32 CEREMONY OF PROFESSION. The year of novitiate being finished, and the novice considered worthy to be admitted to profession, he (or she) must endeavour to prepare himself (or herself) for this solemnity by a short retreat. On the day appointed for the profession, the sacristan must prepare the chapel as for a vesture; and the same ceremonies are to be observed. The Director, in surplice and stole, standing on the altarstep, asks the novice (who must kneel): What do you ask, my Brother (or my Sister)? He (or she) replies: My reverend Father, I pray you, for the love of God, to receive me to the profession of the Rule of the Third Order of our Father St. Francis, the better to work out my salvation, so that I may serve God in this Order unto my life's end. The Director then gives a short exhortation on the advantages and the duties of the Third Order; after which he chants, and, if the profession be made with solemnity, he is joined by the assistants in chanting, the Veni Creator, with the verses and prayer of the Holy Ghost. (See pages 11 and 12.) After the prayer, the Confiteor is said, and the Director gives the general absolution in the form of jubilee, as at the clothing. (See pages 21, 22, 23.) The Director then puts his stole, in the form of a cross, on the hands of the novice, and receives his (or her) profession.1 1 If there be several novices to make their profession, one answers in the name of all. FORM OF PROFESSION. I, Brother (or Sister) N., promise to Almighty God, to the blessed Virgin Mary, to our blessed Father Francis, to all the Saints, and to you, my reverend Father, to keep all the commandments of God during my life, and to satisfy in a suitable manner the penances imposed on me by the Superiors for the transgressions I commit against the Rule of the Third Order of Penance, instituted by St. Francis, and confirmed by Nicholas IV. and other Popes, his successors. The Director replies: Ego, ex parte Dei, si hæc observaveris, promitto tibi vitam æternam, in nomine Patris, et Filii, + et Spiritus Sancti.1 + Amen. If you observe these things, I promise you, on the part of God, life everlasting: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. + The newly professed answers: Immediately after, the Director puts a candle in his (or her) hand, saying: Accipe, Frater carissime (vel Soror carissima), lumen Christi in manibus tuis, in signum immortalitas tua ut scias te per Christum Dominum esse erutam a potestate tenebrarum, et translatam (translatum) in regnum dilectionis, lucis et pacis ut mortuus (vel VOL. II. Receive, dearest Brother (or Sister), Christ's light into thy hands, in sign of immortality, that thou mayst know that Christ the Lord has delivered thee from the power of darkness, and has transferred thee into the kingdom of love, light, and 1 Chap. ii. constitution v. Ara Cœli. D mortua) mundo, vivas Deo. Exurge a mortuis et illuminabit te Christus. R. Amen. peace, that, dying to the world, thou mayst live to God. Rise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. R. Amen. The Director then stands up and recites over the newly professed, who is kneeling, the following prayer: V. Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo. Oremus. Majestatem tuam, Domine, suppliciter exoramus, ut famulum tuum Fratrem nostrum quem (famulam tuam Sororem nostram, quam) de tua gratia præsumentes ad ordinem pœnitentiæ admisimus, digneris inter discipulos tuos virtute ex alto induere justitiæ lorica munire, et salutis fovere vestimento, ut intercedente beato patre Francisco confessore tuo, sub humilitatis veste tibi perseveranter deservieus, ad stolam immortalitatis et gloriæ mereatur pervenire. Qui vivis et regnas in sæcula sæculorum. V. The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit. Let us pray. We humbly implore Thy Majesty, O Lord, that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to endow Thy servant, our Brother (or Sister), whom we have received amongst Thy disciples to the Order of Penance presuming on Thy grace, with virtue from on high, to fortify him (or her) with the breastplate of justice, and clothe him (or her) with the garment of salvation; that by the intercession of Thy confessor, the Blessed Father Francis, he (or she) may serve Thee with perseverance in the vesture of humility, and may deserve to obtain the stole of im R. Amen. mortality and glory. Who After this prayer, the Director intones the Te Deum or the Laudate Dominum, which the assistants continue. Meantime the newly professed is led to the Superiors and other assistants to receive the kiss of peace, as at the clothing. After the Te Deum, the following versicles and responses are recited: |