Volume 12: Time After Pentecost (Part III)

THE

LITURGICAL YEAR

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THE

LITURGICAL YEAR

ABBOT PROSPER GUÉRANGER, O.S.B.

TIME AFTER PENTECOST

BOOK III

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY THE BENEDICTINES OF STANBROOK ABBEY

JUBILEE YEAR 2000 LIMITED EDITION

LORETO

LORETO PUBLICATIONS P. O. Box 603 Fitzwilliam, NH 03447 Phone: (603) 239-6671 Fax: (603) 239-6127

LORETO PUBLICATIONS

The Liturgical Year 15 Volume Set ISBN: 1-930278-03-9 Volume XII — Time After Pentecost Book III ISBN: 1-930278-15-2

Printed in the Czech Republic by Newton Design&Print Ltd (www.newtondp.co.uk)

II. On the Office of Vespers for Sundays and Feasts during the Time after Pentecost ............................... 35 III. On the Office of Compline during the Time after Pentecost ........................ 45

PROPER OF THE SAINTS

June 2.—SAINTS MARCELLINUS, PETER AND ERASMUS,

June 20.—SAINT SILVERIUS, Pope and Martyr ......... 188 June 21.—SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA, Confessor ......... 192 June 22.—SAINT ALBAN, Proto-Martyr of England ............ 201 Same Day.—SAINT PAULINUS, Bishop and Confessor ............ 208 June 23.—SAINT ETHELDREDA, Queen, Virgin and Abbess ......... 221 Same Day.—THE VIGIL OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST ......... 229 June 24.—THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST .......... 233

First Vespers

Mass

First Vespers

Second Vespers

First Vespers

Mass

Second Vespers

PRELIMINARY NOTICE TO THIS TRANSLATION

The name, so long familiar, of the Rev. Dom Laurence Shepherd, as translator, cannot but be painfully missed upon the title-page of this volume.

He has, indeed, passed away to his reward, but his work of love still lives on. Up to the last, his heart was in this undertaking, whereby he hoped to reach souls as effectually from his seclusion here, as when thrown by obedience in their midst; and in his last illness, he commended the zealous prosecution of this translation to the Right Rev. the Lady Abbess of Stanbrook, to be executed by such of her community as she thought proper to select.

It would seem only in keeping with what we know so well of the inclinations of Rev. Dom L. Shepherd, to take this opportunity of thanking the former readers of this work for the sympathy and encouragement they have long given to it—a sympathy to which he was gratefully sensible, not on his own account, but because it testified to the increasing influence holy Church was thus enabled to exercise in England, in proportion as the inspiration of her prayer was more easily brought within grasp of the faithful.

For the same reason, and in the name of the revered departed, the present translator hopes for a continuance of favour for this work, undertaken by obedience, despite many personal deficiencies.

Sr. B. F. A., O.S.B.

ST. MARY'S ABBEY,

Feast of SS. Perpetua and Felicitas, March 7, 1889.

PREFACE

Persecution, which has not yet relented in our regard, under the ever-varying depositaries of secular power, has retarded the publication of this volume far beyond our worst expectations. Our readers will, we trust, be good enough to believe that we regret these forced delays as much as they do.

May we hope that they will please to remember us and our monastic brethren in their prayers to God, and thus aid us to bear the brunt of hell's violence, so particularly directed against the sons of Dom Guéranger. We implore our Lord to vouchsafe in return to pour upon our readers a share in the blessings promised by him to those who suffer for justice' sake.

Fr. L. F., O.S.B.

SOLESMES, May 8, 1888.

TIME AFTER PENTECOST

CHAPTER THE FIRST

ON HEARING MASS, DURING THE TIME AFTER PENTECOST

On the Sundays, if the Mass at which the faithful assist be the parochial, or, as it is often called, the public Mass, two solemn rites precede it, and they are full of instruction and blessing: the Asperges, or sprinkling of the holy water, and the procession.

During the Asperges, you should unite with the intentions which the Church has in this ceremony, so venerable by its antiquity: you should pray for that purity of heart, which is needed for worthily assisting at the mysteries wherein God Himself becomes present and unites heaven and earth so closely together.

ANTIPHON OF THE ASPERGES

Asperges me, Domine, hyssopo, et mundabor; lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor.

Ps. Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.

℣. Gloria Patri, &c.

ANT. Asperges me, &c.

℣. Ostende nobis, Domine, misericordiam tuam;

℟. Et salutare tuum da nobis.

Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, O Lord, and I shall be cleansed; thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.

Ps. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.

℣. Glory, &c.

ANT. Thou shalt sprinkle, &c.

℣. Show us, O Lord, thy mercy.

℟. And grant us thy salvation.

℣. Domine, exaudi orationem meam.

℟. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

℣. Dominus vobiscum.

℟. Et cum spiritu tuo.

OREMUS

Exaudi nos, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus: et mittere digneris sanctum angelum tuum de cælis, qui custodiat, foveat, protegat, visitet, atque defendat, omnes habitantes in hoc habitaculo. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.

℟. Amen.

℣. O Lord, hear my prayer.

℟. And let my cry come unto thee.

℣. The Lord be with you.

℟. And with thy spirit.

LET US PRAY

Graciously hear us, O holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God: and vouchsafe to send thy holy angel from heaven, who may keep, cherish, protect, visit, and defend all who are assembled in this place. Through Christ our Lord.

℟. Amen.

The procession, which in many churches immediately precedes a solemn Mass, is a prelude to the great act which is about to be accomplished. It originated from the monastic practice of going through the cloisters every Sunday chanting certain appointed responsories; while the hebdomadarian went through all the conventual places, blessing each of them.

But see, Christians, the Sacrifice begins! The priest is at the foot of the altar; God is attentive, the angels are in adoration, the whole Church is united with the priest, whose priesthood and action are those of the great High Priest, Jesus Christ. Let us make the sign of the cross with him.

THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS

In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

℣. Introibo ad altare Dei.
℟. Ad Deum qui lætificat juventutem meam.

Judica me, Deus, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta; ab homine iniquo et doloso erue me.

Quia tu es, Deus, fortitudo mea: quare me repulisti? et quare tristis incedo, dum affligit me inimicus?

Emitte lucem tuam et veritatem tuam: ipsa me deduxerunt et adduxerunt in montem sanctum tuum, et in tabernacula tua.

Et introibo ad altare Dei: ad Deum qui lætificat juventutem meam.

Confitebor tibi in cithara, Deus, Deus meus: quare tristis es anima mea? et quare conturbas me?

Spera in Deo, quoniam adhuc confitebor illi: salutare vultus mei, et Deus meus.

Gloria Patri et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.

Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

℣. Introibo ad altare Dei.

℟. Ad Deum qui lætificat juventutem meam.

℣. Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini.

℟. Qui fecit cælum et terram.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

I unite myself, O my God, with thy holy Church, who thrills with joy at the approach of Jesus Christ thy Son, who is the true altar.

Like her, I beseech thee to defend me against the malice of the enemies of my salvation.

It is in thee I have put my hope; yet do I feel sad and troubled at being in the midst of the snares which are set for me.

Send me, then, him who is the light and the truth; it is he will open the way to thy holy mount, to thy heavenly tabernacle.

He is the Mediator and the living altar; I will draw nigh to him and be filled with joy.

When he shall have come, I will sing in my gladness. Be not sad, O my soul! why wouldst thou be troubled?

Hope in him, who will soon show himself unto thee as thy Saviour and thy God.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

I am to go to the altar of God, and feel the presence of him who desires to give me a new life.

This my hope comes not from any merits of my own, but from the all-powerful help of my Creator.

The thought of being about to appear before his God, excites in the soul of the priest a lively sentiment of compunction. He cannot go further in the holy Sacrifice without confessing, and publicly, that he is a sinner, and deserves not the grace he is about to receive. Listen with respect to this confession of God's minister, and earnestly ask our Lord to show mercy to him; for the priest is your father; he is answerable for your salvation, for which he every day risks his own. When he has finished, unite with the servers, or the sacred ministers, in this prayer:

Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis tuis, perducat te ad vitam æternam.

May almighty God have mercy on thee, and, forgiving thy sins, bring thee to everlasting life.

The priest having answered Amen, make your confession, saying with a contrite spirit:

Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatæ Mariæ semper Virgini, beato Michaeli archangelo, beato Joanni Baptistæ, sanctis apostolis Petro et Paulo, omnibus sanctis, et tibi, pater, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo, et opere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem, beatum Michaelem archangelum, beatum Joannem Baptistam, sanctos apostolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes sanctos, et te, pater, orare pro me ad Dominum Deum nostrum.

I confess to almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, to all the saints, and to thee, Father, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed; through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, all the saints, and thee, Father, to pray to the Lord our God for me.

Receive with gratitude the paternal wish of the priest, who says to you:

Misereatur vestri omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis vestris, perducat vos ad vitam æternam.

℟. Amen.

Indulgentiam, absolutionem, et remissionem peccatorum nostrorum tribuat nobis omnipotens et misericors Dominus.

℟. Amen.

May almighty God be merciful to you, and, forgiving your sins, bring you to everlasting life.

℟. Amen.

May the almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon, absolution, and remission of our sins.

℟. Amen.

Invoke the divine assistance, that you may approach to Jesus Christ.

℣. Deus, tu conversus vivificabis nos.
℟. Et plebs tua lætabitur in te.

℣. Ostende nobis, Domine, misericordiam tuam.
℟. Et salutare tuum da nobis.

V. Domine, exaudi orationem meam.

R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

V. O God, it needs but one look of thine to give us life.

R. And thy people shall rejoice in thee.

V. Show us, O Lord, thy mercy.

R. And give us to know and love the Saviour whom thou hast sent unto us.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto thee.

The priest here leaves you to ascend to the altar; but first he salutes you:

V. Dominus vobiscum.

V. The Lord be with you.

Answer him with reverence:

R. Et cum spiritu tuo.

R. And with thy spirit.

He ascends the steps, and comes to the Holy of holies. Ask, both for him and yourself, deliverance from sin:

OREMUS

Aufer a nobis, quæsumus Domine, iniquitates nostras; ut ad Sancta sanctorum puris mereamur mentibus introire. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

LET US PRAY

Take from our hearts, O Lord, all those sins which make us unworthy to appear in thy presence; we ask this of thee by thy divine Son, our Lord.

When the priest kisses the altar out of reverence for the relics of the martyrs which are there, say:

Oramus te, Domine, per merita sanctorum tuorum, quorum reliquiæ hic sunt, et omnium sanctorum: ut indulgere digneris omnia peccata mea. Amen.

Generous soldiers of Jesus Christ, who have mingled your own blood with his, intercede for us that our sins may be forgiven: that so we may, like you, approach unto God.

If it be a High Mass at which you are assisting, the priest here blesses the incense, saying:

Ab illo benedicaris, in cujus honore cremaberis. Amen.

Mayst thou be blessed by him, in whose honour thou art to be burned. Amen.

He then censes the altar in a most solemn manner. This white cloud, which you see ascending from every part of the altar, signifies the prayer of the Church, who addresses herself to Jesus Christ; while the divine Mediator causes that prayer to ascend, united with His own, to the throne of the majesty of His Father.

The priest then says the Introit. It is a solemn opening anthem, in which the Church, at the very commencement of the holy Sacrifice, gives expression to the sentiments which fill her heart.

It is followed by nine exclamations, which are even more earnest, for they ask for mercy. In addressing them to God, the Church unites herself with the nine choirs of angels, who are standing round the altar of heaven, one and the same as this before which you are kneeling.

To the Father:

Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy on us! Lord, have mercy on us! Lord, have mercy on us!

To the Son:

Christe eleison. Christe eleison. Christe eleison.

Christ, have mercy on us! Christ, have mercy on us! Christ, have mercy on us!

II

As a preparation for hearing it worthily, you may thus pray, together with both priest and deacon:

Munda cor meum ac labia mea, omnipotens Deus, qui labia Isaiæ prophetæ calculo mundasti ignito; ita me tua grata miseratione dignare mundare, ut sanctum Evangelium tuum digne valeam nuntiare. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Dominus sit in corde meo, et in labiis meis: ut digne et competenter annuntiem Evangelium suum: In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

Alas! these ears of mine are but too often defiled with the world's vain words: cleanse them, O Lord, that so I may hear the words of eternal life, and treasure them in my heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Grant to thy ministers thy grace that they may faithfully explain thy law; that so all, both pastors and flock, may be united to thee for ever. Amen.

You will stand during the Gospel, as though you were awaiting the orders of your Lord; at the commencement, make the sign of the cross on your forehead, lips, and breast; and then listen to every word of the priest or deacon. Let your heart be ready and obedient. 'While my Beloved was speaking,' says the bride in the Canticle, 'my soul melted within me.'¹ If you have not such love as this, have at least the humble submission of Samuel, and say: 'Speak, Lord! thy servant heareth.'²

After the Gospel, if the priest says the Symbol of faith, the Credo, you will say it with him. Faith is that gift of God, without which we cannot please Him. It is faith that makes us see 'the light which shineth in darkness,' and which the darkness of unbelief 'did not comprehend.' Let us then say with the Catholic Church, our mother:

THE NICENE CREED.

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem cæli et terræ, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

¹ Cant. v. 6. ² 1 Kings iii. 10.

Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum. Et ex Patre natum ante omnia sæcula, Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero. Genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem, descendit de cælis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto, ex Maria Virgine; ET HOMO FACTUS EST. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est. Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas. Et ascendit in cælum; sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria judicare vivos et mortuos; cujus regni non erit finis.

Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur; qui locutus est per prophetas. Et unam sanctam Catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi sæculi. Amen.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God. And born of the Father before all ages; God of God; light of light; true God of true God. Begotten, not made; consubstantial with the Father; by whom all things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven. And became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary: AND WAS MADE MAN. He was crucified also for us, under Pontius Pilate, suffered, and was buried. And the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And he is to come again with glory, to judge the living and the dead; of whose kingdom there shall be no end.

And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son. Who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. And one holy Catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The priest and the people should, by this time, have their hearts ready: it is time to prepare the offering itself. And here we come to the second part of the holy Mass, which is called the Oblation, and immediately follows that which was named the Mass of Catechumens, on account of its being formerly the only part at which the candidates for Baptism had a right to be present.

See, then, dear Christians! bread and wine are about to be offered to God, as being the noblest of inanimate creatures, since they are made for the nourishment of man; and even that is only a poor material image of what they are destined to become in our Christian Sacrifice. Their substance will soon give place to God Himself, and of themselves nothing will remain but the appearances. Happy creatures, thus to yield up their own being, that God may take its place! We, too, are to undergo a like transformation, when, as the apostle expresses it, 'that which is mortal will be swallowed up by life.'¹ Until that happy change shall be realized, let us offer ourselves to God as often as we see the bread and wine presented to Him in the holy Sacrifice; and let us glorify Him, who, by assuming our human nature, has made us 'partakers of the divine nature.'²

The priest again turns to the people with the usual salutation, as though he would warn them to redouble their attention. Let us read the Offertory with him, and when he offers the Host to God, let us unite with him in saying:

Suscipe, sancte Pater, omnipotens, æterne Deus, hanc immaculatam hostiam, quam ego indignus famulus tuus offero tibi, Deo meo vivo et vero, pro innumerabilibus peccatis et offensionibus et negligentiis meis, et pro omnibus circumstantibus, sed et pro omnibus fidelibus christianis vivis atque defunctis; ut mihi et illis proficiat ad salutem in vitam æternam. Amen.

All that we have, O Lord, comes from thee, and belongs to thee; it is just, therefore, that we return it unto thee. But how wonderful art thou in the inventions of thy immense love! This bread which we are offering to thee is to give place, in a few moments, to the sacred Body of Jesus. We beseech thee, receive, together with this oblation, our hearts which long to live by thee, and to cease to live their own life of self.

¹ 2 Cor. v. 4. ² 2 St. Peter i. 4.

When the priest puts the wine into the chalice, and then mingles with it a drop of water, let your thoughts turn to the divine mystery of the Incarnation, which is the source of our hope and our salvation, and say:

Deus, qui humanæ substantiæ dignitatem mirabiliter condidisti, et mirabilius reformasti: da nobis per hujus aquæ et vini mysterium, ejus divinitatis esse consortes, qui humanitatis nostræ fieri dignatus est particeps, Jesus Christus, Filius tuus, Dominus noster: qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

O Lord Jesus, who art the true vine, and whose Blood, like a generous wine, has been poured forth under the pressure of the cross! thou hast deigned to unite thy divine nature to our weak humanity, which is signified by this drop of water. Oh, come and make us partakers of thy divinity, by showing thyself to us in thy sweet and wondrous visit.

The priest then offers the mixture of wine and water, beseeching God graciously to accept this oblation, which is so soon to be changed into the reality, of which it is now but the figure. Meanwhile, say, in union with the priest:

Offerimus tibi, Domine, calicem salutaris, tuam deprecantes clementiam: ut in conspectu divinæ Majestatis tuæ, pro nostra et totius mundi salute, cum odore suavitatis ascendat. Amen.

Graciously accept these gifts, O sovereign Creator of all things. Let them be fitted for the divine transformation, which will make them, from being mere offerings of created things, the instrument of the world's salvation.

After having thus held up the sacred gifts towards heaven, the priest bows down; let us, also, humble ourselves, and say:

In spiritu humilitatis, et in animo contrito, suscipiamur a te, Domine: et sic fiat sacrificium nostrum in conspectu tuo hodie, ut placeat tibi, Domine Deus.

Though daring, as we do, to approach thy altar, O Lord, we cannot forget that we are sinners. Have mercy on us, and delay not to send us thy Son, who is our saving Host.

Let us next invoke the Holy Ghost, whose operation is about to produce on the altar the presence of the Son of God, as it did in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, in the divine mystery of the Incarnation.

Veni, Sanctificator omnipotens æterne Deus, et benedic hoc sacrificium tuo sancto nomini præparatum.

Come, O divine Spirit, make fruitful the offering which is upon the altar, and produce in our hearts him whom they desire.

If it be a High Mass, the priest, before proceeding any further with the Sacrifice, takes the thurible a second time, after blessing the incense in these words:

Per intercessionem beati Michaelis archangeli, stantis a dextris altaris incensi, et omnium electorum suorum, incensum istud dignetur Dominus benedicere, et in odorem suavitatis accipere: Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Through the intercession of blessed Michael the archangel, standing at the right hand of the altar of incense, and of all his elect, may our Lord deign to bless this incense, and to receive it for an odour of sweetness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

He then censes first the bread and wine which have just been offered, and then the altar itself; hereby inviting the faithful to make their prayer, which is signified by the incense, more and more fervent, the nearer the solemn moment approaches. St. John tells us that the incense he beheld burning on the altar in heaven is made up of the 'prayers of the saints'; let us take a share in those prayers, and with all the ardour of holy desires let us say with the priest:

Incensum istud, a te benedictum, ascendat ad te, Domine, et descendat super nos misericordia tua.

May this incense, blessed by thee, ascend to thee, O Lord, and may thy mercy descend upon us.

Dirigatur, Domine, oratio mea sicut incensum in conspectu tuo: elevatio manuum mearum sacrificium vespertinum. Pone, Domine, custodiam ori meo, et ostium circumstantiæ labiis meis; ut non declinet cor meum in verba malitiæ, ad excusandas excusationes in peccatis.

Let my prayer, O Lord, be directed like incense in thy sight: the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth and a door round about my lips; that my heart may not incline to evil words, to make excuses in sins.

Giving back the thurible to the deacon, the priest says:

Accendat in nobis Dominus ignem sui amoris, et flammam æternæ caritatis. Amen.

May the Lord enkindle in us the fire of his love, and the flame of eternal charity. Amen.

But the thought of his own unworthiness becomes more intense than ever in the heart of the priest. The public confession which he made at the foot of the altar is not enough; he would now at the altar itself express to the people, in the language of a solemn rite, how far he knows himself to be from that spotless sanctity wherewith he should approach to God. He washes his hands. Our hands signify our works; and the priest, though by his priesthood he bear the office of Jesus Christ, is, by his works, but man. Seeing your Father thus humble himself, do you also make an act of humility, and say with him these verses of the psalm:

PSALM 25

Lavabo inter innocentes manus meas: et circumdabo altare tuum, Domine,

Ut audiam vocem laudis; et enarrem universa mirabilia tua.

Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuæ, et locum habitationis gloriæ tuæ.

Ne perdas cum impiis, Deus, animam meam, et cum viris sanguinum vitam meam.

In quorum manibus iniquitates sunt: dextera eorum repleta est muneribus.

Ego autem in innocentia mea ingressus sum: redime me, et miserere mei.

Pes meus stetit in directo: in ecclesiis benedicam te, Domine.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.

Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

I, too, would wash my hands, O Lord, and become like unto those who are innocent, that so I may be worthy to come near thy altar, and hear thy sacred canticles, and then go and proclaim to the world the wonders of thy goodness. I love the beauty of thy house, which thou art about to make the dwelling-place of thy glory. Leave me not, O God, in the midst of them that are enemies both to thee and me. Thy mercy having separated me from them, I entered on the path of innocence and was restored to thy grace; but have pity on my weakness still; redeem me yet more, thou who hast so mercifully brought me back to the right path. In the midst of these thy faithful people, I give thee thanks. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The priest, taking encouragement from the act of humility he has just made, returns to the middle of the altar, and bows down full of respectful awe, begging of God to receive graciously the Sacrifice which is about to be offered to Him, and expresses the intentions for which it is offered. Let us do the same.

Suscipe, sancta Trinitas, hanc oblationem, quam tibi offerimus ob memoriam Passionis, Resurrectionis et Ascensionis Jesu Christi Domini nostri: et in honorem beatæ Mariæ semper Virginis, et beati Joannis Baptistæ, et sanctorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli, et istorum, et omnium sanctorum: ut illis proficiat ad honorem, nobis autem ad salutem: et illi pro nobis intercedere dignentur in cælis, quorum memoriam agimus in terris. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

O holy Trinity, graciously accept the sacrifice we have begun. We offer it in remembrance of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. Permit thy Church to join with this intention that of honouring the ever glorious Virgin Mary, the blessed Baptist John, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, them whose relics lie here under our altar awaiting their resurrection, and the saints whose memory we this day celebrate. Increase the glory they are enjoying, and receive the prayers they address to thee for us.

The priest again turns to the people; it is for the last time before the sacred mysteries are accomplished. He feels anxious to excite the fervour of the people. Neither does the thought of his own unworthiness leave him; and before entering the cloud with the Lord, he seeks support in the prayers of his brethren who are present. He says to them:

Orate fratres: ut meum ac vestrum sacrificium acceptabile fiat apud Deum Patrem omnipotentem.

Brethren, pray that my Sacrifice, which is yours also, may be acceptable to God, our almighty Father.

This request made, he turns again to the altar, and you will see his face no more until our Lord Himself shall have come down from heaven upon that same altar.

Assure the priest that he has your prayers, and say to him:

Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium de manibus tuis, ad laudem et gloriam nominis sui, ad utilitatem quoque nostram totiusque Ecclesiæ suæ sanctæ.

May our Lord accept this Sacrifice at thy hands, to the praise and glory of his name, and for our benefit and that of his holy Church throughout the world.

Here the priest recites the prayers called the Secrets, in which he presents the petition of the whole Church for God's acceptance of the Sacrifice, and then immediately begins to fulfil that great duty of religion—thanksgiving. So far he has adored God, and has sued for mercy; he has still to give thanks for the blessings bestowed on us by the bounty of our heavenly Father, the chief of which is His having sent us His own Son. The blessing of a new visit from this divine Word is just upon us; and in expectation of it, and in the name of the whole Church, the priest is about to give expression to the gratitude of all mankind. In order to excite the faithful to that intensity of gratitude which is due to God for all His gifts, he interrupts his own and their silent prayer by terminating it aloud, saying:

Per omnia sæcula sæculorum. For ever and ever.

In the same feeling, answer your Amen! Then he continues:

℣. Dominus vobiscum.
℟. Et cum spiritu tuo.
℣. Sursum corda!

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.
℣. Lift up your hearts!

Let your response be sincere:

℟. Habemus ad Dominum.

℟. We have them fixed on the Lord.

And when he adds:

℣. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.

℣. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Answer him with all the earnestness of your soul:

℟. Dignum et justum est.

℟. It is meet and just.

Then the priest:

THE PREFACE

Vere dignum et justum est, æquum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere: Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus: per Christum Dominum nostrum. Per quem majestatem tuam laudant Angeli, adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potestates; Cæli cælorumque Virtutes ac beata Seraphim, socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces ut admitti jubeas deprecamur supplici confessione dicentes:

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always and in all places give thanks to thee, O Holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God; through Christ our Lord; by whom the Angels praise thy majesty, the Dominations adore it, the Powers tremble before it; the Heavens and the heavenly Virtues, and the blessed Seraphim, with common jubilee, glorify it. Together with whom, we beseech thee that we may be admitted to join our humble voices, saying:

Here unite with the priest, who, on his part, unites himself with the blessed spirits, in giving thanks to God for the unspeakable gift; bow down and say:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth!

Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua.

Hosanna in excelsis!

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.

Hosanna in excelsis!

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts!

Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed be the Saviour who is coming to us in the name of the Lord who sends him.

Hosanna be to him in the highest!

After these words commences the Canon, that mysterious prayer, in the midst of which heaven bows down to earth, and God descends unto us. The voice of the priest is no longer heard; yea, even at the altar all is silence. It was thus, says the Book of Wisdom, 'in the quiet of silence, and while the night was in the midst of her course, that the almighty Word came down from His royal throne.'¹ Let a profound respect stay all distractions, and keep our senses in submission to the soul. Let us respectfully fix our eyes on what the priest does in the holy place.

THE CANON OF THE MASS

In this mysterious colloquy with the great God of heaven and earth, the first prayer of the sacrificing priest is for the Catholic Church, his and our mother.

Te igitur, clementissime Pater, per Jesum Christum Filium tuum Dominum nostrum, supplices rogamus ac petimus, uti accepta habeas et benedicas hæc dona, hæc munera, hæc sancta sacrificia illibata; in primis quæ tibi offerimus pro Ecclesia tua sancta Catholica; quam pacificare, custodire, adunare, et regere digneris toto orbe terrarum, una cum famulo tuo Papa nostro N. et Antistite nostro N. et omnibus orthodoxis atque Catholicæ et apostolicæ fidei cultoribus.

O God, who manifestest thyself unto us by means of the mysteries which thou hast entrusted to thy holy Church our mother, we beseech thee, by the merits of this sacrifice, that thou wouldst remove all those hindrances which oppose her during her pilgrimage in this world. Give her peace and unity. Do thou thyself guide our holy Father the Pope, thy Vicar on earth. Direct thou our Bishop, who is our sacred link of unity; and watch over all the orthodox children of the Catholic, apostolic, Roman Church.

Here pray, together with the priest, for those whose interests should be dearest to you.

Memento, Domine, famulorum famularumque tuarum N. et N., et omnium circumstantium, quorum tibi fides cognita est, et nota devotio: pro quibus tibi offerimus, vel qui tibi offerunt hoc sacrificium laudis pro se suisque omnibus, pro redemptione animarum suarum, pro spe salutis et incolumitatis suæ; tibique reddunt vota sua æterno Deo vivo et vero.

Permit me, O God, to intercede with thee for special blessings upon those for whom thou knowest that I have a special obligation to pray: * * * Apply to them the fruits of this divine Sacrifice, which is offered unto thee in the name of all mankind. Visit them by thy grace, pardon them their sins, grant them the blessings of this present life and of that which is eternal.

Here let us commemorate the saints; they are that portion of the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which is called the Church triumphant.

Communicantes, et memoriam venerantes, in primis gloriosæ semper Virginis Mariæ, Genitricis Dei et Domini nostri Jesu Christi: sed et beatorum apostolorum ac martyrum tuorum, Petri et Pauli, Andreæ, Jacobi, Joannis, Thomæ, Jacobi, Philippi, Bartholomæi, Matthæi, Simonis, et Thaddæi: Lini, Cleti, Clementis, Xysti, Cornelii, Cypriani, Laurentii, Chrysogoni, Joannis et Pauli, Cosmæ et Damiani, et omnium Sanctorum tuorum: quorum meritis precibusque concedas, ut in omnibus protectionis tuæ muniamur auxilio. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

But the offering of this Sacrifice, O my God, does not unite us with those only of our brethren who are still in this transient life of trial: it brings us closer to those also who are already in possession of heaven. Therefore it is that we wish to honour by it the memory of the glorious and ever Virgin Mary, of whom Jesus was born to us; of the apostles, confessors, virgins, and of all the saints; that they may assist us by their powerful intercession to be worthy of this thy visit, and of contemplating thee, as they themselves now do, in the mansion of thy glory.

The priest, who up to this time has been praying with his hands extended, now joins them, and holds them over the bread and wine, as the high priest of the old Law was wont to do over the figurative victim; he thus expresses his intention of bringing these gifts more closely under the notice of the divine Majesty, and of marking them as the material offering whereby we express our dependence, and which, in a few instants, is to yield its place to the living Host, upon whom are laid all our iniquities.

Hanc igitur oblationem servitutis nostræ, sed et cunctæ familiæ tuæ, quæsumus, Domine, ut placatus accipias: diesque nostros in tua pace disponas, atque ab æterna damnatione nos eripi, et in electorum tuorum jubeas grege numerari. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Vouchsafe, O God, to accept the offering which this thine assembled family presents to thee as the homage of its most happy servitude. In return, give us peace, save us from thy wrath, and number us among thy elect, through him who is coming to us—thy Son, our Saviour.

Quam oblationem tu, Deus, in omnibus, quæsumus, benedictam, adscriptam, ratam, rationabilem, acceptabilemque facere digneris: ut nobis Corpus et Sanguis fiat dilectissimi Filii tui Domini nostri Jesu Christi.

Yea, Lord, this is the moment when this bread is to become his sacred Body, which is our food; and this wine is to be changed into his Blood, which is our drink. Ah! delay no longer, but bring us into the presence of this divine Son, our Saviour!

And here the priest ceases to act as man; he now becomes more than a mere minister of the Church. His word becomes that of Jesus Christ, with its power and efficacy. Prostrate yourself in profound adoration, for the Emmanuel—that is, 'God with us'—is coming upon our altar.

Qui pridie quam pateretur accepit panem in sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas: et elevatis oculis in cælum, ad te Deum Patrem suum omnipotentem, tibi gratias agens, benedixit, fregit, deditque discipulis suis, dicens: Accipite, et manducate ex hoc omnes. HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM.

What, O God of heaven and earth, my Jesus, the long-expected Messias, what else can I do at this solemn moment, but adore thee in silence, as my sovereign Master, and open to thee my whole heart, as to its dearest King? Come, then, O Lord Jesus, come!

The divine Lamb is now lying on our altar! Glory and love be to Him for ever! But he has come that He may be immolated. Hence the priest, who is the minister of the designs of the Most High, immediately pronounces over the chalice the sacred words which follow, that will produce the great mystical immolation, by the separation of the Victim's Body and Blood. After those words, the substances of both bread and wine have ceased to exist; the species alone are left, veiling, as it were, the Body and Blood of our Redeemer, lest fear should keep us from a mystery, which God gives us for the very purpose of infusing confidence into our hearts. While the priest is pronouncing those words, let us associate ourselves to the angels, who tremblingly gaze upon this deepest of wonders.

Simili modo postquam cenatum est, accipiens et hunc præclarum Calicem in sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas, item tibi gratias agens, benedixit, deditque discipulis suis dicens: Accipite et bibite ex eo omnes. HIC EST ENIM CALIX SANGUINIS MEI NOVI ET ÆTERNI TESTAMENTI, MYSTERIUM FIDEI; QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDETUR IN REMISSIONEM PECCATORUM. Hæc quotiescumque feceritis, in mei memoriam facietis.

¹ Wisd. xviii. 14, 15.

O precious Blood! thou price of my salvation! I adore thee! Wash away my sins and make me whiter than snow. O Lamb ever slain, yet ever living, thou comest to take away the sins of the world! Come, also, and reign in me by thy power and by thy love.

The priest is now face to face with God. He again raises his hands towards heaven, and tells our heavenly Father that the oblation now on the altar is no longer an earthly material offering, but the Body and Blood, the whole Person, of His divine Son.

Unde et memores, Domine, nos servi tui, sed et plebs tua sancta, ejusdem Christi Filii tui Domini nostri tam beatæ Passionis, nec non et ab inferis Resurrectionis, sed et in cœlos gloriosæ Ascensionis: offerimus præclaræ Majestati tuæ de tuis donis ac datis, Hostiam puram, Hostiam sanctam, Hostiam immaculatam: Panem sanctum vitæ æternæ, et Calicem salutis perpetuæ.

Father of infinite holiness, the Host so long expected is here before thee! Behold this thy eternal Son, who suffered a bitter Passion, rose again with glory from the grave, and ascended triumphantly into heaven. He is thy Son; but he is also our Host, Host pure and spotless, our meat and drink of everlasting life.

Supra quæ propitio ac sereno vultu respicere digneris: et accepta habere, sicuti accepta habere dignatus es munera pueri tui justi Abel, et sacrificium Patriarchæ nostri Abrahæ, et quod tibi obtulit summus sacerdos tuus Melchisedech, sanctum sacrificium, immaculatam Hostiam.

Heretofore thou acceptedst the sacrifice of the innocent lambs offered unto thee by Abel; and the sacrifice which Abraham made thee of his son Isaac, who, though immolated, yet lived; and lastly the sacrifice, which Melchisedech presented to thee, of bread and wine. Receive our Sacrifice, which surpasses all those others. It is the Lamb of whom all others could be but figures; it is the undying Victim; it is the Body of thy Son, who is the Bread of life, and his Blood, which, whilst a drink of immortality for us, is a tribute adequate to thy glory.

The priest bows down to the altar, and kisses it as the throne of love on which is seated the Saviour of men.

Supplices te rogamus, omnipotens Deus, jube hæc perferri per manus sancti angeli tui in sublime altare tuum, in conspectu divinæ Majestatis tuæ: ut quotquot ex hac altaris participatione, sacrosanctum Filii tui Corpus et Sanguinem sumpserimus, omni benedictione cælesti et gratia repleamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

But, O God of infinite power! these sacred gifts are not only on this altar here below: they are also on that sublime altar in heaven, which is before the throne of thy divine Majesty. These two altars are one and the same, on which is accomplished the great mystery of thy glory and our salvation. Vouchsafe to make us partakers of the Body and Blood of the august Victim from whom flow every grace and blessing.

Nor is the moment less favourable for our making supplication for the Church suffering. Let us, therefore, ask the divine Liberator, who has come down among us, that He mercifully visit, by a ray of His consoling light, the dark abode of purgatory; and permit His Blood to flow, as a stream of mercy's dew, from this our altar, and refresh the panting captives there. Let us pray expressly for those among them who have a claim upon our suffrages.

Memento etiam, Domine, famulorum famularumque tuarum N. et N., qui nos præcesserunt cum signo fidei, et dormiunt in somno pacis. Ipsis, Domine, et omnibus in Christo quiescentibus, locum refrigerii, lucis, et pacis, ut indulgeas, deprecamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Dear Jesus! let the happiness of this thy visit extend to every portion of thy Church. Thy grace gladdens the elect in the holy city; even our mortal eyes can see thee beneath the veil of our delighted faith; ah! hide not thyself from those brethren of ours, who are imprisoned in the abode of expiation. Be thou refreshment to them in their flames, light in their darkness, and peace in their agonies of torment.

This duty of charity fulfilled, let us pray for ourselves, sinners, alas! and who profit so little by the visit which our Saviour pays us. Let us, together with the priest, strike our breast, saying:

Nobis quoque peccatoribus famulis tuis, de multitudine miserationum tuarum sperantibus, partem aliquam et societatem donare digneris cum tuis sanctis apostolis et martyribus; cum Joanne, Stephano, Mathia, Barnaba, Ignatio, Alexandro, Marcellino, Petro, Felicitate, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucia, Agnete, Cæcilia, Anastasia, et omnibus sanctis tuis: intra quorum nos consortium, non æstimator meriti, sed veniæ, quæsumus, largitor admitte; per Christum Dominum nostrum. Per quem hæc omnia, Domine, semper bona creas, sanctificas, vivificas, benedicis et præstas nobis; per ipsum et cum ipso, et in ipso, est tibi Deo Patri omnipotenti, in unitate Spiritus Sancti, omnis honor et gloria.

Alas! we are poor sinners, O God of all sanctity! yet do we hope that thine infinite mercy will grant us to share thy kingdom; not indeed by reason of our works, which deserve little else than punishment, but because of the merits of this Sacrifice, which we are offering unto thee. Remember, too, the merits of thy holy apostles, of thy holy martyrs, of thy holy virgins, and of all thy saints. Grant us, by their intercession, grace in this world, and glory eternal in the next: which we ask of thee, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son. It is by him thou bestowest upon us thy blessings of life and sanctification: and through him also, with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, may honour and glory be to thee!

While saying the last of these words the priest has taken up the sacred Host, which was upon the altar; he has held it over the chalice, thus reuniting the Body and Blood of the divine Victim, in order to show that He is now immortal. Then raising up both chalice and Host, he offers to God the noblest and most perfect homage which the divine Majesty could receive.

This sublime and mysterious rite ends the Canon. The silence of the mysteries is interrupted. The priest concludes his long prayers by saying aloud, and so giving the faithful the opportunity of expressing their desire that his supplications be granted:

Per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

For ever and ever.

Answer him with faith, and in a sentiment of union with your holy mother the Church:

Amen.

Amen! I believe the mystery which has just been accomplished. I unite myself to the offering which has been made, and to the petitions of the Church.

It is now time to recite the prayer taught us by our Saviour Himself. Let it ascend to heaven together with the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. How could it be otherwise than heard, when He Himself who drew it up for us is in our very hands now while we say it? As this prayer belongs in common to all God's children, the priest recites it aloud, and begins by inviting us all to join in it; he says:

OREMUS

Præceptis salutaribus moniti, et divina institutione formati, audemus dicere:

LET US PRAY

Having been taught by a saving precept, and following the form given us by divine instruction, we thus presume to speak:

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Pater noster, qui es in cælis, sanctificetur nomen tuum: adveniat regnum tuum: fiat voluntas tua, sicut in cælo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie: et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris: et ne nos inducas in tentationem.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: thy kingdom come: thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread: and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation.

Let us answer with a deep feeling of our misery:

Sed libera nos a malo.

But deliver us from evil.

The priest falls once more into the silence of the holy mysteries. His first word is an affectionate Amen to your last petition—deliver us from evil—on which he forms his own next prayer: and could he pray for anything more needed? Evil surrounds us everywhere; and the Lamb on our altar has been sent to expiate it and to deliver us from it.

Libera nos, quæsumus, Domine, ab omnibus malis, præteritis, præsentibus et futuris: et intercedente beata et gloriosa semper Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beatis apostolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque Andrea, et omnibus sanctis, da propitius pacem in diebus nostris: ut ope misericordiæ tuæ adjuti, et a peccato simus semper liberi, et ab omni perturbatione securi. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus.

How many, O Lord, are the evils which beset us! Evils past, which are the wounds left on the soul by her sins, which strengthen her wicked propensities. Evils present—that is, the sins now, at this very time, upon our soul; the weakness of this poor soul, and the temptations which molest her. There are, also, future evils—that is, the chastisement which our sins deserve from the hand of thy justice. In presence of this Host of our salvation, we beseech thee, O Lord, to deliver us from all these evils, and to accept in our favour the intercession of Mary the Mother of Jesus, of the holy apostles, Peter and Paul and Andrew: liberate us, break our chains, give us peace through Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee liveth and reigneth God.

The priest is anxious to announce the peace, which he has asked and obtained; he therefore finishes his prayer aloud, saying:

Per omnia sæcula sæculorum.
℟. Amen.

World without end. ℟. Amen.

Then he says:

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum.

May the peace of our Lord be ever with you.

To this paternal wish reply:

℟. Et cum spiritu tuo.

℟. And with thy spirit.

The mystery is drawing to a close; God is about to be united with man, and man with God, by means of Communion. But first, an imposing and sublime rite takes place at the altar. So far, the priest has announced the death of Jesus; it is time to proclaim His resurrection. To this end, he reverently breaks the sacred Host; and having divided it into three parts, he puts one into the chalice, thus reuniting the Body and Blood of the immortal Victim. Do you adore, and say:

Hæc commixtio et consecratio Corporis et Sanguinis Domini nostri Jesu Christi, fiat accipientibus nobis in vitam æternam. Amen.

Glory be to thee, O Saviour of the world, who didst in thy Passion permit thy precious Blood to be separated from thy sacred Body, afterwards uniting them again together by thy divine power.

Offer now your prayers to the ever-living Lamb, whom St. John saw on the altar of heaven, 'standing though slain':¹ say to this your Lord and King, who has taken upon Himself all our iniquities in order to wash them away by His Blood:

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us!

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us!

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, give us peace.

Peace is the grand object of our Saviour's coming into the world: He is the Prince of peace.² The divine Sacrament of the Eucharist ought, therefore, to be the mystery of peace and the bond of Catholic unity; for, as the apostle says, 'all we who partake of one Bread are all one bread and one body.'³ It is on this account that the priest, now that he is on the point of receiving, in Communion, the sacred Host, prays that fraternal peace may be preserved in the Church, and more especially in this portion of it, which is assembled around the altar. Pray with him, and for the same blessing:

Domine Jesu Christe, qui dixisti apostolis tuis: Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis: ne respicias peccata mea, sed fidem Ecclesiæ tuæ: eamque secundum voluntatem tuam pacificare et coadunare digneris. Qui vivis et regnas Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, who saidst to thine apostles, 'My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you': regard not my sins, but the faith of thy Church, and grant her that peace and unity which is according to thy will. Who livest and reignest God, for ever and ever. Amen.

If it be a High Mass, the priest here gives the kiss of peace to the deacon, who gives it to the subdeacon, and he to the choir. During this ceremony, you should excite within yourself feelings of Christian charity, and pardon your enemies, if you have any. Then continue to pray with the priest:

Domine Jesu Christe, Fili Dei vivi, qui ex voluntate Patris, co-operante Spiritu Sancto, per mortem tuam mundum vivificasti: libera me per hoc sacrosanctum Corpus et Sanguinem tuum, ab omnibus iniquitatibus meis, et universis malis: et fac me tuis semper inhærere mandatis, et a te nunquam separari permittas: Qui cum eodem Deo Patre et Spiritu Sancto vivis et regnas Deus in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who according to the will of the Father, through the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, hast, by thy death, given life to the world; deliver me by this thy most sacred Body and Blood from all mine iniquities, and from all evils; and make me always adhere to thy commandments, and never suffer me to be separated from thee, who with the same God the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest God for ever and ever. Amen.

¹ Apoc. v. 6.
² Is. ix. 6.
³ 1 Cor. x. 17.

If you are going to Communion at this Mass, say the following prayer; otherwise, prepare yourself for a spiritual Communion:

Perceptio Corporis tui, Domine Jesu Christe, quod ego indignus sumere præsumo, non mihi proveniat in judicium et condemnationem: sed pro tua pietate prosit mihi ad tutamentum mentis et corporis, et ad medelam percipiendam. Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre, in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus per omnia sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Let not the participation of thy Body, O Lord Jesus Christ, which I, though unworthy, presume to receive, turn to my judgment and condemnation; but, through thy mercy, may it be a safeguard and remedy both to my soul and body. Who with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest, for ever and ever. Amen.

When the priest takes the Host into his hands, in order to receive it in Communion, say:

Panem cælestem accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo.

Come, my dear Jesus, come!

When he strikes his breast, confessing his unworthiness, say thrice with him these words, and in the same dispositions as the centurion of the Gospel, who first used them:

Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea.

Lord! I am not worthy that thou enter under my roof; say it only with one word of thine, and my soul shall be healed.

While the priest is receiving the sacred Host, if you also are to communicate, profoundly adore your God, who is ready to take up His abode within you; and again say to Him with the bride: 'Come, Lord Jesus, come!'¹

But should you not intend to receive sacramentally, make here a spiritual Communion. Adore Jesus Christ who thus visits your soul by His grace, and say to Him:

¹ Apoc. xxii. 20.

Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam meam in vitam æternam. Amen.

I give thee, O Jesus, this heart of mine, that thou mayst dwell in it, and do with me what thou wilt.

Then the priest takes the chalice, in thanksgiving, and says:

Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quæ retribuit mihi? Calicem salutaris accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo. Laudans invocabo Dominum, et ab inimicis meis salvus ero.

What return shall I make to the Lord for all he hath given to me? I will take the chalice of salvation and will call upon the name of the Lord. Praising I will call upon the Lord, and I shall be delivered from mine enemies.

But if you are to make a sacramental Communion, you should, at this moment of the priest's receiving the precious Blood, again adore the God who is coming to you, and keep to your prayer: 'Come, Lord Jesus, come!'

If you are going to communicate only spiritually, again adore your divine Master, and say to Him:

Sanguis Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam meam in vitam æternam. Amen.

I unite myself to thee, my beloved Jesus! do thou unite thyself to me, and never let us be separated.

It is here that you must approach to the altar, if you are going to Communion.

The Communion being finished, while the priest is purifying the chalice the first time, say:

Quod ore sumpsimus, Domine, pura mente capiamus; et de munere temporali fiat nobis remedium sempiternum.

Thou hast visited me, O God, in these days of my pilgrimage: give me grace to treasure up the fruits of this visit, for my future eternity.

While the priest is purifying the chalice the second time, say:

Corpus tuum, Domine, quod sumpsi, et Sanguis quem potavi, adhæreat visceribus meis: et præsta ut in me non remaneat scelerum macula, quem pura et sancta refecerunt Sacramenta. Qui vivis et regnas in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Be thou for ever blessed, O my Saviour, for having admitted me to the sacred mystery of thy Body and Blood. May my heart and senses preserve, by thy grace, the purity thou hast imparted to them, and may I be thus rendered less unworthy of thy divine visit.

The priest having read the anthem called the Communion, which is the first part of his thanksgiving for the favour just received from God, whereby He has renewed His divine presence among us, turns to the people, greeting them with the usual salutation; and then recites the prayer, called the Postcommunion, which is the continuation of the thanksgiving. You will join him here also, and thank God for the unspeakable gift He has just lavished upon you, of admitting you to the celebration and participation of mysteries so divine.

As soon as these prayers have been recited, the priest again turns to the people; and, full of joy at the immense favour he and they have been receiving, he says:

℣. Dominus vobiscum.
℟. Et cum spiritu tuo.

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.

Answer him:

℟. Et cum spiritu tuo.

℟. And with thy spirit.

The deacon, or (if it be not a High Mass) the priest himself, then says:

Ite, missa est. ℟. Deo gratias.

Go, the Mass is finished. ℟. Thanks be to God.

The priest makes a last prayer, before giving you his blessing; pray with him:

Placeat tibi, sancta Trinitas, obsequium servitutis meæ; et præsta ut sacrificium, quod oculis tuæ Majestatis indignus obtuli, tibi sit acceptabile, mihique et omnibus pro quibus illud obtuli sit, te miserante, propitiabile. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Eternal thanks be to thee, O adorable Trinity, for the mercy thou hast shown to me, in permitting me to assist at this divine Sacrifice. Pardon me the negligence and coldness wherewith I have received so great a favour; and deign to confirm the blessing, which thy minister is about to give me in thy name.

The priest raises his hand, and blesses you thus:

Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus.

May the almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, bless you!

℟. Amen.

He then concludes the Mass, by reading the first fourteen verses of the Gospel according to St. John, which tell us of the eternity of the Word, and of the mercy which led Him to take upon Himself our flesh and to dwell among us. Pray that you may be of the number of those who received Him when He came unto His own people, and who, thereby, were made sons of God.

℣. Dominus vobiscum.
℟. Et cum spiritu tuo.

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.

THE LAST GOSPEL

Initium sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem.

Cap. I.

In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Hoc erat in principio apud Deum. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt: et sine ipso factum est nihil; quod factum est, in ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum; et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebræ eam non comprehenderunt. Fuit homo missus a Deo, cui nomen erat Joannes. Hic venit in testimonium, ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine, ut omnes crederent per illum. Non erat ille lux, sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine. Erat lux vera, quæ illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum. In mundo erat, et mundus per ipsum factus est, et mundus eum non cognovit. In propria venit, et sui eum non receperunt. Quotquot autem receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri; his qui credunt in nomine ejus: qui non ex sanguinibus, neque ex voluntate carnis, neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex Deo, nati sunt. ET VERBUM CARO FACTUM EST, et habitavit in nobis: et vidimus gloriam ejus, gloriam quasi Unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratiæ et veritatis.

℟. Deo gratias.

The beginning of the holy Gospel according to John.

Ch. I.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was made nothing that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. That was the true light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them he gave power to be made the sons of God; to them that believe in his name, who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, and dwelt among us; and we saw his glory, as it were the glory of the Only-Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

℟. Thanks be to God.

CHAPTER THE SECOND

ON THE OFFICE OF VESPERS, FOR SUNDAYS AND FEASTS, DURING THE TIME AFTER PENTECOST

THE Office of Vespers, or Evensong, consists firstly of the five following psalms. For certain feasts some of these psalms are changed for others appropriate to the day; we here give those for Sunday.

After the Pater and Ave have been said in secret, the Church commences this Hour with her favourite supplication:

℣. Deus, in adjutorium meum intende.

℟. Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.

Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen. Alleluia.

ANT. Dixit Dominus.

℣. Incline unto my aid, O God.

℟. O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Alleluia.

ANT. The Lord said.

The first psalm is a prophecy of the future glory of the Messias. The Son of David shall sit on the right hand of the heavenly Father. He is King; He is priest; He is Son of Man, and Son of God. His enemies will attack Him, but He will crush them. He will be humbled; but this voluntary humiliation will lead Him to the highest glory.

PSALM 109

Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis.

The Lord said to my Lord, his Son: Sit thou at my right hand, and reign with me.

Donec ponam inimicos tuos: scabellum pedum tuorum.

Until, on the day of thy last coming, I make thy enemies thy footstool.

Virgam virtutis tuæ emittet Dominus ex Sion: dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum.

O Christ! the Lord thy Father will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion: from thence rule thou in the midst of thy enemies.

Tecum principium in die virtutis tuæ in splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero ante luciferum genui te.

With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength, in the brightness of the saints: For the Father hath said to thee: From the womb before the day-star I begot thee.

Juravit Dominus, et non pænitebit eum: Tu es Sacerdos in æternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech.

The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent: he hath said, speaking to thee, the God-Man: Thou art a Priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedech.

Dominus a dextris tuis: confregit in die iræ suæ reges.

Therefore, O Father, the Lord, thy Son, is at thy right hand: he hath broken kings in the day of his wrath.

Judicabit in nationibus, implebit ruinas: conquassabit capita in terra multorum.

He shall also judge among nations: in that terrible coming, he shall fill the ruins of the world: he shall crush the heads in the land of many.

De torrente in via bibet: propterea exaltabit caput.

He cometh now in humility: he shall drink in the way of the torrent of sufferings: therefore, shall he lift up the head.

ANT. Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis.

ANT. The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand.

ANT. Magna opera Domini.

ANT. Great are the works of the Lord.

The following psalm commemorates the mercies of God to His people, the promised Covenant, the Redemption, His fidelity to His word. But it also tells us that the name of the Lord is terrible because it is holy; and concludes by admonishing us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

PSALM 110

Confitebor tibi, Domine, in toto corde meo: in consilio justorum et congregatione.

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: in the council of the just, and in the congregation.

Magna opera Domini: exquisita in omnes voluntates ejus.

Great are the works of the Lord: sought out according to all his wills.

Confessio et magnificentia opus ejus: et justitia ejus manet in sæculum sæculi.

His work is praise and magnificence: and his justice continueth for ever and ever.

Memoriam fecit mirabilium suorum, misericors et miserator Dominus: escam dedit timentibus se.

He hath made a remembrance of his wonderful works, being a merciful and gracious Lord: he hath given food to them that fear him.

Memor erit in sæculum testamenti sui: virtutem operum suorum annuntiabit populo suo.

He will be mindful for ever of his covenant with men: he will show forth to his people the power of his works.

Ut det illis hereditatem Gentium: opera manuum ejus veritas et judicium.

That he may give them his Church, the inheritance of the Gentiles: the works of his hands are truth and judgment.

Fidelia omnia mandata ejus, confirmata in sæculum sæculi: facta in veritate et æquitate.

All his commandments are faithful, confirmed for ever and ever: made in truth and equity.

Redemptionem misit populo suo: mandavit in æternum testamentum suum.

He hath sent redemption to his people: he hath thereby commanded his covenant for ever.

Sanctum et terribile nomen ejus: initium sapientiæ timor Domini.

Holy and terrible is his name: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Intellectus bonus omnibus facientibus eum: laudatio ejus manet in sæculum sæculi.

A good understanding to all that do it: his praise continueth for ever and ever.

ANT. Magna opera Domini: exquisita in omnes voluntates ejus.

ANT. Great are the works of the Lord: sought out according to all his wills.

ANT. Qui timet Dominum.

ANT. He that feareth the Lord.

The next psalm sings the happiness of the just man and his hopes on the day of his Lord's coming. It tells us, likewise, of the confusion of the sinner who shall have despised the mysteries of God's love towards mankind.

PSALM III

Beatus vir qui timet Dominum: in mandatis ejus volet nimis.

Potens in terra erit semen ejus: generatio rectorum benedicetur.

Gloria et divitiæ in domo ejus: et justitia ejus manet in sæculum sæculi.

Exortum est in tenebris lumen rectis: misericors et miserator et justus.

Jucundus homo, qui miseretur et commodat, disponet sermones suos in judicio: quia in æternum non commovebitur.

In memoria æterna erit justus: ab auditione mala non timebit.

Paratum cor ejus sperare in Domino, confirmatum est cor ejus: non commovebitur donec despiciat inimicos suos.

Dispersit, dedit pauperibus; justitia ejus manet in sæculum sæculi: cornu ejus exaltabitur in gloria.

Peccator videbit et irascetur, dentibus suis fremet et tabescet: desiderium peccatorum peribit.

ANT. Qui timet Dominum, in mandatis ejus cupit nimis.

ANT. Sit nomen Domini.

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord; he shall delight exceedingly in his commandments.

His seed shall be mighty upon earth; the generation of the righteous shall be blessed.

Glory and wealth shall be in his house; and his justice remaineth for ever and ever.

To the righteous a light is risen up in darkness; he is merciful, and compassionate, and just.

Acceptable is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth; he shall order his very words with judgment: because he shall not be moved for ever.

The just shall be in everlasting remembrance: he shall not fear the evil hearing.

His heart is ready to hope in the Lord; his heart is strengthened: he shall not be moved until he look over his enemies.

He hath distributed, he hath given to the poor; his justice remaineth for ever and ever: his horn shall be exalted in glory.

The wicked shall see, and shall be angry; he shall gnash with his teeth and pine away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

ANT. He that feareth the Lord shall delight exceedingly in his commandments.

ANT. May the name of the Lord.

The psalm Laudate pueri is a canticle of praise to the Lord, who from His high heaven has taken pity on the human race, and has vouchsafed to honour it by the Incarnation of His own Son.

PSALM 112

Laudate, pueri, Dominum: laudate nomen Domini.

Sit nomen Domini benedictum: ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.

A solis ortu usque ad occasum: laudabile nomen Domini.

Excelsus super omnes gentes Dominus: et super cælos gloria ejus.

Quis sicut Dominus Deus noster qui in altis habitat: et humilia respicit in cælo et in terra?

Suscitans a terra inopem: et de stercore erigens pauperem:

Ut collocet eum cum principibus: cum principibus populi sui.

Qui habitare facit sterilem in domo: matrem filiorum lætantem.

ANT. Sit nomen Domini benedictum in sæcula.

ANT. Deus autem noster.

Praise the Lord, ye children; praise ye the name of the Lord.

Blessed be the name of the Lord; from henceforth now and for ever.

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is worthy of praise.

The Lord is high above all nations: and his glory above the heavens.

Who is as the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high: and looketh down on the low things in heaven and in earth?

Raising up the needy from the earth: and lifting up the poor out of the dunghill;

That he may place him with princes: with the princes of his people.

Who maketh a barren woman to dwell in a house, the joyful mother of children.

ANT. May the name of the Lord be for ever blessed.

ANT. But our God.

The fifth psalm, In exitu, recounts the prodigies witnessed under the ancient Covenant: they were figures, whose realities were to be accomplished in the mission of the Son of God, who came to deliver Israel from Egypt, emancipate the Gentiles from their idolatry, and pour out a blessing on every man who will consent to fear and love the Lord.

PSALM 113

In exitu Israel de Ægypto: domus Jacob de populo barbaro.

Facta est Judæa sanctificatio ejus: Israel potestas ejus.

When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people.

Judea was made his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.

Mare vidit et fugit: Jordanis conversus est retrorsum.

Montes exsultaverunt ut arietes: et colles sicut agni ovium.

Quid est tibi mare quod fugisti: et tu, Jordanis, quia conversus es retrorsum?

Montes exsultastis sicut arietes: et colles sicut agni ovium?

A facie Domini mota est terra: a facie Dei Jacob.

Qui convertit petram in stagna aquarum: et rupem in fontes aquarum.

Non nobis, Domine, non nobis: sed nomini tuo da gloriam.

Super misericordia tua, et veritate tua: nequando dicant gentes: Ubi est Deus eorum?

Deus autem noster in cælo: omnia quæcumque voluit fecit.

Simulacra gentium argentum et aurum: opera manuum hominum.

Os habent, et non loquentur: oculos habent, et non videbunt.

Aures habent, et non audient: nares habent, et non odorabunt.

Manus habent, et non palpabunt: pedes habent, et non ambulabunt: non clamabunt in gutture suo.

Similes illis fiant qui faciunt ea: et omnes qui confidunt in eis.

Domus Israel speravit in Domino: adjutor eorum et protector eorum est.

Domus Aaron speravit in Domino: adjutor eorum et protector eorum est.

Qui timent Dominum, speraverunt in Domino: adjutor eorum et protector eorum est.

The sea saw and fled: Jordan was turned back.

The mountains skipped like rams: and the hills like the lambs of the flock.

What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou didst flee: and thou, O Jordan, that thou wast turned back?

Ye mountains that ye skip like rams: and ye hills like lambs of the flock?

At the presence of the Lord the earth was moved, at the presence of the God of Jacob.

Who turned the rock into pools of water, and the stony hills into fountains of waters.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us: but to thy name give glory.

For thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake: lest the Gentiles should say: Where is their God?

But our God is in heaven: he hath done all things whatsoever he would.

The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold: the works of the hands of men.

They have mouths, and speak not: they have eyes, and see not.

They have ears and hear not: they have noses, and smell not.

They have hands, and feel not: they have feet, and walk not: neither shall they cry out through their throat.

Let them that make them become like unto them: and all such as trust in them.

The house of Israel hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector.

The house of Aaron hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector.

They that feared the Lord have hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector.

Dominus memor fuit nostri: et benedixit nobis.

Benedixit domui Israel: benedixit domui Aaron.

Benedixit omnibus qui timent Dominum: pusillis cum majoribus.

Adjiciat Dominus super vos: super vos, et super filios vestros.

Benedicti vos a Domino: qui fecit cælum et terram.

Cælum cæli Domino: terram autem dedit filiis hominum.

Non mortui laudabunt te, Domine: neque omnes qui descendunt in infernum.

Sed nos qui vivimus, benedicimus Domino: ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.

ANT. Deus autem noster in cælo: omnia quæcumque voluit fecit.

The Lord hath been mindful of us, and hath blessed us.

He hath blessed the house of Israel: he hath blessed the house of Aaron.

He hath blessed all that fear the Lord, both little and great.

May the Lord add blessings upon you: upon you, and upon your children.

Blessed be you of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The heaven of heaven is the Lord's: but the earth he has given to the children of men.

The dead shall not praise thee, O Lord: nor any of them that go down to hell.

But we that live bless the Lord: from this time now and for ever.

ANT. But our God is in heaven: he hath done all things whatsoever he would.

After these five psalms, a short lesson from the holy Scriptures is read. It is called Capitulum, because it is always very short.

CAPITULUM

Benedictus Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Pater misericordiarum et Deus totius consolationis, qui consolatur nos in omni tribulatione nostra.

℟. Deo gratias.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation, who comforteth us in all our tribulations.

℟. Thanks be to God.

Then follows the hymn. We here give the one for Sundays, which was composed by St. Gregory the Great. It sings of creation, and celebrates the praises of that portion of it which was called forth on this first day, the light.

HYMN¹

Lucis Creator optime, Lucem dierum proferens: Primordiis lucis novæ,
Mundi parans originem.

O infinitely good Creator of the light! by thee was produced the light of day, providing thus the world's beginning with the beginning of the new-made light.

Qui mane junctum vesperi Diem vocari præcipis:
Illabitur tetrum chaos, Audi preces cum fletibus.

Thou biddest us call the time, from morn till eve, day; this day is over; dark night comes on—oh! hear our tearful prayers.

Ne mens gravata crimine Vitæ sit exsul munere:
Dum nil perenne cogitat, Seseque culpis illigat.

Let not our soul, weighed down by crime, misspend thy gift of life, and, forgetting what is eternal, be earth-tied by her sins.

Cæleste pulset ostium,
Vitale tollat præmium:
Vitemus omne noxium, Purgemus omne pessimum.

Oh! may we strive to enter our heavenly home, and bear away the prize of life: may we shun what would injure us, and cleanse our soul from her defilements.

Præsta Pater piissime,
Patrique compar Unice, Cum Spiritu Paraclito Regnans per omne sæculum.
Amen.

Most merciful Father! and thou his Only-Begotten Son, co-equal with him, reigning for ever with the holy Paraclete! grant this our prayer. Amen.

The versicle which follows the hymn, and which we here give, is that of the Sunday: those for the feasts are given in their proper places.

℣. Dirigatur, Domine, oratio mea.

℟. Sicut incensum in conspectu tuo.

℣. May my prayer, O Lord, ascend.

℟. Like incense in thy sight.

¹ According to the monastic rite, it is as follows:

℟ breve. Quam magnificata sunt. * Opera tua, Domine. Quam.
℣. Omnia in Sapientia fecisti. * Opera.
Gloria Patri, etc. Quam.

Lucis Creator optime, Lucem dierum proferens; Primordiis lucis novæ
Mundi parans originem.

Qui mane junctum vesperi Diem vocari præcipis,
Tetrum chaos illabitur, Audi preces cum fletibus.

Ne mens gravata crimine Vitæ sit exsul munere,
Dum nil perenne cogitat, Seseque culpis illigat.

Cælorum pulset intimum,
Vitale tollat præmium:
Vitemus omne noxium, Purgemus omne pessimum.

Præsta Pater piissime
Patrique compar Unice, Cum Spiritu Paraclito Regnans per omne sæculum. Amen.

Then is said the Magnificat antiphon, which is to be found in the proper. After this, the Church sings the canticle of Mary, the Magnificat, in which are celebrated the divine maternity and all its consequent blessings. This exquisite canticle is an essential part of the Office of Vespers. It is the evening incense, just as the canticle Benedictus, at Lauds, is that of the morning.

OUR LADY'S CANTICLE

(St. Luke i.)

Magnificat: anima mea Dominum.

Et exsultavit spiritus meus: in Deo salutari meo.

Quia respexit humilitatem ancillæ suæ: ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.

Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est: et sanctum nomen ejus.

Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies: timentibus eum.

Fecit potentiam in brachio suo: dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.

Deposuit potentes de sede: et exaltavit humiles.

Esurientes implevit bonis: et divites dimisit inanes.

Suscepit Israel puerum suum: recordatus misericordiæ suæ.

Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros: Abraham et semini ejus in sæcula.

My soul doth magnify the Lord.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is his name.

And his mercy is from generation unto generation: to them that fear him.

He hath shown might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat: and hath exalted the humble.

He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy.

As he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

The Magnificat antiphon is then repeated. The Prayer, or Collect, is given in the proper of each feast.

℣. Benedicamus Domino.

℟. Deo gratias.

℣. Let us bless the Lord.

℟. Thanks be to God.

℣. Fidelium animæ per misericordiam Dei requiescant in pace.

℟. Amen.

℣. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

℟. Amen.

CHAPTER THE THIRD

ON THE OFFICE OF COMPLINE, DURING THE TIME AFTER PENTECOST

This Office, which concludes the day, commences by a warning of the dangers of the night: then immediately follows the public confession of our sins, as a powerful means of propitiating the divine justice, and obtaining God's help, now that we are going to spend so many hours in the unconscious, and therefore dangerous, state of sleep, which is also such an image of death.

The lector, addressing the priest, says to him:

Jube, domne, benedicere.

Pray, father, give me thy blessing.

The priest answers:

Noctem quietam et finem perfectum concedat nobis Dominus omnipotens.

℟. Amen.

May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.

℟. Amen.

The lector then reads these words, from the first Epistle of St. Peter:

Fratres: Sobrii estote, et vigilate; quia adversarius vester diabolus, tamquam leo rugiens, circuit quærens quem devoret: cui resistite fortes in fide. Tu autem, Domine, miserere nobis.

Brethren, be sober and watch; for your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist ye, strong in faith. But thou, O Lord, have mercy on us.

The choir answers:

℟. Deo gratias.

Then the priest:

℣. Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini.

The choir:

℟. Qui fecit cælum et terram.

℟. Thanks be to God.

℣. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

℟. Who hath made heaven and earth.

Then the Lord's Prayer is recited, in secret; after which the priest says the Confiteor, and, when he has finished, the choir repeats it.

The priest, having pronounced the general form of absolution, says:

℣. Converte nos, Deus, salutaris noster.

℟. Et averte iram tuam a nobis.

℣. Deus, in adjutorium meum intende.

℟. Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina.

Gloria Patri, etc.

ANT. Miserere.

℣. Convert us, O God, our Saviour.

℟. And turn away thine anger from us.

℣. Incline unto my aid, O God.

℟. O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory, etc.

ANT. Have mercy.

The first psalm expresses the confidence with which the just man sleeps in peace. But the wicked know not what calm rest is.

PSALM 4

Cum invocarem exaudivit me Deus justitiæ meæ: in tribulatione dilatasti mihi.

Miserere mei: et exaudi orationem meam.

Filii hominum, usquequo gravi corde: ut quid diligitis vanitatem et quæritis mendacium?

Et scitote quoniam mirificavit Dominus sanctum suum: Dominus exaudiet me cum clamavero ad eum.

Irascimini et nolite peccare: quæ dicitis in cordibus vestris, in cubilibus vestris compungimini.

Sacrificate sacrificium justitiæ, et sperate in Domino: multi dicunt: Quis ostendit nobis bona?

Signatum est super nos lumen vultus tui Domine: dedisti lætitiam in corde meo.

A fructu frumenti, vini et olei sui: multiplicati sunt.

In pace in idipsum: dormiam et requiescam.

Quoniam tu, Domine, singulariter in spe: constituisti me.

When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: when I was in distress, thou hast enlarged me.

Have mercy on me: and hear my prayer.

O ye sons of men how long will ye be dull of heart? why do you love vanity, and seek after lying?

Know ye also that the Lord hath made his holy One wonderful: the Lord will hear me, when I shall cry unto him.

Be ye angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.

Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say, Who showeth us good things?

The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: thou hast given gladness in my heart.

By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they are multiplied.

In peace, in the self-same I will sleep, and I will rest.

For thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.

The second psalm gives the motives of the just man's confidence, even during the dangers of the night. There is no snare neglected by the demons; but the good angels watch over us with brotherly solicitude. Then, we have God Himself speaking and promising to send us a Saviour.

PSALM 90

Qui habitat in adjutorio altissimi: in protectione Dei cæli commorabitur.

Dicet Domino, Susceptor meus es tu et refugium meum: Deus meus, sperabo in eum.

Quoniam ipse liberavit me de laqueo venantium: et a verbo aspero.

Scapulis suis obumbrabit tibi: et sub pennis ejus sperabis.

Scuto circumdabit te veritas ejus: non timebis a timore nocturno.

A sagitta volante in die, a negotio perambulante in tenebris: ab incursu, et dæmonio meridiano.

Cadent a latere tuo mille, et decem millia a dextris tuis: ad te autem non appropinquabit.

Verumtamen oculis tuis considerabis: et retributionem peccatorum videbis.

Quoniam tu es, Domine, spes mea: Altissimum posuisti refugium tuum.

Non accedet ad te malum: et flagellum non appropinquabit tabernaculo tuo.

Quoniam angelis suis mandavit de te: ut custodiant te in omnibus viis tuis.

In manibus portabunt te: ne forte offendas ad lapidem pedem tuum.

Super aspidem et basiliscum ambulabis: et conculcabis leonem et draconem.

Quoniam in me speravit, liberabo eum: protegam eum, quoniam cognovit nomen meum.

Clamabit ad me, et ego exaudiam eum: cum ipso sum in tribulatione; eripiam eum, et glorificabo eum.

Longitudine dierum replebo eum: et ostendam illi salutare meum.

He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven.

He shall say unto the Lord: Thou art my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.

For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.

He will overshadow thee with his shoulders: and under his wings thou shalt trust.

His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night.

Of the arrow that flieth in the day: of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee.

But thou shalt consider with thine eyes: and shalt see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast said: Thou, O Lord, art my hope: thou hast made the Most High thy refuge.

There shall no evil come unto thee, nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling.

For he hath given his angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways.

In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt walk upon the asp and basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.

God will say of thee: Because he hoped in me, I will deliver him: I will protect him, because he hath known my name.

He will cry unto me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.

I will fill him with length of days: and I will show him my salvation.

The third psalm invites the servants of God to persevere with fervour in the prayers they offer during the night. The faithful should say this psalm in a spirit of gratitude to God, for raising up in the Church adorers of His holy name, whose grand vocation is to lift up their hands, day and night, for the safety of Israel. On such prayers depend the happiness and the destinies of the world.

PSALM 133

Ecce nunc benedicite Dominum: omnes servi Domini.

Qui statis in domo Domini: in atriis domus Dei nostri.

In noctibus extollite manus vestras in sancta: et benedicite Dominum.

Benedicat te Dominus ex Sion: qui fecit cælum et terram.

ANT. Miserere mihi, Domine, et exaudi orationem meam.

Behold! now bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord.

Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.

In the nights lift up your hands to the holy places, and bless ye the Lord.

Say to Israel: May the Lord out of Sion bless thee, he that made heaven and earth.

ANT. Have mercy on me, O Lord, and hear my prayer.

HYMN¹

Te lucis ante terminum, Rerum Creator, poscimus, Ut pro tua clementia Sis præsul et custodia.

Procul recedant somnia, Et noctium phantasmata; Hostemque nostrum comprime, Ne polluantur corpora.

Præsta, Pater piissime,
Patrique compar Unice, Cum Spiritu Paraclito, Regnans per omne sæculum.

Amen.

Before the closing of the light, we beseech thee, Creator of all things! that in thy clemency, thou be our protector and our guard.

May the dreams and phantoms of night depart far from us: and do thou repress our enemy, lest our bodies be profaned.

Most merciful Father, and thou his only-begotten Son, co-equal with him, reigning for ever, with the holy Paraclete, grant this our prayer! Amen.

¹ According to the monastic rite, as follows:

Te lucis ante terminum, Rerum Creator, poscimus, Ut solita clementia Sis præsul ad custodiam.

Procul recedant somnia Et noctium phantasmata; Hostemque nostrum comprime, Ne polluantur corpora.

Præsta, Pater omnipotens,
Per Jesum Christum Dominum, Qui tecum in perpetuum Regnat cum Sancto Spiritu. Amen.

CAPITULUM

Tu autem in nobis es, Domine, et nomen sanctum tuum invocatum est super nos: ne derelinquas nos, Domine Deus noster.

℟. In manus tuas, Domine:* Commendo spiritum meum. In manus tuas.

℣. Redemisti nos, Domine Deus veritatis. * Commendo.

Gloria. In manus tuas.

℣. Custodi nos, Domine, ut pupillam oculi.

℟. Sub umbra alarum tuarum protege nos.

ANT. Salva nos.

But thou art in us, O Lord, and thy holy name hath been invoked upon us: forsake us not, O Lord our God.

℟. Into thy hands, O Lord:* I commend my spirit. Into thy hands.

℣. Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord God of truth. * I commend.

Glory. Into thy hands.

℣. Preserve us, O Lord, as the apple of thine eye.

℟. Protect us under the shadow of thy wings.

ANT. Save us.

The canticle of the venerable Simeon, who, while holding the divine Infant in his arms, proclaimed Him to be the Light of the Gentiles, and then slept the sleep of the just, is admirably appropriate to the Office of Compline. Holy Church blesses God for having dispelled the darkness of night by the rising of the Sun of justice; it is for love of Him that she toils the whole day through, and rests during the night, saying: 'I sleep, but my heart watcheth.'¹

¹ Cant. v. 8.

CANTICLE OF SIMEON

Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine: secundum verbum tuum in pace.

Quia viderunt oculi mei: salutare tuum.

Quod parasti: ante faciem omnium populorum.

Lumen ad revelationem gentium: et gloriam plebis tuæ Israel.

Gloria.

ANT. Salva nos, Domine, vigilantes: custodi nos dormientes, ut vigilemus cum Christo, et requiescamus in pace.

Now dost thou dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word, in peace.

Because mine eyes have seen thy salvation.

Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all peoples.

A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Glory, etc.

ANT. Save us, O Lord, while awake, and watch us as we sleep, that we may watch with Christ and rest in peace.

OREMUS.

Visita, quæsumus, Domine, habitationem istam, et omnes insidias inimici ab ea longe repelle: angeli tui sancti habitent in ea, qui nos in pace custodiant: et benedictio tua sit super nos semper. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

℟. Amen.

℣. Dominus vobiscum.

℟. Et cum spiritu tuo.

℣. Benedicamus Domino.

℟. Deo gratias.

Benedicat et custodiat nos omnipotens et misericors Dominus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus.

℟. Amen.

LET US PRAY.

Visit, we beseech thee, O Lord, this house and family, and drive far from it all snares of the enemy: let thy holy angels dwell herein, who may keep us in peace, and may thy blessing be always upon us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

℟. Amen.

℣. The Lord be with you.

℟. And with thy spirit.

℣. Let us bless the Lord.

℟. Thanks be to God.

May the almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, bless and preserve us.

℟. Amen.

ANTHEM TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN

Salve Regina, Mater misericordiæ.

Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evæ.

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte;

Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende;

O clemens,

O pia,

O dulcis Virgo Maria.

℣. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genitrix.

℟. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

OREMUS.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui gloriosæ Virginis Matris Mariæ corpus et animam, ut dignum Filii tui habitaculum effici mereretur, Spiritu Sancto cooperante præparasti: da ut cujus commemoratione lætamur, ejus pia intercessione ab instantibus malis et a morte perpetua liberemur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum.

℟. Amen.

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy.

Hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.

To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.

To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning, and weeping, in this vale of tears.

Turn, then, most gracious advocate! thine eyes of mercy towards us;

And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus;

O clement,

O loving,

O sweet Virgin Mary!

℣. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.

℟. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY.

O almighty and everlasting God, who by the co-operation of the Holy Ghost didst prepare the body and soul of Mary, glorious Virgin and Mother, to become the worthy habitation of thy Son: grant that we may be delivered from present evils and from everlasting death, by her gracious intercession, in whose commemoration we rejoice. Through the same Christ our Lord.

℟. Amen.

℣. Divinum auxilium maneat semper nobiscum.

℟. Amen.

℣. May the divine assistance remain always with us.

℟. Amen.¹

Then, in secret, Pater, Ave, and Credo.

¹ In the monastic rite this is as follows:

℟. Et cum fratribus nostris absentibus. Amen.

℟. And with our absent brethren. Amen.

Proper of the Saints

JUNE 2

SAINTS MARCELLINUS, PETER AND ERASMUS

MARTYRS

THE glory of martyrdom illumines this day with a splendour rarely met with in the cycle; and already we seem to descry the rosy dawn of that brightest day of this month, on which Peter and Paul will consummate in their blood their own splendid confession. Italy and Gaul, Rome and Lyons concur in forming a legion of heroes in the service of heaven. For to-day Lyons, the illustrious daughter of Rome, is keeping the special festival of a whole phalanx of warriors, headed by the veteran chief, St Pothinus, disciple of St Polycarp, who, in the second century, levied the brave recruits of his battalion on the banks of the Rhone. But to the mother Church are due the first honours. Let us, then, hail Marcellinus, together with the numerous progeny begotten by his fruitful priesthood, and rendered worthy by the Holy Ghost to share in his triumph. Let us hail, likewise, the exorcist, Peter, leading to the sacred font a long line of pagans whom he won over to Christ by proving to them the weakness of the demons.

When Christianity appeared on earth, Satan was visibly the prince of this world. To him was every altar reared; to his empire were all laws and customs subservient. From the depths of their famous temples,

Note of the Translator. SS. Pothinus, Blandina, and companions, martyrs of Lyons, are marked on this day in the Roman Martyrology, but as the feast is kept only in France, we have omitted in our translation the pages devoted to their memory in this place.

the demon chiefs directed the political affairs of the cities that came to consult their oracles; under divers names the lowest of the fallen angels found honour and influence at the domestic hearth; others had functions assigned to them, in forests, on mountains, at fountains, or on sea, occupying, in opposition to God, this world that had been created by him for his glory, but which Satan, through man's connivance, had conquered. Four thousand years of abandonment on the part of heaven permitted the usurper to consolidate his conquest; and a strong defence had been planned in preparation for the day on which the lawful King should offer to re-enter on his rights.

The coming of the Word made Flesh was the signal for the assertion of the divine claim. The prince of this world, personally vanquished by the Son of God, understood well enough that he must needs return to the depths of hell. But the countless powers of darkness constituted by him would maintain the struggle through the length of ages, and dispute their position inch by inch. Driven from towns by the abjurations of holy Church and the triumph of martyrs, the infernal legions would fain marshal their ranks in the wilderness; there, under the leadership of an Anthony or a Pachomius, the soldiers of Christ must wage against them ceaseless and terrific battle. In the west, Benedict, the patriarch of monks, finds altars to the demons, and even demons themselves, on the heights of Cassino as late as the sixth century. Even in the seventh, they are found contending against St Gall for possession of the woods, lakes and rocks of what we now call Switzerland; and at last they are heard uttering mournful complaint, because, driven from the haunts of men, even such desolate spots as these are denied them. Verily, in the divine mind, the vocation of a monk to the desert has for its end, not only flight from the world and its concerns, but likewise the pursuit of demons into their last entrenchments.

We have dwelt upon these considerations because their importance is extreme, and because this subject is now systematically ignored. True Christians firmly believe, now as formerly, in the spiritual combat which the soul has to sustain against hell, in the secrecy of conscience; but too many have no scruple in rejecting, as if belonging to the domain of the imagination, whatever is related of the public combats maintained by our fathers against the demons. The excuse for such Christians is, no doubt, the fact that they live in a land where this external war was ended centuries ago by the social victory of Christendom. But the Holy Ghost has declared that the old serpent, bound up for a thousand years, is at last to be again unchained for a while.¹ If we be nearing this fatal epoch, it is high time to look about us; we shall be ill prepared for waging the old battles, if we persist in our ignorance, and in branding with the name of legend the best attested facts in the history of our ancestors. After all, what is history, since the revolt of Lucifer, but a picture of the war that is being waged between God and Satan? Now if Satan has, by divine permission, invaded the exterior world as well as that of souls, must not the struggle to cast him out² be a hand to hand fight, an exterior and visible encounter?

'The Word,' says St Justin, 'was made Flesh for two ends: to save believers, and to drive away demons.'³ So also, the expulsion of demons from the places they occupy in this material world, and specially in the noblest part thereof, the bodies of men, appears in the Gospel to have been one of the chief characteristics of our Saviour's power. Again, when on quitting the earth he sent his apostles to continue his work amidst the nations, this is the very thing he singled out as a primary sign of the mission they were to fulfil.⁴ The world of that day made no mistake about it. Soon enough had the pagans to witness the cessation of the ancient oracles in every place;⁵ and the cause of a phenomenon

¹ Apoc. xx 2, 3. ² St John xii 31. ³ 2 Apol. vi.
⁴ St Mark xvi 17. ⁵ Plutarch, De oraculor. defectu.

of such import to the ancient religion was evident to all: the very demons themselves were not backward in ascribing to the Christians their enforced silence. As regards this power of Christianity against hell, the apologists of the second and third centuries appeal on the subject to public testimony, without fear of contradiction. 'Before the eyes of everyone,' says St Justin to the emperors, 'the Christians drive out demons in the name of Jesus Christ, not only in Rome, but in the whole universe.'¹ The gods of Olympus beheld themselves shamefully unmasked, in the presence of their confused adorers, and Tertullian might well challenge the magistrates of the empire thus: 'Let one of those men who declare themselves to be under the power of the gods, be brought before your tribunals: at the command of the first comer amongst us, the spirit whereby they are possessed will be constrained to confess what he is; if he avow not himself a demon and no god, fearing to lie to a Christian, at once shed the blood of this Christian blasphemer.' But no; it is the terror they have of Christ that forces them to take flight at the mere touch or even the breath of one of his servants.²

Baptism sufficed to give man such power as this; and this was the real meaning of our Lord's promise, when speaking not only of the heads of the Church, but of all who would believe in him, he said: 'In my name they shall cast out devils.'³ At an early date, however, the Church, organizing the holy war, constituted among her sons one special Order having for its direct mission the pursuit of Satan on every point of this visible world. The exorcists were, by this delegation, invested with a power that accelerates the downfall of the prince of this world; and to render this defeat more odious and humiliating the Church raised no higher than to the rank of inferior clergy an Order so terrible to hell. Lucifer had aimed at being equal to the Most High;⁴ hurled down from heaven, he flattered himself

¹ 2 Apol. vi. ² Apol. xxiii. ³ St Mark xvi 17. ⁴ Is. xiv 12-15.

in his folly that he would be able to supplant God upon the earth: and lo! the charge of defeating him here is confided not to angels, his equals by nature, but to men, and even to the least of this credulous race which for long ages he had seen prostrate before him! Their hand of flesh constrains him, spirit though he be, to come off his throne; at their word he must needs cast away his vain adornments, he must unmask himself; the water they bless rekindles within him his eternal tortures; of the prince of this world and his pomps nought remains but mere Satan, the ugly-faced apostate, the condemned criminal wincing in the dust at the feet of the sons of men, or fleeing like a dry leaf before the breath of their mouth.

The archangel Michael recognizes, in these sons of Adam, the worthy allies of the faithful angels he led forward to victory. But amid those who continue the mighty battle begun on the heights of heaven,¹ the exorcist Peter comes before us to-day radiant with matchless splendour. The triumph of martyrdom has been added to his victories won over Satan's cohorts. None better than he drove hell back; for, chasing the demons out of men's bodies, he moreover made conquest of their souls. The priest Marcellinus, the companion of his victories and martyrdom, is likewise his associate in glory. The Church wishes that these two names, so formidable to the spirits of darkness, should shine in one same aureole here below as in heaven. Daily does she render them the most solemn homage in her power by naming them both, on the diptych of the holy Sacrifice, together with the apostles and her first sons. Such was the importance of the mission they fulfilled and the renown of their final combat, that their bodies, translated to the Via Latina, became the nucleus of an illustrious cemetery. In the age of peace, that came soon after their glorious confession, the Christians vied with one another in obtaining sepulture near these soldiers of Christ, whose protection they craved. Constantine

¹ Apoc. xii 7-9.

the Great, the vanquisher of idolatry, deposited at their sacred feet the remains of his mother, St Helena, who had herself become a terror to the demons by her discovery of the true Cross. A celebrated inscription was composed in their honour by St Damasus, who in childhood had learned the details of their martyrdom from their executioner himself after his conversion; this inscription, near their tomb, completed the monuments of that catacomb wherein Christian art had multiplied its richest teachings.

To the memory of Saints Marcellinus and Peter is joined, in the liturgy of to-day, the name of a holy bishop and martyr, formerly well known to the faithful. If the acts of his life which have reached us are not free from all reproach from a critical point of view, the favours obtained by the intercession of St Erasmus or Elmo wafted his name over the whole of Christendom, as is attested by the numberless forms this name assumed in various countries of the west during the middle ages. He holds a place in the group of saints styled auxiliatores or helpers, whose cultus is widespread particularly in Germany and Italy. Mariners look upon him as their patron, because of a certain miraculous voyage related in his life; one of the tortures to which he was subjected during his martyrdom has caused him to be invoked for colic. Nor should we forget to mention here how great a veneration St Benedict, the patriarch of western monks, had for St Erasmus; when he quitted the Campagna for his solitude on the banks of the Anio, he marked his principal station between Subiaco and Monte Cassino, by building a church and monastery at Veroli under the invocation of this holy martyr; he dedicated another in Rome itself to St Erasmus.

Let us now read the few lines devoted by the Church to the memory of our three Saints.

Petrus, exorcista, Diocletiano imperatore, Romæ a Sereno judice propter christianæ fidei confessionem missus in carcerem, Paulinam Artemii, qui carceri præerat, filiam a dæmone agitatam liberavit. Quo facto et parentes puellæ cum tota familia et vicinos, qui ad rei novitatem concurrerant, Jesu Christo conciliatos, ad Marcellinum presbyterum adduxit, a quo omnes baptizati sunt. Quod ubi rescivit Serenus, Petrum et Marcellinum ad se vocatos asperius objurgat et ad verborum acerbitatem minas ac terrores adjungit, nisi Christo renuntient. Cui cum Marcellinus christiana libertate responderet, pugnis contusum et a Petro sejunctum, nudum includit in carcerem stratum vitri fragmentis, sine cibo ac sine lumine. Petrum item constringi imperat arctissimis vinculis. Sed cum utrique ex tormentis fides et animus cresceret, constanti confessione, et abscisso capite, illustre testimonium Jesu Christo dederunt. Erasmus, episcopus imperatoribus Diocletiano et Maximiano, in Campania plumbatis et fustibus cæsus, resina quoque, sulphure, plumbo liquefacto et ferventi pice, cero oleoque perfusus, inde tamen integer et inviolatus evasit. Quo miraculo multi se ad Christi fidem converterunt. Verum is, iterum detrusus in carcerem, constrictus ferreis gravissimisque vinculis, inde ab angelo mirabiliter ereptus est. Deinde Formiis a Maximiano variis affectus suppliciis, tunicaque ærea candenti indutus, illa etiam tormenta divina virtute superavit. Denique, plurimis et in fide confirmatis et ad fidem conversis, insignem martyrii palmam adeptus est.

Peter, an exorcist, was cast into prison at Rome, under the emperor Diocletian, by the judge Serenus, for confessing the Christian faith. He there set free Paulina, the daughter of Artemius, the keeper of the prison, from an evil spirit which tormented her. Upon this, Artemius and his wife and all their house, with their neighbours who had run together to see the strange thing, were converted to Jesus Christ. Peter therefore brought them to Marcellinus the priest, who baptized them all. When Serenus heard of it, he called Peter and Marcellinus before him, and sharply rebuked them, adding to his bitter words threats and terrors, unless they would deny Christ. Marcellinus answered him with Christian boldness, whereupon he caused him to be buffeted, separated him from Peter, and shut him up naked, in a prison strewn with broken glass, without either food or light. Peter also he straitly confined. But when both of them were found to increase in faith and courage in their bonds, they were beheaded, unshaken in their testimony, and confessing Jesus Christ gloriously by their blood. In Campania the bishop Erasmus was, under the empire of Diocletian and Maximian, beaten with clubs and whips loaded with lead, and afterwards plunged into resin, sulphur, melted lead, boiling pitch, wax, and oil. From all this he came forth whole and sound; which wonder converted many to believe in Christ. He was remanded to prison, and straitly bound in iron fetters. But from these he was wondrously delivered by an angel. At last, being taken to Formiæ, Maximian caused him to be subjected to divers torments, being clad in a coat of red-hot brass, but the power of God made him more than conqueror in all these things also. Afterwards, having converted many to the faith and confirmed them therein, he obtained the palm of a glorious martyrdom.

Holy martyrs, you all confessed Jesus Christ, in the midst of the most terrific storm ever raised by the demon against the Church. Though all three in different grades of the hierarchy, you were alike guides of the Christian people, drawing them by thousands in your train, into the arena of martyrdom, and, by still more numerous conversions, filling up the void made in earth's chosen band by the departure of your victorious companions to heaven. Wherefore the Church this day joins her grateful homage here below, with the congratulation that rings through the Church triumphant. Be propitious, as of yore, in alleviating the ills that overwhelm mankind in this vale of tears. The excess of man's misery is that he seems to have forgotten how to call on such powerful protectors in his hour of need. Revive your memory, in our midst, by new benefits to our race.

As thou, O Erasmus, wast formerly protected by heaven, do thou now, in thy turn, succour those who are a prey to the tempest-tossed sea. In thy last hour of bitter anguish, thou didst suffer thine executioners to tear thy very bowels; lend a kindly aid to such as call upon thy name when racked by pains which bear some resemblance, though but faint, to what thou didst endure for Christ.

Peter and Marcellinus, linked one to another both in toil and in glory, cast gentle eyes upon us: one glance of yours would make all hell to tremble, and would drive far from us its cohorts. But how much is your aid needed in society at large, in the whole visible world!

The foe you so mightily thrust backwards into the fiery pit is once more master. Alas! have we come to the time in which, again taking up war against the saints, it shall be granted him to overcome them?¹ Scarce does he even hide himself nowadays. Societies which formerly worked in secret have now openly surrendered to him a thousand sources of evil; he may be seen trying to push his way into gatherings of all sorts, into the very bosom of homes, as a family guest, as a comrade in diversion or in business, with table-turning and all those processes for divination, such as Tertullian denounced in your early day.² The expulsion of demons by Christianity had been so absolute that, up to more recent times, such fatal practices had fallen into utter oblivion amongst us. If at first, in Christian families, the warning voice of the pastors of God's Church has prevailed over the incitements of an unhealthy curiosity, a sect has since been formed, in which Satan is sole guide and oracle. The spiritists, as they are called, in concert with freemasonry, are preparing the way for the final invasion of the exterior world by infernal bands. Antichrist, with his usurped power and vain prestige, will be but the common product of political lodges and of this sect which proposes to bring back, under a new form, the ancient mysteries of paganism. Valiant soldiers of the Church, make us, we beseech you, worthy of our forefathers. If the Christian army must needs decrease in numbers, let its faith wax all the stronger; let its courage neither fail nor go astray; may its ranks be seen facing the foe, at that last hour in which the Lord Jesus will slay, with the breath of his mouth, the man of sin,³ and plunge once again and for ever the whole of Satan's crew down into the lowest depths of the bottomless pit.

¹ Apoc. xiii. 7. ² Apolog. xxiii. ³ 2 Thess. ii. 8.

June 3

SAINT CLOTILDE QUEEN OF THE FRANKS

At this season, in which the Office of the time is leading us to consider the early developments of holy Church, eternal Wisdom so arranges, now as ever, that the feasts of the saints should complete the teachings of the movable cycle. The Paraclete, who has but just come down upon us, is to fill the whole earth;¹ the Man-God has sent Him expressly to win over the whole earth and to secure all time to His Church. Now, it is by subjecting kingdoms to the faith, that He is to form Christ's empire; it is by enabling the Church to assimilate all nations to herself, that He gives growth and continuance to the bride. See, therefore, how at this season wherein He has but just taken possession of the world anew, His co-operators in this His work of conquest shine out on every side in the heavens of the holy liturgy. But the west above all concurs in forming the magnificent constellation that is mingling its radiant splendour with the fires of Pentecost. Indeed, what could better show the omnipotence of the Spirit of Christ, than the establishment of this Latin Christendom, in these distant lands of the west?

What star is this shining to-day in such silvery beauty on the land of the Franks? The city of Lyons, prepared by the blood of martyrs for this her second glory, sees this new light rise in her midst. Clotilde is a mother; and the cruel sufferings which wrung her heart while she was yet young matured her soul for the grand destinies reserved by God for the privileged children of sorrow. The violent death of her father Chilperic, dethroned by a fratricidal usurper; the sight of her brothers massacred, and of her mother drowned in the Rhone; her long captivity in the Arian court of the murderer who brought heresy with him to the throne of the Burgundians, developed in her the heroism that was to make this niece of Gondebaud become the mother of a whole nation to Christ.

God drew the visible universe out of nothingness, solely to manifest His goodness. In like manner, He has willed that man, coming from His hands without power as yet to recognize his Creator, should recognize, at least, a mother's tender love, the first sensible ray, as it were, of infinite love. Irresistible is this ray, sublime in its gentleness, exquisite in its purity, giving to the mother a facility, belonging only to her, to complete in the soul of her child the reproduction of the divine ideal that is to be impressed upon him. Now this she does by education. To-day's feast reveals how much more sublime, more potent, more extensive, is maternity in the order of grace than in that of nature. For when God, coming down amongst us, was pleased to take Flesh of a daughter of Adam, maternity was raised in her to the extreme limit that separates the endowments of a simple creature from the divine attributes. Thus rising above the heavens, maternity at the same time embraced the world, bringing all mankind together into close union, without distinction of nation or family, in the one filiation of that Virgin-Mother. The new Adam, the perfect model of our race, and our first born, willed to have us for His brethren, in all fullness, brethren in Mary as in God.² The Mother of God was then proclaimed Mother of men on Calvary; from the summit of the cross, the Man-God replaced upon the brow of Mary that diadem of Eve, broken beneath the fatal tree. Constituted sole Mother of the living by this noble investiture,³ our Lady once again participated in the privileges of the Father who is in heaven. Not only was she Mother by nature, as He is Father, of His Son; but, just as all paternity flows down from the eternal Father, and borrows thence supereminent dignity; so from that moment, all maternity was nought but an outflow of Mary's in the truest sense; a delegation of her love, and a communication of her august privilege whereby she brings forth men unto God, whose sons they are to be.

Good reason, therefore, have Christian mothers to glory in their maternity, for in that does their greatness consist; through Mary, their dignity has increased to a degree that nature could never have dreamed of. But at the same time, under the ægis of Mary, not less real is the maternity of
holy virgins, not only in God's eyes, but often manifested to their own: the wife, too, prepared by a special call from God and by suffering, is sometimes, like Clotilde, endowed with a fecundity of a spiritual order, a thousand times more prolific than that of earth. Happy the fruits of this supernatural maternity, which under the favour of Mary is fraught with so much greatness! Happy the nations on whom the divine munificence has bestowed a mother!

History tells us how the founders of empires have ever had the terrible prerogative of impressing upon nations the distinctive character, disastrous or beneficial, which, through length of ages, continues to be theirs. How often does that want of counterpoise to the preponderance of power, make itself only too evident in the impetus given rather to destroy than to build up! And wherefore? Because ancient empires never had a mother; for this noble title cannot be applied to those heroines who have transmitted their names to posterity merely for having rivalled the ambition and pomp of conquerors. To Christian times it was reserved to behold introduced into a people's life this element of maternity, more salutary, more efficacious in its humble gentleness, than that which springs from the talents or vices, from the power or genius, of their first princes.

Time was needed to subdue the savage instincts of the warriors of Clovis, and to fit his sword to the noble destiny that awaited it in the hand of a Charlemagne, or of a St. Louis. With good reason has it been said that the honour of this labour is due to the bishops and the monks. But to be more accurate and to prove a deeper insight into the ways of divine Providence, it would have been well, perhaps, to pass less lightly over woman's part in the work of conversion and of education, which made the Frankish nation become the eldest son of the Church. Clotilde it was who led the Franks to the baptistery of Rheims, and presented to Remigius the proud Sicambrian, transformed far less by the exhortations of the holy bishop than by the force of prayer, the prayer of that strong woman elected by God to bear away this rich spoil from the camp of hell. What manly energy, what devotedness to God, are displayed in every measure taken by this noble daughter of the Burgundians' dethroned king! Beneath the suspicious eye of the usurper, the murderer of her family, she awaits, in the silence of prayer and in the exercise of charity, heaven's appointed hour. When at last the moment comes, taking counsel of none save the Holy Ghost and her own heart, how nobly does she dart forward to conquer unto Christ her betrothed, though yet a stranger to her, out-doing in valour, in this instance, all the warriors of her escort! Strength and beauty were indeed her covering,⁴ her adornment on her bridal day; and the heart of Clovis soon learnt that the conquests reserved to his bride far out-stripped in importance the booty he had hitherto seized by force of arms. Clotilde, on the other hand, found her work already prepared on the banks of the Seine. For fifty years, St. Genevieve had been busy defending Paris against the pagan hordes, and only awaiting the Baptism of the king of the Franks in order to open to him the city gates.

Still, when on that Christmas night Clotilde gave birth to the eldest son of holy Church in Mary's name, the great work was far from being completed; this new-born people had yet, by the slow process of a laborious education to be fashioned into the most Christian nation. This chosen one of God and of our Lady does not fall short of the maternal task. But still what anguish of heart to be endured, what tears yet to be shed over these her sons, whose inborn violence seems simply indomitable, and the very exuberance of whose rich nature yields them up to the fury of passions, urging them blindly on to crimes the most atrocious! Her grand-children, inveigled from her side and caught in the perfidious trap laid for them by their faithless uncles, are massacred. Fratricidal wars carry devastation over the whole of that territory of ancient Gaul, purged by her from paganism and heresy. Finally another pang, but one of a more glorious kind, seems given as a compensation for the bitterness of intestine strife. Her cherished daughter, Clotilde the younger, dies, worn out by ill usage endured for her faith at the hand of her Arian husband. Surely all this must have shown clearly enough to the queen of the Franks, that if she was chosen by heaven to be their mother, she was to have all the pangs as well as the honour that title involves. Thus does Christ ever deal with His own, when they have earned His confidence. Clotilde well understood this: already a widow and deprived by death of the aid of Genevieve likewise, she had long ago retired to Tours, near to the sepulchre of the Thaumaturgus of the Gauls. There, in the secret of prayer and in the heroism of her childhood's faith, did she continue, aided by St. Martin, the preparation of this new people for its mighty destinies.

