Quia apud te propitiatio est: et propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine. Sustinuit anima mea in verbo ejus: speravit anima mea in Domino. A custodia matutina usque ad noctem: speret Israel in Domino. Quia apud Dominum misericordia: et copiosa apud eum redemptio. Et ipse redimet Israel: ex omnibus iniquitatibus ejus. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, Et lux perpetua luceat eis. V. A porta inferi, eorum. V. Requiescant in pace. . Domine, exaudi orationem meam. R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat. OREMUS. Fidelium Deus omnium Conditor et Redemptor, animabus famulorum famularumque tuarum, remissionem cunctorum tribue peccatorum: ut indulgentiam, quam semper optaverunt, piis supplicationibus consequantur. Qui vivis et regnas in sæcula sæculorum. Amen. Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If thou wilt observe iniquities, O Lord, Lord, who shall endure it? For with thee there is merciful forgiveness; and by reason of thy law I have waited for thee, O Lord. My soul hath relied on his word; my soul hath hoped in the Lord. From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord. Because with the Lord there is mercy, and with him plentiful redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord, And let perpetual light shine upon them. V. From the gate of hell, V. May they rest in peace. . O Lord, hear my prayer. R. And let my cry come unto thee. LET US PRAY. O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, give to the souls of thy servants departed the remission of their sins: that through the help of pious supplications, they may obtain the pardon they have always desired. Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen. Here make a special memento of such of the faithful departed as have a particular claim upon your charity; after which, ask of God to give you His assistance, whereby you may pass the night free from danger. Say, then, still keeping to the words of the Church: ANT. Salva nos, Domine, vigilantes, custodi nos dormientes: ut vigilemus cum Christo, et requiescamus in pace. V. Dignare Domine, nocte ista, R. Sine peccato nos custodire. . Miserere nostri, Domine. R. Miserere nostri. V. Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos. R. Quemadmodum speravimus in te. V. Domine, exaudi ora tionem meam. R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat. ANT. Save us, O Lord, while awake, and watch us as we sleep; that we may watch with Christ and rest in peace. . Vouchsafe, O Lord, this night, R. To keep us without sin. . Have mercy on us, O Lord. R. Have mercy on us. . Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us. R. As we have hoped in thee. . O Lord, hear my prayer. R. And let my cry come unto thee. OREMUS. Visita, quæsumus, Domine, habitationem istam, et omnes insidias inimici ab ea longe repelle: Angeli tui sancti habitent in ea, qui nos in pace custodiant, et benedictio tua sit super nos semper. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat, in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum. Amen. LET US PRAY. Visit, we beseech thee, O Lord, this house and family, and drive far from it all snares of the enemy; let thy holy Angels dwell herein, who may keep us in peace, and may thy blessing be always upon us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen. And that you may end the day with sentiments suitable to the joyous season, repeat, with the Church, these beautiful words of the two disciples of Emmaus: V. Mane nobiscum, Domine, alleluia. B. Quoniam advespera scit, alleluia. . Stay with us, O Lord, alleluia. B. For it is now evening, alleluia. CHAPTER THE FIFTH. ON HEARING MASS DURING PASCHAL TIME. When we assisted at the holy Sacrifice during Passiontide, our attention was fixed on the real immolation of the Lamb; we looked upon the altar as a new Calvary; and our devotion was centred upon the divine Victim slain for our ransom. During Eastertide, the Lamb presents Himself to us in another aspect; He is living, He is resplendent with glory, He is the Conqueror. He still deigns to be immolated; but it is that He may invite us to a joyous banquet, the banquet of the Pasch,-wherein He gives us to eat of His Flesh. In her chants during the Mass, the Church is untiring in her Alleluia; she affectionately kisses the Wounds of her Jesus, which now dart forth rays of dazzling brightness. Her altar is the throne of the risen God; she approaches it without fear, for the divine Conqueror of death, though so resplendent in His glory, is more loving and affable than ever. Another source of joy to the Church, when at the holy altar, is the sight of her children partaking of the banquet of the Paschal Lamb. Each church is now a Cenacle, where Jesus celebrates the Pasch with His disciples. The holy Table is no longer the feast of a chosen few; the guests come in in crowds, and the House is filled. Now is the great figure of the Old Law changed into a reality. At this Table of the great King, the new Pasch of the New Law puts an end to the ancient Passover. The new excludes the old; reality puts the shadow to flight; light expels night." We are the children of the 'Sequence for the Feast of Corpus Christi. promise; we have not denied Christ, as did the Jews; but we acknowledged Him to be our King, while His faithless people were dragging Him to execution. He, in return, has invited us to His Pasch, and there He is our host and our food. During Eastertide, then, the holy Sacrifice puts these two spectacles before us in a most special way: a Victim, who is risen from the dead, and yet is still immolated in a real though unbloody manner; and a Table prepared for the eating of the Lamb, which is, indeed, offered, during the whole year, to the faithful for the life of their souls, but which is now frequented by all. At this Table is likewise fulfilled the prophetic symbol of the ancient Paschal Lamb. For fifteen hundred years, it was the figurative Lamb; the true Lamb has now reigned nineteen hundred and this is the Lamb, whom the holy Mass reproduces in all the efficacy of His Sacrifice and in all the magnificence of His glory. We ought, therefore, during Paschal Time, to assist at holy Mass with these great truths present before our minds; and whilst thinking of the beauty of the ancient types, we should be most grateful to our Heavenly Father for having given us to live under the reign of the new Pasch. Let us be present at this great act of the Christian Religion with extreme joy of soul, for it is here that we have, in all His reality, the same Jesus that rose again from the dead, to die no more. Let us unite with His holy Mother Mary, with Magdalene, and with His disciples, in the sentiments they had. They had the immense happiness of seeing and conversing with Him for forty days after His Resurrection: He shows Himself to us, also, in this august Sacrifice. Let us give Him our adoration and love, and with all possible fervour. We will now endeavour to embody these senti |