Recta Ratio

Obsecro Te

Obsecro te, Domina Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, pietate plenissima, summi regis filia, Mater gloriosissima, Mater orphanorum, consolatio desolatorum, via errantium, salus et spes in te sperantium, Virgo ante partum, Virgo in partu, et Virgo post partum, fons misericordiae, fons salutis et gratiae, fons pietatis et laetitiae, fons consolationis et indulgentiae, et per illam sanctam ineffabilem laetitiam qua exultavit spiritus tuus in illa hora quando tibi per Gabrielem Archangelum annuntiatus et conceptus Filius Dei fuit, et per illud divinum mysterium quod tunc operatus est Spiritus Sanctus, et per illam sanctam ineffabilem gratiam, pietatem, misericordiam, amorem, et humilitatem per quas Filius Dei descendit humanam carnem accipere in venerabilissimo utero tuo, et in quibus te respexit quando te commendavit sancto Ioanne apostolo et evangelista, et quando te exaltavit super choros angelorum, et per illam sanctam ineffabilem humilitatem qua respondisti Archangelo Gabrieli, "Ecce ancilla Domini. Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum."

Et per gloriosissima quindecim gaudia quae habuisti de Filio tuo Domino nostro Iesu Christo, et per illam sanctam maximam compassionem et acerbissimum cordis dolorem quem habuisti quando Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum ante crucem nudatum et in ipsa levatum vidisti, pendentem, crucifixum, vulneratum, sitientem fel apponi, clamantem audisti et morientem vidisti.

Et per quinque vulnera Filii tui, et per contractionem viscerum suorum prae nimio dolore vulnerum, et per dolorem quem habuisti quando vidisti eum vulnerari, et per fontes sanguinis sui et per omnem passionem eius et per omnem dolorem cordis tui, et per fontes lacrimarum tuarum et cum omnibus sanctis et electis Dei.

Venias et festines in auxilium et consilium meum. In omnibus orationibus et requisitis meis. Et in omnibus angustiis et in necessitatibus meis et in omnibus rebus illis in quibus ego sum facturus, locuturus, aut cogitaturus omnibus diebus ac noctibus, horis, atque momentis vitae meae. Et in famulo tuo impetres a dilecto Filio complementum omni misericordia et consolatione, omni consilio, omni auxilio et omni adiutorio, omni benedictione et sanctificatione, omni salvatione, pace et prosperitate, omni gaudio et alacritate, etiam abundantiam omnium bonorum spiritualium et corporalium et gratiam Spiritus Sancti qui me bene per omnia disponat, animam meam custodiat, corpus regat, sensus erigat, mores componat, actus probet, vota et desideria mea proficiat, cogitationes sanctas instituat, praeterita mala indulgeat, praesentia emendet, futura moderetur, vitam honestam et honorabilem mihi tribuat. Et victoriam contra omnes adversitates huius mundi, beatam pacem spiritualem et corporalem mihi tribuat. Bonam spem, caritatem fidem castitatem humilitatem et patientiam. Et quinque sensus corporis mei regat et protegat, septem opera misericordiae complere me faciat, duodecim articulos fidei1 et decem praecepta legis firmiter credere et tenere me faciat. Et a septem peccatis mortalibus me liberet et defendat usque in finem vitae meae.

Et in novissimis diebus meis ostende mihi faciem tuam. Et annunties mihi dies et hora obitus mei. Et hanc orationem meam supplicem suscipias et exaudias. Et vitam aeternam mihi tribuas. Audi et exaudi me dulcissime Virgo Maria, Mater Dei et misericordiae.
Amen.

I beseech thee, Lady Holy Mary, Mother of God, most full of piety, daughter of the Most High King, Mother most glorious, Mother of orphans, consolation of the desolate, way of the straying, health and hope of those hoping in thee, virgin before giving birth, virgin during birth, and virgin after giving birth. I beseech thee font of mercy, font of grace and well-being, font of piety and joy, font of consolation and indulgence. I beseech thee through that holy ineffable joy in which thy spirit rejoiced at that hour when the Son of God was announced to thee by the Archangel Gabriel and was conceived, and through the divine mystery worked by the Holy Spirit, and through that holy ineffable grace, piety, mercy, love and humility by which the Son of God descended to accept human flesh in thy most venerable womb and which He saw in thee when He commended thee to St. John the apostle and evangelist, and when He exalted thee over the choirs of angels, and through that holy ineffable humility with which thou didst respond to the Archangel Gabriel, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done according to thy word."

