that you may be washed and cleansed from them by the blood of the Lamb. Choose, as much as you can, a place to kneel in, where you may be most recollected, and least disturbed. There represent to yourself, by a lively faith, the majesty of God, and humbly beg his mercy and grace, that you may assist at this tre mendous sacrifice in the manner you ought. IN PRAYERS BEFORE MASS.* N the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of thy love., Send forth thy Spirit, and our hearts will be regenerated. And thou wilt renew the face of the earth. Let us Pray. ALMIGHTY and eternal God, who hast appointed us six days in which we may labour, and hast consecrated the seventh to thyself; grant, we beseech thee, that according as thou hast commanded, we may sanctify this day, by devoting it entirely to thy love and service. Mercifully forgive us all our past neglect in this kind; pardon the *Some of these prayers are also said at the afternoon or evening service occasionally. sins we have been guilty of during the And our mouth shall declare thy praise. Let us adore the God of our salvation. The King of heaven inviteth us and graciously calleth us into his sacred presence; to Him we owe all the days of our lives; let us give this day at least to his service. Let us adore the Lord of glory. The angels are always assembled in their choirs above; the Saints join their hymns; behold now the Church also prepareth her solemn offices, and summoneth all her children to bring in their tribute of prayer and praise. Let us adore the God of our Salvation. Come, let us rejoice before the Lord; let us sing joyfully to God our Saviour: let us make haste to approach his presence, and proclaim his praises; for the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods: in his hands are all the ends of the earth. Let us adore the God that made us. Let us adore and fall down before the Lord, who created us; for he is the Lord our God, and we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Let us adore and fall down before him. To-day, If ye shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts, but listen awfully to his word, and bend your knees before his holy altar We will adore the Lord of glory; we will worship the God of our Salvation. Glory be to the Father, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Let us Pray. ALMIGHTY and eternal God, grant to us the increase of Faith, Hope, and Charity; and that we may deserve to obtain what thou promisest, make us to love what thou commandest. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. An Act of Faith. WE firmly believe there is one God, and that in this one God there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; that the Son took to himself the nature of man from the Virgin Mary's womb, by the operation of the power of the Holy Ghost, and that in this our human nature, he was crucified and died for us; that afterwards he rose again, and ascended up into heayen, from whence he shall come to repay the just everlasting glory, and the wicked everlasting punishment. Moreover, we believe whatsoever else the Catholic Church proposeth to be believed, and this because God, who is the Sovereign Truth, which can neither deceive nor be deceived, hath revealed all these things to this his church. O God, we believe, do thou strengthen our Faith. An Act of Hope. GOD, relying on thine almighty power, and thine infinite mercy and 40 AN ACT OF CHARITY.AN ACT OF CONTRITION. goodness, and because thou art faithful to thy promises, we trust in thee that thou wilt grant us forgiveness of our sins, through the merits of Jesus Christ thy Son; and that thou wilt give us the assistance of thy grace, with which we may labour to continue to the end in the diligent exercise of all good works, and may deserve to obtain the glory which thou hast promised in heaven. We hope in thee, O Lord; let us never be confounded. An Act of Charity. LORD, our God, we love thee with our whole hearts, and above all things, because thou, O God, art the sovereign good, and for thine own infinite perfections, art most worthy of all love; and for thy sake, we also love our neighbours as ourselves. We love thee, O God, with our whole hearts, and for thy sake we love our neighbours as ourselves. An Act of Contrition. GOD, for the sake of thy sovereign goodness and infinite perfections, |