venit  tem- 
pus  miserendi  ejus. 


The  Death  of  Jesus  should  be  to  us  an  unceasing 
motive  for  confidence  in  the  divine  mercy.  This 
confidence  is  one  of  the  first  conditions  of  our  salva- 
tion. The  Church  asks  it  for  us  in  the  Postcom- 
munion. 


POSTCOMMUNION. 


Grant,  O  Almighty  God, 
that  we  may  have  a  lively 
hope  that  thou  hast  given  us 
eternal  life  by  the  temporal 
death  of  thy  Son,  represented 
in  these  adorable  mysteries. 
Through  the  same,  &c. 


Largire  sensibus  nostris 
omnipotens  Deus  :  ut,  per 
temporalem  Filii  tui  mor- 
tem, quam  mysteria  vene- 
randa  testantur,  vitam  te 
nobis  dedisse  perpetuam 
confidamus.      Per    eumdem. 


See  the  other  Postcommunions  in  the  Mass  for 
Monday,  page  253. 


LET  US  PRAY. 

Bow  down  your  heads  to 
God. 

Look  down,  O  Lord,  we 
beseech  thee,  on  this  thy 
family,  for  which  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  hesitated  not  to 
be  delivered  into  the  hands 
of  wicked  men,  and  undergo 
the  punishment  of  the  Cross, 
Who  liveth,  &cT 


OREMTJS. 

Humiliate  capita  vestra 
Deo. 

Eespice,  quaesumus,  Do- 
mine,  super  hanc  familiam 
tuam  :  pro  qua  Dominus 
noster  Jesus  Christus  non 
dubitavit  manibus  tradi  no- 
centium,  et  crucis  subire 
tormentum.     Qui  tecum, 


298  HOLY    WEEK. 


THE  OFFICE  OF  TENEBRtE. 

On  this  and  the  two  following  days,  the  Church 
anticipates  the  Night-Office ;  she  celebrates  it  on 
the  previous  evening  of  each  day,  and  this  in  order 
that  the  Faithful  may  be  present  at  it.  The  Matins 
and  Lauds  of  Maundy  Thursday  are,  therefore,  said 
this  afternoon.  The  Faithful  should  make  every 
effort  to  assist  at  this  solemn  Office,  seeing  it  is  on 
their  account  that  the  Church  has  changed  her 
usual  hours.  As  to  the  merit  there  is  in  joining  in 
it,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  that  it  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  any  private  devotions.  The  surest  means 
for  obtaining  favours  from  Cod,  and  winning  him  to 
our  requests,  is  to  approach  him  through  the  Church. 
And  as  regards  the  feelings  of  devotion  wherewith 
we  ought  to  celebrate  the  mysteries  of  these  three 
great  Days,  the  Offices  of  the  Church  are,  ordinarily 
speaking,  a  surer  and  richer  source  than  the  Exer- 
cises of  Piety  composed  by  men,  The  soul  that 
feeds  on  the  words  and  ceremonies  of  the  holy 
Liturgy,  will  be  all  the  more  disposed  to  profit  by 
the  private  devotions  she  practises  at  home.  The 
prayer  of  the  Church  will  thus  become  the  basis, 
whereon  is  built  the  edifice  of  christian  piety  during 
these  glorious  Anniversaries  of  our  Redemption  :  and 
we  shall  be  imitating  our  forefathers  who  lived  in  the 
Ages  of  Faith,  and  who  were  such  admirable  Chris- 
tians, because  they  lived  the  life  of  the  Church,  by 
means  of  the  sacred  Liturgy. 

The  Office  of  Tenebrse  for  to-day  is  given  below, 
on  Maundy  Thursday ;  the  "Night  Office"  page  302. 


As  an  appropriate  exercise  for   the   close  of  this 
day,  we  offer  our  readers  the  following  stanzas  from 


WEDNESDAY    IN     HOLY    WEEK. 


299 


a  Hymn  of  the  Greek  Liturgy ;  they  allude  to  the 
mysteries  we  have  been  explaining. 


HYMN. 


(In  Parasceve.) 


On  this  day,  Judas  leaves 
nis  Master,  and  takes  the  devil 
for  his  guide.  The  love  of 
money  blinds  him.  He  fell 
from  the  light,  he  became 
darkened ;  for  how  could  he 
be  said  to  see,  who  sold  the 
Light  for  thirty  pieces  of 
silver  ?  But  to  us  he  has 
risen,  he  that  suffered  for  the 
world  :  let  us  thus  cry  out 
unto  him  :  Glory  be  to  thee, 
that  didst  endure  thy  Passion, 
and  hadst  compassion,  for 
mankind  ! 

What  was  it,  0  Judas  !  that 
led  thee  to  betray  Jesus  ?  Had 
he  cut  thee  off  from  the  num- 
ber of  his  Apostles  ?  Had  he 
deprived  thee  of  the  gift  of 
healing  the  sick  ?  When  he 
supped  with  his  Apostles,  did 
he  drive  thee  from  table  ? 
When  he  washed  their  feet, 
did  he  pass  thee  by  ?  And 
yet,  thou  wast  unmindful  of 
these  great  favours  !  Thy  un- 
grateful plot  has  branded  thee 
with  infamy  :  but  his  incom- 
parable patience  and  great 
mercy  are  worthy  of  praise. 

Say,  0  ye  unj  ust  ones !  what 
is  it  ye  have  heard  from  our 
Saviour  ?  Did  he  not  ex- 
pound unto  you  the  Law  and 
the  Prophets  ?  Why,  there- 
fore, have  ye  plotted  how  to 


Hodie  Judas  Magistrum 
derelinquit,  et  diabolum 
assumit :  obcsecatur  passione 
amoris  pecuniae  ;  decidit 
a  lumine,  obscuratus  est 
ille.  Quomodo  namque  vi- 
dere  poterat  ille  qui  Lumi- 
nare  vendidit  triginta  argen- 
teis  ?  Sed  nobis  exortus 
est  ille,  qui  passus  est  pro 
mundo.  Ad  quern  clame- 
mus  :  Qui  passus  es,  et  com- 
passus  es  hominibus,  gloria 
tibi. 

Qusenam  te  ratio,  Juda, 
Salvatoris  proditorem  effe- 
cit  ?  Numquid  ille  ab  Apos7 
tolorum  te  choro  segregavit  ? 
Numquid  sanitatum  te 
gratia  privavit  ?  Numquid 
cum  ccenaret  una  cum  illis, 
a  mense  te  expulit  ?  Num- 
quid aliorum  cum  lavisset, 
pedes  tuos  neglexit  ?  O 
quantorum  f actus  es  imme- 
mor  beneficiorum  !  et  tuum 
sane  consilium  ingratum  in- 
famia  notatur :  illius  autem 
prsedicatur  incomparabilis 
patientia  et  misericordia 
magna. 

Dicite  iniqui  quidnam  a 
Salvatore  nostro  audistis  ? 
Nonne  Legem  ac  documen- 
ta  Prophetarum  exposuit  ? 
Quomodo  ergo  Verbum 
quod  ex  Deo  est,    et    nos- 


300 


HOLY   WEEK. 


tras  animas   redimit,   Pilato 
tradere  cogitastis  ? 

Crucifigatur,  clamabant  ii 
qui  tuis  semper  muneribus 
fuerant  delectati;  petebant- 
que  ait  malefactorem  acci- 
perent  pro  benefactore 
lnterfectores  illi  justorum. 
Sed  tacebas,  Christe,  eorum 
proterviam  sustinens :  vo- 
lens  pati,  nosque  salvare, 
ut  hominum  amans. 


Loquendi  libertatem  non 
habemus  propter  multa 
peccata  nostra  ;  tu  ex  te 
genitum  exora,  Virgo  Dei- 
para  :  multum  enim  valet 
deprecatio  Matris  apud  cle- 
mentiam  Domini.  Ne  de- 
spicias  peccatorum  suppli- 
cationes,  o  castissima ;  quia 
misericors  est  et  potens  ad 
salvandum,  is  qui  pro  nobis 
etiam  pati  sustinuit. 


deliver  up  to  Pilate  the  Word 
that  is  from  God,  and  that 
came  to  redeem  our  souls  ? 

They  that  had  enjoyed  thy 
unceasing  gifts  cried  out :  Let 
him  be  crucified  !  These  mur- 
derers of  such  as  were  inno- 
cent, sought  thee,  that  they 
might  treat  thee,  their  bene- 
factor, as  an  evil-doer.  But 
thou,  O  Christ !  didst  bear 
their  wickedness  with  silence, 
for  thou  being  the  lover  of 
mankind,  didst  desire  to  suffer 
for  and  save  us. 

We  are  prevented  from 
speaking  by  the  multitude  of 
our  sins :  do  thou,  0  Virgin- 
Mother  of  God !  pray  for  us 
to  Him  that  was  born  of  thee, 
for  the  Mother's  prayer  avails 
much  with  the  mercy  of  our 
Lord.  Despise  not,  0  most 
pure  Virgin !  the  prayers  of 
sinners,  for  he  that  refused 
not  even  to  suffer  for  us,  is 
merciful,  and  is  able  to  save 
us. 


"We  subjoin  the  following  beautiful  Preface  from 
the  Ambrosian  Missal :  it  expresses,  in  a  most  touch- 
ing manner,  the  sentiments  which  a  Christian  should 
have  within  him  on  this  vigil  of  our  Lord's  Supper. 


PREFACE. 

Dignum    et    justum    est,  It  is  meet  and  just,  right 

sequum  et  salutare,  nos  tibi  and   available    to    salvation, 

semper  hie   et  ubique    gra-  that  we  should  ever,  here  and 

tias   agere,     Domine   sancte,  in  all  places,  give  thanks  to 

Pater     omnipotens,     seterne  thee,  0  Holy  Lord,  Almighty 

Deus,   per   Christum   Domi-  Father,  Eternal  God,  through 

num  nostrum,  qui  innocens  Christ  our  Lord  :  who,  being 

pro    impiis    voluit    pati,    et  innocent,  willed  to  suffer  for 

pro  sceloratis  indebite   con-  sinners,  and  be  unjustly  con- 


WEDNESDAY    IN    HOLY   WEEK. 


301 


demned  for  the  guilty.  His 
Death  wiped  away  our  crimes, 
and  his  Resurrection  opened 
for  us  the  gates  of  heaven. 
Through  him  we  beseech  thy 
clemency,  that,  to-day,  thou 
cleanse  us  from  our  sins,  and, 
to-morrow,  feed  us  on  the 
banquet  of  the  venerable 
Supper ;  that,  to-day,  thou 
receive  the  confession  of  our 
faults,  and,  to-morrow,  grant 
us  the  increase  of  spiritual 
gifts  ;  that,  to-day,  thou  re- 
ceive the  offering  of  our  fasts, 
but,  to-morrow,  introduce  us 
to  the  feast  of  the  most  holy 
Supper.  Through  the  same 
Christ  our  Lord.      Amen. 


demnari.  Cujus  mors  de- 
licta  nostra  detersit,  et  re- 
surrectio  Paradisi  fores 
nobis  reseravit.  Per  quern 
tuam  pietatem  suppliciter 
exoramus  ;  ut  nos  hodie  a 
peccatis  emacules  ;  eras  vero 
venerabilis  Ccenae  dapibus 
saties  ;  hodie  acceptes  nos- 
trorum  confessionem  de- 
lictorum  :  eras  vero  tribuas 
spiritualium  incremento  do- 
norum  ;  hodie  jejuniorum 
nostrorum  vota  suscipias  ; 
eras  vero  nos  ad  sanctissimse 
Ccenae  convivium  intro  - 
ducas.  Per  eumdem  Chris- 
tum Dominum  nostrum. 
Amen. 


302  HOLY   WEEK. 


MAUNDY    THTJESDAY. 


THE    NIGHT    OFFICE. 


The  Office  of  Matins  and  Lauds,  for  the  last  three 
days  of  Holy  Week,  differs,  in  many  things,  from 
that  of  the  rest  of  the  year.  All  is  sad  and  mourn- 
ful, as  though  it  were  a  funeral-service  :  nothing 
could  more  emphatically  express  the  grief  that  now 
weighs  down  the  heart  of  our  holy  mother  the 
Church.  Throughout  all  the  Office  of  Thursday, 
Friday,  and  Saturday,  she  forbids  herself  the  use  of 
those  formulas  of  joy  and  hope,  wherewith,  on  all 
other  days,  she  begins  her  praise  of  God.  The 
Domine,  labia  mea  aperies  (0  Lord,  thou  shalt  open 
my  lips)  :  the  Deus,  in  adjutorium  meum  intende 
(Incline  unto  mine  aid,  0  God)  :  the  Gloria  Patri, 
at  the  end  of  the  Psalms,  Canticles,  and  Respon- 
sories : — all  are  taked  away.  So  likewise  are  those 
soul-stirring  additions,  which  have  been  gradually 
made,  in  the  different  ages ;  and  nothing  is  left,  but 
what  is  essential  to  the  form  of  the  Divine  Office  : — 
Psalms,  Lessons,  and  Chants  expressive  of  grief. 
Each  Canonical  Hour  ends  with  the  Psalm  Miserere, 
and  with  a  commemoration  of  the  Death  and  Cross 
of  our  Redeemer. 

The  name  of  Tenebrw  has  been  given  to  the 
Matins  and  Lauds  of  the  last  three  days  of  Holy 
Week,  because  this  Office  used  formerly  to  be  cele- 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY  I    TENEBR^.  803 

brated  during  the  night :  and  even  when  the  hour 
was  anticipated,  the  name  of  Tenebrce  was  kept  up 
for  another  reason ;  namely,  that  it  began  with  day- 
light, but  ended  after  the  sun  had  set.  There  is  an 
impressive  ceremony,  peculiar  to  this  Office,  whioh 
tends  to  perpetuate  its  name.  There  is  placed  in 
the  Sanctuary,  near  the  Altar,  a  large  triangular 
candlestick,  holding  fifteen  candles.  These  candles, 
and  the  six  that  are  on  the  Altar,  are  of  yellow  wax, 
as  in  the  Office  for  the  Dead.  At  the  end  of  each 
Psalm  or  Canticle,  one  of  these  fifteen  candles  is 
extinguished  ;  but  the  one  which  is  placed  at  the 
top  of  the  Triangle,  is  left  lighted.  During  the  sing- 
ing of  the  Benedictus,  at  Lauds,  the  six  candles  on 
the  Altar  are  also  put  out.  Then  the  Master  of 
Ceremonies  takes  the  lighted  candle  from  the  Tri- 
angle, and  holds  it  upon  the  Altar,  on  the  Epistle 
side,  whilst  the  Choir  repeats  the  antiphon  after  the 
Canticle  :  after  which,  he  hides  it  behind  the  Altar 
during  the  recitation  of  the  Miserere  and  the  Prayer, 
which  follows  the  Psalm.  As  soon  as  this  Prayer  is 
finished,  a  noise  is  made  with  the  seats  of  the  stalls 
in  the  choir,  which  continues  until  the  candle  is 
brought  from  behind  the  Altar,  and  shows,  by  its 
bight,  that  the  Office  of  Tenebrce  is  over. 

Let  us  now  study  the  meaning  of  these  cere- 
monies. The  glory  of  the  Son  of  Grod  was  obscured, 
and,  so  to  say,  eclipsed,  by  the  ignominies  he  endured 
during  his  Passion.  He,  the  Light  of  the  world, 
powerful  in  word  and  work,  who,  but  a  few  days  ago, 
was  proclaimed  King  by  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem,  is 
now  robbed  of  all  his  honours  ;  he  is,  says  Isaias,  the 
Man  of  sorrows, — a  leper  ; l  he  is,  says  the  Royal 
Prophet,  a  worm  of  the  earth,  and  no  man ; 2  he  is, 
as  he  says  of  himself,  an  object  of  shame  even  to  his 
own  Disciples,  for  they  are  all  scandalised  in  him,3 

1  Is.  liii.  3,  4.  2  Ps.  xxi.  7.  3  St.  Mark,  xiv.  27. 


304  HOLY   WEEK. 

and  abandon  him,  yea,  even  Peter  protests  that  he 
never  knew  him.  This  desertion  on  the  part  of  his 
Apostles  and  Disciples  is  expressed  by  the  candles 
being  extinguished,  one  after  the  other,  not  only  on 
the  Triangle,  but  on  the  Altar  itself.  But  Jesus, 
our  Light,  though  despised  and  hidden,  is  not  ex- 
tinguished. This  is  signified  by  the  Candle  which  is 
momentarily  placed  on  the  Altar  ;  it  figures  our 
Redeemer  suffering  and  dying  on  Calvary.  In  order 
to  express  his  burial,  the  candle  is  hid  behind  the 
Altar ;  its  light  disappears.  A  confused  noise  is 
heard  in  the  House  of  (rod,  where  all  is  now  dark- 
ness. This  noise  and  gloom  express  the  convulsions 
of  nature,  when  Jesus  expired  on  the  Cross ; — the 
earth  shook,  the  rocks  were  split,  the  dead  came  forth 
from  their  tombs.  But  the  candle  suddenly  re- 
appears ;  its  light  is  as  fair  as  ever ;  the  noise  is 
hushed,  and  homage  is  paid  to  the  Conqueror  of 
Death. 

After  having  given  these  general  explanations,  we 
now  offer  the  Faithful  the  text  of  the  Liturgy,  to 
which  we  subjoin  a  few  words  of  commentary,  where 
we  think  it  needed. 


MATINS. 

After  the  Pater,  Ave,  and  Credo,  have  been  said 
secretly,  the  first  Nocturn  begins  as  follows. 

THE    FIRST   NOCTURN. 

The  first  Psalm  was  written  by  David,  when 
obliged  to  flee  from  the  persecution  of  his  son  Absa- 
lom, who  sought  his  death.  It  refers  to  Christ,  and 
describes  various  incidents  of  his  Passion.  The  gall 
and   vinegar,  here    mentioned,   show    us   that  this 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  I    TENEBR^E. 


305 


Psalm  is  prophetic,   for  David  never  received  any 
such  treatment  from  his  enemies. 


Ant.  The  zeal  of  thy  house 
hath  eaten  me  up ;  and  the 
reproaches  of  them  that  re- 
proached thee,  are  fallen  upon 
me. 


Ant.  Zelus  domus  tuae 
comedit  me,  et  opprobria 
exprobrantium  tibi  cecide- 
runt  super  me. 


PSALM   68. 


Save  me,  O  God  :  for  the 
waters  are  come  in  even  unto 
my  soul. 

I  stick  fast  in  the  mire  of 
the  deep :  and  there  is  no  sure 
standing. 

I  am  come  into  the  depth 
of  the  sea :  and  a  tempest 
hath  overwhelmed  me. 

I  have  laboured  with  cry- 
ing :  my  jaws  are  become 
hoarse  :  my  eyes  have  failed, 
whilst  I  hope  in  my  God. 

They  are  multiplied  above 
the  hairs  of  my  head,  who 
hate  me  without  cause. 

My  enemies  are  grown 
strong,  who  have  wrongfully 
persecuted  me  :  then  did  I 
pay  that  which  I  took  not 
away. 

O  God  thou  knowest  my 
foolishness,  and  my  offences, 
the  offences  ivhich  I  have  taken 
upon  myself,  are  not  hid  from 
thee. 

Let  them  not  be  ashamed 
for  me,  who  look  for  thee,  O 
Lord,  the  Lord  of  hosts. 

Let  them  not  be  confounded 
on  my  account,  who  seek  thee, 
G  God  of  Israel. 

Because  for  thy  sake  I  have 


Salvum  me  fac,  Deus :  * 
quoniam  intraverunt  aquae 
usque  ad  animam  meam. 

Infixus  sum  in  limo  pro- 
fundi :  *  et  non  est  substan- 
tia. 

Veni  in  altitudinem  ma- 
ris: *  et  tempestas  demer- 
sit  me. 

Laboravi  clamans,  raucae 
factae  sunt  fauces  meae :  * 
defecerunt  oculi  mei,  dum 
spero  in  Deum  meum. 

Multiplicati  sunt  super 
capillos  capitis  mei :  *  qui 
oderunt  me  gratis. 

Confortati  sunt  qui  per- 
secuti  sunt  me  inimici  mei 
injuste :  *  quae  non  rapui, 
tunc  exsolvebam. 

Deus,  tu  scis  insipientiam 
meam :  *  et  delicta  mea  a 
te  non  sunt  abscondita. 


Non  erubescant  in  me,  qui 
exspectant  te,  Domine  :  * 
Domine  virtutum. 

Non  confundantur  super 
me  :  *  qui  quaerunt  te,  Deus 
Israel. 

Quoniam   propter  te  sus- 


306 


HOLY    WEEK. 


tiimi  opprobrium  :  *  operuit 
confusio  faciem  meam. 

Extraneus  factus  sum  fra- 
tribus  meis  :  *  et  peregrinus 
filiis  matris  meae. 

Quoniam  zelus  domus  tuae 
comedit  me  :  *  et  opprobria 
exprobrantium  tibi  ceci- 
derunt  super  me. 

Et  operui  in  jejunio  ani- 
mam  meam :  *  et  factum 
est  in  opprobrium  mini. 

Et  posui  vestimentum 
meum  cilicium :  *  et  factus 
sum  illis  in  parabolam. 

Adversum  me  loqueban- 
tur  qui  sedebant  in  porta: 
*  et  in  me  psallebant  qui 
bibebant  vinum. 

Ego  vero  orationem  meam 
ad  te,  Domine :  *  tempus 
beneplaciti  Deus. 

In  multitudine  misericor- 
dise  tuae  exaudi  me :  *  in  veri- 
tate  salutis  tuae. 

Eripe  me  de  luto,  ut  non 
infigar  :  *  libera  me  ab  iis 
qui  oderunt  me,  et  de  pro- 
fundis  aquarum. 

Non  me  demergat  tem- 
pestas  aquae,  neque  absor- 
beat  me  profundum  :  *  ne- 
que urgeat  super  me  puteus 
os  suum. 

Exaudi  me,  Domine,  quo- 
niam benigna  est  misericor- 
dia  tua :  *  secundum  mul- 
titudinem  miserationum  tu- 
arum  respice  in  me. 

Et  ne  avertas  f  acien>>  tuam 
a  puero  tuo  :  *  quoniam 
tribulor,  velociter  exaudi 
me. 

Intende  animae  meae  et  li- 


borne  reproach  :  shame  hath 
covered  my  face. 

I  am  become  a  stranger  to 
my  brethren,  and  an  alien  to 
the  sons  of  my  mother. 

For  the  zeal  of  thy  house 
hath  eaten  me  up  :  and  the 
reproaches  of  them  that  re- 
proached thee,  are  fallen  upon 
me. 

And  I  covered  my  soul  in 
fasting  :  and  it  made  a  re- 
proach to  me. 

And  I  made  hair- cloth  my 
garment:  and  I  became  abye- 
word  to  them. 

They  that  sat  in  the  gate 
spoke  against  me  :  and  they 
that  drank  wine  made  me 
their  song. 

But  as  for  me,  my  prayer  is 
to  thee,  O  Lord  :  for  the  time 
of  thy  good  pleasure,  0 
God.  " 

In  the  multitude  of  thy 
mercy  hear  me  in  the  truth 
of  thy  salvation. 

Draw  me  out  of  the  mire, 
that  I  may  not  stick  fast :  de- 
liver me  from  them  that  hate 
me,  and  out  of  the  deep  waters. 

Let  not  the  tempest  of 
water  drown  me,  nor  the  deep 
swallow  me  up  :  and  let  not 
the  pit  shut  her  mouth  upon 
me. 

Hear  me,  0  Lord,  for  thy 
mercy  is  kind  :  look  upon  me 
according  to  the  multitude  of 
thy  tender  mercies. 

And  turn  not  away  thy  face 
from  thy  servant  :  for  I  am 
in  trouble,   hear  me  speedily. 

Attend  to  my  soul,  and  de- 


MAUNDY  THURSDAY  I   TENEBTMS. 


307 


liver  it ;    save  me  because  of 
my  enemies. 

Thou  knowest  my  reproach, 
and  my  confusion,  and  my 
shame. 

In  thy  sight  are  all  they 
that  afflict  me  ;  my  heart  hath 
experienced  reproach  and 
misery. 

And  I  looked  for  one  that 
would  grieve  together  with 
me,  but  there  was  none  :  and 
for  one  that  would  comfort 
me,  and  I  found  none. 

And  they  gave  me  gall  for 
my  food,  and  in  my  thirst 
they  gave  me  vinegar  to 
drink. 

Let  their  table  become  as 
a  snare  before  them,  and  a  re- 
compense, and  a  stumbling 
block. 

Let  their  eyes  be  darkened 
that  they  see  not :  and  their 
back,  bow  thou  down  always. 

Pour  out  thy  indignation 
upon  them :  and  let  thy 
wrathful  anger  take  hold  of 
them. 

Let  their  habitation  be 
made  desolate  :  and  let  there 
be  none  to  dwell  in  their 
tabernacles. 

Because  they  have  perse- 
cuted him  whom  thou  hast 
smitten :  and  they  have  added 
to  the  grief  of  my  wounds. 

A.dd  thou  iniquity  upon 
their  iniquity :  and  let  them 
not  come  into  thy  justice. 

Let  them  be  blotted  out  of 
the  book  of  the  living :  and 
with  the  just  let  them  not  be 
written. 

But  I  am  poor  and  sorrow- 
ful: thy  salvation,  O  God, 
hath  set  me  up. 


bera  earn  :  *  propter  ini- 
micos  meos  eripe  me. 

Tu  scis  improperium  me- 
um,  et  confusionem  meam  :  * 
et  reverentiam  meam. 

In  conspectu  tuo  sunt  om- 
nes  qui  tribulant  me  :  *  im- 
properium exspectavit  cor 
meum  et  miseriam. 

Et  sustinui  qui  simul 
contristaretur,  et  non  fuit :  * 
et  qui  consolaretur,  et  non 
inveni. 

Et  dederunt  in  escam  me- 
am fel :  *  et  in  siti  mea 
potaverunt  me  aceto. 

Fiat  mensa  eorum  coram 
ipsis  in  laqueum,  *  et 
in  retributiones,  et  in 
scandalum. 

Obscurentur  oculi  eorum 
ne  videant  :  *  et  dorsum 
eorum  semper  incurva. 

Effunde  super  eos  iram 
tuam  :  *  et  furor  irse  tuse 
comprehendat  eos. 

Fiat  habitatio  eorum  de- 
serta :  *  et  in  tabernaculis 
eorum  non  sit  qui  inhabitet. 

Quoniam  quern  tu  per- 
cussisti,  persecuti  sunt ;  * 
et  super  dolorem  vulnerum 
meorum  addiderunt. 

Appone  iniquitatem  su- 
per iniquitatem  eorum  ;  * 
et  non  intrent  in  justitiam 
tuam. 

Deleantur  de  libro  viven- 
tium  :  *  et  cum  justis  non 
scribantur. 

Ego  sum  pauper  et  dolens : 
*  salus  tua  Deus  suscepit 
me. 


308 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Laudabo  nomen  Dei  cum 
cantico :  #  et  magnificabo 
eum  in  laude. 

Et  placebit  Deo  super  vi- 
tulum  novellum  :  *  cornua 
producentem  et  ungulas. 

Videant  pauperes  et  lae- 
tentur :  *  quserite  Deum, 
et  vivet  anima  vestra. 

Quoniam  exaudivit  pau- 
peres Dominus  :  *  et  vinc- 
tos  suos  non  despexit. 

Laudent  ilium  coeli  et 
terra  :  *  mare  et  omnia  rep- 
tilia  in  eis. 

Quoniam  Deus  salvam 
faciet  Sion :  *  et  sedifica- 
buntur  civitates  Juda. 

Et  inhabitabunt  ibi  :  *  et 
hsereditate  acquirent  earn. 

Et  semen  servorum  ejus 
possidebit  earn :  *  et  qui 
diligunt  nomen  ejus  habi- 
tabunt  in  ea. 

Ant.  Zelus  domus  tuse 
comedit  me,  et  opprobria 
exprobrantium  tibi  cecide- 
runt  super  me, 


I  will  praise  the  name  of 
God  with  a  canticle :  and  I 
will  magnify  him  with  praise. 

And  it  shall  please  God 
better  than  a  young  calf,  that 
bringeth  forth  horns  and 
hoofs. 

Let  the  poor  see  and  re- 
joice :  Seek  ye  God,  and  your 
soul  shall  live. 

For  the  Lord  hath  heard 
the  poor,  and  hath  not  des- 
pised his  prisoners. 

Let  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  praise  him;  the  sea,  and 
every  thing  that  creepeth 
therein. 

Eor  God  will  save  Sion:  and 
the  cities  of  Juda  shall  be 
built  up. 

And  they  shall  dwell  there, 
and  acquire  it  by  inheritance. 

And  the  seed  of  his  servants 
shall  possess  it :  and  they  that 
love  his  name  shall  dwell 
therein. 

Ant.  The  zeal  of  thy  house 
hath  eaten  me  up  ;  and  the 
reproaches  of  them  that  re- 
proached thee,  are  fallen  upon 
me. 


The  second  Psalm  was  written  by  David,  under 
the  same  circumstances  as  the  previous  one.  He 
begs  God  to  defend  him  against  the  enemies  that  are 
seeking  to  destroy  him.  This  Psalm  is  prophetic  of 
the  lot  reserved  to  the  Messias. 


Ant.  Avertantur  retror-  Ant.  Let  them  that  devise 
sum,  et  erubescant,  qui  co-  evils  against  me  be  turned 
gitant  mihi  mala.  back,  and  let  them  blush  for 

shame. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  '.    TENEBR^. 


309 


PSALM    69. 


O  God,  come  to  my  assist- 
ance :  O  Lord,  make  haste  to 
help  me. 

Let  them  be  confounded 
and  ashamed  that  seek  my 
soul. 

Let  them  be  turned  back- 
ward, and  blush  for  shame, 
that  desire  evils  to  me. 

Let  them  be  presently  turn- 
ed away  blushing  for  shame 
that  say  to  me  :  'Tis  well,  'tis 
well. 

Let  all  that  seek  thee  re- 
joice and  be  glad  in  thee  : 
and  let  such  as  love  thy  sal- 
vation say  always :  The  Lord 
be  magnified. 

But  I  am  needy  and  poor  ; 
O  God,  help  me. 

Thou  art  my  helper  and  my 
deliverer :  O  Lord,  make  no 
delay. 

Ant.  Let  them  that  devise 
evils  against  me,  be  turned 
back,  and  let  them  blush  for 
shame. 


Deus,  in  adjutorium  meum 
intende :  *  Domine,  ad  ad- 
juvandum  me  festina. 

Confundantur  et  revere- 
antur :  *  qui  quserunt  ani- 
mam  meam. 

Avertantur  retrorsum,  et 
erubescant  :  *  qui  volunt 
mihi  mala. 

Avertantur  statim  erube- 
scentes  :  *  qui  dicunt  mihi  : 
Euge,  euge. 

Exsultent  et  laetentur  in 
te  omnes  qui  quserunt  te  :  * 
et  dicant  semper  :  Magni- 
ficetur  Dominus,  qui  dili- 
gunt  salutare  tuum. 

Ego  vero  egenus  et  pau- 
per sum :  *  Deus  adjuva 
me. 

Adjutor  meus  et  liberator 
meus  es  tu :  *  Domine  ne 
moreris. 

Ant.  Avertantur  retror- 
sum, et  erubescant,  qui  cogi- 
tant  mihi  mala. 


The  third  Psalm  refers  to  the  same  period  of 
David's  life  ;  but  whilst  it  describes  the  dangers  to 
which  this  holy  king  was  exposed,  it  also  expresses 
the  wonderful  confidence  he  had  that  (rod  would 
crown  him  with  victory  over  all  his  enemies.  In 
its  prophetic  signification,  this  Psalm  shows  us  how 
the  Man-God,  even  in  the  lowest  depths  of  his  an- 
guish, confided  in  his  Father's  help. 


Ant.  Deliver  me,  O  my 
God,  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
sinner. 


Ant.     Deus    meus,    eripe 
me  de  manu  peccatoris. 


312 


HOLY    WEEK. 


PSALM    70. 


In  te  Domine  speravi, 
non  confundar  in  aeternum : 

*  in  justitia  tua  libera  me,  et 
eripe  me. 

Inclina  ad  me  aurem  tu- 
am :  *  et  salva  me. 

Esto  mihi  in  Deum  pro- 
tectorem  et  in  locum  mu- 
nitum :  *  ut  salvum  me 
facias. 

Quoniam  firmamentum 
meum :  *  et  refugium  me- 
um  es  tu. 

Deus  meus,  eripe  me  de 
manu  peccatoris :  *  et  de 
manu  contra  legem  agentis 
et  iniqui. 

Quoniam  tu  es  patientia 
mea,  Domine :  *  Domine, 
spes  mea  a  juventute  mea. 

In  te  confirmatus  sum  ex 
utero :  *  de  ventre  matris 
mese  tu  es  protector  meus. 

In  te  cantatio  mea  sem- 
per :  *  tamquam  prodigium 
factus  sum  multis ;  et  tu 
adjutor  fortis. 

Eepleatur  os  meum  laude, 
ut    cantem    gloriam    tuam : 

*  tota    die     magnitudinem 
tuam. 

Ne  projicias  me  in  tem- 
pore senectutis :  *  cum  de- 
fecerit  virtus  mea,  ne  dere- 
linquas  me. 

Quia  dixerunt  inimici 
mei  mihi :  *  et  qui  custo- 
diebant  animam  meam  con- 
silium fecerunt  in  unum. 

Dicentes  :  Deus  dereliquit 
eum,   persequimini  et   com- 


In  thee,  0  Lord,  I  have 
hoped,  let  me  never  be  put 
to  confusion  :  deliver  me  in 
thy  justice,  and  rescue  me. 

Incline  thine  ear  unto  me, 
and  save  me. 

Be  thou  unto  me  a  God, 
a  protector,  and  a  place  of 
strength,  that  thou  mayest 
make  me  safe. 

For  thou  art  my  firmament 
and  my  refuge. 

Deliver  me,  O  my  God,  out 
of  the  hand  of  the  sinner,  and 
out  of  the  hand  of  the  trans- 
gressor of  the  law,  and  of  the 
unjust. 

For  thou  art  my  patience, 
O  Lord  :  my  hope,  0  Lord, 
from  my  youth. 

By  thee  have  I  been  con- 
firmed from  the  womb  :  from 
my  mother's  womb  thou  art 
my  protector. 

Of  thee  shall  I  continually 
sing :  I  am  become  unto  many 
as  a  wonder  :  but  thou  art  a 
strong  helper. 

Let  my  mouth  be  filled 
with  praise,  that  I  may  sing 
thy  glory  :  thy  greatness  all 
the  day  long. 

Cast  me  not  off  in  the  time 
of  old  age,  when  my  strength 
shall  fail,  do  not  thou  forsake 
me. 

For  my  enemies  have  spo- 
ken against  me  ;  and  they 
that  watched  my  soul  have 
consulted  together, 

Saying :  God  hath  forsaken 
him;   pursue  and  take  him, 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY  :    TENEBR^. 


311 


for  there  is  none  to  deliver 
him. 

0  G-od,  be  not  thou  far  from 
me  :  0  my  God,  make  haste 
to  my  help. 

Let  them  be  confounded 
and  come  to  nothing  that  de- 
tract my  soul :  Let  them  be 
covered  with  confusion  and 
shame  that  seek  my  hurt. 

But  I  will  always  hope  : 
and  will  add  to  all  thy  praise. 

My  mouth  shall  show  forth 
thy  justice  :  thy  salvation  all 
the  day  long. 

Because  I  have  not  known 
learning,  I  will  enter  into  the 
powers  of  the  Lord  :  O  Lord, 
I  will  be  mindful  of  thy  jus- 
tice alone. 

Thou  hast  taught  me,  0 
God,  from  my  youth,  and  till 
now  I  will  declare  thy  won- 
derful works. 

And  unto  old  age  and  grey 
hairs,  0  God,  forsake  me  not. 

Until  I  show  forth  thy  arm 
to  all  the  generation  that  is  to 
come. 

Thy  power,  and  thy  justice, 
0  God,  even  to  the  highest, 
great  things  thou  hast  done  ; 
O  God,  who  is  like  to  thee  ? 

How  great  troubles  hast 
thou  showed  me,  many  and 
grievous  :  and  turning  thou 
hast  brought  me  to  life,  and 
hast  brought  me  back  again 
from  the  depths  of  the  earth. 

Thou  hast  multiplied  thy 
magnificence  ;  and  turning  to 
me,  thou  hast  comforted  me. 

1  will  also  give  praise  to 
thee :    I  will  extol  thy  truth 


prehendite  eum :  *  quia  non 
est  qui  eripiat. 

Deus  ne  elongeris  a  me  :  * 
Deus  meus  in  auxilium 
meum  respice. 

Confundantur  et  deficiant 
detrahentes  animae  mete :  * 
operiantur  confusione  et  pu- 
dore,  qui  quserunt  mala 
mihi. 

Ego  autem  semper  spe- 
rabo :  *  et  adjiciam  super 
omnem  laud  em  tuam. 

Os  meum  annuntiavit  jus- 
titiam  tuam  :  *  tota  die 
salutare  tuum. 

Quoniam  non  cognovi 
literaturara,  introibo  in  po- 
tentias  Domini :  *  Domine, 
memorabor  justitiae  tuae  so- 
lius. 

Deus  docuisti  me  a  juven- 
tute  mea :  *  et  usque  nunc 
pronuntiabo  mirabilia  tua. 

Et  usque  in  senectam  et 
senium  :  *  Deus  ne  derelin- 
quas  me. 

Donee  annuntiem  bra- 
chium  tuum :  *  generationi 
omni,  quae  ventura  est. 

Potentiam  tuam,  et  justi- 
tiam  tuam  Deus  usque  in 
altissima,  quae  fecisti  mag- 
nalia :  *  Deus  quis  similis 
tibi? 

Quantas  ostendisti  mihi 
tribulationes  multas  et  ma- 
las  :  et  conversus  vivificasti 
me :  *  et  de  abyssis  terrae 
iterum  reduxisti  me. 

Multiplicasti  magnificen- 
tiam  tuam  :  *  et  conversus 
consolatus  es  me. 

Nam  et  ego  coniitebor  tibi 
in    vasis    psalmi    veritatem 


312  HOLY    WEEK. 

tuam  :  *  Deus,  psallam  tibi    with  the  instruments  of  psal- 
in  cithara,  Sanctus  Israel.  tery  :    0  God,  I  will  sing  to 

thee  with  the  harp,  thou  holy 
one  of  Israel. 
Exsultabunt     labia     mea        My  lips  shall  greatly  rejoice 
cum    cantavero    tibi :     *   et    when  I  shall  sing  to  thee :  and 
anima  mea,  quam  redemisti.      my  soul  which  thou  hast  re- 
deemed. 
Sed    et    lingua    mea  tota        Yea  and  my  tongue  also 
die      meditabitur     justitiam     shall  meditate  on  thy  justice 
tuam  :  *  cum  confusi  et  re-     all  the  day :    when  they  shall 
veriti    fuerint    qui   quserunt    be    confounded    and  put  to 
mala  mihi.  shame  that  seek  evils  to  me. 

Ant.  Deus  meus,  eripe  me      Ant.     Deliver  me,  0  my 
de  manu  peccatoris.  God,  out  of  the  hand  of  the 

sinner. 
y.   Avertantur  retrorsum,        f.  Let    them    be    turned 
et  erubescant.  back,  and  let  them  blush  for 

shame. 
#.  Qui  cogitant  mihi  mala.       gt.  That  devise  evil  things 

against  me. 


Here  is  said  the  Pater  noster,  but  all  in  secret. 

The  Lessons  of  the  first  Nocturn,  for  each  of  these 
three  days,  are  taken  from  the  Lamentations  of 
Jeremias,  which  describe  the  miserable  state  of 
Jerusalem,  when,  in  punishment  for  her  idolatry,  her 
people  were  led  captive  into  Babylon.  How 
visibly  is  the  anger  of  Gk>d  shown  in  these  ruins  of 
the  great  City,  over  which  Jeremias  pours  forth  his 
inspired  words  of  mourning  !  And  yet,  this  first 
disaster  was  but  a  figure  of  a  more  terrible  one  to 
come.  When  the  Assyrians  took  Jerusalem,  and 
well  nigh  reduced  her  to  a  wilderness,  she  lost  not 
her  name  ;  and  the  very  Prophet,  who  laments  over 
her  destruction,  had  foretold  that  the  desolation  was 
not  to  last  beyond  seventy  years.  But,  in  her 
second  destruction,  the  faithless  City  forfeited  even 
her  name.  Rebuilt  by  her  conquerors,  she  went,  for 
two    hundred    years,    under   the    name   of    JElia 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :      TENEKRJ5.  313 

Adriana  ;  and  when,  after  peace  was  granted  to  the 
Church,  she  was  again  called  Jerusalem,  it  was  not 
a  restitution  of  honour  to  Juda,  but  a  homage  that 
was  paid  to  the  Grod  of  the  Christians,  whom  Juda 
had  crucified  in  her  Capital.  Neither  St.  Helen's 
and  Constantino's  devotedness,  nor  the  heroism  of 
the  Crusaders,  could  raise  Jerusalem  to  the  position 
of  even  a  second-rate  City  ;  she  is  doomed  to  be  a 
slave,  and  a  slave  to  infidels,  to  all  but  the  very  end 
of  time.  She  drew  this  frightful  curse  upon  herself 
by  the  crimes  she  committed  against  the  Son  of 
Grod  ;  and  nothing  could  give  us  a  better  idea  of  the 
enormity  of  those  crimes,  than  the  plaintive  words 
of  such  a  Prophet  as  Jeremias.  This  is  the  reason 
that  his  Lamentations  are  chosen  for  the  Lessons  of 
Tenebrse.  The  mournful  chant,  to  which  they  are 
sung,  is  probably  the  one  used  by  the  Jews  them- 
selves. The  names  of  the  letters  of  the  Hebrew 
alphabet,  which  divide  the  stanzas  of  this  inspired 
Elegy,  show  us  that  it  was  written  by  the  Prophet  as 
an  Acrostic.  The  Jewish  custom  of  singing  these 
Lamentations  has  been  retained  in  the  Christian 
Church. 

FIRST    LESSON. 

Here  beginneth  the  Lauienta-       Incipit  Lamentatio  Jeremiae 
tion  of  Jeremias  the  Prophet.  Prophetae. 

Gh.  I.  Cap.  I. 

Aleph.  How  doth  the  city        Aleph.      Quomodo     sedet 

sit  solitary,  that  was  full  of  sola   ci vitas    plena    populo  ? 

people :  how  is  the   mistress  facta  est  quasi  vidua  domina 

of  nations  become  as  a  widow :  gentium,     princeps     provin- 

the  princes  of  provinces  made  ciarum  facta  est  sub  tributo. 
tributary  ? 

Beth.     Weeping  she  hath        Beth.     Plorans  ploravit  in 

wept  in  the  night,  and   her  nocte,     efc   lacrymse   ejus   in 

tears  are  on  her  cheeks  :  there  maxillis   ejus:    non  est  qui 

is  none  to  comfort  her  among  consoletur  earn   ex  omnibus 

all  them  that  were  dear  to  her  :  charis  ejus.       Omnes  amici 


814 


HOLY  WEEK, 


ejus  spreverunt  earn,  et  facti 
sunt  ei  mimici. 

Ghimel.  Migravit  Judas 
propter  afflictionem,  et 
multitudinem  servitutis  : 
habitavit  inter  gentes,  nee 
invenit  requiem.  Omnes 
persecutores  ejus  appre- 
henderunt  earn  inter  an- 
gustias. 

Daleth.  Vise  Sion  lugent, 
eo  quod  non  sint  qui  veniant 
ad  solemnitatem  :  omnes 
portae  ejus  destructse,  sa- 
cerdotes  ejus  gementes, 
virgines  ejus  squalidae,  et 
ipsa  oppressa  amaritudine. 

He.  Facti  sunt  hostes  ejus 
in  capite,  inimici  ejus  lo- 
cupletati  sunt :  quia  Domi- 
nus  locutus  est  super  earn 
propter  multitudinem  ini- 
quitatum  e j  us .  Parvuli  e j  us 
ducti  sunt  in  captivitatem, 
ante  faciem  tribulantis. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  con  - 
vertere  ad  Dominum  Deum 
tuum. 

Bt.  In  Monte  Oliveti  ora- 
vit  ad  Patrem  :  Pater,  si  fi- 
eri potest,  transeat  a  me  ca- 
lix  iste  :  Spiritus  quidem 
promptus  est,  caro  autem 
infirma. 

y.  Vigilate,  et  orate,  ut 
non  intretis  in  tentationem. 

*  Spiritus  quidem  promp- 
tus est :  caro  autem  infir- 
ma. 


all  her  friends  have  despised 
her,  and  are  become  her  ene- 
mies. 

Ghimel.  Juda  hath  remo- 
ved her  dwelling  place  be- 
cause of  her  affliction,  and 
the  greatness  of  her  bondage : 
she  hath  dwelt  among  the 
nations,  and  she  hath  found 
no  rest :  her  persecutors  have 
taken  her  in  the  midst  of 
straits. 

Daleth.  The  ways  of  Sion 
mourn,  because  there  are 
none  that  come  to  the  solemn 
feast :  all  her  gates  are  broken 
down :  her  priests  sigh,  her 
virgins  are  in  affliction,  and 
she  is  oppressed  with  bitter- 
ness. 

He.  Her  adversaries  are 
become  her  lords,  her  enemies 
are  enriched  :  because  the 
Lord  hath  spoken  against  her 
for  the  multitude  of  her 
iniquities  :  her  children  are 
led  into  captivity,  before  the 
face  of  the  oppressor. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  be 
converted  to  the  Lord  thy  God. 

&.  He  prayed  to  his  Father 
on  Mount  Olivet :  Father,  if 
it  be  possible,  let  this  chalice 
pass  from  me  :  *  The  spirit, 
indeed,  is  willing,  but  the 
flesh  is  weak. 

1? .  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye 
may  not  enter  into  temptation. 

*  The  spirit,  indeed,  is  wil- 
ling, but  the  flesh  is  weak. 


SECOND    LESSON. 


Vatj.     Et  egressus  est  a  fi- 
lia  Sion  omnis  decor  ejus  : 


Vatj.  And  from  the  daugh- 
ter of  Sion  all  her  beauty  is 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY  !    TENEBRJE. 


315 


departed  :  her  princes  are 
become  like  rams  that  find  no 
pasture ;  and  they  are  gone 
away  without  strength  before 
the  face  of  the  pursuer. 

Zain.  Jerusalem  hath  re- 
membered the  days  of  her 
affliction  and  transgression 
of  all  her  desirable  things, 
which  she  had  from  the  days 
of  old,  when  her  people  fell  in 
the  enemy's  hand,  and  there 
was  no  helper  :  the  enemies 
have  seen  her,  and  have  mock- 
ed at  her  Sabbaths. 

Heth.  Jerusalem  hath 
grievously  sinned,  therefore  is 
she  become  vagabond  :  all 
that  honoured  her,  have  des- 
pised her,  because  they  have 
seen  her  shame  :  but  she 
sighed  and  turned  backward. 

Teth.  Her  filthiness  is  on 
her  feet,  and  she  hath  not 
remembered  her  end  :  she  is 
wonderfully  cast  down,  not 
having  a  comforter  :  behold, 
0  Lord,  my  affliction,  because 
the  enemy  is  lifted  up. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  be 
converted  to  the  Lord  thy 
God. 

gt.  My  soul  is  sorrowful 
even  to  death :  stay  here,  and 
watch  with  me  :  now  ye  shall 
see  a  multitude,  that  will  sur- 
round me  :  *  Ye  shall  take  to 
flight,  and  I  will  go  to  be 
sacrificed  for  you. 

y.  Behold  the  hour  is  at 
hand,  when  the  Son  of  Man 
shall  be  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  sinners. 

*  Ye  shall  take  to  flight, and 


facti  sunt  principes  ejus  ve- 
lut  arietes  non  invenientes 
pascua,  et  abierunt  absque 
fortitudine,  ante  faciem 
subsequentis. 

Zain.  Eecordata  est  Je- 
rusalem dierum  afflictionis 
suae,  et  praevaricationis  om- 
nium desiderabilium  suo- 
rum,  quae  habuerat  a  diebus 
antiquis,  cum  caderet  popu- 
lus  ejus  in  manu  hostili,  et 
non  esset  auxiliator.  Vide- 
runt  earn  hostes,  et  derise- 
runt  sabbata  ejus. 

Heth.  Peccatum  peccavit 
Jerusalem ;  propterea  insta- 
bilis  facta  est.  Omnes  qui 
glorificabant  earn,  spreve- 
runt  illam  :  quia  viderunt 
ignominiam  ejus.  Ipsa  au- 
tem  gemens  conversa  est 
retrorsum. 

Teth.  Sordes  ejus  in  pe- 
dibus  ejus,  nee  recordata 
est  finis  sui.  Deposita  est 
vehementer,  non  habens 
consolatorem.  Vide,  Domi- 
ne,  afflictionem  meam  :  quo- 
niam  erectus  est  inimicus. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 

convertere  ad  Dominum 
Deum  tuum. 

gt.  Tristis  est  anima  mea 
usque  ad  mortem  :  susti- 
nete  hie,  et  vigilate  mecum : 
nunc  videbitis  turbam  quae 
circumdabit  me :  *  Vos  fu- 
gam  capietis,  et  ego  vadam 
immolari  pro  vobis. 

JP.  Ecce  appropinquat  ho- 
ra,  et  Filius  hominis  trade- 
tur  in  manus  peccatorum. 

*  Vos  fugam  capietis,   et 


316 


HOLY    WEEK. 


ego     vadam     iminolari     pro     I  will  go  to  be  sacrificed  for 
vobis.  you. 


THIRD    LESSON. 


Jod.  Manum  suam  misit 
hostis  ad  omnia  desidera- 
bilia  ejus :  quia  vidit  gen- 
tes  ingressas  sanctaarium 
suum,  de  quibus  prsecepe- 
ras  ne  intrarent  in  eccle- 
siam  tuam. 

Caph.  Omnis  populus 
ejus  gemens,  et  quaerens 
panem,  dederunt  pretiosa 
quseque  pro  cibo  ad  refocil- 
landam  animam.  Vide,  Do- 
mine,  et  considera,  quoniam 
facta  sum  vilis. 

Lamed.  0  vos  omnes,  qui 
transitis  per  viam,  atten- 
dite,  et  videte  si  est  dolor 
sicut  dolor  meus  :  quoniam 
vindemiavit  me,  ut  locutus 
est  Dominus  in  die  irse  fu- 
roris  sui. 

Mem.  De  excelso  misit 
ignem  in  ossibus  meis,  et 
erudivit  me  :  expandit  rete 
pedibus  meis,  convertit  me 
retrorsum  :  posuit  me  deso- 
latam,  tota  die  mcerore  con- 
i'ectam. 

Nun.  Yigilavit  j  ugum  ini- 
quitatum  mearum  :  in  manu 
ejus  convolutse  sunt,  et  im- 
positse  collo  meo  :  infirmata 
est  virtus  mea :  dedit  me 
Dominus  in  manu,  de  qua 
non  potero  surgere. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 

convertere       ad      Dominum 
Deum  tuurn, 


Jod.  The  enemy  hath  put 
out  his  hand  to  all  her  de- 
sirable things  :  for  she  hath 
seen  the  Gentiles  enter  into 
her  sanctuary,  of  whom  thou 
gavest  commandment  that 
they  should  not  enter  into 
thy  church. 

Caph.  All  her  people  sigh, 
they  seek  bread  :  they  have 
given  all  their  precious  things 
for  food  to  relieve  the  soul. 
See,  O  Lord,  and  consider, 
for  I  am  become  vile. 

Lamed.  O  all  ye  that  pass 
by  the  way,  attend,  and  see  if 
there  be  any  sorrow  like  to 
my  sorrow  :  for  he  hath  made 
a  vintage  of  me,  as  the  Lord 
spoke  in  the  day  of  his  fierce 
anger. 

Mem.  From  above  he 
hath  sent  fire  into  my  bones, 
and  hath  chastised  me  :  he 
hath  spread  a  net  for  my 
feet,  he  hath  turned  me 
back ;  he  hath  made  me 
destitute,  and  spent  with  sor- 
row all  the  day  long. 

Nun.  The  yoke  of  my  ini- 
quities hath  watched  for  me  : 
they  are  folded  together  in 
his  hand,  and  put  on  my  neck : 
my  strength  is  weakened :  the 
Lord  hath  delivered  me  into  a 
hand,  out  of  which  I  am  not 
able  to  rise. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  be 
converted  to  the  Lord  thy 
God, 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY  :    TENEBK^.  317 

$.  Lo  !   we  have  seen  him  £.  Ecce  vidimus  eum  non 

as  one  not  having  beauty  nor  habentem      speciem,     neque 

comeliness ;  there  is  no  sight-  decorem  ;     aspectus   ej  us  in 

liness  in  him  :  he  hath  borne  eo  non  est :    hie  peccata  nos- 

our  sins,  and  grieves  for  us  :  tra   portavit,    et    pro    nobis 

and  he  was  wounded  for  our  dolet :    ipse   autem  vulnera- 

iniquities :    *  By  his  wounds  tus    est    propter  iniquitates 

we  have  been  healed.  nostras  :    *  Cujus  livore  sa- 

nati  sumus. 

T&.  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  ^.   Vere  languores  nostros 

infirmities,   and  carried  our  ipse  tulit,  et  dolores  nostros 

sorrows.  ipse  portavit. 

*  By  his  wounds  we  have  *  Cujus  livore  sanati  su- 

been  healed.  mus. 

Here  is  repeated :    Lo  !    we  Here    is   repeated  :       Ecce 

have  seen.  vidimus. 

THE    SECOND    NOCTURN. 

The  fourth  Psalm,  which  celebrates,  in  such  glow- 
ing terms,  the  glories  of  the  Son  of  David,  would 
seem,  at  first  sight,  to  be  inappropriate  for  this  office, 
which  commemorates  only  his  humiliations.  We 
sang  this  fine  Canticle  on  the  night  of  our  Emma- 
nuel's birth  at  Bethlehem  ;  how  comes  it  to  be  among 
our  present  chants,  which  are  all  so  sorrowful  ?  The 
Church  has  chosen  it,  because  one  of  the  glories  here 
prophesied  of  Jesus  is,  that  he  shall  deliver  the  poor 
from  the  mighty ;  and  the  needy  that  had  no  helper. 
Mankind  is  this  poor  one  ;  Satan  is  the  mighty  one  ; 
Jesus  is  about  to  deliver  us  from  his  power,  by  suffer- 
ing what  we  have  deserved  by  our  sins. 

Ant.     The  Lord  hath  deli-  Ant.     Liberavit  Dominus 

vered    the     poor    from     the  pauperem  a  potente,   et  ino- 

mighty  ;  and  the  needy  that  pern,  cui  non  erat  adjutor. 
had  no  helper. 

PSALM    71. 

Give  to  the  king  thy  judg-  Deus  judicium  tuum  regi 

ment,    O   God  ;    and   to   the  da :    *  et  justitiam  tuam  filio 

king's  son  thy  justice.  regis. 

To  judge  thy  people  with  Judicare  populum  tuum  in 

justice,    and   thy  poor  with  justitia  :  *  et  pauperes  tuos 

judgment.  in  judicio, 


318 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Suscipiant  montes  pacem 
populo  :  *  et  colles  justitiam. 

Judicabit  pauperes  populi, 
et  salvos  faciet  filios  paupe- 
rum  :  *  et  humiliabit  calum- 
niator em. 

Et  permanebit  cum  sole, 
et  ante  lunam  :  *  in  genera  - 
tione  et  generationem. 

Descendet  sicut  pluvia  in 
vellus  :  *  et  sicut  stillicidia 
stillantia  super  terram. 

Orietur  in  diebus  ejus  jus- 
titia,  et  abundantia  pacis  :  * 
donee  auferatur  luna. 

Et  dominabitur  a  mari 
usque  ad  mare  :  *  et  a  flu- 
mine  usque  ad  terminos  or- 
bis  terrarum. 

Coram  illo  procident 
JEthiopes  :  *  et  inimici  ejus 
terram  lingent. 

Kegis  Tharsis  et  insulse 
inunera  offerent  :  *  reges 
Arabum  et  Saba  dona  ad- 
ducent. 

Et  adorabunt  eum  omnes 
reges  terrse  :  *  omnes  gentes 
servient  ei. 

Quia  liberabit  pauperem  a 
potente  :  *  et  pauperem  cui 
non  erat  adjutor. 

Parcet  pauperi  et  inopi  :  * 
et  animas  pauperum  salvas 
faciet. 

Ex  usuris  et  iniquitate 
redimet  animas  eorum  :  * 
et  honorabile  nomen  eorum 
coram  illo. 

Et  vivet,  et  dabitur  ei  de 


Let  the  mountains  receive 
peace  for  the  people,  and  the 
hills  justice. 

He  shall  judge  the  poor  of 
the  people,  and  he  shall  save 
the  children  of  the  poor,  and 
he  shall  humble  the  oppres- 
sor. 

And  his  kingdom  on  earth 
shall  continue  with  the  sun ; 
and  before  the  moon,  through- 
out all  generations. 

He  shall  come  down  like 
rain  upon  the  fleece  :  and  as 
showers  falling  gently  upon 
the  earth. 

In  his  days  justice  shall 
spring  up,  and  abundance  of 
peace :  till  the  moon  be  taken 
away. 

And  he  shall  rule  from  sea 
to  sea :  and  from  the  river 
Jordan  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth. 

Before  him  the  Ethiopians 
shall  fall  down :  and  his  ene- 
mies shall  lick  the  ground. 

The  kings  of  Tharsis  and 
the  islands  shall  offer  pres- 
ents :  the  kings  of  the  Arabians 
and  of  Saba  shall  bring  gifts. 

And  all  kings  of  the  earth 
shall  adore  him  ;  all  nations 
shall  serve  him. 

For  he  shall  deliver  the  poor 
from  the  mighty :  and  the 
needy  that  had  no  helper. 

He  shall  spare  the  human 
race,  ivhich  is  poor  and  needy: 
and  he  shall  save  the  souls  of 
the  poor. 

He  shall  redeem  their  souls 
from  the  usuries  and  iniquity 
of  Satan  :  and  their  name 
shall  be  honourable  in  his 
sight. 

And  he  shall  live,  and  to 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  !    TENEBR.E. 


319 


him  shall  be  given  of  the 
gold  of  Arabia  :  for  him  they 
shall  always  adore ;  they  shall 
bless  him  all  the  day. 

He  is  the  Bread  of  Life; 
therefore,  under  his  reign,  there 
shall  he  a  firmament  on  the 
earth,  on  the  tops  of  moun- 
tains :  above  Libanus  shall  the 
fruit  thereof  be  exalted  :  and 
they  of  the  city  shall  flourish 
like  the  grass  of  the  earth. 

Let  his  name  be  blessed  for 
evermore  :  his  name  continu- 
eth  before  the  sun. 

And  in  him  shall  all  the 
tribes  of  the  earth  be  blessed  : 
all  nations  shall  magnify  him. 

Blessed  be  the  Lord  the  God 
of  Israel,  who  alone  doth  won- 
derful things. 

And  blessed  be  the  name 
of  his  majesty  for  ever : 
and  the  whole  earth  shall  be 
filled  with  his  majesty.  So  be 
it.     So  be  it. 

Ant.  The  Lord  hath  deli- 
vered the  poor  from  the 
mighty ;  and  the  needy  that 
had  no  helper. 


auro  Arabiae,  et  adorabunt 
de  ipso  semper  :  *  tota  die 
benedicent  ei. 

Et  erit  firmamentum  in 
terra  in  summis  montium, 
superextolletur  super  Liba- 
num  fructus  ejus  :  *  et  flore- 
bunt  de  civitate  sicut 
fcenum  terrse. 


Sit  nomen  ejus  benedic- 
tum  in  ssecula  :  *  ante 
solem  permanet  nomen  ejus. 

Et  benedicentur  in  ipso 
omnes  tribus  terrse  :  *  omnes 
gentes  magnificabunt  eum. 

Benedictus  Dominus  De- 
us  Israel :  *  qui  facit  mira- 
bilia  solus. 

Et  benedictum  nomen 
majestatis  ejus  in  seternum  : 
*  et  replebitur  ma  j  estate 
ejus  omnis  terra  :  fiat,  fiat. 

ANt.  Liberavit  Dominus 
pauperem  a  potente,  et 
inopem,  cui  non  erat  ad- 
jutor. 


The  fifth  Psalm  conveys  a  moral  teaching,  which, 
if  listened  to,  would  correct  many  a  false  judgment 
of  the  world.  It  often  happens  that  men  are  shaken 
at  seeing  the  wicked  prosperous,  and  the  virtuous 
afflicted.  It  was  the  temptation  which  overcame 
the  Apostles,  when,  seeing  their  Divine  Master  in 
the  hands  of  his  enemies,  they  lost  their  faith  in  him 
as  the  Messias.  The  Psalmist  owns  that  he  himself 
was  troubled  by  the  same  kind  of  thought ;  but  (rod 
enlightened  him  to  see  the  truth  :  it  is,  that  if  Divine 
Providence  permit  iniquity  to  triumph  for  a  time, 
the  day  is  sure  to  come,  when  he  will  punish  the 


320 


HOLY    WEEK. 


wicked,  and  avenge  the  just  that  have  suffered  per- 
secution. 


Ant.  Cogitaverunt  impii, 
et  locuti  sunt  nequitiam : 
iniquitatem  in  excelso  locuti 
sunt. 


Ant.  The  ungodly  have 
thought  and  spoken  wicked- 
ness :  they  have  spoken  ini- 
quity on  high. 


PSALM    72. 


Quam  bonus  Israel  Deus :  * 
his  qui  recto  sunt  corde. 

Mei  autem  pene  moti 
sunt  pedes :  *  pene  effusi 
sunt  gressus  mei : 

Quia  zelavi  super  iniquos, 

*  pacem  peccatorum  videns. 

Quia  non  est  respectus 
morti  eorum :  *  et  firma- 
mentum  in  plaga  eorum. 

In  labore  hominum  non 
sunt :  *  et  cum  hominibus 
non  flagellabuntur. 

Ideo  tenuit  eos  superbia : 

*  operti    sunt    iniquitate   et 
impietate  sua. 

Prodiit  quasi  ex  adipe 
iniquitas  eorum :  *  tran- 
sierunt  in  affectum  cordis. 

Cogitaverunt  et  locuti 
sunt  nequitiam  :  *  iniquita- 
tem in  excelso  locuti  sunt. 

Posuerunt  in  coelum  os 
suum :  *  et  lingua  eorum 
transivit  in  terra. 

Ideo  convertetur  populus 
meus  hie :  *  et  dies  pleni 
invenientur  in  eis. 

Et  dixerunt.  Quomodo 
scit  Deus  :  *  et  si  est  scien- 
tia  in  excelso  ? 


How  good  is  God  to  Israel, 
to  them  that  are  of  a  right 
heart ! 

But  my  feet  were  almost 
moved;  my  steps  had  well 
nigh  slipt : 

Because  I  had  a  zeal  on 
occasion  of  the  wicked,  seeing 
the  prosperity  of  sinners. 

For  there  is  no  regard  to 
their  death ;  nor  is  their 
strength  in  their  stripes. 

They  are  not  in  the  labour 
of  men  ;  neither  shall  they  be 
scourged  like  other  men. 

Therefore  pride  hath  held 
them  fast :  they  are  covered 
with  their  iniquity  and  their 
wickedness. 

Their  iniquity  hath  come 
forth,  as  it  were  from  fatness  : 
they  have  passed  into  the 
affection  of  the  heart. 

They  have  thought  and 
spoken  wickedness :  they  have 
spoken  iniquity  on  high. 

They  have  set  their  mouth 
against  heaven :  and  their 
tongue  hath  passed  through 
the  earth. 

Therefore  will  my  people 
return  here :  and  full  days 
shall  be  found  in  them. 

And  they  said :  How  doth 
God  know,  and  is  their  know- 
ledge in  the  Most  High  ? 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :    TENEBRJR. 


321 


Behold  these  are  sinners  ; 
and  yet  abounding  in  the 
world,  they  have  obtained 
riches. 

And  I  said  :  Then  have  I 
in  vain  justified  my  heart, 
and  washed  my  hands  among 
the  innocent. 

And  I  have  been  scourged 
all  the  day,  and  my  chastise- 
ment hath  been  in  the  morn- 
ings. 

If  I  said :  I  will  speak  thus  : 
behold  I  should  condemn  the 
generation  of  thy  children. 

I  studied  that  I  might  know 
this  thing  :  it  is  as  labour  in 
my  sight  : 

Until  I  go  into  the  sanctu- 
ary of  God,  and  understand 
concerning  their  last  ends. 

But  indeed  for  deceits  thou 
hast  put  it  to  them  :  when 
they  were  lifted  up,  thou  hast 
cast  them  down. 

How  are  they  brought  to 
desolation  !  they  have  sud- 
denly ceased  to  be  :  they  have 
perished  by  reason  of  their 
iniquity. 

As  the  dream  of  them  that 
awake,  O  Lord,  so  in  thy  city 
thou  shalt  bring  their  image 
to  nothing. 

For  my  heart  hath  been  in- 
flamed, and  my  reins  have 
been  changed  :  and  I  am 
brought  to  nothing,  and  I 
knew  not. 

I  am  become  as  a  beast  be- 
fore thee :  and  I  am  always 
with  thee. 

Thou  hast  held  me  by  my 
right  hand  :  and  by  thy  will 
thou  hast  conducted  me  :  and 
with  glory  thou  hast  received 
me. 


Ecce  ipsi  peccatores,  et 
abundantes  in  saeculo  :  *  ob- 
tinuerunt  divitias. 

Et  dixi  :  Ergo  sine  causa 
justificavi  cor  meum :  *  et 
lavi  inter  innocentes  maims 
meas. 

Et  fui  flagellatus  tota  die  : 

*  et  castigatio  mea  in  matu- 
tinis. 

Si  dicebam  :    Narrabo  sic  : 

*  ecce      nationem      filiorum 
tuorum  reprobavi. 

Existimabam  ut  cogno- 
scerem  hoc  :  *  labor  est  aDte 
me : 

Donee  intrem  in  sanctua- 
rium  Dei :  *  et  intelligam 
in  novissimis  eorum. 

Verumtamen  propter  do- 
los  posuisti  eis :  *  dejecisti 
eos  dum  allevarentur. 

Quomodo  facti  sunt  in 
desolationem,  subito  defe- 
cerunt :  *  perierunt  propter 
iniquitatem  suam. 

Velut  somnium  surgen- 
tium,  Domine  :  *  in  civitate 
tua  imaginem  ipsorum  ad 
nihilum  rediges. 

Quia  inflammatum  est 
cor  meum,  et  renes  mei 
commutati  sunt :  *  et  ego 
ad  nihilum  redactus  sum, 
et  nescivi. 

Ut  jumentum  f actus  sum 
apud  te  :  *  et  ego  semper  te- 
cum. 

Tenuisti  manum  dexte- 
ram  rneam  :  et  in  voluntate 
tua  deduxisti  me  :  *  et  cum 
gloria  suscepisti  me. 


322 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Quid  enim  mini  est  in 
coelo :  *  et  a  te  quid  volui 
super  terrain  ? 

Defecit  caro  mea,  et  cor 
meum  :  *  Deus  cordis  mei 
et  pars  mea  Deus  in  seter- 
num. 

Quia  ecce,  qui  elongant  se 
a  te,  peribunt :  *  perdidisti 
omnes,  qui  fornicantur  abs 
te. 

Mihi  autem  adhaerere  Deo 
bonum  est :  *  ponere  in  Do- 
mino Deo  spem  meam. 

Ut  annuntiem  omnes 
prsedicationes  tuas :  *  in 
portis  filiae  Sion. 

Ant.  Cogitaverunt  impii, 
et  locuti  sunt  nequitiam : 
iniquitatem  in  excelso  lo- 
cuti sunt. 


For  what  have  I  in  heaven  ? 
and  besides  thee,  what  do  I 
desire  upon  earth  ? 

For  thee  my  flesh  and  my 
heart  hath  fainted  away :  thou 
art  the  God  of  my  heart,  and 
the  God  that  is  my  portion 
for  ever. 

For  behold  they  that  go  far 
from  thee  shall  perish  :  thou 
hast  destroyed  all  them  that 
are  disloyal  to  thee. 

But  it  is  good  for  me  to 
stick  close  to  my  God,  to  put 
my  hope  in  the  Lord  God. 

That  I  may  declare  all  thy 
praises  in  the  gates  of  the 
daughter  of  Sion. 

Ant.  The  ungodly  have 
thought  and  spoken  wicked- 
ness :  they  have  spoken  ini- 
quity on  high. 


The  sixth  Psalm  is  a  reproach  made  to  the  enemies 
of  the  Divine  Worship.  The  Jews  used  it,  for  many 
ages,  against  the  Gentiles  ;  the  Christians  now  apply 
it  to  the  Synagogue,  which,  after  having  crucified 
the  Son  of  Gk>d,  did  its  utmost  to  destroy  his  Church, 
by  putting  many  of  her  children  to  death,  and  for- 
bidding the  Apostles  to  preach  the  name  of  Christ. 


Ant.  Exsurge,  Domine, 
et  judica  causam  meam. 

PSLAM 

Ut  quid  Deus  repulisti  in 
finem:  *  iratus  est  furor  tuus 
super  oves  pascuae  tuse  ? 

Memor  esto  congregatio- 
ns tuse :  *  quam  possedisti 
ab  initio. 

Redemisti  virgam  hseredi- 


Ant.  Arise,  0  Lord,  and 
judge  my  cause. 

73. 

O  God,  why  hast  thou  cast 
us  off  unto  the  end  ?  why  is 
thy  wrath  enkindled  against 
the  sheep  of  thy  pasture  ? 

Eemember  thy  congrega- 
tion, which  thou  hast  pos- 
sessed from  the  beginning. 

The  sceptre  of  thy  inherit- 


MAUNDY  THURSDAY  5    TENEBR-B. 


323 


ance  which  thou  hast  redeem- 
ed :  Mount  Sion,  in  which 
thou  hast  dwelt. 

Lift  up  thy  hands  against 
their  pride  unto  the  end  :  see 
what  things  the  enemy  hath 
done  wickedly  in  the  sanc- 
tuary. 

And  they  that  hate  thee 
have  made  their  boasts,  in 
the  midst  of  thy  solemnity. 

They  have  set  up  their  en- 
signs for  signs;  and  they 
knew  not :  both  in  the  going 
out  and  on  the  highest  top. 

As  with  axes  in  a  wood  of 
trees,  they  have  cut  down  at 
once  the  gates  thereof  :  with 
axe  and  hatchet  they  have 
brought  it  down. 

^hey  have  set  fire  to  thy 
sanctuary  :  they  have  defiled 
the  dwelling-place  of  thy 
name  on  the  earth. 

They  said  in  their  heart,  the 
whole  kindred  of  them  togeth- 
er :  Let  us  abolish  all  the  festi- 
val days  of  God  from  the  land. 

Our  signs  we  have  not  seen, 
there  is  now  no  prophet :  and 
he  will  know  us  no  more. 

How  long,  O  God,  shall  the 
enemy  reproach  ?  Is  the  ad- 
versary to  provoke  thy  name 
for  ever  ? 

Why  dost  thou  turn  away 
thy  hand ;  and  thy  right  hand 
out  of  the  midst  of  thy  bosom 
for  ever  ? 

But  God  is  our  king  before 
ages :  he  hath  wrought  salva- 
tion in  the  midst  of  the  earth. 

Thou  by  thy  strength  didst 
make  the  sea  firm  :  thou  didst 
crush  the  heads  of  the  dragons 
in  the  waters. 


tatis  tuae  :    *  mons  Sion  in 
quo  habitasti  in  eo. 

Leva  manus  tuas  in  su- 
perbias  eorum  in  finem  :  * 
quanta  malignatus  est  inimi- 
cus  in  sancto. 

Et  gloriati  sunt  qui  oderunt 
te  :  *  in  medio  solemnitatis 
tuse. 

Posuerunt  signa  sua,  sig- 
na  :  *  et  non  cognoverunt 
sicut  in  exitu  super  sum- 
mum. 

Quasi  in  silva  lignorum 
securibus  exciderunt  januas 
ejus  in  idipsum  :  *  in  securi 
et  ascia  dejecerunt  earn. 

Incenderunt  igni  sanc- 
tuarium  tuum  :  *  in  terra 
polluerunt  tabernaculum  no- 
minis  tui. 

Dixerunt  in  corde  suo 
cognatio  eorum  simul  :  * 
Quiescere  faciamus  omnes 
dies  festos  Dei  a  terra. 

Signa  nostra  non  vidi- 
mus, jam  non  est  propheta  : 
*  et  nos  non  cognoscet  am- 
plius. 

Usquequo  Deus  imprope- 
rabit  inimicus :  *  irritat  ad- 
versaries nomen  tuum  in 
finem  ? 

Ut  quid  avertis  manum 
tuam,  et  dexteram  tuam :  * 
de  medio  sinu  tuo  in  finem  ? 

Deus  autem  rex  noster 
ante  ssecula  :  *  operatus  est 
salutem  in  medio  terrse. 

Tu  confirmasti  in  virtute 
tua  mare  :  *  contribulasti 
capita  draconum  in  aquis. 


324 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Tu  confregisti  capita  dra- 
conis  :  *  dedisti  eum  escam 
populis  JEthiopum. 

Tu  dirupisti  fontes,  et 
torrentes  :  *  tu  siccasti  flu- 
vios  Ethan. 

Tuus  est  dies,  et  tua  est 
nox  :  *  tu  fabricatus  es  au- 
roram  et  solem. 

Tu  fecisti  omnes  terminos 
terrse :  *  sestatem  et  ver  tu 
plasmasti  ea. 

Memor  esto  hujus,  inimi- 
cus  improperavit  Domino  :  * 
et  populus  insipiens  incita- 
vit  nomen  tuum. 

Ne  tradas  bestiis  animas 
confitentes  tibi :  *  et  ani- 
mas pauperum  tuorum  ne 
obliviscaris  in  finem. 

Respice  in  testamentum 
tuum  :  *  quia  repleti  sunt, 
qui  obscurati  sunt,  terrse 
domibus  iniquitatum. 

Ne  avertatur  humilis  fac- 
tus  confusus :  *  pauper  et 
inops  laudabunt  nomen  tu- 
um. 

Exsurge  Deus  judica  cau- 
sam  tuam :  *  memor  esto 
improperiorum  tuorum,  eo- 
rum  quae  ab  insipiente  sunt 
tota  die. 

Ne  obliviscaris  voces  ini- 
micorum  tuorum  :  *  super- 
bia  eorum  qui  te  oderunt, 
ascendit  semper. 

Ant.  Exsurge,  Domine, 
et  judica  causam  meam. 

f.  Deus  meus,  eripe  me 
de  manu  peccatoris. 


Thou  hast  broken  the  heads 
of  the  dragon :  thou  hast  given 
him  to  be  meat  for  the  Ethio- 
pian people. 

Thou  hast  broken  up  the 
fountains,  and  the  torrents : 
thou  hast  dried  up  the  Ethan 
rivers. 

Thine  is  the  day,  and  thine 
is  the  night :  thou  hast  made 
the  moon  and  the  sun. 

Thou  hast  made  all  the 
borders  of  the  earth :  the 
summer  and  the  spring  were 
formed  by  thee. 

Remember  this,  the  enemy 
hath  reproached  the  Lord : 
and  a  foolish  people  hath  pro- 
voked thy  name. 

Deliver  not  up  to  beasts  the 
souls  that  confess  to  thee :  and 
forget  not  to  the  end  the  souls 
of  thy  poor. 

Have  regard  to  thy  cove- 
nant :  for  they  that  are  ob- 
scure of  the  earth  have  been 
filled  with  the  dwellings  of 
iniquity. 

Let  not  the  humble  be  turn- 
ed away  with  confusion  :  the 
poor  and  needy  shall  praise 
thy  name. 

Arise,  O  God,  judge  thy 
own  cause :  remember  the  re- 
proaches with  which  the 
foolish  man  hath  reproached 
thee  all  the  day. 

Eorget  not  the  voices  of  thy 
enemies  :  the  pride  of  them 
that  hate  thee  ascendeth  con- 
tinually. 

Ant.  Arise,  O  Lord,  and 
judge  my  cause. 

f.  O  my  God,  deliver  me 
out  of  the  hand  of  the  sin- 
ner. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :    TENKBR^S. 


325 


$i.  And  out  of  the  hand  of 
the  transgressor  of  the  law, 
and  of  the  unjust. 


Bt.     Et  de  manu  contra  le- 
gem agentis  et  iniqui. 


Here  is  said,  in  secret,  the  Pater  noster. 

For  the  Lessons  of  the  second  Nocturn,  the 
Church  reads,  each  of  these  three  days,  a  passage 
from  St.  Augustine's  Enarrations  on  the  Psalms, 
which  are  prophetic  of  our  Lord's  Passion. 


FOURTH     LESSON. 


From  the  treatise  of  Saint 
Augustine,  Bishop,  upon 
the  Psalms. 

Pa.  LTV. 

Hear  my  prayer,  0  God, 
and  despise  not  my  petition  : 
attend  to  me  and  hear  me. 
These  are  the  words  of  a  man 
in  trouble,  solicitude,  and  af- 
fliction. He  pray3  in  his  great 
sufferings,  desiring  to  be  freed 
from  some  evil.  Let  us  now 
see  what  evil  he  lies  under  : 
and  when  he  has  told  it  to  us, 
let  us  acknowledge  ourselves 
in  it :  that  by  partaking  of  the 
affliction,  we  may  join  in  his 
prayer.  I  am  become  sorrow- 
ful in  my  exercise,  says  he, 
and  1  am  troubled.  Where 
is  he  become  sorrowful  ? 
where  is  he  troubled  ?  He  says, 
In  my  exercise.  He  speaks  of 
the  wicked  men  whom  he 
suffers,  and  calls  such  suffer- 
ing of  wicked  men  his  ex- 
ercise. Think  not  that  the 
wicked  are  in  the  world  for 
nothing,  and  that  God  works 
no  good  with  them.  Every 
wicked  man  lives,  either  to 


Ex  tractatu  Sancti  Augustini 
Episcopi  super  Psalmos. 

Ps.  L1V. 

Exaudi,  Deus,  orationem 
meam,  et  ne  despexeris  de- 
precationem  meam  :  inten- 
de  mihi,  et  exaudi  me.  Sa- 
tagentis,  solliciti,  in  tribula- 
tione  positi  verba  sunt  ista. 
Orat  multa  patiens,  de  ma- 
lo  liberari  desiderans.  Su- 
perest  ut  videamus  in  quo 
malo  sit ;  et  cum  dicere  cce- 
perit,  agnoscamus  ibi  nos 
esse  :  ut  communicata  tri- 
bulatione,  conjungamus  ora- 
tionem. Contristatus  sum, 
inquit,  in  exercitatione  mea, 
et  conturbatus  sum.  Ubi 
contristatus  ?  ubi  conturba- 
tus ?  In  exercitatione  mea, 
inquit.  Homines  malos, 
quos  patitur,  commemora- 
tus  est :  eamdemque  passio- 
nem  malorum  hominum, 
exercitationem  suam  dixit. 
Ne  putetis  gratis  esse  malos 
in  hoc  mundo,  et  nihil  boni 
de  illis  agere  Deum.  Omnia 
malus,     aut    ideo    vivit,   ut 


326 


HOLY   WEEK. 


corrigatur  :  aut  ideo  vivit, 
ut  per  ilium  bonus  exercea- 
tur. 

gt.  Amicus  meus  osculi 
me  tradidit  signo :  quern 
osculatus  fuero,  ipse  est, 
tenete  eum :  hoc  malum 
fecit  signum,  qui  per  oscu- 
lum  adimplevit  homicidium, 
*  Infelix  prsetermisit  pre- 
tium  sanguinis,  et  in  fine 
laqueo  se  suspendit. 

f.  Bonum  erat  ei,  si  na- 
tus  non  fuisset  homo  ille. 

*  Infelix  prsetermisit  pre- 
tium  sanguinis,  et  in  fine 
laqueo  se  suspendit. 


amend  his  life,  or  to  exercise 
the  good  man. 

Bt.  My  friend  hath  betray- 
ed me  by  the  sign  of  a  kiss  : 
Whom  I  shall  kiss,  that  is  He ; 
hold  him  fast :  this  was  the 
wicked  sign  given  by  him, 
who  committed  murder  by  a 
kiss.  *  The  unhappy  wretch 
returned  the  price  of  Blood, 
and,  in  the  end,  hanged  him- 
self. 

y.  It  had  been  well  for  that 
man,  had  he  never  been  born. 

*  The  unhappy  wretch  re- 
turned the  price  of  Blood,  and, 
in  the  end,  hanged  himself. 


FIFTH   LESSON. 


Utinam  ergo  qui  nos  mo- 
do  exercent,  convertantur, 
et  nobiscum  exerceantur : 
tamen  quamdiu  ita  sunt,  ut 
exerceant  nos,  non  eos  ode- 
rimus :  quia  in  eo  quod 
malus  est  quis  eorum, 
utrum  usque  in  finem  per- 
severaturus  sit,  ignoramus. 
Et  plerumque  cum  tibi  vi- 
deris  odisse  inimicum,  fra- 
trem  odisti,  et  nescis.  Dia- 
bolus,  et  angeli  ejus  in  Scrip- 
turis  Sanctis  manifestati 
sunt  nobis,  quod  ad  ignem 
seternum  sint  destinati :  ip- 
sorum  tantum  desperanda 
est  correctio,  contra  quos 
habemus  occultam  luctam  : 
ad  quam  luctam  nos  armat 
Apostolus,  dicens  :  Non  est 
nobis  colluctatio  adversus 
carnem  et  sanguinem :  id 
est,  non  ad-versus  homines 
quos  videtis,  sed  adversus 
principes,   et   potestates,    et 


Would  to  God,  then,  they 
that  now  exercise  us  were  con- 
verted and  exercised  with  us  : 
but  let  us  not  hate  them, 
though  they  continue  to  exer- 
cise us ;  for  we  know  not 
whether  they  will  persevere 
to  the  end  in  their  wickedness. 
And  many  times,  when  you 
imagine  that  you  hate  your 
enemy,  it  is  your  brother  you 
hate,  though  you  are  ignorant 
of  it.  The  holy  Scriptures 
plainly  show  us  that  the  devil 
and  his  angels  are  doomed  to 
eternal  fire.  It  is  only  their 
amendment  we  may  despair 
of,  with  whom  we  wage  an  in- 
visible war;  for  which  the 
apostle  arms  us,  saying :  Our 
conflict  is  not  ivith  flesh  and 
blood,  that  is  not  with  the  men 
you  see  before  your  eyes,  but 
ivith  the  princes,  and  powers, 
and  rulers  of  the  world  oftliis 
darkness.      And  lest  by  his 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY  :    TENEBR^. 


327 


saying,  of  the  world,  you 
might  think  perhaps,  that  the 
devils  are  rulers  of  heaven 
and  earth,  he  added,  of  this 
darkness.  By  the  world,  then, 
he  meant  the  lovers  of  the 
world :  by  the  ivorld,  he  meant 
the  impious  and  the  wicked  : 
by  the  ivorld,  he  meant  that 
which  the  Gospel  speaks  of  : 
And  the  ivorld  knew  him  not. 

gt.  Judas,  the  impious  tra- 
der, betrayed  his  Lord  with  a 
kiss  ;  He,  as  an  innocent 
Lamb,  refused  not  the  kiss  to 
Judas  :  *  Who,  for  a  few 
pence,  delivered  Christ  up  to 
the  Jews. 

y.  It  would  have  been  better 
for  him,  had  he  not  been  born. 

*  Who,  for  a  few  pence,  de- 
livered Christ  up  to  the  Jews. 


rectores  mundi,  tenebrarum 
harum.  Ne  forte  cum  dixis- 
set,  mundi,  intelligeres  dse- 
mones  esse  rectores  cceli  et 
terrse  :  mundi  dixit,  tene- 
brarum harum :  mundi  dixit, 
amatorum  mundi  :  mundi 
dixit,  impiorum  et  iniquo- 
rum  :  mundi  dixit,  de  quo 
dicit  Evangelium  :  Et  mun- 
dns  eum  non  cognovit. 

gt.  Judas  mercator  pessi- 
mus  osculo  petiit  Dominum  : 
ille  ut  agnus  innocens  -non 
negavit  Judse  osculum  :  * 
Denariorum  numero  Chris- 
tum Judseis  tradidit. 

y .  Melius  illi  erat,  si  na- 
tus  non  fuisset. 

*  Denariorum  numero 
Christum  Judseis  tradidit. 


SIXTH    LESSON. 


For  I  have  seen  injustice 
and  strife  in  the  city.  See 
the  glory  of  the  Cross  !  That 
Cross,  that  was  an  object  of 
derision  to  his  enemies,  is  now 
placed  on  the  foreheads  of 
kings.  The  effect  is  a  proof 
of  his  power  :  he  conquered 
the  world  not  by  the  sword, 
but  by  the  wood.  The  wood  of 
the  Cross  was  thought  a  sub- 
ject of  scorn  by  his  enemies, 
who,  as  they  stood  before  it, 
shook  their  heads  and  said  : 
If  he  be  the  Son  of  God,  let 
him  come  down  from  the  Cross. 
He  stretched  forth  his  hand 
to  an  unbelieving  and  sedi- 
tious people.  For  if  he  is  just 
that  lives  by  faith,  he  is  un- 
just that  has  not  faith.     By 


Quoniam  vidi  iniquita- 
tem  et  contradictionem  in 
civitate.  Attende  gloriam 
Crucis  ipsius.  Jam  in  fron- 
te  regum  crux  ilia  fixa  est, 
cui  inimici  insultaverunt. 
Effectus  probavit  virtutem  : 
domuit  orbem  non  ferro, 
sed  ligno.  Lignum  crucis 
contumeliis  dignum  visum 
est  inimicis,  et  ante  ipsum 
lignum  stantes  caput  agita- 
bant,  et  dicebant  :  Si  Filius 
Dei  est,  descendat  de  cruce. 
Extendebat  ille  manus  suas 
ad  populum  non  credentem, 
et  contradicentem.  Si  enim 
Justus  est  qui  ex  fide  vivit, 
iniquus  est  qui  non  habet 
fidem.  Quod  ergo  hie  ait, 
iniquitatem,     perfidiam     in- 

2a 


328 


HOLY    WEEK. 


tellige.  Videbat  ergo  Do- 
mimis  in  civitate  iniquita- 
tem  et  contradictionem,  et 
extendebat  manus  suas  ad 
populum  non  credentem  :  et 
tamen  ipsos  exspectans  dice- 
bat  :  Pater,  ignosce  illis, 
quia  nesciunt  quid  faciunt. 


§!.  Unus  ex  discipulis 
meis  tradet  me  hodie  ;  vse 
illi  per  quern  tradar  ego  !  * 
Melius  illi  erat,  si  natus  non 
fuisset. 

y.  Qui  intingit  mecum 
manum  in  paropside,  hie 
me  traditurus  est  in  manus 
peccatorum. 

*  Melius  illi  erat,  si  natus 
non  fuisset. 

Here  is  repeated  :  Unus 
ex  discipulis  meis. 


injustice  then  here  you  must 
understand  infidelity.  Our 
Lord,  therefore  saw  injustice 
and  strife  in  the  city,  and 
stretched  forth  his  hands  to 
an  unbelieving  and  seditious 
people  :  and  yet  he  waited 
for  them,  saying :  Father, 
forgive  them,,  for  they  know 
not  what  they  do. 

Bt.  One  of  my  Disciples 
will  this  day  betray  me  :  wo 
to  him,  by  whom  I  shall  be 
betrayed  !  *  It  had  been 
better  for  him,  if  he  had  not 
been  born. 

P.  He  that  dips  his  hand 
with  me  in  the  dish,  he  it  is 
that  is  about  to  betray  me 
into  the  hands  of  sinners. 

*  It  had  been  better  for 
him,  if  he  had  not  been  born. 

Here  is  repeated :  One  of 
my  Disciples. 


THIRD    NOCTURN. 

The  seventh  Psalm  declares  the  vengeance  of  God 
on  those  that  excite  his  anger.  It  shows  us  what 
will  happen  to  the  Synagogue  ;  after  having  obliged 
the  Messias  to  drink  the  bitter  chalice  of  his  Passion, 
its  own  turn  shall  come,  and  it  shall  drink  the  cup 
of  God's  wrath,  even  to  the  very  dregs  thereof. 

Ant.  I  said  to  the  wicked : 
Speak  not  iniquity  against 
God. 


Ant.  Dixi  iniquis  :  No- 
lite  loqui  adversus  Deum 
iniquitatem. 


PSALM     74. 


Confitebimur  tibi  Deus  : 
*  confitebimur,  et  iDvocabi- 
mus  nomen  tuum. 

Narrabimus  mirabilia 

tua :  *  cum  accepero  tern  - 
■pus,  ego  justitias  judicabo. 


We  will  praise  thee,  0  God: 
we  will  praise,  and  we  will 
call  upon  thy  name. 

We  will  relate  thy  won- 
drous works  :  when,  says  the 
Lord,  I  shall  taka  a  time,  I 
will  judge  justice. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :    TENEHR^E. 


329 


The  earth  is  melted  and  all 
that  dwell  therein :  I  have  es- 
tablished the  pillars  thereof. 

I  said  to  the  wicked  :  Do 
not  act  wickedly  :  and  to  the 
sinners  :  Lift  not  up  the 
horn. 

Lift  not  up  your  horn  on 
high  :  speak  not  iniquity 
against  God. 

For  neither  from  the  east, 
nor  from  the  west,  nor  from 
the  desert  hills  :  for  God  is 
the  judge. 

One  he  putteth  down,  and 
another  he  lifteth  up.  For 
in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  there 
is  a  cup  of  strong  wine  full 
of  mixture. 

And  he  hath  poured  it  out 
from  this  to  that :  but  the 
dregs  thereof  are  not  emptied  : 
all  the  sinners  of  the  earth 
shall  drink. 

But  I  will  declare  for  ever : 
I  will  sing  to  the  God  of 
Jacob. 

And  I  will  break  all  the 
horns  of  sinners :  but  the 
horns  of  the  just  shall  be 
exalted. 

Ant.  I  said  to  the  wicked  : 
Speak  not  iniquity  against 
God. 


Liquefacta  est  terra,  et  om- 
nes  qui  habitant  in  ea :  *  ego 
confirmavi  columnas  ejus. 

Dixi  iniquis :  Nolite  ini- 
que  agere :  et  delinquen- 
tibus :  Nolite  exaltare  cor- 
nu. 

Nolite  extollere  in  altum 
cornu  vestrum  :  *  Nolite 
loqui  adversus  Deum  ini- 
quitatem. 

Quia  neque  ab  oriente, 
neque  ab  occidente,  neque 
a  desertis  montibus  :  *  quo- 
niam  Deus  judex  est. 

Hunc  humiliat,  et  hunc 
exaltat :  *  quia  calix  in 
manu  Domini  vini  meri  ple- 
nus  mixto. 

Et  inclinavit  ex  hoc  in 
hoc :  verumtamen  fsex  ejus 
non  est  exinanita  :  *  bibent 
omnes  peccatores  terrae. 

Ego  autem  annuntiabo  in 
sseculum  :  *  cantabo  Deo 
Jacob. 

Et  omnia  cornua,  peccato- 
rum  confringam  :  *  et  exal- 
tabuntur  cornua  justi. 

Ant.  Dixi  iniquis  :  Nolite 
loqui  adversus  Deum  ini- 
quitatem. 


The  eighth  Psalm  was  written  after  David  had 
conquered  his  enemies.  He  speaks  of  the  peace  that 
was  restored  to  Sion,  and  of  the  sudden  vengeance 
of  God  that  overtook  the  wicked.  The  enemies  of 
our  Saviour  were  sleeping  their  sleep  ;  when,  suddenly, 
the  earth  trembled,  and  God  arose  to  judge  them. 


Ant.  The  earth  trembled, 
and  was  still,  when  God  arose 
in  judgment, 


Ant.  Terra  tremuit  et 
quievit,  dum  exsurgeret  in 
judicio  Deus, 


330 


HOLY    WEEK, 


PSALM    75. 


Notus  in  Judaea  Dens  :  *  in 
Israel  magnum  nomen  ejus. 

Et  factus  est  in  pace  locus 
ejus  :  *  et  habitatio  ejus  in 
Sion. 

Ibi  confregit  potentias  ar- 
cuum :  *  scutum,  gladium, 
et  bellum. 

Illuminans  tu  mirabiliter 
a  montibus  aeternis :  *  tur- 
bati  sunt  omnes  insipientes 
corde. 

Dormierunt  somnum  su- 
um :  *  et  nihil  invenerunt 
omnes  viri  divitiarum  in 
manibus  suis. 

Ab  increpatione  tua  Deus 
Jacob  :  *  dormitaverunt  qui 
ascenderunt  equos. 

Tu  terribilis  es,  et  quis 
resistet  tibi :  *  ex  tunc  ira 
tua. 

De  coelo  auditum  fecisti 
judicium :  *  terra  tremuit 
et  quievit. 

Cum  exsurgeret  in  judi- 
cium Deus :  *  ut  salvos  face- 
ret  omnes  mansuetos  terrae. 

Quoniam  cogitatio  homi- 
nis  confitebitur  tibi :  *  et 
reliquiae  cogitationis  diem 
festum  agent  tibi. 

Vovete  et  reddite  Domino 
Deo  vestro  :  *  omnes  qui  in 
circuitu  ejus  affertis  munera. 

Terribili  et  ei  qui  aufert 
spiritum  principum :  *  ter- 
ribili apud  reges  terrae. 


Ant.  Terra  tremuit  et 
quievit,  dum  exsurgeret  in 
judicio  Deus. 


In  Judea  God  is  known, 
bis  name   is  great  in  Israel. 

And  his  place  is  in  peace, 
and  his  abode  in  Sion. 

There  hath  he  broken  the 
power  of  bows,  the  shield, 
the  sword,  and  the  battle. 

Thou  enlightenest  wonder- 
fully from  the  everlasting 
hills  :  all  the  foolish  of  heart 
were  troubled. 

They  have  slept  their  sleep : 
and  all  the  men  of  riches  have 
found  nothing  in  their  hands. 

At  thy  rebuke,  O  God  of 
Jacob ,  they  have  all  slumbered 
that  mounted  on  horseback. 

Thou  art  terrible,  and  who 
shall  resist  thee  ?  from  that 
time  thy  wrath. 

Thou  hast  caused  judgment 
to  be  heard  from  heaven  :  the 
earth  trembled  and  was  still. 

When  God  arose  in  judg- 
ment, to  save  all  the  meek  of 
the  earth. 

For  the  thought  of  man 
shall  give  praise  to  thee  :  and 
the  remainders  of  the  thought 
shall  keep  holyday  to  thee. 

Vow  ye,  and  pray  to  the 
Lord  your  God  :  all  you  that 
round  about  him  bring  pres- 
ents. 

To  him  that  is  terrible,  even 
to  him  who  taketh  away  the 
spirit  of  princes  ;  to  the  terri- 
ble with  the  kings  of  the 
earth. 

Ant.  The  earth  trembled, 
and  was  still,  when  God  arose 
in  judgment. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  '.    TENEBR^E  . 


331 


The  ninth  Psalm  tells  us  of  David's  tribulation, 
when  his  son  Absalom, — the  type  of  the  Jewish 
people, — raised  the  standard  of  revolt  against  him. 
The  Royal  Prophet,  who  is  the  figure  of  Christ,  loses 
not  his  confidence  in  the  midst  of  his  trials.  The 
recollection  of  the  wonderful  works  wrought  by  Grod 
in  favour  of  His  people,  animates  his  courage,  and  he 
feels  that  this  same  merciful  God  will  deliver  him. 


Ant.  In  the  day  of  my  tri- 
bulation, I  sought  God  with 
my  hands  raised  up  in  prayer. 

PSALM 


Ant.  In  die  tribulationis 
meae  Deum  exquisivi  mani- 
bus  meis. 

76. 


I  cried  to  the  Lord  with 
my  voice ;  to  God  with  my 
voice,  and  he  gave  ear  to  me. 

In  the  day  of  my  trouble 
I  sought  God :  with  my  hands 
lifted  up  to  him  in  the  night, 
and  I  was  not  deceived. 

My  soul  refused  to  be  com- 
forted ;  I  remembered  God, 
and  was  delighted,  and  was 
exercised,  and  my  spirit 
swooned  away. 

My  eyes  prevented  the 
watches  :  I  was  troubled,  and 
I  spoke  not. 

I  thought  upon  the  days  of 
old  :  and  I  had  in  my  mind 
the  eternal  years. 

And  I  meditated  in  the 
night  with  my  own  heart,  and 
I  was  exercised,  and  I  swept 
my  spirit. 

Will  God  then  cast  off  for 
ever  ?  or  will  he  never  be 
more  favourable  again  ? 

Or  will  he  cut  off  his  mercy 
for  ever,  from  generation  to 
generation  ? 

Or  will  (x.ocl,  forget  to  show 


Voce  mea  ad  Dominum 
clamavi  :  *  voce  mea  ad 
Deum,  et  intendit  mihi. 

In  die  tribulationis  meae 
Deum  exquisivi,  manibus 
meis  nocte  contra  eum :  *  et 
non  sum  deceptus. 

Renuit  consolari  anima 
mea :  *  memor  fui  Dei,  et 
delectatus  sum,  et  exercita- 
tus  sum,  et  defecit  spiritus 
meus. 

Anticipaverunt  vigilias 
oculi  mei  :  *  turbatus  sum, 
et  non  sum  locutus. 

Cogitavi  dies  antiquos :  * 
et  annos  aeternos  in  mente 
habui. 

Et  meditatus  sum  nocte 
cum  corde  meo  :  *  et  exerci- 
tabar,  et  scopebam  spiritum 
meum. 

Numquid  in  aeternum 
projiciet  Deus :  *  aut  non 
apponet  ut  complacitior  sit 
adhuc  ? 

Aut  in  finem  misericor- 
diam  suam  abscindet :  *  a 
generatione  in  generatio- 
nem? 

Aut    obliviscetur  misereri 


332 


HOLY   WEEK, 


Deus :    *  aut   continebit    in 
ira  sua  misericordias  suas  ? 

Et  dixi :  nunc  ccepi :  * 
hsec  mutatio  dexterae  Excel  - 
si. 

Memor  fui  operum  Do- 
mini :  *  quia  memor  ero  ab 
initio  mirabilium  tuorum. 

Et  meditabor  in  omnibus 
operibus  tuis  :  *  et  in  adin- 
ventionibus  tuis  exercebor. 

Deus  in  sancto  via  tua : 
quis  Deus  magnus  sicut 
Deus  noster  ?  *  Tu  es  Deus, 
qui  facis  mirabilia. 

Notum  fecisti  in  populis 
virtutem  tuam  :  *  redemisti 
in  brachio  tuo  populum 
tuum,  filios  Jacob  et  Joseph. 

Viderunt  te  aquae  Deus, 
viderunt  te  aquse :  *  et  ti- 
muerunt,  et  turbatse  sunt 
abyssi. 

Multitudo  sonitus  aqua- 
rum  :  *  vocem  dederunt 
nubes. 

Etenim  sagittse  tuae  tran- 
seunt :  *  vox  tonitrui  tui  in 
rota. 

Illuxerunt  coruscationes 
tuse  orbi  terrse :  *  commota 
est  et  contremuit  terra. 

In  mari  via  tua,  et  semi- 
tae  tuse  in  aquis  multis  :  *  et 
vestigia  tua  non  cognoseen- 
tur. 

Deduxisti  sicut  oves  po- 
pulum tuum :  *  in  manu 
Moysi  et  Aaron. 

Ant.  In  die  tribulationis 
mese  Deum  exquisivi  ma- 
nibus  meis. 

y.  Exsurge,  Domiiie. 


mercy  ?  or  will  he  in  his  anger 
shut  up  his  mercies  ? 

And  I  said :  Now  have  I 
begun  :  this  is  the  change  of 
the  right  hand  of  the  Most 
High. 

I  remembered  the  works  of 
the  Lord  ;  for  I  will  be  mind- 
ful of  thy  wonders  from  the 
beginning. 

And  I  will  meditate  on  all 
thy  works ;  and  will  be  em- 
ployed in  thy  inventions. 

Thy  ^ay,  O  God,  is  in  the 
holy  place  :  who  is  the  great 
God  like  our  God  ?  Thou  art 
the  God  that  dost  wonders. 

Thou  hast  made  thy  power 
known  among  the  nations : 
with  thy  arm  thou  hast  re- 
deemed thy  people,  the  chil- 
dren of  Jacob  and  Joseph. 

The  waters  saw  thee,  O  God, 
the  waters  saw  thee  ;  and 
they  were  afraid,  and  the 
depths  were  troubled. 

Great  was  the  noise  of  the 
waters :  the  clouds  sent  out 
a  sound. 

Eor  thy  arrows  pass :  the 
voice  of  thy  thunder  in  a 
wheel. 

Thy  lightnings  enlightened 
the  world,  the  earth  shook 
and  trembled. 

Thy  way  is  in  the  sea,  and 
thy  paths  in  many  waters  ; 
and  thy  footsteps  shall  not 
be  known. 

Thou  hast  conducted  thy 
people  like  sheep,  by  the  hand 
of  Moses  and  Aaron. 

Ant.  In  the  day  of  my 
tribulation,  I  sought  God 
with  my  hands  raised  up  in 
prayer. 

f.    Arise,  O  kord< 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY  '.    TENEBRJE. 


33* 


#.     And  judge  my  cause. 


£.     Et 

meam. 


j  udica      causam 


Here  is  said  the  Pater  nosier,  in  secret. 

The  Lessons  of  the  third  Nocturn  are  taken  from 
St.  Paid.  After  having  reproved  the  Faithful  of 
Corinth  for  the  abuses  which  had  crept  into  their 
assemblies,  he  relates  the  institution  of  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  which  took  place  to-day  (Thursday) ;  and 
after  showing  us  the  dispositions,  wherewith  we 
should  approach  the  Holy  Table,  he  speaks  of  the 
enormity  of  the  crime  of  an  unworthy  Communion. 

SEVENTH    LESSON. 


From  the  first  Epistle  of  Saint 
Paul,  the  Apostle,  to  the 
Corinthians. 

Ch.  XL 

Now  this  I  ordain  :  not 
praising  you,  that  you  come 
together,  not  for  the  better, 
but  for  the  worse.  For  first 
of  all  I  hear  that  when  you 
come  together  in  the  Church, 
there  are  divisions  among 
you,  and  in  part  I  believe  it. 
For  there  must  be,  also,  here- 
sies ;  that  they  also,  who  are 
approved,  may  be  made  mani- 
fest among  you.  When  you 
come  together  therefore  into 
one  place,  it  is  not  now  to  eat 
the  Lord' s  Supper.  For  every 
one  taketh  before  his  own 
supper  to  eat.  And  one  in- 
deed is  hungry,  and  another 
is  drunk.  What,  have  you  not 
houses  to  eat  and  drink  in  ? 
Or  despise  ye  the  Church  of 
God,  and  put  them  to  shame 
that  have  not  ?  What  shall 
I  say  to  you  ?  Do  I  praise 
you  ?   In  this  I  praise  you  not. 


De  Epistola  prima  Beati 
Pauli  Apostoli  ad  Corin- 
thios. 

Cap.  XI. 

Hoc  autem  praecipio  : 
non  laudans  quod  non  in 
melius,  sed  in  deterius  con- 
venitis.  Primum  quidem 
convenientibus  vobis  in  ec- 
clesiam,  audio  scissuras  esse 
inter  vos,  et  ex  parte  credo. 
Nam  oportet  et  haereses 
esse,  ut  et  qui  probati  sunt, 
manifesti  fiant  in  vobis. 
Convenientibus  ergo  vobis 
in  unum,  jam  non  est  Do- 
minicam  Ccenam  mandu- 
care.  Unusquisque  enim 
suam  coenam  prsesumit  ad 
manducandum.  Et  alius 
quidem  esurit,  alius  autem 
ebrius  est.  Numquid  do  - 
mos  non  habetis  ad  mandu- 
candum et  bibendum  ?  Aut 
Ecclesiam  Dei  contemnitis, 
et  confunditis  eos  qui  non 
habent  ?  Quid  dicam  vobis  ? 
Laudo  vos  ?  In  hoc  non 
laudo. 


334 


HOLY    WEEK. 


gt.  Eram  quasi  agnus  in- 
nocens  :  ductus  sum  ad  im- 
molandum,  et  nesciebam : 
consilium  fecerunt  inimici 
mei  adversum  me,  dicentes  : 
*  Venite  mittamus  lignum 
in  panem  ejus,  et  eradamus 
eum  de  terra  viventium. 

y.  Omnes  inimici  mei 
adversum  me  cogitabant 
mala  mihi  :  verbum  ini- 
quum  mandaverunt  adver- 
sum me,  dicentes  : 

*  Venite,  mittamus  lig- 
num in  panem  ejus,  et  era- 
damus eum  de  terra  viven- 
tium. 


#.  I  was  like  an  innocent 
Lamb  ;  I  was  led  to  be  sacri- 
ficed, and  I  knew  it  not :  my 
enemies  conspired  against  me, 
saying  :  *  Come,  let  us  put 
wood  into  his  bread,  and  root 
him  out  of  the  land  of  the 
living. 

$.  All  my  enemies  devised 
evil  things  against  me  :  they 
uttered  a  wicked  speech 
against  me,  saying  : 

*  Come,  let  us  put  wood  into 
his  bread,  and  root  him  out 
of  the  land  of  the  living. 


EIGHTH     LESSON. 


Ego  enim  accepi  a  Domino, 
quod  et  tradidi  vobis,  quo- 
niam  Dominus  Jesus,  in 
qua  nocte  tradebatur,  acce- 
pit  panem,  et  gratias  agens 
f regit  et  dixit :  Accipite,  et 
manducate  :  hoc  est  Corpus 
meum,  quod  pro  vobis  trade  - 
tar  :  hoc  facite  in  meam 
commemorationem.  Simi- 
liter et  calicem  post  quam 
coenavit  dicens  :  Hie  calix 
novum  testamentum  est  in 
meo  Sanguine.  Hoc  facite 
quotiescumque  bibetis,  in 
meam  commemorationem. 
Quotiescumque  enim  man- 
ducabitis  panem  hunc,  et 
calicem  bibetis,  mortem 
Domini  annuntiabitis  donee 
veniat. 

gt.  Una  hora  non  potuis- 
tis  vigilare  mecum,  qui 
exhortabimini  mori  pro 
me  ?  *  Vel  Judam  non  vide- 
tis,  quomodo  non  dormit,  sed 
festinat  tradere  me  Judseis  ? 


For  I  have  received  of  the 
Lord  that  which  also  I  deliv- 
ered to  you,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus,  the  same  night  in  which 
he  was  betrayed,  took  bread, 
and  giving  thanks,  broke  it 
and  said  :  Take  ye,  and  eat  : 
this  is  my  body  which  shall 
be  delivered  for  you  :  this  do 
for  the  commemoration  of  me. 
In  like  manner  also  the 
chalice,  after  he  had  supped, 
saying.:  This  chalice  is  the 
new  testament  in  my  Blood  : 
this  do  ye,  as  often  as  you 
shall  drink  it,  for  the  com- 
memoration of  me.  For  as 
often  as  you  shall  eat  this 
bread,  and  drink  this  chalice, 
you  shall  show  the  death  of 
the  Lord  until  he  come. 

&.  Could  ye  not  watch  one 
hour  with  me,  ye  that  exhort- 
ed each  other  to  die  for  me  ? 
*  Or  see  ye  not  how  Judas 
sleepethnot,  but  maketh  speed 
to  deliver  me  up  to  the  Jews  ? 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  .*    TENEBR^E. 


335 


f.  Why  sleep  ye  ?  Arise, 
and  pray,  lest  ye  enter  into 
temptation. 

*  Or  see  ye  not  how  Judas 
sleepeth  not,  but  maketh 
speed  to  deliver  me  up  to  the 
Jews  ? 


^ .  Quid  dormitis  ?  Surgi- 
te,  et  orate,  ne  intretis  in 
tentationem. 

*  Vel  Judam  non  videtis, 
quomodo  non  dormit,  sed 
festinat  tradere  me  Judseis  ? 


NINTH    LESSON. 


Wherefore  whosoever  shall 
eat  this  bread,  or  drink  the 
chalice  of  the  Lord  unwor- 
thily, shall  be  guilty  of  the 
body  and  of  the  blood  of  the 
Lord.  But  let  a  man  prove 
himself  :  and  so  let  him  eat  of 
that  bread,  and  drink  of  the 
chalice.  For  he  that  eateth 
and  drinketh  unworthily,  eat- 
eth and  drinketh  judgment  to 
himself,  not  discerning  the 
body  of  the  Lord.  Therefore 
are  there  many  infirm  and 
weak  among  you,  and  many 
sleep.  But  if  we  would  judge 
ourselves,  we  should  not  be 
judged.  But  whilst  we  are 
judged,  we  are  chastised  by 
the  Lord,  that  we  be  not 
condemned  with  this  world. 
Wherefore ,  my  brethren ,  wh  en 
you  come  together  to  eat,  wait 
for  one  another.  If  any  man 
be  hungry  let  him  eat  at  home ; 
that  you  come  not  together 
unto  j  udgment.  And  the  rest  I 
will  set  in  order  when  I  come. 

gt.  The  ancients  of  the  peo- 
ple consulted  together,  *  How 
they  might,  by  craft,  appre- 
hend Jesus,  and  kill  him  : 
they  went  forth  with  swords 
and  clubs,  as  to  a  thief. 

jp.  The  Priests  and  Phari- 
sees held  a  council. 


Itaque  quicumque  man- 
ducaverit  panem  hunc,  vel 
biberit  calicem  Domini  in- 
digne,  reus  erit  Corporis  et 
Sanguinis  Domini.  Probet 
autem  seipsum  homo  ;  et  sic 
de  pane  illo  edat,  et  de  calice 
bibat.  Qui  enim  manducat 
et  bibit  indigne,  judicium 
sibi  manducat  et  bibit,  non 
dijudicans  Corpus  Domini. 
Tdeo  inter  vos  multi  infirmi 
et  imbecilles,  et  dormiunt 
multi.  Quod  si  nosmetipsos 
dijudicaremus,  non  utique 
dijudicaremur.  Dum  judi- 
camur  autem,  a  Domino 
corripimur,  ut  non  cum  hoc 
mundo  damnemur.  Itaque 
fratres  mei,  cum  convenitis 
ad  manducandum,  invicem 
exspectate.  Si  quis  esurit, 
domi  manducet :  ut  non  in 
judicium  conveniatis.  Ceete- 
ra  autem,  cum  venero,  dis- 
ponam. 


§t.  Seniores  populi  consi- 
lium fecerunt,  *  Ut  Jesum 
dolo  tenerent,  et  occide- 
rent  :  cum  gladiis  et  fusti- 
bus  exierunt  tamquam  ad 
latronem. 

t.  Colligerunt  Pontifices 
et  Pharissei  concilium. 


336 


HOLY    WEEK. 


*  Ut  Jesum  dolo  tene- 
rent,  et  occiderent :  cum 
gladiis  et  fustibus  exierunt 
tanquam  ad  latronem. 

Here  is  repeated :  Seniores 
populi. 


*  How  they  might,  by  craft, 
apprehend  Jesus,  and  kill 
him :  they  went  forth  with 
swords  and  clubs,  as  to  a  thief. 

Here  is  repeated  :  The  an- 
cients. 


LAUDS. 

The  first  Psalm  is  the  one  written  by  David  after 
his  sin,  in  which  he  so  feelingly  and  so  humbly 
breathes  forth,  his  repentance.  The  Church  invaria- 
bly makes  use  of  this  Psalm,  when  she  sues  to  Grod 
for  mercy ;  and  of  all  the  canticles  of  the  Eoyal 
Prophet,  there  is  not  one  which  is  so  familiar  to  the 
Faithful  as  this. 


Ant.  Justificeris,  Domine, 
in  sermonibus  tuis,  et  vin- 
cas  cum  judicaris. 


Atft.  Be  thou  justified,  O 
Lord,  in  thy  words,  and  over- 
come, when  thou  art  judged. 


PSALM    50. 


Miserere  mei,  Deus  :  *  se- 
cundum magnam  misericor- 
diam  tuam. 

Et  secundum  multitudi- 
nem  miserationum  tuarum  : 
*  dele  iniquitatem  meam. 

Amplius  lava  me  ab  ini- 
quitate  mea  :  *  et  a  peccato 
meo  munda  me. 

Quoniam  iniquitatem  me- 
am ego  cognosco :  *  et  pec- 
catum  meum  contra  me  est 
semper. 

Tibi  soli  peccavi,  et  malum 
coram te feci:  *  ut j ustificeris 
in  sermonibus  tuis,  et  vincas 
cum  judicaris. 


Have  mercy  on  me,  O  God, 
according  to  thy  great  mercy. 

And  according  to  the  mul- 
titude of  thy  tender  mercies, 
blot  out  my  iniquities. 

Wash  me  yet  more  from  my 
iniquity :  and  cleanse  me  from 
my  sin. 

For  I  know  my  iniquity  : 
and  my  sin  is  always  before 
me. 

To  thee  only  have  I  sinned, 
and  have  done  evil  before 
thee  :  /  confess  it  :  do  thou 
'pardon  me,  that  thou  may  est 
be  justified  in  thy  words,  and 
mayest  overcome  when  thou 
art  judged. 


MAUNDY   THt'RSDAY  .*    TENEBR<£. 


337 


For  behold  I  was  conceived 
in  iniquities  :  and  in  sins  did 
my  mother  conceive  me. 

For  behold  thou  hast  loved 
truth  :  the  uncertain  and  hid- 
den things  of  thy  wisdom  thou 
hast  made  manifest  to  me. 

Thou  shalt  sprinkle  me  with 
hyssop,  aa  is  a  leper,  and  I 
shall  be  cleansed  :  thou  shalt 
wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  made 
whiter  than  snow. 

To  my  hearing  thou  shalt 
give  joy  and  gladness  :  and 
the  bones  that  have  been 
humbled  shall  rejoice. 

Turn  away  thy  face  from 
my  sins  :  and  blot  out  all  my 
iniquities. 

Create  a  clean  heart  in  me, 
O  God :  and  renew  a  right 
spirit  within  my  bowels. 

Cast  me  not  away  from  thy 
face  :  and  take  not  thy  holy 
Spirit  from  me. 

Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of 
thy  salvation :  and  strengthen 
me  with  a  perfect  spirit. 

I  will  teach  the  unjust  thy 
ways  :  and  the  wicked  shall 
be  converted  to  thee. 

Deliver  me  from  blood,  O 
God,  the  God  of  my  salva- 
tion :  and  my  tongue  shall 
extol  thy  justice. 

O  Lord,  thou  wilt  open  my 
lips  :  and  my  mouth  shall  de- 
clare thy  praise. 

For  if  thou  hadst  desired 
sacrifice,  I  would  indeed  have 
given  it :  with  burnt-offerings 
thou  wilt  not  be  delighted. 

A  sacrifice  to  God  is  an 
afflicted  spirit :  a  contrite  and 
humble  heart,  0  God,  thou 
wilt  not  despise. 


Ecce  enim  in  iniquitati- 
bus  conceptus  sum  :  *  et  in 
peccatis  concepit  me  mater 
mea. 

Ecce  enim  veritatem  di- 
lexisti :  *  incerta  et  occulta 
sapientise  tuse  manifestasti 
mihi. 

Asperges  me  hyssopo,  et 
mundabor  :  *  lavabis  me,  et 
super  nivem  dealbabor. 


Auditui  meo  dabis  gau- 
dium  et  lsetitiam :  *  et  exsul- 
tabunt  ossa  humiliata. 

Averte  faciem  tuam  a 
peccatis  meis :  *  et  omnes 
iniquitates  meas  dele. 

Cor  mundum  crea  in  me, 
Deus  :  *  et  spiritum  rectum 
innova  in  visceribus  meis. 

Ne  projicias  me  a  facie 
tua  :  *  et  spiritum  sanctum 
tuum  ne  auferas  a  me. 

Redde  mihi  lsetitiam  salu- 
taris  tui :  *  et  spiritu  prin- 
cipal! confirma  me. 

Docebo  iniquos  vias  tuas : 
*  et  impii  ad  te  converten- 
tur. 

Libera  me  de  sanguinibus 
Deus,  Deus  salutis  mese :  * 
et  exsultabit  lingua  mea  jus- 
titiam  tuam. 

Domine,  labia  mea  ape- 
ries  :  *  et  os  meum  annun- 
tiabit  laudem  tuam. 

Quoniam  si  voluisses  sa- 
crificium  dedissem  utique  :  * 
holocaustis  non  delectabe- 
ris. 

Sacrificium  Deo  spiritus 
contribulatus :  *  cor  contri- 
tum  et  humiliatum,  Deus, 
£on  despicies. 


338 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Benigne  fac  Domine  in 
bona  voluntate  tua  Sion  :  * 
ut  aedificentur  muri  Jeru- 
salem. 

Tunc  acceptabis  sacrifi- 
cium  justitiae,  oblationes,  et 
holocausta:  *  tunc  impo- 
nent  super  altare  tuum 
vitulos. 

Ant.  Justificeris,  Domine, 
in  sermonibus  tuis,  et  vin- 
cas  cum  judicaris. 


Deal  favourably,  0  Lord, 
in  thy  good -will  with  Sion : 
that  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 
may  be  built  up. 

Then  shalt  thou  accept  the 
sacrifice  of  justice,  oblations 
and  whole  burnt-offerings  : 
then  shall  they  lay  calves  upon 
thy  altar. 

Ant.  Be  thou  justified,  O 
Lord,  in  thy  words,  and  over- 
come, when  thou  art  judged. 


The  second  Psalm  is  one  of  those  which  is  fixed 
for  the  Thursday  of  each  week  :  it  is  a  prayer  suit- 
able for  the  morning.  The  Psalmist  confesses  the 
nothingness  of  man,  and  the  shortness  of  his  life  :  he 
asks  Grod  to  bless  the  actions  of  the  day.  The  Faith- 
ful must  not  forget  that  the  Office  of  Lauds  is  the 
morning  service,  and  its  being  said  over  night,  during 
these  three  days,  is  exceptional. 


Ant.  Dominus  tamquam 
ovis  ad  victimam  ductus 
est,  et  non  aperuit  os  suum. 


