him as his people; that he may reign happily over us, by first reigning over himself; and that his rule may be as long as that of his great-grand-father,* as pious as that of Saint Louis, as glorious as that of all his renowned ancestors together. Those gladdening hopes already beam from his majestic countenance, and the presages of happiness and greatness which, every day, appear in his sacred person, anticipate our desires and confirm our confidence. Let us then, my dearest brethren, continue to supplicate the King of Kings and the Sovereign, distributor of thrones and kingdoms, to multiply his gifts to this august prince; to preserve the child of so many kings, and the only hope of so many provinces ; to make the beginning of his reign the commencement of our happiness, and to protect a monarchy in which the true faith ascended the throne with its kings, and in which it has since been perpetuated more pure and splendid than the gems which adorn their crown. For these reasons, &c.. *Louis the Fourteenth reigned 72 years, VIII. A MANDATE (March 1, 1723.) TO SING THE TE DEUM, IN THANKSGIVING FOR THE CESSATION OF THE CONTAGIOUS DISEASES WHICH HAD PREVAILED IN SEVERAL PROVINCES OF THE KINGDOM.: THE WRATH of the Lord, my dearest brethren, is at length appeased. His vengeance, as the Prophet says, has not suspended his mercies for ever; he has withdrawn his terrible arm, which pressed heavily on our provinces, and the scourge of contagion that wasted them, has ceased at last. It would seem, that the bounty of heaven had reserved this signal favor, for those happy days, in which our young monarch was to enter into full possession of his royal authority; and these beginnings inspire a just hope, that his reign will be marked by a continuation of benefits from above: so his first care has been to command a solemn thanksgiv ing to be made throughout his kingdom, and to place himself and his people under the protection of Him, who strikes and who heals, who overturns, and preserves empires. The signal favors which now call for our gratitude, my dearest brethren, should warm our bosoms and redouble the fervor of our prayers the nearer the danger has approached you, the more lively and touching should be your acknowledgments to Him, who has preserved you from its fury. You beheld desolation and death on the frontiers of your province, and, as it were, at the gates of your cities; the exterminating sword, was long raised against you, and at every moment you expected the fatal stroke. Recal now your past fears and anxieties, and proportion your gratitude to your recent alarms: be mindful that the favors of God always presage his indignation and vengeance. He is jealous of his gifts, and is never more prepared to strike, than when his marked and continued bounty, has found the hearts on which it was poured, hard and insensible: let us not make him repent of his clemency. Every thing now, invites us to return to him; his benefits, which are to be requited by fidelity and love; the penitential season on which we have entered; the great and holy mysteries which are approaching, and in which the greater abundance of graces accorded, demands great preparation of mind and heart; and, in fine, our past errors, to which God may have afforded this opportunity of repentance, as the last favor of his mercy, and the last term of his patience. For these reasons, &c. IX. A MANDATE (Nov. 15, 1724.) FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE JUBILEE. GOD, whose mercies seem to increase in proportion to our iniquities, after having granted to the vows of the church, a chief according to his own heart, wishes, in addition, that this tender and charitable mother should open to us the treasure of her graces; either to fill us with gratitude at the proffer of so precious a gift, or in order that the solicitude and example of so holy a Pontiff may not be useless to his people. Let us, my dearest brethren, correspond with the merciful designs of God upon us: he tries every means to recal us from our wanderings; and since we become, every day, more ingeni |