cuncta nostra oratio et operatio a te semper incipiat, et per te cœpta finiatur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Ry. Amen. thy help; that every prayer and work of ours may always begin from thee, and being begun, may through thee also be ended. Through Christ our Lord. 17. Amen. Then, lime having been provided, and the mason being at hand, the Bishop, in his mitre, begins (the choir following him) the Antiphon : Mane surgens Jacob erigebat lapidem in titulum, fundens oleum desuper, votum vovit Domino: vere locus iste sanctus est, et ego nesciebam. Ps. Nisi Dominus. Jacob, arising in the morning, set up the stone for a title, and he made a vow unto the Lord: indeed this place is holy, and I knew it not. Ps. Unless the Lord. Psalm cxxvi. Nisi Dominus ædificaverit domum in vanum laboraverunt qui ædificant eam. Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem: frustra vigilat, qui custodit eam. Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere surgite postquam sederitis, qui manducatis panem doloris. Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum ecce hereditas Domini, filii; merces, fructus ventris. Sicut sagittæ in manu potentis: ita filii excussorum. Beatus vir qui implevit desiderium suum ex ipsis: non confundetur cum loquetur inimicis suis in porta. Gloria, &c. 1 Unless the Lord build the house: they labour in vain that build it. 2 Unless the Lord keep the city: he watcheth in vain that keepeth it. 3 In vain ye rise before the light rise not till ye have rested, O ye that eat the bread of sorrow. 4 When he hath given sleep to his beloved: lo, children are an heritage from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb a reward. 5 Like as arrows in the hand of the mighty one: so are the children of those who have been cast out. 6 Blessed is the man whose desire is satisfied with them: he shall not be confounded, when he speaketh with his enemies in the gate. Glory, &c. Which having been said, the Bishop, standing with his mitre, touches and places the first stone in the foundation, saying: In fide Jesu Christi colloca- In the faith of Jesus Christ, mus lapidem istum primarium we set this first stone in this in hoc fundamento: In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, ut vigeat vera fides hic, et timor Dei, fraternaque dilectio, et sic hic locus destinatus orationi, et ad invocandum, et laudandum nomen ejusdem Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui cum Patre, et Spiritu Sancto vivit et regnat Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum. R. Amen. foundation: In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that true faith may flourish here, and the fear of God, and brotherly love, and that this place may be devoted to prayer, and to the invocation and praise of the name of the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, God, world without end. Ry. Amen. Meanwhile the mason sets the stone with lime, and afterwards the Bishop sprinkles holy water over the stone, saying: Asperges me, Domine, hyssopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor. Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Psalm 1. Miserere mei Deus: secun- 1 Have mercy upon me, dum magnam misericordiam God: according to thy great tuam. Et secundum multitudinem miserationem tuarum dele iniquitatem meam. Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: et a peccato meo munda me. Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco: et peccatum meum contra me est semper. Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci: ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum judicaris. Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: et in peccatis concepit me mater mea. Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti: incerta et occulta sa inercy. 2 And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies: blot out my iniquity. 3 Wash me yet more from my iniquity: and cleanse me from my sin. 4 For I acknowledge my iniquity: and my sin is always before me. 5 Against thee only have I sinned, and done evil in thy sight: that thou mayest be justified in thy words, and mayest overcome when thou art judged. 6 For behold, I was conceived in iniquities: and in sins did my mother conceive me. 7 For behold, thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hid den things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest unto me. 8 Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. 9 Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness: and the bones that were humbled shall rejoice. 10 Turn away thy face from my sins: and blot out all my iniquities. 11 Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels. 12 Cast me not away from thy presence: and take not thy holy Spirit from me. 13 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation: and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. 14 I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted unto thee. 15 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice. 16 Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord: and my mouth shall declare thy praise. 17 For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would surely have given it with burnt-offerings thou wilt not be delighted. : 18 The sacrifice of God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 19 Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion: that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up. 20 Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations, and whole burnt-offer altare tuum vitulos. Gloria Patri. Sicut erat, &c. ings: then shall they lay calves upon thine altars. Glory be to the Father. As it was, &c. Which having been said, the Bishop sprinkles holy water over all the foundations, if they are opened; if they are not opened, he goes round sprinkling the foundations of the church, which have been marked out, in this manner. he begins to sprinkle and to go round, he commences (the choir following him) the Antiphon : O quam metuendus est locus iste : vere non est hic aliud, nisi domus Dei, et porta cœli. Ps. Fundamenta ejus. As O how terrible is this place: indeed this is no other but the house of God and the gate of heaven. Ps. The foundations thereof. Psalm lxxxvi. Fundamenta ejus in montibus sanctis: diligit Dominus portas Sion, super omnia tabernacula Jacob. Gloriosa dicta sunt de te: civitas Dei. Memor ero Rahab et Babylonis scientium me. Ecce alienigenæ, et Tyrus, et populus Æthiopum: hi fuerunt illic. 1 Her foundations are upon the holy hills: the Lord loveth the gates of Sion more than all the tabernacles of Jacob. 2 Glorious things are spoken of thee: O thou city of God. 3 I will be mindful of Rahab and Babylon: even of them that know me. 4 Behold strangers, and Tyre, and the people of Ethiopia: all these were there. Numquid Sion dicet: Homo, 5 Shall not Sion say; This et homo natus est in ea et man and that were born in ipse fundavit eam Altissimus ? her: and the Most High himself hath founded her. Dominus narrabit in scripturis populorum et principum: horum qui fuerunt in ea. Sicut lætantium omnium : habitatio est in te. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat, &c. 6 The Lord shall declare it in the writings of people and of princes of all who were in her. 7 The dwelling in thee is as of all those that rejoice. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was, &c. And the Antiphon is repeated. Meanwhile he proceeds, sprinkling as he goes, as far as a third part of the foundations that have been opened or marked out, and there stops; and the Antiphon being repeated, the Bishop, standing in the same place, and having laid aside his mitre, says: Oremus. Flectamus genua. Ry. Levate. And the ministers : Let us pray. Let us bend the knee. Almighty and merciful God, who hast given unto thy Priests so much grace beyond others, that whatsoever is done by them in thy name worthily and perfectly, is believed to be done by thee; we beseech thine infinite clemency, that whatever we are now about to visit thou mayest visit; and whatever we are about to bless thou mayest bless; and that there may be at the entrance of our humility the flight of demons, and the entrance of the Angel of peace. Through Christ our Lord. Ry. Amen. Then he begins, the choir following him, the Antiphon : Pax æterna ab Eterno huic domui. Pax perennis, Verbum Patris, sit pax huic domui. Pacem pius Consolator huic præstet domui. Peace eternal from the Eter nal on this house descend. Word of the Father, peace be to it, peace without an end. Peace, O Paraclete most holy, ever hither send. Meanwhile the Bishop, having taken his mitre, proceeds, sprinkling as he goes, as far as another third part of the foundations that have been opened or marked out, and there stops; and the Antiphon being ended, standing in his mitre, he says: Omnipotentem Deum, fratres charissimi, in cujus domo multæ sunt mansiones, supplices deprecemur, ut locum istum nomini suo ædificandum per serenissimam pietatem suam bene+dicere, sancti+ficare, et Most dear brethren, let us suppliantly beseech Almighty God, in whose house are many mansions, that he may vouchsafe, by his most serene goodness, to + bless, to + sanctify, and to consecrate this place, |