Ant.  The  Lord  was  led  as 
a  sheep  to  the  slaughter,  and 
he  opened  not  his  mouth. 


PSALM    89. 


Domine,  refugium  f actus 
es  nobis :  *  a  generatione 
in  generationem. 

Priusquam  montes  fie- 
rent,  aut  formaretur  terra 
et  orbis  :  *  a  saeculo  et  usque 
in  saeculum  tu  es  Deus. 

Ne  avertas  hominem  in 
humilitatem  :  *  et  dixisti : 
Convertimini,  filii  homi- 
num. 

Quoniam  mille  anni  ante 
oculos  tuos  :  *  tanquam 
dies  hesterna  quae  praete- 
riit. 


Lord,  thou  hast  been  our 
refuge  :  from  generation  to 
generation. 

Before  the  mountains  were 
made,  or  the  earth  and  the 
worldwas  formed ;  from  eter- 
nity and  to  eternity  thou  art 
God. 

Turn  not  man  away  to  be 
brought  low  ;  and  thou  hast 
said  :  Be  converted,  0  ye 
sons  of  men. 

For  a  thousand  years,  in 
thy  sight,  are  but  as  yester- 
day which  is  past  and  gone. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  !    TENEBR.^. 


339 


And  as  a  watch  in  the 
night:  as  things  that  are 
counted  nothing,  so  shall  thy 
years  be. 

In  the  morning,  man  shall 
grow  up  like  grass,  in  the 
morning  he  shall  flourish  and 
pass  away  :  in  the  evening 
he  shall  fall,  grow  dry,  and 
wither. 

For  in  thy  wrath  we  are 
quickly  consumed  :  and  are 
troubled  in  thy  indignation. 

Thou  hast  set  our  iniquities 
before  thy  eyes  :  our  life  in 
the  light  of  thy  countenance. 

For  all  our  days  are  spent : 
and  in  thy  wrath  we  have 
fainted  away. 

Our  years  shall  be  con- 
sidered as  a  spider  :  the  days 
of  our  years  in  them  are  three- 
score and  ten  years. 

But  if  in  the  strong  they  be 
fourscore  years  :  and  what  is 
more  of  them  is  labour  and 
sorrow. 

For  mildness  is  come  upon 
us;  and  we  shall  be  corrected. 

Who  knoweth  the  power  of 
thy  anger  :  and,  for  thy  fear, 
can  number  thy  wrath  ? 

So  make  thy  right  hand 
known  :  and  make  us  learned 
in  heart  in  wisdom. 

Return,  O  Lord,  how  long  ? 
and  be  entreated  in  favour  of 
thy  servants. 

We  are  filled  in  the  morn- 
ning  with  thy  mercy;  and 
we  are  rejoiced,  and  are  de- 
lighted all  our  days. 

We  have  rejoiced  for  the 
day  in  which  thou  hast  hum- 
bled us  :  for  the  years  in 
which  we  have  seen  evils. 


Et  custodia  in  nocte  :  * 
quse  pro  nihilo  habentur, 
eorum  anni  erunt. 

Mane  sicut  herba  trans - 
eat,  mane  floreat,  et  trans- 
eat  :  *  vespere  decidat,  in- 
duret,   et  arescat. 


Quia  defecimus  in  ira 
tua  :  *  et  in  furore  tuo  tur- 
bati  sumus. 

Posuisti  iniquitates  nos- 
tras in  conspectu  tuo  :  * 
sseculum  nostrum  in  illu- 
minatione  vultus  tui. 

Quoniam  omnes  dies  nos- 
tri  defecerunt :  *  et  in  ira 
tua  defecimus. 

Anni  nostri  sicut  aranea 
meditabuntur :  *  dies  anno- 
rum  nostrorum  in  ipsis  sep- 
tuaginta  anni. 

Si  autem  in  potentatibus, 
octoginta  anni  :  *  et  amplius 
eorum  labor  et  dolor. 

Quoniam  supervenit  man- 
suetudo  :    *   et  corripiemur. 

Quis  novit  potestatem  irse 
tuse :  *  et  prse  timore  tuo 
iram  tuam  dinumerare  ? 

Dexteram  tuam  sic  notam 
fac :  *  et  eruditos  corde  in 
sapientia. 

Convertere,  Domine,  us- 
quequo  :  *  et  deprecabilis 
esto  super  servos  tuos. 

Eepleti  sumus  mane  mise: 
ricordia  tua  :  *  et  exsulta- 
vimus,  et  delectati  sumus 
omnibus  diebus  nostris. 

Lsetati  sumus  pro  diebus, 
quibus  nos  humiliasti  :  * 
annis,  quibus  vidimus  mala. 


340 


HOLY   WEEK. 


Respice  in  servos  tuos,  et 
in  opera  tua  :  *  et  dirige 
filios  eorum. 

Et  sit  splendor  Domini 
Dei  nostri  super  nos,  et 
opera  manuum  nostrarum 
dirige  super  nos  :  *  et  opus 
manuum  nostrarum  dirige. 

Ant.  Dominus  tanquam 
ovis  ad  victimam  ductus  est, 
et  non  aperuit  os  suum. 


Look  upon  thy  servants, 
and  upon  their  works  :  and 
direct  their  children. 

And  let  the  brightness  of 
the  Lord  our  God  be  upon  us, 
and  direct  thou  the  works  of 
our  hands  over  us  :  yea,  the 
work  of  our  hands  do  thou 
direct. 

Ant.  The  Lord  was  led  as 
a  sheep  to  the  slaughter,  and 
he  opened  not  his  mouth. 


The  third  Psalm  is  one  that  is  said  every  day 
in  Lauds,  and  the  Church  would  not  make  these 
three  days  an  exception.  It  is  the  prayer  of  the  soul, 
turning  towards  her  God  at  the  dawn  of  day,  and 
assuring  him  of  her  confidence  and  love.  It  is  always 
joined  to  the  66th  Psalm,  in  which  the  Royal  Prophet 
prays  to  Grod,  at  the  rising  of  the  sun,  to  bless  the 
world  with  the  rays  of  his  divine  mercy. 


Ant.  Contritum  est  cor  Ant.  My  heart  is  broken 
meum  in  medio  mei,  contre-  within  me  ;  all  my  bones 
muerunt  omnia  ossa  mea.  have  trembled. 

PSALM    62. 


Deus,  Deus  meus  :  *  ad  te 
de  luce  vigilo. 

Sitivit  in  te  anima  mea  :  * 
quam  multipliciter  tibi  caro 
mea. 

In  terra  deserta,  et  invia, 
et  inaquosa  :  *  sic  in  sancto 
apparui  tibi,  ut  viderem 
virtutem  tuam,  et  gloriam 
tuam. 

Quoniam  melior  est  miseri- 
cordia  tua  super  vitas :  * 
labia  mea  laudabunt  te. 

Sic  benedicam  te  in  vita 
mea :  *  et  in  nomine  tuo 
levabo   manus   meas. 


0  God,  my  God,  to  thee  do 
I  watch  at  break  of  day. 

For  thee  my  soul  hath 
thirsted  :  for  thee  my  flesh, 
O  how  many  ways  ! 

In  a  desert  land,  and  where 
there  is  no  way,  and  no  water : 
so  in  the  sanctuary  have  I 
come  before  thee,  to  see  thy 
power  and  thy  glory. 

For  thy  mercy  is  better 
than  lives :  thee  my  lips  shall 
praise. 

Thus  will  I  bless  thee  all 
my  life  long  :  and  in  thy 
name  I  will  lift  up  my  hands. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :    TENEBR^S. 


341 


Let  my  soul  be  filled  as 
with  marrow  and  fatness  : 
and  my  mouth  shall  praise 
thee  with  joyful  lips. 

If  I  have  remembered  thee 
on  my  bed,  I  will  meditate 
on  thee  in  the  morning  : 
because  thou  hast  been  my 
helper. 

And  I  will  rejoice  under 
the  covert  of  thy  wings  :  my 
soul  hath  stuck  close  to  thee  : 
thy  right  hand  hath  received 
me. 

But  they  have  sought  my 
soul  in  vain,  they  shall  go 
into  the  lower  parts  of  the 
earth  :  they  shall  be  delivered 
into  the  hands  of  the  sword, 
they  shall  be  the  portions  of 
foxes. 

But  the  just  man,  being 
delivered  from  danger,  like  a 
king  shall  rejoice  in  God  :  all 
they  shall  be  praised  that 
swear  by  him  :  because  the 
mouth  is  stopped  of  them 
that  speak  wicked  things. 


Sicut  adipe  et  pinguedine 
repleatur  anima  mea :  »*P  et 
labiis  exsultationis  laudabit 
os  meum. 

Si  memor  fui  tui  super 
stratum  meum,  in  matuti- 
nis  meditabor  in  te  :  *  quia 
fuisti  adjutor  meus. 

Et  in  velamento  alarum 
tuarum  exsultabo,  adhsesit 
anima  mea  post  te :  *  me 
suscepit  dextera  tua. 

Ipsi  vero  in  vanum  quf©- 
sierunt  animam  meam,  in- 
troibunt  in  inferiora  terrse : 
*  tradentur  in  manus  gladii, 
partes  vulpium  erunt. 


Rex  vero  lsetabitur  in 
Deo,  laudabuntur  omnes 
qui  jurant  in  eo :  *  quia 
obstructum  est  os  loquenti- 
um  iniqua. 


PSALM    66. 


May  God  have  mercy  on  us, 
and  bless  us  :  may  he  cause 
the  light  of  his  countenance 
to  shine  upon  us,  and  may  he 
have  mercy  on  us. 

That  we  may  know  thy 
way  upon  earth,  thy  salvation 
in  all  nations. 

Let  people  confess  to  thee, 
0  God :  let  all  people  give 
praise  to  thee. 

Let  the  nations  be  glad  and 
rejoice  :  for  thou  judgest  the 
people  with  justice,  and 
directest  the  nations  upon 
earth. 


Deus  misereatur  nostri, 
et  benedicat  nobis :  *  illu- 
minet  vultum  suum  super 
nos,  et  misereatur  nostri. 

Ut   cognoscamus   in   terra 

viam  tuam :  *  in  omnibus 
gentibus  salutare  tuum. 

Confiteantur  tibi  populi 
Deus :  *  confiteantur  tibi 
populi  omnes. 

Lsetentur  et  exsultent 
gentes :  *  quoniam  judicas 
populos  in  sequitate,  et  gen- 
tes in  terra  dirigis. 


342 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Confiteantur  tibi  populi 
Deus  :  confiteantur  tibi 
populi  omnes  :  *  terra  dedit 
fructum  suum. 

Benedicat  nos  Deus, 
Deus  noster,  benedicat  nos 
Deus  :  *  et  metuant  eum 
omnes  fines  terrse. 

Ant.  Contritum  est  cor 
meum  in  medio  mei,  con- 
tremuerunt  omnia  ossa 
mea. 


Let  the  people,  0  God, 
confess  to  thee,  let  all  the 
people  give  praise  to  thee. 
The  earth  hath  yielded  her 
fruit. 

May  God,  our  own  God, 
bless  us,  may  God  bless  us  : 
and  all  the  ends  of  the  earth 
fear  him. 

Ant.  My  heart  is  broken 
within  me ;  all  my  bones  have 
trembled. 


The  sublime  Canticle  of  Moses,  which  was  sung 
after  the  passage  through  the  Red  Sea,  forms  part 
of  Thursday's  Lauds  during  the  whole  year.  It  is 
peculiarly  appropriate  now,  when  our  Catechumens 
are  about  to  receive  holy  Baptism.  The  Font  will 
be  their  Red  Sea,  wherein  all  their  sins  will  be 
drowned,  as  the  Egyptians  of  old.  The  Israelites, 
after  having  offered  the  sacrifice  of  the  Paschal 
Lamb,  passed  safely  between  the  waves :  our  Cate- 
chumens will  come  to  the  laver  of  regeneration  full 
of  hope  in  the  Sacrifice  of  the  True  Lamb,  for  his 
Blood  has  imparted  to  the  element  of  Water  the 
power  of  purifying  the  soul. 

Ant.  Exhortatus  es  in  Ant.  Thou  hast  encour- 
virtute  tua,  et  in  refectione  aged  us  by  thy  power,  and  by 
sancta  tua,  Domine.  thy  holy  refreshment,  OLord! 


CANTICLE    OF    MOSES. 
(Exod.  XV. J 


Cantemus  Domino  :  glo- 
riose  enim  magnificatus  est : 
*  equum  et  ascensorem  de- 
jecit  in  mare. 

Fortitude  mea  et  laus 
mea  Dominus :  *  et  factus 
est  mihi  in  salutem. 


Let  us  sing  to  the  Lord  : 
for  he  is  gloriously  magnified : 
the  horse  and  the  rider  he  hath 
thrown  into  the  sea. 

The  Lord  is  my  strength 
and  my  praise  :  and  he  is 
become  salvation  to  me. 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY  :    TENEBR.E. 


343 


He  is  my  God,  and  I  will 
glorify  him  :  the  God  of  my 
father,  and  I  will  exalt  him. 

The  Lord  is  as  a  man  of 
war,  Almighty  is  his  name. 
Pharaoh's  chariots  and  his 
army  he  hath  cast  into  the 
sea. 

His  chosen  captains  are 
drowned  in  the  Bed  Sea. 
The  depths  have  covered 
them,  they  are  sunk  to  the 
bottom  like  a  stone. 

Thy  right  hand,  O  Lord,  is 
magnified  in  strength  ;  thy 
right  hand,  0  Lord,  hath 
slain  the  enemy.  And  in  the 
multitude  of  thy  power  thou 
hast  put  down  thy  adversaries. 

Thou  hast  sent  thy  wrath, 
which  hath  devoured  them 
like  stubble.  And  with  the 
blast  of  thy  anger  the  waters 
were  gathered  together. 

The  flowing  water  stood, 
the  depths  were  gathered  to- 
gether in  the  midst  of  the  sea. 

The  enemy  said  :  I  will 
pursue  and  overtake,  I  will 
divide  the  spoils,  my  soul 
shall  have  its  fill. 

I  will  draw  my  sword,  my 
hand  shall  slay  them. 

Thy  wind  blew,  and  the 
sea  covered  them  :  they  sunk 
as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters. 

Who  is  like  to  thee  among 
the  strong,  0  Lord  ?  who  is 
like  to  thee,  glorious  in  holi- 
ness, terrible  and  praise- 
worthy, doing  wonders  ? 

Thou  stretchedst  forth  thy 
hand,  and  the  earth  swallow- 
ed them.     In  thy  mercy  thou 


Iste  Deus  meus,  et  glori- 
ficabo  eum :  *  Deus  patris 
mei,  et  exaltabo  eum. 

Dominus  quasi  vir  pugna- 
tor,  Omnipotens  nomen 
ejus  :  *  currus  Pharaonis, 
et  exercitum  ejus  projecit  in 
mare. 

Electi  principes  ejus  sub- 
mersi  sunt  in  mari  rubro  :  * 
abyssi  operuerunt  eos,  des- 
cenderunt  in  profundum 
quasi  lapis. 

Dextera  tua,  Domine, 
magnificata  est  in  fortitu- 
dine  :  dextera  tua,  Domine, 
percussit  inimicum  :  *  et  in 
multitudine  gloriae  tuse  de- 
posuisti  adversarios  tuos. 

Misisti  iram  tuam,  quae 
devoravit  eos  sicut  stipu- 
lam  :  *  et  in  spiritu  f  uroris 
tui  congregatse  sunt  aquae. 

Stetit  unda  fluens  :  *  con- 
gregatse  sunt  abyssi  in  me- 
dio mari. 

Dixit  inimicus  :  perse- 
quar  et  comprehendam  :  * 
dividam  spolia,  implebitur 
anima  mea. 

Evaginabo  gladium  me- 
um  :  *  interficiat  eos  manus 
mea. 

Elavit  spiritus  tuus,  et 
operuit  eos  mare  :  *  sub- 
mersi  sunt  quasi  plumbum 
in  aquis  vehementibus. 

Quis  similis  tui  in  forti- 
bus,  Domine  :  *  quis  similis 
tui,  magnificus  in  sanctitate, 
terribilis  atque  laudabilis, 
faciens  mirabilia  ? 

Extendisti  manum  tuam, 
et  devoravit  eos  terra  :  * 
dux   fuisti     in     misericordia 

2  b 


344 


HOLY    WEEK. 


tua     populo      quern      rede- 
misti. 

Et  portasti  eum  in  forti- 
tudine  tua  :  *  ad  habitacu- 
lum  sanctum  tuum. 

Ascenderunt  populi  et 
irati  sunt  :  *  dolores  obti- 
nuerunt  habitatores  Philis- 
thiim. 

Tunc  conturbati  sunt 
principes  Edom,  robustos 
Moab  obtinuit  tremor  :  * 
obriguerunt  omnes  habita- 
tores Chanaan. 

Irruat  super  eos  formido 
et  pavor  :  *  in  magnitudine 
brachii  tui. 

Eiant  immobiles  quasi  la- 
pis, donee  pertranseat  po- 
pulus  tuus,  Domine  ^do- 
nee pertranseat  populus 
tuus  iste,  quern  possedisti. 

Introduces  eos,  et  planta- 
bis  in  monte  haereditatis 
tuse  :  *  firmissimo  habita- 
culo  tuo,  quod  operatus  es, 
Domine  : 

Sanctuarium  tuum,  Do- 
mine, quod  firmaverunt  ma- 
nus  tuse  :  *  Dominus  reg- 
nabit  in  seternum,  et  ultra. 

Ingressus  est  enim  eques 
Pharao  cum  curribus  et 
equitibus  ejus  in  mare  :  *  et 
reduxit  super  eos  Dominus 
aquas  maris. 

Filii  autem  Israel  ambu- 
laverunt  per  siccum  :  *  in 
medio  ejus. 

Ant.  Exhortatus  es  in 
virtute  tua,  et  in  refectione 
sancta  tua  Domine. 


hast  been  a  leader  to  the 
people  whom  thou  hast  re- 
deemed : 

And  in  thy  strength  thou 
hast  carried  them  to  thy 
holy  habitation. 

Nations  rose  up,  and  were 
angry  :  sorrows  took  hold  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Philis- 
thiim. 

Then  were  the  princes  of 
Edom  troubled,  trembling 
seized  on  the  stout  men  of 
Moab  :  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Canaan  became  stiff. 

Let  fear  and  dread  fall 
upon  them,  in  the  greatness 
of  thy  arm. 

Let  them  become  immove- 
able as  a  stone,  until  thy 
people,  O  Lord,  pass  by ;  until 
this  thy  people  pass  by, 
which  thou  hast  possessed. 

Thou  shalt  bring  them  in 
and  plant  them  in  the  moun- 
tain of  thy  inheritance,  in  thy 
most  firm  habitation,  which 
thou  hast  made,  0  Lord  : 

Thy  sanctuary,  0  Lord, 
which  thy  hands  have  estab- 
lished. The  Lord  shall  reign 
for  ever  and  ever. 

For  Pharaoh  went  in  on 
horseback  with  his  chariots 
and  horsemen  into  the  sea  : 
and  the  Lord  brought  back 
upon  them  the  waters  of  the 
sea. 

But  the  children  of  Israel 
walked  on  dry  ground  in  the 
midst  thereof. 

Ant.  Thou  hast  encouraged 
us  by  thy  power,  and  by  thy 
holy  refreshment,  O  Lord  ! 


The  last  Psalm,  which  is  always  said  at  Lauds,  is 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  ',    TENEBR.E. 


345 


composed  of  the  last  three  of  the  Psaltery.  Their 
theme  is  the  ])raise  of  God,  and  this  portion  of  the 
canonical  office  is  called,  on  that  account,  Lauds. 


Ant.  He  was  offered  be- 
cause it  was  his  own  will,  and 
he  bore  himself  our  sins. 


Ant.  Oblatus  est  quia 
ipse  voluit,  et  peccata  nos- 
tra ipse  portavit. 


PSALM    148. 


Praise  ye  the  Lord  from 
the  heavens :  praise  ye  him 
in  the  high  places. 

Praise  ye  him,  all  his  An- 
gels :  praise  ye  him  all  his 
hosts. 

Praise  ye  him,  O  sun  and 
moon :  praise  him  all  ye 
stars  and  light. 

Praise  him  ye  heavens  of 
heavens  :  and  let  all  the 
waters  that  are  above  the 
heavens  praise  the  name  of 
the  Lord. 

For  he  spoke,  and  they 
were  made  ;  he  commanded, 
and  they  were  created. 

He  hath  established  them 
for  ever,  and  for  ages  of 
ages  :  he  hath  made  a  decree, 
and  it  shall  not  pass  away. 

Praise  the  Lord  from  the 
earth,  ye  dragons,  and  all  ye 
deeps. 

Fire,  hail,  snow,  ice,  stormy 
winds,  which  fulfil  his  word. 

Mountains  and  all  hills, 
fruitful  trees,  and  all  cedars. 

Beasts  and  all  cattle  :  ser- 
pents and  feathered  fowls. 


Laudate  Dominum  de  cce- 
lis :  *  laudate  eum  in  ex- 
celsis. 

Laudate  eum  omnes  An- 
geli  ejus  :  *  laudate  eum 
omnes  virtutes  ejus. 

Laudate  eum  sol  et  luna  : 
*  laudate  eum  omnes  stellse 
et  lumen. 

Laudate  eum  cceli  ccelo- 
rum :  *  et  aquae  omnes, 
quae  super  ccelos  sunt,  lau- 
dent  nomen  Domini. 

Quia  ipse  dixit,  et  facta 
sunt :  *  ipse  mandavit,  et 
creata  sunt. 

Statuit  ea  in  aeternum,  et 
in  saeculum  saeculi  :  *  prae- 
ceptum  posuit,  et  non  prae- 
teribit. 

Laudate  Dominum  de 
terra  :  *  dracones  et  omnes 
abyssi. 

Ignis,  grando,  nix,  glacies, 
spiritus  procellarum  :  *  quae 
faciunt  verbum  ejus. 

Montes  et  omnes  colles  :  * 
ligna  fructifera,  et  omnes 
cedri. 

Bestiae  et  universa  peco- 
ra :  *  serpentes  et  volucres 
pennatae. 


346 


HOLY  WEEK, 


Keges  terrse,  et  omnes  po- 
puli  :  *  principes  et  omnes 
judices  terrse. 

Juvenes  et  virgines  :  se- 
ries cum  junioribus  laudent 
nomon  Domini :  *  quia  ex- 
altatum  est  nomen  ejus  so- 
lius. 

Confessio  ejus  super  coe- 
lum  et  terram  :  *  et  exalta- 
vit  cornu  populi  sui. 

Hymnus  omnibus  Sanctis 
ejus :  *  filiis  Israel,  populo 
appropinquanti  sibi. 


Kings  of  the  earth,  and 
all  people :  princes  and  all 
judges  of  the  earth. 

Young  men  and  maidens  : 
let  the  old  with  the  younger 
praise  the  name  of  the  Lord  : 
for  his  name  alone  is  exal- 
ted. 

The  praise  of  him  is  above 
heaven  and  earth  :  and  he 
hath  exalted  the  horn  of  his 
people. 

A  hymn  to  all  his  saints;  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  a  peo- 
ple approaching  to  him. 


PSALM    149. 


Cantate  Domino  canti- 
cum  novum  :  *  laus  ejus  in 
ecclesia   sanctorum. 

Lsetetur  Israel  in  eo  qui 
fecit  eum :  *  et  filii  Sion 
exsultent  in  rege  suo. 

Laudent  nomen  ejus  in 
choro :  *  in  tympano,  et 
psalterio  psallant  ei. 

Quia  beneplacitum  est 
Domino  in  populo  suo  :  *  et 
exaltabit  mansuetos  in  salu- 
tem. 

Exsultabunt      sancti      in 

floria :    *  lsetabuntur  in  cu- 
ilibus  suis, 

Exsultationes  Dei  in  gut- 
ture  eorum  :  *  et  gladii  an- 
cipites  in  manibus  eorum. 

Ad  faciendam  vindictam 
in  nationibus  :  *  increpa- 
tiones  in  populis. 

Ad  alligandos  reges  eo- 
rum in  compedibus :  *  et 
nobiles  eorum  in  manicis 
feireis. 


Sing  ye  to  the  Lord  a  new 
canticle  :  let  his  praise  be  in 
the  church  of  the  saints. 

Let  Israel  rejoice  in  him 
that  made  him  :  and  let  the 
children  of  Sion  be  joyful  in 
their  king. 

Let  them  praise  his  name 
in  choir :  let  them  sing  to 
him  with  the  timbrel  and  the 
psaltery. 

For  the  Lord  is  well  pleased 
with  his  people  :  and  he  will 
exalt  the  meek  unto  salva- 
tion. 

The  Saints  shall  rejoice  in 
glory :  they  shall  be  joyful 
in  their  beds. 

The  high  praises  of  God 
shall  be  in  their  mouth  :  and 
two-edged  swords  in  their 
hands. 

To  execute  vengeance  upon 
the  nations,  chastisements 
among  the  people. 

To  bind  their  kings  with 
fetters,  and  their  nobles  with 
manacles  of  iron. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :    TENKBR^. 


347 


To  execute  upon  them  the  Ut  faciant  in  eis  judicium 

judgment  that    is    written :  conscriptum :    *   gloria    haec 

this  glory  is  to  all  his  saints,  est  omnibus  Sanctis  ejus. 

PSALM  150. 


Praise  ye  the  Lord  in  his 
holy  places :  praise  ye  him  in 
the  firmament  of  his  power. 

Praise  ye  him  for  his  mighty 
acts :  praise  ye  him  accord- 
ing to  the  multitude  of  his 
greatness. 

Praise  him  with  sound  of 
trumpet :  praise  him  with 
psaltery  and  harp. 

Praise  him  with  timbrel 
and  choir :  praise  him  with 
strings  and  organs. 

Praise  him  on  high-sound- 
ing cymbals :  praise  him  on 
cymbals  of  j  oy :  let  every  spi- 
rit praise  the  Lord. 

Ant.  He  was  offered  be- 
cause it  was  his  own  will,  and 
he  bore  himself  our  sins. 

^.  The  man  of  my  peace,  in 
whom  I  trusted ; 

gt.  Who  eat  my  bread,  hath 
greatly  supplanted  me. 


Laudate  Dominum  in 
Sanctis  ejus :  *  laudate  eum 
in  firmamento  virtutis  ejus. 

Laudate  eum  in  virtu- 
tibus  ejus :  *  laudate  eum 
secundum  multitudinem 

magnitudinis  ejus. 

Laudate  eum  in  sono 
tuboe :  *  laudate  eum  in 
psalterio  et  cithara. 

Laudate  eum  in  tympano 
et  choro  :  *  laudate  eum  in 
chordis  et  organo. 

Laudate  eum  in  cym- 
balis  benesonantibus :  lau- 
date eum  in  cymbalis  jubila- 
tionis  :  *  omnis  spiritus  lau- 
det  Dominum. 

Ant.  Oblatus  est  quia 
ipse  voluit,  et  peccata  nostra 
ipse  portavit. 

y.  Homo  pacis  mese,  in 
quo  speravi. 

$.  Qui  edebat  panes  me- 
os,  ampliavit  adversum  me 
supplantationem. 

The  Church  now  intones  the  sweet  Canticle  of 
Zachary,  which  she  repeats  every  morning.  Its 
joyous  accents  strangely  contrast  with  the  sadness 
caused  in  us  by  the  Passion  of  our  Jesus,  the  Sun  of 
Justice.  It  was  during  these  very  days,  that  the 
remission  of  sins  was  wrought  through  the  bowels  of 
the  mercy  of  our  God ;  but  the  Divine  Orient  rises 
not  upon  us  from  on  high  and  in  his  splendour ;  he 
is  about  to  set  on  Calvary  by  the  most  cruel  of  deaths. 
Let  us  weep  for  ourselves,  whilst  we  weep  for  Him ; 
but  let  us  look  forward  to  his  Resurrection,  which  is 
to  be  ours  also. 


348 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Ant.  Traditor  autem  de- 
dit  eis  signum,  dicens : 
Quern  osculatus  fuero,  ipse 
est,  tenete  eum. 


Ant.  But  the  traitor  gave 
them  a  sign,  saying  :  He  that 
I  shall  kiss,  that  is  He ;  hold 
him  fast. 


CANTICLE    OF    ZACHARY. 

(St.  Luke,  I J 


Benedictus  Dominus  Deus 
Israel :  *  quia  visitavit,  et 
fecit  redemptionem  plebis 
suae : 

Et  erexit  cornu  salutis 
nobis :  *  in  domo  David 
pueri  sui. 

Sicut  locutus  est  per  os 
sanctorum,  *  qui  a  sseculo 
sunt  Prophetarum  ejus  : 

Salutem  ex  inimicis  nos- 
tris  :  *  et  de  manu  omnium 
qui  oderunt  nos. 

Ad  faciendam  misericor- 
diam  cum  patribus  nostris : 
*  et  memorari  testamenti 
sui  sancti. 

Jusjurandum,  quod  jura- 
vit  ad  Abraham  patrem 
nostrum  :  *  daturum  se  no- 
bis. 

Ut  sine  timore,  de  manu 
inimicorum  nostrorum  libe- 
rati :    *  serviamus  illi. 

In  sanctitate  et  justitia 
coram  ipso  :  *  omnibus  die- 
bus  nostris. 

Et  tu  puer,  propheta  Al- 
tissimi  vocaberis :  *  praoibis 
enim  ante  faciem  Domini 
parare  vias  ejus. 

Ad  dandam  scientiam  sa- 
lutis plebi  ejus :  *  in  remis- 
sionem  peccatorum  eorum. 

Per  viscera  misericordiae 
Dei  nostri :  *  in  quibus 
visitavit  nos  Oriens  ex  alto. 


Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel,  because  he  hath  visited 
and  wrought  the  redemption 
of  his  people : 

And  hath  raised  up  a  horn 
of  salvation  to  us,  in  the  house 
of  David  his  servant. 

As  he  spoke  by  the  mouth 
of  his  holy  Prophets,  who  are 
from  the  beginning  : 

Salvation  from  our  enemies, 
and  from  the  hand  of  all  that 
hate  us. 

To  perform  mercy  to  our 
fathers  ;  and  to  remember  his 
holy  covenant. 

The  oath  which  he  swore  to 
Abraham  our  father,  that  he 
would  grant  to  us. 

That  being  delivered  from 
the  hands  of  our  enemies,  we 
may  serve  him  without  fear. 

In  holiness  and  justice  be- 
fore him,  all  our  days. 

And  thou,  child,  shalt  be 
called  the  prophet  of  the  High- 
est :  for  thou  shalt  go  before 
the  face  of  the  Lord  to  pre- 
pare his  ways. 

To  give  knowledge  of  salva- 
tion to  his  people,  unto  the 
remission  of  their  sins. 

Through  the  bowels  of  the 
mercy  of  our  God  :  in  which 
the  Orient  from  on  high  hath 
yisited  us  : 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  I    TENEBRvE.  349 

To  enlighten  them  that  sit  Illuminare  his,   qui  in  te- 

in  darkness,  and  in  the  shadow  nebris   et   in    umbra    mortis 

of  death  :  to  direct  our  feet  in  sedent  :    *    ad  dirigendos  pe- 

the  way  of  peace.  des  nostros  in  viam  pacis. 

Ant.    But  the  traitor  gave  Ant.      Traditor  autem  de- 

them  a  sign,  saying :  He  that  dit     eis      signum,      dicens  : 

I  shall  kiss,  that  is  He  ;  hold  Quern   osculatus   fuero,   ipse 

him  fast.  est,  tenete  eum. 

As  soon  as  the  Antiphon  is  finished,  the  Choir 
sings,  to  a  most  plaintive  chant,  the  following  words, 
which  are  continually  on  the  lips  of  the  Church  dur- 
ing these  three  days  : 

y.  Christ  became,  for  our  $\  Christus  f actus  est  pro 
sakes,  obedient  unto  death.        nobis    obediens     usque     ad 

mortem. 

Immediately  after  this  is  said,  in  secret,  the  Pater 
noster,  which  is  followed  hy  the  Psalm  Miserere 
(page  336J  ;  it  is  recited  with  a  suppressed  voice, 
by  alternate  choirs.  Finally,  the  first  in  dignity 
says  the  following  Prayer. 

Look  down,  O  Lord,  we  Eespice,  quaesumus,  Do- 
beseech  thee,  upon  this  thy  mine,  super  hanc  familiam 
family,  for  which  our  Lord  tuam  :  pro  qua  Dominus 
Jesus  Christ  hesitated  not  to  noster  Jesus  Christus  non 
be  delivered  into  the  hands  dubitavit  manibus  tradi  no- 
of  wicked  men,  and  undergo  centium,  et  crucis  subire 
the  punishment  of  the  Cross  :  tormentum  : 

(then,  the  rest  in  secret  :) 

Who  liveth   and    reigneth         Qui  tecum  vivit  et  regnat, 

with  thee,  in  the  unity  of  the  in   unitate    Spiritus    Sancti, 

Holy  Ghost,  God,  world  with-  Deus,      per     omnia    saecula 

out  end.     Amen.  sseculorum.     Amen. 

The  gradual  putting  out  the  candles, — the  taking 
the  one  that  is  left  lighted,  its  being  concealed  and 
then  shown  again, — the  noise  which  is  made  at  the 


350  HOLY    WEEK. 

end, — all  these  ceremonies  have  been   already  ex- 
plained :  see  page  303. 


THE  MORNING. 

This  is  the  first  day  of  the  Azymes,  or  Feast  of  the 
Unleavened  Bread.  At  sun-set,  the  Jews  must  eat 
the  Pasch  in  Jerusalem.  Jesus  is  still  in  Bethania  ; 
but  he  will  return  to  the  City  before  the  hour  for 
the  Paschal  supper.  The  Law  commands  this ;  and, 
until  he  has  abrogated  the  Law  by  the  shedding  of 
his  Blood,  he  wishes  to  observe  its  ordinances.  He 
therefore  sends  two  of  his  Disciples  to  get  everything 
ready  for  the  Pasch,  without,  however,  telling  them 
the  great  Mystery,  wherewith  it  is  to  terminate. 
We  who  know  it,  and  that  it  was  at  this  Last 
Supper  that  was  instituted  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Eucharist,  we  can  understand  why  he  sends  Peter 
and  John,  in  preference  to  any  of  the  other  Dis- 
ciples, to  prepare  what  is  needed.1  Peter,  who  was 
the  first  to  confess  the  Divinity  of  Jesus,  represents 
Faith  :  and  John,  who  leaned  upon  the  breast  of  the 
Man-God,  represents  Love.  The  mystery,  which  is 
to  be  instituted  at  to-night's  Supper,  is  revealed  to 
Love  by  Faith.  It  is  this  that  Jesus  would  have  us 
learn  from  his  choice  of  the  two  Apostles  ;  but  they 
themselves  see  not  the  intention  of  their  Master. 

Jesus,  who  knew  all  things,  tells  them  by  what 
sign  they  are  to  know  the  house,  which  he  intends  to 
honour  with  his  presence  :  they  have  but  to  follow  a 
man,  whom  they  will  see  carrying  a  pitcher  of  water. 
The  house  to  which  this  man  is  going,  belongs  to  a 
rich  Jew,  who  recognises  Jesus  as  the  Messias.  The 
two  Apostles  apprise  him  of  their  Master's  wishes ;  and 
immediately  he  puts  at  their  disposal  a  large  and 
richly  furnished  room.     It  was  fitting,  that  the  place, 

1  St.  Luke,  xxii.  8. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  I    HISTORY.  351 

where  the  most  august  Mystery  was  to  he  instituted, 
should  he  something  above  the  common.  This  Room, 
where  the  reality  was  to  he  substituted  for  all  the 
ancient  figures,  was  far  superior  to  the  Temple  of 
Jerusalem.  In  it  was  to  be  erected  the  first  Altar 
for  the  offering  up  of  the  clean  oblation,  foretold  by 
the  Prophet : l  in  it  was  to  commence  the  Christian 
Priesthood :  in  it,  finally,  fifty  days  later  on,  the  Church 
of  Christ,  collected  together  and  visited  by  the  Holy 
Grhost,  was  to  make  herself  known  to  the  world,  and 
promulgate  the  new  and  universal  Covenant  of  (rod 
with  men.  This  favoured  sanctuary  of  our  Faith,  is 
still  venerated  on  Mount  Sion.  The  Infidels  have 
profaned  it  by  their  false  worship,  for  even  they  look 
on  it  as  a  sacred  place ;  but  as  though  Divine 
Providence,  which  has  mercifully  preserved  unto  us 
so  many  traces  of  our  Redeemer,  would  give  us  an 
earnest  of  better  days  to  come, — this  venerable 
sanctuary  has  been  recently  thrown  open  to  several 
Priests  of  the  Church,  and  they  have  even  been 
permitted  to  offer  up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  in  the  very 
place  where  the  Eucharist  was  instituted. 

During  the  course  of  the  day,  Jesus  has  entered 
Jerusalem,  with  the  rest  of  his  Disciples :  he  has 
found  all  things  prepared. 

The  Paschal  Lamb,  after  being  first  presented  in 
the  Temple,  has  been  brought  to  the  house,  where 
Jesus  is  to  celebrate  the  Supper :  it  is  prepared, 
together  with  the  wild  lettuce  and  the  unleavened 
bread.  In  a  few  hours,  the  Divine  Master  and  his 
Disciples  will  be  standing  round  the  table,  their  loins 
girt,  and  staves  in  their  hands  ;  and,  for  the  last  time, 
they  will  observe  the  solemn  rite  prescribed  by  Grod 
to  his  people,  when  they  first  went  forth  from 
Egypt. 

But  let  us  wait  for  the  hour  of  Mass,  before  going 
further  into  the  details  of  this  Last  Supper.     Mean- 

1  Malach.  i.  11, 


352  HOLY    WEEK. 

while,  let  us  seek  edification  and  instruction  in  two 
holy  functions,  which  belong  to  this  great  day.  The 
first  is  the  Reconciliation  of  Penitents,  which, 
although  not  now  in  use,  needs  to  be  described,  in 
order  that  our  readers  may  have  a  proper  idea  of  the 
Lenten  Liturgy.  The  second  is  the  Consecration  of 
the  Holy  Oils,  which  is  a  ceremony  confined  to 
Cathedral  Churches,  but  so  interesting  to  the  Faith- 
ful, that  we  should  have  scrupled  to  have  excluded 
it  from  our  volume.  After  having  briefly  described 
these,  we  will  return  to  the  history  of  the  Institution 
of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  assist  at  Mass.  Then 
we  shall  have  to  speak  of  the  preparation  for  the  Mass 
of  the  Presanctified  for  to-morrow's  service,  of  the 
Stripping  the  Altars,  and  of  the  Mandatum,  or 
Washing  of  the  Feet.  We  proceed,  therefore,  to 
explain  these  several  ceremonies,  which  make 
Maundy  Thursday  to  be  one  of  the  most  sacred  days 
of  the  Liturgical  Year. 


THE    RECONCILIATION    OF    PENITENTS. 

Three  solemn  Masses  were  anciently  celebrated  on 
this  day ;  and  the  first  was  preceded  by  the  absolu- 
tion of  the  public  penitents,  and  their  re-admission 
into  the  Church.  The  following  was  the  order  of 
the  service  for  the  Reconciliation  of  Penitents.  They 
presented  themselves  at  the  Church-door,  clad  in 
penitential  garb,  and  bare-footed.  The  hair  of  both 
head  and  beard  had  been  allowed  to  grow  from  Ash 
Wednesday,  the  day  on  which  they  had  received 
their  penance.  The  Bishop  recited,  in  the  sanctuary, 
the  seven  Psalms,  in  which  David  expresses  his 
sorrow  for  having  offended  Cod.  These  were 
followed  by  the  Litany  of  the  Saints. 

During  these  prayers,  the  Penitents  were  prostrate 
in  the  porch,   for  entrance   into   the   Churoh   was 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  I    PENITENTS.  353 

forbidden  them.  Thrice  during  the  Litany,  the 
Bishop  deputed  some  of  the  Clergy  to  go  and  visit 
them,  in  his  name,  and  bear  them  words  of  hope  and 
consolation.  The  first  time,  two  Sub-Deacons  went 
to  them  and  said :  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will 
not  the  death  of  the  sinner,  but  rather  that  he  be 
converted  and  live.  The  second  time,  two  other 
Sub-Deacons  were  sent,  with  this  message  :  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  :  Do  penance  ;  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  at  hand.  Finally,  a  Deacon  was  com- 
missioned to  go  to  them,  and  say  :  Lift  up  your 
heads  ;   lo  !  your  redemption  is  nigh. 

After  these  announcements  of  approaching  pardon, 
the  Bishop  left  the  Sanctuary  and  went  towards 
the  Penitents,  as  far  as  half  way  down  the  centre 
nave,  where  was  prepared  a  seat,  turned  towards  the 
door  which  led  into  the  porch,  where  the  Penitents 
were  still  lying  prostrate.  The  Pontiff  being  seated, 
the  Archdeacon  addressed  him  in  these  words  : 

Venerable  Pontiff !  The  acceptable  time  has  come,  the  day 
of  God's  mercy  and  of  man's  salvation,  when  death  was  des- 
troyed, and  eternal  life  began.  This  is  the  time,  when,  in 
the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth,  new  plants  are  to  be 
set,  and  the  detestableness  of  the  old  growth  is  to  be  pruned 
away.  For  though  there  be  no  period  of  time,  which  is  not 
rich  in  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  God,  yet  now  indulgence 
produces  a  more  abundant  remission  of  sins,  and  grace 
yields  a  more  plentiful  number  of  the  regenerated.  Those 
that  are  regenerated  add  to  our  ranks  ;  those  that  return, 
increase  our  numbers.  There  is  a  laver  of  water  ;  there  is  a 
laver  of  tears.  From  the  one,  there  is  joy  because  of  the 
admittance  of  them  that  are  called  ;  from  the  other,  there  is 
gladness  because  of  them  that  repent.  Therefore  it  is,  that 
these  thy  suppliant  servants, — after  having  fallen  into  sundry 
kinds  of  sins,  by  the  neglect  of  the  divine  commandments, 
and  the  transgression  of  the  moral  law, — humbled  and  pros- 
trate, cry  out  to  the  Lord  in  these  words  of  the  Prophet  : 
We  have  sinned  :  we  have  done  unjustly  ;  we  have  committed 
iniquity  :  have  mercy  on  us,  0  Lord  !  It  has  not  been  in 
vain,  that  they  have  heard  the  words  of  the  Gospel  :  Blessed 
are  they  that  mourn  ;  for  they  shall  be  comforted.     As  it  is 


354  HOLY    WEEK. 

written,  they  have  eaten  the  bread  of  sorrow ;  they  have 
watered  their  couch  with  tears  ;  they  have  afflicted  their 
hearts  with  mourning,  and  their  bodies  with  fasting,  that 
thus  they  might  recover  the  health  of  soul,  which  they 
had  lost.  The  grace  of  penance,  therefore,  is  one  ;  but  it 
profits  each  one  that  receives  it,  and  gives  help  to  all  in 
common. 

The  Bishop  then  rose,  and  advanced  towards  the 
Penitents.  He  spoke  to  them  concerning  the  mercy 
of  Grod,  and  how  they  should  live  for  the  time  to 
come.  After  this  exhortation,  he  thus  addressed 
them  :  Come,  come,  come,  my  children  !  I  will 
teach  you  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  The  Choir  then 
sang  this  Antiphon,  taken  from  the  33rd  Psalm  : 
Come  ye  to  him,  and  be  enlightened,  and  your  faces 
shall  not  be  confounded.  Hereupon,  the  Penitents 
rose  up,  and,  coming  to  the  Bishop,  threw  themselves 
at  his  feet.  The  Archpriest  then  pleaded  for  them 
in  these  words  : 

Make  good  in  them,  O  Apostolic  Pontiff,  all  that  has  been 
corrupted  in  them  by  the  temptation  of  the  devil  !  By  the 
merit  of  thy  prayers  and  intercession,  and  by  the  grace  of 
the  divine  reconciliation,  bring  these  men  nigh  unto  God. 
Thus,  they  who,  heretofore,  suffered  by  the  sins  they  com- 
mitted, may  now  be  happy  in  the  hope,  that,  having  over- 
come the  author  of  their  death,  they  may  please  the  Lord,  in 
the  land  of  the  living. 

The  Bishop  answered  :  Knowest  thou,  if  they  be 
worthy  of  reconciliation  ?  The  Archpriest  replied  : 
I  know,  and  bear  witness,  that  they  are  ivorthy. 
A  Deacon  then  ordered  the  Penitents  to  rise.  This 
done,  the  Bishop  took  one  of  them  by  the  hand,  who 
did  the  same  to  his  neighbour ;  and  thus  all,  hand 
in  hand,  followed  the  Bishop  to  the  place  prepared 
in  the  centre  of  the  nave.  Meanwhile,  the  Choir 
sang  the  following  Antiphons  :  I  say  unto  you, 
there  is  joy  to  the  Angels  of  God  over  one  sinner 
doing  penance.  It  behoveth  thee,  my  son,  to  rejoice ; 
for   thy   brother  was    dead,    and    has    come    to    life 


MAUNDY  THURSDAY  :   PENITENTS.  355 

again;  he  was  lost,  and  is  found.  The  Bishop 
then  offered  up  to  Grod  this  prayer,  which  he  sang 
to  the  solemn  tone  of  the  Preface. 

It  is  truly  meet  and  just,  right  and  available  to  salvation, 
that  we  should  always  and  in  all  places  give  thanks  to  thee, 
O  Holy  Lord,  Almighty  Father,  Eternal  God,  through 
Christ  our  Lord  :  Whom  thou,  0  Almighty  Father,  didst 
will  should  be  born  among  us  by  an  ineffable  Birth,  that  so 
he  might  pay  to  thee,  his  Eternal  Father,  the  debt  contracted 
by  Adam,  and  put  our  death  to  death  by  his  own,  and  bear 
our  wounds  in  his  own  flesh,  and  cleanse  away  our  stains  by 
his  Blood ;  hereby  enabling  us,  who  had  fallen  by  the  envy 
of  the  old  enemy,  to  rise  again  by  his  mercy.  Through  him, 
O  Lord,  we  suppliantly  beseech  and  pray  thee  that  thou 
mayest  graciously  hear  us  making  intercession  for  the  sins 
of  others,  who  are  not  worthy  to  plead  for  our  own.  Do  thou, 
O  most  merciful  Lord,  recal  to  thyself,  with  thy  wonted 
goodness,  these  thy  servants,  who  have  separated  themselves 
from  thee  by  their  sins.  For  neither  didst  thou  reject  the 
most  wicked  Achab  when  he  humbled  himself  before  thee, 
but  didst  avert  from  him  the  punishment  he  had  deserved. 
So,  likewise  didst  thou  graciously  hear  Peter,  when  he 
wept,  and  didst  afterwards  give  to  him  the  keys  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  ;  and  thou  didst  promise  the  reward  of 
that  same  kingdom  to  the  Thief  when  he  trusted  in  thee. 
Therefore,  0  most  merciful  Lord  !  mercifully  welcome  back 
these  for  whom  we  offer  to  thee  our  prayers,  and  restore 
them  to  the  bosom  of  the  Church,  that  the  enemy  may  not 
triumph  over  them,  but  that  they  may  be  reconciled  unto 
thee  by  thy  co-equal  Son,  and  by  Him  be  cleansed  from  their 
guilt,  and  graciously  admitted  by  Him  to  the  banquet  of  thy 
most  Holy  Supper.  May  he  in  such  wise  refresh  them  by 
his  Flesh  and  Blood,  as  to  lead  them,  after  this  life's  course 
is  run,  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

After  this  Prayer,  all,  both  clergy  and  laity,  pros- 
trated themselves,  together  with  the  Penitents,  before 
the  Divine  Majesty,  and  recited  the  three  Psalms 
which  begin  with  the  word  Miserere,  (that  is,  the  50th, 
the  55th,  and  the  56th).  The  Bishop  then  stood  up, 
and  said  over  the  Penitents,  (who  remained  prostrate, 
as  did  also  all  the  assistants,)  six  Prayers,  from 
whioh  we  select  the  following  sentences. 


356  HOLY     WEEK. 

Give  ear,  0  Lord,  to  our  supplications,  and  mercifully 
hear  me,  though  I  myself  need  mercy  above  all  others.  Thou 
hast  chosen  me  to  be  the  minister  of  this  work,  not  from  any 
merits  thou  didst  see  in  me,  but  by  the  pure  gift  of  thy  grace. 
Grant  me  courage  to  fulfil  my  office,  and  do  thou  work,  by 
my  ministry,  the  effects  of  thine  own  mercy.  It  is  thou  that 
didst  bring  back,  on  thy  shoulders,  the  lost  sheep  to  the  fold, 
and  that  didst  mercifully  hear  the  prayers  of  the  Publican : 
do  thou,  also,  restore  to  life  these  thy  servants,  whom  thou 
wouldst  not  have  die  unto  thee.  0  thou,  who  abandonest 
not  them  that  are  gone  astray,  receive  these  who  have 
returned  to  thee.  We  beseech  thee,  0  Lord,  let  the  tearful 
sighs  of  these  thy  servants  move  thee  to  clemency  :  heal  their 
wounds  :  stretch  out  thy  saving  hand  to  them,  and  raise 
them  up.  Permit  not  thy  Church  to  be  injured  in  any  of 
her  members  :  let  not  thy  flock  surfer  loss ;  let  not  the  enemy 
exult  over  the  destruction  of  any  of  thy  family,  nor  the 
second  death  lay  hold  of  them  that  have  been  regenerated  in 
the  laver  of  salvation.  Pardon,  O  Lord,  these  that  confess 
their  sins  to  thee  :  let  them  not  fall  into  the  punishments  of 
the  future  j  udgment  to  come ;  let  them  never  know  the 
horrors  of  darkness,  or  the  torments  of  the  flames  of  hell. 
They  have  returned  from  the  way  of  error  to  the  path  of 
j  Qstice  ;  let  them  not  be  again  wounded,  but  maintain  ever 
within  themselves  both  what  thy  grace  hath  conferred  upon 
them,  and  what  thy  mercy  hath  reformed  within  them. 

Having  said  these  Prayers,  the  Bishop  stretched 
forth  his  hands  over  the  Penitents,  and  pronounced 
the  Reconciliation,  in  this  solemn  formula  : 

May  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  vouchsafed  to  take  away 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world  by  delivering  himself  up  for  us, 
and  shedding  his  spotless  Blood  ;  who,  also,  said  unto  his 
Disciples  :  whatsoever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth,  shall  be  bound 
also  in  heaven  ;  and  whatsoever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth,  shall 
be  loosed  also  in  heaven  :  and  who  hath  numbered  me, 
though  unworthy,  among  these  his  ministers  :  may  he  deign, 
by  the  intercession  of  Mary,  the  Mother  of  God,  of  the 
blessed  Archangel  Michael,  of  holy  Peter  the  Apostle,  (to 
whom  he  gave  the  power  of  binding  and  loosing,)  and  of  all 
the  Saints,  to  absolve  you,  by  the  merits  of  his  Blood  shed 
for  the  remission  of  sins,  from  all  whatsoever  you  have 
negligently  committed  in  thought,  or  word,  or  action  ;  and, 
having  loosed  you  from  the  bonds  of  sin,  may  he  graciously 
lead  you  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven.     Who,  with  God  the 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY   :    TEN1TENTS.  357 

Father,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  liveth  and  reigneth  for  ever 
and  ever.     Amen. 

The  Bishop  then  advanced  towards  the  Penitents, 
who  were  still  lying  prostrate  :  he  sprinkled  them 
with  holy  water,  and  thurified  them.  Finally,  he 
addressed  them  in  these  words  of  the  Apostle  : 
Arise,  ye  that  sleep  !  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ 
shall  enlighten  you  !  The  Penitents  stood  up  ;  and, 
in  order  to  express  the  joy  they  felt  at  being  recon- 
ciled with  their  God,  they  immediately  went  and 
changed  their  penitential  garb  for  one  more  in 
accordance  with  gladness,  and  with  the  Holy  Com- 
munion they  were  now  to  receive  together  with  the 
rest  of  the  Faithful. 

This  Reconciliation  of  Penitents  has  given  rise  to 
the  magnificent  ceremony,  which  takes  place  at  Rome 
on  this  day, — the  Papal  Benediction.  After  Mass, 
the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  vested  in  cope,  and  wearing 
the  tiara,  goes  to  the  balcony  over  the  centre  door  of 
the  Vatican  Basilica.  In  the  Piazza  of  Saint  Peter's 
there  stands  an  immense  crowd  of  people,  come  from 
every  country  of  the  world,  awaiting  the  appearance 
of  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  who  is  about  to  grant  them 
the  remission  of  the  punishment  due  to  their  sins. 
One  of  the  Prelates,  who  surround  the  Pope's  throne, 
recites  the  usual  form  of  the  Confession  of  Sins  ;  he 
recites  it  in  the  name  of  the  assembly  below,  whom 
one  and  the  same  holy  Faith  has  thus  brought  before 
the  Father  of  the  Christian  World.  After  a  few 
seconds  of  silence,  the  Pontiff  beseeches  Grod  to  show 
the  riches  of  his  Mercy  upon  the  multitude,  who  have 
already  purified  their  conscience  in  the  Tribunal  of 
reconciliation  ;  he  invokes  upon  them  the  assistance 
of  the  holy  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul ;  and  then  rising, 
he  raises  up  his  hands  to  heaven,  as  though  to  draw 
thence  the  treasures  of  eternal  indulgence  ;  and  im- 
mediately lowering  them,  he  blesses  the  assembled 


358  HOLY   WEEK. 

multitude.  This  Blessing,1  which  grants  a  Plenary 
Indulgence  to  all  that  have  fulfilled  the  requisite 
conditions,  was,  originally,  given  only  on  Maundy 
Thursday ;  afterwards,  it  was  given  also  on  Easter 
Sunday  ;  and  again,  later  on,  was  extended  to  two 
other  days  in  the  year,  namely,  the  Ascension  (at 
Saint  John  Lateran),  and  the  Assumption  (at  Saint 
Mary  Major). 


THE    BLESSING 

OF     THE 

HOLY    OILS. 

The  second  Mass  which  used,  formerly,  to  be  said  on 
Maundy  Thursday,  was  that  of  the  Blessing  of  the 
Holy  Oils.  This  holy  function,  which  takes  place 
but  once  each  year,  requires  a  Bishop  as  the  conse- 
crator.  For  now  many  centuries,  this  great  cere- 
mony is  celebrated  at  the  single  Mass,  which  is  said, 
on  this  day,  in  commemoration  of  our  Lord's  Supper. 
As  this  Blessing  only  takes  place  in  Cathedral 
Churches,  we  will  not  enter  into  each  detail ;  and 
yet  we  would  not  deprive  our  readers  of  what  they 
ought  to  know  with  regard  to  the  Holy  Oils.  Faith 
teaches  us,  that,  as  we  are  regenerated  by  water,  so 
are  we  confirmed  and  fortified  by  oil ;  and  that  Oil 
is  one  of  the  chief  elements  chosen  by  the  Divine 
Author  of  the  Sacraments,  whereby  to  signify  and 
produce  grace  in  our  souls. 

The  reason  of  the  Church's  selecting  Maundy 
Thursday  for  the  Blessing  of  the  Holy  Oils,  was  that 

1  It  is  incorrectly  called  a  Blessing  TJrbi  et  Orbi,  inasmuch  as  it 
is  only  given  to  the  Faithful  who  are  present  at  it. 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY  l    HOLY   OILS.  359 

they  would  be  so  muoh  needed  for  the  Baptism  of 
the  neophytes  on  Easter  Eve.  It  behoves  the  Faith- 
ful to  understand  the  mystery  of  those  sacred  ele- 
ments. We  will,  therefore,  briefly  explain  it  to  them, 
in  order  that  we  may  excite  their  hearts  to  gratitude 
to  our  Blessed  Lord,  who  has  made  material  things 
the  instruments  of  grace,  and,  by  his  Blood,  has  given 
them  the  sacramental  power  which  resides  within 
them. 

The  first  of  the  Holy  Oils,  that  is,  the  first  that  is 
blessed  by  the  Bishop,  is  the  one  called  the  Oil  of  the 
Sick.  It  is  the  matter  of  the  Sacrament  of  Extreme 
Unction.  It  takes  away,  from  the  dying  Christian, 
the  remnants  of  sin  ;  it  strengthens  him  in  his  last 
combat ;  and,  by  the  supernatural  power  it  possesses, 
sometimes  restores  to  him  the  health  of  the  body. 
Formerly,  it  used  to  be  blessed  on  any  day  of  the 
year,  as  often  as  required :  but,  later  on,  its  Blessing 
was  fixed  for  this  day,  that  thus  the  three  Oils  might 
be  blessed  all  together.  The  Faithful  should  assist 
with  much  devotion,  at  this  ceremony  ;  for  the  ele- 
ment that  is  thus  sanctified,  is  one  day  to  anoint  and 
purify  their  bodies,  sinking  under  sickness.  Let 
them,  as  they  see  it  being  blessed,  think  upon  their 
last  hour,  and  praise  the  infinite  goodness  of  their 
Saviour,  "whose  blood  streams  so  plentifully  through 
"  this  precious  fluid."1 

The  noblest  of  the  three  Oils  is  the  Chrism,  and 
its  consecration  is  more  solemn,  and  fuller  of  mystery, 
than  those  of  the  other  two.  It  is  by  the  chrism 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  imprints  his  indelible  seal  on 
the  Christian,  that  has  already  been  made  a  member 
of  Christ  by  Baptism.  The  Water  gives  us  our 
spiritual  birth  ;  the  Chrism  gives  us  strength ;  and, 
until  such  time  as  we  have  received  its  holy  anointing, 
we  have  not  as  yet  the  perfect  character  of  a  Christian. 

1  Hossuet,  Oraison  fun&bre  d'  Henriette  d'  Angleterre. 

2q 


360  HOLY    WEEK. 

Anointed  with  this  holy  Oil,  the  Faithful  has  a  visible 
sign  given  him  of  his  being  a  member  of  the  Man- 
God,  whose  name  of  Christ  signifies  the  unction  he 
has  received  both  as  King  and  Pontiff.  This  conse- 
cration of  a  Christian  by  Chrism  is  so  much  in 
accordance  with  the  spirit  of  our  holy  Religion,  that, 
immediately  after  Baptism,  the  child  receives  upon 
its  head  an  anointing,  (though  it  is  not  a  sacramental 
one,)  of  this  Oil,  to  show  that  he  is  already  a  sharer 
of  the  kingly  character  of  Jesus  Christ. 

In  order  to  express,  by  an  outward  sign,  the  sacred- 
ness  of  Chrism,  an  Apostolic  tradition  requires  the 
Bishop  to  mix  Balm  with  it.  This  Balm  represents 
what  the  Apostle  calls  the  good  odour  of  Christ,1 
of  whom  it  is  written :  We  will  run  after  thee, 
to  the  odour  of  thy  ointments.2  The  scarcity  and 
high  price  of  other  perfumes  has  obliged  the  Latin 
Church  to  be  content  with  Balm  alone  in  the 
mixture  of  holy  Chrism  :  but  in  the  Eastern  Church, 
where  the  climate  is  more  favourable  than  ours,  three 
and  thirty  species  of  precious  perfumes  are  put  into 
the  Oil,  and  it  thus  becomes  an  ointment  of  exquisite 
fragrance. 

The  holy  Chrism,  besides  its  sacramental  use  in 
Confirmation,  and  its  being  put  upon  the  head  of 
the  newly  baptised,  is  also  used  by  the  Church  in  the 
consecration  of  her  Bishops,  in  the  consecration  of 
Chalices  and  Altars,  in  the  blessing  of  Bells,  and  in 
the  Dedication  of  a  Church,  in  which  last  most  im- 
posing ceremony,  the  Bishop  pours  out  the  Chrism 
on  the  twelve  crosses,  which  are  to  attest  to  all  suc- 
ceeding ages,  the  glory  of  Grod's  House. 

The  third  of  the  holy  Oils  is  that  which  is  called 
the  Oil  of  Catechumens.  Though  it  be  not  the  mat- 
ter of  any  Sacrament,  it  is,  nevertheless,  an  Apostolic 
institution.  Its  blessing  is  less  solemn  than  that  of 
the  Chrism,  but  more  so  than  that  of  the  Oil  of  the 
1  1  Cor.ii.  15,  *  Cant.  i.  3. 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY  .'    HOLY   OILS.  361 

Sick.  The  Oil  of  Catechumens  is  used  in  the  cere- 
monies of  Baptism,  for  the  anointing  the  breast  and 
shoulders.  It  is  also  used  for  the  anointing  a  Priest's 
hands  in  Ordination,  and  for  the  coronation  of  a 
King  or  Queen. 

These  few  words  of  explanation  will  give  the  Faith- 
ful some  idea  of  the  importance  of  the  Blessing  of 
the  holy  Oils.  By  this  threefold  Blessing,  says  St. 
Fortunatus,  (in  the  beautiful  Hymn,  which  is  used 
during  the  ceremony,)  the  Bishop  acquits  the  debt  he 
owes,  and  which  none  but  he  can  pay. 

The  holy  Church  seldom  employs  such  pomp  as 
she  does  on  this  occasion.  Twelve  Priests,  seven 
Deacons,  and  seven  Subdeacons,  are  present.  The 
Roman  Pontifical  tells  us,  that  the  twelve  Priests 
assist  as  witnesses  and  co-operators  of  the  holy 
Chrism.  The  Mass  commences,  and  goes  on  as  far 
as  the  Prayer  of  the  Canon,  which  immediately  pre- 
cedes the  Pater  noster.  The  Bishop  then  leaves  the 
Altar,  and  goes  to  the  place  prepared  for  the  Bless- 
ing. The  first  phial  of  Oil  that  is  brought  to  him,  is 
that  which  is  intended  for  the  sick.  He  prefaces  the 
blessing,  by  pronouncing  the  words  of  exorcism  over 
this  oil,  in  order  to  drive  from  it  the  influence  of  the 
wicked  spirits,  who,  out  of  hatred  for  man,  are  ever 
seeking  to  infest  the  creatures  given  to  us  for  our 
use.     This  done,  he  blesses  it  in  these  words : 

We  beseech  thee,  O  Lord,  send  forth  from  heaven  thy 
Holy  Spirit  the  Paraclete  upon  this  rich  juice  of  the  olive, 
which  thou  hast  graciously  produced  from  the  green  wood, 
for  the  solace  of  both  mind  and  body.  By  thy  holy  blessing, 
may  all  they  that  are  anointed  with  this  ointment  of  hea- 
venly virtue,  receive  help  to  mind  and  body  ;  may  it  remove 
from  them  all  pains,  all  infirmities,  and  all  sickness  of  mind 
and  body,  for  it  was  with  oil  that  thou  didst  anoint  thy 
Priests,  Kings,  Prophets,  and  Martyrs.  May  this,  being 
blessed  by  thee,  O  Lord,  become  unto  us  an  ointment  of 
perfection,  and  abide  within  our  whole  being.  In  the  name 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


362  HOLY    WEEK. 

One  of  the  seven  Subdeacons  then  carries  the 
phial  back,  and  the  Bishop  returns  to  the  Altar,  and 
continues  the  Mass.  As  soon  as  he  has  given  Holy 
Communion  to  the  Clergy,  he  returns  to  the  place 
prepared  for  the  blessing  of  the  Oils.  The  twelve 
Priests,  the  seven  Deacons,  and  the  seven  Subdea- 
cons, repair  to  the  place  where  the  other  two  phials 
have  been  put.  One  contains  the  oil,  which  is  to 
become  the  Chrism  of  salvation  ;  the  other,  the  oil 
which  is  to  be  sanctified  as  the  oil  of  Catechumens. 
The  procession  is  soon  seen  returning  towards  the 
Pontiff.  The  two  phials  are  carried  by  two  Deacons ; 
a  Subdeacon  carries  the  vase  of  Balm.  The  Bishop 
begins  by  blessing  the  Balm  :  he  calls  it  "the  fragrant 
"  tear  of  dry  bark, — the  oozing  of  a  favoured  branch, 
"  that  gives  us  the  priestly  unction."  Before  proceed- 
ing to  bless  the  oil  of  the  Chrism,  he  thrice  breathes 
upon  it,  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  The  twelve  Priests 
do  the  same.  The  Gospel  tells  us  that  our  Blessed 
Saviour  used  this  same  ceremony  over  his  Apostles. 
It  signifies  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  ex- 
presses his  name,  which  is  The  Spirit.  This  Holy 
Spirit  is  about  to  make  this  oil  become  an  instrument 
of  his  Divine  power.  The  Bishop  first  prepares  it 
for  the  heavenly  dignity,  by  exorcising  it.  He  then 
celebrates  the  praises  of  the  Chrism,  by  this  magni- 
ficent Preface,  which  has  been  handed  down  to  us 
from  the  earliest  ages  of  our  faith. 

It  is  truly  meet  and  just,  right  and  available  to  salvation,  that 
we  should  always,  and  in  all  places,  give  thanks  to  thee,  O 
Holy  Lord,  Almighty  Father,  Eternal  God :  who,  in  the 
beginning,  among  the  rest  of  thy  bounteous  gifts,  didst  com- 
mand the  earth  to  yield  fruitbearing  trees,  among  which 
should  be  the  olive,  which  produces  this  most  rich  liquor, 
and  whose  fruit  was  to  serve  for  the  making  holy  Chrism. 
Hence  it  was,  that  David,  foreknowing,  by  a  prophetic 
spirit,  the  Sacraments  of  thy  grace,  sang  that  our  faces  were 
to  be  made  glad  with  oil :  and  when  the  sins  of  the  world 
were  expiated  of  old,  by  the  deluge,  a  dove  announced  that 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  I    HOLY    OILS.  368 

peace  was  restored  to  the  earth,  by  bearing  an  olive  branch, 
the  type  of  the  gift  to  come,  which  has  been  manifested  in 
these  latter  ages  ;  for  after  the  waters  of  Baptism  have 
washed  away  the  sins  of  men,  this  anointing  of  oil  gave  us 
joy  and  calm.  Hence,  too,  thou  didst  command  thy  servant 
Moses  to  ordain  his  brother  Aaron  priest,  by  pouring  oil 
upon  him,  after  he  had  been  cleansed  with  water.  A  greater 
honour  still  was,  that  when  thy  Son,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
bade  John  baptise  him  in  the  waters  of  the  Jordan,  thou 
didst  send  upon  him  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  form  of  a  dove  ; 
that  thus  by  a  voice  that  bore  testimony,  thou  mightest 
designate  thine  Only  Begotten  Son,  in  whom  thou  wast  well 
pleased,  and  mightest  prove,  beyond  all  doubt,  that  this  was 
the  fulfilment  of  what  the  Prophet  David  had  foretold,  when 
he  sang,  that  he  was  to  be  anointed  with  the  oil  of  gladness 
above  his  fellows.  "We,  therefore,  beseech  thee,  0  Holy 
Lord,  Almighty  Father,  Eternal  God,  through  the  same 
Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son,  our  Lord,  that  thou  vouchsafe  to 
sanctify,  by  thy  blessing,  this  thy  creature  oil,  and  infuse 
into  it  the  virtue  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  through  the  co-operating 
power  of  Christ,  thy  Son,  from  whose  name  it  hath  borrowed 
its  own  of  Chrism,  and  wherewith  thou  didst  anoint  the 
Priests,  Kings,  Prophets,  and  Martyrs.  Raise  this  Chrism 
into  a  Sacrament  of  perfect  salvation  and  life,  to  them  that 
are  to  be  renewed  by  the  spiritual  laver  of  Baptism.  That 
thus,  the  corruption  of  their  first  birth  being  absorbed  by 
the  infusion  of  this  holy  anointing,  they  may  become  a  holy 
temple,  redolent  with  the  fragrance  of  the  innocence  of  holy 
living.  According  to  what  thou  hast  appointed  in  this 
mystery,  bestow  upon  them  the  honour  of  kings,  priests,  and 
prophets,  by  vesting  them  in  the  robe  of  incorruption.  May 
this  oil  be  to  them,  that  are  born  again  from  water  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  a  Chrism  of  salvation,  making  them  partakers 
of  life  everlasting,  and  co-heirs  of  heavenly  glory. 

The  Bishop  then  takes  the  Balm  ;  and  having 
mixed  it,  on  a  paten,  with  a  little  oil,  he  pours  it  into 
the  Phial.  The  consecration  of  the  Chrism  thus 
completed,  he  salutes  it  with  these  words  :  Hail,  0 
Holy  Chrism  !  This  he  does  with  the  intention  of 
honouring  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  to  work  by  this 
sacramental  oil.  The  same  is  done  by  each  of  the 
twelve  Priests. 

The  Bishop  then  proceeds  to  bless  the  Oil  of 


364  HOLY     WEEK. 

Catechumens.  After  having  breathed  upon  it,  and 
pronounced  the  exorcism,  (as  before,  in  the  blessing 
of  the  holy  Chrism,)  he  says  this  Prayer  : 

O  God,  the  rewarder  of  every  spiritual  increase  and 
growth.  !  who  strengthenest  the  beginnings  of  weakly  souls 
by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  :  we  beseech  thee,  O  Lord, 
that  thou  vouchsafe  to  pour  out  thy  blessing  upon  this  oil, 
and  grant  to  them,  that  come  to  the  laver  of  holy  regenera- 
tion, the  cleansing  of  soul  and  body,  by  the  anointing  they 
receive  from  this  thy  creature  ;  that  so,  if  there  should  be 
any  stains  fixed  upon  them  by  their  spiritual  enemies,  they 
may  be  effaced  by  the  touch  of  this  holy  oil.  May  the 
wicked  spirits  find  no  room  there  ;  may  the  powers,  that 
have  been  put  to  flight,  have  no  further  sway  ;  may  there 
be  no  lurking  place  left  to  insidious  evil  ones.  May  thy 
servants  that  come  to  the  faith,  and  are  to  be  cleansed  by 
the  operation  of  thy  Holy  Spirit,  find  in  this  anointing  a 
preparation  for  that  salvation,  which  they  are  to  receive  in 
the  Sacrament  of  Baptism,  by  the  Birth  of  a  heavenly  re- 
generation. Through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son,  who 
is  to  come  to  judge  the  living,  and  the  dead,  and  the  world 
by  fire.     Amen. 


The  Bishop  then  salutes  the  Oil,  on  which  he  has 
conferred  these  wonderful  prerogatives,  saying :  Hail, 
0  holy  Oil  !  The  same  act  of  reverence  is  repeated 
by  each  of  the  Priests.  One  of  the  deacons  takes 
the  Chrism,  an  other  the  Oil  of  Catechumens,  and  a 
procession  is  again  formed  for  taking  them  to  the 
place  prepared  for  them.  They  are  covered  with 
veils  of  silk  ; — the  holy  Chrism,  with  white  :  the  Oil 
of  Catechumens,  with  purple. 

We  will  conclude  our  outline  of  this  imposing 
ceremony,  by  giving  our  readers  the  beautiful 
Hymn,  composed  in  the  6th  century,  by  St.  Yenantius 
Fortunatus,  Bishop  of  Poitiers.  The  Church  has 
adopted  it  for  the  two  processions,  which  we  have 
already  described. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  I    HOLY    OILS. 


365 


HYMN. 


O    Redeemer    of    mankind ! 

receive  the  hymn  of  them 

that  sing  thy  praise. 

Repeat :  0  Redeemer. 

0  Judge  of  the  dead  !  thou 
only  hope  of  men  !  hear  the 
prayers  of  them  that  carry  the 
emblem  of  the  gift  of  peace. 

O  Redeemer. 

A  tree  made  fruitful  by  the 
fostering  sun,  produced  this 
oil  that  is  now  to  be  blessed, 
which  we,  the  adorers  of  his 
holy  name,  bring  to  the  Sa- 
viour of  the  world. 

O  Redeemer. 

The  mitred  Pontiff,  too, 
standing  humbly  before  the 
altar,  is  about  to  pay  his 
debt,  by  consecrating  the 
Chrism. 

O  Redeemer. 

O  King  of  the  everlasting 
kingdom !  deign  to  consecrate 
this  oil,  this  instrument  of 
life,  that  breaks  the  demon's 
power. 

O  Redeemer. 

Men  and  women  are  reno- 
vated by  the  unction  of  the 
Chrism  ;  and  their  glorious 
dignity,  that  had  been  wound- 
ed, is  healed  by  the  same. 

O  Redeemer. 

When  the  soul  is  washed 
in  the  sacred  font,  her  crimes 
are  put  to  flight :   and  holiest 

f  races  come  upon  them,  whose 
row  is   anointed   with  this 
oil. 
O  Redeemer. 

0  thou  the  Son  of  the 
Eternal  Father,  and  Son  of 


0  Redemptor,  sume  carmen 
temet  concinentium. 

Repeat :  O  Redemptor. 

Audi,  judex  mortuorum, 
Una  spes  mortalium, 
Audi  voces  proferentum 
Donum  pacis  praevium. 

0  Redemptor. 

Arbor  foeta  alma  luce 
Hoc  sacrandum  protulit: 
Fert     hoc     prona     praesens 

turba. 
Salvatori  sseculi. 

O  Redemptor. 

Stans  ad  aram  immo  sup- 
plex 
Infulatus  Pontifex, 
Debitum  persolvit  omne, 
Consecrato  Chrismate. 

0  Redemptor. 

Consecrare  tu  dignare, 
Rex  perenuis  patriae, 
Hoc  olivum,  signum  vivum 
Jura  contra  daemonum. 

O  Redemptor. 

Ut  novetur  sexus  omnis 
Unctione  Chrismatis, 
Ut  sanetur  sauciata 
Dignitatis  gloria. 

O  Redemptor. 

Lota  mente  sacro  fonte 
Aufugantur  crimina  : 
Uncta  fronte,  sacrosancta 
Influunt  charismata. 


0  Redemptor. 
Corde  natus  ex  Parentis, 
Alvum  implens  Virginia, 


366 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Praesta  lucem,   claude  mor-  the   Virgin -Mother  !      grant 

tern  light  and  life    to   us  whom 

Chrismatis  consortibus.  thou  hast  made  to  share  in 

thine  own  anointing. 

%  O  Eedemptor.  O  Eedeemer. 

If  Sit  hsec  dies  festa  nobis  May  this  day  be  to  us  an 

Sseculorum  sseculis  :  everlasting  feast.     May  it  be 

Sit  sacrata,  digna  laude,  sacred,      praiseworthy,     nor 

Nee  senescat  tempore.  grow  old  with  time. 

O  Eedemptor.  O  Eedeemer. 


THE  MASS  OF  MAUNDY  THUKSDAY. 

The  Church  intends,  on  this  day,  to  renew,  in  a  most 
solemn  manner,  the  mystery  of  the  Last  Supper : 
for  our  Lord  himself,  on  this  occasion  of  the  institu- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  said  to  his  Apostles  : 
Do  this  for  a  Commemoration  of  me}  Let  us, 
therefore,  resume  the  (xospel  narrative. 

Jesus  is  in  the  Supper  chamber,  where  the  Paschal 
Lamb  is  to  be  eaten.  All  the  Apostles  are  with  him ; 
Judas  is  there,  also,  but  his  crime  is  not  known  to 
the  rest.  Jesus  approaches  the  table,  on  which  the 
Lamb  is  served.  His  Disciples  stand  around  him. 
The  ceremonies  prescribed  by  God  to  Moses  are  re- 
ligiously observed.  At  the  beginning  of  the  repast, 
Jesus  speaks  these  words  to  his  Apostles :  With 
desire  I  have  desired  to  eat  this  Pasch  with  you, 
before  I  suffer?  In  saying  this,  he  does  not  imply 
that  the  Pasch  of  this  year  is  intrinsically  better  than 
those  that  have  preceded  it ;  but,  that  it  is  dearer  to 
him,  inasmuch  as  it  is  to  give  rise  to  the  institution 
of  the  new  Pasch,  which  he  has  prepared  for  man- 
kind, and  which  he  is  now  going  to  give  them  as 
his  last  gift ;    for  as  St.  John  says,  having  loved  his 

1  St.  Luke,  xiii.  19.  ■  Id.  ibid.  xxii.  15. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  !    BEFORE    MASS.  367 

own  who  were  in  the  world,  he  loved  them  unto  the  end.1 
During  the  repast,  Jesus,  who  reads  the  hearts  of 
all  men,  utters  these  words,  which  cause  great  con- 
sternation among  the  Disciples  :  Amen  I  say  to  you, 
that  one  of  you  is  about  to  betray  me  : — he  that 
dippeth  his  hand  with  me  in  the  dish,  he  shall  betray 
me.2  The  sadness,  with  which  he  speaks,  is  enough 
to  soften  any  heart  ;  and  Judas,  who  knows  his 
Master's  goodness,  feels  that  they  imply  a  merciful 
pardon,  if  he  will  but  ask  it.  But  no  :  the  passion 
of  avarice  has  enslaved  his  soul,  and  he,  like  the  rest 
of  the  Apostles,  says  to  Jesus  :  Is  it  I,  Rabbi  ?  Jesus 
answers  him  in  a  whisper,  in  order  not  to  compro- 
mise him  before  his  brethren  :  Thou  hast  said  it  / 
But  Judas  yields  not.  He  intends  to  remain  with 
Jesus,  until  the  hour  comes  for  betraying  him.  Thus, 
the  august  mystery,  which  is  on  the  point  of  being 
celebrated,  is  to  be  insulted  by  his  presence  ! 

The  legal  repast  is  over.  It  is  followed  by  a  feast, 
which  again  brings  the  Disciples  around  their  Divine 
Master.  It  was  the  custom  in  the  East,  that  guests 
should  repose  two  and  two  on  couches  round  the 
table  ;  these  have  been  provided  by  the  disciple, 
who  has  placed  his  house  at  Jesus'  service.  John 
is  on  the  same  couch  as  Jesus,  so  that  it  is  easy  for 
him  to  lean  his  head  upon  his  Master's  breast.  Peter 
is  on  the  next  couch,  on  the  other  side  of  Jesus,  who 
is  thus  between  the  two  Disciples,  whom  he  had  sent, 
in  the  morning,  to  prepare  the  Pasch,  and  who,  as  we 
have  already  observed,  represent  Faith  and  Love. 
This  second  repast  is  a  sorrowful  one,  in  consequence 
of  Jesus  having  told  the  guests,  that  one  of  them  is 
a  traitor.  The  innocent  and  affectionate  John  is 
overwhelmed  with  grief,  and  seeks  consolation  on  the 
Heart  of  his  dear  Lord,  whom  some  one  is  about  to 
deliver  to  his  enemies. 

1  St.  John,  xiii.  1.  *  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  21,  23. 


368  HOLY    WEEK. 

But  the  Apostles  little  expect  a  third  Supper, 
Jesus  has  not  told  them  of  his  intention  ;  but  he  had 
made  a  promise,  and  he  would  fulfil  it  before  his 
Passion.  Speaking,  one  day,  to  the  people,  he  had 
said  :  /  am  the  Living  Bread  which  came  down  from 
heaven  :  if  any  man  eat  of  this  Bread,  he  shall  live 
for  ever,  and  the  Bread  that  I  will  give,  is  my  Flesh 
for  the  life  of  the  world.  *  *  *  My  Flesh  is  meat 
indeed,  and  my  Blood  is  drink  indeed.  He  that 
eateth  my  Flesh  and  drinketh  my  Blood,  abideth  in 
me,  and  I  in  him.1  The  time  has  come  for  the  ful- 
filment of  this  his  loving  promise.  But  as  it  was 
both  his  Flesh  and  his  Blood  that  he  promised  us, 
he  waited  till  the  time  of  his  sacrifice.  His  Passion 
has  begun  ;  he  is  sold  to  his  enemies  ;  his  life  is 
already  in  their  hands  ; — he  may  at  once,  therefore, 
offer  himself  in  sacrifice,  and  give  to  his  Disciples 
the  very  Flesh  and  Blood  of  the  Victim. 

As  soon  as  the  second  repast  was  over,  Jesus  sud- 
denly rises,  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  his  Apostles, 
takes  off  his  upper  garment,  girds  himself,  as  a  ser- 
vant, with  a  towel,  pours  water  into  a  basin,  and  pre- 
pares to  wash  the  feet  of  the  guests.  It  was  the 
custom,  in  the  East,  to  wash  one's  feet,  before  taking 
part  in  a  feast ;  it  was  considered  as  the  very  extreme 
of  hospitality,  when  the  master  of  the  house  himself 
did  this  service  to  his  guest.  Jesus  is  about  to  regale 
his  Apostles  with  a  Divine  Banquet  ;  he  wishes  to 
treat  them  with  every  possible  mark  of  welcome  and 
attention.  But  in  this,  as  in  every  other  action  of 
his,  there  is  a  fund  of  instruction  :  he  would  teach 
us,  by  what  he  is  now  doing,  how  great  is  the  purity, 
wherewith  we  should  approach  the  Holy  Table.  He 
that  is  washed,  says  he,  needeth  not  but  to  wash  his 
feet ; 2  as  though  he  would  say  :  "  The  holiness  of 
"  this  Table  is  such,  that  they  who  come  to  it,  should 

1  St.  John,  vi.  51,  52,  54,  56,  57.  a  Idem,  xiii.  10. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  !    BEFORE    MASS.  869 

"  not  only  be  free  from  grievous  sins,  but  they  should, 
"  moreover,  strive  to  cleanse  their  souls  from  those 
"lesser  faults,  which  come  from  contact  with  the 
"  world,  and  are  like  the  dust  that  covers  the  feet  of 
"  one  that  walks  on  the  high- way."  We  will  explain 
further  on,  the  other  teachings  conveyed  by  this 
action  of  our  Lord. 

It  is  with  Peter,  the  future  head  of  his  Church, 
that  Jesus  begins.  The  Apostle  protests  ;  he  declares 
that  he  will  never  permit  his  Master  to  humble  him- 
self so  low  as  this  :  but  he  is  obliged  to  yield.  The 
other  Apostles,  (who,  as  Peter  himself,  are  reclining 
upon  their  couches,)  receive  the  same  mark  of  love : 
Jesus  comes  to  each  of  them  in  turn,  and  washes 
their  feet.  Judas  is  not  excepted  :  he  has  just  re- 
ceived a  second  warning  from  his  merciful  Master ; 
for  Jesus,  addressing  himself  to  all  the  Apostles,  said 
to  them  :  You  are  clean  ;  but  not  all  :l  but  the  re- 
proach produced  no  effect  upon  this  hardened  heart. 
Having  finished  washing  the  feet  of  the  Twelve, 
Jesus  resumes  his  place,  side  by  side  with  John. 

Then  taking  a  piece  of  the  unleavened  bread,  that 
had  remained  over  from  the  feast,  he  raises  his  eyes 
to  heaven,  blesses  the  bread,  breaks  it,  and  distributes 
it  to  his  Disciples,  saying  to  them  :  Take  ye,  and 
eat ;  this  is  my  Body.2  The  Apostles  take  the  bread, 
which  is  now  changed  into  the  Body  of  their  Divine 
Master :  they  eat ; — and  Jesus  is,  now,  not  only  with 
them,  but  in  them.  But,  as  this  sacred  mystery  is 
not  only  the  most  holy  of  the  Sacraments,  but,  more- 
over, a  true  Sacrifice ;  and  as  a  Sacrifice  requires  the 
shedding  of  blood ;— our  Jesus  takes  the  cup,  and 
changing  the  wine  into  his  own  Blood,  he  passes  it 
round  to  his  Disciples,  saying  to  them  :  Drink  ye, 
all,  of  this ;  for  this  is  my  Blood  of  the  new  testa- 
ment, which  shall  be  shed  for  many,  unto   remission 

1  St.  John,  xiii.  10.  -  St.  Mattk.  zxvi.  26. 


370  HOLY    WEEK. 

of  sins.1  The  Apostles  drink  from  the  sacred  chalice 
thus  proffered  them  ;  when  it  comes  to  Judas,  he 
too,  partakes  of  it,  but  he  drinks  his  own  damnation, 
as  he  ate  his  own  judgment,  when  he  received  the 
Bread  of  Life.2  Jesus,  however,  mercifully  offers  the 
traitor  another  grace,  by  saying,  as  he  gives  the  Cup 
to  his  Disciples :  The  hand  of  him  that  betrayeth  me 
is  with  me  on  the  table? 

Peter  is  struck  by  Jesus  thus  frequently  alluding 
to  the  crime,  which  is  to  be  committed  by  one  of  the 
Twelve.  He  is  determined  to  find  out  who  the 
traitor  is.  Not  daring  himself  to  ask  Jesus,  at  whose 
right  hand  he  is  sitting,  he  makes  a  sign  to  John, 
who  is  on  the  other  side,  and  begs  him  to  put  the 
question.  John  leans  on  Jesus'  breast,  and  says  to 
him  in  a  whisper  :  Lord,  who  is  it  ?  Jesus  answers 
him  in  an  equally  suppressed  tone  :  He  to  whom  I 
shall  reach  bread  dipped.  And  having  taken  one 
of  the  pieces  of  bread  that  remained  over  from  the 
repast,  he  dipped  it,  and  gave  it  to  Judas.  It  was 
one  more  grace  offered  and  refused,  for  the  Evangelist 
adds :  And  after  the  morsel,  Satan  entered  into 
him*  Jesus  again  addresses  him,  saying  :  That 
which  thou  dost,  do  quickly.5  The  wretch  then 
leaves  the  room,  and  sets  about  the  perpetration  of 
his  crime. 

Such  is  the  history  of  the  Last  Supper,  of  which 
we  celebrate  the  anniversary  on  this  day.  But 
there  is  one  circumstance  of  the  deepest  interest 
to  us,  and  to  which  we  have,  so  far,  only  made 
an  indirect  allusion.  The  institution  of  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  both  as  a  Sacrament  and  Sacrifice,  is 
followed  by  another, — the  institution  of  a  new 
Priesthood.  How  could  our  Saviour  have  said : 
Except  you  eat  the  Flesh  of  the  Son    of  Man,  and 

1  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  27,  28.  a  1  Cor.  xi.  29. 

3  St.  Luke,  xxiL  21.     4  St.  John,  xiii.  27.     5  Id.  ibid. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  '.    BEFORE    MASS.  371 

drink  his  Blood,  you  shall  not  have  life  in  you? — 
unless  he  had  resolved  to  establish  a  ministry  upon 
earth,  whereby  he  would  renew,  even  to  the  end  of 
time,  the  great  Mystery  he  thus  commands  us  to 
receive  ?  He  begins  it  to-day,  in  the  Cenacle.  The 
twelve  Apostles  are  the  first  to  partake  of  it :  but 
observe  what  he  says  to  them  :  Do  this  for  a  com- 
memoration of  me?  By  these  words,  he  gives  them 
power  to  change  bread  into  his  Body,  and  wine  into 
his  Blood ;  and  this  sublime  power  shall  be  per- 
petuated in  the  Church,  by  holy  Ordination,  even  to 
the  end  of  the  world.  Jesus  will  continue  to  ope- 
rate, by  the  ministry  of  mortal  and  sinful  men,  the 
Mystery  of  the  Last  Supper.  By  thus  enriching 
his  Church  with  the  one  and  perpetual  Sacrifice, 
he  also  gives  us  the  means  of  abiding  in  him,  for 
he  gives  us,  as  he  promised,  the  Bread  of  heaven. 
To-day,  then,  we  keep  the  anniversary,  not  only  of 
the  Institution  of  the  Holy  Eucharist,  but,  also,  of 
the  equally  wonderful  Institution  of  the  Christian 
Priesthood. 

To  offer  the  Faithful  an  outward  expression  of  the 
greatness  and  the  unity  of  this  Supper,  which  our 
Saviour  gave  to  his  Disciples,  and,  through  them, 
to  us, — the  Church  forbids  her  Priests  to  say  private 
Masses  on  this  day,  except  in  cases  of  necessity. 
She  would  have  but  one  Sacrifice  to  be  offered  in 
each  church,  at  which  the  other  Priests  are  to 
assist,  and  receive  Holy  Communion  from  the  hands 
of  the  Celebrant.  When  approaching  the  Altar, 
they  put  on  the  Stole,  the  emblem  of  their  Priest- 
hood. 

The  Mass  of  Maundy  Thursday  is  one  of  the  most 
solemn  of  the  Year  ;  and  although  the  Feast  of 
Corpus  Christi  is  the  day  for  the  solemn  honouring 
the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Eucharist, — still,  the  Church 

1  St.  John,  vi.  54.  St.  Luke,  xxii.  19. 


372  HOLY    WEEK. 

would  have  the  anniversary  of  the  Last  Supper  to 
be  celebrated  with  all  possible  splendour.  The 
colour  of  the  vestments  is  white,  as  it  is  for  Christ- 
mas Day  and  Easter  Sunday ;  the  decorations  of  the 
Altar  and  Sanctuary  all  bespeak  joy  :  and  yet,  there 
are  several  ceremonies  during  this  Mass,  which  show 
that  the  holy  Bride  of  Christ  has  not  forgotten  the 
Passion  of  her  Jesus,  and  that  this  joy  is  but  tran- 
sient. The  Priest  entones  the  Angelic  Hymn, 
Glory  be  to  God  in  the  highest  !  and  the  Bells  ring 
forth  a  joyous  peal,  which  continues  during  the 
whole  singing  of  the  heavenly  Canticle  :  but,  from 
that  moment,  they  remain  silent,  and  their  long 
silence  produces,  in  every  heart,  a  sentiment  of  holy 
mournf ulness.  But  why  does  the  Church  deprive 
us,  for  so  many  hours  of  the  grand  melody  of  these 
sweet  bells,  whose  voices  cheer  us  during  the  rest 
of  the  year  ?  It  is  to  show  us,  that  this  world  lost 
all  its  melody  and  joy  when  its  Saviour  suffered  and 
was  crucified.  Moreover,  she  would  hereby  remind 
us,  how  the  Apostles,  (who  were  the  heralds  of 
Christ,  and  are  figured  by  the  Bells,  whose  ringing 
summons  the  Faithful  to  the  House  of  Grod,)  fled 
from  their  Divine  Master  and  left  him  a  prey  to  his 
enemies. 

The  Holy  Sacrifice  continues  as  usual  ;  but  at 
the  solemn  moment  of  the  Elevation  of  the  Holy 
Host  and  the  Chalice  of  Salvation,  the  Bell  is  silent, 
and,  outside  the  Church,  there  is  not  given  to  the 
neighbourhood  the  usual  signal  of  the  descent  of 
Jesus  upon  the  Altar.  When  the  time  of  the  holy 
Communion  is  near,  the  Priest  does  not  give  the 
Kiss  of  Peace  to  the  Deacon,  who  according  to  the 
Apostolic  tradition,  should  transmit  it,  by  the  Sub- 
deacon,  to  those  who  are  about  to  communicate. 
Our  thoughts  turn  to  the  traitor  Judas,  who,  on 
this  very  day,  profaned  the  sign  of  friendship  by 
making  it  an  instrument  of  death.      It  is  out  of 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :    BEFORE    MASS.  373 

detestation  for  this  crime,  that  the  Church  omits, 
to-day,  the  sign  of  fraternal  charity, — it  would  too 
painfully  remind  us  of  sacrilegious  hypocrisy. 

Another  rite,  peculiar  to  to-day,  is  the  Priest's  con- 
secrating two  Hosts  during  the  Mass.  One  of  these 
he  receives  in  Communion  ;  the  other  he  reserves, 
and  reverently  places  it  in  a  Chalice,  which  he 
covers  with  a  veil.  The  reason  of  this  is,  that,  to- 
morrow, the  Church  suspends  the  daily  Sacrifice. 
Such  is  the  impression  produced  by  the  anniversary 
of  our  Saviour's  Death,  that  the  Church  dares  not 
to  renew,  upon  her  Altars,  the  immolation  which 
was  then  offered  on  Calvary  : — or  rather,  her  re- 
newal of  it  will  be  by  the  fixing  all  her  thoughts  on 
the  terrible  scene  of  that  Friday  Noon.  The  Host 
reserved  from  to-day's  Mass,  will  be  her  morrow's 
participation.  This  rite  is  called  the  Mass  of  the 
Presanctifled,  because,  in  it,  the  Priest  does  not 
consecrate,  but  only  receives  the  Host  consecrated  on 
the  previous  day.  Formerly,  as  we  shall  explain 
more  fully  further  on,  the  holy  Sacrifice  was  not 
offered  up  on  Holy  Saturday,  and  yet  the  Mass  of  the 
Presanctified  was  not  celebrated  as  it  was  on  the 
Friday. 

But,  although  the  Church  suspends,  for  a  few  short 
hours,  the  oblation  of  the  perpetual  Sacrifice, — she 
would  not  that  her  Divine  Spouse  should  lose  aught 
of  the  homage,  that  is  due  to  him  in  the  Sacrament 
of  his  Love.  Catholic  piety  has  found  a  means  of 
changing  these  trying  hours  into  a  tribute  of  devo- 
tion to  the  Holy  Eucharist.  In  every  Church  is  pre- 
pared a  richly  ornamented  side- chapel  or  pavilion, 
where,  after  to-day's  Mass,  the  Church  places  the 
Body  of  her  Divine  Lord.  Though  veiled  from  their 
view,  the  Faithful  will  visit  him  in  this  his  holy 
resting-place,  pay  him  their  most  humble  adorations, 
and  present  him  their  most  fervent  supplications. 
Wheresoever  the  Body  shall  be,  there  shall  the  eagles 


374  HOLY    WEEK. 

be  gathered  together.1  In  every  part  of  the  Catholic 
world,  a  concert  of  prayer,  more  loving  and  earnest 
than  at  any  other  period  of  the  Year,  will  be  offered 
to  our  Jesus,  in  reparation  for  the  outrages  he  under- 
went, during  these  very  hours,  from  the  Jews. 
Around  this  anticipated  Tomb  will  be  united  both 
his  long-tried  and  fervent  servants,  and  those  who 
are  newly  converted,  or  are  preparing  for  their  recon- 
ciliation. 

At  Rome,  the  Station  is  in  the  Lateran  Basilica. 
The  metropolitan  Church  both  of  the  Holy  City  and 
the  World  was  deservedly  chosen  for  this  great  Day 
of  the  Reconciliation  of  Sinners  and  the  Consecration 
of  the  Chrism.  The  Papal  function,  however,  now 
takes  place  at  the  Vatican  ;  and,  as  we  have  already 
stated,  the  Apostolic  Benediction  is  given  by  the 
Sovereign  Pontiif  from  the  loggia  of  Saint  Peter's. 


MASS. 


In  the  Introit,  the  Church  makes  use  of  the  words 
of  St.  Paul,  in  praise  of  the  Cross  of  Christ.  She  is 
filled  with  gratitude  for  this  her  Redeemer,  who  has 
made  himself  our  Salvation,  by  dying  for  us  ;  our 
Life,  by  the  Bread  of  Heaven  he  has  given  us  ;  and 
our  Resurrection,  by  his  having  risen  from  the  grave. 

INTROIT. 

Nos  autem   gloriari  opor-  We  ought  to  glory  in  the 

tet  in   Grace   Domini  nostri  Cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ: 

Jesu  Christi,  in  quo  est  sa-  in  whom  is  our  salvation,  life, 

lus,  vita,  et  resurrectio  nos-  and  resurrection:  by  whom  we 

tra  :  per  quern  salvati,  et  have  been  saved  and  delivered, 
liberati  sumus. 

Ps.     Deus  misereatur  nos-  Ps.     May  God  have  mercy 

tri,  et  benedicat  nobis,   illu-  on  us,  and  bless  us  :  may  his 

1  St.  Matth.  xxiv.  28. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :    MA86. 


375 


countenance  shine  upon  us, 
and  may  he  have  mercy  on  us. 
We  ought. 


minet  vultum    suum    super 
nos,  et  misereatur  nostri. 
Nos  autem. 


In  the  Collect,  the  Church  reminds  us  of  Judas 
and  the  Good  Thief  :  both  are  guilty :  and  yet,  the 
one  is  condemned,  the  other  is  pardoned.  She 
prays  for  us  to  God,  that  the  Passion  of  his  Son, 
(during  which  were  thus  shown  the  Divine  Justice 
and  Mercy,)  may  procure  us  the  forgiveness  of  our 
sins,  and  the  fulness  of  grace. 


COLLECT. 


0  God,  from  whom  both 
Judas  received  the  punish- 
ment of  his  sin,  and  the  Thief 
the  reward  of  his  confession  : 
grant  us  the  effects  of  thy 
mercy ;  that  as  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  at  the  time  of  his  Pas- 
sion, bestowed  on  both  diffe- 
rent rewards  according  to 
their  merits  ;  so,  having  de- 
stroyed the  old  man  in  us,  he 
may  give  us  grace  to  rise  again 
with  him.     Who  liveth,  &c. 


Deus,  a  quo  et  Judas  rea- 
tns  sui  pcenam,  et  confes- 
sionis  suae  latro  prseinium 
sumpsit :  concede  nobis 
tuae  propitiationis  effectum  : 
ut  sicut  in  passione  sua  Je- 
sus Christus  Dominus  nos- 
ter  diversa  utrisque  intulit 
stipendia  meritorum,  ita  no- 
bis, ablato  vetustatis  errore, 
resurrectionis  suae  gratiam 
largiatur.     Qui  tecum. 


EPISTLE. 


Lesson  of  the  Epistle  of  Saint    Lectio  Epistolae  beati   Pauli 
Paul  the  Apostle    to  the        Apostoli  ad  Corinthios. 
Corinthians. 


I.  Ch.  XI. 

Brethren  :  When  you  come 
therefore,  together  into  one 
place,  it  is  not  now  to  eat  the 
Lord's  supper.  For  every  one 
taketh  before  his  own  supper 
to  eat.  And  one  indeed  is 
hungry,  and  another  is  drunk. 
What,  have  you  not  houses  to 
eat  and  drink  in  ?     Or  despise 


/.  Cap.  XI. 

Fratres :  Convenientibus 
vobis  in  unum,  jam  non  est 
dominicam  ccenam  man- 
ducare.  Unusquisque  enim 
suam  ccenam  praesumit  ad 
manducandum.  Et  alius 
quidem  esurit :  alius  autem 
ebrius  est.  Numquid  domos 
non  habetis   ad   lnaaducan- 

2b 


376 


HOLY    WEEK. 


dam  et  bibendum  ?  Aut 
Ecclesiam  Dei  contemnitis, 
et  confunditis  cos,  qui  non 
habent  ?  Quid  dicam  vobis  ? 
Laudo  vos  ?  In  hoc  non 
laudo.  Ego  enim  accepi  a 
Domino,  qnod  et  tradidi 
vobis  :  quoniam  Dominus 
Jesus  in  qua  nocte  trade - 
batur,  accepit  panem,  et 
gratias  agens  fregit,  et  dixit : 
Accipite  et  manducate  :  hoc 
est  Corpus  meuni,  quod  pro 
vobis  tradetur  ;  hoc  facite  in 
meam  commemorationem. 
Similiter  et  calicem  post- 
quam  ccenavit,  diceus  :  Hie 
calix  novum  testamentum 
est  in  meo  Sanguine.  Hoc 
facite  quotiescumque  bibe- 
tis,  in  meam  commemoratio- 
nem. Quotiescumque  enim 
mauducabitis  panem  hunc, 
et  calicem  bibetis,  mortem 
Domini  annuntiabitis  donee 
veniat.  Itaque  quicumque 
manducaverit  panem  hunc, 
vel  biberit  calicem  Domini 
indigne,  reus  erit  Corporis 
et  Sanguinis  Domini.  Pro- 
bet  autem  seipsum  homo,  et 
sic  de  pane  illo  edat,  et  de 
calice  bibat.  Qui  enim 
manducat  et  bibit  indigne, 
judicium  sibi  manducat  et 
bibit,  non  dijudicans  Cor- 
pus Domini.  Ideo  inter  vos 
multi  infirmi  et  imbecilles, 
et  dormiunt  multi.  Quod 
si  nosmetipsos  dijudicare- 
mus,  non  utique  judicare- 
mur.  Dam  judicamnr  au- 
tem, a  Domino  corripimur, 
ut  non  cum  hoc  mundo 
damnemur. 


ye  the  Church  of  God,  and  put 
them  to  shame  that  have  not  ? 
What  shall  I  say  to  you  ?  Do 
I  praise  you  ?  In  this  I  praise 
you  not.  For  I  have  received 
of  the  Lord  that  •which  also  I 
delivered  to  you,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus,  the  same  night  in  which 
he  was  betrayed,  took  bread, 
and  giving  thanks,  broke,  and 
said :  Take  ye  and  eat :  this  is 
my  Body  which  shall  be  deli- 
vered for  you  :  this  do  for  the 
commemoration  of  me.  In  like 
manner  also  the  chalice,  after 
he  had  supped,  saying:  This 
Chalice  is  the  New  Testament 
in  my  Blood  :  this  do  ye,  as 
often  as  ye  shall  drink  it,  for 
the  commemoration  of  me. 
For  as  often  as  you  shall  eat 
this  bread,  or  drink  the  cha- 
lice, you  shall  show  the  death 
of  the  Lord,  until  he  come. 
Therefore  whosoever  shall  eat 
this  bread  or  drink  the  chalice 
of  the  Lord  unworthily,  shall 
be  guilty  of  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  the  Lord.  But  let  a 
man  prove  himself,  and  so  let 
him  eat  of  that  bread,  and 
drink  of  the  chalice.  For  he 
that  eateth  and  drinketh  un- 
worthily, eateth  and  drinketh 
judgment  to  himself,  not  dis- 
cerning the  Body  of  the  Loid. 
Therefore  are  there  many  in- 
firm and  weak  among  you, 
and  many  sleep.  But  if  we 
would  judge  ourselves,  we 
should  not  be  judged.  But 
whilst  we  are  judged,  we  are 
chastised  by  the  Lord,  that  we 
be  not  condemned  with  this 
world. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :    MASS.  377 

After  having  rebuked  the  Christians  of  Corinth 
for  the  abuses  into  which  they  had  fallen  at  the 
Feasts,  (called  Agape,)  which  had  been  introduced 
by  a  spirit  of  fraternal  charity,  but  were  soon 
abolished, — the  holy  Apostle  relates  the  history  of 
the  Last  Supper.  His  account,  which  corresponds 
throughout  with  that  given  by  the  Evangelists,  rests 
upon  the  testimony  of  our  Blessed  Saviour  himself,  who 
deigned  to  appear  to  him,  and  instruct  him,  in  person, 
after  his  conversion.  The  Apostle  does  not  omit  to 
give  the  words,  whereby  our  Lord  empowered  his 
Apostles  to  renew  what  he  himself  had  done  :  he 
tells  us,  that  as  often  as  the  priest  consecrates  the 
Body  and  Blood  of  Christ,  he  shows  the  death  of  the 
Lord,  thus  expressing  the  oneness  there  is  between 
the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross  and  that  of  the  Altar.  We 
have  explained  this  important  doctrine  in  the  6th 
Chapter  of  the  introduction  to  this  present  Volume. 
The  consequence  to  be  drawn  from  this  teaching  is 
evident ;  it  is  contained  in  these  words  of  the  Apostle  : 
Let  a  man  prove  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that 
bread  and  drink  of  the  chalice.  What  could  be 
more  just,  than  that  having  to  be  initiated  in  so  inti- 
mate a  manner,  to  the  Mystery  of  the  Redemption, 
and  contract  so  close  a  union  with  the  Divine 
Victim, — we  should  banish  from  our  hearts  sin  and 
affection  to  sin  ?  He  that  eateth  my  Flesh  and 
drinketh  my  Blood,  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him, 
says  our  Lord.1  Could  there  be  a  closer  union? 
God  and  man  abiding  in  each  other !  Oh !  how 
carefully  ought  we  not  to  purify  our  soul,  and  render 
our  will  conformable  with  the  will  of  Jesus,  before 
approaching  this  Divine  Banquet,  to  which  he  invites 
us  !  Let  us  beseech  him  to  prepare  us  himself,  as 
he  did  his  Apostles,  by  washing  their  feet.  He  will 
grant  us  our  request,  not  only  to-day,  but  as  often 

St.  John,  vi.  67. 


378 


HOLY    WEEK. 


as  we  go  to  Holy  Communion,  provided  we  are  docile 
to  his  grace. 

The  Grradual  is  made  ut>  of  those  admirable  words, 
which  the  Church  so  often  repeats  during  these  three 
days,  and  by  which  St.  Paul  warms  us  to  gratitude 
towards  the  Son  of  Grod,  who  delivered  himself  up 
for  us. 


GRADUAL. 


Christus  factus  est  pro 
nobis  obediens  usque  ad 
mortem,  mortem  autem 
crucis. 

#.  Propter  quod  et  Deus 
exaltavit  ilium,  et  dedit  illi 
nomen,  quod  est  super  om- 
ne  nomen. 


Christ  became,  foroursakes, 
obedient  unto  death,  even  to 
the  death  of  the  Cross. 

y .  For  which  cause,  God 
also  hath  exalted  him,  and 
hath  given  him  a  name,  which 
is  above  all  names. 


GOSPEL. 


Sequentia    sancti    Evangelii 
secundum  Joannem. 
Cap.  XIII. 

Ante  diem  festum  Pas- 
chse,  sciens  Jesus,  quia  ve- 
nit  hora  ejus,  ut  transeat  ex 
hoc  mundo  ad  Patrem : 
cum  dilexisset  suos,  qui 
erant  in  mundo,  in  finem 
dilexit  eos.  Et  ccena  facta, 
cum  diabolus  jam  misisset 
in  cor,  ut  traderet  eum  Ju- 
das Simonis  Iscariotse : 
sciens  quia  omnia  dedit  ei 
Pater  in  manus,  et  quia  a 
Deo  exivit  et  ad  Deuin  va- 
dit,  surgit  a  ccena,  et  ponit 
vestimenta  sua.  Et  cam  ac- 
cepisset  linteum,  preecinxit 
se.  Deinde  misit  aquam  in 
pelvim,  et  coepit  lavare  pe- 
des  discipulornm,    et  exter- 


Sequel    of    the  holy   Gospel 
according  to  John. 

Gh.  XIII. 

Before  the  festival  day  of 
thePasch,  Jesusknowing  that 
his  hour  was  come  that  he 
should  pass  out  of  this  world, 
to  the  Father  :  having  loved 
his  own  who  were  in  the  world 
he  loved  them  unto  the  end. 
And  when  supper  was  done, 
(the  devil  having  now  put 
it  into  the  heart  of  Judas 
Iscariot,  the  son  of  Simon,  to 
betray  him,)  knowing  that 
the  Father  had  given  him  all 
things  into  his  hands,  and  that 
he  came  from  God,  and  goeth 
to  God :  he  riseth  from  supper, 
and  layeth  aside  his  garments, 
and  having  taken  a  towel, gird- 
ed himself.     After   that,   he 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY   I    MASS. 


379 


putteth   water   into  a  basin, 
and  began  to  wash  the  feet  of 
the   disciples,     and    to   wipe 
them  with  the  towel  where- 
with   he    was    girded.      He 
cometh   therefore     to   Simon 
Peter.      And  Peter   saith   to 
him  :    Lord,  dost  thou  wash 
my  feet  ?  Jesus  answered,  and 
said  to  him  :  What  I  do,  thou 
knowest  not  now,   but  thou 
shalt  know  hereafter.     Peter 
saith   to   him :     Thou     shalt 
never  wash  my  feet.     Jesus 
answered  him :  If  I  wash  thee 
not,  thou  shalt  have  no  part 
with  me.     Simon  Peter  saith 
to  him  :    Lord  not  only   my 
feet,  but  also  my  hands  and 
my  head.    Jesus  saith  to  him  : 
He  that  is  washed,   needeth 
not  but  to  vvash  his  feet,  but 
is  clean  wholly.     And  you  are 
clean,   but  not  all.      For  he 
knew  who  he  was  that  would 
betray  him :  therefore  he  said : 
You  are  not  all  clean.     Then 
after  he  had  washed  their  feet, 
and  taken  his  garments,  being 
sat  down  again,    he  said   to 
them  :  Know  you  what  I  have 
done  to  you  ?     You  call  me 
Master  and  Lord  :    and  you 
say  well,  for  so  I  am.     If  then 
I,  being  your  Lord  and  Master, 
have  washed  your  feet ;  you 
also  ought  to  wash  one  an- 
other's feet.    For  I  have  given 
you  an  example,  that  as  I  have 
done  to  you,  so  do  you  also. 

Our  Saviour's  washing  the  feet  of  his  Disciples 
before  permitting  them  to  partake  of  his  Divine 
Mystery,  conveys  an  instruction  to  us.  The  Apostle 
has  just  been  telling  us,  that  we  should  prove  our- 
volves  :  and  here,  we  have  Jesus  saying  to  his  Dis- 


gere   linteo,    quo   erat  prse- 
cinctus.      Venit  ergo  ad  Si- 
monem    Petrum,    et   dicit   ei 
Petrus :      Domine,     tu    mihi 
lavas  pedes  ?    Eespondit  Je- 
sus, et   dixit   ei :    Quod  ego 
facio,  tu  nescis  modo  :    scies 
autein   postea.     Dicit  ei  Pe- 
trus :    Non  lavabis  mihi  pe- 
des in  eeternuro.     Eespondit 
ei  Jesus  :    Si  non  lavero  te, 
non     habebis     partem     me- 
cum.     Dicit  ei  Simon  Petrus  : 
Domine,    non   tantum   pedes 
meos,   sed   et   manus   et  ca- 
put.     Dicit    ei    Jesus :    Qui 
lotus  est,  non   indiget  nisi  ut 
pedes   lavet,    sed    est    mun- 
dus    totus.      Et    vos   mundi 
estis,  sed  non  omnes.     Scie- 
bat  enim  quisnam  esset  qui 
traderet     eum ;        propterea 
dixit :    Non  estis  mundi  om- 
nes.     Postquam    ergo    lavit 
pedes  eorum,   accepit    vesti- 
menta   sua :     et    cam   recu- 
buisset     iterum,     dixit    eis : 
Scitis    quid    fecerim    vobis  ? 
Vos  vocatis   me  Magister  et 
Domine  :      et    bene    dicitis  : 
sum    etenim.      Si    ergo   ego 
lavi  pedes  vestros,   Dominus 
et   Magister,   et    vos   debetis 
alter   alterius    lavare   pedes. 
Exemplum  enim  dedi  vobis, 
ut   quemadmodum    ego   feci 
vobis,  ita  et  vos  faciatis. 


380  HOLY    WEEK. 

ciples  :  You  are  clean.  It  is  true,  he  adds  :  but  not 
all  :  just  as  the  Apostle  assures  us,  that  there  are 
some  who  render  themselves  guilty  of  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  the  Lord.  God  forbid  we  should  ever  be  of 
the  number  !  Let  us  prove  ourselves  ;  let  us  sound 
the  depths  of  our  conscience,  before  approaching  the 
Holy  Table.  Mortal  sin,  and  the  affection  to  mortal 
sin,  would  change  the  Bread  of  Life  into  a  deadly 
poison  for  our  souls.  But,  if  respect  of  the  holiness 
of  God,  who  is  about  to  enter  within  us  by  Holy 
Communion,  should  mnke  us  shudder  at  the  thought 
of  our  receiving  him  in  the  state  of  mortal  sin,  which 
robs  the  soul  of  the  image  of  God  and  gives  her  that 
of  Satan, — ought  not  that  same  respect  urge  us  to 
purify  our  souls  from  venial  sins,  which  dim  the 
beauty  of  grace  ?  He,  says  our  Saviour,  that  is  washed, 
needeth  not  but  to  wash  his  feet.  The  feet  are  those 
earthly  attachments,  which  so  often  lead  us  to  the 
brink  of  sin.  Let  us  watch  over  our  senses,  and  the 
affections  of  our  hearts.  Let  us  wash  away  these 
stains  by  a  sincere  confession,  by  penance,  by  sorrow, 
and  by  humility ;  that  thus  we  may  worthily  receive 
the  Adorable  Sacrament,  and  derive  from  it  the 
fulness  of  its  power  and  grace. 

In  the  Offertory- Antiphon,  the  soul, — confiding 
in  the  promise  made  to  her  by  Christ,  that  he  will 
feed  her  with  the  Bread  of  Life, — gives  way  to  a  trans- 
port of  joy.  She  praises  her  God  for  this  Divine 
nourishment,  which  keeps  death  from  them  that  eat. 

OFFERTORY. 

Dextera  Domini  fecit  The  right  hand  of  the  Lord 
virtutem,  dextera  Domini  hath  displayed  its  might :  the 
exaltavit  me  :  non  moriar,  right  hand  of  the  Lord  hath 
sed  vivam,  et  narrabo  opera  raised  me  up ;  I  shall  not  die, 
Domini.  but    live,    and    publish  the 

works  of  the  Lord. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  I    MASS.  381 

In  the  Secret,  the  Church  reminds  our  Heavenly 
Father,  that  it  was  on  this  very  day,  that  was 
instituted  the  august  Sacrifice  which  she  is  now 
celebrating. 

SECRET. 

We  beseech  thee,  O  Holy  Ipse  tibi,  quaesumus,  Do- 
Lord,  Almighty  Father,  mine  sancte,  Pater  omnipo- 
Eternal  God,  that  our  Lord  tens,  seterne  Deus,  sacri- 
Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son,  may  ficium  nostrum  reddat  ac- 
make  our  sacrifice  acceptable  ceptum,  qui  Discipulis  suis 
to  thee,  who  on  this  day  com-  in  sui  commemorationem 
manded  his  disciples  to  cele-  hoc  fieri  hodierna  tradi- 
brate  it  in  memory  of  him.  tione  monstravit,  Jesus 
Who  liveth,  &c.  Christus    Filius    tuus    Do- 

minus  noster  :    Qui  tecum. 


After  the  Priest  has  received  under  both  kinds,  he 
puts  into  a  Chalice  the  Host  reserved  for  to-morrow  : 
he  then  gives  Communion  to  the  Clergy,  and,  after- 
wards, to  the  Laity.  As  soon  as  the  Communion  is 
finished,  the  Choir  sings  the  following  Antiphon, 
which  tells  us  how  Jesus  prepared  his  Disciples  for 
the  great  Mystery  by  humbly  washing  their  feet. 

communion. 

The  Lord  Jesus,   after  he  Dominus  Jesus   postquam 

had  supped  with  his  disciples,  ccenavit       cum       Discipulis 

washed  their  feet,  and  said  to  suis,      lavit     pedes     eorum, 

them :     Do  you   understand  et     ait     illis :       Scitis     quid 

what  I  have  done  to  you,  I  fecerim  vobis,  ego  Dominus 

your  Lord   and   Master  ?     I  et     Magister  ?       Exemplum 

have  set  you  an  example,  that  dedi    vobis,    ut    et    vos    ita 

you  may  do  the  same.  faciatis. 

Our  holy  Mother  prays  for  us  in  the  Postcommu- 
nion,  that  we  may  preserve  in  ourselves,  for  all 
eternity,  the  Divine  Gift  just  bestowed  upon  us. 


382 


HOLY    WEEK. 


P0STC0MMTJNI0N. 


Refecti  vitalibus  alimen- 
tis,  quaesumus,  Domine  Deus 
noster :  ut  quod  tempore 
nostrse  mortalitatis  exsequi- 
mur,  immortalitatis  tuae 
munere  consequamur.  Per 
Dominum. 


We  beseech  thee,  O  Lord, 
our  God,  that  being  nourished 
with  this  life-giving  food,  we 
may  receive  by  thy  grace,  in 
immortal  glory,  what  we  cele- 
brate in  this  mortal  life. 
Through,  &c. 


As  soon  as  the  Mass  is  over,  a  Procession  is  formed 
to  the  place  prepared  for  the  sacred  Host,  which  is 
to  be  reserved  for  the  morrow.  The  Celebrant  carries 
it  beneath  a  canopy,  as  on  the  Feast  of  Corpus 
Christi  ;  it  is  not  however  exposed,  as  on  that  day  of 
its  Triumph,  but  concealed  in  a  chalice  closely  veiled. 
Let  us  adore  this  Divine  Sun  of  Justice,  whose  rising 
at  Bethlehem  brought  gladness  to  our  hearts  :  he  is 
now  near  his  setting  :  a  few  hours  more,  and  his 
Light  will  be  eclipsed.  Our  earth  will  then  be  buried 
in  gloom,  until,  on  the  third  day,  he  will  rise  again 
with  renewed  splendour. 

During  the  Procession,  the  Choir  sings  the  well- 
known  Hymn  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 


HYMN. 


Pange,  lingua,  gloriosi 
Corporis  mysterium, 
Sanguinisque  pretiosi, 
Quern  in  mundi  pretium, 
Fructus  ventris  generosi. 
Rex  efrudit  gentium. 

Nobis  datus,  nobis  natus 
Ex  intacta  Virgine, 
Et  in  mundo  conversatus, 
Sparso  verbi  semine, 
Sui  moras  incolatus 
Miro  clausit  ordine, 


Sing,  my  tongue,  the  Mys- 
tery of  the  glorious  Body  and 
precious  Blood  ! — that  Blood 
which  the  King  of  all  nations, 
the  Fruit  of  Mary's  womb, 
shed  for  the  world's  redemp- 
tion. 

He  gave  himself  to  us  ;  for 
us  was  he  born  from  a  pure 
Virgin  ;  he  lived  among  men, 
sowing  the  seed  of  his  word, 
and  closed  his  career  on  earth 
by  a  gift  of  wondrous  love. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  I    MASN. 


MH 


On  the  night  of  the  Last 
Supper,  he  assembled  his 
Brethren  around  him ;  and 
having  observed  the  law,  and 
eaten  the  Pasch  prescribed, 
he,  with  his  own  hands,  gave 
himself  to  the  Twelve,  as  their 
Food. 

The  Word  made  Flesh 
changes  bread,  by  his  word, 
into  his  own  Flesh,  and  the 
wine  becomes  the  Blood  of 
Christ.  Our  senses  fail  us 
here  :  but  Faith  has  power 
to  take  all  wavering  from  the 
Christian  heart. 

Let  us,  therefore,  venerate 
this  great  Sacrament  in  pros- 
trate adoration  !  Let  the  an- 
cient form  give  place  to  the 
new  rite  !  Let  Faith  supply 
what  the  senses  cannot  give. 


Be  praise  and  jubilee  to  the 
Father  and  the  Son  !  Salva- 
tion, honour,  power,  yea  and 
benediction,  be  to  them ;  and 
to  the  Spirit  that  proceeds 
from  both,  be  one  co-equal 
praise  ' 


In  supremee  nocte  ccense 
Recumbens  cum  fratribus, 
Observata  lege  plene 
Cibis  in  legalibus, 
Cibum  turbae  duodenae 
Se  dat  suis  manibus. 


