shouldst enter under my roof; say but the word, and my soul shall be healed! The Priest approaches, and gives the holy communion, making the sign of the cross and saying, May the body of Our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy soul to life everlasting!

In many churches the Faithful answer, So be it-Amen! But if they do not say so everywhere with the mouth, they ought to say so from the depths of the heart. What more admirable or useful petition could they make? In Germany and some other parts of Christendom, the Faithful who have just communicated are presented with wine and water to rinse the mouth. This very old custom is still observed at ordinations, and, in many places, on the day of a first general communion.'

Out of respect for the Saviour, the Priest washes his mouth and fingers, so that they may retain none of the holy species: a venerable practice, which comes to us from the twelfth century. Previously, it was thought enough to wash the hands after communion, and to throw the water into a piscina, a place consecrated for this purpose. Since then the Priest has made two ablutions, one with pure wine, and another with wine and water, which the clerk and the Sub-deacon pour on his fingers. But, while he is engaged with these external cares, his soul, united to God, maintains a holy converse with Him. He asks-what? Ah, what can or should a pilgrim soul, which is united to its God and Father, ask but that this union may last for ever? Such is the meaning of the two prayers that accompany the ablutions.

What more beautiful sentiments could the Faithful who have had the happiness of communicating express in thanksgiving? But whether the assistants have communicated sacramentally or spiritually, they ought during these moments, so precious and so short, to keep company with their Divine Master, to adore Him, to thank Him, and to ask Him confidently for whatever they need as regards soul or body. The moments after communion, says St. Teresa, are the most precious in life.

Here again, according to our custom, let us tell the relations which an ingenious and tender piety delights in finding between the ceremonies of the fifth part of the sacrifice of the altar and the circumstances of the sacrifice of the cross: let us not forget that our guide is always the amiable and holy Bishop of Geneva. The Priest says the Pater, consisting of seven petitions: Jesus, from the height of the cross, utters the seven memorable words that make up His last will. The Priest divides the host: Jesus expires. The Priest puts a part of the host into the chalice: the soul of Jesus descends into hell. The Priest communicates: Jesus is buried.

1 Lebrun, p. 636.

Let us now question our faith: it will inform us of the sentiment that should prevail in our souls during the fifth part of the Mass. Nothing more true than that here, on the altar, is the same Jesus who loved us so much as to give His blood for us, the same who said and who still says, "What will you that I should do unto you? My delights are to be with the children of men. Come to Me all you that labour and are weary, and I will refresh you." Confidence-a boundless, childlike confidence: this is what ought to be in our hearts, and consequently on our lips. Let us ask for ourselves, for our relatives, for our friends, for all the world, without exception. What can He refuse us who gives us Himself? O my God! how is it that we are not all most rich in spiritual goods, we to whom their source is daily opened with such amazing liberality? Ah, the fault is ours alone! But it is over: we shall henceforth have neither distrust nor tepidity with which to reproach ourselves.

Prayer.

O my God! who art all love, I thank Thee for having permitted me to assist so often at Thy adorable sacrifice. I ask pardon for all the irreverences of which I have been guilty.

I am resolved to love God above all things, and my neighbour as myself for the love of God; and, in testimony of this love, I will communicate either sacramentally or spiritually as often as I hear Mass.

LESSON XXIII.

CHRISTIANITY BROUGHT BEFORE THE SENSES (continued).

Sixth Part of the Mass: Communion; Post-communion; Ite, Missa est; Blessing; Gospel of St. John. Relations between this part of Mass and the Passion. Sentiment that ought to prevail in our Souls. How we should go away from Mass.

SIXTH Part of the Mass.-The sixth and last part of Mass is the thanksgiving. Gratitude is a sacred duty among men: shame on him who would try to escape from it! He is branded as a monster. There is no more bitter insult than to say to one, "You are an ingrate!" Gratitude is also a duty commanded by religion. Did not Our Lord loudly condemn those lepers who, after their cure, neglected to return and thank Him? At Mass, He has vouchsafed to grant us the greatest of all graces. There was no fear that the Church, so tender a spouse, would fail to give Him solemn thanks: she has done it in all ages. After partaking of this great sacra

ment, says St. Augustine, all concludes with thanksgiving. What was practised in his day is still practised; and may our gratitude equal that of our ancestors!

The last part of Mass includes the Antiphon of Communion, the prayer called the Postcommunion, the Ite Missa est, the Blessing, and the Gospel" In principio" of St. John.

In the beautiful days of the Early Church, when all the people used to communicate, there were appropriate psalms sung during the distribution of the Eucharist. In the East, it was the canticle beginning thus, As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so doth my soul pant after Thee, O God! In the West, it was psalm the thirty-third, I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be ever in my mouth.3

We imitate this pious usage when, on our great solemnities, we sing psalms or canticles during communion. What more beautiful? The banquets of the great ones of the earth are accompanied with music and song. Should not sweet melodies resound at the sacred banquet to which God Himself, the Host, the Food, and the Guest, invites His children? While the vaults of our temples ring with the canticles of our love, the Angels, present at the divine banquet, relate in their manner the goodness of God and the happiness of

man.

When the communion was drawing to a close, the Bishop made a sign to the leader of the choir, and the Gloria Patri was sung to conclude the festal hymn. The fervour of the Faithful having unhappily diminished, the psalms were reduced to a verse, called an antiphon, because sung alternately by two choirs. Such is the prayer of the Mass that we call the Communion.