An immense work was this, and one for which no single life-time could suffice! But though Clotilde was not to witness the desired transformation accomplished, her life was not to close until she had pressed to her heart, at Tours, her illustrious daughter-in-law, Radegonde; and having by this last embrace invested her with her own sublime maternity, she sends her to Poitiers, there to continue, at the tomb of St. Hilary, this great work of intercession. Then, when at length Radegonde herself, having ended her task of suffering and love, must likewise quit this earth, Bathilde will presently come forward to consummate the work, in that remarkable seventh century, when 'the Frank, at last ready for his mission, is betrothed to holy Church, and dubbed a knight of God.'

Clotilde, Radegonde, Bathilde, all three of them mothers of France, bear a striking resemblance to one another. All three are prepared, from the early dawn of life, to the devotedness their grand mission would require, by the like trials, captivity, slavery, and massacre or loss of their own relatives: all three bring to the throne nought but a dauntless love of Christ, the King, and a desire of seeing Him rule the people; all three set aside the queenly diadem as soon as may be, in order to be able, prostrate before God in retirement and penitence, to attain more surely the one object of their maternal and royal ambition. Heiresses of Abraham, in very deed, they found in his faith the fecundity which made them mothers of those countless multitudes, which the soil watered by their tears produced for heaven. Even in these weakened times of ours, there is still a goodly throng ever passing from the land of the Franks

¹ Ps. xxxii. 5. ² Rom. viii. 29; Heb. ii. 11, 12. ³ St. John xix. 26, 27. ⁴ Prov. xxxi.

¹ Hist. St. Léger, Introduction. ² Rom. iv. 18; Heb. xi. 11.

to their true home yonder, there to join the happy bands of the combatants of better days. At the sight of this ever increasing group of sons joyously pressing round their thrones, the hearts of Clotilde, Radegonde, and Bathilde, overflowing with love, give utterance in one united cry, to this word of the Prophet: "Who hath begotten these? I was barren and brought not forth, led away, and captive: and who hath brought up these? I was destitute and alone: and these where were they?" Then the Lord answering, saith: "As I live, thou shalt be clothed with all these as with an ornament, and as a bride thou shalt put them about thee. For thy deserts, and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction shall now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants. The children of thy barrenness shall still say in thine ear: the place is too strait for me, make me room to dwell in. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nurses. And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be confounded that wait for Him."

But it is time to listen to the liturgical account of Saint Clotilde's life.

Clotildis, Chilperici regis filia, post parentum necem a patruo Gundobaldo Burgundionum rege educata, Clodovæo adhuc ethnico ab ipso Gundobaldo in conjugem tradita est. Quæ cum primogenitum peperisset, eum, tolerante magis quam approbante Clodovæo, baptizari jussit. Cum autem infantis, cui nomen impositum fuerat Ingomeres, in albis extincti mortem ægre ferret Clodovæus ac baptismo imputaret, graviter Clotildem objurgavit, asserens deos patrios, ob contemptum numinis sui iratos, sibi filium eripuisse. At illa: Deo, inquit, omnipotenti Creatori omnium, gratias ago, qui me non usquequaque judicavit indignam ut de utero meo genitum regno suo dignaretur adscire.

Clotilde, daughter of king Chilperic, after the murder of her parents, was brought up by her uncle Gondebaud, king of Burgundy, who gave her in marriage to Clovis still a pagan. Having brought forth her first-born son, she had him baptized, a thing rather tolerated by Clovis than consented to. The child to whom was given the name of Ingomer, chancing to die whilst still wearing the white robe of Baptism, Clovis bitterly complained to Clotilde, attributing the death of his son to the vengeance of the gods of his fathers, irritated at this contempt offered to their divinity. But Clotilde said: "I give thanks to the almighty Creator of all things, that he hath not judged me unworthy to give birth to a son whom he hath deigned to admit to share his kingdom."

Alterum filium regina cum genuisset, hunc quoque baptizari voluit, et appellatus est Clodomeres. Qui cum ægrotare cœpisset, affirmante rege fore ut idem ei quod fratri contingeret, matris precibus convaluit. At regina non cessabat hortari virum, ut abjecta idololatria unum ac trinum Deum coleret. Sed ille superstitioni Francorum adhæsit, donec in expeditione Alamannica, inclinatam cernens suorum aciem, monitorum conjugis memor, auxilio Christi implorato, de hostibus triumphavit. Cui apud Remos læta uxor occurrens, ubi ordinem rei gestæ cognovit, advocavit sanctum Remigium, a quo Clodovæus, fidem edoctus, baptizatus est, et chrismate sacro inunctus.

Having brought forth a second son, she wished that he likewise should be baptized, and the name of Clodomir was given to him. The child having fallen ill, the king declared that the fate of the brother was to befall this son also; but he was, contrariwise, cured by his mother's prayers. The queen continued to exhort her husband to reject idolatry and to adore the one God in three Persons; Clovis, however, persisted in the superstitions of the Franks, until at length, being on an expedition against the Alamanni, and one day seeing his army waver, he remembered the counsels of Clotilde, and implored the help of Christ, who thereupon granted him victory. Clotilde, filled with joy came to meet him, as far as Rheims, having learnt how all had happened. Saint Remigius, at her request, instructed Clovis in the faith, and baptized him, anointing him likewise with the sacred chrism.

Post mortem Clodovæi, Turonos adiit Clotildis; ibique ad sepulchrum sancti Martini summa pietate reliquum vitæ exegit: pernox in vigiliis, eleemosynis aliisque piis operibus intenta, munifica erga ecclesias et monasteria. Clodomeris in bello Burgundico occisi filios nepotes suos, Theobaldum, Guntarium et Clodoaldum apud se educavit. Tandem plena dierum, Turonis migravit ad Dominum: et Parisios inter psallentium choros translata, sepulta est a filiis Childeberto et Clotario regibus, ad latus Clodovæi, in sacrario basilicæ sancti Petri, quæ postea sanctæ Genovefæ nomine appellata est.

After the death of Clovis, Clotilde settled herself at Tours, where she passed the rest of her life at the tomb of St. Martin, giving herself up to watching, alms, and other works of piety, exercising her munificence upon churches and monasteries. Clodomir having been killed in the war of Burgundy, she brought up her grandchildren herself, namely Theobald, Gontaire, and Clodoald. At last, full of days, she gave up her soul to God, at Tours, and her body was transferred to Paris, escorted by choirs chanting psalms. Her sons, the kings Childebert and Clotaire, buried her beside Clovis, in the sanctuary of the basilica of Saint Peter, since called by the name of St. Genevieve.

Ad ejus tumulum coruscantibus miraculis sanctæ reginæ corpus, jam pridem elevatum, in hierotheca honorifice repositum fuit. Quoties autem urbs regia aliquo discrimine pulsaretur, ex avito more publicis in supplicationibus pio apparatu perferebatur. Exeunte vero octavo decimo sæculo cum impii sumpsissent principatum, et Sanctorum exuviæ undique per Gallias sacrilego furore conculcarentur: ossa beatæ reginæ, mira Dei providentia, piorum manibus subtracta sunt. Pace tandem Ecclesiæ restituta, sacræ reliquiæ in nova theca repositæ fuerunt, et in ecclesia sanctorum Lupi et Ægidii, urbis Parisiensis, collocatæ, ubi nunc honorifice coluntur.

The glory of miracles illustrating the tomb of this holy queen, at an early date her body was taken up to be honoured, and was placed in a shrine. Whenever the city of Paris suffered any calamity, it was the custom in ancient times to carry the body in procession, with every demonstration of piety. At the end of the eighteenth century, the impious having seized upon the government, the relics of the saints being likewise profaned all over France by sacrilegious fury, the bones, nevertheless, of this blessed queen, thanks to the admirable providence of God, were concealed by some pious persons. Peace being, later on, restored to the Church, the holy relics were placed in a new shrine, and deposited in the Church of Saints Lupus and Giles at Paris, where they are honoured with fervent worship.

Great is thy glory on earth and in heaven, O Clotilde, mother of nations! Not only hast thou given to holy Church that people of France, surnamed the most Christian; but our own England and Spain also claim their descent from thee (in the pedigree of faith) by Bertha and Ingonda, thy noble granddaughters. Ingonda, more fortunate than thy daughter Clotilde, succeeded, by the help of Saint Leander of Seville, in bringing back to the true faith her husband Hermenegilde, and even leading him to the crown of martyrdom. Bertha, queen of our own fair Kent, welcomed Augustine to our Saxon shores, and through her influence was our royal Ethelbert brought from the darkness of paganism even unto Baptism and the aureola of sanctity: realizing thus that word of the apostle, that the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife.¹ Since those early days, in how many other parts of Europe, and on how many other more distant shores, have the sons of thine own nation, that nation of which thou wast mother, propagated that light of faith which they received of thee: whether brandishing the sword in defence of the Church's right to teach freely and everywhere the word of truth; or whether, becoming themselves missioners and apostles, carrying that same truth to infidel nations, far beyond reach of any possible protection, and at the expense of their sweat and of their blood. Happy thou, to be the first in bringing forth unto Christ, the King, a nation pure from every stain of heresy and vowed to holy Church from the first moment of its new birth! Rightly indeed the church of Sainte-Marie at Rheims was the one selected on that Christmas day of the year 496, for this birth unto God of the Frankish nation; wherein our Lady, in a proportionate measure, gave thee to share her own motherhood of our race.

There especially lies our motive of confidence as we turn to thee, O Clotilde, in our intercessory prayer this day. Alas! how many of thy sons are far from being what they should be towards such a mother! But when our Lady gave thee a share in her own maternal rights, she necessarily communicated to thee also her own tender compassion for beguiled children deaf to their mother's voice. Take pity on these unfortunate sons, led so very far astray by strange doctrines.² The Christian monarchy founded by thee is no more. Thou didst build it upon the recognized rights of God in His Christ and in the Vicar of His Christ. Princes with shortsighted views of self-interest, traitors to the mission they had received to maintain thy work, imagined they were performing marvels, when they allowed maxims to be spread in thy France, proclaiming the independence of civil power in respect of that of holy Church; and now by a just retribution, society has proclaimed its independence of princes! But at the same time, the infatuated populace has really no other idea than that of being its own sovereign; and intoxicated by this false liberty which it dreams of having acquired, it goes so far as to contemn even the supreme dominion of the Creator Himself. The rights of man have usurped the rights of God, as the basis of social contract; a new-fangled Gospel, which France, with misguided proselytism, is fain to carry over the whole world in place of the true Gospel so loved of yore!

In that unhappy country poisoned by a lying philosophy, such is the excess of delirium, that many who deplore the apostasy of the mass of the population, and wish to remain themselves Christians, imagine they can do so whilst at the same time maintaining the destructive principle of liberalism, the very essence of revolution. Let Christ have heaven and souls, say they, but let man have earth, together with full right of governing it as he chooses, and of thinking as suits him best. While they fall on their adoring knees before the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ in the sanctuary of their own conscience, they search the Scriptures, and are too blind to see there expressed how the Man-God is and must be King of the whole earth. In learned theses they inform us that they have probed the very depths of history, and find therein nothing that can contradict their arguments. If indeed they must admit that the government of a Clovis, or a Charlemagne, or a St. Louis does not correspond in everything with their political axioms, we must, they say, make allowances for those primitive ages: a nation cannot be expected to come in a day to the perfect age attained at last by the law of progress! Alas! have pity, O dear mother of France, on the ravings of these poor sons of thine! Arouse once more, in that noble land, the faith of the Franks! Oh! may the God of Clotilde, the Lord of hosts, the King of nations, show Himself once more, leading on thy sons to victory, in the name that won for Clovis the field of Tolbiac: Jesus Christ!

¹ 1 Cor. vii. 14. ² Heb. xiii. 9.

JUNE 4

SAINT FRANCIS CARACCIOLO

CONFESSOR

The good things brought into this world by the Holy Spirit continue to be revealed in the liturgy. Francis Caracciolo is given to us this day as another type of the sublime fecundity produced on earth by Christianity. Faith is the principle of this supernatural fecundity in the saints, just as it was in Abraham, the father of all believers; it brings forth unto the Church isolated members or entire nations alike; from it proceed the multitudinous families of religious Orders, who, in their fidelity in following the divers paths traced out for them by their founders, are the chief portion of the royal and varied adornment of the bride at the right hand of her divine Spouse. This is the thought expressed by the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius VII, on the day of the canonization of our saint, wishing, as he said, "to right the judgement of such as may, perhaps, have appreciated the religious life at a low rate, according to the vain deceits of a worldly point of view, and not according to the just measure of the knowledge of Jesus Christ."¹

That century of universal ruin, in which the voice of Christ's Vicar was raised addressing the whole world on this solemn occasion, resembled, but in still darker hue, the calamitous age of the pretended Reform, in which Francis, like so many others, had proved by his works and by his life the indefectibility of the Church's holiness. Let us listen once more to the words of the same Pontiff: "The bride of Christ, the Church, has now become accustomed to pursue her pilgrim career amidst persecutions from men and consolations from God. Through the saints raised up, in all ages, by his almighty hand, God fulfils his promise; making her a city seated on a mountain, a beacon, the clear light of which must needs reach the eyes of all who do not, through prejudice, voluntarily shut their eyes. While her enemies band together, vainly plotting her destruction, saying: 'When will she die, when will her name perish?' crowned with ever increasing splendour by the new warriors she sends as victors to heaven, the Church remains ever glorious, ever declaring to all coming generations the might of the Lord's strong arm."¹

The sixteenth century heard at its birth the most terrible blasphemy ever uttered against the bride of the Son of God; that whereby she was named the harlot of Babylon. But she, brought face to face with her enemy, unable itself to produce anything good, proved herself to be the Bride of Christ by means of the number of new Orders which came into existence in a few short years ready to meet the exigencies of the novel situation created by Luther's revolt. The return of ancient Orders to their primitive fervour, the establishment of the Society of Jesus, of the Theatines, of the Brothers of St John of God, of the Oratory of St Philip Neri, of the Clerks Regular of St Jerome Emilian, and those of St Camillus de Lellis, did not satisfy the divine Spirit. As though on purpose to mark the superabundant fruitfulness of the bride, he raised up, at the close of the same century, another religious family, the special characteristic of which was to be the organization of mortification and continual prayer amongst its members, by the incessant use of Christian penance and by the perpetual adoration of the most holy Sacrament. Sixtus V received with joy these new recruits for the great campaign. To distinguish them from all other Orders of regular clerks, and as a proof of his special paternal affection, the illustrious Pontiff, himself a

¹ Homil. in Canoniz.

¹ Homil. in Canoniz.

Friar Minor, embodied a title so dear to his own heart in that which he assigned to these newcomers, calling them the Minor Clerks Regular. With a like view of approximation to the Seraphic Order, our saint of to-day, the first General of this Institute, changed his name Ascanius for that of Francis.

It seemed as though heaven too would associate together the patriarch of Assisi and Francis Caracciolo, by giving to each the same span of life, namely, forty-four years. The founder of the Minor Clerks Regular, like his glorious predecessor and patron, was one of those men of whom holy Scripture says, that having lived a short space they fulfilled a long time.¹ Numerous prodigies revealed, during his lifetime, the virtues which his humility would fain have concealed. Scarce had his soul left this earth, and his body been interred, than crowds flocked to the tomb, where numerous miracles bore constant witness to the high favour he enjoyed with God.

But it is reserved to the sovereign authority constituted by Jesus Christ in the Church to pronounce authoritatively upon the sanctity of any, even the most illustrious, of her dead. As long as the judgement of the Supreme Pontiff has formulated nothing, private devotion is quite free to testify gratitude or confidence, in regard to the departed. But all such demonstrations as more or less resemble public cultus are prohibited by a rigorous and wise law of the Church. Unfortunately, certain imprudences contrary to this law formulated in the celebrated decrees of Urban VIII, drew down, twenty years after the death of our saint, all the severity of the Inquisition upon some of his spiritual children, and retarded for a century the introduction of his cause to the tribunal of the sacred Congregation of Rites. It was necessary that the witnesses of the abuses which had incurred the law should first disappear from the scene; but, consequently, the witnesses of the holy life of Francis had likewise disappeared.

¹ Wisd. iv 13.

Being, therefore, obliged to recur to mere auricular testimony, before pronouncing judgement on the heroic virtues practised by him, Rome now exacted from ocular witnesses the proof of four, instead of the usual two, miracles required in a process of beatification.

It would be out of place here for us to show how these precautions and delays, which demonstrate the prudence of holy Church in these matters, at last ended in making the sanctity of Francis shine forth all the more strikingly. Let us now turn to the narrative of his life.

Franciscus, dictus antea Ascanius, ex nobili familia Caracciolo in oppido Sanctæ Mariæ de Villa in Aprutio ortus, a primis annis eximio enituit pietatis cultu. Adolescens, graviter ægrotans, statuit sese prorsus Dei proximique mancipare servitio. — Neapolim profectus, sacerdotio initiatus, Sacroque adscriptus sodalitio, contemplationi, lucrandisque animabus se totum devovit, ac extremo supplicio damnatis hortatorem se præbuit assiduum. Contigit autem ut epistolium alteri destinatum, ei per errorem redderetur; quo a piissimis viris Joanne Augustino Adorno et Fabricio Caracciolo ad novi religiosi instituti fundationem vocabatur. Rei novitate captus et divinæ voluntatis demiratus consilia, alacri animo sese illis adjunxit. Conditis autem in Camaldulensium eremo, quo secesserant, novi ordinis legibus, inde Romam simul profecti, confirmationem a Sixto Quinto impetrarunt, qui eosdem Clericos regulares minores appellari voluit, addito ad tria consueta altero de

Francis, formerly called Ascanius, was of the noble family of Caracciolo. He was born in the town of Santa Maria della Villa in the Abruzzi. From his earliest years, he showed great marks of piety. When he was a young man, he had a severe illness, and on his recovery determined to serve God and to give himself up to the service of his neighbour. He betook himself to Naples, where he was ordained priest, enrolled himself in a devout confraternity, and gave himself up to contemplation and the gaining of souls to God, in which work he showed himself an unwearied comforter to such persons as were condemned to death. It came to pass that those two great servants of God, John Augustine Adorno and Fabricius Caracciolo, wrote a letter to a certain person, wherein they exhorted him to share in the foundation of a new religious Institute. This letter came, by mistake, to be delivered to Francis Caracciolo. The newness of the idea, and the strange ways of God's Providence, took possession of

non ambiendis dignitatibus voto.

Solemni emissa professione, ob singularem ejus in divum Franciscum Assisinatem cultum Francisci nomen assumpsit. Adorno biennio post vita functo, ipse toti religioni quamquam invitus præficitur: quo in munere virtutum omnium præclara præbuit exempla. Instituti amplificandi studiosissimus, id assiduis orationibus, lacrymis et jugi corporis maceratione, enixe a Deo postulabat. Quamobrem tertio in Hispaniam se contulit peregrini habitu indutus, victumque ostiatim mendicans. In itinere asperrima quæque perpessus, Omnipotentis auxilium mirum in modum expertus, navim, quam conscenderat, ab imminenti naufragio orationis præsidio servavit incolumem. Ut in regnis illis voti compos fieret, plurimum laboravit, sed ejus sanctitatis fama prælucente, amplissimaque Catholicorum regum Philippi Secundi et Philippi Tertii munificentia, adversariorum conatibus singulari animi fortitudine superatis, plura sui Ordinis do-

his mind, and he joyfully added himself to their company. They withdrew themselves to the solitude of the Camaldolese, and there drew up the rules of the new Order. Thence they went to Rome, and obtained the confirmation of their work from Sixtus V, who wished that they should be called Minor Clerks Regular. They added to the three accustomed vows, a fourth binding themselves not to seek preferment in the Church.

Having made his solemn profession, Ascanius Caracciolo, moved by the special love and devotion he had to the holy Francis of Assisi, took the name of Francis. After two years, John Adorno departed this life, and Francis, against his own will, was made head of the Order: in which office he gave a brilliant example of all virtues. Devoted to the prosperity of the Institute, he earnestly sought the blessing of God upon it, by assiduous prayer, tears, and constant maceration of his body. In this work he thrice travelled to Spain in the guise of a pilgrim, begging his bread from door to door. In these journeys he suffered very great hardships, and was wonderfully helped by the Almighty, especially in this instance: the ship in which he was being in great danger, he saved it by his prayers. He had to toil hard in these countries to attain his wishes; but through the noble generosity of the most Catholic kings Philip II and Philip III he overcame by his fortitude of soul the opposition of all that withstood him, and founded

micilia fundavit: quod pari eventu per Italiam præstitit.

Humilitate adeo excelluit ut, Romam veniens, in pauperum hospitio receptus, se leproso sociaverit, et ecclesiasticas dignitates a Paulo Quinto sibi oblatas constantissime recusaverit. Illibatam perpetuo servavit virginitatem, effrontesque mulieres ejus castimoniæ insidiantes Christo lucrifecit. Erga divinissimum Eucharistiæ mysterium ardenti æstuans amore, noctes pene integras in ejus adoratione insomnes ducebat: quod pium exercitium, veluti sui Ordinis tesseram, in eo perpetuo servandum constituit. Deiparæ Virginis cultum impense fovit. In proximum eximia exarsit caritate. Prophetiæ dono et cordium scrutatione ditatus fuit. Quadragesimum quartum ætatis suæ annum agens, dum in sacra Lauretana æde in oratione persisteret, sibi vitæ finem imminere cognovit. Aprutium statim deflexit, et in oppido Agnoni apud alumnos sancti Philippi Nerii lethali febre correptus, sacramentis Ecclesiæ devotissime susceptis pridie Nonas Junii anni millesimi sexcentesimi octavi, in pervigilio festi Corporis Christi, placidissime obdormivit in Domino. Sacrum ejus corpus Neapolim delatum, in ecclesia Sanctæ Mariæ Majoris, ubi prima sui Ordinis jecerat fundamenta, honorifice conditum fuit. Eum postea miraculis clarum Clemens decimusquartus Pontifex

several houses of his Order, which he eventually did in Italy also.

He so excelled in humility that, when he came to Rome, he betook himself to an almshouse, and there chose to be associated to a leper: moreover he firmly refused all the ecclesiastical dignities offered to him by Paul V. He preserved his virginity unspotted, and when certain shameless women set themselves to attack his chastity, he took the occasion to gain over their souls to Christ. Towards the most divine mystery of the Eucharist he was drawn with burning tenderness of love, and would pass almost whole nights without sleep, in adoration. This holy custom he established in his Order, to be kept up for ever, as its peculiar mark. He was a zealous propagator of the cultus of the Virgin Mother of God. He was all aflame with the love of his neighbours. He was gifted with prophecy and the discerning of spirits. In the forty-fourth year of his age, whilst he was continuing long at prayer in the holy house of Loreto, it was made known to him that the end of his earthly life was at hand. He straightway took his road to the Abruzzi and was there seized with a mortal fever, at the house of the disciples of St Philip Neri, in the town of Agnone. He received with great devotion the Sacraments of the Church, and upon the day preceding the Nones of June, in the year sixteen hundred and eight, it being the eve of the feast of Corpus Christi, he most calmly

Maximus solemni ritu inter beatos, Pius vero septimus Pontifex Maximus novis fulgentem signis, anno millesimo octingentesimo septimo sanctorum albo adscripsit.

fell asleep in the Lord. His sacred body was carried to Naples, and there honourably buried in the church of St Mary Major, where he had laid the first foundations of his Order. As he became distinguished for miracles, Pope Clement XIV enrolled his name, with solemn pomp, amongst those of the blessed, and Pope Pius VII, in the year eighteen hundred and seven, finding his mighty prodigies continue, added it to the list of saints.

Well was thy love for the divine Sacrament of the altar rewarded, O Francis; thou hadst the glory of being called to the banquet of our eternal home, at the very hour when the Church on earth was chanting the praises of the sacred Victim, at the first Vespers of the great festival that year by year hails this mystery of mysteries. Thine own feast day occurring, as it ever does, close to this solemnity of Corpus Christi, continues still to invite men, as thou wast wont to do in life, to come and look in adoration into the depths of this mystery of love. The mysterious harmony of the cycle is all disposed by divine Wisdom, seeing that his sweet Providence fixes the season at which each saint is summoned to receive the crown of bliss; thus the post of honour earned by thee is in the sanctuary itself close to the divine Host upon our altars.

"The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up:"² this was thy heart's cry upon earth. These words, less those of David than of the Man-God himself, did indeed fill thine heart to overflowing, so that after thy death they were found graven on thy heart, showing the one principle which had governed all thy desires. Hence resulted thy need of continual prayer, and thy corresponding ardour for penance, which thou madest the twofold characteristic of thy

² Ps. lxviii 10. ³ St John ii 17.

religious family, and wouldst fain have seen in the hearts of all. Prayer and penance: these two alone fix man in his right position before God. Vouchsafe to preserve this precious deposit amongst thy spiritual sons, O Francis, so that by their zeal in propagating the spirit of their father, they may make it become the treasure also of the entire world.

JUNE 5

SAINT BONIFACE, APOSTLE OF GERMANY BISHOP AND MARTYR

The Son of Man, proclaimed King in the highest heavens on his triumphant Ascension day, leaves to his bride on earth the task of making his sovereign dominion recognized here below: this is her glory. Pentecost gives the signal for the Church's work of conquest; now does she awake, aroused by the breath of the Holy Ghost; replenished with this Spirit of love, she is all eagerness, as he is, to be possessed at once of the whole earth. We have already seen the Franks and the Anglo-Saxons pledging in her hands their oath of fealty to Christ, "to whom is given all power on earth and in heaven."¹ To-day we see how Winfrid realizes the fair name of Boniface, or well-doer, given him by Pope Gregory II. He presents himself before us, surrounded by the multitudes he has snatched at one blow from paganism and barbarism. Thanks to the Apostle of Germany, the hour is nigh when the Church may constitute in this world, apart from the spiritual dominion of souls, an empire more powerful than any that has ever been or is to be.

The eternal Father draws to his Son² not men only but nations; these are his inheritance on earth no less than heaven is in eternity. The good pleasure that God takes in the Word made Flesh could never be content with merely seeing nations come, one here, another there, offering an isolated homage of recognition to Christ, as their Lord and Master. It was the whole world that was promised as his possession, without distinction of nations, without limits, save those of the earth itself:³

¹ St Matt. xxviii 18. ² St John vi 44. ³ Ps. ii 6, 8.

recognized or not, his power is universal. In the case of many, no doubt, the contempt or the ignorance of this regal claim of the Man-God is to last on throughout ages; for revolt, alas! is always possible to all. But it was the duty of the Church to exercise her influence over baptized nations, so as to gather them together in one public acknowledgement of the royalty of Christ, which is the source of every kingly power. At the Pontiff's side there seemed to be a fitting place for a mailed chieftain of Christendom to be the lieutenant of Christ, who alone is Lord of lords and King of kings. Thus would be realized, in all its plenitude, the magnificent principality announced by the prophets for the Son of David.⁴

Such an institution was indeed worthy of the name it was to receive, that of the Holy Empire: in it we have the final result of our glorious Pentecost, the consummation of the testimony rendered by the Holy Ghost to Jesus, both as Pontiff and as King.² In a few days, Leo III, the illustrious Pope called by the Holy Spirit to crown this his divine work, will proclaim, to the joy of the whole world, the establishment of this new empire beneath the sceptre-sway of the Man-God, in the person of Charlemagne, the representative of the King of kings. This marvellous work was not prepared all at once. Vast regions, destined to form the very nucleus of this future empire, for long centuries knew not so much as the very name of the Lord Jesus; or, at best, preserved but confused notions of truth, derived from some earlier evangelization that had been stifled in its birth by the turmoil of invasions—a mere mixture of Christian practices and idolatrous superstitions. At length we behold Boniface arise, endued with power from on high, the worthy precursor of St Leo III. Born of those angel-faced Angles, by whom ancient Britain was transformed into the Island of Saints, he burns to carry into the heart of Germany, whence his ancestors had sprung, the light which first shone upon them in the land of their conquest.

¹ Ps. lxxi. ² St John xv. 26. ³ Acts i. 8.

Thirty years of monastic life, begun in childhood despite the tears and caresses of a tender father, had braced his soul. Prepared by this long period of retreat and silence, filled with divine science, and accompanied by the prayers of his cloistered brethren, he could now in all security set forth to follow the attraction of a divine call. But, first and foremost, Rome beholds him at the feet of the Sovereign Pontiff, submitting his plans and prospects to him who is the only source of all mission in the Church. Gregory II, in every way worthy of the great Popes that have borne that name, was at that time watching with apostolic vigilance over the Christian world, and preparing for the glorious sovereignty that awaited the Church in the coming eighth century. In the humble monk prostrate at his feet, the immortal Pontiff recognizes a powerful auxiliary sent to him by heaven; and so, armed with the apostolic benediction, Winfrid, now become Boniface, feels the powerful attraction of the Holy Spirit drawing him irresistibly to conquests of which ancient Rome had never dreamed.

Beyond the Rhine, farther than Roman legions ever penetrated, the Church now advances into this barbarous land, along pathways tracked for her by Boniface; overturning in her victorious march the last idols of the false gods, civilizing and sanctifying those savage hordes, the scourge of the old world. This Anglo-Saxon, a true son of St Benedict, gives to his work a stability that will defy the lapse of ages. Everywhere monasteries arise, taking root in the very soil, for God's sake; and, by force of example and beneficence, fixing around them its various nomad tribes. From the river banks, from the forest depths, instead of cries of war and of vengeance, is wafted the accent of prayer and of praise to the Most High. Sturm, the beloved disciple of St Boniface, presides over these peaceful colonies far superior to those of pagan Rome, planted though they were by her noblest veterans and manned by the best forces of her empire.

Here, too, where violence has hitherto reigned supreme, in these savage wilds, a novel kind of army is organized, formed of the gentle brides of Christ. The Spirit of Pentecost, like a mighty wind, has blown over the land of the Angles; and, even as in the cenacle holy women had a share in its influence, consecrated virgins, obedient to the heavenly impulse, have quitted the land of their birth, even the monastery that has sheltered them from childhood. Having for a while administered only at a distance to Winfrid's needs, and copied out for him the sacred books in letters of gold, they at length come to join the apostle. Fearlessly have they crossed the sea, and, guided by their divine Spouse, have come to share the labours undertaken for his glory. Lioba is at their head; she whose gentle majesty, whose heavenly aspect, uplifts the mind from earthly thoughts, and who by her knowledge of the scriptures, of the fathers, and of the sacred canons, is equal to any of the most celebrated doctors. But the Holy Ghost has still more richly gifted the soul of Lioba with humility and Christian heroism. Behold the chosen mother of the German nation! Germany's proud daughters, athirst for blood, who on their wedding-day disdained all other gift save a steed, a buckler, and a lance,¹ are to learn from her the true qualities of the valiant woman. No more shall they be seen, intoxicated with slaughter, leading back to the field of battle their vanquished husbands; but the virtues of the wife and of the mother shall replace in them the fury of the camp; family life is to be founded on German soil, and through it the fatherland.

¹ Tacit. De mor. Germ. 18.

This was Boniface's intention when he called to his aid Lioba, Walburga, and their companions. Worn out with toil, but still more with the incessant wear and fret of petty jealousies (never spared to men of God by such as would cover their paltry complaints under the cloak of false zeal), our athlete of Christ was not ashamed to come to Lioba, his well-beloved daughter, humbly seeking from her that enlightened counsel and comfort which was never denied. Estimating at its true worth the share she had borne in his work, he was desirous that she should be laid to rest in the same tomb prepared for him in his abbey of Fulda.

But not yet was his labour ended, nor was the evening of life at hand. The spiritual welfare of his numberless converts must be secured, and at their head must be placed such as the Holy Ghost designated for the government of God's Church.¹ By his means the hierarchy was constituted and developed; the land was covered with churches; and, beneath the rule of holy bishops chosen by God, these once wandering tribes now began to live a life to the glory of the most blessed Trinity, in a country but recently pagan, wherein Satan had hoped to perpetuate his own domination.

¹ Acts xx. 28.

Nor was this our saint's only work in Germany; in certain isolated parts, the seeds of Arianism and Manichæism had been silently taking root, by means
of an intruded clergy, half pagan and half Christian in their rites; and these would inevitably prove a serious scandal to his recent converts that came within reach of their influence. Even as Christ, armed with a whip of cords, drove the buyers and sellers from the temple, so did Boniface, by vigorous measures, rid the land of these sectarian priests, who, with hands polluted by heathenish sacrifices to the vanquished deities of Valhalla, dared to offer also the spotless victim to the Most High.

The powerful action of Boniface, as the precursor of the Holy Empire, was not confined to preparing the German race alone for its share in so high a destiny. His beneficent influence was now to be exercised, at a most critical moment, upon France, the eldest daughter of the Church; for she was chosen, in the person of her princes, to be the first to bear the emblem of Christ's universal kingship. The descendants of Clovis had preserved nought of his royal inheritance, save the vain title of a power that had now passed into the hands of a new family, a more vigorous branch of his stock. Charles Martel, the head of this race, measuring his strength with the Moors, had crushed their entire army near Poitiers: but, in the flush of victory, the hero of the day had wellnigh brought the Church of France to the brink of ruin, by distributing to his comrades in arms the episcopal sees and abbeys of the land. Unless a situation no less disastrous than would have been the triumph of Abderahman was to be accepted, these usurped croziers must at once be wrested from the hands of such strange titularies. To effect this, as much gentleness as firmness was needed, together with an ascendancy belonging only to virtue, if the hero of Poitiers and his noble race were to be gained over to respect the rights of holy Church. This victory, more glorious than had been the defeat of the Moors, was won by Boniface, a veritable triumph of unarmed holiness, as profitable to the vanquished as to the Church herself. Of this fierce warrior he was to make the worthy father of a second dynasty, the glory whereof should far surpass the brilliant hopes of the first race of the Frankish kings.

Boniface, now legate of Pope St Zachary as he had formerly been of Gregory III, fixed his episcopal see at Mainz, the better to keep within the fold both Germany the conquest of his earlier apostolate, and France more recently rescued by his labours. Like another Samuel, he himself, with his own hands, consecrated this new regal dynasty, by conferring the sacred unction on Pepin le Bref, son of Charles Martel. This was in the year 752. Another Charles, as yet a child, who was one day to inherit that throne thus firmly established, attracted the notice of the aged saint, and received his benediction; it was the future Charlemagne. But to the hand of a Sovereign Pontiff would be reserved the anointing of that royal brow; and a diadem more glorious still than that of a king of the Franks was one day to be his, exhibiting in his person the head of the new Roman Empire, the lieutenant of the King of kings.

The personal work of Boniface was now accomplished; like the old man Simeon, his eyes had seen the object of all his ambition, of his life-long toil, the salvation prepared by God for this new Israel. He too had now no desire left save that of departing in peace to our Lord; but could such an apostle enter into peace by any other gate than that of martyrdom? He understands this well: his hour has sounded: the old warrior has chosen his last battlefield. Friesland is still pagan: half a century ago, at the opening of his apostolic career, he had avoided this country, in order to escape the bishopric which St Willibrord, at that early date, was anxious to bestow upon him: but now that it has nought save death to offer him, he will enter this land. In a letter of sublime humility, prostrate at the feet of Pope Stephen III, he submits to the correction of the Apostolic See, the awkward mistakes, as he terms them, and the many faults of his long life;¹ to Lullus, his dearest son, he leaves the Church of Mainz; he recommends to the care of the Frankish king the several priests scattered all through Germany, the monks and virgins, who from distant homes have followed him hither. Then ordering to be placed amongst the few books which he is taking with him the winding sheet that is to enwrap his body, he designates the companions chosen by him for the journey, and sets out to win the martyr's palm.

¹ Epist. lxxviii.

Let us now read the liturgical record of this grand life.

Bonifacius, antea Winfridas appellatus, apud Anglos natus est, exeunte sæculo septimo, et ab ipsa infantia mundum aversatus, vitam monasticam in votis habuit. Cum ejus pater animum sæculi illecebris permutare frustra tentasset, monasterium ingreditur, et sub beati Wolphardi disciplina omnium virtutum ac scientiarum genere imbuitur. Annum agens trigesimum sacerdotio insignitur, ac verbi divini prædicator assiduus, magno animarum lucro hoc in munere versatur. Attamen regnum Christi adaugere desiderans, continuo flebat ingentem multitudinem barbarorum, qui ignorantiæ tenebris immersi dæmoni famulabantur. Qui quidem animarum zelus cum in dies inexstinguibili ardore accresceret, divino Numine per lacrymas et orationes explorato, facultatem a monasterii præposito obtinuit ad Germanicas oras proficiscendi.

Boniface, formerly called Winfrid, was a native of England, born towards the end of the seventh century. From his very childhood, he turned away from the world and set his heart upon becoming a monk. When his father tried in vain to divert him from his wishes by the beguilements of the world, he entered a monastery, where under blessed Wulphard he was instructed in all virtuous discipline and every kind of knowledge. At the age of twenty-nine years he was ordained priest, and became an unwearied preacher of the word of God, wherein he had a special gift, which he used with great profit to souls. Nevertheless, his great desire was to spread the kingdom of Christ, and he continually bewailed the vast number of barbarians, who were plunged in the darkness of ignorance and were slaves of the devil. This zealous love of souls increased in him in intensity day by day, till having implored the divine aid by prayers and tears, he at last obtained the permission of the Prior of the monastery to set out for Germany.

Ex Anglia duobus cum sociis navim solvens, Dorestadum in Frisiæ oppidum venit. Cum autem bellum gravissimum inter Frisonum regem Radbodum, et Carolum Martellum exarsisset, sine fructu Evangelium prædicavit; quapropter in Angliam reversus ad suum rediit monasterium, cui invitus præficitur. Post elapsum biennium, ex consensu episcopi Vintoniensis munus abdicavit, et Romam profectus est, ut Apostolica auctoritate ad gentilium conversionem delegaretur. Cum ad Urbem pervenisset, a Gregorio Secundo benigne excipitur, pro Winfrido Bonifacius a Pontifice nominatur. In Germaniam directus, Thuringiæ Saxoniæque populis Christum annuntiavit. Cum interea Radbodus Frisiæ Rex ac infestissimus Christiani nominis hostis occubuisset, Bonifacius ad Frisones rediit, ubi Sancti Willibrordi socius per triennium tanto cum fructu Evangelium prædicavit, ut destructis idolorum simulacris, innumeræ vero Deo ecclesiæ excitarentur.

He sailed from England with two companions and reached the town of Dorestadt in Friesland. On account of a great war then raging between Radbod, king of the Frieslanders, and Charles Martel, his preaching was without fruit: so he returned to England, and to his former monastery, the government of which, against his will, he was forced to accept. After two years, he obtained the consent of the Bishop of Winchester to resign his office, and he then went to Rome, that by the Apostolic authority he might be delegated to the mission for converting the heathens.

A sancto Willibrordo ad episcopale munus expetitus, illud detrectavit, ut promptius infidelium saluti instaret. In Germaniam profectus plura Hassorum millia a daemonis superstitione avocavit. A Gregorio Pontifice Romam evocatus, post insignem fidei professionem episcopus consecratur. Exinde ad Germanos redux, Hassiam et Thuringiam ab idololatriae reliquiis penitus expurgavit. Tanta propter merita Bonifacius a Gregorio Tertio ad dignitatem archiepiscopalem evehitur, et tertio Romam profectus a Summo Pontifice Sedis Apostolicae Legatus constituitur: qua insignitus auctoritate, quatuor episcopatus instituit, et varias synodos celebravit, inter quas concilium Leptinense memorabile est apud Belgas in Cameracensi dioecesi celebratum, quo quidem tempore ad fidem in Belgio adaugendam egregie contulit. A Zacharia Papa creatus Moguntinus Archiepiscopus, ipso Pontifice jubente, Pipinum in regem Francorum unxit. Post mortem Sancti Willibrordi Ultrajectensem ecclesiam gubernandam suscepit, primo per Eobanum, deinde per seipsum, dum ab ecclesia Moguntina absolutus, Ultrajecti resedit. Frisonibus ad idololatriam relapsis Evangelium praedicare rursus aggreditur; cumque officio pastorali occuparetur, a barbaris et impiis hominibus, juxta Bornam fluvium, cum Eobano coepiscopo multisque aliis cruenta caede peremptus martyrii palma condecoratur. Corpus sancti Bonifacii Moguntiam translatum, et, ut ipse vivens petierat, in Fuldensi monasterio, quod exstruxerat, reconditum fuit, ubi multis miraculis inclaruit. Pius autem Nonus, Pontifex Maximus, ejus Officium et Missam ad universam Ecclesiam extendit.

When he arrived at the City, he was courteously welcomed by Gregory II, who changed his name from Winfrid to Boniface. He departed thence to Germany and preached Christ to the tribes in Thuringia and Saxony. Radbod, King of Friesland, who bitterly hated the Christian name, being dead, Boniface went a second time among the Frieslanders, and there, with his companion St Willibrord, preached the Gospel for three years with so much fruit, that the idols were hewn down, and countless churches arose to the true God.

Saint Willibrord urged him to accept the office of bishop, but he refused, so that he might the more instantly toil for the salvation of unbelievers. Advancing into Germany, he reclaimed thousands of the Hessians from diabolic superstition. Pope Gregory sent for him to Rome, and after receiving from him a noble profession of his faith, consecrated him a bishop. He again returned to Germany, and thoroughly purged Hesse and Thuringia from all remains of idolatry. On account of such great works, Gregory III advanced Boniface to the dignity of archbishop, and on the occasion of a third journey to Rome, he was invested by the Sovereign Pontiff with the powers of legate of the Apostolic See. As such, he founded four bishoprics and held divers synods, among which is especially to be remembered that of Lessines held in Belgium, in the diocese of Cambrai, at which time he made great efforts to spread the faith among the Belgians. By Pope Zachary he was named Archbishop of Mainz, and by command of the same Pope, he anointed Pepin king of the Franks. After the death of St Willibrord, he undertook the government of the Church of Utrecht, at first by the ministry of Eoban, but afterwards, being released from the care of the Church of Mainz, he established his see at Utrecht. The Frieslanders having again fallen back into idolatry, he went once more to preach the Gospel among them, and while he was busied in this duty he won the palm of martyrdom, being slain by some impious barbarians, who attacked him together with his fellow-bishop Eoban, and many others, on the river Born. In accordance with his wish expressed during life, the body of St Boniface was carried to Mainz and buried in the monastery of Fulda, of which he had been the founder, and which he has rendered illustrious by numerous miracles. Pope Pius IX ordered his Office and Mass to be extended to the universal Church.

Thou wast, O great apostle, the faithful servant of him who chose thee as the minister of his word and the propagator of his kingdom. When the Son of Man quitted earth to receive the delighted homage of the heavenly hosts in recognition of his kingship over them, he none the less remained King of this lower world which he has left but for a little while.¹ He counted on his Church to guard his principality here below. Small indeed was the number of those who recognized him, on the day of his glorious Ascension, as their Master and Lord. But that faith deposited in those first chosen souls was a treasure which they, like skilful bankers, knew how to work with, and how to multiply by apostolic commerce. Transmitted from generation to generation, up to the day of the Lord's return, this precious capital was to go on yielding to the absent Lord more and more accumulated interest. Thus was it with thee, O Winfrid, in that age wherein thou didst bring into the Church that tribute of labour which she requires, though in very different proportion, from each of her sons. In her gratitude, for thy works which appeared to her well done and profitable above those of others, forestalling the Spouse himself, she would, even in this world, call thee by that new name² whereby thou art known in heaven.

Indeed, when did riches, such as thou didst bring, come pouring at once into the hands of the bride? When did the Spouse appear to be so fully and truly head of the whole world, as in the eighth century, in which the Frankish princes, formed by thee to their noble destinies, constituted the temporal sovereignty of the Church, and gloried in being the lieutenants of Christ standing at the side of his Vicar on earth? To thee, O Boniface, is the Holy Empire indebted for its very existence. But for thee, France would have perished, debased by a simoniacal clergy, even before a Charlemagne had appeared; but for thee, Germany would have remained a prey to pagan barbarians, enemies of all civilization and progress. O thou that didst rescue both Germans and Franks, receive our grateful homage.

At the sight of thy works, and remembering the great popes and magnificent princes, whose glory is indeed derived from thee, our admiration equals our gratitude. But pardon us, dear saint, if the thought of those grand centuries of yore, so far removed, alas, from these our days, should mingle sadness with our joy. Viewed in the light of thy holy policy and its results, O glorious precursor of the confederation of Christian nations, how we must bewail the fatal errors of those princes and statesmen, so renowned in the seventeenth century, and so foolishly admired by a world whose ruin they were hastening! For, by the isolation of Catholic nations from one another, the ties that bound them to the Vicar of Christ became loosened: princes, forgetful of their true position as representatives of the divine King, made friends with heresy, in order to assert their independence of Rome, or to lower one another's power. Therefore Christendom is no more. Upon its ruins, like a woful mimicry of the Holy Empire, Protestantism has raised its false evangelical empire, formed of nought but encroachments, and tracing its recognized origin to the apostasy of that felon knight Albert of Brandenburg.

The complicities that rendered such a thing possible have received their chastisement. May God's justice be satisfied at last! O Boniface, cry out with us unto the God of armies for mercy. Raise up in the Church servants of Christ, powerful in word and work, as thou wast. Save France from anarchy; and restore to Germany a right appreciation of true greatness, together with the faith of her ancient days.

¹ St Luke xix 12-15.
² Apoc. ii 17.

June 6

SAINT NORBERT BISHOP AND CONFESSOR

The helpful influence of the Holy Ghost is more and more multiplied along the Church's path. It seems as though he would show us to-day how the divine power of his action is not crippled by lapse of years: for here we have, twelve centuries after his first coming among us, miracles of grace and conversion quite as brilliant as those that marked his glorious descent upon earth.

Norbert, in whose veins flowed the blood of emperors and kings, was, from the very breast of his mother Hedwige, supernaturally invited to a nobility loftier still: yet did he devote to the unreserved enjoyment of pleasure three-and-thirty years of a life that was to number but fifty in all. The Holy Ghost at length hastened to the conquest. There burst a sudden storm, a thunderbolt falls right in front of the prodigal, throwing him to the ground and making a frightful chasm between him and the point whither, a moment ago, he was hastening in pursuit of new vanities, that needs must fail, as all others had done, to fill the hopeless void in his heart. Then, in the very depths of his soul resounds a voice, such as Saul once heard on his way to Damascus: 'Norbert, whither goest thou?' Like another Paul he replies: 'Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?' He is answered: 'Depart from evil and do good; seek after peace and pursue it.' Twenty years later, Norbert is in heaven, seated amidst pontiffs, upon a glorious throne, and all radiant with that special brilliancy that distinguishes the founders of the great religious Orders, when they have reached the eternal home.

Deep are the traces left by him on earth of his few years of penitential life. Germany and France receive his preaching; Antwerp is delivered from a shameful heresy; Magdeburg is rescued, by her archbishop, from the irregularities that were sullying the house of God: such are his works; and though these alone would have sufficed to a long life of holiness, yet they are not the only claims, nor the most brilliant, which Norbert has to the Church's gratitude. Before being called, against his will, to the honours of the episcopate, this once gay courtier made choice of an uninhabitable solitude amidst the forests of the diocese of Laon where he devoted himself to prayer and to the maceration of his flesh. The renown of this holy penitent gained rapidly; and Prémontré soon beheld her swampy marshes invaded by a vast multitude, formed of the fairest names of the nobility, pressing thither to learn the science of salvation from the lips of the saintly anchorite. There, too, did our Lady show to him, in vision, the white habit wherewith his disciples were to be clothed; and St Augustine, in like manner, delivered to him his own rule. Thus was founded the most illustrious branch of the Order of Canons Regular. They add to the obligation of solemnizing the Divine Office the austerities of an uninterrupted penance; and devote themselves, moreover, to the service of souls, by preaching and the administration of parishes.

In the foregoing century, the episcopacy and papacy had been raised by the monks above the danger of feudal servitude; and Norbert was now raised up to give the needed completion to their work. Although, in principle, the monastic life excludes no sort of labour useful to the Church, the monks could not (however numerous they might be) quit their cloisters in order to undertake charge of souls. Yet great were the wants of the lambs of the flock at that time; for many unworthy pastors of secondary order, slaves to simony and immorality, still continued to lead astray the simple laity. The religious life was alone capable of raising the priesthood from such degradation, whether on the pinnacles of the hierarchy, or amongst the lowest degrees of sacred Orders. Norbert was the man chosen by God to effect, in part at least, this immense work; and the importance of his mission explains the sublime prodigality wherewith the Holy Ghost multiplied vocations to his standard. The number and rapidity of foundations permitted succour to be promptly and everywhere afforded. Even into the far east did the light of Prémontré reach, almost at its first dawn. In the eighteenth century, notwithstanding the devastations of the Turks and the ravages of the pretended Reformation, the Order, divided into twenty-eight provinces, still contained, in almost every one of its houses, as many as from fifty to one hundred and twenty canons, and the parishes that continued under their care might be counted by thousands.

Nuns, whose holy life and prayers are the ornament and aid of the Church militant, occupied from the very beginning the place deservedly their due in this numerous family. In the time of the founder, or soon after his death, there were more than a thousand of them at Prémontré alone. Such an incredible number gives us an idea of the prodigious propagation of the Order from its very origin. Norbert moreover extended his charity to persons who, like Thibault Count of Champagne, would gladly have followed him into the desert, but who were retained by God's will in the world; he thus made a prelude to those pious associations, which we shall see St Francis and St Dominic organizing in the thirteenth century, under the name of Third Orders.

The liturgy thus condenses the life of this great servant of God:

Norbertus nobilissimis parentibus natus, adolescens liberalibus disciplinis eruditus, in ipsa postea imperatoris aula, spretis mundi illecebris, ecclesiasticae militiae adscribi voluit. Sacris initiatus, rejectis mollibus ac splendidis vestibus, pellicea melote indutus, praedicationi verbi Dei se totum dedit. Abdicatis ecclesiasticis proventibus satis amplis, et patrimonio in pauperes erogato, semel in die sub vesperam solo cibo quadragesimali utens, nudisque pedibus, et lacera veste sub brumali rigore incedens, mirae austeritatis vitam est aggressus. Potens igitur opere et sermone, innumeros haereticos ad fidem, peccatores ad pœnitentiam, dissidentes ad pacem et concordiam revocavit.

Cum Lauduni esset, ab episcopo rogatus ne a sua dioecesi discederet, desertum in ea locum, qui Praemonstratus dicebatur, sibi delegit: ibique tredecim sociis aggregatis, Praemonstratensem ordinem instituit, divinitus accepta per visum regula a sancto Augustino. Cum vero ejus fama sanctitatis in dies magis augeretur, ac plurimi ad eum quotidie discipuli convenirent, idem ordo ab Honorio Secundo aliisque Summis Pontificibus confirmatus, ac pluribus ab eo monasteriis aedificatis, mirifice propagatus est.

Antverpiam accersitus, in ea urbe Tanchelini nefariam

of the world, and chose rather to enlist himself as a soldier of the Church. Being ordained priest, he laid aside all soft and showy raiment, clad himself in a coat of skins, and made the preaching of the word of God the one object of

his life. Having renounced the ecclesiastical revenues which he held and which were very considerable, he distributed likewise his patrimony among the poor. He ate only once a day, in the evening, and then his meal was of lenten fare. His life was of singular austerity, and he used, even in the depth of winter, to go out with bare feet and ragged garments. Hence came that mighty power of his words and deeds, whereby he was enabled to turn countless heretics to the faith, sinners to repentance, and enemies to peace and concord.

Being at Laon, and the bishop having besought him not to leave his diocese, he made choice of a wilderness, at a place called Prémontré, whither he withdrew himself with thirteen disciples, and thus he founded the Order of Premonstratensians, the Rule of which he received in a vision from St Augustine. When, however, the fame of his holy life became every day more and more noised abroad, and great numbers sought to become his disciples, and the Order had been approved by Honorius II and other Popes, many more monasteries were built by him, and the Institute wonderfully extended.

Being called to Antwerp, he there gave the deathblow to the shameful heresy of Tanchelin. He was remarkable for the spirit of prophecy and for the gift of miracles. He was created (albeit against his will) archbishop of Magdeburg, and as such was a strong upholder of the discipline of the Church, especially as regards celibacy. At a council held at Rheims, he was a great help to Innocent II, and went with other bishops to Rome, where he repressed the schism of Peter de Leon. At last the man of God, full of good works and of the Holy Ghost, fell asleep in the Lord, at Magdeburg, in the year of salvation eleven hundred and thirty-four, on the sixth day of June.

Hæresim profligavit. Prophetico spiritu et miraculis claruit. Archiepiscopus tandem, licet reluctans, Magdeburgensis creatus, ecclesiasticam disciplinam, præsertim cœlibatum, constanter propugnavit. Rhemis in concilio Innocentium Secundum egregie adjuvit, et Romam cum aliis episcopis profectus, schisma Petri Leonis compressit. Postremo vir Dei, meritis et Spiritu sancto plenus Magdeburgi obdormivit in Domino, anno salutis millesimo centesimo trigesimo quarto, die sexta Junii.

Thou didst indeed know how to redeem the time,¹ as was fitting in those evil days, wherein thou thyself, O Norbert, led away by the example of the senseless crowd, hadst for so long frustrated the designs of God's love. Those years, at first refused by thee to the true Master of the world, were at length returned unto him, multiplied a hundredfold, through those countless sons and daughters thou didst train up in sanctity. Even thy personal works, in but twenty years' space, filled the whole earth. Schism crushed; heresy confounded to the greater glory of the most holy Sacrament which it had already dared to attack; the rights of the Church intrepidly defended against worldly princes and unjust retentions; the priesthood restored to its primitive purity; the Christian life established on its true basis, of prayer and penance; such and so many victories achieved in so few years, are due to the generosity which prevented thee from looking back for one moment, once the Holy Ghost had touched thy heart. Do thou make all understand that it is never too late to begin to serve God. Were it even, as in thy case, the evening of life, what yet remains of time would suffice to make us saints, if we would but generously give that little fully to heaven.²

¹ Eph. v 16.
² 1 St Pet. iv 2.

Faith and patience were thy cherished virtues; make them flourish once more in this sad world, which boasts of its disbelief, and with jibe and jeer hurries onward to the abyss of hell. Forget not, dear apostle, now that thou art in heaven, the countries thou didst formerly evangelize; we implore this of thee, in spite of their forgetfulness and deliberate return to the deceits of the devil.

Holy Pontiff, Magdeburg has lost her ancient faith, and with it the precious relics of thy body, which she no longer deserved to possess: Prague is now the favoured place of thy repose. But, whilst blessing this hospitable city, pray still for the ungrateful one that has cast aside her double treasure. O thou founder of Prémontré, smile once more on France, which derives from thee one of her fairest glories. Obtain of God that, for the salvation of these calamitous times, thine Order may recover something of its former splendour. Bless, few as they are, those sons and daughters of thine who, in spite of the hostility of the 'powers that be,' seek to shed once more their beneficent influence on France. May England benefit also by their return to her midst, and may their fruits be multiplied in every direction. Maintain thine own spirit among them; may they find in interior peace the secret of triumph over Satan and his crew; may the full magnificence of the divine worship solemnly carried out be ever to their souls as the dearly loved mount, whence, Moses-like, they may declare the will of the Lord to the new Israel, the Christian people.

June 8

SAINT WILLIAM BISHOP AND CONFESSOR

At the head of the holy confessors commemorated by the Church in her martyrology for to-day, is inscribed the illustrious name of William. 'At York, in England,' it says, 'the memory of St William, Archbishop and Confessor, who, amongst other miracles wrought at his tomb, raised three dead persons to life; and who was inscribed amongst the saints by Honorius III.' The divine Spirit, who adorns the Church with variety in the virtues of her sons,¹ reproduces in them the life of the divine Spouse under many forms. Thus there is no situation in life that cannot find some teaching drawn from the example given by our Lord and his saints under similar circumstances. However vast be the field of trial for the elect here below; however multiplied and unexpected be the limits of endurance, or the circumstances; herein, as ever, does that word of eternal Wisdom hold good: 'Nothing under the sun is new, neither is any man able to say: Behold this is new: for it hath already gone before, in the ages that were before us.'²

The election of William to the metropolitan see of York was signalized by the apparition of a miraculous cross, a presage of what his life was to be. The heaviest cross one can have to bear is that which originates from the servants of God, from our own brethren, or from our own superiors, in the spiritual order: this cross was not to be spared to William. For our instruction (especially for us who so easily believe that we have gone to the farthest limits of endurance in point of suffering) God permitted that, after the example of his divine Master, William should drink the chalice to the dregs, and should become even to the saints a sign of contradiction and a rock of scandal.³

Both to the more numerous portion of the flock, as well as to the better-minded among them, the promotion of the archbishop elect of York was indeed a cause of great joy; but others considered it contrary to their interests. They were foolish enough to listen to certain perfidious insinuations and whisperings, and were led to suppose that it would be a good deed to prevent his consecration. Finally they allowed themselves to be so far worked upon as to make formal and grave accusations against their shepherd, and even the virtuous, deceived by the craftiness of the intriguers, espoused their cause. After hearing from the lips of holy Church in the martyrology her own judgement, glorious as it stands and without appeal, it is not without feelings of wonder and even of bewilderment, that we read passages such as the following, in letters written at the time.

'To our well beloved father and lord, Innocent, by the grace of God Sovereign Pontiff, Bernard of Clairvaux. The archbishop of York hath approached you; that man regarding whom we have so often already written to your Holiness. A sorry cause indeed is his; as we have learned from such as are worthy of credit, from the sole of his foot to the top of his head there is not a sound place in him. What can this man, stripped of all justice, have to seek at the hands of the guardian of justice?'⁴ Then recommending the accusers to the Pontiff, the abbot of Clairvaux fears not to add: 'If any one be of God, let him join himself unto them! If the barren tree still occupy the ground, to whom must I attribute the fault, save to him unto whom the hatchet belongs?'⁵

The Vicar of Christ, who can look at things from a higher level and can see more exactly than even saints, took no step to prevent William's consecration, and St Bernard wrote, confidentially, to the abbot of Rievaulx, in Yorkshire: 'I have learned what has become of this archbishop, and my sorrow is extreme.⁶ We have laboured all we could against this common pest, and we have not obtained the desired measure; but for all that, the fruit of our labour is none the less assured from him, who never suffers any good deed to pass unrewarded. What men have refused to us, I am confident we shall obtain from the mercy of our Father who is in heaven, and that we shall yet see this cursed fig-tree rooted up.'⁷

Such grave mistakes as these can sometimes be made by saints. Cruel mistakes indeed they are, but very sanctifying for those saints on whom the blow falls; and, though veritable persecutions, yet they are not without consolation for such saints as these, inasmuch as there has been no offence to God on either side.

Innocent II being dead, Bernard, convinced that the honour of the Church was at stake, repeated his supplications, more urgently than ever, to Pope Celestine II and the Roman court: 'The whole world is aware of the devil's triumph,' he exclaimed, with such fiery zeal that we somewhat modify the strength of his expression. 'The applause of the uncircumcised and the tears of the good, resound far and wide. . . . If such were to be the end of this ignominious cause, why not have left it in obscurity? Could not that infamous man, the horror of England and the abomination of France, have been made bishop without Rome also witnessing the general infection spread as far as the very tombs of the apostles?⁸ . . . . Well, be it so; this man has received sacrilegious consecration; but still more glorious will it be to precipitate Simon from mid-air, than to have prevented his mounting thus far. Otherwise, what will you do with the faithful, whose sense of religion makes them suppose that they cannot, with a safe conscience, receive the sacraments from this leprous hand? Are they, then, to be forced by Rome to bend the knee to Baal?'⁹

Rome, however, was slow in letting herself be convinced, and neither Celestine, nor Lucius II who succeeded him, was willing to find in the great services of the powerful abbot of Clairvaux a sufficient reason to pronounce a condemnation, the justice of which was far from being proved to their eyes. It was only under the pontificate of Eugenius III, his former disciple, that St Bernard, by new¹⁰ and reiterated¹¹ instances, at last obtained the deposition of William, and the substitution, in the see of York, of Henry Murdach, a Cistercian, and abbot of Fountains near Ripon.

'All the time that his humiliation lasted,' writes John, prior of Hexham, 'William never let a murmur of complaint escape him; but with a silent heart and with his soul at peace, knew how to keep patience. He protested not against his adversaries; nay, further still, he would turn aside his ear and his very thought from those who judged them unfavourably. None of those who shared his disgrace, showed themselves so continually given up as he to prayer and labour.'¹²

Five years afterwards¹³ Eugenius III died, as also the abbot of Clairvaux and Henry Murdach. The canons of York once more elected William, and he was reinstated in the plenitude of his metropolitan rights by Anastasius IV. But God had willed to do no more than affirm the justice of his cause: thirty days after his triumphal return to York, he died, having only just solemnized the festival of the Holy Trinity for whom he had suffered.

We here give the few lines wherein the liturgy records the trials and virtues of St William.

¹ Ps. xliv 10; Apoc. xix 8.
² Eccles. i 10.
³ St Luke ii 34; Rom. ix 33.
⁴ Bern. Epist. 346, al. 377.
⁵ Ibid. 347, al. 378.
⁶ Bern. Epist. 353, al. 379.
⁷ Ibid. 360, al. 380.
⁸ Epist. 235.
⁹ Epist. 236.
¹⁰ Ibid. 239.
¹¹ Ibid. 240, al. 252.
¹² John Hag. Hist. xxv.
¹³ 1153.

Beatus Gulielmus clarissimis ortus parentibus, scilicet patre Huberto Comite, et matre Emma Stephani regis sorore, summa virtutis laude adolescens floruit. Crescentibus autem meritis cum ætate, Eboracensis thesaurarius effectus est: quo in munere ita se gessit, ut communis egentium pater ab omnibus haberetur. Neque enim ullum pretiosiorem thesaurum existimabat, quam seipsum opibus spoliare, quo facilius inopia laborantibus subveniret.

Cum autem, defuncto Turstino Archiepiscopo, in ejusdem locum dissentientibus paucis e capitulo esset electus, electioni autem ut minus canonice factæ divus Bernardus apud apostolicam Sedem reclamasset, ab Eugenio tertio summo pontifice exauctoratus est. Qua quidem res huic sancto viro non modo nullam molestiam attulit, sed potius optatissimam humilitatis exercendæ, Deoque liberius inserviendi occasionem præbuit.

Sæculi igitur pompas cum fugeret, in solitudinem secessit, ubi nullis exterarum rerum curis distractus, propriæ saluti invigilaret. Defunctis autem adversariis, archiepiscopus iterum summo omnium consensu eligitur, et ab Anastasio pontifice confirmatur. Recepta autem sede, paulo post in morbum incidit, et dierum plenus, et eleemosynis, vigiliis, jejuniis, bonisque operibus Deo carus, ex hac vita migravit sexto Idus Junii anno salutis humanæ

Blessed William, born of noble parents (Count Hubert being his father, and Emma, sister of King Stephen, his mother) was remarkable from earliest youth for singularly great virtue. Growing in merit as he advanced in age, he was made treasurer of York: in which office he so behaved, as to be held by all as the father of the needy. Nor indeed did he esteem anything a more precious treasure than to despoil himself of his wealth, that he might more easily minister to the wants of those labouring under poverty.

Thurstan the archbishop being dead, he was elected to succeed him, though some few of the chapter dissented. But Saint Bernard, on the ground of this election being faulty according to the sacred canons, appealed against him to the apostolic See, and hence he was deposed by Pope Eugenius III. Which thing was in no ways taken as a grievance by this holy man, but rather as offering an excellent occasion of exercising humility and of serving God with greater freedom.

Wherefore, fleeing worldly pomps, he withdrew into solitude, where he could attend solely to his own salvation, undistracted by any care of exterior things. But at last, his adversaries being dead, he was again with the full consent of all elected archbishop, and was confirmed by Pope Anastasius. Having entered upon his see he was shortly afterwards attacked with sickness; and full of days, as well as dear to God by reason of his almsdeeds, vigils, fasts, and good works, he departed out of this life, on the sixth of the Ides of June, in the year of our salvation one thousand one hundred and fifty-four.

millesimo centesimo quinquagesimo quarto.

O William, thou didst know how to possess thy soul! Under the assaults of contradiction thou didst join the aureole of sanctity to the glorious character of a bishop. For well didst thou understand the twofold duty incumbent on thee from the day thou wast called by the suffrages of an illustrious Church to defend her here below, under most difficult circumstances; on the one hand, not to refuse the perilous honour of upholding to the last the rights of that noble bride who proffered thee her alliance: on the other, to show to thy flock, by the example of thy own submission, that even the best of causes can never be dispensed from that absolute obedience owed by sheep, just as much as by lambs, to the supreme Shepherd. He who searcheth the heart and the reins¹ knew how far the trial could go, without either altering the admirable simplicity of thy faith, or troubling, in consequence, the divine calm wherein lay thy strength. Yearning to raise thee to the highest degree of glory in heaven, fain was he to assimilate thee fully, even here below, to the eternal Pontiff, himself misunderstood, denied and condemned by the very princes of his own people. Thy refuge was in that maxim, from the lips of this divine Head: 'Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls,'² and thus the yoke that would bear down such weak shoulders as ours, a burthen beneath which the strongest of us well might quail, far from daunting thee, seemed fused with such sweetness, that thy step became all the lighter³ for it, and from that hour thou didst appear not only to walk, but to run like a giant,⁴ in the way of heroism wherein saints are formed.

Help us, O William, to follow thy steps at least afar off, in the paths of gentleness and energy. Teach us to count for little all personal injuries. Our Lord indeed probed the delicacy of thy great soul, when he permitted that to befall thee, which to us would have proved a very core of bitterness, namely, that thy hottest adversaries should really be true saints, who, in every measure they undertook against thee, wished only for the honour and glory of their divine Master. The mysterious oil, that for so long flowed from thy tomb, was at once a sign of the ineffable meekness which earned for thee that constant simplicity of thy soul's glance, and a touching testimony rendered by heaven in favour of thy pontifical unction, the legitimacy of which was so long contested. God grant that this sweet oil may ooze out once again! Spread it lovingly on so many wounded souls, whom the injustice of men embitters and drives to desperation; let it freely flow in thine own Church of York, alien though she now be to thine exquisite submission to Rome and to her ancient traditions. Oh! would that Albion might cast aside her winding-sheet at that blessed tomb of thine, whereat the dead have oft returned to life! May the whole Church receive from thee, this day, increase of light and grace, to the honour and praise of the undivided and ever tranquil Trinity, to whom was paid thy last solemn homage here below.

¹ Jer. xvii 10. ² St Matt. xi 29. ³ Ibid. xi 30. ⁴ Ps. xviii 6.

JUNE 9

SAINTS PRIMUS AND FELICIAN MARTYRS

Roses and lilies are exquisitely alternated in the wreath woven by centuries for the bride of the Son of God. Though the world be heedless of the fact, it is none the less true that everything here below has but one object, namely to bedeck the Church with the attractive charms of heaven, to adjust her jewelled robes formed of the virtues of her saints, that she may be fitted to take her seat beside her divine Spouse, in the highest heavens, for all eternity.¹ The sacred cycle, in its yearly course, presents an image of those ceaseless labours whereby the Holy Ghost continues to form, up to the day of the eternal nuptials, that varied robe of holy Church, by diversifying the merits of God's servants, her members here below. To-day we have two martyrs becrimsoned with their own blood, setting off the dazzling whiteness of Norbert's works, or of William's innocence; and to-morrow we may contemplate with delighted gaze the softer light beamed upon our earth by Margaret, Scotland's pearl.

Primus and Felician, wealthy Romans, had already attained maturity of age, when our Lord made his voice heard inviting them to forsake their vain idols. Brothers according to the flesh, they now became more really such by fidelity to the same call of grace. Together they proved themselves intrepid helpers of the confessors of Christ amidst the atrocious persecution which raged against the Church during the latter half of the third century. In the same combat were they to fall side by side, exchanging this frail life here below for that into which, at one birth, they were to enter for ever in heaven.

¹ Apoc. xix 7, 8; Ps. xliv 10.

They furthermore were honoured by having their precious relics placed in the celebrated sanctuary consecrated to St Stephen, the Proto-Martyr, on Monte Cœlio; and they form its richest treasure.

The holy liturgy relates their triumph in these few lines:

Primus et Felicianus fratres, in persecutione Diocletiani et Maximiani accusati christianæ religionis, in vincula conjiciuntur: quibus soluti, inde eripiuntur ab angelo. Mox ad prætorem adducti, cum christianam fidem acerrime tuerentur, alter ab altero distracti sunt; ac primum varie tentata est constantia Feliciani. Sed cum suasores impietatis se posse quidquam verbis proficere desperarent, affixis stipiti manibus ejus et pedibus, ipsum sine cibo et potu inde triduum pendentem reliquerunt. Postridie ejus diei prætor vocatum ad se Primum sic affatur: Vides quanto sit prudentior quam tu frater tuus, qui, obsecutus imperatoribus, apud ipsos est honoratus. Quem si tu quoque imitari volueris, particeps eris ejus honoris et gratiæ. Cui Primus: Quid factum sit fratri meo cognovi ex angelo. Utinam quemadmodum sum cum eo voluntate conjunctissimus, sic ab eodem ne martyrio disjungar. Quo dicto, excanduit prætor, et ad cæteros cruciatus quibus Primum affecit, præsente jam Feliciano, liquatum igne plumbum in os ejus jussit infundi. Mox utrumque perduci imperat in theatrum, in eosque immitti duos leones: qui prostrati ad eorum genua, capite et cauda ipsis blandiebantur. Ad id spectaculum cum amplius duodecim millia hominum convenissent, quingenti cum suis familiis christianam religionem susceperunt. Quibus rebus permotus prætor, eos securi percuti jussit.

Primus and Felician were brothers, and, being accused of professing the Christian religion during the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian, they were thrown into irons, which an angel broke, and they were delivered. But, being soon led again before the prætor, and as they most earnestly clung to the Christian faith, they were separated one from the other. The steadfastness of Felician was the first to be put to the test in divers ways. As they who strove to persuade him to impiety found it hopeless to gain aught from him by words, he was fastened hand and foot to a stake, and there left to hang three days without either food or drink. The day after that, the prætor having called Primus before him, thus addressed him: 'Seest thou how much wiser is thy brother than thou art? He hath obeyed the emperors, and they have made him honourable. Thou hast only to follow his example to be made partaker of his honours and favours.' Primus replied: 'What hath befallen my brother I know, for an angel hath told me. Would to God, that seeing I have the same will that he hath, I were not divided from him in the same martyrdom.' These words raised the wrath of the prætor, and in addition to the torments which he had already inflicted on Primus, he ordered boiling lead to be poured into his mouth, and this in presence of Felician. After that, he had them both dragged into the amphitheatre, and two lions let loose upon them, in presence of about twelve thousand people, who were gathered together to see the show. The lions only fawned upon the knees of the saints, making friends with them, caressingly moving their heads and tails. This spectacle converted five hundred persons of the assembled crowd, together with their households, to the Christian religion. The prætor, moved to anger by what had passed, caused Primus and Felician to be beheaded with an axe.

O ye brave veterans of the Lord's battles, teach us what energy we must bring to the service of God, whatsoever be our age. Less favoured than we are, ye came late in life to the knowledge of the Gospel and of those inestimable treasures promised to the Christian. But in holy Baptism your youth was renewed as that of the eagle,¹ and for thirty years the Holy Ghost continued to produce rich fruits in you. When, in extreme old age, the hour of final victory at last sounded, your courage was equal to that of the most vigorous warriors. You were nerved up to such heroism and sustained therein, through prayer constantly kept alive within you by the words of the psalms, as your Acts attest. Revive then amongst us faith in the word of God; his promises will make us despise, as ye did, this present life. Lead our piety back to those true sources which strengthen the soul: the knowledge and daily use of those sacred formulas which bind our earth unfailingly to heaven, whence they were brought down to us.

¹ Ps. cii 5.

JUNE 10

SAINT MARGARET QUEEN OF SCOTLAND

Scotland had long been Christian when Margaret was given to her to establish, amidst a population so diversified, and so often at mutual enmity as was hers, that unity which makes a nation. Ancient Caledonia, defended by her lakes, mountains, and rivers, had, up to the fall of the Roman empire, kept her independence. But, whilst herself inaccessible to invading troops, she had become the refuge of the vanquished of every race and the proscribed of every epoch. Many an advancing wave, that had paused at the feet of her granite frontiers, had swept pitilessly over the southern provinces of the great British island. Britons, Saxons, and Danes in turn, dispossessed and driven from their homes, fleeing northwards, had successively crept in, and settling down as best they might, had maintained their own customs in juxtaposition with those of the first inhabitants, adding consequently their own mutual jealousies to the inveterate divisions of the Picts and Scots. But from the very evil itself the remedy was to come. God, in order to show that he is master of revolutions just as he is of the surging waves, was about to confide the execution of his merciful designs upon Scotland to such casual instruments as a storm or a political overthrow may sometimes prove to be.

At the opening of the eleventh century, Danish invasion had driven from the English shore the sons of the Saxon king, Edmund Ironside. The crowned apostle of Hungary, St Stephen I, generously received the fugitives at his court, welcoming in these helpless children the great-nephews of a saint, namely Edward the Martyr. To the eldest he gave his own daughter in marriage, and the second he affianced to the niece of St Henry, emperor of Germany. Of this last mentioned union were born three children, Edgar, surnamed Atheling, Christina, afterwards a nun, and Margaret, whose feast the Church is keeping to-day. By the turning tide of fortune, the exiles once more returned to their country, and Edgar was brought to the very steps of the English throne. For in the meantime, the sceptre had passed from the Danish princes back again to the Saxon line, in the person of their uncle, St Edward the Confessor, and by very birthright seemed destined to pass ultimately to Edgar Atheling. But almost immediately after their return from exile, the death of St Edward and the Norman conquest again banished the royal Saxon family. The ship bearing these noble fugitives, bound for the continent, was driven in an opposite direction by a hurricane, and stranded on the Scottish shore. Edgar Atheling, in spite of the efforts of the Saxon party, was never to raise up the fallen throne of his sires; but his sister, the saint of this day, made conquest of the land whither the storm, God's instrument, had carried her.

Having become the wife of Malcolm III, her gentle influence softened the fierce instincts of the son of Duncan, and triumphed over the barbarism still so dominant in those parts of the country as to separate them utterly from the rest of the known world. The fierce highlander and haughty lowlander, reconciled at last, now followed their gentle queen along hitherto unknown paths, thrown open by her to the light of the Gospel. The strong now bent down to meet the weak or the poor; and all alike, casting aside the rigidity of their hardy race, let themselves be captured by the alluring charms of Christian charity. Holy penitence resumed its rights over the gross instincts of mere nature. The frequentation of the Sacraments, once more brought into esteem, produced seasonable fruits. Everywhere, whether in Church or in State, abuses vanished. The

whole kingdom became one family, whereof Margaret was called the mother; for Scotland was born by her to true civilization. David I (inscribed like his mother in the catalogue of the saints) completed the work begun by her; and another child of Margaret's, alike worthy of her, Matilda of Scotland, surnamed 'good Queen Maud,' was married to Henry I of England; and thus an end was put on the English soil to the persistent rivalries of victors and vanquished, by this admixture of Saxon blood with the Norman race.

The following are the words given in the liturgy concerning St Margaret.

Margarita, Scotorum regina, paterno Angliæ regum, materno Cæsarum sanguine clarissima, illustrior adhuc fuit christiana virtute. Hæc in Hungaria nata ubi pater tunc temporis exsulabat, post exactam summa cum pietate puerilem ætatem, una cum genitore, qui a sancto Eduardo patruo, Anglorum rege, ad paterni regni fastigium vocabatur, in Angliam venit. Mox, alternante parentum fortuna, ex Angliæ littore solvens, vi tempestatis expulsa, seu verius divinæ providentiæ consilio deducta est in oram maritimam Scotiæ. Ibi cum ex matris imperio Malcolmo Tertio Scotorum regi, egregiis ejus dotibus capto, nupsisset, sanctimonia et pietatis operibus, triginta quibus regnavit annis, toti regno mirifice profuit.

Margaret, Queen of Scots, was most noble by birth, uniting in herself from her father the blood of the kings of England, and from her mother the blood of the Cæsars; but her greatest nobility was in her brave Christian life. She was born in Hungary, where her father was then an exile; and she had passed a highly religious childhood, when her uncle Edward, the holy King of England, recalled her father to the royal prerogatives of his ancestors, and she came to England with him. A few years afterwards, upon the ruin of her family, she was escaping from England by sea, when the violence of the weather, or, to speak more truly, the Providence of God, caused the ship to be driven upon the coast of Scotland. There her extraordinary graces of mind and of body so attracted king Malcolm III that, at the wish of her mother, she became his wife; and of Scotland she deserved exceedingly well, during the thirty years of her reign, by the holiness of her life and the abundance of her works of mercy.

II.

Inter regales delicias corpus afflictationibus ac vigiliis macerans, magnam noctis partem piis precationibus extrahebat. Præter alia jejunia quæ identidem usurpabat, integros quadraginta dies ante natalitia festa tanta cum severitate jejunare consuevit, ut ne in gravissimis quidem doloribus intermiserit. Divino cultui addictissima, templa plurima et cœnobia partim ex integro excitavit, partim resarcivit, et sacra suppellectili ac largo censu ditavit. Regem conjugem ad meliorem frugem et ad similia suis exercitationibus opera saluberrimo exemplo traduxit, liberosque omnes tam sancte et feliciter educavit, ut eorum plerique, quemadmodum et Agatha mater et Christina soror, sanctissimum vitæ genus amplexi sint. Universi demum regni felicitati consulens, a vitiis omnibus quæ furtim irrepserant populos expurgavit, eisque mores christiana pietate dignos restituit.

In the midst of regal delicacies, she afflicted her body with hardships and watchings, being used to spend great part of the night in earnest prayer. Besides other fasts which she imposed upon herself, it was her custom to observe one of forty days before Christmas; concerning which fast she was so rigid, that she would not relax it even under sharp suffering. She took great delight in the public worship of God, and founded or renewed a number of churches and convents which she enriched at great cost with sacred furniture. Her example drew the king, her husband, to habits of Christian virtue and to the imitation of her good works. She educated all her children in so holy a manner, and with such happy success, that several of them, like her own mother Agatha and her sister Christina, embraced a most holy course of life. The happiness of the whole kingdom was the object for which she constantly strove, and she successfully rooted out all the vices which had stealthily crept in, and established among the people a standard of life worthy of Christians.

Nihil tamen æque in illa mirabile fuit ac flagrantissima caritas erga proximos, præsertim egenos, quorum numerosis gregibus non modo stipem affatim suppeditare, verum etiam trecentis quotidie materna benignitate dapes præbere, flexis genibus in morem ancillæ ministrare, regiis manibus pedes abluere, et pressis etiam osculis ulcera fovere, solemne habuit.

The most remarkable feature of her life was the tenderness of her charity towards her neighbour, especially the needy. Of these she would not only order crowds to be relieved, but was accustomed to give dinner to three hundred of them every day, treating them with the tenderness of a mother, holding it a sacred privilege to wait upon them on her knees like a handmaid; washing their feet with her own royal hands, and even pressing her lips to their sores with tender kisses.

His porro aliisque piis sumptibus non regias tantum vestes et pretiosa monilia distraxit, sed ipsum non semel exhausit ærarium. Toleratis demum ad patientiæ miraculum acerbissimis doloribus, animam semestri corporis ægrotatione purgatam Auctori suo quarto Idus Junii reddidit. Quo temporis momento facies ejus diuturni morbi macie ac pallore fœdata, insolita quadam venustate refloruit. Miris etiam post mortem prodigiis clara, et Clementis Decimi auctoritate in Scotiæ patronam accepta, ubique terrarum religiosissime colitur.

To meet the expenses of her charity, she sold not only her queenly raiment and her precious jewels, but more than once wholly exhausted her treasury. Purified by grievous suffering, which she bore with marvellous patience during an illness of six months, she resigned her soul into the hands of her Creator upon the fourth of the Ides of June. At the moment of death, the bystanders saw her face, till then pale and worn with long sickness, flush again with its former beauty. After her death she became illustrious on account of great signs and prodigies. By the authority of Pope Clement X she was chosen patroness of Scotland, and she is honoured most religiously throughout the whole world.

We hail thee, O Queen, truly worthy of the praises lavished upon thee by posterity, among the most illustrious of sovereigns! Power, in thy hands, became an instrument of rescue for an entire population. Thine earthly passage marks the meridian of true light for Scotland. Yesterday, holy Church commemorated in her martyrology him who was thy precursor in this far-off land, Columba, who, leaving Ireland in the sixth century, had borne the faith thither. But Christianity, crippled in its soarings by divers combined circumstances, could produce scarcely any of its civilizing effects on the inhabitants of the land at that period. Only a mother could perfect the supernatural education of the nation. The Holy Ghost, who had chosen thee, O Margaret, for the task, prepared thy maternity in the midst of tribulation and anxiety; thus had he acted in the case of Clotilde; thus does he ever act in the case of mothers. How mysterious and hidden did the ways of eternal Wisdom seem, as realized in thy person! Thy birth in exile, far from the land of thy sires; thy return home; then fresh misfortunes; then the tempest at sea; and at last thy being cast, despoiled of everything, upon the crags of an unknown coast: what a list of disasters! And who among the worldly-wise would ever have dreamed that herein was the direct course of a merciful Providence, to make the combined violence of men and the elements serve the sweet purposes of his designs in thy regard? Yet so it was; and this is the way thou wast moulded into the valiant woman,¹ raised in all thy loftiness above the deceits of this present life, and wholly fixed on God, the one supreme Good, alone untouched by earth's revolutions.

Far from becoming either soured or dried up by suffering, thy heart, firmly anchored beyond the influence of this world's ebb and flow on unshaken and eternal love, was ever up to the mark in foresight and in devotedness, such as was needed to hold thee always at the height of the mission destined for thee. Wherefore thou wast indeed that treasure worthy of being sought from the uttermost coasts; that merchant-ship bringing bread from afar, and all good things to the favoured shore on which she is cast.² Yea, fortunate indeed were thy land of adoption, had she never forgotten thy teaching and example! Happy thy descendants, had they ever remembered that the blood of saints flowed in their veins! Yet worthy of thee in death was at least the last queen of Scots, as she bowed beneath the headsman's axe a brow faithful to her Baptism up to her last breath. But alas! the unworthy son of Mary Stuart, by a policy as false as it was sacrilegious, abandoned at once both the Church and his own mother. Thenceforth heresy blighted the noble stem whence so many kings had sprung; and this at the very moment when England and Scotland were first united under one sceptre's sway! Nor may the treason of a James I be redeemed by the fidelity of a second James to the faith of his fathers! O Margaret, thy throne is firmly fixed for ever in the eternal kingdom; but abandon not thine own England, the land of thy sires, nor Scotland, still more thine own, of which holy Church has declared thee patroness. The apostle Andrew shares with thee the rights of patronage: in concert with him, preserve those who have been steadfast in fidelity, multiply converts to the ancient faith, and prepare the way for the speedy gathering of the whole flock into the fold of the one Shepherd.³

¹ Prov. xxxi. 10-31.
² Ibid.
³ St. John x. 16.

JUNE 11

SAINT BARNABAS APOSTLE

The promulgation of the new alliance invited all nations to sit down at the marriage-feast in the kingdom of God; since that day, the sanctifying Spirit is ever producing saints in every age, and at moments which correspond most mysteriously to the deep and hidden designs of eternal Wisdom over the particular history of a people. Nor must we be astonished at this: for Christian nations having their appointed part in the advancing of the kingly sway of the Man-God, this vocation imposes duties upon them, and gives them rights superior to nature's law; the supernatural order invests them with its inherent greatness; and the Holy Ghost, by means of his elect, fosters not only their birth but likewise their development. This wondrous working of divine Providence, as presented on history's page, is indeed admirable; where the hidden influence of sanctity, in even the frail and lowly, is ever being divinely used to overrule the powerful action of the mighty, who seem, in men's eyes, to be leading everything their own way. Among the saints strikingly appointed as channels of grace to nations, none are so particularly entitled to universal remembrance and gratitude as the apostles, for they are the foundation stones of the edifice of Christian society, whereof the Gospel is both the strength and the primary law.¹ The Church is ever watchful to prevent her sons falling into a dangerous forgetfulness of this; hence no liturgical season is without its memory of one or other of these glorious witnesses to Christ. But from the day that the world was delivered over to become the conquest of their zeal, the mysteries of man's salvation being all consummated, their names are more closely pressed together on the sacred records; each month of the cycle now borrows its characteristic colouring from the brilliant triumph of some one of these.

The month of June, all aflame with the fires of Pentecost, sees the Holy Ghost setting upon its predestined foundations the first layer of stones in the Church's construction; for to this month belongs the honour of proclaiming the memorable names of Peter and Paul, wherein are summed up all the services and trophies of the whole apostolic college. Peter declared the Gentiles admitted to the grace of the Gospel; Paul was named their apostle. But still, before rendering the homage so justly due to these two leaders of the Christian people, it is fitting that nations should throng, in grateful veneration, around the guide given to Paul himself in the opening days of his apostolate—that is, around Barnabas, whose name is interpreted the Son of Consolation,² and by whom the convert of Damascus was presented to the terrified Church,³ lately so sorely tried by the violence of Saul the persecutor. June 29 will derive its chief radiance from the simultaneous confession of the two princes of the apostles, united in death, as they had been one in life. Be then honour due, first of all, to him who first knit together this fruitful union, by leading to the head of the infant Church the future Doctor of the Gentiles!⁴ Barnabas presents himself before us as a herald; the feast which the Church is celebrating in his honour is a prelude to the gladness which awaits us at the end of this month so rich in light and in fruits of holiness.

Let us read his history, drawn mainly from the Acts of the Apostles. Notwithstanding its brevity, there are, on the pages of the sacred liturgy, few more glorious than this.

Barnabas Levites, Cyprius genere, qui et Joseph, cum a Paulo Gentium apostolus ordinatus est ad prædicandum Jesu Christi Evangelium. Is, agro vendito, quem habebat, redactam ex eo pecuniam attulit apostolis. Missus autem Antiochiam prædicationis causa, cum ibi multos ad Christi Domini fidem conversos esse comperisset, incredibiliter lætatus, eos hortabatur ut in Christi fide permanerent. Qua cohortatione multum proficiebat, quod ab omnibus vir bonus, et Spiritu sancto plenus habebatur.

Barnabas, called also Joseph, a Levite, was born in Cyprus, and was the one designated by Paul to be the apostle of the Gentiles for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He sold a field which he had, and brought the money to the apostles. Being sent to Antioch to preach, when he found that many there had been converted to the faith of Christ our Lord, he was exceedingly glad, and exhorted them to persevere in the faith of Christ. In which exhortation he was very successful, because he was esteemed by all to be a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost.

Profectus inde Tarsum, ut quæreret Paulum, cum eo Antiochiam venit. In ejus urbis Ecclesia annum commorati, christianæ fidei et vitæ illis hominibus præcepta dederunt: ubi etiam Jesu Christi cultores primum Christiani sunt appellati. Discipuli autem Pauli et Barnabæ suis facultatibus christianos, qui in Judæa erant, sustentabant, eo mittentes pecuniam per Paulum et Barnabam. Qui perfuncti illo caritatis officio, adhibito Joanne cui cognomen erat Marcus, redierunt Antiochiam.

¹ Eph. ii. 20.
² Acts iv. 36.
³ Ant. Oct. Ap. ad Bened.
⁴ Acts ix. 27.

Cum autem Antiochiae in Ecclesia, cum ceteris prophetis et doctoribus, Paulus et Barnabas in jejunio et oratione Domino deservirent, dixit Spiritus sanctus: Segregate mihi Saulum et Barnabam in opus ad quod assumpsi eos. Tunc jejunantes et orantes, imponentesque eis manus, dimiserunt illos. Itaque Seleuciam venerunt, inde in Cyprum: ac multas praeterea urbes regionesque, praedicantes Evangelium summa cum audientium utilitate, peragrarunt. Postremo Barnabas, digressus a Paulo, una cum Joanne qui cognominatus est Marcus, navigavit in Cyprum: ibique circiter septimum Neronis annum, tertio Idus Junii, ad apostolici muneris laudem martyrii coronam adjunxit. Ejus corpus, Zenone imperatore, repertum est in insula Cypro; ad cujus pectus erat Evangelium Matthaei, Barnabae manu conscriptum.

the apostles, together with Paul, to preach the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles. He having land, sold it and brought the money to the apostles. Being sent to Antioch to preach there, he met with a great number of people already converted to the faith of Christ the Lord, which thing filled him with much joy, and he multiplied his exhortations, that they might persevere in the faith of Christ. His word had great success, for he was looked upon by all as a good man and one filled with the Holy Ghost.

Travelling thence to Tarsus, there to seek Paul, he came with him as far as Antioch. They here passed one year with the faithful who formed the Church of this city, labouring to instruct them in the Christian life and in faith; and here also it was, that the worshippers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians. The disciples of Paul and Barnabas aided with alms the Christians that were in Judea, and sent these subsidies by the hands of Paul and Barnabas. Having performed this work of charity, joining unto them John surnamed Mark, they returned to Antioch.

Whilst Paul and Barnabas were serving the Lord in the Church of Antioch, fasting and praying with the other prophets and doctors, the Holy Ghost spoke and said: Separate me Paul and Barnabas for the work whereunto I have called them. Then, with fasting and prayer, they imposed hands upon them and let them depart. They went to Seleucia, and thence to Cyprus; besides this, they passed through many towns and countries, preaching the Gospel everywhere, with much fruit amongst all who heard them. After this Barnabas separated himself from Paul, and together with John surnamed Mark returned to Cyprus. Here about the seventh year of the reign of Nero, on the third of the Ides of June, he joined the martyr's crown to the dignity of an apostle. In the reign of the emperor Zeno, his body was discovered in the island of Cyprus: on his breast lay a copy of the Gospel of St Matthew, written by the hand of Barnabas himself.

To thee, O Barnabas, we offer the gratitude of the nations. Thou didst watch, O faithful Levite, beside the figurative sanctuary of the days of expectation, observing the coming of the Lord God,¹ until at last the true ark, the Incarnate Word, having appeared in Sion, thou didst at once take thy place at his side, to defend and serve him, the ark of holiness, that had come to rally all nations, to give them the true manna, to establish amongst all a new covenant; this was to require from the sons of the Old Testament the sacrifice of the privileges that had been theirs since the first prevarication of the Gentiles. Though a member of the favoured tribe of Levi, thou wast prompt to abandon its sacred titles, which thou didst recognize to have been but limited and now to be set aside; yea, outstepping mere precept, thou didst not hesitate to renounce all thy family possessions and give them up, together with thyself, to the Church yet in her infancy and scorned by the Synagogue. Therefore the Holy Ghost would not be outdone in generosity; to thee he reserved the signal privilege of presenting to the Gentiles their apostle. Saul was thy friend; blinded by the prejudices of his sect, he scorned to follow thine example; and the faithful trembled at his very name, seeing in him their most relentless persecutor. But silently thine intercession arose from the earth, and blending with that of Stephen, pleaded a strong prayer for the murderer. The hour of grace had sounded; and thou wast the first in Jerusalem to hear of the victory; on the strength of thy testimony alone, the terrified assembly of believers opened their doors to the recent convert.

¹ Lev. viii. 35.

Thus appearing before the Church as guarantee for the future Doctor of the Gentiles, to thee belonged the honour of leading him forth to the scene of his labours. Thine it was not to be numbered among the twelve by our Lord, yet thine authority was of a kind that almost equalled theirs. After the baptism of Cornelius, thou wast delegated by the apostles to Antioch, to direct the evangelization of the Gentiles. There Paul, the new labourer, was joined to thee; and then did the word of salvation, falling from thy lips, begin to produce conversions so numerous, that the faithful were then for the first time called Christians, to distinguish them at once from both pagans and Jews. The emancipation of the nations was thus accomplished, and Paul, in the eyes of all, as also according to the language of the Holy Ghost himself, was still but thy disciple and thy client.² For which reason the divine Spirit was pleased that thou shouldst share in common with him that solemn ordination whereby he was constituted Apostle of the Gentiles. But very soon after this, the greater good of souls required that thy journeys and labours, hitherto inseparable from his, should be divided. Thine apostolate was then directed more specially to the island of Cyprus, so abused in pagan times by the demon of voluptuousness: there hadst thou first seen the light, and now thou didst gladly devote thy sweat and even thy blood to diffusing throughout thy native isle the purifying light of the Son of God.

² Acts xi. 30, xii. 25, xiii. 1.

But the fires of Pentecost burning in thy breast urged thee ever forward and onward to more distant missions. Of thee it was written as of Paul: I have set thee to be the light of the Gentiles: that thou mayst be for salvation unto the uttermost part of the earth.¹ Thus Italy also heard thy sweet voice, redolent of the joy and consolation of the Paraclete; she beheld thy noble countenance, the serene majesty whereof had made the pagans of another land mistake thee for one of their gods veiled under human features.² Bergamo, Brescia, and other places, especially Milan, claim thee as their father. Look down then, O Barnabas, from thine exalted throne, and ever protect the faith thou didst deposit in these places, which, more fortunate than the fated cities of Cyprus, have remained faithful. Vouchsafe to protect the Order, so useful to the Church, which claims thy powerful patronage; may its apostolate continue to carry out thine own; and may its members deserve, unto the day of doom, the high esteem in which it was held by St Charles Borromeo, thy glorious successor in the see of Milan. Extend thy solicitude to all nations, O father of the Gentiles, for all without distinction were confided to thee by the Holy Ghost; suffer them to enter into the way of light so exquisitely described in that precious Epistle which bears thy blessed name:³ may the Gentile world become the true temple, of which that of Moriah was but a figure.⁴

¹ Acts xiii. 47. ² Ibid. xiv. 11.
³ Epist. Cathol. S. Barnab. Ap. xix. ⁴ Ibid. xvi.

JUNE 12

SAINT JOHN A S. FACUNDO OR OF SAHAGUN

CONFESSOR

The kingdom which the apostles are commissioned to establish upon earth is a reign of peace. Such was the promise pledged by heaven to earth, on that glorious night wherein Emmanuel was given to us. And on that other night which witnessed our Lord's last farewell at the Supper, did not the Man-God base the New Testament upon the double legacy which he bequeathed to his Church, of his sacred Body and Blood, and of this peace announced of yore by Bethlehem's angels?¹ A peace unknown till then here below; a peace all his own, because, as he said, it proceeds from him, but still is not himself; this gift substantial and divine is no other than the Holy Ghost in Person! Like to some sacred leaven, this peace has been spread amongst us during this time of Pentecost. Men and nations alike have felt the secret influence. Man, at strife with heaven and divided against himself, was indeed justly punished for his insubordination to God by the ascendancy of the senses in his revolted flesh; but he now sees harmony once again established in his own being, and his appeased God treating as a son the obstinate rebel of former days. The sons of the Most High are to form a new people, stretching their confines unto earth's furthest bounds. Seated in the beauty of peace, to use the Prophet's expression,² this blessed race shall see all nations flocking to its midst, and shall draw down, here below, the goodwill of heaven.

¹ St John xiv. 27. ² Is. xxxii. 18.

Whereas formerly nations were constantly at strife and wreaking vengeance in many a bloody combat that knew no end but the extermination of the vanquished, once baptized, they recognize each other as sisters, according to the filiation of the Father who is in heaven. Faithful subjects of the one pacific King, they yield themselves up to the Holy Ghost that he may soften their manners; and if war, the result of sin, must needs sometimes come, wofully reminding man of the consequences of the fall, this inevitable scourge will henceforth have at least some law besides that of might. The right of all nations, that Christian right which pagan antiquity rejected, the faith of treaties, the arbitration of the Vicar of Christ, supreme controller of the consciences of kings, these, and only these, can eliminate occasions of bloody discord. Thus there were to be ages in which the peace of God, or the truce of God, or a thousand such loving artifices of the common mother, would prevail to restrict the number of years and of days wherein the sword might be allowed to remain unsheathed against human life; were these limits outstepped, the transgressor's blade would be snapped in twain by the power of the spiritual sword, more dreaded, in those days, than warrior's steel.

Such is the power of the Gospel that, even in these present days of universal decadence, the fiercest adversary respects a disarmed foe; so that after a battle victors and vanquished, meeting like brothers, lavish the same cares both corporal and spiritual on the wounded of either camp. Such is the persistent energy of the supernatural leaven which has been working progressive transformation in mankind for eighteen hundred years, and is even still acting upon those who would fain deny its power!

He whom we are honouring to-day is one of the most glorious instruments of this marvellous conduct of divine Providence. Heaven-born peace mingles her placid ray with the brilliant aureole that wreaths his brow. A noble son of Catholic Spain, he knew how to prepare the future glory of his country, as well as any mailed hero that laid Moor prostrate in the dust. Just as the eight hundred years' crusade that drove the crescent from Iberian soil was closing, and the several kingdoms of this magnanimous land were blending together under one sceptre, this lowly hermit of St Augustine was laying within hearts the foundation of that powerful unity which would inaugurate the glory of Spain's sixteenth century. When he first appeared, rivalries engendered too easily by a false point of honour in a nation armed to the teeth sullied the fair land of Spain with the blood of her sons, slain by Christian hands. As he now stands before us receiving the Church's homage, we behold discord at his feet, overthrown and vanquished by his defenceless hand.