Verbum 


ve- 


caro,   panem 

rum 
Verbo  carnem  efficit  : 
Fitque   sanguis   Christi  me- 

rum  : 
Et  si  sensus  deficit, 
Ad     firmandum     cor    since - 

rum 
Sola  fides  sufficit. 

Tantum     ergo    Sacramen- 

tum 
Veneremur  cernui  : 
Et  antiquum  documentum 
Novo  cedat  ritui  : 
Prsestet      fides      supplemen- 

tum 
Sensuum  defectui. 

Genitori,  Genitoque 
Laus  et  jubilatio, 
Salus,  honor,  virtus  quoque 
Sit  et  benedictio  : 
Procedenti  ab  utroque 
Compar  sit  laudatio.    Amen. 


Having  reached  the  place  prepared,  the  Priest 
places  the  Chalice  upon  the  Altar,  and  censes  the 
Sacred  Host.  The  Deacon  takes  the  Chalice,  and 
puts  it  in  the  Tabernacle.  After  a  short  prayer  in 
silence,  the  Procession  returns  to  the  Choir,  and  Ves- 
pers are  immediately  begun.  This  Office,  which,  on 
Feast  days,  is  celebrated  with  so  much  solemnity,  is, 
to-day  and  to-morrow,  deprived  of  every  thing  that 
betokens  joy.  The  Psalms  are  recited,  without  the 
slightest  chant  or  even  inflexion.  The  Church  as  a 
disconsolate  widow,  mourns  the  loss  of  her  Jesus. 


384 


HOLY    WEEK. 


VESPEKS. 

Pater  and  Ave  are  said  in  secret. 

The  first  Psalm  alludes  to  the  Chalice  of  salva- 
tion, which  Jesus  prepared  for  his  Church  by  shed- 
ding his  Blood  for  our  redemption.  It  was  on  this 
day,  at  his  Last  Supper,  that  he  gave  her  the  Chalice 
of  the  New  Testament. 


Ant.  Calicem  salutaris 
accipiam,  et  nomen  Domini 
invocabo. 


Ant.  I  will  take  the  chalice 
of  salvation,  and  I  will  call 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord. 


PSALM    115. 


Credidi,  propter  quod  lo- 
cutus  sum :  *  ego  autem 
humiliatus  sum  nimis. 

Ego  dixi  in  excessu  meo  : 

*  omnis  homo  mendax. 
Quid   retribuam    Domino : 

*  pro    omnibus    quae    retri- 
buit  mihi  ? 

Calicem  salutaris  acci- 
piam :  *  et  nomen  Domini 
invocabo. 

Vota  mea  Domino  red- 
dam  coram  omni  populo 
ejus  :  *  pretiosa  in  conspec- 
tu  Domini  mors  sanctorum 
ejus. 

O  Domine,  quia  ego  ser- 
vus  tuus  :  *  ego  servus  tuus, 
et  filius  ancillse  tuse. 

Dirupisti  vincula  mea :  * 
tibi  sacrificabo  hostiam  lau- 
dis,  et  nomen  Domini  invo- 
cabo. 

Vota  mea  Domino  reddam 
in  conspectu  omnis  populi 
ejus :  *  in  atriis  domus  Do- 
mini, in  medio  tui  Jeru- 
salem. 


I  have  believed,  therefore 
have  I  spoken :  but  I  have 
been  humbled  exceedingly. 

I  said  in  my  excess  :  every 
raaD  is  a  liar. 

What  shall  I  render  to  the 
Lord  for  all  the  things  that 
he  hath  rendered  to  me  ? 

I  will  take  the  chalice  of 
salvation :  and  I  will  call 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

I  will  pay  my  vows  to  the 
Lord  before  all  his  people  : 
precious  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord  is  the  death  of  his  saints. 

0  Lord,  for  I  am  thy  ser- 
vant :  I  am  thy  servant,  and 
the  son  of  thy  handmaid. 

Thou  hast  broken  my 
bonds :  I  will  sacrifice  to  thee 
the  sacrifice  of  praise,  and  I 
will  call  upon  the  name  of 
the  Lord. 

1  will  pay  my  vows  to  the 
Lord  in  the  sight  of  all  his 
people  :  in  the  courts  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord,  in  the 
midst  of  thee,  O  Jerusalem. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  I     VESPERS. 


385 


Ant.  I  will  take  the  chalice  Ant.  Calicem  salutaris 
of  salvation,  and  I  will  call  accipiam,  et  nomen  Domini 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.        invocabo. 

The  second  Psalm  shows  us  our  Lord  patiently 
bearing  the  calumnies  of  his  enemies,  and  the  trials 
of  his  earthly  sojourn. 

Ant.  With  them  that  hated 
peace,  I  was  peaceable  :  when 
I  spoke  to  them,  they  fought 
against  me  without  cause. 


Ant.  Cum  his  qui  ode- 
runt  pacem.  eram  pacifi- 
cus  :  dum  loquebar  illis, 
impugnabant  me  gratis. 


PSALM     119. 


In  my  trouble,  I  cried  to 
the  Lord,  and  he  heard  me. 

0  Lord,  deliver  my  soul 
from  wicked  lips,  and  a  de- 
ceitful tongue. 

What  shall  be  given  to  thee, 
or  what  shall  be  added  to  thee, 
to  a  deceitful  tongue  ? 

The  sharp  arrows  of  the 
mighty,  with  coals  that  lay 
waste. 

Wo  is  me  that  my  sojourn- 
ing is  prolonged :  I  have 
dwelt  with  the  inhabitants  of 
Cedar :  my  soul  has  been  long 
a  sojourner. 

With  them  that  hated  peace 
I  was  peaceable :  when  I 
spoke  to  them,  they  fought 
against  me  without  cause. 

Ant.  With  them  that  hated 
peace,  I  was  peaceable  :  when 
I  spoke  to  them,  they  fought 
against  me  without  cause. 


Ad  Dominum  cum  tribu- 
larer,  clamavi :  *  et  exaudi- 
vit  me. 

Domine,  libera  animam 
meam  a  labiis  iniquis  :  *  et 
a  lingua  dolosa, 

Quid  detur  tibi,  aut  quid 
apponatur  tidi :  *  ad  lin- 
guam  dolosam  ? 

Sagittse  potentis  acutae  :  * 
cum  carbonibus  desolato- 
riis. 

Heu  mihi  quia  incolatus 
meus  prolongatus  est !  ha- 
bitavi  cum  habitantibus  Ce- 
dar :  *  multum  incola  fuit 
anima  mea. 

Cum  his  qui  oderunt  pa- 
cem, eram  pacificus :  *  cum 
loquebar  illis,  impugnabant 
me  gratis. 

Ant.  Cum  his  qui  ode- 
runt  pacem,  eram  pacificus : 
dum  loquebar  illis  impugna- 
bant me  gratis. 


In  the  third  Psalm,  the  Messias  complains  of  the 
perfidy  of  Judas,  and  of  the  persecutions  he  met  with 
from  the  Synagogue. 


Ant.    From  unjust  men, 
deliver  me,  O  Lord ! 


Ant.     Ab  hominibus  ini- 
quis, libera  me,  Domine. 


386 


HOLY    WEEK. 


PSALM    139. 


Eripe  me,  Domine,  ab 
horn  hie  malo :  *  a  viro  ini- 
quo  eripe  me. 

Qui  cogitaverunt  iniqui- 
tates  in   corde :  tota   die 

constituebant  praelia. 

Acuerunt  linguas  suas  si- 
cut  serpentis :  *  venenum 
aspidum  sub  labiis  eorum. 

Custodi  me,  Domine,  de 
manu  peccatoris :  *  et  ab 
hominibus  iniquis  eripe  me. 

Qui  cogitaverunt  supplan- 
tare  gressus  meos :  *  ab- 
sconderunt  superbi  laqueum 
mini. 

Et  funes  extenderunt  in 
laqueum  :  *  juxta  iter  scan- 
dalum  posuerunt  mihi. 

Dixi  Domino  :  Deus  meus 
es  tu :  *  exaudi,  Domine, 
vocem  deprecationis  meae. 

Domine,  Domine,  virtus 
salutis  meae :  *  obumbrasti 
super  caput  meum  in  die 
belli. 

Ne  tradas  me,  Domine,  a 
desiderio  meo  peccatori :  * 
cogitaverunt  contra  me,  ne 
derelinquas  me,  ne  forte 
exaltentur. 

Caput  circuitus  eorum  :  * 
labor  labiorum  ipsorum  ope- 
riet  eos. 

Cadent  super  eos  carbones, 
in  ignem  dejicies  eos  :  *  in 
miseriis  non  subsistent. 


Vir  linguosus  non  dirige- 
tur  in  terra :   *   virum  injus- 


Deliver  me,  O  Lord,  from 
the  evil  man  :  rescue  me  from 
the  unjust  man. 

Who  have  devised  iniquities 
in  their  hearts  :  all  the  day- 
long they  designed  battles. 

They  have  sharpened  their 
tongues  like  a  serpent :  the 
venom  of  asps  is  under  their 
lips. 

Keep  me,  O  Lord,  from  the 
hands  of  the  wicked :  and  from 
unjust  men  deliver  me. 

Who  have  proposed  to  sup- 
plant my  steps :  the  proud 
have  hid  a  net  for  me. 

And  they  have  stretched 
out  cords  for  a  snare  :  they 
have  laid  for  me  a  stumbling- 
block  by  the  way  side. 

I  said  to  the  Lord :  Thou 
art  my  God  :  hear,  0  Lord, 
the  voice  of  my  supplication. 

0  Lord,  O  Lord,  the 
strength  of  my  salvation: 
thou  hast  overshadowed  my 
head  in  the  day  of  battle. 

Give  me  not  up,  0  Lord, 
from  my  desire  to  the  wicked : 
they  have  plotted  against  me ; 
do  not  thou  forsake  me,  lest 
they  should  triumph. 

The  head  of  their  compass- 
ing me  about :  the  labour  of 
their  lips  shall  overwhelm 
them. 

Burning  coals  shall  fall 
upon  them  ;  thou  wilt  cast 
them  down  into  the  fire  :  in 
miseries  they  shall  not  be 
able  to  stand. 

A  man  full  of  tongue  shall 
not  beestablished  iu  tho  earth : 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  '.    VESPERS. 


387 


evils  shall  catch  the  unjust 
man  unto  destruction. 

I  know  that  the  Lord  will 
do  justice  to  the  needy,  and 
will  revenge  the  poor. 

But  as  for  the  just,  they 
shall  give  glory  to  thy  name  : 
and  the  upright  shall  dwell 
with  thy  countenance. 

Ant.  From  unjust  men, 
deliver  me,  O  Lord  ! 


turn  mala  capient  in  inte- 
ritu. 

Cognovi  quia  faciet  Do- 
minus  judicium  inopis :  * 
et  vindictam  pauperum. 

Verumtamen  justi  confi- 
tebuntur  nomini  tuo :  *  et 
habitabunt  recti  cum  vultu 
tuo. 

Ant.  Ab  hominibus  ini- 
quis  libera  me,  Domine. 


The  fourth  Psalm  represents  our  Saviour  offering 
his  prayer  to  (rod  as  evening  incense  :  his  hands  are 
stretched  out  upon  the  Cross.  His  bones  are  dis- 
jointed ;  the  tomb,  (which  the  Psalmist  here  calls 
hell,)  is  soon  to  receive  him  as  its  victim  ;  and  yet,  he 
hopes  in  the  promised  aid. 


Ant.  Keep  me  from  the 
snare  which  they  have  laid 
for  me,  and  from  the  stum- 
bling-blocks of  them  that 
work  iniquity. 


Ant.  Custodi  me  a  la- 
queo,  quern  statuerunt  mi- 
ni, et  a  scandalis  operantium 
iniquitatem. 


PSALM    140. 


I  have  cried  out  to  thee,  O 
Lord,  hear  me :  hearken  to 
my  voice  when  I  cry  to  thee. 

Let  my  prayer  be  directed 
as  incense  in  thy  sight :  the 
lifting  up  of  my  hands  as  an 
evening  sacrifice. 

Set  a  watch,  0  Lord,  before 
my  mouth  :  and  a  door  round 
my  lips. 

Incline  not  my  heart  to  evil 
words  :  to  make  excuses  for 
sins. 

With  men  that  work  ini- 
quity :  and  I  will  not  commu- 
nicate with  the  choicest  of 
them. 


Domine,  clamavi  ad  te, 
exaudi  me :  *  intende  voci 
meae  cum  clamavero  ad  te. 

Dirigatur  oratio  mea  sicut 
incensum  in  conspectu  tuo  : 
*  elevatio  manuum  mea- 
rum,  sacrificium  vesperti- 
num. 

Pone,  Domine,  custodiam 
oii  meo :  *  et  ostium  cir- 
cumstantiae  labiis  meis. 

Non  declines  cor  meum 
in  verba  malitiee,  *  ad  ex- 
cusandas  excusationes  in 
peccatis. 

Cum  hominibus  operan- 
tibus  iniquitatem  :  *  et  non 
communicabo  cum  electis 
eorum. 


388 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Corripiet  me  Justus  in 
misericordia,  et  increpabit 
me  :  *  oleum  autem  pecca- 
toris  non  impinguet  caput 
meum. 

Quoniam  adhuc  et  oratio 
mea  in  beneplacitis  eorum  : 
*  absorpti  sunt  juncti  pe- 
trse  judices  eorum. 

Audient  verba  mea  quo- 
niam potuerunt  :  *  sicut 
crassitudo  terrse  erupta  est 
super  terram. 

Dissipata  sunt  ossa  nos- 
tra secus  infernum  :  *  quia 
ad  te  Domine,  Domine  oculi 
mei  :  in  te  speravi,  non 
auferas  animam  meam. 

Custodi  me  a  laqueo  quern 
statuerunt  mihi  :  *  et  a 
scandalis  operantium  ini- 
quitatem. 

Cadent  in  retiaculo  ejus 
peccatores  :  *  singulariter 
sum  ego,  donee  transeam. 

Ant.  Custodi  me  a  laqueo, 
quern  statuerunt  mihi,  et  a 
scandalis  operantium  ini- 
quitatem. 


The  just  man  shall  correct 
me  in  mercy,  and  reprove  me : 
but  let  not  the  oil  of  the  sin- 
ner fatten  my  head. 

For  my  prayer  also  shall 
still  be  against  the  things  with 
which  they  are  well  pleased  : 
their  judges  falling  upon  the 
rock  have  been  swallowed  up. 

They  shall  hear  my  words, 
for  they  have  prevailed ;  as 
when  the  thickness  of  the 
earth  is  broken  up  upon  the 
ground. 

Our  bones  are  scattered  by 
the  side  of  hell ;  but  on  thee, 
0  Lord,  Lord,  are  my  eyes  : 
in  thee  have  I  put  my  trust, 
take  not  away  my  soul. 

Keep  me  from  the  snare, 
which  they  have  laid  for  me, 
and  from  the  stumbling- 
blocks  of  them  that  work 
iniquity. 

The  wicked  shall  fall  in  his 
net :  I  am  alone  until  I  pass. 

Ant.  Keep  me  from  the 
snare  which  they  have  laid  for 
me,  and  from  the  stumbling- 
blocks  of  them  that  work 
iniquity. 


In  the  fifth  Psalm,  the  Messias  complains  of  his 
being  abandoned  by  all.  No  one  takes  his  part ;  his 
enemies  have  him  in  their  power,  and  are  determined 
he  shall  not  escape.  He  turns  towards  his  Eternal 
Father,  and  beseeches  him  to  deliver  him  from  the 
prison  of  the  tomb,  into  which  he  is  soon  to  descend. 


Ant.  Considerabam  ad 
dexteram,  et  videbam ;  et 
non  erat  qui  cognosceret  me. 


Ant.  I  looked  on  my  right 
hand,  and  beheld  ;  and  there 
was  no  one  that  would  know 


me, 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  '.    VESPERS. 


389 


PSALM    141 


I  cried  to  the  Lord  with  my 
voice  :  with  my  voice  I  made 
supplication  to  the  Lord. 

In  his  sight  I  pour  out  my 
prayer :  and  before  him  I  de- 
clare my  trouble. 

When  my  spirit  failed  me, 
then  thou  knowest  my  paths. 

In  this  way  wherein  I  walk- 
ed they  have  had  a  snare  for 
me. 

I  looked  on  my  right  hand, 
and  beheld  :  and  there  was 
no  one  that  would  know  me. 

Flight  had  perished  from 
me  :  and  there  is  no  one  that 
hath  regard  to  my  soul. 

I  cried  to  thee,  O  Lord  ;  I 
said  :  Thou  art  my  hope,  my 
portion  in  the  land  of  the  liv- 
ing. 

Attend  to  my  supplication  : 
for  I  am  brought  very  low. 

Deliver  me  from  my  perse- 
cutors, for  they  are  stronger 
than  I. 

Bring  my  soul  out  of  prison, 
that  I  may  praise  thy  "name  : 
the  just  wait  for  me  until 
thou  reward  me. 

Ant.  I  looked  on  my  right 
hand,  and  beheld  :  and  there 
was  no  one  that  would  know 
me. 


Voce  mea  ad  Dominum 
clamavi  :  *  voce  mea  ad  Do- 
minum deprecatus  sum. 

Effundo  in  conspectu  ejus 
orationem  meam  :  *  et  tri- 
bulationem  meam  ante  ip- 
sum  pronuntio. 

In  deficiendo  ex  me  spiri- 
tum  meum  :  *  et  tu  cogno- 
visti  semitas  meas. 

In  via  hac  qua  ambula- 
bam  :  *  absconderunt  laque- 
um  mihi. 

Considerabam  ad  dexte- 
ram,  et  videbam  :  *  et  non 
erat  qui  cognosceret  me. 

Periit  fuga  a  me  :  *  et  non 
est  qui  requirat  animam 
meam. 

Clamavi  ad  te,  Domine  :  * 
dixi  :  Tu  es  spes  mea,  portio 
mea  in  terra  viventium. 

Intende  ad  deprecatio- 
nem  meam  :  *  quia  humi- 
liatus  sum  nimis. 

Libera  me  a  persequen- 
tibus  me  :  *  quia  confortati 
sunt  super  me. 

Educ  de  custodia  animam 
meam  ad  confitendum  no- 
mini  tuo  :  *  me  exspectant 
justi,  donee  retribuas  mihi. 

Ant.  Considerabam  ad 
dexteram,  et  videbam  ;  et 
non  erat  qui  cognosceret 
me. 


antiphon  of  the  Magnificat. 


Ant.  As  they  were  at  sup- 
per, Jesus  took  bread,  and 
blessed  it,  and  broke  it,  and 
gave  it  to  his  Disciples. 


Ant.  Ccenantibus  autem 
illis,  accepit  Jesus  panem 
et  benedixit,  ac  fregit,  de- 
ditque  discipulis  suis. 


390 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Then  is  said  the  Canticle  Magnificat,  (see  page  86.) 
The  Antiphon  is  repeated,  and  then  is  added  the 
f ollowi  ng  Versicle  : 


f.  Christus  f actus  est  pro 
nobis  obediens  usque  ad 
mortem. 


f.     Christ  became,  for  our 
sakes,  obedient  unto  death. 


After  the  Pater  noster  has  been  said  secretly,  the 
Psalm  Miserere  (page  336)  is  recited  with  a  suppressed 
The  following  prayer  concludes  the  Vespers. 


voice. 


Respice,  qusesumus,  Do- 
mine,  super  hanc  familiam 
tuam  :  pro  qua  Dominus 
noster  Jesus  Christus  non 
dubitavit  manibus  tradi  no- 
centium,  et  crucis  subire 
tormentum  : 


Look  down,  O  Lord,  we 
beseech  thee,  upon  this  thy 
family,  for  which  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  hesitated  not  to 
be  delivered  into  the  hands 
of  wicked  men,  and  undergo 
the  punishment  of  the  Cross  : 


(then,  the  rest  in  secret  :) 


Qui  tecum  vivit  et  regnat, 
in  unitate  Spiritus  Sancti, 
Deus,  per  omnia  saecula 
saeculorum.     Amen. 


Who  liveth  and  reigneth 
with  thee,  in  the  unity  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  God,  world  with- 
out end.     Amen. 


THE  STKIPPING  THE  ALTARS. 

As  soon  as  Vespers  are  over,  the  Celebrant  re- 
turns to  the  Sanctuary,  assisted  by  the  Deacon  and 
Subdeacon.  He  goes  to  the  Altar,  and  takes  off 
the  cloths  and  ornaments.  This  ceremony  signifies 
the  suspension  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  The  Altar 
should  be  left  in  this  denuded  state,  until  the  daily 
offering  can  be  again  presented  to  the  Divine 
Majesty  ;  that  is,  when  the  Spouse  of  the  holy 
Churoh  shall  arise  from  the  Grave,  the  Conqueror  of 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :    ALTARS    STRIPPED. 


391 


Death.  He  is  now  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies, 
the  Jews,  who  are  about  to  strip  him  of  his  garments, 
just  as  we  strip  the  Altar.  He  is  to  be  exposed 
naked  to  the  insults  of  the  rabble  :  and  for  this 
reason,  the  Psalm  selected  to  be  recited  during  this 
mournful  ceremony  is  the  21st,  wherein  the  Messias 
speaks  of  the  Roman  soldiers'  dividing  his  garments 
among  them. 


Ant.  They  parted  my  gar- 
ments among  them,  and  upon 
my  vesture  they  cast  lots. 


Ant.  Diviserunt  sibi  ves- 
timenta  mea,  et  super  ves- 
tem  meam  miserunt  sortem. 


PSALM    21. 


O  God,  my  God,  look  upon 
me  :  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me  :  Far  from  my  salvation 
are  the  words  of  my  sins. 

O  my  God,  I  shall  cry  by 
day,  and  thou  wilt  not  hear  : 
and  by  night,  and  it  shall  not 
be  reputed  as  folly  in  me. 

But  thou  dwellest  in  the 
holy  place,  the  praise  of  Israel. 

In  thee  have  our  fathers 
hoped  :  they  have  hoped  and 
thou  hast  delivered  them. 

They  cried  to  thee,  and  they 
were  saved  :  they  trusted  in 
thee,  and  were  not  confound- 
ed. 

But  I  am  a  worm,  and  no 
man  :  the  reproach  of  men, 
and  the  outcast  of  the  people. 

All  they  that  saw  me  have 
laughed  me  to  scorn  :  they 
have  spoken  with  the  lips,  and 
wagged  the  head. 

He  hoped  in  the  Lord,  let 
him  deliver  him  :  let  him  save 
him,  seeing  he  delighted  in 
him. 

For  thou  art  he  that  hast 


Deus,  Deus  meus,  respice 
in  me  :  quare  me  dereli- 
quisti  :  *  Longe  a  salute  mea 
verba  delictorum  meorum. 

Deus  meus,  clamabo  per 
diem,  et  non  exaudies  :  *  et 
nocte,  et  non  ad  insipien- 
tiam  mini. 

Tu  autem  in  sancto  habi- 
tas  :  *  Laus  Israel. 

In  te  speraverunt  patres 
nostri  :  *  speraverunt,  et 
liberasti  eos. 

Ad  te  clamaverunt,  et 
salvi  facti  sunt  :  *  in  te 
speraverunt,  et  non  sunt 
confusi. 

Ego  autem  sum  vermis, 
et  non  homo :  *  opprobrium 
hominum,   et  abjectio  plebis. 

Omnes  videntes  me  deris- 
erunt  me :  *  locuti  sunt 
labiis,  et  moverunt  caput. 

Speravit  in  Domino,  eri- 
piat  eum  :  *  salvum  f aciat 
eum,  quoniam  vult  eum. 

Quoniam  tu  es,    qui  ex- 

2e 


392 


HOLY    WEEK. 


traxisti  me  de  ventre :  * 
spes  mea  ab  uberibus  matris 
mese.  In  te  projectus  sum 
ex  utero. 

De  ventre  matris  mese 
Deus  meus  es  tu :  *  ne 
discesseris  a  me. 

Quoniam  tribulatio  prox- 
ima  est :  *  quoniam  non 
est  qui  adjuvet. 

Circumdederunt  me  vit- 
uli  multi :  *  tauri  pingues 
obsederunt  me. 

Aperuerunt  super  me  os 
suum :  *  sicut  leo  rapiens 
et  rugiens. 

Sicut  aqua    eff  usus   sum  : 

*  et  dispersa  sunt  omnia 
ossa  mea. 

Factum  est  cor  meum 
tamquam    cera     liquescens : 

*  in  medio  ventris  mei. 
Aruit  tamquam  testa  vir- 
tus mea,  et  lingua  mea 
adhsesit  faucibus  meis  :  *  et 
in  pulverem  mortis  dedux- 
isti  me. 

Quoniam  circumdederunt 
me  canes  multi :  *  concili- 
um malignantium  obsedit 
me. 

Foderunt  manus  meas  et 
pedes  meos  :  *  dinumerave- 
runt  omnia  ossa  mea. 

Ipsi  vero  consideraverunt 
et  inspexerunt  me  :  *  divis- 
erunt  sibi  vestimenta  mea, 
et  super  vestem  meam  mise- 
runt  sortem. 

Tu  autem,  Domine,  ne 
elongaveris  auxilium  tuum 
a  me  :  *  ad  defensionem 
meam  conspice. 

Erue  a  framea,  Deus,  ani- 
mam  meam :  *  et  de  manu 
canis  unicam  meam. 


drawn  me  out  of  the  womb  : 
my  hope  from  the  breasts  of 
my  mother.  I  was  cast  upon 
thee  from  the  womb. 

From  my  mother's  womb 
thou  art  my  God,  depart  not 
from  me. 

For  tribulation  is  very  near : 
for  there  is  none  to  help  me. 

Many  calves  have  sur- 
rounded me  :  fat  bulls  have 
besieged  me. 

They  have  opened  their 
mouths  against  me,  as  a  lion 
ravening  and  roaring. 

I  am  poured  out  like  water : 
and  all  my  bones  are  scattered. 

My  heart  is  become  like 
wax  melting  in  the  midst  of 
my  bowels. 

My  strength  is  dried  up 
like  a  potsherd,  and  my 
tongue  hath  cleaven  to  my 
3  aws  :  and  thou  hast  brought 
me  down  into  the  dust  of 
death. 

For  many  dogs  have  encom- 
passed me :  the  council  of  the 
malignant  hath  besieged  me. 

They  have  dug  my  hands 
and  feet :  they  have  numbered 
all  my  bones. 

And  they  have  looked  and 
stared  upon  me  :  they  parted 
my  garments  amongst  them, 
and  upon  my  vesture  they 
cast  lots. 

But  thou,  O  Lord,  remove 
not  thy  help  to  a  distance  from 
me :  look  towards  my  defence. 

Deliver,  O  God,  my  soul 
from  the  sword :  my  only  one 
from  the  hand  of  the  dog. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  '.    ALTARS    STRIPPED.         393 


Save  me  from  the  lion's 
mouth :  and  my  lowness  from 
the  horns  of  the  unicorns. 

I  will  declare  thy  name  to 
my  brethren  :  in  the  midst  of 
the  church  will  I  praise  thee. 

Ye  that  fear  the  Lord, 
praise  him :  all  ye  the  seed 
of  Jacob,  glorify  him. 

Let  all  the  seed  of  Israel 
fear  him :  because  he  hath 
not  slighted  nor  despised  the 
supplication  of  the  poor  man. 

Neither  hath  he  turned  away 
his  face  from  me  :  and  when 
I  cried  to  him  he  heard  me. 

With  thee  is  my  praise  in 
the  great  church  :  I  will  pay 
vows  in  the  sight  of  them 
that  fear  him. 

The  poor  shall  eat,  and  shall 
be  filled,  and  they  shall  praise 
the  Lord  that  seek  him  :  their 
hearts  shall  live  for  ever  and 
ever. 

All  the  ends  of  the  earth 
shall  remember,  and  shall  be 
converted  to  the  Lord. 

And  all  the  kindreds  of  the 
Gentiles  shall  adore  in  his 
sight. 

For  the  kingdom  is  the 
Lord's :  and  he  shall  have 
dominion  over  the  nations. 

All  the  fat  ones  of  the 
earth  have  eaten  and  have 
adored :  all  they  that  go  down 
to  the  earth,  shall  fall  before 
him. 

And  to  him  my  soul  shall 
live  :  and  my  seed  shall  serve 
him. 

There  shall  be  declared  to 
the  Lord  a  generation  to  come : 
and  the  heavens  shall  show 


Salva  me  ex  ore  leonis :  * 
et  a  cornibus  unicornium 
humilitatem  meam. 

Narrabo  nomen  tuum 
fratribus  meis :  *  in  medio 
ecclesiee  laudabo  te. 

Qui  timetis  Dominum, 
laudate  eum :  *  universum 
semen  Jacob,  glorificate 
eum. 

Timeat  eum  omne  semen 
Israel  :  *  quoniam  non 
sprevit,  neque  despexit  de- 
precationem  pauperis. 

Nee  avertit  faciem  suam 
a  me  :  et  cum  clamarem  ad 
eum,  exaudivit  me. 

Apud  te  laus  mea  in  ec- 
clesia  magna :  *  vota  mea 
redd  am  in  conspectu  timen- 
tium  eum. 

Edent  pauperes,  et  sa- 
turabuntur,  et  laudabunt 
Dominum  qui  requirunt 
eum  :  *  vivent  corda  eorum 
in  speculum  sseculi. 

Reminiscentur,  et  con- 
vertentur  ad  Dominum :  * 
universi  fines  terrse. 

Et  adorabunt  in  conspectu 
ejus :  *  universae  familiae 
gentium. 

Quoniam  Domini  est  reg- 
num  :  *  et  ipse  dominabitur 
gentium. 

Manducaverunt,  et  ado- 
raverunt,  omnes  pingues 
terrae :  *  in  conspectu  ejus 
cadent  omnes,  qui  descen- 
dunt  in  terram. 

Et  anima  mea  illi  vivet :  * 
et  semen  meum  serviet  ipsi. 

Annuntiabitur  Domino 
generatio  ventura :  *  et  an- 
nuntiabunt     cceli    justitiam 


394  HOLY    WEEK. 

ejus,    populo    qui     nascetur     forth  his  justice  to  a  people 
quern  fecit  Dominus.  that  shall  be  born,  which  the 

Lord  hath  made. 
Ant.     Diviserunt  sibi  ves-         AxT.    They  parted  my  gar- 
timenta  mea,    et  super  ves-     ments  among  them,  and  upon 
tern  meam  miserunt  sortem.       my  vesture  they  cast  lots. 


After  having  stripped  the  High  Altar,  the  Cele- 
brant takes  of?  the  Cloths  from  the  other  Altars  that 
are  in  the  Chnrch.  An  air  of  desolation  pervades 
the  Temple  of  Grod.  The  very  Tabernacle  has  lost 
its  Divine  Guest.  The  Ciborium  (in  which  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  is  reserved  for  Viaticum,)  has 
been  taken  to  the  place,  where  reposes  the  Chalice 
containing  the  Body  of  our  Lord.  The  Majesty  of 
our  Grod  has  withdrawn  to  that  mysterious  Sanctuary, 
into  which  we  enter  not  but  with  silence  and  com- 
punction. 

It  was  the  custom,  in  some  Churches,  for  the  Priest 
to  wash,  in  the  afternoon,  the  Altars  with  wine  and 
water,  which  he  sprinkled  upon  them  with  a  branch 
of  hyssop.  This  ceremony,  (which  has  now  ceased 
to  be  observed  in  almost  every  Church,  excepting  at 
St.  Peter's  in  Pome,)  was  intended  as  a  homage 
offered  to  our  Blessed  Lord,  in  return  for  the  humility, 
wherewith  he  deigned  to  wash  the  feet  of  his  Dis- 
ciples. We  find  it  so  explained  by  St.  Isidore  of 
Seville,1  and  St.  Eligius,  Bishop  of  Noyon.2 

THE    WASHING    OF    THE    FEET. 

After  having,  on  this  day,  washed  the  feet  of  his 
Disciples,  Jesus  said  to  them  :  Know  ye  what  I  have 
done  to  you  ?  You  call  me  Master  and  Lord :  and 
you  say  well,  for   so  I  am.     If  then  7,    being  your 

1  De  Ecclesiasticis  Officiis,  lib.  I.  cap.  xxviii. 
2  Homil.  viii.  De  Ccena  Domini. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :    WASHING    OF    FEET.      39f5 

Lord  and  Master,  have  washed  your  feet ;  you,  also, 
ought  to  wash  one  another }s  feet.  For  I  have  given 
you  an  example,  that  as  I  have  done  to  you,  so  you 
do  also.1  Although  the  meaning  of  these  words  is, 
that  after  the  example  of  our  Divine  Master,  we 
should  practise  works  of  fraternal  charity  towards  our 
neighbour, — yet  the  literal  imitation  of  this  our 
Saviour's  act  has  always  been  observed  in  the 
Church. 

At  the  commencement,  it  was  almost  a  daily  prac- 
tice. St.  Paul,  when  mentioning  the  qualities  which 
should  adurn  the  Christian  Widow,  includes  that  of 
washing  the  feet  of  the  Saints,2  that  is,  of  the  Faith- 
ful. We  find  this  act  of  humble  charity  practised  in 
the  Ages  of  Persecution,  and  even  later.  The  Acts 
of  the  Saints  of  the  first  six  centuries,  and  the  Ho- 
milies and  Writings  of  the  Holy  Fathers,  are  filled 
with  allusions  to  it.  Afterwards,  charity  grew  cold, 
and  this  particular  way  of  exercising  it  was  confined, 
almost  exclusively,  to  Monasteries.  Still,  from  time 
to  time,  it  was  practised  elsewhere.  We  occasionally 
find  Kings  and  Queens  setting  this  example  of  hu- 
mility. The  holy  King  Robert  of  France,  and,  later, 
St.  Louis,  used  frequently  to  wash  the  feet  of  the 
poor.  The  holy  Queens,  St.  Margaret  of  Scotland, 
and  St.  Elizabeth  of  Hungary,  did  the  same.  The 
Church,  with  that  spirit  which  makes  her  treasure  up 
every  recommendation  of  her  Divine  Lord,  has  intro- 
duced this  act  of  humility  into  her  Liturgy,  and  it  is 
to-day  that  she  puts  the  great  lesson  before  her  chil- 
dren. In  every  Church  of  any  importance,  the  Pre- 
late, or  Superior,  honours  our  Saviour's  condescension 
by  the  ceremony,  called  the  Washing  of  the  Feet. 
The  Bishops  throughout  the  world  follow  the  exam- 
ple set  them  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  who  performs 
this  ceremony  in  the  Vatican.     Yea,  there  are  still 

1  St.  John,  xiii.  12-15.  2 1  Tim.  v.  10. 


396  HOLY    WEEK. 

to  be  found  Kings  and  Queens  who,  on  this  day, 
wash  the  feet  of  the  poor,  and  give  them  abundant 
alms. 

The  Twelve  Apostles  are  represented  by  the 
twelve  poor,  who  according  to  the  most  general  prac- 
tice, are  chosen  for  this  ceremony.  The  Pope,  how- 
ever, washes  the  feet  of  thirteen  Priests  of  as  many 
different  countries  ;  and  this  is  the  reason  of  the 
Ceremonial  requiring  this  number  for  Cathedral 
Churches.  But,  why  thirteen  ?  Some  have  inter- 
preted it  thus :  that  it  represented  the  full  number  of 
the  Apostolic  College,  which  is  thirteen,  for  St. 
Matthias  was  elected  in  Judas'  place,  and  our  Lord 
himself,  after  his  Ascension,  called  St.  Paul  to  be  an 
Apostle.  Other  authors,  however,  among  whom 
the  learned  Pope  Benedict  the  Fourteenth,1  assert, 
that  the  reason  of  this  number  being  chosen  was  the 
miracle  related  in  the  life  of  St.  Gregory  the  Great. 
This  holy  Pope  used,  every  day,  to  wash  the  feet  of 
twelve  poor  men,  whom  he  afterwards  invited  to  his 
own  table.  One  day,  a  thirteenth  was  present : — it 
was  an  Angel,  whom  God  had  sent,  that  he  might 
thereby  testify  how  dear  to  him  was  the  charity  of 
his  servant. 

The  Ceremony  of  the  Washing  of  the  Feet  is,  also, 
called  the  Mandatum,  from  the  first  word  of  the  first 
Antiphon.  After  the  Deacon  has  chanted  the  Gos- 
pel of  the  Mass  of  Maundy  Thursday  (page  378,)  the 
Celebrant  takes  off  the  Cope,  girds  himself  with  a 
towel,  and,  kneeling  down,  begins  to  wash  the  feet  of 
those  who  have  been  chosen.  He  kisses  the  right 
foot  of  each  one,  after  having  washed  it.  Meanwhile, 
the  Choir  sings  the  following  Antiphon  s  : 

Ant.  Mandatum  novum  Ant.  I  give  you  a  new 
do  vobis :    ut  diligatis  invi-     commandment :   that  ye  love 

>  Be  Festis  D.  N.  J.  C— Lib.  I.   Cap.  vi.  No.  57. 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY  :    WASHING    OF    FEET. 


397 


one  another,  as  I  have  loved 
you,  say s  our  Lord.  f.  Bless- 
ed are  the  immaculate  in  the 
way  :  who  walk  in  the  law  of 
the  Lord.     I  give,  &c. 

Ant.  After  our  Lord  was 
risen  from  supper,  he  put 
water  into  a  basin,  and  began 
to  wash  the  feet  of  his  dis- 
ciples ;  to  whom  he  gave  this 
example,  y.  Great  is  the 
Lord,  and  exceedingly  to  be 
praised  :  in  the  city  of  our 
God,  in  his  holy  mountain. 
After,  &c. 

Ant.  Our  Lord  Jesus,  after 
he  had  supped  with  his  disci- 
ples, washed  their  feet,  and 
said  to  them  :  Know  you  what 
I  your  Lord  and  Master  have 
done  to  you  ?  I  have  given 
you  an  example,  that  ye  also 
may  do  the  same.  f.  Thou 
hast  blessed,  O  Lord,  thy 
land  :  thou  hast  delivered 
Jacob  from  captivity.  Our 
Lord,  &c. 

Ant.  Lord,  dost  thou  wash 
my  feet  ?  Jesus  answered,  and 
said  to  him  :  If  I  shall  not 
wash  thy  feet,  thou  shalt  have 
no  part  with  me.  $ .  He  came 
to  Simon  Peter,  and  Peter  said 
to  him:  Lord,  &c.  f.  What 
I  do  thou  knowest  not  now  : 
but  thou  shalt  know  it  after- 
wards.    Lord,  &c. 

Ant.  If  I  your  Lord  and 
Master  have  washed  your 
feet  :  how  much  more  ought 
you  to  wash  the  feet  of  one 
another  ?  ^.  Hear  these 
things,  all  ye  nations:  hearken 
to  them,  all  ye  that  inhabit 
the  world.     If  I,  &c. 

Ant.  In  this  all  shall  know 
that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye 


cem  sicut  dilexi  vos,  dicit 
Dominus.  X*.  Beati  imma- 
culati  in  via  :  *  qui  ambu- 
lant in  lege  Domini.  Man- 
datum. 

Ant.  Postquam  surrexit 
Dominus  a  ccena,  misit 
aquam  in  pel  vim,  et  ccepit 
lavare  pedes  discipulorum 
suorum  :  hoc  exemplum  re- 
liquit  eis.  f.  Magnus  Do- 
minus et  laudabilis  nimis  :  * 
in  civitate  Dei  nostri,  in 
monte  sancto  ejus.  Post- 
quam. 

Ant.  Dominus  Jesus, 
postquam  ccenavit  cum  dis- 
cipuHs  suis,  lavit  pedes  eo- 
rum,  et  ait  illis  :  Scitis  quid 
fecerim  vobis  ego  Dominus 
et  Magister  ?  Exemplum 
dedi  vobis,  ut  et  vos  ita 
faciatis.  ^.  Benedixisti, 
Domine,  terrain  tuam ;  * 
avertisti  captivitatem  Jacob. 
Dominus. 

Ant.  Domine,  tu  mihi 
lavas  pedes  !  Eespondit 
Jesus,  et  dixit  ei  :  Si  non 
lavero  tibi  pedes,  non  habe- 
bis  partem  mecum.  Jf.  Ve- 
nit  ergo  ad  Simonem  Pe- 
trum,  *  et  dixit  ei  Petrus  : 
Domine.  $.  Quod  ego  facio 
tu  nescis  modo  :  scies  autem 
postea.     Domine. 

Ant.  Si  ego  Dominus  et 
Magister  vester  lavi  vobis 
pedes  :  quanto  magis  debe- 
tis  alter  alterius  lavare  pe- 
des !  f~.  Audite  hsec,  omnes 
gentes  :  *  auribus  percipite 
qui  habitatis  orbem.     Si  ego. 

Ant.  In  hoc  cognoscent 
omnes    quia     diecipuli     mei 


S98 


HOLY    WEEK. 


estis,  si  dilectionem  habue- 
ritis  ad  invicem.  ^.  Dixit 
Jesus  discipulis  suis.  In 
hoc. 

Ant.  Maneat  in  vobis 
fides,  spes,  charitas,  tria 
hsec  :  major  autem  horum 
est  charitas.  Ijr.  Nunc  au- 
tem manent  fides,  spes, 
charitas,  tria  hsec  :  *  major 
horum  est  charitas.  Ma- 
neant. 

Ant.  Benedicta  sit  sancta 
Trinitas  atque  indrvisa  uni- 
tas  :  confitebimur  ei,  quia 
fecit  nobiscum  misericor- 
diam  suam.  $.  Benedica- 
mus  Patrem  et  Filium,  * 
cum  Sancto  Spiritu.  f. 
Quam  dilecta  tabernacula 
tua,  Domine  virtutum  !  * 
concupiscit  et  deficit  anima 
mea  in  atria  Domini.  Bene- 
dicta. 


have  a  love  for  one  an  other. 
&.  Said  Jesus  to  his  disciples. 
In  this,  &c. 

Ant.  Let  these  three,  Faith, 
Hope,  and  Charity,  remain  in 
you  :  but  the  greatest  of  them 
is  charity,  f.  But  now  re- 
main Faith,  Hope,  and  Cha- 
rity, these  three :  but  the 
greatest  of  them  is  charity. 
Let,  &c. 

Ant.  Blessed  be  the  holy 
Trinity  and  undivided  Unity : 
we  will  praise  him  because  he 
has  shown  us  his  mercy,  y. 
Let  us  bless  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  with  the  Holy  Ghost. 
f.  How  lovely  are  thy  ta- 
bernacles, O  Lord  of  Hosts  : 
my  soul  desires  and  longs  after 
thehouseoftheLord.  Blessed, 
&c. 


After  these  Antiphons,  the  Choir  sings  the  follow- 
ing Canticle.  It  is  a  fervent  exhortation  to  Frater- 
nal Charity,  of  which  the  Washing  of  the  Feet  is  a 
symbol. 


CANTICLE. 


TJbi  charitas,  et  amor, 
Deus  ibi  est. 

f.  Congregavit  nos  in 
unum  Christi  amor. 

f.  Exsultemus,  et  in  ipso 
jucundemur. 

$.  Timeamus,  et  amemus 
Deum  vivum. 

y.  Et  ex  corde  diligamus 
nos  sincero. 


Where  charity  and  love  are, 
there  is  God. 

y .  The  love  of  Christ  hath 
gathered  us  together. 

^.  Let  us  rejoice  in  him, 
and  be  glad. 

^ .  Let  us  fear  and  love  the 
living  God. 

^.  And  let  us  love  one  the 
other  with  a  sincere  heart. 


Ubi    charitas 

Deus  ibi  est. 


et     amor,         Where  charity  and  love  are, 
there  is  God. 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY  :    WASHING    OF    FEET.       399 


TV.  When,  therefore,  we  are 
gathered  together, 

Jt.  Let  us  take  heed  we  be 
not  divided  in  mind. 

y.  Let  wicked  quarrels  and 
contentions  be  at  an  end, 

y.  And  let  Christ  our  God 
dwell  among  us. 


f.  Simul  ergo  cum  in 
unum  congregamur, 

y.  Ne  nos  mente  divida- 
mur  caveamus. 

$.  Cessent  jurgia  malig- 
na, cessent  lites, 

f.  Et  in  medio  nostri  sit 
Christus  Deus. 


Where  chaiity  and  love  are, 
there  is  God. 

$.  Let  us,  also,  with  the 
Blessed,  see 

f.  Thy  face  in  glory,  0 
Christ  our  God ! 

f.  There  to  possess  an  im- 
mense and  happy  joy, 

f.  For  endless  ages.  Amen. 


Ubi  charitas  et  amor, 
Deus  ibi  est. 

"ft.  Simul  quoque  cum 
beatis  videamus, 

y.  Glorianter,  vultum  tu- 
um,  Christe  Deus. 

f.  Gaudium,  quod  est 
immensum,  atque  probum, 

f.  Saecula  per  infinita  sse- 
culorum.     Amen. 


The  Celebrant  having  resumed  his  Cope,  the  cere- 
mony concludes  with  the  following  prayers  : 


Our  Father. 


Pater  Noster. 


The  rest  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  is  said  in  silence,  as 
far  as  the  last  two  petitions. 


^.  And  lead  us  not  into 
temptation. 

gt.  But  deliver  us  from 
evil. 

Jf.  Thou  hast  commanded, 
O  Lord, 

gt.  That  thy  precepts  be 
exactly  observed. 

f.  Thou  hast  washed  the 
feet  of  thy  disciples. 

gt.  Despise  not  the  work 
of  thy  hands. 


f.  Et  ne  nos  inducas  in 
tentationem. 

gt.  Sed  libera  nos  a  malo. 

^.  Tu    mandasti    mandata 
tua,  Domine, 
&.  Custodiri  nimis. 

^.  Tu  lavasti  pedes  di- 
scipulorum  tuorum. 

gt.  Opera  manuum  tua- 
rum  ne  despicias. 


400 


HOLY     WEEK. 


^.  Domine,     exaudi    ora-         p.  0  Lord,  hear  my  prayer, 
tionem  meam. 

$.  Et  clamor  meus  ad  te 
veniat. 

f.  Dominus  vobiscum. 

&.  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 


gt.  And  let  my   cry  come 
unto  thee. 
^ .  The  Lord  be  with  you. 
gt.  And  with  thy  spirit. 


OREMXJS. 

Adesto,  Domine,  quaesu- 
mus,  officio  servitutis  nos- 
trae  et  quia  tu  discipulis 
tuis  pedes  lavare  dignatus 
es,  ne  despicias  opera  ma- 
nuum  tuarum,  quae  nobis 
retinenda  mandasti  :  ut  si- 
cut  hie  nobis,  et  a  nobis  ex- 
teriora  abluuntur  inquina- 
menta,  sic  a  te  omnium  nos- 
trum interiora  laventur  pec- 
cata.  Quod  ipse  praestare 
digneris,  qui  vivis  et  regnas 
Deus  per  omnia  saecula  sae- 
culorum. 

gt.  Amen. 


LET   US   PRAY. 

Accept,  O  Lord,  we  beseech 
thee,  this  duty  of  our  service, 
and  since  thou  didst  vouchsafe 
to  wash  the  feet  of  thy  disci- 
ples, despise  not  the  work  of 
thy  hands,  which  thou  hast 
commanded  us  to  imitate : 
that  as  here  the  outward  stains 
are  washed  away  by  us  and 
from  us,  so  the  inward  sins  of 
us  all  may  be  blotted  out  by 
thee.  Which  be  thou  pleased 
to  grant,  who  livest  and  reign - 
est  one  God  for  ever  and  ever. 

gt.     Amen. 


THE  OFFICE  OF  TENEBR^E. 

At  a  late  hour  in  the  afternoon,  the  Night  Office 
of  Good  Friday  is  anticipated,  as  was  done  yesterday. 
The  Faithful  repair  to  the  Church  at  the  time 
specified.  Let  them  remember,  that  the  Bells  are 
not  rung  from  this  till  Saturday. 

The  Office  of  Tenebrse  for  Good  Friday  is  given 
below,  page  412. 

THE    EVENING. 

Judas  has  left  the  Cenacle,  and,  profiting  of  the 
darkness,  has  reached  the  place  where  the  enemies  of 
his  Saviour  are  assembled.  Jesus  then  turns  to  his 
faithful  Apostles,  and  says  to  them  :    Now  is  the  Son 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  I    HISTORY.  401 

of  Man  glorified}  Yes,  his  Passion  is  to  be  followed 
by  triumph  and  glory  ;  and  the  Passion  has  already 
begun,  for  Judas  has  commenced  his  work  of  betray- 
ing him.  Meanwhile,  the  Apostles, — forgetting  the 
trouble,  into  which  they  had  been  thrown  by  Jesus' 
telling  them,  that  one  of  the  Twelve  was  about  to 
betray  him, — begin  to  dispute  among  themselves, 
which  of  them  should  seem  to  be  greater  P  They 
have  not  forgotten  the  words  spoken  by  Jesus  to 
Peter,  when  he  made  him  the  Rock,  on  which  he 
would  build  his  Church ;  and  here,  at  the  Supper, 
they  have  seen  their  Divine  Master  wash  the  feet  of 
Peter  first.  On  the  other  hand,  John's  affectionate 
familiarity  with  Jesus,  during  this  same  Supper,  has 
made  some  of  them  argue,  that  he  who  was  most 
loved,  would  be  most  honoured. 

Jesus  puts  an  end  to  this  dispute,  by  giving  to 
these  future  Pastors  of  his  Church  a  lesson  of 
humility.  There  shall,  it  is  true,  be  a  Head  among 
them,  but,  says  our  Redeemer,  let  him  that  is  the 
greater  among  you,  become  as  the  younger ;  and  he 
that  is  the  leader,  as  he  that  serveth.  He  bids  them 
look  at  him  :  he  is  their  Master,  and  yet,  says  he,  I 
am  in  the  midst  of  you,  as  he  that  serveth?  Then 
turning  towards  Peter,  he  thus  adresses  him  :  Simon, 
Simon  !  behold  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you,  that 
he  may  sift  you  as  wheat.  But  I  have  prayed  for 
thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not :  and  thou,  being  once 
converted,  eonfirm  thy  Brethren}  This  last  interview 
is,  as  it  were,  our  Saviour's  Testament ;  he  provides 
for  his  Church,  before  leaving  her.  The  Apostles 
are  to  be  Peter's  Brethren,  but  Peter  is  to  be  their 
Head.  This  sublime  dignity  is  to  be  enhanced  by 
the  humility  of  him  that  enjoys  it :  he  shall  be 
"  The  Servant  of  the  Servants  of  Grod."  The  Apos- 
tolic College  is  to  be  exposed  to  the  fury  of  hell ;  but 

1  St.  John,  xiii.  31.  3  St.  Luke,  xxii.  26,  27. 

2  St.  Luke,  xxii.  24.  4  Ibid.  31,  32. 


402  HOLY    WEEK. 

Peter  alone  is  to  confirm  his  Brethren  in  the  faith. 
His  teaching  shall  ever  be  conformable  to  Divine 
Truth  ;  it  shall  be  ever  Infallible  :  Jesus  has  prayed 
that  it  may  be  so.  Such  a  prayer  is  all-powerful ; 
and  thereby,  the  Church,  ever  docile  to  the  voice  of 
Peter,  shall  for  ever  maintain  the  doctrine  of  Christ. 

Jesus,  after  having  provided  for  the  future  of  his 
Church  by  the  words  he  addressed  to  Peter,  thus 
speaks  affectionately  to  all  the  eleven  :  Little  chil- 
dren !  yet  a  little  ivhile  I  am  ivith  you.  Love  one 
an  other.  By  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my 
disciples ,  if  ye  have  love  one  for  an  other.  Peter 
says  to  him  :  Lord  !  whither  goest  thou  ? —  Whither 
I  go,  answers  Jesus,  thou  canst  not  now  follow  me ; 
but  thou  shalt  follow  hereafter. —  Why  cannot  I 
follow  thee  now  ?  again  asks  Peter :  7"  will  lay  down 
my  life  for  thee. —  Wilt  thou,  replies  Jesus,  lay  down 
thy  life  for  me  ?  Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  thee  :  the 
cock  shall  not  croiv,  till  thou  deny  me  thrice.1 
Peter's  love  for  Jesus  had  too  much  of  the  human 
about  it,  for  it  was  not  based  on  humility.  Pre- 
sumption comes  from  pride  :  it  almost  always  results 
in  a  fall.  In  order  to  prepare  Peter  for  his  future 
ministry  of  pardon,  as  also  to  give  us  a  useful  lesson, 
God  permits  that  he,  who  was  soon  to  be  made  Prince 
of  the  Apostles,  should  fall  into  a  most  grievous  and 
humiliating  sin. 

But  let  us  return  to  the  instructions  contained  in 
the  last  words  spoken  by  our  Jesus  before  he  leaves 
his  disciples.  I  am,  says  he,  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and 
the  Life.  If  you  love  me,  keep  my  commandments. 
I  will  ask  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another 
Paraclete,  that  he  may  abide  ivith  you  for  ever.  I 
ivill  not  leave  you  orphans  ;  I  will  come  to  you. 
Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my  peace  I  give  unto  you  :  not 
as  the  world  giveth,  do  I  give  unto  you.     Let  not  your 

1  St.  John,  xiii.  33-38. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  '.    HISTORY.  403 

heart  be  troubled,  nor  let  it  be  afraid.  If  you  loved  me, 
you  ivould  indeed  be  glad,  because  I  go  to  the  Father. 
I  will  not  now  speak  many  things  with  you,  for  the 
prince  of  this  world  cometh,  and  in  me  he  hath  not 
anything.  But  that  the  world  may  know  that  I  love 
the  Father,  and  as  the  Father  hath  given  me  command- 
ment, so  do  I, — arise,  let  us  go  hence.1  Deeply  im- 
pressed by  these  words,  the  Disciples  arise,  and,  after 
the  hymn  of  thanksgiving  has  been  said,  they 
accompany  Jesus  to  Mount  Olivet. 

He  continues  his  instructions  as  they  go  along. 
He  takes  occasion  from  their  passing  by  a  Vine  to 
speak  of  the  effect  produced  by  divine  grace  in  the 
soul  of  man.  /  am  the  true  vine,  he  says,  and  my 
Father  is  the  husbandman.  Every  branch  in  me,  that 
beareth  not  fruit,  he  will  take  away,  and  every  one  that 
beareth  fruit,  he  will  purge  it,  that  it  may  bring  forth 
more  fruit.  Abide  in  me,  and  I  in  you.  As  the  branch 
cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  unless  it  abide  in  the  vine ; 
so  neither  can  you,  unless  you  abide  in  me.  I  am  the 
Vine,  you  are  the  branches  :  he  that  abideth  in  me,  and 
I  in  him,  the  same  beareth  much  fruit :  for  without  me 
you  can  do  nothing.  If  any  one  abideth  not  in  me,  he 
shall  be  cast  forth  as  a  branch,  and  shall  wither,  and 
they  shall  gather  him  up,  and  cast  him  into  the  fire,  and 
he  burnetii.  You  have  not  chosen  me :  but  I  have 
chosen  you,  and  have  appointed  you,  that  you  should 
go,  and  should  bring  forth  fruit,  and  your  fruit  should 
remain.2 

He  next  speaks  to  them  of  the  persecutions  that 
await  them,  and  of  the  hatred  the  world  will  have  of 
them.  He  renews  the  promise  he  had  made  them 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter,  and  tells  them  that 
it  is  to  their  advantage  that  he  himself  should  leave 
them.  He  assures  them,  that  they  shall  obtain 
whatever  they  ask  of  the  Father  in  his  name.     The 

1  St.  John,  xiv.  2  Ibid.  xv. 


404  HOLY    WEEK. 

Father,  he  adds,  lovcth  you,  because  you  hare  loved  me, 
and  have  believed  that  I  came  out  from  God.  I  came 
forth  from  the  Father,  and  am  come  into  the  world : 
again  I  leave  the  world,  and  I  go  to  the  Father.  The 
Disciples  say  to  him :  Now  -we  know  that  thou  know- 
est  all  things,  and  thou  needest  not  that  any  man  should 
ask  thee.  By  this  we  believe  that  thou  comest  forth 
from  God. — Do  you  now  believe  ?  answered  Jesus : 
behold  !  the  hour  cometh,  and  it  is  now  come,  that  you 
shall  be  scattered  every  man  to  his  own,  and  shall  leave 
me  alone.1  All  you  shall  be  scandalised  in  me  this 
night  :  for  it  is  written  :  "i"  will  strike  the  shepherd, 
"and  the  sheep  of  the  flock  shall  be  dispersed."  But 
after  I  shall  be  risen  again,  I  will  go  before  you  into 
Galilee? 

Peter  again  protests  that  he  will  he  faithful  to  his 
Master  ;  the  rest  may  abandon  him,  if  they  will,  but 
he  will  keep  with  him  to  the  last !  It  should,  indeed, 
be  so,  for  he  has  received  so  much  more  from  Jesus 
than  the  others  have  :  but  he  is  again  humbled  by 
being  told  of  his  coming  speedy  fall.  Jesus  then 
calmly  raising  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  says  :  Father  ! 
the  hour  is  come  ;  glorify  thy  Son,  that  thy  Son  may 
glorify  thee.  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou 
gavest  me  to  do ;  I  have  manifested  thy  name  to  the 
men  whom  thou  hast  given  me.  They  have  known  that 
I  came  out  from  thee,  and  they  have  believed  that  thou 
didst  send  me.  I  pray  for  them  ;  I  pray  not  for  the 
world.  And  now  I  am  not  in  the  world,  and  these  are 
in  the  ivorld,  and  I  come  to  thee.  Holy  Father  !  keep 
them  in  thy  name,  whom  thou  hast  given  me ;  that  they 
may  be  one,  as  we  also  are.  While  I  was  with  them,  I 
kept  them  in  thy  name.  Those  ichom  thou  gavest  me, 
have  1  kept ;  and  none  of  them  is  lost,  but  the  son  of 
perdition,  that  the  Scripture  may  be  fulfilled.  I  have 
given  them  thy  ivord ;  and  the  world  hath  hated  them, 

1  St.  John,  xvi.  2  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  31,  32, 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  !      HISTORY.  405 

because  they  are  not  of  the  world,  as  I  also  am  not  of 
the  world.  I  pray  not  that  thou  shouldst  take  them  out 
of  the  world,  but  that  thou  shouldst  keep  them  from 
evil.  Not  for  them  only  do  I  pray,  but  for  them  also 
who,  through  their  word,  shall  believe  in  me :  that  they 
all  may  be  one,  as  thou,  Father  !  in  me,  and  I  in  thee  : 
that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us  :  that  the  ivorld  may 
knoiv,  that  thou  hast  sent  me.  Father,  I  ivill  that 
where  I  am,  they  also,  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  may 
be  ivith  me ;  that  they  may  see  the  glory  ichich  thou 
hast  given  me,  because  thou  hast  loved  me  before  the 
creation  of  the  world.  Just  Father  !  the  world  hath 
not  known  thee  ;  but  I  have  known  thee,  and  these  have 
knoivn  that  thou  hast  sent  me.  And  I  have  made  known 
thy  name  to  them,  and  will  make  it  known,  that  the  love, 
wherewith  thou  hast  loved  me,  may  be  in  them,  and  I  in 
them.1 

Such  are  the  out-pourings  of  the  loving  Heart  of 
our  Jesus,  as  he  crosses  the  Brook  of  Cedron,  and 
ascends,  with  his  Disciples,  the  Mount  of  Olives. 
Having  come  as  far  as  Gethsemani,  he  goes  into  a 
garden,  whither  he  had  often  led  his  Apostles  and 
rested  there  with  them.  Suddenly,  his  Soul  is  over- 
powered with  grief  ;  his  Human  Nature  experiences, 
as  it  were,  a  suspension  of  that  beatitude,  which 
results  from  its  union  with  the  Divinity.  This  his 
Humanity  will  be  interiorly  supported,  even  to  the 
very  last  moment  of  his  Passion  ;  but  it  must  bear 
everything  that  it  is  possible  for  it  to  bear.  Jesus 
feels  such  intense  sadness,  that  the  very  presence  of 
his  Disciples  is  insupportable ;  he  leaves  them, 
taking  with  him  only  Peter,  James,  and  John,  who, 
a  short  time  before,  had  been  witnesses  of  his 
glorious  Transfiguration  : — will  they  show  greater 
courage  than  the  rest,  when  they  see  their  Divine 
Master  in   the   hands   of   his  enemies  ?    His  words 

1  St.  John,  xvii. 


406  HOLY    WEEK. 

show  them  what  a  sudden  change  has  come  over 
him.  He  whose  language  was,  a  few  moments  be- 
fore, so  calm,  his  look  so  serene,  and  his  tone  of  voice 
so  sweet, — now  says  to  them  :  My  soul  is  sorrowful 
even  unto  death :  stay  you  here,  and  watch  with 
me.1 

He  leaves  them,  and  goes  to  a  grotto,  which  is 
about  a  stone's  throw  distant.  Even  to  this  day  it 
exists,  perpetuating  the  memory  of  the  terrible 
event.  There  does  our  Jesus  prostrate  himself,  and 
prays,  saying  :  Father  !  all  things  are  possible  to  thee. 
Remove  this  chalice  from  me : — but,  not  what  I  will, 
but  what  thou  ivilt.2  Whilst  thus  praying,  a  Sweat 
of  Blood  flows  from  his  body  and  bathes  the 
ground.  It  is  not  merely  a  swooning, — it  is  an 
Agony,  that  he  suffers.  Gk>d  sends  help  to  his  sink- 
ing frame,  and  it  is  an  Angel  that  is  intrusted  with 
the  office.  Jesus  is  treated  as  man  ;  his  Humanity, 
exhausted  as  it  is,  is  to  receive  no  other  sensible  aid 
than  that  which  is  now  brought  him  by  an  Angel, 
(whom  tradition  affirms  to  have  been  Gabriel.) 
Hereupon  he  rises,  and  again  accepts  the  Chalice  pre- 
pared for  him.  But  what  a  Chalice  ! — every  pain 
that  body  and  soul  can  suffer  ;  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world  taken  upon  himself,  and  crying  out  vengeance 
against  him  ;  the  ingratitude  of  men,  many  of  whom 
will  make  his  Sacrifice  useless.  Jesus  has  to  accept 
all  this,  and  at  the  very  time,  when  he  seems  to  be 
left  to  his  Human  Nature.  The  power  of  the  Di- 
vinity, which  is  in  him,  supports  him  :  but  it  does  not 
prevent  him  from  feeling  every  suffering,  just  as 
though  he  had  been  mere  Man.  He  begins  his 
Prayer  by  asking,  that  the  Chalice  may  be  taken 
from  him  ;  he  ends  it  by  saying  to  his  Father  :  Not 
my  will,  but  thine  be  done  ! 3 

1  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  38.  2  St.  Mark,  xiv.  36. 

3  St.  Luke,  xxii.  42, 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY!    HISTORY.  407 

Jesus  then  rises,  leaving  the  earth  covered  with 
the  Blood  of  his  Agony  : — it  is  the  first  Bloodshed- 
ding  of  his  Passion.  He  goes  to  his  three  Disciples, 
and,  finding  them  asleep,  says  to  them  :  What  !  could 
you  not  watch  one  hour  with  me  ? l  This  was  the 
beginning  of  that  feature  of  his  sufferings,  which  con- 
sists in  his  being  abandoned.  He  twice  returns  to 
the  grotto,  and  repeats  his  sorrowful,  but  submissive, 
prayer  ;  twice  he  returns  to  his  Disciples,  whom  he 
had  asked  to  watch  near  him,  but,  at  each  time,  finds 
them  asleep.  At  length,  he  speaks  to  them,  saying  : 
Sleep  ye  now,  aad  take  your  rest !  Behold,  the  hour 
is  at  hand,  and  the  Son  of  Man  shall  be  betrayed 
into  the  hands  of  sinners.  Then  resuming  the  energy 
of  his  divine  courage,  he  adds  :  Rise !  let  us  go  ! 
Behold,  he  is  at  hand  that  will  betray  me  !2 

Whilst  speaking  these  last  few  words,  a  numerous 
body  of  armed  men  enter  the  Grarden  with  torches 
in  their  hands.  Judas  is  at  their  head.  The  be- 
trayal is  made  by  a  profanation  of  the  sign  of  friend- 
ship. Judas !  dost  thou  betray  the  Son  of  Man 
tvith  a  kiss  P  These  piercing  words  should  have 
made  the  traitor  throw  himself  at  his  Master's  feet, 
and  ask  pardon  ;  but  it  was  too  late  :  he  feared  the 
soldiers.  But  the  servants  of  the  High  Priest  cannot 
lay  hands  on  Jesus,  unless  he,  their  Victim,  permit 
them  to  do  so.  With  one  single  word,  he  casts  them 
prostrate  on  the  ground.  Then  permitting  them  to 
rise,  he  says  to  them,  with  all  the  majesty  of  a  King : 
If  you  seek  Me,  let  these  go  their  way.  You  are  come 
out,  as  it  were  against  a  thief  with  swords  and  clubs. 
When  I  was  daily  tvith  you  in  the  Temple,  you  did 
not  stretch  forth  your  hands  against  me  :  but  this  is 
your  hour,  and  the  power  of  darkness.  Then  turning 
to  Peter,  who  had  drawn  and  used  his  sword,  he  says 

1  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  40.  2  Id.  ibid.  46. 

3  St.  Luke,  xxii,  48. 

2f 


408  HOLY    WEEK. 

to  him  :  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  ask  my  Father, 
and  he  will  give  me  presently  ticelve  legions  of  Angels  ? 
How  then  shall  the  Scriptures  be  fulfilled  ?l 

And  now,  Jesus  permits  himself  to  be  led.  Where- 
upon, his  Apostles  run  away  in  fear.  Peter  and  an- 
other Disciple  follow  him,  but  as  far  off  as  they  can. 
The  soldiers  lead  Jesus  by  the  same  road,  along  which 
he  had  passed  on  the  previous  Sunday,  when  the 
people  met  him,  with  palm  and  olive  branches  in 
their  hands.  They  cross  the  brook  Cedron  ;  and  there 
is  a  tradition  of  the  Church  of  Jerusalem,  that  the 
soldiers  as  they  passed  the  bridge,  threw  Jesus  into 
the  water.  Thus  was  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  David : 
He  shall  drink  of  the  torrent  in  the  way? 

They  reach  the  City  walls.  The  gate  is  opened, 
and  the  divine  Prisoner  enters.  It  is  night,  and 
the  inhabitants  know  not  the  crime  that  has  been 
committed.  It  is  only  on  the  morrow,  that  they  will 
learn,  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  great  Prophet,  has 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Chief  Priests  and  Pha- 
risees. The  night  is  far  advanced ;  but  many  hours 
must  elapse  before  the  dawn  of  day.  The  enemies 
of  Jesus  have  arranged  to  take  him,  in  the  morning, 
to  Pontius  Pilate,  and  accuse  him  as  being  a  dis- 
turber of  the  peace :  but  in  the  meanwhile,  they  intend 
to  condemn  him  as  guilty  in  matters  of  religion  ! 
Their  tribunal  has  authority  to  judge  in  cases  of  this 
nature,  only  they  cannot  pass  sentence  of  death  upon 
a  culprit,  how  guilty  soever  they  may  prove  him. 
They,  consequently,  hurry  Jesus  to  Annas,  the  father- 
in-law  of  the  High  Priest  Caiphas.  Here  is  to  take 
place  the  first  examination.  These  blood-thirsty 
men  have  spent  these  hours  in  sleepless  anxiety. 
They  have  counted  the  very  minutes  since  the 
departure  of  their  minions  for  Mount  Olivet.  They 
are  not  without  some  doubt  as  to  whether  their  plot 

1  St.  John,  xviii.  8.     St.  Luke,  xxii,  52,  53.    St.  Matth.  xxvi.  53. 

2  Ps.  cix.  7. 


MAUNDY    THURSDAY  :    HISTORY.  409 

will  succeed.  At  last,  their  Victim  is  brought  be- 
fore them,  and  he  shall  not  escape  their  vengeance  ! 

Here  let  us  interrupt  our  History  of  the  Passion, 
till  the  morrow  shall  bring  us  to  the  solemn  hour, 
when  the  great  Mystery  of  our  instruction  and 
salvation  was  accomplished.  What  a  day  is  this 
that  we  have  been  spending !  How  full  of  Jesus' 
love  !  He  has  given  us  his  Body  and  Blood  to  be 
our  Food ;  he  has  instituted  the  Priesthood  of  the 
New  Testament ;  he  has  poured  out  upon  the  world 
the  sublimest  instructions  of  his  loving  Heart.  We 
have  seen  him  struggling  with  the  feelings  of  human 
weakness,  as  he  beheld  the  Chalice  of  the  Passion 
that  was  prepared  for  him  ;  but  he  triumphed  over 
all,  in  order  to  save  us.  We  have  seen  him  betrayed, 
fettered,  and  led  captive  into  the  holy  City,  there  to 
consummate  his  Sacrifice.  Let  us  adore  and  love 
this  Jesus,  who  might  have  saved  us  by  one  and  the 
least  of  all  these  humiliations ;  but  whose  love  for 
us  was  not  satisfied  unless  he  drank,  to  the  very 
dregs,  the  Chalice  he  had  accepted  from  his  Father. 

The  following  beautiful  Preface  of  the  Gothic 
Missal  of  Spain  will  assist  us  in  our  devotion  towards 
the  Mysteries  we  have  been  celebrating. 

ILLATION. 

It  is  meet  and  just,  that  Digimm    et    justum    est : 

we    should    give    thanks  to  nos    tibi,     Domine     sancte, 

thee,  0  Holy  Lord,  Almighty  Pater      omnipotens,     gratias 

Father  !    and  to  Jesus  Christ  agere  :  et  Jesu  Christo  Filio 

thy    Son.      We    have    been  tuo.     Cujus    nos    humanitas 

fostered  by    his   Humanity,  colligit :     humilitas     erigit : 

exalted  by  his  humility,  set  traditio   solvit :    poena    redi- 

free  by  his  betrayal,  redeemed  mit :  crux  salvificat :  sanguis 

by  his  punishment,  saved  by  emaculat :        caro      saginat. 

his   Cross,    cleansed    by    his  Qui  seipsum  pro  nobis  hodie 

Blood,  fed  by  his  Flesh.     He,  tradidit ;      et    culpse   nostras 

on  this  day,  delivered  himself  vincula    relaxavit.      Qui   ad 

for  us;  and  loosened  the  bonds  commendandam         fidelibus 

of  our  sin.    He  showed  to  his  bonitatis    suae,    humilitatis- 


410 


HOLY    WEEK. 


que  magnificentiam,  etiam 
traditoris  sui  non  dedigna- 
tus  est  pedes  abluere  :  cujus 
jam  manus  prsevidebat  in 
scelere.  Sed  quid  mirum : 
si  dum  ministerium  formse 
servilis  voluntarise  morti 
vicinus  adimplet,  posuit 
vestimenta  sua :  qui  cum 
in  forma  Dei  esset,  semet- 
ipsum  exinanivit  ?  Quid 
mirum  si  prsecinxit  se  lin- 
teo  :  qui  formam  servi  acci- 
piens,  habitu  est  inventus 
ut  homo  ?  Quid  mirum  si 
misit  aquam  in  pelvim : 
unde  lavaret  pedes  discipu- 
lorum :  qui  in  terra  san- 
guinem  suum  fudit:  quo 
immunditias  dilueret  pec- 
catorum  ?  quid  mirum,  si 
linteo  quo  erat  prsecinctus, 
pedes  quos  laverat  tersit : 
qui  carne  qua  erat  indutus 
evangelistarum  vestigia  con- 
firmavit?  Et  linteo  quidem 
ut  se  prsecingeret :  posuit 
vestimenta  quae  habebat : 
ut  autem  formam  servi 
acciperet :  quando  semet- 
ipsum  exinanivit :  non  quod 
habebat  deposuit :  sed  quod 
non  habebat  accepit.  Cru- 
cifigendus  sane  suis  ex- 
poliatus  est  vestimentis :  et 
mortuus  involutus  est  lin- 
teis  :  et  tota  ilia  ejus  passio 
credentium  est  facta  pur- 
gatio.  Passurus  igitur  exitia; 
prsemisit  obsequia.  Non 
solum  eis  pro  quibus  subi- 
turus  venerat  mortem ;  sed 
etiam  illi  qui  fuerat  tradi- 
turus  ilium  ad  mortem. 
Tanta  quippe  est  humanae 
humilitatis  utilitas  :  ut  earn 
buo     commendaret   exemplo 


Faithful  people  the  riches  of 
his  goodness  and  humility,  by 
deigning  to  wash  the  feet  of 
his  very  betrayer,  whose  hand 
he  already  perceived  to  be 
engaged  in  his  wicked  deed. 
But,  what  wonder,  that  he,  on 
the  eve  of  his  voluntary  Death, 
when  about  to  do  the  work  of 
a  servant,  should  take  off  his 
garments, — he  who  being  in 
the  form  of  God,  had  emptied 
himself?  What  wonder,  that 
he  should  gird  himself  with  a 
towel,  who,  taking  the  form  of 
a  servant,  was  found  in  the 
habit  of  man  ?  What  wonder 
that  he  should  put  water  into 
a  basin,  for  the  washing  the 
feet  of  his  Disciples,  who  shed 
his  Blood  upon  the  earth  for 
the  cleansing  away  the  defile- 
ments of  sinners  ?  What  won- 
der that  with  the  towel,  where- 
with he  was  girt,  he  should 
wipe  the  feet  he  had  washed, 
he  that  with  the  Flesh,  where- 
with he  had  clothed  himself, 
had  strengthened  the  feet  of 
them  that  were  to  preach  his 
Grospel  ?  Before  girding  him- 
self with  the  towel,  he  took 
off  the  garments  he  wore ; 
but,  when  he  took  the  form  of 
a  servant,  and  emptied  himself, 
he  laid  not  aside  what  he  had, 
but  assumed  what  he  had  not. 
When  he  was  crucified,  he  was 
stripped  of  his  garments,  and 
when  dead,  was  wrapped  in 
linen  :  and  his  whole  Passion 
was  a  purification  of  them 
that  believe.  When,  there- 
fore, he  was  on  the  eve  of  his 
sufferings,  he  prepared  for 
them  by  benefits,  given  not 
only  to  them  for  whom  he 


MAUNDY   THURSDAY. 


411 


was  about  to  suffer  Death, 
but  even  to  him  who  was 
about  to  betray  him  unto 
Death.  Such,  indeed,  is  the 
importance  of  humility  to 
man,  that  the  very  majesty  of 
God  taught  it  him  by  his  own 
example.  Proud  man  would 
have  been  for  ever  lost,  had 
not  the  humble  God  found 
him  :  and  thus,  he  that  had 
been  ruined  by  the  pride  of 
the  seducer,  was  saved  by  the 
humility  of  the  most  loving 
Redeemer,  to  whom  deserved- 
ly all  the  Angels  and  Arch- 
angels cry  out  daily  without 
ceasing,  saying  with  one 
voice  :   Holy  !  Holy  !  Holy  ! 


divina  sublimitas.  Quia 
homo  superbus  in  aeternum 
periret :  nisi  ilium  Deus 
humilis  inveniret.  Ut  qui 
periret  superbia  deceptoris : 
salvaretur  hu  militate  piis- 
simi  redemptoris.  Cui  me- 
rito  omnes  Angeli  et  Arch- 
angeli  non  cessant  clamare 
quotidie  :  una  voce  dicentes  : 
Sanctus,  sanctus,  sanctus. 


412  HOLY    WEEK. 


GOOD  FKIDAY. 

THE   NIGHT   OFFICE. 

The  Ceremonies  used  by  the  Church  for  the  Office 
of  Tenebrce  having  been  already  explained,  we  deem 
it  unnecessary  to  repeat  our  instructions.  The  reader 
may  refer  to  them,  should  he  require  to  refresh  his 
memory.  They  are  given  in  pages  302 — 304. 
Pater  noster,  Ave,  and  Credo,  in  secret. 

THE    FIRST    NOCTURN. 

The  first  Psalm,  after  having  spoken  of  the  Eter- 
nal Q-eneration  of  the  Son  of  Grod,  prophesies  his 
Kingship  over  the  Nations,  and  the  vengeance  he  will 
take  on  his  enemies,  at  the  last  day.  As  this  mag- 
nificent Canticle  also  foretells  the  revolt  of  earthly 
Princes  against  Christ,  the  Church  uses  it  on  this 
day,  when  the  Synagogue  has  plotted  his  Death. 

Ant.      Adstiterunt    reges  Ant.    The    kings    of    the 

terrse,    et    principes   conve-  earth  stood  up,  and  the  princes 

nerunt    in    unum,      adver-  met    together,     against    the 

sus   Dominum,    et   adversus  Lord,  and  against  his  Christ. 
Christum  ejus. 

PSALM    2. 

Q,uare  fremuerunt  Gentes  :  Why    have    the    Gentiles 

*    et    populi    meditati   sunt  raged,  and  the  people  devised 

inania  ?  vain  things  ? 

Astiterunt  reges  terrse,   et  The  kings  of  the  earth  stood 

principes      convenerunt      in  up,  and  the  princes  met  to- 

unum  :    *    adversus    Domi-  gether,  against  the  Lord,  and 

num,   et  adversus  Christum  against  his  Christ, 
ejus. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    TENEKRiE. 


413 


They  said  :  Let  us  break 
their  bonds  asunder  :  and  let 
us  cast  away  their  yoke  from 
us. 

He  that  dwelleth  in  heaven 
shall  laugh  at  them  :  and  the 
Lord  shall  deride  them. 

Then  shall  he  speak  to  them 
in  his  anger:  and  trouble 
them  in  his  rage. 

But  I  am  appointed  king 
by  him  over  Sion  his  holy 
mountain,  preaching  his  com- 
mandment. 

The  Lord  hath  said  to  me  : 
Thou  art  my  son,  this  day 
have  I  begotten  thee. 

Ask  of  me,  and  I  will  give 
thee  the  Gentiles  for  thy  in- 
heritance :  and  the  utmost 
parts  of  the  earth  for  thy 
possession. 

Thou  shalt  rule  them  with 
a  rod  of  iron  :  and  shalt  break 
them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's 
vessel. 

And  now,  0  ye  kings,  un- 
derstand :  receive  instruction, 
you  that  judge  the  earth. 

Serve  ye  the  Lord  with  fear : 
and  rejoice  unto  him  with 
trembling. 

Embrace  discipline,  lest  at 
any  time  the  Lord  be  angry  : 
and  yon  perish  from  the  just 
way. 

When  his  wrath  shall  be  kin- 
dled in  a  short  time,  blessed 
are  all  they  that  trust  in  him. 

Ant.  The  kings  of  the  earth 
stood  up,  and  the  princes  met 
together,  against  the  Lord 
and  against  his  Christ. 


Dirumpamus  vincula  eo- 
rum  :  *  et  projiciamus  a  no- 
bis jugum  ipsorum. 

Qui  habitat  in  ccelis  irri- 
debit  eos  :  *  et  Dominus 
subsannabit  eos. 

Tunc  loquetur  ad  eos  in  ira 
sua  :  *  et  in  furore  suo  con- 
turbabit  eos. 

Ego  autem  constitutus 
sum  rex  ab  eo  super  Sion 
montem  sanctum  ejus  :  * 
prcedicans  praeceptum  ejus. 

Dominus  dixit  ad  me  :  * 
Eilius  meus  es  tu,  ego  hodie 
genui  te. 

Postula  a  me,  et  dabo  tibi 
Gentes   haereditatem  tuam   : 

*  et  possessionem  tuam  ter- 
minos  terrae. 

Reges  eos  in  virga  ferrea  : 

*  et  tamquam  vas  figuli  con- 
fringes  eos. 

Et  nunc  reges  intelligite  : 

*  erudimini     qui     judicatis 
terram. 

Servite  Domino  in  timore  : 

*  et  exsultate  ei  cum  tremore. 

Apprehendite  disciplinam, 
ne  quando  irascatur  Domi- 
nus :  *  et  pereatis  de  via 
justa. 

Cum  exarserit  in  brevi  ira 
ejus  :  *  beati  omnes  qui  con- 
fidunt  in  eo. 

Ant.  Adstiterunt  reges 
terrae,  et  principes  conve- 
nerunt  in  unum,  adversus 
Dominum,  et  adversus  Chris- 
tum ejus. 


The  second  Psalm  is  pre-eminently  the  Psalm  of 


414 


HOLY    WEEK. 


the  Passion.  The  first  verse  contains  one  of  the 
Seven  Words  spoken  by  our  Saviour  on  the  Cross. 
The  rest  of  the  Psalm  mentions  so  many  circum- 
stances of  the  Passion,  and  with  such  clearness,  that 
we  almost  seem  to  be  reading  the  account  of  an  eye- 
witness. Thus  it  tells  us  among  other  particulars  of 
our  Lord's  sufferings,  of  his  Hands  and  Feet  being 
pierced,  of  his  body  being  violently  stretched  upon 
the  Cross,  of  his  Garments  being  divided,  of  Lots 
being  cast  for  his  Vesture,  of  his  Agony,  and  of  his 
being  insulted  by  them  that  crucified  him. 


Ant. 
timenta 
tern  meam  miserunt  sortem. 


Diviserunt  sibi  ves-        Ant.    They  parted  my  gar- 
mea,    et   super  ves-     me'nts  among  them,  and  upon 
my  vesture  they  cast  lots. 


PSALM    21. 


Deus,  Deus  meus,  respice 
in  me  :  quare  me  dereli- 
quisti :  *  Longe  a  salute  mea 
verba  delictorum  meorum. 

Deus  meus,  clamabo  per 
diem,  et  non  exaudies  :  *  et 
nocte,  et  non  ad  insipien- 
tiam  mihi. 

Tu  autem  in  sancto  habi- 
tas  :  *  Laus  Israel. 

In  te  speraverunt  patres 
nostri  :  *  speraverunt,  et 
liberasti  eos. 

Ad  te  clamaverunt,  et 
salvi  facti  sunt  :  *  in  te 
speraverunt,  et  non  sunt 
confusi. 

Ego  autem  sum  vermis, 
et  non  homo:  *  opprobrium 
hominum,   et  abjectio  plebis. 

Omnes  videntes  me  deri- 
serunt  me :  *  locuti  sunt 
labiis,  et  moverunt  caput. 


0  God,  my  God,  look  upon 
me  :  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me  :  Far  from  my  salvation 
are  the  words  of  my  sins. 

0  my  God,  I  shall  cry  by 
day,  and  thou  wilt  not  hear  : 
and  by  night,  and  it  shall  not 
be  reputed  as  folly  in  me. 

But  thou  dwellest  in  the 
holy  place,  the  praise  of  Israel. 

In  thee  have  our  fathers 
hoped  :  they  have  hoped  and 
thou  hast  delivered  them. 

They  cried  to  thee,  and  they 
were  saved  :  they  trusted  in 
thee,  and  were  not  confound- 
ed. 

But  I  am  a  worm,  and  no 
man  :  the  reproach  of  men, 
and  the  outcast  of  the  people. 

All  they  that  saw  me  have 
laughed  me  to  scorn  :  they 
have  spoken  with  the  lips,  and 
wagged  the  head. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    TENEBRJE. 


415 


He  hoped  in  the  Lord,  let 
him  deliver  him  :  let  him  save 
him,  seeing  he  delighted  in 
him. 

For  thou  art  he  that  hast 
drawn  me  out  of  the  womb  : 
my  hope  from  the  breasts  of 
my  mother.  I  was  cast  upon 
thee  from  the  womb. 

From  my  mother's  womb 
thou  art  my  God,  depart  not 
from  me. 

For  tribulation  is  very  near : 
for  there  is  none  to  help  me. 

Many  calves  have  sur- 
rounded me  :  fat  bulls  have 
besieged  me. 

They  have  opened  their 
mouths  against  me,  as  a  lion 
ravening  and  roaring. 

I  am  poured  out  like  water : 
and  all  my  bones  are  scattered. 

My  heart  is  become  like 
wax  melting  in  the  midst  of 
my  bowels. 

My  strength  is  dried  up 
like  a  potsherd,  and  my 
tongue  hath  cleaven  to  my 
jaws  :  and  thou  hast  brought 
me  down  into  the  dust  of 
death. 

For  many  dogs  have  encom- 
passed me  :  the  council  of  the 
malignant  hath  besieged  me. 

They  have  dug  my  hands 
and  feet :  they  have  numbered 
all  my  bones. 

And  they  have  looked  and 
stared  upon  me  :  they  parted 
my  garments  amongst  them, 
and  upon  my  vesture  they 
cast  lots. 

But  thou,  0  Lord,  remove 


Speravit  in  Domino,  eri- 
piat  eum  :  *  salvum  faciat 
eum,  quoniam  vult  eum. 

Quoniam  tu  es,  qui  ex- 
traxisti  me  de  ventre :  * 
spes  mea  ab  uberibus  matris 
mese.  In  te  projectus  sum 
ex  utero. 

De  ventre  matris  mese 
Deus  meus  es  tu :  *  ne 
discesseris  a  me. 

Quoniam  tribulatio  prox- 
ima  est :  *  quoniam  non 
est  qui  adjuvet. 

Circumdederunt  me  vit- 
uli  multi :  *  tauri  pingues 
obsederunt  me. 

Aperuerunt  super  me  os 
suum :  *  sicut  leo  rapiens 
et  rugiens. 

Sicut  aqua    effusus  sum  : 

*  et    dispersa     sunt    omnia 
ossa  mea. 

Factum  est  cor  meum 
tamquam    cera     liquescens : 

*  in  medio  ventris  mei. 
Aruit  tamquam  testa  vir- 
tus mea,  et  lingua  mea 
adhsesit  faucibus  meis  :  *  et 
in  pulverem  mortis  dedux- 
isti  me. 

Quoniam  circumdederunt 
me  canes  multi :  *  concili- 
um malignantium  obsedit 
me. 

Foderunt  manus  meas  et 
pedes  meos  :  *  dinumerave- 
runt  omnia  ossa  mea. 

Ipsi  vero  consideraverunt 
et  inspexerunt  me  :  *  divis- 
erunt  sibi  vestimenta  mea, 
et  super  vestem  meam  mise- 
runt  sortem. 

Tu    autem,     Domine,     ne 


416 


HOLY    WEEK. 


elcmgaveris  auxilium  tuum 
a  me :  *  ad  defensionem 
meam  conspice. 

Erue  a  framea,  Deus,  ani- 
mam  meam  :  *  et  de  maim 
canis  unicam  meam. 

Salva  me  ex  ore  leonis :  * 
et  a  cornibus  unicornium 
humilitatem  meam. 

Narrabo  nomen  tuum 
fratribus  meis :  *  in  medio 
ecclesise  laudabo  te. 

Qui  timetis  Dominum, 
laudate  eum :  *  universum 
semen  Jacob,  glorificate 
eum. 

Timeat  eum  omne  semen 
Israel  :  *  quoniam  non 
sprevit,  neque  despexit  de- 
precationem  pauperis. 

Nee  avertit  faciem  suam 
a  me :  et  cum  clamarem  ad 
eum,  exaudivit  me. 

Apud  te  laus  mea  in  ec- 
clesia  magna :  *  vota  mea 
reddam  in  conspectu  timen- 
tium  eum. 

Edent  pauperes,  et  sa- 
turabuntur,  et  laudabunt 
Dominum  qui  requirunt 
eum  :  *  vivent  corda  eorum 
in  sseculum  sseculi. 

Keminiscentur,  et  con- 
vertentur  ad  Dominum :  * 
universi  fines  terrse. 

Et  adorabunt  in  conspectu 
ejus :  *  universse  familise 
gentium. 

Quoniam  Domini  est  reg- 
num  :  *  et  ipse  dominabitur 
gentium. 

Manducaverunt,  et  ado- 
raverunt,  omnes  pingues 
terrse :  *  in  conspectu  ejus 
cadent  omnes,  qui  descen- 
dunt  in  terram. 


not  thy  help  to  a  distance  from 
me :  look  towards  my  defence. 

Deliver,  0  God,  my  soul 
from  the  sword :  my  only  one 
from  the  hand  of  the  dog. 

Save  me  from  the  lion's 
mouth :  and  my  lowness  from 
the  horns  of  the  unicorns. 

I  will  declare  thy  name  to 
my  brethren  :  in  the  midst  of 
the  church  will  I  praise  thee. 

Ye  that  fear  the  Lord, 
praise  him  :  all  ye  the  seed 
of  Jacob,  glorify  him. 

Let  all  the  seed  of  Israel 
fear  him :  because  he  hath 
not  slighted  nor  despised  the 
supplication  of  the  poor  man. 

Neither  hath  he  turned  away 
his  face  from  me  :  and  when 
I  cried  to  him  he  heard  me. 

With  thee  is  my  praise  in 
the  great  church  :  I  will  pay 
vows  in  the  sight  of  them 
that  fear  him. 

The  poor  shall  eat,  and  shall 
be  filled,  and  they  shall  praise 
the  Lord  that  seek  him  :  their 
hearts  shall  live  for  ever  and 
ever. 

All  the  ends  of  the  earth 
shall  remember,  and  shall  be 
converted  to  the  Lord. 

And  all  the  kindreds  of  the 
Gentiles  shall  adore  in  his 
sight. 

For  the  kingdom  is  the 
Lord's :  and  he  shall  have 
dominion  over  the  nations. 

All  the  fat  ones  of  the 
earth  have  eaten  and  have 
adored :  all  they  that  go  down 
to  the  earth,  shall  fall  before 
him. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    TENEBRJE. 


417 


And  to  him  my  soul  shall 
live :  and  my  seed  shall  serve 
him. 

There  shall  be  declared  to 
the  Lord  a  generation  to  come : 
and  the  heavens  shall  show 
forth  his  justice  to  a  people 
that  shall  be  born,  which  the 
Lord  hath  made. 

Ant.  They  parted  my  gar- 
ments among  them,  and  upon 
my  vesture  they  cast  lots. 


Et  anima  mea  illi  vivet :  * 
et  semen  meum  serviet  ipsi. 

Annuntiabitur  Domino 
generatio  ventura :  *  et  an- 
nuntiabunt  coeli  justitiam 
ejus,  populo  qui  nascetur 
quern  fecit  Dominus. 


Diviserunt  sibi  ves- 
raea,   et  super  ves- 


Ant. 
timenta 
tern  meam  miserunt  sortem. 


The  third  Psalm  was  composed  by  David,  when 
feeling  the  persecution  of  Saul.  It  shows  us  how 
this  holy  Prophet  kept  up  his  confidence  in  the  Lord, 
spite   of   all  the  dangers   that   threatened   him. 


in 


David  is  here  a  figure  of  Christ  in  his  Passion. 


Ant.  Unjust  witnesses 
have  risen  up  against  me,  and 
iniquity  hath  belied  itself. 


Ant.  Insurrexerunt  in 
me  testes  iniqui,  et  mentita 
est  iniquitas  sibi. 


PSALM   26. 


The  Lord  is  my  light  and 
my  salvation,  whom  shall  I 
fear? 

The  Lord  is  the  protector 
of  my  life,  of  whom  shall  I 
be  afraid? 

Whilst  the  wicked  draw 
near  against  me,  to  eat  my 
flesh. 

My  enemies  that  troubled 
me  have  been  weakened,  and 
have  fallen. 

If  armies  in  camp  should 
stand  together  against  me, 
my  heart  shall  not  fear. 

If  a  battle  should  rise  up 
against  me,  in  this  will  I  be 
confident. 

One  thing  have  I  asked  of 
the  Lord,   this    will   I   seek 


Dominus  illuminatio  mea, 
et  salus  mea :  *  quern  ti- 
mebo  ? 

Dominus  protector  vitse 
mese  :    *   a  quo  trepidabo  ? 

Dum  appropiant  super 
me  nocentes :  *  ut  edant 
carnes  meas. 

Qui  tribulant  me  inimici 
mei  :  *  ipsi  infirmati  sunt 
et  ceciderunt. 

Si  consistant  adversum 
me  castra :  *  non  timebit 
cor  meum. 

Si  exsurgat  adversum  me 
prselium  :  *  in  hoc  ego  spe- 
rabo. 

Unam  petii  a  Domino, 
hanc  requiram :    *   ut  inha- 


418 


HOLY   WEEK. 


after,  that  I  may  dwell  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  all  the  days 
of  my  life. 

That  I  may  see  the  delight 
of  the  Lord,  and  may  visit 
his  temple. 

For  he  hath  hid  me  in  his 
tabernacle ;  in  the  day  of  evils 
he  hath  protected  me  in  the 
secret  place  of  his  tabernacle. 

He  hath  exalted  me  upon  a 
rock  :  and  now  he  hath  lifted 
up  my  head  above  my  ene- 
mies. 

I  have  gone  round,  and  have 
offered  up  in  his  tabernacle  a 
sacrifice  of  jubilation  :  I  will 
sing,  and  recite  a  psalm  to 
the  Lord. 

Hear,  0  Lord,  my  voice, 
with  which  I  have  cried  to 
thee :  have  mercy  on  me,  and 
hear  me. 

My  heart  hath  said  to  thee, 
my  face  hath  sought  thee  : 
thy  face,  O  Lord,  will  I  still 
seek. 

Turn  not  away  thy  face 
from  me  :  decline  not  in  thy 
wrath  from  thy  servant. 

Be  thou  my  helper :  forsake 
me  not,  do  not  thou  despise 
me,  O  God  my  Saviour. 

For  my  father  and  my 
mother  have  left  me :  but  the 
Lord  hath  taken  me  up. 

Set  me,  0  Lord,  a  law  in 
thy  way :  and  guide  me  in 
the  right  path,  because  of  my 
enemies. 

Deliver  me  not  over  to  the 
will  of  them  that  trouble  me  : 
for  unjust  witnesses  have 
risen  up  against  me  and  ini- 
quity hath  belied  itself. 


bitem  in  domo  Domini  om- 
nibus diebus  vitae  meae. 

Ut  videam  voluptatem  Do- 
mini :  *  et  visitem  templum 
ejus. 

Quoniam  abscondit  me  in 
tabernaculo  suo  :  *  in  die 
malorum  protexit  me  in  ab- 
scondito  tabernaculi  sui. 

In  petra  exalt avit  me  :  * 
et  nunc  exaltavit  caput  me- 
um  super  inimicos  meos. 

Circuivi,  et  immolavi  in 
tabernacula  ejus  hostiam  vo- 
ciferationis  :  *  cantabo,  et 
psalmum  dicam  Domino. 

Exaudi,  Domine,  vocem 
meam,  qua  clamavi  ad  te  :  * 
miserere  mei,  et  exaudi  me. 

Tibi  dixit  cor  meum  ex- 
quisivit  te  facies  mea :  *  faci- 
em  tuam,  Domine,  requiram. 

Nee  avertas  faciem  tuam 
a  me  :  *  ne  declines  in  ira  a 
servo  tuo. 

Adjutor  meus  esto  :  *  ne 
derelinquas  me,  neque  de- 
spicias  me,  Deus  salutaris 
meus. 

Quoniam  pater  meus  et 
mater  mea  dereliquerunt 
me  :  *  Dominus  autem  as- 
sumpsit me. 

Legem  pone  mihi,  Domine, 
in  via  tua  :  *  et  dirige  me  in 
semitam  rectam  propter  ini- 
micos meos. 

Ne  tradideris  me  in  animas 
tribulantium  me  :  *  quoniam 
insurrexerunt  in  me  testes 
iniqui,  et  mentita  est  iniqui- 
tas  sibi. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    TENERR^E. 


419 


I  believe  to  see  the  good 
things  of  the  Lord  in  the  land 
of  the  living. 

Expect  the  Lord,  do  man- 
fully :  and  let  thy  heart  take 
courage,  and  wait  thou  for  the 
Lord. 

Ant.  Unjust  witnesses 
have  risen  up  against  me,  and 
iniquity  hath  belied  itself. 

y.  They  parted  my  gar- 
ments among  them. 

gt.  And  upon  my  vesture 
they  cast  lots. 


Credo  videre  bona  Do- 
mini :  *  in  terra  viventium. 

Exspecta  Dominum,  virili- 
ter  age  :  *  et  confortetur  cor 
tuum,  et  sustine  Dominum. 

Ant.  Insurrexerunt  in  me 
testes  iniqui,  et  mentita  est 
iniquitas  sibi. 

<<\  Diviserunt  sibi  vesti- 
menta  mea. 

gt.  Et  super  vestem  meam 
miserunt  sortem. 


Here  is  said,  in  secret,  the  Pater  noster. 

The  Lessons  of  the  First  Nocturn  are  to-day,  also, 
taken  from  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremias.  We  have, 
already,  (page  312,)  explained  why  the  Church  reads 
them  on  these  three  days.  The  first  two  of  the 
following  Lessons  refer  to  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem ;    the  third  we  will  explain  in  its  proper  place. 

FIRST    LESSON. 


From    the    Lamentation    of 
Jeremias  the  Prophet. 

Oh.  II. 

Heth.  The  Lord  hath  pur- 
posed to  destroy  the  wall  of 
the  daughter  of  Sion  :  he  hath 
stretched  out  his  line,  and 
hath  not  withdrawn  his  hand 
from  destroying :  and  the  bul- 
wark hath  mourned,  and  the 
wall  hath  been  destroyed  to- 
gether. 

Teth.  Her  gates  are  sunk 
into  the  ground  :  he  hath  de- 
stroyed and  broken  her  bars  : 
her  king  and  her  princes  are 
among  the  Gentiles.  The  law 
is  no  more,  and  her  prophets 
have  found  no  vision  from  the 
Lord. 


De    Lamentatione     Jeremise 
Prophetae. 

Gap.  II. 

Heth.  Oogitavit  Domi- 
nus  dissipare  murum  filiae 
Sion  :  tetendit  f  uniculum 
suum,  et  non  avertit  manum 
suam  a  perditione  :  luxitque 
anteniurale,  et  murus  pari- 
ter  dissipatus  est. 

Teth.  Defixse  sunt  in  ter- 
ra portse  ejus,  perdidit  et 
contrivit  vectes  ejus,  regem 
ejus,  et  principes  ejus,  in 
gentibus.  Non  est  lex  :  et 
prophetse  ejus  non  invene- 
runt  visionem  a  Domino. 


420 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Jod.  Sederunt  in  terra, 
conticuerunt  senes  filise 
Sion :  consperserunt  cinere 
capita  sua,  accincti  sunt  ci- 
liciis,  abjecerunt  in  terram 
capita  sua  virgines  Jerusa- 
lem. 

Caph.  Defecerunt  prse  la- 
crymis  oculi  mei,  conturbata 
sunt  viscera  mea.  Effusum 
est  in  terra  jecur  meum 
super  contritione  filise  po- 
puli  mei,  cum  deficeret  par- 
vulus  et  lactens  in  plateis 
oppidi. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 

convertere  ad  Dominum 
Deum  tuum. 

gt.  Omnes  amici  mei  dereli- 
querunt  me,  et  praevaluerunt 
insidiantes  mini :  tradidit 
me  quern  diligebam.  *  Et 
terribilibus  oculis  plaga  cru- 
deli  percutientes,  aceto  pota- 
bant  me. 

y.  Inter  iniquos  projece- 
runt  me  :  et  non  pepercerunt 
animse  mese. 

*  Et  terribilibus  oculis 
plaga  crudeli  percutientes, 
aceto  potabant  me. 


Jod.  The  ancients  of  the 
daughter  of  Sion  sit  upon  the 
ground,  they  have  held  their 
peace  ;  they  have  sprinkled 
their  beads  with  dust,  they  are 
girded  withhair-cloth,  the  vir- 
gins of  Jerusalem  hang  down 
their  heads  to  the  ground. 

Caph.  My  eyes  have  failed 
witb  weeping,  my  bowels  are 
troubled.  My  liver  is  poured 
out  upon  the  earth,  for  the 
destruction  of  the  daughter  of 
my  people,  wben  the  children 
and  the  sucklings  fainted 
away  in  the  streets  of  the  city. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  be 
converted  to  the  Lord  thy 
God. 

gt .  All  my  friends  have  for- 
saken me,  and  they  that  lay 
in  ambush  for  me  prevailed  : 
he  whom  I  loved  has  betray- 
ed me.  *  And  they,  with  ter- 
rible looks  striking  me  with 
a  cruel  wound,  gave  me  vine- 
gar to  drink. 

1?.  They  cast  me  out  among 
the  wicked,  and  spared  not 
my  life. 

*  And  they,  with  terrible 
looks  striking  me  with  a  cruel 
wound,  gave  me  vinegar  to 
drink. 


SECOND    LESSON. 


Lamed.  Matribus  suis 
dixerunt:  Ubi  est  triticum 
et  vinum?  cum  deficerent 
quasi  vulnerati  in  plateis 
civitatis,  cum  exhalarent 
animas  suas  in  sinu  matrum 
suarum. 

Mem.  Cui  comparabo  te, 
vel  cui  assimilabo  te  filia 
Jerusalem  ?     cui    exaequabo 


Lamed.  They  said  to  their 
mothers :  Where  is  corn  and 
wine  ?  when  they  fainted  away 
as  the  wounded  in  the  streets 
of  the  city :  when  they  breath- 
ed out  their  souls  in  the 
bosoms  of  their  mothers. 

Mem  .  To  what  shall  I  com  - 
pare  thee  ?  or  to  what  shall  I 
liken  thee,  0  daughter  of  Jeru- 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    TENEBRvE. 


421 


salem  ?  to  what  shall  I  equal 
thee,  that  I  may  comfort  thee, 
O  virgin  daughter  of  Sion  ? 
For  great  as  the  sea  is  thy  des- 
truction: who  shall  heal  thee? 

Nun.  Thy  prophets  have 
seen  false  and  foolish  things 
for  thee,  and  they  have  not 
laid  open  thy  iniquity,  to  ex- 
cite thee  to  penance :  but  they 
have  seen  for  thee  false  re- 
velations and  banishments. 

Samech.  All  they  that  pass- 
ed by  the  way  have  clapped 
their  hands  at  thee :  they  have 
hissed  and  wagged  their  head 
at  the  daughter  of  Jerusalem, 
saying :  Is  this  the  city  of  per- 
fect beauty,  the  joy  of  all  the 
earth  ? 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  be 
converted  to  the  Lord  thy 
God. 

gt.  The  veil  of  the  temple 
was  rent,  *  And  all  the  earth 
shook :  the  thief  cried  out 
from  the  cross,  saying  :  Ee- 
member  me,  O  Lord,  when 
thou  shalt  come  into  thy  king- 
dom. 

fi.  The  rocks  were  split,  and 
the  monuments  opened,  and 
many  bodies  of  the  saints  that 
were  dead  rose  out  of  them. 

*  And  all  the  earth  shook  : 
the  thief  cried  out  from  the 
cross,  saying :  Remember  me, 
O  Lord,  when  thou  shalt  come 
into  thy  kingdom. 


te,  et  consolabor  te,  virgo 
filia  Sion  ?  Magna  est  enim 
velut  mare  contritio  tua : 
quis  medebitur  tui  ? 

Nun.  Prophetse  tui  vide- 
runt  tibi  falsa  et  stulta  :  nee 
aperiebant  iniquitatem  tu- 
am,  ut  te  ad  pcenitentiam 
provocarent.  Yiderunt  au- 
tem  tibi  assumptiones  falsas, 
et  ejectiones. 

Samech.  Plauserunt  su- 
per te  manibus  omnes  tran- 
seuntes  per  viam :  sibilave- 
runt,  et  moverunt  caput 
suum  super  filiam  Jerusa- 
lem :  Hseccine  est  urbs, 
dicentes,  perfecti  decoris, 
gaudium  universse  terrse  ? 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 
convertere  ad  Dominum 
Deum  tuum. 

gt.  Velum  templi  scissum 
est,  *  Et  omnis  terra  tre- 
muit :  latro  de  cruce  clama- 
bat,  dicens :  Memento  mei, 
Domine,  dum  veneris  in 
regnum  tuum. 

y.  Petrae  scissse  sunt,  et 
monumenta  aperta  sunt,  et 
multa  corpora  sanctorum, 
qui  dormierant,  surrexerunt. 

*  Et  omnis  terra  tremuit : 
latro  de  cruce  clamabat, 
dicens :  Memento  mei,  Do- 
mine, dum  veneris  in  reg- 
num tuum. 


In  the  third  Lesson,  which  now  follows,  Jeremias 
passes  to  another  subject.  According  to  the  usage 
of  the  Prophets,  he  leaves  Jerusalem  to  speak  of  Him 
who  is  the  expectation  of  Israel, — the  Messias.  But 
it  is  not  of  the  glory  of   the   Messias   that  he   now 


422 


HOLY     WEEK. 


speaks :  it  is  of  the  sufferings  he  endures  :  he  has 
made  himself  the  object  of  God's  severest  justice,  by 
taking  upon  himself  the  sins  of  the  whole  world. 


THIRD     LESSON. 


Aleph.  Ego  vir  videns 
paupertatem  meam,  in  virga 
indignationis  ejus. 

Aleph.  Me  minavit  et 
adduxit  in  tenebras,  et  non  in 
lucem. 

Aleph.  Tantum  in  me 
vertit,  et  convertit  manum 
suam  tota  die. 

Beth.  Vetustam  fecit  pel- 
lem  meam  et  carnem  meam  : 
contrivit  ossa  mea. 

Beth.  JEdificavit  in  gyro 
meo,  et  circumdedit  me  felle 
et  labore. 

Beth.  In  tenebrosis  collo- 
cavit  me,  quasi  mortuos  seni- 
piternos. 

Ghimel.  Circumsedifica- 
vit  adversum  me,  ut  non 
egrediar  :  aggravavit  com- 
pedem  meum. 

Ghimel.  Sed  et  cum  cla- 
mavero  et  rogavero,  exclusit 
orationem  meam. 

Ghimel.  Conclusit  vias 
meas  lapidibus  quadris,  se- 
mitas  meas  subvertit. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  con- 
vertere  ad  Dominum  Deum 
tuum. 

gt.  Vinea  mea  electa,  ego 
te  plantavi :  *  Quomodo  con- 
versa  es  in  amaritudinem  ut 
me  crucifigeres,  et  Barabbam 
dimitteres  ? 

f.  Sepivi  te,  et  lapides 
elegi  ex  te,  et  aedificavi  tur- 
rim. 


Aleph.  I  am  the  man  that 
see  my  poverty  by  the  rod  of 
his  indignation. 

Aleph.  He  hath  led  me, 
and  brought  me  into  darkness, 
and  not  into  light. 

Aleph.  Only  against  me 
he  hath  turned,  and  turned 
his  hand  all  the  day. 

Beth.  My  skin  and  my 
flesh  he  hath  made  old,  he 
hath  broken  my  bones. 

Beth  .  He  hath  built  round 
about  me,  and  he  hath  com- 
passed me  with  gall  and  labor. 

Beth.  He  hath  set  me  in 
dark  places  as  those  that  are 
dead  for  ever. 

Ghimel.  He  hath  built 
against  me  round  about,  that 
I  may  not  get  out  :  he  hath 
made  my  fetters  heavy. 

Ghimel.  Yea,  and  when 
I  cry  and  entreat,  he  hath 
shut  out  my  prayer. 

Ghimel.  He  hath  shut  up 
my  ways  with  square  stones, 
he  hath  turned  my  paths  up- 
side down. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  be 
converted  to  the  Lord  thy 
God. 

&.  0  my  chosen  vineyard, 
it  is  I  that  have  planted  thee  : 
*  How  art  thou  become  so  bit- 
ter, that  thou  shouldst  crucify 
me,  and  release  Barabbas  ? 

y .  I  have  hedged  thee  in, 
and  picked  the  stones  out  of 
thee,  and  have  built  a  tower. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    TENEBRvE. 


423 


*  How  art  thou  become  so 
bitter,  that  thou  shouldst  cru- 
cify me,  and  release  Barrab- 
bas  ? 

Here  is  repeated  :  0  my 
chosen. 


*  Quomodo  conversa  es 
in  amaritudinem,  ut  me  cru- 
cifigeres,  et  Barrabbam  di- 
mitteres  ? 

Here  is  repeated :  Vinea 
mea. 


THE   SECOND   NOCTURN. 

In  the  fourth  Psalm,  David  humbly  acknowledges 
that  the  rebellion  of  his  son  Absalom  was  a  just 
punishment  of  the  sins  he  himself  had  committed. 
He  is  a  figure  of  the  Messias,  who,  in  his  Agony, 
confesses  that  the  iniquities,  which  he  has  taken 
upon  himself,  are  a  heavy  burthen  upon  him,  that 
his  heart  is  troubled,  and  that  his  strength  hath  left 
him. 


Ant.    They  used  violence 
that  sought  my  soul. 


Ant.     Vim  faciebant,  qui 
quaerebant  animam  meam. 


PSALM    37. 


Rebuke  me  not,  0  Lord, 
in  thy  indignation  :  nor  chas- 
tise me  in  thy  wrath. 

For  thy  arrows  are  fastened 
in  me  :  and  thy  hand  hath 
been  strong  upon  me. 

There  is  no  health  in  my 
flesh,  because  of  thy  wrath  : 
there  is  no  peace  for  my  bones, 
because  of  my  sins. 

For  my  iniquities  are  gone 
over  my  head  :  and  as  a  heavy 
burthen  are  become  heavy 
upon  me. 

My  sores  are  putrefied  and 
corrupted,  because  of  my 
foolishness 

I  am  become  miserable,  and 
am  bowed  down  even  to  the 


super     me     manum 


Domine,  ne  in  furore  tuo 
arguas  me  :  *  neque  in  ira 
tua  corripias  me. 

Quoniam  sagittae  tuae  in- 
fixae  sunt  mihi  :  *  et  confir- 
masti 
tuam. 

Non  est  sanitas  in  carne 
mea  a  facie  irae  tuae  :  *  non 
est  pax  ossibus  meis  a  facie 
peccatorum  meorum. 

Quoniam  iniquitates  meae 
supergressae  sunt  caput 
meum  :  *  et  sicut  onus 
grave  gravatae  sunt  super 
me. 

Putruerunt,  et  corruptae 
sunt  cicatrices  meae  :  *  a  facie 
insipientiae  meae. 

Miser  factus  sum,  et  cur- 
vatus  sum  usque  in  finem : 

2g 


424 


HOLY    WEEK. 


*  tota   die    contristatus    in- 
grediebar. 

Quoniam  lumbi  mei  im- 
pleti  sunt  illusionibus :  *  et 
non  est  sanitas  in  carne 
mea. 

Afflictus  sum,  et  humilia- 
tus  sum  nimis :  *  rugiebam 
a  gemitu  cordis  mei. 

Domine,  ante  te  omne 
desiderium  meum :  *  et 
gemitus  meus  a  te  non  est 
absconditus. 

Cor  meum  conturbatum 
est,  dereliquit  me  virtus 
mea:  *  et  lumen  oculorum 
meorum,  et  ipsum  non  est 
mecum. 

Amici  mei  et  proximi 
mei :  *  adversum  me  ap- 
propinquaverunt  et  stete- 
runt. 

Et  qui  juxta  me  erant,  de 
longe  steterunt :  *  et  vim 
faciebant  qui  quserebant 
animam  meam. 

Et  qui  inquirebant  mala 
mini,  locuti  sunt  vanitates  : 

*  et  dolos  tota  die   medita- 
bantur. 

Ego  autem  tamquam  sur- 
dus  non  audiebam :  *  et 
sicut  mutus  non  aperiens  os 
suum. 

Et  factus  sum  sicut  homo 
non  audiens :  *  et  non 
habens  in  ore  suo  redargu- 
tiones. 

Quoniam  in  te  Domine, 
speravi  :  *  tu  exaudies  me, 
Domine  Deus  meus. 

Quia  dixi  :  Nequando 
supergaudeant  mibi  inimici 
mei  :  *  et  dum  commoventur 
pedes  mei  super  me  magna 
locuti  sunt. 

Quoniam    ego    in   flagella 


end  :  I  walked  sorrowful  all 
the  day  long. 

For  my  loins  are  filled  with 
illusions  :  and  there  is  no 
health  in  my  flesh. 

I  am  afflicted  and  humbled 
exceedingly :  I  roared  with 
the  groaning  of  my  heart. 

Lord,  all  my  desire  is  before 
thee  :  and  my  groaning  is  not 
hid  from  thee. 

My  heart  is  troubled,  my 
strength  hath  left  me  :  and 
the  light  of  my  eyes  itself  is 
not  with  me. 

My  friends  and  my  neigh- 
bours have  drawn  near,  and 
stood  against  me. 

And  they  that  were  near 
me  stood  afar  off  :  and  they 
they  that  sought  my  soul 
used  violence. 

And  they  that  sought  evils 
to  me  spoke  vain  things  :  and 
studied  deceits  all  the  day 
long. 

But  I,  as  a  deaf  man,  heard 
not :  and  was  as  a  dumb  man 
not  opening  his  mouth. 

And  I  became  as  a  man 
that  heareth  not :  and  that 
hath  no  reproofs  in  his  mouth. 

For  in  thee,  0  Lord,  have 
I  hoped  :  thou  wilt  hear  me, 
O  Lord  my  God. 

For  I  said :  Lest  at  any 
time  my  enemies  rejoice  over 
me :  and  whilst  my  feet  are 
moved,  they  speak  great 
things  against  me. 

For  I  am  ready  for  scourges : 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    TENEBRTFl. 


425 


and  my  sorrow  is  continually 
before  me. 

For  I  will  declare  my  ini- 
quity :  and  I  will  think  for 
my  sin. 

But  my  enemies  live,  and 
are  stronger  than  I :  and  they 
that  hate  me  wrongfully  are 
multiplied. 

They  that  render  evil  for 
good,  have  detracted  me,  be- 
cause I  followed  goodness. 

Forsake  me  not,  0  Lord  my 
God :  do  not  thou  depart  from 
me. 

Attend  unto  my  help,  O 
Lord,  the  God  of  my  salva- 
tion. 

Ant.  They  used  violence 
that  sought  my  soul. 


paratus  sum :  *  et  dolor 
meus  in  conspectu  meo  sem- 
per. 

Quoniam  iniquitatem  me- 
am  annuntiabo :  *  et  cogi- 
tabo  pro  peccato  meo. 

Inimici  autem  mei  vivunt, 
et  confirmati  sunt  super  me  : 
*  et  multiplicati  sunt  qui 
oderunt  me  inique. 

Qui  retribuunt  mala  pro 
bonis  detrahebant  mihi :  * 
quoniam  sequebar  bonita- 
tem. 

Ne  derelinquas  me,  Do- 
mine  Deus  meus :  *  ne  di- 
scesseris   a  me. 

Intende  in  adjutorium 
meum :  *  Domine,  Deus 
salutis  mese. 

Ant.  Vim  faciebant  qui 
quserebant  animam  meam. 


The  fifth  Psalm  also  represents  David,  under  per- 
secution, as  the  figure  of  the  Messias.  But  there  is 
one  verse  in  it,  which  refers  only  to  Christ,  and  not 
to  David  :  it  is  the  tenth,  wherein  it  is  said  :  Burnt- 
offerings  and  sin-offerings  thou  didst  not  require : 
then  said  I :  "Behold  I  come  !  " 


Ant.     Let  them  be  con-  Ant.      Confundantur      et 

founded    and   ashamed   that  revereantur,     qui      quaerunt 

seek  after  my  soul,  to  take  it  animam  meam,  ut   auferant 

away.  earn. 


PSALM    39. 


With  expectation  I  have 
waited  for  the  Lord,  and  he 
was  attentive  to  me. 

And  he  heard  my  prayers, 
and  he  brought  me  out  of  the 
pit  of  misery,  and  the  mire 
of  dregs. 


exspectavi 
et    intendit 


Exspectans 
Dominum : 
mihi. 

Et  exaudivit  preces  meas  : 
*  et  eduxit  me  de  lacu  mi- 
serise  et  de  luto  fsecis. 


426 


HOLY     WEEK. 


Et  statuit  super  petram 
pedes  meos  :  *  et  direxit 
gressus  meos. 

Et  immisit  in  os  meum 
canticum  novum  :  *  carmen 
Deo  nostro. 

Videbunt  multi,  et  time- 
bunt :  *  et  sperabunt  in 
Domino. 

Beatus  vir,  cujus  est  no- 
men  Domini  spes  ejus :  * 
et  non  respexit  in  vanitates 
et  insanias  falsas. 

Multa  fecisti  tu  Domine 
Deus  meus,  mirabilia  tua  :  * 
et  cogitationibus  tuis  non 
est  qui  similis  sit  tibi. 

Annuntiavi,  et  locutus 
sum :  *  multiplicati  sunt 
super  numerum. 

Sacrificium  et  oblationem 
noluisti :  *  aures  autem 
perfecisti  mihi. 

Holocaustum  et  pro  pec- 
cato  non  postulasti :  *  tunc 
dixi  :   Ecce  venio. 

In  capite  libri  scriptum  est 
de  me,  ut  facerem  volunta- 
tem  tuam :  *  Deus  meus, 
volui,  et  legem  tuam  in 
medio  cordis  mei. 

Annuntiavi  j  ustitiam  tu~ 
am  in  ecclesia  magna  :  * 
ecce  labia  mea  non  prohi- 
bebo :   Domine,  tu  scisti. 

Justitiam  tuam  non  ab- 
scondi  in  corde  meo  :  *  ve- 
ritatem  tuam  et  salutare 
tuum  dixi. 

Non  abscondi  misericor- 
diam  tuam,  et  veritatem 
tuam  :    *   a  concilio  multo. 

Tu  autem,  Domine,  ne 
longe     facias      miserationes 


And  he  set  my  feet  upon  a 
rock,   and  directed  my  steps. 

And  he  put  a  new  canticle 
into  my  mouth,  a  song  to  our 
God. 

Many  shall  see  this,  and 
shall  fear:  and  they  shall  hope 
in  the  Lord. 

Blessed  is  the  man  whose 
trust  is  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  :  and  who  hath  not  had 
regard  to  vanities  and  lying 
follies. 

Thou  hast  multiplied  thy 
wonderful  works,  0  Lord  my 
God :  and  in  my  thoughts 
there  is  no  one  like  to  thee. 

I  have  declared,  and  I  have 
spoken :  they  are  multiplied 
above  number. 

Sacrifice  and  oblation  thou 
didst  not  desire  :  but  thou 
hast  pierced  ears  for  me. 

Burnt-offerings  and  sin- 
offerings  thou  didst  not  re- 
quire :  then  said  I :  Behold 
I  come. 

In  the  head  of  the  book  it 
was  written  of  me,  that  I 
should  do  thy  will :  0  my 
God,  I  have  desired  it,  and 
thy  law  in  the  midst  of  my 
heart. 

