has moved them to imitate, and they shall commend to him the particular intention for which they have been charged to pray. They shall also meditate upon the virtues of the Saint and the graces which God has bestowed upon him, endeavouring to humble themselves by reflecting on their own misery, sloth, coldness, and unbelief in comparison with God's graces. They shall call to mind that, if they are not saints themselves, it is their own fault, since they have had the same means of sanctification as the Saints; that they are not of another nature, and have not more difficulties to overcome than the Saints had. 4. On the day of the month upon which the Festival of the Saint falls, they shall unite with the intention of the Church to honour such Saint in an especial manner, and to ask from God, under his patronage, the same dispositions with which he had, during life, been favoured. They shall endeavour on that day to receive Holy Communion, and to assist at the offices celebrated in certain churches in honour of the Saint. PRAYER TO THE SAINT OF THE MONTH. O great Saint, who hast happily fulfilled thy pilgrimage in this world of trial, and art now in the enjoyment of the delights of glory in the kingdom of heaven; vouchsafe to obtain for me the grace of imitating thy virtues, and especially of despising, as thou didst, the goods of this world, which are more apparent than real, and more transitory than durable, so that I may be joined only to the true Spouse of souls, to Jesus, who is the Truth, the Way, and the Life, and in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom, of knowledge, and of goodness. Thou knowest the number and the power of the enemies of my soul, the weakness of my virtue, and the strength of my evil inclinations. O great Saint, who hast encountered the same dangers that I have, and hast known how, by the grace of Jesus Christ, to avoid them; vouchsafe, if it be thy pleasure, to defend me. Commend me to Jesus, my Divine Pastor; implore Him to carry me in His arms, and to bear me in His adorable Heart, so that I may ever continue faithful to Him, ever love Him, and live always as in His presence; pray that He may enrich me with His graces, and that in Him, with Him, and by Him, I may do penance for my sins, and merit, by the entire sacrifice of myself, to see and possess Him eternally in heaven. Amen. Or this: Great Saint, who hath been given to me for protector, patron, and model, after Jesus Christ; offer me to Him, to whom thou offeredst thyself during thy life, as a victim of religion and penitence; obtain for me the grace to be faithful in sanctifying myself henceforth to the glory and will of God, in order that at the moment of my death I may be a victim agreeable in His sight, which may be offered to Him, sacrificed and consecrated by Jesus Christ, in a blessed eternity. Amen. GENERAL ABSOLUTION AND PAPAL According to the catalogue of Indulgences, the Tertiaries may, in the assemblies or in private, receive general absolution from the Father Visitor, the Father Director, or any other priest specially authorised for that purpose, on all the chief Festivals of our Lord and the Blessed Virgin, on the Festivals of All Saints, St. Peter and St. Paul Apostles, the Seraphic Father St. Francis, St. Clare of Assisi, and St. Catherine Virgin and Martyr, every day in Holy Week, once during life, at the choice of each Tertiary, and in the article of death; also, on the days which they may choose, they may receive four times yearly the same general absolution with the Papal Benediction. These absolutions are not sacramental; they remit all punishment due to divine justice for sins already pardoned, such as the censure in the Sacrament of Penance, but they do not remit the sin itself. They absolve also from the excommunications, suspensions, and irregularities which have been contracted through ignorance, or have been forgotten. To remove all difficulty, the Superiors of the First Order specify all the Confessors appointed to give these absolutions in private, to whom the Tertiaries may apply. No formula is prescribed under pain of invalidity. It is sufficient to use one which expresses the grace given, with the intention of applying it to its full extent. We will, however, indicate the formulæ generally used in the Order. I. MANNER OF GIVING GENERAL ABSOLUTION ON FESTIVALS. The Father Director, in surplice and stole, after having imposed a penance, and caused the Confiteor to be repeated, then says, Misereatur, &c.; Indulgentiam, &c. Dominus noster Jesus Christus per merita suæ sacratissimæ Passionis vos absolvat, et gratiam suam vobis infundat. Et ego auctoritate ipsius, et beatorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, et Summorum May our Lord Jesus Christ, through the merits of His most holy Passion, absolve thee and fill thee with His grace; and by His authority, and that of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and the Supreme Pontificum Ordini nostro, ac vobis concessa, et mihi in hac parte commissa, absolvo vos ab omni vinculo excommunicationis majoris vel minoris (suspensionis), et interdicti, si quod forte incurristis, et restituo vos unioni, et participationi Fidelium, necnon sacrosanctis Ecclesiæ Sacramentis. Item eadem auctoritate absolvo vos ab omni transgressione votorum, et regulæ, constitutionum, et admonitionum majorum nostrorum,ab omnibus pœnitentiis oblitis, seu etiam neglectis, et ab omnibus peccatis vestris, quibus contra Deum et proximum fragilitate humana ignorantia vel malitia deliquistis: concedens vobis remissionem et indulgentiam plenariam omnium peccatorum vestrorum confessorum et etiam cunctorum de quibus non recordamini, aut obliti fuistis, in quantum claves Ecclesiæ se extendunt; et restituo vos illi innocentiæ in qua eratis quando baptizati fuistis. In nomine Pontiffs, which is granted to our Order and to thee, and with which I am in this part commissioned, I absolve thee from every bond of the greater or lesser excommunication (suspension) and interdict, if thou shouldst have fallen into any, and restore thee to the union and participation of the faithful, and to the holy Sacraments of the Church. Likewise, by the same authority, I absolve thee from all transgressions against the vows, the rule, the constitutions, and admonitions of our Order; from all penances which may have been forgotten or neglected, and from all thy sins, committed through human frailty, ignorance, or malice, against God or thy neighbour; and I grant thee remission and plenary indulgence of all thy sins, confessed or forgotten, in as far as the keys of the Church extend; and restore thee to baptismal innocence. In the name of the Father,+ and of the After having imposed the penance, and caused the Confiteor to be repeated, the Priest says, Misereatur, &c.; Indulgentiam, &c. Dominus noster Jesus Christus, per merita suæ sacratissimæ Passionis, vos absolvat, et gratiam suam vobis infundat. Et ego, auctoritate ipsius et beatorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, et Summorum Pontificum Ordini nostro, May our Lord Jesus Christ, through the merits of His most holy Passion, absolve thee and fill thee with His grace; and by His authority, and that of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and the Supreme Pontiffs, which is |