Let us read his life as related in the liturgy.

Joannem, Sahaguni in Hispania nobili genere natum, parentes cum diu prole caruissent, piis operibus et orationibus a Deo impetrarunt. Ab ineunte aetate egregium futurae sanctitatis specimen dedit: nam e loco superiore ad ceteros pueros crebro verba faciebat, quibus eos ad virtutem et Dei cultum hortabatur, eorumque dissidia componebat. In patria monachis sancti Facundi ordinis sancti Benedicti, primis litterarum rudimentis imbuendus traditur. Dum iis operam daret, curavit pater ut parochialem ecclesiam administraret: quod munus juvenis nullis rationibus adduci potuit ut retineret. Inter familiares episcopi Burgensis adscriptus, ob spectatam ipsius probitatem intimus ei fuit, ab eoque presbyter et canonicus factus, multis beneficiis auctus est. Sed, relicta aula episcopi, ut Deo quietius serviret, omnibus ecclesiae proventibus abdicatis, se cuidam sacello addixit, ubi Sacrum quotidie faciebat, ac de rebus divinis magna cum auditorum aedificatione frequenter concionabatur.

John was born at Sahagun in Spain, of a noble race; his parents after long childlessness obtained him from God by prayers and good works. From his earliest years he gave clear signs of his future holiness of life: for he used to climb up upon a high place, to preach to the other little boys, and to exhort them to be good and to be attentive to the public service of God, and he made it his work to reconcile their quarrels. In his native place, he was given in charge to the monks of the Order of Saint Benedict of San Facundo to be taught the first elements of learning. While he was thus engaged, his father obtained for him the benefice of a parish, but no inducements could persuade him to keep this preferment. He became one of the household of the bishop of Burgos, and that prelate seeing his uprightness took him into his counsels, ordained him priest, and made him a canon, heaping many benefices upon him. However, that he might serve God the more quietly, he left the bishop's household, resigned all his church revenues, and attached himself to a certain chapel where he said Mass daily, and frequently preached on divine subjects, to the great edification of all who heard him.

Postea studiorum causa Salmanticam profectus, in celebre collegium divi Bartholomaei cooptatus, sacerdotis munus ita exercuit, ut simul optatis studiis incumberet, et in sacris etiam concionibus assidue versaretur. Cum vero in gravissimum morbum incidisset, arctioris disciplinae voto se obstrinxit, quod ut redderet, cum prius cuidam pauperi pene nudo ex duabus, quas tantum habebat vestes, meliorem dedisset, ad coenobium sancti Augustini severiori disciplina tum maxime florens se contulit: in quo admissus, obedientia, animi demissione, vigiliis ac oratione provectiores anteibat. Triclinii cura cum ipsi demandata esset, vini doliolum, ipso attingente, omnibus monachis per annum abunde suffecit. Exacto tyrocinii anno, praefecti jussu munus concionandi suscepit. Salmanticae id temporis adeo cruentis factionibus divina humanaque omnia permixta erant, ut singulis propemodum horis caedes fierent, et omnium ordinum ac praesertim nobilium sanguine non viae solum et fora, sed templa etiam redundarent.

He went later on to Salamanca to study, and there being taken into the celebrated college of St Bartholomew, performed his priestly office in such sort, that he was at once constant to study, the present object of his desire, and assiduous in the duty of preaching. Here he had a severe illness, and vowed to embrace a sterner way of living; in fulfilment of which vow, having given to a half-naked beggar the better of the only two garments he possessed, he withdrew to a monastery of Saint Augustine then flourishing in full observance of severe discipline. Being admitted therein, he surpassed the most advanced in obedience, in lowliness of mind, in vigils, and in prayer. The care of the refectory being confided to him, one barrel of wine, handled by him, abundantly sufficed the whole community for an entire year. After his year of noviceship, he undertook once more, by obedience, the duty of preaching. At that time, owing to bloody feuds, all things human and divine at Salamanca were in such utter confusion, that murders were committed almost every hour, and not only the streets and squares, but even the very churches flowed with the blood of all classes, especially of the nobility.

At Joannes, tum concionibus, tum privatis colloquiis civium animos demulcens, ad tranquillitatem urbem reduxit. Virum principem graviter offendit, quod illius in subditos sævitiam increpasset. Qua de causa equites duos immisit, qui eum in itinere confoderent: jamque ad ipsum propinquaverant, cum, stupore divinitus immisso, simul cum equis immobiles steterunt, donec ad pedes sancti viri provoluti, sceleris veniam precarentur. Ipse quoque princeps, repentino terrore perculsus, jam de salute desperaverat, cum, revocato Joanne, facti pœnitens, incolumitati redditus est. Factiosi etiam homines, cum eum fustibus peterent, brachiis diriguere, nec ante redditæ vires quam delicti veniam precarentur. Christum Dominum, dum Sacrum faceret, præsentem contueri, atque ex ipso divinitatis fonte cælestia mysteria haurire solitus. Abdita cordis inspicere, ac futura raro eventu præsagire frequens illi fuit, fratrisque filiam septennem mortuam excitavit. Denique, mortis die prænuntiato, et Ecclesiæ sacramentis devotissime susceptis, extremum diem clausit, multis ante et post obitum miraculis gloriosus. Quibus rite probatis, Alexander Octavus Sanctorum numero eum adscripsit.

It was John who, by public preaching and private conversations, softened the hearts of the citizens, so that the town was restored to peace. One of the nobles, whom he had grievously offended by rebuking him for his cruelty towards his vassals, sent two knights to murder him on the road. They had already come nigh to him, when God struck them with such terror, that they were rendered immovable, and their horses likewise; until at length prostrating themselves before the feet of the saint, they implored his forgiveness for their crime. The said lord, likewise smitten with a sudden dread, despaired of his salvation, till he had sent for John, who, finding him repentant of his deed, restored him to health. Some factious men also, who assailed him with clubs, found their arms stiffen, nor would their strength return till they had asked his pardon for their wickedness. While celebrating Mass, he was wont to behold the Lord Jesus Christ then present, and to quaff from the fountain-head of the Divinity heavenly mysteries. Oftentimes also he could see into the secrets of men's hearts, and foretell things to come, that were quite unlooked for. He raised from the dead his brother's daughter, a child seven years old. He foretold the day of his death; and having prepared himself, by receiving most devoutly the Sacraments of the Church, he passed away. He was glorified by miracles both before and after his death. These being duly proved, Alexander VIII numbered him among the saints.

O blessed Saint, well hast thou earned the privilege of appearing in the heavens of holy Church during these weeks that are radiant with the light of Pentecost. Long ago did Isaias thus portray the loveliness of earth, on the morrow of the coming down of the Paraclete: 'How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that bring good tidings, and that preach peace: of them that preach salvation; that say to Sion: Thy God shall reign!'¹ What the prophet thus admired was the sight of the apostles taking possession of the world, in God's name. But in what did thine own mission differ from theirs thus enthusiastically pictured by the inspired pencil? The same Holy Ghost animated thy ways and theirs; the same pacific King beheld his sceptre by thy hand made yet more steadfast in its sway over a noble nation of his vast empire. Peace, the one object of all thy labours here below, is now thine eternal recompense in heaven, where thou reignest with him. Thou dost now experience the truth of thy Master's word, when he said of such as resemble thee by working to establish peace at least within the territory of their own hearts: 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God!'² Yea, rest then, dear Saint, in thy Father's inheritance, into which thou hast entered; rest in the beatific repose of the Holy Trinity that inundates thy soul, and may we here, afar off on this chilly earth below, feel something of that genial peacefulness!

Vouchsafe to lavish upon thine own land of Spain the same succour which in thy lifetime was so precious to her. No longer does she hold that pre-eminence in Christendom which became hers just after thy glorious death. Would that thou couldst now persuade her that never can her greatness be recovered by lending an ear to the deceptive whisperings of false liberty! But that which could in bygone days render her so strong and powerful can do so again if she draw down upon her the benedictions of him by whom alone kings reign. Devotedness to Christ, that was her glory; devotedness to truth, that was her treasure! Revealed truth is alone that whereby men enter into true liberty: Truth will make you free.³ Truth alone is able to bind in unity indissoluble the many minds and wills that make up a nation; powerful is that bond, for it secures strength to a country beyond her frontiers and peace to her within. Apostle of peace, remind thine own people, and teach the same to all, that absolute fidelity to the Church's doctrines is the sole ground whereon Christians may seek and find concord.

¹ Is. lii. 7. ² St Matt. v. 9. ³ St John viii. 32.

THE SAME DAY

SAINT LEO THE THIRD POPE AND CONFESSOR

The fragrance of Christmas is suddenly wafted around us, while we are in the midst of Pentecost! Leo III, as he speeds his flight from earth, sheds upon us the perfumed memory of that day, whereon the Infant God was pleased to manifest, by his means, the plenitude of His principality over all nations. Christmas Day of the year 800 witnessed the proclamation of the Holy Empire. The obscurity and poverty which had, eight centuries previously, ushered in the Birth of the Son of God, had for its object the drawing of men's hearts; but this feebleness, so full of tenderness and condescension, was far from expressing the fullness of the mystery of the Word made Flesh. The Church tells us so, every year, as this blessed night of love comes round: 'A Child is born to us, and upon His shoulder is the sign of principality; His name shall be called the Wonderful, the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of peace.'¹ Peace, this day, once more shines upon the cycle: the peace of Christ, indisputably Victor and King! More even in one respect than our St. John of to-day, does Leo III deserve the united gratitude of the faithful. Here he stands like a new Sylvester, in presence of a new Constantine; by him alone is the complete victory of the Word Incarnate absolutely revealed.

¹ The Office of Matins, Christmas day.

Christ had successively triumphed over the false gods, over Byzantine Cæsarism, and over barbarian hordes. A new society had sprung up, governed by princes who confessed that they held their crowns of the Man-God alone. To the old Roman empire founded on might, to Cæsarism, crushing the world with the iron teeth of its domination,¹ rather than binding it together, was to succeed that confederation of baptized nations, which was to be called Christendom. But whence the unity needed for so vast a body? Who the chief amongst such a multitude of princes equal in birth and in rights? On what basis can the primacy of such a chieftain stand? Who may summon him? who point out the chosen of the Lord and anoint him with so potent an anointing, that his right to the first place in the councils of kings shall be undisputed by the strongest amongst them? The Holy Ghost, brooding over the chaos of peoples, as in the beginning over the dark waters,² had long been elaborating this new creation, which must declare the glory of our Emmanuel:³ the new empire thus prepared would, as it were of itself, spring forth unto light, out of circumstances preordained strongly and sweetly,⁴ by eternal Wisdom.

Up to this period, the uncontested primacy of the spiritual power had stood majestic and alone, amidst Christian kingdoms. Though weakest of them all, ever did Peter's successor behold earth prostrate at his feet; the city of the Cæsars had become his; Rome, by his voice, commanded all nations. Nevertheless, his authority, unarmed and defenceless, would have need at times to repel such assaults of violence as had already more than once imperilled the sacred patrimony which secured the independence of Christ's Vicar. For the spiritual power, when once able to appear in sublime magnificence, became itself the object of sacrilegious ambition, the coveted prey of blackest perfidy. Leo III himself had lately experienced this in his own sacred person. A powerful lord, in conjunction with certain unworthy clerics, banded together by one common greed for gain, had beguiled the Pontiff into an ambush; his body had been mutilated, his eyes and tongue torn out, and his life preserved only by miracle; more wondrous still, his sight and speech had been afterwards restored by divine intervention. All Rome, witnessing this prodigy, was loud in heartfelt thanksgiving. God had indeed delivered His anointed; but the assassins had remained, nevertheless, masters of the city until the victorious troops of the Frankish king brought back the illustrious victim and reinstated him in his palace. Still this noble triumph was of itself no guarantee against future peril; for it had been preceded by other such victories, likewise due to the ever ready arm of the eldest daughter of the Roman Church. When her protecting sword was again withdrawn, leaving the work of restoration scarcely accomplished, new plots within or outside of Rome would soon be again set in motion for the usurpation of either the spiritual or temporal power of the Papacy. From the coast of the Bosphorus, too, the depraved successors of Constantine only applauded such intrigues, even keeping conspirators and traitors in secret pay.

Such a state of things could no longer continue. The sovereign Pontiff must necessarily look around, to find some security less precarious for the great interests confided to his keeping; the peace of the whole Christian world, the peace of souls as well as of nations, demanded that the highest authority upon earth should not be left at the mercy of ceaseless cabals. It was by no means sufficient that, at the hour of peril, the Vicar of Jesus Christ should be able to depend upon the fidelity of one nation, or of one prince. Some permanent institution was needed, not only to repair, but to ward off, every blow aimed by violence or by perfidy against Rome. Christian society was, by this time, advanced enough to furnish materials for the carrying out of such a noble conception. Already indeed, Pepin le Bref, by abandoning his Italian conquests into the hands of the apostolic See, had unreservedly constituted the temporal sovereignty of the Roman Pontiffs. But, though the use of the sword in self defence belongs to the Popes by right, just as much as to any king in his own states, yet, even when absolutely unable to act otherwise, personal use of armed force must ever be distasteful to the successor of him whom the Man-God appointed, here below, as the Vicar of His love.¹ On the other hand, he well knows that he must maintain those sacred rights for which he has to answer to both God and man. Monarch as he is, Peter's successor would be at liberty to choose from amongst the kings of the west (all of whom gloried in being his sons) one prince to whom he might confide the office of protector and defender of holy Church. Head as he is of the whole spiritual army of the elect, porter of heaven's gates, depositary of grace and of infallible truth, he could invite the said prince to the honour of his alliance. Sublime indeed would such an alliance be, the legitimacy whereof bears the palm over that of all treaties ever concluded between potentates. Such an alliance, inasmuch as it is intended to guarantee the rights of the King of kings in the person of His representative, would entail certain obligations, it is true, on the recipient; but, at the same time, it would single him out to lofty privileges. Intrinsically vain and powerless are nobility of race, vastness of territory, glory of arms, and brilliancy of genius, to exalt a prince above his peers; such a greatness merely springs from earth, and outstrips not man's limits. But the ally of Pontiffs would possess a dignity touching upon the heavenly; for such are the sacred interests whereof he would assume the filial guard—

¹ Dan. ii. 40. ² Gen. i. 2; Apoc. xvii. 15. ³ Ps. xviii. 2. ⁴ Wisd. viii. 1.

¹ Ambr. in Luc. x.

ianship. Without in the least encroaching on the domain of other kings, his compeers in other respects, or derogating from their independence, he must hold it his right, as accredited protector of his mother the Church, to carry the sword whithersoever the spiritual authority is aggrieved or requires his concurrence, in the accomplishment of the divine mission of teaching and saving souls. In this sense, his power must be universal, because the mission of holy Church is universal. So real this power, so distinct from every other, that to express it a new diadem must needs be added to the regal crown already his by inheritance; and a fresh anointing, different from the usual royal unction, must manifest in his person superiority over all other kings, chieftainship of the Holy Empire, of the Roman empire renewed, ennobled, and limitless as the earthly dominion assigned to Jesus Christ by the eternal Father.

Verily this magnificent conception unveils before us the boundless empire of the Word Incarnate, in all its wondrous plenitude! He alone possesses fully, by right of birth, by right of conquest, the universality of nations;² He alone can delegate, for and by His Church, such power to kings. Who then may tell the splendour of that Christmas festival, whereon Charlemagne the greatest of princes, prostrate before the Infant God, beheld his anterior glories eclipsed by the pomp of that unexpected title, whereby he was officially appointed lieutenant of the divine Child couched in the humble crib! Beside the tomb of the first of Popes, of him that was crucified by the orders of a Cæsar, Leo III, in the plenitude of his sole authority, reconstituted the empire; in Peter's name, on Peter's tomb, he linked once more the broken chain of the Cæsars. Henceforth, before the eyes of all nations, the Pope and the emperor (to use the language of the papal bulls) will appear as two luminaries directing earth's movements; the Pope, as the faithful image of the Sun of justice; the emperor, as deriving his light from the radiance cast on him by the supreme Pontiff.

² Ps. ii. 8.

Too often, indeed, will parricides stand up in revolt, and turn against the Church the sword that should be brandished only in her defence. But even these will serve only to demonstrate more clearly that the Papacy is verily the one source of empire. True, the day may come when German tyrants, rejected as unworthy by the Roman Pontiffs, will lay violent hands on the eternal city, creating antipopes, with a view to the aggrandizement of their own power. But by the very fact of carrying their insolence so far as to get themselves crowned champions of St. Peter by these pseudo-vicars of Christ, on the very tomb of the prince of the apostles, they will prove that society in those days could acknowledge no title to greatness, save such as either came, or seemed to come, from the apostolic See. The abuses and crimes, everywhere to be met with on history's page, must not allow us Christians to forget that the value of an epoch or of an institution must, as regards God and His Church, be measured only by the progress derived thence by truth. Even though the Church suffer from the violence of rightful or of intruded emperors, she nevertheless rejoices much to see her Spouse glorified by the faith of nations, still recognizing how, through Christ, all power resides in her alone. Children of the Church, let us judge of the Holy Empire, as the Church, our mother, judges of it: it was the highest expression ever given to the influence and power of the Popes. To this glorification of Christ in His Vicar did Christendom owe its thousand years of existence.

Space fails us, or gladly would we here describe in detail the gorgeous liturgical function used during the middle-ages, in the ordination of an emperor. The Ordo Romanus, wherein these rites are handed down to us, is full of the richest teachings clearly revealing the whole thought of the Church. The future lieutenant of Christ, kissing the feet of the Vicar of the Man-God, first made his profession in due form: he 'guaranteed, promised, and swore fidelity to God and blessed Peter pledging himself on the holy Gospels, for the rest of his life to protect and defend, according to his skill and ability, without fraud or ill intent, the Roman Church and her ruler in all necessities or interests affecting the same.' Then followed the solemn examination of the faith and morals of the elect, almost word for word the same as that marked in the Pontifical at the consecration of a bishop. Not until the Church had thus taken sureties regarding him who was to become in her eyes, as it were, an extern bishop, was she content to proceed to the imperial ordination. While the apostolic suzerain, the Pope, was being vested in pontifical attire for the celebration of the sacred Mysteries, two cardinals clad the emperor elect in amice and alb; then they presented him to the Pontiff, who made him a clerk, and conceded to him, for the ceremony of his coronation, the use of the tunic, dalmatic, and cope, together with the pontifical shoes and the mitre. The anointing of the prince was reserved to the Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, the official consecrator of popes and emperors. But the Vicar of Jesus Christ himself gave to the new emperor the infrangible seal of his faith, namely the ring; the sword, representing that of the Lord of armies, the most potent One, chanted in the Psalm;³ the globe and sceptre, images of the universal empire and of the inflexible justice of the King of kings; lastly, the crown, a sign of the glory reserved in endless ages as a reward for his fidelity, by this same Lord Jesus Christ, whose figure he had just been made. The giving of these august symbols took place during the holy Sacrifice. At the Offertory, the emperor laid aside the cope and the ensigns of his new dignity; then, clad simply in the dalmatic, he approached the altar and there fulfilled, at the Pontiff's side, the office of subdeacon, the servitor, as it were, of holy Church and the official representative of the Christian people. Later on, even the stole was given him: as recently as 1530, Charles V on the day of his coronation, assisted Clement VII in quality of deacon, presenting to the Pope the paten and the Host, and offering the chalice together with him.

³ Ps. xliv. 4.

The Christmas day of the year 800, witnessed not indeed the display of all this sacred pageantry; for these splendid rites reached full development only in course of centuries. Up to the last moment, Leo III had kept wholly secret the grand project conceived in his heart. But none the less solemn was this marvellous historic fact, when Rome, at the sight of the golden crown placed by the Pontiff's hand on the brow of the new Cæsar, re-echoed the cry: "To Charles, the most pious, the ever august, the monarch crowned by God, to the great and pacific emperor of the Romans, life and victory!" This creation of an empire by the sole power and will of the supreme Pontiff, on such a day, and for the sole service of the interests of our Emmanuel, verily puts the finishing stroke to that which the birth of the Son of God was meant to achieve. As year by year this august Christmas festival returns, let us remember Leo the Third's work,⁴ and so enter more and more fully into the touching antiphons of that day: 'The King of peace, whom the whole earth desireth to see, hath shown His greatness. He is magnified above all the kings of the earth.'

⁴ See 'Christmas' Vol. I. where mention is made of this historic event in its proper place.

The account of this holy Pope's life we here borrow from the 'Proper of the city of Rome.'

Leo hujus nominis tertius, Romanus ex patre Assuppio, a pueritia in Vestiario Patriarchii Lateranensis, in omnem ecclesiasticam ac divinam disciplinam educatus, ex monacho sancti Benedicti presbyter cardinalis, ac demum Pontifex maximus, incredibili omnium consensione, ipso die obitus Adriani creatus est, anno septingentesimo nonagesimo quinto; seditque in sancta Petri sede annos viginti, menses quinque, dies decem et septem.

Leo, the third of that name, was a Roman born, having Asuppius for his father. He was brought up from infancy in the dependencies of the patriarchal Church of Lateran, and formed to all divine and ecclesiastical sciences. Becoming a monk of St. Benedict, then Cardinal Priest, he was at last, with common consent, created sovereign Pontiff, on the very day of the death of Adrian, in the year seven hundred and ninety-five. He occupied the venerable chair of St. Peter twenty years, five months, and seventeen days.

Talem se in pontificatu exhibuit, qualem se ante assumptionem præbuerat; piissimum scilicet, mitissimum, singulari in Deum religione, erga proximum charitate, prudentia in rebus gerendis, pauperum ægrorumque parentem, Ecclesiæ defensorem, divini cultus promotorem, utpote qui maxima quæque pro Christo et Ecclesia sedulo præstitit et patienter toleravit.

He was in the pontifical state, just what he was before his elevation, full of benignity and of sweetness, singularly devoted to God's holy worship, charitable to his neighbour, prudent in affairs. He was the father of the poor and of the sick, the defender of the Church, the promoter of divine worship. His zeal undertook the greatest things for Jesus Christ and the Church, patiently bearing all trials for their cause.

Cum ab impiis, erutis oculis et confossus vulneribus, semivivus relictus fuisset, postridie per insigne miraculum, sanus inventus est, iisdemque parricidis vitam suis precibus obtinuit. Carolo magno Francorum regi Romanum imperium detulit. Peregrinis amplissimum xenodochium exstruxit; patrimonium, aliosque fundos pauperibus adscripsit. Basilicas Urbis, præsertim Lateranensem (in cujus Patriarchio triclinium magnum super omnia triclinia fundavit), et sacras ædes, tot ac tantis divitiis cumulavit, ut fidem omnem superare videatur. Vitam demum religiosissimam pio fine coronavit, pridie idus Junii anno Domini octingentesimo decimo sexto, et sepultus est in Vaticano.

Being left half dead by certain impious men, his eyes plucked out and himself all covered with wounds, he was found by a remarkable miracle, perfectly cured, the next day; by his intervention the life of these parricides was spared. He conferred the Roman empire upon Charlemagne king of the Franks. He built a large hospital for pilgrims, and consecrated all his patrimony and other goods to the benefit of the poor. It is hardly credible to what a degree he lavished precious riches on the basilicas of Rome, especially that of Lateran, in the palace of which he built the celebrated triclinium that surpasses all others. At last he crowned his most holy life with a most pious death, on the day preceding the Ides of June, in the year of our Lord, eight hundred and sixteen; he was buried in the Vatican.

Commissioned by the Lion of Juda to complete His own victory, thou, O Leo, didst constitute His kingdom, and proclaim His empire. Apostles had preached, martyrs had shed their blood, confessors had toiled and suffered, to win that great day whereon thou didst crown the labour of eight centuries; by thee, the Man-God could then rule supreme over the social edifice, not only as Pontiff in the person of His vicar, but as Lord-paramount and King in the person of His lieutenant, the armed defender of holy Church, the civil head of all Christendom. Thy work lasted as long as the eternal Father permitted the glory of His Son to shine in full splendour over the world. After a thousand years, when the divine light became too strong for their weakened and diseased eyes, men turned away from holy Church and renounced her mighty works. They replaced God by self; the power of Christ, by the sovereignty of the people; institutions sprung from centuries of toil, by the instability of ephemeral chartas; bygone union, by the isolation of nationalities; and within each of these, anarchy. In this dark age, every utopia of man's wild brain is called light, and every step towards nonentity is called progress! Thus the Holy Empire is no more; like Christendom itself, it can henceforth be but a name in history: and history too must soon cease to be, for the world is verging on the final term of its destinies.

Great for ever shall thy glory be, in endless ages, O thou by whom eternal Wisdom hath manifested the grandeur of His wondrous ways. A docile instrument in the hand of the Holy Ghost for the glorification of our Emmanuel, thy firmness was equalled only by thy gentleness; and this humble sweetness of thine attracted the eyes of the Lamb, the Ruler of the earth.⁵ Praying like Him, under the stroke of treason, for thy murderers, thou hadst to pass through thy day of humiliation, through a day of crushing anguish and of death-agony; but therefore was it given thee to distribute the spoils of the strong;⁶ and then, for centuries, the will of the Lord to be prosperous in thy hand,⁷ according to the plan which thou didst trace.

Even in these unhappy times, so unworthy of thee, vouchsafe to bless our earth. Strengthen those whom universal apostasy has as yet left unshaken. Make them by faith cling loyally to Christ; hold them ever aloof from liberalism, that fatal error whereby men would fain remain Christians whilst actually refusing to acknowledge Christ's kingship over all creation. What an insult to the eternal Father is such a wild notion as this; what a misconception of the mystery of the Incarnation! O holy Pontiff, make it to be clearly understood that safety is not to be sought at the hands of lying compromise with rebels; that the time is nigh, when God's kingdom will assert itself, when the upheaving of nations against the Lord and against His Christ will be mocked by Him who dwelleth in the heavens.⁸ On that day, none may contest the origin of all power. On that day of wrathful vengeance, happy he who hath kept the oath of allegiance sworn to his King in Baptism!⁹ Like the prophet of Patmos, the faith-

¹ Is. xvi. 1. — ² Ibid. liii. 12. ³ Ibid. 10. ⁴ Ps. ii. ⁵ Ibid. lxii. 12.

ful will easily recognize that King, when the heavens opening out a way before His feet, He shall come to crush the nations; for all the crowns of the whole earth shall rest upon His head, and He shall bear written upon the vesture of His human Nature: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.¹

¹ Apoc. xix.

THE SAME DAY

SAINT BASILIDES AND COMPANIONS MARTYRS

Beside John of Sahagun, the apostle of peace, are grouped four warriors of our Lord's army. Thus peace and war go this day hand in hand, and form but one in the kingdom of the Son of God. The threefold peace preached by Christ—namely, man's peace with his God, with himself, and with his brethren and fellow-citizens in the holy city—is to be won only at the cost of combat with Satan, the flesh, and the world, which is the 'accursed city.' Together with the Church, let us blend in one united homage our praises of the glorious confessor of these later ages, and of the stern veterans of persecuting times.

Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor et Nazarius, romani milites, nobiles genere et virtute illustres, christiana religione suscepta, cum Christum Dei Filium, Diocletiano imperatore, prædicarent, ab Aurelio præfecto Urbis comprehensi, et ut diis sacra facerent admoniti, ejus jussa contemnentes, missi sunt in carcerem. Quibus orantibus, cum subito clarissima lux oborta omnium oculis qui ibidem essent carcerem collustrasset, illo cœlesti splendore commotus Marcellus custodiæ præpositus, multique alii Christo Domino crediderunt. Verum postea e carcere emissi, ab imperatore Maximiano, cum, ejus etiam neglecto imperio, unum Christum Deum et Dominum in ore haberent, scorpionibus cruciati iterum conjiciuntur in vincula: unde septimo die educti, et ante pedes imperatoris constituti, perstiterunt in irrisione inanium deorum, Jesum Christum Deum constantissime confitentes. Quamobrem damnati, securi feriuntur. Quorum corpora feris objecta, nec ab illis tacta, a christianis honorifice sepulta sunt.

Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor, and Nazarius were Roman soldiers of illustrious birth and valour. Having embraced the Christian religion, and being found publishing that Christ is the Son of God, they were arrested by Aurelius, prefect of Rome, under Diocletian. As they despised his orders to sacrifice to the gods, they were committed to prison. While they were at prayer there, a brilliant light broke forth before the eyes of all present and shone in all the prison. Marcellus, the gaoler, and many others were moved by this heavenly glory to believe in the Lord Christ. Having gone forth from the prison, they were afterwards thrown in again, by the emperor Maximian, who caused them, first of all, to be beaten with scorpions, for having, despite his orders, continued to have ever in their mouth that there is but one Christ, one God, one Lord, and so they were laden with chains. Thence, on the seventh day, they were brought out, and set before the emperor, and there still persisting in mocking at the vain idols, and declaring Jesus Christ to be God, they were condemned to death and beheaded. Their bodies were given to wild beasts to be devoured, but as these refused to touch them, the Christians took them and buried them honourably.

From you we learn, O soldiers of Jesus Christ, the nature of that peace which he came to bring upon earth to men of goodwill. Its reward is no other than God himself, who, by it and together with it, communicates himself to such as are worthy. Its invigorating sweetness overpowers every sensitive feeling, even that of tortures such as Christians, after your example, must be ready to undergo in order to preserve intact this priceless treasure. Amidst torments and beneath the death-stroke, this peace upheld you, keeping your mind and heart free, fixed on heaven alone:¹ this same peace now forms for ever your eternal beatitude, in the presence of the undivided Trinity. Whatsoever be the varied condition of our life here below, lead us, O holy martyrs, by the path of this perfect peace, fraught as it necessarily is with valour and love, unto the repose of endless bliss.

¹ Phil. iv. 7.

JUNE 13

SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA CONFESSOR

Rejoice thee, happy Padua, rich in thy priceless treasure!¹ Anthony, in bequeathing thee his body, has done more for thy glory than the heroes who founded thee on so favoured a site, or the doctors who have illustrated thy famous university!

The days of Charlemagne were past and gone: yet the work of Leo III still lived on, despite a thousand difficulties. The enemy, now at large, had sown cockle in the field of the divine householder; heresy was springing up here and there, whilst vice was growing apace in every direction. In many an heroic combat, the Popes, aided by the monastic Order, had succeeded in casting disorder out of the sanctuary itself: still the people, too long scandalized by venal pastors, were fast slipping away from the Church. Who could rally them once more? Who wrest from Satan a reconquest of the world? At this trying moment the Spirit of Pentecost, ever living, ever present in holy Church, raised up the sons of St Dominic and of St Francis. The brave soldiers of this new militia, organized to meet fresh necessities, threw themselves into the field, pursuing heresy into its most secret lurking-holes, and thundering against vice in every shape and wheresoever found. In town or in country, they were everywhere to be seen confounding false teachers by the strong argument of miracle as well as of doctrine; mixing with the people, whom the sight of their heroic detachment easily won over to repentance. Crowds flocked to be enrolled in the Third Orders instituted by these two holy founders,

¹ Ant. to Benedictus for the feast in the Franciscan Breviary.

to afford a secure refuge for the Christian life in the midst of the world.

The best known and most popular of all the sons of St Francis is Anthony, whom we are celebrating this day. His life was short; at the age of thirty-five he took his flight to heaven. But a span so limited allowed, nevertheless, of a considerable portion of time being directed by our Lord to preparing this chosen servant for his destined ministry. The all-important thing in God's esteem, where there is question of fitting apostolic men to become instruments of salvation to a greater number of souls, is not the length of time which they may devote to exterior works, but rather the degree of personal sanctification attained by them, and the thoroughness of their self-abandonment to the ways of divine Providence. As to Anthony, it may almost be said that, up to the last day of his life, eternal Wisdom seemed to take pleasure in disconcerting all his thoughts and plans. Out of his twenty years of religious life, he passed ten amongst the Canons Regular, whither the divine call had invited him at the age of fifteen, in the full bloom of his innocence; and there, wholly captivated by the splendour of the liturgy, occupied in the sweet study of the Holy Scriptures and of the fathers, blissfully lost in the silence of the cloister, his seraphic soul was ever being wafted to sublime heights, where (so it seemed) he was always to remain, held and hidden in the secret of God's face. Suddenly, behold! the divine Spirit urges him to seek the martyr's crown: and presently he is seen emerging from his beloved monastery, and following the Friars Minor to distant shores, where already some of their number had won the glorious palm. Not this, however, but the martyrdom of love, was to be his. Falling sick and reduced to impotence before his zeal could effect anything on the African soil, he was recalled by obedience to Spain, but was cast by a tempest on the Italian coast.

It happened that St Francis was just then convoking his entire family, for the third time, in general chapter. Anthony, unknown, lost in this vast assembly, beheld at its close each of the friars in turn receive his appointed destination, whereas to him not a thought was given. What a sight! The scion of the illustrious family de Bouillon and of the kings of the Asturias completely overlooked in the throng of holy poverty's sons! At the moment of departure the Father Minister of the Bologna province, remarking the isolated condition of the young religious whom no one had received in charge, admitted him, out of charity, into his company. Accordingly, having reached the hermitage of Monte Paolo, Anthony was deputed to help in the kitchen and in sweeping the house, being supposed quite unfitted for anything else. Meanwhile, the Augustinian Canons, on the contrary, were bitterly lamenting the loss of one whose remarkable learning and sanctity, far more even than his nobility, had, up to this, been the glory of their Order.

The hour at last came, chosen by Providence, to manifest Anthony to the world; and immediately, as was said of Christ himself, the whole world went after him.¹ Around the pulpits where this humble friar preached there were wrought endless prodigies in the order of nature and of grace. At Rome he earned the surname of 'ark of the covenant'; in France, that of 'hammer of heretics.' It would be impossible for us here to follow him throughout his luminous course; suffice it to say that France, as well as Italy, owes much to his zealous ministry.

St Francis had yearned to be himself the bearer of the gospel of peace throughout the fair realm of France, then sorely ravaged by heresy; but in his stead, he sent thither Anthony, his well-beloved son, and, as it were, his living portrait. What St Dominic had been in the first crusade against the Albigenses, Anthony was in the second. At Toulouse was wrought that wondrous miracle of the famished mule turning aside from the proffered grain in order to prostrate in homage before the sacred Host. From the province of Berry, his burning word was heard thundering in various distant provinces; whilst heaven lavished delicious favours on his soul, ever childlike amidst the marvellous victories achieved by him, and the intoxicating applause of an admiring crowd. Under the very eyes of his host, at a lonely house in Limousin, the Infant Jesus came to him radiant in beauty; and throwing himself into his arms, covered him with sweetest caresses, pressing the humble friar to lavish the like on him. One feast of the Assumption Anthony was sad, because a phrase then to be found in the Office seemed to throw a shade of discredit on the fact of Mary's body being assumed into heaven together with her soul. Presently, the Mother of God herself came to console her devoted servant, in his lowly cell, assuring him of the truth of the doctrine of her glorious Assumption; and so left him, ravished with the sweet charms of her countenance and the melodious sound of her voice. Suddenly, as he was preaching at Montpellier, in a church of that city thronged with people, Anthony remembered that he had been appointed to chant the Alleluia at the conventual Mass in his own convent, and he had quite forgotten to get his place supplied. Deeply pained at this involuntary omission, he bent his head upon his breast: whilst standing thus motionless and silent in the pulpit, as though asleep, his brethren saw him enter their choir, sing his verse, and depart; at once his audience beheld him recover his animation, and continue his sermon with the same eloquence as before. In this same town of Montpellier another well-known incident occurred. When engaged in teaching a course of theology to his brethren, his commentary on the Psalms disappeared; but the thief was presently constrained, even by the fiend himself, to bring back the volume, the loss whereof had caused our saint so much regret. Such is commonly thought to be the origin of the popular devotion, whereby a special power of recovering lost things is ascribed to St Anthony.

¹ St John xii. 19.

However this may be, it is certain that, from the very outset, this devotion rests on the testimony of startling miracles of this kind; and in our own day constantly repeated favours of a similar nature still confirm the same.

The following is the abridgement of this beautiful life, as given in the liturgy.

Antonius, Ulyssipone in Lusitania honestis ortus parentibus, et ab iis pie educatus, adolescens institutum Canonicorum Regularium suscepit. Sed cum corpora beatorum quinque martyrum Fratrum Minorum Conimbriam transferrentur, qui paulo ante apud Marrochium pro Christi fide passi erant, martyrii desiderio incensus, ad Franciscanum Ordinem transivit. Mox eodem ardore impulsus, ad Saracenos ire perrexit: sed, adversa valetudine afflictus, et redire coactus, cum navis ad Hispaniæ littora tenderet, ventorum vi in Siciliam delatus est.

Assisium e Sicilia ad capitulum generale venit: inde in eremum montis Pauli in Æmilia secessit, ubi divinis contemplationibus, jejuniis et vigiliis diu vacavit. Postea sacris Ordinibus initiatus et ad prædicandum Evangelium missus, dicendi sapientia et copia tantum profecit, tantamque sui admirationem commovit, ut eum summus Pontifex, aliquando concio­nantem audiens, arcam testamenti appellarit. In primis vero hæreses summa vi profligavit, ideoque perpetuus

Anthony was born at Lisbon, in Portugal, of noble parents, who brought him up in the love of God. While he was still a youth, he joined the institute of the Canons Regular. But when the bodies of the five holy martyred Friars Minor, who had just suffered in Morocco for Christ's sake, were brought to Coimbra, the desire to be himself a martyr enkindled his soul, and he therefore passed over to the Franciscan Order. Presently, still urged by the same yearning, he had wellnigh reached the land of the Saracens, when, falling sick on the road, he was enforced to turn back; but the ship, bound for Spain, was drifted towards Sicily.

From Sicily he came to Assisi, to attend the General Chapter of his Order, and thence withdrew himself to the Hermitage of Monte Paolo near Bologna, where he gave himself up for a long while to contemplation of the things of God, to fastings and to watchings. Being afterwards ordained priest and sent to preach the Gospel, his wisdom and eloquence drew on him such marked admiration of men, that the Sovereign Pontiff once, on hearing him preach, called him the ark of the covenant. Chiefly against heresies

SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA

hæreticorum malleus est vocatus.

Primus ex suo Ordine, ob doctrinæ præstantiam, Bononiæ et alibi sacras litteras est interpretatus. Fratrumque suorum studiis præfuit. Multis vero peragratis provinciis, anno ante obitum Patavium venit, ubi illustria sanctitatis suæ monumenta reliquit. Denique, magnis laboribus pro gloria Dei perfunctus, meritis et miraculis clarus, obdormivit in Domino Idibus Junii, anno salutis millesimo ducentesimo trigesimo primo. Quem Gregorius Nonus Pontifex Maximus sanctorum confessorum numero adscripsit.

did he put forth the whole force of his vigour, whence he gained the name of perpetual hammer of heretics.

He was the first of his Order who, on account of his excellent gift of teaching, publicly lectured at Bologna on the interpretation of Holy Scripture, and directed the studies of his brethren. Then, having travelled through many provinces, he came, one year before his death, to Padua, where he left some remarkable monuments of the sanctity of his life. At length, having undergone much toil for the glory of God, full of merits and conspicuous for miracles, he fell asleep in the Lord upon the Ides of June in the year of salvation one thousand two hundred and thirty-one. The Sovereign Pontiff Gregory IX enrolled his name among those of holy confessors.

Want of space obliges us to be very meagre in the number we give of liturgical pieces; but we cannot omit here the miraculous Responsory, as it is called, the composition whereof is attributed to St Bonaventure. It continues still to justify its name, in favour of those who recite it in the hour of need. In the Franciscan breviary it is the eighth responsory of the office of St Antony of Padua. At a very early date, this, together with the nine Tuesdays in our Saint's honour, became a very popular devotion and was fraught with immense fruits of grace.

THE MIRACULOUS RESPONSORY

Si quæris miracula,
Mors, error, calamitas, Dæmon, lepra fugiunt,
Ægri surgunt sani.

If ye seek miracles, lo! death, error, calamities, the demon and the leprosy, flee all away; the sick also arise healed.

* Cedunt mare, vincula; Membra, resque perditas Petunt et accipiunt Juvenes et cani.

* Sea and chains give way; young and old alike ask and receive again the use of members, as well as things lost.

℣. Pereunt pericula,
Cessat et necessitas; Narrent hi qui sentiunt, Dicant Paduani.

℣. Dangers vanish; necessity ceases; let those who have experienced such things relate these facts; let the Paduans repeat:

* Cedunt mare. Gloria Patri. * Cedunt mare.

* Sea, &c. Glory, &c.

* Sea, &c.

℣. Ora pro nobis, beate Antoni.

℣. Pray for us, O blessed Anthony.

℟. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

℟. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

OREMUS.

Ecclesiam tuam, Deus, beati Antonii confessoris tui commemoratio votiva lætificet: ut spiritualibus semper muniatur auxiliis, et gaudiis perfrui mereatur æternis. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

LET US PRAY.

May the votive solemnity of blessed Anthony, thy Confessor, give joy to thy Church, O God; that it may be ever defended by spiritual assistance, and deserve to possess eternal joys. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

O glorious Anthony, the simplicity of thine innocent soul made thee a docile instrument in the hand of the Spirit of love. The Seraphic Doctor, St Bonaventure, hymning thy praises, takes for his first theme thy childlike spirit, and for his second thy wisdom which flowed therefrom. Wise indeed wast thou, O Anthony, for, from thy tenderest years, thou wast in earnest pursuit of divine Wisdom; and wishing to have her alone for thy portion, thou didst hasten to shelter thy love in some cloister, to hide thee in the secret of God's face, the better to enjoy her chaste delights. Silence and obscurity in her sweet company was thine heart's one ambition; and even here below her hands were pleased to adorn thee with incomparable splendour. She walked before thee; and blithely didst thou follow, for her own sake alone, without suspecting how all other good things were to become thine in her company. Happy a childlike spirit such as thine, to which are ever reserved the more lavish favours of eternal Wisdom! 'But,' exclaims thy sainted panegyrist, 'who is really a child nowadays? Humble littleness is no more; therefore love is no more. Naught is to be seen now but valleys bulging into hills, and hills swelling into mountains. What saith Holy Writ? "When they were lifted up, thou hast cast them down."'¹ To such towering vaunters, God saith again: "Behold I have made thee a small child"²; but exceedingly contemptible among the nations³ such infancy is. Wherefore will ye keep to this childishness, O men, making your days an endless series of inconstancy, boisterous and vain effort at garnering wretched chaff? Other is that infancy which is declared to be the greatest in the land of true greatness.⁴ Such was thine, O Anthony! and thereby wast thou wholly yielded up to Wisdom's sacred influence.'⁵ In return for thy loving submission to God our Father in heaven, the populace obeyed thee, and fiercest tyrants trembled at thy voice. Heresy alone dared once to disobey thee, dared to refuse to hearken to thy word: thereupon, the very fishes of the sea took up thy defence; for they came swimming in shoals, before the eyes of the whole city, to listen to thy preaching which heretics had scorned. Alas! error, having long ago recovered from the vigorous blows dealt by thee, is yet more emboldened in these days, claiming even sole right to speak. The offspring of Manes, whom, under the name of Albigenses, thou didst so successfully combat, would now, under the new appellation of freemasonry, have all France at its beck; thy native Portugal beholds the same monster stalking in broad daylight almost up to the very altar; and the whole world is being intoxicated by its poison. O thou who dost daily fly to the aid of thy devoted clients in their private necessities, thou whose power is the same in heaven as heretofore upon earth, succour the Church, aid God's people, have pity upon society, now more universally and deeply menaced than ever. O thou ark of the covenant, bring back our generation, so terribly devoid of love and faith, to the serious study of sacred letters, wherein is so energizing a power. O thou hammer of heretics, strike once more such blows as will make hell tremble and the heavenly powers thrill with joy.

¹ Wisd. vii. ² Ps. lxxii. 18. ³ Abdias 2. ⁴ St Matt. xviii. 4. ⁵ Bonav. Sermo I de S. Antonio Patav. ⁶ Wisd. viii. 14, 15.

JUNE 14

SAINT BASIL THE GREAT

BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

The Doctors who form the fourfold glory of the Greek Church complete their sacred number in the cycle to-day. John Chrysostom was the first to greet us with his radiant light during Christmastide; the glorious Pasch saw the rise of two resplendent luminaries, Athanasius and Gregory Nazianzen; Basil the Great, having checked his effulgent blaze till now, illumines the reign of the Holy Ghost. He well deserves so distinguished a place, by reason of his eminent doctrine and brave combats, which prepared the way for the triumph of the divine Paraclete over the blasphemies of the impious sect of Macedonius, who used against the third Person of the consubstantial Trinity the very same arguments invented by Arius against the divinity of the Word. The Council of Constantinople, putting the finishing stroke to that of Nicæa, formulated the faith of the Churches, in him who proceedeth from the Father, no less than doth the Word himself, who is adored and glorified conjointly with the Father and the Son.¹ Basil was not there on the day of victory; prematurely exhausted by austerities and labours, he had been sleeping the sleep of peace for quite two years, when this great definition was promulgated. But it was his teaching that inspired the assembled council; his word remains as the luminous expression of tradition concerning the Holy Spirit, who is himself the divine loadstone attracting all in the vast universe that aspire after holiness, the potent breeze uplifting souls, the perfection of all things. Just as we hearkened to Gregory Nazianzen on his feast day, speaking magnificent truths concerning the great Paschal mystery, let us listen now to his illustrious friend, explaining that of the present season—sanctification effected in souls.

'The union of the Holy Ghost and the soul is effected by estrangement from the passions, which having crept in had separated her from God. Whoso, therefore, would disengage himself from the deformity that proceedeth from vice, and return to that beauteousness which he holds of his Creator; whoso would restore within himself the primitive features of that royal and divine original, such a one doth verily draw nigh unto the Paraclete. But then also, even as the sun coming in contact with an unsullied eye illumines it, so the Paraclete reveals to such a one the image of him that cannot be seen; and in the blissful contemplation of this image, he perceiveth the ineffable beauty of the Principle, the Model of all. In this ascension of hearts, whereof the first tottering steps as well as the growing consummation are equally his work, the Holy Spirit rendereth them spiritual who are quit of all stain, by reason of that participation of himself into which he initiates them. Bodies that are limpid and translucent, pierced by a brilliant ray, become resplendent and shed light all around them; thus also souls bearing the Holy Spirit within them are all luminous with him, and becoming themselves spiritualized, shed grace all around. Hence the superior understanding possessed by the elect, and their converse with heaven; hence all fair gifts; hence thine own resemblance to thy God; hence, O truth sublime! thou thyself art a god. Wherefore it is that, properly and in very truth, by the illumination of the Holy Ghost we contemplate the splendour of God's glory; yea, it is by the character of resemblance which he has imprinted in our soul that we are raised up even unto the loftiness of him whose full similitude he, the divine Seal, beareth with himself.'² He, the Spirit of wisdom, revealeth unto us (not as it were outside but within himself) Christ, the Wisdom of God. The path of contemplation leads from the Holy Ghost, by the Son, unto the Father; concurrently, the goodness, holiness, and royal dignity of the elect come from the Father by the Son to the Holy Ghost,³ whose temples they are; and he filleth them with his own glory, illuminating their brow with a radiance like to that of Moses at the sight of God.⁴ Thus likewise did he, in the case of our Lord's humanity; thus doth he unto the Seraphim who cannot cry their triple Sanctus, save in him; so also unto all the choirs of angels, whose concerts he regulates, whose songs he vibrates. But the carnal man, who hath never exercised his soul in contemplation, but holdeth her captive in the mud and mire of the senses, cannot lift his eyes unto Light supernal; the Holy Spirit belongs not to him.'⁵

The action of the Paraclete surpasses the power of any creature; therefore, in thus drawing attention to the operation of the spirit of love, St Basil is anxious to bring his adversaries to confess, of their own accord, the Divinity of the Holy Ghost. On the other hand, who can fail to recognize, in this burning exposition of doctrine, not merely the invincible theologian vindicating dogma, but, furthermore, the experienced guide of souls, the sublime ascetic, deputed by God to bring down within reach of all men such marvels of holiness as an Anthony or a Pachomius brought forth in the desert?

Even as the bee, humming amidst the flowers, avoids the thorn, and knows how to eschew empoisoned sap, so Basil in his youthful days had hovered amidst the schools of Athens and of Constantinople without sucking in aught of their poison. According to the advice he himself gave to youth at a later date in a celebrated discourse,⁶ his quick intelligence, unsullied by passions (too often found even in the most gifted), had succeeded in stealing from rhetoricians and poets all that could adorn as well as develop his mind, and discipline it for the struggle of life. The world smiled on the young orator, whose pure diction and persuasive eloquence recalled the palmy days of Greek literature; but the noblest gifts of glory earth could offer were far beneath the lofty ambition wherewith his soul was fired in reading the Holy Scriptures. Life's struggle, in his eyes, seemed a combat for truth alone. In himself, first of all, must divine Truth be victorious, by the defeat of nature and by the Holy Ghost's triumphant creation of the new man. Therefore, heedless to know, before God's own time, whether he might not be used in winning souls to God; never once suspecting how soon multitudes would indeed come pressing to receive the law of life from his lips, he turned his back upon all things, and fled to the wilds of Pontus, there to be forgotten of men in his pursuit after holiness. Nor did the misery of those times cause him to fall into the error, so common nowadays, of wishing to devote himself to others before having first regulated his own soul. Such is not the true way of setting charity in order; such is not the conduct of the saints. It is thyself God wants of thee before all things else; when thou hast become his, in the full measure he intends, he himself will know how to bestow thee upon others, unless perchance he prefer, for thy greater advantage, to keep thee all to himself. But in any case, he is no lover of all that hurry to become useful; he does not bless these would-be utilitarians who are all eagerness to push themselves into the service of his Providence. Anthony of Padua showed us this truth yesterday; and here we have it given to us a second time. Mark it well: that which really tends to the extension of our Lord's glory is not the amount of time given to the works, but the holiness of the worker. According to a custom frequent in that century, owing to the fear entertained of exposing the grace of Baptism to woful shipwreck, Basil remained a simple catechumen until his youth had wellnigh matured to manhood. Of the years that followed his baptism, thirteen were spent in the monastic life and nine in the

¹ Symb. Constantinop. ² Basil. Lib. de Sp. Sancto ix. ³ Ibid. xviii. ⁴ Ibid. xxi. ⁵ Ibid. xvi. ⁶ De legend. libris gentil.

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episcopate. At the age of fifty he died; but his work, carried on under the impulse of the Holy Ghost, far from dying with him, appeared more fruitful, and went on thus increasing during the course of succeeding ages.

While living the life of a humble monk on the banks of the Iris, whither his mother and sister had preceded him, his whole being was intent on the ‘saving of his soul’! from the judgement of God,* and on ' running generously in the way that leads to the eternal recom- pense.? Later on others having begged him to form them also ' unto the warfare of Christ the King,'* accord- ing to the simplicity of faith and the Scriptures,* our saint would not have them embrace the life of solitaries, such isolation being not without danger for the many; but he preferred for them one that would join to the blissful contemplation of the solitary the rampart and completeness of community life, wherein charity and humility® are exercised under the conduct of a head, who, in his turn, deems himself but the servitor of all.” Moreover he would admit none into his monasteries without serious and prolonged trial, followed by a solemn engagement to persevere in this new life.*

At the remembrance of what he had admired amongst the solitaries of Egypt and Syria, Basil compared himself and his disciples to children who would strive in a puny way to mimic strong:men; or unto beginners sticking at the first difficulties of the rudiments and scarce yet fairly started on the path of true piety. Yet the day would come when the ancient giants of the wilderness, and the hoary legislators of the desert, would see their heroic customs and their monastic codes cede the place of honour to the familiar conferences, to the unprepared answers given by Basil to his monks in solution of their proposed difficulties, and to form them to the practice of the divine counsels. Ere long the whole of the East ranged itself under his rule; whilst in the West St Bene-

! Sermo ascetic, * Procm. de judicio Dei. * Praia instit. ascetica. * Ibid. * De fide; Moralia. . . brev. tractatze, 160 etc., 114 etc. ?

Reg. fus. tract. 30. *. Ibid, 10; Epist, 23, al. 383; 199, al. 2, can. xviii, xix. — * Epist. 207, al. 63. HI. 10

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dict called him his father.! His order, like a fruitful nursery of holy monks and virgins, bishops, doctors, and martyrs, has furnished heaven with saints. For a long time it served as a bulwark of the faith to Byzantium; and even of recent days it has beheld, despite the schism, its faithful children sparing not to render, under the savage persecution of the Tsar of Russia, their testimony of blood and suffering to holy mother Church.

Worthily also have they herein paid a personal testi- mony, as it were, to their intrepid father; for Basil too was the grandson of martyrs, the son and the brother of saints. Would that we might be allowed to devote a page to the praises of his illustrious grandmother Macrina the elder; who seems to have miraculously escaped from the hands of her executioners and from a seven years’ exile in the wild forests, on purpose to be instrumental in infusing into Basil's young heart that faith firm and pure, which she had herself received from St Gregory Thaumaturgus. Suffice it to say that, towards the close of his life, the great Basil, doctor of the Church and patriarch of monks, was proud to appeal to Macrina’s name as a guarantee for the orthodoxy of his faith, when this was called in question.?

Basil's lifetime was cast in one of those periods exceptionally disastrous to the Church, when ship- wrecks of faith are common, because darkness prevails to such an extent as to cast its shades even over the children of light;? a period, in fact, when, as St Jerome expresses it, ' the astonished world waked up, to bewail itself Arian.* Bishops were faltering in essentials of true belief and in questions of loyalty to the successor of Peter; so that the bewildered flock scarce knew whose voice to follow; for many of their pastors, some through perfidy and some through weakness, had subscribed at Rimini to the condemnation of the faith of Nica. Basil himself was assuredly not one of those ‘blind watchmen: dumb dogs not able to bark.'^ When but

1 S, P. Dened, Reg., cap. Ixxiii. * Epist. 204, al. 75; 223, al. 79. ? 1 Thess. v 5, * Hieron. Dial. cont. Lucif. * Isa. lví 10.

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a simple lector, he-had not hesitated to sound the horn of alarm, by openly separating himself from his bishop, who had been caught in the meshes of the Arians; and now himself a bishop, he boldly showed that he was not such indeed. For when entreated for peace’ sake to make some compromise with the Arians, vain was every supplication, every menace of confiscation, exile, or death. He used no measured terms in treating with the prefect Modestus, the tool of Valens; and when this vaunting official complained that none had ever dared to address him with such liberty, Basil intrepidly replied: * Perhaps thou never yet hadst to deal with a bishop !'

Basil, whose great soul was incapable of suspecting duplicity in another, was entrapped by the guile of a false monk, a hypocritical bishop, one Eustathius of Sebaste, who, by apparent austerity of life and other counterfeits, long captivated the friendship of Basil. This unconscious error was permitted by God for the increase of his servant’s holiness; for it was destined to fill his declining days with utmost bitterness, and to draw down upon him the keenest trial possible to one of his mould—namely, that several, in consequence, began to doubt of his own sincerity of faith.

Basil appealed from the tongue of calumny to the judgement of his brother bishops;' but yet he recoiled not from likewise justifying himself before the simple faithful For he knew that the richest treasure of a church is the pastor's own surety of faith and his personal plenitude of doctrine. Athanasius, who had led the battles of the first half of that century and had conquered Arius, was no more; he had gone to join, in the well-merited repose of eternity, his brave com- panions, Eusebius of Vercelli and Hilary of Poitiers. In the midst of the confusion that Valens' persecution was then reproducing in the East, even holy men knew not how to weather the storm. Many such were to be seen adopting first the extreme measure of utter with-

1 Epist. 203, al. 77. 3 [bid. 204, al. 75, etc.

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drawal, through mistaken excess of prudence; and then rushing into equally false steps of indiscreet zeal. Basil alone was of a build proportioned to the tempest. His noble heart, bruised in its most delicate feelings, had drunk the chalice to the dregs; but, strong in him who prayed the prayer of agony in Gethsemani, the trial crushed him not. With wearied soul and with a body wellnigh exhausted by the jading effects of chronic infirmities, already in fact a dying man,' he never- theless nerved himself up against death, and bravely faced the surging waves. From this ' ship in distress,' as he termed the Eastern Church, 'dashing against every rock amid the dense fog," his pressing cry of appeal reached the ears of the Western Church seated in peace in her unfailing light?—reached Rome, whence alone help could come, yet whose wise slowness, on one occasion, made him almost lose heart. While awaiting the intervention of Peter's successor, Basil prudently repressed anything like untimely zeal, and, for the present, required of weak souls merely what was indis- pensable in matters of faith ;* just as under other circum- stances, and with equal prudence, he had severely reproved his own brother, St Gregory of Nyssa, for suffering himself to be betrayed by simplicity into incon- siderate measures, motived indeed by love of peace.5 Peace is just what Basil desired as much as anybody:* but the peace for which he would give his life could be only that true peace left to the Church by our Lord.” What he so vigorously exacted on the grounds of faith proceeded solely from his very love of peace And therefore, as he himself tells us, he absolutely refused to enter into communion with those narrow-minded men who dread nothing so much as a clear, precise expression of dogma; in his eyes their captious formulas and ungraspable shiftings were but the action of hypo- crites, in whose company he would scorn to approach God's altar. As to those merely misled, * Let the faith

! Epist. 136, al. 257. * Lib. de Sp. S. xxx. * Epist. 91, al. 324; 92, al. 69, etc. * Ibid. 113, al. 203. * Ibid. 58, al. 44 * Ibid. 259., Poly Td vm *. Ibid. 128, al. 365. * Ibid. * Ibid.

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of our fathers be proposed to them with all tenderness and charity; if they will assent thereunto, let us receive them into our midst; in other cases, let us dwell with ourselves alone, regardless of numbers; and let us keep aloof from equivocating souls, who are not possessed of that simplicity without guile, indispensably required in the early days of the Gospel from all who would approach to the faith. The believers, so it is written, had but one heart and one soul Let those, therefore, who would reproach us for not desiring pacification, mark well who are the real authors of the disturbance, and so not point the question of reconciliation on our side any more."

In another place he thus continues: ‘ To every specious argument that would seem to counsel silence on our part, we oppose this other—namely, that charity counts as nothing either her own proper interests or the diffi- culties of the times. Even though no man is willing to follow our example, what then? Are we ourselves, just for that, to let duty alone? In the fiery furnace the children of the Babylonish captivity chanted their canticle to the Lord, without making any reckoning of the multitude who set truth aside: they were quite sufficient for one another, merely three as they were |’?

He thus wrote to his monks, likewise pursued and vexed by a government that would not own itself a persecutor: ' There are many honest men who, though they admit that you are being treated without a shadow of justice, still will not grant that the sufferings you are enduring can quite deserve to be called confessing the faith; ah! it is by no means necessary to be a pagan in order to make martyrs! The enemies we have now- adays detest us no less than did the idolaters; if the would deceive the crowd as to the motive of their hatred, it is merely because they hope thereby to rob you of the glory that surrounded confessors in bygone days. Be convinced of it; before the face of the just Judge, your confession is every whit as real. So take heart | under

* Acts iv 32. * Epist. 128, al, 265. * Lib, de Sp. S. xxx.

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every stroke renew yourselves in love; let your zeal gain strength every day, knowing that in you are to be pre- served the last remains of godliness which the Lord, at his return, may find upon the earth. Trouble not yourselves about treacheries, nor whence they come: was it not the princes among God's priests, the scribes and the ancients among his own, that plotted the snares wherein our divine Master suffered himself to be caught ? Heed not what the crowd may think, for a breath is sufficient to sway the crowd to and fro, like the rippling wave. Even though only one were to be saved, as in the case of Lot out of Sodom, it would not be lawful for him to deviate from the path of rectitude, merely because he finds that he is the only one that is right. No; he must stand alone, unmoved, holding fast his hope in Jesus Christ.”

Basil himself, from his bed of sickness, set an example to all. But what was the anguish of his soul when he realized how scant a correspondence his efforts received among the leading men in his own diocese! He sadly wondered at seeing how their ambition was in no wise quenched by the lamentable state of the Churches; how they still could listen to nothing but their own puny jealous susceptibilities, when the vessel was actually foundering; and could contend for the command of the ship, when she was already sinking. Others there were, even among the better sort, who would hold aloof, hoping to be forgotten in their silent inertia;? quite ignoring that, when general interests are at stake, egotistic estrangement from the scene of struggle can never save an individual, nor absolve him from the crime of treason.* It is curious to hear our Saint himself relating the following story to his friend Eusebius of Samosata, the future martyr: how once Basil's death was noised abroad, and consequently all the bishops hurried at once to Caesarea to choose a successor. ' But,’ Basil continues, ' as it pleased God that they should find

! Epist. 257, al. 303. * Lib. de Sp. S. xxx. * Epist. 141, al. 262. * Ibid, 136, al. 257.

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me alive, I took this opportunity to speak to them weighty words. Yet vainly; for while in my presence, they feared me and promised everything; but scarce had they turned their backs, than they were just the same again." In the meantime persecution was pursu- ing its course, and, sooner or later, the moment came for each in turn to choose between downright heresy and banishment. Many, unfortunately, consummated their apostasy; others, opening their eyes at last, took the road to exile, where they were able to meditate at leisure upon the advantages of keeping quiet and of keeping out of the struggle; or better still, where they could repair their past weakness, by the heroism wherewith they would henceforth suffer for the faith.

Basil's virtue held even his persecutors at bay; and God preserved him in such wondrous ways, that at last he was almost the only one remaining at the head of his Church, although he had really exposed himself far more than anyone else to the brunt of every attack and to every peril. He profited hereby to the benefit of his favoured flock, upon whom he lavished the boon of highest teaching and wisest administration. This he did with such marvellous success, that so much could scarcely have been attainable by another bishop in times of peace, when exclusive attention could be devoted to those employments. Cesarea responded splendidly to his pastoral care. His word excited such avidity amongst all classes, that the populace would hang upon his lips, and await his arrival the livelong day, in the ever more and more closely thronged edifice.* We learn this from his remarks. For instance, once, when his insatiable audience would allow him no repose in spite of his extreme fatigue, he tenderly compares himself to a worn-out mother who gives her babe the breast, not so much to feed it as to stay itscries.? The mutual understanding of pastor and flock in these meetings is quite delightful! If the great orator by inadvertence left some verse of Scripture unexplained, his sons, by ¹ Epist. 141, al. 262. ² Homil. in Ps. cxiv. ³ In Ps. lix.

discreet signs and half-suppressed mutterings, would recall his attention to the passage of the text, which they would not allow him to pass over in silence.¹ On such occasions Basil would make charming excuses for his mistake, and then rectify it in such a way as to show that he was proud of his flock! When he was explaining, for example, the magnificence of the great ocean, amongst other wonders of the works of the six days, he suddenly paused, and casting a glance of ineffable pleasure over the vast crowd closely pressing around his episcopal chair, he thus continued: 'If the sea is beauteous, and in God's sight worthy of goodly praise, how far more beautiful is this immense assembly, whereof better than the waves that swell and roll and die away against the coast, the mingled voices of men, women, and children bear unto God our swelling prayer. O thou tranquil ocean, peaceful in thy mighty deep, because evil winds of heresy are impotent to rouse thy waves!'²

Happy people, thus formed by Basil to the understanding of the Scriptures, especially of the Psalms, whereof he inspired the faithful with so great love, that it was quite the custom for all to repair at night to the house of God, there in the solemn accents of alternate psalmody to pour out their souls in one united homage.³ Prayer in common was one of those fruits of his ministry which Basil, like a true monk, valued the most; the importance he attached to it has made him one of the principal fathers of the Greek liturgy. 'Talk not to me,' he cries out, 'of private homes, of private assemblies. Adore the Lord in his holy court, saith the psalmist; the adoration here called for is that which is paid not outside the Church, but in the court, the one only court of the Lord.'⁴

Time and space would fail us, were we to attempt to follow our saint through all the details of this grand family life which he lived so thoroughly with his whole people, and which formed his one consolation in the

¹ Hom. viii in Hexaëmeron. ² In Hexaëm. ³ Epist. 207, al. 63. ⁴ In Ps. xxviii.

midst of his otherwise stormy career. It would behove us to show how he made himself all to all, in gladness and in sorrow, with a simplicity which is so admirably blended in him with lofty greatness; how he would reply to the humblest consultations, just as though he had nothing more urgent on hand than to satisfy the demands of the least among his sons; how he would cry out against every touch of injustice offered to one of his flock, and cease not till full compensation was made; and finally, how, with the aid of his faithful of Cæsarea, rising up as one man to defend their bishop, he would oppose himself as a strong rampart to protect virgins and widows against the brutal oppression of men in power. Though himself poor and stripped of all things since the day when, about to enter the monastic state, he had distributed the whole of his rich paternal inheritance among the poor, he nevertheless found the secret of how to raise, in his episcopal city, an immense establishment, destined as an assured refuge for pilgrims and the poor, an asylum ever open and admirably organized to meet the requirements of every kind of suffering and the needs of all ages; or rather, a new city, built beside the great Cæsarea, and named by the gratitude of the people after its sainted founder. Ever ready for any combat, Basil intrepidly maintained his rights as exarch, which he possessed by reason of his See, over the eleven provinces composing the vast administrative division known to the Romans by the generic name of the diocese of Pontus. Indefatigable in his zeal for the sacred canons, he both defended his clergy against all attempts aimed at their immunities, and reformed such abuses as had crept in during times less troubled than his own. Even in the very vortex of the storm, he knew how to bring back ecclesiastical discipline to the perfection of its best days.

At last the time came when the main interests of the faith, the perils of which seemed, up to this, to have suspended in his worn-out body the law of all flesh, now no longer demanded his presence so absolutely as before. On August 9, 378, the arrow of the Goth exercised justice on Valens; soon afterwards, Gratian's edict recalled the exiled confessors, and Theodosius appeared in the East. On January 1, 379, Basil, at last set free, slept in the Lord.

The Greek Church celebrates the memory of this great bishop on the day of his death, conjointly with the Circumcision of the Word made Flesh; and a second time, on the 30th of the same month of January, she unites him with two other doctors—namely, Saints Gregory Nazianzen and John Chrysostom—bringing all the magnificence of her gorgeous liturgy to give splendour to this grand solemnity of January 30, illumined as it is by a 'triple sun, beaming glory concordantly to the Holy Trinity.'¹ The Latin Church has chosen for her celebration of St Basil the day of his ordination, June 14. The following is the notice she gives of his holy life:

Basilius nobilis Cappadox, Athenis una cum Gregorio Nazianzeno ejus amicissimo, sæcularibus litteris, deinde in monasterio sacris mirabiliter eruditis, eum brevi cursum fecit ad omnem doctrinæ et morum excellentiam, ut inde Magni cognomen invenerit. Is ad prædicandum Jesu Christi Evangelium in Pontum accersitus eam provinciam a Christianis institutis aberrantem, ad viam salutis revocavit: mox ab Eusebio Cæsareæ episcopo ad erudiendum eam civitatem adjutor adhibetur: in cujus locum postea successit. Is Filium Patri consubstantialem esse in primis defendit, ac Valentem imperatorem sibi iratum,

Basil, a noble Cappadocian, studied profane letters at Athens in company with Gregory Nazianzen, to whom he was united in a warm and tender friendship. He afterwards studied sacred science in a monastery, where he quickly attained an eminent degree of excellence in doctrine and life, whereby he gained to himself the surname of the Great. He was called to Pontus to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and brought back into the way of salvation that country which before had been wandering astray from the rules of Christian discipline. He was afterwards made coadjutor to Eusebius, Bishop of Cæsarea, for the instructing of that city, and afterwards became his suc-

¹ Acoluthia triplicis festi.

miraculis adeo flexit, ut incumbentem ad voluntatem ejiciendi ipsum in exsilium, a sententia discedere coegerit.

Nam et Valentis sella, in qua facturus decretum de ejiciendo e civitate Basilio, sedere volebat, confracta est: et tribus ab eo calamis adhibitis ad scribendam exsilii legem, nullus eorum reddidit atramentum: et cum nihilominus in proposito scribendi impium decretum persisteret, ipsius dextera, dissolutis nervis, tota contremuit. His commotus Valens chartam utraque manu conscidit. Ea autem nocte, quæ ad deliberandum Basilio data est, Valentis uxor intimis est cruciata doloribus, et unicus filius in gravem morbum incidit. Quibus ille perterritus, iniquitatem suam recognoscens, Basilium accersit: quo præsente, puer cœpit convalescere: verum, vocatis a Valente ad visendum puerum hæreticis, paulo post moritur.

Abstinentia et continentia fuit admirabilis: una tunica contentus erat, in jejunio servando diligentissimus, in oratione assiduus, in qua sæpe noctem consumebat. Virginitatem perpetuam coluit. Monasteriis exstructis, ita monachorum

cessor in the See. One of his greatest labours was to maintain that the Son is consubstantial with the Father; and when the emperor Valens, moved to wrath against him, was minded to send him into exile, he was so vanquished by the miracles Basil worked, that he was forced to forego his intention.

For the chair upon which Valens sat down in order to sign the decree of Basil's ejectment from the city broke under him; and of the three pens which he took up one after the other, to sign the edict of banishment, none would take the ink; and when, nevertheless, he persisted in his intent to write the impious order, the muscles of his right hand became relaxed, and it trembled violently. Valens was so frightened by these signs, that he tore the fatal document in two. During the night which was allowed to Basil to make up his mind, the wife of Valens was seized with excruciating intestinal pains, and his only son was taken seriously ill. These things alarmed Valens so much, that he acknowledged his wickedness, and sent for Basil, during whose visit the child began to get better. However, when Valens sent for some heretics to see it, it presently died.

The abstinence and continence of Basil were truly wonderful. He was content to wear nothing but a single garment. In observance of fasting he was most diligent. He was assiduous in prayer, and frequently consumed the whole night therein. His virginity he kept always un-

institutum temperavit, ut solitariæ atque actuosæ vitæ utilitates præclare simul conjungeret. Multa erudite scripsit, ac nemo, teste Gregorio Nazianzeno, sacra Scripturæ libros verius aut uberius explicavit. Obiit Kalendis Januarii, cum, tantum spiritu vivens, præter ossa et pellem, nulla præterea corporis parte constare videretur.

sullied. He built monasteries wherein he so adapted the institution of monasticism, that he exquisitely united for the monks the advantages of solitude and of action. He was the author of many learned writings, and, according to the testimony of Gregory Nazianzen, no one has ever composed more faithful and unctuous explanations of the Books of Holy Scripture. He died upon the Kalends of January; and as he had lived but by the spirit, there seemed to have remained naught to him of the body, save the skin and the bones.

To give thus a list of thine admirable works is in itself to sing thy praises, O mighty Pontiff! Would that nowadays thou hadst imitators; for history teaches us that saints of a build like thine are those who cause an epoch to be really great and who save society. No matter how tried, how abandoned even, a people may apparently be, if only blessed with a ruler docile in all things, docile unto heroism, to the inspirations of the Holy Ghost ever abiding in holy Church, this people will assuredly weather the storm and conquer at last; whereas, if the salt lose its savour,¹ society necessarily falls away, without the need of any Julian or of any Valens to bring about its ruin. O Basil, do thou then obtain for our waning society leaders such as thou wert; may the astonishment of Modestus be justly renewed in these days; let prefects, Valens' successors, meet at the head of every church a bishop in the full sense of the term as used by thee; then will their astonishment be for us a signal of victory; for a bishop is never vanquished, even should he be exiled or put to death!

Whilst keeping up the pastors of the Church to the

¹ St Matt. v. 13.

high standard of the state of perfection in which the sacred unction supposes them to be, lead the flock, likewise, to higher paths of sanctity, such as Christianity gives scope for. Not to monks alone is that word spoken: The kingdom of God is within you.¹ Thou hast taught us that the kingdom of heaven,² that beatitude which can be ours already, is the contemplation, accessible to us here below, of eternal realities, not indeed by clear and direct vision, but in that mirror whereof the apostle speaks. How foolish is it to cultivate and feed in man naught but the senses that crave for the material alone, and to refuse to the spirit its own proper food and action! Does not the spirit urge of its own nature towards intellectual regions for which it is created? If its flight be slow and heavy, the reason is that the senses, by prevailing, impede its ascent. Teach us, therefore, to furnish it more and more with increased faith and love, whereby it may become light and agile as the hart, to leap unto loftiest heights. Tell in our age, as thou didst formerly in thine, that forgotten truth—namely, how earnestness in maintaining an upright faith is no less necessary for this end than rectitude of life. Alas! how far have thy sons, for the greater part, forgotten that every true monk as well as every true Christian detests heresy, and all that savours thereof!³ Wherefore, dear saint, bless all the more particularly those few whom such a continuity of trials has, as yet, failed to shake in their constancy; multiply conversions; hasten the happy day when the East, casting off the yoke of schism and Islam, may resume her former glorious place in the one fold of the one Shepherd.

O doctor of the Holy Ghost, O defender of the Word, consubstantial with the Father, grant that we, now prostrate at thy feet, may ever live to the glory of the Holy Trinity. These are the words of thine own admirable formulary, 'To be baptized in the Trinity,

¹ St Luke xvii. 21. ² Basil Epist. 8, al. 111. ³ Sermo de ascetic. discipl. Quomodo monachum ornari oporteat.

to hold one's belief according to one's Baptism, to glorify God according to our faith'—such was the essential basis, set down by thee, for what a monk should be;¹ but is it not equally essential to a Christian? Would that all might thoroughly understand this! Vouchsafe, dear saint, to bless us all.

¹ Sermo de ascetic. discipl. Quomodo monachum ornari oporteat.

JUNE 15

SAINTS VITUS, MODESTUS AND CRESCENTIA

MARTYRS

One of the titles of the Divine Spirit, who is reigning so specially over this portion of the cycle, is the Witness of the Word. Thus was he announced to the world, by the Man-God himself, when about to quit it in order to return to his Father, after having, on his part, rendered his own great testimony to sovereign Truth.¹ Formed by the Holy Ghost on the type of Jesus Christ, the faithful too are witnesses, whose mission is to trample upon lying error, the enemy of God, by expressing the truth, not in words only, but in deeds. There is a testimony, however, that is not given unto all to render, this is the testimony of blood; the martyrs hold this privilege, this is the special stand granted to them in the ceaseless battle ever being waged betwixt truth and falsehood, and this battle is the sum total of all history. Hence martyrs come crowding on the brilliant heavens of holy Church at this season. In a few days the Church will be all thrilling with gladness at the birth of St John the Baptist, that man great beyond all men,² whose greatness especially consists in that he was sent by God to be a witness, to give testimony of the light.³ We shall then meditate at leisure upon these thoughts, for which we seem to be prepared by the ever swelling groups of joyous martyrs, who cross our path as it were to announce the near approach of the friend of the Bridegroom.⁴

To-day we have Vitus, accompanied by his faithful foster-parents, Modestus and Crescentia. He is but a child, yet he comes teaching us the price of Baptism

¹ St John xv 26. ² Ibid. xviii 37. ³ St Matt. xi 11.
⁴ St John i 6-8. ⁵ Ibid. iii 29.

and the fidelity we owe to our Father in heaven, despite all else beside. Great is his glory, both on earth and in heaven; the demons, who used to tremble before him in life, still continue their dread of him. His name remains ineffaceably inscribed on the memory of the Christian people, like that of St Elmo or Erasmus, among their most potent 'helpers' in daily needs. St Vitus, or more commonly St Guy, is invoked to deliver those who are attacked by that lamentable sickness which is named from him, as also to neutralize the bad effects from the bite of a mad dog; and his beneficence is evinced even to the dumb brutes also. He is likewise implored in cases of lethargy or unduly prolonged sleep; for this reason the cock is his distinctive attribute in Christian art, as well as because recourse is usually had to this saint when one wants to awake at some particular hour.

Let us now turn to what the liturgy relates of these saints:

Vitus admodum puer inscio patre baptizatus est: quod cum ille rescivisset, nihil pretermisit quo filium a christiana religione removeret. Qua in voluntate permanentem Valeriano judici verberibus castigandum tradidit. Sed nihilominus in sententia persistens, patri redditus est. Sed dum eum pater gravius punire cogitat, Vitus, angeli monitu, comitibus Modesto et Crescentia ejus educatoribus, migrat in alienas terras: ibique eam sanctitatis laudem adeptus est, ut ejus fama ad Diocletianum perlata, ipsum imperator accerseret ut filium suum a dæmone vexatum liberaret: quo liberato, cum ei amplissimis præmiis ingratus imperator ut deos coleret persuadere non potuisset, una cum Modesto et Crescentia, vinculis constrictum mittit in carcerem. Quos ubi constantiores esse comperit, demitti jubet in ingens vas liquato plumbo ferventi resina ac pice plenum: in quo cum, trium Hebræorum puerorum more, divinos hymnos canerent, inde erepti, leoni objiciuntur; qui prosternens se, eorum pedes lambebat. Quare inflammatus ira imperator, quod multitudinem videbat miraculo commoveri, eos in catasta sterni jubet et ita cædi eorum membra atque ossa divelli. Quo tempore tonitrua, fulgura, magnique terremotus fuere quibus templa deorum corruerunt et multi oppressi sunt. Eorum reliquias Florentia, nobilis femina, unguentis conditas honorifice sepelivit.

Vitus while yet a child was baptized unknown to his father. When his father found this out, he used his best endeavours to dissuade his son from the Christian religion, but as he found him persistent in it, he handed him over to Valerian, the judge, to be whipped. But as he still remained as unshaken as before, he was given back to his father. But while his father was turning over in his mind to what severe discipline to subject him, Vitus, being warned by an angel, fled to another country, in company with Modestus and Crescentia, who had brought him up. There he gained great praise for holiness, so that his fame reached Diocletian. The emperor, therefore, sent for him to deliver his own child that was possessed by a devil. Vitus delivered him; but when the emperor found that with all his gifts he could not bring him to worship the gods, he had the ingratitude to cast him, as well as Modestus and Crescentia, into prison, binding them with fetters. But when they were found, in the prison, more faithful than ever to their confession, the emperor commanded them to be thrown into a great vessel full of burning resin and pitch and melted lead. Therein they, like the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, sang praise to God; and upon that they were dragged out and cast to a lion; but he only lay down before them and licked their feet. Then the emperor, being filled with fury, more especially because he saw that the multitude that looked on were stirred up by the miracle, commanded Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia to be stretched upon a block and their limbs crushed so that their bones were broken. While they were dying, there came thunder and lightnings and earthquakes, so that the temples of the gods fell down, and many men were killed. Their remains were gathered up by a noble lady named Florentia, who, embalming them with spices, honourably buried them.

You have won the battle, glorious martyrs! The struggle was not long, but it gained for you an eternal crown! You have purchased unto yourselves, O Modestus and Crescentia, the everlasting gratitude of your God himself, for unto him ye faithfully gave back the precious charge committed to your keeping, in the person of that dear child who became your own through faith and baptism. And thou too, noble boy, who didst prefer thy Father in heaven to thine earthly parent, who may tell the caressing tenderness lavished upon thee eternally by him whom before men thou didst so unflinchingly own to be thy true Father? Even here below he is pleased to load thee with striking marks of his munificence; for to thee he confides, on a large scale, the exercise of his merciful power. Because of that holy liberty, which reigned in thy soul from reason's earliest dawn, whereby thy body was subjected to thy soul's control, thou dost now hold over fallen nature a marvellous power. Unhappy sufferers whose distorted limbs are worked violently at the caprice of a cruel malady, and are no longer mastered by the will; or, on the other hand, those who are rendered powerless and no longer free to act by reason of resistless sleep—all these recover at thy feet that perfect harmony of soul and body, that needful docility of the material to the spiritual, whereby man may freely attend to the duties incumbent on him, whether as regards God or his neighbour. Vouchsafe to be ever more and more lavish in the granting of these favours, which are the precious gifts specially at thy disposal, for the good of suffering mankind, and for the greater glory of thy God who hath given thee an eternal crown. We implore of God, in the words of the Church, that by thy merits he may destroy in us that pride which spoils the equilibrium of man himself and makes him deviate from his path. May it be granted to us to have a thorough contempt of evil, for thus is restored to man liberty in love: 'Not to be proud-minded, but to make progress by pleasing humility; that, despising what is evil, we may exercise with free charity the things which are right.'¹

¹ Collect of the day.

June 16

SAINTS CYR AND JULITTA MARTYRS

All the Churches of the east, in the different tongues of their several liturgies, celebrate the glory of Julitta and of Cyr: they all extol the holy duality of the son and the mother containing in itself the perfect worship of the Trinity.¹ For the oblation of this mother and her son is itself united to the sacrifice of the Son of God: such are in very deed the rights of the holy Trinity, rights resulting in the case of every Christian from the first of our Sacraments; absolute rights over both body and soul of even the smallest baby; such were the rights confessed by St. Julitta and her little Cyr; yes, consecrated by their blood in one common oblation. The world was reminded yesterday, in St. Vitus, of a truth too easily forgotten by a generation, such as ours, more destitute of knowledge than of love: God's paternity is more complete than that of any earthly father, and likewise outstrips all other in the gravity of the duties it imposes on His sons. This teaching is still more strongly repeated today, and it is addressed in the first place to parents more particularly.

Iconium, the native land of Thecla the protomartyr of the female sex, was likewise the home of Julitta. She, a fair flower budding forth from a royal stock of ancient kings was to secure to her native town a renown far more lasting than did all the mighty deeds of her princely ancestors.

¹ Sticheron Byzantii, ad diem xv. Julii

The splendid fame inherited by this daughter of the ancient kings of Lycaonia, was nothing in her eyes compared to that which came to her through Christ. The title of Christian was the only one she made any account of in presence of the judges on the day of her glorious triumph. Her gifts of fortune were considerable; but never did earth's riches captivate her thoughts; and still less so from the moment God granted her a son. All treasures heaped together in one could never be comparable to that which she now held in her arms, to that child confided by her Lord to the watchful care of her maternal love. Had not Baptism turned this frail little body into a temple of the Holy Ghost? Was not this peerless soul an object of delight to the eternal Father, who could see mirrored in its limpid innocence the true features of His well-beloved Son? Therefore, with what ineffable tenderness, with what religious watchfulness, did this mother surround her babe who still continued to draw life from her own breast; there developing, day by day, like a delicate plant under the genial ray of the Sun of justice! Far was she from being one of those who, without sufficient reason, pass on to another the care of nurturing the fruit they themselves have borne. As if nature itself must not recoil from such substitution, too often as disastrous to the body as to the soul of these tender little beings; as if, above all, it were not the incommunicable duty of a Christian mother and her most glorious privilege, to be ever on the watch about her child, so as to turn to God the first dawn of its wakening intelligence and the first movement of its free will. Julitta overflowed with gladness, for she knew and felt that God was blessing that which was henceforth to be her life-long cherished labour. The milk which she was giving him was impregnating her little son with the manly boldness of her race, made braver still, because over-ruled by the dear name of the Lord Jesus.

Rome, all-conquering as she deemed herself, was soon to make trial thereof and own herself vanquished.

The frightful persecution of Diocletian's day was then convulsing the earth; his bloody edicts were already posted up in Iconium. Julitta feared nothing for herself, but she dreaded the probability of pagan masters educating her boy, were she violently torn from him by torments and death. She saw that she must needs sacrifice all to this her primary duty of preserving her child's soul, of which she was guardian. Without hesitating a moment, she fled to a foreign land, leaving home, family, and riches, bearing away her one life's treasure. Two handmaids who followed her through devotedness, could not prevail upon her to let them ease her occasionally of her precious burden. When God, who delights in sating His angels' gaze with a spectacle fair as this, permitted her to fall into the hands of the persecutor, ever was she beheld still bearing her boy in her arms. Julitta and Cyr are inseparable; together they needs must appear before the judge, through whose cruelty they are to be together crowned in bliss.

Further on, we give the admirable scene that at once graced earth and ravished heaven. Let us remark that these details are as authentic as can possibly be, and are admitted by Dom Ruinart into his collection of Actes sincères. But let us also remember that he alone thoroughly honours the saints by the study of their history, who profits by the lessons they have left to the world. Recent attacks on education have but too well proved that the heroism of Julitta is by no means intended to be a dead letter, or an object of mere futile admiration; but rather that it is meant to serve as an example, called in thousands of cases into absolute and practical requisition by the troubles of these present times. Duty does not alter from century to century; the difficulty of fulfilling it, which may indeed vary with circumstances of time and place, removes nothing of the inflexibility of its imperative demands.

On the other hand, let us not forget that the Church herself is likewise a mother, and that she too owns it her bounden duty to suckle her children. Never have her protestations been hushed against the tyrants of any century who would separate her little ones from her. If then it should happen that a violent blow be so dealt as to tear a child from the arms of mother Church, then he must know that it becomes a duty for him to imitate the brave little son of Julitta. Is he not likewise a son of the Dove? Then let him prove himself so; let him become holily obstinate in repeating that one word 'holy Church'; let him struggle to reach her all the more vigorously in proportion as efforts are made to drag him farther from her. How could he but abhor the odious caresses of one who would dare to assume her place in his regard? All other means failing, who would but applaud if he, like St. Cyr, were to repulse by such means as his feebleness can permit, the hand that would kill his body? And is the soul that is in him less precious? and if need be, must he not sacrifice even his own body to save his soul? We certainly ought to think so: and does it not seem that Providence had the future in view, when, at so early a date, He permitted the precious relics of this son and mother to be brought to France?

The century that witnessed their bloody sacrifice to God had not run out, ere Cyr and Julitta seemed to choose the Gallic shore for their adopted home: an emigration fraught with graces for France! Scarce had the turmoil of invasion ceased, than numberless sanctuaries were raised in honour of their loved name; which circumstance proves how popular was their cultus amongst the chivalrous sons of the Franks. The symbol used in Christian art to distinguish St. Cyr is a wild boar; the reason is that Charlemagne was

miraculously delivered from the fangs of one of these savage brutes by the intercession of St. Cyr. In thanksgiving, the cathedral of Nevers rebuilt by this emperor was placed under the invocation of this sainted child, who, together with his mother, is patron of the whole diocese, wherein no fewer than four feasts are celebrated in their honour during the year.

The various Churches that keep the feast of Saints Cyr and Julitta borrow the Lessons of their Office from the following celebrated letter written regarding them, in the sixth century, by Theodore, bishop of Iconium. The text we here give is taken from the Proper of the Church of Villejuif near Paris, which is richly endowed with their relics. Indeed the name Villejuif is said to be a popular corruption of Villa-Julittæ.

Ex Epistola Theodori, episcopi Iconiensis, de passione SS. Cyrici et Julittæ.

Julitta Iconiorum regio orta semine, cum vehementior in christianos sæviret persecutio, Domitiano Lycaoniæ comite, fuga se cum duabus ancillis trimuloque filio suo Cyrico, Iconio, unde et orta erat, proripuit. Substantia itaque qua valde locuples erat relicta, Seleuciam pervenit: quo ipso loco turbatas magis res christianorum offendens, Alexandro quodam Seleuciæ præside a Diocletiano constituto, a quo ipso recens edictum accepisset, quo jubebantur omni tormentorum genere excruciari qui idolis non immolarent, Tarsum abiit. Velut autem ex condito, commigrante illuc immani ac durissimo Alexandro, comprehenditur inclyta victrix martyr Julitta, suis ipsa ulnis tenella valde ætate puellum Cyricum complectens. Illa tribunali adhibita, nomenque ac fortunam, patriamque ab Alexandro rogata, præsidenti animo respondens judici, Domini nostri Jesu Christi sibi nomen adscivit, dicens: Christiana sum. Ira itaque accensus Alexander, tolli ab ea puerum jussit, ac ad se adduci: matrem vero distentam crudis nervis immaniter cædi imperavit.

Vi autem abs strenue matris sinu avulsum puerum, totumque in matrem gestientem, nec ab ea ocellos avocantem, carnifices prætori afferunt. Acceptum prætor manu puerum blande deliniens, a fletu cohibere omnino nitebatur, genibusque impositum accipere osculo conabatur. Puer vero, intentis in matrem luminibus, prætorem abs se submovebat ac caput avertebat; manibusque obnitens, prætoris faciem unguiculis scalpebat; velut denique castæ turturis pullus, æmulam sanctus Cyricus vocem pronuntiavit, eamdem ipsius matris prædicationem edens, ac clamans: Christianus sum. Calcibus quoque judicis latus petebat; quamobrem excandens agrestis illa fera, nec enim homo nuncupandus sit qui nec in rudem ac innoxiam mitescat ætatem, pede arreptum e sublimi solio puerum terræ allidit. Præclari vero martyris cerebro ea in confessione ad graduum angulos colliso, circum late tribunalis area cruore opplebatur. Julitta exsuperanti gaudio repleta: Gratias tibi ago, Domine, aiebat, quod filium me priorem consummatum, immarcescibilem coronam dignanter consequi voluisti.

From the letter of Theodore, bishop of Iconium, concerning the martyrdom of Saints Cyr and Julitta.

Julitta was born of the royal stock of Iconium. Persecution raging under Domitian, the governor of Lycaonia, she fled from her native city, together with two handmaids and her son, named Cyr, aged three. Having thus abandoned all her property, which was considerable, she came to Seleucia. But there she found the Christians suffering even more. Alexander, the president placed there by Diocletian, had just received the emperor's edict ordering all such as refused to adore the idols to be subjected to every kind of torture. Julitta therefore travelled to Tarsus. Now, just as though he were purposely pursuing her, Alexander, that hard and harsh man, arrived at Tarsus as soon as she. Our noble victrix Julitta the martyr was arrested, bearing in her arms her little son Cyr of tender age. Being brought before the tribunal, Alexander demanded her name, condition, and country. She boldly replied, sheltering herself under the only name of our Lord Jesus Christ: 'I am a Christian.' Alexander, inflamed with rage, commanded that the child should be taken from his mother and brought to him, whilst she was being beaten cruelly with the sinews of oxen.

Only by main force could they drag the child from his mother's bosom, for he kept clinging close unto her; and when at last torn from her, he kept urging towards her with all possible movements of his little limbs, nor would he take his eyes off her, and thus the executioners handed him to the president. He, having got him in his grasp, began caressing the child, striving to stay his tears, dancing him on his knee, and trying to force the poor babe to let him kiss him. All to no purpose; the boy would fix big eyes only upon his mother, pushing the president away and turning his little head from him: then making use of his hands he began to scratch the president's face; at last like to the little nestling of the chaste dove, he would imitate the voice of his mother, and pronounce the very same confession he heard his mother making, crying out thus: 'I am a Christian.' Then did he kick with his feet against the sides of the judge. No longer able to restrain his fury, this savage beast (for man he cannot be termed, who could not be touched by this tender harmless age), seized the babe by the foot, and ruthlessly flung him to the ground. The brains of this noble martyr were thus dashed out against the sharp corners of the steps, in the very act of this confession, and the ground all about the tribunal was bespattered with his blood. Julitta exulting for joy cried out aloud: 'I give thee thanks, O Lord, that thou hast been pleased that my son should consummate his sacrifice, before myself, and that thou hast therefore given unto him the unfading crown!'

Judex sortem ipse deplorans, suspensæ ligno seu equuleo valide fodi latera exque lebete haustam picem bullientem pedibus affundi jubet. Tumque præconis voce jubente, atque dicente: Julitta, tui ipsa miserere, diisque sacrifica, ne eamdem ac filius malam necem reportaveris; generoso illa proposito tormenta pertulit, clamans ac dicens: Ego dæmonibus non sacrifico, sed Christum Dei Filium unigenitum colo, per quem Pater condidit omnia, ac festino meum assequi filium, quo illi socia in regno cælorum efficiar. Ubi, omnem vincens insaniam, sævus judex constantem in pugna advertit martyris animum, adversus eam sententiam dicit, cædi gladio feminæ cervicem, filii cadaver in damnatorum locum projici jubens. Consummatur Christi gratia tum triumphatrix martyr Julitta, tum gloriosus atque inclytus ejus filius Cyricus, decimo septimo Kalendas Augusti. Hos martyres patronos ecclesia Nivernensis agnoscit, necnon et inter alias plures ecclesias et monasteria hujusce regni, vicus prope Parisios Villa Judæa dictus, qui utriusque Martyris reliquiarum non modica portione gloriatur, et cum summa veneratione colit.

The judge ashamed of himself and still more infuriated, caused Julitta to be now hoisted on the rack; commanding her sides likewise to be torn, and boiling pitch to be poured upon her feet. During the execution, a crier proclaimed: 'Julitta, take pity on thyself and sacrifice to the gods; dread the same unhappy death that hath befallen thy son.' But the valiant martyr unmoved in the midst of torments cried out, in her turn: 'I will never sacrifice to demons, but I pay homage to Christ, the only Son of God, by whom the Father created all things; I am in haste to rejoin my child, and so be united to him for ever in the heavenly kingdom.' Then the cruel judge, pushing his folly to the last extreme, pronounced his sentence against her whose constancy he despaired of vanquishing in combat: 'This woman,' so ran the sentence, 'shall have her head cut off by a sword, and the body of her son shall be thrown where criminals' corpses are cast.' It was on the seventeenth of the Kalends of August that Julitta the noble martyr, and Cyr her glorious son consummated their triumph, through the grace of Jesus Christ. The church of Nevers claims them as her patrons, as do likewise many other churches and monasteries of the kingdom, amongst which the parish of Villejuif, near Paris, glories in possessing a considerable portion of the relics of these two martyrs, and surrounds them with highest veneration.

Thy desire is fulfilled, O Julitta, thou hast rejoined thy child! Ye form conjointly a fair ornament of the heavens, just as on earth ye were inseparable. The angels are in admiration at the sight of such a mother and child united thus in endless praise unto the thrice holy God. They realize the great truth that the creation of their sublime hierarchies exhausted not the Wisdom of the Creator. The nine choirs, all unfolded simultaneously beneath the gaze of the Eternal, communicated light and love one to the other in perfect order; there was nought to betoken in the wondrous assemblage any further design of the Lord, conceived in favour of other created beings to be equally brought into relationship with Himself, for His glory's sake. Yet so it was to be: human nature has this advantage over the angelical, namely, that it imitates, in its manner of intercommunication, the essential relation of God the Father and of His Word; that which the highest Seraphim can say to none, man in his own person can repeat to his fellow man, that utterance of God Himself: 'Thou art my son!'¹ This filiation, without which man cannot attain to the terrestrial, perishable life of this lower world, he again receives a second time, none the less really, yea, eternally, in the supernatural order; for nature is but a frail image of the realities which are the portion of God's elect. Thus was it, O Julitta, that thou didst become, twice over, the mother of that saintly child thou didst bear in thine arms. How far was thy first maternity outstripped by the second, whereby thou didst bring him forth unto glory! In intensity of suffering, likewise, did this second childbirth of thy martyrdom outdo the first; but this is only the law common to all maternity since the fall: the sentence that touched Eve¹ has its echo even in the world of grace.

Now dost thou remember no longer thy travails²? The sacrifice of mother and of son, begun in the anguish of a dolorous confession, has this day become a sacrifice of praise and of gladness. For this your mutual oblation is continued in heaven: it remains for ever the basis of those powerful and sweet relations wherein God finds His glory; it is the source of those benedictions which the Lord showers upon earth on your account. Would then, O holy martyrs, that you could hasten the return of the east to the true light; that east which gave you life, and to which, in return, you gave your precious blood! Bless the west also, where so many churches are raised to your honour and celebrate your feast. May France especially, your second country, ever feel the potent effects of a patronage that can be traced on historic annals, up to the earliest dates of her existence. Charlemagne, that mighty emperor, on his knees before thee, O Cyr, is a fact all eloquent of thy powerful intercession, O thou little son of Julitta! Nevers too, in these our own days, can prove the same; for to thee she justly attributes her preservation from the Prussian invasion, when all the neighbourhood was devastated by the hostile troops!

At present not only France, but other countries, are suffering from trials worse even than invasion, trials in many ways resembling yours, O holy martyrs! Uphold the faith in the breasts of mothers, O Julitta; uphold their Christian instincts to the full height of the lofty teachings conveyed in the story of thy glorious combat. In the face of tyranny which would fain lay grasping hold on education in view of the immortal souls of children, do thou, O Cyr, stir up among these little ones faithful imitators of thyself! Not long ago some have shown this noble spirit; under the hateful pressure of impious masters who persisted in dictating to them lessons condemned by holy Church, they dared to write out nothing but the Credo they had learned at their mother's knee. Well done, brave and noblehearted children! Thou, O Cyr, didst surely thrill with gladness at such a sight, rivalling thee in magnanimity. All then is not lost for France and these other afflicted lands. May thine intercession, blended with that of thy mother, develop more and more in the breasts of the little ones of God's Church, this consciousness of the holy liberty which is their portion by their very Baptism. Such consciousness as this, maintained and exhibited, the while it bends them in dutiful submission to all power emanating from God, will nevertheless prevail at last over the prince of this world with his Cæsarism! Yea, the very safety of society depends on such noble Christian independence in face of all abuse of power!