I  have  declared  thy  justice 
in  the  great  church:  lo  !  I  will 
not  restrain  my  lips  :  O  Lord, 
thou  knowest  it. 

I  have  not  hid  thy  justice 
within  my  heart.  I  have  de- 
clared thy  truth  and  thy  sal- 
vation. 

I  have  not  concealed  thy 
mercy  and  thy  truth  from  the 
great  council. 

Withhold  not  thou,  0  Lord, 
thy  tender  mercies  from  me  ; 


COOD    FRIDAY  '.    TENEBR/K. 


427 


thy  mercy  and  thy  truth  have 
always  upheld  me. 

For  evils  without  number 
have  surrounded  me  :  my  ini- 
quities have  overtaken  me, 
and  I  was  not  able  to  see. 

They  are  multiplied  above 
the  hairs  of  my  head  :  and 
my  heart  hath  forsaken  me. 

Be  pleased,  0  Lord,  to  de- 
liver me :  look  down,  0  Lord, 
to  help  me. 

Let  them  be  confounded 
and  ashamed  together,  that 
seek  after  my  soul,  to  take  it 
away. 

Let  them  be  turned  back- 
ward, and  be  ashamed,  that 
desire  evils  to  me. 

Let  them  immediately  bear 
their  confusion  that  say  to 
me  :    '  Tis  well,    '  tis  well. 

Let  all  that  seek  thee  re- 
joice and  be  glad  in  thee  :  and 
let  such  as  love  thy  salvation, 
say  always,  The  Lord  be  mag- 
nified. 

But  I  am  a  beggar  and 
poor  :  the  Lord  is  careful  for 
me. 

Thou  art  my  helper  and  my 
protector  :  0  my  God,  be  not 
slack. 

Ant.  Let  them  be  con- 
founded and  ashamed  that 
seek  after  my  soul,  to  take  it 
away. 


tuas  a  me  :  *  misericordia 
tua  et  Veritas  tua  semper 
susceperunt  me. 

Quoniam  circumdederunt 
me  mala,  quorum  non  est 
numerus:  *  comprehenderunt 
me  iniquitates  mese,  et  non 
potui  ut  viderem. 

Multiplicati  sunt  super 
capillos  capitis  mei :  *  et  cor 
meum  dereliquit  me. 

Complaceat  tibi  Domine, 
ut  eruas  me  :  *  Domine,  ad 
adjuvandum  me  respice. 

Confundantur  et  reve- 
reantur  simul,  qui  quserunt 
animam  meam :  *  ut  aufe- 
rant  earn. 

Convertantur  retrorsum  et 
revereantur  :  *  qui  volunt 
mihi  mala. 

Ferant  confestim  confu- 
sionem  suam :  *  qui  dicunt 
mihi  :    Euge,  euge. 

Exsultent  et  laetentur  su- 
per te  omnes  quaerentes  te  : 
*  et  dicant  semper  :  Magni- 
ficetur  Dominus,  qui  diligunt 
salutare  tuum. 

Ego  autem.  mendicus  sum, 
et  pauper  :  *  Dominus  soli- 
citus  est  mei. 

Adjutor  meus  et  protector 
meus  tu  es  :  *  Deus  meus, 
ne  tardaveris. 

Ant.  Confundantur,  et  re- 
vereantur, qui  queerunt  ani- 
mam meam,  ut  auferant 
earn. 


In  the  sixth  Psalm,  David,  persecuted  by  Saul,  is 
a  figure  of  our  Saviour,  against  whom  the  Synagogue 
prepares  its  wicked  plots. 


Ant.   Strangers  have  risen        Ant.     Alieni      insurrexe- 


428 


HOLY   WEEK. 


runt  in  me,   et  fortes 
sierunt  animam  meam. 


quae-     up  against  me,  and  the  mighty 
have  sought  after  my  soul. 


PSALM    53. 


Deus,  in  nomine  tuo  sal- 
vum  me  f  ac  :  *  et  in  virtute 
tua  judica  me. 

Deus,  exaudi  orationem 
meam  :  *  auribus  percipe 
verba  oris  mei. 

Q,uoniam  alieni  insurrex- 
erunt  adversum  me,  et  for- 
tes qusesierunt  animam  me- 
am :  *  et  non  proposuerunt 
Deum  ante  conspectum  su- 
um. 

Ecce  enim  Deus  adjuvat 
me  :  *  et  Dominus  suscep- 
tor  est  animse  mese. 

Averte  mala  inimicis 
meis  :  *  et  in  veritate  tua 
disperde  illos. 

Yoluntarie  sacrificabo  ti- 
bi  :  *  et  confitebor  nomini 
tuo,  Domine,  quoniam  bo- 
num  est. 

Quoniam  ex  omni  tribu- 
latione  eripuisti  me  :  *  et 
super  inimicos  meos  des- 
pexit  oculus  meus. 

Ant.  Alieni  insurrexerunt 
in  me,  et  fortes  qusesierunt 
animam  meam. 

f.  Insurrexerunt  in  me 
testes  iniqui. 

£.  Et  mentita  est  iniqui- 
tas  sibi. 


Save  me,  O  God,  by  thy 
name,  and  judge  me  in  thy 
strength. 

0  God,  hear  my  prayer  : 
give  ear  to  the  words  of  my 
mouth. 

For  strangers  have  risen  up 
against  me  :  and  the  mighty 
have  sought  after  my  soul  : 
and  they  have  not  set  God 
before  their  eyes. 

For  behold  God  is  my 
helper  :  and  the  Lord  is  the 
protector  of  my  soul. 

Turn  back  the  evils  upon 
my  enemies  :  and  cut  them 
off  in  thy  truth. 

1  will  freely  sacrifice  to 
thee,  and  will  give  praise,  O 
God,  to  thy  name :  because 
it  is  good. 

For  thou  hast  delivered  me 
out  of  all  trouble :  and  my 
eye  hath  looked  down  upon 
my  enemies. 

Ant.  Strangers  have  risen 
up  against  me,  and  the  mighty 
have  sought  after  my  soul. 

Jf.  Unjust  witnesses  have 
risen  up  against  me. 

&.  And  iniquity  hath  be- 
lied itself. 


Here  is  said,  in  secret,  the  Pater  noster. 

For  the  Second  Nocturn  Lessons  the  Church  con- 
tinues the  Enarrations  of  St.  Augustine,  on  the 
Psalms  prophetic  of  our  Lord's  Passion, 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    TENEBKJE  . 


429 


From  the  treatise  of  Saint 
Augustine,  Bishop,  upon 
the  Psalms. 


Ex  tractatu  Sancti  Au- 
gustini  Episcopi,  super 
Psalmos. 


Ps.  LX1II. 


Ps.  LXIIL 


FOURTH    LESSON. 


Thou  hast  protected  me,  0 
God,  from  the  assembly  of  the 
malignant,  from  the  multitude 
of  the  workers  of  iniquity .  Now 
let  us  behold  our  head  him- 
self. Many  martyrs  have 
suffered  such  torments,  but 
nothing  is  so  conspicuous  as 
the  head  of  the  martyrs ;  there 
we  see  better  what  they  en- 
dured. He  was  protected 
from  the  multitude  of  the  ma- 
lignant: that  is,  God  protected 
himself ;  the  Son,  and  the 
Man  assumed  by  the  Son,  pro- 
tected his  own  flesh.  For  he 
is  the  Son  of  Man,  "and  the 
Son  of  God  :  the  Son  of  God 
because  of  the  form  of  God  : 
the  Son  of  Man  because  of  the 
form  of  a  servant,  having  it  in 
his  power  to  lay  down  his  life, 
and  take  it  up  again.  What 
could  his  enemies  do  against 
him?  They  killed  his  body,  but 
they  did  not  kill  his  soul.  Take 
notice,  then.  It  signified  little 
for  our  Lord  to  exhort  the 
martyrs  by  word,  if  he  had 
not  fortified  them  by  his 
example. 

Rt.  Ye  are  come  out  to  take 
me,  as  a  thief,  with  swords 
and  clubs.  *  I  was  daily 
with  you  in  the  Temple  teach- 
ing, and  ye  did  not  apprehend 
me  :  and  lo  !  ye  scourge  me, 
and  lead  me  to  be  crucified. 


Protexisti  me,  Deus,  a  con- 
ventu  malignantium,  a  mul- 
titudine  operantium  iniqui- 
tatem.  Jam  ipsum  caput 
nostrum  intueamur.  Multi 
martyres  talia  passi  sunt, 
sed  nihil  sic  elucet,  quo- 
modo  caput  martyrum  :  ibi 
melius  intuemur,  quod  illi 
experti  sunt.  Protectus  est 
a  multitudine  malignan- 
tium :  protegente  se  Deo, 
protegente  carnem  suam 
ipso  Filio,  et  hominem 
quern  gerebat,  quia  Filius 
hominis  est,  et  Filius  Dei 
est :  Filius  Dei,  propter 
formam  Dei :  Filius  homi- 
nis, propter  formam  servi, 
habens  in  potestate  ponere 
animam  suam,  et  recipere 
earn.  Quid  ei  potuerunt  fa- 
cere  inimici  ?  Occiderunt 
corpus,  animam  non  occi- 
derunt. Intendite.  Parum 
ergo  erat,  Dominum  hor- 
tari  martyres  verbo,  nisi 
firmaret  exemplo. 


Rt.  Tamquam  ad  latronem 
existis  cum  gladiis  et  fus- 
tibus  comprehendere  me. 
*  Quotidie  apud  vos  eram 
in  Templo  docens,  et  non 
me  tenuistis  :  et  ecce  fla- 
gellatum  ducitis  ad  crucifi- 
gendum. 


430 


HOLY    WEEK. 


f.  Cumque  injecissent 
manus  in  Jesum,  et  tenuis  - 
sent  eum,  dixit  ad  eos  : 

*  Q,uotidie  apud  vos  eram 
in  Templo  docens,  et  non 
me  tenuistis ;  et  ecce  flagel- 
latum  ducitis  ad  crucifigen- 
dum. 


f.  And  when  they  had  laid 
hands  on  Jesus,  and  taken 
him,  he  said  to  them  : 

*  I  was  daily  with  you  in 
the  Temple  teaching,  and  ye 
did  not  apprehend  me :  and 
lo  !  ye  scourge  me,  and  lead 
me  to  be  crucified. 


FIFTH    LESSON. 


Nostis  qui  conventus  erat 
malignantium  Judaeorum, 
et  quae  multitudo  erat 
operantium  iniquitatem  ? 
Quam  iniquitatem  ?  Quia 
voluerunt  occidere  Domi- 
num  Jesum  Christum.  Tan- 
ta  opera  bona,  inquit,  osten- 
di  vobis;  propter  quod  ho- 
rum  me  vultis  occidere  ? 
Pertulit  omnes  infirmos  eo- 
rum,  curavit  omnes  langui- 
dos  eorum,  praedicavit  reg- 
num  ccelorum,  non  tacuit 
vitia  eorum,  ut  ipsa  potius 
eis  displicerent,  non  medi- 
cus,  a  quo  sanabantur.  His 
omnibus  curationibus  ejus 
ingrati,  tamquam  multa 
febre  phrenetici,  insanientes 
in  medicum  qui  venerat 
curare  eos,  excogitaverunt 
consilium  perdendi  eum, 
tanquam  ibi  volentes  pro- 
bare,  utrum  vere  homo  sit 
qui  mori  possit,  an  aliquid 
super  homines  sit,  et  mori 
se  non  permittat.  Verbum 
ipsorum  agnoscimus  in  Sa- 
pientia  Salomonis.  Morte 
turpissima,  inquiunt,  con- 
demnemus  eum  :  interro- 
gemus  eum  :  erit  enim 
respectus  in  sermonibus  il- 
lius.  Si  enim  vere  Filius 
Dei  est,  liberet  eum. 


You  know  what  was  the 
assembly  of  the  wicked  Jews, 
and  what  the  multitude  of 
those  that  work  iniquity.  But 
what  was  that  iniquity?  It 
was  that  they  intended  to  kill 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  1  have 
done,  saith  he,  so  many  good 
works  among  you  :  for  which 
of  them  will  you  kill  me  ?  He 
bore  with  all  their  weaknesses, 
he  cured  all  their  sick,  he 
preached  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  he  concealed  not  their 
crimes,  that  they  might  rather 
hate  them,  than  the  physician 
that  healed  them.  Yet  such 
was  their  ingratitude  for  all 
these  cures,  that  like  men 
raving  in  a  high  fever,  they 
raged  against  the  physician 
that  came  to  cure  them,  and 
formed  a  design  of  destroying 
him  :  as  if  they  had  a  mind 
to  try  whether  he  was  a  real 
man  that  could  die,  or  some- 
thing above  men,  and  would 
not  die.  We  find  their  words 
in  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon : 
Let  us  condemn  him,  say  they, 
to  a  most  shameful  death.  Let 
us  examine  him :  for  regard 
will  be  had  to  his  words.  If 
he  is  truly  the  Son  of  God,  let 
It  in/  deliver  him. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  '.    TEN  EMMS. 


431 


Bt.  Darkness  covered  the 
earth,  whilst  the  Jews  crucified 
Jesus  :  and  about  the  ninth 
hour,  Jesus  cried  out  with  a 
loud  voice  :  My  God  !  why- 
hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  *  And 
bowing  down  his  head,  he 
gave  up  the  ghost. 

^.  Jesus  crying  out  with 
a  loud  voice  said  :  Father  ! 
into  thy  hands  I  commend 
my  spirit ! 

*  A.nd  bowing  down  his 
head,  he  gave  up  the  ghost. 


&.  Tenebrse  factse  sunt, 
dum  crucifixissent  Jesum 
Judsei :  et  circa  horam  no- 
nam  exclamavit  Jesus  voce 
magna :  Deus  meus,  ut 
quid  me  dereliquisti  ?  *  Et 
inclinato  capite,  emisit  spi- 
ritum. 

y.  Exclamans  Jesus  voce 
magna  ait :  Pater,  in  manus 
tuas  commendo  spiritum 
meum. 

*  Et  inclinato  capite,  emi- 
sit spiritum. 


SIXTH    LESSON. 


They  sharpened  their  tongues 
like  a  sivord.  Let  not  the 
Jews  say  :  '  'We  did  not  kill 
Christ :  "  for  they  delivered 
him  up  to  Pilate,  the  judge, 
that  they  might  seem  innocent 
of  his  death.  Thus  when 
Pilate  had  said  to  them  :  Put 
him  to  death  yourselves  :  they 
answered  :  It  is  not  lawful 
for  us  to  put  any  man  to  death. 
Hereby,  they  pretended  to 
throw  the  injustice  of  their 
crime  upon  a  judge  that  was 
a  man :  but  could  they  deceive 
a  judge  that  is  God  ?  What 
Pilate  did,  made  him  partaker 
of  their  crime  :  but  in  com- 
parison with  them,  he  was 
much  mere  innocent.  For  he 
laboured  what  he  could  to  get 
him  out  of  their  hands ;  and 
for  that  reason  ordered  him 
to  be  scourged  and  shown  to 
them.  This  he  did  to  our 
Lord,  not  by  way  of  persecu- 
tion, but  to  satisfy  their  rage  ; 
that  the  sight  of  him  in  that 
condition  might  move  them 
to  pity,  and  make  them  desist 


Exacuerunt  tamquam  gla- 
dium  linguas  suas.  Non 
dicant  Judsei :  Non  occidi- 
mus     Christum.  Etenim 

propterea  eum  dederunt 
judici  Pilato,  ut  quasi  ipsi  a 
morte  ejus  viderentur  im- 
munes.  Nam  cum  dixisset 
eis  Pilatus  :  Vos  eum  occidi- 
te ;  responderunt :  Nobis  non 
licet  occidere  quemquam. 
Iniquitatem  facinoris  sui  in 
judicem  hominem  refunde- 
re  volebant :  sed  numquid 
Deum  judicem  fallebant? 
Quod  fecit  Pilatus,  in  eo 
ipso  quod  fecit,  aliquantum 
particeps  fuit :  sed  in  com- 
paratione  illorum,  multo  ip- 
se innocentior.  Institit  enim 
quantum  potuit,  ut  ilium  ex 
eorum  manibus  liberaret : 
nam  propterea  flagellatum 
produxit  ad  eos.  Non  per- 
sequendo  Dominum  flagel- 
lavit,  sed  eorum  furori  satis- 
facere  volens :  ut  vel  jam 
mitescerent,  et  desinerent 
velle  occidere,  cum  flagella- 
tum viderent.     Fecit  ethoc. 

2n 


432 


HOLY    WEEK. 


At  ubi  perseverarunt,  nos- 
tis  ilium  lavisse  manus,  et 
dixisse  quod  ipse  non  fecis- 
set,  mundum  se  esse  a  morte 
illius.  Fecit  tarn  en.  Sed 
si  reus,  quia  fecit  vel  invi- 
tus :  illi  innocentes,  qui 
coegerunt  ut  faceret  ?  Nul- 
lo  modo.  Sed  ille  dixit  in 
eum  sententiam,  et  jussit 
eum  crucifigi,  et  quasi  ipse 
occidit :  et  vos,  o  Judaei, 
occidistis.  Unde  occidistis  ? 
Gladio  linguae ;  acuistis  enim 
linguas  vestras.  Et  quando 
percussistis,  nisi  quando 
clamastis :  Crucifige,  cru- 
cifige  ? 


#.  Animam  meam  dilec- 
tam  tradidi  in  manus  ini- 
quorum,  et  facta  est  mihi 
haereditas  mea  sicut  leo  in 
silva :  dedit  contra  me  vo- 
ces adversarius,  dicens : 
Congregamini,  et  properate 
ad  devorandum  ilium.  Po- 
suerunt  me  in  deserto  soli- 
tudinis,  et  luxit  super  me 
omnis  terra :  *  Quia  non 
est  inventus  qui  me  agnos- 
ceret,  et  faceret  bene. 

HP.  Insurrexerunt  in  me 
viri  absque  misericordia, 
et  non  pepercerunt  animae 
meae. 

*  Quia  non  est  inventus 
qui  me  agnosceret,  et  face- 
ret bene. 

Here  is  repeated :  Ani- 
mam meam  dilectam. 


from  desiring  his  death.  All 
this  he  did.  But  when  they 
still  persisted,  you  know  that 
he  washed  his  hands,  and  said 
that  he  had  no  hand  in  it, 
that  he  was  innocent  of  his 
death.  And  yet  he  really  put 
him  to  death.  But  if  he  was 
guilty  for  doing  so  against  his 
will :  are  they  innocent  that 
forced  him  to  it  ?  By  no 
means.  He  pronounced  sen- 
tence upon  him,  and  com- 
manded him  to  be  crucified, 
and  so  might  be  said  to  kill 
him  :  but  you,  O  Jews,  you 
also  killed  him.  How  ?  With 
the  sword  of  your  tongues  : 
for  ye  sharpened  your  tongues. 
And  when  gave  you  the  stroke, 
but  when  you  cried  out : 
Crucify  him,  crucify  him  ? 

gt.  I  have  delivered  my  be- 
loved soul  into  the  hands  of 
the  wicked,  and  my  inherit- 
ance is  become  to  me  like  a 
lion  in  the  forest :  my  adver- 
sary gave  out  his  words  against 
me  saying  :  Come  together, 
and  make  haste  to  devour 
him.  They  placed  me  in  a 
solitary  desert,  and  all  the 
earth  mourned  for  me :  * 
Because  there  was  none  found 
that  would  know  me,  and  do 
good  unto  me. 

ft .  Men  with  out  mercy  rose 
up  against  me,  and  they 
spared  not  my  life. 

*  Because  there  was  none 
found  that  would  know  me, 
and  do  good  unto  me. 

Here  is  repeated :  I  have 
delivered. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    TENEBRiE. 


433 


THIRD    NOCTURN. 


The  seventh  Psalm  was  composed  by  David  at  the 
time  when  he  was  being  persecuted  by  Saul.  The 
Prophet,  by  describing  the  fury  of  his  own  persecu- 
tors, shows  us  what  kind  of  men  were  the  enemies  of 
the  Messias. 


Ant.  From  them  that  rise 
up  against  me,  deliver  me,  O 
Lord  :  for  they  are  in  posses- 
sion of  my  soul. 


Ant.  Ab  insurgentibus  in 
me,  libera  me,  Domine,  quia 
occupaverunt  animam  meam. 


PSALM    58. 


Deliver  me  from  my  ene- 
mies, O  my  God  :  and  defend 
me  from  them  that  rise  up 
against  me. 

Deliver  me  from  them  that 
work  iniquity  :  and  save  me 
from  bloody  men. 

For  behold  they  have  caught 
my  soul  :  the  mighty  have 
rushed  in  upon  me. 

Neither  is  it  for  my  iniquity, 
nor  for  my  sin,  O  Lord :  with- 
out iniquity  have  I  run  and 
directed  my  steps. 

Rise  up  thou  to  meet  me, 
and  behold  :  even  thou,  0 
Lord,  the  God  of  hosts,  the 
God  of  Israel. 

Attend  to  visit  all  the  na- 
tions :  have  no  mercy  on  all 
them  that  work  iniquity. 

They  shall  return  at  even- 
ing, and  shall  surfer  hunger 
like  dogs  :  and  shall  go  round 
about  the  city. 

Behold  they  shall  speak 
with  their  mouth,  and  a  sword 
is  in  their  lips  :  for  who, 
say  they,  hath  heard  us  ? 


Eripe  me  de  inimicis  meis 
Deus  meus  :  *  et  ab  insur- 
gentibus in  me,  libera  me. 

Eripe  me  de  operantibus 
iniquitatem :  *  et  de  viris 
sanguinum  salva  me. 

Quia  ecce  ceperunt  ani- 
mam meam :  *  irruerunt 
in  me  fortes. 

Neque  iniquitas  mea,  ne- 
que  peccatum  meum,  Do- 
mine :  *  sine  iniquitate  cu- 
curri,  et  direxi. 

Exsurge  in  occursum  me- 
um, et  vide  :  *  et  tu,  Do- 
mine, Deus  virtutum,  Deus 
Israel. 

Intende  ad  visitandas  om- 
nes  Gentes :  *  non  misere- 
aris  omnibus  qui  operantur 
iniquitatem. 

Convertentur  ad  vespe- 
ram,  et  famem  patientur  ut 
canes :  *  et  circuibunt  civi- 
tatem. 

Ecce  loquentur  in  ore  suo, 
et  gladius  in  labiis  eorum  : 
*  quoniam  quis  audivit  ? 


434 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Et  tu,  Domine,  deridebis 
eos :  *  ad  nihilum  deduces 
omnes  Gentes. 

Fortitudinem  meam  ad  te 
custodiam,  quia  Deus,  sus- 
ceptor  meus  es :  *  Deus 
meus,  misericordia  ejus  prse- 
veniet  me. 

Deus  ostendit  mini  super 
inimicos  meos,  ne  occidas 
eos :  *  nequando  obliviscan- 
tur  populi  mei. 

Disperge  illos  in  virtute 
tua :  *  et  depone  eos  pro- 
tector meus,  Domine. 

Delictum  oris  eorum  ser- 
in onem  labiorum  ipsorum  : 
*  et  comprehendantur  in  su- 
perbia  sua. 

Et  de  execratione  et  men- 
dacio  annuntiabuntur  in 
consummatione :  *  in  ira 
consummations,  et  non 
erunt. 

Et  scient  quia  Deus  domi- 
nabitur  Jacob :  *  et  finium 
terrse. 

Convertentur  ad  ves- 
peram,  et  famem  patientur 
ut  canes  :  *  et  circuibunt  ci- 
vitatem. 

Ipsi  dispergentur  ad 
manducandum:  *  si  vero 
non  fuerint  saturati,  et  mur- 
murabunt. 

Ego  autem  cantabo  forti- 
tudinem tuam :  *  et  exal- 
tabo  mane  misericordiam 
tuam. 

Quia  factus  es  susceptor 
meus  :  *  et  refugium  meum, 
in  die  tribulationis  mese. 

Adjutor  meus  tibi  psal- 
lam,    quia    Deus    susceptor 


But  thou,  O  Lord,  shalt 
laugh,  at  them :  thou  shalt 
bring  all  the  nations  to  no- 
thing. 

I  will  keep  my  strength  to 
thee,  for  thou  art  my  pro- 
tector :  my  God,  his  mercy 
shall  prevent  me. 

God  shall  let  me  see  over 
my  enemies  :  slay  them  not, 
lest  at  any  time  my  people 
forget. 

Scatter  them  by  thy  power : 
and  bring  them  down,  O 
Lord,  my  protector. 

For  the  sin  of  their  mouth, 
and  the  word  of  their  lips  : 
and  let  them  be  taken  in  their 
pride. 

And  for  their  cursing  and 
lying  they  shall  be  talked  of, 
when  they  are  consumed : 
when  they  are  consumed  by 
thy  wrath,  and  they  shall  be 
no  more. 

And  they  shall  know  tha  t 
God  will  rule  Jacob  :  and  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth. 

They  shall  return  at  even- 
ing, and  shall  suffer  hunger 
like  dogs  :  and  shall  go  round 
about  the  city. 

They  shall  be  scattered 
abroad  to  eat :  and  shall  mur- 
mur if  they  be  not  filled. 

But  I  will  sing  thy  strength : 
and  will  extol  thy  mercy  in 
the  morning. 

For  thou  art  become  my 
support  and  my  refuge,  in 
the  day  of  my  trouble. 

Unto  thee,  O  my  helper, 
will  I  sing,  for  thou  art  God, 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    TENEBR^E. 


435 


my  defence  :    my  God,   my 
mercy. 

Ant.  From  them  that  rise 
up  against  me,  deliver  me,  O 
Lord ;  for  they  are  in  posses- 
sion of  my  soul. 


meus  es  :   *   Deus  meus,  mi- 
sericordia  mea. 

Ant.  Ab  insurgentibus  in 
me  libera  me,  Domine,  quia 
occupaverunt  animam  meam. 


In  the  eighth  Psalm,  the  Royal  Prophet  shows  us 
the  Messias  threatened  with  death,  and  complaining 
of  his  Disciples  having  abandoned  him. 


Ant.  Thou  hast  put  away 
my  acquaintance  far  from 
me :  I  was  delivered  up,  and  I 
escaped  not. 


Ant.  Longe  fecisti 
meos  a  me :  traditus 
et  non  egrediebar. 


notos 

sum, 


PSALM    87. 


0  Lord,  the  God  of  my  sal- 
vation, I  have  cried  in  the  day, 
and  in  the  night  before  thee. 

Let  my  prayer  come  in  be- 
fore thee  :  incline  thy  ear  to 
my  petition. 

For  my  soul  is  filled  with 
evils  :  and  my  life  hath  drawn 
nigh  to  hell. 

1  am  counted  among  them 
that  go  down  to  the  pit :  I  am 
become  as  a  man  without 
help,  free  among  the  dead. 

Like  the  slain  sleeping  in 
the  sepulchres,  whom  thou  re- 
memberest  no  more  :  and  they 
are  cast  off  from  thy  hand. 

They  have  laid  me  in  the 
lower  pit  :  in  the  dark  places 
and  in  the  shadow  of  death. 

Thy  wrath  is  strong  over 
me  :  and  all  thy  waves  thou 
hast  brought  in  upon  me. 

Thou  hast   put  away  my 


Domine,  Deus  salutis 
mese  :  *  in  die  clamavi,  et 
nocte  coram  te. 

Intret  in  conspectu  tuo 
oratio  mea  :  *  inclina  aurem 
tuam  ad  precem  meam. 

Quia  repleta  est  malis 
anima  mea  :  *  et  vita  mea 
inferno  appropinquavit. 

.ZEstimatus  sum  cum  des- 
cendentibus  in  lacum  :  *  f  ac- 
tus sum  sicut  homo  sine  ad- 
jutorio,  inter  mortuos  liber. 

Sicut  vulnerati  dormien- 
tes  in  sepulchris,  quorum 
non  es  memor  amplius  :  *  et 
ipsi  de  manu  tua  repulsi 
sunt. 

Posuerunt  me  in  lacu  in- 
feriori  :  *  in  tenebrosis,  et 
in  umbra  mortis. 

Super  me  confirmatus  est 

furor  tuus  :  *  et  omnes  fluc- 

tus    tuos     induxisti     super 

me 

Longe   fecisti    notos    meos 


436 


HOLY    WEEK. 


a    me  :      *     posuerunt    me 
abominationem  sibi. 

Traditus  sum,  et  non  egre- 
diebar :  *  oculi  mei  langue- 
runt  prse  inopia. 

Clamavi  ad  te,  Domine, 
tota  die  :  *  expandi  ad  te 
manus  meas. 

Numquid  mortuis  facies 
mirabilia  :  *  aut  medici  sus- 
citabunt,  et  confitebuntur 
tibi? 

Numquid  narrabit  aliquis 
in  sepulchro  misericordiam 
tuam :  *  et  veritatem  tuam 
in  perditione  ? 

Numquid  cognoscentur  in 
tenebris  mirabilia  tua :  *  et 
justitia  tua  in  terra  obli- 
vionis  ? 

Et  ego  ad  te,  Domine, 
clamavi :  *  et  mane  oratio 
mea  prseveniet  te. 

Ut  quid,  Domine,  repellis 
orationern  meam :  *  avertis 
f  aciem  tuam  a  me  ? 

Pauper  sum  ego,  et  in 
laboribus  a  juventute  mea  :  * 
exaltatus  autem,  humiliatus 
sum  et  conturbatus. 

In  me  transierunt  irse 
tuae :  *  et  terrores  tui  contur- 
baverunt  me. 

Circumdederunt  me  sicut 
aqua  tota  die  :  *  circumde- 
derunt me  simul. 

Elongasti  a  me  amicum  et 
proximum  :  *  et  notos  meos 
a  miseria. 

Ant.  Longe  fecisti  notos 
meos  a  me  :  traditus  sum,  et 
non  egrediebar. 


acquaintance  far  from  me  : 
they  have  set  me  an  abomi- 
nation to  themselves. 

I  was  delivered  up,  and 
came  not  forth  :  my  eyes 
languished  through  poverty. 

All  the  day  I  cried  to  thee, 

0  Lord  :  I  stretched  out  my 
hands  to  thee. 

Wilt  thou  show  wonders  to 
the  dead  :  or  shall  physicians 
raise  to  life,  and  give  praise 
to  thee  ? 

Shall  any  one  in  the  sepul- 
chre declare  thy  mercy,  and 
thy  truth  in  destruction  ? 

Shall  thy  wonders  be  known 
in  the  dark  :  and  thy  justice 
in  the  land  of  forgetfulness  ? 

But  I,  0  Lord,  have  cried 
to  thee  :  and  in  the  morning 
my  prayer  shall  prevent  thee. 

Lord,  why  castest  thou  off 
my  prayer  :  why  turnest  thou 
away  thy  face  from  me  ? 

I  am  poor  and  in  labours 
from  my  youth  :  and  being 
exalted,  have  been  humbled 
and  troubled. 

Thy  wrath  hath  come  upon 
me  :  and  thy  terrors  have 
troubled  me. 

They  have  come  round 
about  me  like  water  all  the 
day  :  they  have  compassed 
me  about  together. 

Friend  and  neighbour  thou 
hast  put  far  from  me  :  and 
my  acquaintance  because  of 
misery. 

Ant.  Thou  hast  put  away 
my  acquaintance  far  from 
me  :  I  was  delivered  up,  and 

1  escaped  not. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    TENEBR^K. 


437 


The  ninth  Psalm  invokes  the  vengeance  of  God 
upon  the  unjust  judges,  who  shed  the  blood  of  the 
innocent  Jesus,  and  forget  that  there  is  One  in 
heaven  who  is  witness  of  their  injustice  and  of  his 
immolation.  The  High  Priests,  the  Doctors  of  the 
Law,  the  dastardly  Pontius  Pilate,  are  here  described 
as  unjust  judges,  upon  whose  heads  will  fall  the 
wrath  of  heaven. 


Ant.  They  will  hunt  after 
the  soul  of  the  Just ;  and  will 
condemn  innocent  Blood. 


Ant.  Captabunt  in  ani- 
mam  justi,  et  sanguinem  in- 
nocentem  condemnabunt. 


PSALM    93. 


The  Lord  is  the  God  to 
whom  revenge  belongeth  : 
the  God  of  revenge  acted 
freely. 

Lift  up  thyself,  thou  that 
judgeth  the  earth  :  render  a 
reward  to  the  proud. 

How  long  shall  the  wicked, 
O  Lord,  how  long  shall  the 
wicked  make  their  boast  ? 

How  long  shall  they  utter 
and  speak  wrong  things : 
how  long  shall  the  workers 
of  iniquity  talk  ? 

Thy  people,  O  Lord,  they 
have  brought  low  :  and  they 
have  afflicted  thy  inheritance. 

They  have  slain  the  widow 
and  the  stranger  :  and  they 
have  murdered  the  fatherless. 

And  they  have  said :  The 
Lord  shall  not  see  :  neither 
shall  the  God  of  Jacob  un- 
derstand. 

Understand,  ye  senseless 
among  the  people  :  and  you 
fools  be  wise  at  last. 

He  that  planted  the  ear, 
shall  he  not  hear :  or  he  that 
formed  the  eye,  doth  he  not 
consider  ? 


Deus  ultionum   Dominus : 
Deus  ultionum  libere  egit. 


Exaltare  qui  judicas  ter- 
rain :  *  redde  retributionem 
superbis. 

Usquequo  peccatores  Do- 
mine :  *  usquequo  pecca- 
tores gloriabuntur  ? 

Effabuntur  et  loquentur 
iniquitatem :  *  loquentur 
omnes  qui  operantur  injus- 
titiam  ? 

Populum  tuum,  Domine, 
humiliaverunt :  *  et  hseredi- 
tatem  tuam  vexaverunt. 

Viduam  et  advenam  inter - 
fecerunt :  *  et  pupillos  occi- 
derunt. 

Et  dixerunt :  Non  videbit 
Dominus :  *  nee  intelliget 
Deus  Jacob. 

Intelligite  insipientes  in 
populo  :  *  et  stulti  aliquan- 
do  sapite. 

Qui  plantavit  aurem,  non 
audiet :  *  aut  qui  finxit  ocu- 
lum,  non  considerat  ? 


438 


HOLY     WEEK. 


Qui  corripit  gentes,  non 
arguet:  *  qui  docet  homi- 
nem  scientiam  ? 

Dominus  scit  cogitationes 
hominum  :  *  quoniam  vanae 
sunt. 

Beatus  homo,  quern  tu 
erudieris,  Domine  :  *  et  de 
lege  tua  docueris  eum. 

Ut  mitiges  ei  a  diebus 
nialis  :  *  donee  fodiatur  pec- 
catori  fovea. 

Quia  non  repellet  Domi- 
nus plebem  suam  :  *  et  hse- 
reditatem  suam  non  dere- 
linquet. 

Quoadusque  justitia  con- 
vertatur  in  judicium  :  *  et 
qui  juxta  ilium  omnes  qui 
recto  sunt  corde. 

Quis  consurget  mini  ad- 
versus  malignantes  :  *  aut 
quis  stabit  mecum  adversus 
operantes  iniquitatem  ? 

Nisi  quia  Dominus  adju- 
vit  me  :  *  paulo  minus  habi- 
tasset  in  inferno  anima  mea. 

Si  dicebam  :  Motus  est  pes 
meus  :  *  misericordia  tua, 
Domine,  adjuvabat  me. 

Secundum  multitudinem 
dolorum  meorum  in  corde 
meo  :  *  consolationes  tuse 
laetificaverunt  animam  me- 
am. 

Numquid  adhserettibi  sedes 
iniquitatis  :  *  qui  fingis  la- 
borem  in  prsecepto  ? 

Captabunt  in  animam 
justi  :  *  et  sanguinem  inno- 
centem  condemnabunt. 

Et  f actus  est  mihi  Domi- 
nus in  refugium  :  *  et  Deus 
meus  in  adjutorium  spei 
meae. 

Et    reddet    illis    iniquita- 


He  that  chastiseth  nations, 
shall  he  not  rebuke  :  he  that 
teacheth  man  knowledge  ? 

The  Lord  knoweth  the 
thoughts  of  men,  that  they  are 
vain. 

Blessed  is  the  man  whom 
thou  shalt  instruct,  O  Lord  : 
and  shalt  teach  him  out  of 
thy  law. 

That  thou  mayest  give  him 
rest  from  the  evil  days  :  till 
a  pit  be  dug  for  the  wicked. 

For  the  Lord  will  not  cast 
off  his  people :  neither  will  he 
forsake  his  own  inheritance. 

Until  justice  be  turned  into 
judgment :  and  they  that  are 
near  it  are  all  the  upright  in 
heart. 

Who  shall  rise  up  for  me 
against  the  evil  doers  ?  or  who 
shall  stand  with  me  against 
the  workers  of  iniquity  ? 

Unless  the  Lord  had  been 
my  helper  :  my  soul  had  al- 
most dwelt  in  hell. 

If  I  said :  My  foot  is  moved  : 
thy  mercy,  0  Lord,  assisted 
me. 

According  to  the  multitude 
of  my  sorrows  in  my  heart : 
thy  comforts  have  given  joy 
to  my  soul. 

Doth  the  seat  of  iniquity 
stick  to  thee :  who  framest 
labour  in  commandment  ? 

They  will  hunt  after  the 
soul  of  the  just :  and  will  con- 
demn innocent  blood. 

But  the  Loid  is  my  refuge : 
and  my  God  the  help  of  my 
hope. 

And  he  will  render  to  them 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    TENEBRTE. 


439 


tern  ipsorum  :  et  in  malitia 
eorum  disperdet  eos  :  *  dis- 
perdet  illos  Dominus  Deus 
noster. 

Ant.  Captabunt  in  ani- 
mam  justi,  et  sanguinem 
innocentein  condemnabunt. 

y.  Locuti  snnt  adversum 
me  lingua  dolosa. 

gt.  Et  sermonibus  odii 
circumdederunt  me,  et  ex- 
pugnaverunt  me  gratis. 


their  iniquity  :  and  in  their 
malice  he  will  destroy  them  : 
yea,  the  Lord  our  God  will 
destroy  them. 

Ant.  They  will  hunt  after 
the  soul  of  the  Just ;  and  will 
condemn  innocent  Blood. 

y.  They  have  spoken 
against  me  with  a  deceitful 
tongue. 

Be.  And  they  have  com- 
passed me  about  with  words 
of  hatred,  and  have  fought 
against  me  without  cause. 

Here  is  said  the  Pater  noster,  in  secret. 

For  the  Lessons  of  this  Nocturn,  the  Church  has 
selected  a  passage  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
where  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  Son  of  God  having 
beoome  our  High  Priest  and  Mediator  with  the 
Father,  by  the  shedding  of  his  Blood.  This  precious 
Blood  blots  out  our  sins,  and  opens  heaven  to  us, 
which  Adam's  sin  had  closed  against  us. 

SEVENTH    LESSON. 


From  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul 
the  Apostle,  to  the  He- 
brews. 

Ch.  IV.  and  V. 

Let  us  haste  therefore  to  enter 
into  that  rest :  lest  any  man  fall 
into  the  same  example  of  un- 
belief. For  the  word  of  God 
is  living  and  effectual  and 
more  piercing  than  any  two- 
edged  sword,  and  reaching 
unto  the  division  of  the  soul 
and  the  spirit,  of  the  joints 
also,  and  the  marrow,  and  is 
a  discerner  of  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart. 
Neither  is  there  any  creature 
invisible  in  his  sight  :   but  all 


De    Epistola     Beati     Pauli 
Apostoli  ad  Hebreeos. 

Gap.  IV.  et  V. 

Festinemus  ingredi  in  il- 
lam  requiem  :  ut  ne  in  id- 
ipsum  quis  incidat  incredu- 
litatis  exemplum.  Vivus 
est  enim  sermo  Dei,  et 
efficax,  et  penetrabilior  omni 
gladio  ancipiti  :  et  pertin- 
gens  usque  ad  divisionem 
animse  ac  spiritus,  compagum 
quoque  ac  medullarum,  et 
discretor  cogitationum  et 
intentionem  cordis.  Et  non 
est  ulla  creatura  invisibilis 
in   conspectu   ejus  :      omnia 

2  I 


440 


HOLY    WEEK. 


autem  nuda  et  aperta  sunt 
oculis  ejus,  ad  quern  nobis 
sermo.  Habentes  ergo  Pon- 
tificem  magnum,  qui  pene- 
travit  ccelis,  Jesum  Filium 
Dei,  teneamus  confessionem. 
Non  enim  habemus  Pon- 
tificem  qui  non  possit  com- 
pati  infirmitatibus  nostris : 
tentatum  autem  per  omnia 
pro  similitudine  absque 
peccato. 

gt.  Tradiderunt  me  in 
manus  impiorum,  et  inter 
iniquos  projecerunt  me,  et 
non  pepercerunt  animae 
meae  :  congregati  sunt  ad- 
versum  me  fortes ;  *  Et  si- 
cut  gigantes  steterunt  con- 
tra me. 

ft.  Alieni  insurrexerunt 
adversum  me,  et  fortes 
qusesierunt  animam  meam. 

*  Et  sicut  gigantes  ste- 
terunt contra  me. 


things  are  naked  and  open  to 
the  eyes  of  him,  to  whom  our 
speech  is.  Seeing  then  that 
we  have  a  great  High  Priest 
that  hath  passed  into  the 
heavens,  Jesus  the  Son  of 
God,  let  us  hold  fast  our  con- 
fession. For  we  have  not  a 
High  Priest  who  cannot  have 
compassion  on  our  infirmities  : 
but  one  tempted  in  all  things 
like  as  we  are,  without  sin. 

gt.  They  delivered  me  into 
the  hands  of  the  impious  and 
cast  me  out  among  the  wicked, 
and  spared  not  my  life  :  the 
powerful  gathered  together 
against  me :  *  And  like  giants 
they  stood  against  me. 

1?.  Strangers  have  risen  up 
against  me,  and  the  mighty 
have  sought  my  soul. 

*  And  like  giants  they  stood 
against  me. 


EIGHTH    LESSON. 


Adeamus  ergo  cum  fidu- 
cia  ad  thronum  gratise  : 
ut  misericordiam  consequa- 
mur,  et  gratiam  inveniamus 
in  auxilio  opportuno.  Om- 
nis  namque  Pontifex  ex 
hominibus  assumptus,  pro 
hominibus  constituitur  in 
iis  quse  sunt  ad  Denm,  ut 
offerat  dona  et  sacrificia  pro 
peccatis  :  qui  condolere  pos- 
sit iis  qui  ignorant  et  errant : 
quoniam  et  ipse  circum- 
datus  est  infirmitate.  Et 
propterea  debet,  quemad- 
modum  pro  populo,  ita  etiam 
et  pro  semetipso  offerre  pro 
peccatis. 


Let  us  go  therefore  with 
confidence  to  the  throne  of 
grace  :  that  we  may  obtain 
mercy,  and  find  grace  in 
seasonable  aid.  For  every 
High  Priest  taken  from 
among  men,  is  appointed  for 
men  in  the  things  that  apper- 
tain to  God,  that  he  may 
offer  up  gifts  and  sacrifices 
for  sins  :  who  can  have  com- 
passion on  them  that  are 
ignorant,  and  that  err  :  be- 
cause he  himself  also  is  com- 
passed with  infirmity.  And 
therefore  he  ought,  as  for  the 
people,  so  also  for  himself,  to 
offer  for  sins. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  '.    TENEBRJE. 


441 


#.  The  wicked  man  be- 
trayed Jesus  to  the  chief 
priests  and  elders  of  the  peo- 
ple :  *  But  Peter  followed 
him  afar  off,  that  he  might 
see  the  end. 

JC.  And  they  led  him  to 
Caiphas  the  high  priest,  where 
the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  were 
met  together. 

*  But  Peter  followed  him 
afar  off,  that  he  might  see  the 
end. 


Br.  Jesum  tradidit  impius 
summis  principibus  sacer- 
dotum,  et  senioribus  populi : 
*  Petrus  autem  sequebatur 
eum  a  longe,  ut  videret 
finem. 

$ .  Adduxerunt  autem 
eum  ad  Caipham  principem 
sacerdotum,  ubi  Scribee  et 
Pharissei  convenerant. 

*  Petrus  autem  sequeba- 
tur eum  a  longe,  ut  videret 
finem. 


NINTH    LESSON. 


Neither  doth  any  man  take 
the  honour  to  himself,  but  he 
that  is    called    by  God,    as 
Aaron  was.   So  also  Christ  did 
not  glorify  himself  to  be  made 
a  high  priest :  but  he  that  said 
to  him  :  thou  art  my  Son,  this 
day    have   I   begotten   thee. 
As  he  saith  also  in  another 
place :  Thou  art  a  priest  for 
ever  according  to  the  order  of 
Melchisedech.     Who   in   the 
days  of  his  flesh,   offering  up 
prayers     and     supplications, 
with  a  strong  cry  and  tears,  to 
him  that  was  able  to  save  him 
from  death,  was  heard  for  his 
reverence:  and  whereas  indeed 
he  was  the  Son  of  God,  he 
learned     obedience     by    the 
things  which  he  suffered  :  and 
being  consummated,  he  be- 
came the  cause  of  eternal  sal- 
vation to  all  that  obey  him, 
called  by  God  a  high-priest 
according  to  the  order  of  Mel- 
chisedech. 

#.  My  eyes  are  darkened  by 
my  tears  :  for  he  is  far  from 
me  that  comforted  me.       See 


Nee  quisquam   sumit   sibi 
honorem   sed   qui  vocatur  a 
Deo,    tanquam   Aaron.      Sic 
et  Christus   non  semetipsum 
clarificavit   ut   pontifex    fie- 
ret  :   sed  qui  locutus  est  ad 
eum  :  Filius  meus  es  tu,  ego 
hodie   genui   te.       Quemad- 
modum  et  in  alio  loco  dicit : 
Tu  es  sacerdos   in   seternum 
secundum   ordinem    Melchi- 
sedech.    Qui   in  die  bus  car- 
nis  su8e,  preces   supplicatio- 
nesque   ad   eum,    qui    possit 
ilium  salvum  facere  a  morte, 
cum  clamore  valido  et  lacry- 
mis   offerens,    exauditus   est 
pro  sua  reverentia.      Et  qui- 
dem   cum   esset    Filius   Dei, 
didicit   ex   iis,     quae    passus 
est,    obedientiam  :      et   con- 
summatus,   f actus  est  omni- 
bus    obtemperantibus      sibi, 
causa  salutis  seternse,   appel- 
latus  a  Deo   pontifex   juxta 
ordinem  Melchisedech. 

gt.  Caligaverunt  oculi  mei 
a  fletu  meo  :  quia  elongatus 
est   a  me,    qui   consolabatur 


442 


HOLY    WEEK. 


me.  Videte  omnes  populi,  * 
Si  est  dolor  similis  sicut 
dolor  meus. 

y.  0  vos  omnes  qui  trans- 
itis  per  viam,  attendite,  et 
videte. 

*  Si  est  dolor  similis  sicut 
dolor  meus. 

Here  is  repeated  :  Caliga- 
verunt  oculi  mei. 


all  ye  people,     *    If  there  be 
sorrow  like  unto  my  sorrow. 

^.  0  all  ye  that  pass  by 
the  way,  behold  and  see, 

*  If  there  be  sorrow  like 
unto  my  sorrow. 

Here  is  repeated  :  My  eyes 
are  darkened. 


LAUDS. 


The  first  Psalm  of  Lauds  is  the  Miserere,  as  yes- 
terday, page  336.  It  is  sung  to  the  following 
Antiphon : 


suo 


Ant.     Proprio    Filio 
non  pepercit  Deus,    sed  pro 
nobis  omnibus  tradidit  ilium. 


Ant.  God  spared  not  his 
own  Son,  but  delivered  him 
up  for  us  all. 


The  second  Psalm  is  one  of  those  that  was  com- 
posed by  David  during  the  time  of  Absalom's  rebel- 
lion. It  is  one  of  the  Psalms  of  Friday's  ferial  Lauds 
throughout  the  year ;  and  is  appropriate  to  the  mys- 
tery of  to-day,  inasmuch  as  it  expresses  how  the 
Messias  was  abandoned  by  his  Disciples,  and  how 
confidently  he  hoped  in  Grod. 

Ant.  Anxiatus  es  super  Ant.  My  spirit  is  in  an- 
me  spiritus  meus,  in  me  tur-  guish  within  me,  my  heart 
batum  est  cor  meum.  within  me  is  troubled. 

PSALM    142. 


Domine,  exaudi  orationem 
meam  :  auribus  percipe  ob- 
secrationem  meam  in  veri- 
tate  tua :  *  exaudi  me  in  tua 
justitia. 

Et  non  intres  in  judicium 
cum  servo  tuo  :    *    quia  non 


Hear,  O  Lord,  my  prayer, 
give  ear  to  my  supplication 
in  thy  truth  :  hear  me  in  thy 
justice. 


And  enter  not  into 
ment  with  thy  servant : 


judg- 
for  in 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    TENEBRJE. 


443 


thy  sight  no  man  living  shall 
be  justified. 

For  the  enemy  hath  perse- 
cuted my  soul :  he  hath 
brought  down  my  life  to  the 
earth. 

He  hath  made  me  to  dwell 
in  darkness,  as  those  that  have 
been  dead  of  old ;  and  my 
spirit  is  in  anguish  within  me, 
my  heart  within  me  is 
troubled. 

I  remembered  the  days  of 
old,  I  meditated  on  all  thy 
works.  I  mused  upon  the 
works  of  thy  hands. 

I  stretched  forth  my  hands 
to  thee  :  my  soul  is  as  earth 
without  water  unto  thee. 

Hear  me  speedily,  O  Lord  : 
my  spirit  hath  fainted  away. 

Turn  not  away  thy  face 
from  me  :  lest  I  be  like  unto 
them  that  go  down  into  the  pit. 

Cause  me  to  hear  thy  mercy 
in  the  morning  :  for  in  thee 
have  I  hoped. 

Make  the  way  known  to 
me  wherein  I  should  walk  : 
for  I  have  lifted  up  my  soul 
to  thee. 

Deliver  me  from  my  ene- 
mies, 0  Lord,  to  thee  have  I 
fled :  teach  me  to  do  thy  will, 
for  thou  art  my  God. 

Thy  good  spirit  shall  lead 
me  into  the  right  land :  for 
thy  name's  sake,  0  Lord,  thou 
wilt  quicken  me  in  thy  jus- 
tice. 

Thou  wilt  bring  my  soul 
out  of  troubles :  and  in  thy 
mercy  thou  wilt  destroy  my 
enemies. 


justificabitur  in  conspectu 
tuo  omnis  vivens. 

Quia  persecutus  est  ini- 
micus  animam  meam :  * 
humiliavit  in  terra  vitam 
meam. 

Collocavit  me  in  obscuris 
sicut  mortuos  saeculi :  *  et 
anxiatus  est  super  me  spiri- 
tus  meus,  in  me  turbatum 
est  cor  meum. 

Memor  fui  dierum  anti- 
quorum,  meditatus  sum  in 
omnibus  operibus  tuis  :  *  in 
factis  manuum  tuarum  me- 
ditabar. 

Expandi  manus  meas  ad 
te  :  *  anima  mea  sicut  terra 
sine  aqua  tibi. 

Velociter  exaudi  me,  Do- 
mine  :  *  defecit  spiritus 
meus. 

Non  avertas  faciem  tuam 
a  me  :  *  et  similis  ero  de- 
scendentibus  in  lacum. 

Auditam  fac  mihi  mane 
misericordiam  tuam :  *  quia 
in  te  speravi. 

Notam  fac  mihi  viam  in 
qua  ambulem  :  *  quia  ad  te 
levavi  animam  meam. 

Eripe  me  de  inimicis  meis, 
Domine,  ad  te  confugi :  * 
doce  me  facere  voluntatem 
tuam,  quia  Deus  meus  es 
tu. 

Spiritus  tuus  bonus  de- 
ducet  me  in  terram  rectam  : 
*  propter  nomen  tuum,  Do- 
mine, vivificabis  me  in  sequi- 
tate  tua. 

Educes  de  tribulatione 
animam  meam  :  *  et  in  mis- 
ericordia  tua  disperdes  ini- 
micos  meos. 


444 


HOLY     WEEK. 


Et  perdes  omnes  qui  tribu-  And  thou  wilt  cut  off  all 

lant  animam  meam  :    *   quo-  them   that  afflict  my  soul  : 

niam  ego  servus  tuus  sum.  for  I  am  thy  servant. 

Ant.     Anxiatus  est  super  Ant.     My  spirit  is  in  an- 

me  spiritus  meus,  in  me  tur-  guish  within  me,  my  heart 

batum  est  cor  meum.  within  me  is  troubled. 

The  third  Psalm  is  the  Bens,  Dens  mens,  which  is 
given  in  page  340.     The  following  is  its  Antiphon  : 


Ant.  Ait  latro  ad  latro- 
nem :  Nos  quidem  digna 
f  actis  recipimus :  hie  autem 
quid  fecit  ?  Memento  mei, 
Domine,  dum  veneris  in 
regnum  tuum. 


Ant.  The  thief  said  to  the 
thief  :  We,  indeed,  receive  the 
due  reward  of  our  deeds ;  but 
what  has  this  Man  done  ?  Re- 
member me,  O  Lord,  when 
thou  shalt  come  into  thy 
kingdom. 


The  following  Canticle  is  that  of  the  Prophet 
Habacuc,  and  comes  in  the  Lauds  of  every  Friday 
(when  a  Feria),  throughout  the  year.  It  celebrates 
the  victory  of  Christ  over  his  enemies,  when  he  shall 
come  to  judge  the  world.  It  forms  a  sublime  con- 
trast with  the  humiliations  which  the  Man-God 
suffers  on  this  the  day  of  his  Death. 


Ant.  Cum  conturbata 
fuerit  anima  mea,  Domine, 
misericordiae  memor  eris. 


Ant.  "When  my  soul  shall 
be  in  trouble,  0  Lord  !  thou 
wilt  be  mindful  of  thy  mercy. 


CANTICLE    OF    HABACUC. 


Domine,     audivi     auditio- 
nem  tuam :    *   et  timui. 


opus 
annorum 


tuum :    * 
vivifica 


Domine 
in  medio 
iUud. 

In  medio  annorum  notum 
facies  :  *  cum  iratus  fueris, 
misericordiae  recordaberis. 

Deue  ab  austro  veniet :  * 
et  Sanctus  de  monte  Pha- 
ran. 


O  Lord,  I  heard  what  thou 
madest  me  hear,  and  was 
afraid. 

0  Lord,  thy  work  in  the 
midst  of  the  years  bring  it 
to  life. 

In  the  midst  of  the  years 
thou  shalt  make  it  known : 
when  thou  art  angry,  thou 
wilt  remember  mercy. 

God  will  come  from  the 
south,  and  the  Holy  One  from 
mount  Pharan. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    TENEHR^K. 


445 


His  glory  covered  the  hea- 
vens :  and  the  earth  is  full  of 
his  praise. 

His  brightness  shall  be  as 
the  light:  horns  are  in  his 
hands. 

There  is  his  strength  hid  : 
death  shall  go  before  his  face. 

And  the  devil  shall  go  forth 
before  his  feet :  he  stood  and 
measured  the  earth. 

He  beheld,  and  melted  the 
nations :  and  the  ancient 
mountains  were  crushed  to 
pieces. 

The  hills  of  the  world  were 
bowed  down,  by  the  journeys 
of  his  eternity. 

I  saw  the  tents  of  ^Ethiopia 
for  their  iniquity:  the  cur- 
tains of  the  land  of  Madian 
shall  be  troubled. 

Wast  thou  angry,  O  Lord, 
with  the  rivers  ?  or  was  thy 
wrath  upon  the  rivers  ?  or  thy 
indignation  in  the  sea  ? 

Who  will  ride  upon  thy 
horses  :  and  thy  chariots  are 
salvation. 

Thou  wilt  surely  take  up 
thy  bow,  according  to  the 
oaths  which  thou  hast  spoken 
to  the  tribes. 

Thou  volt  divide  the  rivers 
of  the  earth  :  the  mountains 
saw  thee  and  were  grieved  : 
the  great  body  of  waters 
passed  away. 

The  deep  put  forth  its  voice : 
the  deep  lifted  up  its  hands. 

The  sun  and  the  moon 
stood  still  in  their  habitation, 
in  the  light  of  thy  arrows, 
they  shall  go  in  the  bright- 
ness of  thy  glittering  spear. 


Operuit  coelos  gloria  ejus  : 

*  et  laudis  ejus  plena  est 
terra. 

Splendor  ejus  ut  lux  erit : 

*  cornua  in  manibus  ejus. 

Ibi  abscondita  est  fortitudo 
ejus  :  *  ante  faciem  ejus  ibit 
mors. 

Et  egredietur  diabolus  ante 
pedes  ejus  :  *  stetit  et  men- 
sus  est  terram. 

Aspexit,  et  dissolvit  Gen- 
tes  :  *  et  contriti  sunt  mon- 
tes  saeculi. 

Incurvati  sunt  colles  mun- 
di  :  *  ab  itineribus  aeterni- 
tatis  ejus. 

Pro  iniquitate  vide  tentoria 
JEthiopiae  :  *  turbabuntur 
pelles  terrae  Madian. 

Numquid  in  fluminibus 
iratus  es,  Domine  :  *  aut  in 
fluminibus  furor  tuus,  vel  in 
mari  indignatio  tua  ? 

Qui  ascendes  super  equos 
tuos  :  *  et  quadrigae  tuae 
salvatio. 

Suscitans  suscitabis  arcum 
tuum :  *  juramentatribubus, 
quae  locutus  es. 

Fluvios  scindes  terrae  :  vi- 
derunt  te  et  doluerunt  mon- 
tes :  *  gurges  aquarum  tran- 
siit. 

Dedit  abyssus  vocem  su- 
am  :  *  altitudo  manus  suas 
levavit. 

Sol  et  luna  steterunt  in 
habitaculo  suo  :  *  in  luce 
sagittarum  tuarum,  ibunt 
in  splendore  fulgurantis 
hastae  tuae. 


446 


HOLY    WEEK. 


In  frertiitu  conculcabis 
terram  :  *  et  in  furore  ob- 
stupefacies  Gentes. 

Egressus  es  in  salutem 
populi  tui :  *  in  salutem  cum 
Christo  tuo. 

Percussisti  caput  de  domo 
impii:  *  denudasti  funda- 
mentum  ejus  usque  ad  col- 
lum. 

Maledixisti  sceptris  ejus, 
capiti  bellatorum  ejus  :  *  ve- 
nientibus  ut  turbo  ad  disper  - 
gendum  me. 

Exsultatio  eorum  :  *  sicut 
ejus  qui  devorat  pauperem 
in  abscondito. 

Viam  fecisti  in  mari  equis 
tuis  :  *  in  luto  aquarum 
multarum. 

Audivi,  et  conturbatus  est 
venter  meus  :  *  a  voce  con- 
tremuerunt  labia  mea. 

Ingrediatur  putredo  in 
ossibus  meis :  *  et  subter  me 
scateat. 

Ut  requiescam  in  die 
tribulationis  :  *  ut  ascendam 
ad  populum  accinctum  nos- 
trum. 

Ficus  enim  non  florebit :  * 
et  non  erit  germen  in  vineis. 

Mentietur  opus  olivae :  * 
et  arva  non  afferent  cibum. 

Abscindetur  de  ovili  pe- 
cus  :  *  et  non  erit  armentum 
in  praesepibus. 

Ego  autem  in  Domino 
gaudebo :  *  et  exsultabo  in 
Deo  Jesu  meo. 

Deus  Dominus  fortitudo 
mea  :  *  et  ponet  pedes  meos 
quasi  cervorum, 


In  thy  anger  thou  wilt  tread 
the  earth  under  foot :  in  thy 
wrath  thou  wilt  astonish  the 
nations. 

Thou  wentest  forth  for  the 
salvation  of  thy  people,  for 
salvation  with  thy  Christ. 

Thou  struckest  the  head  of 
the  house  of  the  wicked  :  thou 
hast  laid  bare  his  foundation 
even  to  the  neck. 

Thou  hast  cursed  their  scep- 
tres, the  head  of  his  warriors, 
them  that  came  out  as  a 
whirlwind  to  scatter  me. 

Their  joy  was  like  that  of 
him  that  devoureth  the  poor 
man  in  secret. 

Thou  madest  a  way  in  the 
sea  for  thy  horses,  in  the  mud 
of  many  waters. 

I  have  heard,  and  my  bowels 
were  troubled :  my  lips  trem- 
bled at  the  voice. 

Let  rottenness  enter  into 
my  bones,  and  swarm  under 
me. 

That  I  may  rest  in  the  day 
of  tribulation  :  that  I  may  go 
up  to  our  people  that  are 
girded. 

Eor  the  fig-tree  shall  not 
blossom :  and  there  shall  be 
no  spring  in  the  vines. 

The  labour  of  the  olive-tree 
shall  fail :  and  the  fields  shall 
yield  no  food. 

The  flock  shall  be  cut  off 
from  the  fold  :  and  there  shall 
be  no  herd  in  the  stalls. 

But  I  will  rejoice  in  the 
Lord  :  and  I  will  rejoice  in 
God  my  Jesus. 

The  Lord  God  is  my 
strength  :  and  he  will  make 
my  feet  like  the  feet  of  harts. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    TENKBH^F..  447 

And  ho  the  conqueror  will  Et  super  excelsa  mea  de- 
lead  mo  upon  my  high  places,  ducet  me  victor  :  *  in  psal- 
singing  psalms.  mis  canentem. 

Ant.    When  my  soul  shall  Ant.      Cum      conturbatur 

be  in  trouble,  O  Lord  !    thou  fuerit  anima  mea,    Domine, 

wilt  be  mindful  of  thy  mercy,  misericordiae  memor  eris. 

The  last  Psalm  of  Lauds  is  Laudato  Dominum  de 
coelis,  which  is  given  above,  page  345.  The  follow- 
ing is  its  Antiphon  : 

Ant.  Eemember  me,  0  Ant.  Memento  mei  Do- 
Lord,  when  thou  shalt  come  mine,  dum  veneris  in  reg- 
into  thy  kingdom.  num  tuum. 

JP.     He  hath  made  me  to  $.     Collocavit  me   in  ob- 

dwell  in  darkness,  scuris. 

&.  As  them  that  have  gt.  Sicut  mortuos  sseculi. 
been  dead  of  old. 

After  this  Yersicle,  is  sung  the  Canticle  Bencdictus, 
(see  page  348,)  with  the  following  Antiphon  : 

Ant.  They  put  over  his  Ant.  Posuerunt  super 
head  his  cause  written :  Jesus  caput  ejus  causam  ipsius 
of  Nazareth  King  of  the  Jews,     scriptam  :    Jesus   Nazarenus 

Eex  Judseorum. 

This  Antiphon  having  been  repeated  after  the 
Canticle,  the  Choir  sings,  to  a  touching  melody,  the 
following  words.  She  repeats  them  at  the  end  of 
all  the  Canonical  Hours  of  these  three  days,  adding 
to  them  each  day.  The  addition  for  to-day  is,  that 
the  Death  which  our  Saviour  deigned  to  suffer  for  us 
was  the  most  disgraceful  and  painful  of  all  deaths, — 
the  Death  of  the  Cross. 

f.  Christ  became,  for  our  y.  Christus  f actus  est  pro 
sakes,  obedient  unto  death,  nobis  obediens  usque  ad  mor- 
even  to  the  death  of  the  Cross,     tern,  mortem  autem  Crucis. 

Then  is  said,  in  secret,  the  Pater  noster,  which  is 
followed  by  the  Miserere,  (page  336j .     This  Psalm  is 


448  HOLY    WEEK. 

not  sung,  but  only  recited  as  explained  in  yesterday's 
Tenebrse.  As  soon  as  the  Miserere  is  finished,  the 
following  Prayer  is  said  by  the  first  in  dignity  : 

Look  down,  0  Lord,  we  Kespice,  qusesumus,  Do- 
beseech  thee,  upon  this  thy  mine,  super  hanc  familiam 
family,  for  which  our  Lord  tuam  :  pro  qua  Dominus 
Jesus  Christ  hesitated  not  to  noster  Jesus  Christus  non 
be  delivered  into  the  hands  dubitavit  manibus  tradi  no- 
of  wicked  men,  and  undergo  centium,  et  crucis  subire 
the  punishment  of  the  Cross  :  tormentum  : 

(then,  the  rest  in  secret  :) 

Who  liveth   and    reigneth        Qui  tecum  vivit  et  regnat, 

with  thee,  in  the  unity  of  the  in  unitate    Spiritus    Sancti, 

Holy  G-host,  God,  world  with-  Deus,      per     omnia    saecula 

out  end.     Amen.  seeculorum.     Amen. 


THE  MOBNINGk 

The  sun  has  risen  upon  Jerusalem.  But  the 
Priests  and  Scribes  have  not  waited  all  this  time 
without  venting  their  rage  upon  Jesus.  Annas, 
who  was  the  first  to  receive  the  divine  Captive,  has 
had  him  taken  to  his  son-in-law  Caiphas,  the  High 
Priest.  Here  he  is  put  through  a  series  of  insulting 
questions,  which  disdaining  to  answer,  he  receives  a 
blow  from  one  of  the  High  Priest's  servants.  False 
witnesses  had  been  already  prepared  :  they  now  come 
forward,  and  depose  their  lies  against  Him  who  is  the 
very  Truth  : — but  their  testimony  is  contradictory. 
Then,  Caiphas,  seeing  that  this  plan  for  convicting 
Jesus  of  blasphemy  is  only  serving  to  expose  his 
accomplices,  turns  to  an  other.  He  asks  him  a 
question,  which  will  oblige  our  Lord  to  make  an 
answer ;  and  in  this  answer,  he  Caiphas,  will  dis- 
cover blasphemy,  and  blasphemy  would  bring  Jesus 
under  the  power  of  the  Synagogue.     This  is  the 


GOOD    FRIDAY  !    ITS    HISTORY.  449 

question  :  I  adjure  thee,  by  the  living  God,  that  thou 
tell  us,  if  thou  be  the  Christ  the  Son  of  God  ? l  Our 
Saviour,  in  order  to  teach  us  that  we  should  show 
respect  to  those  who  are  in  authority,  breaks  the 
silence  he  has  hitherto  observed,  and  answers :  Thou 
hast  said  it :  I  am  :  and  hereafter  ye  shall  see  the 
Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  the  power 
of  God,  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.2  Here- 
upon, the  impious  Pontiff  rises,  rends  his  garments, 
and  exclaims  :  He  hath  blasphemed  !  What  further 
need  have  we  of  'witnesses  ?  Behold !  now  ye  have 
heard  the  blasphemy  :  what  think  ye  ?  The  whole 
place  resounds  with  the  cry  :    He  is  guilty  of  death  ! 3 

The  Son  of  God  has  come  down  upon  the  earth,  in 
order  to  restore  man  to  Life  ;  and  yet,  here  we  have 
this  creature  of  death  daring  to  summon  his  Divine 
Benefactor  before  a  human  tribunal,  and  condemning 
him  to  Death  !  And  Jesus  is  silent !  and  bears  with 
these  presumptuous,  these  ungrateful,  blasphemers  ! 
Well  may  we  exclaim,  in  the  words,  wherewith  the 
Greek  Church  frequently  interrupts  to-day's  reading 
of  the  Passion  :  "  Glory  be  to  thy  Patience,  0  Lord !  " 

Scarcely  have  the  terrible  words,  He  is  guilty  of 
death,  been  uttered,  than  the  servants  of  the  High 
Priest  rush  upon  Jesus.  They  spit  upon  him,  and 
blindfolding  him,  they  strike  him,  saying :  Prophesy  ! 
who  is  it  struck  thee  ? 4  Thus  does  the  Synagogue 
treat  the  Messias,  who,  they  say,  is  to  be  their  glory  ! 
And  yet,  these  outrages,  frightful  as  they  are,  are  but 
the  beginning  of  what  our  Redeemer  has  to  go  through. 

But  there  is  something  far  more  trying  than  all 
this  to  the  heart  of  Jesus,  and  it  is  happening  at  this 
very  time.  Peter  has  made  his  way  as  far  as  the 
court  of  the  High  Priest's  Palace  !  He  is  recognised 
by  the  bystanders  as  a  Galilean,  and  one  of  Jesus' 

1  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  63.  3  St.  Matth.  xxvi.  65,  66. 

2  Idem,  ibid,  64.— St.  Mark,  xiv.  62.        i  St.  Luke,  xxii,  64. 


450  HOLY    WEEK. 

Disciples.  The  Apostle  trembles  for  his  life ; — he 
denies  his  Master,  and  affirms,  with  an  oath,  that  he 
does  not  even  know  him.  What  a  sad  example  is 
here  of  the  punishment  of  presumption  !  But,  Jesus 
has  mercy  on  his  Apostle.  The  servants  of  the  High 
Priest  lead  him  to  the  place,  near  where  Peter  is 
standing  ;  he  casts  upon  him  a  look  of  reproach  and 
pardon  ;  Peter  immediately  goes  forth,  and  weeps 
bitterly.  From  this  hour  forward  he  can  do  nothing 
but  lament  his  sin ;  and  it  is  only  on  Easter  Morning, 
when  Jesus  shall  appear  to  him  after  his  Resurrec- 
tion, that  he  will  admit  any  consolation  to  his  afflicted 
heart.  Let  us  make  him  our  model,  now  that  we 
are  spending  these  hours,  with  our  holy  Mother  the 
Church,  in  contemplating  the  Passion  of  Jesus. 
Peter  withdraws,  because  he  fears  his  own  weakness  ; 
let  us  remain  to  the  end,  for  what  have  we  to  fear  ? 
May  our  Jesus  give  us  one  of  those  looks,  which  can 
change  the  hardest  and  worst  of  hearts  ! 

Meanwhile,  the  day-dawn  breaks  upon  the  City, 
and  the  Chief  Priests  make  arrangements  for  taking 
Jesus  before  the  Roman  Governor.  They  themselves 
have  found  him  guilty ;  they  have  condemned  him  as 
a  Blasphemer,  and  according  to  the  Law  of  Moses, 
a  Blasphemer  must  be  stoned  to  death :  but  they  can- 
not apply  the  law  :  Jerusalem  is  no  longer  free,  or 
governed  by  her  own  laws.  The  power  over  life  and 
death  may  only  be  exercised  by  her  conquerors,  and 
that  in  the  name  of  Caesar.  How  is  it,  that  these 
Priests  and  Scribes  can  go  through  all  this,  and  never 
once  remember  the  prophecy  of  Jacob, — that  the 
Messias  would  come,  when  the  sceptre  should  be 
taken  away  from  Juda  P1  They  know  off  by  heart, 
they  are  the  appointed  guardians  of  those  Prophecies, 
which  describe  the  death  to  which  this  Messias  is  to 
be  put, — and  yet,  they  are  the  very  ones  who  bring 

1  Gen.  xlix.  10. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  .*    ITS    HISTORY.  451 

it  about !  How  is  all  this  ? — They  are  blind,  and  it 
is  jealousy  that  blinds  them. 

The  rumour  of  Jesus'  having  been  seized  during 
the  night,  and  that  he  is  on  the  point  of  being  led 
before  the  Roman  Governor,  rapidly  spreads  through 
the  City,  and  reaches  Judas'  ear.  This  wretched 
man  had  a  passion  for  money,  but  there  was  nothing 
to  make  him  desire  the  death  of  his  Divine  Master. 
He  knew  Jesus'  supernatural  power.  He  perhaps 
flattered  himself  that  he  who  could  command  nature 
and  the  elements,  would  easily  escape  from  the  hands 
of  his  enemies.  But  now  when  he  sees  that  he  does 
not  escape,  and  that  he  is  to  be  condemned  to 
death, — he  runs  to  the  Temple,  and  gives  back  the 
thirty  pieces  of  silver  to  the  Chief  Priests.  Is  it 
that  he  is  converted,  and  is  about  to  ask  his  Master 
to  pardon  him  ?  Alas  !  no  :  despair  has  possession  of 
him,  and  he  puts  an  end  to  his  existence.  The 
recollection  of  all  the  merciful  solicitations  made  to 
him,  yesterday,  by  Jesus,  both  during  the  Last 
Supper,  and  in  the  Garden,  gives  him  no  confidence ; 
it  only  serves  to  increase  his  despair.  Surely,  he 
well  knew  what  a  merciful  Saviour  he  had  to  deal 
with  !  And  yet,  he  despairs,  and  this  at  the  very 
time  when  the  Blood,  which  washes  away  the  sins  of 
the  whole  world,  is  about  to  be  shed  !  He  is  lost, 
because  he  despaired. 

The  Chief  Priests,  taking  Jesus  with  them,  present 
themselves  at  the  Governor's  Palace,  demanding 
audience  for  a  case  of  importance.  Pilate  comes 
forward,  and  peevishly  asks  them  :  What  accusation 
bring  yc  against  this  man  ? — They  answered  :  If  he 
were  not  a  malefactor,  toe  ivould  not  have  delivered 
him  up  to  thee.  It  is  very  evident  from  these  first 
words,  that  Pilate  has  a  contempt  for  these  Jewish 
Priests ;  it  is  not  less  evident  that  they  are  deter- 
mined to  gain  their  cause.  Take  him  you,  says 
Pilate,     and  judge   him     according    to   your   Law. — 


452  HOLY    WEEK. 

The  Chief  Priests  answered  :  It  is  not  lawful  for  us 
to  put  any  man  to  death.1 

Pilate  leaves  the  Hall,  in  order  to  speak  with 
these  men.  He  returns,  and  commands  Jesus  to  be 
brought  in.  The  son  of  Gk)d  and  the  representative 
of  the  pagan  world  are  face  to  face.  Pilate  begins 
by  asking  him  :  Art  thou  the  King  of  the  Jews  ? — 
To  this  Jesus  thus  replies :  My  Kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world.  If  my  Kingdom  ivere  of  this  icorld,  my 
servants  would  certainly  strive  that  I  should  not  be 
delivered  to  the  Jews.  But,  now,  my  kingdom  is 
not  from  hence. — Art  thou  a  King,  then  ?  says 
Pilate. — Thou  say  est,  answers  Jesus,  that  I  am  a 
King.  Having,  by  these  last  words,  confessed  his 
august  dignity,  our  Lord  offers  a  grace  to  this 
Roman ;  he  tells  him,  that  there  is  something 
worthier  of  man's  ambition  than  earthly  honours. 
For  this,  says  Jesus,  was  I  bom,  and  for  this  came 
I  into  the  world;  that  I  should  give  testimony  to 
the  Truth.  Every  one  that  is  of  the  Truth,  heareth 
my  voice. —  What  is  Truth  ?  asks  Pilate ;  but  without 
waiting  for  the  answer,  he  leaves  Jesus,  for  he  is 
anxious  to  have  done  with  this  case.  He  returns  to 
the  Jews,  and  says  to  them :  I  find  no  cause  in  him.2 — 
Pilate  fancies  that  this  Jesus  must  be  a  leader  of 
some  Jewish  sect,  whose  teachings  give  offence  to 
the  Chief  Priests,  but  which  are  not  worth  his 
examining  into  them :  yet  at  the  same  time,  he  is 
convinced  that  he  is  a  harmless  man,  and  that  it 
would  be  foolish  and  unjust  to  accuse  him  of  dis- 
turbing the  state. 

Scarcely  has  Pilate  expressed  his  opinion  in  favour 
of  Jesus,  than  a  long  list  of  accusations  is  brought  up 
against  him  by  the  Chief  Priests.  Pilate  is  astonished 
at  Jesus'  making  no  reply,  and  says  to  him  :  Dost 
thou    not   hear    how    great    testimonies     they     allege 

1  St.  John,  xviii,  29,  30,  31.  2  Id.  ibid.  33,  36,  37,  38. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :     ITS    HISTORY.  453 

against  thee  ?  l — These  words  are  kindly  meant,  but 
Jesus  still  remains  silent :  they,  however,  excite  his 
enemies  to  fresh  fury,  and  they  cry  out :  He  stirreth 
Up  the  people,  teaching  throughout  all  Judea,  begin- 
ning from  Galilee,  even  to  this  place?  This  word 
Galilee  suggests  a  new  idea  to  Pilate.  Herod,  the 
Tetrarch  of  Galilee,  happens  to  be  in  Jerusalem  at 
this  very  time.  Jesus  is  his  subject ;  he  must  be 
sent  to  him.  Thus  Pilate  will  get  rid  of  a  trouble- 
some case,  and  this  act  of  courteous  deference  will 
re-establish  a  good  understanding  between  himself 
and  Herod. 

The  Saviour  is  therefore  dragged  through  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem,  from  Pilate's  house  to  Herod's 
palace.  His  enemies  follow  him  with  relentless 
fury ;  but  Jesus  still  observes  his  noble  silence. 
Herod,  the  murderer  of  John  the  Baptist,  insults  him, 
and  ordering  him  to  be  clothed  in  a  white  garment, 
as  a  Fool,  he  sends  him  back  to  Pilate.  Another 
plan  for  ridding  himself  of  this  troublesome  case, 
now  strikes  the  Roman  Governor.  At  the  feast  of 
the  Pasch,  he  had  the  power  of  granting  pardon  to 
any  one  criminal  the  people  may  select.  They  are 
assembled  together  at  the  court-gates.  He  feels 
sure,  that  their  choice  will  fall  upon  Jesus,  for  it  is 
but  a  few  days  ago  that  they  led  him  in  triumph 
through  the  City  :  besides,  he  intends  to  make  the 
alternative  one  who  is  an  object  of  execration  to  the 
whole  people ;  he  is  a  murderer,  and  his  name 
Barabbas.  Whom  ivill  you  that  I  release  to  you  ? 
says  Pilate  :  Barabbas,  or  Jesus,  that  is  called  the 
Christ  ? — He  has  not  long  to  wait  for  the  answer  : 
the  crowd  exclaim  :  Not  this  man,  but  Barabbas  ! — 
What  then,  replies  Pilate,  shall  I  do  with  Jesus,  that 
is  called  the  Christ? — Crucify  him? — Why,  what 
evil  hath   he   done  ?     I  ivill  chastise   him,    therefore, 

1  St.  Matth.  xxvii.  13.  2  St.  Luke,  xxiii.  5. 


454  HOLY    WEEK. 

and  let  him  go.  But  they  growing  irritated  at  this, 
cry  out  so  much  the  louder :  Crucify  him  !  Cru- 
cify him  ! l 

Pilate's  cowardly  subterfuge  has  failed,  and  left 
him  in  a  more  difficult  position  than  he  was  before. 
His  putting  the  innocent  on  a  level  with  a  murderer 
was  in  itself  a  gross  injustice  ;  and  yet,  he  has  not 
gone  far  enough  for  a  people  that  is  blind  with 
passion.  Neither  does  his  promise  to  chastise  Jesus 
satisfy  them  :  they  want  more  than  his  Blood  :  they 
insist  on  his  death  ! 

Here  let  us  pause,  and  offer  our  Saviour  a  repa- 
ration for  the  insult  he  here  receives.  He  is  put  in 
competition  with  a  murderer,  and  the  murderer  is 
preferred  !  Pilate  makes  an  attempt  to  save  Jesus  : 
but,  on  what  terms  ! — he  must  be  put  on  a  footing 
with  a  vile  wretch,  and,  even  so,  be  worsted  !  Those 
very  lips  that,  a  few  days  back,  sang  "  Hosannah  to 
the  Son  of  David,"  now  clamour  for  his  Crucifixion  ! 
The  City  Magistrate  and  Governor  pronounces  him 
innocent ;  and  yet,  he  condemns  him  to  be  scourged, 
because  he  fears  a  disturbance ! 

Jesus  is  made  over  to  the  soldiers,  to  be  scourged. 
They  rudely  strip  him  of  his  garments,  and  tie  him 
to  the  pillar,  which  is  kept  for  this  kind  of  torture. 
Fiercely  do  they  strike  him ;  the  blood  flows  down 
his  sacred  Body.  Let  us  adore  this  the  second 
Bloodshedding  of  our  Jesus,  whereby  he  expiates  for 
the  sins  we  and  the  whole  world  have  committed  by 
the  flesh.  This  Scourging  is  by  the  hands  of  Grentiles : 
the  Jews  delivered  him  up  to  be  punished,  and  the 
Romans  were  the  executioners  : — thus  have  we  all 
had  our  share  in  the  awful  deicide  ! 

At  last,  the  soldiers  are  tired ;  they  loosen  their 
Victim  ; — but  it  is  not  out  of  anything  like  pity. 
Their   cruelty   is   going   to   rest,   and  their  rest  is 

1  St.  Matth.  xxvii. — St.  Liike,  xxiii — St.  John,  xviii. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    ITS    HISTORY.  455 

derision.  Jesus  has  been  called  "King  of  the  Jews  : " 
a  King,  say  they,  must  have  a  Crown  !  Accordingly 
they  make  one  for  the  Son  of  David  !  It  is  of  Thorns. 
They  press  it  violently  upon  his  head,  and  this  is  the 
third  Bloodshedding  of  our  Redeemer.  Then,  that 
they  may  make  their  scoffing  perfect,  the  soldiers 
throw  a  scarlet  cloak  over  his  shoulders,  and  put  a 
reed,  for  a  sceptre,  into  his  hand ;  and  bending  their 
knee  before  him,  they  thus  salute  him  :  Hail,  King 
of  the  Jews  ! — This  insulting  homage  is  accompanied 
with  blows  upon  his  face  ;  they  spit  upon  him ;  and, 
from  time  to  time,  take  the  reed  from  his  hand, 
wherewith  to  strike  the  Thorns  deeper  into  his  head. 

Here,  the  Christian  prostrates  himself  before  his 
Saviour,  and  says  to  him  with  a  heart  full  of  com- 
passion and  veneration  :  "  Yes  !  my  Jesus  !  Thou  art 
King  of  the  Jews !  Thou  art  the  Son  of  David,  and 
therefore  our  Messias  and  our  Redeemer  !  Israel, 
that  hath  so  lately  proclaimed  thee  King,  now  unkings 
thee  ;  the  Grentiles  scoff  at  thy  Royalty,  making  it 
a  subject  for  keener  insult  : — but  reign  thou  must 
and  over  both  Jews  and  Grentiles  :  over  the  Jews,  by 
thy  justice,  for  they  are  soon  to  feel  the  sceptre  of 
thy  revenge  ;  over  the  Gentiles,  by  thy  mercy,  for 
thine  Apostles  are  soon  to  lead  them  to  thy  feet. 
Receive,  dearest  King  !  our  homage  and  submission  ! 
Reign  now  and  for  ever  over  our  hearts,  yea,  over 
our  whole  being  !  " 

Thus  mangled  and  bleeding,  holding  the  reed  in 
his  hand,  and  with  the  scarlet  tatters  on  his  shoulders, 
Jesus  is  led  back  to  Pilate.  It  is  just  the  sight  that 
will  soften  the  hearts  of  the  people  ;  at  least,  Pilate 
thinks  so  ;  and  taking  him  with  him  to  a  balcony  of 
the  palace,  he  shows  him  to  the  crowd  below,  saying  ; 
Behold  the  Man  Z1  Little  did  Pilate  know  all  that 
these  few  words  conveyed  !     He  says  not  :  "Behold 

1  St.  John,  xix.  5. 

2k 


456  HOLY     WEEK. 

Jesus  ! " — nor,  "Behold  the  King  of  the  Jews  ! "  he 
says  :  Behold  the  Man  ! — Man  ! — the  Christian  under- 
stands the  full  force  of  the  word  thus  applied  to  our 
Redeemer.  Adam  the  first  Man,  rebelled  against 
Grod,  and,  by  his  sin,  deranged  the  whole  work  of  the 
Creator  :  as  a  punishment  for  his  pride  and  intem- 
perance, the  flesh  tyrannised  over  the  spirit  ;  the 
very  earth  was  cursed,  and  thorns  were  to  be  its 
growth.  Jesus,  the  New  Man,  comes  into  this  world, 
bearing  upon  him,  not  the  reality,  but  the  appearance, 
the  likeness,  of  sin :  in  him,  the  work  of  the  Creator 
regains  its  primeval  order ;  but  the  change  was  not 
wrought  without  violence.  To  teach  us,  that  the 
flesh  must  be  brought  into  subjection  to  the  spirit, 
Jesus'  Flesh  was  torn  by  the  scourges  :  to  teach  us, 
that  pride  must  give  way  to  humility,  the  only  Crown 
that  Jesus  wears  is  made  of  Thorns.  Yes, — Behold 
Man  ! — the  triumph  of  the  spirit  over  the  flesh,  the 
triumph  of  humility  over  pride. 

Like  the  tiger  that  grows  fiercer  as  he  sees  blood, 
so  is  Israel  at  the  sight  of  Jesus  after  his  scourging. 
Crucify  him  !  Crucify  him  ! — the  cry  is  still  the 
same. — Take  him  you,  says  Pilate,  and  crucify  him  ; 
for  I  find  no  cause  in  him.  And  yet,  he  has  ordered 
him  to  be  scourged  enough  to  cause  his  death  !  Here 
is  another  device  of  the  base  coward  ;  but  it,  too,  fails. 
The  Jews  have  their  answer  ready  :  they  put  forward 
the  right  granted  by  the  Romans  to  the  nations  that 
are  tributary  to  the  Empire.  We  have,  say  they,  a 
laic,  and  according  to  the  laic  he  ought  to  die  ; 
because  he  made  himself  the  Son  of  God.  Discon- 
certed by  the  reply,  Pilate  takes  Jesus  aside  into  the 
hall,  and  says  to  him  :  Whence  art  thou  ?  Jesus  is 
silent  ;  Pilate  was  not  worthy  to  hear  the  answer  to 
his  question.  This  silence  irritates  him.  Speahest 
thou  not  to  me  ?  says  he.  Knoivett  thou  not,  that  I 
have  'power  to  crucify  thee,  and  I  have  power  to 
release  thee  ?      Here  Jesus  deigns  to  speak  ;    and  he 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    ITS    HISTORY.  457 

speaks,  in  order  to  teach  us  that  every  power  of 
government,  even  where  pagans  are  in  question, 
comes  from  God,  and  not  from  a  pretended  social 
compact :  Thou  shouklst  not  have  any  power  against 
me,  unless  it  were  given  thee  from  above.  Therefore, 
he  that  hath  delivered  me  to  thee,  hath  the  greater  sin.1 

This  dignified  reply  produces  an  impression  upon 
Pilate  :  he  resolves  to  make  another  attempt  to  save 
Jesus.  But  the  people  vociferate  a  threat  which 
alarms  him  :  If  thou  release  this  man,  thou  art  not 
Cwsar's  friend;  for  whosoever  maketh  himself  a 
King,  speaketh  against  Caesar.  Still,  he  is  deter- 
mined to  try  and  pacify  the  crowd.  He  leaves  the 
hall,  sits  upon  the  judgment-seat,  orders  Jesus  to  be 
placed  near  him,  and  thus  pleads  for  him  :  Behold 
your  King  !  as  though  he  would  say,  "What  have 
you  or  Caesar  to  fear  from  such  a  pitiable  object 
as  this  ?  ':  The  argument  was  unavailing,  and  only 
provokes  the  cry :  Away  with  him !  Aivay  tvith 
him  !  Crucify  him  !  As  though  he  did  not  believe 
them  to  be  in  earnest,  Pilate  says  to  them  :  Shall  I 
crucify  your  King  ?  This  time  the  Chief  Priests 
give  the  answer :  We  have  no  king  but  Caesar} 
When  the  very  Ministers  of  Grod  can  talk  thus,  re- 
ligion is  at  an  end.  No  king  but  Caesar  ! — then, 
the  sceptre  is  taken  from  Juda,  and  Jerusalem  is 
cast  off,  and  the  Messias  is  come  ! 

Pilate,  seeing  that  nothing  can  quell  the  tumult, 
and  that  his  honour  as  Grovernor  is  at  stake,  decides 
on  making  Jesus  over  to  his  enemies.  Though 
against  his  own  inclination,  he  passes  the  Sentence, 
which  is  to  cause  him  such  remorse  of  conscience 
that  he  will  afterwards  seek  relief  in  suicide.  He 
takes  a  tablet,  and  with  a  style,  writes  the  Inscrip- 
tion which  is  to  be  fastened  to  the  Cross.  The 
people  demand  that  two  thieves  should  be  crucified 

1  St.  John,  xix.  2  Id.  ibid, 


458  HOLY   WEEK. 

at  the  same  time, — it  would  be  an  additional  insult 
to  Jesus :  this,  too,  he  grants,  fulfilling  the  prophecy 
of  Isaias :  And  with  the  wicked  was  he  reputed.1 
Having  thus  defiled  his  soul  with  the  most  heinous 
of  crimes,  Pilate  washes  his  hands  before  the  people, 
and  says  to  them  :  /  am  innocent  of  the  blood  of 
this  just  man ;  look  ye  to  it  !  They  answer  him 
with,  this  terrible  self-imprecation  :  His  blood  be 
upon  us  and  upon  our  children  f2  The  mark  of 
Parricide  here  fastens  on  this  ungrateful  and  sacri- 
legious people ;  Cain-like,  they  shall  wander  fugitives 
on  the  earth.  Eighteen  hundred  years  have  passed 
since  then  ;  slavery,  misery,  and  contempt,  have 
been  their  portion  ;  but  the  mark  is  still  upon  them. 
Let  us  (xentiles, — upon  whom  this  Blood  of  Jesus 
has  fallen  as  the  dew  of  heaven's  mercy, — let  us 
return  fervent  thanks  to  the  goodness  of  our  heavenly 
Father,  who  hath  so  loved  the  world,  as  to  give  it 
his  Only  Begotten  Son.3  Let  us  give  thanks  to  the 
Son,  who,  seeing  that  our  iniquities  could  not  be 
blotted  out  save  by  his  Blood,  shed  it,  on  this  day, 
even  to  the  very  last  drop. 

Here  commences  "  The  Way  of  the  Cross  ;"  the 
House  of  Pilate,  where  our  Jesus  receives  the  sen- 
tence of  Death,  is  the  First  Station.  Our  Pedeemer 
is  consigned,  by  the  Governor's  order,  into  the  hands 
of  the  Jews.  The  Soldiers  seize  him,  and  drag  him 
from  the  Court.  They  strip  him  of  the  scarlet  cloak 
and  bid  him  clothe  himself  with  his  own  garments 
as  before  the  Scourging.  The  Cross  is  ready  and 
they  put  it  on  his  wounded  shoulders.  The  place 
where  the  new  Isaac  loads  himself  with  the  wood  of 
his  sacrifice,  is  the  Second  Station.  To  Calvary  ! — 
this  is  the  word  of  command,  and  it  is  obeyed  :  sol- 
diers, executioners,  priests,  scribes,  people, — these 
form  the  procession.  Jesus  moves  slowly  on  ;  but 
after  a  few  paces,  exhausted  by  the  loss  of  Blood  and 

1  Is.  liii.  12.     2  St.  Matth.  xxvii.  24,  25.      3  St.  John,  iii.  16, 


GOOD    FRIDAY  .*     ITS    HISTORY.  459 

by  his  Sufferings,  he  falls  under  the  weight  of  his 
Cross.  It  is  the  first  fall,  and  marks  the  Third  Sta- 
tion. 

He  falls,   not  so  much  by  the  weight  of  his  Cross, 
as  by  that  of  our  sins  !     The  Soldiers  roughly  lay 
their    hands    on    him,    and   force   him   up   again. 
Scarcely  has  he  resumed  his  steps,  than  he  is  met  by 
his  afflicted  Mother.     The    Valiant    Woman,  whose 
love  is  stronger  than  death,  was  not  to  be  abselit  at 
such  an  hour  as  this.     She  must  see  her  Son,  follow 
him,  keep  close  to  him,   even  to  his  last  breath.     No 
tongue  could  tell  the  poignancy  of  her  grief.     The 
anxiety  she  has  endured  during  the  last  few  days 
has  exhausted  her  strength.     All  the  sufferings  of 
Jesus  have  been  made  known  to  her  by  a  divine  re- 
velation ;  she  has  shared  each  one  of  them  with  him. 
But,  now,  she  cannot  endure  to  be  absent,  and  makes 
her  way  through  the  crowd.     The  Sacrifice  is  nigh 
its  consummation  ;  no  human  power  could  keep  such 
a  Mother  from  her  Jesus.     The  faithful  Magdalene  is 
by   her   side,   bathed   in   tears ;    John,    Mary,  (the 
mother  of  James  the  Less)  and  Salome,  (the  mother 
of  John,)  are  also  with  her :  they  weep  for  their  Divine 
Master,  she  for  her  Son.     Jesus  sees  her,  but  can- 
not comfort  her,   for  all  this  is  but  the  beginning  of 
what  he  is  to  endure.     Oh  !  what  an  additional  suf- 
fering  was   this   for  his   loving  Heart, — to  see  his 
Mother  agonizing  with  sorrow  !     The  executioners 
observe  the  Mother  of  their  Victim,   but  it  would  be 
too  much  mercy  in  them  to  allow  her  to  speak  to  him  ; 
she  may  follow,  if  she  please,   with  the  crowd  ;  it  is 
more  than    she  could   have   expected,  to  have  been 
allowed    this   Meeting,    which   we    venerate   as   the 
Fourth  Station  of  the  Way  of  the  Cross. 

But  from  this  to  the  last  there  is  a  long  distance, 
for  there  is  a  law,  that  criminals  are  to  be  executed 
outside  the  City  Walls.  The  Jews  are  afraid  of  Jesus' 
expiring  before  reaching  the  place  of  Sacrifice.     Just 


460  HOLY    WEEK. 

at  this  time,  they  behold  a  man  coming  from  the 
country  ;  his  name  is  Simon  of  Gyrene  ;  they  order 
him  to  help  Jesus  to  carry  his  Cross.  It  is  out  of  a 
motive  of  cruelty  to  our  Lord,  but  it  gives  Simon  the 
honour  of  sharing  with  him  the  fatigue  of  bearing 
the  instrument  of  the  world's  salvation.  The  spot 
where  this  happens  is  the  Fifth  Station. 

A  little  farther  on,  an  incident  occurs  which  strikes 
the  executioners  themselves  with  astonishment.  A 
woman  makes  her  way  through  the  crowd,  and  setting 
the  soldiers  at  defiance,  comes  close  up  to  Jesus. 
She  holds  her  veil  in  her  hands,  and  with  it  respect- 
fully wipes  the  Face  of  our  Lord,  for  it  is  covered 
with  blood,  sweat,  and  spittle.  She  loves  Jesus,  and 
cares  not  what  may  happen  to  her,  so  she  can  offer 
him  this  slight  comfort.  Her  love  receives  its  re- 
ward : — she  finds  her  Veil  miraculously  impressed 
with  the  likeness  of  Jesus'  Face.  This  courageous 
act  of  Veronica  marks  the  Sixth  Station  of  the  Way 
of  the  Cross. 

Jesus  grows  weaker  at  each  step  : — he  falls  a 
second  time :  it  is  the  Seventh  Station.  Again  do 
the  soldiers  violently  raise  him  up,  and  push  him 
along  the  road.  It  is  easy  to  follow  in  his  footsteps, 
for  a  streak  of  Blood  shows  where  he  has  passed.  A 
group  of  women  is  following  close  behind  the  soldiers; 
they  heed  not  the  insults  heaped  upon  them  ;  their 
compassion  makes  them  brave.  But  the  last  brutal 
treatment  shown  to  Jesus  is  more  than  they  can  bear 
in  silence ;  they  utter  a  cry  of  pitiful  lamentation. 
Our  Saviour  is  pleased  with  these  women,  who,  in 
spite  of  the  weakness  of  their  sex,  are  showing  more 
courage  than  all  the  men  of  Jerusalem  put  together. 
He  affectionately  turns  towards  them,  and  tells  them 
what  a  terrible  chastisement  is  to  follow  the  crime 
they  are  now  witnessing.  The  chief  Priests  and 
Scribes  recognise  the  dignity  of  the  Prophet  that  had 
so  often  spoken  to  them :  they  listen  with  indignation, 


GOOD    FRIDAY  \    ITS    HISTORY.  461 

and,  at  this  the  Eighth  Station  of  the  Great  "Way, 
they  hear  these  words  :  Daughters  of  Jerusalem  ! 
weep  not  over  me,  but  ivcep  for  yourselves  and  for 
your  children.  For  behold  the  days  shall  come, 
wherein  they  will  say  :  Blessed  are  the  barren,  and 
the  wonibs  that  have  not  borne,  and  the  paps  that 
have  not  given  suck.  Then  shall  they~begin  to  say 
to  the  mountains  :  Fall  upon  us!  And  to  the  hills: 
Cover  us  ! l 

"it  last,  they  reach  the  foot  of  the  hill.  Calvary  is 
steep ;  but  is  the  place  of  Jesus'  Sacrifice.  He 
begins  the  ascent,  but  falls  a  third  time :  the  hallowed 
spot  is  counted  as  the  Ninth  Station.  A  third  time 
the  soldiers  force  Jesus  to  rise  and  continue  his  pain- 
ful journey  to  the  summit  of  the  hill,  which  is  to  serve 
as  the  Altar  for  the  holocaust  that  is  to  surpass  all 
others  in  holiness  and  power.  The  executioners 
seize  the  Cross  and  lay  it  upon  the  ground,  prepara- 
tory to  their  nailing  the  Divine  Victim  to  it.  Ac- 
cording to  a  custom,  practised  both  by  the  Romans 
and  the  Jews,  a  cup  containing  wine  and  myrrh  is 
offered  to  Jesus.  This  drink,  which  had  the  bitterness 
of  gall,  was  given  as  a  narcotic,  in  order  to  deaden,  in 
some  degree,  the  feeling  of  the  criminal,  and  lessen 
his  pain.  Jesus  raises  to  his  lips  the  cup,  which  was 
proffered  him  rather  from  custom  than  from  any  idea 
of  kindness ;  but  he  drinks  not  its  contents,  for  he 
wishes  to  feel  the  full  intensity  of  the  sufferings  he 
accepts  for  our  sakes.  Then  the  executioners,  having 
violently  stripped  him  of  his  garments,  which  had 
fastened  to  his  wounds,  lead  him  to  the  Cross.  The 
place  where  he  was  thus  stripped  of  his  garments, 
and  where  the  cup  of  bitter  drink  was  presented  to 
him,  is  venerated  as  the  Tenth  Station  of  the  Way  of 
the  Cross.  The  first  nine,  from  Pilate's  hall  to  the 
foot  of  Calvary,  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  of 

1  St.  Luke,  xxiii,  27-31. 


462  HOLY    WEEK. 

Jerusalem ;  but  the  Tenth  and  the  remaining  four 
are  in  the  interior  of  the  Church  of  Holy  Sepulchre, 
whose  spacious  walls  inclose  the  spot  where  the  last 
mysteries  of  the  Passion  were  accomplished. 

But  we  must  here  interrupt  our  history :  we  have 
already  anticipated  the  hours  of  this  great  Friday, 
and  we  shall  have  to  return,  later  on,  to  the  hill  of 
Calvary.  It  is  time  to  assist  at  the  service  of  our 
holy  Mother  the  Church,  in  which  she  celebrates  the 
Death  of  her  Divine  Spouse.  We  must  not  wait 
for  the  usual  summons  of  the  Bells  ;  they  are  silent ; 
we  must  listen  to  the  call  of  our  faith  and  devotion. 
Let  us,  then,  repair  to  the  House  of  God. 


THE   MOBNING  SEEVICE. 

The  Service  of  this  morning  consists  of  four  parts, 
which  we  now  proceed  to  explain.  Eirst  of  all,  we 
have  the  Lessons  ;  next,  the  Prayers  ;  thirdly,  the 
Veneration  of  the  Cross  ;  and  lastly,  the  Mass  of  the 
Presanctified.  These  solemn  and  unusual  rites 
announce  to  the  Faithful  the  sacredness  of  this  Day, 
as  also  the  suspension  of  the  daily  Sacrifice,  for  which 
they  are  substituted.  The  Altar  is  stripped ;  the 
Cross  is  covered  with  a  black  veil ;  the  Candles  are  of 
yellow  wax ; — everything  in  the  Sanctuary  bespeaks 
mournfulness.  As  soon  as  the  Choir  have  recited 
None,  the  Celebrant  and  sacred  Ministers  approach 
the  Altar ;  their  black  Vestments  denote  the  grief 
of  holy  Church.  Being  come  to  the  foot  of  the  Altar, 
they  prostrate,  and  pray  in  silence,  whilst  the  Aco- 
lytes cover  the  Altar  with  a  single  cloth,  instead  of 
the  three  which  are  always  required  when  Mass  is 
celebrated.  The  Celebrant  and  Ministers  then  rise, 
and  the  Lessons  are  begun. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :     MORNING    SERVICE. 


463 


THE     LESSONS. 


The  first  portion  of  this  morning's  function  con- 
sists of  two  prophetic  passages  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  of  the  Passion  according  to  St.  John.  The 
passage  from  the  Prophet  Osee  tells  us  of  the  mer- 
ciful designs  of  Grod  in  favour  of  his  new  people,  the 
Gentiles,  who  were  dead,  and  who,  nevertheless,  were 
to  rise  again,  in  three  days,  with  Christ,  whom  they 
do  not  so  much  as  yet  know.  Ephraim  and  Juda 
are  to  be  treated  otherwise :  their  material  sacri- 
fices have  not  been  acceptable  to  a  Grod,  who  loves 
mercy  above  every  other  gift,  and  rejects  the  offer- 
ings of  those  whose  hearts  are  filled  with  bitterness. 


LESSON. 


(Osee,  Chap.  VI.  J 


Thus  saith  the  Lord  :  In 
their  affliction  they  will  rise 
early  to  me.  Come,  and  let 
us  return  to  the  Lord  :  For  he 
hath  taken  us,  and  he  will 
heal  us :  he  will  strike,  and  he 
will  cure  us.  He  will  revive 
us  after  two  days ;  on  the  third 
day  he  will  raise  us  up,  and 
we  shall  live  in  his  sight.  We 
shall  know,  and  we  shall  fol- 
low on,  that  we  may  know  the 
Lord.  His  going  forth  is  pre- 
pared as  the  morning  light, 
and  he  will  come  to  us  as  the 
early  and  the  latter  rain  to  the 
earth.  What  shall  I  do  to 
thee,  0  Ephraim  ?  what  shall 
I  do  to  thee,  O  Juda  ?  Your 
mercy  is  as  a  morning  cloud, 
and  as  the  dew  that  goeth 
away  in  the  morning.  For 
this  reason  have  I  hewed  them 
by  the  prophets,  I  have  slain 


Hsec  dicit  Dominus  :  In 
tribulatione  sua  mane  con- 
surget  ad  me.  Venite,  et 
revertamur  ad  Dominum : 
quia  ipse  cepit,  et  sanabit 
nos  :  percutiet,  et  curabit 
nos.  Vivificabit  nos  post 
duos  dies :  in  die  tertia 
suscitabit  nos,  et  vivemus 
in  conspectu  ejus.  Sciemus 
sequemurque,  ut  cognosca- 
mus  Dominum.  Quasi  di- 
luculum  prseparatus  est 
egressus  ejus ;  et  veniet 
quasi  imber  nobis  tempo - 
raneus  et  serotinus  terree. 
Quid  faciam  tibi  Ephraim  ? 
Quid  faciam  tibi  Juda  ?  Mi- 
sericordia  vestra  quasi  nu- 
bes  matutina :  et  quasi  ros 
mane  pertransiens.  Prop- 
ter hoc  dolavi  in  prophetis, 
et  occidi  eos  in  verbis  oris 
mei :    et  judicia  tua,    quasi 


464 


HOLY   WEEK. 


lux,  egredientur.  Quia  mi- 
sericordiam  volui,  et  non 
sacrificium :  et  scientiam 
Dei,  plus  quani  holocausta. 


them  by  the  words  of  my 
mouth ;  and  thy  judgments 
shall  go  forth  as  the  light.  For 
I  desired  mercy,  and  not  sa- 
crifice ;  and  the  knowledge  of 
God  more  than  holocausts. 


The  Tract  is  taken  from  the  Canticle  of  the  Pro- 
phet Habacuc,  and  which  we  have  already  sung  at 
Lauds.  It  foretells  the  second  coming  of  Christ, 
when  he  shall  come,  in  glory  and  majesty,  to  judge 
them  that  have  crucified  him. 


TRACT. 


Domine,  audivi  auditum 
tuum,  et  timui :  consideravi 
opera  tua,  et  expavi. 

f.  In  medio  duorum  ani- 
malium  innotesceris :  dum 
appropinquaverint  anni, 

cognosceris :  dum  advene- 
rit  tempus,  ostenderis. 

f.  In  eo,  dum  conturbata 
fuerit  anima  mea :  in  ira 
misericordiEe  memor  eris. 

^.  Deus  a  Libano  veniet, 
et  sanctus  de  monte  urn- 
broso  et  condenso. 

f.  Operuit  ccelos  majes- 
tas  ejus :  et  laudis  ejus 
plena  est  terra. 


Lord,  I  have  heard  thy 
works,  and  was  afraid :  I  con- 
sidered thy  works,  and  trem- 
bled. 

^ .  Thou  wilt  appear  between 
two  animals  :  when  the  years 
draw  near,  thou  wilt  be 
known  ;  when  the  time  shall 
come  thou  wilt  be  shown. 

y.  When  my  soul  shall  be  in 
trouble,  even  in  thy  wrath 
thou  wilt  remember  thy 
mercy. 

y.  God  will  come  from 
Libanus,  and  the  Holy  One 
from  the  dark  mountain. 

^.  His  majesty  hath  clouded 
the  heavens ;  and  the  earth  is 
full  of  his  praise. 


The  Church  sums  up,  in  the  following  Collect,  the 
prayers  of  her  children.  She  reminds  our  heavenly 
Father  of  his  justice  towards  Judas  and  his  mercy 
towards  the  (rood  Thief,  and  begs,  that  every  rem- 
nant of  the  old  man  may  be  removed  from  us,  and 
we  rise  again  with  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE.  465 

The  Deacon  says  : 

Let  us  kneel  down.  Flectamus  genua. 

The  Subdeacon  : 

Stand  up  again.  Levate. 

COLLECT. 

O  God,    from   whom   both  Deus,     a     quo     et    Judas 

Judas  received   the   punish-  reatus   sui  pcenam,    et   con- 

ment  of  his  sin,  and  the  Thief  fessionis  suae  latro  prsemium 

the  reward  of  his  confession  :  sumpsit :  concede  nobis  tuse 

grant   us   the   effects  of  thy  propitiationis    effectum :     ut 

mercy ;  that  as  our  Lord  Jesus  sicut  in  passione  sua   Jesus 

Christ,     at   the   time   of   his  Christus     Dominus      noster 

Passion,     bestowed   on   both  diversa  utrisque  intulit   sti- 

different  rewards  according  to  pendia  meritorum  ;  ita  nobis, 

their  merits :    so  having  de-  ablato  vetustatis  errore,  re- 

stroyed   the  old   man  within  surrectionis  suse  gratiam  lar- 

us,  he  may  give  us  grace  to  giatur.     Qui  tecum, 
rise  again  with  him.     Who 
liveth,  &c. 

The  second  Lesson  now  follows.  It  is  taken  from 
the  book  of  Exodus,  and  describes  to  us  the  ancient 
rite  of  the  Paschal  Lamb,  which  was  the  figure  of  the 
reality  that  is  given  to  us  to-day.  It  is  to  be  a 
Lamb  without  spot  or  blemish.  Its  blood  has  the 
power  of  preserving  from  death  those  whose  dwell- 
ings are  sprinkled  with  it.  It  is  not  only  to  be 
immolated ;  it  is  to  be  eaten  by  them  that  have  been 
saved  by  it.  It  is  to  be  the  food  of  the  wayfarer ; 
and  they  who  partake  of  it  must  stand  whilst  they 
eat,  like  unto  men  who  have  no  time  to  lose  during 
this  passing  life.  Its  immolation  is  the  signal  of  the 
Pasch ; — the  immolation  of  our  Emmanuel,  the  Lamb 
of  Grod,  is  the  signal  of  our  Pasch. 

LESSON. 

fExod.  Chap.  XII.  J 

In  those  days  :      The  Lord        In  diebus  illis  :    Dixit  Do- 
said  to  Moses  and  Aaron  in    minus  ad  Moysen  et  Aaron 


466 


HOLY    WEEK. 


in  terra  iEgypti :  Mensis 
iste  vobis  principium  men- 
sium  :  primus  erit  in  men- 
sibus  anni.  Loquimini  ad 
universum  coetum  filiorum 
Israel,  et  dicite  eis :  De- 
cima  die  mensis  hujus  tollat 
unusquisque  agnum  per  fa- 
milias  et  domos  suas.  Sin 
autem  minor  est  numerus, 
ut  sufficere  possit  ad  ve- 
scendum  agnum,  assumet 
vicinum  suum,  qui  junctus 
est  domui  suae  :  juxta  nu- 
merum  animarum,  quse 
sufficere  possunt  ad  esum 
agni.  Erit  autem  agnus 
absque  macula,  masculus, 
anniculus :  juxta  quern  ri- 
tum  tolletis  et  hcedum.  Et 
servabitis  eum  usque  ad 
quartam  decimam  diem 
mensis  hujus.  Immolabit- 
que  eum  universa  multitudo 
filiorum  Israel  ad  vesperam. 
Et  sument  de  sanguine  ejus  : 
ac  ponent  super  utrumque 
postern,  et  in  superliminari- 
bus  domorum,  in  quibus 
comedent  ilium.  Et  edent 
carnes  nocte  ilia  assas  igni, 
et  azymos  panes,  cum  lac- 
tucis  agrestibus.  Non  come- 
detis  ex  eo  crudum  quid,  nee 
coetum  aqua  :  sed  tantum 
assum  igni.  Caput  cum 
pedibus  ejus  et  intestinis 
vorabitis  :  nee  remanebit 
quidquam  ex  eo  usque  mane. 
Si  quid  residuum  fuerit, 
igne  comburetis.  Sic  autem 
comedetis  ilium.  Eenes 
vestros  accingetis  :  et  cal- 
ceamenta  habebitis  in  pedi- 
bus, tenentes  baculos  in 
manibus  :  et  comedetis 
festinanter.  Est       enim 


the  land  of  Egypt:  Thismonth 
shall  be  to  you  the  beginning 
of  months  :  it  shall  be  the  first 
in  the  months  of  the  year. 
Speak  ye  to  the  whole  as- 
sembly of  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  say  to  them  :  On 
the  tenth  day  of  this  month, 
let  every  man  take  a  lamb,  by 
their  families  and  houses. 
But  if  the  number  be  less  than 
may  suffice  to  eat  the  lamb, 
he  shall  take  unto  him  his 
neighbour  that  joineth  to  his 
house,  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  souls  which  may  be 
enough  to  eat  the  lamb.  And 
it  shall  be  a  lamb  without 
blemish,  a  male  of  one  year  ; 
according  to  which  rite  also 
he  shall  kill  a  kid.  And  you 
shall  keep  it  unto  the  four- 
teenth day  of  this  month :  and 
the  whole  multitude  of  the 
children  of  Israel  shall  sacri- 
fice it  in  the  evening.  And 
they  shall  take  of  the  blood 
thereof,  and  put  it  upon  both 
the  sideposts,  and  on  the  upper 
door  posts  of  the  houses, 
wherein  they  shall  eat  it. 
And  they  shall  eat  the  flesh 
that  night  roasted  at  the  fire, 
and  unleavened  bread,  with 
wild  lettuce.  You  shall  not 
eat  thereof  any  thing  raw,  nor 
boiled  in  water,  but  only 
roasted  at  the  fire  :  you  shall 
eat  the  head  with  the  feet  and 
entrails  thereof.  Neither  shall 
there  remain  any  thing  of  it 
until  morning.  If  there  be 
any  thing  left,  you  shall  burn 
it  with  fire.  And  thus  you 
shall  eat  it  :  you  shall  gird 
your  reins,  and  you  shall  have 
shoes  on   your  feet,  holding 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE. 


467 


staves  in  your  hands,  and 
you  shall  eat  in  haste  :  for  it 
is  the  Phase  (that  is,  the 
Passage)  of  the  Lord. 


Phase, 
mini. 


id  est  Transitus,  Do- 


This  magnificent  prophecy  is  followed  by  a  Tract 
taken  from  the  139th  Psalm,  in  which  the  Church 
represents  our  Redeemer,  (who  has  been  betrayed 
into  the  hands  of  his  enemies,)  praying  to  his  Eternal 
Father. 


TRACT. 


Deliver  me,  0  Lord,  from 
the  evil  man  :  rescue  me  from 
the  unjust  man. 

y.  Who  have  devised  ini- 
quities in  their  hearts :  all 
the  day  long  they  designed 
battles. 

y.  They  have  sharpened 
their  tongues  like  a  serpent  : 
the  venom  of  asps  is  under 
their  lips. 

y.  Keep  me,  0  Lord,  from 
the  hand  of  the  wicked  :  and 
from  unjust  men  deliver  me. 

y.  Who  have  proposed  to 
supplant  my  steps  :  the  proud 
have  hid  a  net  for  me. 

y .  And  they  have  stretched 
out  cords  for  a  snare  :  they 
have  laid  for  me  a  stumbling- 
block  by  the  way  side. 

P .  I  said  to  the  Lord :  Thou 
art  my  God  :  hear,  O  Lord, 
the  voice  of  my  supplication. 

y.  0  Lord,  Lord,  the  might 
of  my  salvation  :  cover  thou 
my  head  in  the  day  of  battle. 

y.  Give  me  not  up,  OLord, 
from  my  desire  to  the  wicked  ; 


Eripe  me,  Domine,  ab 
homine  malo :  a  viro  ini- 
quo  libera  me. 

f.  Qui  cogitaverunt  ma- 
litias  in  corde  :  tota  die 
constituebant  prselia. 

y.  Acuerunt  linguas  suas 
sicut  serpentis  :  venenum 
aspidum  sub  labiis  eorum. 

y.  Custodi  me,  Domine, 
de  manu  peccatoris  :  et  ab 
hominibus  iniquis  libera 
me. 

#.  Qui  cogitaverunt  sup- 
plantare  gressus  meos  :  ab- 
sconderunt  superbi  laqueum 
mihi. 

y.  Et  funes  extenderunt 
in  laqueum  pedibus  meis  : 
juxta  iter  scandalum  posue- 
runt  mihi. 

y.  Dixi  Domino  :  Deus 
meus  es  tu  :  exaudi,  Domine, 
vocem  orationis  mese. 

y.  Domine,  Domine,  vir- 
tus salutis  mese  :  obumbra 
caput  meum  in  die  belli. 

y.  Netradas  me,  Domine, 
a  desiderio    meo  peccatori  : 


468 


HOLY    WEEK. 


cogitaverunt  adversum  me,  ne 
derelinquas  me,  ne  unquam 
exaltentur. 

ft .  Caput  circuitus  eorum  : 
labor  labiorum  ipsorum  ope- 
riet  eos. 

ft .  Verumtamen  j usti  con- 
fitebuntur  nomini  tuo :  et 
habitabunt  recti  cum  vultu 
tuo. 


they  have  plotted  against  me ; 
do  not  thou  forsake  me,  lest 
they  should  triumph. 

ft.  The  head  of  their  com- 
passing me  about :  the  labour 
of  their  lips  shall  overwhelm 
them. 

ft .  But  as  for  the  j ust,  they 
shall  give  glory  to  thy  name  : 
and  the  upright  shall  dwell 
with  thy  countenance. 


The  Prophets  have  prepared  us  for  the  fulfilment 
of  their  types.  Holy  Church  is  now  going  to  relate 
to  us  the  history  of  our  Saviour's  Passion.  It  is 
St.  John,  the  fourth  of  the  Evangelists,  and  an  eye- 
witness of  what  took  place  on  Calvary,  who  is  about 
to  describe  to  us  the  last  moments  of  Jesus'  mortal 
life.  Let  us  be  all  attention,  and  beg  our  Lord  to 
give  us  something  of  that  devotion,  which  filled  the 
soul  of  his  Beloved  Disciple  as  he  stood  at  the  foot 
of  the  Cross. 


THE    PASSION. 


Passio  Domini  nostri  Jesu 
Christi  secundum  Joan- 
nem. 

Cap.  XVIII.  XIX. 

In  illo  tempore  :  Egres- 
sus  est  Jesus  cum  discipulis 
suis,  trans  torrentem  Ce- 
dron,  ubi  erat  hortus,  in 
quern  introivit  ipse,  et  dis- 
cipuli  ejus.  Sciebat  autem 
et  Judas  qui  tradebat  eum, 
locum :  quia  frequenter  Je- 
sus convenerat  illuc  cum 
discipulis  suis.  Judas  ergo 
cum  accepisset  cohortem,  et 
a  pontificibus    et    pharisaeis 


The  Passion  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  according  to  John. 

Ch.  XVIII.   XIX. 

At  that  time  :  Jesus  went 
with  his  disciples  over  the 
brook  Cedron,  where  there 
was  a  garden,  into  which  he 
entered  with  his  disciples. 
And  Judas  also,  who  betrayed 
him,  knew  the  place;  because 
Jesus  had  often  resorted  thith- 
er together  with  his  disciples. 
Judas  therefore  having  re- 
ceived a  band  of  soldiers,  and 
servants  from  the  chief  priests 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


469 


and  the  Pharisees,  oometh 
thither  with  lanterns  and 
torches  and  weapons.  Jesus 
therefore  knowing  all  things 
that  should  come  upon  him, 
went  forth,  and  said  to  them : 
Whom  seek  ye  ?  They  an- 
swered him  :  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth. Jesus  saith  to  them :  I 
am  he.  And  Judas  also,  who 
b  etrayed  him ,  stood  with  them. 
As  soon  therefore  as  he  had 
said  to  them  :  I  am  he  :  they 
went  backward  and  fell  to  the 
ground.  Again  therefore  he 
asked  them  :  Whom  seek  ye  ? 
And  they  said :  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth. Jesus  answered :  I  have 
told  you,  that  I  am  he.  If 
therefore  you  seek  me,  let 
these  go  their  way.  That  the 
word  might  be  fulfilled  which 
he  said  :  Of  them  whom  thou 
hast  given  me,  I  have  not  lost 
any  one.  Then  Simon  Peter, 
having  a  sword,  drew  it :  and 
struck  a  servant  of  the  High 
Priest,  and  cut  off  his  right 
ear.  And  the  name  of  the 
servant  was  Malchus.  Jesus 
then  said  to  Peter :  Put  up  thy 
sword  into  the  scabbard.  The 
chalice  which  my  Father  hath 
given  me,  shall  I  not  drink  it  ? 
Then  the  band,  and  the  tri- 
bune, and  the  servants  of  the 
Jews  took  Jesus,  and  they 
bound  him,  and  they  led  him 
away  to  Annas  first,  for  he  was 
father-in  law  to  Caiphas,  who 
was  the  High  Priest  of  that 
year.  Now  Caiphas  was  he  wTho 
had  given  the  counsel  to  the 
Jews  :  That  it  was  expedient 
that  one  man  should  die  for  the 
people.  And  Simon  Peter 
followed  Jesus,    and  so  did 


ministros :  venit  illuc  cum 
laternis,  et  facibus,  et  ar- 
mis.  Jesus  itaque  sciens  om- 
nia, quse  ventura  erant  su- 
per eum,  processit,  et  dixit 
eis ;  Quern  quaeritis  ?  Re- 
sponderunt  ei :  Jesum  Naza- 
renum.  Dicit  eis  Jesus  :  Ego 
sum .  Stabat  au  tern  et  Judas , 
qui  tradebat  eum,  cum  ip- 
sis.  Ut  ergo  dixit  eis  :  Ego 
sum,  abierunt  retrorsum 
et  ceciderunt  in  terram. 
Iterum  ergo  interrogavit 
eos :  Quern  quseritis  ?  Illi 
autern  dixerunt :  Jesum 
Nazarenum.  Respondit  Je- 
sus :  Dixi  vobis,  quia  ego 
sum.  Si  ergo  me  quseritis, 
sinite  hos  abire.  Ut  imple- 
retur  sermo,  quern  dixit : 
Quia  quos  dedisti  mihi,  non 
perdidi  ex  eis  quern  quam. 
Simon  ergo  Petrus  habens 
gladium,  eduxit  eum,  et  per- 
cussit  pontificis  servum,  et 
abscidit  auriculam  ejus  dex- 
teram.  Erat  autem  nomen 
servo  Malchus.  Dixit  ergo 
Jesus  Petro  :  Mitte  gladium 
tuum  in  vaginam.  Calicem 
quern  dedit  mihi  Pater,  non 
bibam  ilium  ? 

