venly wisdom, and by the love she has for all her children-forcibly reminds us of a beautiful passage in one of St. Augustine's Sermons for Christmas Day: "Exult, O ye Virgins of Christ! for the Mother of Christ is your companion. You could not be his Mother; but, for his sake, you would be Virgins: "He that is not born of you, is born to you. And yet, you remember his words: Whosoever shall do the will of my Father, is my brother, and sister, " and mother. Now, have you not done the will of "his Father? "Exult, O ye Widows of Christ! for ye have "vowed a holy continency to Him, that made Virginity fruitful. And thou, too, O nuptial chastity! you, I mean, that are faithful in the married state, "you also may exult; for what you lose in the body, you do not lose in * Let hearts. your your soul "be virginal by its faith, for it is by her Faith that "the Church is a Virgin. * Jesus is Truth, and Peace, and Justice; conceive him by your faith, 'give him birth by your good works; in order that "what the womb of Mary did in the Flesh of Jesus, 'your heart may do in the law of Jesus. Believe me, you yourselves are children of virginity, for are not the members of Christ? Mary is Mother of Jesus, who is our Head; and the Church is the "mother of you who are his Members. Yes, the "Church is, like Mary, both Mother and Virgin: she "is Mother, by her tender charity; and Virgin, by "the purity of her faith and holiness."2 “ you But, the Holy Sacrifice is about to commence. The Introit tells us of the Birth of Jesus our Sun of Justice. The brightness of his first rising, is the presage of his mid-day splendour. Strength and Beauty are his. He is armed for victory, and his name is Prince of Peace. 1 St. Matth. xii. 50. 2 Ninth Sermon On our Lord's Nativity. INTROIT. A light shall shine upon us, this day; because the Lord is born for us: and his name shall be the Wonderful One, God, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the world to come; of whose reign there shall be no end. Ps. The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with beauty: the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself. V. Glory, &c. A light. Lux fulgebit hodie super nos; quia natus est nobis Dominus: et vocabitur Admirabilis, Deus, Princeps pacis, Pater futuri sæculi cujus regni non erit finis. ; Ps. Dominus regnavit, decorem indutus est: indutus est Dominus fortitudinem, et præcinxit se. . Gloria Patri. Lux fulgebit. The prayer of the Church, in this the Mass of the Aurora, is the begging of God to pour upon our souls the rays of the Sun of Justice, that so we may become fruitful in works of Light, and be no more the slaves of darkness. COLLECT. Grant, we beseech thee, O Almighty God, that as we are enlightened by the new light of thy Word become flesh, we may show, in our actions, the effects of that faith, which shineth in our minds. Through the same, &c. Da nobis, quæsumus, omnipotens Deus, ut qui nova incarnati Verbi tui fuce perfundimur, hoc in nostro resplendeat opere, quod per fidem fulget in mente. Per eumdem. Commemoration of St. Anastasia. Grant, we beseech thee, O Almighty God, that as we celebrate the solemnity of blessed Anastasia, thy Martyr, we may be sensible of the effects of her prayers to thee in our behalf. Through, &c. Da, quæsumus, omnipotens Deus, ut qui beatæ Anastasia, Martyris tuæ, solemnia colimus, ejus apud te patrocinia sentiamus. Per Dominum. EPISTLE. Lectio Epistolæ beati Pauli Cap. III. Charissime apparuit benignitas et humanitas Salvatoris nostri Dei: non ex operibus justitiæ, quæ fecimus nos; sed secundum suam misericordiam salvos nos fecit per lavacrum regenerationis, et renovationis Spiritus Sancti, quem effudit in nos abunde per Jesum Christum Salvatorem nostrum ut justificati gratia ipsius, hæredes simus secundum spem vitæ æternæ, in Christo Jesu Domino nostro. Lesson of the Epistle of Saint Most dearly beloved: the our This Sun which has appeared on our earth, is God our Saviour, full of tenderest mercy. We were far off from God, and were sitting in the shades of death-the rays of the divine Light had to reach down to us in the deep abyss of our sins; and now, praise be to this Infinite Mercy! we are set free, and, with our freedom, have received regeneration, justification, and heirship to eternal life. Who shall henceforth separate us from the love of this Infant Jesus? Is it possible, that we ourselves can ever frustrate the designs of that love, by rendering all that it has done for us useless, and becoming once more the slaves of darkness and death? May God forbid it! and grant us grace to maintain our hope of everlasting life, which the Mystery of our Redemption has purchased for us. GRADUAL. Benedictus qui venit in Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: the Lord is our God, and he hath shone upon us. V. This is the Lord's doing, and it is wonderful in our eyes. Alleluia, alleluia. V. The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with beauty: the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself with might. Alleluia. nomine Domini: Deus Dominus, et illuxit nobis. V. A Domino factum est istud, et est mirabile in oculis nostris. Alleluia, alleluia. V. Dominus regnavit, decorem induit: induit Domiminus fortitudinem, et præcinxit se virtute. Alleluia. Sequel of the holy Gospel ac- Sequentia sancti Evangelii cording to Luke. Ch. II. At that time: The Shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word, that has come to pass, which the Lord hath showed to us. And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the Infant lying in a manger. And seeing, they understood of the word, that had been spoken to them, concerning this Child. And all that heard, wondered; and at those things that were told them by the Shepherds. But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. And the Shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. secundum Lucam. Cap. II. In illo tempore: Pastores loquebantur ad invicem : Transeamus usque _Bethlehem, et videamus hoc verbum quod factum est, quod Dominus ostendit nobis. Et venerunt festinantes; et invenerunt Mariam et Joseph, et infantem positum in præsepio. Videntes autem cognoverunt de verbo quod dictum erat illis de puero hoc. Et omnes qui audierunt, mirati sunt, et de his quæ dicta erant a pastoribus ad ipsos. Maria autem conservabat omnia verba hæc, conferens in corde suo. reversi sunt pastores_glorificantes et laudantes Deum in omnibus quæ audierant et viderant, sicut dictum est ad illos. Et Let us imitate the earnestness of the Shepherds in their hastening to Jesus. No sooner do they hear the Angel's words, than they start for the holy Stable in Bethlehem. Once in the presence of the Divine Infant, they know him by the sign that had been given them by the Angel; and Jesus is born in their souls by his grace. These happy men delight, now, in their poverty, for they find that He, too, is poor. They feel that they are united to him for ever, and their whole lives shall testify to the change that this December Night has worked in them. They do not keep the great event to themselves; they tell every one about the Babe of Bethlehem, they become his Apostles, and their burning words fill their listeners with astonishment. Like them, let us glorify the great God, who, not satisfied with calling us to the admirable Light, has set it in the very centre of our hearts, by uniting us to himself. Let us often think of the Mysteries of this glorious Night, after the example of Mary, who keeps unceasingly in her most pure Heart the wonderful things that God has been accomplishing by her and in her. During the Offertory of the sacred gifts, the Church extols the power of our Emmanuel, who, that he might reform this fallen world, humbled himself so far, as to have a few poor Shepherds for his courtiers, He whose Throne and Divinity are from eternity. |