JUNE 18

SAINT EPHRAEM THE SYRIAN DEACON, CONFESSOR AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

ST EPHRAEM, monk and deacon, the contemporary of St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nazianzen and St. Gregory of Nyssa, was with them one of the glories of the Christian East so rich in testimonies to faith and sanctity during the first centuries. He takes his place in the liturgical cycle among the doctors of the Universal Church. It is only fitting that the ancient piety of Edessa and Nisibis should be represented in the Roman calendar by him who was always held to be the most illustrious of her sons. St. Ephraem was honoured by the whole Church for the depth and vastness of his doctrine, and the whole Catholic world rejoiced when Pope Benedict XV pronounced him worthy to be placed among the great doctors of the Church both Greek and Latin. No one was more worthy than the celebrated Deacon of Edessa of such an honour. Even during his lifetime men delighted to honour him with such titles as 'illustrious doctor of the universe,' 'prophet and sun of the Syrians,' 'pillar of the Church,' and 'harp of the Holy Spirit.' All the Orthodox fathers and doctors from St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom and St. Jerome down to St. Francis de Sales and St. Alphonsus Liguori are unanimous in his praise.² Seldom has reputation been more brilliant, authority more universally acknowledged than that of the humble Syrian monk: less than twenty years after his death his writings were read publicly in church after the Scriptures.³

² Greg. Nyss. Vita S. Ephræm; Lamy, S. Ephræm Syri Hymni et Sermones,

* Bened. XV, Litt. encycl. Principi Apostolorum. * S. Hier. De script. eccl., c. cxv.

As theologian, poet and orator his literary work was immense. His writings comprise commentaries on the Scriptures, theological discourses and poems, moral and ascetic treatises, hymns in praise of Almighty God, our Lady and the saints. These form an inestimable treasure where successive generations have found not only weapons wherewith to combat error but also food to strengthen their souls. The works of St Ephraem, written in Syriac, were at an early date translated not only into Greek, but also into all the languages of the East—Coptic, Ethiopian, Arabic and Armenian—so that his hymns and canticles are to be found in all the liturgical books of the Syriac Church, both Orthodox and Uniate, which thus remains indebted to his fruitful genius.

St Ephraem was born in Mesopotamia, very probably at Nisibis, on the frontier of the Roman Empire and Persia, at the beginning of the fourth century. Tradition says that his father fulfilled the duties of a priest to an idol in that town, but that his mother may have been a Christian.¹ In any case he does not appear ever to have taken part in idolatrous worship, for we know that in his youth he was a member of the household of James, the bishop of Nisibis, one of the three hundred and eighteen fathers of the Council of Nicæa. He received baptism, and under the guidance of this bishop gave himself to prayer, to all the practices of Christian asceticism, to reading and profound study of the Scriptures. It was during this time that he acquired his remarkable knowledge and love of the Holy Scriptures so noticeable in all his writings and which is one of his chief characteristics. Later on he said: 'He who applies himself with simplicity and purity of heart to the study of the Sacred Books will receive the knowledge of God. Some people glory in conversing familiarly with the great ones of the earth, with princes and kings, but let it be your glory to converse with the Holy Ghost in the presence of the angels of God by reading the divine Scriptures, for it is the Holy Ghost who there speaks to you. Spare no pains to become familiar with this study.'²

The first verses of 'Hymns of Nisibis' show us what Ephraem was to James and his successors. These poems, the earliest of his that have come down to us, give us a picture of the times in which he lived. James, Babou and Vologesus found him a zealous auxiliary, intent upon upholding their authority, drawing men to them and ardently desirous of reform. His great influence on the people was shown especially when Nisibis was besieged by Sapor, king of the Persians. During those perilous days he incessantly encouraged the citizens to resist the enemy, strengthening the besieged by his word and example, until his courage and his prayer forced the enemy to acknowledge their powerlessness and retire. Later on, when as a result of the disastrous campaign of the emperor Julian against the Persians, his successor Jovian was forced to cede Eastern Mesopotamia with Nisibis to Sapor, Ephraem joined the emigrants who left for ever a town where Christians could no longer dwell in security.

From Nisibis St Ephraem went to Edessa, which name is for ever associated with his. On the west of the town there rises a hill on whose rocky slopes are numerous caves and tombs in which lived many anchorites. St Ephraem in his turn came to seek, among the rocks of the holy mountain, a retreat which would enable him to devote himself to prayer, study and penitential exercises. His knowledge of sacred sciences, however, could not long remain hidden, and disciples soon began to gather around him. This was the period of his literary activity, which was so great as to be almost miraculous. It was during the ten years that he passed in the capital of Osrhoëne that he wrote most of his works. It was also the period of his greatest activity in religious affairs, and it seems certain that the School of Edessa, famous under the name of the Persian School, owes to him, if not its existence, at least a great part of its renown.

However, Edessa could not escape the ravages to which the spread of the heresies of Arius, Manes, Marcion and other sowers of discord subjected the whole world, and we owe a great number of St Ephraem's theological discourses and poems to his solicitude in combating heresy under all its forms, and to his care in safeguarding the purity of faith among the Christians of the town. In obedience to the inspiration of divine grace,³ he left his solitude for a time to pour forth to the faithful exhortations so rich in imagery, so full of unction and of doctrine, that to this day the heart of the reader is moved. The holy doctor inveighs with much vigour against the Arians, who deny the Divinity of Christ. The following passage occurs in one of his sermons on the Passion: 'The King of kings who is above all kings is the only Saviour Jesus, who sits at the right hand of his Father. He is his Word, his strength, his mighty arm; he descended from the height of heaven to the depths of the earth and ascended into heaven. He came down in secret, he ascended openly, he came down as the Word, he ascended with a human body, he descended and ascended according to his own will. Blessed be he who has acted according to his power. Men should be astonished and should admire the providence of the author of all grace who has abased himself even to us. Blessed be he who in his goodness has drawn from the ocean of his mercy the life that he has bestowed upon us. The Son of God is God, and God of God, he descended from heaven and conversed upon earth, he the power of preaching. The consuming fire which fell from heaven has become a dew for mankind, he who is all on fire has hidden his flame, the vehement God has restrained himself, there is no thunder in his voice nor lightning in his movements, the terrible God has hidden his majesty, the powerful God his force, wholly in heaven, he was wholly upon earth. When you consider him in heaven there is nothing to which you can liken him; when you consider him upon earth he seems to you to be simply a man. If you look towards heaven millions of angels serve him, and seraphim without number cry before him, Holy, holy, holy. If you look towards earth he is confined in a human body. "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but he who is the Son of God has not where to lay his head."⁴ Indeed, where could he, who is the refuge of all, have sought shelter? Where could he have rested his head, he who is the pillar that sustains the universe, who upholds the earth and the heavens in either hand, and who in the hollow of his hand holds the seas and the world?'⁵

With equal energy and with remarkable doctrinal precision, St Ephraem asserts the prerogatives of St Peter. In the person of our Lord speaking to Simon Peter he says: 'I have established you, Simon my disciple, as the foundation of holy Church. Formerly I called you Peter because you upheld my building, you are the overseer of those who construct the Church upon earth. If they wish to build that which is evil, you, who are the foundation, will prevent them. You are at the source of my doctrine, you are the chief of my disciples, it is through you that I will quench the thirst of all nations, the quickening sweetness that I give belongs to you, I have chosen you as the firstfruits of my disciples to be the inheritor of my treasures. I have given you the keys of my kingdom; I have given all my treasures into your power.'⁶

It is interesting to receive such testimony from the mouth of him whom all the Eastern Christians reverence as their greatest doctor and consider their special glory. But few of the fathers of the first centuries of Christianity have spoken so explicitly on the subject of the Holy Eucharist as the Deacon of Edessa. He discredits in advance all the sophistry put forth at the time of the Reformation, and thus comments on the words of the institution of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord: 'Do not believe that what I have just given to you is bread, receive it, eat it, do not crumble it away. That which I have called my Body, truly is so. The smallest morsel is sufficient to sanctify millions of souls and suffices to give life to those who receive it. Receive and eat with faith, do not waver, for it is my Body, and he who partakes of it with faith partakes of the fire of the Holy Spirit. It seems to him who partakes without faith to be but ordinary bread, but to him who with faith partakes of the Bread consecrated in my name, if he be pure it preserves his purity, if a sinner it obtains his pardon. Let those who reject, despise or outrage this Bread know that of a certainty they do outrage to the Son, who has called and has made bread to be his Body. Take and eat, and by it partake of the Holy Spirit, for it is truly my Body, and he who eats thereof has eternal life. It is the Bread of heaven come down from on high unto us. The manna which the Israelites ate in the desert, the manna which they gathered and which they despised although it fell from heaven, was a figure of the spiritual food you have just received. Take ye all of it and eat, in eating this Bread you eat my Body, the true source of the redemption.'⁷

In St Ephraem's time the people of Edessa still took pleasure in the poetical compositions of Bardesanes and his son Harmonius. A hundred and fifty years previously these impious men had spread abroad the errors of Gnosticism by means of these writings, and therefore St Ephraem, in his indefatigable zeal for the purity of the faith, resolved to defeat the heresy with its own arms. 'When he saw how the inhabitants of Edessa delighted in songs,' says his biographer, 'he instituted plays and dances of his own for the young folk. He established choirs of nuns, whom he taught to sing hymns having a refrain between the verses. These hymns embody beautiful thoughts and spiritual instruction on the Nativity, the Baptism, the Fast and deeds of our Lord, the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension, as well as on the confessors, on Penance and the faithful departed. The religious came together on Sunday, on great feasts and on the festivals of the martyrs, and he in the midst of them like a father accompanied them on his harp. He divided them into two choirs, so that they might sing alternately, and taught them the various musical airs with such success that the whole town came to listen. Thus his adversaries were put to shame and disappeared.'⁸

Readers of the Liturgical Year will have often noticed and admired the spirit of faith and tender piety which fills the poems of St Ephraem, whether he celebrates the mystery of the birth of our Saviour and borrows the voices of the Shepherds and Magi to render homage to the Infant God,⁹ or whether he extols the humility of St John the Baptist,¹⁰ or, again, in order to console mourners, he sings of the happiness of young children caught up to heaven in their innocence.¹¹ But never does this harp of the Holy Ghost sound forth in more harmonious tones than when it sings of Mary and extols her incomparable virginity, her divine maternity or her merciful protection of mankind. It is well known that the eloquent Deacon of Edessa was one of the earliest of the fathers whose testimony to the privilege of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin was brought forward.¹² He addresses our Lord and his Mother in these words: 'Thou, O Lord, and thy Mother are the only ones who are perfectly beautiful in every respect, for in thee, O Lord, there is no blemish, and in thy Mother there is no stain.'¹³

The last years of St Ephraem's life were marked by an heroic act which seems to have made a great impression upon his contemporaries. There was a terrible famine in Edessa, which brought many other evils in its train. Moved by so much suffering, the holy anchorite left his cell for a time and took up his abode in the town. By his fervent exhortations he implored the rich to come to the help of their less fortunate fellow-citizens, and he knew how to call forth abundant alms, which he himself distributed. At the same time, by his arrangement, all who were sick were brought together, and night and day he laboured to procure for them such assistance and relief as the nature of their case demanded. He did not abandon his charitable ministrations until the city again enjoyed food in plenty.

St Ephraem returned once more to his solitude, and, feeling that his end was near, he composed for his disciples his last testament, a touching discourse of considerable length in which the dominant features of his character shine forth—his faith, hope, charity, humility, and zeal for the orthodox belief. We quote a few passages which reveal the characteristics of the soul of this great monk. 'I, Ephraem, am dying, and I am writing a last testament so that I may leave to each one a souvenir in order that my friends may remember me even if only on account of my words. Alas! my life is finished and the term of my years is ended. The warp is finished and the threads must be cut. The lamp is nearly empty of oil, my days and my hours are fled away. The hired soldier has completed his year, the stranger has finished his time. My guards and executioners surround me on all sides. I groan and there is none to hear; I ask mercy and there is none to deliver me. Woe is thee, Ephraem, because of the judgement when thou wilt appear before the tribunal of the Son and thine acquaintance will stand on either side of thee. There will be thy shame; woe to him who shall be confounded there. O Jesus, be thou the Judge of Ephraem; do not hand him over to another to be judged, for he whom God will judge shall receive mercy at the tribunal.'

¹ Assemani, Bibl. Orient. i 26; Lamy, op. cit., iv, p. xxvii; Bouvy, 'Les Sources historiques de la vie de saint Ephrem,' Revue augustinienne, Janvier, 1903.
² Serm. de patientia et consummatione hujus saeculi.
³ S. Greg. Nyss., op. cit.
⁴ St Matt. viii 20.
⁵ Discours sur la Passion. De Lamy, "Étude de Patrologie orientale, saint Ephrem," L'Université catholique, 1890, ibid.
⁶ De Lamy, Discours sur la Passion, loc. cit.
⁷ De Lamy, Discours sur la Passion, loc. cit.
⁸ Rubens Duval, Littérature syriaque, p. 21.
⁹ Christmas, vol. i, p. 220; vol. ii, passim.
¹⁰ Pentecost, vol. iii, p. 302.
¹¹ Ibid., vol. vi, p. 193.
¹² Bened. XV, loc. cit.
¹³ Carm. Nisib., n. 23.

'I swear by him who descended from Mount Sinai, and who spoke upon the rock, by his mouth who said Eloi, and the bowels of the earth were shaken, by him who was sold by Judas and scourged in Jerusalem, by the might of him who was buffeted and by the majesty of him who was spit upon, by the three fiery names and by the one authority and will, that I have never separated myself from the Church nor have I ever doubted the power of God. If in my mind I have ever magnified the Father more than the Son may I be deprived of his loving mercy, and if I have ever lessened the authority of the Holy Spirit may blindness come upon me. If my life has not been in conformity with my speech may I be cast into exterior darkness, and if I speak hypocritically may I burn with the ungodly. If I recount these things through pride may our Lord condemn me at the judgement. . . .

'When I think of my past life my knees tremble and my teeth chatter, and when I call to mind my deeds I am overcome with horror. For I have never done anything good, nothing worthy of praise since the day of my birth. Do not embalm me for burial, such honour is not due to me; do not place sweet perfumes upon my body, I am not worthy of such distinction. Burn the incense in the sanctuary, but encompass me with your prayers. Offer sweet perfumes to God and chant psalms for my soul. Instead of pouring perfumes and sweet savours over my body remember me in your prayers, for of what use are sweet odours to a dead man who has no senses with which to perceive them? Carry your incense to the house of God and there burn it that others may benefit thereby. Do not bury that which decays in silk which is useless to it, but rather leave in the pit that which cannot appreciate honours. Luxury belongs to the rich, the dunghill to the poor. Authority belongs to the royal family, but abjection and humility to the stranger and wayfarer. . . .

'Come, brethren, hearken unto me, for it is decreed that I may live no longer. Help me on my journey by your prayers, psalms and sacrifices." When the thirty days are over make a memento of me, brethren, for the dead are helped by the masses offered by the living. . . .

'The one thing that gives me courage and hope before God is that I have never insulted my Saviour and no blasphemy has ever been uttered by my lips. Those who hated thee, Lord, I have hated and have abhorred thy enemies. Write my words upon your hearts and be mindful of what I say, for after I am dead evil persons will come among you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Their speech is sweet, but the desires of their hearts are bitter; they have the appearance of good, but they are the messengers of Satan. Fly from them and from their doctrines; do not go near them, for you know that whoever is found in a place where outrage has been offered to the king has to come into court to be questioned according to law. Even if he can prove he was not guilty he will be condemned for want of zeal. Do not sit with heretics nor associate with apostates. It would be better to dwell with a demon than with a renegade. For if you abjure the demon he will flee, for he cannot stand before the name of Jesus, but even were you to exorcise the apostate ten thousand times he would not cease from his wickedness nor renounce his folly. It would be better to teach demons than to try to convince heretics. Demons bore witness, saying, "Thou art the Son of God," but infidels and heretics daily contend pertinaciously that he is not the Son of God. Satan himself who dwells in them confesses the truth, but they assiduously deny it.

'O my disciples, hear my precepts and be mindful of my words. Do not depart from my faith nor be untrue to my lessons. When you hear of seditions and tumults in the world be constant and hold fast to the truth and your faith. . . .

'Farewell, my friends, and pray for me, my beloved. The time has come for the merchant to return to his own country. Woe is me, my merchandise is gone and my riches are all spent. No one weeps over the death of the holy, because they pass from death to life; but weep for me, brethren, for we have wasted our days and hours in idleness. May peace abide on the earth and may her sons be joyful. May peace abide in the Church and may the persecution of the malicious cease. May the wicked become just and be converted from their sins.

'Hail, O angel guide, who leadest the soul out of the body, parting them asunder that they may remain separated until the general resurrection. . . .'¹

Let us now read the account given of the illustrious Deacon of Edessa by the Church in her office of matins. The lessons record the chief features of this fruitful life.

Ephraem, genere Syrus, Nisibeno patre natus est. Adhuc juvenis ad sanctum Jacobum episcopum se contulit, a quo baptizatus, brevi ita sanctitate et doctrina profecit, ut in schola Nisibi, Mesopotamiæ urbe, florente magister fuerit constitutus. Post Jacobi episcopi mortem, Nisibi a Persis capta, Edessam profectus est: ubi primum in monte inter monachos consedit, deinde, ut plurimos ad se confluentes homines vitaret, vitam duxit eremiticam. Edessænæ Ecclesiæ diaconus ordinatus, et ob humilitatem sacerdotium recusans, omnium virtutum splendore enituit, et pietatem et religionem veræ sapientiæ professione sibi comparare sategit. Spem omnem in solo Deo defixam habens, quævis humana ac transitoria contemnens, divina ac sempiterna assidue concupiscebat.

Ephraem was of Syrian descent and son of a citizen of Nisibis. While yet a young man he betook himself to the holy bishop James, by whom he was baptized, and he soon made such progress in holiness and learning as to be appointed master in the school of Nisibis in Mesopotamia. After the death of the bishop James Nisibis was captured by the Persians, and Ephraem went to Edessa, where he settled first among the monks in the mountains. Later, to avoid the company of those who flocked to him, he adopted the eremitical life. He was made deacon of the church of Edessa, but refused the priesthood out of humility. He was rich in all virtues and strove to acquire piety and religion by the following of true wisdom. He placed all his hope in God, despised all human and transitory things, and was ever filled with the earnest desire of those which are divine and eternal.

Cæsaream Cappadociæ, divino ductus spiritu, cum petiisset, ipsum ibi os Ecclesiæ Basilium vidit, et uterque mutua consuetudine opportunum in modum usus est. Ad innumeros errores refellendos, qui tunc temporis grassantes, Ecclesiam Dei divexabant, atque ad mysteria Domini nostri Jesu Christi sedulo illustranda, plurimas edidit lucubrationes, Syro sermone compositas, et fere omnes in linguam Græcam versas; atque, teste sancto Hieronymo, ipse ad tantam venit claritudinem, ut, post lectionem Scripturarum, publice in quibusdam Ecclesiis ejus scripta recitarentur.

He was led by the Spirit of God to Cæsarea in Cappadocia, where he saw Basil, the mouthpiece of the Church, and they obtained benefit from their mutual intercourse. In order to refute the many errors which troubled the Church at that time, and to expound the mysteries of Jesus Christ, he wrote many books in the Syrian tongue, almost all of which have been translated into Greek. St Jerome bears witness that he attained such fame that his writings were read publicly in the churches after the reading from the Holy Scriptures.

Universa illius opera, tam splendido doctrinæ lumine referta, effecerunt, ut idem Sanctus, adhuc vivens, tamquam Ecclesiæ Doctor, magno honore habitus fuerit. Metrica quoque cantica composuit in laudem beatissimæ Virginis Mariæ ac Sanctorum: quam ob causam a Syris Spiritus Sancti cithara merito fuit appellatus. In mirifica ac pia devotione erga eamdem Virginem Immaculatam primum excelluit. Meritis plenus, Edessæ, in Mesopotamia, decimo quarto Kalendas Julii, decessit sub Valente principe: eumque, instantibus pluribus sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalibus, Patriarchis, Archiepiscopis, Episcopis, Abbatibus et religiosis familiis, Benedictus Papa decimus quintus, ex Sacrorum Rituum Congregationis consulto universalis Ecclesiæ Doctorem declaravit.

On account of his works, so full of the light of heavenly doctrine, he was greatly honoured even during his lifetime as a Doctor of the Church. He composed a poem in praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints for which he was called by the Syrians the Harp of the Holy Ghost. He was noted for his great and tender devotion towards the immaculate Virgin. He died, rich in merits, at Edessa in Mesopotamia, on the fourteenth of the Kalends of July, in the reign of Valens. Pope Benedict XV, at the instance of many Cardinals of the holy Roman Church, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, abbots and religious communities, declared him by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites to be a Doctor of the Universal Church.

Thy glory, O Ephraem, shines henceforward throughout the whole world. Let us join our feeble praise to that of East and West, which, in admiration of thy virtue, rises to thee this day. But we know that this praise will not be pleasing to thee unless we follow thy teaching and example in our lives. Help us to walk in those paths which thy writings and deeds have marked out so clearly for us, and above all strengthen our faith. Thou hast said that there is no richer man than he who has the faith. At a time when everything seems to conspire to diminish or obscure the truth, when ignorance joins with false doctrine to lessen its brightness and deter souls, obtain for us a holy eagerness to receive the doctrine of the Church, the expression of eternal truth; help us to be earnest in our search and zealous to keep and uphold it in all its purity. Inspire in us that hatred of error with which thy burning words inflamed the hearts of the faithful of Edessa, and which at thy death thou didst leave to them as thy last counsel and most precious gift.

O holy anchorite, help us to acquire all the Christian virtues, encourage within our souls the interior life, the sources of which, as thou hast taught us, are to be found where Christ himself has placed them—'that is, in the Sacraments, in the observance of the precepts of the Gospel and in the various exercises of piety which the liturgy affords and which the authority of the Church recommends to us.'² We pray that by these means the virtue of charity, that is above all others, that is characterized by all the dispositions especially dear to Almighty God and is unable to exist without the presence of many other virtues, may ever be increasing in our souls. For, according to one of thine own graceful comparisons, even as the royal diadem lacks lustre if one of the gems is missing, so love of God and our neighbour cannot be perfect unless it be united in the other virtues.³

In order that we may dwell in charity and may safeguard our weakness from error and vice, we will live in fear of the last judgement, that terrible day thou hast described so eloquently, when the earth, sea and sky will be burnt up by a spark from the divine fire, when all men will be called upon to undergo a searching examination into each thought, word and deed. By thine assistance may we be faithful to our baptismal promises, so that on the last day we may be found worthy to take our place among the elect.

O holy doctor, who now before the divine altar and the Ruler of life art, with the angels, adoring the Blessed Trinity, be mindful of us and obtain for us the pardon of our sins that we may rejoice in the eternal happiness of the heavenly kingdom.

¹ Rubens Duval, Journal Asiatique, 1901.
² Bened. XV, loc. cit.
³ Serm. de vita et exercit. monast.

THE SAME DAY

SAINTS MARK AND MARCELLIAN MARTYRS

We have already met with these noble athletes of to-day's feast; for on January 20, when celebrating St Sebastian, the brave defender of holy Church, Mark and Marcellian appeared at his side as the noblest conquest won by the sainted head of the prætorian guards. There are other heroes, likewise gained over by his zealous intrepidity, whose names gild the pages of the Martyrology; but these two, whose festival we are keeping, were the immediate occasion of Sebastian's leading to God so goodly a troop of valiant Christians. Their conversion prepared Sebastian's martyrdom, by reason of his apostolate in their regard; and their glory eternally redounds to him around whom in heaven they form a resplendent phalanx.

Captivity, torments, and even the sentence of death pronounced upon them, had failed to shake the courage of these two brethren. A trial yet more terrible awaited them—namely, the sight forced upon them of the heartbroken grief caused to all they loved on earth by their sentence of condemnation; for their family, not being Christian, knew no bounds to sorrow. Their father and mother bent down by years, the wife of each, surrounded by a group of weeping children, all uttering bitterest reproaches against these soldiers of Christ for the destitution into which their coming death would plunge the survivors: such was the dire attack! Sebastian, profiting by the liberty his position afforded to approach the Christians in prison, was ever their comfort and encourager. He failed not to be present at this scene, for his noble heart fully realized how dangerously severe such a trial must be for souls as yet unscathed by any personal peril. The danger he knew might be imminent at that moment: wherefore, scorning his own safety, he there and then revealed himself a Christian, in order to hold out a strengthening hand to the two brethren. Moreover, God lent such wondrous efficacy to his words, that they converted even the pagans there assembled. Thus Mark and Marcellian had the joy of beholding those whose piteous complaints had a moment before so painfully thrilled their souls, now applauding their constancy and demanding baptism. Their unbounded happiness was evident all through their final conflict, which opened heaven to them, and which is related as follows in this short Lesson:

Marcus et Marcellianus fratres Romani, propter christianam fidem a Fabiano duce comprehensi, ad stipitem alligati sunt, pedibus clavis confixis. Ad quos cum ita loqueretur judex: Resipiscite, miseri, et vos ipsos ab his cruciatibus eripite; responderunt: Nunquam tam jucunde epulati sumus, quam hæc libenter Jesu Christi causa perferimus, in cujus amore nunc fixi esse cœpimus; utinam tamdiu nos hæc pati sinat, quamdiu hoc corruptibili corpore vestiti erimus. Qui diem noctemque in tormentis divinas laudes canentes, denique telis transfixi, ad martyrii gloriam pervenerunt. Quorum corpora via Ardeatina sepulta sunt.

Mark and Marcellian were two brothers, Romans, who were arrested by the prefect Fabian for believing in Christ, and were fastened to a beam, to which their feet were nailed. The judge said to them: 'Wretched creatures, do think for a moment, and free yourselves from such suffering.' But they answered him: 'Never did we enjoy any banquet so much as what we are now undergoing for Jesus Christ's sake, in whose love we now begin to be firmly fixed: would that he might let us suffer this as long as we are clad in this corruptible body!' For a day and a night they suffered, singing the praises of God continually, and in the end were thrust through with darts, and so attained the glory of martyrdom. Their bodies are buried in the Via Ardeatina.

The Holy Ghost filled you with strength, O glorious martyrs; and the love which he poured into your hearts changed into exquisite delights torments that terrify our cowardice. Yet after all, of how much less account are those tortures that touched but your perishable body, compared with that intense anguish of soul over which you so nobly triumphed? The dire grief of those whom you held dearer far than life, and whom, to all appearance, you needs must leave in hopeless woe, was verily the culminating pitch of your martyrdom. Those alone can fail to realize this, who deserve the reproach cast by St Paul upon the pagans of his day, that they are without affection:¹ when the world once more presents such a hateful spectacle as this, then will be the sign of the last day's near approach, so says the same apostle.² Nevertheless, human love must cede to that of God: he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he who loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.³ You understood all this, dear martyrs; your relatives, who would separate you from our Lord, became enemies in your eyes.⁴ At that very instant, Jesus, who can never let himself be outdone in generosity, restored these dear ones to you, by taking them, through a miracle of grace, together with you and because of your example, unto himself. Thus do you complete for us the instructions already given by Julitta and her boy, by Vitus and his glorious companions. Obtain for us, ye victors in such keen trials, an ever growing courage and love proportionate to our increase in the light and in the knowledge of our duty to God.

¹ Rom. i. 31. ² 2 Tim. iii. 1, 3. ³ St Matt. x. 37. ⁴ Ibid. x. 36.

JUNE 19

SAINT JULIANA FALCONIERI VIRGIN

This day witnesses the close of the pilgrimage of one who was miraculously supplied with the divine Viaticum. Juliana presents herself at heaven's gate, showing upon her heart the impress of the sacred Host. The lily emblazoned on the city escutcheon of Florence glistens with fresh radiance to-day, for it was she who gave birth to our saint, as well as to so many others, some of whom have already beamed across our path, and some are about to follow; all of them brilliant in sublime virtues practised within the ancient walls of this 'city of flowers,' under the delighted glance and the urging influence of the Spirit of love. But what shall we say of the glory of the mountains which nobly crown this fair city, a diadem lovely in men's eyes, and still more so to angels' gaze? What of Vallombrosa, and, farther in the blue distance, of Camaldoli, of Alverno? all sacred fortresses, at whose feet hell trembling howls, all sacred reservoirs of choicest grace, guarded by seraphim, whence flow in gushing streams, more abundant and more pure than Arno's tide, living waters of salvation on all the smiling land around!

In 1233, just thirty-seven years previous to Juliana's birth, Florence seemed destined to be, under the holy influence of such a neighbourhood, a very paradise of sanctity; so common did the higher Christian life become, of such everyday occurrence were supernatural prodigies. The Mother of divine grace was then multiplying her gifts. On a certain festival of the Assumption seven of the citizens, the most distinguished for nobility of blood, fortune and public offices of trust, were suddenly inflamed by a heavenly desire to consecrate themselves unreservedly to the service of our Lady. Presently, as these men passed along bidding adieu to the world, babes at the breast cried out all over the city: 'Behold the Servants of the Virgin Mary!' Among the innocents whose tongues were thus unloosed to announce the divine mysteries was the new-born son of the illustrious family of Benizi. He was named Philip, and had first seen the light on the very feast of the Assumption, whereon Mary had just founded, for her glory and that of her divine Son, the Order of the Servites.

We shall have to return to this child, who was to be the chief propagator of the new Order; for holy Church celebrates his birthday into heaven on the morrow of the octave of the Assumption. He was destined to be Juliana's spiritual father. In the meantime the seven invited by Mary to the festival of penitence, who all, persevering faithful unto death, are inscribed on the catalogue of the saints, had retired three leagues from Florence to the desert of Monte Senario. There our Lady, during seven years, formed them to the great work of which they were the predestined though unwitting instruments. According to his wont, the Holy Ghost, during all this preparatory season, though of long duration, kept from them every idea save that of their own sanctification, employing them in the mortification of the senses and in a spirit of exclusive contemplation of the sufferings of our Lord and those of his blessed Mother. Two amongst them daily came down to the city to beg bread for themselves and their companions. One of these illustrious mendicants was Alexius Falconieri, the most eager for humiliations amongst all the seven. His brother, who, still continuing in the world, held one of the highest positions amongst the citizens, was in every way worthy of this blessed man, and paid homage to his heroic self-abasement. He likewise took an honourable share in the united gift bestowed, with the concurrence of all classes of these religious citizens, upon the solitaries of Monte Senario, whereby a magnificent church was added to the poor retreat they had been induced to accept, for greater convenience, at the gates of Florence.

To honour the mystery wherein their sovereign Lady declared herself to be the humble servant of the Lord, this church and monastery of the Servites of Mary received the title of the 'Annunziata.' Among the marvels which wealth and art in succeeding ages have lavished upon its interior, the principal treasure, which puts all the rest in the shade, is a primitive fresco of the angelical salutation, dating from the lifetime of the founders, the painter whereof, more devout to Mary than skilful with his pencil, deserved to be aided by the hands of angels. Signal favours obtained without interruption through this sacred picture still attract flocks of devout visitors. If the city of the Medici and of the Tuscan Grand Dukes, though swallowed up by the universal brigandage of the house of Savoy, has preserved better than many others the lively piety of better days, she owes it to this ancient Madonna, as well as to the numerous saints who seem gathered within her walls to serve as a cortège of honour for our Lady.

These details seem necessary to throw light on the abridged account given in the liturgy regarding our saint. Juliana, born of a sterile mother and of a father advanced in years, was the reward of the zeal displayed for the 'Annunziata' by her father, Carissimo Falconieri. Beside this picture of the Madonna was she to spend her life and to yield up her last breath. Close by it her sacred relics now repose. Educated by her uncle, St Alexius, in the love of Mary and of humility, she devoted herself from her very youth to the Order founded by our Lady, ambitious for no title but that of Oblate, which would entail upon her the duty of serving, in the lowest rank, the Servant of God's Mother. For this reason she was later on acknowledged to be the foundress of the Third Order of the Servites, and was superioress of the first community of these female tertiaries, surnamed 'Mantellate.' But her influence extended further still, so that the whole Order, both the men and the women alike, hail her as their mother; for it was indeed she who put the finishing stroke to the work of its foundation and gave it the stability it has possessed for centuries.

The Order, which had become marvellously extended during forty years of miraculous existence, was just then, under the government of St Philip Benizi, passing through a dangerous crisis, the more to be feared because the storm had taken rise in Rome itself. There was question of everywhere carrying into effect the canons of the councils of Lateran and Lyons, prohibiting the introduction of new Orders into the Church. Now the institute of the Servites being posterior to the first of these councils, Innocent V was resolved on its suppression. The superiors had already been forbidden to receive any novice to profession or to clothing; and whilst awaiting the definitive sentence, the goods of the Order were considered, beforehand, as already having devolved on the Holy See. Philip Benizi was about to die, and Juliana was but fifteen years of age. Nevertheless, enlightened from on high, the saint did not hesitate: he confided the Order into Juliana's hands, and so slept in the peace of our Lord. The event justified his hopes: after various catastrophes, which it were long to relate, Benedict XI, in 1304, gave to the Servites the definitive sanction of the Church. So true is it that in the counsels of divine Providence rank, age and sex count for naught! The simplicity of a soul that has wounded the Heart of the Spouse is stronger in her humble submission than highest authority; and her secret prayer prevails over powers established by God himself.

Juliana, ex nobili Falconeria familia, clarissimo patre, qui templum Deiparæ ab angelo salutatæ ære suo magnifice a fundamentis Florentiæ, ut nunc visitur, erexit; matre Reguardata, ambobus jam senescentibus, ac ad id tempus sterilibus, nata est anno millesimo ducentesimo septuagesimo. Ab incunabulis non exiguum futuræ sanctitatis specimen dedit; vagientibus quippe labris suavissima Jesu et Mariæ nomina ultro proferre audita est. Pueritia postmodum ingressa, totam se christianis virtutibus mancipavit, in quibus adeo excelluit, ut beatus Alexius patruus, cujus institutis ac exemplis extruebatur, matri dicere non dubitaverit ipsam non feminam peperisse, sed angelum; nam ita modesto vultu, animoque ab omni vel brevissima erroris macula pura fuit, ut oculos nunquam in toto vitæ cursu ad hominis faciem intuendam erexerit, auditoque peccati vocabulo contremuerit, imo, sceleris narratione perculsa, illico prope exanimis corruerit. Expleto nondum decimo quinto ætatis suæ anno, re familiari, licet opulenta, terrenisque posthabitis nuptiis, Deo virginitatem in manibus divi Philippi Benitii solemniter vovit, ab eoque omnium prima religiosum Mantellatarum habitum, ut dicunt, sumpsit.

Juliana, of the noble family of Falconieri, was daughter of that illustrious nobleman who founded and built the church of our Lady of the Annunciation, still to be seen in Florence. When she was born, in the year 1270, both he and Reguardata his wife were already advanced in years, and up to this time childless. From her very cradle she gave tokens of the holiness of life to which she afterwards attained. And from the lisping of her baby lips was caught the sweet sound of the names of Jesus and Mary. As she entered on her girlhood, she delivered herself up entirely to the pursuit of Christian virtues, and so excellently shone therein, that her uncle, the blessed Alexius, scrupled not to tell her mother that she had given birth to an angel rather than to a woman. So modest, indeed, was her countenance, and so pure her soul from the slightest speck of indiscretion, that she never in her whole life raised her eyes to a man's face, and the very mention of sin made her shiver; and when the story of a grievous crime was told her, she dropped down fainting and almost lifeless. Before she had completed her fifteenth year, she renounced her inheritance, although a rich one, and all prospect of earthly marriage, solemnly making to God a vow of virginity in the hands of St Philip Benizi, from whom she was the first to receive the religious habit of the so-called Mantellate.

Julianæ exemplum secutæ sunt plurimæ ex nobilioribus familiis feminæ, ac mater ipsa filiæ sese religiose instituendam dedit; ita ut, aucto paulatim numero, Ordinem Mantellatarum instituerit, ac illi pie vivendi leges summa prudentia ac sanctitate tradiderit. Ejus virtutes cum optime perspectas divus Benitius haberet; morti proximus, nulli melius quam Julianæ, non feminas tantum, sed et totum Servorum Ordinem, cujus propagator et moderator exstiterat, commendatum voluit. — Verum ipsa demisse semper de se cogitabat: et cum ceterarum esset magistra in re quaque domestica, licet vili, sororibus famulabatur. Assiduitate orandi integras insumebat dies, in extasim sæpissime rapta; et si reliquum, in sedandis civium dissidiis, criminosis a via iniquitatis retrahendis, ac inserviendis impendebat ægrotis, quorum quandoque saniem ex ulceribus manantem, admoto ore lambens, eos sanitati restituebat. Corpus suum flagris, nodosis funiculis, ferreis cingulis, vigiliis, humi nude cubando, terere solita fuit. Parcissimo cibo, et hoc vili, quatuor hebdomadæ diebus, et reliquis duobus solo angelorum pane contenta, excepto die Sabbati, quo pane solo et aqua nutriebatur.

Juliana's example was followed by many young women of noble families, and even her own mother put herself under her daughter's instructions. Thus in a little while their number increased, and she became foundress of the Order of the Mantellate, to whom she

Dura hujusmodi vivendi ratione in stomachi morbum incidit, quo ingravescente, cum septuagesimum ætatis annum ageret, ad extremum vitæ spatium redacta est. Diuturnæ valetudinis incommoda hilari vultu, constantique animo pertulit: de uno tantum conqueri audita est,

gave a rule of life full of wisdom and holiness. Saint Philip Benizi, having thorough knowledge of her virtues, being at the point of death, thought that to none better than to her could he leave the care not only of the women but of the whole Order of Servites, of which he was the propagator and head: yet of herself she ever had a lowly estimation, even when she was the mistress of others, ministering to her sisters in the meanest offices of the household work. She passed whole days in incessant prayer, and was often rapt in spirit; and the remainder of her time she toiled to make peace among the citizens, who were at variance amongst themselves; to recall sinners from evil courses; and to nurse the sick, to cure whom she would sometimes use even her tongue to remove the matter that ran from their sores, and so healed them. It was her custom to afflict her body with whips, knotted cords, iron girdles, watching, and sleeping upon the bare ground. Upon four days of the week she ate very sparingly, and then only of the coarsest food; on the other two she contented herself with the Bread of angels alone; and on Saturday she took only bread and water.

This hardship of life caused her to fall ill of a stomach complaint, which increasing brought her to the point of death, when she was seventy years of age. She bore the daily sufferings of this long illness with a smiling face and a brave heart; the only thing of which she was heard to complain being, that her stomach

quod cum cibum capere ac retinere nullo modo posset, ab Eucharistica mensa ob Sacramenti reverentiam arceretur. Verum, his in angustiis constituta, sacerdotem rogavit, ut allatum divinum panem, quem ore sumere nequibat, pectori saltem exterius admoveret. Precibus illius morem gessit sacerdos, et mirum! eodem temporis momento divinus panis disparuit, et Juliana sereno ac ridenti vultu exspiravit. Res supra fidem tamdiu fuit, donec virgineum de more curaretur corpus; inventa enim est circa sinistrum pectoris latus carni veluti sigillo impressa forma hostiæ, qua Christi crucifixi effigiem repræsentabat. Hujus prodigii fama, ceterorumque miraculorum, non Florentiæ tantum, sed totius christiani orbis venerationem illi conciliavit, ac per quatuor prope integra sæcula adeo aucta est, ut tandem Benedictus Papa Decimustertius in ejus celebritate Officium proprium recitari ab universo Ordine beatæ Mariæ Virginis Servorum jusserit. Clemens vero duodecimus, munificentissimus ejusdem Ordinis protector, novis in dies miraculis coruscantem sanctarum virginum catalogo adscripsit.

was so weak, that unable to retain food, she was withheld, by reverence for the holy Sacrament, from the Eucharistic table. Finding herself in these straits she begged the priest to bring her the divine Bread, and, as she dared not take it into her mouth, to put it as near as possible to her heart exteriorly. The priest did as she wished, and to the amazement of all present, the divine Bread at once disappeared from sight, and at the same instant a smile of joyous peace crossed the face of Juliana, and she gave up the ghost. This matter seemed beyond all belief, until the virginal body was being laid out in the accustomed manner; for then there was found, upon the left side of the bosom, a mark like the stamp of a seal, reproducing the form of the sacred Host, bearing a figure of Christ crucified. The report of this and of other wonders procured for Juliana the reverence not only of Florence, but of all parts of the Christian world, which reverence so increased through the course of four hundred years, that Pope Benedict XIII commanded a proper Office in her honour to be celebrated by the whole Order of Servites of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Clement XII, the munificent protector of the same Order, finding new signs and wonders shedding lustre upon her glory every day, inscribed the name of Juliana upon the catalogue of holy virgins.

To serve Mary was the only nobility that had any attraction in thine eyes, O Juliana! To share her dolours was the only recompense which thy generous soul, in its lowliness, could desire. Thy desires were granted: but from her lofty throne the Queen of angels and of men, who confessed that she was the handmaid of the Lord and that God had regard to her humility,¹ was also pleased to exalt thee, like herself, above all the mighty ones. Counteracting that hidden silence wherein thou wouldst fain have had the human brilliancy of thy pedigree forgotten and lost for ever, she hath made thy holy glory eclipse the fair honour of thy sires in Florence; so that if the name of Falconieri has now a world-wide fame, it is on thy account, O humble tertiary, O lowly servant of the Servites of our Lady! Further still: in that fair home of true nobility, in yonder city of God, where ranks are distinguished by the varying degree of radiance shed by the Lamb on the brow of each one of the elect, thou dost shine resplendent with an aureole, which is nothing less than a participation of Mary's glory. Just as she acted in regard of holy Church after the Ascension of our Lord, so didst thou in respect of the Servite Order; for whilst leaving to others external action and the authority to rule souls, thou wast none the less, in thy lowliness, the real mistress and mother of the new family chosen by God. More than once, in other centuries likewise, has the Mother of God been pleased thus to glorify her faithful imitators, by making them become, beyond all calculation of their own, faithful copies of herself. Just as in the family confided to Peter by her divine Son our Lady was the most submissive of all to the rule of Christ's Vicar and that of the other apostles, whereas all knew right well that she was their Queen and the very fountain-head of the graces of consolidation and growth that were inundating the Church; so, O Juliana, the weakness of thy sex and age in no way restrained a strong religious Order from proclaiming thee its light and its glory. This was because the Most High, ever liberal in his gifts, was pleased to grant to thy youthfulness results which he refused to the greater maturity, to the genius, yea, to the sanctity of thy father, St Philip Benizi!

¹ St Luke i. 48, 52.

Continue, then, to shield thy devout family of Servites of Mary: stretch forth thy protecting mantle over every religious Order severely tried in these days. May Florence, through thine aid, ever hold in most precious remembrance the favours lavished on her by our Lady and the saints, because of her faith, in the good days of old. May holy Church ever have more and more cause to sing thy power as a bride over the heart of the divine Spouse. In return for the signal grace he bestowed on thee as the crown of thy life and the consummation of his love in thee, be propitious to us in our last struggle: obtain for us that we may not die unhelped by the reception of the holy Viaticum. The whole of this portion of the cycle is illumined with the rays of the adorable Host, proposed to our profound worship in so special a manner, at this season, by another Juliana. Oh! may that sweet Host be the one love of our life's career! May it be our strong bulwark in life's final combat! May our death be nothing else than a passing from the divine banquet of earth's land of shadows up to the delights of eternal union!

THE SAME DAY

SAINTS GERVASE AND PROTASE

MARTYRS

The mere commemoration made to-day of these two glorious brethren, whose names were formerly so celebrated throughout the West, must not lessen their merit in our eyes. The Holy Spirit, whose function it is to maintain within the bride of Jesus that divine mark of holiness whereby she is to be, up to the day of doom, for ever recognizable both to angels and to men, ceases not in every generation to raise up new saints, who more especially attract the devout homage of that particular period to which their virtues have served as an example and of which they are the distinctive glory. In thus honouring her children whose brilliant virtues add fresh jewels to her vesture, holy Church is moved by a sentiment of gratitude to the Paraclete for present benefits; yet these later manifestations can never make her forgetful of those wrought within her by the same divine Spirit in her earlier days. Gervase and Protase are indeed no longer honoured by the solemn feast preceded by a vigil, mentioned in the sacramentary of Gelasius; but they still occupy their important place in the Roman litanies, as representatives of the great martyr-host. To these two, in preference to a vast array of martyrs whose festivals are now of a rite superior to theirs, does holy Church turn in the most solemn of all her supplications; whether it be in holy processions to implore the averting of scourges and the obtaining of blessings for this present life; or whether the sacred assembly of the whole Christian people, prostrate together with the Pontiff, unite in imploring the grace of abundant consecration to flow upon altars and temples, or upon priests, virgins, or kings.

We learn from the historians of sacred rites, that the Introit of the Mass of our two holy martyrs, *The Lord will give peace unto his people*, is a monument of the confidence of St Gregory the Great in their powerful succour. Filled with gratitude for results already obtained, he committed to their care, in the selection of this antiphon, the complete pacification of Italy, then a prey to Lombard invasion and to the petty vengeance of the Byzantine court.

Two centuries previously St Ambrose had had a first experience of the special power of pacification which it seemed our Lord Christ had attached to the very bones of these his glorious witnesses in return for their having given their life for him. The empress Justina and the Arian Auxentius now for a second time directed against the bishop of Milan a united assault of the powers of earth and of hell; and Ambrose, thus again ordered to abandon his Church, replied: 'It were unseemly in a priest to deliver up the temple.'¹ Upon the soldiers sent to lend main force to the invaders of the sacred precincts he threatened sentence of excommunication, if they passed one step farther; and they, knowing that they had engaged themselves to God by their baptism before having done so to their prince, thereupon refused to commit the sacrilege. To the court, terrified at the universal indignation that had ensued, and now praying him to quell the popular excitement aroused by these odious measures, he replied: 'It is in my power not to excite it; but to appease it belongs only to God.' When such troops as could be assembled, composed exclusively of Arians, were at length surrounding the basilica wherein was Ambrose, his faithful people were there to be seen gathered around him, in the name of the undivided and ever tranquil Trinity, sustaining, by the sole force of divine psalmody and sacred hymns, a novel kind of siege. But the last act of this two years' war levied against a disarmed man, the event which completed the overthrow of heresy, was the discovery of the relics of Gervase and Protase, precious treasures unconsciously possessed by Milan, and now revealed to their bishop by a heavenly inspiration.

¹ Amb. Epist. xx.

Let us hearken to the bishop himself recounting these facts to his sister Marcellina in all the sweet simplicity of his great soul. Long consecrated by the Supreme Pontiff himself to the Spouse of virgins, Marcellina was one of those all-powerful in humility, who are almost invariably placed by our Lord side by side with the great historic names of holy Church, to be their stay and support before God; ignored co-operatrices in deeds the most brilliant, whose intervention by prayer and suffering must, for the most part, remain concealed until the day when eternal realities shall be revealed. Ambrose had already kept his sister informed of the details of the first campaign directed against him: 'In almost every letter,' he says, 'thou dost anxiously inquire about what affecteth the Church; well then, here it is. The day after that on which thou didst send me the account of thy dreams, the weight of heavy disquietude fell upon us.'¹

¹ Epist. xx.

The following letter, on the contrary, breathes already of triumph and liberty regained:

'The brother to the lady, his sister, dearer to him than are his eyes and his life. It is my wont to leave thy holiness ignorant of nothing that passeth here in thine absence: know also then, that we have found martyrs. For of a truth, when I was engaged about the dedicating of the basilica which thou knowest, many began to call upon me with one voice, saying: Dedicate it after the manner of the Roman basilica. I replied: I will do so, if I find relics of martyrs. Thereupon there came upon me, as it were, the glowing heat of a presage. What shall I say? The Lord hath bestowed his grace. Despite the fears of the very clerics themselves, I ordered the earth to be dug up about the spot facing the balustrade of SS Felix and Nabor. I found the wished-for signs. Men even came forward bringing possessed persons on whom we might impose hands; and it so fell out, that at the very first sight of the holy martyrs, while we as yet had not broken silence, a woman from among them was instantly seized and thrown to the ground before the holy tomb. We found therein two men of wondrous stature, as in the times of the ancients; all the bones entire, and a quantity of blood. There was a vast concourse of people during these two days. Wherefore these details? Towards evening we transported the holy bodies (in their entirety and laid out in a fitting manner) to the basilica of Fausta; there vigil was kept all night, and imposition of hands; on the morrow, the translation to the basilica which they call the Ambrosian. During the transit, a blind man was cured.'

Ambrose then goes on to relate to Marcellina the discourse pronounced by him on this occasion. We can cite only one passage: 'O Lord Jesus, I give thee thanks for having raised up in our midst the spirit of thy holy martyrs, at a time in which thy Church is in need of greatest succour. Be it known unto all what kind of defenders I desire; such as can defend and yet attack not. Holy people, lo! I have gained such for you, they are useful to all, hurtful to none! Such are the guardians I desire, such my soldiers. On their account I have no envy to fear; yea, I wish their succour to be profitable to those even who are jealous of me. So then let them come, let them behold my guards: I deny not my being surrounded by arms such as these! Even as in the case of the servant of Eliseus, when the Syrian army was besieging the prophet, God hath opened our eyes. Behold us, brethren, freed from no light shame: to have had defenders, and not to have known it! ... Behold how from an ignoble sepulchre, noble remains have been taken, trophies at last brought to light. Gaze upon this tomb still wet with blood,

¹ *Urna* in the Latin text is taken for *una* by the best interpreters.
² Epist. xxii.

glorious stains, marks of victory! See these relics inviolable in their hiding-place, laid just in the very same order wherein they were placed the first day! Look at this head separated from the shoulders! Our old men now begin to remember having formerly heard these martyrs named, and to have read the inscription on their tomb. Our city had lost her own martyrs, she who had borne away those of foreign cities! Although this is God's gift, still I cannot refuse to see therein a great grace, whereby our Lord Jesus has vouchsafed to render the time of my episcopate illustrious. Not deserving to be myself a martyr, I have procured these martyrs for you. Let them be brought in then; bring hither these victorious victims, let them take their place where Christ is the Victim; but on the altar be he who suffered for all, and under the altar be they whom his Passion redeemed. I had destined this spot for myself; since fitting it is that the Pontiff should repose where he hath been wont to present the Oblation; but I cede my right to sacred victims: this place was due unto martyrs.'

In fact, Ambrose did come, ten years later, to take his own place under the altar of the Ambrosian basilica; he occupied the Epistle side, leaving that of the Gospel to the two martyrs. In the ninth century one of his successors, Angilbert, placed the three venerable bodies together, in one same sarcophagus of porphyry, which was placed lengthways of the altar, above the two primitive tombs. There, after the lapse of a thousand years, on August 8, 1871, owing to necessary repairs being made in the basilica, they once more reappeared; not this time amidst blood, as the fourth century had disclosed our martyrs, but under a sheet of water, deep and limpid; a touching image of that water of Wisdom,³ which flowed so copiously from the lips of Ambrose himself, now the principal occupant of this holy tomb. There, not far from the tomb of St Marcellina, itself also an altar, the pilgrim of these days, with soul brimful of bygone memories, may still venerate these precious relics; for they are united in one crystal shrine where, placed under the immediate protection of the Roman Pontiff Pius IX,⁴ they await the glorious day of resurrection.

³ Epist. xxii.
⁴ Prov. xviii. 4; xx. 5; Ecclus. xv. 3; etc.

The brief legend of these two martyrs runs as follows:

Gervasius et Protasius, Vitalis et Valeriæ filii, quorum pater Ravennæ, mater Mediolani, pro Christi Domini fide martyrium subierunt, distributo pauperibus patrimonio, domesticos servos libertate donarunt. Quo facto Gentilium sacerdotes immane in illos conceptum odium habebant. Quare, cum Astasius comes in bellum proficisci vellet, hanc occasionem perdendi pios fratres se nactos esse putaverunt. Itaque Astasio persuadent se a diis admonitos esse, nullo modo eum in bello victorem futurum, nisi Gervasio et Protasio coactis Christum negare, eosdem ad sacra diis facienda compelleret. Quod cum illi detestarentur, Astasius imperavit Gervasium tamdiu cædi dum inter verbera exspiraret: Protasium fustibus contusum securi percuti jubet. Quorum corpora Philippus Christi servus clam sustulit, et in suis ædibus sepelivit: quæ sanctus Ambrosius, Dei monitu inventa, in loco sacro et insigni collocanda curavit. Passi sunt Mediolani decimo tertio Kalendas Julii.

Gervase and Protase were the sons of Vitalis and Valeria, who both suffered martyrdom for the Lord Christ's sake, the father at Ravenna, and the mother at Milan. After the victory of their parents, Gervase and Protase gave all their inheritance to the poor and set free their slaves. This act stirred up against them the savage hatred of the heathen priests, who, when the Count Astasius was setting forth to war, believed they had a good occasion for the destruction of the two holy brethren. They persuaded Astasius that their gods had revealed to them that he had no chance of conquering in the war, unless he had first made Gervase and Protase to deny Christ, and to offer sacrifice to the gods. Being commanded so to do, they refused with horror, and Astasius then ordered Gervase to be beaten with rods until he died under the stripes, and Protase to be beaten with clubs, and his head to be struck off. A servant of Christ named Philip took away their dead bodies by stealth and buried them in his own house; and in after times, St Ambrose, being warned of God, found them, and bestowed them in a hallowed and honourable place. They suffered at Milan, on the thirteenth of the Kalends of July.

⁵ Constitutio Pii IX: Qui attingit a fine usque ad finem fortiter.

Though short is the account of your combat, O holy martyrs, because few are the details handed down to us concerning you, still may we cry out with St Ambrose when he first presented you to the populace: 'That eloquence is best which springs from blood; for blood is a voice of thunder, re-echoing from earth to heaven.' Oh! make us to understand its potent accents! Ever must the veins of a Christian be ready to pour forth testimony to God, our Redeemer! Say, is there no blood left in our impoverished veins? Oh! cure our generation of such a hopeless state of lingering decline; what physicians may not, Jesus Christ can always do!

Up then, glorious brethren; teach us the royal road of devotedness and suffering! Surely not in vain have our feeble eyes been granted to contemplate you, in these our days, even as did Ambrose; if God, after the lapse of so many ages, has once more revealed the sight of you, he must therein have intentions not unlike those he had in bygone times! Therefore, dear saints, may he vouchsafe to raise up, through your intercession, mankind and our present society from the degradation of a fatal servility; to banish error, to save the Church, who cannot indeed perish, but whom he loves to deliver by means of her saints. Doth it not behove you, generous martyrs, to recognize by signal favours the protection lavished by the successor of Peter on your relics, despite his own captivity? May Milan be worthy of you and of her Ambrose! Deign lovingly to visit the various lands both near and afar, formerly enriched with the blood found near your tomb. France was specially devout to you, placing no fewer than five of her cathedrals under your glorious invocation; may she not look for particular help at your hands? Oh! rouse once more her piety of bygone days; free her from false sects, from traitors! Let the day soon come when she may step forth once again the soldier of God!

¹ Epist. xxii.

JUNE 20

SAINT SILVERIUS POPE AND MARTYR

Papal succession is one of the principal facts wherein is demonstrated the working of the Holy Ghost, from the very first day of his descent upon our earth. The legitimacy of the Popes, as successors of Peter, is indeed closely linked with the legitimacy of the Church herself, in her character of bride of the Man-God; and therefore, his mission being to lead the bride to the Spouse, the Holy Ghost cannot suffer her to wander in the footprints of intruders. The inevitable play of human passions, interfering in the election of the Vicar of Christ, may perchance for a while render uncertain the transmission of spiritual power. But when it is proved that the Church, still holding, or once more put in possession of, her liberty, acknowledges in the person of a certain Pope, until then doubtful, the true Sovereign Pontiff, this her very recognition is a proof that, from that moment at least, the occupant of the Apostolic See is as such invested by God himself. This doctrine the Holy Ghost confirms, by giving thereto, in the Pontiff we are celebrating to-day, the consecration of martyrdom.

St Agapitus I died at Constantinople, whither Theodoric the Goth had persuaded him to go, in order to appease the anger of Justinian excited against this king by reason of his treasons. Scarcely had the news of this death reached the Arian prince, than he, in terror of perhaps seeing someone unfavourable to his pretensions raised to the pontificate, imperatively designated as successor to the deceased Pope, the deacon Silverius. Two months later the justice of God struck the tyrant, and the Church was set free. Doubtless, Rome would have but exercised her proper right had she rejected the Head thus imposed upon her by main force: for not to earthly princes has the Lord consigned the election of his Vicar upon earth. But Silverius, who had been an utter stranger to the violence used on his personal account, was in reality a man in every way fitted for the supreme pontificate. Therefore, when the Roman clergy became free to act, they had no wish to withdraw from him their adhesion, until then certainly disputable. From that moment undoubtedly Silverius could not but be Head of the Church, the true successor of Agapitus, the Lord's elect. In the midst of a period thronged with snares, he proved how well he understood the exigences of duty in his exalted office, and preferred an exile which would eventually cost him his life, to the abandonment of a post wherein the Holy Ghost had truly placed him. Holy Church gratefully bears witness to this, in her short eulogy of him; and the army of martyrs opened their ranks to receive him, when death at length struck the Pontiff in his land of exile.

Silverius Campanus, post Agapitum proxime Pontifex creatus est: cujus doctrina et sanctitas illuxit in insectandis hæreticis, et constantis animi magnitudo perspecta est in tuendo judicio Agapiti. Nam Anthimum, quem, quia Eutychianam hæresim defendebat, Agapitus ab episcopatu Constantinopolitano deposuerat, cum a Theodora Augusta sæpissime rogatus esset, restituere noluit. Quamobrem irata mulier mandat Belisario ut Silverium mittat in exsilium. Qui exsulavit in insula Pontia, unde his verbis scripsisse fertur ad Amatorem episcopum: Sustentor pane tribulationis et aqua angustiæ; nec tamen dimisi, aut dimitto officium meum. Et sane, brevi incommodis ærumnisque confectus obdormivit in Domino, duodecimo Kalendas Julii: cujus corpus Romam delatum, et in basilica Vaticana depositum, multis miraculis illustratum fuit. Præfuit Ecclesiæ annos tres et amplius, creatis mense Decembri presbyteris tredecim, diaconis quinque, episcopis per diversa loca decem et novem.

Silverius was a native of Campania, and succeeded Agapitus in the papacy. His doctrine and holiness shone forth in his pursuit of heretics; and his strength of soul, in his firmness in upholding the sentence passed by Agapitus. Agapitus had deposed Anthimus from the patriarchate of Constantinople for defending the heresy of Eutyches; and Silverius would never allow of his restoration, although the empress Theodora repeatedly asked him to do so. The woman was enraged at him, on this account, and ordered Belisarius to send Silverius into exile. He was accordingly banished to the island of Ponza, whence, it is said, he wrote these words to bishop Amator: 'I am fed upon the bread of tribulation and the water of affliction, but nevertheless, I have not given up, and I will not give up, doing my duty.' Soon, indeed, worn out by grief and suffering, he slept in the Lord, on the twelfth of the Kalends of July. His body, being taken to Rome, was laid in the Vatican basilica and was made illustrious by numerous miracles. He ruled the Church for more than three years, and ordained in the month of December thirteen priests, five deacons, and nineteen bishops for divers sees.

The waters of tribulation passed indeed over thy soul!¹ O holy Pontiff! Thy persecutors were not pagan Cæsars: nor was it even (as in the case of John I, who so shortly preceded thee on the papal throne and in the arena of martyrdom) an heretical prince that overpowered thee with sectarian hatred. A worthless woman, having in her service treason emanating from the very sanctuary, was thine oppressor. Even before death had done its work in thee, there was to be found a son of thine coveting thy dominion, heavy though such a burden was! But how could man rend asunder the indissoluble bond that bound thee to holy Church? The usurper could but be an intruder, until such time as the all-powerful merits of thy glorious death had obtained the transformation of the hireling into the legitimate Pastor, and had made this Vigilius become the heir of thine own courage. Thus did the invisible Head

¹ Ps. lxviii. 2.

² It is not our place to forestall the Church in the defence of some of her Pontiffs. Nevertheless, apology has other duties; and ours seems to be here to remind our readers that the successor of St Silverius has met with able and learned defenders. Vigilius has not, it is true, been granted the honours of a public cultus, and until such be the case, the Church is not at all called upon to answer for his personal holiness. As regards Silverius, the matter stands quite differently; he has been declared a saint. Still, so long as apology for Vigilius does not go to diminish the

moral grandeur of St Silverius, which has been solemnly guaranteed by holy Church, it may be allowable.

of the Church permit, to hell's confusion, that ambition should carry scandals even into the very Holy of holies. The unshaken faith of nations, in the age in which thou didst live, suffered naught from all this; and the light resulting from these lamentable facts would but all the better serve to teach future ages that the personal character of a Pope, nay, even his faults, cannot in any way affect the heavenly prerogative assured by God to the Vicar of his Christ. Keep up within us, dear saint, the fruit of these teachings. If the faithful be but well penetrated with true principles, they will never see waning in them that respect due to God in his representatives, whosoever or whatsoever they may be; and scandal, no matter whence it come, will be powerless to trammel their faith.

JUNE 21

SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA

CONFESSOR

'Oh! how exceeding great is the glory of Aloysius, son of Ignatius! Never could I have believed it, had not my Jesus shown it to me. Never could I have believed that such glory was to be seen in heaven!' Thus cries out St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, whose memory we were celebrating a month ago: she is speaking in ecstasy. From the heights of Carmel, whence her ken may reach beyond the heavens, she reveals to earth the splendour wherewith the youthful hero of this day shines amidst the celestial phalanxes.

Yet short was the life of Aloysius, and it had offered nothing to the superficial gaze of a vast majority, save the preliminaries, so to say, of a career broken off in its flower before bearing fruit of any kind. Ah! God does not take account of things as men do; of very slight weight are their appreciations in his judgement! Even in the case of saints themselves, the mere fractional number of years, or brilliant deeds, goes far less to the filling up of a lifetime, in his view, than does love. The usefulness of a human existence ought surely to be measured by the amount produced in it of what is lasting. Now beyond this present time charity remains alone, fixed for ever at the precise degree of growth attained during this life of passage. Little matters it, therefore, if without any long duration or any apparent works, one of God's elect has developed in himself a love as great as, or greater than, some others have done, in the midst of many toils, be they never so holy, and throughout a long career admired of men.

The illustrious Society that gave Aloysius Gonzaga to holy Church owes the sanctity of her members and the benedictions poured upon their works to the fidelity she has ever professed to this important truth, which throws so much light on the Christian life. From the very first age of her history, it would seem that our Lord Jesus, not content with allowing her to assume his own blessed name, has been lovingly determined so to arrange circumstances in her regard that she may never forget wherein her real strength lies, in the midst of the actively militant career which he has especially opened before her. The brilliant works of St Ignatius her founder; of St Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indies; of St Francis Borgia, the noble conquest of Christ's humility; manifested truly wondrous holiness in them, and to the eyes of all; but these works had no other spring or basis than the hidden virtues of that other glorious triumvirate, in which, under the eye of God alone, by the sole strength of contemplative prayer, SS Stanislaus Kostka, Aloysius Gonzaga, and John Berchmans rose to such a degree of love, and consequently to the sanctity of their heroic fathers.

Again, it is by Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, the depositary of the secrets of the Spouse, that this mystery is revealed to us. In the rapture during which the glory of Aloysius was displayed before her eyes, she thus continues, while still under the influence of the Holy Ghost: 'Who could ever explain the value and the power of interior acts? The glory of Aloysius is so great simply because he acted thus interiorly. Between an interior act and that which is seen, there is no comparison possible. Aloysius, as long as he dwelt on earth, kept his eye attentively fixed on the Word; and this is just why he is so splendid. Aloysius was a hidden martyr; whosoever loveth thee, my God, knoweth thee to be so great, so infinitely lovable, that keen indeed is the martyrdom of such a one, to see clearly that he loves thee not so much as he desireth to love thee, and that thou art not loved by thy creatures, but art offended! . . . Thus he became a martyrdom unto himself. Oh! he did love while on earth! Wherefore now in heaven he possesses God in a sovereign plenitude of love. While still mortal, he discharged his bow at the heart of the Word; and now that he is in heaven, his arrows are all lodged in his own heart. For this communication of the Divinity, which he merited by the arrows of his acts of love and of union with God, he now verily and indeed possesses and clasps for ever.'

To love God, to allow his grace to turn our heart towards infinite Beauty, which alone can fill it, such is then the true secret of highest perfection. Who can fail to see how this teaching of to-day's feast answers to the end pursued by the Holy Ghost ever since his coming down at our glorious Pentecost? This sweet and silent teaching was given by Aloysius, wheresoever he turned his steps, during his short career. Born to heaven, in holy Baptism, almost before he was born to earth, he was a very angel from his cradle; grace seemed to gush from him into those who bore him in their arms, filling them with heavenly sentiments. At four years of age he followed the marquis his father into the camps; and thus some unconscious faults, which had not so much as tarnished his innocence, became for the rest of his life the object of a penitence that one would have thought beseemed some grievous sinner. He was but nine years old when, being taken to Florence, there to be perfected in the Italian language, he became the edification of the court of duke Francis¹; but though the most brilliant in Italy, it failed to have any attraction for him, and rather served to detach him more decisively than ever from the world. During this period, likewise, at the feet of the miraculous picture of the Annunziata, he consecrated his virginity to our Lady.

The Church herself, in the Breviary Lessons, will relate the other details of that sweet life, in which, as is ever the case with souls fully docile to the Holy Ghost, heavenly piety never marred what was of duty in earthly things. It is because he was a true model for all youth engaged in study, that Aloysius has been proclaimed their protector. Of a singularly quick intelligence, as faithful to work as to prayer in the gay turmoil of city life, he mastered all the sciences then exacted of one of his rank. Very intricate negotiations of worldly interest were more than once confided to his management: and thus was opportunity afforded of realizing to what a high degree he might have excelled in government affairs. Here, again, he comes forward as an example to such as have friends and relatives who would fain hold them back, when on the threshold of the religious state, under pretence of the great good they may do in the world, and how much evil they may prevent. Just as though the Most High must be contented with useless nonentities in that select portion of men He reserves to himself amidst nations; or, as though the aptitudes of the richest and most gifted natures may not be turned all the better and all the more completely to God, their very principle, precisely because they are the most perfect. On the other hand, neither State nor Church ever really loses anything by this fleeing to God, this apparent throwing away of the best subjects! If, in the old law, Jehovah showed himself jealous in having the very best of all kinds of goods offered at his altar, his intention was not to impoverish his people. Whether admitted or not, it is a certain fact that the chief strength of society, the fountain-head of benediction and protection to the world, is always to be found in holocausts well pleasing to the Lord.

¹ It is of interest to recollect that Marie de Médicis, the future Queen of France, was at that time a child in the same court.

Aloysius, Ferdinandi Gonzagæ Castellionis Stiverorum Marchionis filius, festinato propter vitæ periculum baptismo, prius cælo quam terris nasci visus, primam illam gratiam tam constanter retinuit, ut in ea confirmatus crederetur. A primo rationis usu, quo se Deo statim obtulit, vitam duxit quotidie sanctiorem. Novennis Florentiæ ante aram beatæ Virginis, quam parentis loco semper habuit, perpetuam virginitatem vovit: eamque, insigni Dei beneficio, nulla mentis aut corporis pugna tentatam servavit. Reliquas animi perturbationes cœpit ætate illa tam fortiter comprimere, ut ne primo quidem earum motu deinde incitaretur. Sensus etiam, oculos præcipue, ita cohibuit, ut non modo illos nunquam in faciem intenderit Mariæ Austriacæ, quam plures annos inter honorarios Hispaniarum principis ephebos fere quotidie salutavit; sed a matris etiam vultu contineret; homo propterea sine carne, aut angelus in carne merito appellatus.

Aloysius was son of Ferdinand Gonzaga, Marquis of Castiglione delle Stivere. He was so hurriedly baptized, on account of danger, that he seemed to be born to heaven almost before he was born to earth, and he so faithfully kept this his first grace, that he seemed to have been confirmed therein. From his first dawn of reason, which he used in offering himself to God, he led a life more holy day by day. At Florence, when he was nine years old, he made a vow of perpetual virginity, before the altar of the Blessed Virgin, upon whom he always looked as a Mother; and by a remarkable mercy from God, he kept this vow wholly and without the slightest impure temptation, either of body or of mind, during his whole life. As for any other perturbations of the soul, he began at that age to check them so sternly, that he was nevermore pricked by even their first movements. His senses, and especially his eyes, he so restrained, that he never once looked on the face of Mary of Austria, whom for several years he saluted almost every day, as page of honour in the court of the king of Spain; and he used the same reserve with regard to the face of his own mother: wherefore he might truly be called a man without flesh, or an angel in human flesh.

Adjecit sensuum custodiæ corporis cruciatum. Tria singulis hebdomadis jejunia, eaque plerumque modico pane et aqua tolerabat. Quanquam perpetuum fuisse per id tempus ipsius jejunium videri potest, cum ejus prandia ferme vix unciam æquarent. Sæpe etiam ter in die se funibus aut catenis cruentabat: flagella quandoque canum loris, cilicia equorum calcaribus supplevit. Mollem lectulum clam injectis asserum fragmentis asperabat, eo etiam ut citius ad orandum excitaretur. Magnam quippe noctis partem, summa etiam hieme, solo tectus indusio, positis humi genibus, vel præ languore jacens ac pronus, in cælestium contemplatione traducebat. Interdiu quoque tres, quatuor, quinque horas in ea perstabat immotus; donec unam saltem animo nusquam distracto percurrisset. Cujus constantiæ præmium fuit stabilitas mentis inter orandum alio non vagantis, imo perpetua velut exstasi in Deo defixæ. Ei demum ut unice adhæreret, victo post triennale acerrimum certamen patre, et aviti principatus jure in fratrem translato, Societati Jesu, ad quam cælesti voce Matriti fuerat accitus, Romæ se adjunxit.

To this custody of the senses he added the maceration of the body. He fasted three days in every week, and that mostly upon a little bread and water. But indeed, he, as it were, fasted every day, for he hardly ever took so much as an ounce weight of food at his meal. Often also, even thrice a day, he would scourge himself to blood with cords or chains: sometimes he would supply the place of a discipline or hair shirt by dog-thongs or his own spurs. He secretly strewed his soft bed with pieces of broken wood or potsherds, that he might find it easier to wake to pray. He spent a great part of the night, even in the depth of winter, clad only in his shirt, either kneeling on the ground, or lying prostrate when too weary to remain upright, occupied in heavenly contemplation. Sometimes he would keep himself thus immovable for three, four, or five hours, until he had spent at least one without any distraction of mind. Such constancy obtained for him the reward of being able to keep his understanding quite concentrated in prayer without any wandering of mind, as though rapt in God, in unbroken ecstasy. In order that he might henceforth adhere to him alone, having overcome the bitter resistance of his father in a sharp contest of three years' duration, and having procured the transfer of his right to the marquisate to his brother, he joined, at Rome, the Society of Jesus, to which he had been called by a voice from heaven when he was at Madrid.

In tirocinio ipso virtutum omnium magister haberi cœpit. Exactissima in eo erat regularum etiam minimarum custodia, mundi contemptus singularis, implacabile odium sui: Dei vero amor tam ardens, ut corpus etiam sensim absumeret. Jussus propterea mentem a divinis rebus tantisper avertere, occurrentem sibi ubique Deum irrito conatu fugiebat. Mira etiam proximos charitate amplexus, in publicis, quibus alacriter ministrabat, nosocomiis, contagiosam luem traxit. Qua lente consumptus, die quem

In his very novitiate he began to be held as a master of all virtues. His obedience even to the most minute rules was absolutely exact, his contempt of the world extraordinary, and his hatred of self implacable. His love of God was so ardent, that it gradually undermined his bodily strength. Being commanded, therefore, to divert his mind for a while from divine things, he struggled vainly to distract himself from God who met him everywhere. From tender love towards his neighbour, he joyfully ministered to the sick in the public hospitals,

prædixerat, undecimo Kalendas Julii, ætatis anno quarto et vigesimo jam inchoato, cum antea flagellis cædi, atque humi stratus mori postulasset, migravit in cœlum. Ibi eum Sancta Maria Magdalena de Pazzis tanta frui gloria, Deo monstrante, vidit, quantam vix esse in cœlo credidisset; ipsumque sanctimonia insignem, et charitate martyrem incognitum fuisse prædicavit. Multis etiam, magnisque claruit miraculis. Quibus rite probatis, Benedictus decimus tertius sanctorum fastis angelicum juvenem adscripsit, atque innocentiæ et castitatis exemplar simul et patronum studiosæ præsertim juventuti dedit.

and in the exercise of this charity he caught the contagion. Whereby, being consumed, on the very day he had predicted, the eleventh of the Kalends of July, in the twenty-fourth year of his age, he departed to heaven, having previously begged to receive the discipline and to be placed upon the ground to die. What the glory is which he there enjoys, St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi was enabled by the revelation of God to behold; and she declared that it was such as she had hardly believed existed in heaven, and that his holiness and love were so great that she could declare him to be a hidden martyr. On earth, God glorified him by many miracles. These being duly proved, Benedict XIII inserted the name of this angelic youth in the calendar of the saints, and commended him to all young scholars, both as a pattern of innocence and chastity and as principal patron.

"Venerable old age is not that of long time, nor counted by the number of years: but the understanding of man is grey hairs; and a spotless life is old age."¹ And therefore, Aloysius, thou dost hold a place of honour amidst the ancients of thy people! Glory be to the holy Society in the midst whereof thou didst, in so short a space, fulfil a long course; obtain that she may ever continue to treasure, both for herself and others, the teaching that flows from thy life of innocency and love. Holiness is the one only thing, when life is ended, that can be called a true gain; and holiness is acquired from within. External works count with God, only in as far as the interior breath that inspires them is pure; if occasion for exercising works be wanting, man can always supply that deficiency by drawing nigh unto the Lord, in the secrecy of his soul, as much as, and even more than, he could have done by their means. Thus didst thou see and understand the question; and therefore prayer, which held thee absorbed in its ineffable delights, succeeded in making thee equal to the very martyrs. What a priceless treasure was prayer in thine eyes, what a heaven-lent boon, and one that is indeed in our reach too, just as it was in thine! But in order to find therein, as thou didst express it, "the short cut to perfection," perseverance is needed and a careful elimination from the soul, by a generous self-repression, of every emotion which is not of God. For how could muddy or troubled waters mirror forth the image of him who stands on their brink? Even so, a soul that is sullied, or a soul that without being quite a slave of passion is not yet mistress of every earthly perturbation, can never reach the object of prayer, which is to reproduce within her the tranquil image of her God.

¹ Wisd. iv. 8, 9.

The reproduction of the one great model was perfect in thee; and hence it can be seen how nature (as regards what she has of good), far from losing or suffering aught, rather gains by this process of recasting in the divine crucible. Even in what touches the most legitimate affections, thou didst look at things no longer from the earthly point of view; but beholding all in God, far were the things of sense transcended, with all their deceptive feebleness, and wondrously did thy love grow in consequence! For instance, what could be more touching than thy sweet attentions, not only upon earth, but even from thy throne in heaven, for that admirable woman given thee by our Lord to be thine earthly mother? Where may tenderness be found equal to the affectionate effusions written to her by thee in that letter of a saint to the mother of a saint, which thou didst address to her shortly before quitting thine earthly pilgrimage? And still more, what exquisite delicacy thou didst evince, in making her the recipient of thy first miracle, worked after thine entrance into glory! Furthermore, the Holy Ghost, by setting thee on fire with the flame of divine charity, developed also within thee immense love for thy neighbour: necessarily so, because charity is essentially one; and well was this proved when thou wast seen sacrificing thy life so blithely for the sick and the plague-stricken.

Cease not, O dearest saint, to aid us in the midst of so many miseries; lend a kindly hand to each and all. Christian youth has a special claim upon thy patronage, for it is by the Sovereign Pontiff himself that this precious portion of the flock is gathered around thy throne. Direct their feeble steps along the right path, so often enticed to turn into dangerous by-roads; may prayer and earnest toil, for God's dear sake, be their stay and safeguard; may they be enlightened in the serious matter before them of choosing a state of life. We beseech thee, dearest saint, exert strong influence over them during this most critical period of their opening years, so that they may truly experience all the potency of that fair privilege which is ever thine, of preserving in thy devout clients the angelical virtue! Yea, furthermore, Aloysius, look compassionately on those who have not imitated thine innocence, and obtain that they may yet follow thee in the example of thy penance; such is the petition of holy Church this day!

JUNE 22

SAINT ALBAN

PROTO-MARTYR OF ENGLAND

Let the heavens rejoice, let the Island of Saints exult, and let all the universe shout with her a song of victory; for now indeed has earth been everywhere empurpled with the blood of testimony. Alban, Proto-Martyr of fruitful Britain,¹ seals to-day the conquest of the far West. Already, doubtless, even from the earliest days, Albion had yielded abundant flowers beneath the footsteps of the Spouse, whose giant stride² had reached even unto her. Later on Eleutherius and Lucius had added the fresh charm of other plants to this new garden, wherein, far away from sterile Juda, the Man-God could forget the haughty disdain of the daughter of Sion. Jesus loves, indeed, flower-beds exhaling the fragrance of confession and of praise;³ but still flowers of peace may not alone form the diadem of this powerful Son of the God of armies.⁴ The beauty he received from his Mother was enhanced by the blood shed by him in the great battle, and to obtain favour in his eyes, the bride too is called upon to mingle her own brilliant purple with the glistening whiteness of his lilies.

Glory, then, to our Proto-Martyr! Glory to him by whom Albion, fully arrayed for the nuptials of the Lamb,⁵ advances side by side with the most illustrious Churches, and takes her seat with them at the banquet of the strong! From the heights of heaven, the glorious choir of apostles and the white-robed army of martyrs are thrilling with joy, as in the brightest days of the three hundred years' struggle, prolonged, perchance, on purpose to give ancient Britain a chance of sharing in their triumph. Persecution was nearing its close; and even from British soil, the last to be touched by the tidal wave of martyrs' blood, would deliverance come. On June 22, 303, Alban, our new Stephen, died, breathing a prayer for his murderers, beside the banks of a tributary of the Thames: on July 25, 306, Constantine, having just escaped the snares of Galerius, was proclaimed at York, and he started thence to unfurl the standard of salvation to the whole world.

¹ Venant. Fortun. De Virginit. 155.
² Ps. xviii. 6.
³ Cant. vi. 1.
⁴ Ps. xliv. 4.
⁵ Apoc. xix. 7.

Later on, to the victorious combats of the cross succeeded heresy's contesting struggle to wrest from God nations already won to his Christ in holy Baptism. Whilst the East was going astray in misconceptions of the Incarnate Word, the West was carping at doctrines concerning free will and grace, a fatal stumbling-block which would be thrown in again at a more distant epoch.

Pelagius, the heretic here in question, was condemned by the Church, and the stone of error hurled against her gave but a passing shock.

The tomb of Alban was the curbing point of hell's efforts at that time, and here ended the final troubles caused by the Pelagian attack. St Lupus of Troyes and St Germanus of Auxerre, sent from the Continent to maintain the cause of grace, ascribed to our British martyr the whole honour of their victory, whereby peace was given to the Western Church. To show that this second defeat of hell's power was indeed the completion of that which a century previously had ended the era of blood, these two holy bishops respectfully opened the glorious tomb, and united to the remains of our noble Alban some relics of the apostles and martyrs, the fruit of whose triumph had just been definitively sealed.

For a thousand years were the depths of the abyss closed:¹ years of power, years of honour for Alban, venerated alike by each successive race that lived on our British shore. The Anglo-Saxons outstripped the Britons in the magnificence of the structure they raised on the site of the church formerly built over the martyr's tomb in the first era of his victory; the Danes even considered his holy body to be their noblest conquest; and under the Normans, the abbey founded by Offa of Mercia beheld popes and kings concert together in raising its prerogatives and glory to the highest pitch. No monastic church on this side of the Channel would compare with St Alban's in its privileges;² and just as Alban is counted England's first martyr, so was the abbot of his monastery held first in dignity among all abbots of this realm.³

¹ Apoc. xx. 3.
² Matth. Paris, edit. 1684, p. 1020.
³ Ex regest. Honor. III, Privileg. de omnibus libertat. S. Albani.

For a thousand years Alban too reigned with Christ.¹ At last came the epoch when the depths of the abyss were to be let loose for a little time, and Satan, unchained, would once again seduce nations. Vanquished formerly by the saints, power was now given him to make war with them, and to overcome them in his turn.² The disciple is not above his Master:³ like his Lord, Alban too was rejected by his own. Hated without cause, he beheld the illustrious monastery destroyed, that had been Albion's pride in the palmy days of her history; and scarce was even the venerable church itself saved, wherein God's athlete had so long reposed, shedding benefits around far and near. But, after all, what could he do now, in a profaned sanctuary, in which strange rites had banished those of our forefathers, and condemned the faith for which martyrs had bled and died? So Alban was ignominiously expelled, and his ashes scattered to the winds.

¹ Apoc. xx. 4.
² Ibid. xiii. 7.
³ St John xv. 18-25.

The eulogy (unfortunately very meagre) dedicated by England, still faithful to her Proto-Martyr, sums up in the following lines the combat of this hero of the Lord:

Albanus, cum imperatorum Diocletiani et Maximiani mandata adversus Christianos sævirent, paganus adhuc clericum quemdam persecutores fugientem hospitio recepit. Quem dum orationibus continuis ac vigiliis die noctuque studere conspiceret, subito divina gratia respectus, exemplum fidei ac pietatis ejus cœpit æmulari, ac salutaribus ejusdem exhortationibus paulatim edoctus, relictis idololatriæ tenebris Christianus integro ex corde factus est.

When the mandates of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian were raging against the Christians, Alban, as yet a pagan, received into his house a certain priest fleeing from persecution. Now, when he beheld how this priest persevered day and night in constant watching and prayer, he was suddenly touched by divine grace, so that he was fain to imitate the example of his faith and piety; and being instructed by degrees, through his salutary exhortations, forsaking the darkness of idolatry, he with his whole heart became a Christian.

Cum autem hunc clericum persecutores quærerent, et ad tugurium Albani pervenissent, hic se pro hospite et magistro suo ipsius habitu, id est caracalla, indutus militibus exhibuit; a quibus loris revinctus ad judicem ductus est. Qui cum illudi se cerneret, cædi sanctum Dei confessorem a tortoribus præcepit, ac demum cum tormentis illum superari, vel a cultu Christianæ religionis revocari non posse perciperet, capite eum plecti jussit.

The persecutors, being in search of this cleric, came to Alban's house; whereupon, disguised in the cleric's apparel—namely, in the caracalla—he presented himself to the soldiers in place of his master and guest; by them he was bound with thongs, and led off to the judge. This latter, finding himself thus deceived, ordered that the holy confessor of God should be beaten by the executioners; and, perceiving at last that he could neither overcome him by torments, nor win him over from the worship of the Christian religion, he commanded his head to be struck off.

Cum igitur ad verticem vicini montis Albanus pervenisset, carnifex, qui illum percussurus erat, divino admonitus instinctu, projecto ense, pedibus sancti advolvitur, desiderans ut cum martyre, vel pro martyre, ipse potius moreretur. Decollatus autem Albanus ibidem accepit coronam vitæ quam repromisit Deus diligentibus se.

Alban having reached the brow of the neighbouring hill, the executioner who was to despatch him, admonished by a divine inspiration, casting away his sword, threw himself at the saint's feet, desiring to die, either with the martyr, or instead of him. Alban, being at once beheaded, received the crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love him.

Decollatus est et miles ille, qui Dei confessorem ferire recusavit: de quo nimirum constat, quod etsi fonte baptismatis non est ablutus, sui tamen est sanguinis lavacro mundatus, ac regni cœlestis dignus factus in-

The soldier, who had refused to strike him, was likewise beheaded: concerning whom it is quite certain that, albeit he was not washed in the baptismal font, still was he made clean in the laver of his own blood, and

'I was a stranger, and you took me in, will our Lord say to his elect, on the great judgement day;¹ and to the inquiries of the elect as to the meaning of this word of his, our Lord will explain that whatsoever they did to the least of their brethren, they did it unto him. But thou, O Alban, knowest all this beforehand; that last hour, in which both the good and the wicked will hearken to their eternal doom, will reveal to the world, on this point, only what thou didst experience in thy very first steps along the path of salvation. By harbouring within thy yet pagan house this unknown fugitive, thou deemedst that thou wast but yielding to the instincts of a heart naturally generous and faithful to the laws of hospitality! But, far other than thou believedst was this stranger that came knocking at thy door; for ere he left thee, it was manifest that Christ himself had become thy guest. Full soon did he invite thee, in return, to come and dwell in his own home, and the triumphant gate of martyrdom presently opened unto thee his heavenly palace.

The way to God, traced in thy blood, lies opened wide in this great island of ours. Long did the foe seem unable to cast his snares here: and thy fellow-citizens of earth were to be seen flocking in crowds along this blessed pathway. Yea, nations thou didst never know came in their turn also, esteeming it an honour to forget, as it were, diversity of origin and rights of conquest, when united in thy name, O Alban, they paid homage to thee, glorious Proto-Martyr of this land. Thus wast thou both the stem of this supernatural efflorescence which made ours to be the Island of Saints, and the link of national unity in the divers phases of our history. Thou didst gather together the sons of St Benedict around the couch whereon thou wast reposing while awaiting the day of resurrection; thou didst assemble them in that splendid temple dedicated to thee by a grateful people; thou didst invite them to the ministry of divine praise, whereby celebrating past benefits and daily blessings, they might also merit for thy fatherland a continuation of heaven's favours. Grand indeed were those ages, wherein God by his saints thus ruled the world; and sadly misguided are those who think to serve the cause of the Lord and of nations, by suppressing the homage of foregoing generations to these their illustrious protectors.

Since thou wast treated, O Alban, like to thy divine Master, the King of saints, like him also remember not the injuries we have inflicted on thee. Rather, O thou our Proto-Martyr, exult in the triumph of all the other warriors who swell the ranks of the sacred phalanx, placed under thy command in our eternal home. If for a while the era of martyrs seems once again to be closed, consider those of thy children whose constancy has survived so many rough assaults; bless those families in which has ever been kept alive the faith of the olden times; a noble-hearted race are they, whose forefathers exposed themselves like thee, even unto death, in harbouring priests. Uphold the new sons of the cloister in maintaining at a high standard those monastic traditions handed to them even in the very midst of the tempest; multiply, everywhere, labourers called in to repair our ruins.

The voice of the Lord is heard once more in Albion. The holy virtue of hospitality which was, in thy case, the beginning of salvation, has proved to her also, in these our own days, an occasion for her return to the ancestral faith, just as though God willed that, in this instance likewise, her history should be linked with thine. Like thee, she hath received priests from beyond the seas, driven to her coasts from the storm of persecution; like thee, hath she not even already heard that word of divine approval: 'I was a stranger, and you took me in'? May she then go the whole length in her imitation of thee, her protector and father, by following the heavenly invitation to the last, so as to conclude with the ancient writer of the acts of thy martyrdom: 'The known truth shall be our island's joy; great shall be our gladness when the fetters of falsehood are broken. For my part, without further delay, I will go to Rome, I will there cast off mine error, there merit reconciliation and pardon of my faults; yea, this very book I hold in my hands, I will present to the revision of them that dwell in that city, so that should aught unseemly be written therein, the Lord Jesus Christ may vouchsafe to correct it by their means, he who reigneth God for ever and ever. Amen.'¹

¹ St Matt. xxv 35.

¹ Acta SS Albani, Amphibali et Sociorum, DXC Anglice scripta, v 46, Bolland., Junii iv, p. 159.

THE SAME DAY

SAINT PAULINUS BISHOP AND CONFESSOR

While we were celebrating the infancy of our divine Lord, Felix of Nola rejoiced our hearts with the sight of his sanctity at once so triumphant and yet so humble, revealing under humblest aspects the potency of our Emmanuel. Illumined by the fires of Pentecost, Paulinus now comes before us from that very same town of Nola, doing honour by his glory to him whose happy conquest he was. For indeed the sublime path whereby he was to ascend to heaven was not at first opened before him; and Felix it was who, at a somewhat tardy hour, cast into his soul the first seeds of salvation.

Paulinus, heir to an immense fortune, and at twenty-five years of age already Prefect of Rome, senator, and consul, was far from supposing that there could be a career more honourable for himself or more profitable to the world, than that in which he was thus engaged by the traditions of his illustrious family. Verily, to the eyes of worldly men, no lot in life could be conceived better cast, surrounded as he was by noble connections, buoyed up by the well deserved esteem of great and little, and finding repose in the culture of letters which had already from his earliest youth rendered him the very pride of brilliant Aquitaine, where at Bordeaux he first saw the light. Alas! in our days how many are undeservedly set up as models of a laborious and useful life!

The day came, however, when these lowly careers, which heretofore seemed so brimful of work and prospect, now offered to Paulinus but the spectacle of men 'tossed to and fro in the midst of days of emptiness, and having for their life's toil naught but the weaving of the spider-web of vain works.'¹ What then had happened? It was this: once, when in the Campania, which was subject to his government, Paulinus happened to come to the hallowed tomb of St Felix, that humble priest heretofore proscribed by this very Rome, whose power was symbolized by the terrible fasces borne at that moment in front of him; suddenly floods of new light inundated his soul; Rome and her power became dark as night before this apparition of the grand rights of the awful God. With his whole heart this scion of many an ancient race, that had brought the world to subjection, now pledged his faith to God; Christ, revealing himself in the light of Felix, had won his love.² He had long enough sought and run in vain; at last he had found 'that naught is of greater worth than to believe in Jesus Christ.'³

A man of so noble a soul as Paulinus carried this new principle, that had taken the place of every other, to its utmost limit. Jesus said: 'If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast and give to the poor: and then come and follow me.'⁴ Paulinus did not hesitate: not for a moment would he neglect what was best to prefer what was least;⁵ up to this, perfect in his worldly career, could he now endure not to be so for his God? He renounced his vast possessions, styled even kingdoms;⁶ the various nations of the empire, before which were displayed his incalculable riches, were astounded at the new commerce: Paulinus sold all, in order to purchase the cross and follow his God.⁷ For he was well aware that the abandonment of earthly goods is but the entrance to the lists, and not the race itself; the athlete does not become victor by the mere fact of casting off his garments; but he strips himself solely with the view of beginning combat; nor has the swimmer already breasted the flood, because he stands prepared and stripped on the water's brink.⁸

In holy impetuosity, Paulinus rather cut, than unknotted, the cable that moored his bark to land.² Christ is his steersman:³ and with the applause of his noble wife Therasia (henceforth his sister and imitator), he sailed to the secure port of the monastic life, thinking only of saving his soul.⁴ One thought alone held him in suspense: ought he to retire to Jerusalem where so many memories invite a disciple of Christ? Jerome, whom he consulted, answered with all the frankness of strong friendship: 'For clerks, towns: for monks, solitude. It would be utter folly to quit the world in order to live in the midst of a crowd greater than before. If you wish to be what you are called, a monk, that is to say, "alone," what are you doing in towns, which surely are not the habitation for solitaries, but for the multitude? Each kind of life has its models. Ours has Paul and Anthony, Hilarion and Macarius; our guides are Elias, Eliseus, and all those sons of the prophets, who dwelt in country places and in solitudes, pitching their tents near Jordan's banks.'⁵

Paulinus followed the counsels of the solitary of Bethlehem. Preferring his title of monk to abiding even in the holy city, and seeking the 'small field' of which Jerome had spoken, he chose a spot in the territory of Nola, outside the town, near to the glorious tomb where light had beamed upon him. Until his dying day, Felix took the place, here below, of home, of honours, of fortune, of relatives. In his sanctuary he grew, changing, by virtue of the divine seed of the Word within him, his terrestrial form, and receiving in his new being celestial wings, the one object of his ambition, which might lift him up towards God.⁶ The world might no longer count on him, either to enhance her feasts or be the recipient of her appointments; absorbed in voluntary penance and humiliation, the former consul was nothing henceforth but the last of the servants of Christ and the guardian of a tomb.⁷

Great was the joy of the saints in heaven and of holy men on earth, at the news of such a spectacle of total renunciation given to the world. No less great was the indignant astonishment of the scandalized politicians, of the prudent according to this world, of a host of men to whom the Gospel is tolerable only when its maxims do not jar with the short-sighted prejudices of their wisdom. 'What will the great say?' wrote St Ambrose. 'The scion of such a family, of such a race, one so gifted, so eloquent, to quit the senate! to cut off the succession of such an ancestral line! It is quite intolerable! Yet look at these very men, when their own whims are at stake; they then see nothing extraordinary in inflicting on themselves transformations the most ridiculous; but if a Christian anxious about perfection dares to change his costume, he is cried down at once with indignation!'²

Paulinus, unmoved, withstood all these attacks, and knew well that his example was not likely to be followed by many. He was aware how God manifests in the few what might become profitable to the many, if they would but accept it, and thus is divine Providence justified.³ Even as the traveller does not turn aside from his road by reason of a few barking dogs, so those who enter on the narrow path of the Lord should despise the remarks of the worldly and profane; rejoicing rather that they are displeasing to those to whom even God is likewise displeasing. Scripture suffices to show us what to think of them and of ourselves. So far his own words.⁴

Resolute in his silence and in his determination to leave the dead to bury their dead,⁵ the heart of our saint deemed it needful to make one exception, urged by delicacy of feeling, in favour of his former master, Ausonius. Paulinus had remained the favourite pupil of this famous rhetorician, in whose school, at that period, even emperors were formed. Ausonius had always been to him as a friend and a father; and the old poet's soul, transpierced with grief at the departure of this son of his love, was now pouring itself out in wails and complaints, enough to rend the heart of Paulinus. Paulinus wished to try to elevate this soul so dear to him, above the senseless form of that mould, those mythological vanities, in which his life was still cast. He therefore chose to justify his recent step in a poem, the exquisite gracefulness of which was calculated to delight Ausonius and to win him over to taste the depth of that Christian sense whereby his former pupil was inspired with a poetry so new to a time-honoured disciple of Apollo and the Muses.

¹ Paulin. Epist. xxxvi 3, ad Amandum.
² Poema xxii, ad Jovium, v. 83-85.
³ Poem. xxi natalit. xiii, v. 365-374.
⁴ St Matt. xix 21.
⁵ Ibid. ultimum, v. 1-3.
⁶ Auson. Ep. xxiii ad Paulin., v. 116.
⁷ Poem. xxi natal. v. 426.
⁸ Epist. xxiv 7, ad Severum.

² Poem. ultim., v. 158.
³ Epist. xvi 8, ad Jovium.
⁴ 1 Cor. i 23.
⁵ Hieron. Ep. lviii 4-5, ad Paulin.
⁶ Poem. xv natal. iv, v. 15-20.
⁷ Poem. xii natal. i, v. 31-38.

² Ambr. Epist. lviii 3, ad Sabinum.
³ Paulin. Epist. xxxviii 7, ad Aprum.
⁴ Epist. i 2, 6, ad Severum.
⁵ St Matt. viii 22.
⁶ Epist. xxxv ad Delphinum.
⁷ Hieron. Epist. liii 10, ad Paulin.

He thus addresses him: 'Father, wherefore art thou fain to win me back to the worship of the Muses? Another power now pervades my soul, a God greater than old Apollo. The true, the good have I found at the very source of Goodness and Truth, even in God, beheld in his Christ. Exchanging his Divinity for our human nature, in a sublime commerce, at once Man and God, he, the master of virtues, transforms our being and replaces former pleasures by delights wholly chaste. By means of faith in a future life, he subdues within us the vain agitations of the present life. Even these riches which we seem to contemn, he does not reject as either impure or worthless; but, merely teaching us how to love them in a better way, He leads us to commit them to the care of God, who, in return, promises yet more. Call not stupid him who devotes himself to a merchandise the most advantageous and by far the most secure. And what of filial piety? Can it be wanting in a Christian? Could I possibly fail to pay it thee, O father, unto whom I owe everything, science, honours, renown; to thee, who by thy care hast prepared me for Christ by cultivating his gifts? Yea, verily, Christ is about to reward thee for this fruit nurtured by thy sap: reject not this his praise of thee, disown not the waters that have welled out from thy fountain. Thy tenderness is hurt at my withdrawing to a distance; but prithee, forgive one whom thou lovest, if he do but that which is expedient. I have vowed my heart to God, I have believed in Christ; on the faith of the divine counsels, I have with the goods of time bought an eternal recompense. Father, I cannot believe that thou shouldst tax me with folly for this. Such errors as these inspire me with no repentance, I rather rejoice to be held a fool by those who follow another path; it suffices me that the eternal King accounts me wise. All that is of man is short, frail, perishable, and without Christ, but dust and shadow; whether he approve or condemn, the judgement is worth no more than the judge; he dieth, and his judgement fadeth away with himself. When at the supreme moment all is laid bare, tardy then will lamentation be, and of small avail the excuse of him who till then has cringed before the vain outcries of men's tongues, and has not dreaded the wrathful vengeance of the divine Judge. For my part, I believe; and fear is my goad; I would not that the last day catch me asleep in darkness, or so laden as that I may not fly up on lightest wing to meet my King in mid-heaven. Wherefore, cutting short all hesitation, all ties, all pleasures of earth, I would fain be ready for any event. Alive still, I have nevertheless done with life's cares; I have confided to God my goods for ages to come, in order to be able, with tranquil heart, to await grim death. If thou approve, congratulate a friend rich in high hope; if not, suffer that I look to Jesus Christ alone for approbation.'¹

Nothing better than such language as this could give an idea of what our fathers were of the olden time, with their simplicity replete at once with grace and force, and that logic of faith, which, resting on the word of God, had need of nothing else for reaching heroism at one bound. Indeed one may ask, where else could be found anything capable of deducing itself more naturally than the resolutions disclosed to us by Paulinus? What sound practical sense, in all the true and grand signification of the word, does this staunch Roman maintain in his holiness! Here is easily recognized St Augustine's lovable correspondent, who, having been interrogated by the great Doctor on his opinion touching certain doubtful points of the future life, thus replied so charmingly: 'Thou dost condescend to ask my opinion regarding the occupation of the blessed after the resurrection of the flesh. But if thou didst only know how I disquiet myself far more about this present life, about what I am in it, about what I can do in it! Be thou rather my master and my physician; teach me to do the will of God, to walk in thy footsteps, following Christ; would that, first of all, I may come to die, like thee, this evangelical death which precedes and secures the other.'²

Our saint, however, who was bent on nothing but imitating and learning, soon appeared as one of the most brilliant luminaries of holy Church. The humble retreat where he thought to hide himself became the resort of illustrious patricians and their ladies, the centre of attraction for all the choicest souls of that century. From places the most distant and the widest apart, Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, Martin, together with their disciples, raised their voice in one concert of praise —we were going to say unanimous, were it not that, for the greater sanctification of his servant, God permitted one painful exception at the commencement. Certain members of the Roman clergy, moved (in a sense other than was fitting) by the marks of veneration lavished on this monk, had striven, and not without success, to circumvent, under specious pretexts, the supreme Pontiff himself; and Pope Siricius therefore was brought so far as to be almost on the point of separating Paulinus from his communion.³ But the meekness and longanimity of the servant of God were not slow in bringing Siricius back to himself, from the error into which his surroundings had led him: envy at last had to turn its teeth elsewhere.