Cohors  ergo  et  tribunus 
et  ministri  Judseorum  com- 
prehenderunt  Jesum,  et  li- 
gaverunt  eum,  et  adduxe- 
runt  eum  ad  Annam  pri- 
mum  :  erat  enim  socer  Cai- 
phse,  qui  erat  Pontifex  anni 
illius.  Erat  autem  Caiphas, 
qui  consilium  dederat  Ju- 
daeis :  Quia  expedit  unum 
hominem  mori  pro  populo. 
Sequebatur  autem  Jesum 
Simon  Petrus,  et  alius  dis- 


470 


HOLY    WEEK. 


cipulus.  Discipulus  autem 
ille  erat  notus  Pontifici  :  et 
introivit  cum  Jesus  in  atrium 
Pontificis.  Petrus  autem  sta- 
bat  ad  ostium  foris.  Exivit 
ergo  discipulus  alius,  qui 
erat  notus  Pontifici :  et  dixit 
ostiarise,  et  introduxit  Pe- 
trum.  Dicit  ergo  Petro  an- 
cilla  ostiaria :  Numquid  et 
tu  ex  discipulis  es  hominis 
istius  ?  Dicit  ille  :  Non  sum. 
Stabant  autem  servi  et  min- 
istri  ad  prunas,  quia  frigus 
erat :  et  calefaciebant  se. 
Erat  autem  cum  eis  et  Pe- 
trus stans,  et  calefaciens  se. 


Pontifex  ergo  interroga- 
vit  Jesum  de  discipulis  suis, 
et  de  doctrina  ejus.  Kespon- 
dit  ei  Jesus :  Ego  palam  locu- 
tus  sum  mundo.  Ego  sem- 
per docui  in  synagoga,  et  in 
templo,  quo  omnes  Judsei 
conveniunt  :  et  in  occulto 
locutus  sum  nihil.  Quid  me 
interrogas  ?  Interroga  eos 
qui  audierunt  quid  locutus 
sim  ipsis :  ecce  hi  sciunt 
quae  dixerim  ego.  Haec  au- 
tem cum  dixisset,  unus  as- 
sistens  ministrorum  dedit 
alapam  Jesu,  dicens  :  Sic 
respondes  Pontifici  ?  Ee- 
spondit  ei  Jesus :  Si  male 
locutus  sum,  testimonium 
perhibe  de  malo  :  si  autem 
bene,  quid  me  csedis  ?  Et 
misit  eum  Annas  ligatum  ad 
Caipham .  Pontificem.  Erat 
autem  Simon  Petrus  stans, 
et  calefaciens  se.  Dixerunt 
ergo  ei :   Numquid  et  tu  ex 


another  disciple.  And  that 
disciple  was  known  to  the 
High  Priest,  and  went  in  with 
Jesus  into  the  court  of  the 
High  Priest.  But  Peter  stood 
at  the  door  without.  The 
other  disciple  therefore,  who 
was  known  to  the  High  Priest, 
went  out,  and  spoke  to  the 
portress,  and  brought  in 
Peter.  And  the  maid  that 
was  portress,  saith  to  Peter  .• 
Art  not  thou  also  one  of  this 
man's  disciples?  He  saith  :  I 
am  not.  Now  the  servants 
and  officers  stood  at  a  fire  of 
coals,  because  it  was  cold,  and 
warmed  themselves.  And 
with  them  was  Peter  also 
standing  and  warming  him- 
self. 

The  High  Priest  then  asked 
Jesus  of  his  disciples  and  of 
his  doctrine.  Jesus  answered 
him  :  I  have  spoken  openly 
to  the  world  :  I  have  always 
taught  in  the  synagogue,  and 
in  the  temple  whither  all  the 
Jews  resort ;  and  in  secret  I 
have  spoken  nothing.  Why 
askest  thou  me  ?  ask  them 
who  have  heard  what  I  have 
spoken  unto  them :  behold 
they  know  what  things  I  have 
said.  And  when  he  had  said 
these  things,  one  of  the  offi- 
cers standing  by,  gave  Jesus 
a  blow,  saying :  Answerest 
thou  the  High  Priest  so  ?  Jesus 
answered  him  :  H  I  have 
spoken  evil,  give  testimony  of 
the  evil :  but  if  well,  why 
strikest  thou  me  ?  And  Annas 
sent  him  bound  to  Caiphas 
the  High  Priest.  And  Simon 
Peter  was  standing  and  warm- 
ing himself.    They  said  there  - 


GOOD    FRIDAY   '.    MORNING    SERVICE. 


471 


tore  to  him :  Art  not  thou  also 
one  of  his  disciples  ?  He  de- 
nied it,  and  said  :  I  am  not. 
One  of  the  servants  of  the 
High  Priest  (a  kinsman  to  him 
whose  ear  Peter  cut  off)  saith 
to  him  :  Did  not  I  see  thee 
in  the  garden  with  him  ?  Then 
Peter  again  denied  :  and  im- 
mediately the  cock  crew. 

Then  they  led  Jesus  from 
Caiphasto  the  governor's  hall. 
And  it  was  morning :  and  they 
went  not  into  the  hall,  that 
they  might  not  be  denied,  but 
that  they  might  eat  the  Pasch. 
Pilate  therefore  went  out  to 
them  and  said:  What  accusa- 
tion bring  you  against  this 
man  ?  They  answered  and 
said  to  him  :  If  he  were  not 
a  malefactor  we  would  not 
have  delivered  him  up  to  thee. 
Pilate  then  said  to  them :  Take 
him  you,  and  judge  him  ac- 
cording to  your  law.  The 
Jews  therefore  said  to  him  : 
It  is  not  lawful  for  us  to  put 
any  man  to  death.  That  the 
word  of  Jesus  might  be  ful- 
filled which  he  said,  signifying 
what  death  he  should  die. 
Pilate  therefore  went  into  the 
hall  again,  and  called  Jesus, 
and  said  to  him :  Art  thou  the 
king  of  the  Jews  ?  Jesus  an- 
swered :  Sayest  thou  this 
thing  of  thyself,  or  have  others 
told  it  thee  of  me  ?  Pilate 
answered  :  Am  I  a  Jew  ?  Thy 
own  nation,  and  the  chief 
priests  have  delivered  thee  up 
to  me  :  what  hast  thou  done  ? 
Jesus  answered :  My  kingdom 
is  not  of  this  world.  If  my 
kingdom  were  of  this  world, 
my  servants  would  certainly 


discipulis  ejus  es  ?  Negavit 
ille,  et  dixit :  Non  sum.  Di- 
cit  ei  unus  ex  servis  Pontifi- 
cis,  cognatus  ejus  cujus  ab- 
sciditPetrusauriculam:  Non- 
ne  ego  te  vidi  in  horto  cum 
illo  ?  Iterum  ergo  negavit 
Petrus  :  et  statim  gallus 
cantavit. 

Adducunt  ergo  Jesum  a 
Caipha  in  prsetorium.  Erat 
autem  mane.  Et  ipsi  non 
introierunt  in  prsetorium, 
ut  non  contaminarentur  : 
sed  ut  manducarent  Pascha. 
Exivit  ergo  Pilatus  ad  eos 
foras,  et  dixit  :  Quam  ac- 
cusationem  affertis  adver- 
sus  hominem  hunc  ?  Res- 
ponderunt,  et  dixerunt  ei  : 
Si  non  esset  hie  malefactor, 
non  tibi  tradidissemus  eum. 
Dixit  ergo  eis  Pilatus  :  Ac- 
cipite  eum  vos  ;  et  secun- 
dum legem  vestram  judicate 
eum.  Dixerunt  ergo  ei  Ju- 
dsei  :  Nobis  non  licet  inter- 
ficere  quemquam.  Ut  sermo 
Jesu  impleretur,  quern  dix- 
it, significans,  qua  morte 
esset  moriturus.  Introivit 
ergo  iterum  in  prsetorium 
Pilatus  ;  et  vocavit  Jesum, 
et  dixit  ei :  Tu  es  Rex  Judse- 
orum  ?  Respondit  Jesus  :  A 
temetipso  hoc  dicis,  an  alii 
dixerunt  tibi  de  me  ?  Res- 
pondit Pilatus  :  Numquid 
ego  Judseus  sum  ?  Gens  tua, 
et  Pontifices  tradiderunt  te 
mihi.  Quid  fecisti?  Respon- 
dit Jesus  :  Regnum  meum 
non  est  de  hoc  mundo.  Si 
ex  hoc  mundo  esset  regnum 
meum,  ministri  mei  utique 
decertarent,    ut    non  trade- 


472 


HOLY     WEEK. 


rer  Judseis.  Nunc  auteni 
regnum  meum  non  est  hinc. 
Dixit  itaque  ei  Pilatus  :  Er- 
go Rex  es  tu  ?  Respondit 
Jesus  :  Tu  dicis,  quia  Rex 
sum  ego.  Ego  in  hoc  natus 
sum,  et  ad  hoc  veni  in  mun- 
dum  :  ut  testimonium  per- 
hibeam  veritati.  Omnis  qui 
est  ex  veritate,  audit  vocem 
meam.  Dicit  ei  Pilatus  : 
Quid  est  Veritas  ?  Et  cum 
hoc  dixisset,  iterum  exivit 
ad  Judseos,  et  dicit  eis  :  Ego 
nullam  invenio  in  eo  cau- 
sam.  Est  autem  consuetudo 
vobis,  ut  unum  diniittam 
vobis  in  Pascha.  Vultis  ergo 
dimittam  vobis  Regem  Ju- 
daeorum  ?  Clamaverunt  ergo 
rursum  omnes  dicentes  :  Non 
hunc,  sed  Barabbam.  Erat 
autem  Barabbas  latro. 


Tunc  ergo  apprehendit 
Pilatus  Jesum,  et  flagella- 
vit.  Et  milites  plectentes 
coronam  de  spinis,  impo- 
suerunt  capiti  ejus,  et  veste 
purpurea  circumdederunt 
eum.  Et  veniebant  ad  eum, 
et  dicebant  :  Ave,  Rex  Ju- 
dseorum.  Et  dabant  ei  ala- 
pas.  Exivit  ergo  iterum 
Pilatus  foras,  et  dicit  eis  : 
Ecce  adduco  vobis  eum 
foras,  ut  cognoscatis  quia 
nullam  invenio  in  eo  cau- 
sam.  Exivit  ergo  Jesus 
portans  coronam  spineam 
et  purpureum  vestimentum. 
Et  dicit  eis  :  Ecce  Homo. 
Cum  ergo  vidissent  eum 
pontifices  et  ininistri,  cla- 
mabant,  dicentes  :  Cruci- 
fige,    crucifige    eum.      Dicit 


strive  that  I  should  not  be  de- 
livered to  the  Jews  :  but  now 
my  kingdom  is  not  from 
hence.  Pilate  therefore  said 
to  him  :  Art  thou  a  king  then  ? 
Jesus  answered  :  Thou  sayest 
that  I  am  a  king.  For  this 
was  I  born,  and  for  this  I 
came  into  the  world  ;  that  I 
should  give  testimony  to  the 
truth.  Every  one  that  is  of 
the  truth,  heareth  my  voice. 
Pilate  saith  to  him  :  What  is 
the  truth  ?  And  when  he  had 
said  this,  he  went  out  again  to 
the  Jews  and  said  to  them  :  I 
find  no  cause  in  him.  But  you 
have  a  custom  that  I  should 
release  one  unto  you  at  the 
Pasch :  will  you  therefore  that 
I  release  unto  you  the  king  of 
the  Jews  ?  Then  cried  they  all 
again,  saying  :  Not  this  man, 
but  Barabbas.  Now  Barabbas 
was  a  robber. 

Then  therefore  Pilate  took 
Jesus  and  scourged  him.  And 
the  soldiers  platting  a  crown 
of  thorns,  put  it  upon  his 
head  :  and  they  put  on  him  a 
purple  garment.  And  they 
came  to  him  and  said  :  Hail, 
King  of  the  Jews.  And  they 
gave  him  blows  :  Pilate  there- 
fore went  forth  again,  and 
saith  to  them  :  Behold  I  bring 
him  forth  unto  you,  that  you 
may  know  that  I  find  no  cause 
in  him.  Jesus  therefore  came 
forth  bearing  the  crown  of 
thorns,  and  the  purple  gar- 
ment. And  he  saith  to  them  : 
Behold  the  man.  When  the 
chief  priests  therefore  and  the 
servants  had  seen  him,  they 
cried  out,  sajdng  :  Crucify 
him,  crucify  him.   Pilate  saith 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I     MORNING    SERVICE*. 


47^ 


to  them  :  Take  him  yon,  and 
crucify  him  :  for  I  find  no 
cause  in  him.  The  Jews  an- 
swered him  :  We  have  a  law  ; 
and  according  to  that  law  he 
ought  to  die,  because  he  made 
himself  the  Son  of  God.  When 
Pilate  therefore  had  heard  this 
saying,  he  feared  the  more. 
And  he  entered  into  the  hall 
again  ;  and  he  said  to  Jesus  : 
Whence  art  thou  ?  But  Jesus 
gave  him  no  answer.  Pilate 
therefore  saith  to  him :  Speak - 
est  thou  not  to  me  ?  knowest 
thou  not  that  I  have  power 
to  crucify  thee,  and  I  have 
power  to  release  thee  ?  Jesus 
answered  :  Thou  shouldst  not 
have  any  power  against  me, 
unless  it  were  given  thee  from 
above.  Therefore  he  that  hath 
delivered  me  to  thee,  hath  the 
greater  sin.  And  from  thence- 
forth Pilate  sought  to  release 
him.  But  the  Jews  cried  out, 
saying  :  If  thou  release  this 
man,  thou  art  not  Caesar's 
friend.  For  whosoever  maketh 
himself  a  king,  speaketh 
against  Caesar.  Now  when 
Pilate  had  heard  these  words, 
he  brought  Jesus  forth  :  and 
sat  down  in  the  judgment- seat 
in  the  place  that  is  called 
Lithostrotos ;  and  in  the 
Hebrew,   Gabbatha. 

And  it  was  the  parasceve  of 
the  Pasch,  about  the  sixth  hour 
and  he  saith  to  the  Jews :  Be- 
hold your  king.  But  they  cried 
out,  away  with  him ,  away  with 
him,  crucify  him.  Pilate  saith 
to  them  :  Shall  I  crucify  your 
king  ?  The  chief  priests  an- 
swered :  We  have  no  king  but 
Caesar.  Then  therefore  he  de- 


eis  Pilatus  :  Accipite  eum 
vos,  et  crucifigite.  Ego 
enim  non  invenio  in  eo  cau- 
sa m.  Responderunt  ei  Ju- 
daei :  Nos  legem  habemus, 
et  secundum  legem  debet 
mori  :  quia  Filiuin  Dei  Be 
fecit.  Cum  ergo  audissot 
Pilatus  hunc  sermonem 
magis  timuit.  Et  ingressus 
est  praetorium  iterum  :  et 
dixit  ad  Jesum  :  Unde  es 
tu  ?  Jesus  autem  respon- 
sum  non  dedit  ei.  Dicit 
ergo  ei  Pilatus :  Mihi  non 
loqueris  ?  Nescis,  quia  po- 
testatem  habeo  crucifigere 
te,  et  potestatem  habeo 
dimittere  te  ?  Respondit 
Jesus :  Non  haberes  potes- 
tatem adversum  me  ullam, 
nisi  tibi  datum  esset  desu- 
per.  Propterea  qui  me  tra- 
didit  tibi,  majus  peccatum 
habet.  Et  exinde  quserebat 
Pilatus  dimittere  eum.  Ju- 
daei  autem  clamabant,  di- 
centes :  Si  hunc  dimittis, 
non  es  amicus  Caesaris. 
Omnis  enim  qui  se  regem 
facit,  contradicit  Caesari. 
Pilatus  autem  cum  audisset 
hos  sermones,  adduxit  foras 
Jesum,  et  sedit  pro  tribunali 
in  loco  qui  dicitur  Lithos- 
trotos, hebrai'ce  autem  Gab- 
batha. 

Erat  autem  parasceve 
Paschae,  hora  quasi  sexta. 
Et  dicit  Judaeis :  Ecce  rex 
vester.  Illi  autem  clama- 
bant :  Tolle,  tolle,  crucifige 
eum.  Dicit  eis  Pilatus  :  Re- 
gem  vestrum  crucifigam  ? 
Responderunt  pontifices  : 
Non  habemus  regem,  nisi 
Ceesarem.       Tunc  ergo   tra-: 


474 


HOLY  WKEK, 


didit  eis  ilium,  ut  crucifi- 
geretur.  Susceperunt  au- 
tem Jesum  :  et  eduxerunt. 
Et  bajulans  sibi  crucem, 
exivit  in  eum  qui  dicitur 
Calvarise  locum,  hebraice 
autem  Golgotha,  ubi  cruci- 
fixerunt  eum,  et  cum  eo 
alios  duos  bine  et  hinc, 
medium  autem  Jesum. 
Scripsit  autem  et  titulum  Pi- 
latus :  et  posuit  super  cru- 
cem. Erat  autem  scrip  turn  : 
Jesus  Nazarenus,  Eex  Ju- 
daeorum.  Hunc  ergo  titu- 
lum multi  Judaeorum  lege- 
runt :  quia  prope  civitatem 
erat  locus,  ubi  crucifixus 
est  Jesus.  Et  erat  scriptum 
hebraice,  graece,  et  latine. 
Dicebant  ergo  Pilato  ponti- 
fices  Judaeorum  :  Noli  scri- 
bere :  Eex  Judaeorum :  sed 
quia  ipse  dixit,  Rex  sum  Ju- 
daeorum. Respondit  Pila- 
tus :  Quod  scripsi,  scripsi. 
Milites  ergo  cum  crucifixis- 
sent  eum,  acceperunt  vesti- 
menta  ejus  (et  fecerunt 
quatuor  partes,  unicuique 
militi  partem)  et  tunicam. 
Erat  autem  tunica  incon- 
sutilis,  desuper  contexta 
per  totum.  Dixerunt  ergo 
ad  invicem  :  Non  scindamus 
earn,  sed  sortiamur  de  ilia 
cujus  sit.  Ut  scrip tura  im- 
pleretur,  dicens :  Partiti 
sunt  vestimenta  mea  sibi, 
et  in  vestem  meam  mise- 
runt  sortem.  Et  milites  qui- 
dem  haec  fecerunt. 


Stabant  autem  juxta  cru- 
cem Jesu  mater  ejus,  et  so- 
ror  matris  ejus,  Maria  Cleo- 


livered  him  to  them  to  be  cru<* 
cified.  And  they  took  Jesus, 
and  led  him  forth.  And  bear- 
ing his  own  cross,  he  went 
forth  to  that  place  which  is 
called  Calvary,  but  in  Hebrew, 
Golgotha,  where  they  cruci- 
fied him,  and  with  him  two 
others,  one  on  each  side,  and 
Jesus  in  the  midst.  And  Pi- 
late wrote  a  title  also  :  and  he 
put  it  upon  the  cross.  And 
the  writing  was,  Jesus  of  Na- 
zareth the  King  of  the  Jews. 
This  title  therefore  many  of 
the  Jews  did  read  :  because 
the  place  where  Jesus  was 
crucified  was  nigh  to  the  city ; 
and  it  was  written  in  Hebrew, 
in  Greek,  and  in  Latin.  Then 
the  chief  priests  of  the  Jews 
said  to  Pilate :  Write  not,  The 
King  of  the  Jews ;  but  that 
he  said,  I  am  the  King  of 
the  Jews.  Pilate  answered  : 
What  I  have  written,  I  have 
written.  The  soldiers  there- 
fore when  they  had  crucified 
him,  took  his  garments  (and 
they  made  four  parts,  to  every 
soldier  a  part,)  and  also  his 
coat.  Now  the  coat  was  with- 
out seam,  woven  from  the 
top  throughout.  They  said 
then  one  to  another  :  Let  us 
not  cut  it,  but  let  us  cast  lots 
for  it  whose  it  shall  be  ;  that 
the  scripture  might  be  ful- 
filled which  saith :  •  'They  have 
parted  my  garments  among 
them,  and  upon  my  vesture 
they  have  cast  lots."  And 
the  soldiers  indeed  did  these 
things. 

Now  there  stood  by  the  cross 
of  Jesus,  his  mother,  and  his 
mothers  sister,  Mary  of  Geo- 


GOOD    FRIDAY  .'    MORNING    SERVICE, 


475 


bhas,  and  Mary  Magdalene. 
When  Jesus  therefore  had 
seen  his  mother,  and  the  dis- 
ciple standing  whom  he  loved, 
he  saith  to  his  mother :  Wo- 
man behold  thy  Son.  After 
that,  he  saith  to  the  disciple  : 
Behold  thy  mother.  And 
from  that  hour  the  disciple 
took  her  to  his  own.  After- 
wards Jesus  knowing  that  all 
things  were  now  accomplish- 
ed, that  the  scripture  might  be 
fulfilled,  said  :  I  thirst.  Now 
there  was  a  vessel  set  there 
full  of  vinegar.  And  they  put- 
ting a  sponge  full  of  vinegar 
about  hyssop,  put  it  to  his 
mouth.  Jesus,  therefore,  when 
he  had  taken  the  vinegar  said : 
It  is  consummated.  And  bow- 
ing his  head,  he  gave  up  the 
ghost. 


phae,  et  Maria  Magdalene, 
Cum  vidisset  ergo  Jesus 
matrem  et  discipulum  stan- 
tem,  quern  diligebat,  dicit 
matri  suce  :  Mulier,  ecce 
filius  tuus.  Deinde  dicit  di- 
scipulo  :  Ecce  mater  tua. 
Et  ex  ilia  hora  accepit  earn 
discipulus  in  sua.  Postea 
sciens  Jesus,  quia  omnia 
consummata  sunt  :  ut  con- 
summaretur  Scriptura,  di- 
cit :  Sitio.  Vas  ergo  erat 
positum  aceto  plenum.  Illi 
autem  spongiam  plenam 
aceto,  hyssopo  circumpo- 
nentes,  obtulerunt  ori  ejus. 
Cum  ergo  accepisset  Jesus 
acetum,  dixit  :  Consumma- 
tum  est.  Et  inclinato  capite, 
tradidit  spiritum. 


Here,  a  pause  is  made  as  on  Palm  Sunday. 
All  kneel  down,  and,  if  such  be  the  custom  of  the 
place,  they  prostrate  and  kiss  the  ground. 


Then  the  Jews,  (because  it 
was  the  Parasceve,)  that  the 
bodies  might  not  remain  upon 
the  cross  on  the  sabbath-day, 
(for  that  was  a  great  sabbath- 
day,)  besought  Pilate  that 
their  legs  might  be  broken, 
and  that  they  might  be  taken 
away.  The  soldiers  therefore 
came ;  and  they  broke  the 
legs  of  the  first,  and  of  the 
other,  that  was  crucified  with 
him.  But  after  they  came  to 
Jesus,  when  they  saw  that  he 
was  already  dead,  they  did 
not  break  his  legs.  But  one 
of  the   soldiers  with  a  spear 


Judsei  ergo  (quoniam  Pa- 
rasceve erat),  ut  non  rema- 
nerent  in  cruce  corpora 
sabbato  (erat  enim  magnus 
dies  ille  sabbati),  rogaverunt 
Pilatum,  ut  frangerentur 
eorum  crura,  et  tollerentur. 
Venerunt  ergo  milites  :  et 
primi  quidem  fregerunt 
crura,  et  alterius  qui  cruci- 
fixus  est  cum  eo.  Ad  Je- 
sum  autem  cum  venissent, 
ut  viderunt  eum  jam  mor- 
tuum,  non  fregerunt  ejus 
crura  ;  sed  unus  militum 
lancea  latus  ejus  aperuit,  et 
continuo   exivit    sanguis    et 


476 


HOLY    WEEK. 


aqua.  Et  qui  vidit,  testi- 
monium perhibuit  :  et  ve- 
rum  est  testimonium  ejus. 
Et  ille  scit,  quia  vera  dicit, 
ut  et  vos  credatis.  Facta 
sunt  enim  hsec,  ut  scriptura 
impleretur  :  Os  non  com- 
minuetis  ex  eo.  Et  iterum 
alia  scriptura  dicit  :  Vide- 
bunt  in  quern  transfixerunt. 


opened  his  side,  and  immedi- 
ately there  came  out  blood 
and  water.  And  he  that  saw 
it,  hath  given  testimony ;  and 
his  testimony  is  true.  And 
he  knoweth  that  he  saith  true : 
that  you  also  may  believe. 
For  these  things  were  done 
that  the  scripture  might  be 
fulfilled:  "You  shaU  not 
break  a  bone  of  him."  And 
again  another  scripture  saith  : 
' '  They  shall  look  on  him 
whom  they  pierced." 

Here,  the  Deacon  kneels  at  the  foot  of  the  Altar, 
and  prays,  in  silence,  that  there  may  descend  upon 
him  the  blessing  of  Grod ;  but  he  does  not  ask  the 
blessing,  as  usual,  from  the  Celebrant,  either  upon 
the  incense  or  himself.  Neither  do  the  Acolytes 
hold  their  torches  whilst  he  sings  the  Grospel.  The 
Sub-Deacon  does  not  offer  the  Missal  to  the  Priest, 
at  the  end  of  the  Q-ospel.  The  omission  of  all  these 
ceremonies  is  expressive  of  the  grief  which  fills  the 
soul  of  the  Spouse  of  Christ,  the  Church. 


Post  hsec  autem  rogavit 
Pilatum  Joseph  ab  Arima- 
thsea  (eo  quod  esset  disci- 
pulus  Jesu,  occultus  autem 
propter  metum  Judseorum) 
ut  tolleret  corpus  Jesu.  Et 
permisit  Pilatus.  Venit  er- 
go, et  tulit  corpus  Jesu. 
Venit  autem  et  Nicodemus, 
qui  venerat  ad  Jesum  nocte 
primum,  ferens  mixturam 
myrrhse  et  aloes,  quasi  libras 
centum.  Acceperunt  ergo 
corpus  Jesu,  et  ligaverunt 
illud  linteis  cum  aromatibus, 
sicut  mos  est  Judseis  sepelire. 
Erat  autem  in  loco,  ubi 
crucifixus  est,  hortus  ;  ct  in 


After  these  things,  Joseph 
of  Arimathea,  (because he  was 
a  disciple  of  Jesus,  but  secretly 
for  fear  of  the  Jews, )  besought 
Pilate  that  he  might  take  the 
body  of  Jesus.  And  Pilate 
gave  leave.  He  came  there- 
fore and  took  away  the  body 
of  Jesus.  And  Nicodemus 
also  came,  he  who  at  the  first 
came  to  Jesus  by  night,  bring- 
ing a  mixture  of  myrrh  and 
aloes,  about  one  hundred 
pound  weight.  They  took 
therefore  the  body  of  Jesus, 
and  bound  it  in  linen 
cloths  with  the  spices,  as  the 
manner    of   the   Jews   is   to 


GOOD    FRIDAY   ',    MOUSING    SERVICE.  477 

bury.     Now  there  was  in  the  horto  monumentum  novum, 

place  whore  he  was  crucified,  in    quo     nondum     quisquam 

a  garden  ;    and  in  the  garden  positus  erat.      Ibi  ergo  prop- 

a  new  sepulchre,    wherein  no  ter    Parasceven    Judseorum, 

man  had  yet  been  laid.  There,  quia   juxta  erat    monumen- 

therefore,  because  of  the  Para-  turn,  posuerunt  Jesum. 
sceve  of  the  Jews,   they  laid 
Jesus,   because  the  sepulchre 
was  nigh  at  hand. 


THE  PRAYEBS. 

Having  thus  described  to  us  the  Passion  and 
Death  of  her  Divine  Spouse,  the  Church  would 
follow  the  example  set  her  by  this  the  Mediator  of 
the  world.  St.  Paul  tells  us,  that  our  Jesus,  when 
dying  on  the  Cross,  offered  up  to  his  Eternal  Father, 
and  this  for  all  mankind,  prayers  and  supplications, 
with  a  strong  cry  and  tears.1  Therefore  it  is,  that, 
from  the  earliest  ages,  the  Church  has  presented  to 
the  Divine  Majesty,  upon  this  day,  a  solemn  formula 
of  "Prayers,"  in  which  she  intercedes  for  the  neces- 
sities of  the  whole  world.  How  truly  is  she  the 
Mother  of  men,  and  the  affectionate  Spouse  of  Jesus  ! 
None,  not  even  the  Jews,  are  excluded  from  this  her 
intercession,  which  she  makes,  under  the  shadow  of 
the  Cross,  to  the  Father  of  all  ages. 

Each  of  these  "  Prayers"  is  prefaced  by  a  few 
words,  which  show  its  object.  The  Deacon  then  bids 
the  Faithful  kneel  down  ;  and  the  Subdeacon  tells 
them  to  rise,  and  unite  in  the  Prayer  made  by  the 
Priest. 

Let  us  pray,  most  dearly  Oremus  dilectissimi  nobis, 

beloved    brethren,     for    the  pro     Ecclesia     sancta     Dei  : 

holy    Church    of   God,    that  ut    earn     Deus   et   Dominus 

the     Lord     God     would     be  noster,     pacificare,    adunare, 

pleased    to    grant    it  peace,  et    custodire    dignetur    toto 

maintain   it   in   union,     and  orbe     terrarum  :     subjiciens 

1  Heb.  v.  7. 


478 


HOLY     WEEK. 


et  principatus,  et  potestates  : 
detque  nobis  quietani  et  tran- 
quillam  vitam  degentibus, 
glorificare  Deum  Patrem 
omnipotentem. 


OREMUS. 

The  Deacon  :  Flectamus 
genua. 

The    Subdeacon  :     Levate. 

Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  qui  gloriam  tuam 
omnibus  in  Christo  genti- 
bus  revelasti :  custodi  opera 
miser icordiae  tuse  :  ut  Eccle- 
sia  tua  toto  orbe  diffusa, 
stabili  fide  in  confessione 
tui  Nominis  perseveret.  Per 
eumdem,  &c. 

#.     Amen. 

Oremus  et  pro  beatissimo 
Papa  nostro  N.  ut  Deus 
Dominus  noster,  qui  elegit 
eum  In  ordine  Episcopatus, 
salvum  atque  incolumem 
custodiat  Ecclesiae  suae  sanc- 
tae,  ad  regendum  populum 
sanctum  Dei. 


OREMUS. 

The  Deacon  :  Flectamus 
genua. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Levate. 

Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  cujus  judicio  uni ver- 
sa fundantur  :  respice  pro- 
pitius  ad  preces  nostras,    et 


preserve  it  all  over  the 
earth.  That  he  would  like- 
wise bring  into  her  bosom 
the  princes  and  potentates 
of  the  whole  world,  and 
grant  us  peace  and  tran- 
quillity in  this  life,  and  to 
glorify  God  the  Father  Al- 
mighty. 

LET   US   PRAY. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

0  Almighty  and  Eternal 
God,  who  by  Christ,  hast 
revealed  thy  glory  to  all 
nations  ;  preserve  the  works 
of  thine  own  mercy,  that  thy 
Church,  which  is  spread  over 
the  whole  world,  may  per- 
severe with  a  constant  faith 
in  the  confession  of  thy  name. 
Through  the  same,  &c. 

$.     Amen. 

Let  us  pray  also  for  our 
most  holy  Father,  Pope  N., 
that  our  Lord  God,  who 
hath  made  choice  of  him  in 
the  order  of  the  Episcopacy, 
may  preserve  him  in  health 
and  safety  for  the  good  of 
his  holy  Church,  and  to  go- 
vern the  holy  people  of  God. 

LET   US   PRAY. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

0  Almighty  and  Eternal 
God,  by  whose  appointment 
all  things  are  established  and 
maintained;  mercifully  regard 


fJOOD    FRIDAY 


MORXTNG    SRRYTCR. 


479 


our  prayers,  and  by  thy  good- 
ness preserve  the  Prelate 
chosen  to  govern  us ;  that  the 
Christian  people  who  are  go- 
verned by  thy  authority,  may 
increase  the  merits  of  their 
faith  under  so  great  a  Pontiff. 
Through,  &c. 

#.     Amen. 

Let  us  also  pray  for  all 
Bishops,  Priests,  Deacons, 
Subdeacons,  Acolytes,  Exor- 
cists, Eeaders,  Doorkeepers, 
Confessors,  Virgins,  Widows, 
and  for  all  the  holy  people  of 
God. 


electum  nobis  Antistitem 
tua  pietate  conserva  :  ut 
Christiana  plebs,  quae  te 
gubernatur  auctore,  sub 
tanto  Pontifice,  credulita- 
tis  suae  meritis  augeatur. 
Per  Dominum. 

gt.     Amen. 

Oremus  et  pro  omnibus 
Episcopis,  Presbyteris,  Dia- 
conibus,  Subdiaconibus, 

Acolythis,  Exorcistis,  Lec- 
toribus,  Ostiariis,  Confes- 
soribus,  Virginibus,  Viduis  : 
et  pro  omni  populo  sancto 
Dei. 


OREMUS. 


The   Deacon 


Flectamus 


LET   US   PRAY. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

O  Almighty  and  Eternal 
God,  by  whose  spirit  the 
whole  body  of  the  Church  is 
sanctified  and  governed ;  hear 
our  prayers  for  all  Orders 
thereof  ;  that,  by  the  assist- 
ance of  thy  grace,  thou  mayest 
be  served  by  every  rank  and 
condition.     Through,  &c. 

gt.     Amen. 

The  Church  of  Rome,  in  the  following  "  Prayer," 
had  in  view  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  who  was 
formerly  the  head  of  the  germanic  confederation, 
and,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  was  intrusted,  by  the 
Church,  with  the  charge  of  propagating  the  Faith 
among  the  northern  nations.  This  "Prayer"  is  now 
omitted,  excepting  in  those  countries,  which  are 
subject  to  Austria. 

Let  us  pray  also   for   the         Oremus    et    pro   christia- 
most  Christian  Emperor  N.,     nissimo     Imperatore     nostro 

2m 


genua. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Levate. 

Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  cujus  Spiritu  totum 
corpus  Ecclesiae  sanctifica- 
tur  et  regitur  :  exaudi  nos 
pro  universis  Ordinibus 
supplicantes  :  ut  gratiae  tuae 
munere,  ab  omnibus  tibi 
gradibus  fideliter  serviatur. 
Per  Dominum. 

Bt.     Amen. 


480 


HOLT    WEEK. 


N.  ut  Deus  et  Domirms  nos- 
ter  subditas  illi  faciat  oinnes 
barbaras  nationes,  ad  nos- 
tram  perpetuam  pacem. 

OREMUS. 
The   Deacon  :      Electamus 


genua. 

The  Suhdeacon 


Levate. 


Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  in  cujus  manu  sunt 
omnium  potestates,  et  om- 
nium jura  regnorum :  respice 
ad  Eomanum  benignus  Im- 
perium  :  ut  gentes,  quae  in 
sua  feritate  confidunt,  poten- 
tise  tuse  dexter  a  compri- 
mantur.     Per  Dominum. 

gt.     Amen. 

Oremus  et  pro  catechu- 
menis  nostris  :  ut  Deus  et 
Dominus  noster  adaperiat 
aures  prsecordiorum  ipsorum, 
januamque  misericordiee  :  ut 
per  lavacrum  regenerationis, 
accepta  remissione  omnium 
peccatorum,  et  ipsi  inveni- 
antur  in  Christo  Jesu  Domino 
nostro. 

OREMUS. 

The  Deacon  :  Flectamus 
genua. 

The  Suhdeacon  :  Levate. 

Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  qui  Ecclesiam  tuam 
nova  semper  prole  foecundas  : 
auge  fidem  et  intellectum 
catechumenis  nostris  :  ut 
renati  fonte  baptismatis, 
adoptionis  tuse  filiis  aggre- 
gentur.     Per  Dominum. 


that  the  Lord  God  may  reduce 
to  his  obedience  all  barbarous 
nations  for  our  perpetual 
peace. 

LET  US  PRAY. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

Tke  Suhdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

O  Almighty  and  Eternal 
God,  in  whose  hands  are  the 
power  and  right  of  all  king- 
doms, graciously  look  down 
on  the  Eoman  Empire  :  that 
those  nations  who  confide  in 
their  own  haughtiness  and 
strength,  may  be  reduced  by 
the  power  of  thy  right  hand. 

&.     Amen. 

Let  us  pray  also  for  our 
Catechumens,  that  our  Lord 
God  may  open  for  them  the 
ears  of  their  hearts,  and  the 
gates  of  mercy  ;  that  having 
received  the  remission  of  sin 
by  the  laver  of  regeneration, 
they  may  also  belong  to  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


LET   US   PRAY. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Suhdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

0  Almighty  and  Eternal 
God,  who  continually  makest 
the  Church  fruitful  in  new 
children,  increase  the  faith 
and  understanding  of  our 
Catechumens,  that,  being 
again  born  at  the  font  of 
baptism,  they  may  be  joined 
to  thy  adopted  children. 
Through,  &c. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :     MORNING    SERVICE. 


481 


Bt.  Amen. 

Let  us  pray,  most  dearly- 
beloved  brethren,  to  God  the 
Father  Almighty,  that  he 
would  purge  the  world  of  all 
errors,  cure  diseases,  drive 
away  famine,  open  prisons, 
break  chains,  grant  a  safe 
return  to  travellers,  health  to 
the  sick,  and  a  secure  harbour 
to  such  as  are  at  sea. 

LET   US   PRAY. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

O  Almighty  and  Eternal 
God,  the  comfort  of  the 
afflicted,  and  the  strength  of 
those  that  labour ;  let  the 
prayers  of  all  such  as  call 
upon  thee  in  tribulation,  come 
to  thee  ;  that  all,  with  joy, 
may  find  the  effects  of  thy 
mercy  in  their  necessities. 
Through,  &c. 

R;.  Amen. 

Let  us  pray  also  for  all 
heretics  and  schismatics,  that 
our  Lord  God  would  be 
pleased  to  deliver  them  from 
all  their  errors,  and  call  them 
back  to  our  Holy  Mother  the 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church. 


&.   Amen. 

Oremus,  dilectissimi  no- 
bis, Deum  Patrem  omnipo- 
tentem,  ut  cunctis  mundum 
purget  erroribus :  morbos 
auferat :  f amem  depellat : 
aperiat  carceres :  vincula 
dissolvat :  peregrinantibus 
reditum,  infirniantibus  sa- 
nitatem,  navigantibus  por- 
tum  salutis  indulgeat. 
• 

OREMUS. 

The    Deacon  :      Flectamus 
genua. 
The    Subdeacon  :     Levate. 

Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  mcestorum  consolatio, 
laborantium  fortitudo,  per- 
veniant  ad  te  preces  de 
quacumque  tribulatione  cla- 
mantium  :  ut  omnes  sibi  in 
necessitatibus  suis  miseri- 
cordiam  tuam  gaudeant 
adfuisse.     Per  Dominum. 

gt.     Amen. 

Oremus  et  pro  hsereticis 
et  schismaticis  :  ut  Deus  et 
Dominus  noster  eruat  eos 
ab  erroribus  universis :  et 
ad  sanctam  matrem  Eccle- 
siam  Catholicam  atque  Apos- 
tolicam  revocare  dignetur. 


LET   US   PRAY. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

O  Almighty  and  eternal 
God,  who  savest  all  and 
wouldst  have  none  to  perish  ; 
look  down  on  those  souls  that 


OREMUS. 

The  Deacon  :  Flectamus 
genua. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Levate. 

Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  qui  salvas  omnes,  et 
neminem  vis  perire  :  respice 
ad   animas    diabolica   fraude 


482 


HOLY    WEEK. 


deceptas :  ut  omni  hseretica 
pravitate  deposita,  errantium 
corda  resipiscant,  et  ad  veri- 
tatis  tuse  redeant  unitatem. 
Per  Dominum. 

&.     Amen. 

Oremus  et  pro  perfidis 
Judaeis  :  ut  Deus  et  Domi- 
nus  noster  auferat  velamen 
de  cordibus  eorum,  ut  et  ipsi 
agnoscant  Jesum  Christum 
Dominum  nostrum. 


are  seduced  by  the  deceits  of 
the  devil ;  that  the  hearts  of 
all  those  who  err,  laying  aside 
all  heretical  malice,  may  re- 
pent and  return  to  the  unity 
of  the  truth.     Through,  &c. 

gt.     Amen. 

Let  us  pray  also  for  the 
perfidious  Jews ;  that  the 
Lord  God  would  withdraw 
the  veil  from  their  hearts, 
that  they  also  may  acknow- 
ledge our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
thy  Son. 

Here,  the  Deacon  does  not  invite  the  Faithful  to 
kneel.  The  Church  has  no  hesitation  in  offering  up 
a  "Prayer"  for  the  descendants  of  Jesus'  executioners, 
but  in  doing  so,  she  refrains  from  genuflecting : 
because  this  mark  of  adoration  was  turned  by  the 
Jews  into  an  insult  against  our  Lord  during  the 
Passion.  She  prays  for  his  scoffers ;  but  she  shrinks 
from  repeating  the  act  wherewith  they  scoffed  him. 


Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  qui  etiam  Judaicam 
perfidiam  a  tua  misericor- 
dia  non  repellis  :  exaudi 
preces  nostras,  quas  pro  il- 
lius  populi  obcsecatione  de- 
ferimus  :  ut  agnita  veritatis 
tuse  luce,  qua?  Christus  est, 
a  suis  tenebris  eruantur. 
Per  eumdem  Dominum. 

gt.     Amen. 

Oremus  et  pro  paganis : 
ut  Deus  omnipotens  auferat 
iniquitatem  a  cordibus  eo- 
rum :  ut  relictis  idolis  suis, 
convertantur  ad  Deum  vi- 
vum  et  verum,  et  unicum 
Filium  ejus  Jesum  Chris- 
tum, Deum  et  Dominum 
nostrum. 


O  Almighty  and  Eternal 
God,  who  deniest  not  thy 
mercy  even  to  the  perfidious 
Jews ;  hear  our  prayers  which 
we  pour  forth  for  the  blind- 
ness of  that  people  ;  that  by 
acknowledging  the  light  of  thy 
truth,  which  is  the  Christ,  they 
may  be  brought  out  of  their 
darkness.  Through  the  same, 
<fcc. 

gt.  Amen. 

Let  us  pray  also  for  the 
pagans,  that  Almighty  God 
would  remove  all  iniquity 
from  their  hearts  ;  that  quit- 
ting their  idols,  they  may  be 
converted  to  the  true  and  liv- 
ing God,  and  his  only  Son, 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE.  483 

LET  TJS  PRAY.  OREMUS. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel  The  Beacon:       Flectamus 

down.  genua. 

The   Subdeacon  :    Stand  up  The  Subdeacon  :    Levate. 
again. 

O  Almighty  and  Eternal  Omnipotens  sempiterne 
God,  who  seekest  not  the  Deus,  qui  non  mortem  pec- 
death  of  sinners,  but  that  they  catorum,  sed  vitam  semper 
should  live  ;  mercifully  hear  inquiris  :  suscipe  propitius 
our  prayers,  and  deliver  them  orationem  nostram  :  et  li- 
from  their  idolatry  :  and,  to  bera  eos  ab  idolorum  cul- 
the  praise  and  glory  of  thy  tura  :  et  aggrega  Ecclesise 
name,  admit  them  into  thy  tuse  sanctse,  ad  laudem  et 
holy  Church.     Through,  &c.  gloriam    Nominis    tui.     Per 

Dominum. 

#.  Amen.  &.     Amen. 


THE    VENERATION    OF    THE    CROSS. 

The  "  Prayers"  are  ended.  The  charity  and  zeal 
of  the  Church  have  embraced  the  whole  universe  of 
men,  invoking  upon  them  the  merciful  effusion  of 
that  precious  Blood,  which  is  now  flowing  from  the 
Wounds  of  her  Crucified  Lord.  She  turns  next  to 
her  faithful  Children.  Filled  with  holy  indignation 
at  the  humiliations  heaped  upon  her  Jesus,  she  in- 
vites us  to  an  act  of  solemn  reparation  :  it  is  to  con- 
sist in  our  venerating  that  Cross,  which  our  Divine 
Lord  has  borne  to  the  summit  of  Calvary,  and  to 
which  he  is  to  be  fastened  with  nails.  The  Cross  is 
a  stumbling-block  to  the  Jews,  and  foolishness  to  the 
Gentiles;1  but  to  us  Christians,  it  is  the  trophy  of 
Jesus'  victory,  and  the  instrument  of  the  world's 
Redemption.  It  is  worthy  of  our  deepest  veneration, 
because  of  the  honour  conferred  upon  it  by  the  Son  of 
Grod : — he  consecrated  it  by  his  own  Blood,  he  worked 
our  salvation  by  its  means.  No  time  could  be  more 
appropriate  than  this  for  the  honouring  it  with  the 
humble  tribute  of  our  veneration. 

1  1  Cor.  i.  23. 


484  HOLY    WEEK. 

The  holy  ceremony  of  venerating  the  Cross  on 
Good  Friday  was  first  instituted  at  Jerusalem,  in  the 
4th  century.  Owing  to  the  pious  zeal  of  the  Empress 
St.  Helen,  the  True  Cross  had  then  recently  been 
discovered,  to  the  immense  joy  of  the  whole  Church. 
The  Faithful,  as  might  be  expected,  were  desirous 
to  see  the  precious  Relic,  and,  accordingly,  it  was 
exposed  every  Good  Friday.  This  brought  a  very 
great  number  of  pilgrims  to  Jerusalem ;  and  yet  how 
few,  comparatively,  could  hope  to  have  the  happiness 
of  such  a  visit,  or  witness  the  magnificent  ceremony  ? 
An  imitation  of  what  was  done,  on  this  day,  at 
Jerusalem,  was  a  natural  result  of  these  pious  desires. 
It  was  about  the  7th  century,  that  the  practice  of 
publicly  venerating  the  Cross  on  Grood  Friday  was 
introduced  into  other  Churches.  True,  it  was  but 
an  image  of  the  True  Cross  that  these  other  Churches 
could  show  to  the  people  ;  but  as  the  respect  that  is 
paid  to  the  True  Cross  refers  to  Christ  himself,  the 
Faithful  could  offer  him  a  like  homage  of  adoration, 
even  though  not  having  present  before  their  eyes  the 
sacred  Wood  which  had  been  consecrated  by  the 
Blood  of  Jesus.  Such  was  the  origin  of  the  imposing 
ceremony,  at  which  holy  Church  now  invites  us  to 
assist. 

The  Celebrant  takes  off  the  Chasuble,  which  is 
the  badge  of  the  Priesthood  ;  it  is  in  order  that  the 
Reparation,  which  he  is  to  be  the  first  to  offer  to  our 
outraged  Jesus,  may  be  made  with  all  possible 
humility.  He  then  stands  on  the  step  near  the 
Epistle  side  of  the  Altar,  and  turns  his  face  towards 
the  people.  The  Deacon  takes  down  the  Cross  from 
the  Altar,  and  gives  it  to  the  Celebrant,  who  then 
unveils  the  upper  part  as  far  as  the  arms.  He  raises 
it  a  little,  and  sings  these  words  : 

Ecce  lignum  Crucis  ;  Behold    the    wood   of   the 

Cross  : 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    MORNTNG    SERVICE.  485 

Then  he  continues,  joined  by  the  Deacon  and 
Subdeacon : 

on  which  hung  the  salvation     in  quo  salus  mundi   pepen- 
of  the  world.  dit. 

The  people  then  kneel  down,  and  venerate  the 
Cross,  while  the  Choir  sings  these  words  : 

Come,  let  us  adore.  Venite,  adoremus. 

This  first  exposition,  which  is  made  at  the  side  of 
the  Altar,  and  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  represents  the 
first  preaching  of  the  Cross,  that,  namely,  which  the 
Apostles  made,  when,  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  they  dared 
not  to  speak  of  the  great  Mystery  except  to  the  few 
faithful  Disciples  of  Jesus.  For  the  same  reason, 
the  Priest  but  slightly  elevates  the  Cross.  The 
homage  here  paid  to  it  is  intended  as  a  reparation 
for  the  insults  and  injuries  offered  to  our  Redeemer 
in  the  house  of  Caiphas. 

The  Priest  then  comes  to  the  front  of  the  step,  and 
is  thus  nearer  to  the  people.  He  unveils  the  right 
arm  of  the  Cross,  and  holds  up  the  holy  Sign  of  our 
Redemption  higher  than  the  first  time.  He  then 
sings,  and  on  a  higher  note  : 

Behold  the  wood    of    the        Ecce  lignum  Crucis  ; 
Cross  ; 

Then  he  continues,    joined  by  the  Deacon  and 
Subdeacon  : 

on  which  hung  the  salvation     in   quo  salus  mundi  pepen- 
of  the  world.  dit. 

The  people  then  fall  upon  their  knees,  and  con- 
tinue in  that  posture,  whilst  the  Choir  sings : 

Come,  let  us  adore.  Venite  adoremus. 


486  HOLY    WEEK. 

This  second  elevation  of  the  holy  Cross  signifies 
the  Apostles'  extending  their  preaching  the  mystery 
of  our  Redemption  to  the  Jews,  after  the  descent  of 
the  Holy  Grhost ;  by  which  preaching  they  made  many 
thousand  converts,  and  planted  the  Church  in  the 
very  midst  of  the  Synagogue.  It  is  intended  as  a  re- 
paration to  our  Saviour,  for  the  treatment  he  received 
in  the  Court  of  Pilate. 

The  Priest  then  advances  to  the  middle  of  the 
Altar,  and,  with  his  face  still  turned  towards  the 
people,  he  removes  the  veil  entirely  from  the  Cross. 
He  elevates  it  more  than  he  did  the  two  preceding 
times,  and  triumphantly  sings  on  a  still  higher  note  : 

Ecce  lignum  Crucis  ;  Behold  the  wood    of    the 

Cross  ; 

The  Deacon  and  Subdeacon  here  unite  their 
voices  with  his : 

in   quo  salus  mundi  pepen-     on  which  hung  the  salvation 
dit.  of  the  world. 

The  people  fall  down  upon  their  knees,  and  the 
Choir  sings  : 

Venite  adoremus.  Come,  let  us  adore. 

This  third  and  unreserved  manifestation  represents 
the  mystery  of  the  Cross  being  preached  to  the  whole 
earth,  when  the  Apostles,  after  being  rejected  by  the 
majority  of  the  Jewish  people,  turned  towards  the 
(xentiles,  and  preached  Jesus  Crucified,  even  far  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  Roman  Empire.  It  is  intended 
as  a  Reparation  to  our  Lord  for  the  outrages  offered 
to  him  on  Calvary. 

There  is  also  another  teaching  embodied  in  this 
ceremony  of  holy  Church.     By  this  gradual  unveiling 


GOOD    FRIDAY  !    MORNING    SERVICE.  487 

of  the  Cross,  she  would  express  to  us  the  contrast  of 
the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  view.  The  one  finds 
nothing  in  Christ  Crucified  but  shame  and  ignominy  : 
the  other  discovers  in  him  the  power  and  the  wisdom 
of  God.1  Honour,  then,  and  veneration  to  his  Cross  I 
The  veil  is  removed  by  Faith.  Unveiled  let  it  be 
upon  our  Altar,  for  He  that  died  upon  it  is  soon  to 
triumph  by  a  glorious  Resurrection  !  Yea,  let  every 
Cruoifix  in  our  Church  be  unveiled,  and  every  Altar 
beam  once  more  with  the  vision  of  the  glorious 
Standard  ! 

But  the  Church  is  not  satisfied  with  showing  her 
Children  the  Cross  that  has  saved  them ;  she  would 
have  them  approach,  and  kiss  it.  The  Priest  leads 
the  way.  He  has  already  taken  off  his  Chasuble  ; 
he  now  takes  off  his  shoes  also,  and  then  advances 
towards  the  place  where  he  has  put  the  Crucifix. 
He  makes  three  genuflexions  at  intervals,  and 
finally  kisses  the  Cross.  The  Deacon  and  Sub- 
deacon  follow  him,  then  the  clergy,  and  lastly  the 
people. 

The  chants  which  are  used  during  this  ceremony 
are  exceedingly  fine.  First  of  all,  there  are  the 
Improperia,  that  is,  the  Reproaches  made  by  our 
Saviour  to  the  Jews.  Each  of  the  first  three  stanzas 
of  this  plaintive  Hymn  is  followed  by  the  Trisagion, 
or  Prayer  to  the  Thrice  Holy  God,  who,  as  Man, 
suffers  death  for  us.  Oh  !  let  us  fervently  proclaim 
him  to  be  The  Holy,  The  Immortal !  This  form  of 
prayer  was  used  at  Constantinople,  so  far  back  as 
the  fifth  Century.  The  Roman  Church  adopted  it, 
retaining  even  the  original  Greek  words,  to  which, 
however,  she  adds  a  Latin  translation.  The  rest  of 
this  beautiful  chant  contains  the  comparison  made 
by  our  Lord,  between  the  favours  he  has  bestowed 

1  1  Cor.  i.  24. 

2n 


488 


HOLY   WEEK. 


upon  the   Jewish  people,  and  the  injuries  he  has 
received  from  them  in  return. 


THE    "iMPROPERIA,"    OR    "REPROACHES." 


Popule  meus,  quid  feci 
tibi,  aut  in  quo  contristavi 
te  ?  Responde  mihi.  Quia 
eduxi  te  de  terra  JEgypti, 
parasti  crucem  Salvatori  tuo. 


Agios  o  Theos. 

Sanctus  Deus. 

Agios  ischyros. 

Sanctus  fortis. 

Agios  athanatos,  eleison 
imas. 

Sanctus  immortalis,  mise- 
rere nobis. 


My  people,  what  have  I 
done  to  thee  ?  or  in  what  have 
I  grieved  thee  ?  Answer  me. 
Because  I  brought  thee  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt,  thou  hast 
prepared  a  Cross  for  thy  Sa- 
viour. 

0  Holy  God ! 

O  Holy  God ! 

O  Holy  and  Strong  ! 

0  Holy  and  Strong  ! 

O  Holy  and  Immortal  ! 
have  mercy  on  us. 

0  Holy  and  Immortal  ! 
have  mercy  on  us. 


Quia  eduxi  te  per  deser- 
tum  quadraginta  annis  :  et 
manna  cibavi  te,  et  intro- 
duxi  te  in  terram  satis  bo- 
nam,  parasti  crucem  Salva- 
tori tuo. 

Agios  o  Theos,  &c. 


Because  I  was  thy  guide 
through  the  desert  for  forty 
years,  and  fed  thee  with 
manna,  and  brought  thee 
into  an  excellent  land,  thou 
hast  prepared  a  cross  for  thy 
Saviour. 

0  Holy  God,  &c. 


Quid  ultra  debui  facere 
tibi,  et  non  feci  ?  Ego  qui- 
dem  plantavi  te  vineam  me- 
speciosissimam  :      et  tu 


am 


facta  es  mihi  nimis  amara  : 
aceto  namque  sitim  meam 
potasti  :  et  lancea  perforasti 
latus  Salvatori  tuo. 


Agios  o  Theos,  &c. 


What  more  should  I  have 
done  to  thee,  and  have  not 
done  ?  I  have  planted  thee 
for  my  most  beautiful  vine- 
yard :  and  thou  hast  proved 
very  bitter  to  me,  for  in  my 
thirst  thou  gavest  me  vinegar 
to  drink  ;  and  piercedst  the 
side  of  thy  Saviour  with  a 
spear. 

O  Holy  God,  &c. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


489 


For  thy  sake  I  scourged 
Egypt  with  her  first-born  ; 
and  thou  hast  delivered  me 
up  to  be  scourged. 

My  people,  what  have  I 
done  to  thee  ?  or  in  what  have 
I  grieved  thee  ?     Answer  me. 


Ego  propter  te  flagellavi 
iEgyptum  cum  primogeni- 
tis  suis :  et  tu  me  flagella- 
tum  tradidisti. 

Popule  meus,  quid  feci 
tibi,  aut  in  quo  contristavi 
te  ?  Responde  mihi. 


I  led  thee  out  of  Egypt, 
having  drowned  Pharoah  in 
the  Red  Sea ;  and  thou  hast 
delivered  me  up  to  the  chief 
priests. 

My  people,  &c. 


Ego  eduxi  te  de  iEgypto, 
demerso  Pharaone  in  mare 
Rubrum  :  et  tu  me  tradidisti 
principibus  sacerdotum. 

Popule  meus,  &c. 


I   opened   the    sea  before  Ego  ante  te  aperui  mare : 

thee;  and  thou  hast  opened  et  tu  aperuisti  lancea  latus 

my  side  with  a  spear.  meum. 

My  people,  &c.  Popule  meus,  &c. 


I  went  before  thee  in  a 
pillar  of  cloud ;  and  thou  hast 
Drought  me  to  the  court  of 
Pilate. 

My  people,  &c. 


Ego  ante  te  prseivi  in  co- 
lumna  nubis  :  et  tu  me  dux- 
isti  ad  prsetorium  Pilati. 

Popule  meus,  &c. 


I  fed  thee  with  manna  in 
the  desert ;  and  thou  hast 
beaten  me  with  buffets  and 
stripes. 

My  people,  &c. 


Ego  te  pavi  manna  per 
desertum  :  et  tu  me  caecidisti 
alapis  et  flagellis. 

Popule  meus,  &c. 


I  gave  thee  wholesome 
water  to  drink  out  of  the 
rock,  and  thou  hast  given  me 
for  my  drink  gall  and  vinegar. 

My  people,  &c. 


Ego  te  potavi  aqua  salutis 
de  petra  :  et  tu  me  potasti 
felle  et  aceto. 

Popule  meus,  &c. 


For  thy  sake  I  smote  the         Ego  propter  te  Chananse- 
king  of  Canaan  ;    and  thou     orum  reges  percussi :    et  tu 


490 


HOLY    WEEK. 


percussisti     arundine     caput    hast  smote  my  head   with  a 
meum.  cane. 

Popule  meus,  &c.  My  people,  &c. 


Ego  dedi  tibi  sceptmm 
regale :  et  tu  dedisti  capiti 
meo  spineam  coronam. 

Popule  meus,  &c. 


I  gave  thee  a  royal  sceptre, 
and  thou  hast  given  to  my 
head  a  crown  of  thorns. 

My  people,  &c. 


Ego  te  exaltavi  magna 
virtute :  et  ta  me  suspen- 
disti  in  patibulo  crucis. 

Popule  meus,  &c. 


By  great  might  I  raised  thee 
on  high;  and  thou  hast  hang- 
ed me  on  the  gibbet  of  the 
Cross. 

My  people,  &c. 


The  Improperia  are  followed  by  this  solemn 
Antiphon,  in  which  the  two  great  Mysteries  are 
blended  together  :  the  Crucifixion  and  the  Eesur- 
rection.  This  union  eloquently  expresses  the  Triumph 
of  our  Redeemer. 


Crucem  tuam  adoramus, 
Domine  :  et  sanctam  Besur- 
rectionem  tuam  laudamus, 
et  glorificamus :  ecce  enim 
propter  lignum  venit  gau- 
dium  in  universo  mundo. 

Ps.  Deus  misereatur  nos- 
tri,  et  benedicat  nobis  : 
illuminet  vultum  suum  su- 
per nos,  et  misereatur  nos- 
tri. 

Then,  is  repeated :  Cru- 
cem tuam,  &c. 


We  adore  thy  Cross,  O 
Lord,  and  we  praise  and 
glorify  thy  holy  Resurrection, 
for  by  the  wood  of  the  Cross 
the  whole  earth  is  filled  with 

Ps.  May  God  have  mercy 
on  us  and  bless  us ;  may  his 
countenance  shine  upon  us, 
and  may  he  have  mercy  on  us. 


&c. 


Then,  is  repeated :  We  adore , 


If  the  Adoration  of  the  Cross  is  not  yet  finished, 
the  following  Hymn  is  suug.  It  was  composed  by 
Mamertus  Claudianus,  in  the  6th  century.  One  of 
the  stanzas  is  repeated  after  each  six  verses,  as  the 
burden  of  the  Hymn. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE. 


491 


HYMN. 


O  Faithful  Cross !  thou  no- 
blest of  all  trees.  No  forest 
yields  thy  like,  in  leaf,  or 
flower,  or  fruit. 

Sweet  is  the  Wood,  that 
hath  nails  so  sweet,  and  bears 
so  sweet  a  weight ! 


Crux  fidelis,  inter  omnes, 
Arbor  una  nobilis : 
Nulla  silva  talem  profert, 
Fronde,  flore,  genuine. 
Dulce    lignum,   dulces    cla- 

vos, 
Dulce  pondus  sustinet. 


0  sing,  my  tongue,  the  vic- 
tory of  the  glorious  combat  ! 
Tell  how  was  won  the  noble 
triumph  on  the  trophy  of  the 
Cross,  and  how  the  world's 
Redeemer,  when  immolated, 
conquered. 

Repeat :  0  faithful  Cross. 


Pange  lingua  gloriosi 
Lauream  certaminis, 
Et  super  crucis  trophaeo 
Die  triumphum  nobilem  ; 
Qualiter  Eedemptor  orbis 
Immolatus  vicerit. 

Repeat :  Crux  fidelis. 


Our  Creator  compassionated 
his  creature,  our  First  Parent, 
when  being  deceived,  he  be- 
came a  victim  of  death  by 
eating  the  fatal  fruit:  and 
even  then  he  chose  the  Tree, 
whereby  to  make  good  the 
evils  brought  on  us  by  that 
other  tree. 

Repeat :  Sweet  is  the  Wood. 


De  parentis  protoplasti 
Fraude  factor  condolens, 
Quando  pomi  noxialis 
In  necem  morsu  ruit, 
Ipse  lignum  tunc  notavit, 
Damna  ligni  ut  solveret. 


Repeat :  Dulce  lignum. 


This  was  the  plan  designed 
for  our  salvation, — that  arti- 
fice divine  should  foil  the 
artifice  of  Satan,  the  arch- 
seducer;  and  turn  the  very 
instrument,  wherewith  the 
enemy  had  wounded  us,  into 
our  remedy. 

Repeat :  0  faithful  Cross. 


Hoc  opus  nostra  salutis 
Ordo  depoposcerat, 
Multiformis  proditoris 
Ars  ut  artem  f  alleret ; 
Et  medelam  ferret  inde, 
Hostis  unde  laeserat. 


Repeat :  Crux  fidelis. 


When,  therefore,  the  fulness        Quando  venit  ergo  sacri 


492 


HOLY     WEEK. 


Plenitudo  temporis, 
Missus  est  ab  arce  Patris 
Natus  orbis  conditor : 
Atque  ventre  virginali 
Carne  amictus  prodiit. 

Repeat :  Dulce  lignum. 


of  God's  time  bad  come,  the 
Son,  by  whom  the  world  was 
made,  was  sent  from  heaven  ; 
and  having  clothed  himself 
with  our  flesh,  in  the  Virgin's 
womb,  he  came  among  us. 
Repeat :  Sweet  is  the  Wood. 


Vagit  infans,  inter  arcta 
Conditus  praesepia : 
Membra  pannis  involuta 
Virgo  mater  alligat, 
Et  Dei  manus,  pedesque 
Stricta  cingit  fascia. 

Repeat :  Crux  fidelis. 


He  lies  a  weeping  Babe  in  a 
little  crib.  His  Virgin  Mother 
swathes  his  limbs  with  clothes. 
The  hands  and  feet  of  God 
are  tied  with  bands  ! 

Repeat :  0  faithful  Cross. 


Lustra   sex  qui  jam   per- 
egi\ 
Tempus  implens  corporis  : 
Sponte  libera  Eedemptor 
Passioni  deditus  : 
Agnus  in  crucis  levatur 
Inmolandus  stipite. 

Repeat  :  Dulce  lignum. 


Thirty  years  he  lived  on 
earth,  and  his  mortal  life  was 
nigh  its  end.  He,  our  Re- 
deemer, willingly  gave  him- 
self up  to  his  Passion;  He, 
the  Lamb  of  Sacrifice,  was 
raised  upon  the  Cross. 

Repeat :  Sweet  is  the  Wood. 


Felle  potus,  ecce  languit ; 
Spina,  clavi,  lancea, 
Mite  corpus  perforarunt  ; 
Unda  manat  et  cruor  : 
Terra,   pontus,   astra,   mun- 

dus 
Quo  lavantur  flumine. 

Repeat :  Crux  fidelis. 


His  drink  is  gall; — his 
strength  is  gone ;  his  tender 
flesh  is  pierced  with  thorns, 
and  nails,  and  spear ;  and 
from  it  flows  a  stream  of  water 
and  blood,  wherewith  the 
earth  and  sea,  the  stars  and 
world,  are  washed. 

Repeat :  O  faithful  Cross. 


Flecte  ramos  arbor  alta, 
Tensa  laxa  viscera : 
Et  rigor  lentescat  ille, 
Quern  dedit  nativitas : 
Et  superni  membra  Eegis 
Tende  miti  stipite. 

Repeat :  Dulce  lignum. 


Bow  down  thy  branches, 
lofty  Tree  !  unstring  thy  si- 
news, soften  thine  inborn 
hardness,  and  gently  welcome 
the  body  of  our  Almighty 
King! 

Repeat :  Sweet  is  the  Wood. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE.  493 

Thou    alone    wast    found  Sola  digna  tu  fuisti 

worthy  to  bear  the  Victim  of  Ferre  mundi  victimam, 

the  world  !     Thou  wast  the  Atque  portum  prseparare 

Ark  that  led  this  ship-  wrecked  Area  mundo  naufrago  : 

world  into  the  haven  of  salva-  Quam  sacer  cruor  perunxit, 

tion  !     The  sacred  Blood  that  Fusus  Agni  corpore. 
flowed  from  the  Lamb  covered 
and  anointed  thee. 

Repeat  :    O  faithful  Cross.  Repeat :  Crux  fidelis. 

To  the  Blessed  Trinity  be        Sempiterna  sit  beatae 

glory   everlasting  !      To   the  Trinitati  gloria  : 

Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  iEqua  Patri,  Filioque, 

be  equal  praise !    May  heaven  Par  decus  Paraclito  ; 

and  earth  praise  the  Name  of  Unius  Trinique  nomen 

the  Triune  God  !     Amen.  Laudet  universitas.     Amen. 

Repeat:  Sweet  is  the  Wood !         Repeat:  Dulce  lignum. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  Veneration  of  the  Cross, 
the  Candles  are  lighted,  and  the  Deacon  spreads  a 
Corporal  upon  the  Altar,  for  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
is  to  be  placed  there.  As  soon  as  the  Faithful  have 
finished  their  Adoration,  the  Priest  takes  the  Cross 
and  replaces  it  over  the  Altar. 


MASS    OF    THE   PKESANCTIFIED. 

So  vividly  is  the  Church  impressed  with  the  re- 
membrance of  the  great  Sacrifice  offered,  to-day,  on 
Calvary,  that  she  refrains  from  renewing,  on  her 
Altars,  the  immolation  of  the  Divine  Victim  :  she 
contents  herself  with  partaking  of  the  sacred  mystery 
by  Communion.  Formerly,  the  Clergy  and  Laity 
were  also  permitted  to  communicate  ;  but  the  present 
discipline  is  that  only  the  Priest  shall  receive.  After 
the  Priest  has  resumed  his  Chasuble,  the  Clergy  go  in 
procession  to  the  Altar,  where  the  consecrated  Host 
has  been  reserved  since  yesterday's  Mass.  The  Deacon 
takes  the  Chalice  which  contains  it,  and  places  it  on 
the  Altar.     The  Priest,  having  offered  the  homage  of 


494 


HOLY    WEEK. 


his  adoration  to  our  Redeemer,  takes  into  his 
hands  the  Chalice,  wherein  He  is  inclosed,  whom 
heaven  and  earth  cannot  contain.  The  Clergy,  with 
lighted  tapers  in  their  hands,  return  to  the  high 
Altar,  and  sing,  during  the  procession,  the  Hymn 
of  the  Cross. 


HYMN. 


Vexilla  Eegis  prodeunt ; 
Fulget  Crucis  mysterium, 
Qua  Vita  mortem  pertulit, 
Et  morte  vitam  protulit. 


Quae  vulnerata  lanceae 
Mucrone  diro,  criminum 
Ut  nos  lavaret  sordibus 
Manavit  unda  et  sanguine. 

Impleta  sunt  quae  concinit 
David  fideli  carmine, 
Dicendo  nationibus  : 
Regnavit  a  ligno  Deus. 

Arbor  decora  et  fulgida, 
Ornata  regis  purpura, 
Electa  digno  stipite 
Tarn  sancta  membra  tangere. 

Beata  cujus  brachiis 
Pretium  pependit  sseculi, 
Statera  facta  corporis, 
Tulitque  praedam  tartari. 


O  Crux,  ave  spes  unica, 
Hoc  Passionis  tempore, 
Piis  adauge  gratiam, 
Reisque  dele  crimina. 

Te  fons  salutis,  Trinitas, 
Collaudet  omnis  spiritus  : 
Quibus  Crucis  victoriam 
Largiris,  adde  prsemium. 

Amen. 


The  Standard  of  our  King 
comes  forth  :  the  mystery  of 
the  Cross  shines  upon  us, — 
that  Cross  on  which  Life  suf- 
fered death,  and  by  his  Death 
gave  life. 

He  was  pierced  with  the 
cruel  Spear,  that  by  the  Water 
and  the  Blood,  which  flowed 
from  the  wound,  he  might 
cleanse  us  from  sin. 

Here,  on  the  Cross  was  ful- 
filled the  prophecy  foretold  in 
David' s  truthful  words :  ' '  God 
hath  reigned  from  the  Tree." 

O  fair  and  shining  Tree  ! 
beautified  by  the  scarlet  of  the 
King,  and  chosen  as  the  noble 
trunk  that  was  to  touch  such 
sacred  limbs  ! 

O  blessed  Tree  !  on  whose 
arms  hung  the  ransom  of  the 
world  !  It  was  the  balance, 
wherein  was  placed  the  Body 
of  Jesus,  and  thereby  hell  lost 
its  prey. 

Hail,  0  Cross  !  our  only 
hope  !  During  these  days  of 
the  Passion,  increase  to  the 
good  their  grace,  and  cleanse 
sinners  from  their  guilt. 

May  every  spirit  praise  thee, 
0  Holy  Trinity,  thou  Fount 
of  Salvation !  and  by  the  Cross, 
whereby  thou  gavest  us  vic- 
tory, give  us,  too,  our  recom- 
pense.    Amen. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I     MORNING    SERVICE. 


495 


As  soon  as  the  Priest  has  reached  the  Altar,  the 
Deacon  receives  the  Sacred  Host  upon  a  Paten,  and 
pours  wine  and  water  into  the  Chalice.  Let  us 
reverently  fix  our  eyes  upon  the  Altar.  The  Priest 
censes  the  offerings  and  the  Altar,  as  usual ;  but,  to 
express  the  grief  which  now  fills  the  soul  of  the 
Church,  he  himself  is  not  thurified.  He  says,  secretly, 
the  following  prayers  : 


May  this  incense,  which 
hath  been  blessed  by  thee,  0 
Lord,  ascend  unto  thee  ;  and 
may  thy  mercy  descend  upon 
us. 

Let  my  prayer,  O  Lord, 
ascend  like  incense  in  thy 
sight.  May  the  lifting  up  of 
my  hands  be  like  the  evening 
sacrifice.  Place,  0  Lord,  a 
guard  upon  my  mouth,  and  a 
gate  of  prudence  before  my 
lips  ;  that  my  heart  may  not 
incline  to  evil  words,  to  make 
excuses  in  sins. 


Incensum  istud,  a  te  bene- 
dictum,  ascendat  ad  te,  Do- 
mine  :  et  descendat  super 
nos  misericordia  tua. 

Dirigatur,  Domine,  oratio 
mea,  sicut  incensum  in  con- 
spectu  tuo.  Elevatio  manu- 
um  mearum  sacrificium  ves- 
pertinum.  Pone,  Domine, 
custodiam  ori  meo,  et  ostium 
circumstantise  labiis  meis ; 
ut  non  declinet  cor  meum 
in  verba  malitiae,  ad  ex- 
cusandas  excusationes  in 
peccatis. 


Giving  the  thurible  to  the  Deacon,  he  says  : 


May  the  Lord  kindle  with- 
in us  the  fire  of  his  love, 
and  the  flame  of  everlasting 
charity.     Amen. 


Accendat  in  nobis  Do- 
minus  ignem  sui  amoris,  et 
flammam  aeternae  charitatis. 
Amen. 


Here,  he  washes  his  hands,  and  then  returns  to  the 
middle  of  the  Altar,  where  he  says  the  following 
prayer  in  secret : 


Receive  us,  O  Lord,  coming 
to  thee  in  the  spirit  of  humil- 
ity, and  with  a  contrite  heart : 
and  grant  that  the  sacrifice  of 
this  day  may  be  so  celebrated 
by  us,  as  to  be  well  pleasing 
unto  thee,  O  Lord  our  God  ! 


In  spiritu  humilitatis,  et 
in  animo  contrito  suscipia- 
mur  a  te,  Domine  :  et  sic 
fiat  sacrificium  nostrum  in 
conspectu  tuo  hodie,  ut  pla- 
ceat  tibi,  Domine  Deus. 


496 


HOLY    WEEK. 


He  then  turns  towards  the  people,  and  asks  their 
prayers,  saying  : 

Orate   fratres  :     ut  meum  Brethren   pray  :   that   this 

ac  vestrum   sacrificium    ac-  my  sacrifice  and  yours  may  be 

ceptabile    fiat    apud    Deum  acceptable  to  God  the  Father 

Patrem  Omnipotentem.  Almighty. 

The  usual  answer,  Suseipiat,  is  omitted  :  and  the 
Celebrant  immediately  sings,  on  the  Ferial  tone, 
the  Pater  noster.  Let  us  join,  with  earnest  con- 
fidence, in  the  seven  petitions.  Our  Jesus,  with  his 
arms  extended  on  the  Cross,  is  now  offering  them 
for  us,  to  his  Eternal  Father.  This  is  the  solemn 
hour,  when  every  prayer  offered  to  heaven,  through 
his  mediation,  is  sure  to  be  granted. 

Pater  noster,     qui    es    in 
ccelis,     sanctificetur    nomen 


tuum  ;  adveniat  regnum 
tuum  ;  fiat  voluntas  tua  sicut 
in  ccelo,  et  in  terra  ;  panem 
nostrum  quotidianum  da  no- 
bis hodie  ;  et  dimitte  nobis 
debita  nostra,  sicut  et  nos 
dimittimus  debitoribus  nos- 
tris  ;  et  ne  nos  inducas  in 
tentationem. 

gt.     Sed  libera  nos  a  malo. 


Our  Father,  who  art  in 
heaven,  hallowed  be  thy 
name  ;  thy  kingdom  come  ; 
thy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as 
it  is  in  heaven  ;  give  us  this 
day  our  daily  bread  ;  and 
forgive  us  our  trespasses,  as 
we  forgive  them  that  trespass 
against  us  ;  and  lead  us  not 
into  temptation. 

gt.  But  deliver  us  from  evil. 


The  Celebrant  having  answered  Amen,  in  secret, 
says  aloud  the  following  Prayer,  which  is  always 
secretly  said  in  every  Mass.  He  there  prays  that 
we  may  be  delivered  from  every  evil,  set  free  from 
sin,  and  established  in  peace. 


Libera  nos,  qusesumus, 
Domine,  ab  omnibus  malis, 
prseteritis,  prsesentibus,  et 
f  uturis  ;  et  intercedente 
beata  et  gloriosa  semper 
Virgine  Dei  Genitrice  Maria, 
cum     beatis    apostolis    tuis 


Deliver  us,  we  beseech  thee, 
O  Lord,  from  all  evils,  past, 
present,  and  to  come :  and  by 
the  intercession  of  the  blessed 
and  ever  glorious  Virgin  Mary 
Mother  of  God,  and  of  the 
holy  apostles  Peter  and  Paul, 


GOOD    FRIDAY  '.      MORNING    SERVICE.  497 

and  of  Andrew,  and  of  all  the  Petro  et  Paulo,   atque  An- 

Saints,  mercifully  grant  peace  drea,  et  omnibus  Sanctis,  da 

in  our  days,  that  through  the  propitius     pacem    in   diebus 

assistance  of  thy  mercy,  we  nostris,    ut  ope  misericordiso 

may  be  always  free  from  sin,  tuse  adjuti,  et  a  peccato   si- 

and  secure  from  all  disturb-  mus    semper    liberi,    et     ab 

ance.  Through  the  same  Jesus  omni    perturbatione    securi. 

Christ,  thy  Son  our  Lord,  who  Per  eumdem  Dominum  nos- 

with  thee  and  the  Holy  Ghost  trum   Jesum   Christum    Fi- 

liveth     and     reigneth    God :  Hum  tuum,   qui  tecum  vivit 

world  without  end.  et  regnat   in   unitate   Spiri- 

tus  Sancti,  Deus  :  per  omnia 
ssecula  saeculorum. 

Bt.    Amen.  Br.     Amen. 

But  before  receiving  the  Sacred  Host  in  holy 
Communion,  the  Priest  invites  us  to  adore  it.  Taking, 
then,  in  his  right  hand,  the  adorable  Body  of  our 
Redeemer,  he  raises  it  on  high,  as  he,  our  Jesus,  was 
raised  up  on  the  Cross.  The  Faithful,  who  are  kneel- 
ing during  this  part  of  the  Service,  bow  down  in  pro- 
found adoration  before  their  Crucified  Lord. 

The  Priest  then  divides  the  Host  into  three  parts, 
one  of  which  he  puts  into  the  Chalice,  that  thus  he 
may  sanctify  the  wine  and  water,  which  he  is  to  take 
after  having  communicated.  The  wine  is  not  changed 
into  the  Blood  of  Jesus  by  contact  with  the  con- 
secrated particle ;  but  it  thereby  receives  a  very 
special  benediction,  similar  to  that  which  attached  to 
the  garments  worn  by  our  Saviour. 

After  this,  the  Celebrant  recites,  in  secret,  the  last 
of  the  three  prayers,  which  precede  Communion  ; 
and  then,  taking  the  two  portions  of  the  host  into  his 
left  hand,  he  says  thrice  : 

Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  that        Domine,   non  sum  dignus 

thou  shouldst  enter  under  my  ut  intres   sub  tectum  meum  ; 

roof  :    say  but  the  word,  and  sed  tantum  die  verbo,   et  sa- 

my  soul  shall  be  healed.  nabitur  anima  mea. 

He  then  communicates.  After  which,  he  takes 
also  the  wine   and   water,    and  the   sacred    particle 


498  HOLY    WEEK. 

which  he  had  put  into  the  Chalice.  He  then  washes 
his  fingers,  returns  to  the  middle  of  the  Altar,  and 
says,  in  secret,  the  following  prayer  : 

Quod  ore  sumpsimus,  Do-  Grant,  O  Lord,  that  what 
mine,  pura  mente  capiamus,  we  have  taken  with  our 
ut  de  munere  temporali  fiat  mouth,  we  may  receive  with  a 
nobis  remedium  sempi-  pure  mind ;  that  of  a  temporal 
ternum.  gift  it  may  become  to  us  an 

eternal  remedy. 

Thus  terminates  the  Mass  of  the  Presanctified. 
The  Priest,  with  the  sacred  Ministers,  makes  a  genu- 
flexion, at  the  foot  of  the  Altar,  to  the  Cross,  and 
retires  to  the  Sacristy.  The  Choir  immediately  begin 
Vespers,  which  are  simply  recited. 


VESPERS. 

After  the  Pater  and  Ave  have  been  said  in  secret, 
the  five  Antiphons  and  Psalms  of  yesterday  are 
recited  :  page  384.  The  Magnificat  has  the  follow- 
ing Antiphon : 

antiphon  of  the  Magnificat. 

Ant.    Cum  accepisset  Je-  Ant.  When  Jesus  had  taken 

sus  acetum,  dixit  :    Consum-  the  vinegar,  he  said  :    It  is 

matum     est.       Et    inclinato  consummated.      And  bowing 

capite,  emisit  spiritum.  his  head,  he  gave  up  the  ghost. 

Then  is  said  the  Canticle  Magnificat,  (see  page 
86).  The  Antiphon  is  repeated,  and  the  following 
Versicle  is  added  : 


$.  Christus  f actus  est  pro  f.  Christ  became,  for  our 
nobis  obediens  usque  ad  mor-  sakes,  obedient  unto  death, 
tern,  mortem  autem  Crucis.        even  to  the  death  of  the  Cross. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    AFTERNOON.  45i(J 

This  is  followed  by  the  Pater  ?toster,  in  secret ; 
after  which,  the  Psalm  Miserere  (page  336)  is  recited 
with  a  suppressed  voice  ;  and  then,  the  prayer 
Respice. 

Look  down,  0  Lord,  we  Respice,  qusesumus,  Do- 
beseech  thee,  upon  this  thy  mine,  super  hanc  familiam 
family,  for  which  our  Lord  tuam  :  pro  qua  Dominus 
Jesus  Christ  hesitated  not  to  noster  Jesus  Christus  non 
be  delivered  into  the  hands  dubitavit  manibus  tradi  no- 
of  wicked  men,  and  undergo  centium,  et  crucis  subire 
the  punishment  of  the  Cross  :  tormentum  : 

(then,  the  rest  in  secret  :) 

Who   liveth   and    reigneth  Qui  tecum  vivit  et  regnat, 

with  thee,  in  the  unity  of  the  in   unitate    Spiritus    Sancti, 

Holy  Ghost,  God,  world  with-  Deus,      per     omnia     ssecula 

out  end.     Amen.  saeculorum.     Amen. 


AFTEENOON. 

Holy  Church  will  soon  be  calling  us  once  more  to 
join  with  her  in  the  holy  Offices :  meanwhile,  let  us, 
as  it  behoves  us,  keep  our  hearts  and  thoughts  upon 
our  Redeemer,  for  these  are  the  very  Hours  when  he 
wrought  our  Salvation.  Our  morning's  meditation 
brought  us  to  Calvary,  where  we  were  considering 
how  the  executioners  stripped  Jesus  of  his  clothes, 
preparatory  to  their  nailing  him  to  the  Cross.  Let 
us  reverently  assist  at  the  consummation  of  the 
Sacrifice,  which  he  offers,  for  us,  to  the  Justice  of  his 
Eternal  Father. 

The  executioners  led  Jesus  to  the  spot  where  the 
Cross  is  lying  on  the  ground  :  it  is  the  Eleventh 
Station.  Like  a  lamb  destined  for  a  holocaust,  he 
lays  himself  on  the  wood  that  is  to  serve  as  the  Altar. 
They   violently   stretch   his  hands  and  feet   to  the 


500  HOLY   WEEK. 

places  marked  for  them,  and  fasten  them  with  nails 
to  the  wood.  The  Blood  gushes  forth  from  these 
four  life-giving  founts,  wherein  our  souls  are  to  find 
their  purification.  This  is  the  fourth  Bloodshedding. 
Mary  hears  the  strokes  of  the  hammer,  and  every 
blow  wounds  her  heart.  Magdalene's  grief  is  inten- 
sified by  her  incapability  of  helping  her  tortured 
Master.  Jesus  is  heard  to  speak  :  it  is  his  first  Word 
on  Calvary  :  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do  !  1  0  infinite  goodness  of  our  Creator  ! 
He  has  come  into  this  world,  which  is  the  work  of 
his  hands,  and  men  nail  him  to  a  Cross  :  and  on  that 
Cross  he  prays  for  them,  and  in  his  prayer  he  seems 
to  excuse  them ! 

The  Victim  is  fastened  to  the  wood,  whereon  he  is 
to  die.  But  the  Cross  is  not  to  be  left,  as  it  is,  lying 
on  the  ground.  Isaias  has  foretold  that  the  Root  of 
Jesse  is  to  be  raised  up  as  a  Standard  of  all  nations.2 
Yes,  our  Crucified  God  must  be  raised  up,  and,  by 
that  elevation,  purify  the  polluted  atmosphere  of  this 
world,  infested  as  it  is  by  the  spirits  of  wickedness. 
He  is  the  Mediator  between  God  and  men  ;  he  is 
our  High  Priest ;  our  Intercessor ; — he  is  lifted  up 3 
between  earth  and  heaven,  making  reconciliation 
between  them.4  Not  far  from  the  spot  where  the 
Cross  now  lies  on  the  ground,  they  have  made  a  hole 
in  the  rock,  wherein  to  fix  it,  so  that  all  may  have  a 
sight  of  Him  that  hangs  upon  it.  It  is  the  Twelfth 
Station.  It  needs  a  great  effort  to  raise  and  plant 
the  Tree  of  the  world's  Redemption.  The  soldiers 
lift  it  up,  and  then,  with  impatient  vehemence,  let  it 
fall  into  the  hole.  The  shock  tears  the  four  wounds. 
Oh !  see  him  now  exposed  naked  before  the  multi- 
tude, this  good  Jesus  who  is  come  to  clothe  the  naked- 
ness that  sin  has  caused  in  us  ! — The  soldiers  have 
done  their  work,  and  now  they  claim  his  Garments. 

1  St.  Luke,  xxiii.  34.  3  St.  John,  xii.  32. 

2  Is.  xi.  10.  4  Rom.  v.  11. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    AFTERNOON.  501 

They  tear  them  into  four  lots,  and  each  takes  a  share  : 
but  a  strange  feeling  induces  them  to  respect  his 
Tunic,  which  was  without  a  seam,  and,  as  we  are  told 
by  a  pious  tradition,  was  woven  by  the  hand  of  his 
Blessed  Mother.  Let  us  not  cut  it,  say  they,  but  let 
us  cast  lots  for  it,  ichose  it  shall  be.1  It  is  a  symbol 
of  the  unity  of  the  Church, V  which  is  never  to  be 
broken  under  any  pretext  whatsoever. 

Above  our  Redeemer's  head  there  are  written  these 
words,  in  Hebrew,  Grreek,  and  Latin  :    Jesus  of  na- 
zareth,  king  of  the  jews.     The  people  read  this 
Inscription,  and  say  it  to  each  other  ;  without  wishing 
it,  they  are  once  more  proclaiming  the  Royalty  of  the 
Son   of  David.     The   enemies   of  Jesus   are  quick 
enough  to  perceive  this :  they  hasten  to  Pilate,  and 
beseech  him  to  have  the  Title  changed.      The  only 
answer   he   deigns   to   make  them  is :    What  I  have 
written,  I  have  written.2      The   Holy   Fathers   have 
noticed   a   circumstance   of  the   Crucifixion,    which 
expresses,  how  this  King  of  the  Jews  is,  indeed,  rejec- 
ted by  his  chosen  people,  but  tha.t  he  will  reign  all 
the  more  gloriously  over  the  Nations  of  the  earth, 
whom  the  Father  has  given  to  him  for  his  inheritance. 
The  circumstance  we  allude  to  is  this :  the  soldiers, 
when  fixing  the  Cross  in  the  rock,  have  so  placed  it, 
that  Jesus  has  his  back  to  Jerusalem,  and  is  stretch- 
ing out  his  arms  towards  the  countries  of  the  west. 
The  Sun  of  Truth  is  setting  on  the  deicide  City,  and 
rising  upon  the  new  Jerusalem,  that  proud  Rome, 
which  feels  that  she  is  destined  to  be  "  The  Eternal 
City,"  yet  knows  not  that  she  is  to  be  so  by  the  Cross. 
The  Tree  of  our  Salvation,  as  it  falls  into  the  hole 
prepared  for  it,  strikes   against  a  tomb  : — and  the 
Tomb  is  that  of  our  First  Parent.     The  blood  of  the 
Redeemer  flows  down  the  Cross,  and  falls  upon  a  skull : 
it  is  the  skull  of  Adam,  whose  sin  has  called  for  this 

1  St.  John,  xix.  24.  2  Ibid.  22. 


602  HOLY    WEEK. 

great  expiation.  In  his  mercy,  the  Son  of  God  wills 
that  the  instrument,  wherewith  he  has  gained  pardon 
for  the  guilty  world,  should  rest  amidst  the  very  bones 
of  him  that  first  caused  its  guilt.  Thus  is  Satan 
confounded  :  the  creation  is  not,  as  he  has  hitherto 
thought,  turned  by  his  own  artifice,  to  the  shame  of  its 
Creator.  The  hill,  on  which  is  raised  the  Standard  of 
our  Salvation,  is  called  Calvary,  which  signifies  a  skull. 
Here,  according  to  the  tradition  of  the  Jews,  was 
buried  our  First  Parent,  the  first  Sinner.  Among  the 
Holy  Fathers  of  the  early  Ages,  who  have  handed 
down  this  interesting  tradition  to  us,  we  may  cite 
St.  Basil,  St.  Ambrose,  St.  John  Chrysostom,  St.  Epi- 
phanius,  St.  Jerome.  Origen,  too,  who  had  such 
opportunities  of  knowing  the  Jewish  traditions, 
mentions  this  among  the  number.  At  a  very  early 
period,  Christian  Art  introduced  the  custom  of 
placing  a  human  skull  at  the  feet  of  Jesus'  image 
on  the  Cross :  it  was  done  to  commemorate  the 
great  fact,  to  which  we  have  been  alluding. 

But  let  us  look  up  and  see  this  Jesus  of  ours, 
whose  life  is  so  soon  to  end  upon  this  instrument  of 
torture.  Here  we  behold  him  exposed  to  the  view 
of  the  Jewish  people,  as  the  Serpent  was,  of  old, 
lifted  up,  by  Moses,  in  the  desert.1  His  enemies  pass 
before  him,  making  insulting  gestures,  and  saying  : 
Vah  !  thou  that  destroy  est  the  temple  of  God,  and  in 
three  days  dost  rebuild  it, — save  thine  own  self!  If 
thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  come  down  from  the  cross  f2 
The  Chief  Priests  and  the  Ancients  continue  the 
blasphemy,  but  adding  their  own  emphasis  to  it :  He 
saved  others  ;  himself  he  cannot  save  !  If  he  be  King 
of  Israel,  let  him  now  come  down  from  the  cross,  and 
we  will  believe  in  him.  He  trusted  in  God;  let  him 
now  deliver  him,  if  he  will  have  him  ;   for  he  said  :  I 

1  St.  John,  iii.  14.  -  St.  Matth.  xxvii.  40. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :     AFTERNOON.  503 

am  the  Son  of  God.1     The  two  thieves,  who  were  cru- 
cified with  him,  insulted  him  in  like  manner. 

Never  had  God  conferred  on  his  creatures  a  bles- 
sing comparable  to  this  :  and  yet,  never  did  man  so 
boldly  insult  his  God  !  Let  us  Christians,  who  adore 
Him  whom  the  Jews  blaspheme,  offer  him,  at  this 
moment,  the  Reparation  he  so  infinitely  deserves. 
These  impious  men  cite  his  own  words,  and  turn  them 
against  him  : — let  its  reverently  remind  our  Jesus  of 
an  expression  he  once  deigned  to  use,  which  should 
fill  us  with  hope  :  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the 
earth,  will  draw  all  things  to  myself?  Sweet  Jesus  ! 
the  time  is  come  :  thou  art  lifted  up  from  the  earth  : 
fulfil  thy  promise, — draw  us  to  thyself  !  Alas  !  this 
earth  has  such  hold  upon  us,  we  are  chained  fast  to 
it  by  so  many  ties ;  self-love  fetters  us  ;  and  when  we 
attempt  to  fly  towards  thee,  our  flight  is  checked. 
Oh  !  break  our  chains,  and  draw  us  to  thyself,  that  we 
may  at  length  reach  thee,  and  thou  be  consoled  by 
the  conquest  of  our  souls  ! 

It  is  the  Sixth  hour,  or,  as  we  call  it,  mid-day. 
The  sun  immediately  withdraws  his  light,  and  dark- 
ness covers  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  stars  appear 
in  the  heavens,  and  a  gloomy  silence  pervades  through- 
out the  world.  It  is  said,  that  the  celebrated  Denys 
the  Areopagite  of  Athens,  who  was  afterwards  a  dis- 
ciple of  St.  Paul,  exclaimed,  on  witnessing  this  awful 
eclipse  :  "  Either  the  God  of  nature  is  suffering,  or  the 
world  is  coming  to  an  end."  Phlegon,  a  pagan  author, 
who  wrote  a  century  after,  tells  us,  that  this  sudden 
darkness  spread  consternation  throughout  the  Roman 
Empire,  and  that  the  Astronomers  owned  it  baffled 
all  their  calculations. 

So  terrible  an  indication  of  the  wrath  of  heaven 
produced,  a  panic  of  fear  among  the  spectators  on 
Calvary.      Blasphemers   are   struck   dumb,  and  the 

1  St.  Matth.  xxvii.  42,  43.  2  St.  John,  xii.  32. 

2o 


504  HOLY    WEEK. 

blasphemies  of  them,  that  were  just  now  insulting 
our  Redeemer,  cease.  All  is  silent  as  death.  The 
Thief,  whose  cross  was  at  the  right  of  Jesus',  feels 
himself  touched  with  repentance  and  hope.  Turning 
to  his  companion,  he  upbraids  him  for  what  he  had 
been  saying :  Dost  thou  not  fear  God,  seeing  thou 
art  under  the  same  condemnation  ?  And  we,  in- 
deed, justly,  for  we  receive  the  due  reward  of  our 
deeds :  but  this  Man  hath  done  no  evil.1  Jesus 
defended  by  a  Thief,  at  the  very  time  that  he  is 
being  insulted  by  them  who  boast  that  they  know 
every  iota  of  (rod's  Law,  and  are  sitting  in  the  Chair 
of  Moses  !  Nothing  could  give  us  a  clearer  idea  of 
the  blindness,  to  which  the  Synagogue  has  volun- 
tarily brought  itself.  This  poor  criminal,  whose 
name  is  Dimas,  represents  the  Grentile  world,  which 
now  is  steeped  in  ignorance  and  crime,  yet  is  soon 
to  be  cleansed  from  all  its  abominations  by  confessing 
Jesus  Crucified  to  be  the  Son  of  Grod.  Turning  his 
head  towards  our  Saviour's  Cross,  he  thus  prays  to 
him :  Lord !  remember  me,  when  thou  shalt  come 
into  thy  kingdom  I  He  believes  Jesus  to  be  King ; 
and  the  Chief  Priests  and  Ancients  were,  but  a 
moment  ago,  making  jests  with  this  King  !  Dimas 
sees  the  divine  calmness  and  dignity  of  the  innocent 
Victim  :  it  is  evidence  enough ;  he  gives  him  his 
faith,  and  begs  a  remembrance  from  him  when  the 
day  of  his  glory  comes.  Grace  has  made  him  a  true 
Christian :  and  who  can  doubt,  but  that  the  grace 
was  asked  and  obtained  for  him  by  Mary,  the  Mother 
of  Mercy,  who  is  now  uniting  herself  in  sacrifice  to- 
gether with  her  Jesus  ?  Jesus  is  pleased  to  find  in 
this  poor  criminal  the  faith  he  had  vainly  sought  for 
from  Israel :  he  thus  grants  his  humble  prayer : 
Amen  I  say  to  thee,  this  day  thou  shalt  be  tcith  me 
in  Paradise?  It  is  the  second  of  Jesus'  Words  on 
the  Cross.     The  happy  penitent  is  filled  with  joy, 

1  St.  Luke,  xxiii.  40.  41.  2  Ibid,  xxiii.  42.  43. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    AFTERNOON.  505 

and  awaits  in  patient  silence  the  blissful  moment 
when  death  shall  set  him  free. 

Meanwhile,  Mary  draws  near  to  the  Cross,  whereon 
hangs  her  Son.  She  recognises  him,  in  spite  of  all 
the  darkness ;  her  love  was  her  light.  The  eclipse 
has  dispersed  the  crowd  ;  all  is  silent ;  and  the  sol- 
diers can  find  no  reason  for  keeping  the  afflicted 
Mother  from  approaching  her  Son.  Jesus  looks 
with  tenderest  affection  upon  Mary ;  the  sight 
of  her  sorrow  is  a  new  grief  to  his  sacred  Heart. 
He  is  dying,  and  his  Mother  cannot  console  or  em- 
brace him.  Magdalene,  too,  is  there,  distracted  with 
grief.  Those  feet,  which,  a  few  days  before,  she  had 
anointed  with  her  most  precious  perfumes,  are  now 
pierced  through  with  nails,  and  the  Blood  is  clotting 
round  the  wounds.  They  are  near  enough  to  the 
ground  for  her  to  reach  and  bathe  them  with  her 
tears  ;  but  her  tears  cannot  stay  the  pain.  She  is 
come  to  see  the  Death  of  Him  that  forgave  her  all 
her  sins.  John,  the  Beloved  Disciple,  the  only 
Apostle  that  has  followed  Jesus  to  Calvary,  is  over- 
whelmed with  sorrow.  He  thinks  of  the  favour  be- 
stowed upon  him  last  night,  when  he  rested  his  head 
on  the  Breast  of  this  dear  Master, — and  the  remem- 
brance intensifies  his  grief.  He  grieves  for  the  Son, 
he  grieves  for  the  Mother.  He  little  knows  the  re- 
ward he  is  soon  to  receive  for  this  his  love !  Mary 
of  Cleophas  has  followed  the  Holy  Mother  up  to  the 
foot  of  the  Cross.  At  some  distance  off,  there  stands 
a  group  of  women,  who  loved  Jesus,  and  had  minis- 
tered unto  him  during  his  life.1 

The  silence  is  again  broken  :  Jesus  speaks  his 
third  Word,  and  it  is  to  his  Mother :  but  he  does  not 
call  her  by  that  dear  name,  for  it  would  redouble 
her  pain  :  Woman  !  he  says,  behold  thy  son  !  Then 
looking  upon  John,  he  says  to  him  Son  !  behold 
thy  Mother ! 2      What   an   exchange   was   here   for 

1  St.  Matth.  xxvii.  55.  3  St.  John,  xix.  26,  27. 


^06  HOLY   WEEK. 

Mary !  but,  oh !  what  a  blessing  it  brought  upon  John, 
and  through  him  to  all  mankind  ! — -the  Mother  of 
God  was  made  our  Mother  !  This  was  the  subject 
of  our  meditation  on  the  Friday  of  Passion  Week  : 
let  us,  to-day,  gratefully  receive  this  last  Testament 
of  our  Jesus,  who,  having  by  his  Incarnation  made 
us  the  adopted  Children  of  his  Heavenly  Father, 
now,  in  his  dying  moments,  makes  us  Children  of 
his  own  Blessed  Mother. 

It  is  close  upon  the  Ninth  hour, — the  third  hour 
after  mid-day, — and  it  is  the  one  fixed  by  the  eternal 
decree  of  God  for  the  Death  of  Jesus.  The  feeling 
of  abandonment,  which  had  caused  our  Redeemer  to 
suffer  an  Agony  in  the  garden,  now  returns.  He  has 
taken  upon  himself  the  sins  of  mankind  :  the  whole 
weight  of  God's  justice  now  presses  on  his  soul. 
The  bitter  Chalice  of  God's  anger,  which  he  is  drink- 
ing to  the  very  dregs,  extorts  from  his  lips  this 
plaintive  cry  :  My  God !  My  God !  Why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  ?l  It  is  the  fourth  Word.  He  does 
not  say  My  Father  !  He  speaks  as  though  he  were 
but  a  poor  Sinner,  trembling  before  the  judgment- 
seat  of  God.  A  burning  thirst  elicits  from  him  the 
fifth  Word  :  /  thirst}  Whereupon,  one  of  the  sol- 
diers presents  to  his  dying  lips  a  sponge  full  of 
vinegar  ;  and  this  is  all  the  refreshment  he  receives 
from  that  earth,  on  which  he  daily  pours  a  heavenly 
dew,  and  to  which  he  has  given  ever-flowing  foun- 
tains and  rivers. 

The  moment  is  at  length  come,  when  Jesus  is  to 
yield  up  his  Soul  to  his  Father.  He  has  fulfilled 
every  single  prophecy  that  had  been  foretold  of  him, 
even  that  of  his  receiving  vinegar  when  parched 
with  thirst.  He  therefore  speaks  this  his  sixth 
Word  :  It  is  consummated  /■  He  has,  then,  but  to 
die ;   his  Death  is  to  put  the  finishing  stroke  to  our 

1  St.  Matth.  xxvii.  46.  2  St.  John,  xix.  28. 

:i  St.  John,  xix.  30. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  '.    AFTERNOON.  507 

Redemption,  as  the  Prophet  assures  us.  But  he 
must  die  as  Grod.  This  man,  worn  out  by  suffering, 
exhausted  by  his  three  hours'  agony,  whose  few  words 
were  scarce  audible  to  them  that  stood  round  his 
Cross, — now  utters  a  loud  cry,  which  is  heard  at  a 
great  distance  off,  and  fills  the  Centurion,  who  com- 
mands the  guard,  with  fear  and  astonishment : — 
Father !  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit ! l 
This  is  his  seventh  and  last  Word  ;  after  which  he 
bows  down  his  head,  and  dies. 

At  this  awful  moment,  the  sun  re-appears  in  the 
heavens,  and  darkness  ceases  :  but  the  earth  is  shaken 
by  an  earthquake,  and  the  rocks  are  split.  The  space 
between  the  Cross  of  Jesus  and  that  of  the  bad 
Thief  is  violently  rent  asunder,  and  the  opening  is 
shown  to  this  day.  The  Jewish  Priests,  who  are  in 
the  Temple,  are  terrified  at  seeing  the  Yeil,  which 
hides  the  Holy  of  Holies,  torn  from  top  to  bottom  : 
the  time  for  figures  and  types  is  over,  the  great 
realities  are  come.  Many  holy  personages  arise 
from  their  graves,  and  return  to  life.  But  it  is  in 
hell  itself  that  the  Death  of  Jesus  is  most  felt.  Satan 
now  sees  who  He  is,  against  whom  he  has  excited 
all  this  persecution.  He  sees,  that  the  Blood  which 
he  has  caused  to  be  shed,  has  saved  mankind  and 
opened  the  gates  of  heaven.  This  Jesus,  whom  he 
dared  to  tempt  in  the  desert,  he  now  recognises  as 
the  Son  of  Grod,  whose  precious  Blood  has  purchased 
for  men  a  Redemption  that  was  refused  to  the  rebel 
Angels  ! 

0  Jesus  !  Son  of  the  Eternal  Father !  we  adore 
thee  now  lying  dead  on  the  wood  of  thy  Sacrifice. 
Thy  bitter  Death  has  given  us  Life.  Like  those 
Jews  who  saw  thee  expire,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem 
striking  their  breasts, — we,  also,  confess  that  it  is 
our  sins  have  caused  thy  Death.     Thou   hast  loved 

*  St.  Luke,  xxiii,  46. 


508  HOLY    WKEK. 

us,  as  none  but  a  God  could  love.  Henceforth,  we 
must  be  thine,  and  serve  thee,  as  creatures  redeemed 
at  the  infinite  price  of  thy  Blood.  Thou  art  our 
God  ;  we  are  thy  people.  Accept,  we  beseech  thee, 
our  most  loving  thanks  for  this  final  proof  of  thy 
goodness  towards  us.  Thy  holy  Church  now  silently 
invites  us  to  celebrate  thy  praise.  We  leave  Calvary 
for  a  time  ;  but  will  soon  return  thither,  to  assist  at 
thy  holy  Burial.  Mary,  thy  Mother,  remains  immove- 
able at  the  foot  of  thy  Cross.  Magdalene  clings  to 
thy  feet.  John  and  the  holy  women  stand  around 
thee.  Once  more,  dearest  Jesus !  we  adore  thy  sacred 
Body,  thy  precious  Blood,  and  thy  holy  Cross,  that 
have  brought  us  Salvation. 

THE  OFFICE  OF  TENEBE^E. 

At  a  late  hour  in  the  afternoon,  the  Night  Office 
of  Holy  Saturday  is  anticipated,  as  on  the  two  pre- 
vious days.  The  Faithful  are  not  summoned  to  the 
Church  by  the  bells,  for,  as  we  have  already  explained, 
they  are  not  rung  till  the  Gloria  in  excelsis  of  to- 
morrow's Mass. 

The  Office  of  Tenebrse  for  Holy  Saturday  is  given 
below,  page  517. 

THE  EVENING. 

Let  us  return  to  Calvary,  and  there  close  this 
mournful  day.  We  left  Mary  there,  with  Magdalene 
and  other  holy  women,  and  the  Beloved  Disciple 
John.  An  hour  has  scarcely  elapsed  since  Jesus 
died,  when  a  troop  of  soldiers,  led  on  by  a  Centurion, 
come  up  the  hill,  breaking  the  silence  with  their 
tramp  and  voices.  They  are  sent  by  Pilate.  The 
Chief  Priests  lost  no  time  in  returning  to  the 
Governor's  house  :  and  he,  at  their  request,  has  sent 
these  men  to  break  the  legs  of  the  three  Crucified, 
detach  them  from  their  crosses,  and  bury  them  before 


GOOD  FRIDAY  :  EVENING.  509 

night.  The  Jews  count  the  days  of  their  week  from 
sunset ;  so  that  the  great  Sabbath-Day  is  close  upon 
them.  The  soldiers  come  to  the  Crosses ;  they 
begin  with  the  two  thieves,  and  put  an  end  to 
their  sufferings  and  life  by  breaking  their  legs. 
Dimas  dies  in  saintly  dispositions,  for  the  promise 
made  to  him  by  Jesus  is  his  consolation  :  his  com- 
panion dies  blaspheming.  The  soldiers  now  advance 
towards  Jesus  : — Mary's  heart  sinks  within  her  : — 
what  fresh  outrage  are  these  men  about  to  offer  to 
the  lifeless  and  bleeding  body  of  her  Son  ?  On 
inspection,  they  find  that  he  is  dead  ;  but,  that  no 
doubt  may  be  left,  and  no  blame  for  neglect  of  orders 
fall  upon  them,  one  of  the  company  raises  up  his 
spear  and  thrusts  it  into  the  right  Side  of  the  divine 
Victim,  even  to  the  Heart ;  and  when  he  draws  his 
spear  out,  there  gushes  forth  a  stream  of  Water  and 
Blood.  This  is  the  fifth  Bloodshedding,  and  the  fifth 
Wound  inflicted  on  our  Jesus  upon  the  Cross.  The 
Church  honours  this  mystery  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Sacred  Heart ;  let  us  reserve  our  reflections  till  then. 
The  soul  of  the  Holy  Mother  is  pierced  by  this 
cruel  spear ;  and  they  that  are  with  her  redouble 
their  sobs  and  tears.  How  is  this  terrible  day  to 
end  ?  Who  shall  take  the  Body  of  her  Jesus  from 
his  Cross  ?  Who  will  enable  her  to  give  it  a  last 
embrace  ?  The  soldiers  return  to  the  City,  and  with 
them  Longinus, — he  that  pierced  Jesus'  Side,  but  is 
already  feeling  within  himself  the  workings  of  that 
faith,  for  which  he  is  one  day  to  lay  down  his  life  as 
a  Martyr.  But  lo  !  two  other  men  are  seen  coming 
towards  the  Cross  :  they  are  not  enemies,  they  are 
faithful  Disciples  of  Jesus  :  one  is  the  wealthy  coun- 
sellor Joseph  of  Arimathea  ;  the  other  is  Nicodemus, 
a  ruler  among  the  Jews.  Mary  gratefully  welcomes 
their  arrival :  they  are  come  to  take  the  body  of 
Jesus  from  the  Cross,  and  give  it  an  honourable 
burial.     They  have  the  requisite  authorisation,  for 


510  HOLY    WEEK. 

Pilate  has  given  permission  to  Joseph  to  take  the 
Body  of  Jesus. ) 

They  lose  no  time  in  doing  so,  for  the  sun  is  near 
to  setting,  and  then  begins  the  Sabbath.  Within  a 
few  yards  from  where  stands  the  Cross,  at  the  foot  of 
the  hillock  which  forms  the  summit  of  Calvary,  there 
is  a  garden,  and  in  this  garden  a  sepulchre  cut  into 
the  rock.  No  one  has  yet  been  buried  in  this  tomb. 
It  is  to  be  Jesus'  Sepulchre.  Hither  Joseph  and 
Nicodemus  carry  the  sacred  Body  :  they  lay  it  upon 
a  slab  of  stone,  near  to  the  Sepulchre.  It  is  here  that 
Mary  receives  into  her  arms  the  Body  of  her  Jesus  : 
she  kisses  each  wound,  and  bathes  it  with  her  tears. 
John,  Magdalene,  and  all  that  are  present,  compas- 
sionate the  holy  Mother.  She  resigns  it  into  the 
hands  of  the  two  Disciples,  for  they  have  but  a  few 
moments  left.  Upon  this  slab,  which  even  to  this 
day,  is  called  the  Stone  of  the  Anointing,  and  designates 
the  Thirteenth  Station  of  the  way  of  the  Cross,  Joseph 
unfolds  a  piece  oifinc  linen,2  and  Nicodemus,  whose 
servants  have  brought  a  hundred  pound  weight  of 
myrrh  and  aloes,3  makes  every  arrangement  for 
the  embalming.  They  reverently  wash  the  Body, 
for  it  was  covered  with  Blood ;  they  remove  the  Crown 
of  Thorns  from  the  Head  ;  and,  after  embalming  it 
with  their  perfumes,  they  wrap  it  in  the  Winding- 
Sheet.  Mary  gives  a  last  embrace  to  the  remains  of 
her  Jesus,  who  is  now  hidden  under  these  swathing- 
bands  of  the  Tomb. 

Joseph  and  Nicodemus  take  the  Body  into  their 
arms,  and  enter  the  Sepulchre.  It  is  the  Fourteenth 
Station  of  the  Way  of  the  Cross.  It  consists  of  two 
open  cells  ;  it  is  into  the  one  on  the  right  hand  that 
they  enter,  and  there  in  a  cavity  cut  into  the  side  of 
the  rock,  they  lay  the  Body  of  Jesus.     They  then 

1  St.  John,  xix.  38.  2  St.  Mark,  xv.  46. 

13  St.  John,  xix.  39. 


fiOOD    FRIDAY  I    EVENING.  511 

retire  ;  and,  with  the  assistance  of  their  servants, 
they  close  up  the  entrance  of  the  Sepulchre  with  a 
large  square  stone,  which  Pilate,  at  the  request  of  the 
Jews,  orders  to  he  fastened  with  his  own  seal,  and 
guarded  by  a  patrol  of  soldiers. 

The  sun  is  just  setting  ;  the  great  Sabbath,  with 
its  severe  legal  prescriptions,  is  just  about  to  begin. 
Magdalene  and  the  other  women  carefully  notice  the 
place  where  Jesus'  Body  has  been  laid,  and  return 
with  all  speed  to  Jerusalem,  that  they  may  have  time 
to  purchase  and  prepare  a  quantity  of  materials  for 
a  more  careful  embalming  of  the  Body  early  on  the 
Sunday  morning,  that  is,  immediately  after  the 
Sabbath  is  over.  The  holy  Mother  takes  a  farewell- 
look  at  the  Tomb  wherein  lies  her  Jesus,  and  then 
follows  the  rest  into  the  City.  John,  her  adopted  son, 
keeps  close  to  her.  He  is  the  guardian  of  Her,  who, 
without  ceasing  to  be  Mother  of  God,  has  been  made, 
also,  Mother  of  men.  But  oh !  how  much  this  second 
Maternity  cost  her  !  She  was  standing  at  the  Foot  of 
the  Cross,  seeing  her  Jesus  die,  when  she  received  us 
as  her  children.  Let  us  imitate  St.  John,  and  keep 
our  Blessed  Mother  company  during  these  trying 
hours  which  she  has  to  pass  before  her  Son  is  risen 
from  the  grave. 

How,  0  most  merciful  Redeemer  !  shall  we  leave 
thy  Holy  Sepulchre,  without  offering  thee  the  tribute 
of  our  adoration  and  repentance  ?  Death,  which  is  the 
consequence  of  sin,  has  extended  its  dominion  over 
thee,  for  thou  didst  submit  thyself  to  the  sentence 
pronounced  against  thee,  and  wouldst  become  like 
to  us  even  to  the  humiliation  of  the  tomb.  It  was 
thy  love  for  us,  that  led  to  all  this  !  What  return 
can  we  make  thee  ?  The  holy  Angels  stand  around 
thy  Body,  thus  lying  in  its  rocky  grave.  They  are 
lost  in  amazement  at  thy  having  loved,  to  such  an 
excess  as  this,  thy  poor  ungrateful  creature, — man. 
Thou  hadst  made  them,  as  well  as  us,  out  of  nothing, 


512  HOLY    WEEK. 

and  they  loved  thee  with  all  the  intensity  of  their 
mighty  spirits  ;  but  the  sight  of  thy  Tomb  reveals 
to  them  a  fresh  abyss  of  thine  infinite  goodness : — 
thou  hast  suffered  death,  not  for  their  fallen  fellow- 
angels,  but  for  us  men,  who  are  so  inferior  to  the 
Angels ! — Oh !  what  a  bond  of  love  between  us  and 
tbee  must  result  from  this  Sacrifice  of  thy  Life  for 
us !  Thou  hast  died,  0  Jesus,  for  us  ! — we  must, 
henceforth,  live  for  thee.  We  promise  it  upon  this 
Tomb,  which,  alas  !  is  the  handiwork  of  our  sins. 
We,  too,  wish  to  die  to  sin,  and  live  to  grace.  For 
the  time  to  come,  we  will  follow  thy  precepts  and 
thine  examples  ;  we  will  avoid  sin  which  has  made 
us  accomplices  in  thy  Passion  and  Death.  We  will 
courageously  bear,  in  union  with  thine  own,  the 
crosses  of  this  life  :  they  are  indeed  light  compared 
with  thine,  but  our  weakness  makes  them  heavy. 
And  our  death,  too, — when  the  moment  comes  for 
us  to  undergo  that  sentence  which  even  thou  didst 
submit  to, — we  will  accept  it  with  resignation. 
Terrible  as  that  last  hour  is  to  nature,  our  faith 
tells  us,  that  thy  Death  has  merited  for  it  graces 
rich  enough  to  make  it  sweet.  Thy  Death,  dearest 
Jesus !  has  made  our  death  become  but  a  passing 
into  life  :  and  as,  now,  we  leave  thy  holy  Sepulchre 
with  the  certain  hope  of  speedily  seeing  thee  glo- 
rious in  thy  Resurrection ;  so,  when  our  body  descends 
into  the  tomb,  our  soul  shall  confidently  mount  up 
to  thee,  and  there  blissfully  await  the  day  of  the 
Resurrection  of  the  flesh  made  pure  by  the  humili- 
ation of  the  grave. 


We  will  close  our  day  by  offering  to  our  readers 
the  following  stanzas  from  the  Greek  Liturgy  of 
Good  Friday. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  I    EVENING. 


513 


HYMN. 


(In  Parasceve.) 


To-day,  is  poised  upon  a 
Cross,  He  that  poised  the  earth 
upon  the  waters.  He  that  is 
the  King  of  Angels,  is  wreath- 
ed with  a  crown  of  Thorns. 
He  that  covereth  the  heaven 
with  clouds,  is  covered  with  a 
mock  scarlet  robe.  He  that, 
in  the  Jordan,  set  Adam  free, 
is  buffeted.  The  Spouse  of  the 
Church  is  pierced  with  Nails. 
The  Son  of  the  Virgin  is 
wounded  with  a  Spear.  0 
Jesus  !  we  adore  thy  Suffer- 
ings. Show  unto  us,  also, 
thy  glorious  Resurrection. 

Mary,  the  Mother,  saw  her 
Lamb  dragged  to  the  slaugh- 
ter, and,  in  company  with 
other  women,  followed  him, 
saying :  '  'Whither  goest  thou, 
' '  my  Son  ?  Wherefore  this 
"  hurried  step  ?  Is  it  to  a  se- 
"  cond  marriage -feast  at  Cana 
"that  thou  thus  hastenest, 
' '  there  to  turn  water  into 
' '  wine  ?  Must  I  come  with 
"  thee,  my  Son  ?  or  must  I  wait 
"  thy  return  ?  O  Word  of  the 
1 '  Father !  speak  one  word  to 
'*  me.  Pass  me  not  by  in  si- 
"  lence,  O  thou,  my  Child  and 
' '  my  God  !  who  didst  make 
"  me  thy  Virgin-Mother  !" 

For  our  sakes,  0  Jesus !  thou 
didst  permit  thy  whole  sacred 
Body  to  be  ignominiously  tor- 
tured :  thy  head  with  thorns ; 
thy  face  with  spittle  ;  thy 
cheeks,  with  blows;  thy  mouth, 
with  vinegar  and  gall ;  thine 
ears,  with  impious  blasphe- 


Hodie  in  cruce  appendi- 
tur,  qui  super  aquas  terram 
appendit :  corona  spinea  cir- 
cumdatur  rex  Angelorum  : 
falsa  purpura  operitur,  qui 
operit  ccelum  nubibus  :  ala- 
pam  suscipit,  qui  in  Jordane 
libertati  dedit  Adamum  : 
clavis  confixus  est  Sponsus 
Ecclesise  :  lancea  punctus 
est  filius  Virginis.  Adora- 
mus  passiones  tuas,  Christe. 
Et  ostende  nobis  etiam  glo- 
riosam  resurrectionem  tuam. 


