are agreeable to thee and perform them with all his strength. O GOD, from whom are holy desires, right counsels, and just works, give to thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both our hearts may be disposed to keep thy commandments, and the fear of enemies being removed, the times, by thy protection, may be peaceable. INFLAME, O Lord, our reins and heart with the fire of thy holy Spirit, that we may serve thee with a chaste body, and please thee with a clean heart. O Gon, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, give to the souls of thy servants departed, the remission of all their sins; that, through pious supplications, they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired. PREVENT, we beseech thee, O Lord, our actions by thy holy inspirations, and carry them on by thy gracious assistance; that every prayer and work of ours may begin always from thee, and by thee be happily ended. O ALMIGHTY and eternal God, who hast dominion over the living and the dead, and art merciful to all, who thou foreknowest shall be thine by faith and good works: we humbly beseech thee, that they, for whom we have determined to offer up our prayers, whether this present world still detain them in the flesh, or the world to come hath already received them out of their bodies, may, by the clemency of thy goodness, (all he thy saints interceding for them,) obtain pardon and full remission of all their sins, through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with thee and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, God, world without end. Amen. V. O Lord, hear my prayer. R. And let my cry come to thee. V. May the Almighty and merciful Lord graciously hear us. R. Amen. V. And may the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. R. Amen. SATISFACTION. JESUS CHRIST died upon the cross for our sins, and offered to his Eternal Father a full and superabundant satisfaction for them. Jesus is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. I John ii. 3. When the Almighty Father, in consideration of his Son's bitter death,, forgives our sins, and the eternal punishment due to them, in the holy Sacrament of Penance, the order of his justice requires, that some temporal punishment should be undergone by the penitent sinner. This debt of temporal punishment may, however, be redeemed by penitential works, such as alms-deeds, prayer and fasting, and by bearing with patience and resignation the miseries and afflictions with which divine providence may please to visit us in this valley of tears. Hence, before the penitent sinner is absolved from his sins, some penance, or penitential works, such as those just mentioned, are imposed upon him by the minister of God; the performance of which is called Satisfaction, and forms the third part of the Sacrament of Penance. The sincere penitent will therefore be careful to perform this penance in due time, and in a truly penitential spirit. He will go frequently with a contrite and humble heart to the foot of the cross of his Redeemer, there to bewail his past offences, and will use every means in his power to offer to God a more abundant satisfaction. He will gladly avail himself of that merciful appointment of the Almighty, who, like a tender and indulgent parent, in condescension to our weakness, and in consideration of the superabundant satisfaction made for our sins, by his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, has granted to his church the power of releasing his faithful children from the debt of temporal punishment due to sin. He will consequently be anxious to comply with the conditions requisite for gaining an indulgence, which signifies a releasing from the temporal punishment, which often remains due to sin, after its guilt has been remitted by the Sacrament of Penance. To enable the penitent to obtain an Indulgence, the church exhorts him at stated times, to the practice of certain religious and pious exercises, promising on the faithful performance of them, to exercise in his behalf the power granted by Jesus Christ to her in the person of her chief Pastor, Saint Peter, when giving him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, he at the same time gave him power to loose the faithful from whatever might hinder their entrance into heaven. By approaching therefore worthily to the Sacraments of Penance and the holy Eucharist, at the time of an Indulgence, the penitent will not only receive the graces and blessings which he would derive at other times from these holy institutions, but if he faithfully comply with all the conditions of the indulgence, he will obtain, according to the fervour of his dispositions, the remission of the whole, or part of the debt of punishment due to God, for the sins of which he has repented. Indulgences are of two kinds: I. A Plenary Indulgence, which, when duly gained is a full and entire remission of all the temporal punishment due to sin. The eight Indulgences granted to the Catholics of England, at the principal festivals of the year, are Plenary Indulgences. A Jubilee is also a Plenary Indulgence, occasionally granted by the Pope to the whole church, in the most ample manner, and with the greatest solemnity. 2. A partial or limited Indulgence, as of ten years, or a hundred days, &c,, remits as much of the temporal punishment, as would have been remitted by ten years, or a hundred days, &c., of the canonical penances formerly imposed on public penitents. The Times of the Plenary Indulgences for all I. From Christmas-day till the Epiphany inclusively. II. From the first Sunday in Lent till the second Sunday inclusively. III. From Palm Sunday to Low Sunday inclusively. IV. From Whitsunday till the end of the Octave of Corpus Christi, V. On the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, and during the Octave. VI. From the Sunday preceding the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary till the 22nd day of August inclusively. If the festival fall on a Sunday, it begins on that day. VII. From the Sunday preceding the feast of St. Michael till the Sunday following inclusively. If the festival fall on a Sunday, it begins on that day. VIII. From the Sunday preceding the feast of All Saints till the 8th day of November inclusively. If the festival fall on a Sunday, it begins on that day. These are the Seasons of the Plenary Indulgences granted to the Catholics of England, and assigned in the year 1810, by the Right Rev. Vicars Apostolic to the following conditions: For Christmas, Easter, Assumption, and Michaelmas. I. To confess their sins with a sincere repentance, to a priest approved of by the bishop. 2. Devoutly and worthily to receive the Holy Communion. 3. To visit some chapel or oratory where mass is celebrated, and there offer up their prayers for the peace and welfare of God's Church. 4. That they be in a disposition, if their circumstances will allow it, to assist the poor with alms in proportion to their abilities; or to frequent catechism and sermons; or to visit and comfort the sick, and such as are near their end, if they have the opportunity. It is not required for the gaining of these four indulgences, that these works of mercy, corporal or spiritual, or the assisting at catechism or sermons, be done on the same day with the Communion; but only that persons be then in a disposition or readiness of mind to do these things, or some of them at least, when opportunity shall offer. For Lent, Whitsuntide, and All Saints. 1. To confess their sins with a sincere repentance to a priest approved of by the bishop. 2. Devoutly and worthily to receive the Holy Communion. 3. If their condition will allow it, to give some alms to the poor either on the eve or the day of their Communion. 4 On the day of their Communion to offer up some prayers to God for the whole state of the Catholic Church throughout the world, for the bringing in of all straying souls to the fold of Christendom, and for the blessing of God upon this nation. For St. Peter and St. Paul. 1. To confess their sins with a sincere repentance to a priest approved of by the bishop. 2. Devoutly and worthily to receive the holy Communion. 3. For some space of time, on the day of their Communion to pray to God. with a sincere heart, for the conversion of heretics, and for the free propagation of the holy faith. An Indulgence, therefore, so far from withdrawing sinners from the practice of good works, serves powerfully to excite them to increased fervour in their performance. For it is required of them, to apply for the proffered remission of temporal punishment in the spirit of sincere Contrition, with devout and fervent prayer, through the merits of our divine Redeemer, assured that if the debt be not graciously remitted in this life, it will remain to be paid to the last farthing in the life to come. Thus we believe that the power of granting Indulgences has been left to the Church by the mercy and wisdom of her divine Founder, and that the use of them is highly beneficial to the Faithful. DEVOTIONS PROPER FOR THE TIME OF JUBILEES, OR The following prayer was first published upon occasion o the Jubilee in 1751; and may be proper for any other time of indulgence. It may be proper to be said on the day of communion, as it is directed for the usual intentions, for which the faithful ought to offer up their prayers in order to gain the indulgence. Prayer for the whole state of Christ's Church upon Earth, and all the intentions of the Indulgence. 0 ETERNAL Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Creator of all things, visible and invisible, Source of all our good; infinitely good in thyself, and infinitely gracious, bountiful, and good to us; behold we, thy poor servants, the work of thy hands, re |