The Manner of Lay Persons Baptizing an Infant in Danger of Death.

Take common water, pour it on the head or face of the child, and while you are pouring it, say the following words:

"I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost Amen."

Note.-Any person, whether man, woman, or child, may baptize an infant in case of danger of death.

Grace before meals.

Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive of thy bounty Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Grace after meals.

We give thee thanks, Almighty God, for all thy benefits, who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

PRAYERS FOR NIGHT.

IF it be a duty of the greatest importance to begin the day well, it is one of no less consequence to conclude it properly. The graces conferred on us during the course of the day, and the protection we stand in need of against the dangers of the night, are urgent reasons why we should address ourselves to God, and pray to him with the utmost gratitude and fervour.

A daily examination of conscience in general, with regard to our whole conduct throughout the day, and, in particular, with regard to our predominant vice, passion, or evil custom; and the virtue we want most to acquire is strongly recommended by all spiritual writers as one of the most important duties of a Christian life, and the most profitable exercise we can apply ourselves to, for avoiding sin, and acqring virtue. It is a looking-glass in which we see

ourselves in our true colours, and come to the knowledge of our sins and evil inclinations. It is a sponge by which we wipe away guilt from our souls, and become the more pure before God the more diligently we practise it. If we do not daily weed the garden of our souls by this holy exercise, the corrupt ground of the heart will naturally produce vices and imperfections in abundance.

The nightly examination of conscience makes up the prin cipal part of the last exercise of the day. The method thereof consists in the following acts, viz:-of the Presence of God, Thanksgiving, Supplication, Examen, Sorrow, and good Resolutions.

The many signal blessings which God has bestowed, and does bestow, on those families where prayers are regularly said in common, should be a sufficient inducement to establish this practice everywhere; and chiefly at night, when all may be assembled with greater convenience. "Where two or three persons shall be assembled in my name, there," saith Christ, "shall I be in the midst of them." O Christians, what stronger inducement can we have to procure so great a happiness?

In the name of the Father, &c. Amen Blessed be the holy and undivided Trinity, now and for evermore. Amen.

Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of thy faithful servants, and kindle in them the fire of thy divine love. Amen.

Let us place ourselves in the presence of God, and
humbly adore him.

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MPRESSED with a most lively sense of the presence of thy eternal Majesty, I most humbly adore thee, O my Creator, my Redeemer, and my Judge! I believe in thee, because thou art Truth itself. I hope in thee, because thou art faithful to thy word. I love thee with my whole heart, because thou art worthy of my love; and, for thy sake, I love my neighbour as myself.

Let us return thanks to God for the favours he has

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conferred upon us.

NABLE me, O my God, to return thee thanks, as I ought, for all thine inestimable blessings and favours.

Thou hast thought of me, and loved me, from all eternity; thou hast formed me from nothing; thou hast delivered up thy beloved Son to the ignominious death of the cross for my redemption; thou didst preserve me from falling into the abyss of eternal misery, when my sins had often provoked thee to deprive me of my life; and thou wert graciously pleased to spare me, even though I continued to offend thee. Alas, my God, what return can I make for the innumerable blessings thou hast conferred on me during the whole course of my life, and particularly for the favours of this day? O all ye Angels and Saints! unite with me in praising the God of Mercies, who is so bountiful to so unworthy a creature.

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Let us beg of God to make our sins known to us.

ETERNAL Source of Light! who hast said, "Let there be light, and there was light," illuminate the darkness of my understanding, and dispel those shades of ignorance and error which conceal from me the filth and enormity of my offences. Discover to me, I beseech thee, all the sins I have committed this day, whether in thought, word, deed, or omission; grant me a lively sense of their enormity, in order that I may hold them in the utmost detestation, and

dread nothing so much as ever to commit them hereafter.

Let us examine our consciences, and consider where and in what company we have been this day. Let us call to mind the sins we have committed against God, our neighbour, or ourselves; and reflect whether we have fulfilled the duties of our state of life.

AGAINST GOD.-By omission or negligence in the discharge of our religious duties; irreverence, wilful distractions, or inattention in prayer; resistance to the divine grace; oaths; murmurings; want of confidence and resignation. Pause and examine.

AGAINST OUR NEIGHBOUR.-By rash judgments; batred; Jealousy; contempt; desire of revenge; quarrelling; passion; Imprecations; injuries; detraction; raillery; false reports; damaging, either in goods or reputation; bad example; scandal; want of obedience, respect, charity, or fidelity. Pause and examine.

AGAINST OURSELVES.-By vanity; human respect; lies; thoughts; desires; discourses, or actions, contrary to purity; by intemperance, rage, or impatience; by an useless and sensual life; or by sloth, in not complying with the duties of our state. Pause and examine.

[Repeat the General Confession: "I confess," &c. "May the Almighty," &c., p. 10.]

Prayer.

PENETRATED with grief, and

over

whelmed with confusion, at the sight of my iniquities, I acknowledge myself unworthy, O Lord! to be numbered among thy servants, much less to be accounted thy child. Is it possible I could have repaid thy infinite patience and goodness with such malice and ingratitude? Creator of heaven and earth! I have sinned against thee! I have, alas! offended thee, who art so good, and so worthy of my love! Yet, Lord, when I consider that I am the work of thy hands, and the price of the blood of

thine only Son, who expired on the cross for my salvation, I cannot despair of thy pardon. It is, therefore, through his infinite merits that I implore, and humbly hope thou will grant me the forgiveness of my sins. Have pity on me, O Eternal Father, and spare me for the sake of thy beloved Son. Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out my iniquities. I am heartily sorry for them because they are offensive to thee; and I shall continue to repent sincerely of them to the hour of my death. Amen.

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Let us make a firm purpose of amendment. ALMIGHTY and Eternal God, I wish from the bottom of my heart, that I had never sinned against thee; but since I have been so unhappy, O grant me now thy grace, that I may never offend thee more. Thou hast said, I will not the death of a sinner, but rather that he be converted and live. Convert me, therefore, and I shall be converted.-Have mercy upon me according to thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out all my iniquities. I renounce all sin, and the occasions of it; and firmly purpose henceforth to walk in the path of thy commandments. This fixed resolution I am determined to keep, with the assistance of thy grace, purchased for me through the infinite merits of thine only Son Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

[Repeat the Lord's Prayer, the Hail, Mary, the Creed, the Acts of Faith, Hope and Charity, and the Angelus Domini, as in the Morning Prayer.]