Intuens  agna  agnum  su- 
um  trahi  ad  occisionem  ;  se- 
quebatur  Maria  afflicta  una 
cum  aliis  mulieribus,  hsec 
clamans  :  Quo  progrederis, 
nate  ?  Cujus  rei  gratia  velo- 
cem  cursum  perficis  ?  Num. 
alise  nuptise  rursus  fiunt  in 
Cana  ;  et  eo  tu  nunc  festi- 
nas,  ut  eis  ex  aqua  vinum 
facias  ?  Tecum  veniam,  na- 
te ;  an  te  potius  exspectabo  ? 
Da  mihi  verbum,  0  Verbum  : 
ne  silens  me  prsetereas,  qui 
me  castam  servasti  filius  et 
Deus  meus. 


Singula  sanctse  carnis  tuse 
membra  ignominiam  prop- 
ter nos  sustinuerunt  ;  spi- 
nas caput  ;  facies  sputa  ; 
maxilla  alapas  ;  os  aceto 
mistum  fel  in  gustu  ;  impias 
blasphemias  aures  ;  dorsum 
flagellationem  ;      et    manus 


514 


HOLY    WEEK. 


arundinem  ;  totiusque  cor- 
poris extensiones  in  cruce  ; 
artus  clavos ;  et  latus  lan- 
ceam.  Qui  passus  es  pro 
nobis,  et  patiens  liberos  nos 
fecisti  ;  quique  amore  erga 
homines  una  nobiscum  te 
demisisti,  nosque  sublimas- 
ti,  omnipotens  Salvator,  mi- 
serere nostri. 


Hodie  in  cruce  te  suspen- 
sum,  0  Verbum,  inculpata 
Virgo  spectans,  maternis 
visceribus  mcerens,  corde 
vulnerabatur  amare,  et  ge- 
mens  dolenter  ex  animse 
prof  undo  nebiliter  exclama- 
bat  :  Heu  me,  Divine  Nate  ! 
heu  me,  0  lux  mundi  !  cur 
ex  oculis  meis  abscessisti, 
Agne  Dei  ?  Inde  incorpore- 
orum  Spirituum  exercitus 
tremore  corripiebantur,  di- 
centes  :  Incomprehensibilis 
Domine,  gloria  tibi. 

Domine,  ascendente  te  in 
crucem,  timor  et  tremor  ceci- 
dit  in  creaturam  :  et  terram 
quidem  prohibebas  absorbe- 
re  eos,  qui  te  crucifigebant  : 
inferno  autem  permittebas 
remittere  vinctos.  Judex 
vivorum,  et  mortuorum  ve- 
nisti,  ut  vitam  prsestares  et 
non  mortem  :  amans  homi- 
num,  gloria  tibi. 


mies;  thy  back  with  scourges; 
thy  hand  with  a  reed  ;  thy 
whole  body,  with  the  cross  ; 
thy  hands  and  feet  with  nails ; 
thy  side,  with  a  spear,  0  Al- 
mighty Saviour  !  who  didst 
suffer  for  us,  and,  by  thy  suf- 
ferings, didst  make  us  free  ! 
0  thou,  that  out  of  love  for 
man ,  didst  humble  thyself  with 
us,  that  thus  thou  mightest 
exalt  us  ! — have  mercy  on  us  ! 

To-day,  the  sinless  Virgin 
saw  thee,  O  Word  !  hanging 
on  the  Cross  :  she  wept  over 
thee  with  a  mother's  love  :  her 
heart  was  cruelly  wounded  : 
and  thus,  with  doleful  sobs 
and  tears,  she  spake  from  her 
inmost  soul :  ' '  Alas  !  my  Di- 
' '  vine  Son  !  Alas  !  thou  Light 
' '  of  the  world  !  why  hast  thou 
' '  departed  from  my  sight,  O 
< '  Lamb  of  God  ? '  '—The  Angel 
host  was  seized  with  tremb- 
ling, and  said  :  ' '  Glory  be  to 
"  thee,  O  incomprehensible 
"Lord!" 

Fear  and  trembling  fell  up- 
on thy  creatures,  0  Lord, 
when  thou  didst  ascend  thy 
Cross.  Yet  wouldst  thou  not 
permit  the  earth  to  swallow 
up  them  that  crucified  thee  ; 
nay,  thou  gavest  leave  to  death 
to  set  its  captives  free.  Thou 
earnest  into  the  world,  O  Judge 
of  the  living  and  the  dead  ! 
that  thou  mightest  bring,  not 
death,  but  life.  Glory  be  to 
thee,  0  Lover  of  mankind  ! 


The  ancient  G-allican  Liturgy  contains,  in  to-day's 
Office,  the  following  eloquent  and  devout  prayer. 


GOOD    FRIDAY  :    EVENING. 


515 


PRAYER. 


(Oratio  ad  Nonam.) 


0  saving  hour  of  the  Pas- 
sion !  O  hour  of  None,  fa- 
voured with  richest  graces  ! 
0  hour  of  hours  !  0  beloved 
Spouse  of  souls,  kiss  us  at  this 
hour  from  thy  Cross,  for  the 
Cross  is  the  trophy  of  thy  vic- 
tory. Yea,  we  beseech,  grant 
us  thy  kiss,  grant  us  thy  sal- 
vation, 0  admirable  Con- 
queror !  0  heavenly  Chario- 
teer !  O  good  God  !  0  most 
glorious  Champion!  Do  thou, 
O  all-seeing  Jesus,  speak  to 
our  hearts,  and  say :  '  'Hail,  all 
"hail!  Be  vigorous,  act  man- 
'  'fully,  be  courageous!"  Thou, 
OLord,  that  didst  these  things 
of  old,  canst  thou  not  the 
same  now  ?  Thou  canst,  yea, 
thou  canst,  for  thou  art  all- 
powerful.  Thou  canst,  most 
loving  Jesus  !  thou  canst  do 
beyond  what  we  can  think. 
And  whereas  nothing  is  im- 
possible to  thee,  0  Almighty 
God,  our  Jesus  !  kiss  us,  we 
beseech  thee,  Beloved  Lord, 
who  didst  triumphantly  return 
to  the  Father,  with  whom 
thou  wast  and  art,  for  ever, 
one ;  for  thy  kiss  is  sweet,  thy 
breasts  are  better  than  wine, 
and  are  fragrant  with  the  best 
ointments.  Thy  name  is  as 
oil  poured  out,  therefore  have 
our  souls  loved  thee.  The 
righteous,  whom  thoudrawest 
to  thee,  love  thee.  Thy  couch 
is  strewed  with  flowers,  the 
Cross  is  thy  trophy.  Coming 
in  scarlet,  at  this  Hour,  from 


O  salutaris  hora  Passio- 
nis,  o  magna  maximarum 
gratiarum  Nona  hodierna, 
maxima  horarum  hora.  Hac 
nunc  tu,  noster  dilecte 
Sponse,  osculare  de  cruce, 
licet  post  crucis  trophseum. 
Osculare,  precamur ;  salu- 
tare  tuum  impertire  nobis, 
triumphator  mirabilis,  au- 
riga  supreme,  Deus  pie, 
gloriosissime  propugnator. 
Avete,  valete,  invalescite 
et  viriliter  agite,  conforta- 
mini  dicito,  loquere  cordi- 
bus  nostris  inspector  Chris- 
te.  An  qui  olim  hsec  fecisti, 
nunc  eadem  non  potes  fa- 
cere  ?  potes  utique,  potes ; 
quia  omnipotens  es  :  potes, 
amantissime,  potes  facere 
quod  non  possumus  cogi- 
tare  :  quia  nihil  tibi  impos- 
sible est,  Deus  omnipotens, 
Jesus,  osculare,  quseso,  di- 
lectissime,  qui  triumphans 
regressus  es  ad  Patrem,  cum 
quo  semper  eras  et  perma- 
nes  unus  ;  quia  osculum 
tuum  dulce  est,  et  ubera 
tua  vino  dulciora,  fragrantia 
optimis  unguentis  :  et  no- 
men  tuum  super  oleum, 
quern  adolescentulse  dilexe- 
runt  :  quern  recti  diligunt, 
quos  trahis  post  te  :  cujus 
lectus  floridus,  cujus  tro- 
phseum  crux.  Qui  hac 
hora  rubens  de  Edom,  de 
cruce,  tinctis  vestibus  de 
Bosra,  solus  quasi  calcator 
magni    illius    torcularis    ad 


516 


HOLY     WEEK. 


coelos  ascendisti  :  cui  occur - 
runt  Angeli,  Archangeli  di- 
centes  :  Quis  est  iste,  qui 
ascendit,  tinctis  vestibus  de 
Bosra  ?  Quibus  te  interro- 
gantibus :  Quare  ergo  rubrum 
est  vestimentum  tuum  ?  Ke- 
spondisti  :  Torcular  calcavi 
solus,  et  vir  de  gentibus  non 
fuit  mecum.  Vere,  Salvator, 
vere  rubrum  est  tuum  prop- 
ter nos  corpus  :  rubrum  est 
sanguine  uvse  ;  lavasti  enim 
in  vino  stolam  tuam,  et 
pallium  tuum  in  sanguine 
uvse  :  qui  es  Deus  solus, 
crucifixus  pro  nobis,  quos 
antiqua  prsevaricatio  morti 
tradidit  :  cujus  vulnere 
omnium  innumera  peccato- 
rum  vulnera  sanata  sunt. 
Et  nos,  pie  crucifixe  Christe, 
cum  tuis  redime  ;  salva,  pia 
bonitas  Deus.  Qui  regnas 
cum  Patre  et  Spiritu  Sancto, 
unus  in  aeternum  et  in 
ssecula  sseculorum. 


Edom,  thy  Cross, — coming 
with  dyed  garments  from  Bos- 
ra, treading  alone  that  great 
wine-press, — thou  didst  as- 
cend to  heaven.  The  Angels 
and  Archangels  go  out  to 
meet  thee,  and  they  say : 
"Who  is  this  that  cometh  up, 
' '  with  dyed  garments,  from 
"  Bosra  ?"  They  ask  thee  : 
"Why  then,  is  thy  apparel 
' '  red  ? ' '  Thou  answerest :  "  I 
' '  have  trodden  the  wine-press 
"  alone  :  and  of  the  Gentiles, 
'  •  there  is  not  a  man  with  me. ' ' 
Truly,  O  Saviour !  truly  is  thy 
body  red  for  our  sakes  :  it  is 
red  with  the  blood  of  the 
Grape,  for  thou  hast  washed 
thy  robe  in  Wine,  and  thy 
garment  in  the  blood  of  the 
Grape.  Thou  alone  art  God, 
crucified  for  us,  whom  the 
ancient  sin  had  delivered  over 
to  death :  and  by  thy  Wounds, 
the  countless  sins  of  all  men 
have  been  healed.  0  loving 
crucified  Jesus  !  put  us  among 
the  number  of  thy  redeemed. 
Save  us,  0  loving  goodness  ! 
our  God  !  who  with  the  Fa- 
ther and  Holy  Ghost,  reignest 
one  God  for  ever,  yea  for  ever 
and  ever. 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    TENERR^S.  517 


HOLY    SATUEDAY. 


THE    NIGHT    OFFICE. 


The  Ceremonies  used  by  the  Church  for  the  Office 
of  Tenebrce  having  been  already  explained,  we  deem 
it  unnecessary  to  repeat  our  instructions.  The  reader 
may  refer  to  them,  should  he  require  to  refresh  his 
memory.  They  are  given  in  pages  302 — 304. 
Pater  noster,  Ave,  and  Credo,  in  secret. 

THE    FIRST   NOCTTJRN. 

The  first  Psalm  is  one  which  the  Church  daily 
recites  in  her  Compline,  because  it  expresses  the 
confidence  wherewith  the  Christian  takes  his  rest. 
She  uses  it  in  to-day's  Tenebrse,  to  remind  us  of  the 
Rest  taken  by  Christ  in  his  Sepulchre,  where  he 
sleeps  with  the  assurance  of  wakening  to  a  glorious 
Resurrection. 

Ant.    In  peace,  in  the  self-        Ant.    In  pace,  in  idipsum, 
same,  I  will  sleep,  and  I  will    dormiam  et  requiescam. 
take  my  rest. 

PSALM    4. 

When  I  called  upon  him,  Cum  invocarem,  exaudivit 

the  God  of  my  justice  heard  me  Deus  justitise  mese  :   *  in 

me  :   when  I  was  in  distress  tribulatione  dilatasti  mihi. 
thou  hast  enlarged  me. 


518 


HOLY   WEEK. 


Miserere  mei :  *  et  exaudi 
orationem  meam. 

Filii  hominum  usquequo 
gravi  corde  :  *  ut  quid  di- 
ligitis  vanitatem,  et  quseri- 
tis  mendacium  ? 

Et  scitote  quoniam  miri- 
ficavit  Dominus  sanctum 
suum :  *  Dominus  exaudiet 
me,  cum  clamavero  ad  eum. 

Irascimini,  et  nolite  pec- 
care  :  *  quae  dicitis  in  cor- 
dibus  vestris,  in  cubilibus 
vestris  compungimini. 

Sacrificate  sacrificium  jus- 
titise,   et  sperate  in  Domino  : 

*  multi  dicunt :     Quis  osten- 
dit  nobis  bona  ? 

Signatum  est  super  nos 
lumen  vultus   tui,   Domine : 

*  dedisti  lsetitiam    in   corde 


frumenti,   vini 
*   multiplicati 


meo. 

A  fructu 
et  olei  sui: 
sunt. 

In    pace    in   idipsum : 
dormiam  et  requiescam. 


Quoniam  tu,  Domine, 
singulariter  in  spe  :  *  con- 
stituisti  me. 

Ant.  In  pace  in  idipsum, 
dormiam  et  requiescam. 


Have  mercy  upon  me,  and 
hear  my  prayer. 

0  ye  sons  of  men,  how  long 
will  ye  be  dull  of  heart  ?  why 
do  you  love  vanity,  and  seek 
after  lying  ? 

Know  ye  also  that  the  Lord 
hath  made  his  Holy  One 
wonderful :  the  Lord  will 
hear  me  when  I  shall  cry 
unto  him. 

Be  ye  angry  and  sin  not : 
the  things  you  say  in  your 
hearts,  be  sorry  for  them  on 
your  beds. 

Offer  up  the  sacrifice  of 
justice  and.  trust  in  the  Lord  : 
many  say  :  Who  showeth  us 
good  things  ? 

The  light  of  thy  counte- 
nance, O  Lord,  is  signed  upon 
us  :  thou  hast  given  gladness 
in  my  heart. 

By  the  fruit  of  their  corn, 
their  wine  and  oil,  they  are 
multiplied. 

In  peace,  in  the  self-same, 
I  will  sleep,  and  I  will  take 
my  rest. 

For  thou,  O  Lord,  singu- 
larly hast  settled  me  in  hope. 

Ant.  In  peace,  in  the  self- 
same, I  will  sleep,  and  I  will 
take  my  rest. 


The  second  Psalm  speaks  of  the  happiness  that  is 
in  reserve  for  the  just  man,  and  of  the  rest  which 
is  to  be  the  reward  of  his  labours.  The  Church 
applies  it  to  Christ,  the  Just  One,  by  excellence,  who 
went  about  doing_good. 


Ant.  Habitabit  in  taber- 
naculo  tuo  :  requiescet  in 
inonte  sancto  tuo. 


Ant.  He  shall  dwell  in 
thy  tabernacle  :  he  shall  rest 
in  thy  holy  hill. 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :     TENEBJUE. 


519 


PSALM    14. 


Lord,  who  shall  dwell  in 
thy  tabernacle  ?  or  who  shall 
rest  in  thy  holy  hill  ? 

He  that  walketh  without 
blemish,  and  worketh  justice. 

He  that  speaketh  truth  in 
his  heart,  who  hath  not  used 
deceit  in  his  tongue. 

Nor  hath  done  evil  to  his 
neighbour,  nor  taken  up  a 
reproach  against  his  neigh- 
bours. 

In  his  sight  the  malignant 
is  brought  to  nothing  :  but  he 
glorifieth  them  that  fear  the 
Lord. 

He  that  sweareth  to  his 
neighbour,  and  deceiveth  not : 
he  that  hath  not  put  out  his 
money  to  usury,  nor  taken 
bribes  against  the  innocent : 

He  that  doth  these  things, 
shall  not  be  moved  for  ever. 

Ant.  He  shall  dwell  in 
thy  tabernacle  :  he  shall  rest 
in  thy  holy  hill. 


Domine,  quis  habitabit  in 
tabernaculo  tuo  :  *  aut  quis 
requiescet  in  monte  sancto 
tuo  ? 

Qui  ingreditur  sine  ma- 
cula: *  etoperatur  justitiam. 

Qui  loquitur  veritatem  in 
corde  suo  :  *  qui  non  egit 
dolum  in  lingua  sua. 

Nee  fecit  proximo  suo  ma- 
lum :  *  et  opprobrium  non 
accepit  adversus  proximos 
suos. 

Ad  nihilum  deductus  est 
in  conspectu  ejus  malignus  : 
*  timentes  autem  Dominum 
glorificat. 

Qui  jurat  proximo  suo,  et 
non  decipit  :  *  qui  pecuniam 
suam  non  dedit  ad  usuram, 
et  munera  super  innocentem 
non  accepit  : 

Qui  facit  hsec,  *  non  mo- 
vebitur  in  seternum. 

Ant.  Habitabit  in  taber- 
naculo tuo  :  requiescet  in 
monte  sancto  tuo. 


The  third  Psalm,  composed  by  David,  during  his 
exile  under  Saul,  is  a  prophecy  of  our  Saviour's 
Resurrection,  and  was  quoted  as  such  by  St.  Peter, 
in  his  address  to  the  Jews,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 
He  that  speaks  in  this  Psalm,  says,  that  his  flesh 
shall  rest  in  hope,  and  that  the  Lord  will  not  give  him 
to  see  corruption.  This  was  not  verified  in  David, 
but  in  Christ. 


Ant.    M.y  flesh  shall  rest        Ant. 
in  hope.  in  spe. 


Caro  mea  requiescet 

2p 


520 


HOLY   WEEK. 


PSALM    15. 


Conservame,  Domine,  quo- 
niani  speravi  in  te  :  *  dixi 
Domino,  Deus  meus  es  tu, 
quoniam  bonorum  meorum 
non  eges. 

Sanctis  qui  sunt  in  terra 
ejus  :  *  mirificavit  omnes 
voluntates  meas  in  eis. 

Multiplicatse  sunt  infirmi- 
tates  eorum  :  *  postea  acce- 
leraverunt. 

Non  congregabo  conven- 
ticula  eorum  de  sanguini- 
bus  :  *  nee  memor  ero  no- 
minum  eorum  per  labia  mea. 
Dominus  pars  hsereditatis 
mese  et  calicis  mei  :  *  tu  es 
qui  restitues  haereditatem 
meam  mihi. 

Funes  ceciderunt  mihi  in 
praeclaris :  *  etenim  hsere- 
ditas  mea  praeclara  est  mihi. 

Benedicam  Dominum,  qui 
tribuit  mihi  intellectum  :  * 
insuper  et  usque  ad  noctem 
increpuerunt  me  renes  mei. 

Providebam  Dominum  in 
conspectu  meo  semper  :  * 
quoniam  a  dextris  est  mihi 
ne  commovear. 

Propter  hoc  lsetatum  est 
cor  meum,  et  exsultavit  lin- 
gua mea  :  *  insuper  et  caro 
mea  requiescet  in  spe. 

Quoniam  non  derelinques 
animam  meam  in  inferno  :  * 
nee  dabis  Sanctum  tuum  vi- 
dere  corruptionem. 

Notas  mihi  fecisti  vias  vi- 
tae,  adimplebis  me  laetitia  cum 
vultu  tuo  :  *  delectationes 
in  dextera  tua  usque  in 
finem. 


Preserve  me,  O  Lord,  for  I 
have  put  my  trust  in  thee.  I 
have  said  to  the  Lord  :  thou 
art  my  God,  for  thou  hast  no 
need  of  my  goods. 

To  the  saints  who  are  in  his 
land,  he  hath  made  wonderful 
all  my  desires  in  them. 

Their  infirmities  were  mul- 
tiplied :  afterwards  they  made 
haste. 

I  will  not  gather  together 
their  meetings  for  blood  offer- 
ings :  nor  will  I  be  mindful 
of  their  names  by  my  lips. 

The  Lord  is  the  portion  of 
my  inheritance  and  of  my 
cup  :  it  is  thou  that  wilt  re- 
store my  inheritance  to  me. 

The  lines  are  fallen  unto 
me  in  goodly  places  :  for  my 
inheritance  is  goodly  to  me. 

I  will  bless  the  Lord,  who 
hath  given  me  understanding : 
moreover  my  reins  also  have 
corrected  me  even  till  night. 

I  set  the  Lord  always  in  my 
sight  :  for  he  is  at  my  right 
hand  that  I  be  not  moved. 

Therefore  my  heart  hath 
been  glad  and  my  tongue  hath 
rejoiced  :  moreover  my  flesh 
also  shall  rest  in  hope. 

Because  thou  wilt  not  leave 
my  soul  in  hell :  nor  wilt  thou 
give  thy  Holy  One  to  see  cor- 
ruption. 

Thou  hast  made  known  to 
me  the  ways  of  life,  thou  shalt 
fill  me  with  joy  with  thy  coun- 
tenance :  at  thy  right  hand 
are  delights  even  to  the  end. 


HOLY   SATURDAY  .*   TENEHR7E. 


521 


Ant.  My  flesh  shall  rest  in  Ant.  Caro  mea  requiescet 

hope.  in  spe. 

y.    In   peace,  in  the  self-  ^.     In  pace  in  idipsum. 
same. 

&.  I  will  sleep,  and  I  will  #.    Dormiam    et    requies- 

take  my  rest.  cam. 

The  Pater  noster  is  here  recited  in  secret. 

The  Lessons  of  the  First  Nocturn  are  again  taken 
from  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremias.  The  first  refers 
to  our  Saviour.  It  speaks  of  his  fidelity  to  his 
Father,  and  of  his  resignation.  It  foretells  the  buf- 
fets he  received  during  his  Passion. 


FIRST    LESSON. 

From    the    Lamentations  of    De    Lamentatione    Jeremiae 
Jeremias  the  Prophet.  Prophetae. 

Ch.  III.  Cap.  III. 


Hetii.  The  mercies  of  the 
Lord  that  we  are  not  con- 
sumed :  because  his  tender 
mercies  have  not  failed. 

Heth.  They  are  new  every 
morning,  great  is  thy  faith- 
fulness. 

Heth.  The  Lord  is  my  por- 
tion, said  my  soul :  therefore 
will  I  wait  for  him. 

Teth.  The  Lord  is  good 
to  them  that  hope  in  him,  to 
the  soul  that  seeketh  him. 

Teth.  It  is  good  to  wait 
with  silence  for  the  salvation 
of  God. 

Teth.  It  is  good  for  a  man 
when  he  hath  borne  the  yoke 
from  his  youth. 

Jod.  He  shall  sit  solitary, 
and  hold  his  peace  :  because 
he  hath  taken  it  up  upon 
himself. 


Heth.  Misericordiae  Do- 
mini, quia  non  sumus  con- 
sumpti :  quia  non  defece- 
runt  miserationes  ejus. 

Heth.  Novi  diluculo,  mul- 
ta  est  fides  tua. 

Heth.  Pars  mea  Domi- 
nus,  dixit  anima  mea :  prop- 
terea  exspectabo  eum. 

Teth.  Bonus  est  Domi- 
nus  sperantibus  in  eum, 
animae  quaerenti  ilium. 

Teth.  Bonum  est  praes- 
tolari  cum  silentio  salutare 
Dei. 

Teth.  Bonum  est  viro, 
cum  portaverit  jugum  ab 
adolescentia  sua. 

Jod.  Sedebit  solitarius, 
et  tacebit:  quia  levavit  su- 
per se. 


522 


HOLY   WEEK. 


Jod.  Ponet  in  pulvere  os 
strum,  si  forte  sit  spes. 

Jod.  Dabit  percutienti  se 
maxillam,  saturabitur  op- 
probriis. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 

convertere  ad  Dominum 
Deum  tuum. 

#.  Sicut  ovis  ad  occisio- 
nem  ductus  est,  et  dum 
male  tractaretur,  non  ape- 
ruit  os  suum :  traditus  est 
ad  mortem :  *  ut  vivifica- 
ret   populum  suum. 

y.  Tradidit  in  mortem 
animam  suam,  et  inter  sce- 
leratos  reputatus  est. 

*  Ut  vivificaret  populum 
suum. 


Jod.  He  shall  put  his 
mouth  in  the  dust,  if  so  be 
there  may  be  hope. 

Jod,  He  shall  give  his 
cheek  to  him  that  striketh 
him,  he  shall  be  filled  with 
reproaches. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  be 
converted  to  the  Lord  thy 
God. 

gt.  He  was  led  like  a  sheep 
to  the  slaughter  ;  and  whilst 
he  was  ill-used,  he  opened 
not  his  mouth :  he  was  con- 
demned to  death,  *  That  he 
might  give  life  to  his  people. 

f.  He  delivered  up  him- 
self to  death,  and  was  reck- 
oned among  the  wicked. 

*  That  he  might  give  life  to 
his  people. 


The  second  Lesson  is  an  elegy  upon  Jerusalem. 
The  grievousness  of  the  sins  of  this  ungrateful  City 
is  expressed  in  forcible  terms. 


SECOND    LESSON. 


Aleph.  Quomodo  obscu- 
ratum  est  aurum,  mutatus 
est  color  optimus,  dispersi 
sunt  lapides  sanctuarii  in 
capite  omnium  platearum  ? 

Beth.  Filii  Sion  inclyti, 
et  amicti  auro  primo  :  quo- 
modo reputati  sunt  in  vasa 
testea,  opus  manuum  figuli  ? 


Ghimel.  Sed  et  lamise 
nudaverunt  mammam,  lacta- 
verunt  catulos  suos,  filia  po- 
puli  mei  crudelis,  quasi  stru- 
thio  in  deserto. 


Aleph.  How  is  the  gold 
become  dim,  the  finest  colour 
is  changed,  the  stones  of  the 
sanctuary  are  scattered  in  the 
top  of  every  street  ? 

Beth.  The  noble  sons  of 
Sion,  and  they  that  were  cloth- 
ed with  the  best  gold  :  how 
are  they  esteemed  as  earthen 
vessels,  the  work  of  the  pot- 
ter's hands  ? 

Ghimel.  Even  the  sea 
monsters  have  drawn  out  the 
breast,  they  have  given  suck 
to  their  young  :  the  daughter 
of  my  people  is  cruel,  like 
the  ostrich  in  the  desert. 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :     TENEhR^E. 


523 


Daletii.  The  tongue  of  the 
sucking  child  hath  stuck  to 
the  roof  of  his  mouth  for 
thirst :  the  little  ones  have 
asked  for  bread,  and  there  was 
none  to  break  it  unto  them. 

He.  They  that  were  fed 
delicately,  have  died  in  the 
streets :  they  that  were 
brought  up  in  scarlet,  have 
embraced  the  dung. 

Vatj.  And  the  iniquity  of 
the  daughter  of  my  people  is 
made  greater  than  the  sin  of 
Sodom,  which  was  overthrown 
in  a  moment,  and  hands  took 
nothing  in  her. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  be 
converted  to  the  Lord  thy 
God. 

gt.  Arise,  Jerusalem,  and 
put  off  thy  garments  of  joy  : 
put  on  ashes  and  hair-cloth  : 
*  For  in  thee  was  slain  the 
Saviour  of  Israel. 

y.  Let  tears  run  down  like 
a  torrent  day  and  night,  and 
let  not  the  apple  of  thine  eye 
cease. 

*  For  in  thee  was  slain  the 
Saviour  of  Israel. 


Daleth.  Adhaesit  lingua 
lactentis  ad  palatum  ejus  in 
siti :  parvuli  petierunt  pa- 
nem,  et  non  erat  qui  fran- 
geret  eis. 

He.  Qui  vescebantur  vo- 
luptuose  interierunt  in  viis ; 
qui  nutriebantur  in  croceis, 
amplexati  sunt  stercora. 

Vatj.  Et  major  effecta  est 
iniquitas  filiae  populi  mei 
peccato  Sodomorum :  quae 
subversa  est  in  momento,  et 
non  ceperunt  in  ea  manus. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 

convertere  ad  Dominum 
Deum  tuum. 

R\.  Jerusalem,  surge,  et 
exue  te  vestibus  jucundita- 
tis  :  induere  cinere  et  cilicio  : 
*  Quia  in  te  occisus  est  Sal- 
vator  Israel. 

^.  Deduc  quasi  torren- 
tem  lacrymas  per  diem  et 
noctem,  et  non  taceat  pu- 
pilla  oculi  tui. 

*  Quia  in  te  occisus  est 
Salvator  Israel. 


The  third  Lesson  is  a  portion  of  the  Prayer  made 
by  the  Prophet  for  the  Jewish  people,  after  they  had 
been  led  into  captivity.  It  gives  us  a  faithful,  but 
terrible,  description  of  their  miseries  after  they  had 
committed  the  crime  of  Deicide. 


THIRD     LESSON. 


Here  beginneth   the   Prayer 

of  Jeremias  the  Prophet. 

Ch.  V. 

Eemember,  0  Lord,  what  is 
come  upon  us  :    consider  and 


Incipit  Oratio  Jeremiae  Pro- 
phetae. 
Cap.  V. 

Eecordare,   Domine,    quid 
accident     nobis :        intuere, 


524 


HOLY   WEEK. 


et  respice  opprobrium  nos- 
trum. Hsereditas  nostra 
versa  est  ad  alienos,  domus 
nostrse  ad  extraneos.  Pu- 
pilli  facti  sumus  absque  pa- 
tre  :  matres  nostrse  quasi 
viduse.  Aquam  nostram  pe- 
cunia  bibimus  ;  ligna  nos- 
tra pretio  comparavimus. 
Cervicibus  nostris  minaba- 
mur  :  lassis  non  dabatur 
requies.  .ZEgypto  dedimus 
manum,  et  Assyriis,  ut  sa- 
turaremur  pane.  Patres  nos- 
tri  peccaverunt,  et  non  sunt : 
et  nos  iniquitates  eorum 
portavimus.  Servi  dominati 
sunt  nostri  :  non  fuit  qui 
redimeret  de  manu  eorum. 
In  animabus  nostris  affere- 
bamus  panem  nobis,  a  facie 
gladii  in  deserto.  Pellis 
nostra  quasi  clibanus,  exusta 
est  a  facie  tempestatum  fa- 
mis.  Mulieres  in  Sion  hu- 
miliaverunt,  et  virgines  in 
civitatibus  Juda. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 

convertere  ad  Dominum 
Deum  tuum. 

gt.  Plange  quasi  virgo 
plebs  mea  :  ululate  pastores 
in  cinere  et  cilicio  :  *  Quia 
venit  dies  Domini  magna  et 
amara  valde. 

f.    Accingite  vos  sacerdotes, 
et  plangite  :   ministri  altaris, 
aspergite  vos  cinere. 

*  Quia  venit  dies  Domini 
magna,  et  amara  valde. 

Here,  is  repeated :  /  Plange. 


behold  our  reproach.  Our  in- 
heritance is  turned  to  aliens  : 
our  houses  to  strangers.  "We 
are  become  orphans  without  a 
father,  our  mothers  are  as 
widows.  We  have  drunk  our 
water  for  money  :  we  have 
bought  our  wood.  "We  were 
dragged  by  the  necks,  we  were 
weary  and  no  rest  was  given 
us.  "We  have  given  our  hand 
to  Egypt,  and  to  the  Assy- 
rians, that  we  might  be  satis- 
fied with  bread.  Our  fathers 
have  sinned,  and  are  not :  and 
we  have  borne  their  iniquities. 
Servants  have  ruled  over  us  : 
and  there  was  none  to  redeem 
us  out  of  their  hand.  "We 
fetched  our  bread  at  the  peril 
of  our  lives,  because  of  the 
sword  in  the  desert.  Our  skin 
was  burnt  as  an  oven,  by  rea- 
son of  the  violence  of  the  fa- 
mine. They  oppressed  the 
women  in  Sion,  and  the  vir- 
gins in  the  cities  of  Juda. 

Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  be 
converted  to  the  Lord  thy 
God. 

#.  Mourn,  O  my  people,  as 
a  virgin  :  howl,  ye  shepherds, 
in  ashes  and  hair -cloth :  *  For 
the  great  and  exceeding  bit- 
ter day  of  the  Lord  is  coming. 

f.  Gird  yourselves,  ye 
priests  and  mourn  ;  sprinkle 
yourselves  with  ashes,  ye 
ministers  of  the  altar. 

*  For  the  great  and  exceed- 
ing bitter  day  of  the  Lord  is 
coming. 

Here,  is  repeated :  Mourn, 
O  my  people. 


HOLY   SATURDAY  :    TENEBR^E. 


525 


SECOND   NOCTURN. 

The  fourfh  Psalm  speaks  of  the  triumphant  entry 
which  the  Son  of  God,  after  having  risen  'from  his 
Tomb,  shall  make  into  heaven. 

Ant.  Be  ye  lifted  up,  O  ye 
eternal  gates,  and  the  King  of 
glory  shall  enter  in. 


PSALM 

The  earth  is  the  Lord's  and 
the  fulness  thereof ;  the  world 
and  all  they  that  dwell  there- 
in. 

For  he  hath  founded  it  upon 
the  seas :  and  hath  prepared 
it  upon  the  rivers. 

Who  shall  ascend  into  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord  ?  or  who 
shall  stand  in  his  holy  place  ? 

The  innocent  in  hands,  and 
clean  of  heart,  who  hath  not 
taken  his  soul  in  vain,  nor 
sworn  deceitfully  to  his 
neighbour. 

He  shall  receive  a  blessing 
from  the  Lord  :  and  mercy 
from  God  his  Saviour. 

This  is  the  generation  of 
them  that  seek  him,  of  them 
that  seek  the  face  of  the  God 
of  Jacob. 

Lift  up  your  gates,  O  ye 
princes,  and  be  ye  lifted  up, 
0  eternal  gates :  and  the  King 
of  glory  shall  enter  in. 

Who  is  this  King  of  glory  ? 
the  Lord,  who  is  strong  and 
mighty,  the  Lord  mighty  in 
battle. 

Lift  up  your  gates,  0  ye 
princes,  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  O 
eternal  gates,  and  the  King  of 
glory  shall  enter  in. 

WTio  is  this  King  of  glory  ? 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  he  is  the 
King  of  glory. 


Ant.  Elevamini  portse 
soternales,  et  introibit  Eex 
glorise. 

23. 

Domini  est  terra,  et  ple- 
nitudo  ejus  :  *  orbis  terra- 
rum,  et  universi  qui  habi- 
tant in  eo. 

Quia  ipse  super  maria 
fundavit  eum :  *  et  super 
flumina  prseparavit  eum. 

Quis  ascendet  in  montem 
Domini  :  *  aut  quis  stabit  in 
loco  sancto  ejus  ? 

Innocens  manibus  et  mun- 
do  corde  :  *  qui  non  accepit 
in  vano  animam  suam,  nee 
juravit  in  dolo  proximo  suo. 

Hie  accipiet  benedictionem 
a  Domino  :  *  et  misericor- 
diam  a  Deo  salutari  suo. 

Hsec  est  generatio  quse- 
rentium  eum  :  *  quaerentium 
faciem  Dei  Jacob. 

Attollite  portas  principes 
vestras,  et  elevamini  portse 
seternales  :  *  et  introibit  Eex 
gloriae. 

Quis  est  iste  Eex  gloriee  : 
*  Dominus  fortis  et  potens, 
Dominus  potens  in  praelio. 


portas    principes 

elevamini  portse 

*  et  introibit  Eex 


Attollite 
vestras,    et 
seternales : 
glorise. 

Quis  est  iste  Eex  gloriee  ? 
*  Dominus  virtutum,  ipse  est 
Eex  gloriee. 


526 


HOLY   WEEK. 


Ant.  Elevamini  portse  Ant.  Be  ye  lifted  up,  O 
seternales,  et  introibit  Eex  eternal  gates,  and  the  King 
glorise.  of  glory  shall  enter  in. 

The  fifth  Psalm  was  sung  in  yesterday's  Office, 
and  expressed  the  confidence  in  his  Father's  love 
and  assistance,  which  never  left  our  Jesus  during 
his  Passion :  we  repeat  it  to-day,  because  it  speaks 
of  his  speedy  deliverance.  The  Church  changes  the 
Antiphon,  which  gave  us  the  words  of  our  Saviour, 
complaining  of  his  false  witnesses,  into  the  following, 
wherein  we  have  our  Divine  Master  telling  us,  that 
he  is  soon  to  be  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

Ant.  Credo  videre  bona  Ant.  I  believe  to  see  the 
Domini  in  terra  viventium.        good  things  of  the  Lord  in  the 

land  of  the  living. 

PSALM    26. 

The  Lord  is  my  light  and 
my  salvation,  whom  shall  I 
fear? 

The  Lord  is  the  protector 
of  my  life,  of  whom  shall  I 
be  afraid  ? 

Whilst  the  wicked  draw 
near  against  me,  to  eat  my 
flesh. 

My  enemies  that  troubled 
me  have  been  weakened,  and 
have  fallen. 

If  armies  in  camp  should 
stand  together  against  me, 
my  heart  shall  not  fear. 

If  a  battle  should  rise  up 
against  me,  in  this  will  I  be 
confident. 

One  thing  have  I  asked  of 
the  Lord,  this  will  I  seek 
after,  that  I  may  dwell  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  all  the  days 
of  my  life. 

That  I  may  see  the  delight 
of  the  Lord,  and  may  visit 
his  temple. 

For  he  hath  hid  me  in  his 
tabernacle;  in  the  day  of  evils, 


Dominus  illuminatio  mea, 
et  salus  mea:  *  quern  ti- 
mebo  ? 

Dominus  protector  vitse 
meae  :    *   a  quo  trepidabo  ? 

Dum  appropiant  super 
me  nocentes :  *  ut  edant 
carnes  meas. 

Qui  tribulant  me  inimici 
mei  :  *  ipsi  infirmati  sunt 
et  ceciderunt. 

Si  consistant  adversum 
me  castra :  *  non  timebit 
cor  meum. 

Si  exsurgat  adversum  me 
prselium  :  *  in  hoc  ego  spe- 
rabo. 

Unam  petii  a  Domino, 
hanc  requiram :  *  ut  inha- 
bitem  in  domo  Domini  om- 
nibus diebus  vitse  mese. 

Ut  videam  voluptatem  Do- 
mini :  *  et  visitem  templum 
ejus. 

Quoniam  abscondit  me  in 
tabernaculo  suo  ;    *    in  die 


HOLY   SATURDAY  I    TENEBR^E. 


527 


he  hath  protected  me  in  the 
secret  place  of  his  tabernacle. 

He  hath  exalted  me  upon  a 
rock  :  and  now  he  hath  lifted 
up  my  head  above  my  ene- 
mies. 

I  have  gone  round,  and  have 
offered  up  in  his  tabernacle  a 
sacrifice  of  jubilation  :  I  will 
sing,  and  recite  a  psalm  to 
the  Lord. 

Hear,  O  Lord,  my  voice, 
with  which  I  have  cried  to 
thee:  have  mercy  on  me,  and 
hear  me. 

My  heart  hath  said  to  thee, 
my  face  hath  sought  thee  : 
thy  face,  0  Lord,  will  I  still 
seek. 

Turn  not  away  thy  face 
from  me  :  decline  not  in  thy 
wrath  from  thy  servant. 

Be  thou  my  helper  :  forsake 
me  not,  do  not  thou  despise 
me,  O  God  my  Saviour. 

For  my  father  and  my 
mother  have  left  me  :  but  the 
Lord  hath  taken  me  up. 

Set  me,  0  Lord,  a  law  in 
thy  way :  and  guide  me  in 
the  right  path,  because  of  my 
enemies. 

Deliver  me  not  over  to  the 
will  of  them  that  trouble  me  : 
for  unjust  witnesses  have 
risen  up  against  me  and  ini- 
quity hath  belied  itself. 

I  believe  to  see  the  good 
things  of  the  Lord  in  the  land 
of  the  living. 

Expect  the  Lord,  do  man- 
fully :  and  let  thy  heart  take 
courage,  and  wait  thou  for  the 
Lord. 

Ant.      I  believe  to  see  the 


malorum  protexit  me  in  ab- 
scondito  tabernaculi  sui. 

In  petra  exaltavit  me  :  * 
et  nunc  exaltavit  caput  me- 
um  super  inimicos  meos. 

Circuivi,  et  immolavi  in 
tabernaculo  ejus  hostiam  vo- 
ciferationis  :  *  cantabo,  et 
psalmum  dicam  Domino. 

Exaudi,  Domine,  vocem 
meam,  qua  clamavi  ad  te  :  * 
miserere  mei,  et  exaudi  me. 

Tibi  dixit  cor  meum  ex- 
quisivit  te  f acies  mea :  *  faci- 
em  tuam,  Domine,  requiram. 

Nee  avertas  faciem  tuam 
a  me  :  *  ne  declines  in  ira  a 
servo  tuo. 

Adjutor  meus  esto  :  *  ne 
derelinquas  me,  neque  de- 
spicias  me,  Deus  salutaris 
meus. 

Quoniam  pater  meus  et 
mater  mea  dereliquerunt 
me  :  *  Dominus  autem  as- 
sumpsit me. 

Legem  pone  mihi,  Domine, 
in  via  tua  :  *  et  dirige  me  in 
semitam  rectam  propter  ini- 
micos meos. 

Ne  tradideris  me  in  animas 
tribulantium  me  :  *  quoniam 
insurrexerunt  in  me  testes 
iniqui,  et  mentita  est  iniqui- 
tas  sibi. 

Credo  videre  bona  Do- 
mini :  *  in  terra  viventium. 

Exspecta  Dominum,  virili- 
ter  age  :  *  et  confortetur  cor 
tuum,  et  sustine  Dominum. 

Ant.     Credo  videre   bona 
2q 


528 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Domini     in 
tium. 


terra     viven-    good  things  of  the  Lord  in  the 
land  of  the  living. 


The  sixth  Psalm  tells  us,  that  Jesus,  the  divine 
Captive  of  Death,  will  soon  rise  from  the  grave. 
The  Prophet  speaks  of  the  weeping,  which  shall  last 
till  evening,  and  of  the  gladness,  that  shall  follow  in 
the  morning. 


Ant.    Domine  ahstraxisti 
ah  inferis  animam  meam. 


Ant.  0  Lord,  thou  hast 
Drought  forth  my  soul  from 
hell. 


PSALM   29. 


Exaltaho  te  Domine, 
quoniam  suscepisti  me :  * 
nee  delectasti  inimicos  meos 
super  me. 

Domine  Deus  meus,  cla- 
mavi  ad  te  :   *  et  sanasti  me. 

Domine  eduxisti  ah  in- 
ferno animam  meam  :  *  sal- 
vasti  me  a  descendentibus  in 
lacum. 

Psallite  Domino  sancti 
ejus :  *  et  confitemini  me- 
morise sanctitatis  ejus. 

Quoniam  ira  in  indigna- 
tione  ejus  :  *  et  vita  in  vo- 
luntate  ejus. 

Ad  vesperum  demorabi- 
tur  fletus  :  *  et  ad  matuti- 
num  lsetitia. 

Ego  autem  dixi  in  abun- 
dantia  mea  :  *  Non  move- 
bor  in  seternum. 

Domine  in  voluntate  tua  : 
*  prsestitisti  decori  meo 
virtutem. 

Avertisti  faciem  tuam  a 
me  :  *  et  factus  sum  contur- 
batus. 


I  will  extol  thee,  0  Lord, 
for  thou  hast  upheld  me  :  and 
hast  not  made  my  enemies  to 
rejoice  over  me. 

O  Lord,  my  God,  I  have 
cried  to  thee,  and  thou  hast 
healed  me. 

Thou  hast  brought  forth,  O 
Lord,  my  soul  from  hell  : 
thou  hast  saved  me  from  them 
that  go  down  into  the  pit. 

Sing  to  the  Lord,  O  you 
his  saints :  and  give  praise  to 
the  memory  of  his  holiness. 

For  wrath  is  in  his  indig- 
nation :  and  life  in  his  good 
will. 

In  the  evening,  weeping 
shall  have  place  :  and  in  the 
morning,  gladness. 

And  in  my  abundance  I 
said  :  I  shall  never  be  moved. 

0  Lord,  in  thy  favour,  thou 
gavest  strength  to  my  beauty. 

Thou  turnedst  away  thy 
face  from  me,  and  I  became 
troubled. 


HOLY   SATURDAY  :    TENEDR^. 


529 


To  thee,  O  Lord,  will  I  ciy : 
and  I  will  make  supplication 
to  my  God. 

What  profit  is  there  in  my 
blood,  whilst  I  go  down  to 
corruption  P 

Shall  dust  confess  to  thee, 
or  declare  thy  truth  ? 

The  Lord  hath  heard,  and 
hath  had  mercy  on  me :  the 
Lord  became  my  helper. 

Thou  hast  turned  for  me 
my  mourning  into  joy  :  thou 
hast  cut  my  sackcloth,  and 
hast  compassed  me  with  glad- 
ness. 

To  the  end  that  my  glory 
may  sing  to  thee,  and  I  may 
not  regret.  O  Lord  my  God, 
I  will  give  praise  to  thee  for 
ever. 

Ant.  O  Lord,  thou  hast 
brought  forth  my  soul  from 
hell. 

^.  But  thou,  O  Lord,  have 
mercy  on  me. 

gt.  And  raise  me  up  again, 
and  I  will  requite  them. 


Ad  te,  Domine,  clamabo: 
*  et  ad  Deum  meum  depre- 
cabor. 

Quae  utilitas  in  sanguine 
meo :  *  dum  descendo  in 
coruptionem  ? 

Numquid  confitebitur  tibi 
pulvis :  *  aut  annuntiabit 
veritatem  tuam  ? 

Audivit  Dominus,  et  mi- 
sertus  est  mei :  *  Dominus 
f actus  est  adjutor  meus. 

Convertisti  planctum  me- 
um in  gaudium  mihi :  * 
conscidisti  saccum  meum,  et 
circumdedisti  me  laetitia. 

Ut  cantet  tibi  gloria  mea, 
et  non  compungar :  *  Do- 
mine Deus  meus,  in  seternum 
confitebor  tibi. 

Ant.  Domine  abstraxisti 
ab  inferis  aiiimam  meam. 

f,  Tu  autem,  Domine, 
miserere  mei. 

gt.  Et  resuscita  me,  et  re- 
tribuam  eis. 


The  Pater  noster  is  here  recited  in  secret. 

For  the  second  Nocturn  Lessons,  the  Church  con- 
tinues the  Enarrations  of  St.  Augustine  on  the 
Psalms  prophetic  of  our  Lord's  Passion. 


fourth  lesson. 


From  the  treatise  of  Saint 
Augustine,  Bishop,  upon 
the  Psalms. 

Man  shall  come  to  the  deep 
hearty  and  Qod  shall  be  exalted. 
They  said.  Who  will  see  us  ? 
They  failed  in  making  dili- 
gent search  for  wicked  designs. 


Ex  tractatu  Sancti  Au- 
gustini  Episcopi,  super 
Psalmos. 

Accedet  homo  ad  cor  al- 
tum,  et  exaltabitur  Deus. 
Illi  dixerunt :  Quis  nos  vi- 
debit?  Defecerunt  scrutan- 
tes     scrutationes,      consilia 


530 


HOLY    WEEK. 


mala.  Accessit  homo  ad 
ipsa  consilia  :  passus  est  se 
teneri  ut  homo.  Non  enim 
teneretur  nisi  homo,  aut  vi- 
deretur  nisi  homo,  aut  csede- 
retur  nisi  homo,  aut  crucifi- 
geretur,  aut  moreretur  nisi 
homo.  Accessit  ergo  homo 
ad  illas  omnes  passiones, 
quae  in  illo  nihil  valerent, 
nisi  esset  homo.  Sed  si  ille 
non  esset  homo,  non  libera- 
retur  homo.  Accessit  homo 
ad  cor  altum,  id  est  cor  se- 
cretum,  objiciens  aspectibus 
humanis  hominem,  servans 
intus  Deum,  celans  formam 
Dei,  in  qua  sequalis  est  Pa- 
tri,  et  offerens  formam  servi, 
qua  minor  est  Patre. 


#.  Recessit  Pastor  noster, 
fons  aquae  vivse,  ad  cujus 
transitum  sol  obscuratus 
est :  *  Nam  et  ille  captus 
est,  qui  captivum  tenebat 
primum  hominem  :  hodie 
portas  mortis  et  seras  pa- 
riter  Salvator  noster  disrupit. 

HF.  Destruxit  quidem  clau- 
stra  inferni,  et  subvertit  po- 
tentias  diaboli. 

*  Nam  et  ille  captus  est 
qui  captivum  tenebat  pri- 
mum hominem :  hodie  portas 
mortis  et  seras  pariter  Sal- 
vator noster  disrupit. 


Christ,  as  Man,  came  to  those 
designs,  and  suffered  himself 
to  be  seized  on  as  a  Man.  For 
he  could  not  be  seized  on  if  he 
were  not  Man,  nor  seen,  if  he 
were  not  Man,  nor  scourged, 
if  he  were  not  Man,  nor  cru- 
cified, nor  die,  if  he  were  not 
Man.  As  Man,  therefore,  he 
came  to  all  these  sufferings, 
which  could  have  no  effect  on 
him,  if  he  were  not  Man.  But 
if  he  had  not  been  Man,  man 
could  not  have  been  redeemed. 
Man  came  to  the  deep  heart, 
that  is,  the  secret  heart,  ex- 
posing his  humanity  to  human 
view,  but  hiding  his  divinity : 
concealing  the  form  of  God, 
by  which  he  is  equal  to  the 
Father ;  and  offering  the  form 
of  the  servant,  by  which  he  is 
inferior  to  the  Father. 

gt.  Our  Shepherd,  the  foun- 
tain of  living  water,  is  gone ; 
at  whose  departure,  the  sun 
was  darkened.  *  For  he  is 
taken,  who  made  the  first  man 
a  prisoner.  To-day  our  Sa- 
viour broke  the  gates  and 
bolts  of  death. 

^.  He,  indeed,  destroyed 
the  prisons  of  hell,  and  over- 
threw the  powers  of  the  devil. 
*  For  Ae  is  taken,  who  made 
the  first  man  a  prisoner.  To- 
day our  Saviour  broke  the 
gates  and  bolts  of  death. 


FIFTH    LESSON. 


Quo  perduxerunt  illas  How  far  did  they  carry  this 
scrutationes  suas,  quas  per-  their  diligent  search,  in  which 
scrutantes     defecerunt,      ut    they  failed  so    much,    that 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    TENERRJR. 


531 


when  our  Lord  was  dead  and 
buried,  they  placed  guards  at 
the  sepulchre  ?  For  they  said 
to  Pilate  :  This  seducer,  (by 
which  name  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  was  called,  for  the  com- 
fort of  his  servants,  when  they 
are  called  seducers,)  this  se- 
ducer, say  they  to  Pilate, 
whilst  he  was  yet  living,  said  : 
After  three  days  I  will  rise 
again.  Command  therefore 
the  sepulchre  to  be  guarded 
until  the  third  day,  lest  per- 
haps his  disciples  come  and 
steal  him  away,  and  say  to  the 
people,  he  is  risen  from  the 
dead  :  and  the  last  error  will 
be  worse  than  the  first.  Pilate 
saith  to  them :  Ye  have  a 
guard,  go,  and  guard  him  as 
ye  know.  And  they  went 
away  and  secured  the  sepul- 
chre with  guards,  sealing  up 
the  stone. 

gt.  O  all  ye,  that  pass  by 
the  way,  attend  and  see,  *  If 
there  be  sorrow  like  unto  my 
sorrow. 

$ .  Attend  all  ye  people,  and 
see  my  sorrow. 

*  If  there  be  sorrow  like 
unto  my  sorrow. 


etiam  mortuo  Domino  et 
sepulto,  custodes  ponerent 
ad  sepulchrum.  Dixerunt 
enim  Pilato  :  Seductor  ille. 
Hoc  appellabatur  nomine 
Dominus  Jesus  Christus, 
ad  solatium  servorum  suo- 
rum,  quando  dicuntur  se- 
ductores.  Ergo  illi  Pilato  : 
Seductor  ille,  inquiunt,  dix- 
it adhuc  vivens  :  Post  tres 
dies  resurgam.  Jube  itaque 
custodiri  sepulchrum  usque 
in  diem  tertium,  ne  forte 
veniant  discipuli  ejus,  et 
furentur  eum,  et  dicant 
plebi  :  Surrexit  a  mortuis  : 
et  erit  novissimus  error  pe- 
jor  priore.  Ait  illis  Pilatus  : 
Habetis  custodiam  ;  ite,  cus- 
todite  sicut  scitis.  Illi  au- 
tem  abeuntes,  munierunt 
sepulchrum,  signantes  lapi- 
dem  cum  custodjbus. 

gt.  O  vos  omnes,  qui  tran- 
sitis  per  viam,  attendite  et 
videte,  *  Si  est  dolor  similis 
sicut  dolor  meus. 

y.  Attendite  universi  po- 
puli,  et  videte  dolorem 
meum. 

*  Si  est  dolor  similis  sicut 
dolor  meus. 


SIXTH    LESSON. 


They  placed  soldiers  to 
guard  the  sepulchre.  The 
earth  shook,  and  the  Lord 
rose  again  :  such  miracles 
were  done  at  the  sepulchre, 
that  the  very  soldiers  that 
came  as  guards  might  be  wit- 
nesses of  it,  if  they  would 
declare  the  truth.     But  that 


Posuerunt  custodes  mili- 
tes  ad  sepulchrum.  Con- 
cussa  terra  Dominus  resur- 
rexit :  miracula  facta  sunt 
talia  circa  sepulchrum,  ut 
et  ipsi  milites  qui  custodes 
advenerant,  testes  fierent,  si 
vellent  vera  nuntiare.  Sed 
avaritia  ilia,  quae  captivavit 


532 


HOLY   WEEK. 


discipulum  comitem  Christi, 
captivavit  et  militem  custo- 
dem  sepulchri.  Damus,  in- 
quiunt,  vobis  pecuniam,  et 
dicite,  quia,  vobis  dormienti- 
bus,  venerunt  discipuli  ejus, 
et  abstulerunt  eum.  Vere 
defecerunt  scrutantes  scru- 
tationes.  Quid  est  quod 
dixisti,  o  infelix  astutia  ? 
Tantumne  deseris  lucem 
consilii  pietatis,  et  in  pro- 
funda versutia  demergeris, 
ut  hoc  dicas :  Dicite,  quia, 
vobis  dormientibus,  vene- 
runt discipuli  ejus,  et  abstu- 
lerunt eum  ?  Dormientes 
testes  adhibes  :  vere  tu  ipse 
obdormisti,  qui  scrutando 
talia  defecisti. 


y.  Ecce  quomodo  moritur 
Justus,  et  nemo  percipit 
corde  :  et  viri  justi  tolluntur 
et  nemo  considerat :  a  facie 
iniquitatis  sublatus  est  Jus- 
tus :  *  Et  erit  in  pace  me- 
moria  ejus. 

y.  Tamquam  agnus  co- 
ram tondente  se  obmutuit, 
et  non  aperuit  os  suum  :  de 
angustia,  et  de  judicio  sub- 
latus est. 

*  Et  erit  in  pace  memo- 
ria  ejus. 

Here,  is  repeated :  Ecce 
quomodo. 


covetousness  which  possessed 
the  disciple  that  was  the 
companion  of  Christ,  blinded 
also  the  soldiers  that  were  the 
guards  of  his  sepulchre.  We 
will  give  you  money,  said  they : 
and  say,  that  whilst  ye  were 
asleep,  his  disciples  came  and 
took  him  away  :  They  truly 
failed,  in  making  diligent 
search.  What  is  it  thou  hast 
said,  0  wretched  craft  ?  Dost 
thou  shut  thy  eyes  against  the 
light  of  prudence  and  piety, 
and  plunge  thyself  so  deep  m 
cunning,  as  to  say  this  :  Say 
that  whilst  ye  were  asleep,  his 
disciples  came  and  took  him 
away  ?  Dost  thou  produce 
sleeping  witnesses  ?  Certainly 
thou  thyself  sleepest,  that/eu7- 
edst  in  making  search  after 
such  things. 

y.  Behold!  how  the  Just 
One  dieth,  and  there  is  none 
that  taketh  it  to  heart:  and 
just  men  are  taken  away  and 
no  one  considereth  it :  the  Just 
One  is  taken  away  because  of 
iniquity :  *  And  his  memory 
shall  be  in  peace. 

1? .  He  was  silent,  as  a  lamb 
under  his  shearer,  and  he 
opened  not  his  mouth :  he 
was  taken  away  from  distress 
and  judgment. 

*  And  his  memory  shall 
be  in  peace. 

Here,  is  repeated  :   Behold  ! 


THIRD    NOCTURN. 


The   seventh   JPsalm   is   one   we  sang  yesterday, 
when  commemorating  the  persecution  our  Saviour 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :   TENEBR-E. 


533 


met  with  from  the  Jews.  We  repeat  it,  to-day, 
because  of  his  approaching  triumph,  for  the  Eternal 
Father  is  his  helper  and  protector. 


Ant.  God  is  my  helper, 
and  the  Lord  is  the  protector 
of  my  soul. 


Ant.  Deus  adjuvat  me, 
et  Dominus  susceptor  est 
animse  meae. 


PSALM    53. 


Save  me,  O  God,  by  thy 
name,  and  judge  me  in  thy 
strength. 

0  God,  hear  my  prayer  : 
give  ear  to  the  words  of  my 
mouth. 

For  strangers  have  risen  up 
against  me  :  and  the  mighty 
have  sought  after  my  soul  : 
and  they  have  not  set  God 
before  their  eyes. 

For  behold  God  is  my 
helper  :  and  the  Lord  is  the 
protector  of  my  soul. 

Turn  back  the  evils  upon 
my  enemies  :  and  cut  them 
off  in  thy  truth. 

1  will  freely  sacrifice  to 
thee,  and  will  give  praise,  O 
God,  to  thy  name :  because 
it  is  good. 

For  thou  hast  delivered  me 
out  of  all  trouble :  and  my 
eye  hath  looked  down  upon 
my  enemies. 

Ant.  God  is  my  helper, 
and  the  Lord  is  the  protector 
of  my  soul. 


Deus,  in  nomine  tuo  sal- 
vum  me  fac  :  *  et  in  virtute 
tua  judica  me. 

Deus,  exaudi  orationem 
meam  :  *  auribus  percipe 
verba  oris  mei. 

Quoniam  alieni  insurrex- 
erunt  adversum  me,  et  for- 
tes quaesierunt  animam  me- 
am :  *  et  non  proposuerunt 
Deum  ante  conspectum  su- 
um. 

Ecce  enim  Deus  adjuvat 
me  :  *  et  Dominus  suscep- 
tor est  animae  meae. 

Averte  mala  inimicis 
meis  :  *  et  in  veritate  tua 
disperde  illos. 

Voluntarie  sacrificabo  ti- 
bi  :  *  et  confitebor  nomini 
tuo,  Domine,  quoniam  bo- 
num  est. 

Quoniam  ex  omni  tribu- 
latione  eripuisti  me  :  *  et 
super  inimicos  meos  des- 
pexit  oculus  meus. 

Ant.  Deus  adjuvat  me, 
et  Dominus  susceptor  est 
animae  meae. 


The  eighth  Psalm  is  one  that  was  sung  in  the 
Tenebrce  for  Maundy  Thursday  :  then,  it  was  an 
allusion  to  the  divine  vengeance  that  was  to  fall  on 
the  enemies  of  Jesus  ;   to-day,  we  must  rejoice  in  its 


534 


HOLY   WEEK. 


prophecy  of  the  sleep  of  peace,  which  this  Saviour  of 
ours  is  taking  in  Sion.  A  few  more  hours,  and  he 
will  rise  from  his  Tomb.  His  enemies,  who  boast 
of  having  him  in  their  power,  will  find,  on  awaking, 
that  they  have  nothing  in  their  hands.  The  earth 
shall  tremble,  and  our  Lord  shall  arise,  an  object  of 
terror  to  his  enemies,  but  a  Saviour  to  the  meek, 
that  is,  to  the  humble  and  faithful  ones,  who  will 
then  praise  him  as  the  Grod  ever  faithful  to  his 
word. 


Ant.  In  pace  factus  est 
locus  ejus,  et  in  Sion  habi- 
tatio  ejus. 


Ant.  His  place  is  in  peace, 
and  his  abode  in  Sion. 


PSALM    75. 


m 


Notus  in  Judea  Deus  :  * 
Israel  magnum  nomen 
ejus. 

Et  factus  est  m  pace  lo- 
cus ejus :  *  et  habitatio  ejus 
in  Sion. 

Ibi  conf regit  potentias  ar- 
cuum  :  *  scutum,  gladium, 
et  bellum. 

Illuminans  tu  mirabiliter 
a  montibus  seternis  :  *  tur- 
bati  sunt  omnes  insipientes 
corde. 

Dormierunt  somnum  su- 
um  :  *  et  nihil  invenerunt 
omnes  viri  divitiarum  in 
manibus  suis. 

Ab  increpatione  tua,  Deus, 
Jacob  :  *  dormitaverunt  qui 
ascenderunt  equos. 

Tu  terribilis  es,  et  quis 
resistet  tibi  :  *  ex  tunc  ira 
tua. 

De  ccelo  auditum  fecisti 
judicium  :  *  terra  tremuit  et 
quievit. 


In  Judea  God  is  known, 
his  name  is  great  in  Israel. 

And  his  place  is  in  peace, 
and  his  abode  in  Sion. 

There  hath  he  broken  the 
power  of  bows,  the  shield, 
the  sword,  and  the  battle. 

Thou  enlightenest  wonder- 
fully from  the  everlasting 
hills  :  all  the  foolish  of  heart 
were  troubled. 

They  have  slept  their  sleep : 
and  all  the  men  of  riches  have 
found  nothing  in  their  hands. 

At  thy  rebuke,  O  God  of 
Jacob,  they  have  all  slumber- 
ed that  mounted  on  horse- 
back. 

Thou  art  terrible,  and  who 
shall  resist  thee  ?  from  that 
time  thy  wrath. 

Thou  hast  caused  judg- 
ment to  be  heard  from  heaven : 
the  earth  trembled  and  was 
still. 


HOLY   SATURDAY  :    TENEBR^E. 


535 


When  God  arose  in  judg- 
ment, to  save  all  the  meek  of 
the  earth. 

For  the  thought  of  man 
shall  give  praise  to  thee  :  and 
the  remainders  of  the  thought 
shall  keep  holiday  to  thee. 

Vow  ye,  and  pray  to  the 
Lord  your  God  :  all  you  that 
round  about  him  bring  pre- 
sents. 

To  him  that  is  terrible,  even 
to  him  who  taketh  away  the 
spirit  of  princes  ;  to  the  ter- 
rible with  the  kings  of  the 
earth. 

Ant.  His  place  is  in  peace, 
and  his  abode  in  Sion. 


Cum  exsurgeret  in  judici- 
um Deus :  *  ut  salvos  faceret 
omnes  mansuetos  terrse. 

Quoniam  cogitatio  homi- 
nis  confitebitur  tibi :  *  et 
reliquiflo  cogitationis  diem 
festum  agent  tibi. 

Vovete  et  reddite  Domino 
Deo  vestro  :  *  omnes  qui  in 
circuitu  ejus  affertis  mu- 
nera. 

Terribili  et  ei  qui  aufert 
spiriturn  principum  :  *  ter- 
ribili apud  reges  terrse. 


Ant.  In  pace  f actus  est 
locus  ejus,  et  in  Sion  habi- 
tatio  ejus. 


The  ninth  Psalm  is  repeated  from  yesterday's 
Office.  It  shows  us  our  Saviour  praying  to  his 
Father,  that  he  will  raise  him,  and  free  him  from 
among  the  dead.  The  time  fixed  for  his  lying  in 
the  darkness  of  the  sepulchre  is  over,  the  hour  of  his 
Resurrection  to  Life  is  at  hand. 


Ant.  I  am  become  as  a 
man  without  help,  ivhose  life 
is  set  free,  and  he  is  now 
numbered  among  the  dead. 


Ant.     Factus     sum 
homo    sine    adj  utorio, 
mortuos  liber. 


sicut 
inter 


PSALM   87. 


O  Lord,  the  God  of  my  sal- 
vation, I  have  cried  in  the  day, 
and  in  the  night  before  thee. 

Let  my  prayer  come  in  be- 
fore thee  :  incline  thy  ear  to 
my  petition. 

For  my  soul  is  filled  with 
evils  :  and  my  life  hath  drawn 
nigh  to  hell. 


Domine,  Deus  salutis 
mese  :  *  in  die  clamavi,  et 
nocte  coram  te. 

Intret  in  conspectu  tuo 
oratio  mea  :  *  inclina  aurem 
tuam  ad  precem  meam. 

Quia  repleta  est  malis 
anima  mea  :  *  et  vita  mea 
inferno  appropinquavit. 

2  R 


536 


HOLY   WEEK. 


iEstimatus  sum  cum  des- 
cendentibus  in  lacum  :  *  f  ac- 
tus sum  sicut  homo  sine  ad- 
jutorio,  inter  mortuos  liber. 

Sicut  vulnerati  dormien- 
tes  in  sepulchris,  quorum 
non  es  memor  amplius  :  *  et 
ipsi  de  manu  tua  repulsi 
sunt. 

Posuerunt  me  in  lacu  in- 
feriori  :  *  in  tenebrosis,  et 
in  umbra  mortis. 

Super  me  confirmatus  est 
furor  tuus  :  *  et  omnes  fluc- 
tus  tuos  induxisti  super 
me, 

Longe  fecisti  notos  meos 
a  me  :  *  posuerunt  me 
abominationem  sibi. 

Traditus  sum,  et  non  egre- 
diebar  :  *  oculi  mei  langue- 
runt  prse  inopia. 

Clamavi  ad  te,  Domine, 
tota  die  :  *  expandi  ad  te 
manus  meas. 

Numquid  mortuis  facies 
mirabilia  :  *  aut  medici  sus- 
citabunt,  et  confitebuntur 
tibi? 

Numquid  narrabit  aliquis 
in  sepulchro  misericordiam 
tuam :  *  et  veritatem  tuam 
in  perditione  ? 

Numquid  cognoscentur  in 
tenebris  mirabilia  tua :  *  et 
justitia  tua  in  terra  obli- 
vionis  ? 

Et  ego  ad  te,  Domine, 
clamavi :  *  et  mane  oratio 
mea  praeveniet  te. 

XJt  quid,  Domine,  repellis 
orationem  meam :  *  avertis 
faciem  tuam  a  me  ? 

Pauper   sum     ego,     et  in 


I  am  counted  among  them 
that  go  down  to  the  pit :  I  am 
become  as  a  man  without 
help,  free  among  the  dead. 

Like  the  slain  sleeping  in 
the  sepulchres,  whom  thou  re- 
memberest  no  more  :  and  they 
are  cast  off  from  thy  hand. 

They  have  laid  me  in  the 
lower  pit  :  in  the  dark  places 
and  in  the  shadow  of  death. 

Thy  wrath  is  strong  over 
me  :  and  all  thy  waves  thou 
hast  brought  in  upon  me. 

Thou  hast  put  away  my 
acquaintance  far  from  me  : 
they  have  set  me  an  abomi- 
nation to  themselves. 

I  was  delivered  up,  and 
came  not  forth  :  my  eyes 
languished  through  poverty. 

All  the  day  I  cried  to  thee, 
0  Lord  :  I  stretched  out  my 
hands  to  thee. 

Wilt  thou  show  wonders  to 
the  dead  :  or  shall  physicians 
raise  to  life,  and  give  praise 
to  thee  ? 

Shall  any  one  in  the  sepul- 
chre declare  thy  mercy,  and 
thy  truth  in  destruction  ? 

Shall  thy  wonders  be  known 
in  the  dark  :  and  thy  justice 
in  the  land  of  forgetfulness  ? 

But  I,  0  Lord,  have  cried 
to  thee  :  and  in  the  morning 
my  prayer  shall  prevent  thee. 

Lord,  why  castest  thou  off 
my  prayer :  why  turnest  thou 
away  thy  face  from  me  ? 

I  am  poor,    and  in  labours 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    TENEKR^. 


537 


laboribus  a  juventute  mea  :  * 
exaltatus  autem,  humiliatus 
sum  et  conturbatus. 

In  me  transierunt  irse 
tuse:  *  et  terrores  tui  contur- 
baverunt  me. 

Circumdederunt  me  sicut 
aqua  tota  die  :  *  circumde- 
derunt me  simul. 

Elongasti  a  me  amicum  et 
proximum  :  *  et  notos  meos 
a  miseria. 

Ant.  Factus  sum  sicut 
homo  sine  adjutorio,  inter 
mortuos  liber. 

JP.  In  pace  factus  est  lo- 
cus ejus. 

$.  Et  in  Sion  habitatio 
ejus. 

The  Pater  noster  is  here  recited  in  secret. 

The  third  Nocturn  Lessons  are  again  from  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  In  the  passage  chosen  for 
to-day,  the  Apostle  shows  us  the  divine  efficacy  of 
the  Blood  of  Jesus,  and  how  his  Testament,  or  Last 
Will,  could  not  be  applied  to  us,  save  by  his  Death. 


from  my  youth  :  and  being 
exalted,  have  been  humbled 
and  troubled. 

Thy  wrath  hath  come  upon 
me  :  and  thy  terrors  have 
troubled  me. 

They  have  come  round 
about  me  like  water  all  the 
day  :  they  have  compassed 
me  about  together. 

Friend  and  neighbour  thou 
hast  put  far  from  me  :  and 
my  acquaintance  because  of 
misery. 

Ant.  I  am  become  as  a 
man  without  help,  whose  life 
is  set/ree,  and  he  now  num- 
bered among  the  dead. 

^.   His  place  is  in  peace. 

#.    And  his  abode  in  Sion. 


SEVENTH    LESSON. 


From  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul 
to  the  Hebrews. 

Ch.  XIX. 

Christ  being  come  a  High 
Priest  of  the  good  things  to 
come,  by  a  greater  and  more 
perfect  tabernacle  not  made 
with  hands,  that  is,  not  of 
this  creation  :  neither  by  the 
blood  of  goats,  nor  of  calves, 
but  by  his  own  Blood,  entered 
once  into  the  holies   having 


De     Epistola     Beati     Pauli 
Apostoli  ad  Hebrseos. 

Cap.  XIX. 

Christus  assistens  Ponti- 
fex  f uturorum  bonorum ; 
per  amplius  et  perfectius 
tabernaculum  non  manu- 
f actum,  id  est  non  hujus 
creationis ;  neque  per  san- 
guinem  hircorum  aut  vitu- 
lorum,  sed  per  proprium 
Sanguinem     introivit     semel 


538 


HOLY   WEEK. 


in  Sancta,  aoterna  redemp- 
tione  inventa.  Si  enim 
sanguis  hircorum  et  tauro- 
rum,  et  cinis  vitulse  asper- 
sus  inquinatos  sanctificat 
ad  emundationem  carnis : 
quanto  magis  Sanguis  Christi 
qui  per  Spiritum  Sanctum 
semetipsum  obtulit  immacu- 
latum  Deo,  emundabit  con- 
scientiam  nostram  ab  operi- 
bus  mortuis  ad  serviendum 
Deo  viventi  ? 

gt.  Adstiterunt  reges  ter- 
rse,  et  principes  convene- 
runt  in  unum,  *  Ad  versus 
Dominum,  et  adversus 
Christum  ejus. 

^.  Quare  fremuerunt  gen- 
tes,  et  populi  meditati  sunt 
inania  ? 

*  Adversus  Dominum,  et 
adversus  Christum  ejus. 


obtained  eternal  redemption. 
For  if  the  blood  of  goats  and 
of  oxen,  and  the  ashes  of  an 
heifer  being  sprinkled,  sanc- 
tify such  as  are  denied,  to  the 
cleansing  of  the  flesh :  how 
much  more  shall  the  Blood  of 
Christ,  who  through  the  Holy 
Ghost  offered  himself  without 
spot  to  God,  cleanse  our  con- 
science from  dead  works,  to 
serve  the  living  God  ? 

#.  The  kings  of  the  earth 
stood,  and  the  princes  met  to- 
gether, *  Against  the  Lord, 
and  against  his  Christ. 

.  #\  Why  have  the  Gentiles 
raged,  and  the  people  devised 
vain  things  ? 

*  Against  the  Lord,  and 
against  his  Christ. 


EIGHTH     LESSON. 


Et  ideo  novi  Testamenti 
mediator  est :  ut  morte  in- 
tercedente,  in  redemptio- 
nem  earum  prsevaricatio- 
num,  quae  erant  sub  priori 
testamento,  repromissio- 

nem  accipiant,  qui  vocati 
sunt  seternse  haereditatis. 
Ubi  enim  testamentum  est, 
mors  necesse  est  interce- 
dat  testatoris.  Testamen- 
tum enim  in  mortuis  con- 
firmatum  est ;  alioquin  non- 
dum  valet,  dum  vivit  qui 
testatus  est.  TJnde  nee 
primum  quidem  sine  san- 
guine dedicatum  est. 

gt.  iEstimatus  sum  cum 
descendentibus     in      lacum. 


And  therefore  he  is  the  me- 
diator of  the  new  testament : 
that  by  means  of  his  death, 
for  the  redemption  of  those 
transgressions  which  were 
under  the  former  testament, 
they  that  are  called  may  re- 
ceive the  promise  of  eternal 
inheritance.  For  where  there 
is  a  testament,  the  death  of  a 
testator  must  of  necessity  come 
in.  For  a  testament  is  of 
force,  after  men  are  dead  : 
otherwise  it  is  as  yet  of  no 
strength,  whilst  the  testator 
liveth.  Whereupon  neither 
was  the  first  indeed  dedicated 
without  blood. 

$.  I  am  counted  among 
them  that  go  down  to  the  pit. 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    TENEBR/R. 


539 


*  I  am  become  as  a  man 
without  help,  free  among  the 
dead. 

^ .  They  have  laid  me  in  the 
lower  pit,  in  the  dark  places, 
and  in  the  shadow  of  death. 

*  I  am  become  as  a  man 
without  help,  free  among  the 
dead. 


*  Pactus  sum  sicut  homo 
sine  adjutorio,  inter  mortuos 
liber. 

y.  Posuerunt  me  in  lacu 
inferiori,  in  tenebrosis,  et  in 
umbra  mortis. 

*  Factus  sum  sicut  homo 
sine  adjutorio,  inter  mortuos 
liber. 


NINTH    LESSON. 


For  when  every  command- 
ment of  the  law  had  been  read 
by  Moses  to  all  the  people,  he 
took  the  blood  of  calves  and 
goats,  with  water  and  scarlet 
wool  and  hyssop ,  and  sprinkled 
both  the  book  itself  and  all  the 
people,  saying  :  This  is  the 
blood  of  the  testament,  which 
God  hath  enjoined  to  you. 
The  tabernacle  also,  and  all 
the  vessels  of  the  ministry,  in 
like  manner,  he  sprinkled 
with  blood.  And  almost  all 
things,  according  to  the  law, 
are  cleansed  with  blood  :  and 
without  shedding  of  blood 
there  is  no  remission. 

&.  Having  buried  our  Lord, 
they  sealed  up  the  Sepulchre, 
rolling  a  stone  before  the 
entrance  of  the  Sepulchre  :  * 
Placing  soldiers  to  guard  him. 

t.  The  chief  priests  went 
to  Pilate,  and  sought  his  per- 
mission. 

*  Placing  soldiers  to  guard 
him. 

Here,  is  repeated  :  Having 
buried, 


Lecto  enim  omni  mandato 
legis  a  Moyse  universo 
populo,  accipiens  sanguinem 
vitulorum  et  hircorum,  cum 
aqua  et  lana  coccinea  et 
hyssopo ;  ipsum  quoque 
librum  et  omnem  populum 
aspersit,  dicens  :  Hie  san- 
guis testamenti,  quod  man- 
davit  ad  vos  Deus.  Etiam 
tabernaculum,  et  omnia  vasa 
ministerii  sanguine  similiter 
aspersit.  Et  omnia  pene 
in  sanguine  secundum  legem 
mundantur  :  et  sine  san- 
guinis effusione  non  fit 
remissio. 

gt.  Sepulto  Domino,  sig- 
natum  est  monumentum, 
volventes  lapidem  ad  ostium 
monumenti  :  *  Ponentes  mi- 
lites,  qui  custodirent  ilium. 

t.  Accedentes  principes 
sacerdotum  ad  Pilatum,  pe- 
tierunt  ilium. 

*  Ponentes  milites,  qui 
custodirent  ilium. 

Here,  is  repeated  :  Sepulto 
Domino. 


540 


HOLY    WEEK. 


LAUDS. 


The  first  Psalm  of  Lauds  is  the  Miserere,  (page 
338.J     Its  Antiphon  is  the  following  : 


Ant.  0  mors,  ero  mors 
tua  :  morsus  tuus  ero,  in- 
ferne. 


Ant.  O  Death  !  I  will  be 
thy  death.  O  Hell  !  I  will 
be  thy  ruin. 


The  second  Psalm  is  one  of  those  that  were  com- 
posed by  David,  when  he  was  in  banishment.  He 
here  expresses  the  desire  and  hope  of  again  seeing 
his  country.  He  is  a  figure  of  our  Saviour  when 
lying  in  the  grave,  and  longing  for  the  day  of  his 
Eesurrection. 


Ant.  Plangent  eum  quasi 
unigenitum  ;  quia  innocens 
Dominus  occisus  est. 


Ant.  They  shall  mourn 
for  him  as  for  an  only  son  : 
because  the  innocent  Lord  is 
slain. 


PSALM   42. 


Judica  me,  Deus,  et  dis- 
cerne  causam  meam  de  gente 
non  sancta  :  *  ab  homine 
iniquo  et  doloso  erue  me. 

Quia  tu  es  Deus  fortitudo 
mea :  *  quare  me  repulisti, 
et  quare  tristis  incedo,  dum 
affligit  me  inimicus  ? 

Emitte  lucem  tuam  et 
veritatem  tuam  :  *  ipsa  me 
deduxerunt,  et  adduxerunt 
in  montem  sanctum  tuum,  et 
in  tabernacula  tua. 

Et  introibo  ad  altare  Dei  : 
*  ad  Deum  qui  lsetificat  ju- 
ventutem  meam, 


Judge  me,  0  God,  and  dis- 
tinguish my  cause  from  the 
nation  that  is  not  holy  :  de- 
liver me  from  the  unjust  and 
deceitful  man. 

Eor  thou  art  God  my 
strength :  why  hast  thou  cast 
me  off  ?  and  why  do  I  go 
sorrowful  whilst  the  enemy 
afflicteth  me  ? 

Send  forth  thy  light  and 
thy  truth  :  they  have  con- 
ducted me,  and  brought  me 
unto  thy  holy  hill,  and  into 
thy  tabernacles. 

And  I  will  go  into  the  altar 
of  God  :  to  God  who  giveth 
joy  to  my  youth. 


HOLY   SATURDAY  I    TENEBRJE.  541 

To  thee,  0  God,  my  God,  Confitebor  tibi  in  cithara 

I  will  give  praise  upon  the  Deus,  Deus  meus  :    *    quare 

harp:  why  art  thou  sad,   O  tristis  es,  animamea,  et  quare 

rriy  soul,  and  why  dost  thou  conturbas  me  ? 
disquiet  me  ? 

Hope  in  God,  for  I  will  still  Spera    in    Deo,     quoniam 

give  praise  to  him  :   the  sal-  adhuc  confitebor  illi  :    *    sa- 

vation  of  my  countenance  and  lutare  vultus  mei,   et  Deus 

my  God.  meus. 

Ant.    They  shall    mourn  Ant.     Plangent  eum  quasi 

him  as  for  an  only  son  :    be-  unigenitum  :    quia  innocens 

cause  the  innocent  Lord  is  Dominus  occisus  est. 
slain. 

The  third  Psalm  is  the  Deus,  Deus  meus,  (page 
340.J     Its  Antiphon  is  as  follows  : 

Ant.  Attend,  all  ye  people,  Ant.  Attendite  universi 
and  see  my  sorrow.  populi,    et    videte    dolorem 

meum. 

The  Canticle  of  Ezechias,  which  is  always  sung  in 
Tuesday's  Lauds,  is  here  substituted  for  that  of 
Deuteronomy,  which  is  the  proper  one  for  Saturdays, 
but  which  is  not  in  harmony  with  to-day's  mystery. 
Ezechias  lying  on  his  sick  bed,  and  praying  &od  to 
restore  him  to  health,  is  a  figure  of  Christ  in  his 
Tomb,  beseeching  his  Father  to  give  him  a  speedy 
Resurrection  to  life. 

Ant.    From    the  gate  of        Ant.    A  porta  inferi  erue, 
the  tomb,   O  Lord,    deliver    Domine,  animam  meam. 
my  soul. 

CANTICLE    OF    EZECHIAS. 

(Is.  XXXVIII. J 

I  said  in  the  midst  of  my  Ego  dixi  :  in  dimidio  die- 
days  :  I  shall  go  to  the  gates  rum  meorum  :  *  vadam  ad 
of  hell.  portas  inferi. 

I  sought  for  the  residue  of  Quaesivi    residuum    anno- 

my  years  :  I  said,  I  shall  not  rum  meorum  :  *  dixi  :    Non 

see  the  Lord  God  in  the  land  videbo  Dominum    Deum  in 

of  the  living.  terra  yiventium. 


542 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Non  aspiciam  hominem 
altra  :  *  et  habitatorem 
quietis. 

Generatio  mea  ablata  est, 
et  convoluta  est  a  me  :  * 
quasi  tabernaculum  pasto- 
rum. 

Precisa  est  velut  a  texen- 
te,  vita  mea,  dum  adhuc 
ordirer,  succidit  me  :  *  de 
mane  usque  ad  vesperam 
finies  me. 

Sperabam  usque  ad  mane  : 

*  quasi  leo  sic  contrivit  om- 
nia ossa  mea. 

De  mane  usque  ad  vespe- 
ram finies  me  :  *  sicut  pullus 
hirundinis  sic  clamabo,  me- 
ditabor  ut  columba. 

Attenuati  sunt  oculi  mei  : 

*  suspicientes  in  excelsum. 
Domine,    vim   patior,    re- 

sponde  pro  me  :  *  Quid 
dicam,  aut  quid  respondebit 
mihi,  cum  ipse  fecerit  ? 

Recogitabo  tibi  omnes 
annos  meos  :  *  in  amaritu- 
dine  animee  mese. 

Domine,  si  sic  vivitur,  et 
in  talibus,  vita  spiritus  mei, 
corripies  me,  et  vivificabis 
me  :  *  ecce  in  pace  amari- 
tudo  mea  amarissima. 


Tu  autem  eruisti  animam 
meam  ut  non  periret :  *  pro- 
jecisti  post  tergum  tuum 
omnia  peccata  mea. 

Quia  non  infernus  con- 
fitebitur  tibi,  neque  mors 
laudabit  te  :  *  non  exspecta- 
bunt  qui  descendunt  in  lacum 
veritatem  tuam. 

Vivens,   vivens,   ipse  con- 


I  shall  behold  man  no  more, 
nor  the  inhabitant  of  rest. 

My  generation  is  at  an  end, 
and  it  is  rolled  away  from  me 
as  a  shepherd's  tent. 

My  life  is  cut  off  as  by  a 
weaver  ;  whilst  I  was  but  be- 
ginning, he  cut  me  off  :  from 
morning  even  till  night  thou 
wilt  make  an  end  of  me. 

I  hoped  till  morning  :  as  a 
lion  so  hath  he  broken  my 
bones. 

From  morning  even  till 
night  thou  wilt  make  an  end 
of  me :  I  will  cry  like  a  young 
swallow,  I  will  meditate  like 
a  dove. 

My  eyes  are  weakened  with 
looking  upward. 

Lord,     I   surfer    violence, 
answer  thou  for  me.       What ' 
shall  I  say,   or  what  shall  he 
answer  for  me,  whereas  he 
himself  hath  done  it  ? 

I  will  recount  to  thee  all 
my  years,  in  the  bitterness  of 
my  soul. 

0  Lord,  if  man's  life  be 
such,  and  the  life  of  my  spirit 
be  in  such  things  as  these, 
thou  shalt  correct  me,  and 
make  me  to  live.  Behold  in 
peace  is  my  bitterness  most 
bitter. 

But  thou  hast  delivered  my 
soul  that  it  should  not  perish  : 
thou  hast  cast  all  my  sins  be- 
hind thy  back. 

For  hell  shall  not  confess  to 
thee,  neither  shall  death  praise 
thee  :  nor  shall  they  that  go 
down  into  the  pit  look  for  thy 
truth. 

The  living,  the  living,  he 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    TENEHRJR. 


543 


shall  give  praise  to  thee,  as  I 
do  this  day  :  the  father  shall 
make  thy  truth  known  to  the 
children. 

0  Lord,  save  me,  and  we 
will  sing  our  psalms  all  the 
days  of  our  life,  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord. 

Ant.  From  the  gate  of 
the  tomb,  0  Lord,  deliver 
my  soul. 


ntebitur  tibi,  sicut  et  ego 
hodie :  *  pater  filiis  notam 
faciet  veritatem  tuam. 

Domine,  salvum  me  fac : 
*  et  psalmos  nostros  canta- 
bimus  cunctis  diebus  vitse 
nostra)  in  domo  Domini. 

Ant.     A  porta  inferi,  erue, 
Domine,  animam  meam. 


The  last  Psalm  of  Lauds  is  the  Laudate  Dommum 
de  coelis,  (page  345. )     Its  Antiphon  is  the  following  : 


Ant.  O  all  ye  that  pass 
by  the  way,  attend  and  see, 
if  there  be  sorrow  like  unto 
my  sorrow. 

f.  My  flesh  shall  rest  in 
hope. 

gt.  And  thou  wilt  not  suf- 
fer thy  Holy  One  to  see  cor- 
ruption. 


0   vos   omnes,    qui 
per  viam,   attendite 


est  dolor   sicut 


Ant. 

transitis 

et  videte,   si 

dolor  meus. 

^ .     Caro  mea  requiescet  in 
spe. 

$.     Et  non  dabis  Sanctum 
tuum  videre  corruptionem. 


After  this  Yersicle,  the  Benedictus  (page  348 J   is 
sung,  to  the  following  Antiphon  : 


Ant.  The  women,  sitting 
near  the  Tomb,  mourned, 
weeping  for  the  Lord. 


Ant.  Mulieres  sedentes 
ad  monumentum  lamenta- 
bantur,   flentes  Dominum. 


The  Antiphon  having  been  repeated  after  the 
Canticle,  the  Choir  sings,  to  a  touching  melody,  the 
following  words,  which  are  repeated  at  the  end  of  all 
the  Canonical  Hours  of  these  three  days.  But  to-day 
the  Church  is  not  satisfied  with  announcing  the  Death 
of  her  Jesus  :  she  adds  the  remaining  words  of  the 
Apostle,  wherein  he  tells  us  of  the  glory  of  the  Man- 
God,  the  Conqueror  of  the  Tomb. 


544 


HOLY   WEEK. 


f.  Christus  f actus  est  pro 
nobis  obediens  usque  ad 
mortem,  mortem  autem 
crucis : 

Propter  quod  et  Deus 
exaltavit  ilium,  et  dedit  illi 
nomen,  quod  est  super  om- 
ne  nomen. 


$.  Christ  became,  for  our 
sakes,  obedient  unto  death, 
even  to  the  death  of  the  Cross  : 

For  which  cause,  God 
also  hath  exalted  him,  and 
hath  given  him  a  name,  which 
is  above  all  names. 


Then  is  said,  in  secret,  the  Pater  noster,  which  is 
followed  by  the  Miserere  (page  336J.  As  soon  as 
the  Psalm  is  finished,  the  following  Prayer  is  recited 
by  the  first  in  dignity  : 


Respice,  qusesumus,  Do- 
mine,  super  hanc  familiam 
tuam  :  pro  qua  Dominus 
noster  Jesus  Christus  non 
dubitavit  manibus  tradi  no- 
centium,  et  crucis  subire 
tormentum. 


Look  down,  0  Lord,  we 
beseech  thee,  upon  this  thy 
family,  for  which  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  hesitated  not  to 
be  delivered  into  the  hands 
of  wicked  men,  and  undergo 
the  punishment  of  the  Cross. 


(Then,  the  rest  in  secret  :) 

Qui  tecum  vivit  et  regnat,  Who  liveth   and    reigneth 

in  unitate    Spiritus    Sancti,  with  thee,  in  the  unity  of  the 

Deus,      per     omnia     ssecula  Holy  Ghost,  God,  world  with- 

saeculorum.     Amen.  out  end.     Amen. 


THE    MORNING. 

A  night  has  passed  over  the  Tomb,  wherein  lies 
\  buried  the  Body  of  the  Man-God.     Death  is  trium- 
phant in  that  silent  cave,  and  holds  captive  Him  that 
gives  life  to  every  creature : — but  his  triumph  will 
(  soon  be  at  an  end.     The  Soldiers  may  watch,  as  best 
Hhey  will,  over  that  Grave  :  they  cannot  hold  Jesus 
prisoner,  as  soon  as  the  moment  fixed  for  his  Resur- 
rection comes.    The  holy  Angels  are  there,  profoundly 
adoring  the  lifeless  Body  of  Him,  whose  Blood  is  to 


HOLY   SATURDAY  I     MORNING.  545 

reconcile  all  things,  both  on  earth,  and  in  heaven} 
This  Body,  though  for  a  brief  interval,  separated 
from  the  Soul,  is  still  united  to  the  Person  of  the  Son 
of  Grod ;  so,  likewise,  the  Soul,  during  its  separation 
from  the  Body,  has  not,  for  an  instant,  lost  its  union 
with  the  Word.  The  Divinity  remains  also  united 
with  the  Blood  that  lies  sprinkled  on  Calvary,  and 
which,  at  the  moment  of  the  Resurrection  of  the 
Man- Grod,  is  to  enter  once  more  into  his  sacred  veins. 

Let  us  also  return  to  the  Sepulchre,  and  adore  the 
Body  of  our  Buried  Jesus.  Now,  at  last,  we  under- 
stand what  sin  has  done  :  By  sin,  death  entered  into 
the  world ;  and  it  passed  upon  all  men.2  Though 
Jesus  knew  no  sin,z  yet  has  he  permitted  Death  to 
have  dominion  over  him,  in  order  that  he  might  make 
it  less  bitter  to  us,  and  by  his  Resurrection,  restore 
unto  us  that  eternal  life,  of  which  we  had  been  de- 
prived by  sin.  How  gratefully  we  should  appreciate 
this  Death  of  our  Jesus  !  By  becoming  Incarnate, 
he  became  a  Servant  ;4  his  Death  was  a  still  deeper 
humiliation.  The  sight  of  this  Tomb,  wherein  his 
Body  lies  lifeless  and  cold,  teaches  us  something  far 
more  important  than  the  power  of  death  : — it  reveals 
to  us  the  immense,  the  incomprehensible  love  of  Grod 
for  man.  He  knew  that  we  were  to  gain  by  his  hu- 
miliations :  the  greater  his  humiliations,  the  greater 
our  exaltation  :  this  was  his  principle,  and  it  led  him 
to  what  seems  like  an  excess  !  Let  us,  then,  love 
this  sacred  Sepulchre,  which  is  to  give  us  Life.  We 
have  thanked  him  for  having  died  for  us  upon  the 
Cross ;  let  us  thank  him,  but  most  feelingly,  for 
having  humbled  himself,  for  our  sakes,  even  to  the 
Tomb! 

And  now  let  us  visit  the  Holy  Mother,  who  has 
passed  the  night  in  Jerusalem,  going  over,  in  saddest 

1  Coloss.  i.  20.  3  2  Cor.  v.  21. 

2  Rom.  v.  12.  *  Philipp.  ii.  7. 


546  HOTAr    WEEK. 

memory  the  scenes  she  has  witnessed.  Her  Jesus 
has  been  a  Victim  to  every  possible  insult  and 
cruelty  :  he  has  been  crucified  :  his  Precious  Blood 
has  flowed  in  torrents  from  those  Five  Wounds  :  he 
is  dead,  and  now  lies  buried  in  yonder  Tomb,  as 
though  he  were  but  a  mere  man,  yea  the  most  abject 
of  men.  How  many  tears  have  fallen,  during  these 
long  hours,  from  the  eyes  of  the  Daughter  of  David  ! 
and  yet,  her  Son  has  not  come  back  to  her  !  Near 
her  is  Magdalene ;  heart-broken  by  yesterday's 
events,  she  has  no  words  to  tell  her  grief,  for  Jesus 
is  gone,  and,  as  she  thinks  for  ever.  The  other 
Women,  less  loved  by  Jesus  than  Magdalene,  yet, 
most  dear  to  him,  stand  around  the  disconsolate 
Mother.  They  have  braved  every  insult  and  danger 
in  order  to  remain  on  Calvary  till  all  was  over,  and 
they  intend  returning  thither  with  Magdalene,  as 
soon  as  the  Sabbath  is  over,  to  honour  the  Tomb  and 
the  Body  of  Jesus. 

John,  the  adopted  son  of  Mary,  and  the  Beloved 
Disciple  of  Jesus,  is  oppressed  with  sorrow.  Others, 
also,  of  the  Apostles  and  Disciples  visit  the  house  of 
mourning.  Peter,  penitent  and  humble,  fears  not  to 
appear  before  the  Mother  of  Mercy.  Among  the 
Disciples,  are  Joseph  of  Arimathea  and  Nicodemus. 
We  may  easily  imagine  the  conversation, — it  is  on 
the  Sufferings  and  Death  of  Jesus,  and  on  the  in- 
gratitude of  the  Jews.  The  Church,  in  the  7th  E.es- 
ponsory  of  to-day's  Tenebrce,  represents  these  men  as 
saying :  "  Behold !  how  the  Just  One  dieth,  and  there 
"  is  none  that  taketh  it  to  heart.  Iniquity  has  had 
"  its  way.  He  was  silent  as  a  Lamb  under  his  shearer, 
"  and  he  opened  not  his  mouth.  He  was  taken  away 
"  from  distress  and  judgment :  but  his  memory  shall 
"be  in  peace." 

Thus  speak  the  men  ! — the  women  are  thinking  of 
their  morrow's  visit  to  the  Sepulchre  !  The  saintli- 
ness  of  Jesus,  his  goodness,  his  power,  his  Sufferings, 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    MORNING.  547 

his  Death, — everything  is  remembered,  except  his 
Resurrection,  which  they  had  often  heard  him  say 
should  certainly  and  speedily  take  place.  Mary 
alone  lives  in  expectation  of  his  triumph.  In  her 
was  verified  that  expression  of  the  Holy  Grhost,  where, 
speaking  of  the  Valiant  Woman,  he  says  :  Her  lamp 
shall  not  be  put  out  in  the  night.1  Her  courage  fails 
not,  because  she  knows  that  the  Sepulchre  must 
yield  up  its  Dead,  and  her  Jesus  will  rise  again  to 
Life.  St.  Paul  tells  us  that  our  religion  is  vain,  un- 
less we  have  faith  in  the  mystery  of  our  Saviour's 
Resurrection ; — where  was  this  faith  on  the  day  after 
our  Lord's  Death  ?  In  one  heart  only, — and  that 
was  Mary's.  As  it  was  her  chaste  womb,  that  had 
held  within  it  Him,  whom  heaven  and  earth  cannot 
contain, — so  on  this  day,  by  her  firm  and  unwavering 
faith,  she  resumes  within  her  single  self  the  whole 
Church.  How  sacred  is  this  Saturday,  which,  not- 
withstanding all  its  sadness,  is  such  a  day  of  glory  to 
the  Mother  of  Jesus !  It  is  on  this  account  that 
the  Church  has  consecrated  to  Mary  the  Saturday  of 
every  week. 

But  it  is  time  to  repair  to  the  House  of  God. 
The  Bells  are  still  silent :  our  faith  must  speak  to 
us,  and  make  us  eager  to  assist  at  the  grand  Myste- 
ries, which  the  Liturgy  is  about  to  celebrate.  Surely, 
the  christian  sentiment  must  be  dead  in  them  who 
can  be  willingly  absent  from  the  Church  on  such  a 
morning  as  this.  No,  it  cannot  be,  that  we,  who 
have  followed  the  celebration  of  the  Mysteries  of  our 
Religion  thus  far,  can  flag  now,  and  lose  the  graces 
of  this  morning's  magnificent  Service. 

1  Prov.  xxxi.  18. 


r 


548  HOLY   WEEK. 


THE   MORNING   SERVICE. 


It  was  the  practice  of  the  Church,  and  one  that 
had  been  handed  down  from  the  earliest  Ages,  that 
the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  should  not  be  offered  up 
either  yesterday  or  to-day.  Yesterday,  the  anniver- 
sary of  Jesus'  Death,  was  exclusively  devoted  to  the 
remembrance  of  the  Mystery  of  Calvary,  and  a  holy 
fear  kept  the  Church  from  renewing  that  Sacrifice 
upon  her  Altars.  Eor  the  same  reason,  she  abstained 
to-day,  also,  from  its  celebration.  The  Burial  of 
Christ  is  a  sequel  of  his  Passion  :  and  during  these 
hours  when  his  Body  lay  lifeless  in  the  Tomb,  it  was 
fitting  that  the  Sacrifice,  wherein  he  is  oifered  as 
the  glorious  and  Risen  Jesus,  should  be  suspended. 
Even  the  Greek  Church,  which  never  fasts  on  the 
Saturdays  of  Lent,  follows  the  practice  of  the  Latin 
Church  for  this  Saturday :  she  not  only  fasts,  but  she 
even  omits  the  celebration  of  the  Mass  of  the  Pre- 
samtified. 

Such,  we  repeat,  was  the  discipline  of  the  Latin 
Church  for  nearly  a  thousand  years  :  but  about  the 
11th  century,  an  important  change  began  to  be  intro- 
duced with  regard  to  the  celebration  of  Mass  on  Holy 
Saturday.  The  Mass  which,  hitherto,  had  been 
celebrated  during  the  Night  preceding  Easter  Sun- 
day,— then  began  to  be  anticipated,  on  the  Saturday ; 
but  it  was  always  considered  as  the  Mass  of  the  hour 
of  our  Lord's  Resurrection,  and  not  as  the  Mass  of 
Holy  Saturday.  The  relaxations,  that  had  been 
introduced  with  regard  to  Fasting,  were  the  occasion 
of  this  change  in  the  Liturgy.  In  the  first  ages,  the 
Faithful  watched  the  whole  night  in  the  Church, 
awaiting  the  hour  when  our  Lord  rose  triumphant 
from  the  Tomb.  They  also  assisted  at  the  solemn 
administration  of  Baptism  to  the  Catechumens, 
which  so  sublimely  expressed  the  passing  from  spiri- 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :      MORNING    SERVICE.  549 

tual  death  to  the  life  of  grace.  There  was  no  other 
Vigil  in  the  whole  Year,  which  was  so  solemnly 
observed  as  this :  but  it  lost  a  great  portion  of  its 
interest,  when  the  necessity  of  baptising  Adults  was 
removed  by  Christianity  having  triumphed  whereso- 
ever it  had  been  preached.  The  Orientals  have  kept 
up  the  ancient  tradition  to  this  day  :  but  in  the 
West,  dating  from  the  11th  century,  the  Mass  of  the 
Resurrection  Hour  has  been  gradually  anticipated, 
until  it  has  been  brought  even  to  the  morning  of 
Holy  Saturday.  Durandus  of  Menda,  who  wrote  his 
JRational  of  the  Divine  Offices,  towards  the  close  of 
the  13th  century,  tells  us,  that  in  his  time,  there 
were  very  few  Churches  which  observed  the  primitive 
custom:  even  these  soon  conformed  to  the  general 
practice  of  the  Latin  Church. 

As  a  result  of  this  change,  there  is  an  apparent 
contradiction  between  the  mystery  of  Holy  Saturday 
and  the  Divine  Service  which  is  celebrated  upon  it ; 
Christ  is  still  in  the  Tomb,  and  yet  we  are  celebrating 
his  Resurrection  :  the  hours  preceding  Mass  are 
mournful, — and  before  mid-day,  the  paschal  joy  will 
have  filled  our  hearts.  We  will  conform  to  the 
present  order  of  the  Holy  Liturgy,  thus  entering  in- 
to the  spirit  of  the  Church,  who  has  thought  proper 
to  give  her  children  a  foretaste  of  the  joys  of  Easter. 
We  will  give  a  general  view  of  the  solemn  Service, 
at  which  we  are  going  to  assist ;  afterwards,  we  will 
explain  each  portion,  as  it  comes. 

The  great  object  of  the  whole  of  to-day's  Service, 
and  the  centre  to  which  every  one  of  the  ceremonies 
converges, — is  the  Baptism  of  the  Catechumens. 
The  Faithful  must  keep  this  incessantly  before  them, 
or  they  will  be  at  a  loss  how  to  understand  or  profit 
by  the  Liturgy  of  to-day.  First  of  all,  there  is  the 
Blessing  of  the  new  Fire,  and  the  Incense.  This  is 
followed  by  the  Blessing  of  the  Paschal  Candle. 
Immediately   after   this,    are  read  the  Twelve  Pro- 


550  HOLY   WEEK. 

phecies,  which  have  reference  to  the  mysteries  of  to- 
day's Service.  As  soon  as  the  Prophecies  are  finished, 
a  procession  is  formed  to  the  Baptistery,  and  the 
Water  is  blessed.  The  matter  of  Baptism  thus 
prepared,  the  Catechumens  receive  the  Sacrament  of 
Regeneration.  Confirmation  is  then  administered 
to  them  by  the  Bishop.  Immediately  after  this,  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  is  celebrated  in  honour  of  our  Lord's 
Resurrection,  and  the  Neophytes  partake  of  the 
Divine  Mysteries.  Finally  the  joyous  Vesper-Office 
comes  in,  and  brings  to  a  termination  the  longest  and 

Lmost  trying  Service  of  the  Latin  Liturgy.  In  order 
to  assist  our  readers  to  enter  fully  into  its  spirit,  we 
will  go  back  a  thousand  years,  and  imagine  ourselves 
to  be  celebrating  this  solemn  Eve  of  Easter  in  one  of 
the  ancient  Cathedrals  of  Italy,  or  of  our  own  dear 
land. 

At  Rome,  the  Station  is  at  St.  John  Lateran, 
the  Mother  and  Mistress  of  all  Churches.  The  Sa- 
crament of  Regeneration  is  administered  in  the  Baptis- 
tery of  Constantine.  The  sight  of  these  venerable 
Sanctuaries  carries  us  back  in  thought  to  the  4th 
century  ;  there,  each  year,  holy  Baptism  is  conferred 
upon  some  adult  ;  and  a  numerous  Ordination  adds 
its  own  to  the  sacred  pomp  of  this  day,  whose  liturgy, 
as  we  have  just  said,  is  the  richest  of  the  whole  year. 

THE    BLESSING    OF    THE    NEW    FIRE    AND    INCENSE. 

Last  Wednesday,  the  Catechumens  were  told  to 
present  themselves  at  the  Church,  for  the  hour  of 
to-day's  Tierce,  (that  is,  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.) 
It  is  the  final  scrutiny.  The  Priests  are  there  to  re- 
ceive them  ;  they  who  have  not  previously  been 
examined  upon  the  Symbol,  are  now  questioned. 
The  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  biblical  attributes  of 
the  four  Evangelists,  having  been  explained,  one  of 
the  Priests   dismisses   the   Candidates  for  Baptism, 


HOLY   SATURDAY  :     MORNING    SERVICE.  551 

bidding  them  spend  the  interval  in  recollection  and 
prayer. 

At  the  hour  of  None,  (our  three  o'clock  in  the  af- 
ternoon,) the  Bishop  and  all  the  Clergy  repair  to  the 
Church,  and  Holy  Saturday  Yigil  begins  from  this 
moment.  The  first  ceremony  consists  in  the  blessing^ 
the  new  fire,  which  is  to  furnish  light  for  the  whole 
Service.  It  was  the  daily  custom,  in  the  first  Ages 
of  the  Church,  to  strike  a  light  from  a  flint,  before 
Vespers :  from  this  the  lamps  and  candles  were 
lighted  for  the  celebration  of  that  Hour,  and  the 
light  thus  procured  was  kept  up  in  the  Church  till 
the  Vespers  of  the  following  day.  The  Church  of  , 
Rome  observed  this  custom  with  great  solemnity  on 
Maundy  Thursday  morning,  aud  the  new  fire  re- 
ceived a  special  blessing.  We  learn  from  a  letter 
written,  in  the  8th  century,  by  Pope  St.  Zachary  to 
St.  Boniface,  Archbishop  of  Mayence, — that  three 
lamps  were  lighted  from  this  fire,  which  were  then 
removed  to  some  safe  place,  and  care  was  taken  that 
their  light  was  kept  in.  It  was  from  these  lamps 
that  the  light  for  Holy  Saturday  Night  was  taken. 
In  the  following  century,  under  St.  Leo  the  Fourth, 
whose  Pontificate  lasted  from  847  to  855,  the  custom 
of  every  day  procuring  new  fire  from  a  flint  was  ex- 
tended also  to  Holy  Saturday. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  the  meaning  of 
this  ceremony,  which  is  now  not  observed  by  the 
Latin  Church  save  on  this  day.  Our  Lord  said  of 
himself  :  I  am  the  Light  of  the  world.1  Light,  then, 
is  an  image  of  the  Son  of  Grod.  Stone,  also,  is  one  of 
the  types  under  which  the  Scriptures  speak  to  us  of 
the  Messias.  St.  Peter,2  and  St.  Paul,3  quoting  the 
words  of  the  Prophet  Isaias,4  speak  of  Jesus  as  the 
Comer- Stone.     The   spark  which  is  struck  from  the 

1  St.  John,  viii.  12.  3  Epli.  ii.  20. 

-  1  St.  Peter,  ii.  G.  *  Is.  xxviii.  1G. 

2  s 


552  HOLY  WEEK. 

flint  represents  our  Lord  rising  from  his  rock-hewn 
Sepulchre,  through  the  Stone  that  had  been  rolled 
against  it. 

It  is  fitting,  therefore,  that  this  fire  which  is  to 
provide  light  for  the  Paschal  Candle,  as  well  as  for 
those  that  are  upon  the  Altar,  should  receive  a  special 
blessing,  and  be  triumphantly  shown  to  the  Faithful. 
All  the  Lamps  in  the  Church  have  been  extinguished ; 
formerly,  the  Faithful  used  to  put  out  the  fires  in 
their  houses,  before  going  to  the  Church  :  they  lighted 
them,  on  their  return,  with  light  taken  from  the 
blessed  Fire,  which  they  received  as  a  symbol  of  our 
Lord's  Resurrection.  Let  us  not  here  omit  to  notice, 
that  the  putting  out  of  all  the  lights  in  the  Church 
is  a  symbol  of  the  abrogation  of  the  Old  Law,  which 
ended  with  the  rending  of  the  Veil  of  the  Temple  ; 
and  that  the  new  Fire  represents  the  preaching  of  the 
New  Law,  whereby  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Light 
of  the  World,  fulfilled  all  the  figures  of  the  ancient 
Covenant. 

In  order  to  help  our  readers  to  enter  more  fully 
into  the  mystery  of  the  ceremony  we  are  describing, 
we  will  here  mention  a  miracle  which  was  witnessed 
for  many  centuries.  The  clergy  and  people  of  Jeru- 
salem assembled  for  the  Service  of  Easter  Eve  in  the 
Church  of  Holy  Sepulchre.  After  waiting  for  some 
time  in  silence,  one  of  the  lamps  that  were  suspended 
over  our  Lord's  Tomb,  was  miraculously  lighted. 
The  other  lamps  and  torches  throughout  the  Church 
were  lighted  from  this,  and  the  Faithful  took  its  holy 
flame  with  them  to  their  homes.  It  would  seem,  that 
this  annual  miracle  first  began  after  the  Saracens 
had  taken  possession  of  Jerusalem  ;  Grod  so  ordaining, 
that  it  might  be  a  proof  to  these  Infidels,  of  the 
Divinity  of  the  Christian  Religion.  The  historians 
of  those  times,  who  have  written  upon  the  Latin 
Kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  all  speak  of  this  miracle  as 
of  an  incontestable  fact ;  and  when  Pope  Urban  the 


HOLY  SATURDAY  !   MORNING   SERVICE.  553 

Second  went  to  France,  there  to  preach  the  first 
Crusade,  he  brought  forward  this  miracle  as  one  of 
the  motives,  which  should  inspire  the  Faithful  with 
zeal  for  the  defence  of  the  Sepulchre  of  Christ.  When 
our  Lord,  in  the  unsearchable  ways  of  his  justice, 
permitted  Jerusalem  to  be  re-conquered  by  the 
Infidels,  the  Miracle  ceased,  nor  has  it  ever  been 
witnessed  from  that  time.  Our  readers  have  no  doubt 
heard  of  the  scandalous  scene,  which  is  now  repeated 
every  Holy  Saturday  in  the  Church  of  Holy  Sepulchre 
in  Jerusalem  :  we  allude  to  the  deception  practised 
by  the  schismatic  Greek  Priests,  whereby  they  per- 
suade their  deluded  people  that  their  ingenious  trick 
for  lighting  a  lamp  is  the  continuation  of  the  Miracle. 

The  Church  also  blesses  the  five  grains  of  Incense^  \ 
which  are  to  be  used  in  this  Morning's  Service. 
They  represent  the  perfumes  prepared  by  Magda- 
lene and  her  holy  companions  for  the  embalming 
the  Body  of  Jesus.  The  Prayer  said  by  the  Bishop, 
when  blessing  the  Incense,  not  only  shows  us  the 
connection  there  is  between  it  and  the  Light,  but  it 
also  teaches  us  what  is  the  power  these  several  sacred 
objects  have  against  the  wicked  spirits. 

The  Bishop  and  his  attendants  go,  in  procession, 
from  the  Church  to  the  place  where  he  is  to  bless 
the  Fire  and  Incense.  The  Fire,  as  we  have  already 
said,  is  the  symbol  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and 
the  Sepulchre,  whence  he  is  to  rise  to  life,  is  outside 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem.  The  holy  Women  and  the 
Apostles,  when  they  go  to  the  Sepulchre,  will  have 
to  go  forth  from  the  City. 

The  Bishop,  having  come  to  the  appointed  place, 
blesses  the  Fire  by  the  following  Prayers. 

y.     The  Lord  be  with  you.         $'.     Donrinus  vobiscum. 
Rr.     And  with  thy  spirit.  gt.     Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

LET  US   PRAY.  OREMUS. 

0  God,  who  by  thy  Son  the        Deus,  qui  per  Filiuin  tu- 


554 


HOLY     WEEK. 


um,  angularem  scilicet  lapi- 
dem,  claritatis  tuse  ignem 
fidelibus  contulisti,  produc- 
tum  e  silice,  nostris  profu- 
turum  usibus,  novum  hunc 
ignem  sanctifica  ;  et  concede 
nobis,  ita  per  hsec  festa 
Paschalia  ccelestibus  desi- 
deriis  inflammari  ;  ut  ad 
perpetuae  claritatis,  puris 
mentibus,  valeamus  festa 
pertingere.  Per  eumdem 
Christum  Dominum  nos- 
trum. 

?t.     Amen. 


corner-stone,  hast  bestowed 
on  the  faithful  the  fire  of  thy 
brightness ;  sanctify  this  new 
fire  produced  from  a  flint  for 
our  use  :  aud  grant,  that  dur- 
ing this  Paschal  festival,  we 
may  be  so  inflamed  with 
heavenly  desires,  that  with 
pure  minds  we  may  come  to 
the  solemnity  of  eternal 
splendour.  Through  the 
same  Christ  our  Lord. 


#.     Amen. 


OREMUS. 

Domine  Deus,  Pater  om- 
nipotens,  lumen  indeficiens, 
qui  es  conditor  omnium  lu- 
minum  :  benedic  hoc  lumen, 
quod  a  te  sanctificatum  at- 
que  benedictum  est,  qui  illu  - 
minasti  omnem  mundum  : 
ut  ab  eo  lumine  accendamur, 
atque  illuminemur  igne  cla- 
ritatis tuse ;  et  sicut  illu- 
minasti  Moysen  exeuntem  de 
^Egypto,  ita  illumines  corda 
et  sensus  nostros  ;  ut  ad  vi- 
tam  et  lucem  seternam 
pervenire  mereamur.  Per 
Christum  Dominum  nos- 
trum. 

gt.     Amen. 


LET  US  PRAY. 

O  Lord  God,  Almighty 
Father,  never  failing  light, 
who  art  the  author  of  all 
light :  bless  this  light,  that  is 
blessed  and  sanctified  by  thee, 
who  hast  enlightened  the 
whole  world  :  that  we  may 
be  enlightened  by  that  light, 
and  inflamed  with  the  fire  of 
thy  brightness  :  and  as  thou 
didst  give  light  to  Moses, 
when  he  went  out  of  Egypt, 
so  illumine  our  hearts  and 
senses,  that  we  may  obtain 
light  and  life  everlasting. 
Through  Christ  our  Lord. 

&.     Amen. 


OREMUS. 

Domine  sancte,  Pater  om- 
nipotens,  seterne  Deus,  be- 
nedicentibus  nobis  hunc 
ignem  in  nomine  tuo,  et 
unigeniti  Filii  tui  Dei  ac 
Domini  nostri  Jesu  Christi, 
et  Spiritus  Sancti,  coopera- 
re   digneris,    et   adjuva   nos 


LET   US   PRAY. 

O  Holy  Lord,  Almighty 
Father,  Eternal  God  :  vouch- 
safe to  co-operate  with  us,  who 
bless  this  fire  in  thy  name, 
and  in  that  of  thy  only  Son 
Christ  Jesus,  our  Lord  and 
God,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost : 
assist  us  against  the  fiery  darts 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE. 


555 


of  the  enemy,  and  illumine  us 
with  thy  heavenly  grace. 
Who  livost  and  reignest  with 
the  same  only  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost,  one  God,  for  ever  and 
ever. 
#.     Amen. 


contra  ignita  tela  inimici, 
et  illustra  gratia  ccelesti. 
Qui  vivis  et  regnas  cum 
eodem  Unigenito  tuo  et 
Spiritu  Sancto,  Deus,  per 
omnia  saecula  SBeculorum. 
5t.     Amen. 


The  Bishop  then  blesses  the  Incense,  thus  address- 
ing himself  in  prayer  to  Grod : 


Pour  forth,  we  beseech 
thee,  O  Almighty  God,  thy 
abundant  blessing  on  this 
incense  :  and  kindle,  O  invi- 
sible regenerator,  the  bright- 
ness of  this  night :  that  not 
only  the  sacrifice  that  is  of- 
fered this  night  may  shine  by 
the  secret  mixture  of  thy 
light;  but  also  into  whatever 
place  anything  of  this  myste- 
rious sanctification  shall  be 
brought,  there,  by  the  power 
of  thy  majesty,  all  the  mali- 
cious artifices  of  the  devil 
may  be  defeated.  Through 
Christ  our  Lord. 

Ifc.     Amen. 


Veniat,  qusesumus,  om- 
nipotens  Deus,  super  hoc 
incensum  larga  tuae  bene- 
dictionis  infusio :  et  hunc 
nocturnum  splendorem  invi- 
sibilis  regenerator  accen- 
de :  ut  non  solum  sacrifi- 
cium,  quod  hac  nocte  lita- 
tum  est,  arcana  luminis  tui 
admixtione  refulgeat :  sed 
in  quocumque  loco  ex  hu- 
jus  sanctificationis  myste- 
rio  aliquid  fuerit  depor- 
tatum,  expulsa  diabolicse 
fraudis  nequitia,  virtus  tuae 
Majestatis  assistat.  Per 
Christum  Dominum  nos- 
trum. 

gt.     Amen. 


After  these  prayers,  an  Acolyte  puts  some  of  the 
blessed  Fire  into  the  thurible.  The  Bishop  then 
censes  the  Fire  and  the  Incense,  after  having  first 
sprinkled  them  with  holy  water.  An  other  of  the 
Acolytes  lights  a  candle  from  the  blessed  Fire,  that 
the  new  light  may  be  brought  into  the  Church.  The 
Deacon  then  vests  in  a  white  Dalmatic.  This  festive 
colour,  which  contrasts  so  strongly  with  the  purple  cope 
worn  by  the  Bishop,  is  used  on  account  of  the  joyful 
ministry  which  the  Deacon  is  about  to  fulfil.  He 
takes  into  his  right  hand  a  Reed,  on  the  top  of  which 
is  placed  a  triple-branched  candle.     The  Reed  is  in 


556  HOLY    WEEK. 

memory  of  our  Lord's  Passion  :  it  also  expresses  the 
weakness  of  the  Human  Nature,  which  he  assumed  to 
himself  by  the  Incarnation.  The  three-branch  candle 
signifies  the  blessed  Trinity,  of  which  the  Incarnate 
Word  is  the  Second  Person. 

The  Procession  returns.  Having  entered  the 
Church,  the  Deacon,  after  advancing  a  few  steps, 
lowers  the  Reed,  and  the  Acolyte,  who  carries  the 
new  light,  lights  one  of  the  three  branches  of  the 
candle.  The  Deacon  then  kneels,  as  do  also  all  the 
clergy  and  people.  Raising  the  light  on  high,  he 
sings  these  words  : 

Lumen  Christi.  The  Light  of  Christ ! 

All  answer  : 
Deo  gratias.  Thanks  be  to  God  ! 

This  first  showing  of  the  Light  expresses  the  re- 
velation made  to  us,  by  Jesus,  of  the  Divinity  of  the 
Father.  JVo  one,  says  he,  knoweth  the  Father,  but 
the  Son,  and  he  to  whom  it  shall  please  the  Son  to 
reveal  him.1 

After  this,  all  rise,  and  the  Procession  advances 
as  far  as  mid- way  up  the  Church.  Here,  the  Deacon 
again  lowers  the  Reed,  and  a  second  branch  of  the 
Candle  is  lighted  by  the  Acolyte.  The  same  cere- 
monies are  observed  as  before,  and  the  Deacon  sings 
on  a  high*,    note  : 

^MUS. 