And I beseech thee through those most holy fifteen joys that thou didst have in thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and through that holy, great compassion and most bitter sorrow thou didst have when thou didst see our Lord Jesus Christ nude, lifted upon the cross, hanging, crucified, wounded, thirsty, served gall, heard Him cry out, and then saw Him die.

And through the five wounds of thy Son, through the contraction of His flesh because of the great pain of His wounds, through the sorrow thou didst have when thou didst see Him wounded, through the fountains of His blood, through all His passion, through all the sorrow of thy heart, and through the fountains of thy tears, I beseech thee along with all the saints and elect of God.

Come and hasten to my aid and counsel, in all my prayers and requests, in all my difficulties and necessities, and in all those things that I may do, may say, or may think, in every day, hour, and moment of my life. And obtain for me, thy servant, from thy beloved Son a full measure filled with all mercy and consolation, with all counsel, with all aid and help, with all blessing and holiness, with all salvation, peace and prosperity, with all joy and eagerness. Obtain also an abundance of all good things, spiritual and bodily, and the grace of the Holy Spirit so He may set all things in good order for me, guard my soul, guide my body, uplift my senses, control my ways, approve my actions, perfect my wishes and desires, instill holy thoughts, forgive my past evils, emend those of the present and temper those in the future, and grant me an honest and honorable life. May He grant me victory over all the adversities of this world, peace of mind and body, good hope, charity, faith, chastity, humility and patience. May He guide and protect the five senses of my body, make me fulfill the seven works of mercy, make me keep the ten commandments and make me firmly believe the twelve articles of the faith. May He keep me free and defend me from the seven deadly sins until the end of my life.

In my last days show unto me thy face. Show me the day and hour of my death. Hear and graciously listen to my humble prayer and grant me eternal life. O most sweet Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of mercy, hear and answer me.
Amen.

Labels: Our Blessed Lady

Station Church:
S. Giovanni a Porta Latina

Devotions for a Lenten Saturday holy hour:
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Stabat Mater Dolorosa
Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows
Sorrowful Mysteries

Labels: Lent

Station Church:
S. Stefano al Celio

Devotions for a Lenten Friday holy hour:

Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotions To the Holy Cross

The Stations Of the Cross

Labels: Lent

Litany of the Seven Sorrows Of Our Blessed Lady
For private use only.

Lord, Have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, Have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Lord, Have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Mother of Sorrows, Pray for us.
Mother whose soul was pierced by the sword, Pray for us.
Mother who fled with Jesus into Egypt, etc.
Mother who sought Him sorrowing for three days,
Mother who saw Him scourged and crowned with thorns,
Mother who stood by Him while He hung upon the Cross,
Mother who received Him into thine arms when He was dead,
Mother who saw Him buried in the tomb,

O Mary, Queen of Martyrs, Save us by thy prayers.
O Mary, comfort of the sorrowful, Save us by thy prayers.
O Mary, help of the weak, etc.
O Mary, strength of the fearful,
O Mary, light of the despondent,
O Mary, nursing mother of the sick, O Mary, refuge of sinners,
Through the bitter Passion of thy Son,
Through the piercing anguish of thy heart,
Through thy heavy weight of woe,
Through thy sadness and desolation,
Through thy maternal pity,
Through thy perfect resignation,
Through thy meritorious prayers,
From immoderate sadness,
From a cowardly spirit,
From an impatient temper,
From fretfulness and discontent,
From sullenness and gloom,
From despair and unbelief,
From final impenitence,
We sinners, beseech thee, hear us.
Preserve us from sudden death, we beseech thee, hear us.
Teach us how to die, we beseech thee, hear us.
Succor us in our last agony, etc.
Guard us from the enemy,
Bring us to a happy end,
Gain for us the gift of perseverance,
Aid us before the Judgment Seat,
Mother of God,
Mother, most sorrowful,
Mother, most desolate,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

V. Succor us, O Blessed Virgin Mary,
R. In every time, and in every place.

Let Us Pray
O Lord Jesus Christ, God and Man, grant, we beseech Thee, that Thy dear Mother Mary, whose soul the sword pierced in the hour of Thy Passion, may intercede for us, now, and in the hour of our death, through Thine Own merits, O Saviour of the world, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, God, world without end. R. Amen.



