SEQUENCE. Laus tibi, Christe, Patris optimi Nate, Deus omnipotentiæ, Quem cœlitus jubilat supra astra manentis plebis decus harmoniæ: Quem agmina infantium sonoris hymnis collaudant ætheris in arce: Quos impius, ob nominis odium tui, misero straverat vulnere : Quos pie nunc remuneras in cœlis, Christe, pro pœnis nitide ; Solita usus gratia, qua tuos ornas coronis splendide e; Quorum precibus sacris dele, precamur, nostra pie crimina vitæ, Et quos laudibus tuis junxeras, nobis istic dones clemens favere : Illis æternæ dans lumen gloriæ, nobis terrea concede vincere ; Ut liceat serenis actibus pleniter adipisci dona tuæ gratiæ: Herodis ut non fiat socius, quisquis in horum laude se exercet propere ; Sed æternaliter cum eisdem catervis tecum sit, Domine. Amen. Praise be to thee, O Jesus Son of the all-perfect Father Almighty God! Unto whom the sweet hymns of the citizens of heaven are ever giving praise, And the Innocent Babes are ever singing their melodious songs of praise in the courts above. These Babes were slain by the ruthless sword, at the bidding of a wicked king, who hated thy name, And now are richly rewarded in heaven, by thee O Jesus, in return for the sufferings they endured Herein showing thy wonted mercy, which gives, to all who serve thee, crowns of richest beauty. By the holy prayers of these Innocents, mercifully cleanse us, we beseech thee, from the sins of our past lives, And lovingly grant, that they whom thou hast associated to thyself to give thee praise, may become our protectors here below. On them bestow the light of endless glory; on us, the victory over earthly things, That thus, by a life of holiness, we may merit an abundance of the riches of thy grace. Of all that devoutly praise these thy holy Innocents, may none be made companions with Herod. But may they all live for ever with thee, O Lord, in the society of this sweet choir of heaven. Amen. Sweet Flowers of the Martyrs! your Feast is over in our Church on earth, but your patronage will never leave us. During this new year of the holy Liturgy, which God has given us, you will watch over us, and pray for us to the Lamb, who loves you so tenderly. We intrust to you the fruits of grace which our souls have gathered from the Christmas Feasts. We have become little children together with our Lord; we have begun a new life with him; pray for us, that we may grow with him in wisdom and age, before God and man.1 Secure us perseverance, by your prayers; and, to this end, keep up in our hearts that Christian simplicity, which is the special virtue of Children of Christ. You are innocent; we are sinners; still, we are brethren; love us, then, with brotherly love. You were garnered into heaven at the very dawn of the Law of Grace; our lives have fallen on the close of time, and the world has grown cold in charity; be near and help us; cheer and encourage us in our combat, by showing us your lovely palms of victory; pray to our Lord, that we may speedily obtain by repentance the heavenly crown, which his infinite mercy allowed you to win, without the fatigues and risks of a battle. Infant Martyrs! forget not the young generation, which has just entered on the scene of life. You were taken to eternal glory at the age of infancy; these little ones are like you in their innocence; love them, watch over them, pray for them. The grace of their Baptism is upon them in all its freshness, and their pure souls reflect, as a mirror, the holiness of the God that dwells in them by grace. Alas! these Babes are to go through great trials; many of them will forfeit the grace of God, and their Baptismal garment will lose its unspotted purity. The world will seek to corrupt their heart and mind, 1 St. Luke, ii. 52. and the frightful influence of bad example is almost always successful. Christian mothers will have to weep over the ruin of their children's souls, and what consolation is there for such a grief as theirs? There is a Christian Rama, and a Christian Rachel, ever wailing in the Church: do you, sweet Innocents of Bethlehem, comfort these mothers, by praying for their little ones. Pray that our times may grow less evil, and that parents may have less need to fear, than they now have-that the first step taken by their children in the world, will be death to their souls. JANUARY 5. THE OCTAVE OF SAINT THOMAS, THE Catholic Church in England celebrates, to-day, the Octave of St. Thomas of Canterbury. It is but fitting, that the Country, which was beautified with the blood of the illustrious Martyr, should honour his memory with an especial fervour, and keep up his Feast during the joyful Octaves of Stephen, of John the Beloved Disciple, and of the Innocents of Bethlehem. We have seen, on the Feast itself, how the Catholic world gave expression, through the sacred Liturgy, to its love of our great Martyr. In the Ages of Faith, a victory gained by the Church was considered as a victory for the whole human race. It is impossible for us to write the Lives of the Saints in our Liturgical Year, which is crowded enough as it is ;and hence we cannot enter, with anything like detail, into the actions of this the Martyr for the Liberty of the Church. But we cannot withhold from our readers the following eloquent proof of the affection and esteem in which St. Thomas was held by those who had been eye-witnesses of his sublime virtues. It is a Letter written by Peter of Blois, Archdeacon of Bath, to the Canons of Beauvoir, a few days after the Martyrdom of the Saint, whose blood was still on the pavement of the Metropolitan Church of Canterbury. Let us notice, as we read it, the selfpossessed and meek enthusiasm, with which even the grandest victories of the Church inspire her children. 66 "The Shepherd of our souls is dead, and my first 'impulse is to mourn with you over this death. "Yet Death I may not call it, for the death where"with our Lord has honoured his Saint is rather a sleep than a death. It has been the harbouring "him into rest. It has been to him the gate of life "and the admission into the delights of the heavenly "country, into the power of the Lord, into the abyss "of eternal light. Having to set out on a long "journey, he has taken with him all he needed, and "will return on the day of the full moon; for his soul, full of merit, has left the body, in order to "return to its ancient dwelling in the general and "complete resurrection. Jealous and crafty Death came to scrutinise this treasury of merit, suspect"ing something to be there which he could claim. "But, Thomas was too circumspect and prudent, and "never permitted his true life to be tampered with. "He had long desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ; and, at the close of his life, was pining to "take his departure from the body of this death. "He has now thrown a handful of dust into Death's "face, as a tribute which he owed to the old enemy: "and the false report has gone abroad, and people are telling each other, that an evil beast hath de"voured our Joseph. The coat, of which he has "been stripped, has given rise to this false news of "his death; for Joseph lives, and rules through the "whole land of Egypt. His blessed soul, unburthened "of its corruptible garments, and freed from the dust "of this present life, has taken her flight to heaven. 'Yes, he of whom the world was not worthy, has "been called away to heaven. This light is not put "out; it is but shaken by a passing wind, that it " 3 ! Prov. vii. 20. 2 Phil. i. 23. • Gen. xxxvii. 20. |