Space does not permit us to descant longer on this noble career. We must allow the Nocturn Lesson, short as it is, to complete these pages. In conclusion, let us recollect that the liturgy is greatly indebted to St Paulinus for the precious details contained in his letters and poems, chiefly as regards Christian architecture and the symbolism of its various parts, the cultus of images, the honour due to saints and to their sacred relics. A tradition, but one which unfortunately is not sufficiently established to exclude all doubt, attributes to him the first liturgical use of bells. It is said that, by enlarging the dimensions of the ancient small bell, he transformed it into this noble instrument so well fitted to become the voice of the Church herself, and to which Campania and Nola have therefore bequeathed their names— i.e., nolæ, campanæ, both Latin designations of church
bells.

Paulinus Nolæ episcopus, eruditus studiis humanitatis, doctus etiam divinis litteris, multa eleganter et ornate scripsit versibus et soluta oratione. Hujus viri caritas præcipue celebratur, quod vastata a Gothis Campania, omnem facultatem, ne relictis quidem sibi rebus ad vitam necessariis, in alendos pauperes et captivos redimendos contulerit. Quo tempore, ut scribit sanctus Augustinus, ex opulentissimo divite voluntate pauperrimus, et copiosissime sanctus, captus a barbaris sic Deum precabatur: Domine, ne excrucier propter aurum et argentum: ubi enim sint omnia mea, tu scis. Postea vero Wandalis easdem regiones infestantibus, cum ab eo posceret vidua ut filium redimeret, consumptis rebus omnibus in officio pietatis, seipsum pro illo in servitutem tradidit.

Paulinus, bishop of Nola, instructed in human letters and the Holy Scriptures, composed, both in verse and prose, many elegant and remarkable works. The charity of this man was particularly celebrated: for when Campania was being ravaged by the Goths, he devoted all his substance to the feeding of the poor and the redeeming of captives, not reserving to himself even the necessaries of life. At which time, as Saint Augustine writes, having from the greatest opulency voluntarily come down to the utmost exigency, yet withal most rich in sanctity, being now taken captive by the barbarians, he made this prayer to God: 'Lord, suffer me not to be put to the torture for the sake of gold and silver; verily, where all my riches are, thou well knowest.' Afterwards, when the Vandals were infesting these shores, he, being entreated by a widow to redeem her son, all his effects being now consumed in works of charity, delivered himself up to slavery in place of the young man.

Igitur in Africam profectus, domini sui, qui regis erat gener, hortum colendum suscepit. Verum cum prophetiæ dono regis mortem ipsi domino prædixisset, et rex in somnis Paulinum sedentem medium inter duos judices, sibique de manibus eripientem flagellum vidisset: tantus vir cognitus honorificentissime dimissus est, condonatis ei omnibus suis civibus, qui captivi fuerant. Nolam reversus ad episcopale officium, cum verbo et exemplo omnes ad pietatem christianam inflammaret, laterum dolore correptus est; mox cubiculum, in quo jacebat, terræmotu contremuit, ac paulo post animam Deo reddidit.

Therefore, being taken into Africa, he received the charge of cultivating the garden of his master, who was son-in-law of the king. At length, by the gift of prophecy having foretold to his master the death of the king, and the king himself having likewise in a dream beheld Paulinus, seated between two other judges, wrest from his hands the scourge which he held; how great a man he was, being thus made known, he was honourably dismissed, and was moreover granted the liberation of all his fellow-citizens who had been led away captives with him. Being now returned to Nola and to his episcopal functions, by word and example he more and more inflamed all unto Christian piety, until at last, being seized by a pain in his side, presently the chamber wherein he lay was shaken by an earthquake, and shortly afterwards he rendered up his soul to God.

Thy goods are now all restored to thee, O thou who didst believe the word of the Lord! At the very time so many others vainly sought to retain their treasure, thine was already in safety. Ah! what lamentations reached thine ears, amidst the frightful crumbling down of that mighty empire, of which thou hadst been so noble and powerful a magistrate! Thy colleagues in honour, as well as thine equals in wealth, were guilty, it is true, of no fault in not imitating thy voluntary renunciation; but when the terrific hour came, wherein nobility was but a more sure title to greater woe, wherein riches brought naught to their possessors save despair and torture, to how many then, even in a worldly sense, did thy prudence appear the best! Thou hadst said to thyself that the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and that the violent bear it away:¹ but could that violence thou hadst imposed on thyself by breaking, for the sake of better bonds, thy fetters here below be compared to that which more than one of thy former detractors had himself now to endure, and that without profit either for this life or the next? Thus does it often happen, even beyond these sad periods in which the universe seems delivered up to wreck and ruin. The privations demanded by God of those that are his fall short of the sufferings frequently imposed by the world on its votaries.

Ill indeed did it beseem such men as Albinus or Symmachus to stigmatize as cowardly desertion thy retiring into solitude at Christ's call, seeing that they themselves drew down upon Rome this deluge of wrath by their obstinate attachment to expiring paganism! If the empire could have been saved, it would have been saved by thy imitators, such as Pammachius, Aper, and others, who, few as they were, made thee cry out: 'O Rome, naught wouldst thou have to fear of the threats uttered against thee in the Apocalypse, if all thy senators understood, as these do, the duty of their charge.'² What a counterpoise would have been presented to divine vengeance, if that spectacle had been less rare, such as thou hast described it in one of thy finest poems!³ It was the morrow of the dread invasion of Radagaisus; ancient Rome now expiring was invoking more vainly than ever her senseless gods; but from Nola there arose to the Most High the voice of praise, powerful as the living psaltery, by whose harmonious notes its accents were borne to heaven. Noble indeed was this instrument, the ten strings of which were named, on the one side, Æmilius, Paulinus, Apronianus, Pinianus, Asterius; on the other, Albina, Therasia, Avita, Melania, Eunomia: all clear and bright, either following in the footsteps of Cecilia and Valerian, or vowed to God from infancy; all alike in virtue, though unlike in sex, and forming but one choir, at the tomb of Felix, singing sacred hymns. In their suite, and in union with them, was a numerous train of illustrious persons and virgins, all chanting alike to the same Lord, appeasing his ire against a cursed land, and at least retarding his wrathful blow.⁴ Ten just men could have saved Sodom; but more than ten were needed for this 'Babylon drunk with the blood of martyrs,' for this 'mother of the fornications and the abominations of the earth.'⁵ None the less have ye gained your reward, and even beyond yourselves your labour has been fruitful. Faith can never be sterile; since the days of Abraham, faith has ever been the great element of fecundity for the whole world. If Rome's degenerate sons refused to understand, in the fourth century, the lesson that was being read to them by the heirs of the noblest families of the empire, if they could not or would not see where alone salvation was to be found, by your faith, O illustrious companions of Paulinus, there is born unto heaven a new race, doing honour to a new Rome, and far outdoing in mighty deeds the old patricians! Like thee, O Paulinus, 'contemplating in light divine the primitive ages and then those that followed, we must admire the depths of the Creator's work, and this mysterious lineage prepared for the Romans of bygone days during the night of ages.'⁶

¹ Poema x, ad Ausonium, passim.
² Epist. xlv 4, ad Augustinum.
³ Ibid. v 13, 14, ad Severum.
⁴ St Matt. xi 12.
⁵ Epist. xiii 15, ad Pammachium.
⁶ Poema xxi natal. xiii, v. 60–99, 203–343.

Prima chori Albina est, compar et Therasia, Jungitur hoc germana jugo, ut sit tertia princeps Finis, hymnisonis mater Avita choris.

Has procerum cohors, et loro uno

Vellere virginæ sequitur sacra turba catervæ.

² Apoc. xvii 5, 6. ³ Rom. iv 16-21.

⁴ Poema xxi natal. xiii, v. 227-240.

Glory, then, to thee, who didst not turn a deaf ear to the Gospel;¹ and strong in faith, didst conquer the prince of this world. Restore to the present age, so like thine own in its utter ruin, that frank love of truth, that simplicity of faith, which in the fourth and fifth centuries saved the baptized world from shipwreck. There is not less light now than there was then; nay, rather, light has been increased by reason of the incessant labours of the doctors of the Church and the further definitions of Pontiffs. The fact is, that truth, though always equally powerful for the saving of man,² delivers none but those who live by faith; and hence it is that dogma, though more and more fully defined, does not in these days raise men's minds to a higher standard. Dogma must not remain a dead letter; Jesus Christ did not transmit it to his Church in the form of a speculative theory; nor, when the Church expounds it to her children, does she aim merely at charming the ears of her hearers by beauty of style or amplitude of development. God's word is a seed;³ it is cast on the ground, not to be hidden there, but to germinate there, to grow up there, to tower above all other growths there,⁴ because its right as well as its might is to appropriate to itself the whole sap of the earth that has received it; so far even as to transform this same soil itself, so that it may yield all that God expects thereof. At least, O Paulinus, may this divine seed produce its full effect in all those who give thee their admiration and offer thee their prayers! Without diminishing the truths of Scripture, without pretending to interpret, according to the whims of earthly fancies, the words of our Lord, thou didst take to the letter everything that should be so taken; and therefore thou art now a saint. Oh! may every word of God be thus also uncompromisingly accepted by us; may each word be the ruling principle of our thoughts and of our actions!

On this day which ushers in the Vigil of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, we can but recall thine own

¹ Epist. v 6, ad Severum. ² St John viii 32.
³ St Luke viii 11. ⁴ St Mark iv 22.

tender devotion to the friend of the Bridegroom. The place thou holdest in the cycle makes thee the herald of God's precursor on earth. Prepare, then, our souls to hail the apparition of this brilliant star; may we, like thee, be warmed by his rays so as to celebrate with enthusiasm the great things thou hast already sung of him.

¹ Poema vi, de S. Joanne Baptista.

SAINT ETHELDREDA

JUNE 23

SAINT ETHELDREDA QUEEN, VIRGIN AND ABBESS

Etheldreda, or Audrey, whom the Church offers to our veneration to-day, was one of the most popular saints among our English forefathers. She was born in the middle of the seventh century, about A.D. 630, at Exning, near Newmarket, in Suffolk, and was the third daughter of Anna, the Christian king of East Anglia. In a meadow outside the village is still shown the brook in which, as village tradition tells us, the future queen and saint was baptized by St Felix, first bishop of Dunwich. Much against her will, for she had vowed herself to the religious life, she was given in marriage to Tondbert, a prince of East Anglia, who bestowed upon her the Isle of Ely as a dowry. He respected her vow, and on his death a short time after, she was married to Ecgfrid, king of Northumbria, with whom she lived twelve years in such manner as to keep all the while the glory of her virginal integrity, as St Bede the Venerable, to whom we owe the facts of her life, attests. She afterwards retired to the monastery of Coldingham, near Berwick-on-Tweed, where she was veiled a nun by St Wilfrid, bishop of York. In 673 she built a monastery on her property at Ely and was made its first abbess. There she became, in the words of Bede, 'the virgin-mother of many virgins consecrated to God, instructing them by the example of her heavenly life and by her holy admonitions.' She died on June 23, A.D. 679, in the sixth year of her abbacy, 'being taken to the Lord in the midst of her own people,' and, as she had herself ordered, was buried among them in a wooden coffin. During her last illness she was afflicted with a violent pain in her jaw and neck, and was wont to say: 'I most certainly know that I deservedly bear the weight of this illness on my neck, on which, I remember, when I was very young, I carried the superfluous weight of pearls and jewels. I believe the divine goodness would for this reason have me endure this pain in my neck, that I may be absolved from the guilt of my former vanity, sending me now, instead of gold and precious stones for my neck, this swelling and burning.'

Sixteen years after Etheldreda's death her sister Sexburga, who had succeeded her as abbess, removed her incorrupt body and placed it in a white marble coffin, a relic of ancient Roman art found near the walls of Grantchester (Cambridge). During the ages that followed Etheldreda's shrine became one of the most famous places of pilgrimage in England, and many were the miracles wrought through the intercession of the virgin-queen. After various translations the white marble tomb containing the saint's relics was placed in the new presbytery of Ely Cathedral built in A.D. 1257, and there it remained for two centuries until the overthrow of religion when it was demolished and the relics dispersed. The incorrupt hand of St Etheldreda escaped destruction and is in the possession of Catholics.

The Roman Breviary gives us the following lessons on the life of the saint.

Accepit rex Egfridus conjugem nomine Etheldredam filiam regis Orientalium Anglorum, quam ante illum princeps Australium Gerviorum habuit uxorem. Quo defuncto data est regi præfato cujus consortio cum duodecim annis uteretur perpetuo virgo permansit. Sed cum beata virgo continuis precibus a rege impetrasset, ut sæculi curis relictis, Regi Christo deserviret, mox intravit in monasterium Ebbæ amitæ regis

Etheldreda, daughter of Anna, king of the East Angles, was given in marriage, first, to the prince of the Gervii in the south, and after his death to Ecgfrid, king of the Northumbrians. After she had lived with him for twelve years she still remained a virgin. She obtained from the king by constant entreaty permission to leave the cares of the world and to serve Christ the King. She entered the monastery of Ebba, paternal aunt to the said King

Egfridi, accepto ibi velamine sanctimonialis habitus. Post annum vero monasterii Eliensis abbatissa est effecta, ubi virginum Deo devotarum mater cœpit esse, exemplis et monitis non minus quam omnimoda caritate.

Ecgfrid, where she took the veil of a nun. After a year she was made abbess of Ely, where she was a mother to the virgins vowed to God by her example and her admonitions not less than by her unfailing love.

Hæc pannis lineis tantum utens calidas balneas sprevit: raro plus quam semel in die comedit. Gravata tandem maxillæ tumore et dolore colli post annos septem ex quo abbatissæ susceperat officium, spiritum Deo reddidit anno Christi sexcentesimo septuagesimo nono, die vero vigesima tertia Junii, et in Martyrologio Romano honorifice nominatur; cui successit Sexburga soror ejus. Cumque sexdecim annos corpus ejus omnino incorruptum repertum fuerit, intra ecclesiam translatum, ibique in magna veneratione a fidelibus habitum est.

She wore only woollen garments and abstained from hot baths, and seldom ate more than once in the day. She suffered from a swelling in the jaw and a pain in the neck, and seven years after she had held the office of abbess, she gave up her soul to God on the twenty-third of June in the year six hundred and seventy-nine. Honourable mention is made of her in the Roman Martyrology. She was succeeded by her sister Sexburga. Sixteen years later her body was found incorrupt and was translated into the church where it became an object of pious veneration to the faithful.

Let us make our prayer to God for the intercession of this glorious virgin-queen in the words holy Church makes use of on this her feast day. 'O God, who year by year dost gladden us by the festival of blessed Etheldreda thy virgin: mercifully grant that we who admire the splendid examples of her chastity may be helped by her merits.'

THE SAME DAY THE VIGIL OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

'There was in the days of Herod the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth. And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame. And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. And it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the order of his course before God, according to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord; and all the multitude of the people was praying without at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zachary seeing him was troubled, and fear fell upon him; but the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John: and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his nativity. For he shall be great before the Lord: and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people.'¹

This page which the Church reads to us to-day is precious in the annals of the human race, for here begins

¹ St Luke i 5-17.

the Gospel itself, here we have the first word of the good tidings of salvation. Man had not been kept in total ignorance of heaven's plans for the rescue of our fallen race and the gift of a Redeemer, but weary and long had been this period of expectation, since the day when first the sentence pronounced against the accursed serpent pointed out to Adam and Eve a future wherein man should be healed by the Son of the woman, and God also by him should be avenged. Age upon age rolled on, and the promise, still unaccomplished, gradually assumed certain developments. Each generation saw the Lord, by means of the prophets, adding some new feature to the characteristics of this Brother of our race; in himself so great that the Most High would call him 'my Son';¹ so impassioned for justice that he would shed the last drop of his Blood to ransom earth's whole debt.² A Lamb in his immolation, he would rule the earth by his gentleness;³ though springing from Jesse's root, yet was he to be the desired of the Gentiles;⁴ more magnificent than Solomon,⁵ he would graciously hearken to the love of these poor ransomed souls: taking the advance of their longing desires, he is fain to announce himself as the Spouse descending from the everlasting hills.⁶ The Lamb laden with the crimes of the world, the Spouse awaited by the bride—such was to be this Son of Man, Son likewise of God, the Christ, the Messias promised unto earth. But when will he come, this desired of nations? Who will point out unto earth her Saviour? Who will lead the bride to the Bridegroom?

Mankind, gone forth in tears from Eden, had stood with wistful gaze fixed on futurity. Jacob, when dying, hailed from afar this beloved Son whose strength would be that of the lion, whose heavenly charms, still more enhanced by the blood of the grape, rapt him in inspired contemplation on his deathbed.⁷ In the name of the Gentile world, Job, seated on the dunghill whereon his flesh was falling to pieces, gave response to ruin in

¹ Ps. ii 7. ² Isa. liii 7. ³ Ibid. xvi 1. ⁴ Ibid. xi 10.
⁵ Ps. liv. ⁶ Osee ii 19; Gen. xlix 26. ⁷ Ibid. xlix 9-12, 18.

an act of sublime hope in his Redeemer and his God.¹ Breathlessly panting under the pressure of his woe and the fever of his longing desires, mankind beheld century roll upon century, while consuming death continued its ravages, while his craving for the expected God waxed hotter within his breast. Thus, from generation to generation, what a redoubling of imploring prayer, what a growing impatience of entreaty! Oh! that thou wouldst rend the heavens and wouldst come down!² 'Enough of promises,' cries out the devout St Bernard, together with all the fathers, speaking in the name of the Church of the expectation, and commenting the first verse of the Canticle of Canticles; 'enough of figures and of shadows, enough of others' parleying! I understand no more of Moses; no voice have the prophets for me; the Law which they bear has failed to restore life to my dead. What have I to do with the stammerings of their profane mouths, I to whom the Word hath announced himself? Aaron's perfumes may not compare with the oil of gladness poured out by the Father on him whom I await.⁵ No more deputies, no more servants for me: after so many messages, let him come at last, let him come himself!'

Prostrate, in the person of the worthiest of her sons, upon the heights of Carmel, the Church of the expectation will not raise herself up till appears in the heavens the proximate sign of salvation's rain-cloud.⁶ Vainly, even seven times, shall it be answered her that as yet naught can be descried arising seawards; still prolonging her prayer and her tears, her lips parched by the ceaseless drought, and cleaving to the dust, she will yet linger on, awaiting the appearance of that fertilizing cloud, the light cloud that beareth her God under human features. Then, forgetting her long fasts and weary expectant years, she will rise upon her feet, in all the vigour and beauty of her early youth; filled with the gladness the angel announceth to her, in the joy of that new Elias,

¹ Job xix 25-27. ² Isa. lxiv 1. ³ 4 Kings iv 31. ⁴ Exod. iv 10; Isa. vi 5. ⁵ Ps. xliv 8. ⁶ 3 Kings xviii 42-46.

whose birthday this Vigil promises on the morrow, she will follow him, the predestined Precursor running, more truly than did the ancient Elias,¹ before the chariot of Israel's king.

We borrow from the Mozarabic Breviary the following beautiful liturgical formula, which will imbue us thoroughly with the spirit of the feast.

¹ 3 Kings xviii 44-46.

CAPITULA

Adsunt, Domine, principia christianæ lætitiæ, quibus olim nasciturum in carne Verbum vox sanctificata præcessit, et luminis ortum lucis protestator insigniter nuntiavit: ex quo et christianæ fidei sacramenta, et salutaris lavacri prodierunt insignia: cujus conceptus miraculum, cujus nativitas gaudium approbatur: quæsumus ergo, ut qui natalem nunc Præcursoris tui ovantes suscipimus, ad festum quoque natalis tui purgatis cordibus accedamus: ut vox, quæ te prædicavit in eremo, nos purget in sæculo; et qui viam venturo Domino præparans corpora viventium suo lavit baptismate, nostra nunc corda suis precibus a vitiis et errore depurget: qualiter Vocis sequentes vestigia, ad Verbi mereamur pervenire promissa.

Lo! the first beginnings of Christian joy, O Lord, whereby erstwhile the sanctified Voice preceded the Word about to be born in the flesh, and the herald of light signally announced the rising of the Day-star he himself had witnessed: by him both faith's mysteries and salvation's fountains have produced marvels: he is approved whose conception is miracle, whose birth is joy; therefore do we beseech thee, that we who with glad ovations hail the birthday of thy Precursor, may with purified hearts draw nigh likewise unto thine own Nativity: so that the Voice which preached thee in the desert may cleanse us in the world; and he who, preparing the way for the coming Lord, washed in his baptism the bodies of living men, may now by his prayers purify our hearts from vices and errors: so that, following in the footprints of the Voice, we may deserve to come to the promises of the Word.

Let us here add two prayers from the Sacramentary of Gelasius.

PRAYERS

Beati nos, Domine, Baptistæ Joannis oratio, et intelligere Christi tui mysterium postulet et mereri.

May the prayer of blessed John Baptist, O Lord, plead for us, that we may both understand and merit the mystery of thy Christ.

Omnipotens, sempiterne Deus, qui instituta legalia et sanctorum præconia Prophetarum in diebus beati Baptistæ Joannis implesti: præsta quæsumus, ut cessantibus significationum figuris, ipsa sui manifestatione Veritas eloquatur, Jesus Christus Dominus noster.

O almighty and eternal God, who, in the days of blessed John Baptist, didst fulfil the institutions of the Law and the declarations of the holy prophets, grant, we beseech thee, that figures and signs being ended, Truth himself, by his own manifestation, may speak, Jesus Christ our Lord.

JUNE 24

THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

THE Voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord; behold thy God!'¹ In this world grown now so cold, who can understand earth's transports at hearing these glad tidings so long expected? The promised God was not yet manifested; but already had the heavens bowed down² to make way for his passage. No longer was he 'the One who is to come,' he for whom our fathers, the illustrious saints of the prophetic age, ceaselessly called in their indomitable hope. Still hidden, indeed, but already in our midst, he was resting beneath that virginal cloud, compared with which the heavenly purity of Thrones and Cherubim waxes dim; yea, the united fires of burning Seraphim grow faint in presence of the single love wherewith she alone encompasses him in her human heart, she that lowly daughter of Adam whom he had chosen for his Mother. Our accursed earth, become in a moment more blessed than heaven that had so long been closed against the prayers of men, only waited for the revelation of the august mystery. The hour had come for earth to join her canticles to that eternal and divine praise which henceforth was ever rising from her depths, and which, being itself no other than the Word himself, would praise God condignly. But beneath the veil of humility where his Divinity, even after as well as before his birth, must still continue to hide itself from men, who may discover the Emmanuel? Who, having recognized him in his merciful abasements, may succeed in making him accepted by a world lost in pride? Who may cry,

¹ Isa. xl 3, 9. ² Ps. xvii 10.

pointing out the carpenter's Son¹ in the midst of the crowd: 'Behold him whom your fathers have so wistfully awaited'?

For such is the order decreed from on high, in the manifestation of the Messias. Conformably to the ways of men, the God-Man would not intrude himself into public life; he would await, for the inauguration of his divine ministry, some man who, having preceded him in a similar career, would be hereby sufficiently accredited to introduce him to the people.

Sublime part for a creature to play, to stand guarantee for his God, witness for the Word! The exalted dignity of him who was to fill such a position had been notified, as had that of the Messias, long before his birth. In the solemn liturgy of the age of types, the Levite choir, reminding the Most High of the meekness of David and of the promise made to him of a glorious heir, hailed from afar the mysterious lamp prepared by God for his Christ.² Not that, to give light to his steps, Christ should stand in need of external help: he, the Splendour of the Father, had only to appear in these dark regions to fill them with the effulgence of the very heavens; but so many false glimmerings had deceived mankind, during the night of these ages of expectation, that, had the true Light arisen suddenly, it would not have been understood, or would have but blinded eyes now become well-nigh powerless, by reason of protracted darkness, to endure its brilliancy. Eternal Wisdom therefore decreed that, just as the rising sun is announced by the morning star and prepares his coming by the gently tempered brilliance of dawn, so Christ, who is Light, should be preceded here below by a star, his precursor; and his approach should be signalized by the luminous rays which he himself, though still invisible, would shed around this faithful herald of his coming. When, in bygone days, the Most High vouchsafed to light up the distant future before the eyes of his prophets, the radiant flash, which for an instant shot across the heavens of the old covenant,

¹ St Matt. xiii 55. ² Ps. cxxxi 17.

melted away in the deep night, and did not usher in the longed-for dawn. The morning star of which the psalmist sings shall never know defeat: declaring to night that all is now over with her, only in the triumphant splendour of the Sun of justice will his own light be dimmed. Even as dawn melts into day, so will he confound with Light Uncreated his own radiance; being of himself, like every creature, nothingness and darkness, he will so reflect the brilliancy of the Messias shining immediately upon him, that many will mistake him even for the very Christ.¹

The mysterious conformity of Christ and his Precursor, the incomparable proximity which unites one to the other, are many times referred to in the sacred Scriptures. If Christ is the Word eternally uttered by the Father, John is to be the Voice bearing this divine utterance whithersoever it is to reach. Isaias already hears the desert echoing with these accents, till now unknown; and the prince of prophets expresses the joy with all the enthusiasm of a soul already beholding itself in the very presence of its Lord and God.² The Christ is the Angel of the Covenant; but in the same text wherein the Holy Ghost gives him this title, for us so full of hope, there appears likewise, bearing the same name of angel, the inseparable messenger, the faithful ambassador, to whom the earth is indebted for her knowledge of the Spouse: 'Behold I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord whom ye seek, and the Angel of the testament whom you desire, shall come to his Temple; behold he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts.'³ And putting an end to the prophetic ministry, of which he is the last representative, Malachias terminates his own oracles by the words which we have heard Gabriel addressing to Zachary, when he makes known to him the approaching birth of the Precursor.⁴

The presence of Gabriel, on this occasion, of itself shows what intimacy with the Son of God this child then promised shall enjoy; for the same prince of the

¹ St Luke iii 15. ² Isa. xl. ³ Mal. iii 1. ⁴ Ibid. iv 5, 6.

heavenly hosts came again, soon afterwards, to announce the Emmanuel. Countless faithful messengers stand round the throne of the Holy Trinity; and the choice of these august ambassadors usually varies according to the dignity of the instructions to be transmitted to earth by the Most High. Nevertheless, it was fitting that the same archangel charged with concluding the sacred nuptials of the Word with the human nature should likewise prelude this great mission by preparing the coming of him whom the eternal decrees had designated as the friend of the Bridegroom.¹ Six months later, when sent to Mary, he strengthens his divine message by revealing to her the prodigy which had by then already given a son to the sterile Elizabeth; this being the first step of the Almighty towards a still greater marvel. John is not yet born; but without longer delay his career is begun: he is employed to attest the truth of the angel's promises. How ineffable this guarantee of a child hidden in his mother's womb, but already brought forward as God's witness in that sublime negotiation which at that moment is holding heaven and earth in suspense! Enlightened from on high, Mary receives the testimony and hesitates no longer. 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord,' she says to the archangel, 'be it done unto me according to thy word.'²

Gabriel has retired, bearing away with him the divine secret which he has not been commissioned to reveal to the rest of the world. Neither will the most prudent Virgin herself tell it; even Joseph, her virginal spouse, is to receive no communication of the mystery from her lips. But the woful sterility, beneath which earth has been so long groaning, is not to be followed by an ignorance more sorrow-stricken still, now that it has yielded its fruit.³ There is one from whom Emmanuel will have no secret nor reserve; it were fitting to reveal the marvel to him. Scarcely has the Spouse taken possession of the spotless sanctuary wherein the first nine months of his abiding amongst men must run their

¹ St John iii 29. ² St Luke i 36-38. ³ Ps. lxxxiv 13.

course, scarcely has the Word been made Flesh, than our Lady, inwardly taught what is her Son's desire, arising, makes all haste to speed into the hill-country of Judea.¹ 'The voice of my Beloved! Behold he cometh, leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills!'² His first visit is to the 'friend of the Bridegroom,' the first outpouring of his graces is to John. A distinct feast will allow us to honour in a special manner the day on which the divine Child, sanctifying his Precursor, reveals himself to John by the voice of Mary; the day on which our Lady, manifested by John leaping within the womb of his mother, proclaims at last the wondrous things operated within her by the Almighty according to the merciful promise which he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.³

But the time has come when the good tidings are to spread through all the adjacent country, until at length they reach the whole world. John is about to be born, and, whilst still himself unable to speak, he is to loose his father's tongue. He is to put an end to that dumbness with which the aged priest, a type of the old law, had been struck by the angel; and Zachary, himself filled with the Holy Ghost, is about to publish in a new canticle the blessed visit of the Lord God of Israel.⁴

Let us usher in the gladness of this great solemnity, by chanting the first Vespers together with our mother the Church. First of all, let us notice the white colour of the vestments wherein the bride is clad to-day; the pages that follow will explain the mystery of her choice.

¹ St Luke i 39. ² Cant. ii 8. ³ St Luke i 55. ⁴ Ibid. i 68.

FIRST VESPERS

Ant. Ipse præibit ante illum in spiritu et virtute Eliæ, parare Domino plebem perfectam.

Ant. He shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people.

Psalm, Dixit Dominus, p. 35.

Ant. Joannes est nomen ejus: vinum et siceram non bibet, et multi in nativitate ejus gaudebunt.

Ant. John is his name: he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and many shall rejoice at his nativity.

Psalm, Confitebor tibi Domine, p. 37.

ANT. Ex utero senectutis et sterili Joannes natus est præcursor Domini.

ANT. From an aged and barren womb was born John, the forerunner of the Lord.

Psalm, Beatus vir, p. 38.

ANT. Iste puer magnus coram Domino: nam et manus ejus cum ipso est.

ANT. This child shall be great before the Lord: for his hand is with him.

Psalm, Laudate pueri, p. 39.

ANT. Nazaræus vocabitur puer iste: vinum et siceram non bibet, et omne immundum non manducabit ex utero matris suæ.

ANT. This child shall be called a Nazarite; he shall not drink wine nor strong drink, and from his mother's womb he shall eat nothing unclean.

PSALM 116

Laudate Dominum omnes gentes: laudate eum omnes populi.

Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia ejus: et veritas Domini manet in æternum.

Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles: praise him, all ye peoples.

For his mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever.

CAPITULUM

(Isa. xlix)

Audite, insulæ, et attendite, populi de longe: Dominus ab utero vocavit me, de ventre matris meæ recordatus est nominis mei.

Give ear, ye islands; and hearken ye people from afar: The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name.

The preceding antiphons have recalled the promises concerning the Holy Precursor. He himself, in the capitulum, invites us to sing the sublime manner in which the Most High prevented him with grace. The hymn which follows furnishes the Church with a beautiful formula of prayer and praise. There are few pieces so famous as this in the holy liturgy. Its composition is attributed to Paul the Deacon, a monk of Monte Cassino, in the eighth century; and the story attached to it is particularly touching. Honoured with that sacred order, the title of which remains, through the course of ages, inseparably linked with his name, Paul Warnefrid, the friend of Charlemagne and the historian of the Lombards, was on a certain occasion deputed to bless the paschal candle. Now it happened that, whilst he was preparing himself for this function, the most solemn of those reserved to the Levites of the New Testament, he suddenly lost his voice, until then clear and sonorous, so that he was powerless to sound forth the glad notes of the Exsultet. In this extremity, Paul recollected himself; and turning to St John, patron of the Lombard nation and of that Church built by St Benedict at the top of the holy mount, he invoked him whose birth had put a stop to the dumbness of his own father, and who still preserves his power of restoring to vocal chords their lost suppleness. The son of Zachary heard his devout client. Such was the origin of the harmonious strophes which now form the three hymns proper to this feast.

What is still better known is the importance which the first of these strophes has acquired in the history of Gregorian chant and music. The primitive air to which the hymn of Paul the Deacon was sung possessed this peculiarity, that the initial syllable of each hemistich rose just one degree higher than the preceding in the scale of sounds; thus was obtained, on bringing them together, the series of fundamental notes which form the basis of our present gamut. The custom was afterwards introduced of giving to the notes themselves the names of these syllables: Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La. Guido of Arezzo, in his method of teaching, originated this custom; and by completing it with the introduction of the regular lines of the musical scale, he caused an immense stride to be made in the science of sacred music, until then so laborious to render and so tedious to acquire. He thus acknowledged the honour due to the divine Precursor, to the Voice whose accents reveal to the world the harmony of the eternal canticle: namely, that the organization of earth's melodies should be for ever attached to his name.

HYMN

Ut queant laxis resonare fibris Mira gestorum famuli tuorum, Solve polluti labii reatum, Sancte Joannes.

Nuntius celso veniens Olympo, Te patri magnum fore nasciturum, Nomen et vitæ seriem gerendæ
Ordine promit.

Ille promissi dubius superni, Perdidit promptæ modulos loquelæ;
Sed reformasti genitus peremptæ
Organa vocis.

Ventris obstruso recubans cubili, Senseras regem thalamo manentem: Hinc parens, nati meritis, uterque Abdita pandit.

Sit decus Patri, genitæque Proli,
Et tibi, compar utriusque virtus Spiritus semper, Deus unus, omni
Temporis ævo. Amen.

℣. Fuit homo missus a Deo,
℟. Cui nomen erat Joannes.

Since thy servants desire to sound forth, with vocal chords well strung, thy wondrous deeds, from all uncleanness free the lips of the guilty ones, O holy John!

Lo! a messenger coming from the heights of heaven unto thy father, announces that thou who art to be born wilt be great; thy name and life's scope he foretells, in order due.

Dubious he of heavenly promises, the power of fluent speech he sudden forfeits; but when born, thou promptly dost restore the organs of his voice extinct.

Yet lying in the secret of the maternal womb, thou perceivest the King reposing in the bride-chamber: thus both parents, by the merits of their child, come to know hidden mysteries.

Glory be to the Father, and to the only-begotten Son, and to thee, O Power eternally equal to them both, O Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

℣. There was a man sent from God,
℟. Whose name was John.

At the Magnificat, let us recognize the part which our saint had in this ineffable effusion of the Virgin Mother's sentiments, already alluded to in the fourth strophe of the preceding hymn. The Magnificat and Benedictus, our evening and morning canticles, are closely linked to the name of St John; for, by his mystic 'leaping for joy' and by his hallowed birth, he gave occasion to the composition of both.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Ingresso Zacharia templum Domini, apparuit ei Gabriel Angelus, stans a dextris altaris incensi.

Zachary having come into the temple of the Lord, there appeared unto him the Angel Gabriel, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

The Canticle, Magnificat, p. 43.

OREMUS. LET US PRAY.

Deus, qui præsentem diem honorabilem nobis in beati Joannis nativitate fecisti: da populis tuis spiritualium gratiam gaudiorum; et omnium fidelium mentes dirige in viam salutis æternæ. Per Dominum.

O God, who hast made this day glorious unto us on account of the Nativity of blessed John; grant to thy people the grace of spiritual joys; and direct the souls of all the faithful into the way of eternal salvation. Through our Lord, etc.

The chants of holy Church in honour of the Precursor's nativity have begun; and already everything about the feast is telling us that it is one of the solemnities dearest to the heart of the bride. But what would it be if, going back to former days, we were able to take our share in the olden manifestations of Catholic instinct on this day! In those grand ages wherein popular piety followed with docile step the inspiration of the Church, such demonstrations suggested by a common faith, on the recurrence of each loved anniversary, kept alive in every breast the understanding of the divine work and its mystic harmonies thus gorgeously displayed in the cycle. Nowadays, when the liturgical spirit has fallen to a lower standard in the minds of the multitude, the Catholic verve, which used to urge on the mass of the people, is no longer felt in the same marked way. Left to itself, and hence without unity of view, popular devotion often lacks proportion; nevertheless, these regrettable inconsistencies cannot impair the spirit of piety ever inherent in holy Church; she is ever guided aright by the spirit of prayer that is within her; she ever holds the sure hand of her unerring authority on all pious demonstrations of a non-liturgical character, as well as on the diminutions of the former solemnity of her own sacred rites; hence she is ever on the watch to prevent her maternal condescension becoming a pretext for opening the way to error. We are far, however, from the days when two rival armies, meeting face to face on St John's eve, would put off the battle till the day after the feast. In England, though no longer kept as a day of obligation, the feast of St John is still marked in the calendar as a double of the first class with an octave; and gives place to no other, except the festival of Corpus Christi; it is, moreover, a day of devotion, and continues to attract the attention of the faithful as one of the more important feasts of the year.

Another festival is yet to come, at the end of August, calling for our renewed homage to the son of Zachary and Elizabeth, namely the feast of his glorious martyrdom. But, venerable as it is, according to the Church's expression, its splendour is not to be compared with that of this present festival. The reason is, because this day relates less to John himself, than to Jesus whom he is announcing; whereas the feast of the Decollation, though more personal to our saint, has not in the divine plan the same importance which his birth had, inasmuch as it preludes that of the Son of God.

There hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than John the Baptist, are the words to be spoken by the Man-God of his Precursor;¹ and already has Gabriel, when announcing both of them, declared the same thing to each, that he shall be great. But the greatness of Jesus is that he shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the greatness of John is that he shall go before him.² The name of John, brought down from heaven like that of his Master, proclaims the grace which Jesus, by saving mankind, is to bring to the world. Jesus, who cometh from above in person, is above all; it is he and he alone whom all mankind is expecting. John, who is of earth, on the contrary hath nothing but what he hath received;³ but he hath received to be the friend of the Bridegroom,⁴ his usher; so that the Bridegroom cometh not to the bride but by him.⁵

Even the bride cannot come to know herself, nor to prepare herself for the sacred nuptials, but by him: his preaching awakens her in the wilderness;⁶ he adorns her with the charms of penitence and all virtues; his hand, in baptism, at last unites her to Christ beneath the waters. Sublime moment! in which, raised far above all men and angels, John, in the midst of the Holy Trinity,⁷ as it were, in virtue of an authority that is his, invests the Second Person Incarnate with a new title; the Father and the Holy Ghost acting the while in concert with him! But presently coming down from those more than human heights, to which his mission had raised him, he is fain to disappear altogether: the bride has become the Bridegroom's own; he has now but to efface himself and to decrease.⁸ To Jesus here manifested⁹ it henceforth alone belongs to appear and to increase. Thus, too, the day-star, from the feast of John's nativity when he beams his rays upon us in all his splendour, will begin to decline from the heights of his solstice towards the horizon; whereas Christmas will give him signal to return, to resume that upward movement which progressively restores all his fiery effulgence.

¹ St Matt. xi 11.
² St Luke i 15, 32.
³ St John iii 27-31.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid. i 13, 31.
⁶ Cant. viii 5.
⁷ Joannes totius medius Trinitatis. Petrus Damian. Sermo 23 (edit. Cajet.).
⁸ St John iii 29, 30.
⁹ Ibid. i 31.

Jesus alone is light, the light without which earth would remain dead; and John is but the man sent from God, without whom the light would have remained unknown.¹ But Jesus being inseparable from John, even as day is from dawn, it is by no means astonishing that earth's gladness at John's birth should partake of something of that excited by the coming of our Redeemer. Up to the fifteenth century the Latin Church, together with the Greeks, who still continue the custom, celebrated in the month of September a feast called the Conception of the Precursor: not that his conception was in itself holy, but because it announced the beginning of mysteries. Just in the same way the Nativity of St John Baptist, indeed made holy, is celebrated with so much pomp, merely because it seems to enfold within itself the Nativity of Christ, our Redeemer. It is, as it were, midsummer's Christmas day. From the very outset God and his Church brought about, with most thoughtful care, many such parallel resemblances and dependences between these two solemnities. These we are now about to study.

God, who in his Providence seeks in all things the glorification of his Word made Flesh, estimates men and centuries by the measure of testimony they render to Christ; and this is why John is so great. For him whom the prophets announced as about to come, whom the apostles preached as already come, John, at once prophet and apostle, pointed out with his finger, exclaiming: 'Behold, this is he!' John being, then, the principal witness,² it is fitting that he should open that glorious period, during which for three centuries the Church was to render to her Spouse that testimony of blood whereby the martyrs, after the prophets and apostles whereon she is built up,³ hold the first claim to her gratitude. Just as eternal Wisdom had decreed that the tenth and last great struggle of that epoch should be for ever linked with the birthday of the Son of God, whose triumph it secured, by the memory of the martyrs of Nicomedia on December 25, 303;⁴ so likewise does John's birthday mark the beginning of the first of those giant contests. For June 24, in the Roman martyrology, is sacred likewise to the memory of those soldiers of Christ who first entered upon the arena opened to them by pagan Rome in the year 64. After the proclamation of the Nativity of the Precursor, the Church's record runs thus: 'At Rome the memory of many holy martyrs who under the emperor Nero, being calumniously accused of setting fire to the city, were at the command of the same most cruelly put to death by divers torments; some of whom were sewn up in beasts' skins, and so exposed to be torn by dogs; others crucified; others set on fire, so that at the decline of day they might serve as torches to light up the night. All these were disciples of the apostles, and firstfruits of the martyrs offered to the Lord by the Roman Church, the fertile field of martyrs, even before the death of the apostles.'

¹ St John i 4-10.
² Ibid. i 7.
³ Eph. ii 20.
⁴ The Battle of Fontenay (Saturday, June 25, 841): Nithardi histor., l. ii.

The solemnity of June 24, therefore, throws a double light on the early days of Christianity. There never were, even then, days evil enough for the Church to belie the prediction of the angel, that many should rejoice in the birth of John;³ his word, his example, his intercession, brought joy as well as courage to the martyrs. After the triumph won by the Son of God over paganism when to the testimony of blood succeeded that of confession by works and praise, John maintained his part as Precursor of Christ in souls. Guide of monks, he conducted them far from the world, and fortified them in the combats of the desert; friend of the Bridegroom, he continues to form the bride, by preparing unto the Lord a perfect people.⁴

In the divers states and degrees of the Christian life, his needful and beneficent influence makes itself felt. At the beginning of the fourth Gospel, in the most dogmatic passage of the New Testament, not by mere accident is John brought forward, even as heretofore at Jordan, as one closely united with the operations of the adorable Trinity, in the universal economy of the divine Incarnation: 'There was a man sent from God whose name was John,' saith the Holy Ghost; 'he came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, THAT ALL MIGHT BELIEVE THROUGH HIM.'¹ 'Precursor at his birth, Precursor at his death, St John still continues,' says St Ambrose, 'to go before the Lord.'² More perhaps than we are aware of, his mysterious action may be telling on our present life. When we begin to believe in Christ, virtue comes forth, as it were, from St John, drawing us after him: he inclines the steps of the soul towards faith; he rectifies the crooked ways of life, making straight the road of our earthly pilgrimage, lest we stray into the rugged wilds of error; he contrives that all our valleys be filled with the fruits of virtue, and that every elevation be brought low before the Lord.

¹ 'Christmas,' vol. i.; Martyrol. Rom. ad diem 25 Dec. ² Martyrol. Rom. ad diem 24 Junii. ³ St Luke i. 14. ⁴ Ibid. i. 17.

¹ St John i. 6, 7. ² Ambr. in Luc. i. 38.

But if the Precursor maintains his part in each progressive movement of faith which brings souls nearer to Christ, he intervenes still more markedly in each baptism conferred, whereby the bride gains increase. The baptistery is especially consecrated to him. It is true, the baptism which he gave to the crowds pressing day by day on Jordan's banks had never power such as Christian Baptism possesses; but when he plunged the Man-God beneath the waters, they were endowed with a virtue of fecundity emanating directly from Christ, whereby they would be empowered until the end of time to complete, by the accession of new members, the body of holy Church united to Christ.

The faith of our fathers never ignored the great benefits for which both individuals and nations are indebted to St John. So many neophytes received his name in Baptism, so efficacious was the aid afforded by him in conducting his clients to sanctity, that there is not a day in the calendar on which there may not be honoured the heavenly birthday of one or other so named.¹ Amongst nations, the Lombards formerly claimed St John as patron, and French Canada does the same to-day. But whether in East or West, who could count the countries, towns, religious families, abbeys and churches placed under his powerful patronage: from the temple which, under Theodosius, replaced that of the ancient Serapis in Alexandria with its famous mysteries, to the sanctuary raised upon the ruins of the altar of Apollo on the summit of Monte Cassino by St Benedict; from the fifteen churches which Byzantium, the new Rome, consecrated within her walls in honour of the Precursor, to the august basilica of Lateran, well worthy of its epithet the golden basilica, which in the Capital of Christendom remains for ever the mother and mistress of all churches, not only of the city, but of the whole world! Dedicated at first to our Saviour, this latter basilica added at an early date another title, which seems inseparable from this sacred name, that of the friend of the Bridegroom. St John the Evangelist, also a friend of Jesus, whose death according to one tradition occurred on the twenty-fourth day of June, has likewise had his name added to the other two borne by this basilica; but it is none the less certain that common practice is in keeping with ancient documents, in referring more especially to the Precursor the title of St John Lateran, whereby the patriarchal basilica of the Roman Pontiffs is now always designated.

¹ Annus Joannis, auctore Joanne N. (Prag, 1664).

'Fitting it was,' says St Peter Damian, 'that the authority of the bride should subscribe to the judgement of the Bridegroom, and that this latter should see his greatest friend raised in glory where she is enthroned as queen. A remarkable choice is this, to be sure, whereby John is given the primacy in the very city that is consecrated by the glorious death of the two lights of the world. Peter from his cross, Paul beneath the blade, both behold the first place held by another; Rome is clad in the purple of innumerable martyrs, and yet all her honours go straight to the blessed Precursor. Everywhere John is the greatest!'¹

On this day, therefore, let us too imitate the Church; let us avoid that forgetfulness which bespeaks ingratitude; let us hail, with thanksgiving and heartfelt gladness, the arrival of him who promises our Saviour to us. Already Christmas is announced. On the Lateran Piazza (or Square) the faithful Roman people will keep vigil to-night, awaiting the hour which will allow the eve's strict fast and abstinence to be broken, when they may give themselves up to innocent enjoyment, the prelude of those rejoicings wherewith, six months hence, they will be greeting the Emmanuel.

St John's vigil is no longer of precept. Formerly, however, not one day's fasting only, but an entire Lent was observed at the approach of the Nativity of the Precursor, resembling in its length and severity that of the Advent of our Lord. The more severe had been the holy exactions of the preparation, the more prized and the better appreciated would be the festival. After seeing the penance of St John's fast equalled to the austerity of that preceding Christmas, is it not surprising to behold the Church in her liturgy making the two Nativities closely resemble one another, to a degree that would be apt to stagger the limping faith of many nowadays?

The Nativity of St John, like that of our Lord, was celebrated by three Masses: the first, in the dead of night, commemorated his title of Precursor; the second, at daybreak, honoured the baptism he conferred; the third, at the hour of Terce, hailed his sanctity.² The preparation of the bride, the consecration of the Bridegroom, his own peerless holiness: a threefold triumph, which at once linked the servant to the Master, and deserved the homage of a triple sacrifice to God the Thrice-Holy, manifested to John in the plurality of his Persons, and revealed by him to the Church. In like manner, as there were formerly two Matins on Christmas night, so, in many places, a double Office was celebrated on the feast of St John, as Durandus of Mende, following Honorius of Autun, informs us.³ The first Office began at the decline of day; it was without Alleluia, in order to signify the time of the Law and the Prophets which lasted up to St John.⁴ The second Office, begun in the middle of the night, terminated at dawn; this was sung with Alleluia, to denote the opening of the time of grace and of the kingdom of God.⁵

¹ Petr. Dam. Sermo 23. This discourse is frequently attributed to St Bernard, or to Nicholas of Clairvaux; but this is proved to be false by a part of the same discourse, in which the author declares that in his time the Church honoured no birthdays but those of our Lord and of St John; now it is certain that in St Bernard's time, as he himself attests, the Nativity of our Lady was kept.
² See Councils, Capitularies, Penitential Canons.
³ Sacrament. Gregor. Amal., pseudo-Alcuin., Ord. rom.
⁴ Dur. Ration. vii. 14; Hon. Gemma Anim. iv. 48. ⁵ St Luke xvi. 16.

Joy, which is the characteristic of this feast, outstripped the limits of the sacred precincts and shed itself abroad, as far even as the infidel Mussulmans. Whereas at Christmas the severity of the season necessarily confined to the domestic hearth all touching expansion of private piety, the lovely summer nights of St John's-tide gave free scope to popular display of lively faith among various nationalities. In this way, the people seemed to make up for what circumstances prevented in the way of demonstrations to the Infant God, by the glad honours they could render to the cradle of his Precursor. Scarcely had the last rays of the setting sun died away, than all the world over, from the far East to the farthest West, immense columns of flame arose from every mountain top; and, in an instant, every town and village and smallest hamlet was lighted up. 'St John's fires,' as they were called, were an authentic testimony, repeating over and over again the truth of the words of the angel and of prophecy, that universal gladness was to hail the birthday of Elizabeth's son. Like a 'burning and shining light,' to use the expression of our Lord, he had appeared in the midst of endless night, and for a time the Synagogue was willing to rejoice in his light;¹ but, disconcerted by his fidelity which prevented him from giving himself out as the Christ and the true Light,² irritated at the sight of the Lamb that he pointed out as the salvation of the whole world and not of Israel alone,³ the Synagogue had turned back again into night, and had drawn across her own eyes that fatal bandage which causes her to remain, up to this day, in her sad darkness. Filled with gratitude to him who had wished neither to diminish nor to deceive the bride, the Gentile world, on her side, exalted him all the more for his having lowered himself; gathering together and applying to herself those sentiments which ought to have animated the repudiated Synagogue, she was fain to manifest by all means in her power, that without confounding the borrowed light of the Precursor with that of the Sun of justice himself, she none the less hailed with enthusiasm this light which had been to the entire human race the very dawn of nuptial gladness.

¹ St John v. 35. ² St John i. 20. ³ Ibid. i. 29.

It may almost be said of the 'St John's fires,' that they date, like the festival itself, from the very beginning of Christianity. They made their appearance, at least, from the earliest days of the period of peace, like a sample fruit of popular initiative; but not indeed without sometimes exciting the anxious attention of the fathers and councils, ever on the watch to banish every superstitious notion from manifestations, which otherwise so happily began to replace the pagan festivities proper to the solstices. But the necessity of combating some abuses, which are just as possible in our own days as in those, did not withhold the Church from encouraging a species of demonstration which so well answered to the very character of the feast. 'St John's fires' made a happy completion to the liturgical solemnity; testifying how one and the same thought possessed the mind both of holy Church and of the terrestrial city; for the organization of these rejoicings originated with the civil corporations, and the expenses were defrayed by the municipalities. Thus the privilege of lighting the bonfire was usually reserved to some dignitary of the civil order. Kings themselves, taking part in the common merry-making, would esteem it an honour to give this signal to popular gladness; Louis XIV, as late as 1648, lighted the bonfire on the 'Place de Grève,' as his predecessors had done. In other places, as is even now done in Catholic Brittany, the clergy were invited to bless the piles of wood, and to cast thereon the first brand; whilst the crowd, bearing flaming torches, would disperse over the neighbouring country, amidst the ripening crops, or would march along the coast, following the tortuous cliff-paths, shouting for joy, and the adjacent islands would reply by lighting up their festive fires.

In some parts the custom prevailed of rolling a burning wheel; this was a self-revolving red-hot disk, rolling along the streets or down from the hill-top, to represent the movement of the sun, which attains the highest point in his orbit, to begin at once his descent; thus was the word of the Precursor brought to mind. When speaking of the Messias, he says: 'He must increase, and I must decrease.'¹ The symbolism was completed by the custom, then in vogue, of burning old bones and rubbish on this day which proclaims the end of the ancient law and the beginning of the new Covenant, according to the Holy Scripture, where it is written: 'And new store coming on, you shall cast away the old.'²

¹ St John iii. 30. ² Lev. xxvi. 10.

Blessed are the populations amongst whom is still preserved something of such customs, whence the simplicity of our forefathers drew a gladness more true and more pure than their descendants seek in festivities wherein the soul has no part!

To the Office of Lauds, on this day, a special importance is to be attached, because the Canticle Benedictus, which is sung during Lauds all the year round, is the expression of the sentiments inspired by the Holy Ghost to the father of St John the Baptist, on the occasion of that birthday which gave joy both to God and man. Being unable to insert the entire Office, we give at least this canticle. The two hymns, which here precede it, were composed by Paul the Deacon, as a sequel to that already given above for Vespers. The antiphons, capitulum and versicle used at Lauds are the same as

those of second Vespers.

HYMN AT MATINS

Antra deserti teneris sub annis, Civium turmas fugiens, petisti, Ne levi posses maculare vitam Crimine linguæ.

Præbuit durum tegumen camelus
Artubus sacris, strophium bidentes; Cui latex haustum, sociata pastum Mella locustis.

Cæteri tantum cecinere vatum
Corde præsago jubar affuturum:
Tu quidem mundi scelus auferentem Indice prodis.

Non fuit vasti spatium per orbis Sanctior quisquam genitus Joanne, Qui nefas sæcli meruit lavantem
Tingere lymphis.

Sit decus Patri, genitæque Proli,
Et tibi, compar utriusque virtus Spiritus semper, Deus unus, omni
Temporis ævo. Amen.

The desert cavern didst thou seek, in tenderest age, fleeing betimes the crowded city, lest by the slightest sin of tongue thy life should e'er be sullied.

Unto thy sacred body, rough garment the camel did afford, —victims, a cincture; the running stream supplied thy drink, honey with locusts, a repast.

Other prophets but sang, with heart inspired, the Light that was to come: whilst thou didst with thy finger point out him who taketh the world's dark sin away.

Not in all the wide world was one born so holy as this John, who was deemed worthy to plunge beneath the wave e'en him that washeth away earth's crimes.

Glory be to the Father, and to the only-begotten Son, and to thee, O Power, eternally equal to them both, O Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

HYMN AT LAUDS

O nimis felix, meritique celsi, Nesciens labem nivei pudoris, Præpotens martyr, nemorumque cultor,
Maxime vatum.

Serta ter denis alios coronant Aucta crementis, duplicata quosdam; Trina te fructu cumulata centum Nexibus ornant.

Nunc potens nostri meritis opimis Pectoris duros lapides revelle, Asperum planans iter, et reflexos Dirige calles.

Ut pius mundi Sator et Redemptor, Mentibus culpæ sine labe puris,
Rite dignetur veniens beatos Ponere gressus.

Laudibus cives celebrent superni Te, Deus simplex pariterque trine,
Supplices et nos veniam precamur: Parce redemptis. Amen.

O most happy thou, and of merit high; unknowing stain upon thy snowy purity; martyr all potent, man of prayer, hid in dark thicket's shade! Of prophets mightiest thou!

With wreaths by works increased thrice tenfold some, and e'en with double that are others crowned; whilst tripled fruits a hundredfold accumulate, with radiant bands thy brow bedeck.¹

Now, O potent one, these copious merits thine, asunder rend these stony breasts of ours! Make plain the rugged way, and the diverging path make straight!

So that the compassionate Creator and Redeemer of the world, finding our souls clean and pure from every stain of sin, as it behoves, may vouchsafe, at his coming, to set thereon his blessed feet.

With praiseful song, let all the heavenly citizens hail thee, O God simple and three in Persons; whilst we suppliants implore pardon: thy redeemed ones spare! Amen.

℣. Iste puer magnus coram Domino.
℟. Nam et manus ejus cum ipso est.

Ant. Apertum est os Zachariæ, et prophetavit, dicens: Benedictus Deus Israel.

CANTICLE OF ZACHARY

Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel: quia visitavit, et fecit redemptionem plebis suæ.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people.

℣. This child shall be great before the Lord.
℟. For his hand is with him.

Ant. The mouth of Zachary was opened, and he prophesied, saying: Blessed be the God of Israel.

Et erexit cornu salutis nobis: in domo David pueri sui.

And hath raised up a horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant.

Sicut locutus est per os sanctorum: qui a sæculo sunt prophetarum ejus.

As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning.

Salutem ex inimicis nostris: et de manu omnium qui oderunt nos.

Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us.

Ad faciendam misericordiam cum patribus nostris: et memorari testamenti sui sancti.

To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament.

Jusjurandum quod juravit ad Abraham patrem nostrum: daturum se nobis.

The oath which he swore to Abraham, our father; that he would grant to us.

Ut sine timore de manu inimicorum nostrorum liberati: serviamus illi.

That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear.

In sanctitate et justitia coram ipso: omnibus diebus nostris.

In holiness and justice before him, all our days.

Et tu puer propheta Altissimi vocaberis: præibis enim ante faciem Domini parare vias ejus.

And thou child, Precursor of the Emmanuel, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, to prepare his ways.

Ad dandam scientiam salutis plebi ejus: in remissionem peccatorum eorum.

To give unto his people the knowledge of salvation, unto the remission of their sins.

Per viscera misericordiæ Dei nostri: in quibus visitavit nos Oriens ex alto.

Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us.

Illuminare his, qui in tenebris et in umbra mortis sedent: ad dirigendos pedes nostros in viam pacis.

To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death; to direct our feet in the way of peace.

MASS

The Mass is composed of various passages from the Old and New Testaments. The Church, as liturgical authors say, wishes hereby to remind us that John forms the link binding together both Testaments, he himself sharing in each. He is the precious clasp which fastens the double mantle of the Law and of grace¹ across the breast of the eternal Pontiff.

The Introit is from Isaias; the text from which it is taken will occur again, and at greater length, in the Epistle. Psalm xci was formerly chanted with it. The first verse alone is now used, although the primary motive of this choice lay in its following verse and in its thirteenth: 'It is good . . . to shew forth thy mercy in the morning and thy truth in the night . . . The just shall flourish like the palm-tree; he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus.'

INTROIT

De ventre matris meæ vocavit me Dominus nomine meo: et posuit os meum ut gladium acutum: sub tegumento manus suæ protexit me, et posuit me quasi sagittam electam.

The Lord hath called me by my name, from the womb of my mother: and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hath protected me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow.

Ps. Bonum est confiteri Domino: et psallere nomini tuo, Altissime.

Ps. It is good to give praise to the Lord, and to sing to thy name, O most High.

℣. Gloria Patri. De ventre.

℣. Glory, etc., The Lord, etc.

The Collect expresses the desires of the faithful upon this day so great because hallowed by the birth of the Precursor. The Church implores an abundance of spiritual joy, which is the grace peculiar to this feast, as we learn from the words of Gabriel. Bearing in mind the special part allotted to Zachary's son, which consists in setting in order the paths of salvation, she prays that not one of her Christian children may turn aside from the way of eternal life.

COLLECT

Deus, qui præsentem diem honorabilem nobis in beati Joannis nativitate fecisti: da populis tuis spiritualium gratiam gaudiorum; et omnium fidelium mentes dirige in viam salutis æternæ. Per Dominum.

O God, who hast made this day glorious unto us on account of the Nativity of blessed John; grant to thy people the grace of spiritual joys; and direct the souls of all the faithful into the way of eternal salvation. Through our Lord, etc.

EPISTLE

Lectio Isaiæ Prophetæ. Cap. XLIX.

Audite insulæ, et attendite populi de longe: Dominus ab utero vocavit me, de ventre matris meæ recordatus est nominis mei. Et posuit os meum quasi gladium acutum: in umbra manus suæ protexit me, et posuit me sicut sagittam electam: in pharetra sua abscondit me. Et dixit mihi: Servus meus es tu, Israel, quia in te gloriabor. Et nunc dicit Dominus, formans me ex utero servum sibi: Ecce dedi te in lucem gentium, ut sis salus mea usque ad extremum terræ. Reges videbunt, et consurgent principes, et adorabunt propter Dominum, et Sanctum Israel, qui elegit te.

Lesson of the Prophet Isaias. Ch. XLIX.

Give ear, ye islands, and hearken, ye people from afar. The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hath protected me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow; in his quiver he hath hidden me. And he said to me: Thou art my servant Israel, for in thee will I glory. And now saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant: Behold I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth. Kings shall see, and princes shall rise up, and adore for the Lord's sake, and for the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.

In these few lines Isaias implicitly refers to the announcement of Christ's coming: the application here made by the Church to St John Baptist once more shows us how closely the Messias is united with his Precursor in the work of the redemption. Rome, once capital of the Gentile world, now mother of Christendom, delights in proclaiming, on this day, to the sons whom the Spouse has given her, the consoling prophecy which was addressed to them before she herself was founded upon the seven hills. Eight hundred years before the birth of John and of the Messias, a voice had been heard on Sion, and, reaching beyond the frontiers of Jacob, had re-echoed along those distant coasts where sin's darkness held mankind in the thraldom of hell: 'Give ear, ye islands; and hearken, ye people from afar!' It was the voice of him who was to come, and of the angel deputed to walk before him, the voice of John and of the Messias, proclaiming the one predestination common to them both, which, as servant and as Master, made them to be objects of the same eternal decree. And this voice, after having hailed the privilege which would designate them, though diversely, from the maternal womb, as objects of complacency to the Almighty, went on to utter the divine oracle which was to be promulgated, in other terms, over their cradles by the ministry of Zachary and of angels. 'And he said to me: Thou art my servant Israel, for in thee will I glory, in thee who art indeed Israel to me.' And he said: 'It is a small thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dregs of Israel,'³ who will not hearken to thee, and of whom thou shalt bring back but a small remnant. 'Behold I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth'; to make up for the scant welcome my people shall have given thee, 'kings shall see, and princes shall rise up,' at thy word, 'and adore for the Lord's sake, because he is faithful, and for the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee'⁴ as the negotiator of his alliance.

Children of the Bridegroom, let us enter into this thought; let us understand what ought to be the gratitude of us Gentiles to him to whom all flesh is indebted for its knowledge of the Redeemer.⁵ From the wilderness, where his voice stung the pride of the descendants of the patriarchs, he beheld us succeeding to the haughty Synagogue; without minimizing the divine exactions, his stern language, when addressed to the Bridegroom's chosen ones, assumed a tone of consideration which it never had for the Jews. 'Ye offspring of vipers,' said he to these latter, 'who hath shown you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth, therefore, fruits worthy of penance, and do not begin to say: We have Abraham for our father. For I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. For in your case, already is the axe laid to the root of the tree. Every tree, therefore, that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire.' But to the despised publican, to the hated soldier, to all those parched hearts of the Gentile world, hard and arid as the desert rock, John the Baptist announced a flow of grace that would refresh their dried-up souls making them fruitful in justice: 'Ye publicans, do nothing more than what is appointed you, by the exigencies of the tax-laws; ye soldiers, be content with your pay. The law was given by Moses; but better is grace; grace and truth come by Jesus Christ whom I declare unto you;⁶ he is who taketh away the sins of the world,⁷ and of his fullness we have all received.'⁸

What a new horizon was here opened out before these objects of reproach, held aloof so long by Israel's scorn! But in the eyes of the Synagogue, such a blow aimed at Juda's pretended privilege was a crime. She had borne the biting invectives of this son of Zachary; she had even, at one moment, shown herself ready to hail him as the Christ;⁹ but she who vaunted herself as pure, to be invited to go hand in hand with the unclean Gentile—she could never submit to that; from that moment John was judged by her as his Master would be afterwards. Later on, Jesus will insist upon the difference of welcome given to the Precursor by those who listened to him. He will even make it the basis of his sentence of reprobation pronounced against the Jews: 'Amen I say to you, that the publicans and harlots

¹ Et aliud cecidit in terram bonam: et dabat fructum, et afferebat unum triginta, unum sexaginta, et unum centum. Mark iv 8, 20.
² Petr. Chrys. Sermo 91.
³ Isa. xlix 3, 6.
⁴ Ibid. 6, 7.
⁵ Ibid. xl 5.
⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹

¹ St Luke iii. 7-9. ² Ibid. 12-14. ³ St Luke i. 15-17. ⁴ Ibid. 16.

shall go into the kingdom of God before you; for John came to you in the way of justice, and you did not believe him. But the publicans and harlots believed him: but you seeing it, did not even afterwards repent, that you might believe him.¹

Following in the train of Isaias, who has been prophesying the coming of John and of Christ, Jeremias, the figure of both, stands before us in the Gradual; he too was sanctified in his mother's womb, and there prepared for the ministry which he was to exercise. The verse leaves the sense suspended upon an announcement of a word of the Lord; according to the rite formerly in use it was completed by the repetition of the Gradual.

The Alleluia Verse is taken from the Gospel. Its words occur in the Benedictus.

GRADUAL

Priusquam te formarem in utero, novi te: et antequam exires de ventre, sanctificavi te.

℣. Misit Dominus manum suam, et tetigit os meum, et dixit mihi.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

℣. Tu, puer, propheta Altissimi vocaberis: præibis ante Dominum parare vias ejus. Alleluia.

Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee.

℣. The Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth: and said to me.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

℣. Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest; thou shalt go before the Lord to prepare his ways. Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam. Cap. I.

Elisabeth impletum est tempus pariendi, et peperit filium. Et audierunt vicini, et cognati ejus, quia magnificavit Dominus misericordiam suam cum illa, et congratulabantur ei. Et factum est in die octavo, venerunt circumcidere puerum, et vocabant eum nomine patris sui Zachariam. Et respondens mater ejus, dixit: Nequaquam, sed vocabitur Joannes. Et dixerunt ad illam: Quia nemo est in cognatione tua, qui vocetur hoc nomine. Innuebant autem patri ejus, quem vellet vocari eum. Et postulans pugillarem scripsit, dicens: Joannes est nomen ejus. Et mirati sunt universi. Apertum est autem illico os ejus, et lingua ejus, et loquebatur benedicens Deum. Et factus est timor super omnes vicinos eorum: et super omnia montana Judææ divulgabantur omnia verba hæc: et posuerunt omnes qui audierant in corde suo dicentes: Quis, putas, puer iste erit? Etenim manus Domini erat cum illo. Et Zacharias pater ejus repletus est Spiritu Sancto: et prophetavit, dicens: Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel, quia visitavit, et fecit redemptionem plebis suæ.

Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Luke. Ch. I.

Elizabeth's full time of being delivered was come, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had showed his great mercy towards her, and they congratulated with her. And it came to pass that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him by his father's name, Zachary. And his mother answering said: Not so, but he shall be called John. And they said to her: There is none of thy kindred that is called by that name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And demanding a writing-table, he wrote, saying: John is his name: and they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed: and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came upon all their neighbours; and all these things were noised abroad over all the hill country of Judea; and all they that heard them, laid them up in their heart, saying: What a one, think ye, shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him. And Zachary his father was filled with the Holy Ghost; and he prophesied, saying: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people.

¹ St Matt. xxi. 31, 32.

After the places hallowed by the sojourn here below of the Word made Flesh, there is no spot of greater interest for the Christian soul than that wherein were accomplished the events just mentioned in our Gospel. The town in which the Precursor was born is situated about two leagues from Jerusalem, to the west; just as Bethlehem, our Saviour's birthplace, is at the same distance southwards from the holy city. Going out by the gate of Jaffa, the pilgrim bound for St John of the Mountain passes on his way the Greek monastery of Holy Cross, raised on the spot where the trees which formed our Lord's cross were hewn down: then, pursuing his course through the close-set woods of the mountains of Juda, he attains a summit whence he can descry the waters of the Mediterranean. The house of Obed-Edom, which for three months harboured the sacred Ark of the Covenant, stood here, whence a by-path leads by a short cut directly to the place where Mary, the true Ark, dwelt for three happy months in the house of her cousin Elizabeth. Two sanctuaries, distant about a thousand paces one from the other, are sacred to the memory of the two great facts just related to us by St Luke: in the one, John the Baptist was conceived and born; in the other, the circumcision of the Precursor took place eight days after his birth. The first of these sanctuaries stands on the site of Zachary's town-house; its present form dates from a period anterior to the Crusades. It is a beautiful church with three naves and a cupola, measuring thirty-seven feet in length. The high altar is dedicated to St Zachary, and another altar, on the right, to St Elizabeth. On the left, seven marble steps lead to a subterranean chapel hollowed out of the rock, which is identical with the furthermost apartment of the original house: this is the sanctuary of St John's Nativity. Four lamps glimmer in the darkness of this venerable crypt, whilst six others, suspended beneath the altar-slab itself, throw light on the following inscription engraved upon the marble pavement: HIC PRECURSOR DOMINI NATUS EST. Let us unite on this day with the devout sons of St Francis, guardians of those ineffable memories; more fortunate here than at Bethlehem with its sacred grotto, they have not to dispute with schism the homage which they pay in the name of the legitimate bride to the friend of the Bridegroom upon the very spot of his Nativity.

Local tradition sets at some distance from this first sanctuary, as we have said, the memorable place where the circumcision of the Precursor was performed. Besides a town-house, Zachary was owner of another more isolated. Elizabeth had retired thither during the first months of her pregnancy, to meditate in silence upon the gift of God.¹ There did the meeting between herself and our Lady on her arrival from Nazareth take place; there the sublime exultation of the infants and their mothers; there the Magnificat proclaimed to heaven that earth henceforth could rival, and even surpass, supernal songs of praise and canticles of love. It was fitting that Zachary's song, the morning canticle, should be first intoned there, where that of evening had ascended like incense of sweetest fragrance. In the accounts given by ancient pilgrims, it is noticed that there were here two sanctuaries placed one above the other: in the lower one Mary and Elizabeth met; in the upper storey of this country-house most of the incidents just set before us by the Church occurred.

¹ St Luke i. 24, 25.

Urban V, in 1368, ordered that the Credo should be chanted on the day of St John Baptist's Nativity and during the octave, to prevent the Precursor's appearing to be in any way inferior to the apostles. The more ancient custom, however, of suppressing the Symbol on this feast has nevertheless prevailed: not as a mark of inferiority in him who rises above all others that have ever announced the kingdom of God, but to show that he completed his course before the promulgation of the Gospel.

The Offertory is taken from the Introit psalm; it is the verse which anciently formed the Introit of the Aurora Mass of this feast.

OFFERTORY

Justus ut palma florebit: sicut cedrus, quæ in Libano est, multiplicabitur.

The just shall flourish like the palm-tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus.

The Secret brings out in strong light the twofold character of prophet and apostle, which makes John so great; the sacrifice which is being celebrated in his honour is to add new lustre to his glory, by placing anew before our gaze the Lamb of God, whom he announced and whom he will still point out to the world.

SECRET

Tua, Domine, muneribus altaria cumulamus, illius Nativitatem honore debito celebrantes, qui Salvatorem mundi et cecinit adfuturum, et adesse monstravit, Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum: qui tecum.

We cover thy altars with offerings, O Lord; celebrating with due honour his Nativity, who both proclaimed the coming of the Saviour of the world, and pointed him out when come, our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with thee, etc.

The Bridegroom is in possession of the bride, and it is John the Baptist who hath prepared the way; thus sings our Communion antiphon. The moment of the sacred mysteries is that in which he repeats every day: 'He that hath the bride is the Bridegroom: but the friend of the Bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy, because of the Bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled.'¹

¹ St John iii. 29.

COMMUNION

Tu, puer, propheta Altissimi vocaberis: præibis enim ante faciem Domini parare vias ejus.

Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways.

If the friend of the Bridegroom is overflowing with gladness at this sublime moment of the Mysteries, how shall not the bride herself be all joy and gratitude? Let her then extol, in the Postcommunion, him who has brought her to know her Redeemer and Lord!

POSTCOMMUNION

Sumat Ecclesia tua, Deus, beati Joannis Baptistæ generatione lætitiam: per quem suæ regenerationis cognovit auctorem, Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum: qui tecum.

May thy Church, O God, put on gladness in the Nativity of blessed John Baptist: by whom she hath known the author of her regeneration, our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, etc.

SECOND VESPERS

The second Vespers of St John the Baptist are the same as the first, except the antiphons and versicle. The Church continues therein to hail the dignity of him who comes bringing joy to the world, by pointing out the God so wistfully expected.

ANT. Elisabeth Zachariæ magnum virum genuit, Joannem Baptistam Præcursorem Domini.

ANT. Elizabeth, Zachary's wife, hath brought forth a great man, John the Baptist, Precursor of the Lord.

Psalm, Dixit Dominus, p. 35.

ANT. Innuebant patri ejus quem vellet vocari eum: et scripsit dicens: Joannes est nomen ejus.

ANT. They made signs to his father, how he would have him called: and he wrote saying: John is his name.

Psalm, Confitebor tibi, Domine, p. 37.

ANT. Joannes vocabitur nomen ejus, et in Nativitate ejus multi gaudebunt.

ANT. His name shall be called John, and many shall rejoice in his Nativity.

Psalm, Beatus vir, p. 38.

ANT. Inter natos mulierum non surrexit major Joanne Baptista.

ANT. Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.

Psalm, Laudate pueri, p. 39.

ANT. Tu, puer, propheta Altissimi vocaberis: præibis ante Dominum parare vias ejus.

ANT. Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: thou shalt go before the Lord to prepare his ways.

Psalm, Laudate Dominum omnes gentes, p. 234.

The Capitulum, p. 234.

The Hymn, p. 236.

℣. Iste puer magnus coram Domino.

℟. Nam et manus ejus cum ipso est.

℣. This child shall be great before the Lord.

℟. For his hand is with him.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

ANT. Puer qui natus est nobis, plus quam propheta est: hic est enim de quo Salvator ait: Inter natos mulierum non surrexit major Joanne Baptista.

ANT. The child that is born to us is more than a prophet: Lo! this is he of whom the Saviour saith: Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.

The Canticle, Magnificat, p. 43.

The Prayer, p. 237.

The following beautiful Sequence has well deserved to be attributed to Adam of St Victor, though it may perhaps be somewhat more ancient.

SEQUENCE

Ad honorem tuum, Christe, Recolat Ecclesia Præcursoris et Baptistæ
Tui natalitia.

Laus est Regis in præconis
Ipsius præconio,
Quem virtutum ditat donis, Sublimat officio.

Promittente Gabriele Seniori filium, Hæsitavit, et loquelæ
Perdidit officium.

Puer nascitur, Novæ legis, novi regis
Præco, tuba, signifer.

Vox præit Verbum,
Paranymphus Sponsum, Solis ortum Lucifer.

Verbo mater, Scripto pater, Nomen indit parvulo, Et soluta Lingua muta Patris est a vinculo.

Est cælesti præsignatus
Joannes oraculo, Et ab ipso præmonstratus
Uteri latibulo.

Hic ætate præmatura
Datur hæres; id figura
Quod infecunda Diu parens, res profunda!

Contra carnis quidem jura Joannis hæc genitura:
Talem gratia Partu format, non natura.

Alvo Deum Virgo claudit, Clauso clausus hic applaudit De ventris angustia.

Agnum monstrat in aperto Vox clamantis in deserto, Vox Verbi prænuntia.

Ardens fide, verbo lucens, Et ad veram lucem ducens, Multa docet millia.

Non lux iste, sed lucerna; Christus vero lux æterna,
Lux illustrans omnia.

Cilicina tectus veste, Pellis cinctus strophium, Cum locustis mel silvestre Sumpsit in edulium.

Attestante sibi Christo, Non surrexit major isto Natus de muliere:

Sese Christus sic excepit, Qui de carne carnem cepit Sine carnis opere.

In thine honour, O Christ, the Church doth celebrate the natal day of thy Precursor and Baptist.

The King's own praise is heralded when his herald is extolled, whom richly he hath endowed with gifts of virtue, and, sublime in office, hath exalted!

Lo! Gabriel unto the hoary sire a son doth promise. He, hesitating, anon doth forfeit power of speech.

The child is born; of the new Law, of the new King, herald, trumpet, standard-bearer he! The voice before the Word, the paranymph before the Spouse, the morning star before the rising sun, doth go!

ubetur in carcere justus pœna
consummari.

The mother by word, the father by writing, the child's name doth declare; forthwith is loosed from bond the mute tongue of the father.

By heavenly oracle is John foretold; and by himself yet hidden in the womb is he foreshown.

That in an age too far advanced, an heir should be given, that one so long sterile should become a mother, oh mystery profound! Yea, contrary indeed to the law of flesh is this conception of John: such birth as this is produced by grace, not by nature.

The virgin in her womb holds God enclosed; the enclosed to the Enclosed doth clap applause, that narrow womb within. The voice crying in the wilderness, the heralding voice of the Word, doth point out the Lamb to open view.

Burning in faith, luminous in word, and unto the true Light leading, he teacheth many thousands. He was not the Light, but yet was indeed the lamp; for Christ is our eternal Light enlightening all.

Clad in garment of haircloth, girt with cincture of leather, he was fed on a banquet of locusts and wild honey.

List to Christ attesting of him: None hath arisen greater than this man, of all that are born of woman. Take good heed, however, Christ here excepts himself who of flesh did Flesh accept, yet without flesh's operation.

To capital punishment, in prison, is the just man condemned; whose head the king abhorred not to present as a gift at a banquet table.

Cujus caput rex in cœna
Non horret pro munere Præsentari.
Martyr Dei, licet rei Simus, nec idonei Tuæ laudi,
Te laudantes et sperantes De tua clementia, Nos exaudi. Tuo nobis in natale Da promissum gaudium, Nec nos minus triumphale Delectet martyrium. Veneramur Et miramur In te tot mysteria: Per te frui Christus sui Det nobis præsentia.
Amen.

Martyr of God! guilty though we be, nor apt unto thy praise, yet, of thy clemency, deign graciously to hear us confiding in thee and praising thee.

On this thy natal day, grant to us the promised joy; nor yet may thy triumphant martyrdom delight us less.

Oh! how many mysteries do we venerate and admire in thee! By thee may Christ grant unto us to enjoy his presence. Amen.

The liturgical collections of the divers Churches abound in formulas full of depth and beauty, expressing the grandeur of John and his mission. Such, for instance, is the solemn antiphon of Lauds from the Ambrosian Breviary.

PSALLENDA

Lumen quod animi cernunt, non sensus corporeus, in utero vidit Joannes, exsultans in Domino. Natus est luminis Præcursor; Propheta mirabilis ostendit Agnum, qui venit peccata mundi tollere.

The Light, which not corporeal sense, but souls perceive, did John behold whilst still in the womb, exulting in the Lord. Lo! the Precursor of the Light is born; the wondrous prophet points out the Lamb, who cometh to take away the sins of the world.

Such, also, is the following ancient prayer of the Gallican Sacramentary:

COLLECTIO

Deus, qui hunc diem nativitate Joannis Baptistæ incomparabilem hominibus consecrasti; præsta nobis de ejus meritis, illius nos calceamenti sequi vestigium qui se ad solvendam Salvatoris corrigiam prædicavit indignum.

O God, who hast rendered this day incomparable in the history of mankind, consecrating it by the birth of John the Baptist; grant us by his merits to follow in the prints of the shoes of him who deemed himself unworthy to loose the latchet of those of our Redeemer.

But the Roman Church, so devoted to John, surpasses, as is fitting, all other Churches whereof she is mother and mistress, in the abundance and magnificence of the formulas wherewith she hails the friend of the Bridegroom. Not to mention the three Masses of the Gregorian Sacramentary for this day, the Leonine contains two others called ad Fontem, the text of which refers to the newly baptized, according to the ancient custom whereby Baptism was given on the feast of St John, as well as at Easter, Pentecost and Epiphany. Of the five proper Prefaces in the Leonine Sacramentary for each of these Masses, we give only the following:

PREFACE

Vere dignum. . . . In die festivitatis hodiernæ, quo beatus ille Baptista Joannes exortus est, nondum terrena conspiciens, cœlestia jam revelans; lucis æternæ prædicator, priusquam lumen temporale sentiret; testis veritatis, antequam visus; et ante propheta quam natus; maternis visceribus latens, Unigenitum Dei præscia exsultatione prænuntians; Christique tui, nondum genitus, jam præcursor. Nec mirum, si Filium tuum, Domine, procreatus ostendit quem adhuc utero clausus agnovit; meritoque inter natos mulierum nullus inventus est similis, quia nulli hominum prorsus indultum est, ut exsecutor Divinitatis existeret, priusquam vitam humanæ conditionis hauriret; satisque firmatum, quam esset mirabilis Nuntiatus, cujus tam insignis nuntius appareret; convenienterque pro lavacri ministerio, quod gerebat, detulit famulatum perfecti baptismatis mysterium consecranti, et ad remissionem peccatorum mortalibus conferendam, huic jure debitam reddidit servitutem, quem mundi tollere dixerat venisse peccatum. Unde cum angelis, etc.

It is truly meet and just that we should praise thee, O Lord, on this day's festival, whereon the blessed and renowned Baptist, John, was born; he not yet beholding earthly things, did already reveal things celestial; preacher of eternal light was he before he had yet perceived temporal light; witness to the truth before he was himself seen; hiding in the bowels of his mother, yet foretelling by prescient exultation the Only-Begotten of God; not yet born, but already was he the Precursor of thy Christ. Nor is it to be wondered at, O Lord, that when born he pointed out thy Son, whom whilst still enclosed in the womb he already recognized. Deservedly among those born of women none is found like to him, since to none of the human race has it been granted to be administrator of the Divinity, before he had first inhaled life of this our human condition; enough is it proved how admirable is he who is announced, the announcer of whom hath appeared to be so wondrous: and seemly was it that, considering the baptismal ministry which he held, he should render functionary service unto him who was consecrating the mystery of perfect Baptism, and that speaking of remission of sins unto mortals, he should yield obedience unto him whom he declared to have come to take away the sin of the world. Wherefore with the angels, etc.

In this harmonious concert in honour of St John, the Oriental Church deservedly holds a distinguished place. We regret to be obliged, by our limited space, to pass over in complete silence such a large number of beautiful pieces. We here give in an abridged form, owing to its extreme length, this admirable hymn from the Syriac Church, composed by the great Deacon of Edessa St Ephraem, reserving the second half for the octave day.

HYMN¹ (De Domino nostro et Joanne)

Mente translatus fui ad Jordanem, miraque mihi visa sunt, quum gloriosus Sponsus sponsæ se revelavit, ut eam a servitute peccati eximeret atque sanctificaret.

In spirit was I carried away to Jordan, and wondrous were the things I beheld, when the glorious Bridegroom revealed himself that he might set free the chosen one from sin's servitude and might sanctify her.

Vidi Joannem attonitum et turbas circa eum stantes, gloriosumque Sponsum ante filium sterilis inclinatum ut ab eo baptismum acciperet.

I saw John astonished, and the crowd standing round about him, yea, and the glorious Bridegroom bowing himself down before the son of the sterile one, that from him he might receive Baptism.

Mens mea miratur tum Verbum tum Vocem. Joannes quippe Vox est, Dominus autem ut Verbum prolatus est, ut in manifesto prodiret qui absconditus erat.

My mind is amazed both at the Word and at the Voice. John indeed is the Voice, but it is in order that the Lord, the Word, be produced; so that he, the Hidden One, be made manifest.

Sponsa Sponso desponsata Sponsum nescit quem intuetur; adsunt paranymphi; plenum est desertum; absconditur inter eos Dominus.

The bride betrothed to the Bridegroom looketh upon the Bridegroom, yet she knoweth him not: lo! the paranymphs are there; the desert place is filled; in their midst the Lord is hidden.

Tunc Sponsus seipsum manifestans ad Joannem juxta flumen accessit. Commotus divus præco de eo dixit: 'Ipse est Sponsus quem prædicavi.'

Then the Bridegroom manifesting himself cometh nigh unto John, beside the stream. The holy herald, amazed, crieth out concerning him: 'Lo, the Bridegroom whom I have proclaimed.'

Venit ad baptismum auctor omnis baptismi et manifestavit se ad Jordanem. Vidit eum Joannes, et manum contraxit deprecans et dicens:

The Author of all Baptism came to be baptized, and manifested himself at Jordan. John beheld him, and drew back his hand beseeching and saying:

'Quomodo, Domine, baptizari vis, qui baptismo tuo omnes sanctificas? Ad te spectat verus baptismus, e quo stillat sanctitas perfecta.'

'How dost thou, O Lord, wish to be baptized, thou who by thy baptism dost sanctify all men? To thee belongeth the true Baptism, whence floweth perfect holiness.'

Respondit Dominus:

The Lord replied:

'Ego volo, accedas et conferas mihi baptismum, ut impleatur mea voluntas. Meæ voluntati resistere non vales, baptizabor a te, quia sic volo.'

'I will it so; draw nigh and confer Baptism upon me, that my will be fulfilled. Thou canst not resist my will: I will be baptized by thee, because I wish it so.'

'Noli, quæso, Domine, noli me cogere, quia difficile est quod mihi dixisti. Ego debeo a te baptizari; hyssopo quippe tuo omnia purificas.'

'Do not, I beseech thee, O Lord, do not constrain me, for exceeding hard is this thing thou sayest unto me. I ought to be baptized by thee: Lo! thy hyssop purifieth all!'

'Rogo et placet mihi rem ita fieri. Tu autem Joannes, quid hæsitas? sine nos adimplere justitiam. Age, baptiza me; quid hic anceps stas?'

'I demand, and it is pleasing unto me that so this thing be done. But thou, John, how is it thou hesitatest? Suffer us to fulfil all justice. Do so, baptize me: wherefore standest thou wavering?'

'Quis potest ignem ardentem manibus arripere? O tu qui totus ignis es, miserere mei, et sine ut non accedam ad te, quia res mihi difficilis est.'

'Who is able to snatch hold of the burning fire with his hands? O thou who art all fire, have mercy on me, and suffer that I approach thee not, for it is a thing difficult unto me.'

'Manifestavi tibi voluntatem meam, quid scrutaris? Age, accedens baptiza me, nec combureris. Thalamus paratus est atque convivium, ne avertas me ab eo.'

'I have made my will manifest unto thee, wherefore dost thou search? Do as I bid thee, drawing nigh baptize me, thou shalt not be consumed. Lo! the bride-chamber is ready, so likewise is the banquet, thence divert me not.'

'Oportet, Domine, me nosse naturam meam, me scilicet e terra plasmatum esse, te vero mei plasmatorem omnibus subsistentiam præbentem. Ad quid igitur te in aquis baptizarem?'

'It behoveth me, O Lord, to know what my nature is, to wit, that I am formed out of earth, and that thou hast fashioned me, thou who givest existence unto all things. What availeth it that I should baptize thee in the waters?'

'Scias oportet ad quid venerim et cur poposci baptismum a te. Baptismus media est in via quam incessi, illum ne deneges.'

'It behoveth thee to know wherefore am I come, and wherefore demand I Baptism of thee. Baptism is in the midst of the road upon which I have entered, refuse it not.'

'Angustior est amnis ad quem venisti ut in eum descendas. Cœli amplitudinem tuam continere non valent; quanto magis baptismus te recipere nequeat?'

'All too narrow is the stream unto which thou art come, for that thou descend into it. Thy vastness the very heavens are unable to contain; how much more may this font be unable to receive thee?'

'Jordane augustior est uterus, sponte tamen in utero Virginis habitavi. Porro sicut ex utero Virginis nasci potui, ita in Jordane baptismum suscipere possum.'

'Narrower e'en than Jordan is the womb, nevertheless freely did I dwell in the Virgin's womb. Wherefore even as I was able out of that virginal womb to be born, so in Jordan am I able to receive Baptism.'

'Ecce cœlestes exercitus adstant, et agmina angelorum adorant; porro commotio tremorque, Domine, obstant ne ad te baptizandum accedam.'

'Lo! heavenly hosts are here present, and throngs of angels adoring; therefore, O Lord, do trouble and trembling prevent my approaching to baptize thee.'

'Cœlestium virtutum agmina universa beatum te prædicant, quod te ab utero elegerim ut baptismum mihi conferas; ne igitur timeas, quum mea sit voluntas.'

'The whole throng of heavenly Virtues proclaims thee blessed, in that from the womb I chose thee to confer Baptism upon me; wherefore, fear thou not, since it is my will.'

'Paravi viam, quæ mea erat missio; desponsavi sponsam, quod facere jussus eram. Nunc quum adveneris, diffundatur manifestatio tua per mundum, nec tibi baptismum conferam.'

'I have prepared the way, as was my mission; I have betrothed the bride, as I was bidden. Now that thou art come, be thy manifestation spread throughout the world, and be it not mine to confer Baptism upon thee.'

'Filii Adæ a me exspectant novæ generationis donum; aperiam eis viam in aqua; hoc autem absque meo baptismo possibile non est.'

'The sons of Adam are waiting to receive of me the gift of new generation; I will open the way to them in the water; this thing, however, without mine own Baptism is impossible.'

'Sacrificatores a te consecrantur et sacerdotes hyssopo tua mundantur, unctos et reges constituis. Quid proderit tibi baptismus?'

'Priests are by thee consecrated, and ministers are by thy hyssop purified; thou dost appoint kings and anointed ones. What availeth Baptism unto thee?'

'Sponsa quam desponsasti mihi exspectat, ut in fluvium descendens baptizer et sanctificem eam. Amice Sponsi, ne deneges ablutionem quam me exspectat.'

'The bride whom thou hast betrothed unto me waiteth, that descending into the stream I be baptized and sanctify her. Friend of the Bridegroom, refuse not the ablution which awaiteth me.'

¹ S. Ephraem Syri Hymni et Sermones. Th. J. Lamy, t. I.

'They that offer sacrifice are by thee consecrated, and priests are by thy hyssop made clean; kings and anointed ones thou dost constitute. What may Baptism avail thee?'

'The bride thou hast betrothed unto me expecteth me, so that descending into the stream I be baptized and may sanctify her. O friend of the Bridegroom, deny me not the laving that awaits me.'

Precursor of the Messias, we share in the joy which thy birth brought to the world. Thy birth announced that of the Son of God. Each year our Emmanuel assumes anew his life in the Church and in souls; and in our day, just as eighteen hundred years ago, he wills that his birth shall not take place without thy preparing the way for that Nativity whereby our Saviour is given to each one of us. Scarcely has the sacred cycle completed the series of mysteries whereby the glorification of the Man-God is consummated and the Church is founded, than Christmas begins to appear on the horizon; already does John reveal by exulting demonstrations the approach of our Infant-God. Sweet prophet of the Most High, not yet canst thou speak, when already thou dost outstrip all the princes of prophecy; soon the desert will seem to snatch thee for ever from intercourse with men. Then Advent comes, and the Church will show us that she has found thee once more; she will constantly lead us to listen to thy sublime teachings, to hear thee bearing witness to him whom she is expecting. From this present moment, therefore, begin to prepare our souls; having descended anew on earth, coming on this day of gladness, as the messenger of the near approach of our Saviour, canst thou remain idle in face of the immense work which lies before thee to accomplish in us?

To chase sin away, subdue vice, correct the instincts falsified in our poor fallen nature—all this ought to have been done within us long ago, as indeed it would have been, had we but responded faithfully to thy past labours. Yet it is only too true that, in the greater number of us, scarcely has the first turning of the soil been begun: stubborn clay, wherein stones and briers have defied thy careful toil for many years! Filled with confusion we acknowledge it to be so, we confess our faults to thee and to Almighty God, as the Church teaches us to do at the beginning of the great sacrifice; but at the same time we beseech thee, with her, to pray to the Lord our God for us. Thou didst proclaim in the desert: From these very stones even, God is still able to raise up children of Abraham. Daily do the solemn formulas of the Oblation, wherein is prepared the ceaselessly renewed immolation of our Saviour, tell of the honourable and important part which is thine in this august Sacrifice; thy name, again pronounced while the divine Victim is present on the altar, pleads for us sinners to the God of all mercy. Would that, in consideration of thy merits and of our misery, he would deign to be propitious to the persevering prayer of our mother the Church, to change our hearts, and in place of evil attachments attract them to virtue, so as to deserve for us the visit of our Lord! At this sacred moment of the Mysteries, in the words of that formula taught us by thyself, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world is thrice invoked, that he will himself have pity upon us and give us peace: peace so precious, with heaven, with earth, with ourselves, which is to prepare us for the Bridegroom by making us become sons of God, according to the words of the last Gospel at Mass. Then, O Precursor, will thy joy and ours be complete; that sacred union, of which this day of thy Nativity already contains for us the joyful hope, will, even here below, and beneath the shadow of faith, while we are awaiting the clear vision of eternity, become a sublime reality.

³ St John i 12; St Matt. v 9.

JUNE 25

SAINT WILLIAM

ABBOT

Martyrs are numerous on the cycle during the octave of St John. But not only in martyrdom's peerless glory does our Lord reveal the power of his grace, or the victorious force of example left to the world by his Precursor. At the very outset we have presented to our homage one of those countless athletes of penance, who succeeded John in the desert; one of those who fleeing, like him, in early youth, a society wherein their souls' foreboding told of only peril and annoy, consecrated a lifetime to Christ's complete triumph within them over the triple concupiscence, thus bearing witness to the Lord, by deeds which the world ignores, but which make angels to rejoice and hell to tremble. William was one of the chiefs of this holy militia. The Order of Monte-Vergine, which owes its origin to him, has deserved well of the monastic institute and of the whole Church in the south of Italy, wherein God has been pleased, at different times, to raise up a dyke against the encroaching waves of sensual pleasures by the stern spectacle of austere virtue.

Both personally and by his disciples, William's mission was to infuse into the kingdom of Sicily, then in process of formation, that element of sanctity upon which every Christian nation must necessarily be based. In southern, just as in northern Europe, the Norman race had been providentially called in to promote the reign of Jesus Christ. Just at this moment, Byzantium, powerless to protect against Saracen invasion the last vestiges of her possessions in the West, was anxious nevertheless to hold the Churches of these lands fast bound in that schism into which she had recently been drawn by the intrigues of Michael Cerularius. The Mohammedans had been forced to recoil before the sons of Tancred and Hauteville: and now, in its turn, Greek perfidy had been outwitted and unmasked by the rude simplicity of these men, who quickly learnt to oppose no other argument to Byzantine knavery than the sword. The Papacy, though for a moment doubtful, soon came to understand of what great avail these newcomers would be in feudal quarrels, the jar and turmoil whereof were to extend far and wide for yet two centuries more, leading at last to the long struggle betwixt sacerdotalism and Cæsarism.

All through this period, as has ever been the case since the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost was directing every event for the ultimate good of the Church. He it was who inspired the Normans to give solidity to their conquests by declaring themselves vassals of the Holy See, and thus fixing themselves on the apostolic rock. But at the same time, both to recompense their fidelity at the very opening of their career, and to render them more worthy of the mission which would have ever been their honour and their strength had they but continued so to understand it, the Holy Spirit gave them saints. Roger I beheld St Bruno interceding for his people in the solitudes of Calabria, and there also he was miraculously saved by that blessed man from an ambush laid by treason. Roger II was now given another such heavenly aid to bring him back again into the paths of righteousness from which he had too often strayed: the example and exhortations of the founder of Monte-Vergine.

The life of our saint is thus recorded in the Lessons for his feast:

Gulielmus nobilibus parentibus Vercellis in Insubria natus, vix quartumdecimum ætatis annum expleverat, cum miro quodam pietatis ardore flagrans, Compostellanam peregrinationem ad celeberrimum sancti Jacobi templum aggressus est. Quod iter una amictus tunica, ac duplici ferreo circulo præcinctus, nudisque pedibus prosecutus, asperrima frigoris et æstus, famis et sitis, summo cum vitæ discrimine perpessus est incommoda. Reversus in Italiam, novam ad sanctum Domini sepulchrum peregrinationem molitur; sed quominus propositum exsequatur, varia atque gravissima intercedunt impedimenta, divino numine ad altiora et sanctiora religiosam juvenis indolem retrahente. Porro in Soliculo monte biennium inter assiduas preces, vigilias, chamæunias, et jejunia commoratus, divina subnixus ope, cæco lumen restituit; cujus miraculi fama percrebrescente, jam Gulielmus latere non poterat; quare iterum Hierosolymam adire cogitat, et alacris se itineri committit.

William was born of noble parents, at Vercelli in Piedmont. Scarce had he attained his fourteenth year when, already inflamed with wondrous ardour for piety, he performed the pilgrimage to the far-famed sanctuary of Saint James at Compostella. Which journey he made, clad in a single tunic, with a double chain of iron about his loins, and with bare feet, a prey to extreme cold and heat, to hunger and thirst, and even with danger to life. Being returned into Italy, he was moved to perform a fresh pilgrimage to the holy sepulchre of our Lord; but each time he was on the point of carrying out his purpose, various and most grave impediments intervened, divine Providence thus drawing the holy inclinations of the youth to yet higher and holier things. Then passing two years on Mount Solicolo in assiduous prayer and in watchings, in sleeping on the bare ground, and in fastings, wherein he was divinely assisted; he restored sight to a blind man, the fame of which miracle becoming gradually divulged, at last William could no longer be hidden: for which reason he thought once more of undertaking a journey to Jerusalem, and joyfully set out on his way.

