of my sins! why have I not the faith, the love, the anguish which penetrated the hearts of those who beheld thy sacred blood flow from thy precious wounds? Hear, O eternal God! the voice of this blood, which cries loudly, not for vengeance, but for pardon and mercy. O! et it plead powerfully on my behalf; let it blot out my sins, cleanse every stain from my soul, and render me pure and pleasing in thy sight.

After the Elevation.

BEHOLD, O almighty and all-gracious God! thy Son Jesus, in whom thou art well pleased. Look upon the face of thy Christ and my Saviour, here present; look upon this spotless Lamb, this adorable victim, this pure holocaust of obedience, humbled to the ignominious death of the cross. Behold in him what may move thee to look upon us with an eye of mercy and compassion. He is our High Priest, sprinkled with his own blood. Receive the sacrifice he has offered for us, in consideration of the honour and homage that are due to thy sovereign goodness from me and all creatures. Extend, Ŏ compassionate Creator! its efficacious virtue to the souls of the faithful departed, and grant them rest and life everlasting, particularly to N. N.: deign to mitigate their punishment, and translate them to that place of glory for which they are destined. Thou didst once promise that, looking on the rainbow, thou wouldst remember the covenant made between thee and the Patriarch Noah (Gen. ix.): canst thou then look on the blood of thy beloved Son Jesus, offered to thee in sacrifice, without remem«

rering the great covenant of the New Law, sealed and confirmed with the effusion of his sacred blood?

O dearest Jesus! why cannot I love thee as thy goodness deserves? The more thou hast humbled thyself for my sake, the more I am bound to love thee, and spend my life in thy service. Remember thou hast purchased my soul at a dear rate; O let not thy blood be lost or shed in vain, but receive me into the number of thy elect. I detest my sins, which were the cause of thy sufferings; alas! they were the nails that pierced thy hands and feet, and fastened thee to an ignominious cross. O who will give sorrow to my heart, and a fountain of tears to my eyes, that I may bewail them in the bitterness of my soul all the days of my life, and thus, at the hour of death, be entitled to hear those consolatory words addressed to the penitent thief: This day shalt thou be with me in paradise. I acknow.

ledge, that I do not deserve to be ranked among the number of thy children; yet, in obedience to thy precept, and with profound veneration for thy sacred words, I will presume to say that heavenly prayer which thou hast taught me: Our Father, &c.

At the Agnus Dei.

When the priest says the Agnus Dei, reflect on the miraculous change of heart wrought in the Centurion and other witnesses of the death of Jesus Christ, and be careful, as far as it depends on you, not to depart from this new Calvary without participating in their holy dispositions.

O INNOCENT Lamb of God! who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on me, for thy peculiar and distinguishing property is infinite

mercy. Give to my heart the sorrow and re. pentance of those who mourned thy cruel death, and teach me, like them, to place all my hopes in thee, and to love and seek thee as my only sovereign good. I most humbly beseech thee, by all the anguish thou didst endure during the course of thy passion, especially at the separation of thy sacred soul from thy body, that thou wouldst have mercy and compassion on me, when I shall be on the point of appearing before thy dread tribunal. Let thy passion and death then interpose between my soul and the rigours of thy justice. Ah! while I yet sojourn in this valley of tears, let the remembrance of thy bitter draught of vinegar and gall preserve me from delighting in the false pleasures of this world, and let thy burning thirst upon the cross make me thirst only after the enjoyment of thy presence. May the recollection of thy saving death penetrate my soul with such lively gratitude, that from this moment I may place all my happiness in loving and serving thee, my only joy and sovereign felicity.

At the Communion.

The Priest's Communion represents the burial of Jesus Christ's sacred body when it was taken from the cross; and the covering of the chalice is a figure of the sepulchre shut up, and covered with a stone. This is the time peculiarly adapted to invite our Lord by a spiritual communion to repose in your heart, and to honour it frequently by his sacramental presence, or habitually by the influ ence of his holy grace.

O MY God! how can I reflect on the happiness of those who approach worthily to the holy Eu charist, without ardently desiring to enjoy the like blessing? how can I assist at this adorable sacrifice, without regretting the sins and miseries which justly deter me from receiving thee sacra.

mentally! I am not worthy, O infinite purity. to lodge thee in my heart; I am not worthy to share in the happiness of those who now enjoy thy sacramental presence. But, Lord! though I cannot unite myself to thee really, yet I am not forbidden to do so in spirit and desire. I believe most firmly that thou art present in this sacrea host; I hope in that infinite mercy which detains thee therein; and I ardently love and desire to receive thee, notwithstanding my unworthiness. I unite in the adoration, love, humility, and fervour of all who this day received thee throughout the universe, with the most perfect dispositions; and I earnestly beg of thee, by that tender love which induces thee to give thyself to thy creatures, to accept of every thought, word, and action, from this to my next communion, as so many acts of love, desire, and preparation to receive thee; and I earnestly conjure thee to crown all thy blessings by the inestimable grace of a worthy communion at the hour of my death.

At the last Collects.

The last Collects represent the apparitions and instructions of Jesus Christ to his Apostles and Disciples after his resurrection ; and the Priest's Blessing denotes that parting benediction given by our divine Lord, when ascending into heaven. Remember, when the last Gospel is reading at the left side of the altar, that Jesus Christ did not come to call the just but sinners to repentance, and that his infinite mercy is thus daily renewing on our altars the Sacrifice of the Cross, should animate even the most guilty to recur with confidence to his infinite goodness and abundant merits.

C BLESSED Redeemer! who coming forth from the grave didst rise triumphant over death, I praise and glorify thee for all thy mercies, and in par. ticular for having conversed so long with thy apostles, and confirmed them in that saving faith,

which they were destined to transmit to succeed. ing ages. O! how shall I thank thee for the in. estimable advantage of having beheld thee sacrificed on this altar, and for having thereby partici pated in the abundant merits of thy passion and death. Let me not depart from this sanctuary without those sentiments of piety, and that spiritual strength for the amendment of my life, which may be always drawn from this adorable sacrifice. Pardon, O Lord! my distractions and irreverences. Engrave on my heart the remembrance of thy sufferings, that I may henceforward glory only in Jesus Christ, and in him crucified. Teach me to follow thy divine example, that rising with thee to a new life, I may, through thy powerful grace, advance daily and hourly in virtue, and at length attain to the unlimited and eternal enjoyment of thee, my God and my All! in the kingdom of thy glory. Amen.

ON THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE.

THE Sacrament of Penance, which the Saints term "the second plank after shipwreck," is one of the greatest blessings we derive from the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ. But as its efficacy chiefly depends on the dispositions of those who approach the holy tribunal, of course preparation for Confession becomes one of the most serious duties of a Christian. That rigid justice, which so severely punished one mortal sin in the angels, and which rigorously inflicted on the eternal Son of God all the penalties due to man's offences, will not assuredly remit the real guilt of sin in those who only carelessly comply with the