mero adscribi voluit, qui Senis in hospitali domo beatæ Mariæ de Scala, Deo inserviunt; unde complures sanctitate celebres viri prodierunt. Ibi corporis afflictatione, et ægrotantium cura, dum atrox pestilentia grassaretur, incredibili_charitate sese exercuit. Inter cæteras autem virtutes, castitatem, egregia forma repugnante, sanctissime custodivit, adeo ut eo præsente, nemo umquam, ne impudentissimus quidem, verbum minus honestum proferre auderet. Gravi morbo tentatus, eoque ad quatuor menses patientissime tolerato, demum incolumis de religiosa vitæ instituto capessendo deliberare cœpit: quo ut sibi viam muniret, ædiculam in extrema urbe conduxit, in quam quum sese abdidisset, asperrimam omni ex parte vitam trahebat, Deum assidue orans, ut quid sibi sequendum esset, ostenderet. Quare divinitus factum est, ut beati Francisci Ordinem præ cæteris optaret, in quo humilitate, patientia, aliisque religiosi hominis virtutibus excelluit. Id quum cœnobii rector animadverteret, jamque antea Bernardini doctrinam, et sacrarum litterarum peritiam perspectam haberet, prædicandi onus eidem imposuit, quo humillime sus virtues, he, later on, entered the Confraternity, which gave to the Church so many saintly men, and was attached to the hospital of our Lady of Scala, in Sienna. It was there that, whilst leading a most mortified life himself, he, with incredible charity, took care of the sick, during the time when a terrible pestilence was raging in the city. Amongst his other virtues, he was preeminent for chastity, although he had many dangers to encounter, owing to the beauty of his person. Such was the respect he inspired, that no one, however lost to shame, ever dared to say an improper word in his presence. After a serious illness of four months, which he bore with the greatest patience, he began to think of entering the religious life. As a preparation for such a step, he hired, in the farthest outskirts of the city, a little hut, in which he hid himself, leading a most austere life, and assiduously beseeching God to make known to him the path he was to follow. A divine inspiration led him to prefer to all other Orders, that of St. Francis. Accordingly, he entered, and soon began to excel in humility, patience, and the other virtues of a Religious man. The Guardian of the Convent perceiving this, and having previously known that Bernardin was well versed in the sacred sciences, he imposed the duty of preaching upon him. The Saint most humbly accepted the office, though he was aware that the weakness and hoarseness of his voice unfitted him for it: but he sought God's help, and was miraculously freed from these impediments. Italy was, at that time, overrun with vice and crime; and, in consequence of deadly factions, all laws, both divine and human, were disregarded. It was then that Bernardin went through the towns and villages, preaching the Name of Jesus, which was ever on his lips and heart. Such was the effect of his words and example, that piety and morals were, in great measure, restored. Several important cities, that had witnessed his zeal, petitioned the Pope to allow them to have Bernardin for their Bishop; but the Saint's humility was not to be overcome, and he rejected every offer. At length, after going through countless labours in God's service, after many and great miracles, after writing several pious and learned books, he died a happy death, at the age of sixty-six, in a town of the Abruzzi, called Aquila. New miracles were daily being wrought through his intercession; and, at length, in the sixth year after his death, he was canonised by Pope Nicholas V. cepto, quum se minus idoneum agnosceret, ob vocis exilitatem ac raucitatem, Dei ope implorata, non sine miraculo ejusmodi impedimento liberatus est. Quumque ea tempora vitiis criminibusque redundarent, et cruentis factionibus in Italia, divina humanaque omnia permixta essent, Bernardinus urbes atque oppida concursans in nomine Jesu, quem semper in ore et in pectore gerebat, collapsam pietatem moresque verbo et exemplo magna ex parte restituit ; quo factum est, ut præclaræ civitates eum sibi Episcopum a Summo Pontifice postularent: quod ille munus invicta humilitate constantissime rejecit. Denique vir Dei immensis laboribus exhaustis, multis magnisque editis miraculis, libris etiam pie docteque conscriptis, cum vixisset annos sex ac sexaginta, in urbe Aquila in Vestinis beato fine quievit: quem novis in dies corruscantem signis, anno post obitum sexto, Nicolaus Quintus Pontifex Maximus in Sanctorum numerum retulit. How beautiful, O Bernardin, are the rays that form the aureola round the Name of Jesus! How soft their light on that eighth day after his birth, when he received this Name! But, how dazzling, now that this Jesus achieves our salvation, not only by humiliation and suffering, but by the