Prayer of St. Bridget of Sweden
Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, accept the sincere homage of my filial affection. Into thy Heart, pierced by so many swords, do thou welcome my poor soul. Receive it as the companion of thy sorrows at the foot of the Cross, on which Jesus died for the redemption of the world. With thee, O sorrowful Virgin, I will gladly suffer all the trials, contradictions, and infirmities which it shall please Our Lord to send me. I offer them all to thee in memory of thy sorrows, so that: every thought of my mind and every beat of my heart may be an act of compassion and of love for thee. And do thou, sweet Mother, have pity on me, reconcile me to thy Divine Son, Jesus; keep me in His grace and assist me in my last agony, so that I may be able to meet thee in Heaven and sing thy glories.

Most holy Virgin and Mother, whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the Passion of thy Divine Son, and who in His glorious Resurrection wast filled with never ending joy at His triumph, obtain for us who call upon thee, so to be partakers in the adversities of Holy Church and the Sorrows of the Sovereign Pontiff, as to be found worthy to rejoice with them in the consolations for which we pray, in the charity and peace of the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.



Ave, Mater Dolorosa

Mother, hail, immersed in woes,
Thou the Martyrs' earliest rose,
Hear my cry, to thee I pray:

Grant that in death's agony,
Putting all my trust in thee,
I may win the just soul's peace.

By that sorrow, like a sword,
At the holy Simeon's word,
Piercing through thy heart and soul:

Grant that in death's agony, etc.

By that sorrow, whelming thee,
When to Egypt thou dost flee,
So to save thy holy Child:

Grant that in death's agony, etc.

By that sorrow, when in tears,
Seeking Jesus midst His peers,
Thou dost find Him once again:

Grant that in death's agony, etc.

By that sorrow, racking thee,
When thy Son's Cross thou dost see
Bowing Him beneath its weight:

Grant that in death's agony, etc.

By that sorrow, fixed in thee,
Whilst He hangs upon the tree,
Thou thyself a victim too:

Grant that in death's agony, etc.

By that sorrow, when thy breast
Now enfolds that body blest
Taken down from off the Cross:

Grant that in death's agony, etc.

By that sorrow, when the tomb
Takes Him from thee to its gloom,
Loving Mother, Virgin blest:

Grant that in death's agony, etc.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
Be Thy Mother my defense,
Be Thy Cross my victory.
Amen.



Litany of the Seven Sorrows

For private use only.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary,
Pray for us.
Holy Mother of God,
Pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, etc.
Mother crucified,
Mother sorrowful,
Mother tearful,
Mother afflicted,
Mother forsaken,
Mother desolate,
Mother bereft of thy Child,
Mother transfixed with the sword,
Mother consumed with grief,
Mother filled with anguish,
Mother crucified in heart,
Mother most sad,
Fountain of tears,
Abyss of suffering,
Mirror of patience,
Rock of constancy,
Anchor of confidence,
Refuge of the forsaken,
Shield of the oppressed,
Subduer of the unbelieving,
Comfort of the afflicted,
Medicine of the sick,
Strength of the weak,
Harbor of the wrecked,
Allayer of tempests,
Resource of mourners,
Terror of the treacherous,
Treasure of the faithful,
Eye of the Prophets,
Staff of the Apostles,
Crown of Martyrs,
Light of confessors,
Pearl of virgins,
Consolation of widows,
Joy of all Saints,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

Look down upon us, deliver us, and save us from all trouble,
in the power of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Let Us Pray.
Imprint, O Lady, thy wounds upon my heart, that I may read therein sorrow and love
------ sorrow to endure every sorrow for thee, love to despise every love for thee. Amen.

Conclude with the Apostles Creed, Hail Holy Queen, and three Hail Marys,
in honor of the Most Holy Heart of Mary.



