We beseech thee, hear us.

That we may lay hold of all such opportunities for thy greater glory, and the good of our souls,

That we may ever appear before thee with a sense of our unworthiness, and of thy awful majesty, in whose presence the pillars of heaven tremble,

That we may come before thee as sinful creatures, admitted into the choirs of blessed spirits, with them to join our praises, and permitted to adore before thy throne,

That we may come before thee as petitioners whose wants are infinite, who can have no supply but from thy bounty,

That we may come before thee as poor wretched creatures, perishing under a variety of dangerous distempers, who have no hopes of help but from thy hand,

That we may come before thee as humble and unhappy criminals who stand sentenced to the torments of an everlasting death, and can have no deliverance but from thy mercy,

That hence, as often as we appear before thee, it may ever be with a reverence becoming thy majesty, which a heart fixed on thy goodness, and with a fervency answerable to our wants,

That thou wouldest vouchsafe to give a like spirit to all the faithful, that so all indecencies, irreverences, abuses, and scan

D

dals may be removed from all places of thy] worship,

That, as to us thou hast mercifully enlarged the liberties of thy worship, so, throughout the world, all restraints may be removed,

That thou wouldest mercifully assist us in preparing our hearts to be the temples of the Holy Ghost, that so thou, O God, mayest ever abide within us,

That while we serve thee with outward decency, we may be likewise solicitous to adore thee in spirit and truth,

That thou wouldest vouchsafe graciously to hear us,

Son of God,

We beseech thee, hear us.

Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world; Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world; Hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world; Have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

LET US PRAY.

SHEW Mercy to us, O God, and grant these our requests; not only to us, but to all the faithful, that all may serve thee in spirit and truth; that all abuses, irreverences, and scandals being banished from the places of thy

worship, they may become the houses of prayer, and nothing be admitted there but what is wellpleasing in thy sight, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

May the blessed Virgin Mary, and all the Saints, be our intercessors with the Lord, that we may be succoured and secured by him who liveth and reigneth to everlasting ages.Amen.

A PRAYER TO BE SAID BY THE PRIEST

IMMEDIATELY BEFORE MASS.

AND now, O God, calling to mind with the greatest gratitude the blessed passion of thy Son, Christ our Lord, as also his resurrection from the dead, and his glorious ascension into heaven; we prepare to offer to thy divine Majesty a pure, holy, and spotless victim; for so thou hast ordained it; the holy bread of eternal life and the cup of our salvation. Look down, therefore, upon them, O Lord, with a propitious and serene countenance, and accept them, as thou wast pleased to accept the offerings of thy righteous child Abel, and the sacrifice of our father Abraham, and that which thy high priest Melchisedech offered to thee, a holy sacrifice and a spotless victim,

THE LITANY FOR CHRISTMAS.

GLORY be to God on high.

And peace on earth to men of good will.
We praise thee.

We bless thee.

We adore thee.

We glorify thee; we give thee thanks for thy great glory.

Lord God, heavenly king, Father Almighty, Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, who takest away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on us.

Who takest away the sins of the world,

Hear our prayers.

Who sittest at the right hand of the Father,

Have mercy on us.

For thou only art holy.

Thou only art our Lord.

Thou only, O Jesus Christ, art most high, together with the Holy Ghost, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Blessed Jesus, true God and man, born in the form of a helpless infant,

Praise and glory be to thee for ever.

Blessed Jesus, who, having the heavens for thy throne, didst yet choose a poor stable for thy abode,

Praise and glory, &c.

Blessed Jesus, who, being God incomprehensible, wast pleased, in love to us, to be wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger,

Praise, &c.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he hath visited and hath wrought the redemption of his people.

And he hath raised up to us a powerful salvation in the family of David his servant,

As he spoke by the mouth of his holy Prophets, who were from the beginning,

That he would save us from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us.

To shew his mercy towards our fathers; and to be mindful of his holy covenant,

According to the oath which he swore to our father Abraham to grant us.

That, being delivered from the hands of our enemies, we might serve him without fear, In holiness and justice before him all our days.

Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, the rising light hath visited us from on high;

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To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shades of death, to direct our feet in the way of peace. Glory, &c.

PRAYER.

O ETERNAL God, Father Almighty, who in compassion to lost man didst send thy only