abode in our soul. He tells us that the Holy Ghost is to come; and he is coming that he may, by his presence, complete the habitation of God within us. The sacred Trinity will turn this poor dwelling into a new heaven, until such time as we shall be taken, after this life, to the abode where we shall see our infinitely dear Guest,-Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, -whose love of us is so incomprehensibly great.

In this same passage of the Gospel, which is taken from his Sermon at the Last Supper, Jesus teaches us, that the Holy Spirit, who this day descends upon us, is sent, indeed, by the Father, but sent in the name of the Son. A little further on, in the same Sermon, Jesus says that it is he himself who sends the Paraclete. These modes of expression show us the relations which exist, in the Trinity, between the first two Persons and the Holy Ghost. This divine Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, but he is also the Spirit of the Son; it is the Father who sends him, but the Son also sends him; for he proceeds from the Two as from one principle. On this great day of Pentecost, our gratitude should, therefore, be the same to the Son who is Wisdom, as to the Father who is Power; for the Gift that is sent to us from heaven, comes from both. From all eternity, the Father has begotten his Son; and, when the fulness of time came, he gave him to men, that he might assume our human nature, and be our Mediator and Saviour. From all eternity, the Father and Son have produced the Holy Ghost; and, when the time marked in the divine decree came, they sent him here upon our earth, that he might be to us,-as he is between the Father and the Son,-the principle of Love. Jesus teaches us, that the mission of the Holy Ghost followed his own, because men required to be initiated into truth by Him who is Wisdom;

1 St. John, xvi. 7.

for, how could they love what they did not know? But, no sooner had Jesus consummated his work, and exalted his Human Nature to the throne of God his Father, than he, together with the Father, sends the Holy Ghost, in order that he may maintain within us that word which is spirit and life,1 and leads us on to Love.

The Offertory is taken from the 67th Psalm, where David foretells the coming of the Divine Spirit, whose mission it is to confirm what Jesus has wrought. The Cenacle is grander than the Temple of Jerusalem. Henceforth, the Church is to take the place of the Synagogue, and Kings and people will become her submissive children.

OFFERTORY.

Confirm, O God, what thou hast wrought in us, from thy temple which is in Jerusalem kings shall offer presents to thee, alleluia.

Confirma hoc Deus, quod operatus es in nobis: a templo tuo, quod est in Jerusalem, tibi offerent reges munera, alleluia.

Having before her, on the Altar, the sacred gifts which have been presented to the Divine Majesty, the Church prays, in the Secret, that the coming of the Holy Ghost may be to the Faithful a Fire which may consume all their dross, and a Light which may give them a more perfect understanding of the teachings of the Son of God.

SECRET.

Sanctify, we beseech thee, O Lord, these oblations, and purify our hearts by the light of the Holy Ghost. Through, &c.

Munera, quæsumus Domine, oblata sanctifica: et corda nostra Sancti Spiritus illustratione emunda. Per Dominum.

1 St. John, vi. 64.

PREFACE.

Vere dignum et justum est, æquum et salutare, nos tibi semper, et ubique gratias agere Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus: per Christum Dominum nostrum, qui ascendens super omnes coelos, sedensque ad dexteram tuam, promissum Spiritum Sanctum hodierna die in filios adoptionis effudit. Quapropter profusis gaudiis, totus in orbe terrarum mundus exsultat. Sed et supernæ Virtutes, atque angelica Potestates, hymnum gloriæ tuæ concinunt, sine fine dicentes: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus.

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always and in all places give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ our Lord: who ascending above all the heavens, and sitting at thy right hand, sent down the promised Holy Spirit, this day, upon the children of adoption. Wherefore the whole world displays its exceeding great joy. The heavenly Virtues, also, and the angelic Powers, sing in concert a hymn to thy glory, saying___ unceasingly: Holy, Holy, Holy!

The words of the Communion-Anthem are from the Epistle; they celebrate the solemn moment of the Descent of the Holy Ghost. Jesus has given himself to the Faithful in the Blessed Sacrament: but it was the Holy Spirit who prepared them for such a favour; who changed the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Divine Victim; and who will assist the Faithful to co-operate with the grace of this holy Communion, which nourishes and strengthens their souls unto life everlasting.

COMMUNION.

Factus est repente de cœlo sonus, tamquam advenientis spiritus vehementis, ubi erant sedentes, alleluia: et repleti sunt omnes Spiritu Sancto, loquentes magnalia Dei, alleluia, alleluia.

Suddenly there came a noise from heaven, as of a strong rushing wind, where they were sitting, alleluia: and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and published the wonderful works of God, alleluia, alleluia.

Put, by the sacred mysteries, in possession of her Spouse, the Church prays, in the Post-Communion, that the Holy Ghost may abide for ever in our souls. She also speaks of that prerogative of the Divine Spirit, whereby he turns our hearts, from being dry and barren of good, into very Edens of fruitfulness. How consoling the thought, that our hearts are to be sprinkled with the deu of the Paraclete !

POST-COMMUNION.

May the pouring forth of the Holy Ghost into our hearts cleanse them, O Lord, and render them fruitful by the inward sprinkling of the dew of his grace. Through, &c.

Sancti Spiritus, Domine, corda nostra mundet infusio: et sui roris intima aspersione fœcundet. Per Dominum.

VESPERS.

The great Day is far spent: but, the Holy Spirit, whom we received this morning at the Hour of Tierce, gives us the irresistible desire to prolong our study of the sublime Mystery. Let us, then, return to Jerusalem. The flame enkindled in the hearts of the Apostles has spread among the admiring crowd. The Jewish pride of these men, who, but a few weeks back, had followed the Divine Victim up the hill of Calvary, hooting him with their blasphemies, is now changed into contrition; they are heartbroken at the thought of their having crucified the Lord of glory.1 They only require to know the truth, believe it, and be baptised, and they will be true Christians. Whilst the Holy Spirit is working within them, Peter and his fellow-Apostles continue their instructions: "He that died upon the Cross,

1 I. Cor. ii. 8.

"

"and rose again from the grave, is the very Son of God, born of the Father from all eternity; the Spirit, that is now sent among them, is the Third "Person, one with the Father and Son in the unity "of the Divine Nature." The Trinity, the Incarnation, the Redemption, are revealed, in all their magnificence, to these disciples of Moses; the shadows of the ancient figures give place to the light and realities of the new Covenant. The time is come for the fulfilment of the prophecy uttered by St. John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan, a prophecy which many of the present audience heard him speak: There hath stood one in the midst of you, whom ye know not. The same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose. I baptise with water, but he shall baptise with the Holy Ghost."

And yet, this Baptism of Fire is to be administered by Water. The Spirit, who is Fire, works by Water and is called the "Fountain of living Water.' The Prophet Ezechiel foresaw this great Day, when he spoke these words: “ I will pour upon you clean "Water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all your "idols. And I will give you a new heart, and put "a new Spirit within you. And I will take away "the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give

you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit "in the midst of you, and I will cause you to walk "in my commandments, and to keep my judgments, "and do them. And you shall be my people, and "I will be your God."2

than this prophecy; was to be a fount of

Nothing could be clearer when the Spirit came, there water poured out upon men. We have already seen this Divine Spirit brooding

over the Waters at the

1 St. John, i. 26, 27, 33.

2 Ezechiel, xxxvi. 25, 28.