The Priest recites it at the Epistle side; for, while he was covering the chalice again, the clerk removed the missal over here. This is the place best suited to the book, because it is on the side where the Bishop and Priest sit. The book would have been left here always if a mysterious reason had not determined that the Gospel should be read on the north side, and if, from the time of the offertory, it had not been necessary to leave the side of the altar free on which the ablutions are made, cruets presented, chalice prepared, &c.; for the sacristy, from which everything required is brought, is generally on the same side.

The Communion recited, the Priest goes to the middle of the altar, and kisses it respectfully. Then, turning towards the people, he invites them to prayer and gratitude in these words, The Lord be with you! The people answer, And with your spirit! The

1

Epist. cxlix.

? Psal. xli.

3 Psal. xxxiii; Bona, 1. II, c. xvii.

Priest returns to the missal, and, in the name of all, says, OremusLet us pray. And he recites in a loud voice the Postcommunion, which is a prayer of thanksgiving. Ah, if we knew the gift of God and the favour that He has just conferred on us, with what a deep feeling of love should we not say at the end of this prayer, Amen so be it-eternal love, thanks, gratitude!

The number of Postcommunions is the same as that of collects and secrets before the preface. In point of fact, it is right that we should return thanks as many times as we have made petitions. To Postcommunions in Lent there is added a prayer, called a prayer for the people. It is preceded by an invitation given by the Deacon: Humiliate capita vestra Deo-Bow down your heads before God! Whatever motive led to the institution of this prayer, whether it was said for the Faithful who had not communicated or for sinners who were performing their penance, the assistants should, while it is being recited, humble their hearts and ask God to change and sanctify them.

After the Postcommunion, the Priest, having come back to the middle of the altar, which he kisses respectfully, turns towards the people and addresses his last good wishes to them: The Lord be with you! Oh, yes, may He be with you, pious Christians, who have come since break of day, like the faithful Israelites, to gather the manna fallen from heaven! Nourish yourselves with the sacred bread during the course of the day that now begins: pilgrims of eternity, you shall therein find strength to continue your journey to your Fatherland! The Lord be with you to enlighten you, to guard you, to comfort you, to preserve for you the fruit of the sacrifice, and to remind you of what you have seen and done this morning! Penetrated with livelier gratitude than ever towards the Priest who has been the minister of the great sacrifice, the people answer, And with your spirit! Such are the wishes that the pastor and the flock, the father and the children, give expression to at the moment of quitting each other. Do you know any better or more affecting?

At length the Priest gives the signal for departure, saying, Ite Missa est. The literal meaning of these words is, "Go, it is the dismissal," that is, it is permitted you to leave, you may go. They have, as we already know, a higher meaning, You may retire, the victim has been sent to Heaven. At High Mass, it is the Deacon that sings these words. He does so in the name of the Priest or the Bishop, whose principal minister he is. In the early ages, he warned the catechumens and sinners to leave the Church before the offering and the action of the sacrifice: it belongs to him therefore at the end of Mass to dismiss the Faithful.

VOL. IV.

16

Formerly, Ite, Missa est was said when there was no other office after Mass: the people might then retire. But if there were any other prayers to be said or any ceremony to be performed, the Priest or Deacon, instead of Ite, Missa est, said, Benedicamus Domino-Let us bless the Lord; and in Masses for the dead, Requiescant in pace-May they rest in peace! Thus the Faithful, instead of being warned that prayer was over, were engaged to remain in order to bless the Lord, or to entreat Him to grant eternal rest and peace to the departed.

Nowadays, Ite, Missa est is said whenever the Gloria in excelsis is said at Mass. It is consequently regarded as a sign of joy and gladness. Such is doubtless the reason why it is suppressed on férial days, and especially during Advent and Lent. On these occasions, Benedicamus Domino is said in order to invite the assistants to pray again, and to sanctify themselves by prayer, fasting, and penance. In Masses for the dead, Requiescant in pace is said, because the Church is wholly occupied with procuring for her deceased children the relief of which they stand in need.

The Faithful, in reply to the Ite, Missa est or Benedicamus Domino, say, Deo gratias-Thanks be to God! Yes, they say, we retire with joy, and we bless, with hearts full of gratitude, the God who has laden us with benefits, by making us sharers in His holy mysteries! They imitate the Apostles, who, having been blessed by their Divine Master, as He was ascending into Heaven, returned full of joy, glorifying and thanking the Lord. After the Requiescant in pace, the people answer, Amen, that is to say, May it be as you desire, may the Lord hear your petitions, and give eternal peace to the souls suffering in Purgatory.1

Mass is over. But it costs the Priest something to quit the holy altar, and something to quit his faithful people. And the devotion of the Priest and the people made two additions, which the Church subsequently authorised."

The first is the following prayer, which the Priest says for himself and for the people; he recites it in a low voice, with hands joined on the altar and eyes cast down :-May the homage of my total dependence be pleasing to Thee, O holy Trinity; and grant that the sacrifice which I, though unworthy, have offered in presence of Thy Divine Majesty, may be acceptable to Thee, and, through Thy mercy, may be a propitiation for me, and all those for whom I have offered it! Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

1

Lebrun, p. 642 et suiv.; Durandus, I. VI, c. lv, lvii; Durantus, 1. II, c. lvi; Bona, 1. II, c. xx; Thirat, Esprit des Cérém., p. 377.

Microlo

., c. xxii.