21. NOVENA PREPARATORY TO CHRISTMAS DAY. In order to the devout preparation of ourselves for the glorious birthday of our most loving Saviour Jesus Christ, which the holy Church recalls to our memory every year on the 25th of December, and at the same time to render Him thanks for this great benefit, Pope Pius VII., by a Rescript of the Segretaria of the Memorials, dated August 12, 1815 (which said Rescript is preserved in the Segretaria of the Vicariate), granted to all faithful Christians who, being contrite in heart, should prepare themselves for that great solemnity by a novena, consisting of pious exercises, prayers, acts of virtue, &c. i. THE INDULGENCE OF 300 DAYS each day of the said novena, and ii. THE PLENARY INDULGENCE to those who shall have made the said novena every day, to be gained on Christmas Day, or on some one day in its octave, after Confession and Communion, and prayer for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff and note that the Confession and Communion may be made on any one of the days of the said novena, provided it is completely made. This was declared by Pope Pius VIII., of holy memory, by means of the S. Congr. of Indulgences, July 9, 1830. These Indulgences were extended by the above-named Pius VII. to one other such time in the year, besides the time specified, as any one should select for making the aforesaid novena in honour of the Child Jesus. 22. ANOTHER NOVENA IN PREPARATION FOR THE TWENTY FIFTH DAY OF EVERY MONTH. In order to call to mind more frequently the august mystery of the Incarnation and Birth of the Divine Word made Man, his Holiness our Sovereign Lord Pope Pius IX., by a decree of the S. Congr. of Indulgences, dated Sept. 23, 1846, grants THE INDULGENCE OF ONE YEAR, to be gained on any day of the following novena, which may be used either in public or private, nine days previous to the 25th day of any month; provided that the faithful assist at it with a contrite heart. The Novena is to be begun on the 16th day of every month. i. Offering. Eternal Father, I offer to Thy honour and glory, and for my own salvation, and for the salvation of all the world, the mystery of the Birth of our Divine Saviour. Gloria Patri, dc. ii. Offering. Eternal Father, I offer to Thy honour and glory, and for my eternal salvation, the sufferings of the most holy Virgin and of St. Joseph in that long and weary journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; I offer Thee the sorrows of their hearts when they found no place wherein to shelter themselves, when the Saviour of the world was to be born. Gloria Patri, &c. iii. Offering. Eternal Father, I offer to Thy honour and glory, and for my eternal salvation, the stable where Jesus was born, the hard straw which served Him for a bed, the cold He suffered, the swaddling clothes which bound Him, the tears He shed, and His tender infant cries. Gloria Patri, &c. iv. Offering. Eternal Father, I offer to Thy honour and glory, and for my eternal salvation, the pain which the holy Child Jesus felt in His tender body when He submitted Himself to the cruel knife of circumcision; I offer Thee that Precious Blood which then first He shed for the salvation of the whole race of man. Gloria Patri, &c. v. Offering. Eternal Father, I offer to Thy honour and glory, and for my eternal salvation, the humility, mortification, patience, charity, all the virtues of the Child Jesus; and I thank Thee, and I love Thee, and I bless Thee without end, for the ineffable mystery of the Incarnation of the Divine Word. Gloria Patri, &c. V. Verbum caro factum est. R. Et habitavit in nobis. Oremus. Deus, cujus Unigenitus in substantia nostræ carnis apparuit; præsta quæsumus, ut per Eum, quem similem nobis foris agnovimus, intus reformari mereamur. Qui tecum vivit et regnat in sæcula sæculoAmen. rum. V. The Word was made Flesh. Let us pray. O God, whose only-begotten Son was made manifest to us in the substance of our flesh; grant, we beseech Thee, that through Him our souls may be inwardly renewed, whom our eyes have seen like unto ourselves. Who now liveth and reigneth with Thee for ever and ever. Amen. 23. FOR ASSISTING AT, OR SAYING THE DIVINE OFFICE ON CHRISTMAS DAY. In order to increase the devotion of all faithful Christians towards the feast of the birthday of our Divine Saviour Jesus Christ, and that they may celebrate it with spiritual profit to their souls, Pope Sixtus V., by his brief, Ūt fide lium devotio, dated Oct. 22, 1586, granted the following Indulgences. viz.: i. THE INDULGENCE OF 100 YEARS to all those who, being truly penitent, having Confessed and Communicated, shall recite the Divine Office on that day, or assist in person in any church where Matins and Lauds are said; ii. ONE HUNDRED YEARS' MORE INDULGENCE for the Mass, and the same for first and second Vespers; iii. THE INDULGENCE OF FORTY YEARS for each of the hours of Prime, Tierce, Sext, None, and Compline. 24. MYSTERIES OF THE HOLY CHILDHOOD. In order that Christians might meditate more frequently on the Incarnation, Birth, and all the other mysteries relating to the holy Childhood of our Divine Saviour Jesus Christ, and might render Him meet and worthy thanks, as well as imitate those virtues which He in His Childhood has taught us by His example, Pope Pius VII., of holy memory, by a decree of the S. Congr. of Indulgences, dated Nov. 23, 1819, granted i. THE PLENARY INDULGENCE, on the 25th of every month, to all those who being penitent, having Confessed and Communicated, should be present at any church or public oratory in which is used the following pious exercise, revised and approved by the S. Congr. of Rites, in honour of the Child Jesus, to venerate thereby the twelve mysteries of His holy Childhood; provided also they pray according to the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff. ii. THE INDULGENCE OF 300 DAYS, once a day, to those who, in private, with a contrite heart, devoutly use this pious exercise. THE MYSTERIES. V. Deus in adjutorium meum intende. V. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. R. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen. Pater noster. i. Jesu Infans dulcissime e sinu Patris propter nostram salutem descendens, de Spiritu Sancto conceptus, Virginis uterum non horrens, et Verbum caro factum formam servi accipiens, miserere nostri. R. Miserere nostri, Jesu Infans, miserere nostri. Ave Maria. ii. Jesu Infans dulcissime per Virginem Matrem tuam visitans Elisabeth, Joannem Baptistam præcursorem tuum Spiritu Sancto replens, et adhuc in utero Matris suæ sanctificans, miserere nostri. R. Miserere, &c. Ave Maria. iii. Jesu Infans dulcissime novem mensibus in utero clausus, summis votis a Maria Virgine, et a Sancto Joseph expectatus, et Deo Patri pro salute mundi oblatus, miserere nostri. R. Miserere, &c. Ave Maria. iv. Jesu Infans dulcissime in Bethlem ex Virgine Maria natus, pannis involutus, in præsepio reclinatus, ab Angelis annuntiatus, et a Pastoribus visitatus, miserere nostri. R. Miserere, &c. Ave Maria. Jesu tibi sit gloria, Qui natus es de Virgine, Cum Patre et almo Spiritu In sempiterna sæcula. Amen. V. Christus prope est nobis. R. Venite adoremus. Pater noster. v. Jesu Infans dulcissime in circumcisione post |