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PSALM CXXIX. De profundis.

An excellent model for sinners imploring the divine mercy.

Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice.

2. Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.

3. If thou wilt observe iniquities, O Lord: Lord, who shall endure it?

4. For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord. 5. My soul hath relied on his word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord.

6. From the morning watch, even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.

7. Because with the Lord there is mercy, and with him plentiful redemption.

8. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Glory, &c.

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1. David prayeth for favour in judgment; 3. Represents his distress; 7. He prayeth for grace; 9. For deliverance; 10. For sanctification; 12. Victory over his enemies.

1. Hear, O Lord, my prayer; give ear to my supplication in thy truth; hear me in thy justice. 2. And enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight no man living shall be justified.

3. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath brought down my life to the earth.

4. He hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that hath been dead of old; and my spirit is in anguish within me; my heart within me is troubled.

5. I remembered the days of old; I meditated on all thy works; I meditated upon the works of thy hands.

6. I stretched forth my hands to thee; my soul is as earth without water unto thee.

7. Hear me, speedily, O Lord; my spirit hath

fainted away.

8. Turn not away thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.

9. Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning; for in thee have I hoped.

10. Make thy way known to me wherein I should walk; for I have lifted up my soul to thee.

II. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord; to thee have I fled.

12. Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God.

13. Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right land; for thy name's sake, O Lord, thou wilt quicken me in thy justice.

14. Thou wilt bring my soul out of trouble; and in thy mercy thou wilt destroy my enemies.

15. And thou wilt cut off all them that afflict my soul; for I am thy servant. Glory be to the Father, &c.

Anth. Remember not, O Lord, our offences, nor those of our parents, neither take thou vengeance on our sins.

The Thirty Days' Prayer to the B. V. Mary.

IN HONOR OF THE SACRED PASSION OF OUR LORD

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* By the devout recital of this prayer for the above space of time, we may mercifully hope to obtain our lawful request. It is particularly recommended as a proper devotion for every day in Lent, and all Fridays throughout the year.

Ever glorious and blessed Mary, queen of virgins, mother of mercy, hope and comfort of dejected and

desolate souls, through that sword of sorrow which pierced thy tender heart, whilst thine only Son, Christ Jesus our Lord, suffered death and ignominy on the cross; through that filial tenderness and pure love he had for thee, grieving in thy sorrows, whilst from his cross he recommended thee to the care and protection of his beloved disciple, St. John; take pity, I beseech thee, on my poverty and necessities; have compassion on my anxieties and cares; assist and comfort me in all my infirmities and miseries.

Thou art the mother of mercies, the sweet consolatrix and refuge of the needy and the orphan, of the desolate and the afflicted. Cast, therefore, an eye of pity on a miserable forlorn child of Eve, and hear my prayer, for since, in just punishment of my sins, I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils, and oppressed with much anguish of spirit, whither can I fly for more secure shelter, O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, than under the wings of thy maternal protection? Attend, therefore, I beseech thee, with an ear of pity and compassion to my humble and earnest request. I ask it through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son, through that love and condescension wherewith he embraced our nature, when, in compliance with the divine will, thou gavest thy consent; and whom, after the expiration of nine months, thou didst bring forth from thy chaste womb, to visit this world and bless it with his presence. ask it through the anguish of mind wherewith thy beloved Son, our dear Saviour, was overwhelmed on Mount Olivet, when he besought his eternal Father to remove from him, if possible, the bitter chalice of his future passion. I ask it through the threefold repetition of his prayer in the garden, from whence afterwards, with dolorous steps and mournful tears, thou didst accompany him to the doleful theatre of his death and sufferings. I ask it through the welts and

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sores of his virginal flesh, occasioned by the cords and whips wherewith he was bound and scourged, when stripped of his seamless garment, for which his executioners afterwards cast lots. I ask it through the scoffs and ignominies by which he was insulted, the false accusations and unjust sentence by which he was condemned to death, and which he bore with heavenly patience. I ask it through his bitter tears and bloody sweat, his silence and resignation, his sadness and grief of heart. I ask it through the blood which trickled from his royal and sacred head, when struck with the sceptre of a reed, and pierced with his crown of thorns. I ask it through the excruciating torments he suffered when his hands and feet were fastened with gross nails to the tree of the cross. I ask it through his vehement thirst and bitter potion of vinegar and gall. I ask it through his dereliction on the cross, when he exclaimed: My God! my God! why hast thou forsaker me?" I ask it through his mercy extended to the repentant thief, and through his recommending his precious soul and spirit into the hands of his eternal Father before he expired, saying: "All is consummated." I ask it through the blood mixed with water, which issued from his sacred side when pierced with a lance, and whence a flood of grace and mercy has flowed to us. I ask it through his immaculate life, bitter passion, and ignominious death on the cross, at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions, by the bursting of rocks, rending of the veil of the temple, the earthquake, and darkness of the sun and moon. I ask it through his descent into Hell, where he comforted the saints of the Old Law with his presence, and led captivity captive. I ask it through his glorious victory over death, when he arose again to life on the third day; and through the joy which his appearance for forty days after gave thee, his blessed Mother, his apostles,

and the rest of his disciples, when in thine and their presence he miraculously ascended into Heaven. I ask it through the grace of the Holy Ghost, infused into the hearts of his disciples, when he descended upon them in the form of fiery tongues, and by which they were inspired with zeal in the conversion of the world, when they went to preach the Gospel. I ask it through the awful appearance of thy Son at the last dreadful day, when he shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire. I ask it through the compassion he bore thee in this life, and the ineffable joy thou didst feel at thy assumption into Heaven, where thou art eternally absorbed in the sweet contemplation of his divine perfections. O glorious and ever blessed Virgin, comfort the heart of thy suppliant, by obtaining for me :

[Here mention or reflect on your lawful request, under the reservation of its being agreeable to the will of God, who sees whether it will contribute towards your spiritual good.]

And as I am persuaded my divine Saviour doth honour thee as his beloved Mother, to whom he refuses nothing, because you ask nothing contrary to his honour, so let me speedily experience the efficacy of thy powerful intercession, according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection, and his filial, loving heart, who mercifully granteth the requests and complieth with the desires of those that love and fear him. Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin, besides the object of my present petition, and whatever else I may stand in need of, obtain for me also of thy dear Son, our Lord and our God, a lively faith, firm hope, perfect charity, true contrition of heart, unfeigned tears of compunction, sincere confession, condign satisfaction, abstinence from sin, love of God and my neighbour, contempt of the world, patience to suffer affronts and ignonomies, nay, even, if necessary, an opprobrious death itself, for love of thy Son, our Saviour Jesus

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