Lumen  Ci.  Mi.  The  Light  of  Christ ! 

The  whole  assembly  answers  : 
Deo  gratias.  Thanks  be  to  God  ! 

1  St.  Matth.  xi.  27. 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    MORNTNC    SERVICE.  557 

This  second  showing  of  the  Light  signifies  the 
world's  receiving  the  knowledge  of  the  Divinity  of 
the  Son  ;  he  appeared  and  dwelt  among  us,  and,  with 
his  own  sacred  lips,  taught  us  that  he  was  (rod,  equal 
to  the  Father  in  all  things. 

The  procession  continues  as  far  as  the  Altar-steps. 
The  third  branch  of  the  Candle  on  the  Reed  is  lighted, 
and  the  Deacon  once  more  sings,  but  on  a  still  higher 
and  gladder  note. 

The  Light  of  Christ !  Lumen  Christi. 

Again,  the  response  is  made  : 

Thanks  be  to  God  !  Deo  gratias. 

This  third  showing  of  the  Light  signifies  the  reve- 
lation of  the  Divinity  of  the  Holy  Grhost,  which  was 
made  to  us  by  our  Saviour  when  he  commanded  his 
Apostles  to  do  what  the  Church  is  to  do  this  very 
Night :  Teach  ye  all  nations  baptising  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost}  It  is,  then,  by  Jesus,  who  is  the  Light  of  the 
world,  that  mankind  has  been  taught  to  know  the 
Blessed  Trinity.  The  Bishop,  before  administering 
Baptism  to  the  Catechumens,  will  ask  them  if  they 
believe  in  this  great  Mystery.  During  the  whole  of 
this  Night's  Service,  they  will  have  before  their  eyes 
the  expressive  symbol  of  the  Trinity,  the  three- 
branch  Candle. 

This,  then,  is  the  first  use  to  which  the  new  Fire 
is  put : — to  proclaim  the  Holy  Trinity.  It  is  next 
to  publish  the  glory  of  the  Incarnate  Word,  by 
lighting  up  the  glorious  symbol  which  is  now  to  be 
brought  before  us.  The  Bishop  is  seated  on  his 
throne.     The  Deacon  kneels  before  him,  and  asks  a 

1  St.  Matth.  xxviii.  19, 


558 


HOLY    WEEK. 


blessing,  before  beginning  the  great  work  intrusted 
to-  him.     The  Pontiff  thus  blesses  him  : 

Domine   sit   in  corde  tuo,  The  Lord  be  in  thy  heart 

et   in   labiis   tuis  :   ut   digne  and   lips,    that  thou  mayest 

et     coinpetenter      annunties  worthily   and   fitly   proclaim 

suum   Paschale    prseconium.  his   Paschal    praise.     In  the 

In   nomine   Patris,    et   Filii,  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 

et  Spiritus  Sancti.     Amen.  the   Son,     and   of  the   Holy 

Ghost.     Amen. 

Thus  prepared,  the  Deacon  rises,  and  goes  to  the 
Ambo.  The  Acolytes,  holding  the  triple  Candle  and 
the  five  grains  of  Incense,  are  standing  at  his  side. 
Near  the  Ambo  is  a  marble  pillar,  on  which  is  fixed 
the  Paschal  Candle. 


THE    PASCHAL    CANDLE. 

The  sun  is  setting,  and  our  earth  will  soon  be 
mantled  in  darkness.  The  Church  has  provided  a 
torch,  which  is  to  spread  its  light  upon  us  during  the 
whole  of  this  long  Yigil.  It  is  of  an  unusual  size. 
It  stands  alone,  and  is  of  a  pillar- like  form.  It  is  the 
symbol  of  Christ.  Before  being  lighted,  its  scriptural 
type  is  the  pillar  of  a  cloud,  which  hid  the  Israelites 
when  they  went  out  from  Egypt ;  under  this  form,  it 
is  the  figure  of  our  Lord,  when  lying  lifeless  in  the 
tomb.  When  lighted,  we  must  see  in  it  both  the 
pillar  of  fire,  which  guided  the  people  of  Grod,  and 
the  glory  of  our  Jesus  risen  from  his  grave.  Our 
holy  Mother  the  Church,  would  have  us  enthusi- 
astically love  this  glorious  symbol,  and  speaks  its 
praises  to  us  in  all  the  magnificence  of  her  inspired 
eloquence.  As  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  5th 
century,  Pope  St.  Zozimus  extended  to  all  the 
Churches  of  the  City  of  Rome,  the  privilege  of 
blessing  the  Paschal  Candle,  although  Baptism  was 
administered  no  where  but  in  the  Baptistery  of  St. 
John  Lateran.   The  object  of  this  grant  was,  that  all 


HOLY    SATURDAY  l    MORNING    SERVICE.  55^ 

the  Faithful  might  share  in  the  holy  impressions 
which  so  solemn  a  rite  is  intended  to  produce.  It 
was  for  the  same  intention  that,  later,  every  Church, 
even  though  it  had  no  Baptismal  Font,  was  permit- 
ted to  have  the  Blessing  of  the  Paschal  Candle. 

The  Deacon  proclaims  the  Easter  Solemnity  to 
the  people,  whilst  chanting  the  praises  of  this  sacred 
object :  and  whilst  celebrating  the  glory  of  Him, 
whose  emblem  it  is,  he  becomes  the  herald  of  the 
Resurrection.  The  Altar,  the  Sanctuary,  the  Bishop, 
all  are  in  the  sombre  colour  of  the  Lenten  rite  ;  the 
Deacon  alone  is  vested  in  white.  At  other  times,  he 
would  not  presume  to  raise  his  voice  as  he  is  now 
going  to  do,  in  the  solemn  tone  of  a  Preface  :  but 
this  is  the  Eve  of  the  Resurrection,  and  the  Deacon, 
as  the  interpreters  of  the  Liturgy  tell  us,  represents 
Magdalene  and  the  holy  women,  on  whom  our  Lord 
conferred  the  honour  of  being  the  first  to  know  his 
Resurrection,  and  to  whom  he  gave  the  mission 
of  preaching  to  the  very  Apostles,  that  he  had  risen 
from  the  dead,  and  would  meet  them  in  Galilee. 

But  let  us  listen  to  the  thrilling  Exsultet  of  our 
Deacon,  and  learn  from  him  the  joys  that  await  us 
on  this  wonderful  Night. 

Let  now  the  heavenly  troops  Exsultet  jam  angelica  tur- 
of  Angels  rejoice  :  let  the  di-  ba  ccelorum ;  exsultent  divi- 
vine  mysteries  be  joyfully  na  mysteria  :  et  pro  tanta 
celebrated  :  and  let  a  sacred  Regis  victoria,  tuba  insonet 
trumpet  proclaim  the  victory  salutaris.  Gaudet  et  tellus 
of  so  great  a  King.  Let  the  tantis  irradiata  fulgoribus  : 
earth  also  be  filled  with  joy,  et  seterni  Regis  splendore 
being  illuminated  with  such  illustrata,  totius  orbis  se 
resplendent  rays ;  and  let  it  sentiat  amisisse  caliginem. 
be  sensible  that  the  darkness,  Lsetetur  et  mater  Ecclesia, 
which  overspread  the  whole  tanti  luminis  adornata  ful-' 
world,  is  chased  away  by  the  goribus  :  et  magnis  populo- 
splendourofour  eternal  King,  rum  vocibus  hsec  aula  re- 
Let  our  Mother,  the  Church,  sultet.  Quapropter  adstan- 
be  also  glad  finding  herself  tes  vos,  fratres  charissimi, 
adorned  with  the  rays  of  so  ad   tarn  miram  hujus  sancti 


560 


HOLY    WEEK. 


luminis  claritatem,  una  me- 
cum,  quaeso,  Dei  omnipo- 
tentis  misericordiam  invo- 
cate.  Ut  qui  me  non  meis 
mentis  intra  Levitarum  nu- 
merum  dignatus  est  aggre- 
gare  :  luminis  sui  claritatem 
infundens,  Cerei  hujus  lau- 
dem  implere  perficiat.  Per 
Dominum  nostrum  Jesum 
Christum  Filium  suum  : 
qui  cum  eo  vivit  et  regnat 
in  unitate  Spiritus  Sancti 
Deus,  per  omnia  ssecula  sse- 
culorum. 


gt.     Amen. 

f.     Dominus  vobiscum. 

gi.     Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

y.     Sursum  corda. 

gt.  Habemus  ad  Domi- 
num. 

f.  Gratias  agamus  Do- 
mino Deo  nostro. 

gt.     Dignum  et  j  ustum  est. 

Yere  dignum  et  j  ustum  est 
invisibilem  Deum  Patrem 
omnipotentem,  Filiumque 
ejus  unigenitum,  Dominum 
nostrum  Jesum  Christum, 
toto  cordis  ac  mentis  affectu, 
et  vocis  ministerio  personare. 
Qui  pro  nobis  seterno  Patri 
Adse  debitum  solvit :  et  ve- 
teris  piaculi  cautionem  pio 
cruore  detersit.  Hsec  sunt 
enim  festa  Paschalia,  in 
quibus  verus  ille  Agnus 
occiditur,  cujus  sanguine 
postes  fidelium  consecrantur. 

Hsec  nox  est,  in  qua  pri- 
mum  patres  nostros  filios 
Israel  eductos    de  iEgypto, 


great  a  light:  and  let  this  tem- 
ple resound  with  the  joyful 
acclamations  of  the  people. 
"Wherefore,  beloved  brethren, 
you  who  are  now  present  at  the 
admirable  brightness  of  this 
holy  light,  I  beseech  you  to 
invoke  with  me  the  mercy  of 
Almighty  God.  That  he,  who 
has  b^en  pleased,  above  my 
desert,  to  admit  me  into  the 
number  of  his  Levites,  will,  by 
an  infusion  of  his  light  upon 
me,  enable  me  to  celebrate 
the  praises  of  this  Candle. 
Through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
his  Son,  who,  with  him  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  liveth  and  reign- 
eth  one  God  for  ever  and  ever. 

gt.     Amen. 

f.     The  Lord  be  with  you. 

gt.     And  with  thy  spirit. 

f.     Lift  up  your  hearts. 

gt.  We  have  them  fixed 
on  God. 

$ .  Let  us  give  thanks  to 
the  Lord  our  God. 

gt.     It  is  meet  and  just. 

It  is  truly  meet  and  just  to 
proclaim  with  all  the  affection 
of  our  heart  and  soul,  and  with 
the  sound  of  our  voice,  the 
invisible  God  the  Father  Al- 
mighty, and  his  only  Son  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Who  paid 
for  us  to  his  Eternal  Father, 
the  debt  of  Adam  :  and  by  his 
sacred  blood  cancelled  the 
guilt  contracted  by  original 
sin.  For  this  is  the  Paschal 
solemnity,  in  which  the  true 
Lamb  was  slain,  by  whose 
Blood  the  doors  of  the  faith- 
ful are  consecrated. 

This  is  the  Night  in  which 
thou  formerly broughtest  forth 
our  forefathers  the  children  of 


HOLY    SATURDAY  '.    MORNING    SERYTCE. 


561 


Israel  out  of  Egypt,  leading 
them  dry-  foot  through,  the  Red 
Sea.  This,  then,  is  the  Night 
which  dissipated  the  darkness 
of  sin,  by  the  light  of  the  pil- 
lar. This  is  the  Night,  which 
now  delivers  all  over  the  world 
those  that  believe  in  Christ, 
from  the  vices  of  the  world, 
and  darkness  of  sin,  restores 
them  to  grace,  and  clothes 
them  with  sanctity.  This  is 
the  Night  in  which  Christ 
broke  the  chains  of  death,  and 
ascended  conqueror  from  hell. 
For  it  availed  us  nothing  to 
be  born,  unless  it  had  avail- 
ed us  to  be  redeemed. 

O  how  admirable  is  thy 
goodness  towards  us  !  O 
how  inestimable  is  thy  love  ! 
Thou  hast  delivered  up  thy 
Son  to  redeem  a  slave.  O 
truly  necessary  sin  of  Adam, 
which  the  death  of  Christ  has 
blotted  out !  0  happy  fault, 
that  merited  such  and  so 
great  a  Redeemer  ! 

0  truly  blessed  Night, 
which  alone  deserved  to  know 
the  time  and  hour  when  Christ 
rose  again  from  hell.  This 
is  the  Night  of  wbich  it  is 
written :  And  the  Nigh t  sha  11 
be  as  light  as  the  day,  and 
the  Night  is  my  illumination 
in  my  delights.  Therefore  the 
sanctification  of  this  Night 
blots  out  crimes,  washes  away 
sins,  and  restores  innocence 
to  sinners,  and  joy  to  the 
sorrowful.  It  banishes  en- 
mities, produces  concord,  and 
humbles  empires. 


mare  Rubrum  sicco  vestigio 
transire  fecisti.  Haec  igitur 
nox  est,  quae  peccatorum 
tenebras  columns  illumina- 
tione  purgavit.  Usee  nox 
est,  quae  hodie  per  univer- 
sum  mundum,  in  Christo 
credentes,  a  vitiis  saeculi,  et 
caligine  peccatorum  segre- 
gates reddit  gratiae,  sociat 
sanctitati.  Haec  nox  est  in 
qua  destructis  vinculis  mor- 
tis, Christus  ab  inferis  vic- 
tor ascendit.  Nihil  enim 
nobis  nasci  profuit,  nisi  re- 
dimi  profuisset. 


O  mira  circa  nos  tuae  pie- 
tatis  dignatio !  O  inestima- 
bilis  dilectio  charitatis !  ut 
servum  redimeres,  filium 
tradidisti.  0  certe  necessa- 
rium  Adae  peccatum,  quod 
Christi  morte  deletum  est ! 
0  felix  culpa,  quae  talem  ac 
tantum  meruit  habere  re- 
demptorem  ! 

O  vere  beata  nox,  quae 
sola  meruit  scire  tempus  et 
horam,  in  qua  Christus  ab 
inferis  resurrexit.  Haec  nox 
est,  de  qua  scriptum  est  : 
Et  nox  sicut  dies  illumina- 
bitur  ;  et  :  Nox  illuminatio 
mea  in  deliciis  meis.  Hujus 
igitur  sanctificatio  noctis, 
fugat  scelera,  culpas  lavat  : 
et  reddit  innocentiam  lapsis, 
et  maestis  laetitiam.  Fugat 
odia,  concordiam  parat,  et 
curvat  imperia. 


Here  the  Deacon  pauses,  and  taking  the  five  grains 


562  HOLY    WEEK. 

of  Incense,  he  fixes  them  in  the  Candle  in  the  form 
of  a  Cross.  They  represent  the  Five  Wounds  re- 
ceived by  our  Lord  upon  the  Cross ;  as  also,  the  per- 
fumes which  Magdalene  and  her  companions  had 
prepared  for  embalming  his  Body  in  the  Tomb. 
Thus  far,  as  we  have  already  explained,  the  Paschal 
Candle  is  the  figure  of  the  Man-Grod  not  yet  glorified 
by  the  Resurrection. 

In    hujus     igitur     noctis        Therefore,   on  this   sacred 

gratia,    suscipe,     sancte   Pa-  Night,  receive,  O  holy  Father, 

ter,    incensi    hujus     sacrifi-  the  evening  sacrifice  of  this 

cium  vespertinum  quod  tibi  incense,  which  thy  holy  church 

in  hac  Cerei  oblatione  solem-  by  the  hands  of  her  ministers, 

ni,   per   ministrorum   manus  presents  to  thee  in  the  solemn 

de     operibus    apum.     sacro-  oblation  of  this  wax  Candle 

sancta  reddit  Ecclesia.     Sed  made  out  of  the  labour  of  bees, 

jam  columnse  hujus  prceco-  And  now  we  know  the  ex- 

nia  novimus,  quam  in  hono-  cellence  of  this  pillar,  which 

rem   Dei   rutilans    ignis   ac-  the  sparkling  fire  lights  for 

cendit.  the  honour  of  God. 

After  these  words,  the  Deacon  again  pauses,  and 
taking  the  Reed  which  holds  the  triple  candle,  he 
lights  the  Paschal  Candle  with  one  of  its  branches. 
This  signifies  the  instant  of  our  Lord's  Resurrection, 
when  the  divine  power  restored  his  Body  to  life,  by 
uniting  with  it  the  Soul  which  death  had  separated. 
The  glorious  Symbol  of  Christ,  our  Light,  is  now 
perfect ;  and  holy  Church  exults  in  the  thought  of 
soon  beholding  her  heavenly  Spouse  triumph  over 
death. 

Qui    licet    sit    divisus    in  Which    fire,    though    now 

partes,    mutuati    tamen   lu-  divided,  suffers  no  loss  from 

minis  detrimenta  non  novit.  the  communication  of  its  light. 

Alitur  enim  liquantibus  ce-  Because  it  is  fed  by  the  inelt- 

ris,      quas     in     substantiam  ed   wax,    which    its   mother, 

pretiosae      hujus      lampadis,  the  bee,  made  for  the  compo- 

apis  mater  eduxit.  sition  of  the  precious  torch. 

Here  are  lighted,  from  the  new  fire,  the  lamps  of 
the  Church.     They  are   lighted   after   the  Paschal 


HOLY    SATURDAY   .'    MORNING    SERVICE. 


663 


Candle,  to  signify,  that  Jesus'  Resurrection  was  made 
known  gradually.  It  also  tells  us,  that  our  Resur- 
rection is  to  be  a  consequence  and  a  likeness  of  that 
of  our  Saviour,  who  opens  to  us  the  way,  whereby, 
after  having,  like  him,  passed  through  the  tomb,  we 
shall  enter  into  life  everlasting. 


O  truly  blessed  Night  ! 
which  plundered  the  Egypti- 
ans, and  enriched  the  He- 
brews. A  Night,  in  which 
things  heavenly  are  united 
with  those  of  earth,  and  divine 
with  human  We  beseech  thee 
therefore,  0  Lord,  that  this 
Candle,  consecrated  to  the 
honour  of  thy  name,  may  con- 
tinue burning  to  dissipate  the 
darkness  of  this  night.  And 
being  accepted  as  a  sweet  - 
smelling  savour,  may  be  unit- 
ed with  the  celestial  lights. 
Let  the  morning- star  find  it 
burning.  I  mean  that  Star 
which  never  sets .  Who  being 
returned  from  hell,  shone  with 
brightness  on  mankind. 

We  beseech  thee  therefore, 
O  Lord,  to  grant  us  peaceable 
times  during  these  Paschal  so- 
lemnities, and  with  thy  con- 
stant protection  to  rule,  govern 
and  preserve  us  thy  servants, 
and  all  the  clergy,  and  the 
devout  people,  together  with 
our  holy  Father  Pope  A7"., 
and  our  Bishop  N.  i  ( Regard 
also  our  most  devout  Emperor : 
and  since  thou  knowest,0  God, 
the  desires  of  his  heart,  grant 
by  the  ineffable  grace  of  thy 
goodness  and  mercy,   that  he 


O  vere  beata  nox  quae  ex- 
spoliavit  iEgyptios,  ditavit 
Hebraeos.  Nox,  in  qua  ter- 
renis  ccelestia,  humanis  di- 
vina  junguntur.  Oramus 
ergo  te  Domine  :  ut  Cereus 
iste  in  honorem  tui  nominis 
consecratus,  ad  noctis  hujus 
caliginem  destruendam,  in- 
deficiens  perseveret.  Et  in 
odorem  suavitatis  acceptus, 
supernis  luminaribus  misce- 
atur.  Flammas  ejus  Luci- 
fer matutinis  inveniat.  Ille, 
inquam,  Lucifer,  qui  nescit 
occasum.  Ille,  qui  regressus 
ab  inferis,  humano  generi 
serenus  illuxit. 


Precamur  ergo  te  Domine  : 
ut  nos  famulos  tuos  omnem- 
que  clerum,  et  devotissimum 
populum  :  una  cum  beatissi- 
mo  Papa  nostro  N.  et  An- 
tistite  nostro  N.  quiete  tem- 
porum  concessa,  in  his 
Paschalibus  gaudiis,  assidua 
protectione  regere,  guber- 
nare  et  conservare  digneris. 
(Respice  etiam  ad  devotissi- 
mum Imperatorem  nostrum 
N.,  cujus  tu,  Deus,  desiderii 
vota  praenoscens,  ineffabili 
pietatis  et  misericordiae  tuae 


1  The  words  here  put  in  parentheses  are  only  said  in  those  coun- 
tries,  which  are  subject  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria.      See  above, 


page  479. 


564  HOLY   WEEK. 

munere,  tranquillum  perpe-  may  enjoy  with  all  his  people 

tuse   pacis   accommoda  :      et  the  tranquillity  of  perpetual 

ccelestem  victoriam  cum  orn-  peace  and  heavenly  victory.) 

ni  populo   suo.)      Per  eum-  Through  the  same  Lord  Jesus 

dem  Dominum  nostrum  Je-  Christ  thy  Son  :    who,  with 

sum  Christum  Filium  tuum  :  thee   and   the    Holy    Ghost, 

qui  tecum  vivit  et  regnat  in  liveth  and  reigneth  one  God 

unitate  Spiritus  Sancti  Deus,  for  ever  and  ever, 
per  omnia  saecula  saeculorum. 

gt.     Amen.  gt.     Amen. 

Here,  the  Deacon  takes  off  the  white  Dalmatic 
vests  in  purple,  and  returns  to  the  Bishop.  Then 
begin  the  Prophecies  from  the  Old  Testament. 


THE     PROPHECIES. 

The  Torch  of  the  Resurrection  now  sheds  its  light 
from  the  Ambo  throughout  the  holy  place,  and 
gladdens  the  hearts  of  the  Faithful.  How  solemn  a 
preparation  for  what  is  now  to  engage  our  attention, 
— the  Baptism  of  the  Catechumens,  whose  instruction 
and  progress  in  good  works  we  have  followed  with 
such  interest  during  the  past  forty  days  !  They  are 
assembled  together  under  the  outward  porch  of  the 
Church.  The  Priests  are  performing  over  them  the 
preparatory  rites,  which  embody  such  profound  teach- 
ing, and  were  instituted  by  the  Apostles.  First  of 
all,  the  sign  of  the  cross  is  made  upon  their  foreheads  ; 
and  then,  the  Priest,  imposing  his  hand  upon  the 
head  of  each  Catchumen,  adjures  Satan  to  depart 
from  this  soul  and  body,  and  give  place  to  Christ. 
Imitating  thus  our  Redeem er,  the  Priest  then  touches 
the  ears  with  his  spittle,  saying  :  "  Be  ye  opened  ! ': 
He  does  the  same  to  the  nostrils,  and  says  :  "  Breathe 
ye  in  the  sweetness  of  fragrance  ! "  The  Neophyte 
is  next  anointed,  on  the  breast  and  between  the 
shoulders,  with  the  Oil  of  Catechumens :  but,  as  this 
ceremony  expresses  his  having  to  fight  the  spiritual 


HOLY  SATURDAY  :   MORNING   SERVICE.  565 

combat,  the  Priest  first  receives  from  him  the  promise 
to  renounce  Satan,  with  his  works  and  pomps. 

These  rites  are  performed  first  over  the  men,  and 
then  over  the  women.  The  children  of  Christian 
parents  are  also  admitted  to  take  their  place  among 
the  Catechumens.  If  any  of  these  latter  be  labour- 
ing under  any  sickness,  and  have  notwithstanding 
come  to  the  Church  in  order  to  receive,  to-night,  the 
grace  of  Regeneration, — a  Priest  says  over  them  a 
Prayer,  in  which  he  fervently  begs  of  Grod  to  heal 
them,  and  confound  the  malice  of  Satan. 

These  ceremonies,  which  are  called  the  Catechisa- 
tion,  occupy  a  considerable  portion  of  time,  on  account 
of  the  great  number  of  the  aspirants  to  Baptism.  It 
is  for  this  reason,  that  the  Bishop  came  to  the  Church 
at  the  hour  of  None  (three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon), 
and  that  the  great  Vigil  began  so  early.  Whilst 
these  rites  are  being  administered  to  the  Catechu- 
mens, the  rest  of  the  Faithful  are  listening  to  appro- 
priate passages  from  the  Scripture,  which  are  being 
read  from  the  Ambo,  and  which  are  the  complement 
of  the  Lenten  Instructions. 

These  Lessons  are  twelve  in  number  :  but  in  the 
venerable  Basilica,  where  we  are  now  supposing  our- 
selves to  be,  we  may  say  they  are  twenty-four,  since 
each  of  the  Twelve  is  read  in  Latin  first,  and  then  in 
Greek.  In  order  to  fix  the  attention,  and  excite  the 
devotion  of  her  children  to  what  she  reads  to  them, 
the  Church,  after  each  Lesson,  recites  a  Prayer,  which 
sums  up  the  doctrine  expressed  in  the  preceding 
Prophecy.  To  some  of  them  is  added  an  appropriate 
Canticle  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  it  is  sung,  by 
the  whole  assembly,  to  the  well  known  melody  of  the 
Tract.  The  aspirants  to  Baptism,  as  soon  as  they 
have  received  the  ceremonies  of  Catechisation,  are 
allowed  to  enter  the  Church,  where,  in  the  place 
assigned  to  them,  they  listen  to  the  Lessons,  and  join 
in  the  Prayers  : — how  could  they    better    continue 


566  HOLY   WEEK. 

their  preparation  for  the  great  Sacrament  ?  And  yet, 
there  is  an  aspect  of  mournfulness  about  this  portion 
of  the  Service,  which  tells  us  that  the  longed-for 
hour  is  not  yet  come.  Frequent  genuflexions,  and 
the  sombre  coloured  Vestments,  strongly  contrast 
with  the  beautiful  flame  of  the  Paschal  Torch,  which 
sheds  its  silent  beams  of  light  upon  the  Faithful. 
Their  hearts  are  still  throbbing  with  the  emotions 
excited  within  them  by  the  Exsaltet :  they  are 
impatient  to  see  their  Jesus'  Resurrection  fulfilled  in 
the  Baptism  of  the  Catechumens. 

FIRST    PROPHECY. 

{Genesis,  Chap,  i.) 

This  first  Lesson  speaks  to  us  of  the  Creation,  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  moving  over  the  waters,  of  the 
separation  of  light  from  darkness,  and  of  Man's  being 
made  to  the  likeness  of  his  Grod.  This  work  of  the 
Creator  had  been  deranged  and  spoiled  by  Satan's 
malice.  The  time  is  come,  when  it  is  to  recover  all 
its  beauty.  The  Holy  Grhost  is  about  to  effect  this 
regeneration  by  Water ;  Christ,  our  Light,  is  going 
to  rise  from  the  darkness  of  the  tomb ;  the  image  of 
(rod  is  to  re-appear  in  man,  for  he  is  to  be  cleansed 
by  the  Blood  of  his  Redeemer,  who  is  the  new  Adam, 
that  came  down  from  heaven,  in  order  to  re-instate, 
in  all  his  rights,  the  old  and  earthly  Adam. 

In  principio  creavit  Deus  In    the     beginning     God 

coelum  et  terrain.     Terra  au-  created    heaven    and    earth, 

tern  erat'inanis,    et   vacua:  And  the  earth  was  void  and 

et  tenebrse   erant   super  fa-  empty,  and  darkness  was  upon 

ciem  abyssi  :    et  Spiritus  Dei  the  face  of  the  deep  ;  and  the 

ferebatur  super  aquas.     Dix-  Spirit  of  God  moved  over  the 

itque   Deus  :    Fiat   lux.     Et  waters.     And   God  said :  Be 

facta  est  lux.     Et  vidit  Deus  light  made.     And  light  was 

lucem,   quod  esset  bona ;    et  made.        And   God   saw   the 

divisit      lucem     a     tenebris.  light  that  it   was  good:    and 

Appellavitque     lucem,       Di-  he  divided  the  light  from  the 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE. 


567 


darkness.  And  he  called  the 
light  day,  and  the  darkness 
night ;  and  there  was  even- 
ing and  morning  one  day. 

And  God  said :  Let  there  bo 
a  firmament  made  amidst  the 
waters  :  and  let  it  divide  the 
waters  from  the  waters.  And 
God  made  a  firmament,  and 
divided  the  waters  that  were 
under  the  firmament  from 
those  that  were  above  the 
firmament.  And  it  was  so. 
And  God  called  the  firma- 
ment, Heaven  :  and  the  even- 
ing and  morning  were  the 
second  day. 

God  also  said:  Let  the 
waters  that  are  under  the 
heaven  be  gathered  together 
into  one  place  :  and  let  the 
dry  land  appear.  And  it  was 
so  done.  And  God  called  the 
dry  land  Earth :  and  the 
gathering  together  of  the 
waters  he  called  Seas.  And 
God  saw  that  it  was  good. 
And  he  said :  Let  the  earth 
bring  forth  the  green  herb, 
and  such  as  may  seed,  and  the 
fruit  tree  yielding  fruit  after 
its  kind,  which  may  have  seed 
in  itself  upon  the  earth.  And 
it  was  so  done.  And  the  earth 
brought  forth  the  green  herb, 
and  such  as  yieldeth  seed 
accordiDg  to  its  kind,  and  the 
tree  that  beareth  fruit,  having 
seed  each  one  according  to  its 
kind.  And  God  saw  that  it 
was  good.  And  the  evening 
and  the  morning  were  the 
third  day. 

And  God  said :  Let  there  be 
lights  made  in  the  firmament 
of  heaven,  to  divide  the  day 
and  the  night,   and  let  them 


em  :  et  tenebras,  Noctem. 
Factumqne  est  vespere  et 
mane,  dies  unus. 

Dixit  quoque  Deus  :  Fi- 
at firmamentum  in  medio 
aquarum,  et  dividat  aquas 
ab  aquis.  Et  fecit  Deus 
firmamentum  :  divisitque 
aquas,  quae  erant  sub  fir- 
mamento,  ab  his  quae  erant 
super  firmamentum.  Et  fac- 
tum est  ita.  Vocavitque 
Deus  firmamentum,  Ccelum. 
Et  factum  est  vespere  et 
mane,  dies  secundus. 

Dixit  vero  Deus  :  Congre- 
gentur  aquae,  quae  sub  ccelo 
sunt,  in  locum  unum  et 
appareat  arida.  Factumque 
est  ita.  Et  vocavit  Deus  ari- 
dam,  Terram  :  congregatio- 
nesque  aquarum  appellavit, 
Maria.  Et  vidit  Deus  quod 
esset  bonum,  et  ait  :  Germi- 
net  terra  herbam  virentem, 
et  facientem  semen  :  et  lig- 
num pomiferum  faciens 
fructum  juxta  genus  suum, 
cujus  semen  in  semetipso 
sit  super  terram.  Et  factum 
est  ita.  Et  protulit  terra  her- 
bam virentem,  et  facientem 
semen  juxta  genus  suum, 
lignumque  faciens  fructum  ; 
et  habens  unumquodque  se- 
mentem  secundum  speciem 
suam.  Et  vidit  Deus  quod 
esset  bonum  :  et  factum  est 
vespere  et  mane,  dies  tertius. 


Dixit  autem  Deus  :  Fiant 
luminaria  in  firmamento 
coeli,  et  dividant  diem  ac 
noctem :  et  sint  in  signa  et 

2-T 


568 


HOLY  WEEK. 


tempora,  et  dies,  et  annos  : 
et  luceant  in  firmamento 
coeli,  et  illuminent  terrain. 
Et  factum  est  ita.  Eecitque 
Deus  duo  luminaria  magna, 
luminare  ma  jus,  ut  prseesset 
diei  :  et  luminare  minus,  ut 
prseesset  nocti  :  et  stellas. 
Et  posuit  eas  in  firmamento 
cceli,  ut  lucerent  super  ter- 
rain :  et  prseessent  diei  ac 
nocti,  et  dividerent  lucem  ac 
tenebras.  Et  vidit  Deus 
quod  esset  bonum.  Et  fac- 
tum est  vespere  et  mane, 
dies  quartus. 


Dixit  etiam  Deus  :  Pro- 
ducant  aquae  reptile  animee 
viventis,  et  volatile  super 
terrain,  sub  firmamento  coeli. 
Creavitque  Deus  cete  gran- 
dia,  et  omnem  animam  vi- 
ventem  atque  motabilem, 
quam  produxerunt  aquae  in 
species  suas  :  et  omne  vola- 
tile, secundum  genus  suum. 
Et  vidit  Deus  quod  esset 
bonum  :  benedixitque  eis, 
dicens  :  Crescite,  et  multi- 
plicamini,  et  replete  aquas 
maris  :  avesque  multiplicen- 
tur  super  terrain.  Et  factum 
est  vespere  et  mane,  dies 
quintus. 

Dixit  quoque  Deus  :  Pro- 
ducat  terra  animam  viven- 
tem  in  genere  suo  :  jumenta, 
et  reptilia,  et  bestias  terrse, 
secundum  species  suas.  Fac- 
tumque  est  ita.  Et  fecit 
Deus  bestias  terrse  juxta 
species  suas  :  et  jumenta,  et 
omne  reptile  terrae  in  genere 
suo.       Et  vidit  Deus   quod 


be  for  signs,  and  for  seasons, 
and  for  days  and  years ;  to 
shine  in  the  firmament  of 
heaven,  and  to  give  light  upon 
the  earth.  And  it  was  so 
done.  And  God  made  two 
great  lights ;  a  greater  light  to 
rule  the  day,  and  a  lesser  light 
to  rule  the  night ;  and  stars. 
And  he  set  them  in  the  firma- 
ment of  heaven,  to  shine  upon 
the  earth.  And  to  rule  the 
day  and  the  night,  and  to 
divide  the  light  and  the  dark- 
ness. And  God  saw  that  it 
was  good.  And  the  evening 
and  morning  were  the  fourth 
day. 

God  also  said :  Let  the  wa- 
ters bring  forth  the  creeping 
creature  having  life,  and  the 
fowl  that  may  fly  over  the 
earth  under  the  firmament  of 
heaven.  And  God  created  the 
great  whales,  and  every  living 
and  moving  creature,  which 
the  waters  brought  forth,  ac- 
cording to  their  kinds,  and 
every  winged  fowl  according 
to  its  kind.  And  God  saw 
that  it  was  good.  And  he 
blessed  them,  saying :  Increase 
and  multiply,  and  fill  the  wa- 
ters of  the  sea  ;  and  let  the 
birds  be  multiplied  upon  the 
earth.  And  the  evening  and 
morning  were  the  fifth  day. 

And  God  said  :  Let  the 
earth  bring  forth  the  living 
creature  in  its  kind,  cattle,  and 
creeping  things,  and  beasts  of 
the  earth  according  to  their 
kinds  ;  and  it  was  so  done. 
And  God  made  the  beasts  of 
the  earth  according  to  their 
kinds,  and  cattle,  and  every- 
thing  that   creepeth   on   the 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE. 


569 


earth  after  its  kind.  And  God 
saw  that  it  was  good.  And 
he  said  :  Let  us  make  man  to 
our  image  and  likeness,  and 
let  him  have  dominion  over 
the  fishes  of  the  sea,  and  the 
fowls  of  the  air,  and  the  beasts, 
and  the  whole  earth,  and  every 
creeping  creature  that  moveth 
upon  the  earth. 

And  God  created  man  to  his 
own  image :  to  the  image  of 
God  he  created  him :  male  and 
female  he  created  them.  And 
God  blessed  them,  saying  :  In- 
crease and  multiply,  and  fill 
the  earth.  And  subdue  it,  and 
rule  over  the  fishes  of  the  sea, 
and  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and 
all  living  creatures  that  move 
upon  the  earth.  And  God 
said :  Behold  I  have  given  you 
every  herb  bearing  seed  upon 
the  earth,  and  all  trees  that 
have  in  themselves  seed  of 
their  own  kind,  to  be  your 
meat :  and  to  all  beasts  of  the 
earth,  and  to  every  fowl  of  the 
air,  and  to  all  that  move  upon 
the  earth,  and  wherein  there 
is  life,  that  you  may  have  to 
feed  upon.  And  it  was  so 
done.  And  God  saw  all  the 
things  that  he  had  made,  and 
they  were  very  good.  And 
the  evening  and  morning 
were  the  sixth  day. 

So  the  heavens  and  earth 
were  finished,  and  all  the  fur- 
niture of  them.  And  on  the 
seventh  day  God  ended  his 
work  which  he  had  made  :  and 
he  rested  on  the  seventh  day 
from  all  his  work  which  he 
had  done. 


esset  bonum  :  et  ait :  Facia- 
mus  hominem  ad  imaginem 
et  similitudinem  nostram : 
et  prsesit  piscibus  maris,  et 
volatilibus  coeli,  et  bestiis, 
universaeque  terrae,  omni- 
que  reptili  quod  movetur  in 
terra. 


Et  creavit  Deus  hominem 
ad  imaginem  suam  :  ad  ima- 
ginem   Dei     creavit     ilium : 
masculum  et  feminam  crea- 
vit eos.       Benedixitque   illis 
Deus,     et    ait :    Crescite,    et 
multiplicamini,      et     replete 
terram,  et  subjicite  earn :    et 
dominamini    piscibus  maris, 
et  volatilibus   cceli,    et  uni- 
versis      animantibus,       quae 
moventur  super  terram.     Di- 
xitque  Deus :   Ecce  dedi  vo- 
bis  omnem  herbam  afferen- 
tem  semen  super  terram  :    et 
universa  ligna,   quae  habent 
in  semetipsis   sementem  ge- 
neris sui :    ut  sint  vobis  in 
escam,   et  cunctis  animanti- 
bus terrae,   omnique  volucri 
coeli,  et   universis   quae   mo- 
ventur in  terra,  et  in  quibus 
est  anima  vivens,  ut  habeant 
ad  vescendum.      Et   factum 
estita.    Viditque  Deus  cunc- 
ta    quae    fecerat :     et    erant 
valde  bona.     Et  factum  est 
vespere  et  mane,  dies  sextus. 
Igitur   perfecti   sunt    coeli 
et   terra,     et   omnis   ornatus 
eorum.     Complevitque   Deus 
die     septimo      opus      suum, 
quod   fecerat :      et  requievit 
die     septimo     ab     universo 
opere  quod  patrarat. 


570 


HOLY    WEEK. 


After  the  Lesson,  the  Bishop  says  : 
Oremus.  Let  us  pray. 

The  Deacon,  addressing  the  Faithful  ; 
Flectamus  genua.  Let  us  kneel  down. 

The  Subdeacon  : 
Lev  ate.  Stand  up  again. 

The  Bishop  then  says  this  Prayer  : 

Deus,  qui  mirabiliter  ere-  O  God,  who  didst  wonder- 

asti  hominem,   et  mirabilius  fully  create  man,  and  redeem 

redemisti  :     da   nobis,    qure-  him  by  a  still  greater  wonder : 

sumus,   contra   oblectamenta  grant   us,  we   beseech   thee, 

peccati,  mentis  ratione,  per-  such  strength   of   mind   and 

sistere  :     ut     mereamur     ad  reason  against  all  the  allure - 

seterna      gaudia      pervenire.  ments  of  sin,  that  we  may  de- 

Per  Dominuin.  serve  to  obtain  eternal  joys. 

Through,  &c. 

gt.     Amen.  gt.     Amen. 

SECOND     PROPHECY. 

(Genesis,  Chap.  v. J 

The  second  Lesson  gives  us  the  history  of  the  Deluge. 
Gk>d  makes  the  Waters  serve  as  the  minister  of  his 
justice,  those  very  Waters  which  were,  afterwards, 
by  Jesus,  to  become  the  instrument  of  his  mercy  ; 
the  Ark,  which  is  a  type  of  the  Church,  is  the  shelter 
for  those  who  would  be  saved  from  the  flood ;  the 
human  race  is  preserved  by  one  family,  which  repre- 
sents the  Disciples  of  Christ,  who,  at  first,  were  few  in 
number,  but  afterwards  peopled  the  whole  earth. 

Noe  vero    cum    quingen-  And  Noe,  when  he  was  five 

torum   esset    annorum,    ge-  hundred  years  old,  begot  Sem, 

nuit  Sem,   Cham  et  Japhet,  Cham,    and   Japheth.      And 

Cumque  ccepissent   homines  after  that  men  began  to  be 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


571 


multiplied  upon  the  earth, 
and  daughters  were  born  unto 
them,  the  sons  of  God  seeing 
the  daughters  of  men,  that 
they  were  fair,  took  to  them- 
selves wives  of  all  which  they 
chose.  And  God  said  :  My 
spirit  shall  not  remain  in  man 
for  ever,  because  he  is  flesh  : 
and  his  days  shall  be  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years. 

Now  giants  were  upon  the 
earth  in  those  days.  For 
after  the  sons  of  God  went 
in  to  the  daughters  of  men, 
and  they  brought  forth  chil- 
dren, these  are  the  mighty 
men  of  old,  men  of  renown. 
And  God  seeing  that  the 
wickedness  of  men  was  great 
on.  the  earth,  and  that  all  the 
thought  of  their  heart  was 
bent  upon  evil  at  all  times,  it 
repented  him  that  he  had 
made  man  on  the  earth.  And 
being  touched  inwardly  with 
sorrow  of  heart,  he  said  :  I 
will  destroy  man,  whom  I 
have  created,  from  the  face 
of  the  earth,  from  man  even 
to  beasts,  from  the  creeping 
thing  even  to  the  fowls  of  the 
air,  for  it  repenteth  me  that  I 
have  made  them. 

But  Noe  found  grace  before 
the  Lord.  These  are  the  gene- 
rations of  Noe :  Noe  was  a  just 
and  perfect  man  in  his  gene- 
ration, he  walked  with  God. 
And  he  begot  three  sons,  Sem, 
Cham,  and  Japheth.  And 
the  earth  was  corrupted  be- 
fore God,  and  was  filled  with 
iniquity.  And  when  God 
had  seen  that  the  earth  was 
corrupted,  (for  all  flesh  had 


multiplicari  super  terram,  et 
fili  as  procreassent :  viden- 
tes  filii  Dei  filias  hominum 
quod  essent  pulchrse,  acce- 
perunt  sibi  uxores  ex  omni- 
bus, quas  elegerant.  Dixit- 
que  Deus  :  Non  permanebit 
spiritus  meus  in  homine  in 
seternum,  quia  caro  est : 
eruntque  dies  illius  centum 
viginti  annorum. 

Gigantes  autem  erant  super 
terram  in  diebus  illis.  Post- 
quam  enim  ingressi  sunt 
filii  Dei  ad  filias  hominum, 
illoeque  genuerunt :  isti  sunt 
potentes  a  sseculo  viri  fa- 
mosi.  Videns  autem  Deus, 
quod  multa  malitia  hominum 
esset  in  terra,  et  cuncta 
cogitatio  cordis  intenta 
esset  ad  malum  omni  tem- 
pore, pcenituit  eum,  quod 
hominum  fecisset  in  terra. 
Et  tactus  dolore  cordis  in- 
trinsecus :  Delebo  (inquit) 
hominem  quern  creavi,  a  fa- 
cie teme,  ab  homine  usque 
ad  animantia,  a  reptili 
usque  ad  volucres  cceli : 
poenitet  enim  me  fecisse 
eos. 


Noe  vero  invenit  gratiam 
coram  Domino.  Hae  sunt 
generationes  Noe.  Noe  vir 
Justus  atque  perfectus  fu.it  in 
generationibus  suis,  cum 
Deo  ambulavit,  et  genuit 
tres  filios,  Sem,  Cham,  et 
Japhet.  Corrupta  est  autem 
terra  coram  Deo,  et  repleta 
est  iniquitate.  Cumque  vi- 
disset  Deus  terram  esse  cor- 
ruptam   (omnis   quippe   caro 


572 


HOLY   WEEK. 


cormperat  viam  suam  super 
terrain)  dixit  ad  Noe  :    Finis 
universae  carnis  venit  coram 
me  :    repleta  est  terra  iniqui- 
tate  a  facie  eorum  :     et  ego 
disperdam   eos     cum     terra. 
Fac    tibi     arcam     de    lignis 
laevigatas.     Mansiunculas   in 
area  facies :   et  bitumine  li- 
nies  intrinsecus  et  extrinse- 
cus.    Et  sic  facies  earn.    Tre- 
centorum      cubitorum      erit 
longitudo     arcae  :     quinqua- 
ginta     cubitorum     latitudo  : 
et   triginta   cubitorum     alti- 
tudo  illius.      Fenestram    in 
area    facies :     et    in    cubito 
consummabis       summitatem 
ejus.      Ostium    autem   arcae 
pones     ex    latere    deorsum. 
Ccenacula   et    tristega  facies 
in   ea.      Ecce   ego    adducam 
aquas  diluvii   super  terram : 
ut    interficiam   omnem   car- 
nem,  in  qua  spiritus  vitae  est 
subter   coelum,   et  universa, 
quae    in   terra   sunt,   consu- 
mentur.      Ponamque    fcedus 
meum  tecum  :   et  ingredieris 
arcam  tu,  filii  tui,  uxor  tua, 
et    uxores    filiorum  tuorum 
tecum.     Et  ex  cunctis   ani- 
mantibus     universae     carnis 
bina   induces    in   arcam,    ut 
vivant      tecum,       masculini 
sexus  et  feminini.     De  volu- 
cribus  juxta  genus  suum,  et 
de  jumentis  in   genere   suo, 
et  ex  omni  reptili  terrae  se- 
cundum  genus  suum  :    bina 
de  omnibus  ingredientur  te- 
cum, ut  possint  vivere.     Tol- 
les  igitur  tecum  ex  omnibus 
escis,     quae   mandi   possunt, 
et  comportabis   apud  te  :    et 
erunt  tarn  tibi,  quam  illis  in 
cibum.      Fecit    igitur    Noe 


corrupted  its  way  upon  the 
earth,)   he  said  to  Noe  :    The 
end     of     all    flesh    is    come 
before  me,  and  the  earth  is 
filled   with  iniquity  through 
them ,  and  I  will  destroy  them 
with  the  earth.     Make  thee 
an   ark   of    timber    planks  : 
thou  shalt  make  little  rooms 
in   the   ark,    and  thou  shalt 
pitch  it    within    and    with- 
out.     And  thus   shalt  thou 
make  it.     The  length  of  the 
ark   shall   be  three  hundred 
cubits  :  the  breadth  of  it  fifty 
cubits,  and  the  height  of  it 
thirty  cubits .  Thou  shalt  make 
a  window  in  the  ark,  and  in  a 
cubit  shalt  thou  finish  the  top 
of  it :  and  the  door  of  the  ark 
shalt  thou  set  in  the  side :  with 
lower,  middle  chambers,  and 
third  stories  shalt  thou  make 
it.      Behold  I  will  bring  the 
waters  of  a  great  flood  upon 
the  earth,  to  destroy  all  flesh, 
wherein  is  the  breath  of  life, 
under  heaven.    All  things  that 
are  in  the  earth  shall  be  con- 
sumed.    And  I  will  establish 
my  covenant  with  thee  :   and 
thou  shalt  enter  into  the  ark, 
thou  and  thy  sons,  and  thy 
wife,  and  the  wives  of  thy  sons 
with  thee.     And  of  every  liv- 
ing creature  of  all  flesh,  thou 
shalt  bring  two  of  a  sort  into 
the  ark,  that  they  may  live 
with  thee ;    of  the  male  sex, 
and  the  female.     Of  fowls  ac- 
cording to  their  kind,  and  of 
beasts  in  their  kind,  and  of 
everything  that  creepeth  upon 
the  earth  according  to  its  kind ; 
two  of  every  sort  shall  go  in 
with  thee,  that  they  may  live. 
Thou  shalt  take  unto  thee  of 


HOLY   SATURDAY!   MORNING   SERVICE. 


573 


all  food  that  may  be  eaten, 
and  thou  shalt  lay  it  up  with 
thee  :  and  it  shall  be  food  for 
thee  and  them.  And  Noe  did 
all  things  which  God  com- 
manded him. 

And  he  was  six  hundred 
years  old,  when  the  waters  of 
the  flood  overflowed  the  earth. 
All  the  fountains  of  the  great 
deep  were  broken  up,  and  the 
flood-gates  of  heaven  were 
opened.  And  the  rain  fell 
upon  the  earth  forty  days  and 
forty  nights.  In  the  self-same 
day  Noe,  and  Sem,  and  Cham, 
and  Japheth,  his  sons  :  his 
wife,  and  the  three  wives  of 
his  sons  with  them,  went  into 
the  ark  :  they  and  every  beast 
according  to  its  kind,  and  all 
the  cattle  in  their  kind,  and 
every  thing  that  moveth  upon 
the  earth  according  to  its  kind, 
and  every  fowl  according  to 
its  kind,  all  birds,  and  all  that 
fly.  And  the  ark  was  carried 
upon  the  waters.  And  the 
waters  prevailed  beyond  mea- 
sure upon  the  earth  :  and  all 
the  high  mountains  under  the 
whole  heaven  were  covered. 
The  water  was  fifteen  cubits 
higher  than  the  mountains, 
which  it  covered.  And  all 
flesh  was  (iestroyed  that  moved 
upon  the  earth,  both  of  fowl, 
and  of  cattle,  and  of  beasts, 
and  of  all  creeping  things  that 
creep  upon  the  earth  :  and 
Noe  only  remained,  and  they 
that  were  with  him  in  the  ark. 
And  the  waters  prevailed  up- 
on the  earth  a  hundred  and 
fifty  days. 

And  Grod  remembered  Noe, 
and  all  the  living  creatures, 


omnia  quae    prsoceperat    illi 
Deus. 


Eratque  sexcentorum  an- 
norum,  quando  diluvii  aquae 
inundaverunt  super  terram. 
Eupti  sunt  omnes  fontes 
abyssi  magnae,  et  cataraetao 
cceli  apertae  sunt  :  et  facta 
est  pluvia  super  terram  qua- 
draginta  diebus  et  quadra - 
ginta  noctibus.  In  articulo 
diei  illius  ingressus  est  Noe, 
et  Sem,  et  Cham,  et  Japhet, 
filii  ejus,  uxor  illius,  et  tres 
uxores  filiorum  ejus,  cum 
eis  in  arcam  :  ipsi  et  omne 
animal,  secundum  genus 
suum,  universaque  jumenta 
in  genere  suo,  et  omne  quod 
movetur  super  terram  in 
genere  suo,  cunctumque  vo- 
latile secundum  genus  suum. 
Porro  area  ferebatur  super 
aquas.  Et  aquae  praevalue- 
runt  nimis  super  terram  : 
opertique  sunt  omnes  mon- 
tes  excelsi  sub  universo 
coelo.  Quindecim  cubitis 
altior  fuit  aqua  super  mon- 
tes,  quos  operuerat.  Con- 
sumptaque  est  omnis  caro, 
quae  movebatur  super  ter- 
ram, volucrum,  animantium, 
bestiarum,  omniumque  rep- 
tilium  quae  reptant  super 
terram.  Eemansit  autem 
solus  Noe,  et  qui  cum  eo 
erant,  in  area.  Obtinuerunt- 
que  aquae  terram  centum 
quinquaginta  diebus. 

Eecordatus  autem  Deus 
Noe,       cunctorumque      ani- 


574 


HOLY    WEEK. 


mantium,  et  omnium  ju- 
mentorum,  quae  erant  cum 
eo  in  area  :  adduxit  spiri- 
tum  super  terram,  et  immi- 
nutae  sunt  aquae.  Et  clausi 
sunt  fontes  abyssi,  et  cata- 
ractae  cceli  :  et  prohibitae 
sunt  pluviae  de  ccelo.  Ke- 
versaeque  sunt  aquae  de 
terra  euntes  et  redeuntes  : 
et  cceperunt  minui  post 
centum  quinquaginta  dies. 
Cumque  transissent  qua- 
draginta  dies,  aperiens  Noe 
fenestram  arcae  quam  fece- 
rat,  dimisit  corvum.  Qui 
egrediebatur,  et  non  rever- 
tebatur,  donee  siccarentur 
aquae  super  terram.  Emi- 
sit  quoque  columbam  post 
eum,  ut  videret  si  jam 
cessassent  aquae  super  fa- 
ciem  terrae.  Quae  curn  non 
invenisset  ubi  requiesceret 
pes  ejus,  reversa  est  ad 
eum  in  arcam.  Aquae  enim 
erant  super  universam  ter- 
ram. Extenditque  manum, 
et  apprehensam  intulit  in 
arcam.  Exspectatis  autem 
ultra  septem  diebus  aliis, 
rursum  dimisit  columbam 
ex  area.  At  ilia  venit  ad 
eum  ad  vesperam,  portans 
ramum  olivae  virentibus  fo- 
liis  in  ore  suo.  Intellexit 
ergo  Noe,  quod  cessassent 
aquae  super  terram.  Ex- 
spectavitque  •  nihilominus 
septem  alios  dies,  et  emi- 
sit  columbam  quae  non  est 
reversa  ultra  ad  eum.  Lo- 
cutus  est  autem  Dominus 
ad  Noe,  dicens  :  Egredere 
de  area  tu,  et  uxor  tua  : 
filii  tui,  et  uxores  filiorum 
tuorum  tecum.     Cuncta  ani- 


and  all  the  cattle  which  were 
with  him  in  the  ark,  and 
brought  a  wind  upon  the 
earth,  and  the  waters  were 
abated.  The  fountains  also 
of  the  deep,  and  the  flood- 
gates of  heaven  were  shut  up, 
and  the  rain  from  heaven  was 
restrained.  And  the  waters 
returned  from  off  the  earth, 
going  and  coming  :  and  they 
began  to  be  abated  after  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  days .  And  after 
that  forty  days  were  passed, 
Noe  opening  the  window  of 
the  ark  which  he  had  made, 
sent  forth  a  raven :  which  went 
forth  and  did  not  return  till 
the  waters  were  dried  upon 
the  earth.  He  sent  forth  also 
a  dove  after  him,  to  see  if  the 
waters  had  now  ceased  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth.  But 
she  not  finding  where  her  foot 
might  rest,  returned  to  him 
into  the  ark  :  for  the  waters 
were  upon  the  whole  earth  : 
and  he  put  forth  his  hand, 
and  caught  her,  and  brought 
her  into  the  ark.  And  having 
waited  yet  seven  other  days, 
he  again  sent  forth  the  dove 
out  of  the  ark.  And  she  came 
to  him  in  the  evening,  carry- 
ing a  bough  of  an  olive-tree, 
with  green  leaves  in  her 
mouth.  Noe  therefore  under- 
stood that  the  waters  were 
ceased  upon  the  earth.  And 
he  stayed  yet  other  seven  days ; 
and  he  sent  forth  the  dove, 
which  returned  not  any  more 
unto  him.  And  God  spoke 
to  Noe,  saying :  Go  out  of  the 
ark,  thou  and  thy  wife,  thy 
sons,  and  the  wives  of  thy 
sons   with   thee.     All   living 


HOLY   SATURDAY  I     MORNING   SERVICE. 


575 


things  that  are  with  thee  of 
all  flesh,  as  well  in  fowls,  as 
in  beasts,  and  all  creeping 
things,  that  creep  upon  the 
earth,  bring  out  with  thee, 
and  go  ye  upon  the  earth : 
increase  and  multiply  upon  it. 

So  Noe  went  out,  he  and 
his  sons,  his  wife,  and  the 
wives  of  his  sons  with  him  : 
and  all  living  things,  and  cat- 
tle, and  creeping  things  that 
creep  upon  the  earth,  accord- 
ing to  their  kinds,  went  out  of 
the  ark.  And  Noe  built  an 
altar  unto  the  Lord :  and 
taking  of  all  cattle  and  fowls 
that  were  clean,  offered  holo- 
causts upon  the  altar.  And 
the  Lord  smelled  a  sweet 
savour. 

The  Bishop  :  Let  us  pray. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

O  God,  whose  power  is  un- 
changeable, and  whose  light 
never  faileth,  mercifully  re- 
gard the  wonderful  sacrament 
of  thy  whole  church,  and  by 
an  effect  of  thy  perpetual  pro- 
vidence, accomplish  in  peace 
the  work  of  human  salvation  : 
and  let  the  whole  world  ex- 
perience and  see,  that  what 
was  fallen,  is  raised  up  again  : 
what  was  old,  is  become 
new  ;  and  that  all  things 
are  again  settled  by  him  who 
gave  them  their  first  being, 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  thy 
Son.     Who  liveth,  &c. 

Be.     Amen. 


mantia,  quae  sunt  apud  te, 
ex  omni  carne,  tarn  in  vo- 
latilibus  quam  in  bestiis, 
et  universis  reptilibus  quse 
reptant  super  terram,  educ 
tecum,  et  ingredimini  super 
terram.  Crescite,  et  multi- 
plicamini  super  earn. 

Egressus  est  ergo  Noe 
et  filii  ejus,  uxor  illius,  et 
uxores  filiorum  ejus  cum 
eo.  Sed  et  omnia  animan- 
tia,  jumenta  et  reptilia 
quae  reptant  super  terram 
secundum  genus  suum, 
egressa  sunt  de  area.  -SUdi- 
ficavit  autem  Noe  altare 
Domino  :  et  tollens  de  cunc- 
tis  pecoribus  et  volucribus 
mundis,  obtulit  holocausta 
super  altare.  Odoratusque 
est  Dominus  odorem  sua- 
vitatis. 

The  Bishop  :   Oremus. 

The  Deacon  :  Flectamus 
genua. 

The    Subdeacon  :    Levate. 

Deus  incommutabilis  vir- 
tus et  lumen  seternum,  res- 
pice  propitius  ad  totius 
Ecclesiae  tuse  mirabile  sa- 
cramentum,  et  opus  salutis 
humanse  perpetuse  disposi- 
tions effectu  tranquillius 
operare :  totusque  mundus 
experiatur  et  videat,  de- 
jecta erigi,  inveterata  re- 
novari,  et  per  ipsum  redire 
omnia  in  integrum,  a  quo 
sumpsere  principium :  Do- 
minum  nostrum  Jesum 
Christum  Filium  tuum . 
Qui  tecum. 


gt.     Amen. 


2u 


576 


HOLY    WEEK. 


THIRD     PROPHECY. 

(Qe?iesis,   Chap,  xxii.) 

Abraham,  the  Father  of  Believers,  is  here  offered 
to  our  Catechumens  as  a  model  of  Faith.  They  are 
taught  how  man  should  ever  depend  upon  his  God, 
and  faithfully  serve  him.  The  obedience  shown  by 
Isaac  to  his  father's  orders  is  a  figure  of  that  which 
our  Saviour  has  shown  on  Calvary.  The  wood  for 
the  holocaust,  carried  up  the  mountain  by  Abraham's 
son,  brings  to  our  minds  the  Son  of  God  carrying  his 
Cross. 


In  diebus  illis:  Tentavit 
Deus  Abraham,  et  dixit  ad 
eum :  Abraham,  Abraham. 
At  ille  respondit :  Adsum. 
Ait  illi:  Tolle  filium  tuum 
unigenitum,  quern  diligis 
Isaac,  et  vade  in  terram  vi- 
sionis  :  atque  ibi  offeres  eum 
in  holocaustum  super  unum 
montium,  quern  monstrave- 
ro  tibi.  Igitur  Abraham  de 
nocte  consurgens,  stravit  asi- 
num  suum,  ducens  secum 
duos  juvenes,  et  Isaac  filium 
suum.  Oumque  concidisset 
ligna  in  holocaustum,  abiit 
ad  locum,  quern  prseceperat 
ei  Deus.  Die  autem  tertio, 
elevatis  oculis,  vidit  locum 
procul :  dixitque  ad  pueros 
suos :  Exspectate  hie  cum 
asino :  ego  et  puer  illuc  us- 
que properantes,  postquam 
adoraverimus,  revertemur  ad 
vos.  Tulit  quoque  ligna  ho- 
locaust!, et  imposuit  super 
Isaac  filium  suum :  ipse  vero 
portabat  in   manibus   ignem 


In  those  days :  God  tempted 
Abraham,  and  said  to  him : 
Abraham,  Abraham.  And  he 
answered :  Here  I  am.  He 
said  to  him  :  Take  thy  only 
begotten  son  Isaac,  whom  thou 
lovest,  and  go  into  the  land  of 
vision  :  and  there  thou  shalt 
offer  him  for  an  holocaust 
upon  one  of  the  mountains 
which  I  will  shew  thee.  So 
Abraham  rising  up  in  the 
night,  saddled  his  ass ;  and 
took  with  him  two  young  men, 
and  Isaac  his  son  ;  and  when 
he  had  cut  wood  for  the  holo- 
caust, he  went  his  way  to  the 
place  which  God  had  com- 
manded him.  And  on  the 
third  day,  lifting  up  his  eyes, 
he  saw  the  place  afar  off.  And 
he  said  to  his  young  men  : 
Stay  you  here  with  the  ass  :  I 
and  the  boy  will  go  with  speed 
as  far  as  yonder,  and  after  we 
have  worshipped,  will  return 
to  you.  And  he  took  the  wood 
for  the  holocaust,   and  laid  it 


HOLY   SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


577 


upon  Isaac  his  son  :  and  he 
himself  carried  in  his  hands 
fire  and  a  sword.  And  as  they 
two  went  on  together,  Isaac 
said  to  his  father :  My  Father. 
And  he  answered  :  What  wilt 
thou,  son  ?  Behold,  saith  he, 
fire  and  wood  :  where  is  the 
victim  for  the  holocaust  ?  And 
Abraham  said :  God  will  pro- 
vide himself  a  victim  for  a  ho- 
locaust, my  son. 

So  they  went  on  together  : 
and  they  came  to  the  place 
which  God  had  shewed  him, 
where  he  built  an  altar,  and 
laid  the  wood  in  order  upon 
it :  and  when  he  had  bound 
Isaac  his  son,  he  laid  him  on 
the  altar,  upon  the  pile  of 
wood.  And  he  put  forth  his 
hand,  and  took  the  sword  to 
sacrifice  his  son.  And  behold 
an  Angel  of  the  Lord  from 
heaven  called  to  him,  saying  : 
Abraham,  Abraham.  And  he 
answered  :  Here  I  am.  And 
he  said  to  him  :  Lay  not  thy 
hand  upon  the  boy,  neither  do 
thou  anything  to  him  :  now  I 
know  that  thou  fearest  God, 
and  hast  not  spared  thy  only 
begotten  son  for  my  sake. 
Abraham  lifted  up  his  eyes, 
and  saw  behind  his  back  a  ram 
amongst  the  briers,  sticking 
fast  by  the  horns,  which  he 
took  and  offered  for  a  holo- 
caust instead  of  his  son.  And 
he  called  the  name  of  that 
place,  The  Lord  seeth.  Where- 
upon, even  to  this  day,  it  is 
said  :  In  the  mountain  the 
Lord  will  see. 

And  the  Angel  of  the  Lord 
called  to  Abraham  a  second 
time  from  heaven,  saying :  By 


et  gladium.  Cumque  duo 
pergerent  simul,  dixit  Isaac 
patri  suo  :  Pater  mi.  At  ille 
respondit  :  Quid  vis,  fili  ? 
Ecce,  inquit,  ignis  et  ligna, 
ubi  est  victima  holocausti  ? 
Dixit  autem  Abraham  :  Deus 
providebit  sibi  victimam  ho- 
locausti, fili  mi. 


Pergebant  ergo  pariter  :  et 
venerunt  ad  locum,  quern 
ostenderat  ei  Deus  :  in  quo 
sedificavit  altare,  et  desuper 
ligna  composuit.  Cumque 
alligasset  Isaac  filium  suum, 
posuit  eum  in  altare  super 
struem  lignorum.  Extendit- 
que  manum,  et  arripuit  gla- 
dium, ut  immolaret  filium 
suum.  Et  ecce  Angelus  Do- 
mini de  ccelo  clamavit,  di- 
cens  :  Abraham,  Abraham. 
Qui  respondit  :  Adsum. 
Dixitque  ei  :  Non  extendas 
manum  tuam  super  puerum  : 
neque  facias  illi  quidquam. 
Nunc  cognovi,  quod  times 
Deum  :  et  non  pepercisti 
unigenito  filio  tuo  propter 
me.  Levavit  Abraham  ocu- 
los  suos,  viditque  post  ter- 
gum  arietem  inter  vepres, 
heerentem  cornibus  :  quern 
adsumens,  obtulit  holocau- 
stum  pro  filio.  Appellavit- 
que  nomen  loci  illius  :  Do- 
minus  vidit.  Unde  usque 
hodie  dicitur  :  In  monte  Do- 
minus  videbit. 


Vocavit  autem  Angelus 
Domini  Abraham  secundo 
de  coelo,  dicens ;  Per  memet- 


578 


HOLY    WEEK. 


ipsum  juravi,  dicit  Domi- 
nus  :  quia  fecisti  hanc  rem, 
et  non  pepercisti  filio  tuo 
unigenito  propter  me  :  bene- 
dicam  tibi,  et  multiplicabo 
semen  tuum  sicut  stellas  cce- 
li,  et  velut  arenam,  quae  est 
in  littore  maris.  Possidebit 
semen  tuum  portas  inimico- 
rum  suorum  :  et  benedicen- 
tur  in  semine  tuo  omnes 
gentes  terrse,  quia  obedisti 
voci  mese.  Re  versus  est 
Abraham  ad  pueros  suos  : 
abieruntque  Bersabee  simul, 
et  habitavit  ibi. 

The  Bishop  :  Oremus. 
The  Deacon  :       Flectamus 
genua. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Levate. 

Deus,  fidelium  pater  sum- 
me,  qui  in  toto  orbe  terrarum, 
promissionis  tuse  filios  diffusa 
adoptionis  gratia  multiplicas : 
et  per  Paschale  sacramentum, 
Abraham  puerum  tuum  uni- 
versarum,  sicut  jurasti,  gen- 
tium efficis  patrem  :  da 
populis  tuis  digne  ad  gra- 
tiam  tuse  vocationis  introire. 
Per  Dominum. 

#.     Amen. 


my  own  self  have  I  sworn, 
saith  the  Lord ;  because  thou 
hast  done  this  thing,  and  hast 
not  spared  thy  only  begotten 
son  for  my  sake :  I  will  bless 
thee,  and  I  will  multiply  thy 
seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven, 
and  as  the  sand  that  is  by  the 
sea  shore  :  thy  seed  shall  pos- 
sess the  gates  of  their  enemies. 
And  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed, 
because  thou  hast  obeyed  my 
voice.  Abraham  returned  to 
his  young  men,  and  they  went 
to  Bersabee  together,  and  he 
dwelt  there. 

The  Bishop  :    Let  us  pray. 

The  Beacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

0  God,  the  sovereign  Father 
of  the  faithful,  who  through- 
out the  whole  world  multi- 
pliest  the  children  of  the  pro- 
mise by  the  grace  of  thy  adop- 
tion, and  makest  thy  servant 
Abraham,  according  to  thy 
oath,  the  father  of  all  nations 
by  this  Paschal  sacrament ; 
grant  that  thy  people  may 
worthily  receive  the  grace  of 
thy  vocation.      Through,  &c. 

gt.     Amen 


FOURTH    PROPHECY. 
(Exodus,  CHAP.  XIV.) 


Here  we  have  the  great  type  of  Baptism.  The 
People  of  (rod,  delivered  from  Pharao's  tyranny,  are 
saved  by  the  very  water  that  destroys  the  Egyptian. 
The  Catechumens  will  come  forth  from  the  Baptise 


HOLY    SATURDAY   I    MORNING    SERVICE. 


579 


mal  Font  freed  from  Satan's  sway 
perish  for  ever  in  its  saving  waters. 


their  sins  will 


In  those  days  :  it  came  to 
pass  in  the  morning  watch, 
and  behold  the  Lord  looking 
upon  the  Egytian  army 
through  the  pillar  of  fire,  and 
of  the  cloud,  slew  their  host : 
and  overthrew  the  wheels  of 
the  chariots,  and  they  were 
carried  into  the  deep.  And 
the  Egyptians  said  :  Let  us 
flee  from  Israel :  for  the  Lord 
fighteth  for  them  against  us. 
And  the  Lord  said  to  Moses  : 
Stretch  forth  thine  hand  over 
the  sea,  that  the  waters  may 
come  again  upon  the  Egyp- 
tians, upon  their  chariots  and 
horsemen.  And  when  Moses 
had  stretched  forth  his  hand 
towards  the  sea,  it  returned  at 
the  first  break  of  day  to  the 
former  place :  and  as  the 
Egyptians  were  fleeing  away, 
the  waters  came  upon  them, 
and  the  Lord  shut  them 
up  in  the  middle  of  the  waves. 
And  the  waves  returned,  and 
covered  the  chariots  and  the 
horsemen  of  all  the  army  of 
Pharao,  who  had  come  into 
the  sea  after  them,  neither  did 
there  so  much  as  one  of  them 
remain.  But  the  children  of 
Israel  marched  through  the 
midst  of  the  sea  upon  dry 
land,  and  the  waters  were  to 
them  as  a  wall  on  the  right 
hand  and  on  the  left :  and  the 
Lord  delivered  Israel  in  that 
day  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
Egyptians.  And  they  saw  the 
Egyptians  dead  upon  the  sea- 
shore, and  the  mighty  hand 


In  diebus  illis :  Factum 
est  in  vigilia  matutina,  et 
ecce  respiciens  Dominus  su- 
per castra  .ZEgyptiorum  per 
columnam  ignis  et  nubis, 
interfecit  exercitum  eorum  : 
et  subvertit  rotas  curruum, 
ferebanturque  in  profun- 
dum.  Dixerunt  ergo  JE- 
gyptii:  Fugiamus  Israelem: 
Dominus  enim  pugnat  pro 
eis  contra  nos.  Et  ait  Domi- 
nus ad  Moysen :  Extende 
manum  tuam  super  mare : 
ut  revertantur  aquse  ad  JE- 
gyptios  super  currus  et 
equites  eorum.  Cumque 
extendisset  Moyses  man- 
um contra  mare,  reversum 
est  primo  diluculo  ad  prio- 
rem  locum ;  fugientibusque 
.ZEgyptiis  occurrerunt  aquae  : 
et  involvit  eos  Dominus  in 
mediis  fluctibus.  Reversse- 
que  sunt  aquae,  et  operue- 
runt  currus  et  equites  cunc- 
ti  exercitus  Pharaonis,  qui 
sequentes  ingressi  fuerant 
mare ;  nee  unus  quidein 
superfuit  ex  eis.  Filii  autem 
Israel  perrexerunt  per  me- 
dium sicci  maris  :  et  aquae 
eis  erant  quasi  pro  muro  a 
dextris  et  a  sinistris.  Li- 
beravitque  Dominus  in  die 
ilia  Israel  de  manu  Egytio- 
rum.  Et  viderunt  JEgyptios 
mortuos  super  littus  maris  : 
et  manum  magnam,  quam 
exercuerat  Dominus  contra 
eos.  Timuitque  populus 
Dominum  :  et  crediderunt 
Domino,       et    Moysi     servo 


580 


HOLY    WEEK. 


ejus.  Tunc  cecinit  Moyses, 
et  filii  Israel,  carmen  hoc 
Domino,  et  dixerunt  : 


that  theLordhad  used  against 
them  :  and  the  people  feared 
the  Lord,  and  they  believed 
the  Lord,  and  Moses  his  ser- 
vant. Then  Moses  and  the 
children  of  Israel  sang  this 
canticle  to  the  Lord,  and  said : 


Here  the  Church  sings  the  Canticle  of  Moses. 
His  sister  Mary,  and  the  daughters  of  Israel,  sang  it 
on  the  shore  of  the  Red  Sea,  as  they  looked  upon 
the  dead  bodies  of  the  Egyptians. 


TRACT. 


Cantemus  Domino  :  glo- 
riose  enim  honorificatus  est  : 
equum  et  ascensorem  pro- 
jecit  in  mare  :  adjutor  et 
protector  factus  est  mihi  in 
salutem. 

y.  Hie  Deus  meus,  et 
honorificabo  eum  :  Deus  pa- 
tris  mei,  et  exaltabo  eum. 

IV.  Dominus  conterens 
bella  :    Dominus   nomen   est 

mi. 

The  Bishop  :  Oremus. 
The  Deacon  :      Flectamus 
genua. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Levate. 

Deus,  cujus  antiqua  mi- 
racula  etiam  nostris  ssecu- 
lis  coruscare  sentimus  :  dum 
quod  uni  populo  a  persecu- 
tion JEgyptiaca  liberando, 
dexterae  tuse  potentia  con- 
tulisti,  id  in  salutem  gen- 
tium per  aquam  regenera- 
tions operaris  :  prsesta,  ut 
in  Abrahae  filios.  et  in  Israe- 
liticam     dignitatem,      totius 


Let  us  sing  to  the  Lord,  for 
he  is  gloriously  magnified  : 
the  horse  and  the  rider  he 
hath  thrown  into  the  sea :  he 
is  become  my  helper  and  pro- 
tector unto  salvation. 

<^.  He  is  my  God,  and  I 
will  glorify  him  :  the  God  of 
my  father,  and  I  will  exalt 
him. 

$.  The  Lord  is  he  that 
destroyeth  war  :  Almighty  is 
his  name. 

The  Bishop  :  Let  us  pray. 

The  Beacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

O  God,  whose  ancient  mir- 
acles we  see  renewed  in  our 
days  :  whilst,  by  the  water  of 
regeneration  thou  perf  ormest, 
for  the  salvation  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, that  which  by  the  power 
of  thy  right  hand  thou  didst 
for  the  deliverance  of  one 
people  from  the  Egyptian  per- 
secution; grant  that  all  the 
nations  of  the  world  may  be- 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


581 


come  the  children  of  Abraham,     mundi     transeat    plenitudo. 
and  partake  of  the  dignity  of     Per  Dominum. 
the  people  of  Israel.  Through, 
&c. 
Bt.     Amen.  #.     Amen. 


FIFTH    PROPHECY. 

(Isaias,  chap,  lv.) 

Isaias,  the  most  sublime  of  the  Prophets,  here  in- 
vites our  Catechumens  to  come  to  the  waters,  that  their 
thirst  may  be  quenched  :  he  bids  them  satiate  their 
hunger  with  the  sweetest  food  :  he  tells  them  of  the 
inheritance  which  Grod  has  in  store  for  them  :  they 
need  not  fear  their  poverty,  for  the  infinitely  rich 
Grod  will  overwhelm  them  with  good  things. 


This  is  the  inheritance  of 
the  servants  of  the  Lord,  and 
their  justice  with  me,  saith  the 
Lord.  All  you  that  thirst, 
come  to  the  waters  :  and  you 
that  have  no  money,  make 
haste,  buy,  and  eat :  come  ye, 
buy  wine  and  milk  without 
money,  and  without  any  price. 
Why  do  you  spend  money  for 
that  which  is  not  bread,  and 
your  labour  for  that  which 
doth  not  satisfy  you  ?  Hearken 
diligently  to  me,  and  eat  that 
which  is  good,  and  your  soul 
shall  be  delighted  in  fatness. 
Incline  your  ear  and  come  to 
me  :  hear,  and  your  soul  shall 
live,  and  I  will  make  an  ever- 
lasting covenant  with  you,  the 
faithful  mercies  of  David. 
Behold  I  have  given  him  for  a 
witness  to  the  people,  for  a 
leader  and  a  master  to  the 
Gentiles.  Behold  thou  shalt 
call  a  nation  which  thou 
knewest  not :  and  the  nations 


Hsec  est  haereditas  ser- 
vorum  Domini,  et  justitia 
eorum  apud  me,  dicit  Domi- 
nus.  Omnes  sitientes  venite 
ad  aquas  :  et  qui  non  habetis 
argentum,  properate,  emite 
et  comedite.  Venite,  emite 
absque  argento,  et  absque 
ulla  commutatione  vinum  et 
lac.  Quare  appenditis  ar- 
gentum non  in  panibus,  et 
laborem  vestrum  non  in 
saturitate  ?  Audite  audien- 
tes  me,  et  comedite  bonum  : 
et  delectabitur  in  crassitu- 
dine  anima  vestra.  Incli- 
nate  aurem  vestram,  et 
venite  ad  me  :  audite  :  et 
vivet  anima  vestra :  et  feri- 
am  vobiscum  pactum  sem- 
piternum,  misericordias  Da- 
vid fideles.  Ecce  testem 
populis  dedi  eum,  ducem 
ac  prseceptorem  gentibus. 
Ecce  gentem  quam  nescie- 
bas,  vocabis  ;  et  gentes,  quae 
te      non      cognoverunt,      ad 


582 


HOLY   WEEK. 


te  current,  propter  Doroi- 
num  Deum  tuum,  et  Sanc- 
tum Israel,  quia  glorificavit 
te.  Quserite  Dominum,  dum 
inveniri  potest,  invocate  eum, 
dum  prope  est.  Derelinquat 
impius  viam  suam,  et  vir 
iniquus  cogitationes  suas  :  et 
revertatur  ad  Dominum,  et 
miserebitur  ejus  :  et  ad  De- 
um nostrum,  quoniam  mul- 
tus  est  ad  ignoscendum. 
Non  enim  cogitationes  mese, 
cogitationes  vestrse,  neque 
vise  yestrse,  vise  mese,  dicit 
Dominus.  Quia  sicut  exal- 
tantur  coeli  a  terra  :  sic  ex- 
altatse  sunt  vise  mese  a  viis 
vestris,  et  cogitationes  mese 
a  cogitationibus  vestris.  Et 
quomodo  descendit  imber,  et 
nix  de  ccelo,  et  illuc  ultra 
non  revertitur,  sed  inebriat 
terram,  et  infundit  earn,  et 
germinare  earn  facit,  et  dat 
semen  serenti,  et  panem 
comedenti  :  sic  erit  verbum 
meum  quod  egredietur  de 
ore  meo.  Non  revertetur  ad 
me  vacuum,  sed  faciet  quse- 
cumque  volui,  et  prosperabi- 
tur  in  his,  ad  quae  misi  illud  : 
dicit  Dominus  omnipotens. 


The  Bishop  : 
The  Deacon 


Oremus. 
Flectamus 


genua. 

The  Snodeacon  :   Levate. 

Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  multiplica  in  hono- 
rem  nominis  tui  quod  pa- 
trum  fidei  spopondisti  :  et 
promissionis  filios  sacra 
adoptione  dilata  :  ut  quod 
priores    sancti    non   dubita- 


that  knew  not  thee  shall  run 
to  thee,  because  of  the  Lord 
thy  God,  and  for  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  for  he  hath 
glorified  thee.  Seek  ye  the 
Lord  while  he  may  be  found : 
call  upon  him  while  he  is  near. 
Let  the  wicked  forsake  his 
way,  and  the  unjust  man  his 
thoughts,  and  let  him  return 
to  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have 
mercy  on  him  ;  and  to  our 
God,  for  he  is  bountiful  to 
forgive .  For  my  tho  ughts  are 
not  your  thoughts,  nor  your 
ways  my  ways,  saiththe  Lord. 
For  as  the  heavens  are  exalted 
above  the  earth,  so  are  my 
ways  exalted  above  your  ways, 
and  my  thoughts  above  your 
thoughts.  And  as  the  rain 
and  the  snow  come  down  from 
heaven  and  return  no  more 
thither,  but  soak  the  earth  and 
water  it,  and  make  it  to  spring 
and  give  seed  to  the  sower, 
and  bread  to  the  eater  :  so 
shall  my  word  be,  which  shall 
go  forth  from  my  mouth  :  it 
shall  not  return  to  me  void, 
but  it  shall  do  whatever  I 
please,  and  shall  prosper  in 
the  things  for  which  I  sent  it, 
saith  the  Lord  Almighty. 

The  Bishop  :     Let  us  pray. 

The  Deacon :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

O  Almighty  and  Eternal 
God,  multiply  for  the  honour 
of  thy  name,  what  thou  didst 
promise  to  the  faith  of  our 
forefathers  :  and  increase,  by 
thy  sacred  adoption,  the  chil- 
dren of  that  promise  :    and 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


583 


what  the  ancient  saints  doubt- 
ed not  would  come  to  pass,  thy 
church  may  now  find  in  great 
part  accomplished.  Through, 
&c. 

gt.     Amen. 


verunt  futurum,  Ecclosia 
tua  magna  jam  ex  parte  cog- 
noscat  impletum.  Per  Do- 
minum. 

Bt.     Amen. 


SIXTH    PROPHECY. 

(Baruch,  Chap,  hi.) 

In  this  admirable  passage  from  the  Prophet  Ba- 
ruch, Gk>d  reminds  the  Catechumens,  who  are  about 
to  receive  holy  Baptism,  of  their  past  sins,  which 
made  them  unworthy  of  pardon  :  but,  by  his  gratui- 
tous mercy,  he  has  vouchsafed  to  pour  out  his  Wisdom 
upon  them,  and  they  came  unto  him.  He  then 
speaks  to  them  of  those  men  of  the  Grentile  world, 
who  were  wealthy,  and  powerful,  and  enterprising, 
and  have  left  a  name  behind  them.  But  they 
perished,  and  their  earthly  wisdom  with  them.  The 
New  People,  whom  the  Lord  this  day  forms  to  him- 
self, shall  not  go  astray :  Wisdom  is  to  be  their 
portion.  Heretofore,  (rod  spoke  his  mysteries  to 
Jacob ;  but  this  his  word  did  not  reach  all  men  : 
now,  he  is  come,  in  person,  upon  earth;  he  con- 
versed  with  men,  and  dwelt  among  them ;  therefore, 
the  people  he  now  raises  up  for  himself,  shall  be  for 
ever  faithful. 


Hear,  O  Israel,  the  com- 
mandments of  life  :  give  ear, 
that  thou  mayest  learn  wis- 
dom. How  happeneth  it,  O 
Israel,  that  thou  art  in  thy 
enemies'  land  ?  Thou  art 
grown  old  in  a  strange  coun- 
try, thou  art  denied  with  the 
dead  :  thou  art  counted  with 
them  that  go  down  into  hell. 
Thou  hast  forsaken  the  fount- 
ain of  wisdom ;  for  if  thou  hadst 


Audi  Israel  mandata  vi- 
tse  :  auribus  percipe,  ut 
scias  prudentiam.  Quid  est 
Israel  quod  in  terra  inimi- 
corum  es  ?  Inveterasti  in 
terra  aliena,  coinquinatus 
es  cum  mortuis  :  deputatus 
es  cum  descendentibus  in 
infernum  ?  Dereliquisti  fon- 
tem  sapientiae.  Nam  si  in 
via  Dei  ambulasses,  habi- 
tasses  utique  in  pace  sempi- 

2x 


584 


HOLY    WEEK. 


terna.  Disce  ubi  sit  pru- 
dentia,  ubi  sit  virtus,  ubi 
sit  intellectus  :  ut  scias 
simul  ubi  sit  longiturnitas 
vitae  et  victus,  ubi  sit  lumen 
oeulorum,  et  pax. 


Quis  inven.it  locum  ejus  ? 
Et  quis  introivit  in  thesau- 
ros  ejus  ?  Ubi  sunt  princi- 
pes  gentium,  et  qui  domi- 
nantur  super  bestias,  quae 
sunt  super  terram  ?  Qui  in 
avibus  cceli  ludunt,  qui 
argentum  thesaurizant,  et 
aurum,  in  quo  confidunt 
homines  :  et  non  est  finis 
acquisitions  eorum  :  qui 
argentum  fabricant,  et  sol- 
liciti  sunt :  nee  est  inven- 
tio  operum  illorum.  Exter- 
minati  sunt,  et  ad  inferos 
descenderunt :  et  alii  loco 
eorum  surrexerunt.  Juvenes 
viderunt  lumen  :  et  habita- 
verunt  super  terram.  Viam 
autem  disciplinse  ignorave- 
runt,  neque  intellexerunt 
semitas  ejus,  neque  filii 
eorum  susceperunt  earn.  A 
facie  eorum  longe  facta  est. 
Non  est  audita  in  terra 
Chanaan  :  neque  visa  est  in 
Tbeman.  Filii  quoque  Agar, 
qui  exquirunt  prudentiam 
quae  de  terra  est,  negotia- 
tores  Merrhse  et  Theman,  et 
fabulatores,  et  exquisitores 
prudentiae  et  intelligentiae" ; 
viam  autem  sapientiae  nes- 
cierunt,  neque  commemorati 
sunt  semitas  ejus. 

0  Israel,  quam  magna  est 
domus  Dei,   et  ingens  locus 


walked  in  the  way  of  God, 
thou  surely  hadst  dwelt  in 
peace  for  ever.  Learn  where 
is  wisdom,  where  is  strength, 
where  is  understanding  :  that 
thou  mayest  know  also  where 
is  length  of  days  and  life, 
where  is  the  light  of  the  eyes, 
and  peace. 

Who  hath  found  out  her 
place  ?  and  who  hath  gone  in 
to  her  treasures  ?  Where  are 
the  princes  of  the  nations,  and 
they  that  rule  over  the  beasts 
that  are  upon  the  earth  ?  That 
take  their  pastime  with  the 
birds  of  the  air,  that  hoard  up 
silver  and  gold,  wherein  men 
trust,  and  there  is  no  end  of 
their  getting  ?  who  work  in 
silver  and  are  solicitous,  and 
their  works  are  unsearchable  ? 
They  are  cut  off,  and  are  gone 
down  to  hell,  and  others  are 
risen  up  in  their  place.  Young 
men  have  seen  the  light,  and 
dwelt  upon  the  earth  :  but  the 
way  of  knowledge  they  have 
not  known,  nor  have  they 
understood  the  paths  thereof, 
neither  have  their  children 
received  it :  it  is  far  from  their 
face.  It  hath  not  been  heard 
of  in  the  land  of  Chanaan, 
neither  hath  it  been  seen  in 
Theman.  The  children  of 
Agar  also,  that  search  after 
wisdom  that  is  of  the  earth, 
the  merchants  of  Merrha,  and 
of  Theman,  and  the  tellers  of 
fables,  and  searchers  of  pru- 
dence and  understanding :  but 
the  way  of  wisdom  they  have 
not  known,  neither  have  they 
remembered  her  paths. 

O  Israel,  how  great  is  the 
house  of  God,   and  how  vast 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


585 


is  the  place  of  his  possession  ! 
It  is  great  and  hath  no  end : 
it  is  high  and  immense.  There 
were   the   giants,    those   re- 
nowned men  that  were  from 
the  beginning,   of  great  sta- 
ture, expert  in  war.  The  Lord 
chose  not  them,  neither  did 
they  find  the  way  of  know- 
ledge :     therefore    did    they 
perish.  And  because  they  had 
not  wisdom,     they   perished 
through   their  folly.       Who 
hath  gone  up  into  heaven,  and 
taken  her,  and  brought  her 
down  from  the  clouds  ?  "Who 
hath  passed  over  the  sea,  and 
found  her,  and  brought  her 
preferably    to   chosen   gold  ? 
There  is  none  that  is  able  to 
know  her  ways,  nor  that  can 
search  out  her  paths  :  But  he 
that     knoweth      all     things, 
knoweth  her,  and  hath  found 
her  out  with  his  understand- 
ing :     he  that   prepared  the 
earth  for  evermore,  and  filled 
it  with  cattle,  and  four-footed 
beasts  :  he  that  sendeth  forth 
light,  and  it  goeth ;  and  hath 
called  it,  and  it  obeyed  him 
with    trembling.      And    the 
stars  have  given  light  in  their 
watches  and  rejoiced  :    they 
were  called,  and  they  said : 
Here  we  are.  And  with  cheer- 
fulness they  have  shined  forth 
to'him  that  made  them.     This 
is  our  God,  and  there  shall  no 
other  be  accounted  of  in  com  - 
parison  of  him.   He  found  out 
all  the  ways   of  knowledge, 
and  gave  it  to  Jacob  his  ser- 
vant, and  to  Israel  his  beloved. 
Afterwards  he  was  seen  upon 
earth,  and  conversed  with  men . 


possessionis  ejus  !  Magnus 
est,  et  non  habet  finem, 
excelsus  et  immensus.  Ibi 
fuerunt  gigantes  nominati 
illi,  qui  ab  initio  fuerunt, 
statura  magna,  scientes  bel- 
lum.  Non  hos  elegit  Do- 
minus  :  neque  viam  dis- 
cipline invenerunt :  prop- 
terea  perierunt.  Et  quo- 
niam  non  habuerunt  sapien- 
tiam,  interierunt  propter 
suam  insipientiam.  Quis 
ascendit  in  coslum,  et  accepit 
earn,  et  eduxit  earn  de  nubi- 
bus  ?  Quis  transfretavit 
mare,  et  invenit  illam,  et 
attulit  illam  super  aurum 
electum  ?  Non  est  qui  pos- 
sit  scire  vias  ejus :  neque 
qui  exquirat  semitas  ejus. 
Sed  qui  scit  universa,  novit 
earn  :  et  adinvenit  earn  pru- 
dentia  sua.  Qui  prseparavit 
terrain  in  seterno  tempore : 
et  replevit  earn  pecudibus  et 
quadrupedibus.  Qui  emittit 
lumen,  et  vadit :  et  vocavit 
illud,  et  obedit  illi  in  tre- 
more.  Stellee  autem  dede- 
runt  lumen  in  custodiis  suis, 
et  laetatse  sunt.  Vocatse 
sunt  et  dixerunt :  Adsumus. 
Et  luxerunt  ei  cum  jucundi- 
tate,  qui  fecit  illas.  Hie  est 
Deus  noster  et  non  sesti- 
mabitur  alius  adversus  eum. 
Hie  adinvenit  omnem  viam 
discipline,  et  tradidit  illam 
Jacob  puero  suo,  et  Israel 
dilecto  suo.  Post  hsec  in 
terris  visus  est,  et  cum 
hominibus  conversatus  est. 


586 


HOLY    WEEK. 


The  Bishop  :  Oremus. 
The  Deacon  :      Flectamus 
genua. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Levate. 

Deus,  qui  Ecclesiam  tuam 
semper  gentium  vocatione 
multiplicas :  concede  propi- 
tius :  ut  quos  aqua  bap- 
tismalis  abluis,  continua  pro- 
tectione  tuearis.  Per  Do- 
minum. 

#.     Amen. 


The  Bishop  :  Let  us  pray. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

O  God,  who  continually 
multipliest  thy  church  by  the 
vocation  of  the  Gentiles :  mer- 
cifully grant  thy  perpetual 
protection  to  those  whom  thou 
washest  with  the  water  of 
baptism.     Through,  &c. 

gt.     Amen. 


SEVENTH    PROPHECY. 


{Ezechiel,  chap,  xxxvii.) 


This  Lesson  brings  before  our  Catechumens  the 
resurrection  of  the  body, — a  dogma  which  met  with 
great  opposition  from  the  proud  and  sensual  Grentiles. 
What  a  fitting  occasion  is  this  for  remembering  the 
promised  resurrection,  which  Grod  has  mercifully  made 
to  us  !  for  lo  !  Christ  is  about  to  rise  from  his  grave, 
showing  us  hereby  what  our  resurrection  is  to  be, 
and  giving  us  a  pledge  of  its  having  to  be. — Our 
Catechumens,  also,  are  signified  by  these  dry  bones, 
which  are  to  return  to  life,  by  the  Spirit  of  God 
coming  upon  them  :  they  are  to  form  a  numerous 
people  to  God. 


In  diebus  illis  :  Facta  est 
super  me  manus  Domini ;  et 
eduxit  me  in  Spiritu  Domi- 
ni, et  dimisit  me  in  medio 
campi,  qui  erat  plenus  ossi- 
bus  :  et  circumduxit  me  per 
ea  in  gyro.  Erant  autem 
multa  valde  super  faciem 
campi,  siccaque  vehementer. 
Et  dixit  ad  me :  Fili  homi- 
nis,  putasne  vivent  ossa  ista  ? 
Et  dixi :    Domine  Deus,  tu 


In  those  days :  The  hand  of 
the  Lord  was  upon  me,  and 
brought  me  forth  in  the  spirit 
of  the  Lord :  and  set  me  down 
in  the  midst  of  a  plain  that 
was  full  of  bones .  And  he  led 
me  about  through  them  on 
every  side :  now  they  were 
very  many  upon  the  face  of 
the  plain,  and  they  were  ex- 
ceeding dry.  And  he  said  to 
me :    Son  of  man,  dost  thou 


HOLY   SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


587 


think  these  bones  shall  live  ? 
And  I  answered :  OLord  God, 
thou  knowest.  And  he  said 
to  me  :  Prophesy  concerning 
these  bones :  and  say  to  them : 
Ye  dry  bones,  hear  the  word 
of  the  Lord.  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  God  to  these  bones  :  Be- 
hold, I  will  send  spirit  into 
you,  and  you  shall  live ;  and  I 
will  lay  sinews  upon  you,  and 
will  cause  flesh  to  grow  over 
you,  and  will  cover  you  with 
skin  :  and  I  will  give  you 
spirit,  and  you  shall  live,  and 
you  shall  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord.  And  I  prophesied  as  he 
had  commanded  me  :  and  as  I 
prophesied,  there  was  a  noise, 
and  behold  a  commotion  :  and 
the  bones  came  together,  each 
one  to  its  joint.  And  I  saw, 
and  behold  the  sinews  and  the 
flesh  came  up  upon  them  :  and 
the  skin  was  stretched  out 
over  them,  but  there  was  no 
spirit  in  them.  And  he  said 
to  me  :  Prophesy  to  the  spirit, 
prophesy,  O  son  of  man,  and 
say  to  the  spirit  :  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  God  :  Come,  spirit, 
from  the  four  winds,  and  blow 
upon  these  slain,  and  let  them 
live  again.  And  I  prophesied 
as  he  had  commanded  me  : 
and  the  spirit  came  into  them, 
and  they  lived :  and  they  stood 
upon  their  feet,  an  exceeding 
great  army.  And  he  said  to 
me  :  Son  of  man,  all  these 
bones  are  the  house  of  Israel. 
They  say :  Our  bones  are  dried 
up,  and  our  hope  is  lost,  and 
we  are  cut  off.  Therefore  pro- 
phesy, and  say  to  them  :  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  God  :  Behold, 
I  will  open  your  graves,   and 


nosti.  Et  dixit  ad  me  :  Va- 
ticinare  de  ossibus  istis  :  et 
dices  eis  :  Ossa  arida,  audite 
verbum  Domini.  Hsec  dicit 
Dominus  Deus  ossibus  his  : 
Ecce  ego  intromittam  in  vos 
spiritum,  et  vivetis  :  et  dabo 
super  vos  nervos,  et  succre- 
scere  faciam  super  vos  car- 
nes,  et  superextendam  in  vo- 
bis  cutem  :  et  dabo  vobis 
spiritum,  et  vivetis  :  et  scie- 
tis,  quia  ego  Dominus.  Et 
prophetavi  sicut  prseceperat 
mihi.  Factus  est  autem  so- 
nitus,  prophetante  me,  et 
ecce  commotio.  Et  accesse- 
runt  ossa  ad  ossa  :  unum- 
quodque  ad  juncturam  su- 
am.  Et  vidi  :  et  ecce  super 
ea  nervi  et  carnes  ascende- 
runt,  at  extenta  est  in  eis 
cutis  desuper  :  et  spiritum 
non  habebant.  Et  dixit  ad 
me  :  Vaticinare  ad  spiritum, 
vaticinare,  fili  hominis,  et 
dicis  ad  spiritum  :  Haec  di- 
cit Dominus  Deus  :  A  qua- 
tuor  ventis  veni,  Spiritus  ; 
et  insuffla  super  interfectos 
istos,  et  reviviscant.  Et 
prophetavi  sicut  prseceperat 
mihi.  Et  ingressus  est  in 
ea  Spiritus,  et  vixerunt  ; 
steteruntque  super  pedes 
suos  exercitus  grandis  nimis 
valde.  Et  dixit  ad  me  :  Fili 
hominis,  ossa  hsec  univer- 
sa  domus  Israel  est.  Ipsi 
dicunt  :  Aruerunt  ossa  nos- 
tra, et  periit  spes  nostra,  et 
abscissi  sumus.  Propterea 
vaticinare,  et  dices  ad  eos  : 
Hsec  dicit  Dominus  Deus  : 
Ecce,  ego  aperiam  tumulos 
vestros,  et  educam  vos  de 
sepulchris  vestris,  popule  me- 


588 


HOLY    WEEK. 


us,  et  inducam  vos  in  terrain 
Israel.  Et  scietis  quia  ego 
Dominus,  cum  aperuero  se- 
pulcra  vestra,  et  eduxero 
vos  de  tumulis  vestris,  po- 
pule  meus  :  et  dedero  Spiri- 
tum  meum  in  vobis,  et  vixe- 
ritis :  et  requiescere  vos  fa- 
ciam  super  humuni  vestram  : 
dicit  Dominus  omnipotens. 


The  Bishop  :  Oremus. 
The  Deacon  :       Flectamus 
genua. 

The  Subdeacon  :   Levate. 

Deus,  qui  nos  ad  cele- 
brandum  Paschale  Sacra- 
mentum,  utriusque  Testa- 
menti  paginis  instruis  :  da 
nobis  intelligere  misericor- 
diam  tuam  :  ut  ex  percep- 
tione  prsesentium  munerum, 
firma  sit  exspectatio  futu- 
rorum.     Per  Dominum. 

$.     Amen. 


will  bring  you  out  of  your 
sepulchres,  0  my  people :  and 
will  bring  you  into  the  land  of 
Israel.  And  you  shall  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I 
shall  have  opened  your  sepul- 
chres, and  shall  have  brought 
you  out  of  your  graves,  0  my 
people,  and  shall  have  put  my 
spirit  in  you,  and  you  shall 
live,  and  I  shall  make  you  rest 
upon  your  own  land,  saith  the 
Lord  Almighty. 

The  Bishop  :     Let  us  pray. 

The  Deacon :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

O  God,  who  by  the  scrip- 
tures of  both  testaments  teach  - 
est  us  to  celebrate  the  Paschal 
sacrament  :  give  us  such  a 
sense  of  thy  mercy,  that,  by 
receiving  thy  present  favours, 
we  may  have  a  firm  hope 
of  thy  future  blessings. 
Through,  &c. 

gt.     Amen. 


EIGHTH     PROPHECY. 


(Isaias,   Chap,   iv.) 


The  seven  women  here  mentioned,  as  having  been 
set  free  from  ignominy  and  cleansed  from  defilement, 
represent  the  souls  of  our  Catechumens,  on  whom 
God  is  about  to  pour  his  mercy.  They  desire  to  be 
called  after  the  name  of  their  Deliverer :  their  desire 
shall  be  granted,  for,  as  they  come  from  the  font, 
they  shall  be  called  Christians,  that  is,  children  of 
Christ.  Henceforth,  they  shall  abide  on  Mount 
Sion,  sheltered  from  whirlwind  and  rain.  The 
abode  of  light  and  rest  here  promised  them,  is  the 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE. 


589 


Church ;  there  shall  they  dwell  in  company  with  her 
divine  Spouse. 


In  that  day  seven  women 
shall  take  hold  of  one  man, 
saying  :  We  will  eat  our  own 
bread,  and  wear  our  own  ap- 
parel :  only  let  us  be  called 
by  thy  name,  take  away  our 
reproach.  In  that  day  the  bud 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  in  magni- 
ficence and  glory,  and  the 
fruit  of  the  earth  shall  be 
high,  and  a  great  joy  to  them 
that  have  escaped  of  Israel. 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that 
every  one  that  shall  be  left  in 
Sion,  and  that  shall  remain  in 
Jerusalem,  shall  be  called 
holy,  eveiy  one  that  is  written 
in  .  life  in  Jerusalem.  If  the 
Lord  shall  wash  away  the  filth 
of  the  daughters  of  Sion,  and 
shall  wash  away  the  blood  of 
Jerusalem  out  of  the  midst 
thereof,  by  the  spirit  of  judg- 
ment, and  by  the  spirit  of 
burning.  And  the  Lord  will 
create  upon  every  place  of 
mount  Sion,  and  where  he  is 
called  upon,  a  cloud  by  day, 
and  a  smoke  and  the  bright- 
ness of  the  flaming  fire  in  the 
night  :  for  over  all  the  glory 
shall  be  a  protection.  And 
there  shall  be  a  tabernacle  for 
a  shade  in  the  day  time  from 
the  heat,  and  for  a  security 
and  covert  from  the  whirl- 
wind, and  from  rain. 

This  lesson  is  followed  by  a  Tract,  taken  from  the 
same  Prophet  Isaias,  wherein  he  foretells  the  favours 
to  be  lavished  by  Christ  on  his  Church,  his  Vine- 
yard, the  object  of  his  loving  and  ceaseless  care. 


Apprehendent  septem  mu- 
lieres  virum  unum  in  die 
ilia,  dicentes  :  Panem  nos- 
trum comedemus,  et  vesti- 
mentis  nostris  operiemur  : 
tantummodo  invocetur  no- 
men  tuum  super  nos  :  aufer 
opprobrium  nostrum.  In  die 
ilia  erit  germen  Domini  in 
magnificentia,  et  gloria  :  et 
fructus  terrse  sublimis  :  et 
exsultatio  his  qui  salvati 
fuerint  de  Israel.  Et  erit : 
omnis  qui  relictus  fuerit  in 
Sion,  et  residuus  in  Jeru- 
salem, sanctus  vocabitur  : 
omnis  qui  scriptus  est  in 
vita  in  Jerusalem.  Si  ablu- 
erit  Dominus  sordes  filiarum 
Sion  :  et  sanguinem  Jeru~ 
salem  laverit  de  medio  ejus 
in  spiritu  judicii,  et  spiritu 
ardoris.  Et  creabit  Domi- 
nus super  omnem  locum 
montis  Sion,  et  ubi  invocatus 
est,  nubem  per  diem,  et  fu- 
mum  et  splendorem  ignis 
flammantis  in  nocte  :  super 
omnem  enim  gloriam  pro- 
tectio.  Et  tabernaculum  erit 
in  umbraculum  diei  ab  sestu, 
et  in  securitatem  et  abscon- 
sionem  a  turbine  et  a  pluvia. 


590 


HOLY    WEEK. 


TRACT. 


Vinea  facta  est  dilecto  in 
cornu,  in  loco  uberi. 

1&.  Et  maceriam  circum- 
dedit,  et  circumfodit  :  et 
plantavit  vineam  Sorec,  et 
sedificavit  turrim  in  medio 
ejus. 

1? .  Et  torcular  f odit  in  ea  : 
vinea  enim  Domini  Sabaoth, 
domus  Israel  est. 

The  Bishop  :    Oremus. 
The  Deacon  :      Flectamus 
genua. 

The    Subdeacon  :     Levate. 

Deus,  qui  in  omnibus  Ec- 
clesise  tuse  filiis,  sanctorum 
Prophetarum  voce  manifes- 
tasti,  in  omni  loco  domina- 
tionis  tuse  satorem  te  bono- 
rum  seminum,  et  electorum 
palmitum  esse  cultorem  : 
tribue  populis  tuis,  qui  et 
vinearum  apud  te  nomine 
censentur  et  segetum  :  ut, 
spinarum  et  tribulorum 
squalore  resecato,  digna  effi- 
ciantur  fruge  foecundi.  Per 
Dominum. 

gt.  Amen. 


My  Beloved  had  a  "Vine- 
yard on  a  Hill,  in  a  fruitful 
place. 

y.  He  fenced  it  in,  and 
digged  it  about  :  and  planted 
it  with  Sorec,  the  choicest  of 
vines,  and  built  a  Tower  in 
the  midst  thereof. 

f'.  And  he  set  up  a  wine- 
press therein  :  for  the  Vine- 
yard of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is 
the  House  of  Israel. 

The  Bishop  :    Let  us  pray. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

O  God,  who  by  the  mouth 
of  the  holy  prophets  hast  de- 
clared, that  through  the  whole 
extent  of  thy  empire  it  is 
thou  that  so  west  the  good  seed , 
and  improvest  the  choicest 
branches  that  are  found  in  all 
the  children  of  thy  Church  : 
grant  to  thy  people,  who  are 
called  by  the  names  of  vine- 
yards and  corn,  that  they  may 
root  out  all  thorns  and  briers, 
and  bring  forth  good  fruit  in 
plenty.     Through,  &c. 

#.  Amen. 


NINTH    PROPHECY. 

{Exodus,  Chap,  xti.) 

It  was  by  the  blood  of  the  figurative  Lamb,  that 
Israel  was  protected  against  the  sword  of  the  de- 
stroying Angel,  was  delivered  from  Egypt,  and  began 
his  journey  towards  the  promised  Land  : — it  is  by 
the  Blood  of  the  true  Lamb,  wherewith  they  are  to  be 
marked,   that   our  Catechumens  shall  be  delivered 


HOLY    SATURDAY 


MORNING    SERYICE. 


591 


from  eternal  death  and  from  the  slavery  in  which 
Satan  has  heretofore  held  them.  They  shall  be 
guests  at  that  Banquet,  where  the  Flesh  of  this 
Divine  Lamb  is  eaten,  for  the  Pasch  is  close  upon 
us,  and  they  are  to  join  us  in  its  celebration. 


In  those  days  :  The  Lord 
said  to  Moses  and  Aaron  in 
the  land  of  Egypt :  This  month 
shall  be  to  you  the  beginning 
of  months  :  it  shall  be  the  first 
in  the  months  of  the  year. 
Speak  ye  to  the  whole  as- 
sembly of  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  say  to  them  :  On 
the  tenth  day  of  this  month, 
let  every  man  take  a  lamb,  by 
their  families  and  houses. 
But  if  the  number  be  less  than 
may  suffice  to  eat  the  lamb, 
he  shall  take  unto  him  his 
neighbour  that  joineth  to  his 
house,  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  souls  which  may  be 
enough  to  eat  the  lamb.  And 
it  shall  be  a  lamb  without 
blemish,  a  male  of  one  year  ; 
according  to  which  rite  also 
he  shall  kill  a  kid.  And  you 
shall  keep  it  unto  the  four- 
teenth day  of  this  month :  and 
the  whole  multitude  of  the 
children  of  Israel  shall  sacri- 
fice it  in  the  evening.  And 
they  shall  take  of  the  blood 
thereof,  and  put  it  upon  both 
the  sideposts,  and  on  the  upper 
door  posts  of  the  houses, 
wherein  they  shall  eat  it. 
And  they  shall  eat  the  flesh 
that  night  roasted  at  the  fire, 
and  unleavened  bread,  with 
wild  lettuce.  You  shall  not 
eat  thereof  any  thing  raw,  nor 
boiled  in  water,  but  only 
roasted  at  the  fire  :  you  shall 


In  diebus  illis  :  Dixit  Do- 
minus  ad  Moysen  et  Aaron 
in  terra  .ZEgypti :  Mensis 
iste  vobis  principium  rnen- 
sium  :  primus  erit  in  men- 
sibus  anni.  Loquimini  ad 
universum  ccetum  filiorum 
Israel,  et  dicite  eis :  De- 
cima  die  mensis  hujus  tollat 
unusquisque  agnum  per  fa- 
milias  et  domos  suas.  Sin 
autem  minor  est  numerus, 
ut  sufficere  possit  ad  ve- 
scendum  agnum,  assumet 
vicinum  suum,  qui  junctus 
est  domui  suae  :  juxta  nu- 
merum  animarum,  quae 
sufficere  possunt  ad  esum 
agni.  Erit  autem  agnus 
absque  macula,  masculus, 
anniculus :  juxta  quern  ri- 
tum  tolletis  et  hcedum.  Et 
servabitis  eum  usque  ad 
quartam  decimam  diem 
mensis  hujus.  Immolabit- 
que  eum  uni versa  multitudo 
filiorum  Israel  ad  vesperam. 
Et  sument  de  sanguine  ejus  : 
ac  ponent  super  utrumque 
postern,  et  in  superliminari- 
bus  domorum,  in  quibus 
comedent  ilium.  Et  edent 
carnes  nocte  ilia  assas  igni, 
et  azymos  panes,  cum  lac- 
tucis  agrestibus.  Non  come- 
detis  ex  eo  crudum  quid,  nee 
coctum  aqua  :  sed  tantum 
assum  igni.  Caput  cum 
pedibus  ejus  et  intestinis 
vorabitis  ;      nee     remanebit 


592 


HOLY    WEEK. 


quidquam  ex  eo  usque  mane. 
Si  quid  residuum  fuerit, 
igne  comburetis.  Sic  autem 
comedetis  ilium.  Renes 
vestros  accingetis  :  et  cal- 
ceamenta  habebitis  in  pedi- 
bus,  tenentes  baculos  in 
manibus  :  et  comedetis 
festinanter.  Est       enim 

Phase,  id  est  Transitus,  Do- 


mini. 


The  Bishop  : 
The  Deacon 


Oremus. 
Flectamus 


genua. 

The  Subdeacon 


Levate. 


Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  qui  in  omnium  ope- 
rum  tuorum  dispensatione 
mirabilis  es :  intelligant 
redempti  tui  non  fuisse  ex- 
cellentius  quod  initio  fac- 
tus  est  mundus,  quam  quod 
in  fine  sseculorum  Pascha 
nostrum  immolatus  est  Chris- 
tus.     Qui  tecum. 

#.     Amen.  ■ 


eat  the  bead  with  the  feet  and 
entrails  thereof  :  neither  shall 
there  remain  any  thing  of  it 
until  morning.  If  there  shall 
be  anything  left,  you  shall 
burn  it  with  fire.  And  thus  you 
shall  eat  it  :  you  shall  gird 
your  reins,  and  you  shall  have 
shoes  on  your  feet,  holding 
staves  in  your  hands,  and 
you  shall  eat  in  haste  :  for  it 
is  the  Phase  (that  is,  the 
Passage)  of  the  Lord. 

The  Bishop  :    Let  us  pray. 

The  Beacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

O  Almighty  and  Eternal 
God,  who  art  wonderful  in 
the  performance  of  all  thy 
works :  let  thy  servants  whom 
thou  hast  redeemed  under- 
stand, that  the  creation  of  the 
world,  in  the  beginning,  was 
not  a  more  excellent  work, 
than  the  sacrificing  of  Christ, 
our  Passover,  at  the  end  of 
the  world.     Who  liveth,  &c. 

gt.     Amen. 


TENTH     PROPHECY. 

(Jonas,   Chap,  hi.) 

Ninive  is  the  Grentile  world,  debased  by  every 
crime,  and  a  prey  to  false  doctrines.  Grod  took  com- 
passion upon  her  and  sent  her  his  Apostles,  in  the 
name  of  his  own  Son.  She  beard  their  preaching, 
abjured  her  errors  and  vices,  and  did  penance:  and 
Grod  made  her  the  City  of  his  elect.  Our  Catechu- 
mens were  once  children  of  Ninive :  they  are  soon  to 
be  numbered  among  the  children  of  Jerusalem.  The 
grace  of  Grod,  and  their  works  of  penance,  have 
brought  about  this  wondrous  adoption, 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


593 


In  those  days  :  The  word  of 
the  Lord  came  to  Jonas  tho 
second  time,  saying :  Arise 
and  go  to  Ninive  the  great 
city :  and  preach  in  it  the 
preaching  that  I  bid  thee. 
And  Jonas  arose,  and  went  to 
Ninive  according  to  the  word 
of  the  Lord  :  now  Ninive  was 
a  great  city  of  three  days' 
journey.  And  Jonas  began  to 
enter  into  the  city  one  day's 
journey :  and  he  cried  and 
said  :  Yet  forty  days  and 
Ninive  shall  be  destroyed. 
And  the  men  of  Ninive  be- 
lieved in  God  :  and  they  pro- 
claimed a  fast,  and  put  on 
sackcloth,  from  the  greatest  to 
the  least.  And  the  word  came 
to  the  King  of  Ninive  :  and 
he  rose  up  out  of  his  throne, 
and  cast  away  his  robe  from 
him,  and  was  clothed  with 
sackcloth,  and  sat  in  ashes. 
And  he  caused  it  to  be  pro- 
claimed and  published  in 
Ninive  from  the  mouth  of  the 
king  and  of  his  princes,  say- 
ing :  Let  neither  men  nor 
beasts,  oxen  nor  sheep,  taste 
anything  :  let  them  not  feed 
nor  drink  water.  And  let 
men  and  beasts  be  covered 
with  sackcloth,  and  cry  to  the 
Lord,  with  all  their  strength 
and  let  them  turn  every  one 
from  his  evil  way,  and  from 
the  iniquity  that  is  in  their 
hands.  Who  can  tell  if  God 
will  turn,  and  forgive :  and 
will  turn  away  from  his  fierce 
anger,  and  we  shall  notperish  ? 
And  God  saw  their  works,  that 
they  were  turned  from  their 
evil  way  :  and  the  Lord  our 
God  had  mercy  on  his  people. 


In  diebus  illis  :  Factum 
est  verbum  Domini  ad  Jo- 
nas, prophetam  secundo, 
dicens :  Surge  et  vade  in 
Niniven  civitatem  magnam, 
et  praedica  in  ea  praedica- 
tionem  quam  ego  loquor  ad 
te.  Et  surrexit  Jonas,  et 
abiit  in  Niniven,  juxta  ver- 
bum Domini.  Et  Ninive 
erat  civitas  magna,  itinere 
dierum  trium.  Et  ccepit 
Jonas  introire  in  civitatem, 
itinere  diei  unius  :  et  clama- 
vit,  et  dixit :  Adhuc  qua- 
draginta  dies,  et  Ninive 
subvertetur.  Et  crediderunt 
viri  Ninivitae  in  Deum,  et 
praedicaverunt  jejunium,  et 
vestiti  sunt  saccis  a  majore 
usque  ad  minorem.  Et  per- 
venit  verbum  ad  regem 
Ninive.  Et  surrexit  de  so- 
lio  suo,  et  abjecit  vestimen- 
tum  suum  a  se  :  et  indutus 
est  sacco,  et  sedit  in  cine- 
re.  Et  clamavit,  et  dixit 
Ninive  ex  ore  regis,  et  prin- 
cipum  ejus,  dicens :  Ho- 
mines, et  jumenta,  et  boves, 
et  pecora  non  gustent  quid- 
quam :  nee  pascantur,  et 
aquam  non  bibant.  Et 
operiantur  saccis  homines, 
et  jumenta  :  et  clament  ad 
Dominum  in  fortitudine. 
Et  convertatur  vir  a  via  sua 
mala,  et  ab  iniquitate,  quae 
est  in  manibus  eorum.  Quis 
scit,  si  convertatur,  et  igno- 
scat  Deus  :  et  revertatur  a 
furore  irae  suae,  et  non  peri- 
bimus  ?  Et  vidit  Deus  ope- 
ra eorum,  quia  conversi  sunt 
de  via  sua  mala  :  et  miser- 
tus  est  populo  suo  Dominus 
Deus  noster. 


594 


HOLY     WEEK. 


The  Bishop  :  Oremus. 
The  Deacon  :       Flectamus 
genua. 

The  Subdeacon :  Levate. 

Deus,  qui  diversitatem 
gentium  in  confessione  tui 
nominis  adunasti  :  da  nobis 
et  velle  et  posse  quae  prse- 
cipis  :  ut  populo  ad  seterni- 
tatem  \ocato  una  sit  fides 
mentium,  et  pietas  actio- 
num.     Per  Dominum. 


gt.     Amen. 


The  Bishop  :  Let  us  pray. 

The  Deacon  :  Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Stand  up 
again. 

0  God,  who  hast  united  the 
several  nations  of  the  Gen- 
tiles in  the  profession  of  thy 
name,;  give  us  both  a  will  and 
a  power  to  obey  thy  com- 
mands :  that  all  thy  people, 
who  are  called  to  eternity, 
may  have  the  same  faith  in 
their  minds,  and  piety  in  their 
actions.     Through,  &c. 

Bt.     Amen. 


ELEVENTH     PROPHECY. 

% 

(Deuteronomy,  Chap,  xxxi.) 

The  holy  Church  instructs  the  Catechumens,  by 
this  Lesson,  upon  the  obligation  they  are  about  to 
contract  with  God.  The  grace  of  Regeneration  is  not 
to  be  conferred  upon  them,  until  they  have  made  a 
solemn  promise  that  they  renounce  Satan,  the  enemy 
of  their  God.  Let  them  be  faithful  to  their  promise, 
and  remember  that  God  is  the  avenger  of  every  in- 
fringement of  so  solemn  a  vow. 


In  diebus  illis :  Scripsit 
Moyses  Canticum  et  docuit 
filios  Israel.  Prsecepitque 
Dominus  Josue  filio  Nun,  et 
ait :  Confortare,  et  esto  ro- 
bustus.  Tu  enim  intro- 
duces filios  Israel  in  terram, 
quam  pollicitus  sum  eis : 
et  ego  ero  tecum.  Post- 
quam  ergo  scripsit  Moyses 
verba  legis  hujus  in  volu- 
mine,  atque  complevit  ; 
prsecepit  Levitis,  qui  por- 
tabant    arcum    foederis  Do- 


In  those  days :  Moses  wrote 
a  canticle,  and  taught  it  to  the 
children  of  Israel.  And  the 
Lord  commanded  Josue,  the 
son  of  Nun  and  said  :  Take 
courage,  and  be  valiant :  for 
thou  shalt  bring  the  children 
of  Israel  into  the  land  which  I 
have  promised,  and  I  will  be 
with  thee.  Therefore  after 
Moses  had  wrote  the  words  of 
this  law  in  a  volume,  and  fin- 
ished it,  he  commanded  the 
Levites,  who  carried  the  ark 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE. 


595 


of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord, 
saying :  Take  this  book  and 
put  it  in  the  side  of  the  ark  of 
the  covenant  of  the  Lord 
your  God  :  that  it  may  be 
there  for  a  testimony  against 
thee.  For  I  know  thy  obsti- 
nacy, and  thy  most  stiff  neck. 
While  I  am  yet  living,  and 
going  in  with  you,  you  have 
always  been  rebellious  against 
the  Lord :  how  much  more 
when  I  shall  be  dead  ?  Gather 
unto  me  all  the  ancients  of 
your  tribes,  and  your  doctors, 
and  I  will  speak  these  words 
in  their  hearing,  and  will  call 
heaven  and  earth  to  witness 
against  them.  For  I  know 
that,  after  my  death,  you  will 
do  wickedly,  and  will  quickly 
turn  aside  from  the  way  that 
I  have  commanded  you  :  and 
evils  shall  come  upon  you  in 
the  latter  times,  when  you 
shall  do  evil  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  to  provoke  him  by  the 
works  of  your  hands.  Moses 
therefore  spoke,  in  the  hear- 
ing of  the  whole  assembly  of 
Israel,  the  words  of  this  can- 
ticle, and  finished  it  even  to 
the  end. 


mini,  dicens  :  Tollite  librum 
istum,  et  ponite  eum  in 
latere  arcao  foederis  Domini 
Dei  vestri  :  ut  sit  tibi  contra 
te  in  testimonium.  Ego 
enim  scio  contentionem  tuam, 
et  cervicem  tuam  duris- 
simam.  Adhuc  vivente  me, 
et  ingrediente  vobiscum, 
semper  contentiose  egistis 
contra  Dominum  : 
magis  cum  mortuus 
Congregate  ad  me 
majores  natu  per 
vestras,  atque  doctores 
loquor   audientibus    eis 


quanto 
fuero  ? 
omnes 
tribus 
:  et 
ser- 
mones  istos,  et  invocabo 
contra  eos  coelum  et  terram. 
Novi  enim  quod  post  mortem 
meam  inique  agetis  :  et  de- 
clinabitis  cito  de  via,  quam 
prsecepi  vobis.  Et  occurrent 
vobis  mala  in  extremo  tem- 
pore, quando  feceritis  malum 
in  conspectu  Domini  :  ut 
irritatis  eum  per  opera  ma- 
nuum  vestrarum.  Locutus 
est  ergo  Moyses,  audiente 
universo  ccetu  Israel,  verba 
carminis  hujus  :  et  ad  finem 
usque  complevit. 