A Sinner's Prayer
by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

O my most sweet Mother, how shall I die, poor sinner that I am? Even now the thought of that important moment when I must expire, and appear before the judgment-seat of God, and the remembrance that I have myself so often written my condemnation by consenting to sin, makes me tremble. I am confounded, and fear much for my eternal salvation. O Mary, in the blood of Jesus, and in thy intercession, is all my hope. Thou art the Queen of Heaven, the mistress of the universe; in short, thou art the Mother of God. Thou art great, but thy greatness does not prevent, nay, even it inclines thee to greater compassion towards us in our miseries. Worldly friends when raised to dignity disdain to notice their former friends who may have fallen into distress. Thy noble and loving heart does not act thus, for the greater the miseries it beholds the greater are its efforts to relieve. Thou, when called upon, dost immediately assist; nay, more, thou dost anticipate our prayers by thy favors; thou consolest us in our afflictions; thou dissipatest the storms by which we are tossed about; thou overcomest all enemies; thou, in fine, never losest an occasion to promote our welfare. May that Divine hand which has united in thee such majesty and such tenderness, such greatness and so much love, be forever blessed! I thank my Lord for it, and congratulate myself in having so great an advantage; for truly in thy felicity do I place my own, and I consider thy lot as mine. O comfortress of the afflicted, console a poor creature who recommends himself to thee. The remorse of a conscience overburdened with sins fills me with affliction. I am in doubt as to whether I have sufficiently grieved for them. I see that all my actions are sullied and defective; Hell awaits my death in order to accuse me; the outraged justice of God demands satisfaction. My Mother, what will become of me? If thou dost not help me, I am lost. What sayest thou, wilt thou assist me? O compassionate Virgin, console me; obtain for me true sorrow for my sins; obtain for me strength to amend, and to be faithful to God during the rest of my life. And finally, when I am in the last agonies of death, O Mary, my hope, abandon me not; then, more than ever, help and encourage me, that I may not despair at the sight of my sins, which the evil one will then place before me. My Lady, forgive my temerity; come thyself to comfort me with thy presence in that last struggle. This favor thou hast granted to many, grant it also to me. If my boldness is great, thy goodness is greater; for it goes in search of the most miserable to console them. On this I rely. For thy eternal glory, let it be said that thou hast snatched a wretched creature from Hell, to which he was already condemned, and that thou hast led him to thy kingdom. Oh, yes. sweet Mother, I hope to have the consolation of remaining always at thy feet in heaven. thanking and blessing and loving thee eternally. O Mary, I shall expect thee at my last hour; deprive me not of this consolation. Fiat. Fiat.
Amen. Amen.



Stabat Mater Dolorosa

Stabat mater dolorosa
iuxta Crucem lacrimosa,
dum pendebat Filius.


Cuius animam gementem,
contristatam et dolentem
pertransivit gladius.


O quam tristis et afflicta
fuit illa benedicta,
mater Unigeniti!


Quae maerebat et dolebat,
pia Mater, dum videbat
nati poenas inclyti.


Quis est homo qui non fleret,
matrem Christi si videret
in tanto supplicio?


Quis non posset contristari
Christi Matrem contemplari
dolentem cum Filio?


Pro peccatis suae gentis
vidit Iesum in tormentis,
et flagellis subditum.


Vidit suum dulcem Natum
moriendo desolatum,
dum emisit spiritum.


Eia, Mater, fons amoris
me sentire vim doloris
fac, ut tecum lugeam.


Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
in amando Christum Deum
ut sibi complaceam.


Sancta Mater, istud agas,
crucifixi fige plagas
cordi meo valide.


Tui Nati vulnerati,
tam dignati pro me pati,
poenas mecum divide.


Fac me tecum pie flere,
crucifixo condolere,
donec ego vixero.


Iuxta Crucem tecum stare,
et me tibi sociare
in planctu desidero.


Virgo virginum praeclara,
mihi iam non sis amara,
fac me tecum plangere.


Fac, ut portem Christi mortem,
passionis fac consortem,
et plagas recolere.


Fac me plagis vulnerari,
fac me Cruce inebriari,
et cruore Filii.


Flammis ne urar succensus,
per te, Virgo, sim defensus
in die iudicii.


Christe, cum sit hinc exire,
da per Matrem me venire
ad palmam victoriae.


Quando corpus morietur,
fac, ut animae donetur
paradisi gloria. Amen.



Prayer To Our Sorrowful Mother

O Mother of Sorrows, thou, who beneath the Cross of Jesus were given to us as our Mother, look down with pity on us, thy children, who weep and mourn in this valley of tears. By that sword of sorrow which pierced thy Heart when thou looked upon the Face of thy dead Son, obtain for us that comfort we so sorely need in our sufferings.

Thou were given to us our Mother in the hour of thy greatest grief that thou might be mindful of our frailty and the evils that press upon us. Without thy aid, O Sorrowful Mother, we cannot gain the victory in this struggle against flesh and blood. Therefore, we seek thy help, O Queen of Sorrows, lest we fall prey to the wiles of the enemy. We are orphans in need of the guiding hand of our Mother amid the dangers that threaten our destruction. Thou whose grief was boundless as the sea, grant us by the memory of those sorrows the strength to be victorious.

Intercede further, O Mother of Sorrows, for us and all who are near and dear to us, that we may ever do the Will of thy Son, and may direct all our actions to His honor, and to the furtherance of devotion to thy sorrows. Amen.

Virgin Most Sorrowful, pray for us.

