ish them for a time from their heavenly inherit ance. Look nevertheless, O merciful Redeemer, on the work of thy hands; hasten the happy hour of their deliverance, and grant that, partaking spiritually of the merits of thy august sacrifice, I may submissively accept, and patiently bear all that is disagreeable and painful to inclination, and thus avert a long separation from thee after the close of my mortal life. Amen.

Postcommunion.

GRANT, we beseech thee, O Lord! that our humble prayers on behalf of the souls of thy servants, both men and women, may be profitable to them; so that thou mayest deliver them from all the punishment due to their sins, and make them partakers of the redemption thou hast purchased for them. Who livest, &c.

After Dominus vobiscum, the Priest says, May they rest in peace. R. Amen.

At the last Gospel.

MAY now the bright company of angels meet your souls, O departed servants of the Lord may the crowd of apostles receive you; may the criumphant army of glorious martyrs conduct you; and may a happy rest be your portion in the company of the patriarchs. May Jesus Christ appear to you with a mild and cheerful countenance, and give you a place among those who are o be in his presence for ever.

May your God arise, and put your enemies to flight. Let them vanish like smoke, and as wax before the fire, so let them perish. May all the

reprobate of hel. be filled with confusion and shame ; out let the just and elect rejoice and be happy in the presence of God, and may you be of that blessed number. May Christ Jesus himself rescue you from torments, who lovingly died for you. May the eternal Son of the living God place you in his garden of Paradise, and may he, tlie true Shepherd, own you for those of his flock; may he liberate you from confinement, and place you at his right hand in the inheritance of his elect. We pray that it may be your happy lot to behold your Redeemer face to face; to be for ever in his presence, in the vision of that truth. which is the joy of the blessed; and thus placed among those happy spirits, may you be for ever replenished with heavenly sweetness. Amen.

A Prayer after Mass.

AND now, O God! having recommended to thy mercy the souls of thy departed servants, grant we may ever remember that we are most certainly to follow them. Give us grace to prepare for our last hour by a good life, that so death, however sudden it may be, may not find us unworthy of admittance into eternal glory. Oper likewise the eyes, and soften the hearts of those who have the misfortune of being at vari ance with thee; inspire them, we humbly beseech hee, with a true sense of their dreadful danger that by a timely consideration of the uncertainty of life, and the certainty of death, they may be sincerely converted, and obtaining pardon for their sins in this life, be happy with thee for ever in the next. Aruen.

A DEVOUT METHOD OF HEARING MASS

CONFORMABLY TO

THE MYSTERIES OF THE PASSION.

Ir is the common opinion of the Saints, that among all the exergises of piety, none is so pleasing to God, and so profitable to our souls, as frequent reflection on the sufferings of Jesus Christ, and a continual effort on our part to commemorate and honour his sacred passion and death. Respect, justice, love, and, above all, gratitude, oblige us to this, and should concur to make the sufferings of our divine Redeemer the most ordinary and familiar reflection of our lives. Our own interest should likewise urge us to adopt this holy practice, since it is considered by the saints a short and secure road to perfection. St. Bonaventure says, that he who devoutly applies himself to meditate upon the life and death of Jesus, finds there all he requires, and needs not seek any thing out of Jesus Christ."

As one of the most perfect methods of assisting at Mass, is to meditate devoutly on the Passion of Christ, so the best means of honouring that Sacred Passion is to hear Mass for that end; for, in this adorable Sacrifice, which St. F. de Sales justly styles "the centre of religion, the heart of devotion, and the soul of piety," we are furnished with an offering of thanksgiving for our redemption, proportioned to the benefit; and also with a motive for daily increasing in gratitude for such blessings, as eternity itself will not appear too long to acknowledge.

A Prayer before Mass.

O DIVINE JESUS! sacred Victim, immolated for the redemption of mankind! I earnestly beseech thee that I may assist at this adorable sacrifice with the most lively faith, animated hope, unbounded gratitude, and tender love. Permit me to follow thee in spirit through the different stages of thy sacred passion, and give me an abundant share of that infinite charity which induced thee to suffer such excessive torments for my sake.

With the daughters of Sion, who met thee carrying thy cross, and thy blessed Mother, who saw thee expire for our salvation, I desire to compassionate thy sufferings, and to detest sin, as the only sovereign evil. I offer this divine sacrifice,

to commemorate in a special manner thy dolor bus passion, and to obtain through its efficacious merits the grace of true and sincere devotion to wards thy life-giving sufferings and death.

At the Beginning of Mass.

The priest going from the sacristy to the altar, represents Jesus Christ retiring from the Cenacle to the garden of Gethsemani Unite your sentiments with the divine dispositions of the Son of God, and dispose yourself by sincere repentance to assist worthily at the great sacrifice about to be offered.

O DIVINE Lord! in the multitude of thy mer cies I will enter thy house, and adore thee in thy holy temple. Though my sins are multiplied beyond number, yet I will appeal to thy unbounded mercies, which far exceed my malice, or the extent of my ingratitude. I will confide in the sufferings of my Redeemer, and hope, through his infinite merits, to find grace and salvation. O dear Jesus! thou who hast washed me heretofore in the laver of baptism, wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin: sprinkle me with thy blood, and I shall be cleansed; wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow.

At the Introit.

When the priest bows and kisses the altar, contemplate our d. vine Lord prostrate before his heavenly Father, loaded with the sins of mankind, and bathed in blood through excess of sorrow. Reflect on the anguish which the treacherous kiss of Judas caused our divine Redeemer.

O GOOD Jesus! I fervently bless thee, for all thou hast done and suffered for my salvation Give me grace to weep over those sins which drew streams of blood from thy sacred veins. I desire to commemorate with the most lively and humble contrition, thy agony in the garden, and I firmly resolve to detest my sins to the lates

moment of my life. Pierce my soul with grief, for having repaid thy goodness with ingratitude, and let me frequently cry out with the humble publican: O God! be merciful to me a sinner May those bonds which confined thy sacred hands, burst the fetters of my sins, and restore me to the sweet liberty of thy children. I cast myself at thy sacred feet, and conjure thee to strengthen me by thy all-powerful grace, that under every trial and affliction I may submit cheerfully to the decrees of thy adorable Providence, and never cease to bless thy holy name..

At the Kyrie eleison and Gloria in excelsis.

The Kyrie eleison is repeated three times to honour the adora ble Trinity; it may also serve to remind you of the denials of St Peter, and to excite the deepest regret for your much more frequent denials of so good a master. At the Gloria in excelsis, reflect on the miraculous conversions which signalized the public life of Jesus Christ, and beg that one benign glance may convert and penetrate your soul, as it did that of St. Peter.

O MY God! have mercy on me, according to thy great mercy: pardon me, who have so often had the misfortune of denying thee, by a life altogether opposite to thy sacred maxims. Look on me, divine Jesus, with that compassion and tenderness which the sight of misery always excited in thy most amiable heart. Purify me, as thou didst thy penitent apostle, that I may worthily unite with thy Church in celebrating the wonderful work of man's redemption. O how fervently should I join in thy praises, most amiable Jesus! How ardently should I sing, Giery be to God on nigh, glory be to that adorabie Being, who, forgetful of his own glory, underwent for my sake such prodigious humiliations! O my sovereign King! my divine and adorable Model! since