This  Lesson  is  followed  by  a  Tract,  which  is  taken 
from  the  sublime  Canticle  sung  by  Moses,  before 
quitting  this  earth.  The  whole  assembly  of  Israel 
was  present,  and  he  put  before  them,  in  words  of 
earnest  zeal,  the  chastisements  which  Grod  exercises 
against  them  that  break  the  Covenant  he  vouchsafes 
to  make  with  them. 


TRACT. 

Hear,  O  ye  heavens,  and  I        Attende    coelum,     et    lo- 


596 


HOLY   WEEK. 


quar :     et    audiat 
ore  meo. 


terra    ex 


f.  Exspectetur  sicut  plu- 
via  eloquium  meum :  et 
descendant  sicut  ros  verba 
mea. 

y.  Sicut  imber  super  gra- 
men,  et  sicut  nix  super  fce- 
num :  quia  Nomen  Domini 
invocabo. 

y.  Date  magnitudinem 
Deo  nostro ;  Deus,  vera 
opera  ejus,  et  omnes  vise 
ejus  judicia. 

^.  Deus  fidelis,  in  quo 
non  est  iniquitas  :  Justus  et 
sanctus  Dominus. 

The  Bishop :  Oremus. 

The  Deacon  :  Flectamus 
genua. 

The  Subdeacon  :  Levate. 

Deus  celsitudo  humilium 
et  fortitudo  rectorum  :  qui 
per  sanctum  Moysen  pue- 
rum  tuum,  ita  erudire  popu- 
lum  tuum  sacri  carminis 
tui  decantatione  voluisti, 
ut  ilia  legis  iteratio  fieret 
etiam  nostra  directio :  ex- 
cita  in  omnem  justificata- 
rum  gentium  plenitudinem 
potentiam  tuam,  et  da  lseti- 
tiam,  mitigando  terrorem : 
ut  omnium  peccatis  tua 
remissione  deletis,  quod  de- 
nuntiatum  est  in  ultionem, 
transeat  in  salutem.  Per 
Dominum. 

R.     Amen. 


will  speak :  and  let  the  earth 
give  ear  to  the  words  of  my 
mouth. 

^ .  Let  what  I  say  be  looked 
for  like  rain :  and  let  my 
words  drop  down  like  dew. 

$".  Like  the  shower  upon 
the  grass,  and  the  snow  upon 
the  dry  herb  :  for  I  will  call 
upon  the  Name  of  the  Lord. 

f.  Publish  the  greatness 
of  our  God ;  he  is  God  ;  his 
works  are  true  and  all  his 
ways  are  justice. 

^ .  God  is  faithful,  in  whom 
there  is  no  iniquity :  the  Lord 
is  just  and  holy. 

The  Bishop  :    Let  us   pray. 

The  Deacon  :    Let  us  kneel 
down. 

The  Subdeacon  :     Stand   up 
again. 

0  God,  who  raisest  the 
humble,  and  givest  strength 
to  the  righteous  :  and  who  by 
thy  holy  servant  Moses,  wast 
pleased  so  to  instruct  thy 
people  by  the  singing  of  the 
sacred  canticle,  that  the  re- 
petition of  the  law  might  be 
also  our  direction  :  show  thy 
power  to  all  the  multitude  of 
Gentiles  justified  by  thee,  and 
by  mitigating  thy  terrors, 
grant  them  joy:  that  all  their 
sins  being  pardoned  by  thee, 
the  threatened  vengeance  may 
contribute  to  their  salvation. 
Through.  &c. 

R.     Amen. 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE.  597 

TWELFTH    PROPHECY. 

{Daniel,  Chap,  hi.) 

Here  is  the  last  instruction  given  to  our  Cate- 
chumens, before  they  descend  into  the  Font  of  salva- 
tion. It  is  requisite  that  they  should  have  a  clear 
knowledge,  of  what  the  Christian  warfare  will  demand 
of  them.  Perhaps,  they  will  one  day  have  to  confess 
their  God  before  the  potentates  of  earth.  Are  they 
resolved  to  suffer  every  torture,  even  death  itself, 
rather  than  deny  his  holy  Name  ?  Have  there  not 
been  Apostates  among  those,  whose  Baptism  was 
once  a  source  of  joy  to  the  Church  ?  It  is  of  the 
utmost  importance,  therefore,  that  they  should  know 
the  trials  that  await  them.  Our  holy  Mother  the 
Church  tells  them  the  history  of  the  three  young 
Jews,  who  refused  to  adore  the  statue  of  the  king  of 
Babylon,  though  their  refusal  was  to  be  punished  by 
their  being  cast  into  a  fiery  furnace.  Since  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  Christian  law,  millions  of  Martyrs 
have  followed  their  example.  The  representation  of 
these  Three  heroes  of  the  true  God  is  a  favourite 
subject  among  the  paintings  of  the  Catacombs.  It 
is  true, — peace  has  been  given  to  the  Church  ;  but 
the  World  is  ever  the  enemy  of  Christ,  and  who 
knows  but  that  Julian  the  Apostate  may  succeed 
Constantine  ? 

In  those  days  :     King  Na-  In  diebus  illis  :   Nabucho- 

buchodonosor  made  a  statue  donosor    rex    fecit    statuam 

of  gold,  of  sixty  cubits  high,  auream,       altitudine      cubi- 

and  six  cubits  broad,  and  he  torum    sexaginta,    latitudine 

set  it  up  in  the  plain  of  Dura,  cubitoruni    sex  :     et    statuit 

in  the  province  of  Babylon,  eum  in  campo  Dura  provin- 

Then    Nabuchodonosor     the  cise  Babylonis.      Itaque  Na- 

king,  sent  to  call  together  the  buchodonosor    rex  misit    ad 

nobles,  the  magistrates,  and  congregandos   satrapas,   ma- 

the  judges,  the  captains,  the  gistratus    et   judices,    duces 

rulers,  and  governors,  and  all  et    tyrannos,     et    prsefectos 

the  chief  men  of  the  provinces,  omnesque    principes    regio- 


598 


HOLY   WEEK. 


num. :  ut  convenient  ad 
dedicationem  statuae,  quam 
erexerat  Nabuchodonosor 
rex.  Tunc  congregati  sunt 
satrapae,  magistratus,  et  ju- 
dices,  duces  et  tyranni,  et 
optimates,  qui  erant  in  po- 
testatibus  constituti,  et  uni- 
versi  principes  regionum  : 
ut  convenirent  ad  dedica- 
tionem statuae,  quam  erexe- 
rat Nabuchodonosor  rex. 
Stabant  autem  in  conspectu 
statuae,  quam  posuerat  Na- 
buchodonosor rex,  et  prseco 
clamabat  valenter :  Vobis 
dicitur  populis,  tribubus  et 
Unguis  :  In  hora  qua  au- 
dieritis  sonitum  tubae  et 
fistulae,  et  citharae,  sambucse, 
et  psalterii,  et  symphoniae, 
et  universi  generis  musico- 
rum,  cadentes  adorate  sta- 
tuam  auream,  quam  con- 
stituit  Nabuchodonosor  rex. 
Si  quis  autem  non  prostratus 
adoraverit,  eadem  hora  mit- 
tetur  in  fornacem  ignis 
ardentis. 


Post  haec  igitur  statim  ut 
audierunt  omnes  populi  so- 
nitum tubae,  fistulae,  et  ci- 
tharae, sambucae,  et  psalte- 
rii, et  symphoniae,  et  omnis 
generis  musicorum,  caden- 
tes omnes  populi,  tribus, 
et  linguae  adoraverunt  sta- 
tuam  auream,  quam  con- 
stituent Nabuchodonosor 
rex.  Statimque  in  ipso 
tempore  accedentes  viri 
Chaldaei  accusaverunt  Ju- 
daeos,  dixeruntque  Nabu- 
chodonosor   regi :      Eex     in 


to  come  to  the  dedication  of 
the  statue  which  king  Na- 
buchodonosor had  set  up. 
Then  the  nobles,  the  magis- 
strates,  and  the  judges,  the 
captains,  and  rulers,  and  the 
great  men  that  were  placed  in 
authority,  and  all  the  princes 
of  the  provinces  were  gathered 
together  to  come  to  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  statue  which  king 
Nabuchodonosor  had  set  up. 
And  they  stood  before  the 
statue  which  king  Nabucho- 
donosor had  set  up.  Then  a 
herald  cried  with  a  strong 
voice :  To  you  it  is  commanded, 
O  nations,  tribes,  and  lan- 
guages :  that  in  the  hour  that 
you  shall  hear  the  sound  of 
the  trumpet,  and  of  the  flute, 
and  of  the  harp,  of  the  sack- 
but,  and  of  the  psaltery,  and 
of  the  symphony,  and  of  all 
kind  of  music  ;  ye  fall  down 
and  adore  the  golden  statue 
which  king  Nabuchodonosor 
hath  set  up.  But  if  any  man 
should  not  fall  down  and 
adore,  he  shall  the  same  hour 
be  cast  into  a  furnace  of 
burning  fire. 

Upon  this,  therefore,  at  the 
time  when  all  the  people 
heard  the  sound  of  the  trum- 
pet, the  flute,  and  the  harp,  of 
the  sackbut,  and  the  psaltery, 
of  the  symphony,  and  of  all 
kind  of  music ;  all  the  nations, 
tribes  and  languages,  fell 
down  and  adored  the  golden 
statue  which  king  Nabucho- 
donosor had  set  up.  And 
presently,  at  that  very  time, 
some  Chaldeans  came  and  ac- 
cused the  Jews  :  and  said  to 
kingNabuchodonosor:  Oking, 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


599 


live  for  ever !  Thou,  O  king, 
hast  made  a  decree,  that  every 
man  that  shall  hear  the  sound 
of  the  trumpet,  the  flute,  and 
the  harp,  of  the  sackbut,  and 
the  psaltery,  of  the  symphony, 
and  of  all  kind  of  music,  shall 
prostrate  himself,  and  adore 
the  golden  statue :  and  that 
if  any  man  shall  not  fall  down 
and  adore,  he  should  be  cast 
into  a  furnace  of  burning  fire. 
Now  there  are  certain  Jews, 
whom  thou  hast  set  over  the 
works  of  the  province  of  Ba- 
bylon, Sidrach,  Misach,  and 
Abdenago :  these  men,  Oking, 
have  slighted  thy  decree  :  they 
worship  not  thy  gods,  nor  do 
they  adore  the  golden  statue 
which  thou  hast  set  up. 

Then  Nabuchodonosor,  in 
fury  and  in  wrath,  command- 
ed that  Sidrach,  Misach,  and 
Abdenago  should  be  brought : 
who  immediately  were  brought 
before  the  king.  And  Nabu- 
chodonosor the  king  spoke  to 
them  and  said  :  Is  it  true,  O 
Sidrach,  Misach,  and  Abde- 
nago, that  you  do  not  worship 
my  gods,  nor  adore  the  golden 
statue  that  I  have  set  up  ? 
Now  therefore  if  you  be  ready, 
at  what  hour  soever  you  shall 
hear  the  sound  of  the  trum- 
pet, flute,  harp,  sackbut,  and 
psaltery,  and  symphony,  and 
of  all  kind  of  music,  prostrate 
yourselves,  and  adore  the 
statue  which  I  have  made  : 
but  if  you  do  not  adore,  you 
shall  be  cast  in  the  same  hour 
into  the  furnace  of  burning 
fire  :  and  who  is  the  Grod  that 
shall  deliver  you  out  of  my 
hand  ? 


aeternum  vive.  Tu  rex  po- 
suisti  decretum  :  ut  omnia 
homo,  qui  audierit  sonitum 
tubae,  fistulae,  et  citharae, 
sambucae,  et  psalterii,  et 
symphoniae,  et  universi  ge- 
neris musicorum,  proster- 
nat  se,  et  adoret  statuam 
auream.  Si  quis  autem  non 
procidens  adoraverit,  mit- 
tatur  in  fornacem  ignis 
ardentis.  Sunt  ergo  viri 
Judaei,  quos  constituisti  su- 
per opera  regionis  Baby- 
lonis,  Sidrach,  Misach,  et 
Abdenago  :  viri  isti  con- 
tempserunt,  rex,  decretum 
tuum  :  deos  tuos  non  colunt, 
et  statuam  auream  quam 
erexisti,  non  adorant. 

Tunc  Nabuchodonosor  in 
furore  et  in  ira,  praecepit  ut 
adducentur  Sidrach,  Mi- 
sach, et  Abdenago.  Qui 
confestim  adducti  sunt  in 
conspectu  regis.  Pronun- 
tiansque  Nabuchodonosor 
rex,  ait  eis  :  Verene  Si- 
drach, Misach,  et  Abdena- 
go, deos  meos  non  colitis,  et 
statuam  auream  quam  con- 
stitui,  non  adoratis  ?  Nunc 
ergo,  si  estis  parati,  qua- 
cumque  hora  audieritis  so- 
nitum tubae,  fistulae,  citha- 
rae,  sambucae,  et  psalterii, 
et  symphoniae,  omnisque 
generis  musicorum,  pros- 
ternite  vos,  et  adorate  sta- 
tuam quam  feci.  Quod  si 
non  adoraveritis,  eadem  hora 
mittemini  in  fornacem  ignis 
ardentis  :  et  quis  est  Deus, 
qui  eripiet  vos  de  manu 
mea  ? 

2v 


600 


HOLY     WEEK. 


Respondentes         Sidrach, 
Misach,   et  Abdenago,  dixe- 
runt  regi    Nabuchodonosor : 
Non  oportet   nos  de  hac  re 
respondere   tibi.     Ecce  enim 
Deus  noster   quern   colimus, 
potest    eripere     nos     de   ca- 
mino     ignis   ardentis,    et   de 
manibus   tuis,    o    rex,    libe- 
rare.     Quod  si  noluerit,  no- 
tum  sit  tibi  rex  :     quia  deos 
tuos    non    colimus,     et   sta- 
tuam    auream    quam    erex- 
isti,    non    adoramus.      Tunc 
Nabuchodonosor         repletus 
est   furore;    et   aspectus  fa- 
ciei    illius     immutatus      est 
super     Sidrach,    Misach,    et 
Abdenago.      Et  prsecepit,  ut 
succenderetur     fornax     sep- 
tuplum,       quani       succendi 
consueverat.      Et  viris   for- 
tissimis     de      exercitu      suo 
jussit,     ut     ligatis     pedibus 
Sidrach,     Misach,    et   Abde- 
nago,   mitterent   eos   in  for- 
nacem     ignis    ardentis.      Et 
confestim     viri     illi     vincti, 
cum   braccis   suis,    et   tiaris, 
et    calceamentis,     et     vesti- 
bus,    missi   sunt   in  medium 
fornacis  ignis  ardentis  ;    nam 
jussio   regis   urgebat.      For- 
nax    autem     succensa     erat 
nimis.     Porro  viros  illos,  qui 
miserant     Sidrach,     Misach, 
et        Abdenago,       interfecit 
flamma    ignis.      Viri   autem 
hi   tres,   id   est  Sidrach,  Mi- 
sach,   et    Abdenago,  cecide- 
runt   in  medio  camino  ignis 
ardentis,    colligati.     Et   am- 
bulabant   in   medio    flammse 
laudantes     Deum,    et   bene- 
dicentes  Domino. 


Sidrach,  Misach,  and  Abde- 
nago, answered  and  said  to 
king   Nabuchodonosor  :    We 
have  no  occasion  to  answer 
thee  concerning  this  matter. 
For  behold  our  Grod,  whom 
we  worship,  is  able  to  save  us 
from  the  furnace  of  burning 
fire,  and  to  deliver  us  out  of  thy 
hands,  O  king.    But  if  he  will 
not,  be  it  known  to  thee,  O 
king,  that  we  will  not  worship 
thy  gods,  nor  adore  the  golden 
statue  which  thou  hast  set  up. 
Then    was    Nabuchodonosor 
filled  with    fury  :     and   the 
countenance  of  his  face  was 
changed  against  Sidrach,  Mi- 
sach,  and  Abdenago,  and  he 
commanded  that  the  furnace 
should  be  heated  seven  times 
more  than  it  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  be  heated.     And  he 
commanded  the  strongest  men 
that  were  in  his  army,  to  bind 
the  feet  of  Sidrach,  Misach, 
and  Abdenago,   and  to   cast 
them  into  the  furnace  of  burn- 
ing tire.      And   immediately 
these  men  were  bound,  and 
were  cast  into  the  furnace  of 
burning  fire,  with  their  coats 
and    their   caps,    and    their 
shoes,    and    their   garments. 
For  the  king's  commandment 
was  urgent,  and  the  furnace 
was  heated  exceedingly.   And 
the  flame  of  the  fire  slew  those 
men  that  had  cast  in  Sidrach, 
Misach,  and  Abdenago.     But 
these  three  men,  that  is,  Si- 
drach, Misach,  and  Abdenago, 
fell  down  bound  in  the  midst 
of  the  furnace  of  burning  fire. 
And  they  walked  in  the  midst 
of  the  flame,   praising  God, 
and  blessingjthe  Lord. 


HOLY    SATURDAY  .*    MORNING    SERVICE.  601 

The  Bishop  says  a  Prayer  after  this,  as  well  as 
after  the  other  Prophecies ;  but  the  Deacon  gives  not 
his  invitation  to  kneel.  The  Church  omits  the 
genuflexion,  in  order  to  inspire  the  Catechumens 
with  a  horror  for  the  idolatry  of  the  Babylonians, 
who  bend  their  knee  before  the  statue  of  Nabu- 
chodonosor. 

LET  US  PRAY.  OREMTTS. 

O  Almighty    and     Eternal  Omnipotens       sempiterne 

God,   the   only   hope   of  the  Deus,     spes     unica     mundi, 

world,   who   by   the  yoice  of  qui     Prophetarum      tuorum 

the  prophets,  hast  manifested  prseconio,    praesentium   tem- 

the  mysteries  of  this  present  porum    declarasti   mysteria  : 

time  :  graciously  increase  the  auge    populi   tui  vota  placa- 

desires  of  thy  people  :    since  tus  :    quia  in  nullo  fidelium, 

none  of  the  faithful  can  ad-  nisi  ex  tua  inspiratione,  pro- 

vance  in  any  virtue,  without  veniunt   quarumlibet    incre- 

thy  inspiration.  Through,  &c.  menta    virtutem.      Per  Do- 

minum  . 

$l.     Amen.  £.     Amen. 


THE     BLESSING     OF     THE     FONT. 

These  Lessons,  and  Prayers,  and  chants,  have  taken 
up  a  considerable  portion  of  time  :  the  sun  has  long 
since  set,  and  the  night  is  far  advanced.  All  the  pre- 
paratory exercises  are  over,  and  it  is  time  to  repair  to 
the  Baptistery.  During  the  Prophecies,  seven  Sub- 
deacons  went  thither,  and  there  they  have  thrice  re- 
cited the  Litany  ;  in  the  first  recitation,  they  repeated 
each  invocation  seven  times ;  in  the  second,  five 
times  ;  and  in  the  third,  three  times.  A  Procession 
is  formed  towards  this  building,  which  is  detached 
from  the  Church,  and  is  either  circular,  or  octagonal, 
in  form.  In  the  centre  is  a  large  Font,  with  several 
steps  leading  down  to  it.  A  stream  of  clear  water 
flows  into  it  from  the  mouth  of  a  metal  stag.  Over 
the  Font  is  suspended  a  canopy   or  cupola,  in  the 


602  HOLY    WEEK. 

centre  of  which  is  a  dove  with  extended  wings,  which 
represents  the  Holy  Ghost  giving  virtue  to  the  Water 
beneath.  Round  the  Font  is  a  railing,  within  which 
none  may  enter  but  they  who  are  to  be  baptised,  the 
Sponsors,  the  Bishop,  and  the  Priests.  Two  Pa- 
vilions,— one  for  the  men,  the  other  for  the  women, — 
have  been  put  up  ;  they  are  for  the  Baptised,  wherein 
after  they  come  from  the-  Font,  they  may  change 
their  garments. 

The  procession  moves  from  the  Church  to  the 
Baptistery  in  the  following  order.  The  Paschal 
Candle,  (which  represents  the  pillar  of  fire  that 
guided  the  Israelites,  by  night,  to  the  Ped  Sea,  in 
whose  waters  they  found  salvation,)  goes  first,  leading 
on  the  Catechumens.  These  follow,  having  their 
Sponsors  on  their  right  hand,  for  each  candidate  for 
Baptism  is  to  be  presented  by  a  Christian.  Then 
come  two  Acolytes  ;  one  carries  the  holy  Chrism,  the 
other  the  Oil  of  Catechumens.  Next,  the  Clergy  ; 
and  lastly,  the  Bishop  and  his  assistant  Ministers. 
The  Procession  is  by  torch-light.  The  stars  are 
brightly  shining  in  the  canopy  of  heaven,  and  the  air 
resounds  with  the  melodious  chanting.  They  are 
singing  those  verses  of  the  Psalm,  in  which  David 
compares  his  soul's  pining  after  her  Grod  to  the  pant- 
ing of  a  stag  that  thirsts  for  a  fount  of  water.  The 
Stag,  an  image  of  which  is  in  the  Font,  is  a  figure  of 
the  Catechumen  who  longs  for  Baptism. 

TRACT. 

Sicut  cervus  desiderat   ad  As  the  stag  panteth  after 

f ontes   aquarum  :      ita  desi-  the  fountains  of  water :  so  my 

derat     anima     mea     ad    te  soul    panteth    after  thee,    0 

Deus.  God. 

f.     Sitivit  anima    mea  ad  #.     My  soul  hath  thirsted 

Deum  vivum  :     quando   ve-  after  the  living  God :    when 

niam,    et   apparebo   ante  fa-  shall  I  come,   and  appear  be- 

ciem  Dei  ?  fore  the  face  of  God  ? 


HOLY   SATURDAY  !    MORNING   SERVICE.  603 

^.  My  tears  have  been  my  f.  Fuerunt  mihi  lacrymae 
bread  day  and  night,  while  it  mesd  panes  die  ac  nocte, 
is  said  to  me  daily  :  Where  is  dum  dicitur  mihi  per  sin- 
thy  God  ?  gulos  dies  :    Ubi    est    Deus 

tuus? 

They  soon  reach  the  Baptistery.  The  Bishop, 
having  come  within  sight  of  the  Font,  prefaces  his 
blessing  by  a  Prayer,  in  which  he  again  uses  the 
comparison  of  a  panting  Stag,  to  express  to  Q-od  the 
longing  of  this  people  after  the  new  life,  of  which 
Christ  is  the  source. 

$".  The  Lord  be  with  you.  y.  Dominus  vobiscum. 

£.  And  with  thy  spirit.  gc.  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

LET  US    PRAY.  0REMTJS. 

Almighty  and  Everlasting  Omnipotens  sempiterne 
God,  look  mercifully  on  the  Deus,  respice  propitius  ad 
devotion  of  the  people  desiring  devotionem  populi  rena- 
a  new  birth,  that  as  the  hart  scentis,  qui,  sicut  cervus, 
pants  after  the  fountain  of  thy  aquarum  tuarum  expetit 
waters  :  so  mercifully  grant  fontem :  et  concede  propi- 
that  the  thirst  of  their  faith  tius  ut  fidei  ipsius  sitis,  Bap- 
may,  by  the  sacrament  of  Bap-  tismatis  niysterio  animam 
tism,  sanctfy  their  souls  and  corpusque  sanctificet.  Per 
bodies.     Through,  &c.  Dominum. 

gt.     Amen.  gi.     Amen. 

The  blessing  of  water  for  Baptism  is  of  Apostolic 
institution,  as  we  learn  from  many  of  the  Holy  Fa- 
thers, among  whom  we  may  mention  St.  Cyprian,  St. 
Ambrose,  St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  and  St.  Basil.  It  is 
just,  that  the  instrument  of  so  divine  a  work  should 
receive  every  mark  of  honour,  that  could  secure  to  it 
the  respect  of  mankind  :  and,  after  all,  does  not  this 
honour  and  respect  redound  to  that  Q-od,  who  chose 
this  creature  to  be,  as  it  were,  the  co-operator  of  his 
mercies  to  us  ?  It  was  from  water  that  we  came 
forth  Christians.  The  early  Fathers  allude  to  this, 
when  they  call  Christians  the  Fish  of  Christ.     We 


604 


HOLY    WEEK. 


cannot  be  surprised,  after  this,  that  the  sight  of  the 
element,  that  gave  us  our  spiritual  life,  should  excite 
us  to  joy,  or  that  we  should  pay  to  this  element  an 
honour,  which  is  referred  to  the  Author  of  all  the 
graces  about  to  be  bestowed. 

The  prayer  used  by  the  Bishop  for  blessing  the 
Water,  is  so  full  of  elevation  of  thought,  energy  of 
diction,  and  authority  of  doctrine,  that  we  may,  with- 
out hesitation,  attribute  it  to  the  earliest  ages  of  the 
Church.  The  ceremonies  which  accompany  it  be- 
speak its  venerable  antiquity.  It  is  sung  to  the 
solemn  tone  of  the  Preface,  which  imparts  such  a 
lyric  effect.  The  pontiff  first  recites  a  preliminary 
prayer,  and  then  begins  his  magnificent  Blessing. 
He  is  filled  with  the  holy  enthusiasm  of  the  Church. 
He  turns  to  the  Faithful,  and  they  respond.  He  is 
going  to  lead  them  to  such  grand  mysteries  : — Stir- 
sum  corda  ! 


t '.    Dominus  vobiscum. 
St.   Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

OREMUS. 

Omnipotens  sempiterne 
Deus,  adesto  magnse  pietatis 
tuse  mysteriis,  adesto  sacra- 
mentis ;  et  ad  recreandos 
novos  populos,  quos  tibi  fons 
Baptismatis  parturit,  Spiri- 
tum  adoptionis  emitte :  ut 
quod  nostree  humilitatis  ge- 
rendum  est  ministerio,  vir- 
tutis  tuse  impleatur  effectu. 
Per  Dominum  nostrum  Je- 
sum  Christum  Filium  tuum, 
qui  tecum  vivit  et  regnat 
in  unitate  Spiritu  Sancti, 
Deus, 

Per  omnia    saecula  saecu- 
lorum. 

#.     Amen. 


f.  The  Lord  be  with  you. 
&.   And  with  thy  spirit. 

LET  US  PRAY. 

Almighty  and  Everlasting 
God,  be  present  at  these  mys- 
teries, be  present  at  these  sa- 
craments of  thy  great  good- 
ness :  and  send  forth  the  spirit 
of  adoption  to  regenerate  the 
new  people,  whom  the  font  of 
Baptism  brings  forth  :  that 
what  is  to  be  done  by  our 
weak  ministry,  may  be  ac- 
complished by  the  effect  of 
thy  power.  Through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  thy  Son, 
who  liveth  and  reigneth  with 
thee,  in  the  unity  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  God, 

For  ever  and  ever ! 

#.     Amen. 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


605 


f.  The  Lord  be  with  you. 

#.  And  with  thy  spirit. 

^ .  Lift  up  your  hearts  ! 

St.  We  have  them  fixed  on 
God. 

^ .  Let  us  give  thanks  to  the 
Lord  our  God. 

St.  It  is  meet  and  just. 

It  is  truly  meet  and  just, 
right  and  available  to  salva- 
tion, that  we  should  always, 
and  in  all  places,  give  thanks 
to  thee,  O  Holy  Lord,  Al- 
mighty Father,  Eternal  God, 
who  by  thy  invisible  power 
dost  wonderfully  produce  the 
effect  of  thy  sacraments  :  and 
though  we  are  unworthy  to 
administer  so  great  mysteries : 
yet  as  thou  dost  not  forsake 
the  gifts  of  thy  grace,  so  thou 
inclinest  the  ears  of  thy  good- 
ness, even  to  our  prayers.  O 
God,  whose  Spirit,  in  the  very 
beginning  of  the  world,  moved 
over  the  waters,  that  even  then 
the  nature  of  water  might  re- 
ceive the  virtue  of  sanctfica- 
tion.  O  God  who  by  water 
didst  wash  away  the  crimes  of 
the  guilty  world,  and  by  the 
overflowing  of  the  deluge  didst 
give  a  figure  of  regeneration, 
that  one  and  the  same  element 
might  in  a  mystery,  be  the 
end  of  vice  and  the  origin  of 
virtue.  Look,  O  Lord,  on  the 
face  of  thy  church,  and  multi- 
ply in  her  thy  regenerations, 
who  by  the  streams  of  thy 
abundant  grace  fillest  thy  City 
with  joy:  andopenest  the  font 
of  Baptism  all  over  the  world, 
for  the  renovation  of  the  Gen- 
tiles :  that  by  the  command  of 
thy  Majesty  she  may  receive 
the  grace  of  thy  only  Son 
from  the  Holy  Ghost. 


$.  Dominus  vobiscum. 
St .  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 
y.  Sursum  corda. 
St.  Habemus  ad  Dominum. 

JP.  Gratias  agamus  Domi- 
no Deo  nostro. 

St.  Dignum  et  justum  est. 

Vere  dignum  et  justum 
est,  sequum  et  salutare  ;  nos 
tibi  semper,  et  ubique  gra- 
tias agere,  Domine  sancte, 
Pater  omnipotens,  seterne 
Deus,  qui  invisibili  potentia, 
sacramentorum  tuorum  mi- 
rabiliter  operaris  effectum  ; 
et  licet  nos  tantis  mysteriis 
exsequendis  simus  indigni : 
tu  tamen  gratise  tuse  dona 
non  deserens,  etiam  ad  nos- 
tras preces,  aures  tuse  pieta- 
tis  inclinas.  Deus,  cujus 
Spiritus  super  aquas,  inter 
ipsa  mundi  primordia  fere- 
batur  :  ut  jam  tunc  virtutem 
sanctificationis,  aquarum  na- 
tura  conciperet.  Deus,  qui 
nocentis  mundi  crimina  per 
aquas  abluens,  regeneratio - 
nis  speciem  in  ipsa  diluvii 
effusione  signasti ;  ut  unius 
ejusdemque  elementi  myste- 
rio,  et  finis  esset  vitiis,  et 
origo  virtutibus ;  respice, 
Domine,  in  faciem  Ecclesise 
tuse ;  et  multiplica  in  ea  re- 
generations tuas,  qui  gratise 
tuse  affluentis  impetu  lseti- 
ficas  Civitatem  tuam,  fon- 
temque  Baptismatis  aperis 
toto  orbe  terrarum  gentibus 
innovandis  :  ut  tuse  majesta- 
tis  imperio,  sumat  Unigeni- 
ti  tui  gratiam  de  Spiritu 
Sancto. 


606 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Here  the  Pontiff  pauses  a  moment,  and  putting 
his  hand  into  the  water  divides  it  in  the  form  of  a 
cross,  to  signify,  that  it  is  by  the  Cross  that  this 
element  receives  the  power  of  regenerating  the  souls 
of  men.  This  wonderful  power  had  been  promised 
to  Water ;  but  the  promise  was  not  fulfilled  until 
Christ  had  shed  his  Blood  upon  the  Cross.  It  is 
this  Blood  which  operates  by  the  Water,  on  the  souls 
of  men  ;  and  with  the  action  of  this  precious  Blood, 
is  joined  that  of  the  Holy  Grhost,  as  the  Pontiff  tells 
us  in  his  Prayer,  which  he  thus  continues. 


Qui  hanc  aquam  regene- 
randis  hominibus  praepa- 
ratam,  arcana  sui  numinis 
admixtione  fcecundet :  lit 
sanctificatione  concepta,  ab 
immaculato  divini  fontes 
utero,  in  novam  renata  crea- 
turam,  progenies  ccelestis 
emergat :  et  quos  aut  sexus 
in  corpore,  aut  aetas  discer- 
nit  in  tempore,  omnes  in 
unam  pariat  gratia  mater 
infantiam.  Procul  ergo 
hinc,  jubente  te  Domine, 
omnis  spiritus  immundus 
abscedat :  procul  tota  ne- 
quitia  diabolicae  fraudis 
absistat.  Nihil  hie  loci  ha- 
beat  contrariae  virtutis  ad- 
mixtio  :  non  insidiando  cir- 
cumvolet,  non  latendo  sub- 
repat,  non  inficiendo  cor- 
rumpat. 


Who,  by  a  secret  mixture  of 
his  divine  virtue,  may  render 
this  water  fruitful  for  the  re- 
generation of  men,  to  the  end 
that  those  who  have  been 
sanctified  in  the  immaculate 
womb  of  this  divine  font,  be- 
ing born  again  a  new  creature, 
may  come  forth  a  heavenly 
offspring  :  and  that  all  that 
are  distingushed  either  by  sex 
in  body,  or  by  age  in  time, 
may  be  brought  forth  to  the 
same  infancy  by  grace,  their 
spiritual  mother.  Therefore 
may  all  unclean  spirits,  by  thy 
command,  O  Lord,  depart  far 
from  hence  :  may  the  whole 
malice  of  diabolical  deceit  be 
entirely  banished :  may  no 
power  of  the  enemy  prevail 
here  :  may  he  not  fly  about  to 
lay  his  snares :  may  he  not 
creep  in  by  his  secret  artifice  : 
may  he  not  corrupt  with  his 
infection. 


After  having  thus  besought  (rod  to  protect  the 
Water  of  the  Font  from  the  influence  which  Satan 
seeks  to  exercise  over  every  creature,  the  Bishop  puts 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE. 


607 


his  hand  upon  it.  The  august  character  of  a  Pontiff 
or  Priest  is  a  source  of  sanctification  :  the  mere  con- 
tact of  their  consecrated  hand  produces  a  salutary 
effect,  as  often  as  they  act  in  virtue  of  the  Priesthood 
of  Christ,  which  dwells  within  them. 


May  this  holy  and  innocent 
creature  be  free  from  all  the 
assaults  of  the  enemy,  and 
purified  by  the  destruction  of 
all  his  malice.  May  it  be  a 
living  fountain,  a  regenerat- 
ing water,  a  purifying  stream : 
that  all  those  that  are  to  be 
washed  in  this  saving  bath, 
may  obtain,  by  the  operation 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  grace 
of  a  perfect  purification. 


Sit  hsec  sancta  et  innocens 
creatura  libera  ab  omni  im- 
pugnatoris  incursu,  et  totius 
nequitise  purgata  dicessu. 
Sit  fons  vivus,  aqua  regene- 
rans,  unda  purificans  :  ut 
omnes  hoc  lavacro  salutifero 
diluendi,  operante  in  eis 
Spiritu  Sancto,  perfectae  pur- 
gationis  indulgentiam  con- 
sequantur. 


Whilst  pronouncing  the  following  words,  the 
Bishop  blesses  the  Water,  thrice  making  over  it  the 
sign  of  the  cross. 


Therefore  I  bless  thee,  O 
creature  of  water,  by  the  liv- 
ing God,  by  the  true  God,  by 
the  holy  God  :  by  that  God 
who  in  the  beginning  separ- 
ated thee  by  his  word  from 
the  diy  land,  whose  Spirit 
moved  over  thee. 


Unde  benedico  te,  creatura 
aquae,  per  Deum  vivum,  per 
Deum  verum,  per  Deum 
sanctum  :  per  Deum  qui  te, 
in  principio,  verbo  separavit 
ab  arida  :  cujus  Spiritus 
super  te  ferebatur. 


The  Bishop  next  makes  an  allusion  to  the  four 
rivers  which  watered  the  earthly  Paradise.  He  again 
divides  the  Water  with  his  hand,  and  sprinkles  it 
towards  the  North,  South,  East  and  West,  for  the 
four  parts  of  the  World  received  the  preaching  of 
Baptism.  Whilst  performing  this  expressive  cere- 
mony, he  continues  his  prayer  as  follows  : 


Who  made  thee  flow  from 
the  fountain  of  Paradise,  and 


Qui   te   de   Paradisi   fonte 
manare  fecit,    et  in  quatuor 


608 


HOLY   WEEK. 


fluminibus  totam  terram  ri- 
gare  prsecepit  ;  qui  te  in 
deserto  amaram,  suavitate 
indita  fecit  esse  potabilem,  et 
sitienti  populo  de  petra  pro- 
duxit.  Benedico  te,  et  per 
Jesum  Christum  Filium  ejus 
unicum  Dominum  nostrum : 
qui  te  in  Cana  Galilsese, 
signo  admirabili,  sua  poten- 
tia  convertit  in  vinum.  Qui 
pedibus  super  te  ambulavit : 
et  a  Joanne  in  Jordane  in  te 
baptizatus  est.  Qui  te  una 
cum  sanguine  de  latere  suo 
produxit  :  et  discipulis  suis 
jussit,  ut  credentes  baptiza- 
rentur  in  te,  dicens  :  Ite, 
docete  omnes  gentes,  bapti- 
zantes  eos  in  nomine  Patris, 
et  Filii,  et  Spiritus  Sancti. 


commanded  thee  to  water  the 
whole  earth  with  thy  four 
rivers.  Who  changing  thy 
bitterness  in  the  desert  into 
sweetness,  made  thee  fit  to 
drink,  and  produced  thee  out 
of  a  rock  to  quench  the  thirst 
of  the  people.  I  bless  thee  also 
by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  his 
only  Son :  who  in  Cana  of  Ga- 
lilee changed  thee  into  wine, 
by  a  wonderful  miracle  of  his 
power.  Who  walked  upon 
thee  dry  foot,  and  was  bap- 
tised in  thee  by  John  in  the 
Jordan.  Who  made  thee  flow 
out  of  his  side  together  with 
his  blood,  and  commanded  his 
disciples,  that  such  as  believed 
should  be  baptised  in  thee, 
saying :  Go,  teach  all  nations, 
baptising  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


Here  the  Bishop  interrupts  the  solemn  and  trium- 
phant tone  of  the  Preface,  and  simply  reads  the  fol- 
lowing words.  He  has  signed  the  Water  with  the 
sign  of  the  Cross  ;  he  now  invokes  upon  it  the  vivi- 
fying action  of  the  Holy  Grhost. 

Hsec   nobis   prsecepta  ser-  Do   thou,   Almighty    God, 

vantibus,   tu   Deus   omnipo-  mercifully  assist  us  that  ob- 

tens,    clemens    adesto  :       tu  serve  this  command :  do  thou 

benignus  adspira.  graciously  inspire  us. 


The  Holy  Ghost  is  called  Spirit,  which  means  a 
Breath  :  he  is  the  Divine  Breathing,  that  mighty 
Wind,  which  was  heard  in  the  Cenacle.  The  Pontiff, 
to  express  this  character  of  the  Third  Person  of  the 
Blessed  Trinity,  thrice  breathes,  in  the  form  of  a 
cross,  over  the  Water  of  the  Font,  and  then  continues 
in  the  same  reading  tone : 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :      MORNING    SERVICE.  60(J 

Do  thou  with  thy  mouth  Tu    has    simplices     aquas 

bless  these  clear  waters  :  that  tuo  ore  benedicito  :    ut   prse- 

besides  their  natural  virtue  of  ter     naturalem     emundatio- 

cleansing  the  body,  they  may  nem,   quam  lavandis  possunt 

also  be  effectual  for  the  puri-  adhibere  corporibus,  sint  eti- 

fying  of  the  soul.  am      purificandis     mentibus 

efficaces. 

Then  taking  the  Paschal  Candle,  he  dips  the  lower 
end  of  it  into  the  Font.  This  rite  signifies  the  mys- 
tery of  Christ's  Baptism  in  the  Jordan,  whereby  the 
element  of  Water  received  the  pledge  of  its  future 
sanctifying  power.  The  Son  of  God  went  down  into 
the  stream,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  came  upon  him  in 
the  form  of  a  Dove.  But  now,  it  is  something  more 
than  a  promise :  the  Water  receives  the  reality,  the 
virtue ;  and  it  receives  it  by  the  action  of  these  two 
Divine  Persons.  The  Bishop,  therefore,  resuming 
the  tone  of  the  Preface,  chants  these  words,  whilst 
plunging  into  the  Font  the  Paschal  Candle,  the  sym- 
bol of  Christ,  over  whom  hovers  the  celestial  Dove  : 

May  the  virtue  of  the  Holy  Descendat  in  hanc  pleni- 
Ghost  descend  into  all  the  tudinem  fontis  virtus  Spi- 
water  of  this  font.  ritus  Sancti. 

After  these  words,  the  Pontiff  takes  the  Candle 
out  of  the  Water,  and  then  plunges  it  in  again  still 
deeper,  singing  the  same  words,  but  on  a  higher 
note  : 

May  the  virtue  of  the  Holy  Descndat  in  hanc  pleni- 
Ghost  descend  into  all  the  tudinem  fontis  virtus  Spi- 
water  of  this  font.  ritus  Sancti. 


Having  again  withdrawn  the  Candle,  he  plunges 
it  a  third  time  into  the  Water,  even  to  the  bottom 
of  the  Font :  he  sings  the  same  words  to  a  still  higher 
note: 


610  HOLY   WEEK. 

Descendat  in  hanc  pleni-  May  the  virtue  of  the  Holy 
tudinem  fontis  virtus  Spi-  Ghost  descend  into  all  the 
ritus  Sancti.  water  of  this  font. 

Before  taking  the  Candle  from  the  water  the  third 
time,  the  Bishop  leans  forward  over  the  Font :  and 
that  he  may  signify  the  union  of  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  with  that  of  Christ,  he  breathes  again 
upon  the  Water,  not,  this  time,  in  the  form  of  a 
cross,  but  in  that  of  the  Greek  letter  ^,  which  is 
the  initial  of  the  Greek  word  for  Spirit.  This  done, 
he  resumes  his  Prayer  by  the  following  words  : 

Totamquehujusaquse  sub-  And  make  the  whole  sub- 
stantiam,  regenerandi  foe-  stance  of  this  water  fruitful 
cundet  erfectu.  and  capable  of  regenerating. 

The  Paschal  Candle  is  then  raised  out  of  the 
Font,  and  the  Bishop  thus  continues  : 

Hie    omnium    peccatorum  Here  may  the  stains  of  all 

maculae  deleantur  :    hie  na-  sins  be  washed  out :  here  may 

tura      ad     imaginem     tuam  human  nature,  created  to  thy 

condita,    et  ad  honorem   sui  image,  and  reformed  to  the 

reformata     principii,     cunc-  honour     of  '  its    author,    be 

tis      vetustatis      squaloribus  cleansed  from  all  the  filth  of 

emundetur :      ut   omnis  ho-  the  old  man :     that  all  who 

mo     sacramentum    hoc    re-  receive    this     sacrament    of 

generationis     ingressus,      in  regeneration,    may  be  born 

verse  innocentiae   novam  in-  again   new  children   of  true 

fantiam  renascatur.  innocence. 

The  Bishop  recites  the  rest  in  the  simple  reading 

tone  : 

Per    Dominum    nostrum  Through    our  Lord  Jesus 

Jesum  Christum  Filium  tu-  Christ  thy  Son :     who  shall 

urn  :     qui  venturus   est  ju-  come  to  judge  the  living  and 

dicare  vivos   et  mortuos,    et  the  dead,   and  the  world  by 

saeculum  per  ignem.  fire. 

gt.     Amen.  #.     Amen. 

As  soon  as  the  people  have  answered  Amen,  one 
of  the  Priests  sprinkles  them  with  the  Water,  that 


HOLY    SATURDAY   I    MORNING    SERVICE.  611 

has  thus  been  blessed  ;  and  an  Acolyte  fills  a  large 
vessel  with  it,  that  it  may  be  used  in  the  service  of 
the  Church,  and  in  sprinkling  the  houses  of  the 
Faithful. 

But  the  Church  is  not  satisfied  with  having  given 
her  blessing  to  the  Water.  On  Thursday,  she  was 
put  in  possession  of  the  graces  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
by  receiving  the  Holy  Oils :  with  these  she  would 
now  honour  the  Font,  mingling  a  portion  of  them 
with  the  Water.  The  Faithful, —  seeing  how  every 
symbol  expressive  of  divine  adoption  is  made  to  bear 
upon  the  Water,  whence  men  receive  salvation, — 
will  learn  what  should  be  the  reverence  they  should 
have  for  the  Font.  The  Bishop,  taking  the  Oil  of 
Catechumens,  pours  it  into  the  Water,  saying  : 

May  this  font  be  sanctified  Sanctificetur,  et  fcecunde- 

and  made  fruitful  by  the  Oil  tur    fons    iste    Oleo    salutis 

of  salvation,  for  such  as  are  renascentibus   ex   eo,   in  vi- 

regenerated  therein  unto  life  tarn  seteruam. 
everlasting. 

gt.     Amen.  gt.     Amen. 

Then  taking  the  Holy  Chrism,  he  pours  it  into 
the  Font,  saying  : 

May   this   infusion   of  the         Infusio  Chrismatis  Domini 

Chrism    of    our   Lord   Jesus  nostri  Jesu  Christi,   et  Spiri- 

Christ,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  tus  Sancti  Paracliti,    fiat  in 

the  Comforter,  be  made  in  the  nomine   sanctse   Trinitatis. 
name  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 

#.     Amen.  gi.     Amen. 

Finally,  taking  the  Chrism  in  his  right  hand,  and 
the  Oil  of  Catechumens  in  his  left,  he  pours  from 
the  two  phials,  at  one  and  the  same  time.  This 
sacred  rite  signifies  the  superabundant  grace  of 
Baptism.  Whilst  pouring  in  the  two  Oils  together, 
the  Bishop  says  : 

May   this  mixture   of   the         Commixtio  Chrismatis 

Chrism  of  sanctification,   and     sanctificationis,  et  Olei  unc- 


612  HOLY   WEEK. 

tionis,  et  aquae  baptismatis,  of  the  Oil  of  unction,  and  of 
pariter  fiat,  in  nomine  Patris,  the  water  of  Baptism,  be  made 
et  Filii,  et  Spiritus  Sancti.  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 

and  of  the  Son,   and  of  the 

Holy  Ghost. 
Bt.     Amen.  gt.     Amen. 

After  these  words,  the  Bishop  puts  his  hand  into 
the  Font,  and  mixes  the  holy  Oils  with  the  Water, 
that  thus  every  portion  of  it  may  come  into  contact 
with  this  additional  source  of  sanctification.  Having 
wiped  his  hand,  he  takes  off  such  of  his  Vestments 
as  would  inconvenience  him  in  the  administration  of 
Baptism. 

BAPTISM. 

The  Pontiff  returns  to  the  Font,  and  the  Cate- 
chumens are  called  in  turns.  They  come  one  by 
one,  led  by  their  Sponsors.  The  Bishop  stands 
upon  a  platform,  that  reaches  over  the  Font.  The 
Catechumen  takes  off  all  garments  as  far  as  the 
waist,  descends  the  steps,  and  goes  into  the  Water, 
within  reach  of  the  Bishop's  hand.  The  Bishop 
then  asks  the  Catechumen  :  "  Dost  thou  believe  in 
"  God,  the  Father  Almighty,  Creator  of  heaven  and 
"  earth  ?"  The  Catechumen  answers :  "I  do  believe." — 
"  Dost  thou  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  Son, 
"  our  Lord,  who  was  born  and  suffered  for  us?" — "I 
"  do  believe." — "  Dost  thou  believe  in  the  Holy 
"  Grhost,  the  holy  Catholic  Church,  the  communion 
"  of  Saints,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  the  resurrection 
"  of  the  body,  and  life  everlasting?" — "J  do  believe." 
And  having  thus  received  the  confession  of  the 
Catechumen's  Faith,  the  Bishop  asks  him,  or  her  : 
"Wilt  thou  be  baptised?" — "I  will,"  answers  the 
Catechumen.  Then  the  Bishop  places  his  hand  upon 
the  Catechumem's  head,  and  thrice  immerges  him,  or 
ker,  under  the  Water,  saying  :  "I  baptise  thee,  in  the 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE.  613 

"  name  of  the  Father, — and  of  the  Son, — and  of  the 
"Holy  Ghost." 

Thrice,  then,  has  the  Catechumen  entirely  dis- 
appeared under  the  Water :  it  has  closed  over 
and  shrouded  him.  We  have  the  explanation  of  this 
given  us  by  the  great  Apostle  : — the  Water  of  Bap- 
tism is  the  tomb,  in  which  we  are  buried  together 
with  Christ ;  and,  together  with  him,  we  rise  again 
to  life  :  the  death  we  had  suffered,  was  the  death  of 
sin  ;  the  life  we  are  henceforth  to  live,  is  the  life  of 
grace.1  Thus  is  the  mystery  of  Jesus'  Resurrection 
repeated,  with  all  its  fulness,  in  them  that  are  bap- 
tised. But  before  the  Baptised  comes  from  the  font 
a  sacred  rite  is  performed  over  him,  which  completes 
his  resemblance  with  Christ.  Whilst  Jesus  was  yet 
standing  in  the  waters  of  the  Jordan,  the  Holy  Grhost 
descended  upon  him  in  the  form  of  a  Dove  :  and 
before  the  Neophyte  comes  forth  from  the  Font,  a 
Priest  anoints  his  head  with  the  Chrism,  which  is  a 
gift  received  from  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  anointing 
expresses  the  kingly  and  priestly  character  that 
resides  in  the  Christian,  for,  by  his  union  with  Jesus 
Christ,  his  Head,  he  partakes,  in  some  degree,  of  the 
Royalty  and  the  Priesthood  of  this  Divine  Mediator. 
Thus  loaded  with  honours  by  the  Divine  Word  and 
the  Holy  Grhost,  and  adopted  by  the  Eternal  Father, 
who  sees  in  him  a  member  of  his  own  Son, — the 
Neophyte  comes  up  from  the  Font  by  the  steps  of 
the  side  opposite  to  that  by  which  he  descended, 
beautiful  in  grace  and  spotless  as  the  flocks  of  which 
the  Canticle  speaks  such  praises.2  The  Sponsor  is 
ready  to  receive  him  from  the  Font ;  he  stretches  out 
his  hand  to  help  him  to  mount  the  steps,  and  covers 
his  shoulders  with  a  cloth. 

Thus  goes  on  the  divine  work  of  the  holy  Font  : 
each  Baptism   is  a  resurrection  from  sin  to  justifica- 

1  Rom.  vi.  4.  2  Cant.  iv.  2. 


614  HOLY    WEEK. 

tion.  But  the  Pontiff  has  to  administer  to  the 
Neophytes  another  Sacrament,  which  is  the  con- 
firming them  by  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Grhost,  and 
which  he  alone  can  confer.  Were  he  to  wait  till  all 
are  Baptised,  Easter- day  would  dawn  upon  them, 
before  the  whole  of  to-night's  service  is  over.  He 
therefore  baptises  a  few  himself, — men,  women,  and 
children, — and  leaves  his  Priests  to  administer  bap- 
tism to  all  the  rest.  In  the  Baptistery,  there  is  a 
part  which  is  called  the  Chrismarium,  because  the 
Sacrament  of  Chrism,  or  Confirmation,  is  given  there. 
Thither  does  the  Pontiff  now  repair,  and  sits  upon 
the  throne  prepared  for  him.  He  resumes  the  Vest- 
ments he  had  laid  aside,  when  descending  to  the 
Font;  and  immediately,  they  bring  to  him  the 
Neophytes  he  has  baptised,  and  after  them,  those 
baptised  by  the  Priests  He  gives  to  each  a  white 
robe,  which  they  must  wear  till  the  following  Satur- 
day ;  and  as  he  gives  it,  he  says :  "  Receive  this 
"  white  garment,  which  is  holy  and  unspotted  :  and 
"  see  thou  carry  it  before  the  judgment-seat  of  our 
"  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  thou  mayest  have  eternal 
"  life  !"  As  soon  as  the  Neophytes  have  received  it, 
they  retire  to  the  Pavilions  prepared  in  the  Bap- 
tistery. There  they  change  their  wet  clothes  for 
others,  and,  aided  by  their  Sponsors,  they  vest  them- 
selves with  the  White  Robe.  They  then  repair  to 
the  Chrismarium,  where  they  are  to  receive  the  Sa- 
crament of  Confirmation. 


CONFIRMATION. 

On  Thursday  last,  when  consecrating  the  Chrism, 
the  Pontiff  told  us  how,  when  the  Waters  of  the 
deluge  had  fulfilled  their  office  of  purifying  the 
earth,  the  Dove  appeared,  bearing  an  olive-branch 
in  her  beak ;  it  was  the  symbol  of  peace,  and  of 
the  reign  of    Him,    whose  sacred  Name    signifies 


HOLY   SATURDAY  J    MORNING    SERVICE.  615 

the  Anointed :  his  name  is  Christ.  Our  Neophytes 
have  been  purified  from  their  sins  by  the  Water 
of  Baptism :  they  are  now  kneeling  before  the 
Pontiff,  awaiting  the  gift  of  the  Dove,  and  long- 
ing for  the  pledge  of  peace  whereof  the  Olive  is  the 
symbol.  The  holy  Chrism  has  been  already  marked 
upon  their  heads  ;  but,  then,  it  was  only  a  sign 
of  the  dignity  to  which  they  had  been  raised.  Now, 
it  does  more  than  signify  grace,  it  works  it  in  the 
soul.  Neither  is  it  in  the  power  of  a  Priest  to  give 
this  anointing,  which  confirms  the  Christian ;  it 
requires  the  hand  of  a  Bishop,  for  he  alone  can  con- 
secrate the  Chrism. 

The  Neophytes  are  arranged  before  him : — on  one 
side,  the  men  ;  on  the  other,  the  women ;  the  infants 
are  in  their  Sponsors'  arms.  The  Adults  place  their 
right  foot  on  the  right  foot  of  their  godfather  or 
godmother,  showing,  by  this  sign  of  union,  their 
spiritual  filiation  in  the  Church. 

The  sight  of  this  innocent  flock  gladdens  the  heart 
of  the  Pontiff.  He  rises  from  his  throne,  and  thus 
addresses  them  :  "May  the  Holy  Ghost  come  down 
"  upon  you,  and  may  the  power  of  the  Most  High  keep 
"  you  from  sin  !  "  Then  stretching  forth  his  hands,  he 
invokes  upon  them  the  seven  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
whose  action  is  to  confirm,  in  our  Neophytes,  the 
graces  they  have  received  in  the  Font  of  Baptism. 

Led  by  their  Sponsors,  they  come,  one  by  one,  before 
the  Bishop.  Their  faces  express  the  eagerness,  where- 
with they  long  to  receive  what  will  make  them 
perfect  Christians.  The  Pontiff  signs  the  forehead 
of  each  of  them  with  the  holy  Chrism;  and,  by  this 
he  imprints  an  indelible  character  on  the  soul.  The 
words  he  uses  are  these  :  "I  sign  thee  with  the  sign 
"  of  the  Cross,  and  I  confirm  thee  with  the  Chrism  of 
"  salvation,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
"  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Grhost."  Then  giving  a  slight 
blow  on  the  cheek,  (which,  with  the  ancients,  was  the 

2   z 


616 


HOLY    WEEK. 


sign  of  a  slave's  being  made  a  freedman,)  he  signifies 
that  the  Neophyte  is  admitted  into  the  liberty  of  the 
Children  of  Crod  ;  and  he  says  :  "  Peace  be  with  thee!" 
The  assistant  Ministers  tie  a  bandlet  round  the  fore- 
head, so  that  nothing  may  touch  the  part  which  has 
been  anointed  with  holy  Chrism.  The  Neophytes 
have  to  wear  this  bandlet  until  the  Saturday  follow- 
ing, when  they  will  lay  aside  the  white  garments 
received  at  their  Baptism. 

The  night  has  passed  away  during  the  solemni- 
sation of  these  sublime  mysteries  :  the  hour  has  come 
for  the  glad  celebration  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice  in  honor 
of  our  Lord's  Eesurrection  from  the  Tomb.  It  is  time 
for  the  Pastor  to  lead  back  to  the  Temple  his  happy 
flock,  that  has  received  such  a  glorious  addition. 
It  is  time  for  him  to  give  to  his  dear  Sheep  the 
Divine  Nourishment,  to  which  they  have  henceforth  a 
claim.  The  gates  of  the  Baptistery  are  thrown  open, 
and  all  return  in  procession  to  the  Church.  The 
Paschal  Candle,  the  Pillar  of  Fire,  goes  before  the 
troop  of  Neophytes,  whose  white  robes  glitter  in  the 
day-dawn  of  Easter.  The  faithful  people  follow  after 
the  Bishop  and  Clergy,  and  all  enter,  with  an  air  of 
triumph,  into  the  Church.  During  the  Procession, 
they  again  chant  the  Canticle  that  was  sung  by 
Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel  after  the  passage 
through  the  Red  Sea.  The  Bishop  repairs  to  the 
Secretarium,  where  he  is  robed  in  the  richest  Vest- 
ments of  the  Treasury.  During  this  interval,  the 
Chanters  recommence  the  Litany,  repeating  each  in- 
vocation thrice  over.  According  to  the  present  ar- 
rangement of  the  Liturgy,  it  is  sung  but  once  during 
the  whole  of  to-day's  Service, — that  is,  as  soon  as 
the  Clergy  return  to  the  Choir,  after  the  Blessing  of 
the  Font, — and  each  invocation  is  sung  twice.  In 
Churches  where  there  is  no  Font,  the  Litany  is  sung 
after  the  Prayer  which  follows  the  Twelfth  Pro- 
phecy ;  and  as  far  as  the  words,  Pecca tores,  te  rogamus 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :      MORNING    SERVICE. 


617 


audi  nos,  the  Celebrant  and  Ministers  lie  prostrate  on 
the  Altar  steps,  praying  for  the  Neophytes  who  are 
this  day  added  to  the  Church,  throughout  the  world. 
We  here  give  the  Litany  as  it  is  now  sung,  with  the 
additions  that  have  been  made  to  it  at  various 
periods. 


THE    LITANY. 


Lord,  have  mercy  on  us. 
Christ,  have  mercy  on  us. 
Lord,  have  mercy  on  us. 
Christ,  hear  us. 
Christ,  graciously  hear  us. 
God,  the  Father,  of  heaven, 

have  mercy  on  us. 
God,  the  Son,  Eedeemer  of  the 

world,  have  mercy  on  us. 
God,  the  Holy  Ghost,  have 

mercy  on  us. 
Holy  Trinity,  one  God,  have 

mercy  on  us. 
Holy  Mary,  pray  for  us. 
Holy  Mother  of  God,  pray  for 

us. 
Holy  Virgin  of  Virgins,  pray 

for  us. 
Saint  Michael,  pray  for  us. 

Saint  Gabriel, 
Saint  Eaphael, 

All  ye  holy  Angels  and  Arch- 
angels, 

All  ye  holy  orders  of  blessed 
Spirits, 

Saint  John  Baptist, 

Saint  Joseph, 

All   ye  holy  Patriarchs  and 
Prophets, 


Kyrie,  eleison. 

Christe,  eleison. 

Kyrie,  eleison. 

Christe,  audi  nos. 

Christe,  exaudi  nos. 

Pater  de  coelis,  Deus,  mise- 
rere nobis. 

Fili,  Eedemptor  mundi  Deus, 
miserere  nobis. 

Spiritus  Sancte,  Deus,  mise- 
rere nobis. 

Sancta  Trinitas,  unus  Deus, 
miserere  nobis. 

Sancta  Maria,   ora  pro  nobis. 

Sancta  Dei  Genitrix,  ora  pro 
nobis. 

Sancta  Virgo  Virginum,  ora 
pro  nobis. 

Sancte  Michael,  ora  pro  no- 
bis. 

Sancte  Gabriel, 

Sancte  Eaphael, 

Omnes  sancti  Angeli  et 
Archangeli,  orate  pro  no- 
bis. 

Omnes  sancti  beatorum 
Spirituum  ordines,  orate 
pro  nobis. 

Sancte  Joannes  Baptista,  ora 
pro  nobis. 

Sancte  Joseph, 

Omnes  sancti  Patriarchae  et 
Prophetse,  orate  pro  nobis. 


618 


HOLY   WEEK. 


Sancte  Petre,  ora  pro  nobis. 

Sancte  Paule, 

Sancte  Andrea, 

Sancte  Joannes, 

Omnes    sancti    Apostoli    et 

Evangelistse,      orate     pro 

nobis. 
Omnes  sancti  Discipuli  Do- 
mini, orate  pro  nobis. 
Sancte    Stephane,     ora    pro 

nobis. 
Sancte  Laurenti, 
Sancte  Vincenti, 
Omnes      sancti      Martyres, 

orate  pro  nobis. 
Sancte    Sylvester,     ora    pro 

nobis. 
Sancte  Gregori, 
Sancte  Augustine, 
Omnes  sancti   Pontifices    et 

Confessores,  orate. 
Omnes       sancti       Doctores, 

orate  pro  nobis. 
Sancte  Antoni,  ora  pro  nobis. 
Sancte  Benedicte, 
Sancte  Dominice, 
Sancte  Francisce, 
Omnes  sancti  Sacerdotes  et 

Levitse,  orate  pro  nobis. 
Omnes    sancti    Monachi    et 

Erernitae,  orate  pro  nobis. 
Sancta    Maria     Magdalena, 

ora  pro  nobis. 
Sancta  Agnes, 
Sancta  Csecilia, 
Sancta  Catharina, 
Sancta  Agatha, 
Sancta  Anastasia, 
Omnes   Sanctse  Virgines    et 

Viduae,  orate  pro  nobis. 
Omnes  Sancti  et  Sanctae  Dei, 

intercedite  pro  nobis. 

Propitius  esto,    parce   nobis 
Domine. 


Saint  Peter, 
Saint  Paul, 
Saint  Andrew, 
Saint  John, 

All  ye  holy  Apostles  and 
Evangelists, 

All  ye  holy  Disciples  of  our 

Lord, 
Saint  Stephen, 

Saint  Laurence, 

Saint  Yincent, 

All  ye  holy  Martyrs, 

Saint  Sylvester, 

Saint  Gregory, 
Saint  Augustine, 
All  ye  holy  Bishops  and  Con- 
fessors, 
All  ye  holy  Doctors, 

Saint  Antony, 

Saint  Benedict, 

Saint  Dominic, 

Saint  Francis, 

All  ye  holy  Priests  and  Le- 

vites, 
All     ye     holy    Monks    and 

Hermits, 
Saint  Mary  Magdalene, 

Saint  Agnes, 

Saint  Cecily, 

Saint  Catharine, 

Saint  Agatha, 

Saint  Anastasia, 

All  ye  holy  Virgins  and  Wi- 
dows, 

All  ye  men  and  women, 
Saints  of  God,  make  inter- 
cession for  us. 

Be  merciful  to  us,  spare  us, 
O  Lord. 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE. 


619 


Be  merciful  to  us,  graciously 

hear  us,  0  Lord. 
From  all  evil,  deliver  us,  O 

Lord. 
From  all  sin,  deliver  us,  O 

Lord. 
From  everlasting  death, 

Through  the  mystery  of  thy 
holy  Incarnation, 

Through  thy  Coming, 

Through  thy  Nativity, 

Through  thy  Baptism  and 
holy  Fasting, 

Through  thy  Cross  and  Pas- 
sion, 

Through  thy  Death  and 
Burial, 

Through  thy  holy  Rusurrec- 
tion, 

Through  thy  admirable  As- 
cension, 

Through  the  coming  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  the  Comforter, 

In  the  day  of  Judgment, 

We  sinners,  we  beseech  thee, 
hear  us. 

That  thou  spare  us,  we  be- 
seech thee,  hear  us. 

That  thou  vouchsafe  to  govern 
and  preserve  thy  holy 
Church, 

That  thou  vouchsafe  to  pre- 
serve our  Apostolic  Prelate, 
and  all  ecclesiastical  Or- 
ders, in  holy  religion, 


Propitius  esto,  exaudi  nos 
Domine. 

Ab  omni  malo,  libera  nos 
Domine. 

Ab  omni  peccato,  libera 
nos  Domine. 

A  morte  perpetua,  libera  nos 
Domine. 

Per  mysterium  sanctae  In- 
carnationis  tuse,  libera  nos 
Domine. 

Per  Adventum  tuum,  libera 
nos  Domine. 

Per  Nativitatem  tuam,  li- 
bera nos  Domine. 

Per  Baptismum  et  sanctum 
Jejunium  tuum,  libera  nos 
Domine. 

Per  Crucem  et  Passionem 
tuam,  libera  nos  Domine. 

Per  Mortem  et  Sepultu- 
ram  tuam,  libera  nos  Do- 
mine. 

Per  sanctam  Resurrectio- 
nem  tuam,  libera  nos  Do- 
mine. 

Per  admirabilem  Ascen- 
sionem  tuam,  libera  nos 
Domine. 

Per  adventum  Spiritus 
Sancti  Paracliti,  libera  nos 
Domine. 

In  die  Judicii,  libera  nos 
Domine. 

Peccatores,  te  rogamus  audi 
nos. 

Ut  nobis  parcas,  te  roga- 
mus audi  nos. 

Ut  Ecclesiam  tuam  sanc- 
tam regere  et  conservare 
digneris,  te  rogamus  audi 
nos. 

Ut  domnum  Apostolicum,  et 
omnes  Ecclesiasticos  Or- 
dines,  in  sancta  religione 
conservare  digneris,  te  ro-f 
gamus  audi  nos, 


620 


HOLY    WEEK. 


Ut  inimicos  sanctse  Ecclesiae 
humiliare  digneris,  te  ro- 
gamus  audi  nos. 

Ut  regibus  et  principibus 
christianis  pacem  et  veram 
concordiam  donare  digne- 
ris, te  rogamus  audi  nos. 

Ut  nosmetipsos  in  tuo  sancto 
servitio  confortare  et  con- 
servare  digneris,  te  roga- 
mus audi  nos. 

Ut  omnibus  benefactoribus 
nostris  sempiterna  bona 
retribuas,  te  rogamus  audi 
nos. 

Ut  fructus  terrse  dare  et  con- 
servare  digneris,  te  roga- 
mus audi  nos. 

Ut  omnibus  fidelibus  defunc- 
tis  requiem  seternam  do- 
nare digneris,  te  rogamus 
audi  nos. 

Ut  nos  exaudire  digneris, 
te  rogamus  audi  nos. 

Agnus  Dei,  qui  tollis  peccata 
mundi,  parce  nobis  Do- 
mine. 

Agnus  Dei,  qui  tollis  peccata 
mundi,     exaudi    nos    Do- 


mme. 


Agnus  Dei,  qui  tollis  peccata 
mundi,  miserere  nobis. 

Christe,  audi  nos. 
Christe,  exaudi  nos. 


That  thou  vouchsafe  to  hum- 
ble the  enemies  of  thy  holy 
Church, 

That  thou  vouchsafe  to  give 
peace  and  true  concord  to 
Christian  Kings  and  Prin- 
ces, 

That  thou  vouchsafe  to 
strengthen  and  preserve  us 
in  thy  holy  service, 

That  thou  render  eternal  good 
things  to  all  our  bene- 
factors, 

That  thou  vouchsafe  to  give 
and  preserve  the  fruits  of 
the  earth, 

That  thou  vouchsafe  to  give 
eternal  rest  to  all  the  Faith- 
ful departed, 

That  thou  vouchsafe  gra- 
ciously to  hear  us, 

O  Lamb  of  God,  who  takest 
away  the  sins  of  the  world, 
spare  us,  O  Lord. 

0  Lamb  of  God,  who  takest 
away  the  sins  of  the  world, 
graciously  hear  us,  0  Lord. 

0  Lamb  of  God,  who  takest 
away  the  sins  of  the  world, 
have  mercy  on  us. 

Christ,  hear  us. 

Christ,  graciously  hear  us. 


MASS. 

The  solemn  Litany  is  drawing  to  its  end,  and  the 
Choir  has  already  begun  its  closing  invocation,  the 
Kyrie  eleison  !  The  Pontiff  comes  forth  from  the 
Secretarium,  with  all  the  pomp  that  marks  the  prin- 
cipal  Feasts   of  the   Church,     The   chant   becomes 


HOLY   SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE.  621 

more  majestic,  and  lingers  on  the  brief  words  of  sup- 
plication. Kyrle  eleison  ! — -thrice  to  the  Father  : 
Christe  eleison  ! — thrice  to  the  Son  :  Kyrie  eleison  / 
— thrice  to  the  Holy  Grhost.  During  this  time,  the 
Bishop  is  reciting,  at  the  foot  of  the  Altar,  the  usual 
Psalm  and  Prayers ;  and  then,  ascending  to  the 
Altar,  he  offers  the  homage  of  Incense  to  the  Most 
High.  Hence,  an  Introit,  which  on  other  occasions, 
is  sung  by  the  Choir  during  the  Procession  from  the 
Secretarium  to  the  Altar,  is  not  needed. 

The  Morning-star  has  blended  its  rays  with  those 
of  our  Paschal  Candle,  as  the  Deacon  prayed  might 
be ;  but  now,  the  Morning-star  itself  begins  to  pale, 
for  the  Star  of  Day, — the  figure  of  our  Jesus,  the 
Sun  of  Justice, — is  soon  to  rise.  The  assembly  of 
the  Faithful  people, — the  men  on  the  right,  the  wo- 
men on  the  left, — is  now  greater  than  it  was  at  first. 
The  space  near  the  doors,  for  Catechumens,  is  vacant. 
In  a  prominent  part  of  the  aisles,  we  see  the  Neo- 
phytes, with  their  White  Robe,  and  Bandlet,  and 
lighted  taper  in  their  hands.. 

The  censing  of  the  Altar  is  finished :  and  then, — 
0  glorious  triumph  of  our  Risen  Jesus  ! — the  Pontiff 
sings  forth,  in  a  transport  of  joy  :  Gloria  in  excelsis 
Deo  !  The  hitherto  silent  Bells  peal  to  the  glad  An- 
gelic Hymn.  The  enthusiasm  of  our  holy  Faith  has 
mastered  every  heart,  making  it  beat  with  emotion. 
The  people  take  up  the  heavenly  Canticle,  and  con- 
tinue it  to  the  end  ;  and  then  the  Bishop  sings  the 
following  Prayer  for  the  newly  Baptised  : 

COLLECT. 

O  God,  who  enlightenest  Deus,  qui  hanc  sacratissi- 
this  most  sacred  night,  by  the  mam  noctem  gloria  Domi- 
glory  of  the  Besurrection  of  nicse  Resurrectionis  illus- 
the  Lord ;  preserve  in  the  new  tras  :  conserva  in  nova  f ami- 
offspring  of  thy  family  the  lise  tuse  progenie  adoptionis 
spirit  of  adoption  thou  hast  Spiritum    quern  dedisti  :    ut 


622 


HOLY     WEEK. 


corpore    et  mente    renovati,  given  them :   that  being  re- 

puram  tibi  exhibeant  servi-  newed  in  body  and  soul,  they 

tutem.     Per  eumdem  Domi-  may  serve  thee  with  purity  of 

num.  heart.  Through  the  same,  &c. 

After  the  Collect,  the  Subdeacon  ascends  the 
Epistle  Ambo,  and  chants  these  impressive  words, 
that  are  addressed  by  the  great  Apostle  to  the  Neo- 
phytes, who  have  just  risen,  by  Baptism,  with  Christ. 

EPISTLE. 


Lectio  Epistolse   beati  Pauli 
Apostoli  ad  Colossenses. 


Cap.  HI. 

Fratres,  si  consurrexistis 
cum  Christo,  quse  sursum 
sunt  quserite,  ubi  Christus 
est  in  dextera  Dei  sedens ; 
quae  sursum  sunt  sapite, 
non  quae  super  terram. 
Mortui  enim  estis :  et  vita 
vestra  est  abscondita  cum 
Christo  in  Deo.  Cum  autem 
Christus  apparuerit  vita  ves- 
tra :  tunc  et  vos  apparebitis 
cum  ipso  in  gloria. 


Lesson  of  the  Epistle  of  Saint 
Paul  the  Apostle  to  the 
Colossians. 

Ch.  III. 

Brethren  :  if  you  be  risen 
with  Christ,  seek  the  things 
that  are  above,  where  Christ 
is  sitting  at  the  right  hand 
of  God :  mind  the  things 
that  are  above,  not  the  things 
that  are  upon  the  earth. 
For  you  are  dead ;  and  your 
life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 
When  Christ  shall  appear, 
who  is  your  life ;  then  you  also 
shall  appear  with  him  in  glory. 


Having  chanted  these  few,  but  telling,  words,  the 
Subdeacon  comes  down  from  the  Ambo,  and  goes  to 
the  Bishop's  throne.  He  bows  before  the  Pontiff, 
and  thus  addresses  him  ;  and  as  he  speaks,  the  souls 
of  the  Faithful,  yea,  the  very  walls  of  the  Church  echo 
with  the  joyful  tidings :  "  Venerable  Father !  I  bring 
"  you  tidings  of  great  joy  :  it  is  the  Alleluia  /"  The 
Bishop  rises,  and,  filled  with  holy  ardour,  intones 
the  Alleluia  to  the  well  known  melody.  The  Choir 
repeats  it  after  him.  Thrice  (and,  each  time,  with 
an  increase  of  joy,)  is  the  heavenly  word  inter- 
changed between  the  Pontiff  and  the  Choir.     At 


HOLY    SATURDAY   :    MORNINO    SERVICE.  623 

this  mom  en  t  all  mournfulness  is  at  an  end.  One 
feels  that  God  has  accepted  the  expiatory  works  of 
our  Lent ;  and  that,  by  the  merits  of  his  Son  now 
Risen  from  the  Grave,  he  pardons  our  earth,  since  he 
permits  us  to  hear  once  more  the  Song  of  Heaven. 
The  Choir  subjoins  this  verse  of  the  Psalm,  which 
celebrates  the  mercy  of  Jehovah. 

Praise  the  Lord,  for  he  is  Confitemini  Domino  quo- 
good  :  for  his  mercy  endureth  niam  bonus  :  quoniam  in 
for  ever.  sseculum  misericordia  ejus. 

But  there  is  still  wanting  something  to  the  joy  of 
our  Easter.  Jesus  has  risen  from  the  Tomb  ;  but, 
so  far,  he  has  not  shown  himself  to  all.  His  Blessed 
Mother,  Magdalene,  and  the  other  holy  women,  are 
the  only  ones  who  have  as  yet  seen  him  :  it  is  not 
till  the  evening,  that  he  will  appear  to  his  Apostles. 
We  have  but  just  begun  the  Day.  Therefore  it  is, 
that  the  Church  once  more  offers  her  praise  to  her 
God,  under  the  Lenten  formula  of  the  Tract. 

TRACT. 

Praise  the  Lord  all  ye  na-  Laudate  Dominum   omnes 

tions;  join  in  his  praise,  all  gentes  :      et   collaudate   eum 

ye  people.  omnes  populi. 

y.     For  his  mercy  is  con-  f.  Quoniam  confirmata  est 

firmed  upon  us;  and  the  truth  super  nos  misericordia  ejus  : 

of  the  Lord  remaineth  for  ever,  et  Veritas  Domini  manet  in 

seternum. 

Whilst  the  Choir  is  singing  this  Psalm  to  a  melody, 
which  has  something  of  mournfulness  about  it,  the 
Deacon  goes  to  the  Ambo,  from  which  he  is  to  chant 
the  Gospel.  The  Acolytes  do  not  accompany  him 
with  their  torches,  but  the  Thurifer  goes  with  him, 
as  usual,  with  the  Incense.  Here  again  we  have  an 
allusion  to  the  events  which  took  place  on  this  great 
morning :  the  Women  went  to  the  Sepulchre, 
carrying    sweet    spices    with  them,    but   the  light  of 


624 


HOLY    WEEK. 


faith  in  the  Resurrection  was  not  as  yet  in  their 
hearts.  The  Incense  signifies  their  spices,  the 
absence  of  light  signifies  their  want  of  faith. 


GOSPEL. 

Sequentia    sancti    Evangelii     Sequel    of   the   holy   Gospel 
secundum  Matthaeurn.  according  to  Matthew. 

XXVIII.  Ch.  XXVIIL 


Cap. 

Vespere  autem  Sabbati 
quae  lucescit  in  prima  Sab- 
bati :  venit  Maria  Magda- 
lene, et  altera  Maria  videre 
sepulchrum.  Et  ecce  terrse 
motus  factus  est  magnus. 
Angelus  enim  Domini  de- 
scendit  de  coelo,  et  accedens 
revolvit  lapidem,  et  sedebat 
super  eum.  Erat  autem 
aspectus  ejus,  sicut  fulgur  : 
et  vestimentum  ejus,  sicut 
nix .  Prse  timore  autem  e  j  us , 
exterriti  sunt  custodes  :  et 
facti  sunt  velut  mortui.  Re- 
spondens  autem  Angelus, 
dixit  mulieribus  :  Nolite 
timere  vos.  Scio  enim,  quod 
Jesum,  qui  crucifixus  est, 
quaeritis.  Non  est  hie.  Sur- 
rexit  enim,  sicut  dixit  :  ve- 
nite,  et  yidete  locum,  ubi 
positus  erat  Dominus.  Et 
cito  euntes,  dicite  discipulis 
ejus,  quia  surrexit.  Et  ecce 
praecedit  vos  in  Galilseam. 
Ibi  eum  videbitis  :  ecce  prse- 
dixi  vobis. 


In  the  end  of  the  Sabbath, 
when  it  began  to  dawn  towards 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  came 
Mary  Magdalene  and  the  other 
Mary  to  the  sepulchre.  And 
behold  there  was  a  great  earth- 
quake. For  an  Angel  of  the 
Lord  descended  from  heaven ; 
and  coming,  rolled  back  the 
stone,  and  sat  upon  it ;  and 
his  countenance  was  as  light- 
ning, and  his  raiment  as  snow. 
And  for  fear  of  him ,  the  guards 
were  struck  with  terror,  and 
became  as  dead  men.  And 
the  Angel  answering,  said  to 
the  women  :  Fear  not  you  ; 
for  I  know  that  you  seek  Jesus 
who  was  crucified.  He  is  not 
here,  for  he  is  risen,  ashe  said. 
Come,  and  see  the  place  where 
the  Lord  was  laid.  And  going 
quickly,  tell  ye  his  disciples 
that  he  is  risen  :  and  behold 
he  will  go  before  you  into 
Galilee  :  there  you  shall  see 
him.  Lo,  I  have  foretold  it 
to  you. 


The  Bishop  does  not  intone  the  glorious  Symbol 
of  Faith  :  it  is  reserved  for  the  second  Mass,  which 
is  to  be  sung  at  a  later  hour  in  the  morning.  By 
this  omission   of  the  Creed,   the  Church  would  re- 


HOLY    SATURDAY  I    MORNING    SERVICE.  625 

mind  us  of  the  hours  which  elapsed,  before  the 
Apostles,  who  were  to  preach  to  the  world  the  Mys- 
tery of  the  Resurrection,  had  themselves  honoured 
it  by  their  faith. 

After  having  saluted  the  people  with  the  usual 
Dominus  vobiscum,  the  Pontiff  at  once  proceeds  to 
offer  to  the  Divine  Majesty  the  bread  and  wine, 
which  are  to  be  used  in  the  Sacrifice ;  and  the  Choir 
omits  the  Antiphon,  which  is  called  the  Offertory, 
and  is  sung  or  recited  in  every  other  Mass.  The 
Offertory  is  intended  as  a  chant  to  be  sung  whilst 
the  people  go  up  to  the  Sanctuary  when  offering  the 
bread  and  wine  for  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  and  which 
they  are  to  receive,  at  the  Communion,  changed  into 
the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ.  But  the  Service  of 
Holy  Saturday  is  so  long  that  this  ceremony  of  the 
offering  is  omitted.  The  spirit  is  as  prompt  and 
fervent  as  ever,  but  the  body  begins  to  feel  exhausted  ; 
and  the  little  children,  who  are  kept  fasting,  on 
account  of  having  to  go  to  holy  Communion,  show 
by  their  cries  that  they,  too,  are  suffering  from  want 
of  food.  To  save  time,  therefore,  the  bread  and  wine, 
the  matter  of  the  Sacrifice,  are  provided  this  morning 
by  the  Church.  The  Neophytes  will  nevertheless, 
approach  to  holy  Communion,  although  they  them- 
selves have  not  brought  bread  and  wine  to  the 
Sanctuary. 

After  having  made  an  offering,  and  censed,  first 
the  Bread  and  Wine,  then  the  Altar,  the  Pontiff 
recites  the  Secret,  which  is  followed  by  the  Easter 
Preface. 

SECRET. 

Eeceive,OLord,  we  beseech  Suscipe  qusesumus,  Domi- 

thee,  the  prayers  of  thy  people,  ne,  preces    populi    tui    cum 

together  with  the  offering  of  oblationibus   hostiarum  :     ut 

these  hosts,  that  what  is  con-  Paschalibus   initiata    niyste- 

secrated    by    these     Paschal  riis,      ad     aeternitatis     nobis 


626 


HOLY    WEEK. 


medelam,   te   operante,    pro- 
ficiant.     Per  Dominum. 

Per  omnia  ssecula  ssecu- 
lorum. 

gt.     Amen. 

y.  Dominus  vobiscum. 

Bt.  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo. 

y.  Sursum  corda. 

gi.  Habemus  ad  Domi- 
num. 

y.  Gratias  agamus  Domi- 
no Deo  nostro. 

gt.  Dignum  et  justum  est. 


mysteries,  may,  by  the  help 
of  thy  grace,  avail  us  to  eter- 
nal life.     Through,  &c. 
For  ever  and  ever ! 

gt.     Amen. 

y.  The  Lord  be  with  you. 

&•  And  with  thy  spirit. 

^ .  Lift  up  your  hearts  ! 

Bt.  We  have  them  fixed  on 
God. 

1?.  Let  us  give  thanks  to 
the  Lord  our  God. 

Bt.  It  is  meet  and  just. 


PREFACE. 


Vere  dignum  et  justum 
est,  sequum  et  salutare,  te 
quidem  Domine,  omni  tem- 
pore, sed  in  hoc  potissimum 
Nocte  gloriosius  prsedicare, 
cum  Pascha  nostrum  immo- 
latus  est  Christus.  Ipse  enim 
verus  est  Agnus,  qui  abstulit 
peccata  mundi :  qui  mor- 
tem nostram  moriendo  de- 
struxit,  et  vitam  resurgendo 
reparavit.  Et  ideo  cum 
Angelis  et  Archangelis,  cum 
Thronis  et  Dominationibus, 
cumque  omni  militia  coeles- 
tis  exercitus,  hymnum  glo- 
rise  tuse  canimus,  sine  fine 
dicentes :  Sanctus  !  Sanc- 
tus !   Sanctus  ! 


It  is  truly  meet  and  just, 
right  and  available  to  salva- 
tion, to  publish  thy  praise,  O 
Lord,  at  all  times ;  but  chiefly 
and  more  gloriously  on  this 
Night,  when  Christ  our  Pas- 
chal Lamb  is  sacrificed.  For 
he  is  the  true  Lamb,  that  has 
taken  away  the  sins  of  the 
world.  Who  by  dying  de- 
stroyed our  death,  and  by  ris- 
ing again,  restored  us  to  life. 
And  therefore  with  the  Angels 
and  Archangels,  with  the 
Thrones  and  Dominations, 
and  with  all  the  heavenly  host, 
we  sing  a  hymn  to  thy  glory, 
saying  unceasingly  :  Holy  ! 
Holy  !  Holy  ! 


The  Canon  commences,  and  the  divine  mystery  is 
effected.  Nothing  in  the  sacred  rites  is  changed, 
until  close  upon  the  Communion.  It  is  a  custom, 
which  has  come  down  from  the  times  of  the  Apostles, 
that,  before  receiving  the  Body  and  Blood  of  our 
Lord  in  Communion,  the  Faithful  should  give  to 
each  other  the  Kiss  of  Peace,  saying  :  "  Peace  be 
with  thee  I "     This  ceremony  is  omitted  in  this  first 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE.  627 

Mass.  It  was  not  till  the  evening  of  the  day  of  his 
Resurrection,  that  Jesus  spoke  these  words  to  his 
Disciples.  Holy  Church,  reverencing,  as  she  does, 
every  detail  of  her  Jesus'  life,  loves  to  imitate  them 
in  her  own  practice.  For  the  same  reason,  she  omits 
the  Agnus  Dei,1  which  in  its  third  repetition,  has 
these  words  :  "  Give  us  peace." 

And  now  the  moment  has  come,  when  our  Neo- 
phytes are  to  receive,  for  the  first  time,  the  Bread  of 
Life  and  the  Heavenly  Chalice,  which  were  instituted 
by  Jesus  at  the  last  Supper.  Baptised  in  Water 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  have  a  right  to  approach 
the  holy  Table  ;  and  their  White  Robes  are  the 
outward  expression  of  their  souls'  possessing  the 
Wedding  Garment,  which  all  must  have  on,  who 
would  partake  of  the  Banquet  of  the  Lamb.  They 
go  up  to  the  Altar  with  joy  and  reverenoe.  The 
Deacon  gives  them  the  Body  of  our  Lord,  and  then 
the  Chalice  of  his  precious  Blood.  The  infants  are 
also  admitted  to  Communion :  the  Deacon  dips  his 
finger  into  the  Chalice,  and  then  puts  it  into  their 
innocent  mouths.  Lastly,  to  signify  that  all  are  now, 
by  their  Baptism,  those  new-bom  babes,  of  whom 
St.  Peter  speaks,2 — they  receive  after  holy  Commu- 
nion, a  little  milk  and  honey  ;  it  is  a  symbol  of 
infancy,  and  at  the  same  time,  an  allusion  to  the 
Promised  Land. 

The  Communion  over,  the  Bishop  ends  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  with  a  Prayer,  in  which  he  beseeches  God 
to  unite  us  all  to  each  other  in  a  spirit  of  fraternal 
charity,  seeing  that  we  all  participate  in  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Pasch.  We  have  all  the  same  Mother — 
the  Church  ;  the  same  Font  of  Baptism  has  given  to 
us  all  the  same  life  of  grace ;  we  are  all  members  of 
Jesus,  our  Head  ;    the  same  Holy  Spirit  has  signed 

1  This  formula  does  not  date  beyond  the  7th  century. 

2  St.  Pet.  ii.  2. 


628  HOLY    WEEK. 

us  all  with  his  seal,  and  the  Father  has  made  us  all 
one  family  by  adopting  us  as  his  Children.  The 
signal  for  departure  being  given  by  the  Deacon,  in 
the  Bishop's  name,  the  Faithful  leave  the  Church, 
and  return  to  their  homes,  there  to  remain  till  they 
re-assemble  for  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  which  is  again  to 
be  offered  up  in  a  still  more  solemn  celebration  of 
this  the  Feast  of  Feasts, — the  Pasch  of  the  Eesur- 
rection. 


VESPEES. 

During  the  centuries,  when  the  Church  celebrated 
the  Yigil  of  Easter  in  the  manner  we  have  been 
describing,  Holy  Saturday  had  no  Vespers.  The 
Vigil  began  towards  the  hour  of  None,  and  con- 
tinued, as  we  have  seen,  till  the  early  morning  of 
the  Sunday.  It  was  not  till  later, — when  custom 
had  authorised  the  anticipating  the  Easter  mid- 
night Mass,  and  saying  it  on  the  morning  of  Holy 
Saturday, — that  this  last  day  of  Holy  Week  was 
provided  with  the  Office  of  Vespers.  In  consequence 
of  the  service  being  so  long,  the  Church  made  these 
Vespers  as  short  as  possible,  and  gave  them  a  joyous 
character,  in  keeping  with  the  return  of  the  "  Alle- 
luia." They  are  drawn  up  so  as  to  form  part  of  the 
Mass.  They  begin  immediately  after  the  Commu- 
nion, and  the  Postcommunion  serves  as  a  conclusion 
both  to  them  and  the  Mass  itself.  This  Postcom- 
munion Prayer  is  the  one  of  which  we  have  just 
been  speaking,  as  terminating  the  ancient  celebration 
of  the  Easter  Vigil. 

After  the  Communion,  then,  the  Choir  sings  the 
following  Antiphon  and  Psalm  : 

Ant.  Alleluia,  alleluia,  al-        Ant.  Alleluia,  alleluia,  al- 
leluia, leluia. 


HOLY    SATURDAY  :    MORNING    SERVICE.  629 


PSALM    116. 

Praise  the  Lord,  all  ye  na-  Laudate  Dominum   omnes 

tions :     praise    him    all    ye  gentes :    *     laudate  eum  om- 

people.  nes  populi. 

For  his  mercy  is  confirmed  Quoniam     confirmata    est 

upon  us;  and  the  truth  of  the  super  nos  misericordia  ejus  : 

Lord  remaineth  for  ever.  *  et  Veritas  Domini  manet  in 

in  seternum. 

Glory,  &c.  Gloria  Patri,  &c. 

Ant.    Alleluia,      alleluia,  Ant.    Alleluia,      alleluia, 

alleluia.  alleluia. 

No  other  Psalm  is  sung  at  these  Vespers.  There 
is  no  Capitulum,  Hymn,  or  Versicle  ;  but  the  Mag- 
nificat follows  at  once,  with  this  as  its  Antiphon  : 

antiphon  of  the  Magnificat. 

In  the  evening  of  the  Sab-  Vespere  autem  Sabbati, 
bath  which  dawns  on  the  first  quae  lucescit  in  prima  Sab- 
day  of  the  week,  came  Mary  bati,  venit  Maria  Magdalene, 
Magdalene,  and  another  Mary,  et  altera  Maria  videre  se- 
to  see  the  sepulchre,  alleluia.  pulchrum,  alleluia. 

During  the  Magnificat,  (see  page  86,)  the  Cele- 
brant censes  the  Altar ;  and  as  soon  as  the  Antiphon 
has  been  repeated,  he  sings,  at  the  Altar,  the  follow- 
ing prayer : 

postcommunion. 

Pour  forth  on  us,  0  Lord,  Spiritum  nobis,  Domine, 
the  spirit  of  thy  love ;  that  tuse  charitatis  inf unde  :  ut 
those  whom  thou  hast  filled  quos  sacramentis  Paschali- 
with  the  Paschal  sacrament,  bus  satiasti,  tua  facias  pie- 
may,  by  thy  goodness,  live  in  tate  Concordes.  Per  Domi- 
perfect  concord.  Through,  &c.  num. 

When  the  Deacon  turns  to  the  people,  to  give 
them  the  signal  for  departure,  he  adds  two  Alle- 
luias to  the  usual  formula.  The  same  is  observed 
in  every  Mass  till  the  following  Saturday  inclusively. 


630  HOLY   WEEK. 

f.     Ite  missa  est,  alleluia,        $.  Go,  the  Mass  is  finished, 

alleluia.  alleluia,  alleluia. 

Bt.     Deo   gratias,    alleluia,         gt.  Thanks  be  to  God,  alle- 

alleluia.  luia,  alleluia. 

The  Mass  concludes,  as  usual,  with  the  Blessing  of 
the  Celebrant,  and  the  Q-ospel  of  St.  John. 

Such  is  the  Service  of  this  great  Saturday.  The 
Prayers  and  Ceremonies  are  precisely  the  same  as  in 
former  times  :  but  its  being  celebrated  so  early  in 
the  day,  and  the  Baptism  of  Catechumens  having 
ceased  to  be  a  part  of  the  function,  rendered  it 
almost  a  necessity  that  we  should  have  embodied  in 
our  explanation  the  ancient  ceremonial,  otherwise 
the  Faithful  would  lose  much  of  the  meaning  and 
grandeur  of  to-day's  Service. 

During  the  day,  the  Priest  visits  the  houses  of 
his  parishioners,  and  sprinkles  them  with  the  Bap- 
tismal Water,  taken  from  the  Font  before  the  Holy 
Oils  were  put  into  it.  This  pious  practice  is  an 
allusion  to  the  Command  given  by  Grod  to  his  people, 
on  occasion  of  the  first  Passover, — that  they  should 
mark  their  houses  with  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
as  a  protection  against  the  destroying  Angel.  In  a 
country  like  our  own,  it  may  be  difficult  to  observe 
this  holy  custom ;  but  where  it  can  be  done,  the 
Faithful  should  eagerly  avail  themselves  of  it,  as  it 
brings  a  special  blessing  upon  our  houses. 

THE    EVENING. 

The  description  we  have  been  giving  of  the  mag- 
nificent ceremonies  of  Baptism,  has  made  us  forget 
the  Sepulchre  wherein  reposes  the  Body  of  our 
Crucified  Jesus.  Let  us  return  thither  in  thought, 
for  the  hour  of  his  Resurrection  is  not  yet  come.  Let 
us  devote  a  few  moments  in  meditating  on  the 
mystery  of  the  three  days,  during  which  the  Soul  of 
our  Redeemer  was  separated   from  his  Body.     We 


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ind  of  its  Early  History  in  England.  By  Fr. 
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Divinity.  From  the  Italian  of  His  Eminence 
Cardinal  Baluffi.  With  an  Introduction.  By 
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tena  Aurea.  Commentary  on  the  Four 
jospels,  collected  out  of  the  Works  of  the 
"athers.  By  S.  Thomas  Aquinas.  (Oxford, 
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"S.  Ball.  Foundress  of  the  Institute  of  the 
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tholicity   in   the   Carolinas  and    Georgia. 

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)'Connell,  O.S.B.      1820-1878.    Cloth.   2  50 

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BENZIGER  BROTHERS, 


The  Life  of  St.  Cuthbert,  by  the  Venerabl 
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Thomas  a  Kempis  and  the  Imitation  c 
Christ.  A  Sketch  of  His  Life,  Companion* 
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St.  Dominic's  Hymn-Book,  with  the  Office  c 
Compline  according  to  the  Dominican  Rite 
Cloth.  o  2 

Hymns  for  the  Year.  A  Complete  Collectio: 
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An  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland,  fron 
the  first  Introduction  of  Christianity  amonj 
the  Irish  to  the  Beginning  of  the  13th  Cen 
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(Dublin,  1822.)    4  vols.     Half  morocco.   20  ot 

"A  work  that,  for  extensive  knowledge,  deep  re 
search,    and   accurate  criticism    ci!m.ivp«    in   mv  nrvl 


HOLY   SATURDAY  :    EVENING.  63l 

went,  this  morning,  to  visit  the  Tomb,  where  lies  our 
buried  Jesus  ;  we  adored  that  sacred  Body,  which 
Magdalene  and  her  companions  are  preparing  to 
honour,  by  anointing  it  early  on  the  morrow.  Now 
let  us  offer  the  tribute  of  our  profound  adoration  to 
the  Soul  of  our  Divine  Master.  It  is  not  in  the 
Tomb,  where  his  Body  is  : — let  us  follow  it  to  the 
place  where  it  lives  during  these  hours  of  separation. 
In  the  centre  of  the  earth,  there  are  four  immense 
regions,  into  which  no  one  living  can  ever  enter  :  it 
is  only  by  divine  revelation  that  we  know  of  their 
existence.  The  farthest  from  us  is  the  Hell  of  the 
damned,  the  frightful  abode  where  Satan  and  his 
angels  and  the  reprobate  are  suffering  eternal  tor- 
ments. It  is  here  that  the  Prince  of  darkness  is  ever 
forming  his  plots  against  Grod  and  his  creatures. 
Nearer  to  us,  is  the  Limbo  wherein  are  detained  the 
souls  of  children,  who  departed  this  world  before 
being  regenerated.  The  opinion  which  has  met  most 
favour  from  the  Church,  is  that  these  souls  suffer  no 
torment  ;  and  that  although  they  can  never  enjoy 
the  beatific  vision,  yet  are  they  enjoying  a  natural 
happiness,  and  one  that  is  proportionate  to  their 
desires.  Above  the  abode  of  these  children,  is  the 
place  of  expiation,  where  souls,  that  have  departed 
this  life  in  the  state  of  grace,  cleanse  themselves  from 
any  stains  of  lesser  sins,  or  satisfy  for  the  debt  of 
temporal  punishment  still  due  to  divine  justice. 
And  lastly,  still  nearer  to  us,  is  the  Limbo  where  are 
kept  from  heaven  the  saints  who  died  under  the  Old 
Law.  Here  are  our  First  Parents,  Abel,  Noe,  Abra- 
ham, Moses,  David,  and  the  Prophets  ;  the  just  Gren- 
tiles,  such  as  that  great  Saint  of  Arabia,  Job  ;  and 
those  holy  personages  who  were  closely  connected 
with  our  Lord,  such  as  Joachim  and  Anne,  the  parents 
of  his  Blessed  Mother, — Joseph,  her  Spouse  and  his 
own  foster-father, — and  John,  his  Precursor,  together 
with  his  holy  parents,  Zachary  and  Elizabeth. 

3    A 


#32  HOLY  WfcEK. 

Until  such  time  as  the  gate  of  heaven  shall  have 
been  opened  by  the  Blood  of  the  Redeemer,  none  of 
the  Just  can  ascend  thither.  How  holy  soever  they 
might  have  been  during  this  life,  they  must  descend 
into  Limbo  after  death.  We  meet  with  innumer- 
able passages  of  the  Old  Testament,  where  mention 
is  made  of  hell,  (that  is,  that  portion  of  the  regions 
in  the  centre  of  the  earth,  which  we  call  Limbo,) 
as  being  the  abode  of  even  the  holiest  of  (rod's 
servants  :  it  is  only  in  the  New  Testament  that 
Heaven  is  spoken  of  as  being  the  abode  of  men. 
The  Limbo  of  the  Just  is  not  one  of  torment,  beyond 
that  of  expectation  and  captivity.  The  souls  that 
dwell  there  are  confirmed  in  grace,  and  are  sure  of 
enjoying,  at  some  future  period,  an  infinite  happi- 
ness ;  they  resignedly  bear  this  long  banishment, 
which  is  a  consequence  of  Adam's  Sin  ;  and,  as  they 
see  the  time  drawing  nigh  for  their  deliverance, 
their  joy  is  beyond  all  we  can  imagine. 

The  Son  of  Grod  has  subjected  himself  to  every 
thing,  (save  sin,)  that  our  human  nature  has  to  suf- 
fer or  undergo  :  it  is  by  his  Resurrection  that  he  is  to 
triumph,  it  is  by  his  Ascension  alone  that  he  is  to 
open  the  gates  of  heaven  : — hence,  his  Soul,  having 
been  separated  from  his  Body  by  Death,  was  to 
descend  into  the  depths  of  the  earth,  and  beoome  a 
companion  with  the  holy  exiles  there.  He  had  said 
of  himself  :  The  Son  of  Man  shall  be  in  the  heart  of 
the  earth  three  days  and  three  nights}  What  must 
have  been  the  joy  of  these  countless  Saints !  and  how 
majestic  must  not  have  been  the  entrance  of  our 
Emmanuel  into  their  abode  !  No  sooner  did  our 
Jesus  breathe  his  last  upon  the  Cross,  than  the  Limbo 
of  the  Saints  was  illumined  with  heavenly  splendour. 
The  Soul  of  the  Redeemer,  united  to  the  Divinity  of 
the  Word,  descended  thither,  and  changed  it,  from  a 

1  St.  Matth.  xii.  40. 


HOLY   SATURDAY  !    EVENING.  633 

place  of  banishment,  into  a  very  Paradise.  Thus 
did  he  fulfil  the  promise  he  had  made  to  the  Good 
Thief :  This  day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise. 

The  happy  hour,  so  long  expected  by  these  Saints, 
is  come  !  What  tongue  could  tell  their  joy,  their 
admiration,  and  their  love,  as  they  beheld  the  Soul 
of  Jesus,  who  thus  comes  among  them,  to  share  and 
close  their  exile  !  He  looks  complacently  on  this 
countless  number  of  his  Elect, — this  fruit  of  four 
thousand  years  of  his  grace, — this  portion  of  his 
Church  purchased  by  his  Blood,  and  to  which  the 
merits  of  his  Blood  were  applied  by  the  mercy  of  his 
Eternal  Father,  even  before  it  was  shed  on  Calvary  ! 
Let  us  who  hope,  on  our  departure  from  this  world, 
to  ascend  to  Him,  who  has  gone  to  prepare  a  place 
for  us  in  Heaven,1 — let  us  joyfully  congratulate  these 
our  holy  ancestors.  Let  us  also  adore  the  condescen- 
sion of  our  Emmanuel,  who  deigns  to  spend  these 
three  days  in  the  heart  of  the  earth,  that  so  he  might 
sanctify  every  condition  of  our  Nature,  and  take 
upon  himself  even  what  was  but  a  transient  state  of 
our  existence. 

But,  the  Son  of  Grod  would  have  this  his  visit  to 
the  regions  beneath  our  earth  to  be  a  manifestation 
of  his  sovereign  power.  His  Soul  does  not,  it  is  true, 
descend  into  the  Hell  of  Satan,  but  he  makes  his 
power  be  felt  there.  The  Prince  of  this  world  is  now 
forced  to  bend  his  knee  and  humble  himself.2  In 
this  Jesus,  whom  he  has  instigated  the  Jews  to 
crucify,  he  now  recognises  the  Son  of  Grod.  Man  is 
saved,  Death  is  conquered,  Sin  is  effaced.  Hence- 
forth, it  is  not  to  the  Bosom  of  Abraham,  but  to 
Heaven  itself,  that  the  souls  of  the  Just  made  per- 
fect shall  ascend,  there  to  reign,  together  with  the 
faithful  Angels,  with  Christ  their  Divine  Head.  The 
reign   of   Idolatry  is  to  be  at  an  end :     the  altars, 

1  St.  John,  xiv.  2.  2  Philipp.  ii  10. 


634  HOLY     WEEK. 

whereon  men  have  offered  incense  to  Satan,  are  to  be 
destroyed.  The  house  of  the  strong  one  is  to  be  en- 
tered by  his  Divine  Adversary,  and  his  goods  are  to 
be  rifled}  The  Hand-writing  of  four  condemnation 
is  snatched  from  the  Serpent.2  The  Cross,  which  he 
had  so  exultingly  prepared  for  the  Just  One,  has  been 
his  overthrow,  or,  as  St.  Antony  so  forcibly  expresses 
it,  the  bait  thrown  out  to  the  Leviathan,  which  he 
took,  and,  taking  it,  was  conquered. 

The  Soul  of  our  Jesus  makes  its  presence  felt  also 
by  the  just  who  dwell  in  the  abode  of  expiation.  It 
mercifully  alleviates  their  sufferings,  and  shortens 
their  Purgatory.  Many  of  them  are  delivered  alto- 
gether, and  numbered  with  the  Saints  in  Limbo, 
where  they  spend  the  Forty  Days,  between  this  and 
the  Ascension,  in  the  happy  expectation  of  ascending 
to  Heaven  with  their  Deliverer.  It  is  not  contrary 
to  the  principles  of  Faith,  to  suppose,  as  several 
learned  Theologians  have  taught,  that  the  visit  of  the 
Man-Cod  to  Limbo  was  a  source  of  blessing  and  con- 
solation to  the  abode  of  unregenerated  Children,  and 
that  they  then  received  a  promise,  that  the  time 
would  come  when  they  should  be  re-united  to  their 
bodies,  and,  after  the  Day  of  Judgment,  be  placed  in 
a  happier  land  than  that  in  which  Divine  Justice 
now  holds  them  captives. 

We  adore  thee,  0  holy  Soul  of  our  Redeemer  !  for 
thy  having  deigned  to  pass  these  hours  with  thy  Saints, 
our  fathers,  in  the  heart  of  the  earth.  We  extol  thy 
goodness  and  love  shown  towards  these  thy  Elect, 
whom  thou  hast  made  to  be  thine  own  Brethren. 
We  give  thee  thanks  for  that  thou  didst  humble  our 
enemy :  oh,  give  us  grace  to  conquer  him !  But  now, 
dearest  Jesus !  it  is  time  for  thee  to  rise  from  thy 
Tomb,  and  re-unite  thy  Soul  to  thy  Body  !  Heaven 
and  Earth  await  thy  Resurrection  !    The  Church,  thy 

1  St.  Matth.  xii.  29.  2  Coloss.  ii.  14. 


HOLY    SATURDAY  '.    EVENTNO. 


635 


Bride,  has  already  sung  the  Alleluia  of  her  glad 
expectation !  Rise,  then,  from  thy  Grrave,  0  Jesus, 
our  Life  !  Triumph  over  Death,  and  reign  our  King 
for  ever  ! 


Let  us  close  our  day  and  our  volume  with  the  fol- 
lowing Preface,  taken  from  the  Ambrosian  Missal. 
It  is  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of  this  venerable  Liturgy, 
and  is  the  blessing  of  the  Paschal  Candle.  The 
mystery  of  this  great  Night  is  here  treated  with  an 
eloquence  and  poetry  truly  worthy  of  the  subject. 

PREFACE. 


Truly  it  is  meet  and  just, 
right  and  available  to  salva- 
tion, that  we  should  here  and 
in  all  places  give  thanks  to 
thee,  O  Holy  Lord,  Almighty 
Father,  Eternal  God  !  Thou 
hast  consecrated  the  Pasch, 
unto  which  thou  invitest  all 
mankind,  not  by  the  gore  and 
fat  of  sheep,  but  by  the  Blood 
and  Flesh  of  thine  Only-Be- 
gotten Son,  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord  :  that  thus  the  rite  of  an 
ungrateful  people  being  abo- 
lished, grace  should  succeed 
the  law,  and  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world  be  expiated  by 
one  Victim,  once,  and  by  him- 
self ,  offered  up  to  thy  Majesty. 

This  is  the  Lamb  that  was 
prefigured  on  tablets  of  stone. 
He  was  not  taken  from  the 
flock,  but  was  brought  from 
heaven.  He  needed  not  a 
shepherd,  but  was  himself  the 
one  Good  Shepherd,  who  laid 
down  his  life  for  his  sheep, 
and  again  assumed  it,  that  his 
divine  condescension  might 
show  us  how  to  be  humble, 


Yere,  quia  dignum  et  jus- 
tum  est,  sequum  et  salutare 
nos  tibi  semper  hie  et  ubi- 
que  gratias  agere,  Domine 
sancte,  Pater  omnipotens, 
seterne  Deus.  Qui  populo- 
rum  Pascha  cunctorum,  non 
pecudum  cruore,  nee  adipe, 
sed  Unigeniti  tui  Domini 
nostri  Jesu  Christi  sanguine, 
corporeque  dedicasti  ;  ut 
supploso  ritu  gentis  ingratse 
legi  gratia  succederet,  et  una 
victima,  per  semetipsam  tuae 
Majestati  semel  oblata,  mun- 
di  totius  expiaret  offensam. 


Hie  est  Agnus  lapideis 
prsefiguratus  in  tabulis  :  non 
abductus  e  gregibus,  sed 
evectus  e  ccelo  :  non  pastore 
indigens,  sed  Pastor  bonus, 
ipse  tantummodo :  qui  ani- 
mam  suam  pro  suis  posuit 
ovibus,  et  rursus  assumpsit ; 
ut  nobis  et  humilitatem  di- 
vina  dignatio,  et  spem  resur- 
rectio   corporalis    ostenderet. 


636 


HOLY   WEEK. 


Qui  coram  tondente  se  non 
vocem  queruli  balatus  emi- 
sit,  sed  evangelico  procla- 
mavit  oraculo,  dicens  ;  Amo- 
do  videbitis  Filium  hominis 
sedentem  ad  dexteram  Ma- 
jestatis.  Ipse  nobis  et  te  re- 
conciliet,  Pater  omnipotens, 
et  pari  tecum  Maj  estate  ful- 
tus  indulgeat. 


Nam  quae  patribus  in  figu- 
ra  contingebant,  nobis  in 
veritate  proveniunt.  Ecce 
jam  ignis  columna  resplen- 
det,  quae  plebem  Domini 
beatae  noctis  tempore  ad  sa- 
lutaria  fluenta  praeibat :  in 
quibus  persecutor  mergitur, 
et  Christi  populus  liberatus 
emergit.  Nam  Sancti  Spiri- 
tus  unda  conceptus,  per 
Adam  natus  ad  mortem,  per 
Christum  regignitur  ad  vi- 
tam.  Solvamus  igitur  vo- 
luntarie  celebrata  j  e  j  unia , 
quia  Pascha  nostrum  immo- 
latus  est  Christus  :  nee  so- 
lum corpore  epulemur  Agni, 
sed  etiam  inebriemur  et  san- 
guine. Hujus  enim  tantum- 
modo  cruor  non  creat  piacu- 
lum  bibentibus,  sed  salutem. 
Ipso  quoque  vescamur  et 
Azymo,  quoniam  non  de 
solo  pane  vivit  homo,  sed  de 
omni  verbo  Dei.  Siquidem 
hie  est  Panis,  qui  descendit 
e  ccelo,  longe  praestantior 
illo  quondam  mannae  imbre 
frugifluo,  quo  tunc  Israel 
epulatus  interiit.  Hoc  vero 
qui  vescitur  corpore,  vitae 
perennis  possessor  existit. 


and  his  body's  Eesurrection 
teach  us  to  hope.  No  plain- 
tive voice  came  from  him 
when  under  his  shearer,  but 
thus  spake  he  the  prophecy  of 
his  Gospel:  Hereafter ,  ye  shall 
see  the  Son  of  man  sitting  on 
the  right  hand  of  Majesty. 
May  he,  O  Almighty  Father  ! 
reconcile  us  with  thee,  and,  by 
the  Majesty  wherewith  he  is 
co-equal  with  thee,  may  he 
be  merciful  unto  us. 

For  those  things  which  hap- 
pened in  figure  to  our  fathers, 
have  become  realities  to  us. 
Lo !  now  shineth  that  pillar  of 
fire,  which,  on  that  blessed 
night,  went  before  the  people 
of  God,  leading  to  waters  that 
saved  them  :  for  in  them  was 
the  persecutor  drowned,  and 
from  the  same  came  liberated 
the  people  of  Christ.  Con- 
ceived in  the  stream  made 
fruitful  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
man,  that  was  born  of  Adam 
unto  death,  is  regenerated  by 
Christ  unto  life.  Let  us, 
therefore,  bid  farewell  to  the 
fast  we  have  been  voluntarily 
keeping,  for  Christ,  our  Pasch, 
is  slain  :  Let  us  not  only  feast 
on  the  Flesh  of  the  Lamb,  but 
let  us  also  be  inebriated  with 
his  Blood.  Yes,  let  us  also 
eat  the  Unleavened,  for  not  by 
bread  alone  doth  man  live,  but 
by  every  word  of  God  for 
Christ  is  the  Bread  that  came 
down  from  heaven,  more  ex- 
cellent far  than  that  manna 
of  old  which  fell  in  abundant 
showers,  and  of  which  the 
Israelites,  who  then  were,  ate, 
yetdied.  Whereas  he  that  eats 
of  this  Body,  is  made  a  pos- 
sessor of  everlasting  life. 


HOLY   SATURDAY  :    EVENING. 


637 


Lo  !  tlie  old  things  have 
passed  away  :  all  things  are 
made  new.  The  knife  of  the 
Mosaic  Circumcision  has  be- 
come blunted,  and  the  cruel 
sharp  stone  of  Josue  has  gone 
out  of  use :  but  the  people  of 
Christ  is  signed  on  the  fore- 
head, and  not  invisibly ;  by  a 
baptism,  not  by  a  wound ;  by 
Chrism,  not  by  blood. 

Rightly,  therefore,  during 
this  Night, — when  we  are 
awaiting  the  Eesurrection  of 
the  Lord  our  Saviour, — do  we 
burn  a  rich  waxen  torch, 
whose  properties  are  fair 
whiteness,  sweet  fragrance, 
and  bright  light :  which  flows 
not  down  as  it  melts,  nor 
sends  forth  an  offensive  smell 
as  it  burns.  For  what  could 
be  more  appropriate,  what 
more  festive,  than  that  we 
should  keep  watch  for  the 
Flower  of  Jesse,  with  torches 
that  are  the  juice  of  flowers  ? 
The  more  so,  as  Wisdom  thus 
sang  in  her  own  praise :  ' '/ 
"am  the  flower  of  the  field, 
"  and  the  lily  of  the  valley." 
Wax  is  not  the  sweat  that 
oozes  from  a  burnt  pine,  nor 
the  tear  that  trickles  from  the 
cedar  when  wounded  with 
many  blows  of  the  axe  :  it  is 
a  mysterious  virginal  produc- 
tion ;  and  one  that  is  trans- 
figured into  the  whiteness  of 
snow.  Its  fount-like  melted 
stream  feeds  the  (  wick  of ) 
papyrus,  which,  as  a  guileless 
soul,  stands,  with  its  unbent, 
unjointed  oneness,  surround- 
ed by  the  virginal  substance, 
andbecomes,by  the  flame,  the 
stream'smuchcherished  guest. 


Ecce  vetera  transierunt : 
facta  sunt  omnia  nova.  Nam 
Circumcisionis  Mosaicae  mu- 
cro  jam  scabruit,  et  Jesu 
Nave  acuta  lapidum  obso- 
levit  asperitas :  Christi  vero 
populus  insignitur  in  fronte, 
non  inguine  :  lavacro,  non 
vulnere :  Chrismate,  non 
cruore. 

Decet  ergo  in  hoc  Domini 
Salvatoris  nostri  vespertinae 
Resurrectionis  adventu  ce- 
ream  nos  adolere  pingue- 
dinem,  cui  suppetit  candor 
in  specie,  suavitas  in  odore, 
splendor  in  lumine :  quae 
nee  marcescenti  liquore 
defluit,  nee  offensum  tetri 
nidoris  exhalat.  Quid  enim 
magis  accommodum  magis 
festivum,  quam  ut  Jesseico 
flori  floreis  excubemus  et 
taedis  ?  Praesertim  cum  et 
Sapientia  de  semetipsa 
cecinerit  :  Ego  sum  flos 
agri,  et  lilium  convallium. 
Ceras  igitur  nee  pinus 
exusta  desudat,  nee  crebris 
sauciata  bipennibus  cedrus 
illacrymat  ;  sed  est  illis  ar- 
cana de  virginitate  creatio ; 
et  ipsae  transfiguratione  nivei 
candoris  albescunt.  Eam- 
dem  vero  papyrum  liquida 
fontis  unda  producit :  quae 
instar  insontis  animae  nullis 
articulatur  sinuata  compa- 
gibus  ;  sed  virginali  circum- 
septa  materie  fit  hospitalis 
ignibus  alumna  rivorum. 


662   13 


688 


HOLY   WEEK. 


Decet  ergo  adventum 
Sponsi  dulcatis  Ecclesiam 
luminaribus  opperiri :  et 
largitatem  sanctitatis  accep- 
tam  quanta  valet  devotionis 
dote,  pensare :  nee  sanctas 
interpolare  tenebris  excu- 
bias ;  sed  tsedam  sapienter 
perpetuis  prseparare  lumini- 
bus :  ne,  dum  oleum  can- 
delis  adjungitur,  adventum 
Domini  tardo  prosequamur 
obsequio;  qui  certe  in  ictu 
oculi,  ut  coruscus,  adveniet. 


Igitur  in  hujus  diei  ves- 
pere  cuncta  venerabilis  sa- 
cramenti  plenitudo  colligi- 
tur :  et,  quae  diversis  sunt 
prsefigurata,  vel  gesta  tem- 
poribus,  hujus  noctis  cur- 
riculo  devoluta  supplentur. 
Nam  primum  hoc  vesper- 
tinum  lumen,  sicut  ilia  dux 
Magorum  stella,  prsecedit. 
Deinde  mysticse  regenera- 
tionis  unda  subsequitur, 
velut,  dignante  Domino, 
fluenta  Jordanis.  Tertio 
resurrectionem  Christi  vox 
apostolica  Sacerdotis  annun- 
tiat.  Turn  ad  totius  mysterii 
supplementum,  Christo  vesci- 
tur  turba  fidelium.  Quae 
summi  Sacerdotis,  et  Antis- 
titis  tui  Ambrosii  oratione 
sanctificata  et  meritis,  re- 
surrectionis  Dominicse  di- 
em, Christo  in  omnibus 
prosperante,   suscipiat. 


Therefore  doth  it  behove  th< 
Church  to  await,  with  sweei 
lights,  the  coming  of  th€ 
Spouse,  and  with  all  possible 
devotion,  to  weigh  the  holy 
gift  she  has  received.  Holy 
vigils,  such  as  this,  should 
have  no  fellowship  with  dark- 
ness. We  should  be  wise,  and 
make  the  light  of  our  lamp 
be  unceasing;  lest,  whilst  pre- 
paring to  trim  it  with  oil,  our 
Lord  should  come,  and  we  be 
too  late  to  do  him  homage, 
for  we  are  assured  that  he  will 
come  in  the  twinkling  of  the 
eye,  as  a  flash  of  light. 

Therefore,  this  day's  evening 
is  rich  in  the  fulness  of  the 
most  august  mysteries,  which, 
though  prefigured  or  accom- 
plished at  various  times,  are 
all  brought  before  us  during 
the  course  of  this  night.  For 
firstly,  we  have  this  Evening 
Torch,  which  leads  the  way, 
as  did  the  Star  that  guided 
the  Magi.  Then  follows  the 
Font  of  spiritual  regeneration, 
as  it  were  the  river  of  Jordan, 
in  which  our  Lord  vouchsafed 
to  be  baptised.  Thirdly,  we 
have  the  Priest's  apostolic 
words  announcing  the  Eesur- 
rection  of  Christ.  Then,  to 
complete  the  mysteries,  the 
faithful  flock  feeds  on  the  flesh 
of  Christ.  Being  sanctified 
by  the  prayer  and  merits  of 
thy  high  Priest  and  Pontifi 
Ambrose,  and  being  prospers 
in  all  things  by  Christ,  r 
this  flock  enjoy  the  day 
our  Lord's  Resurrection. 


END    OF    PASSIONTIDE    AND    HOLY    WEEK. 


BX  1970   .G8313  1868  v. 6     IMS 
Gueranger,  Prosper, 
Liturgical  year    2nd  ed.   -- 


poNTirrcAtt  iNsnrmjf* 

OF    MEDIAEVAL    STUDIES 

59     O'JrtN'S     PARK 

1  OCONTO    "»     r«N*o«f