Dei autem monitu, qui eidem apparuit, a proposito revocatur, utilior ac fructuosior tam apud Italos, quam apud exteras nationes futurus. Tum monasterium in Virgiliani montis cacumine, quod deinde Virginis est appellatum, loco aspero et inaccesso, miranda ædificat celeritate. Socios deinde viros et religiosos adsciscit, eosque ad vivendi normam evangelicis præceptis et consiliis summopere accommodatam, tum certis legibus ex beati Benedicti institutis magna ex parte desumptis, tum verbo et sanctissimæ vitæ exemplis, informat.

But God appeared to him admonishing him to desist from his purpose, because he was to be more useful and profitable both in Italy and elsewhere. Then ascending Mount Virgilian, since called Monte Vergine, he built a monastery on its summit, on a rugged and inaccessible spot, and that with marvellous rapidity. He there associated to himself certain religious men who wished to be his companions, and taught them both by word and example a manner of life conformable to the evangelical precepts and counsels, as well as to certain rules taken for the most part from the institutions of Saint Benedict.

Aliis deinde monasteriis erectis, clarior in dies Gulielmi facta sanctitas multos ad eum undique viros perducit, sanctitatis odore, ac miraculorum fama allectos. Nam muti loquelam, surdi auditum, aridi vigorem, varioque et immedicabili morbo laborantes, sanitatem ipsius intercessione receperunt. Aquam in vinum convertit, aliaque complura mirabilia patravit: inter quæ illud non silendum, quod muliercula ad ejus castitatem tentandam missa, in ardentibus prunis humi stratis illæsum se volutavit. De qua re certior factus Rogerius Neapolis rex, in summam viri Dei venerationem adducitur. Demum tempore sui obitus regi aliisque prænuntiato, innumeris virtutibus et miraculis clarus obdormivit in Domino, anno salutis millesimo centesimo quadragesimo secundo.

Other monasteries being afterwards built, the sanctity of William became more and more known, and attracted to him many other persons, who were drawn by the sweet odour of his holiness and the fame of his miracles. For by his intercession the dumb received speech, the deaf hearing, the withered new strength, and those labouring under various incurable diseases were restored to health. He changed water into wine, and performed many other wondrous deeds: amongst which the following must not be passed over in silence, to wit, that a courtesan having been sent to make an attempt upon his chastity, he rolled himself without hurt amidst burning coals spread upon the ground. Roger, king of Naples, being certified of this fact, was led to hold the man of God in highest veneration. After having predicted to the king and others the time of his death, resplendent in miracles and innumerable virtues, he slept in the Lord, in the year of salvation eleven hundred and forty-two.

Following the footsteps of John, thou didst understand, O William, the charms of the wilderness; and God was pleased to make known by thee how useful are such lives as thine, spent far from the world and apparently wholly unconcerned with human affairs. Complete detachment of the senses disengages the soul, and makes her draw nigh to the sovereign Good; solitude, by stifling earth's tumult, permits the voice of the Creator to be heard. Then man, enlightened by the very Author of the world concerning the great interests that are at stake in his work, becomes in the Creator's hands an instrument at once powerful and docile for carrying out these interests, which are at the same time those of the creature himself and of nations. Thus didst thou become, O illustrious saint, the bulwark of a great people, who found in thy word the rule of right; in thine example, the stimulus of lofty virtue; in thy superabundant penance, a compensation to God for the excesses of its princes. The countless miracles which accompanied thine exhortations were not without an eloquence of their own, in the eyes of new nations among whom success of arms had created violence and had lashed up passion to fury: that wolf, for instance, which, after having devoured the ass of the monastery was enforced by thee to take its victim's place in humble service; or again, that hapless woman, who, beholding thee inaccessible to the scorching flames on that bed of burning coals, renounced her criminal life and was led by thee into paths even of sanctity!

Many a revolution, upheaving the land wherein once thou didst pray and suffer, has but too well proved the instability of kingdoms and dynasties that seek not first the kingdom of God and his justice. In spite of the oblivion into which thy teaching and example have been thrown, protect the land wherein God granted thee graces so stupendous, that land which he vouchsafed to confide to thy powerful intercession. Faith still lives in its people; keep it up, notwithstanding the efforts of the enemy in these sad days; make it also produce fruits in virtue's fields. Amidst many trials, thy monastic family has been able, up to this present age of persecution, to propagate itself and to serve the Church: obtain that it, together with all other religious families, may show itself, unto the end, stronger than the tempest.

Our Lady, whom thou didst serve valiantly, is at hand to second thine efforts; from that sanctuary whose name has outlived the memory of the poet who unconsciously sang her glories, may Mary ever smile upon the thronging crowds that year by year toil up the holy mount, hailing the triumph of her virginity; may she accept at thy hands our hearts' homage and desire, although we cannot in very deed accomplish this sacred pilgrimage!

¹ Virg. Ecl. iv.

JUNE 26

SAINTS JOHN AND PAUL MARTYRS

Amidst the numerous sanctuaries which adorn the capital of the Christian universe, the church of Saints John and Paul has remained from the early date of its origin one of the chief centres of Roman piety. From the summit of the Cœlian Hill it towers over the Coliseum, the dependencies of which stretch subterraneously even as far as the cellarage of the house once inhabited by our saints. They, the last of the martyrs, completed the glorious crown offered to Christ by Rome, the chosen seat of his power. The conflict in which their blood was spilt consummated the triumph whose hour was sounded under Constantine, but which an offensive retaliation on the part of hell seemed about to compromise.

No attack could be conceived more odious for the Church than that devised by the apostate Caesar. Nero and Diocletian had violently and with hatred declared against the Incarnate God a war of sword and torture; and without recrimination, Christians by thousands had died, knowing that the testimony thus demanded was merely the order of things, just as it had been in the case of their august Head¹ before Pontius Pilate and upon the cross. But with the clever astuteness of a traitor, and the affected disdain of a false philosopher, Julian proposed to stifle Christianity by a progressive oppression, respectfully abhorrent of human blood. Merely to preclude Christians from public offices, and to prohibit them from holding chairs for the teaching of youth, that was all the apostate aimed at! However,

¹ 1 Tim. vi. 13.

the blood which he wanted to avoid shedding must flow, even though a hypocrite's hands be dyed therewith; for, according to the divine plan, bloodshed alone can bring extreme situations to an issue, and never was holy Church menaced with greater peril. They would now make a slave of her whom they had beheld still holding her royal liberty in face of executioners. They would now await the moment when, once enslaved, she would at last disappear of herself, in powerlessness and degradation. For this reason the bishops of that time found vent for their indignation in accents such as their predecessors had spared to princes whose brute violence was then inundating the empire with Christian blood. They now retorted upon the tyrant scorn for scorn; and the manifestations of contempt that consequently came showering in from every quarter upon the crowned fool completely unmasked at last his feigned moderation. Julian was now shown up as nothing but a common persecutor of the usual kind; blood flowed, the Church was rescued.

Thus is explained the gratitude which this noble bride of the Son of God has never ceased to manifest to the glorious martyrs we are celebrating to-day: for amidst the many generous Christians whose outspoken indignation brought about the solution of this terrible crisis, none is more illustrious than theirs. Julian was most anxious to count them amongst his confidants: with this view, he made use of every entreaty, as we learn from the breviary lessons; nor does it appear that he even made the renouncing of Jesus Christ a condition. Well then, it may be retorted, why not yield to the imperial whim? Could they not do so without wounding their conscience? Surely too much stiffness would be calculated to ill-dispose the prince, perhaps even fatally: whereas to listen to him would very likely have a soothing effect upon him; and might even bring him round to relax somewhat of those administrative trammels unfortunately imposed upon the Church by his prejudiced government. For aught one knew, the possible conversion of his soul, the return of so many of the misled who had followed him in his fall, might be the result! Should not such things as these deserve some consideration? Should they not impose, as a duty, some gentle handling? Such reasoning as this would doubtless appear to some people as wise policy. Such preoccupation for the apostate's salvation could easily have had nothing in it but what was inspired by zeal for the Church and for souls; and indeed the most exacting casuist could not find it a crime for John and Paul to dwell in a court where nothing was demanded of them contrary to the divine precepts. Nevertheless the two brothers resolved otherwise; to the course of soothing and reserve-making, they preferred that of the frank expression of their sentiments, and this boldness infuriated the tyrant and brought about their death. The Church has judged their case, and she considers they did well; hence, it is unlikely that the former path would have led them to a like degree of sanctity in God's sight.

The names of John and Paul inscribed on the sacred diptychs show well enough their credit in the eyes of the divine Victim, who never offers himself to the God Thrice-Holy without blending their memory with that of his own immolation. The enthusiasm excited by the noble attitude of these two valiant witnesses of the Lord still re-echoes in the antiphons and responsories proper to the feast. It was formerly preceded by a vigil and fast; together with the sanctuary which encloses their tomb, it may be said to date back to the time of their martyrdom. By a singular privilege mentioned in the Leonine Sacramentary, whilst so many other martyrs slept their sleep of peace outside the walls of the holy city, John and Paul reposed in Rome itself, the definitive conquest of which had been won for the God of armies by their gallant combat. The very same day of the year immediately succeeding their victorious death,¹ Julian fell dead, uttering against Heaven his cry of rage: 'Galilean, thou hast conquered!'

¹ June 26, 363.

From the queen city of the universe their renown, passing beyond the mountains, shone forth almost as soon and with nearly equal splendour in Gaul. On his return from the scene of his own struggle in the cause of the divinity of Jesus Christ, Hilary of Poitiers at once propagated their cultus. The great bishop was called to our Lord scarcely five years after their martyrdom; but he had already found time to consecrate to their name the church in which his loving hands had laid his daughter Abra and her mother, and in which he too was to await with them the day of the resurrection. It was from this church of Saints John and Paul, named later on after St Hilary the Great, that Clovis on the eve of the battle of Vouillé beheld streaming towards him a mysterious light, presage of the victory which would result in the expulsion of Arianism from Gaul, and in the foundation of monarchical unity. These holy martyrs continued in after years to show the interest they took in the advancement of the kingdom of God by the Franks. When the disastrous issue of the Second Crusade was filling the soul of St Bernard with bitterness, who had preached it, they appeared to him, revived his courage, and manifested by what secrets the King of heaven had known how to draw his own glory out of events in which man saw only failure and disaster.¹

¹ Bern., Ep. 386, al. 333, Joannis Casa-Marii ad Bern.

Let us now read the simple and touching legend consecrated by the Church to the two brethren.

Joannes et Paulus fratres Romani, cum facultatibus a Constantia Constantini filia, cui pie fideliterque servierant, sibi relictis, Christi pauperes alerent; a Juliano apostata in numerum familiarium suorum invitati, libere negaverunt se apud eum esse velle, qui a Jesu Christo defecisset. Quibus ille ad deliberandum decem dies præfinit, ut nisi ad eam diem ei adhærere, et Jovi sacrificare constituerint, sibi moriendum esse certo sciant.

John and Paul, Roman brethren, fed the poor of Christ out of the riches left to them by Constantia, Constantine's daughter, whom they had faithfully and piously served. Being invited into the number of his familiars by Julian the Apostate, they boldly refused, declaring that they had no wish to be in company of one who had forsaken Jesus Christ. Whereupon, he gave them ten days for deliberation, at the end of which term they must know for certain they were to die unless they would consent to attach themselves to him and to sacrifice to Jupiter.

Illi intra id tempus reliqua sua bona distribuerunt pauperibus, quo expeditiores ad Dominum migrare possent, et plures juvarent, a quibus in æterna tabernacula reciperentur. Die decima Terentianus prætoriæ cohortis præfectus, ad eos missus, cum allata Jovis effigie, ut eam venerarentur, imperatoris mandatum eis exponit: ut nisi Jovi cultum adhibeant, moriantur. Qui, ut erant orantes, responderunt, se pro Christi fide, quem Deum mente et ore venerabantur, non dubitanter mortem subituros.

They, meanwhile, employed the time in distributing the remainder of their goods to the poor, so that they might the more freely pass to the Lord, and so as to help more persons, through whose means they might be received into the eternal tabernacles. On the tenth day, Terentianus, prefect of the prætorian guard, was sent to them, bringing with him the statue of Jupiter, that they might worship it, and he expounded to them the emperor's mandate: to wit, that unless they would pay homage to Jupiter, they must forthwith die. They, still continuing their prayer, replied that they hesitated not to suffer death for the faith of Christ, whom they with both mind and mouth did adore as God.

At Terentianus, veritus ne, si publice interficerentur, populus commoveretur, domi ubi tunc erant, abscissis eorum capitibus sexto calendas Julii, secreto eos sepeliendos curavit: rumoremque sparsit, Joannem et Paulum in exilium ejectos esse. Verum eorum mors a spiritibus immundis, qui multorum corpora vexabant, pervulgata est: in quibus Terentiani filius et ipse a dæmone vexatus, ad sepulchrum martyrum perductus, liberatus est. Quo miraculo et is in Christum credidit, et ejus pater Terentianus, a quo etiam horum beatorum martyrum vita scripta esse dicitur.

Now Terentianus was afraid lest there should ensue a popular tumult were they executed in public, so there and then, on the sixth of the Kalends of July, and in their own house, their heads being struck off, they were secretly buried; whilst the rumour was spread abroad that John and Paul had been sent into banishment. But their death was published by the unclean spirits that began to torment a number of persons whose bodies they vexed; amongst whom was the son of Terentianus who, being troubled by a devil, was led to the sepulchre of the martyrs and there freed. By the which miracle, both he and his father Terentianus believed in Christ; Terentianus himself, as it is said, afterwards wrote the history of their blessed martyrdom.

We give below the proper antiphons and responsories, of which we have spoken, which are to be found just as we now use them, with but few variations, in the most ancient responsorialia and antiphonaria which have come down to us. The person mentioned in one of these antiphons by the name of Gallicanus is a consul who was drawn to the faith and to a saintly life by the influence of the two brothers; he is named in yesterday's martyrology.

ANTIPHONS AND RESPONSORIES

Paulus et Joannes dixerunt Juliano: Nos unum Deum colimus, qui fecit cœlum et terram.

Paul and John said to Julian: We worship the one God who made heaven and earth.

Paulus et Joannes dixerunt Terentiano: Si tuus dominus est Julianus, habeto pacem cum illo: nobis alius non est, nisi Dominus Jesus Christus.

Paul and John said to Terentianus: If thy lord be Julian, keep thou at peace with him: ours is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joannes et Paulus, agnoscentes tyrannidem Juliani, facultates suas pauperibus erogare cœperunt.

John and Paul, perceiving the tyranny of Julian, began to distribute their riches among the poor.

Sancti spiritus et animæ justorum, hymnum dicite Deo. Alleluia.

Ye holy spirits and souls of the just, sing ye a hymn to God. Alleluia.

Joannes et Paulus dixerunt ad Gallicanum: Fac votum Deo cœli, et eris victor melius quam fuisti.

John and Paul said to Gallicanus: Make thy vow unto the God of heaven, and thou shalt be victor greater than thou hast ever been.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT (1st Vespers)

Adstiterunt justi ante Dominum, et ab invicem non sunt separati: calicem Domini biberunt, et amici Dei appellati sunt.

The just stood before the Lord and were not separated from one another: they drank the chalice of the Lord, and they were called the friends of God.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT (2nd Vespers)

Isti sunt duæ olivæ, et duo candelabra lucentia ante Dominum: habent potestatem claudere cœlum nubibus, et aperire portas ejus, quia linguæ eorum claves cœli factæ sunt.

These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks giving light before the Lord: they have power to close heaven that the clouds rain not, and to open the gates thereof, for their tongues are made keys of heaven.

AT THE BENEDICTUS

Isti sunt sancti, qui pro Christi amore minas hominum contempserunt: sancti martyres in regno cœlorum exsultant cum angelis: o quam pretiosa est mors sanctorum, qui assidue assistunt ante Dominum, et ab invicem non sunt separati.

These are the holy ones, who for Christ's love contemned the threats of men: in the kingdom of heaven the holy martyrs exult with the angels: oh! how precious is the death of the saints who constantly stand before the Lord, and are never separated from one another.

℟. Isti sunt duo viri misericordiæ, qui assistunt ante Dominum, * Dominatorem universæ terræ.

℣. Isti sunt duæ olivæ, et duo candelabra lucentia ante Dominum, * Dominatorem universæ terræ.

℟. Vidi conjunctos viros habentes splendidas vestes; et angelus Domini locutus est ad me, dicens: * Isti sunt viri sancti, facti amici Dei.

℣. Vidi angelum Dei fortem, volantem per medium cœlum, voce magna clamantem et dicentem: * Isti sunt viri sancti, facti amici Dei.

℟. These are two men of mercy, who stand before the Lord, * the Sovereign of the whole earth.

℣. These are two olive trees and two candlesticks giving light before the Lord, * the Sovereign of the whole earth.

℟. I saw men standing together clad in shining raiment; and the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: * These men are holy, for they are made the friends of God.

℣. And I beheld a mighty angel of God flying through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud voice, and saying: * These men are holy, for they are made the friends of God.

Twofold is the triumph that thrills through heaven and twofold the gladness re-echoed on earth this day, whilst your outpoured blood proclaims the victory of the Son of God! Verily, by the martyrdom of the faithful does Christ triumph. The effusion of his Blood marked the defeat of the prince of this world; the blood of his mystical members possesses, alone and always, the power of establishing his reign. Contest has never been an evil for the Church militant; the noble bride of the God of armies delights in combat; for she knows her Spouse came upon earth to bring not peace but the sword.¹ Therefore, to the end of time will she hold up as an example to her sons your chivalrous courage and your bold frankness, which scorned to dissimulate your utter contempt for an apostate tyrant, or to suffer you to dwell for a moment on such considerations as might perhaps, had you listened to him at the first, have just saved your conscience together with life. Woe to the day wherein the deceptive mirage of guileful peace misleads minds; wherein, merely because sin does not stare them in the face, Christian souls stoop from the lofty standpoint of their Baptism, to compromises which even a pagan world would avoid.

Glorious brethren! make the children of holy Church turn aside from that fatal error which would lead them to misconceptions of sacred traditions received by them in heritage. Maintain the sons of God at the full height of the noble sentiments demanded by their heavenly origin, by the throne that awaits them, by the divine Blood they daily drink; far from them be all such base notions as would be calculated to excite against their heavenly Father the blasphemies of the accursed city! Nowadays there has arisen a persecution not dissimilar to that in which you gained the crown; Julian's plan of action is once more in vogue; if these mimics of the apostate do not equal him in intelligence, they at least surpass him in hatred and hypocrisy. But God is no more wanting to his Church now than he was then; obtain for us the grace to do our part in resistance, as was done by you, and the victory will be the same.

Your very names, O John and Paul, remind us of the friend of the Bridegroom whose octave we are keeping; and of Paul of the Cross who revived, in the last century, heroism of sanctity in your very house on Monte Cœlio. Vouchsafe to unite your powerful protection to that which the Precursor exercises over the mother and mistress of all Churches, become by the very fact of her primacy the chief butt of the enemies' attack; uphold the new militia raised by the necessity of the times, and entrusted with the guardianship both of your sacred remains and of those of its glorious founder. Remembering the power which the Church specially attributes to you, that of opening or shutting the floodgates of heaven, be pleased to bless our harvest nearly ripe for the sickle. Be propitious to our reapers and assuage their painful labour. Preserve from lightning man and his possessions, the home that shelters him, the beasts that serve him. Too often, ungrateful and forgetful man would indeed deserve to incur your wrath; but prove yourselves children of him who maketh his sun to rise upon the wicked as well as upon the good, and giveth his rain to fall alike upon the just and upon sinners.²

¹ St Matt. x. 34.
² St Matt. v. 45.

JUNE 27

THE FOURTH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

THE octave of the Precursor has a still further increase of light in store for us. Let us imitate the Church, who once again concentrates her thoughts on the friend of the Bridegroom; she knows that hereby the Spouse himself will be the better understood. For according to the word of the best authorized princes of Christian doctrine: 'the bonds which link together Jesus Christ and John the Baptist are so close, that the one cannot be known without the other; and if life eternal consists in knowing Jesus Christ, so also a part of our salvation consists in knowing St John.'¹

The Precursor's mission raised him, as we have seen, above all other prophets and apostles. But personally, who and what was this herald whose dignity was shown to us, on his feast-day, by the sublimity of the message that he bore to the world? Did his private qualities, his personal sanctity, correspond with the eminence of the part allotted to him? That sovereign harmony which inspires the eternal decrees and presides over their execution forbids us to doubt it. When the Most High resolved to unite his Word to human nature, he pledged himself to clothe this created nature with qualities all divine, which would thereby permit him to treat with this new Adam as equal with equal, and to call him his Son. When to his well-beloved Son, whom he wished to be at the same time Son of Man, he determined to give a Mother, the gift of a purity in every way worthy of her august title was, from that moment, assured to this future Mother of God. Predestined before all ages to the most eminent service of the Son and the Mother, charged by the eternal Father with the mission of first discovering the Word hidden within our Lady's womb, of accrediting the Man-God, of betrothing him to the bride; could it possibly be that the holiness of John should, either in the designs of God or by his own fault, be less incomparably exalted than was his mission? Eternal Wisdom can never thus belie itself; and the unparalleled eulogy which Jesus made of his Precursor, shortly before John's death,² sufficiently shows that the graces held in reserve for this soul had fructified in all plenitude.

What must have been these graces which, at the very outset, show us John, three months previous to his birth, already established on summits of sanctity which the holiest persons scarcely attain in a whole lifetime! He soars far above the range of sense and reason, which in him have not yet been called into play. With that intellectual gaze which is unsurpassed, save by the face to face vision of the elect, he perceives God present before him in the flesh; in an ecstasy of adoration and love, his first act emulates that of the Seraphim. The plenitude of the Holy Ghost became from that moment the portion of this child of Zachary and Elizabeth; a plenitude so overflowing, that at once the mother, and soon afterwards the father likewise, were themselves filled with the exuberance that brimmed over from their son.³

He was the first, after our Lady, to recognize the Lamb of God, to give his love to the Bridegroom just come down from the eternal hills. He was the first, likewise, to penetrate the mystery of the divine and virginal maternity. Without separating the Son from the Mother, he had both adored Jesus and honoured Mary above all creatures. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb.⁴ Unanimous tradition tells us that, when pronouncing these words, Elizabeth was but the organ and interpreter of her son. As witness of the Light, John begins with Mary, the first recipient of his testimony; to her is addressed, in praise and admiration, the first expression of the sentiments which animate him. Himself the angel, as the prophets style him, he takes up and completes Gabriel's salutation⁵ to the sweet Lady of heaven and earth. It was the enthusiastic shout of his gratitude, fully enlightened as to Mary's part in the sanctification of the elect; the cry of his soul, on awaking to sanctity, at the first sound of the Virgin Mother's voice. It was for his sake that after the angel's visit she had crossed the mountains in great haste; but our Lady has yet other favours for John. Heretofore silent, before that seraph by whom she was sure to be understood, Mary now intones her divine canticle, whereby to God is given glory, and to John the comprehension of the ineffable mystery in all fullness. As she had sanctified her Son's Precursor, so the Mother of God next formed and instructed him. The Magnificat is the first lesson taught to Elizabeth's son: incomparable lesson of divine praise; a lesson which gives John the understanding of the whole Scriptures, the knowledge of the divine plan throughout ages. For the space of three months this marvellous education is continued in the angelic secrecy of still more hidden communications.

Well may we say, in our turn, and with more reason than did the Jews: 'What an one, think ye, shall this child be?'⁶ She, who had been entrusted with the heavenly treasures, had kept in reserve for John the first outpouring of these floods of grace of which she had become the divine reservoir. The river which maketh glad the city of God⁷ shall no more stay its course, carrying to every soul, until the end of time, its countless streamlets; but its first impetuous outburst, in all the might of its buoyant gush, bore down at once upon John; the fullness of its yet undivided flood rolled its vast waters to and fro over this one soul, as though they existed for no other. Who may measure these torrents? Who may tell their effect? Holy Church does not attempt to describe it; but lost in admiration at the sight of the mysterious growth of John beneath the astonished gaze of angels, losing sight of the feebleness of that infant body in face of the maturity of the soul which dwells within it, she exclaims on the glorious birthday of the Precursor: 'Great is the man whom Elizabeth hath brought forth! Elisabeth Zachariæ magnum virum genuit, Joannem Baptistam præcursorem Domini.'⁸

The following sequence is taken from the ancient Missal of Lyons of 1530. The filial homage paid by the Lyonnese to St John the Baptist is well known. Their primatial church has the holy Precursor for its patron. In the year 1886 we beheld crowds as immense as in former times flocking to the famous jubilee granted by the Holy See to this 'Rome of the Gauls,' for those years wherein the feast of Corpus Christi coincides with the titular feast of June 24.

SEQUENCE

Elisabeth Zachariæ
Magnum virum in hac die Gloriosa genuit.

Elizabeth of Zachary, on this glorious day, hath given birth to a great man.

Qui virtutum vas sincerum, Inter natos mulierum Principatum tenuit.

Who, a perfect vessel of virtues, holds the first place amongst all that are born of women.

Nondum natus sensit regem Nasciturum supra legem, Sine viri semine.

Nor yet is he brought forth, when he perceives already the King who is about to be born, in a manner surpassing nature's law, without man's intercourse.

Deum sensit in hac luce, Tanquam nucleum in nuce, Conditum in Virgine.

He perceives God here below, like the almond in the nut, hid within the Virgin.

Quam beatus puer natus, Salvatoris angelus, Incarnati nobis dati Verbi vox et bajulus!

Oh! how blessed is this new-born child, the angel of the Redeemer, the voice and bearer of the Word who is given to us in the flesh.

Non præcedit fructus florem,
Sed flos fructum juxta morem, Agri pleni dans odorem Mentibus fidelium.

The Fruit doth not precede the flower, but, according to custom, the flower the Fruit, yielding the odour of a fertile field to the minds of the faithful.

Viam parat et ostendit, Ubi pedem non offendit Qui per fidem comprehendit Verum Dei Filium.

He prepares and shows the way, wherein his foot will not stumble who by faith embraceth the true Son of God.

Lege vitæ sub angusta,
Mel silvestre cum locusta Cibum non abhorruit.

Subjected to an austere rule of life, he abhors not wild honey with locusts for his food.

Camelorum tectus pilis, In deserto quam exilis, Quam bonus apparuit!

Clad in camel's hair, how poor is he in the desert, yet how goodly did he appear!

Verba sunt evangelistæ:
Lux non erat, inquit, iste, Sed ut daret tibi, Christe, Lucis testimonia.

Lo! the words of the evangelist: 'This one,' saith he, 'was not the Light, but he was to give testimony of the Light unto thee, O Christ.'

Lux non erat, sed lucerna Monstrans iter ad superna Quibus sua pax æterna
Pollicetur gaudia.

He was not the Light, but the lamp, showing the road towards heaven's heights, unto those to whom eternal peace promises its joys.

Contemplemur omnes istum Quem sperabat turba Christum Stupens ad prodigia.

Let us all contemplate him whom the crowd held to be the Christ, struck at the wonders they saw in him.

Qui cervicem non erexit, Nec se dignum intellexit

He, on the contrary, raised not his head, but deemed himself unworthy to loose the latchets of the Lord's shoes.

A suo tempore, Divino munere, Cœlum vim patitur;
Et violentiæ
Cum pœnitentiæ
Fructu conceditur, Gratis non merito.

From this time forth, by gift divine, heaven suffereth violence; and to violence together with fruits of penance, it is granted; yet not by right, but freely.

Quem vates ceteri Sub lege veteri Canunt in tenebris: In carne Dominum, Figuris terminum, Propheta celebris Ostendit digito.

O quam sanctum, quam præclarum,
Qui viventium aquarum

¹ Bourdaloue, Sermon pour la Fête de S. Jean Bapt.
² St Matt. xi.
³ St Luke i. 15, 41, 67.
⁴ Ibid. i. 42.
⁵ St Luke i. 28.
⁶ Ibid. i. 66.
⁷ Ps. xlv. 5.
⁸ Ant. 1 in Laud. et 2 Vesp.

He whom the other prophets, under the old law, in darkness, sing, that same Lord in the flesh (figures being now at an end), this renowned prophet points out with his very finger.

Oh! how holy, how luminous is he who baptized Christ, the Fount of living waters; and who

Fontem Christum baptizavit,

Et lavantem cuncta lavit In Jordanis flumine.

Ab offensis lava, Christe, Præcursoris et Baptistæ
Natalitia colentes:

Et exaudi nos gementes In hac solitudine.

Post arentem et australem,

Terram animæ dotalem
Petimus irriguam.

Ut manipulos portantes,

Veniamus exsultantes Ad pacem perpetuam.

Amen.

laved in Jordan's flood him who cleanseth all.

O Christ, cleanse from their offences those who celebrate the birthday of the Precursor and Baptist: hearken also to us sighing in this solitude.

After this dry and parched place, we ask as our soul's dower a well watered land.¹

So that, bearing our sheaves, we may come exultingly unto perpetual peace.

Amen.

¹ This seems to be an allusion to Axa's petition addressed to her father, Caleb, at her husband's suggestion. See Judg. i 15. [Note of Translator.]

JUNE 28

THE VIGIL OF THE HOLY APOSTLES SAINTS PETER AND PAUL

John the Baptist, placed on the confines of the two Testaments, closes the prophetic age, the reign of hope, and opens the era of faith which possesses the long-expected God, though as yet without beholding him in his Divinity. Thus even before the octave is ended wherein we pay our homage to the son of Zachary, the confession of the apostles is added to the Precursor's testimony to the Word the Light. To-morrow all heaven will re-echo with the solemn protestation first heard at Cæsarea Philippi: 'Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God;' and Simon Bar-Jona, because of this oracle uttered by him, will be the chosen Rock, supporting the divine structure, the Church. To-morrow he will die, sealing this glorious declaration with his blood; but he will yet live on, in the person of each Roman Pontiff, that he may thus guard this precious testimony in all its integrity, even to the day when faith will give place to the eternal vision. Coupled with Peter in his labours, the Doctor of the Gentiles shares his triumph this day; and Rome, more indebted to these two princes than to all her stout warriors of old, who laid the world prostrate at her feet, beholds their double victory fix for ever upon her noble brow the diadem of spiritual royalty.

Let us, then, recollect ourselves, preparing our hearts in union with holy Church, by faithfully observing this vigil. When the obligation of thus keeping up certain days of preparation previous to the festivals is strictly maintained by a people, it is a sign that faith is still living amongst them; it proves that they understand the greatness of that which the holy liturgy proposes to their homage. Christians in the West, we who make the glory of SS Peter and Paul our boast, let us remember the Lent in honour of the apostles begun by Greek schismatics on the close of the Paschal solemnities, and continued up to this day. The contrast between them and ourselves will be of a nature to stir up our fervour, and to control those tendencies wherein softness and ingratitude hold too large a share. If certain concessions have, for grave reasons, been reluctantly made by the Church, so that the fast of this vigil is no longer observed, let us see therein a double motive for holding fast to her precious tradition. Let us make up by fervour, thanksgiving and love, for the severity lacking in our observance, which is yet still maintained by so many Churches notwithstanding their schismatical separation from Rome.

The recital of the following beautiful formulas will help to inspire us with the spirit of the feast. The first is taken from the Gothic-Gallic Missal: it is the benediction which, according to the ancient rite used in France, was given to the people before the Communion on the feast of the apostles. The prayers which follow it are from the Leonine Sacramentary.

THE BENEDICTION

Deus, qui membris Ecclesiæ, velut gemellum lumen quo caveantur tenebræ, fecisti Petri lacrymas, Pauli litteras, coruscare,

Hy. Amen.

Hanc plebem placitus inspice: qui cœlos facis aperire Petro in clave, Paulo in dogmate,

Hy. Amen.

O God, who to keep the members of thy Church from darkness, hast made to shine forth, like twin fountains of light, the tears of Peter and the writings of Paul,

Hy. Amen.

In thy clemency, look upon this people, O thou who givest the heavens to be opened, by Peter with the key, and by Paul with the sword,

Hy. Amen.

Ut præviантibus ducibus, illic grex possit accedere, quo præcesserunt pariter tam ille Pastor suspendio, quam iste Doctor per gladium in congressu. Per Dominum nostrum.

So that the leaders going first, thither may the flock at length come, whither have already arrived by one same step, both the Pastor by the gibbet, and the Teacher by the sword. Through our Lord, etc.

PRAYERS

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui ineffabili sacramento jus apostolici principatus in Romani nominis arce posuisti, unde se evangelica veritas per tota mundi regna diffunderet: præsta, ut quod in orbem terrarum eorum prædicatione manavit, christianæ devotionis sequatur universitas.

O almighty and eternal God, who by an ineffable mystery hast fixed the right of apostolic princedom on the proud summit of the name of Rome, whence evangelic truth may diffuse itself through all the earth: grant that what by their preaching hath percolated through the whole world all may follow with Christian devotedness.

Præsta quæsumus Ecclesiæ tuæ, Domine, de tantis digne gaudere principibus, et illam sequi pia devotione doctrinam, qua delectos tibi greges sacris mysteriis imbuerunt. Per Dominum.

Grant to thy Church, we beseech thee, O Lord, both worthily to rejoice at having such great princes, and to follow with loving devotion that teaching of theirs, whereby thy chosen flocks have been initiated into the sacred mysteries. Through our Lord, etc.

THE SAME DAY

SAINT IRENÆUS BISHOP AND MARTYR

To-day the Church of Lyons presents to the admiration of the whole world her own great doctor, the valiant Irenæus, who shines as the light of the West.¹ But whilst contemplating him confirming with his blood the doctrine he had preached, let us hearken to his words bearing testimony to holy Church, words of world-wide celebrity, confounding hell and closing the mouth of heresy. May we not say that it was in order to afford us instruction so appropriate for to-morrow's festival that eternal Wisdom made choice of this particular day for his martyr's triumph? Let us hearken to this zealous pupil of Polycarp and of the first disciples of the apostles; let us hearken to him who for this very reason is considered to be the most authentic witness to the faith in all the Churches of the second century, all which Churches (these are his own words when bishop of Lyons) bow down before Rome, as to their mistress and mother. 'For,' he continues, 'it behoves all the rest because of her superior principality to agree with her; in her do all the faithful of whatsoever place preserve ever pure the faith once preached to them. Great and venerable above all others because of her antiquity, known to all, founded by Peter and Paul, the two most glorious of the apostles, her bishops are, by their succession, the channel whereby apostolic tradition is transmitted to us in all its integrity: in such sort, that whosoever differs from her in his belief, by this fact alone stands confounded.'²

The rock on which the Church is built stood all unmoved at that early age, as now, against the efforts of false science. Yet not without peril was the attack then made by the Gnostics, with their multiplex heresy and all its guileful plots put into strange concurrence by powers of evil otherwise the most opposed one to the other. It would almost seem as though Christ had wished to prove the strength of the foundations he had laid, by thus permitting hell to direct against the Church a simultaneous assault of all the errors to which the world then was, or ever would become, a prey. Simon the magician, already ensnared by Satan in the nets of the occult sciences, was chosen by the prince of darkness as his lieutenant in the enterprise. Unmasked at Samaria by the Vicar of the Man-God, he had against Simon Peter a jealous struggle that would by no means end with the tragic death of the father of heresies, but which in the following century was to be continued more desperately than ever, through disciples formed by him. Saturninus, Basilides, Valentine, all applied the premises of the master, diversifying them, according to the instincts bred at the time, by existing forms of corruption of mind and heart. This proceeding was the more avowed since Magus' aim had been to form an alliance between philosophies, religions and aspirations in themselves incompatible. There was no aberration, from Persian dualism or Hindu idealism to Jewish cabals or Greek polytheism, that did not mutually proffer the hand of friendship in this reserved sanctuary of the Gnosis; there already were the heterodox conceptions of Arius and Eutyches being formulated; there, taking movement and life in advance, were to be recognized in a strange pantheistic romance the wildest oddities of the hollow dreams of German metaphysics. God, an abyss, rolling from fall to fall, till at last reaching matter, there to become conscious of himself in human nature, and to return then by annihilation into eternal silence: this is the sum total of Gnostic dogma, engendering, for its morality, a mixture of transcendent mysticism and impure practices; for its political form, laying the basis of communism and modern nihilism.

Such a spectacle as this of the Gnostic Babel, piling up its incoherent materials on the waters of pride and impure passions, was well calculated to bring out in bold relief the unity of the City of God, so rapidly advancing, though but in her commencement. St Irenæus, chosen by God to oppose to the Gnosis arguments of his own powerful logic, and to re-establish, in opposition thereunto, the true sense of Holy Scripture, excelled most of all when, in face of a thousand sects bearing on their brow the visible mark of the father of discord and lies, he pointed to the Church maintaining as sacred throughout the universe the whole of tradition, just as received from the apostles. Faith in the truth that the world is wholly governed by the Holy Trinity, whose work it is, faith in the mystery of justice and mercy, which, leaving the angels in their fall, raised up our flesh in Jesus, the well-beloved, the Son of Mary, our God, our Saviour and our King: such was the deposit confided to earth by Peter and Paul, by the apostles and their disciples. 'The Church therefore,' argues St Irenæus, with enthusiastic piety and learning,³ 'having received faith, guards it with all diligence, making the whole world wherein she lives dispersed to become but one single house: collected in unity, she believes with one soul, with one heart; with one voice she preaches, teaches, transmits doctrine, as having but one mouth. For, although there be in the world divers languages, that by no means prevents tradition remaining one in its sap. The Churches founded in Germany, or amidst the Iberians or the Celts, believe not otherwise, teach not otherwise, than do the Churches of the East, of Egypt, of Libya, or those established in the centre of the world. But as the sun, God's creature, is ever the same and remains one in the whole world, so does the teaching of truth shine resplendent, enlightening every man who is willing to come to the knowledge of the truth. Even though the chief men in the Churches be unequal in the art of speaking well, tradition is not thereby impaired: he who explains eloquently cannot possibly give it increase; he who speaks with less abundance cannot thereby diminish it.'⁴

O sacred unity, O precious faith deposited like a source of eternal youthfulness in our hearts, they indeed know thee not, who turn themselves away from holy Church! Afar from her, they lose also Jesus and all his gifts. 'For where the Church is, there likewise is the Spirit of God; and, where the Spirit of God is, there likewise is the Church, there all grace. Woe to them who alienate themselves from her! They suck not in life from the nourishing breasts to which their mother invites them, they slake not their thirst at the clear fountain of the Lord's Body; but, afar from the rock of unity, they drink the muddy waters of cisterns dug in fetid slime where there is not a drop of the water of truth.'⁵ What will their vain science avail to sophists, with all their empty foolish formulas? 'Oh!' cries out the bishop of Lyons elsewhere, in accents which seem to have been borrowed later on by the author of the Imitation;⁶ 'how far better is it to be ignorant, or a man of little learning, and to draw nigh unto God by love! What use is there in knowing much, in seeming to understand much, if one be an enemy to his Lord? Wherefore Paul doth thus exclaim: "Knowledge puffeth up, but charity builds up."⁷ Not that he reproved the true science of God; for if so he had condemned himself in the first place; but he saw that there were some who, exalting themselves under pretext of knowledge, no longer knew how to love. It were better to know nothing at all, to be ignorant of the meaning of everything, and yet to believe in God and to be possessed of charity. Let us avoid vain puffing up which would make us fall away from love, the life of the soul; let Jesus Christ, the Son of God, crucified for us, be our only science.'⁸

¹ Theodoret, Hæretic. fabul. I, s.
² Cont. Hæres. III, iii 2.
³ Cont. Hæres. I, x 1.
⁴ Cont. Hæres. I, x 2.
⁵ Ibid. III, xxiv 1, 2.
⁶ De Imit. Christi, Lib. I, cap. 1-5.
⁷ 1 Cor. viii 1.
⁸ Cont. Hæres. II, xxvi 1.

Rather than here bring forward the genius of the eminent controversialist of the second century, it is a pleasure to cite from his treatises such passages as give an insight into his great soul, and reveal traits of a sanctity so loving and so sweet. 'When, at last, the Spouse cometh,' says he, speaking of those unfortunate men whom he longed to reclaim, 'their science will not keep their lamp lighted, and they will find themselves excluded from the nuptial chamber.'

In numberless places in the midst of closely strung arguments, he who may be styled the grandson of the beloved disciple betrays his own heart. Whilst following, for instance, the track of Abraham, he shows the path that leads to the Spouse: his mouth can then no longer cease to utter the name that fills his thoughts. We recognize in these touching words of his the apostle who had quitted country and home to advance the kingdom of God in the land of the Gauls: 'Abraham did well to abandon his earthly relatives to follow the Word of God, to exile himself together with the Word, so as to live with him. The apostles did well, too, in order to follow the Word of God, to quit their boats and their father. We, likewise, who have the same faith as Abraham, we do well, carrying our cross as Isaac did the wood, to follow in his footsteps. In Abraham man learnt that it is possible to follow the Word of God, and thus were his steps made firm in this blessed way.¹ The Word, on his part, nevertheless, disposed man for the divine mysteries by figures throwing light on the future.² Moses espoused an Ethiopian, who thus became a daughter of Israel: and by these nuptials of Moses, those of the Word were pointed out; for by this Ethiopian was signified the Church that hath come forth from the Gentiles;³ whilst awaiting the day wherein the Word himself will come to wash away, with his own hands, the defilements of the daughter of Sion, at the banquet of the Last Supper.⁴ For it is fitting that the temple be pure in which the Bridegroom and bride are to taste of the Spirit of God; and just as it is not becoming in a bride to seek to take a spouse for herself, but she must wait until she be sought out, so our flesh cannot of itself rise to the majesty of the divine throne; but when the Spouse cometh, then he will raise her up, and she will not so much possess him as be possessed by him.⁵ The Word made Flesh will assimilate her wholly to himself in all fullness, and will render her precious in the eyes of the Father, by reason of her conformity to his visible Word.⁶ Then will the union with God in love be consummated. Divine union is life and light; it imparts the enjoyment of all the good things of God; it is eternal of its very nature, just as these good things themselves likewise are. Woe to those who withdraw of their own accord; their chastisement comes less from God than from themselves, and from the free choice whereby, turning from God, they have lost all the good things of God.'

The loss of faith being the most radical and the deepest of all causes of estrangement from God, it is not surprising to observe the horror which heresy inspired in those days, when union with God was the one treasure longed for by all conditions and ages of life. The name Irenæus signifies peace; and justifying this beautiful name, his condescending charity once led the Roman Pontiff himself to withhold the thunders he was on the point of hurling; the question at issue was one of no small importance—it was the celebration of Easter. Nevertheless, Irenæus himself relates with regard to his master Polycarp, how, when being asked by the heretic Marcion if he knew him, he replied: 'I know thee to be the first-born of Satan.' He also tells us that St John, hearing that Cerinthus was in the same public edifice into which he had just entered, fled precipitately, for fear, as he said, that because of this enemy of truth the walls of the building would crumble down upon them all: 'so great,' remarks the bishop of Lyons, 'was the fear the apostles and their disciples had of communicating, even by word, with any one of those who altered truth.'¹ He who was styled by the companions of SS Pothinus and Blandina, in their prison, 'the zelator of the Testament of Christ,'² was on this point, as on all others, the worthy heir of John and Polycarp. Far from becoming hardened thereby, his heart, like that of his venerable masters, drew from this purity of mind that limitless tenderness of which he gave proof in regard to those erring ones whom he hoped to win back. What could be more touching than the letter written by Irenæus to one of these unhappy men whom the mirage of novel doctrines had inveigled into the gulf of error: 'O Florinus, this teaching is not that transmitted to us by the ancients, the disciples of the apostles. I used to behold thee at the side of Polycarp; though shining at court thou didst none the less seek to be pleasing unto him. I was then but a child, yet the things that happened at that time are more vivid in my recollection than those of yesterday; for indeed childhood's memories form, as it were, a part of the very soul; they grow with her. I could point out the very spot where sat blessed Polycarp while he conversed with us; I could describe exactly his bearing, his address, his manner of life, his every feature, and the discourses he made to the crowd. Thou rememberest how he used to tell us of his intercourse with John and the rest of those that had seen the Lord, and with what a faithful memory he repeated their words; what he had learnt from them respecting our Lord, his miracles, his doctrine, all these things Polycarp transmitted to us, as having himself received them from the very men that had beheld with their eyes the Word of life; all of what he told us was conformable to the Scriptures. What a grace from God were these conversations of his! I used to listen so eagerly, noting everything down, not on parchment, but on my heart; and now, by the grace of God, I still live on it all. Hence, I can attest before God, if the blessed apostolic old man had heard discourses such as thine he would have stopped his ears, saying, as was his wont: "O God most good, to what sort of times hast thou reserved us!" Then would he have got up quickly, and would have fled from that place of blasphemy.'³

It is time to give the liturgical narrative of the history of this great bishop and martyr.

Irenæus, non longe ab urbe Smyrna in Asia proconsulari natus, jam inde a puero sese Polycarpo, Joannis evangelistæ discipulo, eidemque episcopo Smyrnæorum, tradiderat in disciplinam. Hoc tam excellenti magistro, progressus in doctrina præceptisque christianæ religionis insignes fecit. Polycarpo in cælum martyrii gloria sublato, etsi erat Irenæus in sacris litteris egregie versatus, quod tamen incredibili studio flagraret discendi quæ dogmata, depositi loco custodienda, cæteri accepissent quos apostoli instituerant; horum quam potuit plures convenit, quæque ab iisdem audivit, memori mente tenuit, ea deinceps opportune adversus hæreses acturus. Quas cum videret ingenti populi christiani damno latius in dies manare, diligenter copioseque refellere cogitavit. In Gallias inde profectus, a Pothino episcopo presbyter est constitutus ecclesiæ Lugdunensis. Quod munus sic laborando in verbo et doctrina gessit, ut testibus sanctis martyribus, qui Marco Aurelio imperatore, strenue pro vera pietate certarant, æmulatorem sese præstiterit testamenti Christi.

Irenæus was born in proconsular Asia, not far from the city of Smyrna. From his childhood he had entered the school of Polycarp, the disciple of St John the evangelist, and bishop of Smyrna. Under so excellent a master, he made wonderful progress in the science of religion and in the practice of Christian virtue. He was inflamed with an unspeakable desire to learn the doctrines which had been received as a deposit by all the disciples of the apostles; wherefore, although already a master in sacred letters when Polycarp was taken to heaven by a glorious martyrdom, he undertook to visit as many as ever he could of these ancients, retentively holding in his memory whatsoever they spoke unto him. Thus was he afterwards able to oppose these their words with great advantage against the heresies. For, indeed, daily more and more did heresy spread, to the great detriment of the Christian people, and therefore he thought to make a careful and ample refutation thereof. Coming into Gaul, he was attached as priest to the Church of Lyons, by St Pothinus the bishop. Labouring in the discharge of which office, both by word and doctrine he showed himself to be truly zealous for the Testament of Christ, as the holy martyrs expressed it, who in the time of Marcus Aurelius, emperor, were strenuously combating for the true religion.

Cum martyres ipsi clerusque Lugdunensis, de pace ecclesiarum Asiæ quam Montanistarum factio turbarat, solliciti cum primis essent; Irenæum, cujus esse potissimum habendam rationem prædicabant, unum omnium maxime delegerunt, quem Romam ad Eleutherium pontificem mitterent rogatum, ut novis sectariis auctoritate Sedis apostolicæ reprobatis, discordiarum causa tolleretur. Jam Pothinus episcopus martyr decesserat. Huic Irenæus cum successisset, tam feliciter munus obiit episcopatus, ut sapientia, oratione, exemploque suo, non modo brevi cives Lugdunenses omnes, sed multos etiam aliarum Galliæ urbium incolas, superstitionem atque errorem abjecisse, dedisseque christianæ militiæ nomina viderit. Interea cum de die celebrandi Paschatis orta esset contentio, ac Victor Romanus pontifex Asianos episcopos ab collegis reliquis fere omnibus dissidentes, aut prohibuisset communione sanctorum, aut prohibere minatus esset, eum Irenæus sequester pacis decenter monuit, exemplisque usus pontificum superiorum, induxit ut ne tot ecclesias, ob ritum quem a majoribus accepisse se dicerent, avelli ab unitate catholica pateretur.

For these same martyrs, together with the clergy of Lyons, thought they could not put into better hands than his the affair of the pacification of the Churches of Asia that had been troubled by the heresy of Montanus; for this cause, so dear to their heart, they chose Irenæus amongst all others, as the most worthy, and sent him to Pope Eleutherius, to implore him to condemn by apostolic sentence these new sectaries, and to put an end to the dissensions. The bishop Pothinus had died a martyr. Irenæus having succeeded him, so happy was his episcopacy, owing to his wisdom, prayer, and example, that soon, not only the city of Lyons, but even a great number of the inhabitants of other cities of Gaul, renounced the error of their superstitions and gave their names to be enlisted in the army of Christ. Meanwhile, a contest arose on the subject of the exact day on which Easter should be celebrated; the bishops of Asia were in disagreement with nearly all their colleagues; and the Roman Pontiff, Victor, had already cut them off from the communion of saints, or was on the point of so doing, when Irenæus appeared before him as a seeker of peace, and most respectfully admonishing him, induced him, after the example of the Pontiffs his predecessors, not to suffer so many Churches to be torn away from Catholic unity, on account of a rite which they said they had received from their fathers.

Multa scripsit, quæ Eusebius Cæsariensis et sanctus Hieronymus memorant, quorumque pars magna intercidit injuria temporum. Exstant ejus adversus Hæreses libri quinque, anno circiter centesimo octogesimo perscripti, dum adhuc Eleutherius rem christianam publicam gereret. In tertio libro vir Dei, ab iis edoctus quos auditores constat fuisse apostolorum, grave in primis atque præclarum de Romana ecclesia, deque illius episcoporum successione, divinæ traditionis fideli, perpetua, certissima custode, testimonium dixit. Atque ad hanc, dixit, ecclesiam, propter potiorem principalitatem, necesse est omnem convenire ecclesiam, hoc est, eos qui sunt undique fideles. Postremo, una cum aliis prope innumerabilibus, quos ipse ad veram fidem frugemque perduxerat, martyrio coronatus, migravit in cælum, anno salutis ducentesimo secundo: quo tempore Septimius Severus Augustus eos omnes qui constanter in colenda christiana religione perstare voluissent, in summum cruciatum dari atque interfici imperaverat. Sancti Irenæi festum Benedictus XV Pontifex maximus ad universam Ecclesiam extendit.

He wrote many works which are mentioned by Eusebius of Cæsarea and St Jerome, a great part of which have perished through the ravages of time. There are extant, however, five books of his against heresies, written about the year one hundred and eighty, while Eleutherius was governing the Church. In the third book, the man of God, instructed by those who, as it is certain, had been disciples of the apostles, renders to the Roman Church, and to the succession of her bishops a testimony surpassing all others in weight and brilliancy; and he says that the Roman Church is the faithful, perpetual, and most assured guardian of divine tradition. Moreover, he says that it is with this Church that every other Church (namely, the faithful who dwell in any other place whatsoever) must agree, because she hath a principality superior to all others. At length he was crowned with martyrdom, together with an almost countless multitude whom he had himself brought over to the knowledge and practice of the true faith; he passed away unto heaven, in the year of salvation two hundred and two: at which time Septimius Severus Augustus had commanded that all those who persisted in the practice of the Christian religion should be condemned to the most cruel torments and death. Pope Benedict XV extended the feast of St Irenæus to the whole Church.

¹ Cont. Hæres. IV, v 3, 4.
² Ibid. xx ii.
³ Ibid. xxii 1.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Cont. Hæres. V, ix 4.
⁶ Ibid. xvi 2.

¹ Cont. Hæres. III, iii 4.
² Epist. Martyr. Lugdun. et Vienn. ad Eleuther. Pap.
³ Epist. ad Florinum.

Oh! what a crown is thine, most noble Pontiff! Man must confess himself utterly unable to count the pearls with which it is adorned. For in the arena where thou didst win it, a whole people were thy fellow-combatants; and as each martyr, one by one, ascended to his throne in heaven, he proclaimed thy glory, for he owed his crown to thee. Twenty-five years previously the blood of Blandina and her companions had been shed, and, thanks to thee, had produced a hundredfold. Thy care had brought that fruitful seed to germinate from the soil that had received it in the early days of Christianity, and now the small colony of the faithful, scattered in its midst, had become the very city itself. Formerly the amphitheatre was spacious enough for the effusion of the martyrs' blood; but now the sacred stream flows in torrents along the streets and squares. O glad day that made Lyons become Rome's rival and the holy city of the Gauls!

The sons of those that died with thee have ever remained faithful to Jesus Christ; do thou, together with Mary, whose position and dignity thou didst so admirably expound to their fathers,¹ and with the Precursor of the Man-God who so fully shares their love, protect them against every scourge whether of body or of soul. Spare France; drive far from her the invasion of a false philosophy which is attempting to revive the aberrations of Gnosticism. Cause truth once more to shine upon the eyes of so many whom heresy, under these multiform disguises, separates from the one fold. O Irenæus, maintain Christians in that peace which alone deserves the name; keep ever pure the minds and hearts of those whom error has not yet sullied. Prepare us now to celebrate befittingly the two glorious apostles Peter and Paul, and the powerful principality of the mother of all the Churches.

¹ Cont. Hæres. V, xix.

JUNE 29

SAINTS PETER AND PAUL APOSTLES

'Simon, son of John, lovest thou me?' Behold the hour when the answer which the Son of Man exacted of the fisher of Galilee re-echoes from the seven hills and fills the whole earth. Peter no longer dreads the triple interrogation of his Lord. Since that fatal night wherein, after the first cockcrow, the prince of the apostles had denied his Master, tears have not ceased to furrow the cheeks of the Vicar of Christ; at last the day has come when his tears shall be dried! From that gibbet to which, at his own request, the humble disciple has been nailed head downwards, his bounding heart repeats the protestation which, ever since the scene enacted on the brink of Lake Tiberias, has been silently wearing his life away: 'Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee!'¹

Sacred day, on which the oblation of the first of Pontiffs assures to the West the rights of supreme priesthood! Day of triumph, in which the effusion of a generous life-blood wins for God the conquest of the Roman soil; in which, upon the cross of his representative, the divine Spouse concludes his eternal alliance with the queen of nations.

This tribute of death was unknown to Levi; this dower of blood was never exacted of Aaron by Jehovah: for who is it that would die for a slave? The Synagogue was no bride!² Love is the sign which distinguishes this age of the new dispensation from the law of servitude. Powerless, sunk in cringing fear, the Jewish priest could but sprinkle with the blood of victims substituted for himself the horns of the figurative altar. At once both Priest and Victim, Jesus expects more of those whom he calls to a participation in the sacred prerogative which makes him Pontiff for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.³ 'I will not now call you servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth,' thus saith he to these men whom he raised above angels at the Last Supper; 'but I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you. As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love.'⁴

In the case of a priest admitted into partnership with the eternal Pontiff, love is not complete, except when it extends itself to the whole of mankind ransomed by the great Sacrifice. This entails upon him more than the obligation common to all Christians of loving one another as fellow-members of one Head; for, by his priesthood, he forms part of that Head, and by this very title charity should assume in him something in depth and character of the love which the divine Head bears towards his members. But more than this: what if to the power he possesses of immolating Christ, to the duty incumbent on him of the joint offering of himself likewise in the secret of the Mysteries, the plenitude of the pontificate be added, imposing the public mission of giving to the Church the support she needs, that fecundity which the heavenly Spouse exacts of her? According to the doctrine expressed from the earliest ages by the Popes, the Councils and the Fathers, the Holy Ghost adapts him to his sublime rôle by fully identifying his love with that of the Spouse, whose obligations he fulfils, whose rights he exercises. Then, likewise, according to the same teaching, there stands before him the precept of the apostle; from throne to throne of all the bishops, whether of East or West, the angels of the Churches pass on the word: 'Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church, and delivered himself up for her, that he might sanctify her.'⁵

Such is the divine reality of these mysterious nuptials, that every age of sacred history has blasted with the name of adultery the irregular abandonment of the Church first espoused. So much is exacted by this sublime union, that none may be called to it who is not already abiding steadfast on the lofty summit of perfection; for a bishop must ever hold himself ready to justify in his own person that supreme degree of charity of which our Lord saith: 'Greater love than this no man hath, that he lay down his life for his friends.'⁶ Nor does the difference between the hireling and the true shepherd end there;⁷ this readiness of the Pontiff to defend unto death the Church confided to him, to wash away even in his own blood every stain that disfigures the beauty of this bride,⁸ is itself the guarantee of that contract whereby he is wedded to this chosen one of the Son of God, and it is the just price of those purest of joys reserved to him. 'These things have I spoken to you,' saith our Lord, when instituting the Testament of the new Alliance, 'that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled.'⁹

If such should be the privileges and obligations of the bishop of each Church, how much more so in the case of the universal Pastor! When regenerated man was confided to Simon, son of John, by the Incarnate God, his chief care was, in the first place, to make sure that he would indeed be the Vicar of his love;¹⁰ that, having received more than the rest, he would love more than all of them;¹¹ that, being the inheritor of the love of Jesus for his own who were in the world, he would love, as he had done, even to the end.¹² For this reason Peter's martyrdom is foretold in the Gospel immediately after our Lord has confirmed him in his office of chief Pastor of the flock; Pontiff-King, he must follow, even to the Cross, the supreme Ruler of the Church.¹³

The feasts of his two Chairs, that of Antioch and that of Rome, have recalled to our minds the sovereignty whereby he presides over the government of the whole world, and the infallibility of the doctrine which he distributes as food to the whole flock; but these two feasts, and the primacy to which they bear witness in the sacred cycle, call for that completion and further sanction afforded by the teachings included in to-day's festival. Just as the power received by the Man-God from his Father¹⁴ and the full communication made by him of this power to the visible Head of his Church had for their end the consummation of glory, the one object of the thrice-holy God in the whole of his work;¹⁵ so likewise all jurisdiction, all teaching, all ministry here below, says St Paul, has for end the consummation of the saints¹⁶ which is but one with the consummation of this sovereign glory; and the sanctity of the creature and the glory of God, Creator and Saviour, taken together, find their full expression only in the Sacrifice which embraces both Shepherd and flock in the same holocaust.

It was for this final end of all pontificate, of all hierarchy, that Peter, from the day of Jesus' Ascension, traversed the earth. At Joppa, when he was beginning his apostolic labours, a mysterious hunger seized him: 'Arise, Peter; kill and eat,' said the Spirit; and at the same hour, in symbolic vision, were presented before his gaze all the animals of earth and all the birds of heaven.¹⁷ This was the Gentile world which he must join to the remnant of Israel on the divine banquet-board. Vicar of the Word, he must share his vast hunger; his preaching, like a two-edged sword, will strike down whole nations before him; his charity, like a devouring fire, will assimilate to itself the peoples; realizing his title of Head, the day will come when as true Head of the world he will have formed (from all mankind, become now a prey to his avidity) the body of Christ in his own person. Then like a new Isaac, or rather, a very Christ, he will behold rising before him the mountain where the Lord seeth,¹⁸ awaiting the oblation.

The future has now become the present, and as on Good Friday we know what will take place. The scene is one of triumph, for on this occasion the crime of deicide is absent, and the odour of sacrifice rises from earth to heaven as an odour of sweetness and joy. Divinized by virtue of the adorable Victim of Calvary, it might indeed be said, this day, that earth is able now to stand alone. Simple son of Adam by nature, and yet nevertheless true Sovereign Pontiff, Peter advances bearing the world; his own sacrifice is to complete that of the Man-God, with whose dignity he is invested;¹⁹ inseparable from her visible Head, the Church likewise invests him with her own glory. When the cross was lifted up on Good Friday, darkness fell at noon to hide her tears, but to-day she sings for joy of 'the beautiful light of eternity which floods with sacred fires this day which opens to the guilty a free path to heaven.'²⁰ What more could she say of the Sacrifice of Jesus himself? But this is because, by the power of this other cross which is rising up, Babylon becomes to-day the holy city. Although Sion is cursed for having crucified her Saviour, Rome can commit no crime that will prevail against the fact fixed for ever at this hour, even though she reject Christ and pour out the blood of his martyrs in her streets like water. The cross of Peter has transferred to her all the rights of the cross of Jesus; leaving to the Jews the curse, she now becomes the true Jerusalem.

Such being the meaning of this day, it is not surprising that eternal Wisdom should enhance it still further, by joining the sacrifice of Paul to that of Peter. More than any other, Paul advanced by his preachings the building up of the body of Christ.²¹ If on this day holy Church has attained such full development as to be able to offer herself, in the person of her visible Head, as a sweet-smelling sacrifice, who better than Paul may deservedly perfect the oblation, furnishing from his own veins the sacred Libation?²² The bride having attained fullness of age,²³ his own work is likewise ended. Inseparable from Peter in his labours by faith and love, he will accompany him also in death;²⁴ both quit this earth, leaving her to the gladness of the divine nuptials sealed in their blood, whilst they ascend together to that eternal abode wherein that union is consummated.

FIRST VESPERS

After the great solemnities of the movable cycle and the feast of St John the Baptist, none is more ancient, nor more universal in the Church, than that of the two princes of the apostles. From the beginning Rome celebrated their triumph on the day which saw them go up from earth to heaven, June 29. Her practice prevailed, at a very early date, over the custom of several other countries, which put the apostles' feast towards the close of December. It was a beautiful thought which inspired the placing of these fathers of the Christian people in the cortége of Emmanuel at his entry into this world. But to-day's teachings have intrinsically an important preponderance in the economy of Christian dogma; they are the completion of the whole work of the Son of God; the cross of Peter fixes the Church in her stability, and marks out for the divine Spirit the immutable centre of his operations. Rome was well inspired when, leaving to the beloved disciple the honour of presiding over his brethren at the crib of the Infant God, she maintained the solemn memory of the princes of the apostles upon the day chosen by God himself to consummate their labours and to crown both their life and the whole cycle of mysteries.

¹ St John xxi. 15-17.
² Gal. iv. 22-31.
³ Ps. cix. 4.
⁴ St John xv. 15, 9.
⁵ Eph. v. 25, 26.
⁶ St John xv. 13.
⁷ Ibid. x. 11-18.
⁸ Eph. v. 27.
⁹ St John xv. 11.
¹⁰ Amb. In Luc. x.
¹¹ St Luke vii. 47; St John xxi. 15.
¹² St John xiii. 1.
¹³ Ibid. xxi. 18-22.
¹⁴ St Matt. xxviii. 18.
¹⁵ St John xvii. 4.
¹⁶ Eph. iv. 12.
¹⁷ Acts x. 9-16.
¹⁸ Gen. xxii. 14.
¹⁹ Col. i. 24.
²⁰ Hymn of Vespers.
²¹ Eph. iv. 12.
²² Col. i. 24; 2 Cor. xii. 15.
²³ 1 Cor. xi. 7.
²⁴ Ibid.

Fully to-day do the heavens declare the glory of God, as David expresses it; to-day they show us the course of the Spouse completed on the eternal hills. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night revealeth the deep secret. From north and south of the new Sion,

² Eph. iv 13. ² 2 Cor. xi 2. ³ Ant. Oct. Apost. ad Benedictus. ⁴ 2 Cor. v. ⁵ Ps. xviii 2-6. ⁶ Ibid. 3.

from either side of her stream, Peter and Paul waft one to other, as a farewell song, as a sacred epithalamium, the good word; sublime that echo, sonorous its power, still sounding throughout the whole earth, and yet to resound as long as the world lasts. These two torches of salvation blend their flames above the palaces of ancient Rome; the passing darkness of their death, that night of which the psalmist sings, now concentrates light for ever in the midst of the queen city. Beside the throne of the Bridegroom fixed for ever on the seven hills,⁶ the Gentile world, now become the bride, is resplendent in glory,⁷ all fair in that peerless purity which she derives from their blood, united to that of the Son of God.

But we must not forget, on so great a day, those other messengers sent forth by the divine householder, who watered earth's highways with their sweat and with their blood while they hastened the triumph and the gathering in of the guests invited to the marriage feast. It is due to them that the law of grace is now definitely promulgated throughout all nations, and that in every language and upon every shore the good tidings have been sounded.⁸ Thus the festival of St Peter, completed by the more special memory of St Paul his comrade in death, has been from earliest times regarded as the festival likewise of the whole apostolic college. In primitive times it seemed impossible to dream of separating from their glorious leader any of those whom our Lord had so intimately joined together in the responsibility of one common work. In course of time, however, particular solemnities were successively consecrated to each one of the apostles, and so the feast of June 29 was more exclusively attributed to the two princes whose martyrdom rendered this day illustrious. Moreover, the Roman Church, thinking it impossible fittingly to honour both of these on the same day, deferred till the morrow her more explicit praises of the doctor of the Gentiles. She thus became more

¹ Ps. xliv 2. ² Ibid. xviii 4, 5. ³ Ibid. xliv 7, 10. ⁴ Eph. v 27. ⁵ St Matt. xxii 8-10. ⁶ Ps. xviii 4, 5.

free to concentrate the demonstrations of her devoted enthusiasm upon him whom even the Greek Church herself styles in every form, the coryphæus of the blessed choir of apostles. These remarks seem needed for the clear understanding of the Office which is about to follow.

The antiphons and capitulum of First Vespers take us back to the opening days of the apostolic ministry. They place us in the midst of those which immediately follow the descent of the Holy Ghost. Peter and John go up together to the temple of Jerusalem. Calvary's sacrifice has put an end to its figurative oblations; nevertheless, it still continues to be a place of prayer, pleasing to heaven, on account of its grand memories. At the door of the sacred edifice, a man lame from his birth begs an alms of the apostles. Peter, lacking both silver and gold, exerts in his favour the power of healing which he possesses in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The Synagogue yields no more to the miracles of the disciple than she did to those of the Master; she will not be converted; and presently a new Herod, wishing to please the Jews, finds no better means of doing so than putting to death James, the brother of John, and imprisoning Peter. But the angel of the Lord comes down into the prison where he is sleeping, on the eve of the day fixed for his death; the angel bids him arise, put on his garments and follow him. The apostle, set free, proclaims the reality of that which at first he thought but a dream. He departs from Jerusalem, now irreparably the accursed city, and throughout the Gentile world into whose midst he has entered, is verified the prophecy: Tu es Petrus (thou art Peter), and upon this rock I will build my Church.⁸

ANT. Petrus et Joannes ascendebant in templum ad horam orationis nonam.

ANT. Peter and John went up to the temple at the ninth hour of prayer.

Psalm, Dixit Dominus, p. 35.

⁷ Patres, Concil. et Liturg., passim. ⁸ Matt. xvi 18.

ANT. Argentum et aurum non est mihi: quod autem habeo, hoc tibi do.

ANT. Silver and gold I have none; but what I have, I give unto thee.

Psalm, Confitebor tibi, Domine, p. 37.

ANT. Dixit angelus ad Petrum: Circumda tibi vestimentum tuum et sequere me.

ANT. The angel said to Peter: Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.

Psalm, Beatus vir, p. 38.

ANT. Misit Dominus angelum suum, et liberavit me de manu Herodis. Alleluia.

ANT. The Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod. Alleluia.

Psalm, Laudate pueri, p. 39.

ANT. Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram ædificabo Ecclesiam meam.

ANT. Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.

Psalm, Laudate Dominum omnes gentes, p. 234.

CAPITULUM

Misit Herodes rex manus ut affligeret quosdam de Ecclesia. Occidit autem Jacobum fratrem Joannis gladio. Videns autem quia placeret Judæis, apposuit ut apprehenderet et Petrum.

Herod the king stretched out his hand to afflict some of the Church; and he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And seeing that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to take up Peter also.

Although touched up in the seventeenth century according to the taste of that age, the hymn which here follows magnificently expresses the glories of this day. This song of triumph was composed by Elpis, a Sicilian lady, aunt of the martyr St Placid and wife of the senator Boethius, the most illustrious representative of the gens Anicia, had not that family given to the Church at the same period the great St Benedict. The third strophe, which in majestic strain hails the queen city, is taken (with a few modifications) from another poem attributed to St Paulinus of Aquileia, and was added to the work of Elpis by the immortal Pontiff St Pius V.

HYMN¹

Decora lux æternitatis auream
Diem beatis irrigavit ignibus, Apostolorum quæ coronat principes,
Reisque in astra liberam pandit viam.

Lo! beauteous light eternal floods with sacred fires this golden day, which crowns the princes of apostles and opens out unto the guilty a free path to heaven.

Mundi magister atque cæli janitor,
Romæ parentes, arbitrique gentium,
Per ensis ille, hic per crucis victor necem, Vitæ senatum laureati possident.

The teacher of the whole earth, as well as the doorkeeper of heaven, both of them fathers of Rome and judges of nations, each a victor of death, the one by the sword, the other by the cross: laurel-crowned, both take their seats in the senate of eternal life.

O Roma felix, quæ duorum principum
Es consecrata glorioso sanguine, Horum cruore purpurata cæteras
Excellis orbis una pulchritudines.

O happy Rome, by noble gore of princes twain art thou now consecrated; empurpled by the blood of such as these, thou alone dost surpass in beauty all the rest of the earth.

Sit Trinitati sempiterna gloria, Honor, potestas atque jubilatio, In unitate quæ gubernat omnia,
Per universa sæculorum sæcula.
Amen.

To the Trinity in Unity that governeth all things through ages of ages, may there be eternal glory, honour, power, and jubilation. Amen.

¹ The hymn as it is in the pre-corrected form is as follows:

Aurea luce et decore roseo Lux lucis omne perfudisti sæculum
Decorans cælos inclyto martyrio
Hac sacra die quæ dat reis veniam.

Janitor cæli, doctor orbis pariter
Judices sæcli, vera mundi lumina
Per crucem alter, alter ense triumphans Vitæ senatum laureati possident.

O felix Roma, quæ tantorum principum
Es purpurata pretioso sanguine Excellis omnem mundi pulchritudinem Non laude tua sed sanctorum meritis.

Sit Trinitati sempiterna gloria Honor, potestas, atque jubilatio In unitate cui manet imperium Ex tunc et modo per æterna sæcula.

℟. brev. Constitues eos principes * Super omnem terram. Constitues. ℣. Memores erunt nominis tui Domine. * Super. Gloria Patri, etc. Constitues.

℣. In omnem terram exivit sonus eorum.

℟. Et in fines orbis terræ verba eorum.

℣. Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth.

℟. And their words unto the ends of the world.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Tu es pastor ovium, princeps apostolorum, tibi traditæ sunt claves regni cælorum.

Thou art the shepherd of the sheep, O prince of the apostles, to thee were delivered the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

The Canticle, Magnificat, p. 43.

PRAYER

Deus, qui hodiernam diem apostolorum tuorum Petri et Pauli martyrio consecrasti: da Ecclesiæ tuæ, eorum in omnibus sequi præceptum, per quos religionis sumpsit exordium. Per Dominum.

O God, who hast consecrated this day by the martyrdom of thine apostles Peter and Paul; grant to thy Church that she may in all things follow their instruction by whom she received the faith. Through our Lord, etc.

The feast of every apostle during the year was formerly a day of obligation. The holy See in many instances having removed this precept wished to compensate for it by ordering a commemoration to be made of all the holy apostles, in the Mass and Office of the festival of SS Peter and Paul. This may be considered, in some sense, a return to the ancient custom which treated the feast of the Head of the apostolic college as that of all the apostles. As it is no longer used we omit it.

The sun is bending towards the horizon. The Church is about to resume her chants, and to begin the sacred vigil which will be continued until morning with all the pomp and continuity of the greatest solemnities. In heart, at least, let us keep watch with her. This night is the last during which the visible Head given to her by the Spouse is fulfilling his ministry of prayer and suffering in Nero's dungeons; so much the less, therefore, will she leave him, and so much the more eager is she to spend herself in extolling his greatness. When the daystar appears in the East, lighting up the seven hills whereon the queen of nations is seated, the hour of sacrifice will have sounded for the Vicar of the Man-God. Let us prepare to form a part of his cortège, by recalling the historic details of the glorious drama and the facts which led to it.

Since the terrible persecution of the year 64, Rome had become for Peter a sojourn fraught with peril, and he remembered how his Master had said to him, when appointing him shepherd of both lambs and sheep: "Follow thou me." The apostle, therefore, awaited the day when he must mingle his blood with that of so many thousands of Christians, whom he had initiated into the faith and whose father he truly was. But before quitting earth, Peter must triumph over Simon the magician, his base antagonist. This heresiarch did not content himself with seducing souls by his perverse doctrines; he sought even to mimic Peter in the prodigies operated by him. He proclaimed that on a certain day he would fly in the air. The report of this novelty quickly spread through Rome, and the people were full of the prospect of such a marvellous sight. If we are to believe Dion Chrysostom, Nero entertained the magician at his court, and moreover decided to honour the spectacle with his presence. Accordingly, the royal lodge was erected upon the via sacra. Here the attempted flight was to take place. The impostor's pride, however, was doomed to suffer. 'Scarcely had this Icarus begun to poise his flight,' says Suetonius, 'than he fell close to Nero's lodge, which was bathed in his blood.'² The Samaritan juggler had set himself up, in Rome itself, as the rival of Christ's Vicar, and writers of Christian antiquity agree in attributing his downfall to the prayers of St Peter.

The failure of the heresiarch was in the eyes of the people a stain upon the emperor's character, and if ill-will were united to curiosity, attention would be attracted

¹ St John xxi. ² In Neron. xii.

towards Peter in a way that might prove disastrous. Also there was the 'peril of false brethren' mentioned by St Paul. This is a danger inevitable in a society as large as that of the Christians, where the association of widely differing characters is bound to cause friction, and discontent is aroused in the minds of the less educated on account of the choice of those placed in positions of trust or special confidence. This accounts for certain statements made by St Clement in a letter to the Corinthians. He was an eyewitness of the apostle's martyrdom, and says that rivalries and jealousies contributed largely to bring about his condemnation by the authorities, whose suspicions concerning 'this Jew' had been steadily increasing.

The filial devotedness of the Christians of Rome took alarm, and they implored St Peter to elude the danger for a while by instant flight. Although he would have much preferred to suffer, says St Ambrose, Peter set out along the Appian Way. Just as he reached the Capuan gate, Christ suddenly appeared to him as if about to enter the city. 'Lord, whither goest thou?' cried out the apostle. 'To Rome,' Christ replied, 'to be there crucified again.' The disciple understood his Master; he at once retraced his steps, having now no thought but to await his hour of martyrdom. This Gospel-like scene expresses the sequel of our Lord's designs upon the venerable old man. With a view to founding the Christian Church in unity, he had extended to his disciple his own prophetic name of the rock, or stone, Petrus; now he was about to make him his participator even unto the cross itself. Rome, having replaced Jerusalem, must likewise have her Calvary.

In his flight Peter dropped from his leg a bandlet, which a disciple picked up with much respect. A monument was afterwards raised on the spot where this incident occurred: it is now the Church of SS Nereus and Achilles, anciently called Titulus fasciolæ, the Title of the bandlet. According to the designs of Providence, the

humble fasciola was to recall the memory of that momentous meeting at the gates of Rome, where Christ in person stood face to face with his apostle, the visible Head of his Church, and announced that the hour of his sacrifice on the cross was at hand.

From that moment Peter set everything in order, with a view to his approaching end. It was at this time he wrote his second Epistle, which is his last testament and loving farewell to the Church. Therein he declares that the close of his life is near, and compares his body to a temporary shelter, a tent which one takes down to journey farther on. 'The laying away of this my tabernacle is at hand, according as our Lord Jesus Christ also hath signified to me.'¹ These words are evidently an allusion to the apparition on the Appian Way. But before quitting this world Peter provided for the transmission of his pastoral charge and for the needs of holy Church, now about to be widowed of her visible Head. To this he refers in these words: 'And I will do my endeavour, that after my decease, you may also often have whereby you may keep a memory of these things.'²

Into whose hands are those keys to pass, which he received from Christ as a sign of his dominion over the whole flock? Linus had been for more than ten years the auxiliary of the holy apostle in the midst of the Christians of Rome; the still further increase of the faithful induced Peter to give Linus a colleague in the person of Cletus; yet on neither of these two did the choice of Peter fall at this solemn moment in which he was about to fulfil the promise, contained in his farewell letter, of providing for the continuance of his ministry. Clement, whose nobility of birth recommended him to the consideration of the Romans, whilst at the same time his zeal and learning merited the esteem of the faithful, was the one on whom the prince of the apostles fixed his choice. During these last days still remaining to him, Peter imposed hands on Clement, and having invested him with the episcopal character, enthroned him in his own Chair, declaring his intention to have him for his successor. These facts, related in the Liber Pontificalis, are confirmed by the testimony of Tertullian and St Epiphanius.

Thus the quality of bishop of Rome entailed that of universal pastor; and Peter must needs leave the heritage of the divine keys to him who should next occupy the See which he held at the moment of death. So had Christ ordained; and a heavenly inspiration had led Peter to choose Rome for his last station, that long before had been prepared by Providence for universal empire. Hence, at the moment when the supremacy of Peter passed to one of his disciples, no astonishment was manifested in the Church. It was well known that the Primacy was and must necessarily be a local heritage, and none ignored the fact that Rome herself was that spot chosen by Peter long years before. Nor after Peter's death did it ever occur to the mind of any of the Christians to seek the centre of holy Church either at Jerusalem, or at Alexandria, or at Antioch, or elsewhere.

The Christians in Rome made great account of the paternal devotedness he had lavished on their city. Hence their alarms, to which the apostle once consented to yield. St Peter's epistles, so redolent of affection, bear witness to the tenderness of soul with which he was gifted to a very high degree. He is ever the shepherd devoted to his sheep, fearing, above all else, a domineering tone; he is ever the Vicar offering himself, so that nothing may transpire save the dignity and rights of him whom he represents. This exquisite modesty was further increased in Peter, by the remembrance which haunts his whole life, as ancient writers say, of the sin he once committed, and which he continued to deplore up to the closing days of extreme old age. Faithful ever to that transcending love of which his divine Master had required him to make a triple affirmation before confiding to him the care of his flock, he endured unflinchingly the immense labours of his office of fisher of men. One circumstance of his life, which relates to this its closing period, reveals most touchingly the devotedness wherewith he clung to him who had vouchsafed both to call him to follow him and to pardon his inconstancy. Clement of Alexandria has preserved this detail as follows.

Before being called to the apostolate, Peter had lived in the conjugal state: from that time forth his wife became his sister; she nevertheless continued in his company, following him about from place to place, in his various journeys, in order to render him service. She was in Rome while Nero's persecution was raging, and the honour of martyrdom thus sought her out. Peter watched her as she stepped forth on her way to triumph, and at that moment his solicitude broke out in this one exclamation: 'Oh! bethink thee of the Lord.'¹ These two Galileans had seen the Lord, had received him into their house, had made him their guest at table. Since then the divine Pastor had suffered on the cross, had risen again, had ascended into heaven, leaving the care of his flock to the fisherman of Lake Genesareth. What else, then, would Peter have his wife do at this moment but recall such sweet memories, and run forward to him whom she had known here below in his human features, and who was now about to crown her hidden life with immortal glory!

The moment for entering into this same glory came at last for Peter himself. 'When thou shalt be old,' his Master had mysteriously said to him, 'thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall gird thee, and lead thee whither thou wouldst not.'² So Peter was to attain an advanced age; like his Master, he must stretch forth his arms upon a cross; he must know captivity and the weight of chains with which a foreigner's hand will load him; he must be subjected to death, in its violent form, from which nature recoils, and drink the chalice from which even his divine Master himself prayed to be spared. But, like his Master also, he will arise strong in the divine aid, and will press forward to the cross. Lo! this oracle is about to be accomplished to the letter.

On the day fixed by God's decree, pagan power gave orders for the apostle's arrest. Details are wanting as to the judicial procedure which followed, but the constant tradition of the Roman Church is that he was incarcerated in the Mamertine prison. By this name is known the dungeon constructed at the foot of the Capitoline hill by Ancus Martius, and afterwards completed by Servius Tullius, whence it is also called Carcer Tullianus. Two outer staircases, called the "steps of sighs," led to this frightful den. An upper dungeon gave immediate entrance to that which was to receive the prisoner and never to deliver him up alive, unless he were destined to a public execution. To be put into this horrible place, he had to be let down by cords, through an opening above, and by the same was he finally drawn up again, whether dead or alive. The vaulting of this lower dungeon was high, and its darkness was utter and horrible, so that it was an easy task to guard a captive detained there, especially if he were laden with chains.

On the twenty-ninth of June, in the year sixty-seven, Peter was at length drawn up to be led to death. According to Roman law, he must first be subjected to the scourge, the usual prelude to capital punishment. An escort of soldiers conducted the apostle to his place of martyrdom, outside the city walls, as the laws required. Peter was marched to execution, followed by a large number of the faithful, drawn by affection along his path, and for his sake defying every peril.

Beyond the Tiber, facing the Campus Martius, there stretches a vast plain, which is reached by the bridge named the Triumphal, whereby the city is put in communication with the Via Triumphalis and the Via Cornelia, both of which roads lead to the north. From the river-side the plain is bounded on the left by the Janiculum, and beyond that, in the background, by the Vatican hills, whose chain continues along to the right in the form of an amphitheatre. Along the bank of the Tiber the land is occupied by immense gardens, which three years previously had been made by Nero the scene of the principal immolation of the Christians, just at this same season also. To the west of the Vatican plain, and beyond Nero's gardens, was a circus of vast extent, usually called by his name, although in reality it owes its origin to Caligula, who placed in its centre an obelisk which he had transported from Egypt. Outside the circus, towards its farthest end, rose a temple to Apollo, the protector of the public games. At the other end the declivity of the Vatican hills begins, and about the middle, facing the obelisk, was planted a turpentine tree well known to the people. The spot fixed upon for Peter's execution was close to this tree. There, likewise, was his tomb already dug. No other spot in all Rome could be more suitable for so august a purpose. From remotest ages, something mysterious had hovered over the Vatican. An old oak, said by the most ancient traditions to be anterior to the foundation of Rome, was there held in great reverence. There was much talk of oracles heard in this place. Moreover, where could a more choice resting-place be found for this old man who had just conquered Rome than a mound beneath this venerated soil, opening upon the Triumphal Way and the Cornelian Way, thus uniting the memories of victorious Rome and the name of the Cornelii, which had now become inseparable from that of Peter?

There is something supremely grand in the taking possession of these places by the Vicar of the Man-God. The apostle, having reached the spot and come up to the instrument of death, implored of his executioners to set him thereon, not in the usual way, but head downwards, in order, said he, that the servant be not seen in the position once taken by the Master. His request was granted; and Christian tradition, in all ages, renders testimony to this fact which adds further evidence to the deep humility of so great an apostle. Peter, with outstretched arms, prayed for the city, prayed for the whole world, while his blood flowed down upon that Roman soil, the conquest of which he had just achieved. At this moment Rome became for ever the new Jerusalem. When the apostle had gone through the whole round of his sufferings, he expired; but he was to live again in each one of his successors to the end of time.

MASS

'The crowd is pressing more than usual, clad in festal garb; tell me, my friend, what means this concourse? All Rome is swaying to and fro, mad as it were with joy. Because this day recalls the memory of a triumph the most gorgeous: Peter and Paul, both of them victors in death sublime, have ennobled this day with their blood. Tiber, henceforth sacred since he flows betwixt their tombs set on either bank, was witness of the cross and of the sword. Double trophy, double riches, claiming homage of the queen city; double solemnity on one day! Wherefore, behold the people of Romulus in two streams crossing one another athwart the city! Let us hasten our steps that we may be able to share in the two feasts; let us lose not one of these sacred hymns. First let us pursue the way which leads to the Adrian bridge; yonder gilded roofs mark the spot where Peter reposes. There, at early dawn, the Pontiff offers his first vows. Hastening on and reaching the left bank, he comes presently to Paul's tomb, there to offer once again the holy Sacrifice.'¹ So remember, thus is honoured this twice sacred day.

It is Prudentius, the great Christian poet of the fourth century who, in the above words, bears witness to the enthusiasm wherewith the solemnity of the apostles was celebrated at Rome in his time. Theodoret² and St Asterius of Amasea³ tell us that the piety of the faithful on this feast was not less demonstrated in such distant Churches as those of Syria and Asia. In the codes which bear their name, Theodosius and Justinian lay down or repeat the prohibition of toil or trade, of lawsuits or profane shows, on the day of the martyrdom of the apostles, the 'masters of Christendom.' In this respect even schism and heresy have not been suffered in the East to prevail over gratitude and love. Nearer home, in the very midst of the ruin brought about by the pretended reform in Protestant England, the Book of Common Prayer still marks this feast of June 29, and a fast on its vigil. Nevertheless, by a strange phenomenon, little in keeping with the tendencies of the 'Establishment,' St Paul is discarded on this day, leaving all the festal honours to St Peter, whose successor is the bishop of Rome; the Anglican calendar retains no memory of St Paul except the feast of his Conversion.

The poem of Prudentius, cited above, brings to light in a certain degree the difficulty formerly experienced by the Roman people, in order not to lose any part of the double station proper to this day. The distance was great indeed from the Vatican basilica to that on the Ostian Way; and the two streams of people, to which the poet alludes, prove significantly that a great number of pilgrims, from the impossibility of their being present at both Masses, were reduced to the necessity of making choice of one or other. Added to this difficulty, let us remember that the preceding night had not been without fatigue, if at that same period, as certainly was the case in later ages, the Matins of the apostles, begun at dusk, had been followed by those of the martyrs at the first cock-crow. St Gregory the Great, wishing therefore to spare his people and clergy an accumulation of services which turned rather to the detriment than to the increase of honour paid to the two princes of the apostles, put off till the next day the station on the Ostian Way, with its solemn commemoration of the doctor of the Gentiles. Consequently, it is not surprising that, except

¹ 2 St Peter i. 14.
² Ibid. 15.

¹ Stromat. vi.
² 1 Cor. ix.
³ St John xxi.

¹ Prudent. Peristeph. Hymn. xii.
² Græc. aff. cur. Disput. viii.
³ Hom.

³ Cod. Theod. Lib. xv, tit. v, leg. 5.
⁴ Thomasius, Distributio psalm. in Opus Dei juxta antiquior. psall. morem Eccl. Rom.

the collect common to the two apostles, the formulas chanted at the Mass which is about to follow relate exclusively to St Peter. This Mass was formerly only the first of the day—namely, the one which was celebrated in the early morning at the tomb of the Vicar of the Man-God.

The bride is all brilliant to-day, gorgeously arrayed in sacred purple twice dyed¹ in the one stream of generous blood. Whilst the Pontiff is advancing to the altar, encircled by the divers Orders of holy Church forming his noble cortége, the choir of singers intones the antiphon of the Introit, alternating it with several verses of Psalm cxxxviii. This psalm, which is to be found farther on at second Vespers, is chosen in honour of the holy apostles, chiefly on account of the words of its seventeenth verse: 'To me thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable: their principality is exceedingly strengthened.'

INTROIT

Nunc scio vere quia misit Dominus angelum suum: et eripuit me de manu Herodis, et de omni exspectatione plebis Judæorum.

Ps. Domine, probasti me, et cognovisti me: tu cognovisti sessionem meam et resurrectionem meam. ℣. Gloria Patri. Nunc scio.

Now I know in very deed, that the Lord hath sent his angel and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

Ps. Lord, thou hast proved me and known me: thou hast known my sitting down and my rising up. ℣. Glory, etc. Now I know.

The collect, which is repeated in each of the Hours of the divine Office, is the principal formula chosen by the Church for each day. Here her leading thought is always to be found. That which follows shows us that it is certainly the Church's intention, on this day, to celebrate conjointly the two princes of the apostles, and to render to both unitedly the tribute of her devoted gratitude.

¹ Exod. xxv 4, etc.

COLLECT

Deus, qui hodiernam diem apostolorum tuorum Petri et Pauli martyrio consecrasti: da Ecclesiæ tuæ, eorum in omnibus sequi præceptum, per quos religionis sumpsit exordium. Per Dominum.

O God, who hast consecrated this day by the martyrdom of thine apostles Peter and Paul; grant to thy Church that she may in all things follow their instruction by whom she received the faith. Through our Lord, etc.

EPISTLE

Lectio Actuum Apostolorum.

Cap. XII

In diebus illis: Misit Herodes rex manus, ut affligeret quosdam de Ecclesia. Occidit autem Jacobum fratrem Joannis gladio. Videns autem quia placeret Judæis, apposuit ut apprehenderet et Petrum. Erant autem dies Azymorum. Quem cum apprehendisset, misit in carcerem, tradens quatuor quaternionibus militum custodiendum, volens post Pascha producere eum populo. Et Petrus quidem servabatur in carcere. Oratio autem fiebat sine intermissione ab Ecclesia ad Deum pro eo. Cum autem producturus eum esset Herodes, in ipsa nocte erat Petrus dormiens inter duos milites, vinctus catenis duabus: et custodes ante ostium custodiebant carcerem. Et ecce angelus Domini adstitit, et lumen refulsit in habitaculo; percussoque latere Petri, excitavit eum, dicens: Surge velociter. Et ceciderunt catenæ de manibus ejus. Dixit autem angelus ad eum: Præcingere, et calcea te caligas tuas. Et fecit sic. Et dixit illi: Circumda tibi vestimentum tuum, et sequere me. Et exiens sequebatur eum, et nesciebat quia verum est, quod fiebat per angelum: existimabat autem se visum videre. Transeuntes autem primam et secundam custodiam, venerunt ad portam ferream, quæ ducit ad civitatem, quæ ultro aperta est eis. Et exeuntes processerunt vicum unum: et continuo discessit angelus ab eo. Et Petrus ad se reversus, dixit: Nunc scio vere quia misit Dominus angelum suum, et eripuit me de manu Herodis, et de omni exspectatione plebis Judæorum.

Lesson from the Acts of the Apostles.

Ch. XII

In those days, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to afflict some of the Church: and he killed James the brother of John with the sword; and seeing that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to take up Peter also. Now it was in the days of the Azymes: and when he had apprehended him, he cast him into prison, delivering him to four files of soldiers to be kept, intending after the Pasch to bring him forth to the people. Peter, therefore, was kept in prison; but prayer was made without ceasing by the Church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and the keepers before the door kept the prison: and behold an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the room; and he, striking Peter on the side, raised him up, saying: Arise quickly; and the chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said to him: Gird thyself and put on thy sandals. And he did so. And he said to him: Cast thy garment about thee and follow me: and going out he followed him: and he knew not that it was true which was done by the angel: but he thought he saw a vision. And passing through the first and second ward, they came to the iron gate that leadeth to the city, which of itself opened to them; and going out, they passed on through one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And Peter coming to himself said: Now I know in very deed that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

It would be difficult to insist more than does to-day's liturgy on the episode of Peter's captivity in Jerusalem. Several antiphons and all the capitula of this Office are drawn from thence; the Introit has just sung the same; and the Epistle gives in full the history of the event in which the Church is particularly interested on this feast. The secret of her preference can easily be divined. This festival celebrates the fact that Peter's death confirms the queen of the Gentile world in her august prerogatives of sovereign lady, mother and bride; but the starting-point of all this greatness was the solemn moment in which the Vicar of the Man-God, shaking the dust from his feet¹ over Jerusalem, turned his face westwards, and transferred to Rome those rights which the Synagogue had repudiated. It was on quitting Herod's prison that all this happened. 'And going out of the city,' says the Acts, 'he went into another place.'² This other place, according to the testimony of history and tradition, is no other than Rome, then about to become the new Sion,

¹ St Luke x 11.
² Acts xii 17.

where Simon Peter arrived some weeks afterwards. Thus, catching up the angel's word, the Gentile Church sings this night in one of her responsories at Matins: 'Peter, arise, and put on thy garments: gird thee with strength to save the nations; for the chains have fallen from off thy hands.'³

Just as in bygone days Jesus slept in the bark that was on the point of sinking, so Peter was sleeping quietly on the eve of the day fixed for his death. Tempests and dangers of all kinds are not spared, in the course of ages, to Peter's successors. But never is there seen in the bark of holy Church the dire dismay which held aghast the companions of our Lord in that vessel, tossed as it was by the wild hurricane. Faith was then lacking in the breasts of the disciples, and its absence caused their terror.⁴ Since the descent of the Holy Ghost, however, this precious faith, whence all other gifts flow, can never be lost in the Church. It is faith that imparts to superiors the calmness of their divine Master; faith maintains in the hearts of the Christian people that uninterrupted prayer, and humble confidence which silently triumphs over the world and the elements, even over God himself. Should the bark of Peter near the abyss, should the Pilot himself seem to sleep, never will holy Church imitate the disciples in the storm of Lake Genesareth. Never will she set herself up as judge of the due means and moments for divine Providence, nor deem it lawful for her to find fault with him who is watching over all: remembering that she possesses within her a better and a surer means than any other of bringing to a solution, without display or commotion, the most extreme crises; never ignoring that if intercessory prayer does not falter, the angel of the Lord will surely come at the given hour to awaken Peter and break his chains asunder.

Oh! how far more powerful are a few souls that in their unobtrusive simplicity know how to pray, than all the policy and all the soldiers of a thousand Herods put together! The small community assembled in the house

³ Respons. 3 II Noct.
⁴ St Mark iv 40.

of Mary, mother of Mark,¹ were few indeed in number; but thence, day by day and night by night, arose one continual prayer; fortunately, that fatal naturalism was unknown there, which, under the specious pretext of not tempting God, refrains from asking of him the impossible, whenever there is question of the Church's interests. This pest of naturalism is a domestic enemy harder far to grapple with, at a critical moment, than the crisis itself! To be sure, the precautions taken by Herod Agrippa not to suffer his prisoner to escape his hands do credit to his prudence, and certainly it was an impossible thing asked for by holy Church, when she begged the deliverance of Peter at such a moment: so much so, indeed, that even those who were praying, when their prayers were heard, did not at first believe their own eyes!² But the prevailing force of their strength was just in that—namely, to hope against all hope³—for what they themselves knew to be holy foolishness;⁴ that is to say, to submit in prayer the judgement of reason to the sole view of faith!

The Gradual recalls the power promised, in the sacred epithalamium,⁵ to the companions and sons of the Bridegroom; they, too, have beheld numerous sons replacing the fathers whom they quitted in order to follow Jesus. The Alleluia Verse hails the rock (Petrus) that supports the Church, on this glad day whereon it is fixed for ever in its predestined place.

GRADUAL

Constitues eos principes super omnem terram: memores erunt nominis tui, Domine.

℣. Pro patribus tuis nati sunt tibi filii: propterea populi confitebuntur tibi.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Thou shalt make them princes over all the earth; they shall remember thy name, O Lord.

℣. Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: therefore shall people praise thee.

Alleluia, alleluia.

¹ Acts xii 12.
² Acts xii 14, 15. Currens nuntiavit stare Petrum ante januam; at illi dixerunt: Insanis.
³ Rom. iv 18.
⁴ 1 Cor. i 23.
⁵ Ps. xliv.

℣. Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram ædificabo Ecclesiam meam.

Alleluia.

℣. Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.

Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Matthæum.

Cap. XVI

In illo tempore: Venit Jesus in partes Cæsareæ Philippi: et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens: Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? At illi dixerunt: alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex Prophetis. Dicit illis Jesus: Vos autem quem me esse dicitis? Respondens Simon Petrus, dixit: Tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi. Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei: Beatus es, Simon Bar-Jona: quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus qui in cœlis est. Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram ædificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portæ inferi non prævalebunt adversus eam. Et tibi dabo claves regni cœlorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in cœlis: et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in cœlis.

Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Matthew.

Ch. XVI

At that time Jesus came into the quarters of Cæsarea Philippi, and he asked his disciples saying, Whom do men say that the Son of Man is? But they said: Some, John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven: and I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

In the Epistle, Rome has celebrated the day on which Juda's obstinacy in rejecting the Vicar of the Man-God won for the Gentile Church the honours of the bride. See how in joyous gratitude she now recalls the memory of that moment when first earth hailed the Spouse by his divine title: 'Thou art Christ, Son of the living God!' O happy word awaited for centuries, for which John the Baptist has been preparing the bride! But the Precursor himself had quitted the world before its accents awakened an echo on earth too long dormant. He was to bring the Word and the Church face to face; after that he was to disappear, as indeed he did, leaving the bride to the spontaneity of her own effusions. Now is not the pure gold of the Divinity wherewith his Head is adorned the first of the Beloved's excellences pointed out by the bride in the sacred Canticle?¹ Thus, therefore, does she speak on the plains of Cæsarea Philippi; and her organ is Simon Bar-Jona, who, for having thus rendered her heart's full utterance, remains for ever the mouth of holy Church.

Faith and love with one accord, hereupon, constitute Peter 'supreme and most ancient summit of theologians,' as St Denys calls him in his book of the Divine Names.² First, verily, both in order of time and in plenitude of dogma, he solved the problem, the insoluble formula of which had stretched to the utmost the theology of prophetic times. 'The words of him that gathereth the peoples,' said the Wise Man, 'the words of the son of him who scattereth truths; the vision which the man spoke with whom God is, and who being strengthened by God abiding with him said: I have learned not wisdom. . . . Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended, so that he may know the name of him who made the earth? And what is the name of his Son? Who can tell it?' Then, after this mysterious exordium, leading up to the mysterious question, the Wise Man, without pursuing it further, concludes with a confiding though timid reserve: 'Every word of God is fire-tried: he is a buckler to them that hope in him. Add not anything to his words, lest thou be reproved and found a liar.'³

¹ Cant. v 11.
² De Div. Nom. iii.
³ Prov. xxx 1–6.

