is infinite sanctity, and Who showed Himself to His apostles on Thabor, and to St. John in heaven, “clothed in a robe whiter than the snow"?

This color is also that of the feasts of Mary. After God there is nothing purer than the Blessed Virgin. The Holy Spirit compares her to a lily shining in whiteness, to a spotless dove, to a tower of ivory, and to a limpid fountain.

White is worn on the solemnities of the angels because of their purity, and on the feasts of virgins, “sisters of angels in their innocence," says Peter de Blois.

Red is the figure of blood and of fire. The Church clothes herself in it for those feasts which have connection with the passion of Our Lord, and on those days recalls to us that Jesus Christ has not feared for love of us to be reddened in His own blood, shed in torrents on the pavement of the prætorium, on the road to Calvary, and on the wood of the cross. At Pentecost the Church wears red to figure forth the mystery of the tongues of fire on the heads of the apostles, and the effusion of that other interior fire with which the hearts of those generous messengers of good tidings were filled. Red, the color of blood, is also used on the feasts of martyrs.

Green, in the liturgy as in nature, is a symbol of hope; it is the emblem of good things to come. The Church uses it on the simple Sundays during the time called "of pilgrimage," because it recalls the militant life of the Church, from the descent of the Holy Ghost to the end of the world.

This time comprehends the Sundays and weeks from Pentecost to Advent. From the octave of the Epiphany

to Septuagesima we find green in use among the altarornaments. Says Dom Guéranger: "This choice shows that in the birth of Our Lord, Who is the flower of the fields, is born also the hope of our salvation, and that after the winter of paganism and Judaism the green springtime of grace has begun in our hearts." (The Liturgical Year, vol. ii., "Christmas.")

Purple, the color of the mortification of the flesh by penitence, is reserved to the following periods: Advent, Lent, ember-days, vigils and rogations, and the procession of St. Mark, to teach us that we should then expiate our sensual lives by fasting and mortification.

Black. It is hardly necessary to explain the signification of this color of death; even without speaking, the priest who mounts to the altar clad in these sad vestments is a preacher sufficiently eloquent. Let us listen to the voice of grace which cries: "Remember, man, that dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return."

3. VESTMENTS OF THE DEACON, SUBDEACON, AND
ACOLYTES.

The Deacon.-This word means servitor. One of the principal duties of this sacred minister is to assist the priest during the holy mysteries. He is always at his side, and, by the place of honor which he occupies, h、 reminds us of the beloved disciple leaning on the heart of Jesus during the last supper, and standing under the cross on Calvary.

The deacon chants the gospel, and dismisses the people at the end of Mass by intoning: "Ite, Missa est.”

His vestments are the amice, alb, girdle, stole, and dalmatic; except the latter all are already understood.

The dalmatic was originally worn in Dalmatia, whence it was brought to Rome. It is a long and ample garment, with very large sleeves, but short, descending only to the elbow. From the second century among the Romans it was the vestment of the emperors; the Church adopted it for the Sovereign Pontiff and the bishops. The deacons received it from Pope Sylvester, but the privilege of wearing it was confined to the deacons of the church at Rome, and for them only granted on festival-days as a sign of joy; consequently it was laid aside during Advent, Lent, and fast-days, periods of sadness and mourning in the Church.

The dalmatic is of the same color as the chasuble of the priest.

The bands of rich stuff, or even of gold or silver, which are laid perpendicularly on each side, were, in ancient times, reserved to persons of distinction. We find them again upon the chasuble of the priest, the dalmatic of the deacon, and the tunic of the subdeacon because of the elevated rank which these sacred ministers hold in the hierarchy; their duties bring them near to Our Lord in the Eucharist, and by the chastity which they have irrevocably sworn they are become like heavenly spirits. The short sleeves of the dalmatic, allowing the deacons to move more easily, remind us that, according to the etymology of their name of servitor, they assist, not only the priest at the altar, but the poor, the widows, and orphans. They find also in the large sleeves of their vestment a lesson of liberality toward the poor. The deacon does not wear the stole in the same manner as the priest; he places it on the left shoulder, and brings the extremities under the right

arm. The stole being formerly a robe, the deacon necessarily had to roll it up under the right arm in order more easily to serve the priest at the altar.

The Subdeacon.-This minister is charged with the preparation of the sacred vessels, the bread and wine of the sacrifice, giving the water to the celebrant when he washes his hands, and reading the epistle. His vestments are the amice, alb, girdle, maniple, and tunic. The tunic was formerly distinguished from the dalmatic by its form and material; now it is in all respects like it, hence it is unnecessary to speak of it.

The Acolytes.-The ministers who carry the candles, prepare the incense, and serve the subdeacon and deacon at the altar are called acolytes. Samuels of the new law, they always wear in their functions a linen robe. Are they not also angels upon the earth? Their white vestments; the flowing sleeves with which they are adorned, like two wings; the censer swinging in their hands; their comings and goings in the sanctuary-do they not recall the celestial spirits around the throne of the Lamb? The white vestment of the acolyte is called a surplice, and covers a cassock generally black.

This striking contrast has not escaped the interpreters of our ceremonies, who have given us its meaning. Nearly all the religious Orders have adopted for their habit black or white, in remembrance of the glorious or sorrowful mysteries of the life of Jesus Christ. These two colors, united in the costume of the young levite, illustrate the great motto of Christianity: To die to one's self, and live again in Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER III.-THE VESSELS, LINENS, BREAD AND WINE OF THE SACRIFICE.

1. VESSELS OF THE SACRIFICE.

The Chalice and the Paten.--To seal an alliance the ancients at the end of the banquet caused to be passed from one to another of the guests a cup to which each touched his lips. Our Lord followed this custom at the last supper. The chalice used at the altar is made upon the model of the one from which Jesus Christ drank on the eve of His death. While the chalice receives the blood of Jesus Christ, the paten is reserved for His divine body. It is a large plate, of gold or silver like the chalice, but always golden in that portion which comes in contact with the holy species. Like the chalice, before it is used in the sacred mysteries it is consecrated by chrism, and special prayers said by the bishop. Let us receive from the gold, the holy chrism, and the particular benediction of the prelate given to those vessels upon which the Holy of holies rests but an instant the lesson which the Church teaches us. In communion our hearts become living chalices; our tongue is another paten upon which the priest lays Jesus Christ. May Our Lord always find our tongue and heart bright with the gold of charity; let us consecrate this mystical chalice and paten with the unction of Christian sweetness and the perfume of prayer.

The Ciborium.-Above the primitive altars was raised a canopy held up by columns, the base resting on the pavement of the sanctuary. Silken curtains adorned