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Glory Be....

Labels: Our Blessed Lady

Ant.
Remember not, Lord, our offenses, nor the offenses of our fathers, nor take Thou vengeance upon them.

Psalm 129/130
1 OUT OF THE DEPTHS I cry to Thee, O Lord; * 2 O Lord, hear my voice!
Let Thy ears be attentive * to the voice of my supplication:
3 If Thou, O Lord, mark one's iniquities, * O Lord, who can stand?
4 But with Thee is forgiveness, * and account of Thy law, I have waited for Thee.
My soul hath relied upon His word: * 5 my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
6 From the morning watch until night, * let Israel hope in the Lord.
7 For with the Lord is mercy * and plenteous with Him is redemption;

GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Prayer Against Envy
O my God, Thou so lovest the world that Thou gaveth Thy only begotten Son so that all who believe in Thee might not perish, but may have eternal life. Thou maketh the sun rise upon the good and the bad, and Thou raineth upon the just and the unjust. Yet I am filled with jealousy while others prosper. I want everything to come to me, and I am saddened by my neighbor's least good fortune! O what inhuman malice! O infernal poison! Forgive, o most loving Father what up to this point has been my sin. Gentle is Thy mercy. From the depths of that mercy, grant that henceforth I may be robed in kindness as a chosen one of God. May I also, above all, strive to have charity, which is the bond of perfection. (Col. 3:14)


Ant.
Remember not, Lord, our offenses, nor the offenses of our fathers, nor take Thou vengeance upon them.

Labels: Friday At the Foot Of the Cross

Station Church:
S. Apollinare in Campo Marzio

Devotions for a Lenten Thursday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotion To the Holy Face

Labels: Lent

Station Church:
S. Marcello al Corso

Devotions for a Lenten Wednesday holy hour:

Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms & the prayers against the Seven Deadly Sins
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer
Seven Prayers of St. Gregory

Labels: Lent

Station Church:
S. Ciriaco (S. Maria in via Lata al Corso)

Devotions for a Lenten Tuesday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotion of the Seven Last Words

Lent is a very long period of sacrifice and penance. It is considerably longer than Advent. If this were Advent, it would be Christmas already! Consequently, it would be understandable if folks were a little down or discouraged by now. You might have had to scale back your program of prayer or reading, or your contemplated Lenten sacrifices, because you just couldn't keep up with an ambitious regimen.

I know that sometimes I am getting to sleep by counting filet mignons jumping over a fence.

Take heart. The season ends soon. A week from tomorrow is Spy Wednesday, and then, after that, we are in the Sacred Triduum.

But Passion Week is a good time to remember to make that thorough examination of conscience and to try to catch up with your Lenten reading. A complete Holy Week confession and the Easter Communion are closing fast.

Labels: Lent

Station Church:
S. Crisogono in Trastevere

Devotions for a Lenten Monday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotion of the Five Sacred Wounds

Labels: Lent

Station Church:
St. Peter in the Vatican


Devotions for a Lenten Sunday holy hour:
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Psalter of St. Jerome
Threnus Prayer of St. Augustine


From The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Prosper Gueranger, OSB:

THE holy Church begins her night Office of this Sunday with these impressive words of the royal prophet. Formerly, the faithful considered it their duty to assist at the night Office, at least on Sundays and feasts; they would have grieved to lose the grand teachings given by the liturgy. Such fervour has long since died out; the assiduity at the Offices of the Church, which was the joy of our Catholic forefathers, has now become a thing of the past; and even in countries which have not apostatized from the faith, the clergy have ceased to celebrate publicly Offices at which no one assisted. Excepting in cathedral churches and in monasteries, the grand harmonious system of the divine praise has been abandoned, and the marvellous power of the liturgy has no longer its full influence upon the faithful.

This is our reason for drawing the attention of our readers to certain beauties of the Divine Office, which would otherwise be totally ignored. Thus, what can be more impressive than this solemn Invitatory of to-day's Matins, which the Church takes from one of the psalms, and which she repeats on every feria between this and Maundy Thursday? She says: To-day, if ye shall hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts! The sweet voice of your suffering Jesus now speaks to you, poor sinners! be not your own enemies by indifference and hardness of heart. The Son of God is about to give you the last and greatest proof of the love that brought Him down from heaven; His death is nigh at hand: men are preparing the wood for the immolation of the new Isaac: enter into yourselves, and let not your hearts, after being touched with grace, return to their former obduracy; for nothing could be more dangerous. The great anniversaries we are to celebrate have a renovating power for those souls that faithfully correspond with the grace which is offered them; but they increase insensibility in those who let them pass without working their conversion. To-day, therefore, if you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts!