What then, O Peter, art thou more wise than Solomon? And can that which the Holy Ghost declared to be above all science, be confided as a secret to a poor fisherman?

¹ Cant. v 11; 1 Cor. xi 3. ² Dionys. De div. Nom. III 2.
³ Prov. xxx 14. ⁴ Prov. xxx 5, 6.

It is so, however. None knoweth the Father but the Son;¹ yet the Father himself hath revealed to Simon the mystery of his Son, and the word which attests it may not be gainsaid. For that word is no lying addition to divine dogma: it is the oracle of heaven, which, passing through human lips, raises its happy interpreters above the level of mere flesh and blood. Like Christ, whose Vicar it causes him to become, his one mission is to be heaven's faithful echo here below,² transmitting to men only what he has received:³ the Word of the Father.⁴ Here we have the entire mystery of the Church, at once of heaven and of earth, and against which hell may not prevail.

The sacrificial rites are progressing in majestic splendour. While the basilica is still re-echoing with the sublime accents of the Credo which the apostles preached and which rests on Peter, the Church arises bearing her gifts to the altar. At the sight of this long file of peoples and kings succeeding one another in the dim mist of ages, paying fealty on this day to the crucified fisherman, the choir resumes, to a new melody, the verse of the psalm which has already in the Gradual hailed the supereminence of that princedom created by Christ for the messengers of his love.

OFFERTORY

Constitues eos principes super omnem terram: memores erunt nominis tui, Domine, in omni progenie et generatione.

Thou shalt make them princes over all the earth: they shall remember thy name, O Lord, throughout all generations.

Earth's gifts have no intrinsic worth whereby to merit the acceptance of heaven. Therefore, the Church, in her Secret, begs the intervention of apostolic prayer to render her offering pleasing in God's sight. This prayer of the apostles is, not only on this day but always, our sure refuge and the remedy of our miseries. This same

¹ St Matt. xi 27. ² St John xv 15.
³ Ibid. xvii 18. ⁴ Ibid. 14.

idea is also expressed in the beautiful Preface which follows. The eternal Shepherd could never abandon his flock; but he continues to guard it by means of the blessed apostles, who are themselves shepherds likewise, and guides in his place of the Christian people.

SECRET

Hostias, Domine, quas nomini tuo sacrandas offerimus, apostolica prosequatur oratio: per quam nos expiari tribuas et defendi. Per Dominum.

May the prayer of thine apostles, O Lord, accompany the Sacrifice which we offer to thy name; and by the same prayer grant us to be purified and defended. Through, etc.

PREFACE OF APOSTLES

Vere dignum et justum est, æquum et salutare: te, Domine, suppliciter exorare, ut gregem tuum, Pastor æterne, non deseras, sed per beatos apostolos tuos continua protectione custodias. Ut iisdem rectoribus gubernetur, quos operis tui vicarios eidem contulisti præesse pastores. Et ideo cum Angelis et Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus, cumque omni militia cælestis exercitus, hymnum gloriæ tuæ canimus, sine fine dicentes: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus.

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, humbly to beseech thee, that thou, O Lord, our eternal Shepherd, wouldst not forsake thy flock, but keep it under thy continual protection, by thy blessed apostles. That it may be governed by those whom thou hast appointed its vicars and pastors. And therefore with the Angels and Archangels, with the Thrones and Dominations, and with all the heavenly host, we sing an everlasting hymn to thy glory, saying: Holy, etc.

The Church enjoys a taste, in the sacred Banquet, of the close relation there is between the mystery of love and the grand Catholic unity founded upon the rock. She therefore sings:

COMMUNION

Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram ædificabo Ecclesiam meam.

Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.

The Postcommunion returns to the thought of the immense power contained in apostolic prayer, since it is the safeguard and very bulwark of Christians who are fed upon this heavenly food.

POSTCOMMUNION

Quos cælesti, Domine, alimento satiasti, apostolicis intercessionibus ab omni adversitate custodi. Per Dominum.

Preserve, O Lord, from all adversity, by the intercession of thy apostles, those whom thou hast fed with heavenly nourishment. Through, etc.

SECOND VESPERS

The greatest of days for the Eternal City is drawing to a close; the solemn Office of Vespers is once more gathering the faithful around the tomb, where the Vicar of the Man-God reposes after his toilsome sacrifice. No more of labour, of prisons, of chains, in the Church's song: the work is done; Peter has ended his militant life; nothing remains of the thousand phases through which his life had passed, nor of the combat that terminated it, but the eternal triumph. Therefore, the liturgy of Vespers returns no more, as it did yesterday and this morning, to those glorious episodes in the history of Simon Bar-Jona, which were but preliminaries of the final victory won upon this day. The Office celebrates results acquired, and hails them in all their imposing and immutable grandeur. By extension, the five psalms which follow, with their antiphons, have become those of the second Vespers common to all the apostles; but they here refer to Peter and his illustrious companion Paul.

Peter, passing beyond the veil with the offering of his own blood, this day confirms his high priesthood for all eternity, thus becoming a most perfect likeness of Jesus Christ the Sovereign High Priest. The Church of earth sings in unison with that of heaven these words in his honour:

ANT. Juravit Dominus, et non pœnitebit eum: Tu es sacerdos in æternum.

ANT. The Lord hath sworn and he will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever.

Psalm, Dixit Dominus, p. 35.

As the new Pontiff enters, invested in the priesthood, not of Aaron, but of Christ their supreme Head, the celestial hierarchies open their ranks, hailing his principality which equals theirs.

ANT. Collocet eum Dominus cum principibus populi sui.

ANT. Let the Lord place him with the princes of his people.

Psalm, Laudate pueri, p. 39.

With still more reason than when quitting Herod's prison, Peter may now exclaim to his Lord: 'Thou hast broken my chains.' And forthwith, entering upon his function of eternal high priest, in union with Jesus Christ, he adds: 'I will sacrifice unto thee the sacrifice of praise.'

ANT. Dirupisti, Domine, vincula mea: tibi sacrificabo hostiam laudis.

ANT. O Lord, thou hast broken my bonds: I will sacrifice unto thee the sacrifice of praise.

PSALM 115

Credidi, propter quod locutus sum: ego autem humiliatus sum nimis.

I have believed, therefore have I spoken: but I have been humbled exceedingly.

Ego dixi in excessu meo: Omnis homo mendax.

I said in my excess: Every man is a liar.

Quid retribuam Domino: pro omnibus quæ retribuit mihi?

What shall I render unto the Lord for all the things that he hath rendered unto me?

Calicem salutaris accipiam: et nomen Domini invocabo.

I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.

Vota mea Domino reddam coram omni populo ejus: pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum ejus.

I will pay my vows to the Lord before all his people; precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

O Domine, quia ego servus tuus: ego servus tuus, et filius ancillæ tuæ.

O Lord, for I am thy servant: I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid.

Dirupisti vincula mea: tibi sacrificabo hostiam laudis, et nomen Domini invocabo.

Thou hast broken my bonds: I will sacrifice unto thee the sacrifice of praise, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.

Vota mea Domino reddam in conspectu omnis populi ejus: in atriis domus Domini in medio tui Jerusalem.

I will pay my vows to the Lord in the sight of all his people: in the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.

ANT. Dirupisti, Domine, vincula mea: tibi sacrificabo hostiam laudis.

ANT. O Lord, thou hast broken my bonds: I will sacrifice unto thee the sacrifice of praise.

The encouragement offered by this feast is meant for all of us: we who sow at present in tears may promise ourselves a day wherein we shall reap in joy. Peter and Paul suffered more than we along life's road.

ANT. Euntes ibant et flebant, mittentes semina sua.

ANT. Going they went and wept, casting their seed.

PSALM 125

In convertendo Dominus captivitatem Sion: facti sumus sicut consolati.

When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion: we became like men that are comforted.

Tunc repletum est gaudio os nostrum: et lingua nostra exsultatione.

Then was our mouth filled with gladness: and our tongue with joy.

Tunc dicent inter gentes: Magnificavit Dominus facere cum eis.

Then shall they say among the Gentiles: The Lord hath done great things for them.

Magnificavit Dominus facere nobiscum: facti sumus lætantes.

The Lord hath done great things for us: we are become joyful.

Converte, Domine, captivitatem nostram: sicut torrens in austro.

Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as a stream in the south.

Qui seminant in lacrymis: in exsultatione metent.

They that sow in tears: shall reap in joy.

Euntes ibant et flebant: mittentes semina sua.

They went forth on their way and wept: casting their seed.

Venientes autem venient cum exsultatione: portantes manipulos suos.

But returning they shall come with joyfulness: carrying their sheaves with them.

ANT. Euntes ibant et flebant, mittentes semina sua.

ANT. Going they went and wept, casting their seed.

For our two apostles a day whose sun knoweth no setting hath arisen; after the fatiguing march, after all those tears, lo! now rest eternal in the power and glory of God himself! For that God, who already called them his friends even here below,¹ now gives them, in virtue of this title, a participation in all his goods.

ANT. Confortatus est principatus eorum, et honorati sunt amici tui, Deus.

ANT. Their principality is strengthened, and thy friends, O God, are made honourable.

PSALM 138

Domine, probasti me et cognovisti me: tu cognovisti sessionem meam et resurrectionem meam.

O Lord, thou hast proved me and known me: thou hast known my sitting down and my rising up.

Intellexisti cogitationes meas de longe: semitam meam et funiculum meum investigasti.

Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off: my path and my line thou hast searched out.

Et omnes vias meas prævidisti: quia non est sermo in lingua mea.

And thou hast foreseen all my ways: for there is no speech in my tongue.

Ecce, Domine, tu cognovisti omnia, novissima et antiqua: tu formasti me, et posuisti super me manum tuam.

Behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things, the newest and those of old: thou hast formed me and hast laid thine hand upon me.

Mirabilis facta est scientia tua ex me: confortata est, et non potero ad eam.

Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me: it is high, and I cannot reach to it.

Quo ibo a spiritu tuo? et quo a facie tua fugiam?

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy face?

Si ascendero in cælum, tu illic es; si descendero in infernum, ades.

If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I descend into hell, thou art present.

Si sumpsero pennas meas diluculo: et habitavero in extremis maris:

If I take my wings early in the morning: and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea:

¹ St John xv 14, 15.

Etenim illuc manus tua deducet me: et tenebit me dextera tua.

Even there also shall thy hand lead me: and thy right hand shall hold me.

Et dixi: Forsitan tenebræ conculcabunt me: et nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis.

And I said, perhaps darkness shall cover me: and night shall be my light in my pleasures.

Quia tenebræ non obscurabuntur a te, et nox sicut dies illuminabitur: sicut tenebræ ejus, ita et lumen ejus.

But darkness shall not be dark to thee, and night shall be light as the day: the darkness and the light thereof are alike to thee.

Quia tu possedisti renes meos: suscepisti me de utero matris meæ.

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast protected me from my mother's womb.

Confitebor tibi quia terribiliter magnificatus es: mirabilia opera tua, et anima mea cognoscit nimis.

I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magnified: wonderful are thy works, and my soul knoweth them right well.

Non est occultatum os meum a te, quod fecisti in occulto: et substantia mea in inferioribus terræ.

My bone is not hid from thee, which thou hast made in secret: and my substance in the lower parts of the earth.

Imperfectum meum viderunt oculi tui, et in libro tuo omnes scribentur: dies formabuntur, et nemo in eis.

Thine eyes did see my imperfect being, and in thy book all shall be written: days shall be formed and no one in them.

Mihi autem nimis honorificati sunt amici tui, Deus: nimis confortatus est principatus eorum.

But to me thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable: their principality is exceedingly strengthened.

Dinumerabo eos, et super arenam multiplicabuntur: exsurrexi, et adhuc sum tecum.

I will number them, and they shall be multiplied above the sand: I rose up and am still with thee.

Si occideris, Deus, peccatores: viri sanguinum, declinate a me.

If thou wilt slay the wicked, O God; ye men of blood depart from me.

Quia dicitis in cogitatione: accipient in vanitate civitates tuas.

Because you say in thought: They shall receive thy cities in vain.

Nonne qui oderunt te, Domine, oderam? et super inimicos tuos tabescebam?

Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hated thee, and pined away because of thine enemies?

Perfecto odio oderam illos: et inimici facti sunt mihi.

I have hated them with a perfect hatred: and they are become as enemies unto me.

Prove me, O God, and know my heart: examine me, and know my paths.

And see if there be in me the way of iniquity: and lead me in the way eternal.

ANT. Their principality is strengthened, and thy friends O God, are made honourable.

The capitulum and hymn are the same as at first Vespers, p. 314. The Church then, in the versicle, brings prominently before us the divine knowledge which the apostles received and communicated to earth.

℣. Annuntiaverunt opera Dei.
℟. Et facta ejus intellexerunt.

℣. They declared the works of God.
℟. And understood his doings.

The following antiphon is a worthy crown to all these songs consecrated by the queen of the nations to the honour of her two princes. The melody to which it is set is admirably suited to the triumphal events which render this day so nobly illustrious in heaven and on earth.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Hodie Simon Petrus ascendit crucis patibulum, alleluia: hodie clavicularius regni gaudens migravit ad Christum: hodie Paulus apostolus, lumen orbis terræ, inclinato capite pro Christi nomine martyrio coronatus est, alleluia.

This day Simon Peter ascended the gibbet of the cross, alleluia. This day the keeper of heaven's keys went on his way to Christ with joy. This day the apostle Paul, the light of the world, laying down his head for the name of Christ, was crowned with martyrdom, alleluia.

The Canticle, Magnificat, p. 43.

PRAYER

Deus qui hodiernam diem apostolorum tuorum Petri et Pauli martyrio consecrasti: da ecclesiæ tuæ eorum in omnibus sequi præceptum, per quos religionis sumpsit exordium. Per Dominum.

O God, who hast consecrated this day by the martyrdom of thine apostles Peter and Paul; grant to thy Church that she may in all things follow their instruction by whom she received the faith. Through our Lord, etc.

We here couple with the above glorious Magnificat antiphon another which was deservedly prized by our forefathers for its beauty.

ANTIPHON

Dum duceretur Petrus apostolus ad crucem, repletus gaudio magno, dixit: Non sum dignus ita esse in cruce, sicut Dominus meus, qui de Spiritu Sancto conceptus est, me autem de limo terræ ipse formavit: nam crux mea caput meum in terra debet ostendere. At illi verterunt crucem, et pedes ejus sursum confixerunt, manus vero deorsum. Dum esset Petrus in cruce, venit turba multa maledicens Cæsarem, et fecerunt planctum magnum ante crucem. Petrus exhortabatur eos de cruce, dicens: Nolite flere, sed gaudete mecum, quia ego hodie vado vobis parare locum. Et cum hoc dixisset, ait: Gratias tibi ago, Pastor bone, quia oves quas tradidisti mihi compatiuntur mecum: peto namque ut participentur mecum de gratia tua in sempiternum.

When Peter the apostle was being led to the cross, filled with great joy he exclaimed: I am not worthy to be so fixed upon the cross as was my Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Ghost, whereas he formed me out of the slime of the earth; even so should my cross point my head downwards to the earth. Therefore did they turn the cross, and crucify his feet upwards and his hands downwards. Whilst Peter was hanging on the cross, a crowd thronged around him, cursing Cæsar and making much wailing before the cross. Peter exhorted them from the cross, saying: 'Weep not, but rejoice with me, because this day I go to prepare a place for you.' And when he had said this, he added: 'I give thanks to thee, O Good Shepherd, because the sheep that thou didst confide to me suffer together with me: lo! now I beseech thee that they may be participators with me also in thy grace for ever.'

We must here set before the reader the entire poem from which the strophe O Roma felix is taken. The fourth and fifth strophes of this same hymn are used on the two feasts of St. Peter's Chair and on that of

Felix per omnes festum mundi cardines Apostolorum præpollet alacriter
Petri beati, Paulique sanctissimi, Quos Christus almo consecravit sanguine, Ecclesiarum deputavit principes.

Hi sunt olivæ duæ coram Domino
Et candelabra luce radiantia, Præclara cœli duo luminaria,
Fortia solvunt peccatorum vincula, Portas Olympi reserant fidelibus.

Habent supernas potestatem claudere Sermone sedes, pandere splendentia Limina poli super alta sidera, Linguæ eorum claves cœli factæ sunt,
Larvas repellunt ultra mundi limitem.

Petrus beatus catenarum laqueos Christo jubente rupit mirabiliter, Custos ovilis et doctor Ecclesiæ,
Pastorque gregis, conservator omnium, Arcet luporum truculentam rabiem.

Quodcumque vinclis super terram strinxerit Erit in astris religatum fortiter, Et quod resolvit in terris arbitrio Erit solutum super cœli radium,
In fine mundi judex erit sæculi.

From end to end of earth, excelleth in gladsomeness this happy feast of blessed Peter and most holy Paul, apostles, whom Christ in his precious Blood did consecrate and depute to be princes of the Church.

Two olives these, before the Lord, and candlesticks radiant all with light, two brilliant luminaries these of heaven; they burst asunder stoutest bonds of sins, and throw open to the faithful the gates of heaven.

Potent they, to close by word alone abodes supernal, or to open wide heaven's refulgent portals, yonder, above the stars: their tongues are made to be keys of heaven; they drive off, beyond earth's utmost limits, ghosts and spectres.

Blessed Peter, by Christ's behest, doth wondrously burst all bonds of chains: keeper of the fold is he, and teacher of the Church; shepherd too of the flock; guardian of all things, he withholds the savage rage of wolves.

Whatsoever on earth he may with fetters bind shall in heaven be all tightly bound; and what, on earth, by his free will, he may loose, shall be loosed in heaven. At the end of the world, judge shall he be of all the universe.

Non impar Paulus huic, doctor gentium, Electionis templum sacratissimum, In morte compar, in corona particeps, Ambo lucernæ et decus Ecclesiæ
In orbe claro coruscant vibramine.

O Roma felix, quæ tantorum principum
Es purpurata pretioso sanguine, Excellis omnem mundi pulchritudinem, Non laude tua, sed sanctorum meritis, Quos cruentatis jugulasti gladiis.

Vos ergo modo, gloriosi martyres, Petre beate, Paule mundi lilium, Cœlestis aulæ triumphales milites,
Precibus almis vestris nos ab omnibus Munite malis, ferte super æthera.

Gloria Patri per immensa sæcula,
Sit tibi, Nate, decus et imperium, Honor, potestas, Sanctoque Spiritui: Sit Trinitati salus individua, Per infinita sæculorum sæcula. Amen.

Nor less than he is Paul, doctor of the Gentiles, most sacred temple of election, his compeer in death, his sharer in the crown: both of them lights and adornments of the Church; with rays resplendent they light up the whole earth.

O happy Rome, that art empurpled with the precious blood of such great princes! It is not by thine own glory that thou surpassest all the beauty of the world, but by the merits of these holy ones whom thou didst immolate with thy blood-stained sword.

Ye then, O glorious martyrs, Peter the blessed, and Paul the lily of the world, triumphant warriors of the heavenly court, by your peerless prayers defend us from all evil and bear us up yonder, beyond the ethereal skies.

Glory be to the Father, through endless ages: to thee, O Son, beauty, empire, honour, power, as likewise to the Holy Ghost. Hail to the undivided Trinity, through countless ages of ages. Amen.

We shall return, during the ensuing days, to the formulas of homage paid by the West to her two princes. It behoves us now to turn our ear for a while to the sweet accents of the Eastern Churches; let us lovingly answer to these echoes of the primitive faith, which, by happy inconsistency, have not been stifled even in mouths poisoned by schism. Let us first listen to the Syrian Church inebriated with the generous blood of these two clusters of rich grapes, with which, trodden this day in Nero's winepress, the whole earth has been saturated. She blends the perfume of her praises with the fragrance that curls from these two golden censers; she hails these two witnesses of the Spouse, to whom the Sulamitess is indebted for the end put to her loneliness.¹ Then, striving to particularize the singular merits of each, she extols Peter, the foundation-stone of the Church, head of his brethren, Peter who feeds both sheep and lambs and teaches to all the divine Alleluia.

Let us study the following hymn and prayer of the night Office. Exquisite indeed is their beauty, despite the impious Eutyches, to whom is chiefly due that separation which holds aloof from mother Church nations so fitted to be her glory.

NOCTIS CANTUS

Simonem piscatorem Christus piscatus est; inde pro piscibus, Simon piscatur homines ad vitam. Rete in Romam laxavit atque reduxit: leænam ligavit ut ovem et adduxit ad Ecclesiam, idolaque statim horruit ista, fictilibus valedicens et Salvatoris crucem adorans. Benedictus qui apostolos elegit, et illorum memoriam amplificavit.

Simon the fisherman has been himself caught in the net of Christ; henceforth, men even as fish are caught by Simon, who brings them to life. O'er Rome herself hath he cast his net, and hath drawn it up filled; the lioness hath he bound like a sheep, leading her to the Church; and she presently, taking idols in horror, hath turned her back upon molten things, to adore the cross of the Redeemer. Blessed is he, who chose the apostles and made their name illustrious.

Quam dulcis vox Jesu Simoni principi de sacerdotio dicentis: Ecce constitui te super domum meam, et thesaurum meum cœleste tibi committo, sublimium claves et abyssi. Te ligante, ligabo et ego: te solvente, solvam tecum; pro peccatoribus si deprecatus fueris, audieris.

How sweet the voice of Jesus, to Simon the prince, when of the priesthood he said: 'Behold, I appoint thee over all my house, and to thee I commit my heavenly treasure, the keys likewise of the high places and of the abyss. What thou dost bind, that do I bind also; what thou dost loose, that do I loose together with thee; if thou pray for sinners, thou shalt be heard.

Si diligis me, Simon Bar-Jona, pasce oves meas: fractos sana fide, ægros restitue medicina cœlorum, cruce abige lupos, agnos congregans ad ovile vitæ; et clamabunt in excelsis agmina cœli: Benedictus qui Ecclesiam suam magnificavit.

'If thou love me, Simon son of John, feed my sheep; by faith make whole that which is broken; by heavenly medicines heal the sick; by the cross, drive off the wolves, gathering the lambs into the sheepfold of life; then will the celestial hosts cry out from on high: Blessed is he who hath magnified his Church!'

Coram eo qui vos elegit, apostoli, state supplices et deprecamini: schismata cessent in Ecclesia, litesque fratrum; etenim sophistæ undique circumeunt, disceptantes, obscurantesque fidem. Ecclesia, Domine, in qua verbum tuum evangelizatum est, sit sane caminus probans sermones, sicut fornax aurum experitur; sacerdotesque caste decantent: Benedictus qui Ecclesiam suam magnificavit.

Before him who hath chosen you, O apostles, stand as suppliants and implore: that schisms may cease in the Church, and strifes among brethren; for lo! sophists are prowling round about us, yea and deceivers, obscuring faith. Let thy Church, O Lord, in which is thy Gospel word, be as a crucible to try their words, even as gold is proved in the furnace; and let thy priests chastely sing forth: 'Blessed is he who hath magnified his Church!'

The Armenian Church joins her voice to the concert. In her Charagan, or collection of hymns, she gives the following in honour of the princes of the apostles.

PETRI ET PAULI CANON

Lætatur hodie memoriam celebrans apostolorum Ecclesia sancta Dei, supra petram fidei firmiter ædificata quam ornarunt monilibus pretiosis ad honorem Verbi hominis. Quorum alter, Patre revelante desursum, ineffabilem Unigeniti naturam confessus est, indeque beatus gratia, meruit petra fieri contra quam portæ inferi non prævalebunt: alter, licet in terra degens, inventus est superasse angelorum legiones absque corpore volantum, dignus nempe quem divina Sapientia raperet ad tabernacula cœli.

Gladsome is the holy Church of God this day, firmly built up as she is on the rock of faith, the while she hails the apostles who have adorned her with precious necklaces in honour of the Word made Flesh. One of whom, enlightened by the Father from on high, hath proclaimed the ineffable nature of the Only-Begotten, and therefore blessed by grace, hath merited to be made the rock against which the gates of hell cannot prevail: the other, although yet a sojourner on earth, hath been found soaring beyond the angelic legions in their incorporeal flight, and therefore indeed worthy that divine Wisdom should ravish him unto the heavenly tabernacles.

Domine, qui supra cæteros apostolos a te electos, designasti beatum Petrum fidei caput et fundamentum Ecclesiæ; qui vocatione superna vas electionis evexisti ad apostolatum, ut gentiles, absconditum mysterium Christi revelans, ipse vocaret ad salutem: qui per hos electos, ambo lumina mundi, tuam solidasti Ecclesiam: ipsis deprecantibus, Christe, miserere nobis.

O Lord, who from amongst all the other apostles chosen by thee hast singled out blessed Peter to be the head of faith and foundation of the Church; O thou, who by a divine call didst raise up the vessel of election unto the apostolate, so that revealing unto him the hidden mystery of Christ, he himself might call the Gentiles to salvation: O thou who by these two chosen ones, these two luminaries of earth, hast consolidated thy Church; by their intercession, do thou, O Christ, have mercy on us.

Lack of space will not permit us to continue the citation any further. Still we cannot resist gathering a few pearls from the boundless sea in which the Greek liturgy is wont to revel. Besides, it is worth our while to prove how, notwithstanding more than one fraudulent alteration, Byzantium up to this very day in her liturgical texts condemns her own schism; Peter is still proclaimed by her the rock and foundation of faith, the sovereign basis, the prince and premier of the apostles, the governor and head of the Church, the bearer of the keys both of grace and of the heavenly kingdom.¹

MENSIS JUNII DIE XXIX

In festivitate sanctorum, illustrium et maxime memorabilium apostolorum ac majorum corypheorum Petri et Pauli.

Gaudia dedisti Ecclesiæ, Deus hominum amator, in tuis sacris apostolis: in qua summopere coruscant spirituales hon. Petrus et Paulus, astra veluti mentium, quorum radiis perfunditur orbis, quibus illuminasti occidentalium obscuritatem, Jesu potentissime, nostrarum salvator animarum.

Joy hast thou given to thy Church, in thy holy apostles, O God, thou lover of men! In their midst, Peter and Paul stand out magnificently resplendent, blazing like two spiritual torches, or like two intellectual stars, whose rays are shed over the whole world, whereby thou hast illumined the darkness of the West, O thou potent Jesus, Redeemer of our souls.

Dedisti stabilitatem tuæ, Domine, Ecclesiæ, in Petri soliditate et Pauli scientia ac splendida sapientia, Petre, illustrium coryphæe apostolorum, tu fidei petra; eximie Paule, tu ecclesiarum doctor et lumen: divino coram throno adstantes, pro nobis ad Christum intercedite.

Thou hast bestowed stability upon thy Church, O Lord, by the solidity of the rock, Peter, and by the knowledge and splendid wisdom of Paul. O Peter, thou famous coryphæus of apostles, thou rock of faith; and thou, O admirable Paul, thou doctor and light of Churches: standing before the divine throne, do ye intercede for us with Christ.

Christi discipulos, coryphæos illos Petrum et Paulum, ab universo orbe fauste celebremus. O Petre, tu lapis et basis; tu quoque, Paule, vas electionis. Ambo quasi sub eodem Christi jugo, traxerunt omnes ad Dei agnitionem, gentes nimirum et civitates et insulas. Lapis fidei, deliciæ orbis, confirmate ovile quod vestro acquisivistis magisterio.

Let us blithely hail, throughout the whole universe, these disciples of Christ, these two coryphæi, Peter and Paul: O Peter, the foundation-stone and rock; and thou also, O Paul, vessel of election. Both of you, as it were, under the one yoke of Christ, did bring all to the confession of God, to wit, nations, cities, islands. Foundation-stone of faith, delight of the world, confirm the sheepfold ye have won over to Christ, your Ruler.

Petre, qui pascis oves, ovilis tui pecora tuere ex lupo fraudulento; exime servos tuos a funestis casibus: te enim apud Deum omnes acquisivimus patronum vigilem, et gaudio in te perfusi salvamur.

Peter, thou who dost feed the sheep, protect the flocks of thy fold from the fraudulent wolf; keep thy servants from dire falls: for thee have we obtained from God to be our vigilant protector, and we are made safe by our joy in thee.

Paule, fax orbis, os incomparabile Christi viventis Dei, qui, solis instar, omnes fines perlustras per tuum divinæ fidei præconium: solve a peccatorum vinculis eos qui te ex amore appellant, teque tuis confisi præsidiis æmulantur.

Paul, torch of the earth, incomparable mouth of Christ, the living God, who like to a sun dost illumine the uttermost bounds by thy preaching of divine faith, burst the chains of sins for those who call upon thee in love, and who would fain imitate thee, confiding in thy protection.

Te, Roma, beatam voco; tibi plausus, adoratio, gloria, hymnorumque concentus: in te enim habentur corpora corypheorum: in te virorum qui magna lumina sunt, divinæ doctrinæ; vasorum incorruptibilium sacræ exuviæ. Dux apostolorum excelsissime, summe præses et regis ærarii dispensator, omnium basis fidelium, Ecclesiæ catholicæ soliditas, crepido, sigillum et corona, Petre Christum amans, in optima pascua deduc oves, herbosum in campum age agnos.

Blessed do I call thee, O Rome; to thee be praise, honour, glory, and concert of hymns: for in thee are preserved the bodies of the two coryphæi; in thee the divine doctrines of men, who are such great luminaries; sacred remains of incorruptible vessels. O most excellent leader of apostles, chief president, and dispenser of the royal treasure-house, foundation-stone of all the faithful, solidity, plinth, seal, and crown of the Catholic Church, O Peter, thou lover of Christ, lead thy sheep to the best of pastures, put thy lambs in the grassy field.

O Peter, we also hail thy glorious tomb! Well does it behove us, thy chosen sons of the West, to celebrate with faith and love the glories of this day. If all nations are moved at the tidings of thy triumphant death; if all tongues proclaim that from Rome the law of the Lord must come forth unto the whole world; is it not because thy death has turned Babylon into that city of divine oracles hailed by the son of Amos in his prophecy?¹ Is it not because the mountain prepared in distant ages to bear the house of the Lord comes forth from the mist and stands in full daylight before all peoples? The site of the new Sion is for ever fixed; for on this day is the corner-stone laid; and Jerusalem is to have no other foundation than this tried and precious stone.

O Peter, on thee must we build; for we wish to be dwellers in the holy city. We will follow our Lord's counsel,² by raising our structure upon the rock, so that it may resist the storm, and may become an eternal abode. Our gratitude to thee, who hast vouchsafed to uphold us, is all the greater, since our senseless age tries to build a new social edifice on the shifting sands of public opinion, and therefore accomplishes nothing except ruin and confusion! Is the stone rejected by our modern architects any the less the head of the corner? And does not its strength appear in the fact (as it is written) that, having rejected and cast it aside, they stumble against it and are hurt, yea broken?³

Standing erect amid these ruins, firm upon the foundation, the rock against which the gates of hell cannot prevail, we have all the more right to extol this day, on which the Lord hath, as the psalmist says, established the earth.⁴ The Lord did indeed manifest his greatness when he cast the vast orbs into space, and poised them by laws so marvellous that the mere discovery thereof does honour to science; but his reign, his beauty, his power, are far more stupendous when he lays the basis prepared by him to support that temple of which a myriad worlds scarcely deserve to be called the pavement. Of this immortal day did eternal Wisdom sing, when divinely foretasting its pure delights, and preluding our gladness, he thus led on our happy chorus: "When the mountains with their huge bulk were being established, and when the earth was being balanced on its poles, when he established the sky above and poised the fountains of waters, when he laid the foundations of the earth, I was with him forming all things; and was delighted every day, playing before him at all times, playing in the world, for my delights are to be with the children of men."⁵

Now that eternal Wisdom is raising upon thee, O Peter, the house of her mysterious delights,⁶ where else could we possibly find her, or be inebriated with her chalice, or advance in her love? Now that Jesus hath returned to heaven, and given us thee to hold his place, is it not henceforth from thee that we have the words of eternal life?⁷ In thee is continued the mystery of the Word made Flesh and dwelling amongst us. Our religion and love of our Lord are incomplete if they do not acknowledge thee as his Vicar. Thou thyself having joined the Son of Man at the right hand of the Father, the cultus paid to thee on account of thy divine prerogatives reaches thy successors in whom thou continuest to live: a real cultus extending to Christ in his Vicar, and which consequently cannot possibly be fitted into a subtle distinction between the See of Peter and him who occupies it. In the Roman Pontiff, thou art ever, O Peter, the one sole shepherd and support of the world. If our Lord hath said, "No man cometh to the Father but by me,"⁸ we also know that none can reach the Lord save by thee. How could the rights of the Son of God, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, suffer through such homage paid by a grateful earth unto thee? We cannot celebrate thy greatness without at once turning our thoughts to him, likewise, of whom thou art a sensible sign, an august sacrament. Thou seemest to say to us, as heretofore unto our fathers by the inscription on thine ancient statue: CONTEMPLATE GOD THE WORD, THE STONE DIVINELY CUT IN GOLD, UPON WHICH BEING FIRMLY FIXED I CANNOT BE SHAKEN!⁹

¹ Isa. ii. 1-5.
² Isa. xxviii. 16.
³ St. Matt. vii. 24-27.
⁴ 1 Pet. ii. 6-8.
⁵ Ps. xcii. 2. sqq.
⁶ Prov. viii. 25-31.
⁷ Prov. ix.
⁸ St. John xiv. 6.
⁹ Deum Verbum intuemini, auro divinitus sculptam petram, in qua stabilitus non concutior.—Dom Mabillon, Vetera analecta, t. iv.

JUNE 30

THE COMMEMORATION OF SAINT PAUL

APOSTLE

Whereas the Greeks on this day are uniting in one solemnity the memory, as they express it, "of the illustrious saints, the twelve apostles, worthy of all praise,"¹ let us follow in spirit the Roman populace, who are gathered around the successor of Peter, and are making the splendid basilica of the Ostian Way re-echo with songs of victory, while he is offering to the Doctor of the Gentiles the grateful homage of the city and of the world.

On the twenty-fifth of January we beheld Stephen leading to Christ's crib the once ravenous wolf of Benjamin,² tamed at last, but who in the morning of his impetuous youth had filled the Church of God with tears and bloodshed. His evening did indeed come when, as Jacob had foreseen, Saul, the persecutor, would outstrip all his predecessors among Christ's disciples in giving increase to the fold, and in feeding the flock with the choicest food of his heavenly doctrine.³

By an unexampled privilege, our Lord, though already seated at the right hand of his Father, vouchsafed not only to call, but personally to instruct this new disciple, so that he might one day be numbered amongst his apostles. The ways of God can never be contradictory one to another; hence, this creation of a new apostle may not be accomplished in a manner derogatory to the divine constitution already delivered to the Christian Church by the Son of God. Therefore, as soon as the illustrious convert emerged from those sublime contemplations during which the Christian dogma had been poured into his soul, he went to Jerusalem to see Peter, as he himself relates to his disciples in Galatia. "It behoved him," says Bossuet, "to collate his own Gospel with that of the prince of the apostles." From that moment, aggregated as a co-operator in the preaching of the Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles describes him at Antioch accompanied by Barnabas, presenting himself to the work of opening the Church to the Gentiles, the conversion of Cornelius having been already effected by Peter himself. He passes a whole year in this city, reaping an abundant harvest. After Peter's imprisonment in Jerusalem, at his subsequent departure for Rome, a warning from on high makes known to those who preside over the Church at Antioch, that the moment has come for them to impose hands on the two missionaries, and confer on them the sacred character of Ordination.

From that hour Paul attains the full power of an apostle, and it is clear that the mission for which he had been preparing is now opened. At the same time, in St. Luke's narrative, Barnabas almost disappears, retaining but a very secondary position. The new apostle has his own disciples, and he henceforth takes the lead in a long series of peregrinations marked by as many conquests. His first is to Cyprus, where he seals an alliance with ancient Rome, analogous to that which Peter contracted at Cæsarea.

In the year 43, when Paul landed in Cyprus, its proconsul was Sergius Paulus, illustrious for his ancestry, but still more so for the wisdom of his government. He wished to hear Paul and Barnabas: a miracle worked by Paul, under his very eyes, convinced him of the truth of his teaching; and the Christian Church counted that day among her sons one who was heir to the proudest name among the noble families of Rome. Touching was the mutual exchange that took place on this occasion. The Roman patrician had just been freed by the Jew from the yoke of the Gentiles; in return, the Jew hitherto called Saul received and thenceforth adopted the name of Paul, as a trophy worthy of the apostle of the Gentiles.

From Cyprus Paul travelled successively to Cilicia, Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia, everywhere preaching the Gospel and founding Churches. He then returned to Antioch in the year 47, and found the Church there in a state of violent agitation. A party of Jews, who had come over to Christianity from the ranks of the Pharisees, whilst consenting indeed to the admission of Gentiles into the Church, were maintaining that this could only be on condition of their being likewise subjected to Mosaic practices, such as circumcision and distinction of meats. The Christians who had been received from among the Gentiles were disgusted at this servitude to which Peter had not subjected them; and the controversy became so hot that Paul deemed it necessary to undertake a journey to Jerusalem where Peter had lately arrived, a fugitive from Rome, and where the apostolic college was at that moment further represented by John, as well as by James the bishop of the city. These being assembled to deliberate on the question, it was decreed, in the name and under the influence of the Holy Ghost, that to exact any observance relative to Jewish rites should be utterly forbidden in the case of Gentile converts. It was on this occasion, too, that Paul received from these pillars, as he styles them, the confirmation of his apostolate superadded to that of the twelve, and to be specially exercised in favour of the Gentiles. By this extraordinary ministry deputed to the nations, the Christian Church definitively asserted her independence of Judaism, and the Gentiles could now freely come flocking into her bosom.

¹ Menæa, June 30.
² Gen. xlix. 27.
³ The following is mainly borrowed from Dom Guéranger in his work: Sainte Cécile et la société romaine aux deux premiers siècles, as was likewise the passage concerning St. Peter, see pp. 348-355.
⁴ Sermon sur l'unité.

Paul then resumed his course of apostolic journeys over all the provinces he had already evangelized, in order to confirm the Churches. Thence, passing through Phrygia, he came to Macedonia, stayed a while at Athens, and then on to Corinth, where he remained a year and a half. At his departure he left in this city a flourishing Church, whereby he excited against himself the fury of the Jews. From Corinth Paul went to Ephesus, where he stayed two years. So great was his success with the Gentiles there, that the worship of Diana was materially weakened; whereupon a tumult ensuing, Paul thought the moment come for his departure from Ephesus. During his abode there he made known to his disciples a thought that had long haunted him: 'I must needs see Rome.' The capital of the Gentile world was indeed calling the apostle of the Gentiles.

The rapid growth of Christianity in the capital of the empire had brought face to face, in a manner more striking than elsewhere, the two heterogeneous elements which formed the Church of that day: the unity of faith held together in one fold those that had formerly been Jews, and those that had been pagans. It so happened that some of both of these classes, too easily forgetting the gratuity of their common vocation to the faith, began to go so far as to despise their brethren of the opposite class, deeming them less worthy than themselves of that Baptism which had made them all equal in Christ. On the one side, certain Jews disdained the Gentiles, remembering the polytheism which had sullied their past life with all those vices which come in its train. On the other side, certain Gentiles contemned the Jews, as coming from an ungrateful and blinded people, who had so abused the favours lavished upon them by God as to crucify the Messias.

In the year 53, Paul, already aware of these debates, profited by a second journey to Corinth to write to the faithful of the Church in Rome that famous Epistle in which he emphatically sets forth how gratuitous is the gift of faith; and maintains how Jew and Gentile alike being quite unworthy of the divine adoption, have been called solely by an act of pure mercy. He likewise shows how Jew and Gentile, forgetting the past, have but to embrace one another in the fraternity of the same faith, thus testifying their gratitude to God through whom both of them have been alike prevented by grace. His apostolic dignity, so fully recognized, authorized Paul to interfere in this matter, though touching a Christian centre not founded by him.

While awaiting the day when he could behold with his own eyes the queen of all Churches, lately fixed by Peter on the seven hills, the apostle was anxious once again to make a pilgrimage to the city of David. Jewish rage was just at that moment rampant in Jerusalem against him; national pride being more specially piqued that he, the former disciple of Gamaliel, the accomplice of Stephen's murder, should now invite the Gentiles to be coupled with the sons of Abraham, under the one same Law of Jesus of Nazareth. The tribune Lysias was scarcely able to snatch him from the hands of these bloodthirsty men, ready to tear him to pieces. The following night Christ appeared to Paul, saying to him: 'Be constant, for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.'

It was not, however, till after two years of captivity, that Paul, having appealed to Cæsar, landed in Italy at the beginning of the year 56. Then at last the apostle of the Gentiles made his entry into Rome: not with the trappings of a victor; he was but a humble Jewish prisoner led to the place where all appellants to Cæsar were mustered; yet he was that Jew whom Christ himself had conquered on the way to Damascus. No longer Saul the Benjamite, he now presented himself under the Roman name of Paul; nor was this a robbery on his part, for after Peter he was to be the second glory of Rome, the second pledge of her immortality. He did not bring the Primacy with him, indeed, as Peter had done, for that had been committed by Christ to one alone; but he came to assert, in the very centre of the Gentile world, the divine delegation which he had received in favour of the nations, just as a tributary flows into the main stream, which, mingling its waters with its own, at last empties them unitedly into the ocean. Paul was to have no successor in his extraordinary mission; but the element which he had deposited in the mistress and mother Church was of such value, that in course of ages the Roman Pontiffs, heirs to Peter's monarchical power, have ever appealed to Paul's memory as well, pronouncing their mandates in the united names of the 'blessed apostles Peter and Paul.'

Instead of having to await in prison the day whereon his cause was to be heard, Paul was at liberty to choose a lodging-place in the city. He was obliged, however, to be accompanied day and night by a soldier to whom, according to the usual custom, he was chained, but only in such a way as to prevent his escape: all his movements being otherwise left perfectly free, he could easily continue to preach the Word of God. Towards the close of the year 57, in virtue of his appeal to Cæsar, the apostle was at last summoned before the prætorium, and the successful pleading in his cause resulted in his acquittal.

Being now free, Paul revisited the East, confirming on his evangelical course the Churches he had previously founded. Thus Ephesus and Crete once more enjoyed his presence; in the one he left his disciple Timothy as bishop, and in the other Titus. But Paul had not quitted Rome for ever: marvellously enlightened as she had been by his preaching, the Roman Church was yet to be gilded by his parting rays and empurpled by his blood. A heavenly warning, as in Peter's case, bade him also return to Rome where martyrdom was awaiting him. This fact is attested by St Athanasius;¹ we learn the same also from St Asterius of Ameseus, who hereupon remarks that the apostle entered Rome once more, 'in order to teach the very masters of the world; to turn them into his disciples; and by their means to wrestle with the whole human race. There Paul finds Peter engaged in the same work; he at once yokes himself to the same divine chariot with him, and sets about instructing the children of the Law within the synagogues, and the Gentiles outside.'²

¹ De fuga sua, xviii. ² Homil. viii.

At last Rome possesses her two princes conjointly: the one seated on the eternal chair, holding in his hands the keys of the kingdom of heaven; the other surrounded by the sheaves he has garnered from the fields of the Gentile world. They shall now part no more; even in death, as the Church sings, they shall not be separated. The period of their being together was necessarily short, for they must render to their Master the testimony of blood before the Roman world should be freed from the odious tyranny under which it was groaning. Their death was to be Nero's last crime; after that he was to fade from sight, leaving the world horror-stricken at his end, as shameful as it was tragic.

It was in the year 65 that Paul returned to Rome; once more signalizing his presence there by the manifold works of his apostolate. From the time of his first labours there, he had made converts even in the palace of the Cæsars: having returned to this former theatre of his zeal, he again found entrance into the imperial abode. A woman who was living in criminal intercourse with Nero, and also a cup-bearer of his, were both caught in the apostolic net, for it were hard indeed to resist the power of that mighty word. Nero, enraged at 'this foreigner's' influence in his household, was bent on Paul's destruction. He was cast into prison, but such was his zeal that he persisted the more in preaching Jesus Christ. The two converts of the imperial palace having abjured, together with paganism, the manner of life they had been leading, their twofold conversion hastened Paul's martyrdom. He was well aware that it would be so, as can be seen in these lines addressed to Timothy: 'I labour even unto bands, as an evildoer; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect. For I am even now ready to be sacrificed, like a victim already sprinkled with the lustral water, and the time of my dissolution is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice which the Lord, the just Judge, will render to me in that day.'¹

¹ 2 Tim.

On the twenty-ninth of June, in the year 67, whilst Peter, having crossed the Tiber by the triumphal bridge, was drawing nigh to the cross prepared for him on the Vatican plain, another martyrdom was being consummated on the left bank of the same river. Paul, as he was led along the Ostian Way, was also followed by a group of the faithful who mingled with the escort of the condemned. His sentence was that he should be beheaded at the Salvian waters. A two miles' march brought the soldiers to a path leading eastwards, by which they led their prisoner to the place fixed upon for his martyrdom. Paul fell on his knees, addressing his last prayer to God; then having bandaged his eyes, he awaited the death-stroke. A soldier brandished his sword, and the apostle's head, as it was severed from the trunk, made three bounds along the ground; three fountains immediately sprang up on these several spots. Such is the local tradition; and to this day three fountains are to be seen on the site of his martyrdom, over each of which an altar is raised.

Let us unite our voice of homage to that of preceding ages in honour of this vessel of election, whence salvation flows so abundantly over our earth. Let us first borrow the following responsories from the Roman Office, the formulas of which for to-day's feast present such a fair collection of graceful beauty.

℟. Tu es vas electionis, sancte Paule apostole, prædicator veritatis in universo mundo: * Per quem omnes gentes cognoverunt gratiam Dei.

℣. Intercede pro nobis ad Deum, qui te elegit. * Per quem.

℟. Thou art a vessel of election, O holy apostle Paul, thou preacher of truth unto the whole world: * By whom all nations have known the grace of God.

℣. Intercede for us unto God who elected thee. * By whom.

℟. Gratia Dei sum id quod sum: * Et gratia ejus in me vacua non fuit, sed semper in me manet.

℣. Qui operatus est Petro in apostolatum, operatus est et mihi inter gentes. * Et gratia.

℟. By the grace of God I am what I am: * And his grace in me hath not been void, but ever abideth in me.

℣. He who wrought in Peter among the apostles hath wrought in me also among the Gentiles. * And his.

On the feast of the conversion of the great apostle, Adam of St Victor furnished a theme for our songs in an admirable sequence. The Missal of Liége of the year 1527 offers us the following, the simplicity of which is wanting neither in gracefulness nor depth:

SEQUENCE

Doctori gentium Gentes applaudite: Votaque mentium Voce depromite.

Unto the doctor of the Gentiles clap your applauding hands, O ye Gentiles: and with voice proclaim your soul's vows.

Pastori gregibus Curam impendere: Pastorem ovibus Incumbit colere.

To the shepherd appertaineth the care of the flock: unto the sheep it behoveth to revere the shepherd.

Electum vasculum Honoris ferculum Tumoris vacuum Jure percolitis Qui veri quæritis
Fontis irriguum.

O chosen vessel, vessel of honour without flaw, rightfully treasured by such as seek indeed pastures watered by the true fountain.

Exempli gratiam, Laudis materiam In hoc exilio Confert et gaudium, Doctoris gentium Sacra conversio.

The sacred conversion of the doctor of the Gentiles confers gladness in this our exile, subject of praise, and a worthy example.

Rapax mane, Sero munificus: Non inane Benjamin typicus Tulit auspicium.

At morn, ravenous; at eve, munificent: not vainly did the type of Benjamin give omen.

Parit mater Doloris filium: Vocat pater Dextræ suffragium,
Doctus mysterium.

The mother brought forth a son of pain: the father called him the son of the right hand, for he knew the mystery.

Quod Saulus rapuit, Paulus distribuit: Divisit spolia Legis in gratia.

That which Saul had seized, Paul distributed: he divided the spoils of the Law in grace.

Quem Annas statuit Ducem malitiæ,
Christus exhibuit Ministrum gratiæ.

Him whom Annas appointed to be the leader of wickedness, Christ showed to be the minister of grace.

Dum vacat cædibus,
Cæcutus corruit:
Lapsa de nubibus Vox eum arguit.

While intent on slaughter, he falls down blind: a voice from the clouds reproves him.

Cur me persequeris, Saule, nec sequeris: Cur in aculeum Vertis calcaneum?

'Wherefore persecutest thou me, O Saul, wherefore followest me not? Wherefore kickest thou against the goad?

Cum me persequeris, Præstare crederis
Mihi obsequium:

'The while thou persecutest me, thou thinkest to do me service brandishing the sword with bloody hands against my brethren.

In meis fratribus Cruentis manibus Versando gladium.

Excessit littera, Cesserunt vetera: Præconem gratiæ
Te nunc constituo: Surge continuo, Locum do veniæ.

'The letter is at an end, the old things are done away with: thee do I now constitute preacher of grace: at once arise, I give place to pardon.'

O plena gratia, De cujus cumulo Arenti copia Redundat sæculo.

O full of grace from out whose copious stream the arid world is inundated.

Felix vocatio, Non propter meritum: Larga donatio, Sed præter debitum.

Per aquæ medium,
Per ignem Spiritus, Ad refrigerium Transit divinitus.

Mutato nomine, Mutatur moribus: Secundus ordine, Primus laboribus.

Par est apostolis Vocatis primitus: Præest epistolis,
Vocatus cœlitus.

O happy vocation, not on account of merits: O copious donation, beyond all measure due!

Through the midst of water, through the fire of the Spirit, he passes to divine refreshment.

His name being changed, changed are his manners: in order he is second, in labours he is first.

Of apostles called in the first instance, he is peer: he excels in his epistles, he is called directly by heaven.

Ter virgis cæditur,
Semel lapidibus: Ter mari mergitur, Nec perit fluctibus.

Ad cœlum tertium
Raptus in spiritu, Dei mysterium, Mentis intuitu

Intuetur,

Nec loquitur, Quia nec loqui sinitur. O pastor inclyte,

Pastorum gloria,

Felici tramite

Tua ovilia Deduc, Perduc,

Constitue Perennis loco pascuæ,

Amen.

Thrice he is beaten with rods, once stoned: thrice submerged in the sea, yet perished not in the waves.

In spirit rapt to the third heaven, he beheld with mental gaze the mystery of God, nor spoke it again, for speak it he could not.

O matchless shepherd, glory of shepherds, by a safe pathway lead, conduct, establish thy sheep in the place of perennial pasture,

Amen.

St Peter Damian has consecrated a hymn to the doctor of the Gentiles in strains of energetic piety.

HYMN

Paule, doctor egregie, Tuba clangens Ecclesiæ,
Nubes volans ac tonitrum Per amplum mundi circulum.

Nobis potenter intona, Ruraque cordis irriga: Cœlestis imbre gratiæ
Mentes virescant aridæ.

O magnum Pauli meritum, Cœlum conscendit tertium,
Audit verba mysterii Quæ nullis audet eloqui.

Dum verbi spargit semina, Seges surgit uberrima: Sic cœli replent horreum
Bonorum fruges operum.

Micantis more lampadis, Perfundit orbem radiis:

O Paul, incomparable doctor, O resounding trumpet of the Church, O fleeting cloud swift carrying the thunder all round earth's circuit:

Do thou roar thy potent thunders into us, and irrigate the fields of our hearts: may our arid souls wax green, beneath the sweet showers of heavenly graces.

O mighty merit of Paul! he scales the third heaven, he hears words of mystery, which he dares not repeat to anyone.

Whilst he casts the seed of the word, a rich harvest springs up: thus are heaven's granaries filled with the fruits of good works.

After the manner of a lamp, he sheds his rays over the world: the darkness of error he puts to flight, and truth reigns alone.

Praise be to the Father, born of none, glory be to the Only-Begotten, supreme majesty be to the Spirit, equal of both.

Amen.

Fugat errorum tenebras, Ut sola regnet veritas.

Sit Patri laus ingenito, Sit decus Unigenito, Sit utriusque parili Majestas summa Flamini. Amen.

In conclusion, conformably with liturgical tradition which never celebrates one of these two apostles without making a commemoration of the other, we give below, despoiled of all later touches, the entire poem of Elpis, whence yesterday's Vesper hymn culled but two strophes. The third strophe is used by the Church on the other feasts of St Peter, the fourth on those of St Paul; the two unitedly formed the Lauds hymn of yesterday's feast.

HYMN

Aurea luce et decore roseo, Lux lucis, omne perfudisti sæculum:
Decorans cœlos inclyto martyrio.
Hac sacra die quæ dat reis veniam.

Janitor cæli, doctor orbis pariter,
Judices sæcli, vera mundi lumina:
Per crucem alter, alter ense triumphans, Vitæ senatum laureati possident.

Jam, bone Pastor Petre, clemens accipe Vota precantum, et peccati vincula Resolve, tibi potestate tradita, Qua cunctis cœlum verbo claudis, aperis.

Doctor egregie, Paule, mores instrue, Et mente polum nos transferre satage:

O Light of Light (Jesus), thou hast inundated every age with a golden light and with a ruddy beauty, adorning the heavens with a glorious martyrdom, on this sacred day, which gives pardon to the guilty.

The door-keeper of heaven, as also the teacher of the universe, the judges of the world, the true lights of the earth, the one conquering by the cross, the other by the sword, crowned with laurel, both take their seats in the senate of Life.

Come! O good shepherd, Peter, do thou mercifully receive the prayers of suppliants, and loose the fetters of sin, by the power given to thee, whence, by thy word, thou shuttest or openest heaven to all.

O Paul, thou excellent teacher, instruct us, regulate our way of living, and do thou carefully bear us up in spirit to heaven;

Donec perfectum largiatur plenius, Evacuato quod ex parte gerimus.

Olivæ binæ pietatis unicæ,
Fide devotos, spe robustos, maxime Fonte repletos charitatis geminæ,
Post mortem carnis impetrate vivere.

Sit Trinitati sempiterna gloria, Honor, potestas, atque jubilatio, In unitate cui manet imperium, Ex tunc, et modo, per æterna sæcula.
Amen.

until that which we now have but in part being brought to an end, that which is perfect may be given to us in its plenitude.

O twin olive trees, made one in tenderness of affection, grant that devoted in faith, strong in hope, and above all, filled from the fount of twofold charity, we may come to live for ever after the death of this flesh.

To the Trinity in Unity, to which there is ever due supreme dominion, both in time past, and now through everlasting ages, may there be eternal glory, honour, power, and jubilation! Amen.

To thee, O Paul, we turn this day! Happily founded on Peter, the rock that supports the Church, could we possibly forget thee, by whose labours our forefathers, the Gentiles, became part of the city of God? Sion, once the well-beloved, rejected the Stone and stumbled against it: what is the mystery of this other Jerusalem come down from heaven, the materials whereof were nevertheless drawn up from the abyss? Compacted together in admirable masonry, they proclaim the glory of the skilful architect who laid them on the Corner-Stone; and they are precious stones of such surpassing brilliancy as to outshine all the gems of the daughter of Sion. To whom is this new-comer indebted for all her beauty, for all these her bridal honours? How have the sons of the forsaken one come out from the unclean dens where their mother dwelt, a companion of dragons and of leopards?¹ It is because the voice of the Spouse was heard saying: 'Come, my bride, come from Libanus; from the top of Amana, from the top of Sanir and Hermon!'² Nevertheless, the Spouse in his own sacred Person, while he lived here below, never quitted the ancient land of promise, and his mortal accents never once fell on the ear of her who dwelt beyond the confines of Jacob. But, O Paul, didst thou not exclaim: 'How shall they call upon him? how believe him of whom they have not heard?'³ Yet whosoever knows thy love of the Spouse has naught to fear, mindful that thou thyself, O holy apostle, hast proposed the problem and canst solve it.

¹ Cant. iv 8. ² Ibid. ³ Rom. x 14.

This is the answer; we sang it on the day of Christ's triumphant Ascension: 'When the beauty of the Lord shall arise above the heavens, he shall be mounted on a cloud, and the wing of the wind shall be his swift steed; and, clad in light, he shall dart from pole to pole across the heavens, giving his gifts to the children of men.'⁴ Thou thyself, O Paul, art this cloud, this wing of the wind bearing the Bridegroom's message unto the nations; yea, thou wast expressly chosen from on high to teach the Gentiles, as those pillars of the Church, Peter, James, and John, have attested.⁵ How beautiful were thy feet when, having quitted Sion, thou didst appear on our mountains and didst cry out to the Gentiles: 'Thy God shall reign!'⁶ How sweet thy voice when it murmured in the ear of the poor forsaken one the heavenly call: 'Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline the ear of thy heart'!⁷ How tender the pity thou didst evince towards her who had long lived a stranger to the Covenant, without promise, without a God in this world!⁸

⁴ Resp. of Matins Ascen. ⁵ Gal. ii 7-9. ⁶ Isa. lii 7. ⁷ Ps. xliv 11. ⁸ Eph. ii 12. The sequel is strung together freely, from this and his other Epistles.

But afar off was she who was to be brought so near to the Lord Jesus, that he and she should form but one body! Thou didst experience, in this immense labour, both the pains of childbirth and the cares of a mother giving the breast to her new-born babe; thou hadst to bear the tedious delay of the growth of the bride, to guard her from every defilement, to inure her gradually to the dazzling light of the Spouse; until at last, rooted and founded in charity, and having reached unto the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ, she might indeed be his glory, and be filled by him unto all the plenitude of God. But what a toil to bring up this new creation from the original slime, to the throne of the heavenly Adam, at the right hand of the Father! Oftentimes repulsed, betrayed, put in chains, misunderstood in the most delicate sentiments of thine apostolic heart, thou hadst naught for thy salary save untold anguish and suffering. Yet fatigue, watchings, hunger, cold, nakedness, abandonment, open violence, perfidious attacks, perils of all kinds, far from abating, only excited thy zeal: joy superabounded in thee; for these sufferings were the filling up of those which Jesus had endured to purchase that alliance so long desired by eternal Wisdom. After his example, thou too hadst but one end, whither tended all thy strength and all thy gentleness: along the dusty Roman roads, or tempest-tossed in the depth of the sea; in the city or the desert; borne aloft on ecstatic wing into the third heavens, or bowed beneath the whips of the Jews and the sword of Nero; everywhere bearing the embassy of Christ, thou didst boldly defy alike life and death, powers of earth and powers of heaven, to stay the might of the Lord or his love, whereby thou wast upheld in thy vast enterprise. Then, as if aware by anticipation of the amazement that would be excited by these enthusiastic outpourings of thy great soul, thou didst utter this sublime cry: 'Would to God that you could bear with some little of my folly: but do bear with me, for I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God. For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ!'¹

¹ 2 Cor. xi 1, 2.

Yesterday, O Paul, thy work was ended. Having given all, thou at length gavest thyself. The sword that struck off thy head accomplished Christ's triumph, as thou hadst predicted. Peter's death fixes the throne of the Spouse in its predestined place. But to thee is the bride, the Gentile world, indebted for being now able, as she sits at the right hand of the Spouse, to turn to the rival Synagogue, exclaiming: 'I am black, but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem; therefore hath the King loved me and chosen me to be his queen!'²

² Cant. i 4; iv 8.

Praise be to thee, O apostle, now and for ever! Eternity itself will not suffice to exhaust the gratitude of the nations. Accomplish thy work in each one of us during all ages. Do not allow this mystical body to suffer loss in any of her members. Uphold and brace against despondency the preachers of the sacred Word, all those who by the pen, or by any title whatsoever, are continuing thy work of light. Multiply those valiant apostles who are ever narrowing upon our globe the boundaries of darkness. Thou didst promise to remain with us, to be ever watchful of faith's progress in souls, and to cause the pure delights of divine union to be ever developing there. Keep thy promise; because of thy going away to Jesus, thy word is none the less plighted to those who, like ourselves, could not know thee here below. For to those who have not seen thy face in the flesh thou hast left, in one of thine immortal Epistles, the assurance that thou wilt take care that their hearts be comforted, being instructed in charity, and unto all riches of fullness of understanding, unto the knowledge of the mystery of God the Father and of Jesus Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.³

³ Col. ii 2, 3.

During this season of the sacred cycle, the reign of the Holy Spirit who formeth saints,⁴ grant that Christians of goodwill may be brought to understand how, by their Baptism, they are put in possession of that sublime vocation which is often imagined to be the happy lot of but a chosen few. Would that they could seize this grand yet very simple idea, which thou hast given, of the mystery wherein is contained the absolute and universal principle of Christian life:⁵ that, having been buried with Jesus under the waters, and thereby incorporated with him, they are necessarily bound by every right and title to become saints, to aim at union with Jesus in his life since they have been granted union with him in his death. *Ye are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God!*⁶ these were the words addressed by thee to our forefathers. Repeat them to us likewise, for thou didst give them as a truth intended for all without distinction! Suffer not, O Doctor of the Gentiles, that the light grow dim among us, to the great detriment of the Lord and of his bride.

⁴ Rom. viii. ⁵ Ibid. vi. ⁶ Col. iii 3.

JULY 1

FEAST OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

John the Baptist has pointed out the Lamb, Peter has firmly established his throne, Paul has prepared the bride; their joint work, admirable in its unity, at once suggests the reason for their feasts occurring almost simultaneously in the cycle. The alliance being now secured, all three fall into shade; whilst the bride herself, raised up by them to such lofty heights, appears alone before us, holding in her hands the sacred cup of the nuptial-feast.

This gives the key of to-day's solemnity, revealing how its appearance in the heavens of the holy liturgy at this particular season is replete with mystery. The Church, it is true, has already made known to the sons of the new covenant, in a much more solemn manner, the price of the Blood that redeemed them, its nutritive strength and the adoring homage which is its due. On Good Friday earth and heaven beheld all sin drowned in the saving stream, whose eternal flood-gates at last gave way beneath the combined effort of man's violence and of the love of the divine Heart. The festival of Corpus Christi witnessed our prostrate worship before the altars whereon is perpetuated the Sacrifice of Calvary, and where the outpouring of the precious Blood affords drink to the humblest little ones, as well as to the mightiest

tentates of earth, lowly bowed in adoration before it.

How is it, then, that holy Church is now inviting all Christians to hail, in a particular manner, the stream of life ever gushing from the sacred fount? What else can this mean, but that the preceding solemnities have by no means exhausted the mystery? The peace which this Blood has made to reign in the high places as well as in the low; the impetus of its wave bearing back the sons of Adam from the yawning gulf, purified, renewed and dazzling white in the radiance of their heavenly apparel; the sacred Table outspread before them on the waters' brink, and the chalice brimful of inebriation—all this preparation and display would be objectless, all these splendours would be incomprehensible, if man were not brought to see herein the wooings of a love that could never endure its advances to be outdone by the pretensions of any other. Therefore, the Blood of Jesus is set before our eyes at this moment as the Blood of the Testament; the pledge of the alliance proposed to us by God; the dower stipulated by eternal Wisdom for this divine union to which he is inviting all men, and its consummation in our soul which is being urged forward with such vehemence by the Holy Ghost.

"Having therefore, brethren, a confidence in entering into the Holies by the Blood of Christ," says the apostle, "a new and living way which he hath dedicated for us through the veil—that is to say, his flesh—let us draw near with a pure heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with clean water, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he is faithful that hath promised. Let us consider one another to provoke unto charity and to good works. And may the God of peace who brought again from the dead the great Pastor of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Blood of the everlasting Testament, fit you in all goodness, that you may do his will: doing in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom is glory for ever and ever. Amen!"¹

Nor must we omit to mention here, that this feast is a monument of one of the most brilliant victories of holy Church in our own age. Pius IX had been driven from Rome in 1848 by the triumphant revolution; but the following year, just about this season, his power was re-established. Under the ægis of the apostles on June 28 and the two following days, the eldest daughter of the Church, faithful to her past glories, swept the ramparts of the eternal city; and on July 2, Mary's festival, the victory was completed. Not long after this, a twofold decree notified to the city and to the world the Pontiff's gratitude and the way in which he intended to perpetuate, in the sacred liturgy, the memory of these events. On August 10, from Gaeta itself, the place of his exile in the evil day, Pius IX, before returning to reassume the government of his States, addressing himself to the invisible Head of the Church, confided her in a special manner to his divine care, by the institution of this day's festival; reminding him that it was for his Church that he had vouchsafed to shed all his precious Blood. Then, when the Pontiff re-entered his capital, turning to Mary, just as Pius V and Pius VII had done under other circumstances, the Vicar of Christ solemnly attributed the honour of the recent victory to her who is ever the help of Christians; for on the feast of her Visitation it had been gained; and he now decreed that this said feast of July 2 should be raised from the rite of double major to that of second class throughout the whole world. This was a prelude to the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which the immortal Pontiff had already projected, whereby the crushing of the serpent's head would be completed.

MASS

The Church, formed by the apostles from all the nations under heaven, advances towards the altar of the Spouse who hath redeemed her in his Blood, and in the Introit hails his merciful love. She, henceforth, is the kingdom of God, the depository of truth.

INTROIT

Redemisti nos, Domine, in Sanguine tuo, ex omni tribu, et lingua, et populo, et natione, et fecisti nos Deo nostro regnum.

Ps. Misericordias Domini in æternum cantabo: in generationem et generationem annuntiabo veritatem tuam in ore meo.

℣. Gloria Patri. Redemisti nos.

Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in thy Blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and hast made us to our God a kingdom.

Ps. The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever: I will show forth thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation.

℣. Glory, etc. Thou hast.

The Blood of the Man-God, being the pledge of peace between heaven and earth, the object of profoundest worship, the centre of the whole liturgy, and our assured protection against all the evils of this present life, deposits, even now, in the souls and bodies of those whom it has ransomed, the germ of eternal happiness. The Church, therefore, in her Collect, begs of the Father, who has given us his only-begotten Son, that this divine germ may not remain sterile within us, but may come to full development in heaven.

COLLECT

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui unigenitum Filium tuum mundi Redemptorem constituisti, ac ejus Sanguine placari voluisti: concede quæsumus, salutis nostræ pretium solemni cultu ita venerari, atque a præsentis vitæ malis ejus virtute defendi in terris: ut fructu perpetuo lætemur in cœlis. Per eumdem Dominum.

Almighty and eternal God, who hast appointed thy only-begotten Son to be the Redeemer of the world, and hast been pleased to be appeased by his Blood: grant us, we beseech thee, so to venerate with solemn worship the price of our salvation, and to be on earth so defended by its power from the evils of this present life, that we may rejoice in its perpetual fruit in heaven. Through the same Lord, etc.

EPISTLE

Lectio Epistolæ beati Pauli Apostoli ad Hebræos.

Cap. IX

Fratres, Christus assistens Pontifex futurorum bonorum, per amplius et perfectius tabernaculum non manufactum, id est, non hujus creationis: neque per sanguinem hircorum aut vitulorum, sed per proprium Sanguinem introivit semel in Sancta, æterna redemptione inventa. Si enim sanguis hircorum et taurorum, et cinis vitulæ aspersus inquinatos sanctificat ad emundationem carnis: quanto magis Sanguis Christi, qui per Spiritum sanctum semetipsum obtulit immaculatum Deo, emundabit conscientiam nostram ab operibus mortuis, ad serviendum Deo viventi? Et ideo novi Testamenti Mediator est: ut morte intercedente, in redemptionem earum prævaricationum quæ erant sub priori Testamento, repromissionem accipiant, qui vocati sunt, æternæ hereditatis: in Christo Jesu Domino nostro.

Lesson from the Epistle of St Paul to the Hebrews.

Ch. IX

Brethren, Christ, being come a High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, neither by the blood of goats or of calves, but by his own Blood, entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of an heifer being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh, how much more shall the Blood of Christ, who through the Holy Ghost, offered himself without spot to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And, therefore, he is the Mediator of the New Testament; that by means of his death, for the redemption of those transgressions which were under the former Testament, those that are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance; in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Epistle that has just been read to us is the confirmation of what we were saying above, as regards the special character of this festival. It was by his own Blood that the Son of God entered into heaven; this divine Blood continues to be the means whereby we also may be introduced into the eternal alliance. Thus, the old Covenant, founded on the observance of the precepts of Sinai, had likewise by blood consecrated the people and the law, the tabernacle and the vessels it was to contain; but the whole was but a figure. "Now," says St Ambrose, "it behoves us to tend to truth. Here below, there is the shadow; here below, there is the image; up yonder, there is the truth. In the law was but the shadow; the image is to be found in the Gospel; the truth is in heaven. Formerly a lamb was immolated; now Christ is sacrificed, but only under the signs of the mysteries, whereas in heaven it is without veil. There alone, consequently, is full perfection unto which our thoughts should cleave, because all perfection is in truth without image and without shadow."¹ There alone is rest: thither, even in this world, do the sons of God tend; without indeed attaining fully thereunto, they reach nearer and nearer day by day; for there alone is to be found that peace which forms saints.

"O Lord God," cries out in his turn another illustrious doctor, the great St Augustine, "give us this peace, the peace of repose, the peace of the seventh day, of that Sabbath whose sun never sets. Yea! verily the whole order of nature and grace is very beautiful unto thy servitors, and goodly are the realities they cover; but these images, these successive forms, bide only awhile, and their evolution ended they pass away. The days thou didst fill with thy creations are composed of morning and of evening, the seventh alone excepted, for it declineth not, because thou hast for ever sanctified it in thine own rest. Now what is this rest, save that which thou takest in us, when we ourselves repose in thee, in the fruitful peace which crowns the series of thy graces in us? O sacred rest, more productive than labour! the perfect alone know thee, they who suffer the divine Spouse to accomplish within them the work of the six days."²

And the apostle goes on to say, interpreting by means of other parts of Scripture his own words, just read to us by holy Church, "And therefore to-day if ye shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts."³ The divine Blood has made us participators of Christ: it is our part not to squander, as though it were worthless, this immense treasure, this initial incorporation which unites us to Christ, the divine Head; but let us abandon ourselves, without reserve, to the energy of this precious leaven, whose property it is to transform our whole being into him. Let us be afraid lest we fall short of the promise referred to in to-day's Epistle, that promise of our entering into God's rest, as St Paul tells us.⁴ It regards all believers, he says, and this divine Sabbath is for the whole people of the Lord. Therefore, let us make haste to enter in; let us not be like those Jews whose incredulity excluded them for ever from the promised land.

The Gradual brings us back to the great testimony of the love of the Son of God, confided to the Holy Ghost, together with the Blood and Water of the Mysteries: a testimony which is closely linked here below with that which is rendered by the Holy Trinity in heaven. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, sings the Verse. What is this but to say, once again, that we must absolutely yield to these reiterated invitations of love? None may excuse himself by pleading either ignorance or want of vocation to a higher state than that to which tepidity inclines him. Let us hearken to the apostle addressing himself to all, in this same Epistle to the Hebrews: "Yea, verily; great and ineffable are these things. But if you have become little able to understand them, it is your own fault; for whereas for the time you ought to be masters, you have need to be taught again what are the first elements of the words of God: and you are become such as have need of milk, though your age would require the solid meat of the perfect. Wherefore, as far as concerns us in our instructions to you, leaving the word of the elementary teaching of Christ, let us go on to things more perfect, not laying again the foundation of penance from dead works, and of faith towards God. Have you not been illuminated? have you not tasted also the heavenly gift? have you not been made partakers of the Holy Ghost? What showers of graces at every moment water the earth of your soul! It is time that it bring in a return to God who tills it. Ye have delayed long enough: be now, at last, of the number of those who by patience and faith shall inherit the promises, casting your hope like an anchor sure and firm, which entereth in even within the veil, where the forerunner Jesus has entered for us—that is, to draw us in thither after him."⁵

GRADUAL

Hic est qui venit per aquam et sanguinem, Jesus Christus: non in aqua solum, sed in aqua et sanguine.

℣. Tres sunt qui testimonium dant in cœlo: Pater, Verbum, et Spiritus sanctus; et hi tres unum sunt. Et tres sunt, qui testimonium dant in terra: spiritus, aqua, et sanguis; et hi tres unum sunt.

Alleluia, alleluia.

℣. Si testimonium hominum accipimus, testimonium Dei

This is he that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ: not by water only, but by water and blood.

℣. There are three that give testimony in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that give testimony on earth: the spirit, the water, and the blood: and these three are one.

¹ Exod. xxiv. 8; Heb. ix. 20. ² Heb. x. 19-24. ³ Ibid. xiii. 20, 21.

¹ Ambr. De Offic. I. 48.
² Aug. Confess. xiii. 35-37; de Genesi ad litt. iv. 13-17; et alibi passim.
³ Heb. iii. 7, 8, ex Ps. xciv.
⁴ Heb. iii, iv.
⁵ Heb. v, vi.

Alleluia, alleluia.

℣. Si testimonium hominum accipimus, testimonium Dei majus est. Alleluia.

℣. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem.

Sequel of the holy Gospel according to John.

Cap. xix.

In illo tempore: Cum accepisset Jesus acetum, dixit: Consummatum est. Et inclinato capite, tradidit spiritum. Judæi ergo (quoniam Parasceve erat), ut non remanerent in cruce corpora Sabbato (erat enim magnus dies ille Sabbati), rogaverunt Pilatum, ut frangerentur eorum crura, et tollerentur. Venerunt ergo milites: et primi quidem fregerunt crura, et alterius qui crucifixus est cum eo. Ad Jesum autem cum venissent, ut viderunt eum jam mortuum, non fregerunt ejus crura; sed unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit, et continuo exivit sanguis et aqua. Et qui vidit, testimonium perhibuit: et verum est testimonium ejus.

At that time, when Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost. Then the Jews (because it was the Parasceve) that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath-day (for that was a great Sabbath-day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came, and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him. But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he that saw it hath given testimony, and his testimony is true.

¹ Heb. v, vi passim.

On Good Friday we heard for the first time this passage from the beloved disciple. The Church, as she stood mourning at the foot of the cross whereon her Lord had just died, was all tears and lamentation. To-day, however, she is thrilling with other sentiments, and the very same narration that then provoked her bitter tears now makes her burst out into anthems of gladness and songs of triumph. If we would know the reason of this, let us turn to those who are authorized by her to interpret to us the burthen of her thoughts this day. They will tell us that the new Eve is celebrating her birth from the side of her sleeping Spouse;¹ that from the solemn moment when the new Adam permitted the soldier's lance to open his Heart, we became, in very deed, bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.² Do not be surprised if holy Church sees naught but love and life in the Blood which is gushing forth.

And thou, O soul, long rebellious to the secret touches of choicest graces, be not disconsolate; do not say: 'Love is no more for me!' How far away soever the old enemy may, by wretched wiles, have dragged thee, is it not still true, that to every winding way, perhaps even to every pitfall, the streamlets of this sacred fount have followed thee? Thinkest thou, perhaps, that thy long

¹ Aug. Hom. diei, ex tract. cxx in Joan.
² Sermo II Nocturni.

and tortuous wanderings from the merciful course of these ever pursuant waters may have weakened their power? Do but try; do but, first of all, bathe in their cleansing wave; do but quaff long draughts from this stream of life; then, O weary soul, arming thyself with faith, be strong, and mount once more the course of the divine torrent; for, as in order to reach thee it never once was separated from its fountain-head, so likewise be certain that by so doing thou needs must reach the very source itself. Believe me, this is the whole secret of the bride—namely, that whencesoever she may come, she has no other course to pursue than this, if she would hear the answer to that yearning request expressed in the sacred Canticle: 'Show me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou restest in the midday!'¹ Indeed, by reascending the sacred stream, not only is she sure of reaching the divine Heart, but moreover she is ceaselessly renewing, in its waters, that pure beauty which makes her become in the eyes of the Spouse an object of delight and glory to him.² For thy part, carefully gather up to-day the testimony of the disciple of love; and congratulating Jesus with the Church, his bride and thy mother, on the brilliancy of her empurpled robe,³ take good heed likewise to conclude with St John: 'Let us then love God, since he hath first loved us.'⁴

The Church, whilst presenting her gifts for the sacrifice, sings how that chalice which she is offering to the benediction of her sons, the priests, becomes by virtue of the sacred words the inexhaustible source whence the Blood of her Lord flows out upon the whole world.

¹ Cant. i 6.
² Eph. v 27.
³ Prima ant. in Vesp.
⁴ 1 St John iv 19.

OFFERTORY

Calix benedictionis, cui benedicimus, nonne communicatio Sanguinis Christi est? Et panis quem frangimus, nonne participatio Corporis Domini est?

The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord?

The Secret begs for the full effect of the divine alliance, of which the Lord's Blood is both the means and the pledge, since its effusion continually renewed in the sacred Mysteries has hushed the cry of vengeance that the blood of Abel had sent up from earth to heaven.

SECRET

Per hæc divina mysteria, ad novi, quæsumus, Testamenti mediatorem Jesum accedamus; et super altaria tua, Domine virtutum, aspersionem Sanguinis melius loquentem quam Abel innovemus. Per eumdem.

By these divine mysteries, we beseech thee that we may approach to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Testament; and that upon thy altars, O Lord of hosts, we may renew the sprinkling of that Blood, speaking better than that of Abel. Through the same, etc.

PREFACE

Vere dignum et justum est, æquum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus, qui salutem humani generis in ligno crucis constituisti: ut unde mors oriebatur, inde vita resurgeret: et qui in ligno vincebat, in ligno quoque vinceretur: per Christum Dominum nostrum. Per quem majestatem tuam laudant Angeli; adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potestates. Cœli, cœlorumque Virtutes, ac beata Seraphim, socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces, ut admitti jubeas deprecamur, supplici confessione dicentes: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, etc.

It is truly meet and just, right and availing to salvation, that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God, who hast appointed that the salvation of mankind should be wrought on the wood of the cross: that whence death came, thence life might arise; and that he who overcame by the tree, might also by the tree be overcome; through Christ our Lord; by whom the Angels praise thy majesty, the Dominations adore it, the Powers tremble before it; the heavens and the heavenly Virtues, and the blessed Seraphim, with common jubilee glorify it. Together with whom we beseech thee that we may be admitted to join our humble voices, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy, etc.

The Communion antiphon hails the merciful love of which our Lord gave proof by his coming, not suffering himself to be turned aside from his divine projects by the accumulation of crimes which he must destroy in his own Blood, in order to purify the bride. Thanks to the adorable mystery of faith operating in the secret of hearts, when he shall come again visibly, nothing will remain of this sad past but a memory of victory.

COMMUNION

Christus semel oblatus est ad multorum exhaurienda peccata; secundo sine peccato apparebit exspectantibus se, in salutem.

Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many; the second time he shall appear without sin to them that expect him, unto salvation.

Inebriated with gladness at the Saviour's fountains, his sacred Wounds, let us pray that the precious Blood now empurpling our lips may remain unto eternity the living source whence we may ever draw beatitude and life.

POSTCOMMUNION

Ad sacram, Domine, mensam admissi, hausimus aquas in gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris: Sanguis ejus fiat nobis, quæsumus, fons aquæ in vitam æternam salientis. Qui tecum vivit et regnat.

Having been admitted to the holy Table, O Lord, we have drawn waters in joy from the fountains of our Saviour: may his Blood, we beseech thee, become within us a fountain of water springing up to eternal life. Who liveth and reigneth, etc.

VESPERS

Yesterday, at the opening of the feast, the Church sang: 'Who is this that cometh from Bosra, in Edom, with his robe so richly dyed? Comely is he in his vesture! It is I,' replied he, 'I whose word is full of justice, I who am a defender, to save.' He that spoke thus was clad in a garment dyed with blood, and the name given unto him is the Word of God. 'Wherefore, then,' continued the Church, 'is thy robe all bespotted, and thy garments like to those who tread in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and among men none was there to lend aid.'

Thus did he appear, by the virtue of his divine Blood, to whom the psalmist exclaimed: 'Arise in thy glory and beauty, march forward unto victory!'³ After this first sublime dialogue concerning the Spouse, another, this morning, pointed out to us the bride drawing for herself from this precious Blood that superhuman loveliness which beseems the nuptial banquet of the Lamb. The Lauds antiphons brought upon the scene the members of holy Church, especially her martyrs in whom her radiant beauty glitters most of all: 'These who are clad in white robes, who are they, and whence come they? These are they who have come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb. This is why they stand before the throne of God, ministering to him day and night. They have conquered the dragon by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of the Testament. Blessed are they who have washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb!'

This evening the Church returns to her Lord, repeating at her Second Vespers the same antiphons as at her First.

³ Ps. xliv.

Ant. Quis est iste, qui venit de Edom, tinctis vestibus de Bosra? Iste formosus in stola sua.

Ant. Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra, this beautiful one in his robe?

Psalm, Dixit Dominus, p. 35.

Ant. Ego qui loquor justitiam, et propugnator sum ad salvandum.

Ant. I that speak justice, and am a defender to save.

Psalm, Confitebor tibi Domine, p. 37.

Ant. Vestitus erat veste aspersa sanguine, et vocatur nomen ejus Verbum Dei.

Ant. He was clothed in a robe sprinkled with blood, and his name is called the Word of God.

Psalm, Beatus vir, p. 38.

Ant. Quare ergo rubrum est indumentum tuum, et vestimenta tua sicut calcantium in torculari?

Ant. Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments like to them that tread the winepress?

Psalm, Laudate pueri, p. 39.

Ant. Torcular calcavi solus, et de gentibus non est vir mecum.

Ant. I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me.

PSALM 147

Lauda, Jerusalem, Dominum: lauda Deum tuum, Sion.

Quoniam confortavit seras portarum tuarum: benedixit filiis tuis in te.

Qui posuit fines tuos pacem: et adipe frumenti satiat te.

Qui emittit eloquium suum terræ: velociter currit sermo ejus.

Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: nebulam sicut cinerem spargit.

Mittit crystallum suam sicut bucellas: ante faciem frigoris ejus quis sustinebit?

Emittet verbum suum, et liquefaciet ea: flabit spiritus ejus, et fluent aquæ.

Qui annuntiat verbum suum Jacob: justitias et judicia sua Israel.

Non fecit taliter omni nationi: et judicia sua non manifestavit eis.

Ant. Torcular calcavi solus, et de gentibus non est vir mecum.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! praise thy God, O Sion!

Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates: he hath blessed thy children within thee.

Who hath placed peace in thy borders: and filleth thee with the fat of corn.

Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth: his word runneth swiftly.

Who giveth snow like wool: scattereth mists like ashes.

He sendeth his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold?

He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.

Who declareth his word to Jacob: his justices and his judgements to Israel.

He hath not done in like manner to every nation: and his judgements he hath not made manifest to them.

Ant. I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me.

CAPITULUM

Fratres, Christus assistens Pontifex futurorum bonorum, per amplius et perfectius tabernaculum non manufactum, id est, non hujus creationis; neque per sanguinem hircorum aut vitulorum, sed per proprium Sanguinem introivit semel in Sancta, æterna redemptione inventa.

Brethren, Christ, being come a High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, neither by the blood of goats nor of calves, but by his own Blood, entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption.

HYMN

Festivis resonent compita vocibus, Cives lætitiam frontibus explicent:
Tædis flammiferis ordine prodeant
Instructi pueri et senes.

Quem dura moriens Christus in arbore Fudit multiplici vulnere Sanguinem, Nos facti memores dum colimus, decet Saltem fundere lacrymas.

Humano generi pernicies gravis Adami veteris crimine contigit: Adami integritas et pietas novi Vitam reddidit omnibus.

Clamorem validum summus ab æthere
Languentis Geniti si Pater audiit, Placari potius Sanguine debuit, Et nobis veniam dare.

Hoc quicumque stolam Sanguine proluit, Abstergit maculas; et roseum decus,

Let the streets re-echo with festive song, let the brow of every citizen beam gladsomeness; let young and old file along, in order due, bearing lighted torches.

Being mindful of that Blood which Christ, upon the cruel tree, did dying shed for many a thousand wounds, let us at least, the while, pour forth our mingling tears.

Grave loss befell the human race, by the old Adam's sin. The new Adam's sinlessness and tender love have life restored to all.

If the eternal Father heard on high the strong cry of his expiring Son, far more is he appeased by this dear Blood, and is thereby enforced to grant us pardon.

Quo fiat similis protinus Angelis, Et Regi placeat.

Whosoever in this Blood his robe doth wash, is wholly freed from stain, and roseate beauty gains, whereby he is made like unto angels and well-pleasing to the King.

A recto instabilis tramite postmodum Se nullus retrahat; meta sed ultima Tangatur: tribuet nobile præmium,
Qui cursum Deus adjuvat.

Henceforth, let none inconstant from the straight path withdraw; but let the furthest goal be fairly touched. May God, who aideth them that run the race, bestow the noble prize.

Nobis propitius sis, Genitor potens, Ut quos Unigenæ Sanguine emisti,
Et placido Flamine recreas, Cœli ad culmina transferas. Amen.

Be thou propitious to us, O almighty Father, that those whom thou didst purchase by the Blood of thine only-begotten Son, and whom thou dost re-create in the Paraclete Spirit, thou mayst one day transfer unto the heavenly heights. Amen.

℣. Te ergo quæsumus, tuis famulis subveni.
℟. Quos pretioso Sanguine redemisti.

℣. We beseech thee, therefore, help thy servants.
℟. Whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious Blood.

Though this feast passes away like all else here below, the object it celebrates remains, and is the treasure of the world. Let, then, this feast be for each one of us, as it indeed is for the Church herself, a monument of heaven's sublimest favours. Each year, as it recurs in the cycle, may our hearts be found bearing new fruits of love, that have budded forth, watered by the fructifying dew of the precious Blood.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Habebitis autem hunc diem in monumentum, et celebrabitis eum solemnem Domino in generationibus vestris cultu sempiterno.

Ye shall observe this day for a memorial, and ye shall keep it holy unto the Lord, in your generations, with an everlasting worship.

COLLECT

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui unigenitum Filium tuum mundi Redemptorem constituisti, ac ejus Sanguine placari voluisti: concede quæsumus, salutis nostræ pretium solemni cultu ita venerari, atque a præsentis vitæ malis ejus virtute defendi in terris; ut fructu perpetuo lætemur in cœlis. Per eumdem Dominum.

Almighty and eternal God, who hast appointed thy only-begotten Son to be the Redeemer of the world, and hast been pleased to be appeased by his Blood: grant us, we beseech thee, so to venerate with solemn worship the price of our salvation, and to be on earth so defended by its power from the evils of this present life, that we may rejoice in its perpetual fruit in heaven. Through the same Lord, etc.

We here add the Matins hymn of the feast, which is redolent of grace and tenderness.

HYMN

Ira justa Conditoris, Imbre aquarum vindice, Criminosum mersit orbem, Noe in arca sospite: Mira tandem vis amoris Lavit orbem Sanguine.

The just ire of the Creator did erst the guilty world submerge beneath the vengeful rain of waters, Noe, in the Ark sequestered safe the while. But yet more wondrous still the violence of love that hath the world in Blood now laved.

Tam salubri terra felix Irrigata pluvia, Ante spinis quæ scatebat,
Germinavit flosculos: Inque nectaris saporem Transiere absinthia.

The happy world, watered by such salubrious rain, now buds forth fair flowers, where erst sprang naught but thorns: yea, now hath wormwood nectar's savoury sweetness e'en assumed.

Triste protinus venenum Dirus anguis perdidit, Et cruenta belluarum Desiit ferocia: Mitis Agni vulnerati Hæc fuit victoria.

The cruel serpent hath suddenly laid aside his poison dire, and vanished is the wild ferocity of beasts: such the victory of the wounded Lamb all meek!

O scientiæ supernæ
Altitudo impervia! O suavitas benigni Prædicanda pectoris!
Servus erat morte dignus, Rex luit pœnam optimus.

O depth inscrutable of heavenly wisdom! O benignant tenderness of love! Thus every heart aloud proclaims: The slave was worthy of death, and the King, in goodness infinite, did undergo the punishment.

Quando culpis provocamus Ultionem Judicis, Tunc loquentis protegamur Sanguinis præsentia:
Ingruentium malorum Tunc recedant agmina.

When by sin we provoke the wrath of the judge divine, then by the pleading of this eloquent Blood may we be protected. Then may the throng of threatened evils pass from us away!

Te redemptus laudet orbis Grata servans munera, O salutis sempiternæ
Dux et auctor inclyte, Qui tenes beata regna Cum Parente et Spiritu. Amen.

Let the ransomed world praise thee, bringing her grateful gifts, O thou, the leader and loving author of eternal salvation, who, together with the Father and the Holy Ghost, dost possess the blessed kingdom. Amen.

THE SAME DAY

THE OCTAVE DAY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

THE Church unites on June 24 in one celebration, the memory both of the birth of the Precursor and of his circumcision, surrounded as it was by prodigies, related in the Gospel of the feast itself. But, properly speaking, this is the day whereon these wonders were operated, according to the words of the Gospel: 'It came to pass that on the eighth day the child was circumcised.' By placing on the morrow of this eighth day the celebration of Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth, the Church seems to insinuate that our Lady, who had been staying in Zachary's house during the last three months, prolonged her stay and her tender care of the infant and his mother up to this date. The babe that three months ago, at her first arrival, had leaped as though fain to force the prison of the maternal womb, seemed at the moment of his birth to spring towards her; she received him into her arms, and pressed him to her breast, wherein the Son of God still lay reposing. She gave herself entirely to him during these eight days; for she knew they would be the only ones in which the friend of the Bridegroom would taste here below, although without seeing him, the intimate presence of him to whom his whole heart turned. Except for the solemn moment of his Baptism, the sublime majesty of which would hold in subjection every sentiment in the soul of the Precursor but that of self-annihilation and of adoration, John is never to behold (excepting once or twice at a distance) the Well-Beloved he has come to announce. O profound mystery of the divine plan! John is never to know the Bridegroom, never to enjoy Jesus, save in Mary.

Nevertheless, even to-morrow must the farewell be; even to-morrow the desert is to open before him; a desert of the soul, more terrific a thousand times than that which affects the outward senses. His flight from the world to the desert of Judea, far from being a trial to John, will be rather a solace to this infant soul for whom earth was already too narrow. In the wilderness, at least, the air is pure, heaven seems ready to open, and God gives answer to the soul that calls upon him.¹ Let us not, then, be astonished that scarcely is John born than he seeks solitude, and passes almost at once from his mother's breast to the desert wilds. There was no childhood for the man who three months previous to his birth had attained, at one bound, to the plenitude of the age of Christ;² no need of human master had he whom heaven had undertaken to instruct, who knew both the past and the future, in God,³ and whose own plenitude of knowledge, transmitted by him to his parents, had turned them also into prophets.⁴ Better far than Elizabeth had he entered into the meaning of our Lady in her Magnificat; even on this day he had understood Zachary hailing him as prophet of the Highest in the Benedictus: and from whom, save from the Word himself, could the Voice of the Word have received the science of language?⁵ Gifted with the full use of his will,⁶ what progress on the other side must he have made in love during these three months! The Mother of divine grace neglected nothing in the formation of this natural disposition so singularly favoured, where no obstacle opposed the full development of the divine germs. St Ambrose, whose exquisite delicacy has so wonderfully penetrated into these mysteries, shows us John under Mary's influence exercising himself in the several virtues, anointing his limbs like a valiant athlete, and essaying, even from his mother's womb, the combats which await him.⁷ ⁸ The eight days which have just lapsed for him in the arms of our Lady have completed the work. His sweet Mistress, whom he is to see no more, may even now bespeak their meeting again in heaven, he at the left of her Son's throne, she at the right,⁹ according to the tradition of which Christian art has made itself the faithful interpreter up to our own time.¹⁰

While awaiting for another six months the birth of the Virgin's Son, earth is meanwhile in possession of him who is the greatest amongst all that are born of women. No human ken in its highest soarings may touch the summits whereon dwells the intelligence of this child but eight days old; no sanctity may stretch to farther limits the heroism of love. Fully enlightened on all the bearings of the approaching farewell, he will not shrink at seeing the Son and the Mother depart on the morrow. Like the divine Spouse himself, he, the friend of the Bridegroom, is strong enough to have no other food than the accomplishment of the will of the Father who has sent them both.¹¹ His soul, filled henceforth with the memory of these days wherein his heart has been throbbing to the pulsations of that of Jesus, whilst Mary has been clasping him to her breast, will by its fidelity, despite the distant parting, ever keep up between his own and these two Hearts the sublime concert wherein, during these happy hours, the eternal Trinity has been listening for the first time to an echo in the flesh, of its own harmony. Like to the sunflower, friend of the day-star, which, without quitting earth whereon it is placed, keeps ever turning towards him its wistful corolla, John, from the desert's midst, will follow in heart and thought every step of Jesus; but yet will he keep restraint upon his soul. With that eagle-glance of his which heretofore espied him in our Lady's womb, he will behold him, in spite of all obstacles, now a Child, now grown up to manhood, passing by not far from his solitude; yet never once will the impetuosity of his love carry him away to climb the few hills then separating him from Jesus, and to throw himself at his sacred feet; never once will the zeal which devours him, the Voice, the witness of the Word, urge him to anticipate by one moment the hour that heaven has fixed for him to cry out to the ignorant crowd: 'Behold your God, the Lamb that is to save you, the expected Messias!' And when at last, in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Cæsar, he manifests the Bridegroom at the divine command, he, the great Baptist, is not the one to come nigh to Jesus saying: 'Master, where dwellest thou?' Nor is he the one that receives the answer: 'Come and see!'¹² To all others falls the happy lot of following Jesus, of abiding with Jesus: but as to John, he thrills indeed at the blissful meeting; yet for his part he keeps afar off, he disappears until that day, now fast approaching, when the prison of the adulterous Herod is to become his grave.

'O God!' cries out the gentle St Francis de Sales, 'such an example as this overwhelms my mind with its grandeur.'¹³ 'Oh, what divine abstinence!' exclaims the eagle of Meaux, in his turn, 'oh abstinence more admirable far than all those other abstinences related of St John the Baptist!'¹⁴ Let us, too, share with the Church in her admiration and joy, while during these days she makes echo to Gabriel's voice proclaiming at once the dignity both of the son of Zachary and of our Saviour himself. Let us enter into the enthusiasm wherewith so many fathers and doctors (hailing first of all Mary blessed above all) are loud in their applause of the eulogium given to John by the Word himself.¹⁵ Let us understand them, when they declare that amongst all men Christ alone is more exalted than he;¹⁶ that whosoever else is born of woman is inferior to him;¹⁷ that he is the most excellent of all saints;¹⁸ yea, more than saint is he,¹⁹ a demi-god,²⁰ marking the limit of human merit;²¹ so great that a greater must necessarily be God.²² Contemplating a perfection so sublime which surpasses the ken of human intelligence,²³ we cannot be surprised to learn that, according to the doctrine laid down in the works of Gerson, whose authority here is of such great weight, John the Baptist is exalted in heaven above all the choirs of the celestial hosts, and holds the place left vacant by Lucifer at the foot of the throne of God.²⁴

¹ Origen. in Luc. Hom. xi, translatio Hieron.
² Hieron. Dialog. contr. Lucif. viii.
³ Ambr. in Luc. ii 30.
⁴ Chrysost. Hom. xiii al. xii in Joan. 2.
⁵ Paulin. poema vi de S. Joan. Bapt. vv. 217, 218.
⁶ Guerric Ign. Serm. i in Nativ. S. Joan. 2.
⁷ Amb. in Luc. ii 34.
⁸ Petr. Chrysol. Serm. 87, 88, 91.
⁹ Amb. in Luc. ii 29. Before him almost in the same terms, Origen in Luc. Hom. v.
¹⁰ Grimouard de Saint-Laurent, Guide de l'Art Chrétien, t. v.
¹¹ St John iv 34.
¹² St John i 38, 39.
¹³ Lettre du 14 octobre, 1604, à Ste Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal.
¹⁴ Bossuet, Méditations sur les Myst. xv, sem. él. 7.
¹⁵ St Matt. xi.
¹⁶ Aug. Sermo lxvi 2.
¹⁷ Maxim. Taurin. Hom. in Nat. S. Joan. 3.

Having during this octave been following with holy Church the teachings which it inspires, we shall conclude this day with the words of St Ambrose which form the last lesson of the Matins Office now in use:⁸ "'John is his name," writes Zachary, and forthwith his tongue is loosed. Let us also write these mysteries spiritually, and we shall know how to speak. Let us engrave the Precursor of Christ, not on inanimate tablets, but on our living hearts. For to name John is to announce Christ. Let these two names, John and Jesus Christ, be united upon our lips; and therefrom perfect praise will arise, like to that which issued from the mouth of that priest whose hesitating faith concerning the Precursor had rendered him dumb!"

Let us now hear the conclusion of St Ephraem's song in which he gives the meeting of the Bridegroom and the friend of the Bridegroom on the banks of the Jordan. John continues to expose the endless difficulties wherewith his humility inspires him, in order to decline the honour of baptizing the Word made Flesh.

HYMN

Non possum infirmus ego manibus attrectare ignitum tuum corpus. Ardent autem tuæ legiones cœlestes: uni ex angelis tuis præcipe ut baptizet te.

Feeble am I, nor am I able with my hands to handle thy Body which is all fire. But flaming are thy heavenly legions; give command unto one of thine angels to baptize thee.

Non ab angelis corpus assumpsi, ut advocem angelum ad me baptizandum. Humanum corpus indui, ab homine sum baptizandus.

Not of angels have I assumed a body, that an angel I should call to baptize me. With a human body am I clad, by a man am I to be baptized.

Aquæ viderunt te et valde tremuerunt: viderunt te aquæ et concussæ sunt; spumat præ agitatione amnis, et ego infirmus quomodo tibi baptismum conferre audeam?

The waters saw thee and trembled exceedingly; the waters saw thee and were troubled; the stream bubbled by reason of its agitation, and shall I, frail man, dare to confer baptism upon thee?

