Christmas Night, and how still fewer would complain that they never seem to derive that benefit from it, which they are told is so great-if they would but take the pains to ask themselves, why it is, that the Church attaches such importance to her children's joining her in the celebration of this gay Winter Mid-night !-To assist the devotion of the Faithful, we offer them these simple instructions, for

THE HOUR BEFORE THE

MIDNIGHT SERVICE.

We will begin by telling them, that in the early ages of the Church, every great Feast was prepared for by long Vigils; during which the people deprived themselves of their usual rest, and spent the hours in the Church, fervently joining in the Psalms and Lessons, which made up the Office, which we now call Matins. The Night was divided into three parts, called Nocturns. At dawn of Day, they resumed their chants, in an Office, which was even more solemn than the Matins: it was one of Praise, and, from this its characteristic, was called by the name of Lauds. This Service, which occupied a very considerable portion of the night, is still kept up, though at a time less trying to nature; Matins and Lauds are, every day, publicly recited in Cathedral and Monastic Churches, and privately by every one in Holy Orders. They are by far the longest portion of the Divine Office. The want of the old spirit of devoted appreciation of the Liturgy, has made the Laity indifferent to being present at the celebration of Matins, and this even in Countries where Protestantism has not rendered their presence almost an impossibility. Thus, there are very few places where the people assist at Matins, excepting four times in the year; namely, on the three last days of Holy Week, and on Christmas Night. It is only on the last named, that the Office is said at the

same hour as anciently; for with regard to Tenebræ, they are recited on the afternoons respectively preceding each of the three Days.

The Office of Christmas Night has always been said or sung with extraordinary solemnity. Firstly, it was so just, that the moments immediately preceding the Hour, when the Holy Mother gave birth to her Jesus, should be spent in the most fervent prayers and watchings! But, secondly, the Church is not satisfied to-night with saying her Matins-she does so every night, and the faithful may come and assist at them as often as they wish:-she follows them by the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, that so she may the better solemnise the Divine Birth; and she begins her Mass, at Mid-Night, for it was at that silent hour that the Virgin-Mother gave us the Blessed Fruit of her Womb. We cannot be surprised that the Faithful, in many parts of Christendom, used to spend the whole Night in the Church.

In Rome, for many centuries-at least, from the 7th to the 11th,-two Matins were sung. The first in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. They commenced immediately after sun-set. There was no Invitatory. As soon as they were ended, the Pope celebrated the first or midnight Mass. No sooner was it finished, than the people accompanied him to the Church of St. Anastasia, and there he sang the second Mass, or, as it was called, of the Aurora. Again the Pontiff and people formed a processionthis time it was to St. Peter's-and having entered the Basilica, the second Matins were begun. They had an Invitatory, and were followed by Lauds. The other Hours having been sung, the Pope said the third and last Mass, at the hour of Tierce, which is our 9 o'clock. We are indebted for these details to Amalarius, and to the ancient Liturgist of the 13th century, published under the name of Alcuin. We also find them clearly indicated by the text of the

old Antiphonaries of the Roman Church, which were published by the Blessed Joseph-Maria Tommasi, and by Gallicioli.

How lively was the faith of those olden times! To people, who lived unceasingly amidst the Mysteries of Religion, Prayer was a tie which knit them closely together, and made them pass hours in the Church without weariness. They understood the value of the Prayers of the Church; and the Ceremonies of the Liturgy, (which complete the tribute of man's inward worship of his Creator,) were not looked upon as, unfortunately, they now so often are, as a dumb show, or, at best, an unmeaning poetry introduced for effect. What, in our days, are found only in individuals, were then in the mass of the people-faith, and a keen sense of the supernatural.

Thanks be to God! this strong practical faith is not dead among us, and is each year spreading in the land. How often have not we ourselves been charmed at seeing the traditions of the old Catholic customs still kept up in some families, especially in those favoured parts of the country, where heresy has not been able to corrupt the simplicity of the people. We have seen, and it is one of the most pleasing recollections of our childhood, one of these families seated together, after the frugal evening collation, round a blazing fire-side, waiting for the hour to come, when the whole house was to go to the Midnight Mass. A plain, but savoury, supper, which was to be eaten on their return home, and so add to the joy of holy Christmas-Night, was prepared before-hand. A huge piece of wood, called the Yule-Log, was burning cheerfully on the hearth; it would last till the Mass was over, and warm the old men and the little children, as they came in chilled by the sharp frost.

Meanwhile, till it was time for Mass, their conversation was upon the Mystery of this much-loved Night. They compassionated the Blessed Mother

and the sweet Babe, exposed to the inclemency of wintry weather, and with no other shelter than that of a wretched stable. Then, too, there were the Christmas Carols, in the practice of which they had spent many a pleasant evening of Advent. The whole soul was evidently in these dear old melodies, and many a tear would fall as the Song went on to tell how the Angel Gabriel visited Mary, and declared to her that she was to be Mother of the Most High God-how Mary and Joseph were worn with fatigue, going from street to street in Bethlehem, trying to find a lodging, and no one would take them in-how they were obliged to shelter in a stable, and how the Divine Child was born in it-how the loveliness of the Babe in his little crib was above all the beauty of the Angels-how the Shepherds went to see him, and took their humble gifts, and played their rude music, and adored him in the faith of their simple hearts. And thus they spent the happy Eve, passing from conversation to song, and from one song to another, and all was on Mary or Jesus, Joseph or Bethlehem. Cares of life were forgotten, troubles were gone, melancholy was a sin-but, it was time to leave; the Village clock had just gone eleven; and of the happy group, there was a little one, who had been too young the other years, and this was his first Midnight-Mass! There was no brighter face in the procession than his. Would he ever forget-that beautiful Night!

In many of our readers, these reminiscences will excite a feeling of regret, that the miseries of the world around us make such Catholic customs as these, unrealities at all events, they will show, how the holiest feelings of religion may blend with the best joys of family and home. The lesson is worth learning, though the examples that teach it are too Catholic for these rough times. Let us, therefore, leave them, and turn again to objects, which are realities, made

holy by To-Night's Mystery-they will assist us to enter still further into the spirit of the Church.

There are three places on this earth of ours, which we should visit to-night. For two of them, it can only be in spirit. The first is Bethlehem, and the Cave of the Nativity, which is Bethlehem's glory. Let us approach it with respectful awe, and contemplate the humble dwelling, which the Son of the Eternal God chose for his first home. It is a Stable in the hollow of a rock, just outside the city walls. It is about fortyfeet long, by twelve in width. The ox, and the ass, as spoken of by the Prophet, are there, standing near the Manger, mute witnesses of the Divine Mystery, to which man refused to lend his own dwelling.

Joseph and Mary enter into the Stable-Cave. It is night, and all nature is buried in silence; but these two Hearts are sending up their praise and adoration to God, who thus deigns to atone for man's pride. The Virgin-Mother prepares the Clothes, which are to swathe the limbs of the Divine Infant, and longs, though with a most tranquil patience, for the blissful moment, when she shall have the first sight of the Blessed Fruit of her womb, kiss him, caress him, and feed him-the Eternal God-at her Breast.

Our Jesus, on His part, now that he is about to leave the sanctuary of his Mother's womb, and make his visible entrance into this world of sin, adores his Heavenly Father, and, (according to the revelation of the Psalmist, which is commented by St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews,) thus speaks: Sacrifice and oblation thou willedst not; but a Body thou hast fitted unto me. Holocausts for sin did not please thee. Then, said I, behold I come. In the head of the Book, it is written of me, that I should do thy will, O God!1

All this was happening in the Stable at Bethlehem,

Heb. x 5, 6, 7.