triumph of his Resurrection! Thou comest to us, O Bernardin, in the midst of the Paschal glory of the Name of Jesus. This Name, for which thou didst so lovingly and zealously labour, gives thee to share in its immortal victory. Now, therefore, pour forth upon us, even more abundantly than when thou wast here on earth, the treasures of love, admiration and hope, of which this divine Name is the source, and cleanse the eyes of our soul, that we may, one day, be enabled to join thee in contemplating its beauty and magnificence. Apostle of peace! Italy, whose factions were so often quelled by thee, may well number thee among her protectors. Behold her now a prey to the enemies of Jesus, rebellious against the Church of God, and abandoned to her fate. Oh! forget not, that she is thy native land, that she was obedient to thy preaching, and that thy memory was long most dear to her. Intercede in her favour; deliver her from her oppressors; and show, that when earthly armies fail, the hosts of heaven can always save both cities and countries. Illustrious son of the great Patriarch of Assisi! the seraphic Order venerates thee as one of its main supports. Thou didst re-animate it to its primitive observance; continue, now from heaven, to protect the work thou commencedst here on earth. The Order of St. Francis is one of the grandest consolations of holy Mother Church; make this Order for ever flourish, protect it in its trials, give it increase in proportion to the necessities of the Faithful; for thou art the second Father of this venerable family, and thy prayers are powerful with the Redeemer, whose glorious Name thou confessedst upon earth. MAY 24. FEAST OF OUR LADY THE HELP OF CHRISTIANS. EVER since our entrance upon the joys of the Paschal Season, scarcely a day has passed without the Calendar's offering us some grand Mystery or Saint to honour; and all these have been radiant with the Easter sun. But of our Blessed Lady, there has not been a single Feast to gladden our hearts by telling us of some mystery or glory of this august Queen. The Feast of her Seven Dolours is sometimes kept in April,—that is, when Easter Sunday falls on or after the 10th of that month; but May and June pass without any special solemnity in honour of the Mother of God. It would seem as though Holy Church wished to honour, by a respectful silence, the forty days during which Mary enjoyed the company of her Jesus, after his Resurrection. We, therefore, should never separate the Mother and the Son, if we would have our Easter meditations be in strict accordance with truth,-and that, we surely must wish. During these forty days, Jesus frequently visits his Disciples, weak men and sinners as they are can he, then, keep away from his Mother, now that he is so soon to ascend into heaven, and leave her for several long years here on earth? Our hearts forbid us to entertain the thought. We feel sure that he frequently visits her, and that, when not visibly present with her, she has him in her soul, in a way more intimate and real and delicious than any other creature could have. No Feast could have given expression to such a mystery; and yet the Holy Ghost, who guides the spirit of the Church, has gradually led the Faithful to devote to the honouring Mary, in an especial manner, the entire Month of May, the whole of which comes, almost every year, under the glad season of Easter. No doubt, the loveliness of the May Month would, some time or other, suggest the idea of consecrating it to the Holy Mother of God ; but if we reflect on the divine and mysterious influence which guides the Church in all she does, we shall recognise, in this present instance, a heavenly inspiration, which prompted the Faithful to unite their own joy with that of Mary's, and spend this beautiful Month, which is radiant with their own Easter joy, in commemorating the maternal delight experienced, during that same period, by the Immaculate Mother when on earth. To-day, however, we have a Feast in honour of Mary. True, it is not one of those Feasts which are entered on the general Calendar of the Church; yet is it so widely spread, and this with the consent of the Holy See, that our Liturgical Year would have been incomplete without it. Its object is to honour the Mother of God as the Help of Christians, a title she has justly merited by the innumerable favours she has conferred upon Christendom. Dating from that day, whose anniversary we are soon to be celebrating, and on which the Holy Ghost descended upon Mary in the Cenacle, in order that she might begin to exercise over the Church Militant her power as Queen,-who could tell the number of times that she has aided, by her protection, the Kingdom of her Son on earth? Heresies have risen up, one after the other; they were violent; they were frequently supported by the |