it see the darkness which overspread the whok world chased away by the splendor of our Eternal King. Let our Mother the Church also rejoice, being adorned by the rays of so great a light; and let this temple echo with the joyful acclamations of all the people. And therefore I beseech you, dear brethren, who behold the wonderful brightness of this holy light, to join with me in invoking the mercy of Almighty God; that he who hath been pleased, without any merit on my side, to admit me into the number of his Levites, may by the effusion of light upon me, enable me to go through with the encomium of this taper. Through our Lord Jesus Christ his Son, who with him and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth one God world without end. R. Amen.

R. And with thy

high. R. We V. Let us give R. It is meet and

V. The Lord be with you. spirit. V. Raise up your hearts on have them raised up to the Lord. thanks to the Lord our God. just.

IT is truly meet and just to proclaim with all the affection of heart and soul, and sound of voice, the invisible God, the Father Almighty, 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 of the original offence. For this is the Paschal solemnity, in which the true Lamb was slain, by whose blood the doors of the faithful are consecrated. This is the night, in which thou formerly didst bring forth our forefathers, the children of Israel, out of Egypt, leading them dry-foot through the Red-Sea. This also is that

night which dissipated the darkness of sin by the light of a pillar of fire. This is the night, which, withdrawing all those who, through the whole world, believe in Christ, from the vices of the world, and the darkness of sin, restores them to grace, and

gives them a fellowship with the saints. This is the night in which Christ broke the chains of death, and ascended victorious from the grave. For it would have availed us nothing to have been born, unless we had also the advantage of being redeemed. O the wonders of thy mercy towards us! O the inestimable excess of thy love. Thou didst deliver up thy Son to redeem a slave! O truly necessary sin of Adam, which hath been blotted out by the death of Christ! O happy fault, which deserved such and so great a Redeemer! O truly blessed night, which alone wast privileged to know the hour and moment when Christ rose again from the dead! This is the night of which it is written: "And the night shall be as light as day: and the night shineth upon me in my pleasures." The sacredness therefore of this night puts crimes to flight, washes away sin, and restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to those in sorrow. It banishes enmities, produces concord, and makes potentates bow.

Here the Deacon fixes the five Grains of Incense in the Candle in the form of a Cross, and then goes on: RECEIVE, therefore, O Holy Father, on this sa

cred night, the evening sacrifice of this incense, which thy holy Church, by the hands of her ministers, presents to thee in the solemn oblation of this wax candle, made out of the labour of bees. But now we know the meaning of the encomiums of this taper lighted from this sparkling fire to the honour of God. (Here he lights the Paschal Candle.) Which fire, though now divided, suffers no loss from the communication of its light, whilst it feeds on the melted wax produced by the bee to make this taper. (Here the lamps are lighted.) O truly blessed night, which plundered the Egyptians, and enriched the Hebrews! O night, in which heaven is united to earth, and God to man! We beseech thee, there fore, O Lord, that this taper, consecrated to the

honour of thy name, may continue burning to dissi pate the darkness of this night; and being accepted by thee as a sweet odour, it may be joined to the lights of heaven. Let the morning star find it burning: that morning star, I mean, which never sets; who, returning from the grave, darted forth his benign rays upon mankind. We beseech thee, therefore, O Lord, to grant us peace during this Paschal solemnity, and with thine uninterrupted protection to rule, govern, and preserve us thy servants, and all the clergy and devout laity; together with our holy father Pope N. and our Bishop N. Look down also on our pious King N. and since thou knowest O God, the desires of his heart, grant, by the ineffable grace of thy goodness and mercy, that he may enjoy with all his people, an uninterrupted peace and heavenly victory. Thro'. R. Amen.

Then are read the Lessons called Prophecies for the Instruction of the Catechumens.

I. PROPHECY. Gen. i. ii.-In the beginning God created heaven and earth. And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God moved over the waters. And God said: be light made. And light was made. And God saw the light that it was good: and he divided the light from the darkness. And he called the light day, and the darkness night; and there was evening and morning one day. And God said: Let there be 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 firmament, Heaven: and the evening 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 according 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 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 firmament of heaven, to shine upon the earth. And to rule the day and the night, and to divide the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And the evening and morning were the fourth day. God also said: Let the waters 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, according 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 waters 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 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: Increase 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. (Chap ii.) So the heavens and earth were finished, and all the furniture 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.

Pr. Let us pray.

Deac. Let us kneel down.
Subd. Stand up again.

PRAYER. Deus, qui.-O God, who didst wonderfully create man, and redeem him by a still greater wonder: grant us, we beseech thee, such strength of mind and reason against all the allurements of sin, that we may deserve to obtain eternal joys. Thro'. R. Amen.

II. PROPHECY. Gen. v. 31. vi. vii. viii. 18. -And Noe, when he was five hundred years old, begot Sem, Cham, and Japheth. (Chap. vi.) And