bread which is the delight of the soul. Shower, O Lord, Thy choicest blessings on our holy mother, the Church; on her visible head the Pope, and all her bishops and priests, particularly of this country; crush the efforts made by impiety to destroy their labors. Touch the hearts of those who persecute and calumniate them; and unite all men in the one blessed task of loving and serving Thee. I entreat Thee also to bless my parents, relations, and all those for whom I am bound to pray.

PRAYER BEFORE A CRUCIFIX.

A plenary indulg. ence, applicable to the souls in purgatory, may be gained by all the faithful, who, after having confessed their sins with contrition, received the Holy Communion, and prayed for the intentions of the Sovereign Ponshall devoutly

recite this prayer, kneeling before an

image or representation of Christ cruci

BEHOLD, O kind and most sweet

Jesus, I cast myself upon my

knees in Thy sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul I pray and beseech Thee that Thou wouldst impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity, with true repentance for my sins, and a firm desire of amendment, whilst with deep affection and grief of soul I ponder within myself, and mentally contemplate Thy five most precious wounds; having before my eyes that which David spake in prophecy: "They pierced my hands and my feet; they have numbered all my bones."

INRI

The Stations of the Way of the Cross.

A very frequent and most touching devotion of Christians in former times was to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Palestine, where our Blessed Redeemer lived and died, and there to visit every spot of ground made sacred by His presence, and especially the places which were known as the stations of His passion and death, and to honor them by prayer and penance. Afterwards when the Holy Land had fallen into the hands of the infidel Saracens, and Christians could no longer make this pilgrimage with safety, the present exercise of the Way to the Cross was invented as a substitute. tures representing the most moving and remarkable events of our Lord's passion, from the time He was sentenced to death by Pilate to His burial, are hung about the walls of the church, and by visiting these in succession and praying before each one, we are able in some manner to imitate the devotion of Catholics of other days, though by a pilgrimage far less long and dangerous.

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The Way of the Cross, in its present form, was instituted by the Franciscans, who, for over six hundred years, have had charge of the sacred places in the Holy Land. They gradually introduced this touching devotion into the different countries all over the world. No special form of prayers is prescribed for this holy exercise: the essential part of it is to visit each of the fourteen stations, and mediate on the sufferings of Christ. The text of the following prayers is commonly used in Franciscan churches.

PREPARATORY PRAYER.

O most merciful Jesus! With a contrite heart and penitent spirit I bow down in profound humility before Thy divine Majesty. I adore Thee as my supreme Lord and Master; I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee, I love Thee above all things. I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, my supreme and only God. I resolve to amend my life, and although I am unworthy to obtain mercy, yet the sight of Thy holy cross, on which Thou didst die, inspires me with hope and consola