During the preceding four weeks, we have noticed how the malice of Jesus' enemies has been gradually increasing. His very presence irritates them; and it is evident that any little circumstance will suffice to bring the deep and long-nurtured hatred to a head. The kind and gentle manners of Jesus are drawing to Him all hearts that are simple and upright; at the same time, the humble life He leads, and the stern purity of His doctrines, are perpetual sources of vexation and anger, both to the proud Jew that looks forward to the Messias being a mighty conqueror, and to the pharisee, who corrupts the Law of God, that he may make it the instrument of his own base passions. Still, Jesus goes on working miracles; His discourses are more than ever energetic; His prophecies foretell the fall of Jerusalem, and such a destruction of its famous temple, that not a stone is to be left on a stone. The doctors of the Law should, at least, reflect upon what they hear; they should examine these wonderful works, which render such strong testimony in favour of the Son of David; and they should consult those divine prophecies which, up to the present time, have been so literally fulfilled in His person. Alas! they themselves are about to carry them out to the very last iota. There is not a single outrage or suffering foretold by David and Isaias, as having to be put upon the Messias, which these blind men are not scheming to verify.

In them, therefore, was fulfilled that terrible saying: 'He that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.'1 The Synagogue is nigh to a curse. Obstinate in her error, she refuses to see or to hear; she has deliberately perverted her judgment: she has extinguished within herself the light of the holy Spirit; she will go deeper and deeper into evil, and at length fall into the abyss. This same lamentable conduct is but too often witnessed nowadays in those sinners, who, by habitual resistance to the light, end by finding their happiness in sin. Neither should it surprise us, that we find in people of our own generation a resemblance to the murderers of our Jesus: the history of His Passion will reveal to us many sad secrets of the human heart and its perverse inclinations; for what happened in Jerusalem, happens also in every sinner's heart. His heart, according to the saying of St. Paul, is a Calvary, where Jesus is crucified. There is the same ingratitude, the same blindness, the same wild madness, with this difference: that the sinner who is enlightened by faith, knows Him whom he crucifies; whereas the Jews, as the same apostle tells us, knew not the Lord of glory,2 Whilst, therefore, we listen to the Gospel, which relates the history of the Passion, let us turn the indignation which we feel for the Jews against ourselves and our own sins; let us weep over the sufferings of our Victim, for our sins caused Him to suffer and die.

Everything around us urges us to mourn. The images of the saints, the very crucifix on our altar, are veiled from our sight. The Church is oppressed with grief. During the first four weeks of Lent, she compassionated her Jesus fasting in the desert; His coming sufferings and crucifixion and death are what now fill her with anguish. We read in to-day's Gospel, that the Jews threaten to stone the Son of God as a blasphemer: but His hour is not yet come. He is obliged to flee and hide Himself. It is to express this deep humiliation, that the Church veils the cross. A God hiding Himself, that He may evade the anger of men---what a mystery! Is it weakness? Is it, that He fears death? No; we shall soon see Him going out to meet His enemies: but at present He hides Himself from them, because all that had been prophesied regarding Him has not been fulfilled. Besides, His death is not to be by stoning: He is to die upon a cross, the tree of malediction, which, from that time forward, is to be the tree of life. Let us humble ourselves, as we see the Creator of heaven and earth thus obliged to hide Himself from men, who are bent on His destruction! Let us go back, in thought, to the sad day of the first sin, when Adam and Eve hid themselves because a guilty conscience told them they were naked. Jesus has come to assure us of our being pardoned, and lo! He hides Himself, not because He is naked---He that is to the saints the garb of holiness and immortality ---but because He made Himself weak, that He might make us strong. Our first parents sought to hide themselves from the sight of God; Jesus hides Himself from the eye of men. But it will not be thus for ever. The day will come when sinners, from whose anger He now flees, will pray to the mountains to fall on them and shield them from His gaze; but their prayer will not be granted, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with much power and majesty.3

This Sunday is called Passion Sunday, because the Church begins, on this day, to make the sufferings of our Redeemer her chief thought. It is called also, Judica, from the first word of the Introit of the Mass; and again Neomania, that is, the Sunday of the new (or the Easter) moon, because it always falls after the new moon which regulates the feast of Easter.

In the Greek Church, this Sunday goes under the simple name of the fifth Sunday of the holy fasts.

Labels: Lent