Aquæ baptismo meo sanctificantur, ignem spiritumque a me accipiunt. Quod nisi baptismum accepero, facultatem non habebunt generandi filios immortales.

By my baptism, the waters are sanctified, and receive of me spirit and fire. Now, unless I receive baptism, they will not have the power of generating sons immortal.

Ignis igni tuo si accedat, exardescit ut stipula. Mons Sinai te non sustinuit, quomodo infirmus ego possim te baptizare?

Fire, if it approach to thy fire, burneth like straw. Mount Sinai endured thee not; how then may I, frail man, be able to baptize thee?

Ego sum ignis accensus, propter homines infans factus in intemerato virginis utero, nunc vero in Jordane baptizandus.

I am burning fire, made for man's sake a Babe in the Virgin's chaste womb, but now about to be baptized in Jordan's flood.

Valde decet ut tu me baptizes qui ita sanctus es ut omnia mundare possis. Per te contaminata sanctificantur; quum igitur ita sanctus sis, ad quid baptismum suscipias?

Fitting it were that thou shouldst baptize me, thou who art so holy that thou canst make all things clean. By thee are the contaminated sanctified; since, therefore, so holy art thou, what availeth that thou receive baptism?

Valde oportet ut tu absque contentione, ut jubeo, me baptizes. Baptizavi te in utero, baptiza me in Jordane.

It behoveth much that thou, without contention, do baptize me, as I command. Lo! I did baptize thee in the womb, do thou baptize me in the Jordan.

Servus sum, prorsus inops; tu qui omnes liberas, miserere mei. Corrigias calceamentorum tuorum solvere impar sum; quis dignum me reddet sublimissimum tuum attingere caput?

I am a slave wholly wretched; O thou who settest all men free, have mercy upon me. To loose the latchet of thy shoes, I am utterly unqualified; who then can render me worthy to touch thine august head?

Meo baptismo servi libertatem adipiscuntur, chirographa lacerantur, manumissio in aquis obsignatur. Si baptizatus non fuero, hæc omnia irrita fient.

By my baptism slaves obtain liberty; the handwriting is torn in pieces; the seal is put to their manumission in the waters. If I be not baptized, all these things shall be left undone.

Scintilla ignis in aere exspectat te super Jordanem; si illi assentiris et baptizari vis, tu teipsum abluas et perficias omnia.

In the air, above Jordan, lo! a sparkle of fire expecteth thee; if thou consentest thereunto and wishest to be baptized, do thou lave thyself, and accomplish all things.

Decet te mihi baptismum conferre, ne quis erret et dicat de me: 'Si non esset alienus a Patre, cur levita timuisset ipsum baptizare?'

It behoveth that thou confer baptism on me, lest anyone should err and say of me: 'If he were not alien from the Father, wherefore did the Levite fear to baptize him?'

Quando baptismum suscipies, quomodo orationem absolvam super Jordanem? Patre et Spiritu Sancto super te apparentibus, quemnam pro more sacerdotum invocabo?

When thou receivest baptism, how shall I accomplish the prayer upon Jordan? The Father and the Holy Ghost appearing over thee, whom then, according to priestly custom, shall I invoke?

Oratio in silentio absolvetur: age, manum tuam duntaxat impone mihi, et Pater loco sacerdotis proclamabit quod oportet de Filio suo.

The prayer shall be accomplished in silence; do thy part; set merely thy hand upon me, and the Father, in place of priest, will proclaim what behoveth of his Son.

Electi omnes ecce adstant; ecce qui a sponso invitati sunt, testes sunt me quotidie dixisse inter eos: 'Vox sum, non Verbum.'

Lo! all the elect are present; behold those who are invited by the Bridegroom, they are my witnesses that daily have I spoken thus unto them: 'The Voice am I, not the Word.'

Vox clamantis in deserto, perfice opus ad quod venisti, ut proclamet desertum te exisse ad eum in magna planitie ubi prædicasti.

O thou Voice of him who crieth in the wilderness, accomplish the work whereunto thou art come, so that the desert may proclaim that thou art gone forth unto him in the vast plain where thou didst preach.

Clamor angelorum pervenit ad aures meas. Ecce audio e domo Patris cœlestes Virtutes exclamantes: 'Epiphania tua, Sponse, vivificat mundum.'

The cry of the angels reacheth unto mine ears. Behold I hear from out the house of the Father the heavenly Virtues exclaiming: 'Thine Epiphany, O Spouse, giveth life to the world.'

Festinat tempus, et me exspectant paranymphi ut videant quid geritur; eia, age, confer mihi baptismum ut laudetur vox Patris quæ mox resonabit.

Time is speeding apace, and the paranymphs are awaiting to behold what shall take place; Ah! then do thy part, confer baptism upon me, so that the Father's voice, which will presently sound forth, may be praised.

Audio, Domine; juxta verbum tuum, eia, veni ad baptismum ad quem tuus te amor compellit. Summa cum veneratione contemplatur homo pulvis, se eo usque pertigisse ut manum suam plasmatori suo imponat.

Lord, I hear, I obey: according to thy word, Oh! come thou unto the baptism to which thy love urgeth thee. With extremest veneration is it that man, who is dust, perceiveth himself to presume so as that he should lay his hand on his Maker.

Stabant in silentio cœlestia agmina; descendit sanctissimus Sponsus in Jordanem; baptismo suscepto mox ascendit, et lux ejus effulsit super mundum.

There stood the heavenly hosts in silence; the most holy Bridegroom descended into the Jordan; having received baptism, he presently ascended, and his light shone forth upon the world.

Portæ cœli apertæ sunt, et vox Patris audita est: 'Hic est Filius meus dilectus in quo mihi complacui.' Eia, omnes populi, ipsum adorate.

Heaven's portals were opened and the voice of the Father was heard: 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' Oh! then, adore him, all ye people.

Stabant spectatores stupefacti, videntes Spiritum descendisse ut de illo testimonium perhiberet. Laus, Domine, epiphaniæ tuæ quæ omnes lætificat. In manifestatione tua totus resplenduit mundus.

They that saw it were amazed, seeing that the Spirit came down to render testimony unto him. Praise, O Lord, be unto thine Epiphany which maketh all to be glad. In thy manifestation all the world is made resplendent!

¹ De Imit. Chr. iv 17. ² Guerric. Ign. Sermo i in Nat. S. Joan. ³ Paulin. Poema vi, v. 252. ⁴ Max. Taur. Sermo lxi in Nat. S. Joan. B. ⁵ Aug. Serm. cclxxxvii in Nat. S. Joan. B. ⁶ Guerric., ut supra. ⁷ Lectiones duæ super Marcum. ⁸ Amb. in Luc. ii 32.

July 2

THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Lady's visit to her cousin Elizabeth already engaged our attention whilst we were preparing for the Christmas festival. But it is only fitting to return again to an event so important in our Lady's life; the mere commemoration of this mystery made on Ember-Friday in Advent would be insufficient to bring forward all it contains of deep teaching and holy joy. Since in the course of centuries the holy liturgy has been gaining more and more completeness, it is but natural that this precious mine should come to be further opened in honour of the Virgin Mother. The Order of St Francis, it would seem, as well as certain particular churches, such as Rheims and Paris for example—had already taken the initiative, when Urban VI, in 1389, instituted to-day's solemnity. The Pope counselled a fast on the vigil of the feast, and ordered that it should be followed by an octave; he granted for its celebration the same indulgences as Urban IV had, in the previous century, attached to the festival of Corpus Christi. The Bull of promulgation, stopped by the Pontiff's death, was again taken up and published by Boniface IX, his successor on the Chair of Peter.

We learn from the lessons of the Office formerly composed for this feast, that the object of its institution was, as Urban conceived it, to obtain the cessation of the schism then desolating the Church. The Papacy, exiled from Rome for seventy years, had barely re-entered it, when hell, infuriated at a return which crossed all its plans, had taken revenge by ranging under two leaders the flock of the one sheepfold. So deep was the obscurity wherewith miserable intrigues contrived to cover the authority of the legitimate shepherd, that numbers of churches, in all good faith, began to hesitate, and ended at last in preferring the deceptive staff of a hireling. Thicker yet was the darkness to grow, till night should be so dense, that for a moment the conflicting mandates of three Popes would simultaneously spread through the world; whilst the faithful, struck with stupor, would be at an utter loss to discern accurately which was the voice of Christ's true Vicar. Never had the bride of the Son of God been in a more piteous situation. But our Lady, to whom the true Pontiff had turned at the first rising of the storm, did not betray the Church's confidence. During all those years whilst the unfathomable justice of the Most High let the powers of hell hold sway, she stood for the defence of holy Church, trampling the head of the old serpent so thoroughly under her victorious foot, that in spite of the terrific confusion he had stirred up, he was unable to sully the faith of the people. Their attachment was steadfast to the unity of the Roman See, whosoever might be, in this uncertainty, its veritable occupant. Thus the West, divided in fact, but in principle ever one and undivided, reunited herself spontaneously as soon as God's moment came for the return of light. The hour having arrived for the Queen of saints to assume the offensive, she would not content herself with merely re-establishing at its former post the army of the elect; Satan now must expiate his audacity by being forced to yield back to holy Church those conquests which for centuries had seemed his for ever. The dragon still raged at Basle, when Florence already beheld the heads of Greek schism, the Armenians and the Ethiopians, the cavillers of Jerusalem, of Syria and of Mesopotamia, all compensating by their unhoped-for adhesion to the Roman Pontiff for the anguish just suffered in the West.

It was now to be shown that such a return of nations, in the very midst even of the tempest, was indeed the work of her who had been called upon by the pilot, half a century before, to succour the bark of Peter. Even they of the factious assembly of Basle gave proof of this, in a way which has unfortunately been too much overlooked by historians who undervalue the high importance that liturgical facts hold in the history of Christendom. When about to separate, these last abettors of the schism devoted the forty-third session of their pretended council to the promulgation of this feast of the Visitation, in the establishment of which Urban VI had, from the outset, placed all his hopes. Notwithstanding the resistance of some of the more obstinate, the schism may, from that hour, be said to have ended. The storm was subsiding; the name of Mary, invoked thus by both sides, shone resplendent as the sign of peace amidst the clouds, even as the rainbow in its sweet radiance unites both extremities of the horizon. 'Look upon it,' says the Holy Ghost, 'and bless him that made it: it is very beautiful in its brightness. It encompasseth the heaven about with the circle of its glory: the hands of the Most High have displayed it.'¹

But, it may be asked, why was the feast of the Visitation specially chosen, more than any other, as the monument of restored peace? The answer seems to be suggested in the very nature of the mystery itself and in the manner of its accomplishment.

Here, more particularly, does Mary appear as the Ark of the Covenant, bearing within her the Emmanuel, the living testimony of a more true reconciliation, of an alliance more sublime between earth and heaven, than that limited compact of servitude entered into between Jehovah and the Jews, amidst the roar of thunder. By her means, far better than through Adam, all men are now brethren; for he whom she hides within her is to be the first-born of the great family of the sons of God. Scarcely is he conceived than there begins for him the mighty work of universal propitiation. Arise, then, O Lord, thou and the Ark which thou hast sanctified,² whence thine own sanctity will pour

¹ Gen. ix 12-17. ² Ecclus. xliii 12, 13. ³ Ps. cxxxi 8.

down upon the earth! During the whole of her rapid passage from Nazareth to the mountains of Judea, she shall be protected by wings of Cherubim jealously eager to contemplate her glory. Amidst his truest warriors, amidst Israel's choirs of singing men, David conducted the figurative Ark from the house of Aminadab to that of Obed-edom;¹ but better far is the escort deputed by the eternal Father for this sacred Ark of the new Covenant, troops of the noblest princes of the heavenly phalanx.

Favoured with benediction was that Levite's house, while for three months it sheltered the Most High hidden on the golden propitiatory: more favoured still the home of the priest Zachary, harbouring, for the same lapse of time, eternal Wisdom enshrined in the virginal womb, wherein that union, so desired by his love, had just been accomplished. Yet beneath Zachary's roof, blessed as it was, the enemy of God and man was still holding one captive: the angelic embassy that had announced John's miraculous conception and birth could not exempt him from the shameful tribute that every son of Adam must pay to the prince of death, on entering into this life. As formerly at Azotus, so now Dagon may not remain standing erect in face of the Ark.² Mary appears, and Satan, at once overturned, is subjected to utter defeat in John's soul, a defeat that is not to be his last; for the Ark of the Covenant will not stay its victories till the reconciliation of the last of the elect be effected.

Let us, then, hail this day with songs of gladness: for this mystery contains the germ of every victory gained by the Church and her sons: henceforth the sacred Ark is borne at the head of every combat waged by the new Israel. Division between man and his God is at an end, between the Christian and his brethren! The ancient Ark was powerless to prevent the division of the tribes; henceforth if schism and heresy do hold out for a few years against Mary, it shall be but to evince more fully her glorious triumph at last. In all ages, because of her, even as to-day under the eyes of the

¹ 2 Kings vi. ² 1 Kings v.

enemy now put to confusion, little ones shall rejoice, all shall be filled with benediction, and Pontiffs shall be perfected.¹ Let us join the tribute of our songs to John's exulting gladness, to Elizabeth's sudden exclamations, to Zachary's canticle; therewith let earth re-echo! Thus in bygone days was the Ark hailed as it entered the Hebrew camp. Hearing their shout, the Philistines learned that help had come from the Lord; and, seized with terror, they groaned aloud saying: 'Woe to us; for there was no such great joy yesterday and the day before: woe to us!'² Verily this day the whole human race, together with John, leaps for joy and shouts with a great shout; verily this day has the old enemy good reason to lament: the heel of the woman,³ as she stamps him down, makes his haughty head to wince for the first time: and John, set free, is hereby the precursor of us all. More happy are we, the new Israel, than was the old, for our glory shall never be taken away; never shall be wrested from us that sacred Ark which has led us dry-shod across the river,⁴ and has levelled fortresses to the dust at its approach.⁵

Justly then is this day, whereon an end is put to the series of defeats begun in Eden, the day of new canticles for a new people! Yet who may intone the hymn of triumph but she to whom the victory belongs? Arise, arise, O Debbora, arise; arise and utter a canticle. The valiant men ceased and rested in Israel, until Mary arose, the true Debbora, until a mother arose in Israel.⁶ 'It is I, it is I,' saith she, 'that will sing to the Lord. I will sing to the Lord the God of Israel. O magnify the Lord with me, as saith my grandsire David, and let us extol his Name together. My heart hath rejoiced, like that of Anna, in God my Saviour.'⁷ For even as in his handmaid Judith, by me he hath fulfilled his mercy, so that my praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord forever.⁸ For

¹ Ecclus. l 5. ² Ibid. 7. ³ Ibid. 3. ⁴ Ps. xxxiii 4.
⁵ 1 Kings iii. ⁶ Judges v. ⁷ 1 Kings ii. ⁸ Judith xiii 18.

mighty is he that hath done great things in me;¹ there is none holy as he.² Even as by Esther, he hath throughout all generations saved those who feared him;³ in the power of his arm,⁴ he hath turned against the impious one the projects of his own heart, driving proud Aman out of his seat and uplifting the humble; the bow of the mighty is overcome, and the weak are girt with strength; the abundance of them that were rich hath passed to the hungry, and they are filled;⁵ he hath remembered his people, and hath had pity on his inheritance.⁶ Such, indeed, was the promise that Adam received and our fathers have handed down unto us: and he hath done to them even as he had promised.⁷

Daughters of Sion and all ye who groan in the thraldom of Satan, the hymn of deliverance has sounded in our land! Following in her train, who beareth within her the pledge of alliance, let us form into choirs; better than Mary, Aaron's sister, and by yet juster title, she leads the concerts of Israel.⁸ So sings she on this day of triumph, and the burthen of her song gathers into one all the victorious chants which, in the ages of expectation, preluded this divine canticle of hers. But the past victories of the elect people were but figures of that which is gained by our glorious Queen on this day of her manifestation; for she, beyond Debbora, Judith or Esther, has truly brought about the deliverance of her people; in her mouth the accents of her illustrious predecessors pass from the burning aspiration of the prophetic age to the calm ecstasy which denotes that she is already in possession of the long-expected God. A new era is fitly inaugurated by sacred chants: divine praise receives from Mary that character which henceforth it is never to lose, even in eternity.

The preceding considerations have been suggested by the special motive which led the Church to institute this feast in the fourteenth century. Again, in our own day, has Mary shown that this date is indeed for her a day of

¹ Exod. xv 2, 3, 11. ² 1 Kings ii 2. ³ Esth. ix 28.
⁴ Judith ix 11. ⁵ 1 Kings ii 4, 5. ⁶ Esth. x 12.
⁷ Ibid. xiii 15; xiv 5. ⁸ Exod. xv 20, 21.

victory. On the second of July, in the year 1849, Rome was restored to the exiled Pontiff Pius IX.¹ But we should far exceed the limits of our present scope, were we to strive to exhaust the teachings of this vast mystery of the Visitation. Besides, some have been already given in our Advent volume; and others more recently on the feast and octave-day of St John's Nativity. What we mean to add further on the subject is brought to light by the Epistle and Gospel of the Mass given below.

FIRST VESPERS

The antiphons used in the Office of this day are all taken from the Gospel, and reproduce historically the mystery we are celebrating.

ANT. Exsurgens Maria, abiit in montana cum festinatione in civitatem Juda.

ANT. Mary rising up, went into the hill country, with haste, into a city of Juda.

Psalm, Dixit Dominus, p. 35.

ANT. Intravit Maria in domum Zachariæ, et salutavit Elisabeth.

ANT. Mary entered into the house of Zachary and saluted Elizabeth.

Psalm, Laudate pueri, p. 39.

ANT. Ut audivit salutationem Mariæ Elisabeth, exsultavit infans in utero ejus, et repleta est Spiritu sancto. Alleluia.

ANT. When Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb: and she was filled with the Holy Ghost. Alleluia.

PSALM 121

Lætatus sum in his quæ dicta sunt mihi: In domum Domini ibimus.

I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go unto Mary, the house of the Lord.

Stantes erant pedes nostri: in atriis tuis, Jerusalem.

Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem! Our heart loves and confides in thee, O Mary.

Jerusalem quæ ædificatur ut civitas: cujus participatio ejus in idipsum.

Mary is like to Jerusalem that is built as a city; which is compact together.

Illuc enim ascenderunt tribus, tribus Domini: testimonium Israel ad confitendum nomini Domini.

For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord: the testimony of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord.

Quia illic sederunt sedes in judicio: sedes super domum David.

Because seats sat there in judgement; seats upon the house of David; and Mary is of a kingly race.

Rogate quæ ad pacem sunt Jerusalem: et abundantia diligentibus te.

Pray ye, through Mary, for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem; and may abundance be on them that love thee, O Church of our God!

Fiat pax in virtute tua: et abundantia in turribus tuis.

The voice of Mary: Let peace be in thy strength, O thou new Sion! and abundance in thy towers.

Propter fratres meos et proximos meos: loquebar pacem de te.

I, a daughter of Israel, for the sake of my brethren and of my neighbours, spoke peace of thee.

Propter domum Domini Dei nostri: quæsivi bona tibi.

Because of the house of the Lord our God, I have sought good things for thee.

ANT. Ut audivit salutationem Mariæ Elisabeth, exsultavit infans in utero ejus, et repleta est Spiritu sancto. Alleluia.

ANT. When Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb: and she was filled with the Holy Ghost. Alleluia.

ANT. Benedicta tu inter mulieres, et benedictus fructus ventris tui.

ANT. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

PSALM 126

Nisi Dominus ædificaverit domum: in vanum laboraverunt qui ædificant eam.

Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.

Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem: frustra vigilat qui custodit eam.

Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.

Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere: surgite postquam sederitis, qui manducatis panem doloris.

It is vain for you to rise before light; rise ye after you have sitten, you that eat of the bread of sorrow.

Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum: ecce hæreditas Domini, filii, merces, fructus ventris.

When he shall give sleep to his beloved: behold the inheritance of the Lord are children; the reward, the fruit of the womb.

Sicut sagittæ in manu potentis: ita filii excussorum.

As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken.

Beatus vir qui implevit desiderium suum ex ipsis: non confundetur cum loquetur inimicis suis in porta.

Blessed is the man that hath filled his desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate.

ANT. Benedicta tu inter mulieres, et benedictus fructus ventris tui.

ANT. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

ANT. Ex quo facta est vox salutationis tuæ in auribus meis, exsultavit infans in utero meo. Alleluia.

ANT. For behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Alleluia.

PSALM 147

Lauda, Jerusalem, Dominum: lauda Deum tuum, Sion.

Praise the Lord, O Mary, thou true Jerusalem: O Mary, O Sion ever holy, praise thy God.

Quoniam confortavit seras portarum tuarum: benedixit filiis tuis in te.

Because he hath strengthened against sin the bolts of thy gates: he hath blessed thy children within thee.

Qui posuit fines tuos pacem: et adipe frumenti satiat te.

Who hath placed peace in thy borders: and filleth thee with the fat of corn, with Jesus who is the Bread of life.

Qui emittit eloquium suum terræ: velociter currit sermo ejus.

Who sendeth forth by thee his word to the earth: his word runneth swiftly.

Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: nebulam sicut cinerem spargit.

Who giveth snow like wool: scattereth mists like ashes.

Mittit crystallum suam sicut buccellas: ante faciem frigoris ejus quis sustinebit?

He sendeth his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold?

Emittet verbum suum, et liquefaciet ea: flabit spiritus ejus, et fluent aquæ.

He shall send forth his word, by Mary, and shall melt them: his spirit shall breathe, and the waters shall run.

Qui annuntiat verbum suum Jacob: justitias et judicia sua Israel.

Who declareth his word to Jacob: his justices and his judgements to Israel.

Non fecit taliter omni nationi: et judicia sua non manifestavit eis.

He hath not done in like manner to every nation: and his judgements he hath not made manifest to them, as he hath in these our days.

ANT. Ex quo facta est vox salutationis tuæ in auribus meis, exsultavit infans in utero meo. Alleluia.

ANT. For behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Alleluia.

The psalms have sung of the exalted greatness of him whom the humility of Mary has attracted to her, and by whom she has been manifested for the first time to the world, as the city of God, built by him with love; this she herself proclaims to-day while praising the Lord her God. The capitulum is borrowed, as also are the psalms and hymn, from the common Office of our Lady; it tells of that august predestination wherein, before all ages, were inseparably united eternal Wisdom and this Woman blessed above all those from whom she was one day to be born.

CAPITULUM

Ab initio et ante sæcula creata sum, et usque ad futurum sæculum non desinam, et in habitatione sancta coram ipso ministravi.

¹ See above, Feast of the Precious Blood, p. 370.

From the beginning and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling-place I have ministered before him.

HYMN

Ave, maris stella, Dei Mater alma, Atque semper Virgo, Felix cœli porta.

Sumens illud Ave Gabrielis ore, Funda nos in pace, Mutans Evæ nomen.

Hail, star of the sea! Blessed Mother of God, yet ever a Virgin! O happy gate of heaven!

Thou that didst receive the Ave from Gabriel's lips, confirm us in peace, and so let Eva be changed into an Ave of blessing for us.

Solve vincla reis, Profer lumen cæcis,
Mala nostra pelle, Bona cuncta posce.

Monstra te esse Matrem, Sumat per te preces Qui, pro nobis natus, Tulit esse tuus.

Virgo singularis, Inter omnes mitis; Nos culpis solutos, Mites fac et castos.

Vitam præsta puram,
Iter para tutum, Ut videntes Jesum, Semper collætemur.

Sit laus Deo Patri, Summo Christo decus, Spiritui Sancto, Tribus honor unus.

Amen.

℣. Benedicta tu in mulieribus.

℟. Et benedictus fructus ventris tui.

Loose the sinner's chains, bring light to the blind, drive from us our evils, and ask all good things for us.

Show thyself a Mother, and offer our prayers to him, who would be born of thee, when born for us.

O incomparable Virgin, and meekest of the meek, obtain us the forgiveness of our sins, and make us meek and chaste.

Obtain us purity of life, and a safe pilgrimage; that we may be united with thee in the blissful vision of Jesus.

Praise be to God the Father, and to the Lord Jesus, and to the Holy Ghost: to the Three one self-same praise.

Amen.

℣. Blessed art thou among women.

℟. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

Every day the solemn evening Office borrows from Mary's canticle its sweetest fragrance. Nor is Good Friday itself an exception: even on that day, at Vespers, holy Church throughout the world invites our Lady to sing it beside the Cross whereon the terrible drama has just been completed. The reason is, that this incomparable canticle has for its object the entire redemption. At the foot of the holy Rood, no less than on days such as this full of sweetness, that which predominates in Mary and overrules alike all her anguish and all her joy is the thought of God's glory being at last satisfied; of man's salvation being at last secured. Now, on this feast, the mysteries of the entire cycle having so lately passed one by one before our eyes, the Magnificat resounds, as it were, in all its fullness of tone, whilst receiving, at the same time, from this solemnity itself all the freshness of the first day on which earth caught its notes.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Beata es, Maria, quæ credidisti: perficientur in te quæ dicta sunt tibi a Domino. Alleluia.

Blessed art thou, O Mary, who hast believed: those things shall be accomplished in thee which were told thee by the Lord. Alleluia.

The Prayer is the Collect of the Mass, p. 407.

A commemoration is then made of the octave of St John the Baptist, p. 261.

On this day whereon Satan, for the first time, sees his infernal crew fall back in face of the sacred Ark, two warriors of the army of the elect take their rank in our Queen's cortège. Deputed by Peter himself, during this his glad octave, to wait upon Mary, they have earned this honour by reason of their faith, which taught them to recognize in Nero's condemned criminal the chief of God's people.

The prince of the apostles was awaiting his martyrdom in the dungeon of the Mamertine prison, when, led by divine mercy, there came to him two Roman soldiers, whose names have become inseparable from his own in the Church's memory.¹ One was called Processus, the other Martinianus. They were struck by the dignity of the old man, confided for some hours to their ward, who would not see daylight again until he was led out to execution. Peter spoke to them of life eternal, and of the Son of God who so loved men as to give the last drop of his Blood for their ransom. Processus and Martinianus received with docile heart this unexpected instruction; they accepted it with simple faith, and craved the grace of regeneration. But water was wanting in the dungeon, and Peter was forced to make use of the power to command nature, bestowed by our Lord upon the apostles when he sent them into the world. At the word of the old man a fountain sprang up from the ground, and the two soldiers were baptized in the miraculous water. Christian piety still venerates this fountain, which never either brims over or dries up. Processus and Martinianus soon paid with their life for the honour conferred upon them of being thus initiated into the Christian faith by the prince of the apostles, and they are numbered among God's martyrs.

Their cultus is as ancient as that of Peter himself. In the age of peace, a basilica was raised over their tomb. St Gregory pronounced there, on the solemn anniversary of their combat, his thirty-second homily on the Gospel. The great Pontiff therein renders testimony to the miracles which were operated on that holy spot, and he celebrates, in particular, the power which those two saints have of protecting their devout clients on the day of the Lord's justice.² Later on, St Paschal I enriched the basilica of the prince of the apostles with their bodies. They now occupy the place of honour in the left arm of the Latin cross formed by the immense edifice, and they give their name to the whole of this side of the transept, wherein the Vatican Council held its immortal sessions; it was fitting that this august assembly should carry on its labours under the patronage of these two valiant warriors, who were not only St Peter's guards, but his conquest in the days of his own glorious confession.

Let us not forget these illustrious protectors of holy Church. The feast of the Visitation, of more recent institution, has not lessened theirs; though their glory is now, so to say, lost in that of our Lady, their power can but have gained in strength by this approximation to the gentle Queen of earth and heaven.

¹ Sainte Cécile et la Société romaine aux deux premiers siècles.
² In Ev. Hom. xxxii 7-9.

MASS

The Introit is that of the Votive Masses of our Lady for this part of the year. It is taken from Sedulius,³ the Christian poet of the fifth century, from whom the holy liturgy borrowed so many graceful pieces at Christmas and Epiphany. Who can fail to recognize to-day, in the sublime Magnificat which is the glory of this festival, the good word of which our Introit verse sings, or, in other words, the work which the Virgin Mother offers to the King!

³ Salve, sancta parens, enixa puerpera Regem,
Qui cœlum terramque tenet per sæcula, cujus
Numen et æterno complectens omnia gyro
Imperium sine fine manet; quæ ventre beato
Gaudia matris habens cum virginitatis honore, Nec primam similem visa es, nec habere sequentem: Sola sine exemplo placuisti femina Christo!

Hail, holy Mother, who didst bring forth the King, who for ever ruleth heaven and earth, whose Godhead abideth without end, as doth his empire, embracing all things in eternal circuit. Hail thou, possessing in thy blessed womb, at once, both the joys of maternity and the honour of virginity, to whom was never seen the like before, nor shall there ever be! Alone, O Woman, thou without example wast pleasing unto Christ!

[Carm. Paschale, Lib. II; v. 63-69.]

INTROIT

Salve, sancta parens, enixa puerpera Regem: qui cœlum terramque regit in sæcula sæculorum.

Ps. Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum: dico ego opera mea Regi.

℣. Gloria Patri. Salve.

Hail, holy Mother, who didst bring forth the King, who rules heaven and earth for ever.

Ps. My heart hath uttered a good word: I speak my works to the King.

℣. Glory, etc. Hail.

Peace is the precious gift which earth has been ceaselessly imploring since the original fall. Rejoice, then, now: for the Prince of peace this day reveals himself by Mary. The solemn commemoration of the mystery which we are celebrating will develop within us the work of salvation begun in that of Christmas at the opening of our cycle. Let us beg this grace, in the words of the Church in her Collect.

COLLECT

Famulis tuis, quæsumus Domine, cœlestis gratiæ munus impertire: ut, quibus beatæ Virginis partus exstitit salutis exordium, Visitationis ejus votiva solemnitas pacis tribuat incrementum. Per Dominum.

We beseech thee, O Lord, to bestow on thy servants the gift of heavenly grace, that for those to whom the blessed Virgin's childbirth was the beginning of salvation, the votive solemnity of her Visitation may procure increase of peace. Through our Lord, etc.

In private Masses, at the end of the Collect, Secret and Postcommunion of the feast, a commemoration is made of the holy martyrs Processus and Martinianus.

Deus, qui nos sanctorum martyrum tuorum Processi et Martiniani gloriosis confessionibus circumdas et protegis: da nobis, et eorum imitatione proficere, et intercessione gaudere. Per Dominum.

O God, who dost surround and protect us by the glorious confessions of thy holy martyrs, Processus and Martinianus: grant us to profit by their example, and rejoice in their intercession. Through our Lord, etc.

EPISTLE

Lectio libri Sapientiæ.
Cant. ii.

Ecce iste venit saliens in montibus, transiliens colles: similis est dilectus meus capreæ, hinnuloque cervorum. En ipse stat post parietem nostrum, respiciens per fenestras, prospiciens per cancellos. En dilectus meus loquitur mihi: Surge, propera, amica mea, columba mea, formosa mea, et veni. Jam enim hiems transiit, imber abiit, et recessit. Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra, tempus putationis advenit: vox turturis audita est in terra nostra: ficus protulit grossos suos: vineæ florentes dederunt odorem suum. Surge, amica mea, speciosa mea, et veni: columba mea in foraminibus petræ, in caverna maceriæ, ostende mihi faciem tuam, sonet vox tua in auribus meis: vox enim tua dulcis, et facies tua decora.

Behold he cometh, leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart. Behold he standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices. Behold my beloved speaketh to me: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come. For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have appeared in our land, the time of pruning is come, the voice of the turtle is heard in our land: the fig-tree hath put forth her green figs, the vines in flower yield their sweet smell. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come. My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow places of the wall, show me thy face, let thy voice sound in my ears, for thy voice is sweet and thy face comely.

The Church introduces us into the depth of the mystery. What she has just been reading to us is the explanation of that word of Elizabeth's which sums up the whole of to-day's feast: 'When thy voice sounded in mine ear, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.' O voice of Mary, voice of the turtledove, putting winter to flight, and announcing springtide flowers and fragrance! At this sweet sound John's soul, a captive in the darkness of sin, casts off the badge of slavery, and suddenly developing germs of highest virtues, appears as beautiful as a bride decked in nuptial array: and, therefore, how Jesus hastes unto this well-beloved soul! Between John and the Bridegroom, oh! what ineffable outpourings! what sublime dialogues pass between them, from womb to womb of Mary and Elizabeth! Admirable mothers! Sons yet more admirable! In this happy meeting, the sight, the hearing, the voice of the mothers belong less to themselves than to the blessed fruit each bears within her; thus their senses are the lattices through which the Bridegroom and the friend of the Bridegroom see one another, understand one another, speak one to the other!

The animal man, it is true, understands not this language.¹ 'Father,' the Son of God will soon exclaim: 'I give thee thanks for that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones.'² Let him, therefore, that hath ears to hear, hear;³ but, 'Amen, I say unto you, unless ye become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven,⁴ nor know its mysteries.'⁵ Wisdom shall nevertheless be justified by her children,⁶ as the Gospel says. The simple-hearted in quest of light, with all the straightforwardness of humility, let pass unheeded those mocking shadows playing over the marshes of this world; they know that the first ray of the eternal Sun will disperse these phantoms, leaving emptiness before those who run in pursuit of them. These wise little ones already feed upon that which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,⁷ having a foretaste, here below, of eternal delights.

¹ 1 Cor. ii 14. ² St Matt. xi 25. ³ Ibid. xi 15; xiii 9. ⁴ Ibid. xviii 3. ⁵ Ibid. xiii 11. ⁶ St Matt. xi 19. ⁷ 1 Cor. ii 9.

Ineffably is John the Baptist experiencing all this. Accosted by the divine Friend who has been beforehand in seeking him, his soul at once awakens to full ecstasy. Jesus, on his side, is now making his first conquest; for it is to John that is first addressed amongst all creatures (Mary of course excepted) the sacred nuptial-song uttered to the soul of the Word made Flesh, making his divine Heart throb with emotion. To-day the prophecy of the Magnificat was first uttered, and to-day also the divine union expressed by the Holy Ghost in the Canticle of Canticles is fully realized. Never more fully than on this happy day shall the sacred transports of the Spouse be justified; never shall they find a more faithful response! Let us warm ourselves at these celestial fires; let us join our enthusiasm to that of eternal Wisdom, who makes his first step, this day, in his royal progress towards mankind. Let us unite with our Lord in imploring the Precursor at last to show himself. Were it not ordered otherwise from on high, his inebriation of love would verily have made him at once break down the wall that held him from appearing, then and there, to announce the Bridegroom. For he knows that the sight of his countenance, preceding the face of the Lord himself, will excite the whole earth to transports; he knows that his own voice will be sweet when once it has become the organ of the Word calling the bride to him.

Together with Elizabeth let us extol, in the Gradual, the Blessed Virgin to whom we owe all these joys, and within whom love still encloses him whom the whole world could not contain. The distich which is sung in the verse was especially dear to the piety of the Middle Ages; it is to be found in different liturgies, either as the opening line of the hymn, or under the form of an antiphon, in the composition of Masses or of Offices.

Virgo Dei Genitrix, quem totus non capit orbis: In tua se clausit viscera factus homo. Vera fides Geniti purgavit crimina mundi: Et tibi virginitas inviolata manet.

O Virgin Mother of God, he whom the whole world is unable to contain, being made Man, enclosed himself in thy womb. The true faith of Christ thy Son hath cleansed away the world's guilt. And to thee virginity remains inviolate.

Te matrem pietatis, opem te clamitet orbis: Subvenias famulis, O benedicta, tuis.

He proclaims thee Mother of tenderness and the succour of the world; come, then, to the aid of thy servants, O thou blessed one.

Gloria magna Patri, compar tibi gloria, Nate, Cum Sancto Spiritu, gloria magna Deo. Amen.

Great glory be to the Father, and equal glory to thee, O Son; to the Holy Spirit, God, great glory also be. Amen.

[Hymnus Completorii in festis B. Mariæ. Antiphonar. Senon. 552.]

GRADUAL

Benedicta et venerabilis es, Virgo Maria, quæ sine tactu pudoris, inventa es Mater Salvatoris.

℣. Virgo Dei Genitrix, quem totus non capit orbis, in tua se clausit viscera factus homo. Alleluia, alleluia.

℣. Felix es, sacra Virgo Maria, et omni laude dignissima: quia ex te ortus est Sol justitiæ, Christus Deus noster. Alleluia.

Thou art blessed and venerable, O Virgin Mary: who without any violation of purity, wert found the Mother of our Saviour.

℣. O Virgin Mother of God, he whom the whole world is unable to contain, being made Man, enclosed himself in thy womb. Alleluia, alleluia.

℣. Thou art happy, O holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of all praise: because from thee arose the Sun of justice, Christ our God. Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam. Cap. I.

Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Luke. Ch. I.

In illo tempore: Exsurgens Maria, abiit in montana cum festinatione in civitatem Juda. Et intravit in domum Zachariæ, et salutavit Elisabeth. Et factum est, ut audivit salutationem Mariæ Elisabeth, exsultavit infans in utero ejus; et repleta est Spiritu sancto Elisabeth: et exclamavit voce magna, et dixit: Benedicta tu inter mulieres, et benedictus fructus ventris tui. Et unde hoc mihi ut veniat mater Domini mei ad me? Ecce enim ut facta est vox salutationis tuæ in auribus meis, exsultavit in gaudio infans in utero meo. Et beata quæ credidisti, quoniam perficientur ea quæ dicta sunt tibi a Domino. Et ait Maria: Magnificat anima mea Dominum, et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.

At that time, Mary rising up, went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost; and she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord. And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord; and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Mary, having learned from the archangel that Elizabeth was about to become a mother, is preoccupied with the thought of the services that will soon be needed for her cousin and the infant; she, therefore, starts at once on her journey across the mountains, amidst which stands the house of Zachary. Thus does the charity of Christ act, thus does it press,¹ when it is genuine. There is no state of soul in which, under pretext of more exalted perfection, the Christian may be allowed to forget his brethren. Mary had just contracted the highest union with God; and our imagination might perhaps be inclined to picture her, as it were, in a state of powerlessness, lost in ecstasy during these days in which the Word, taking Flesh of her flesh, is inundating her in return with the floods of his Divinity. The Gospel, however, is explicit on this subject: it particularly says that it was in those days² that the humble Virgin, hitherto quietly hidden in the secret of the Lord's face,³ rose up to devote herself to all the bodily as well as the spiritual needs of a neighbour in such condition. This does not mean to say that works are superior to prayer, and that contemplation is not the better part; for, indeed, never did our Lady so directly and so fully adhere to God with her whole being as at this time. But when the creature has attained the summits of the unitive life, he is all the more apt and fitted for exterior works, inasmuch as no lending of himself thereto can distract him from the immovable centre wherein he is fixed.

¹ 2 Cor. v 14. ² St Luke i 39. ³ Ps. xxx 21.

This is a signal privilege, resulting from that division of the spirit and the soul,⁴ to which all do not attain, and which marks one of the most decisive steps in the spiritual life; for it supposes a purification of man's entire being so perfect, that in very truth he is no other than one spirit with the Lord;⁵ it entails so absolute a submission of the powers that, without clashing one with the other, they yield, each in its particular sphere, obedience simultaneously to divine inspiration.

So long as the Christian has not yet crossed this last defile, defended with such obstinacy by nature to the end, so long as he has not yet won that holy liberty of the children of God;⁶ he cannot possibly turn to man, without in some way quitting God. Not that he ought, on that account, to neglect his duties towards his neighbour, in whom God wishes us to see no other than himself; nevertheless, blessed is he who, like Mary, loses naught of the better part, while he attends to his obligations towards others! Yet how few are such privileged souls, and what a delusion it is to persuade ourselves to the contrary!

⁴ Heb. iv 12. ⁵ 1 Cor. vi 17. ⁶ Rom. viii 21; 2 Cor. iii 17.

We shall return to these thoughts on the day of our Lady's triumphant Assumption; but the Gospel to which we have just been listening makes it a duty for us to draw the attention of the reader to this point. Our Lady has especially on this feast a claim to be invoked as the model of those who devote themselves to works of mercy; and although it is not given to all equally to keep their spirits immersed in God, yet ought they constantly to strive to approach, by the practice of recollection and divine praise, to those luminous heights whereon their Queen shows herself this day in all the plenitude of her ineffable perfections.

The Offertory sings of the glorious privileges of Mary, Mother and Virgin, bringing forth him who made her.

OFFERTORY

Beata es, Virgo Maria, quæ omnium portasti Creatorem: genuisti qui te fecit, et in æternum permanes virgo.

Thou art blessed, O Virgin Mary, who didst bear the Creator of all things: thou didst bring forth him who made thee, and thou remainest for ever a Virgin.

The Son of God, being born of Mary, consecrated her virginal integrity. Let us beg of him in to-day's Secret to vouchsafe, in memory of his Mother, to purify us from every stain, and so render our offering acceptable to God on high.

SECRET

Unigeniti tui, Domine, nobis succurrat humanitas: ut, qui natus de Virgine, matris integritatem non minuit, sed sacravit: in Visitationis ejus solemniis, nostris nos piaculis exuens, oblationem nostram tibi faciat acceptam Jesus Christus Dominus noster. Qui tecum.

May the Humanity of thy only-begotten Son succour us, O Lord; that Jesus Christ our Lord, who when born of a Virgin, did not diminish, but consecrated the integrity of his Mother, may on this solemnity of her Visitation, deliver us from our sins, and make our oblation acceptable to thee. Who liveth, etc.

Commemoration of SS Processus and Martinianus.

Suscipe, Domine, preces et munera: quæ ut tuo sint digna conspectu, sanctorum tuorum precibus adjuvemur. Per Dominum.

Receive, O Lord, our prayers and offerings, and that they may be worthy of thy regard, may we be helped by the prayers of thy saints. Through our Lord, etc.

PREFACE

Vere dignum et justum est, æquum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus: et te in Visitatione beatæ Mariæ semper virginis collaudare, benedicere, et prædicare. Quæ et Unigenitum tuum sancti Spiritus obumbratione concepit, et virginitatis gloria permanente, lumen æternum mundo effudit Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum. Per quem majestatem tuam laudant Angeli, adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potestates, Cæli, cælorumque Virtutes, ac beata Seraphim, socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces ut admitti jubeas deprecamur, supplici confessione dicentes: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus.

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God: and that we should praise, bless, and glorify thee on the Visitation of the blessed Mary ever a Virgin, who by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost conceived thine only-begotten Son, and, the glory of her virginity still remaining, brought forth the eternal light to the world, Jesus Christ our Lord. By whom the Angels praise thy majesty, the Dominations adore it, the Powers tremble before it; the Heavens, the heavenly Virtues, and blessed Seraphim, with common jubilee glorify it. Together with whom we beseech thee that we may be admitted to join our humble voices, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy.

The Church possesses now within her, in the sacred Mysteries, the same Son of the eternal Father whom Mary bore for nine months in her blessed womb. Therein did he take flesh, in order to come to us all. Let us then hail, in our Communion antiphon, both the Mother and the Son.

COMMUNION

Beata viscera Mariæ Virginis, quæ portaverunt æterni Patris Filium.

Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father.

The celebration of each one of the mysteries of our salvation, by the participation of the divine Sacrament which contains them all, is a means of obtaining that evil be kept far from us, both in this world and the next. This thought is expressed in the Postcommunion touching on to-day's mystery.

POSTCOMMUNION

Sumpsimus, Domine, celebritatis annuæ votiva sacramenta: præsta, quæsumus; ut et temporalis vitæ nobis remedia præbeant et æterna.

We have received, O Lord, the votive mysteries of this annual celebration; grant, we beseech thee, that they may bestow upon us remedies both for time and eternity. Through our Lord, etc.

Commemoration of SS Processus and Martinianus.

Corporis sacri, et pretiosi Sanguinis repleti libamine, quæsumus Domine Deus noster: ut quod pia devotione gerimus, certa redemptione capiamus. Per eumdem Dominum.

Replenished with the nourishment of thy sacred Body and precious Blood, we beseech thee, O Lord our God, that what we perform with pious devotion, we may receive with assured redemption. Through the same, etc.

SECOND VESPERS

The antiphons, psalms, capitulum, hymn, and versicle are the same as in First Vespers, p. 400.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Beatam me dicent omnes generationes, quia ancillam humilem respexit Deus. Alleluia.

All generations shall call me blessed, because God hath regarded his humble handmaid. Alleluia.

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries have celebrated, in graceful compositions, the mystery of this day. The following hymn, by its warm expressions of tender piety towards the Mother of God, more particularly excited the rage of the pretended reformers. What specially roused their wrath was the call to unity which it addresses to the erring. According to what we were saying above as to the motive which prompted holy Church to establish this festival of the Visitation, Mary is in like manner invoked, in other formulas of this period, proper to the same feast, as the light which dissipates clouds,¹ which puts an end to schisms.²

SEQUENCE

Veni præcelsa Domina,
Maria, tu nos visita, Ægras mentes illumina Per sacra vitæ munia.

Come, sovereign Lady, O Mary, do thou visit us, illumine our sickly souls by the example of thy duties performed in life.

Veni salvatrix sæculi,
Pœnam aufer piaculi,
In visitando populum Pœnæ tollas periculum.

Come, O co-redemptrix of the world, take away the punishment of sin, by visiting thy people, remove their peril of chastisement.

Veni regina gentium, Dele flammas reatuum, Rege quemcumque devium, Da vitam innocentium.

Come, O Queen of nations, extinguish the flames of the guilty, rectify whatsoever is wrong, give us to live innocently.

Veni et ægros visites,
Maria, vires robores Virtute sacri impetus, Ne fluctuetur animus.

Come, and visit the sick, O Mary, fortify the strong with the vigour of thy holy impetuosity, so that brave courage droop not.

Veni stella, lux marium, Infunde pacis radium, Exsultet cor in gaudium Joannis ante Dominum.

Come, O thou star, O thou light of the ocean waves, shed thy ray of peace upon us; let the heart of John exult with joy before the Lord.

Veni virga regalium, Reduc fluctus errantium Ad unitatem fidei In qua salvantur cælici.

Come, O thou regal sceptre, lead back the crowd of erring ones to the unity of the faith, in which the heavenly citizens are saved.

Veni, deposce Spiritus Sancti dona propensius, Ut dirigamur rectius In hujus vitæ actibus.

Come, and willingly ask for us the gifts of the Holy Ghost, so that we may be directed aright in the actions of this life.

¹ Hymn. O Christi mater fulgida, Dan. iv 276.
² Hymn. O Christi mater cœlica, Dan. iv 236.

this life.

Veni, laudemus Filium, Come, let us praise the Son, Laudemus Sanctum Spiritum, let us praise the Holy Ghost, Laudemus Patrem unicum, let us praise the Father, one Qui nobis det auxilium. God, who giveth us succour.

Amen. Amen.

"Who is she that cometh forth beautiful as the morning rising, terrible as an army set in array?"¹ O Mary, this is the day on which thine exquisite brightness, for the first time, gladdens the earth. Thou bearest within thee the Sun of justice; and his early beams, striking first the mountain tops whilst the vales below are yet left in darkness, at once enlighten the Precursor, who is said to be the greatest ever born of woman. This divine Sun, swift in his ascending course, will soon bathe the lowly valleys in his radiant fires. But how full of grace and beauty are these his first gleams peering through the veiling cloud! For thou, O Mary, art the light cloud, the hope of earth, the terror of hell! Contemplating from afar, through its heavenly transparency, the mystery of this day, Elias, the father of prophets, and Isaias, their prince, did both of them descry the Lord. They beheld thee speeding thy way across the mountains, and they blessed God; "for," saith the Holy Ghost, "when winter hath congealed the waters into crystal, withered the valleys, and consumed as with fire the green mountains, a present remedy to all is the speedy coming of a cloud."²

Haste, O Mary! Come thou to all of us; do not let the mountains alone enjoy thy benign influence; bend thee down to those lowly, ignoble regions wherein the greater part of mankind but vegetates, helpless to scale the mountain heights; let thy kindly visit reach down even to the deepest abyss of human perversity wellnigh bordering on the gulf of hell; let the beams of saving light reach even there. Oh! would that from the thraldom of sin, from the plain where the vulgar throng is swaying to and fro, we were drawn to follow in thy train! How beauteous are thy footsteps along our humble pathways,³ how aromatic the perfumes wherewith thou dost inebriate earth this day!⁴ Thou wast all unknown, nay, thou wast even an enigma to thyself, O thou fairest among the daughters of Adam, until thy first going forth led thee unto our poor hovels⁵ and manifested thy power. The desert, suddenly embalmed with heavenly fragrance, hails the passage, not of the figurative Ark, but of the "litter of the true Solomon," in these days of the sublime nuptials which he has vouchsafed to contract.⁶ What wonder, then, if at rapid pace thou dost speed across the mountains, since thou art bearing the Bridegroom who, as a giant, strideth from peak to peak?⁷

Far different art thou, O Mary, from her who is portrayed in the sacred Canticle as hesitating, in spite of the heavenly call, to betake herself to active work, foolishly captivated by the sweets of mystic repose in such a way as to dream of finding it elsewhere than in the absolute good pleasure of the Beloved!⁸ Thou art not one, at the voice of the Spouse, to make difficulties about clothing thyself again with the garment of toil, of exposing thy feet, were it never so much, to be soiled with the dusty roads of earth. Scarcely has he given himself to thee immeasurably as none else can know than, ever on thy guard against the mistake of remaining all absorbed in selfish enjoyment of his love, thou thyself dost invite him to begin at once the great work which brought him down from heaven to earth: "Come, my Beloved, let us go forth into the fields, let us rise up early to see if the vineyard flourish, to hasten the budding of the fruits of salvation in souls; there it is, that I wish to be all thine."⁹ And, leaning upon him, no less than he upon thee, without thereby losing aught of heavenly delights, thou dost traverse our desert;¹⁰ and the Holy Trinity perceiveth between Mother and Son sympathies, harmonious agreements, unknown until then even to thee; and the friends of the Bridegroom, hearing thy sweet voice,¹¹ on their side also comprehend his love and partake in thy joy. With him, with thee, O Mary, age after age shall behold souls innumerable who, swift-footed even as the roe and the young hart, will flee away from the valleys and gain the mountain heights where, in the warm sunshine, heaven's aromatic spices are ever fragrant.¹²

Bless, O Mary, those whom the better part so sweetly attracts. Protect that Order whose glory is to honour in a special manner thy Visitation. Faithful to the spirit of their illustrious founders they still continue to justify their sweet title by perfuming the Church on earth with the fragrance of that humility, gentleness and hidden prayer which made this day's mystery so dear to the angels eighteen hundred years ago. Finally, O Lady, forget not the crowded ranks of those whom grace presses, more numerous than ever nowadays, to tread in thy footsteps, mercifully seeking out every object of misery; teach them the way in which alone it is possible to devote themselves to their neighbour without in any way quitting God; for the greater glory of God and the happiness of man multiply such faithful copies of thee. May all of us, having followed in the degree measured out to us by him who divides his gifts to each one as he wills¹³ meet together in our home yonder, to sing in one voice together with thee, an eternal Magnificat!

¹ Cant. vi 9. ² Ecclus. xliii 21-24. ³ Cant. vii 1. ⁴ Ibid. i 3. ⁵ Ibid. 7. ⁶ Ibid. iii 6-11. ⁷ Ps. xviii 6, 7. ⁸ Cant. v 2-6. ⁹ Ibid. vii 10-13. ¹⁰ Ibid. viii 5. ¹¹ Ibid. 13. ¹² Ibid. 14. ¹³ 1 Cor. xii 11.

July 3

SAINT LEO THE SECOND

POPE AND CONFESSOR

It were fitting that our attention should not be diverted during this Octave from the feast which the Church is keeping. But the triumph of Peter will shine out with all the more splendour in proportion as the testimony he rendered to the Son of God is shown to have been maintained with all fidelity during the long series of succeeding ages by the Pontiffs, inheritors of his Primacy. For a considerable time the twenty-eighth of June was consecrated by the memory of St Leo the Great; it was the day chosen by Sergius I for the translation of the illustrious doctor, and indeed a more magnificent usher for the solemnity could hardly be desired. From no other lips than his has Rome ever set forth, in such elevated language, the glories of these two princes of the apostles and her own fame; never since the incomparable scene enacted at Cæsarea Philippi has the mystery of the Man-God been affirmed in a manner so sublime as on that day whereon the Church, striking the impious Eutyches at Chalcedon, received from Leo the immortal formula of Christian dogma. Peter once more spoke by the mouth of Leo; yet the evil was far from being ended: two centuries more were needed; and another Leo, he whom we this day honour, had the honour of ending it at the sixth Council.

The Spirit of God, ever watchful over the development of the sacred liturgy, by no means wished any change to be effected in the train of thought of the faithful people. Thus when towards the beginning of the fourteenth century April 11 was again assigned to St Leo I (for that was really the primitive place occupied by him in the cycle), St Leo II, the anniversary of whose death was June 28, and who hitherto had been merely commemorated thereon, being now raised to the rank of a semi-double, came forward to remind the faithful of the glorious struggles maintained both by his predecessor and by himself, in the order of apostolic confession. Latterly his feast was transferred to this day, in order that St Irenæus may be commemorated on the Vigil of the Apostles.

How was it that St Leo's clear and complete exposition of the dogma and the anathemas of Chalcedon did not succeed in silencing the arguments of that heresy which refused to our nature its noblest title, by denying that it had been assumed in its integrity by the divine Word? Because for truth to win the day it suffices not merely to expose the lie uttered by error. More than once, history gives instances of the most solemn anathemas ending in nothing but lulling the vigilance of the guardians of the holy city. The struggle seemed ended, the need of repose was making itself felt amidst the combatants, a thousand other matters called for the attention of the Church's rulers; and so whilst feigning utmost deference, nay, ardour even, if needful, for the new enactments, error went on noiselessly, making profit of the silence which ensued after its defeat. Then did its progress become all the more redoubtable at the very time it was pretending to have disappeared without leaving a trace behind.

Thanks, however, to the divine Head, who never ceases to watch over his work, such trials seldom reach to such a painful depth as that into which Leo II had to probe with steel and fire in order to save the Church. Once only has the terrified world beheld anathema strike the summit of the holy mount. Honorius, placed on the pinnacle of the Church, "had not made her shine with the splendour of apostolic doctrine, but by profane treason had suffered the faith, which should be spotless, to be exposed to subversion";¹ Leo II, therefore, sending forth his thunders in unison with the assembled Church against the new Eutychians and their accomplices, did not spare even his predecessor. And yet, as all acknowledge, Honorius had otherwise been an irreproachable Pope; and even in the question at stake he had been far from professing heresy or teaching error. Wherein, then, did his fault lie?

The Emperor Heraclius, who by victory had reached the height of power, beheld with much concern how continual division persisted between the Catholics of his empire and the late disciples of Eutyches. The bishop of the imperial city, the patriarch Sergius, fostered these misgivings in his master's mind. Vain of a certain amount of political skill which he fancied himself to possess, he now aimed at re-establishing, by his sole effort, that unity which the Council of Chalcedon and St Leo the Great had failed to obtain; thus would he make himself a name. The disputants agreed in acknowledging two natures in Jesus Christ; hence to reply to their advances one thing was needed, he thought, to impose silence on the question as to whether there are in him two wills or only one. The enthusiasm with which this evident compromise was hailed by the various sects rebellious to the fourth General Council showed that they still preserved all the venom of error; and the fact that they denied, or hesitated to acknowledge, that in the Man-God there is any other will than that proper to the divine Nature, was equivalent to declaring that he had assumed but a semblance of human nature, since this nature could by no means exist devoid of that will which is proper to it. Therefore, the Monophysites, or partisans of the one Nature in Christ, made no difficulty in henceforth being called by the name of Monothelites, or partisans of the one will. Sergius, the apostle of this novel unity, might well congratulate himself; Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, hailed with one accord the benefit of this peace. Was not the whole East here represented by her patriarchs? If Rome in her turn would but acquiesce, the triumph would be complete! Jerusalem, however, proved a jarring note in this strange concert.

Jerusalem, the witness of the anguish suffered by the Man-God in his human nature, had heard him cry out in the garden of his agony: "Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me; yet, not my will, but thine be done!" The city of dolours knew better than any other what to believe concerning these two wills, which by the heroism of incomparable love were maintained in such full harmony, and the time for her to bear testimony had come. The monk Sophronius, now her bishop, was by his sanctity, courage and learning ready for the task that lay before him. But while, in the charity of his soul, he was seeking to reclaim Sergius before appealing against him to the Roman Pontiff, the bishop of Constantinople took the initiative; he succeeded thus by a hypocritical letter in circumventing Honorius, and in getting him to impose silence on the patriarch of Jerusalem. Hence, when at last St Sophronius, at the head of the bishops of his province assembled in council, thought it had become his positive duty to turn towards Rome, it was but to receive for answer a confirmation of the prohibition to disturb the peace. This was a sad mistake, which though it did not directly implicate the infallible magistracy because it was a measure exclusively political, was one that cost the Church bitter tears and much blood, and which resulted fifty years later in the condemnation of the unfortunate Honorius.

The Holy Ghost, who has guaranteed the infallible purity of the doctrine taught officially from the apostolic Chair, has not pledged himself to protect in a like degree from all failure either the virtue, or the private judgement, or even the administrative acts of the Sovereign Pontiff. In order to promote this marvellous union which the Creator made to reign both upon earth and in heaven, our Lord, when he founded the society of saints upon the authentic and immutable basis of the faith of Peter, willed that to the prayers of all should be confided the charge of completing his work by obtaining for the successors of Peter such preservative graces as do not of themselves necessarily spring from the divine constitution of the Church.

Meanwhile Mahomet was just letting loose his hordes upon the world. Heraclius was now to learn the worth of his patriarch's lying peace, and was to come down lower in shame than he had been exalted in glory by his victories over the Persians, in the days when he had acted as the hero of the cross. Palestine, Syria and Egypt fell simultaneously beneath the blows of the lieutenants of the prophet. Sophronius, placed as he was in the very midst of the scene of invasion, grew still greater under trial. Abandoned by the emperor where the defence of the empire was at stake, disavowed by Rome as to faith, he alone intrepidly treated with Omar as power opposed to power; and when about to die, still hoping against all hope in Rome, though thence had come a blow harder far to bear than that of the caliph, he confided to Stephen of Dora the supreme mission, which the latter thus relates: "In his justice strong as a lion, contemning calumnies and intrigues, blessed Sophronius took me, unworthy as I am, and conducted me to the sacred spot of Calvary. There he bound me by an indissoluble engagement, in these words: 'Thou shalt have to render account to him who being God was voluntarily crucified for us according to the flesh on this spot, when on the day of his terrible coming he will appear in glory to judge the living and the dead, if thou defer or neglect the interests of his faith now in peril. Thou knowest that I cannot in the body do this thing, being hindered by the incursion of the Saracens which our sins have deserved. Set out as soon as possible, and go from here to the farthest ends of the earth, until thou reach the apostolic See, where the foundations of orthodox dogma are set. Go again and again, not once, not twice, but endlessly, and make known to those living there the shock that our land has sustained. Importunately,

¹ Leon. II Epist. Confirm. Concil. Constantinop. III. ² St Luke xxii 42.

"ceaselessly, implore and supplicate, until apostolic prudence at length determine, by its canonical judgement, the victory over these perfidious teachings."¹

The bishop of Dora was faithful to this command. When, twelve years later, he gave this touching narrative at the Council of Lateran in 649, it was then the third time that, in spite of the snares and other difficulties of the times, he could say: 'We have taken the wings of a dove, as David speaks, and we have come to declare our situation to this See, elevated in the sight of all, this sovereign, this principal See, where is to be found remedy for the wound that has been inflicted upon us.'² St Martin I, who received this appeal, was one worthy to hear it; and soon afterwards he repaired by his own martyrdom the fault committed by Honorius in suffering himself to be tricked by an impostor. His glorious death, followed by the tortures endured for the truth by the saintly abbot Maximus and his companions, prepared the victory which the heroic faith of Sophronius had announced to the Roman Pontiff. Thus was an odious silence rectified by holy Church: now were her doctors to be seen, with tongue plucked out, still continuing by divine power to proclaim that Christian dogma which cannot be enchained;³ still with lopped-off hands finding means, in their indomitable zeal, to affix to the mutilated arm the pen whose function, now made doubly glorious, continued thus to carry throughout the world the refutation of falsehood.

But it is time to come to the issue of this memorable contest. It is to be found in him whose feast we are celebrating. St Agatho had assembled the sixth General Council at Constantinople, at the request of another Constantine, an enemy of heresy and a victor over Islam. Faith and justice now did the work hand in hand; and St Leo II could at last sing aloud: 'O holy mother Church, put off thy garb of mourning, and deck thee in robes of gladness. Exult now with joyous confidence: thy liberty is not cramped.'⁴

¹ Concil. Later. Actio seu Secret. II.
² Ibid.
³ 2 Tim. ii 9.
⁴ Epist. confirm. Concil. Constantinop. III.

The holy liturgy devotes the following lines to the history of this pontificate, short indeed, but well filled:

Leo Secundus, Pontifex Maximus, Siculus, humanis et divinis litteris græce et latine doctus, musicis etiam eruditus fuit: ipse enim sacros hymnos et psalmos in Ecclesia ad concentum meliorem reduxit. Probavit acta sextæ Synodi, quæ Constantinopoli celebrata est, præsidentibus legatis apostolicæ sedis, presente quoque Constantino imperatore, et duobus patriarchis Constantinopolitano et Antiocheno, ac centum septuaginta episcopis: quam et in latinum transtulit.

In eo concilio Cyrus, Sergius, et Pyrrhus condemnati sunt, unam tantummodo voluntatem et operationem in Christo prædicantes. Hic fregit superbiam antistitum Ravennatum, qui Exarchorum freti potentia, sedi apostolicæ non obtemperabant. Quamobrem decrevit, ut electio cleri Ravennatis irrita esset, nisi Romani Pontificis auctoritate comprobaretur.

Vere pater pauperum fuit: non enim pecunia solum, sed opera, labore, et consiliis, egentium, viduarum, et pupillorum inopiam ac solitudinem sublevabat. Qui dum singulos non magis prædicatione quam vita ad pie sancteque vivendum adhor-

Pope Leo II was a Sicilian. He was learned in sacred and profane letters, as also in the Greek and Latin tongues, and was moreover an excellent musician. He rearranged and improved the music of the sacred hymns and psalms used in the Church. He approved the acts of the sixth General Council, which was held at Constantinople, under the presidency of the legates of the apostolic see, in the presence of the emperor Constantine, the patriarchs of Constantinople and Antioch, and one hundred and seventy bishops: Leo also translated these said acts into Latin.

It was in this Council that Cyrus, Sergius, and Pyrrhus were condemned for teaching that there is in Christ only one will and one operation. Leo broke the pride of the archbishops of Ravenna, who had puffed themselves up, under the power of the exarchs, to set at naught the power of the apostolic see. Wherefore, he decreed that the elections of the clergy of Ravenna should be worth nothing, until they had been confirmed by the authority of the Bishop of Rome.

He was a true father to the poor. Not by money only, but by his deeds, his labours, and his advice, he relieved the poverty and loneliness of widows and orphans. He was leading all to live holy and godly lives, not by mere preaching, but by his own life, when he fell asleep

taretur; obdormivit in Domino mense sui pontificatus undecimo, quinto nonas Julii, anno sexcentesimo octogesimo tertio, sepultusque est in basilica sancti Petri. Ordinatione una mense Junio, creavit presbyteros novem, diaconos tres, episcopos diversis in locis viginti tres.

in the Lord, having sat as Pope eleven months, in the year 683, and was buried in the church of Saint Peter, the fifth of the Nones of July. In the month of June he held one ordination, whereat he ordained nine priests, three deacons, and twenty-three bishops, for divers places.

O glorious Pontiff, to thee was granted the privilege of completing the apostolic confession by giving the furthest development to the testimony rendered by Peter to the Son of the living God, who is at the same time Son of man. Thou wast to finish the work of Sylvester, Celestine and that other Leo, a Pontiff beloved of earth and of heaven. Convoking, inspiring, confirming the illustrious Councils of Nicæa, Ephesus and Chalcedon, they had triumphantly proved in our Emmanuel both his Divinity consubstantial with the Father, and his unity of person which causes Mary to be truly his Mother, and furthermore his twofold Nature, without which he could not have been our Brother. Satan, who had allowed himself to be more easily overcome on the first two points, disputed the third with utmost rage. As on that great battle-day when he was hurled from heaven, the form of his revolt had been a refusal to adore God under human features; so now, together with all hell, enforced by holy Church to bend the knee, his jealousy would fain pretend that at least God had taken of man but a mutilated nature. Let it be granted that the Word was made Flesh, but in this Flesh do not allow that he had other impulses, other energies, save those of the Divinity itself; such an inert nature as this, uncrowned of its proper will, would in reality be no human nature, even though it were to retain all the rest. Then would Lucifer, in his pride, have less cause to blush; for then man, the object of his infernal envy, would have nothing in common with the divine Word save a vain appearance! Thanks be to thee, O Leo, in the name of all mankind!

By thee, in face of heaven, earth and hell, is promulgated authentically the incomparable title whereby, without any restriction, our nature is established at the right hand of the Father, in the highest heavens; by thee our Lady crushes the vile serpent's head once again.

But what craft was displayed by Satan in this campaign, prolonged for two centuries, noiselessly, the better to secure success! What exultation rang through the abyss when one sad day saw the representative of him who is essential Light appear to side for a moment with the powers of darkness! A cloud seemed to have come between heaven and those mountains of God, where he dwells with his Vicar; it is probable that the social aid of intercession was weaker just then than it should have been. Be ever at hand, O Leo, to ward off all similarly dangerous situations. Uphold, in every age, the Pastor who rules Christ's Church, that he may keep himself aloof from the darkening mists that earth exhales; keep ever alive in the hearts of the faithful flock that strong prayer, which should continually be made without ceasing for him by the Church:⁵ and then Peter, were he even chained in the depths of the darkest dungeon, will be reached by the Sun of justice and clearly see his way in that pure ray; then will the whole body of the Church be lightsome. For Jesus hath said, 'the light of the body is the eye: if the eye be single the whole body will be lightsome.'⁶

By thy teaching we realize more fully the strength of the rock whereon the Church stands; we know that the gates of hell shall never prevail against her.⁷ For surely the efforts of the spirits of darkness never went to such lengths as they did in that sad crisis to which thou didst put an end; nor was their success, however great in appearance, contrary to the divine promise; for it is to the teaching of Peter, not to his silence, that the unfailing assistance of the Holy Ghost is guaranteed. O loving Pontiff, obtain for us uprightness of faith and heavenly

⁵ Acts xii 5.
⁶ St Matt. vi 22.
⁷ Ibid. xvi 18.

enthusiasm wherewith it behoves us to hail Peter and Christ acting together in the unity divinely established between them. The liturgy is deeply indebted to thee; grant us to relish more and more the hidden manna it contains, and may our hearts and voices fittingly render these sacred melodies!

THE SAME DAY

THE FIFTH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL

Although amongst the saints there is none who is undeserving of earth's humble homage, or whose intercession is powerless on our behalf, yet the cultus rendered to them, and the confidence evinced, necessarily vary in proportion to what we know of their glory. It is therefore only just, as St Leo remarks in to-day's Office,¹ that we should honour in a most special manner those whom divine grace has exalted so far above all others, that they are considered, as it were, the two brilliant eyes of Christ's mystical body, the Church, giving light to all of us, who are the members thereof. For this reason, the festival of these two princes of the apostles is held superior to that of any other servant of God occurring in the entire cycle. When the Church's own practice gave tone to the particular customs of the various countries, national confidence and even private devotion knew no other preferences than those of the holy liturgy; and long were it to tell of all that can be produced by history, public charts, simple contracts and monuments of every sort, in endless proof of our forefathers' love for the glorious doorkeeper of heaven and his illustrious companion armed with the sword. Faith was lively in those days. It was then well understood that of all God's gifts to earth, none is comparable to the graces of sanctification, doctrine and unity, of which Peter and Paul are for all the predestined instruments. The heart became dilated as the mind expanded. Men were eager, therefore, to know as much as they could touching the lives

¹ Sermo I in Nat. Apost. Lect. II Nocturni.

of these fathers of the Christian people; and they made great account of the devotedness wherewith the two apostles had so unsparingly poured out their sweat and blood for them.

Alas! can it be said that such is the case nowadays? How many baptized persons are there, Catholics not merely in name, but even considered practical Catholics, who scarcely possess such elementary notions of true Christianity as to appreciate the importance of the rôle performed amongst men by these founders of the Church, or even to give it a passing thought! Yet some there are, and thanks be to God their number is now on the increase, who glory in studying the principles on which rests the divine constitution of society purchased by the Blood of our Lord. Such men as these understand and revere the august position which has been, and always must be, held by Peter and Paul in the economy of Christian dogma. Nevertheless, do even these persons honour really as they ought these two princes of the apostles? What they know on this subject shows them plainly enough that it cannot be the case with these two apostles as it is with many other saints, whose cultus increases or diminishes according to circumstances of time, place and the like: the cultus of SS Peter and Paul has its roots in the very foundations of Catholicism; whether in nations or in individual souls it cannot wane, save to the great detriment of Catholicity itself. But then, no cultus is real, except that which implies devotion and love; can it be really said of the class of persons to whom we refer that their knowledge of the holy apostles has penetrated deeply enough from their mind into their heart?

In the case of too many people, this knowledge, being confined to the region of theory, is not sufficiently personal with regard to the two apostles themselves; and, therefore, principles the most nicely drawn do by no means impart the spirit of faith, the seat of which is in the heart, and which animates the life. Let them put the finishing stroke to their science. Without losing sight of dogmatic science, let them seek in prayer and in humble study of the Gospel of the Acts of the Apostles, of the Epistles and of ecclesiastical tradition, that intimate revelation of the very soul of Peter and of Paul which cannot fail to make them admire, and above all love them personally as much as and even more than their sublime prerogatives. Then perhaps will they be astonished to have come so late to a knowledge of many precious details and thousands of instructive features about them, which little children in bygone ages (now reputed barbarous) would have blushed not to know. As a necessary consequence, they will thus begin to feel more Catholic in soul; they will consider themselves happy to have learnt, at last, how to share the devotion of the humble peasant woman and her ingenuous confidence, not unmixed with fear, in the doorkeeper of paradise.

The following beautiful Preface is taken from the Mozarabic Missal. Its theme is that assemblage of divine contrasts, amidst which eternal Wisdom loves, as it were, to play, and which are found wonderfully multiplied in the lives of these two apostles.

ILLATIO

Dignum et justum est, omnipotens Pater, nos tibi ingentes agere gratias pro multiplici apostolorum Petri et Pauli gloria: quam eis per diversas munerum distributiones larga satis pietate donasti. Quos et Unigeniti tui discipulos: et gentium doctores fecisti. Ob Evangelii prædicationem quum cœlorum præficiantur in regnis: carcerum clauduntur in claustris. Potestatem accipiunt peccata solvendi: et ferri vinculis alligantur. Sanitatem donant: et ægritudines portant. Dæmonibus imperant: et ab hominibus flagellantur. Mortes fugant: et fugiunt persequentes. Super mare ambulant: et in labore desudant. Montes verbo transferunt: et propriis victum manibus quærunt. Judicaturi angelos: in quæstionem mittuntur. Cum Deo vivunt: in mundo periclitantur. Postremo Christus eis serviens pedes lavat: et facies eorum blasphemantium manus alapis colaphizat. Nihil sustinentibus pene defuit ad tolerantiam: nihil superantibus victoriæ non adfuit ad coronam. Si recurramus quot ad testificandam fidei veritatem ærumnarum pertulerint in tormentis frequenter suis: superfuere martyribus. Si in mirabilibus, hoc per Christum fecere quod Christus: si in passionibus, hoc sustinuerunt illi necessitate mortali quod ille voluntate moriendi. Isti ejus viribus: ille suis. Probantes doctrinæ auctoritatem similitudine: non æqualitate doctoris.

Implevit Petrus suo tempore: quod promiserat ante tempus. Posuit animam suam pro illo: quem se non crediderat negaturum. Quia ad arduæ sponsionis celeritatem nimia charitate præventus, non intellexit servum pro Domino dare non posse, quod pro servo ante Dominus non dedisset: similiter non renuit crucifigi, sed æqualiter non præsumpsit appendi. Obiit ille rectus: iste subjectus. Ille ut majestatem ascendentis sublimitate proferret: iste ut fragilitatem descendentis humilitate monstraret.

Nec Paulus affectu minor, meminit quem sibi arrogaverat dicens: Mihi vivere Christus est, et mori lucrum. Gaudet, insanientis ictibus percussoris, domitas jugo Christo offerre cervices; et pro corporis sui capite, dare corporis sui caput. Diviserunt sibi passionis dominicæ vestimentum duo milites Dei: unus in patibulo, alter in gladio; Petrus in transfixione, Paulus in sanguine.

His igitur dispari mortis genere, non dispari moriendi amore perfunctis: exsultet in eorum doctrinis Ecclesia catholica; in exsequiis religiositas universa; in memoriis urbs Romana; in patrociniis omnis anima christiana. Hæc autem omnia tu, Domine, operaris: qui a prophetis demonstraris; ab angelis adoraris; et in omni sæculo apostolorum lumine declararis. Cui merito omnes Angeli et Archangeli non cessant clamare quotidie, ita dicentes: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus.

It is truly meet and just, O almighty Father, that we render our deepest thanks unto thee for the multiplied glory of thine apostles Peter and Paul, which thou hast by divers distribution of gifts largely bestowed upon them, of thine immense goodness. Thou hast made them to be disciples of thine only-begotten Son and teachers of the Gentiles. On account of their preaching of the Gospel, though they are first in the heavenly kingdom, yet are they shut up in strait prisons. They receive power to absolve sins: yet are they enthralled in chains of iron. They give health; and they endure bitter anguish. They command demons; and they are scourged by men. They drive away death; and they themselves flee from the face of persecutors. They walk upon the waters; and sweat with toil. By their word are mountains removed; and by the labour of their own hands they earn their bread. They are appointed judges of angels; and they are put to the torture. With God they live; in the world they are in peril. Finally, Christ ministering unto them washes their feet; and by the hands of blasphemers are their faces buffeted with blows. Scarce anything was wanting of sufferings unto their endurance; nor is anything now wanting to the crown of victory in their triumph. If we go over all that they suffered in their torments, they outstrip the martyrs. If we look into their miracles, we see that they did the same by Christ as Christ himself did: if we consider their passion, we behold that they endured by mortal necessity that which he did by voluntary death; but they by his strength, he by his own. Proving the authority of their doctrine by their likeness to their teacher, not by their equality with him.

Peter accomplished in due time that which he promised before his time. He laid down his life for him whom he believed that he would never deny. Since in the burning impetuosity of his great love, he had not understood that the servant cannot give to his Lord that which his Lord hath not as yet given for the servant; so in like manner he refused not, when the time came, to be crucified; but he presumed not to hang in the same position as his Lord. The One died upraised, the other placed downwards: the One thus declared his majesty ascending on high; the other thus showed the fragility that tends unto earth.

Nor in less affection doth Paul remember that which he said of himself: Christ is my life, and to die is my gain. Glad is he, beneath the stroke of the raging murderer, to offer unto Christ a neck tamed to the yoke; and for the true Head of the body, to give the mortal head of his own body. Lo! these two soldiers of God, how they divide betwixt them the garment of the Lord's Passion; the one on the gibbet, the other beneath the sword; Peter in transfixion, Paul in blood-shedding.

These two, therefore, differ in the manner of their death, but not in the love shown forth in dying: the Catholic Church exults in their teaching; all religion, in the celebration of their death; the Roman city, in their memory; each Christian soul, in their patronage. Now, all these things thou, O Lord, hast wrought, who wast pointed out by the prophets, art adored by the angels, and art manifested throughout the world, by the light of the apostles. To whom meetly, all Angels and Archangels unceasingly cry out daily, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy.

The same liturgy makes use of the following hymn on this festival. It is attributed, not without some foundation, to St Ambrose, and seems to have preceded the hymn of Elpis in liturgical use.

HYMN

Apostolorum passio Diem sacravit sæculis,
Petri triumphum nobilem, Pauli coronam proferens.

Conjunxit æquales viros
Cruor triumphalis necis; Deum secutos præsules
Christi coronavit fides.

Primus Petrus apostolus; Nec Paulus impar gratia: Electionis vas sacræ
Petri adæquavit fidem.

Verso crucis vestigio, Simon honorem dans Deo, Suspensus ascendit, dati Non immemor oraculi.

Præcinctus, ut dictum est, senex,
Elevatus ab altero, Quo nollet ivit, sed volens Mortem subegit asperam.

Hinc Roma celsum verticem Devotionis extulit, Fundata tali sanguine Et vate tanto nobilis.

Tantæ per Urbis ambitum
Stipata tendunt agmina: Trinis celebratur viis Festum sacrorum martyrum.

Prodire quis mundum putet, Concurrere plebem poli: Electa gentium caput, Sedes magistri gentium.

Deo Patri sit gloria, Ejusque soli Filio, Cum Spiritu Paraclito In sempiterna sæcula.
Amen.

The apostles' passion hath consecrated this immortal day, presenting Peter's noble triumph and Paul's crown.

The gore of their victorious death hath conjoined these men, peers in fame; the faith of Christ hath crowned these jubilant followers of God.

The first, Peter the apostle; next, Paul his peer in grace. The vessel of sacred election hath equalled the faith of Peter.

Not unmindful of the oracle, Simon, suspended, ascends along the heaven-turned footprints of the cross, giving glory to God.

Even as was foretold, the old man, girded by another's hand, is upraised. Whither he would not, he has had to go; but willing now, dire death hath he subdued.

Hence Rome hath become the exalted head of religious worship, founded, as she is, in such blood as this, and by so illustrious a prophet.

Through all the vast extent of so great a city, close-packed, crowds are pressing along, by three ways, for the celebration of the holy martyrs' festival.

It might be supposed that the whole world had come forth, that the people of all nations had assembled here; lo! verily, the chosen head of the Gentiles, the seat of the teacher of the Gentiles!

Glory be to God the Father, and to his only Son, together with the Paraclete Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

July 4

THE SIXTH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL

Peter and Paul still hear the prayer of their devout clients throughout the world. Time has wrought no change in their power; and in heaven no more than formerly on earth can the gravity of the general interests of holy Church so absorb them, as that they should neglect the petition of the humblest inhabitant of the glorious city of God, of which they were constituted, and still are, the princes. Putting to sleep the faith of even just men is one of the triumphs of hell at present; hence we must be allowed to insist somewhat on our point, in order to disturb this dangerous slumber, which would end in nothing less than the utter oblivion of the most touching consideration of our Lord's intention, when he confided to mere men the continuance of his work and the representation of his Person visibly here below.

The error whereby the world has been turned away from Peter will be decidedly overcome only when it is brought to see in him, not merely the firmness of the rock in resisting the attacks of hell's gates, but likewise that tenderness of heart and that paternal solicitude which make him to be indeed the Vicar of Jesus in his love. For, in fact, the Church is not merely an edifice, the duration of which is eternal: she is moreover a family, a sheepfold;¹ and therefore our Lord, wishing to leave to his work a triple guarantee when quitting this world, exacted of the chosen one, to whom he would confide all, a triple affirmation of love before investing him with this sublime office, saying: 'Feed my sheep.'²

'Hence,' exclaims St Leo,³ 'far from us all doubt as to whether Peter still exercises this function of shepherd, or whether he remains faithful to the engagement he once plighted of an eternal love, or whether he still observes with exquisite tenderness that command of our Lord, to confirm us in good by his exhortations, to pray ceaselessly, lest any temptation prevail against us. His tenderness embraces the whole people of God;⁴ it is far more vast and potent now than when he was in this mortal state; because now all the duties and multiplied solicitudes of his immense paternity do him honour, through him with whom and by whom he hath been glorified.'

'If in every place,' again says St Leo,⁵ 'the martyrs have received, in recompense for their death and in manifestation of their merits, the power to aid those in peril, to drive away diseases and unclean spirits, and to cure countless evils; who could be so ignorant or so envious of the glory of blessed Peter as to suppose that any portion of the Church can escape his care, or must not be indebted to him for its progress? Ever burning, ever living, in the prince of the apostles, is that love of God and of men which nothing could daunt; neither chains, nor the straitness of dungeons; neither the fury of mobs, nor the wrath of kings; victory has not cooled that which battle could not conquer. Wherefore in these days, seeing that sorrow has given place to joy, labour to repose, discord to peace, we recognize in these helpful effects the merits and prayers of our Head. Oftentimes do we experience how he influences salutary counsels and just judgements; the right of binding and loosing is exercised by us, but to blessed Peter is due the inclining of the condemned to penitence, of the pardoned to grace.⁶ Yea, this which we have personally experienced, our forefathers knew also; in such sort, that we believe and hold for certain, that in all the troubles of this life, the apostolic prayer must be our special aid and safeguard before the throne of God's mercy.'⁷

St Ambrose, bishop of Milan, in his turn also extols the apostolic action ever efficacious and living in the Church. His exposition, so full of sweetness and always so sound, rises to the sublime, wherein his great soul soars at ease, when he comes to express with ineffable delicacy and depth the special role of Peter and Paul in the sanctification of the elect.

'The Church,' he says, 'is the ship in which Peter must fish; and in this toil he is sometimes to us the net and sometimes the hook. O great mystery! for this fishing is wholly spiritual. The net encloses, the hook wounds; but into the net go the crowd; unto the hook go the solitary fish.⁸ Do not, therefore, O good fish, dread Peter's hook; it killeth not, but consecrateth; his is a precious wound, midst the blood of which may be found the coin of good metal, needed to pay tribute both for the apostle and for the Master. Hence, undervalue not thyself, for though thy body be feeble, in thy mouth thou hast wherewith to pay both for Christ and for Peter.⁹ Lo! within us is a treasure, the Word of God; by being confessed, Jesus is placed upon our lips. Wherefore is it said to Simon: "Launch out into the deep,"¹⁰—that is to say, into the heart of man; for the heart of man in his counsels is as deep water. Launch out into the deep—that is, into Christ—for Christ is the fountain of living waters, in whom are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Daily still doth Peter preach; daily the Lord crieth unto him: "Launch out into the deep." But methinks I hear Peter answer him: "Lord, we have laboured all the night, and have taken nothing." Peter toils in us when our devotedness is laborious. Paul, too, is in labour; even this very day, have ye not heard him saying: "Who is weak, and I am not weak?" So behave, that the apostles may not have to toil thus hard for you.'

The Ambrosian Missal offers us the following Preface and Prayer for this feast:

¹ Ambr. in Luc. x.
² St John xxi.
³ Sermo IV de Natali ipsius.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Sermo III de Natali ipsius.
⁶ Sermo V de Nat. ips.
⁷ Sermo I in Nat. Apost.; lect. II Noct. quintæ diei infra Oct.
⁸ De Virginitate, xviii.
⁹ St Matt. xvii. 23-26.
¹⁰ Ambr. Hexaemeron, V.

¹ St Luke v 4. ² Prov. xviii 4. ³ St John iv 11.

⁴ Rom. xi 33. ⁵ St Luke v. 5. ⁶ 2 Cor. xi 29.

¹ Ambrosius de Virginitate xviii, xix. This portion of the Book on Virginity forms a part of a discourse which was delivered by St Ambrose on the festival of the holy apostles. In the Ambrosian liturgy, there is still read, for the Epistle of this feast, the passage containing the text cited above by St Ambrose, from the Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians.

PREFACE

Æquum et salutare: nos tibi semper, hic et ubique, in honore apostolorum Petri et Pauli gratias agere. Quos ita electione tua consecrare dignatus es: ut beati Petri secularem piscandi artem in divinum dogma converteres, quatenus humanum genus de profundo inferni præceptorum tuorum retibus liberares; et coapostoli ejus Pauli mentem cum nomine mutares, ut quem prius persecutorem metuebat Ecclesia, nunc cœlestium mandatorum lætetur se habere doctorem. Paulus cæcatus est, ut videret: Petrus negavit, ut crederet. Huic claves cœlestis imperii: illi ad evocandas gentes, divinæ legis scientiam contulisti. Ille introducit; hic aperit: et ambo virtutis æternæ præmia sunt adepti. Hunc dextera tua gradientem in elemento liquido, dum mergeretur, erexit: illum autem, tertio naufragantem, profunda pelagi fecit vitare discrimina. Hic portas inferi, ille mortis vicit aculeum: et Paulus capite plectitur, quia gentium caput fidei probatur; Petrus autem, sursum versis vestigiis, caput omnium nostrum secutus est Christum.

It is truly meet and just for us here and everywhere to give thanks in honour of the apostles Peter and Paul. Whom thou hast vouchsafed to consecrate by such an election: so that the earthly fishing-craft of blessed Peter should be converted by thee into divine dogma, inasmuch as thou hast been pleased to deliver the human race from the depths of hell, by means of the nets of thy commandments; and that the mind of his co-apostle Paul, as well as his name, should be changed by thee, so that he who at first was dreaded by the Church, should now make her gladsome by the teaching of the heavenly precepts which he hath received. Paul was struck blind, in order that he might see; Peter denied, in order that he might believe. To the one belong the keys of the heavenly kingdom: to the other thou hast entrusted the knowledge of the divine Law, that he might call the Gentiles to the faith. The one introduces; the other opens; and to both is awarded the prize of eternal dominion. The one, as he walked upon the waters, was upheld by thy right hand when about to sink: the other, thrice shipwrecked, was by the same saved from the depths of the sea. The one resists the gates of hell; the other overcomes the sting of death: and Paul has his head struck off, because he is the approved head of the nations in faith; but Peter, with his feet turned heavenwards, hath followed Christ the Head of us all.

PRAYER

Deus, qui confitentium tibi redemptor es animarum, quarum piscator beatus Petrus apostolus, atque ovium pastor tua præceptione cognoscitur: annue misericors precibus nostris, et populo tuo pietatis tuæ dona concede. Qui vivis.

O God, the Redeemer of souls confessing unto thee; of souls caught by thy fisherman, blessed Peter the apostle; of sheep unto whom, according to thy command, he is known to be the shepherd: be pleased, in thy mercy, to grant our petitions; and to thy people, vouchsafe the gifts of thy compassion. Who livest.

Let us hail Rome and her two princes in the words of this beautiful song, which breathes something of the inspiration found in the hymns of Elpis and of St Paulinus of Aquileia. It is supposed to date from about the seventh or eighth century.

HYMN

O Roma nobilis, orbis et domina, Cunctarum urbium excellentissima, Roseo martyrum sanguine rubea, Albis et virginum liliis candida: Salutem dicimus tibi per omnia, Te benedicimus, salve per sæcula.

O noble Rome, O lady of the earth, O most excellent of all cities, ruddy with the roseate blood of martyrs, and white with the glistening lilies of virgins: we salute thee throughout the earth: we bless thee; for ever, hail!

Petre, tu præpotens cœlorum claviger,
Vota precantium exaudi jugiter: Cum bis sex tribuum sederis arbiter, Factus placabilis judica leniter, Teque precantibus nunc temporaliter Ferto suffragia misericorditer.

O Peter, thou most potent key-bearer of the heavens, meetly hear the prayers of us suppliants: when thou dost sit as judge of the twelve tribes, being appeased, judge us mildly; and now whilst time is still ours, mercifully lend thine intercession unto us who are beseeching thee.

O Paule, suscipe nostra peccamina, Cujus philosophos vicit industria: Factus œconomus in domo regia,
Divini muneris appone fercula; Ut, qua repleverit te Sapientia, Ipsa nos repleat tua per dogmata.

Amen.

O Paul, take in hand the cause of us guilty ones, thou whose skill did conquer philosophers: being made the dispenser in the royal household, hand unto us the sweetmeats of divine gifts; so that the same Wisdom that filled thee may fill us by thy teachings. Amen.

July 5

SAINT ANTHONY MARY ZACCARIA CONFESSOR

Later than Cajetan of Vicenza and earlier than Ignatius of Loyola, Anthony was called to be the father of one of those religious families which arose in such numbers during the sixteenth century to repair the ruins of the house of God. Lombardy, exhausted and demoralized by the wars for the possession of the duchy of Milan, was encouraged by the sight of the heroic virtues of Zaccaria to believe, hope and love once again. She listened to his fiery exhortations calling her to repentance, to meditation on the Passion and to more fervent devotion to, and more solemn adoration of, the Blessed Sacrament.¹ Thus he was truly the precursor of St Charles Borromeo, who in his reform of the clergy, people and monasteries of Milan had as his earnest supporters Anthony's sons and daughters, the Clerks Regular and the Angelic Sisters of St Paul.

The Congregation began its life in the Oratory of Eternal Wisdom at Milan, but these new disciples of the doctor of the Gentiles took their name of Barnabites from the Church of St Barnabas, to which they were moved shortly after the death of the saint and where his body rests. The Congregation soon spread, not only throughout Italy, but also into France, Austria, Sweden, and even as far as China and Burma. The sphere of its activities comprised mission work, instruction of youth and everything which furthers the work of God and the sanctification of souls. On the eve of the octave of the

¹ St Anthony Mary Zaccaria was the first who exposed the sacred Host unveiled for the public adoration of the faithful. This custom of the Forty Hours was afterwards extended to the whole Church, and allusion has been made elsewhere to its special observance during the three days immediately preceding Lent.

apostles SS Peter and Paul in the year 1539, the holy founder of the congregation was called to his reward at the age of thirty-six in the very house in which he had been born and from the arms of his saintly mother who had brought him up for God, and who joined him shortly afterwards.

When Urban VIII published his famous decrees in the following century, the cultus of Anthony Mary had only been established for ninety-five years. Since these decrees required that the cultus should have been established for a century before it could claim to have acquired the right of prescription, and since, on the other hand, the witnesses required for the regular canonization of the servant of God were not forthcoming, the cause was suspended. In 1890, however, Leo XIII reinstituted the cultus of Anthony Mary, and a few years later solemnly inscribed his name among the saints and extended his feast to the universal Church.

Antonius Maria Zaccaria, Cremonæ in Insubria nobili genere natus, jam a puero qua futurus esset sanctitate portendere visus est. Eximiarum enim in eo virtutum significationes mature eluxerunt, pietatis in Deum ac beatam Virginem; insignis præsertim in pauperes misericordiæ quorum inopiæ sublevandæ vel pretiosa veste sibi detracta, haud semel præsto fuit. Humanioribus litteris in patria excultus, Ticini philosophiæ, Patavii medicinæ addiscendæ operam dedit: utque omnibus vitæ integritate ita et æqualibus acumine ingenii facile anteceluit. Lauream adeptus ac domum reversus, ubi intellexit se Dei monitu ad animorum magis quam corporum morbis medendum vocari in sacris disciplinas percipiendas sedulo incubuit. Interea ægrotos visere, pueros christiana doctrina informare, juvenum cœtus pietate excolere, ætate etiam provectos ad mores emendandos frequenter hortari non destitit. Sacris initiatus cum primo litaret, cœlesti oborto lumine, Angelorum corona circumdatus stupenti populo apparuisse traditur. Exinde animarum saluti impensius consulere, depravatis moribus summa ope obsistere curæ fuit. Ad hæc advenas, egenos, afflictos paterno complexus affectu, piis adloquiis atque subsidiis recreatos ita solari, ut ejus domus miserorum perfugium haberetur ipseque pater patriæ atque angelus meruerit a suis civibus appellari.

Anthony Mary Zaccaria was born of a noble family at Cremona in Lombardy, and even in childhood gave signs of his future sanctity. He was early distinguished for his virtues, piety towards God, devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and especially mercy towards the poor, in order to relieve whom he more than once gave his own rich clothing. He studied the humanities at home, and thence went to Pavia for philosophy and Padua for medicine, and easily surpassed his contemporaries both in purity of life and in mental ability. After receiving his degree he returned home, where after understanding that God called him to the healing rather of souls than of bodies, he gave himself earnestly to sacred studies. Meanwhile he never ceased to visit the sick, instruct children in Christian doctrine, and exhort the young to piety and the elders to reformation of their lives. While saying his first Mass after his ordination, he is said to have been seen by the amazed congregation in a blaze of heavenly light and surrounded by angels. He then made it his chief care to labour for the salvation of souls and the reformation of manners. He received strangers, the poor and afflicted, with paternal charity, and consoled them with holy words and material assistance, so that his house was known as the refuge of the afflicted and he himself was called by his fellow-citizens an angel and the father of his country.

Mediolani, cum secum agitaret uberiores in rem christianam manare posse fructus si in vinea Domini sibi laborum socios adscisceret, re communicata cum Bartholomæo Ferrario et Jacobo Morigia nobilissimis viris, Sodalitatis Clericorum Regularium fundamenta jecit; quam, ob suum in gentium Apostolum amorem, a Sancto Paulo nuncupavit: quæ Clemente Septimo Pontifice Maximo approbante et Paulo Tertio confirmante, brevi per complures regiones propagata est. Sanctimonialium quoque Angelicarum Societas ipsum Antonium Mariam parentem et auctorem habuit. Qui tamen adeo de se submisse sentiebat, ut nullo pacto præesse suo ordini unquam voluerit. Tanta vero fuit patientia, ut formidolosissimas tempestates in suos commotas constanti animo perferret; tanta caritate, ut piis adhortationibus religiosos viros ad Dei amorem inflammare, sacerdotes ad apostolicam vivendi normam revocare, patrumque familias sodalitia ad bonam frugem instituere numquam intermiserit; imo interdum prælata Cruce per compita plateasque cum suis progressus, fervida ac vehementi oratione aberrantes improbosque homines ad salutem reduceret.

Thinking that he would be able to do more for the Christian religion if he had fellow-labourers in the Lord's vineyard, he communicated his thoughts to two noble and saintly men, Bartholomew Ferrari and James Morigia, and together with them founded at Milan a society of Clerks Regular, which from his great love for the apostle of the Gentiles, he called after St Paul. It was approved by Clement VII, confirmed by Paul III, and soon spread through many lands. He was also the founder and father of the Angelic Sisters. But he thought so humbly of himself that he would never be Superior of his own Order. So great was his patience that he endured with steadfastness the most terrible opposition to his religious. Such was his charity that he never ceased to exhort religious men to love God and priests to live after the manner of the apostles, and he organized many confraternities of married men. He often carried the cross through the streets and public squares, together with his religious, and by his fervent prayers and exhortations brought wicked men back to the way of salvation.

Illud etiam memorandum quod in Jesum crucifixum amore flagrans, crucis mysterium ab omnibus, ad statum æris campani indicium, sexta quaque feria sub vesperas, recolendum curavit; sanctissimum Christi nomen in suis scriptis passim usurpabat et in ore semper habebat; ejusdemque cruciatus, vere Pauli discipulus, in corpore suo præ se ferebat. In Sacram Eucharistiam singulari caritate ferebatur; cujus et frequenter accipiendæ consuetudinem instauravit; et morem e sublimi throno publice in triduum adorandæ invexisse perhibetur. Pudicitiam adeo coluit ut etiam in exsangui corpore, reviviscere visus, ejus amorem testaretur. Accessere cœlestia dona extasis, lacrymarum, futurorum eventuum cognitionis, scrutationis cordium, virtutis in humani generis hostem. Tandem magnis laboribus ubique exantlatis Guastallæ, quo pacis sequester accitus fuerat, gravi morbo correptus est. Cremonam delatus, inter suorum lacrimas et in amplexu piissimæ matris, quæ filium Deo educaverat, obiit in ea ipsa domo in qua natus erat, die quinta Julii anno MDXXXIX, ætatis suæ trigesimo sexto.

It is noteworthy that out of love for Jesus crucified he would have the mystery of the cross brought to the mind of all by the ringing of a bell on Friday afternoons about vesper time. The holy name of Christ was ever on his lips, and in his writings, and as a true disciple of St Paul, he ever bore the mortification of Christ in his body. He had a singular devotion to the Holy Eucharist, restored the custom of frequent communions, and is said to have introduced that of the public adoration of Forty Hours. Such was his love of purity that it seemed to restore life even to his lifeless body. He was also enriched with the heavenly gifts of ecstasy, tears, knowledge of future things, and the secrets of hearts and power over the enemy of mankind. At length, after many labours, he fell grievously sick at Guastalla, whither he had been summoned as arbitrator in the cause of peace. He was taken to Cremona, and died there amid the tears of his religious and in the arms of his most pious mother, who had brought him up for God, in the very house in which he had been born, on July 5, 1539, in the thirty-sixth year of his age.

monam adductus, inter suorum fletus, et complexus piissimæ matris, quam proxime obituram prædixit; superna apostolorum visione recreatus, sodalitatis suæ incrementa prænuntians; tertio nonas julii anno millesimo quingentesimo trigesimo nono, sanctissime obiit, annos natus sex supra triginta. Cultum tanto viro, ob eximiam ejus sanctitatem et signorum copiam a christiano populo statim exhibitum Leo Decimus tertius Pontifex maximus ratum habuit et confirmavit; eumdemque anno millesimo octingentesimo nonagesimo septimo, in festo Ascensionis dominicæ, solemni ritu sanctorum fastis adscripsit.

the embrace of his pious mother, whose approaching death he foretold. At the hour of his death, which took place on the third of the Nones of July, 1539, when he was thirty-six years of age, he was consoled by a vision of the apostles, and prophesied the future growth of his Society. The people began immediately to show their devotion to this saint on account of his great holiness and of his numerous miracles. The cult was approved by Leo XIII, who solemnly canonized him on Ascension Day, 1897.

During this octave of the holy apostles, thou dost appear, O faithful servant of God, as a precious jewel enriching their crown. From thy place of honour whither the homage of the Church rises to thee, deign to bless those who like thee are engaged here below in apostolic labours without thought of self, without hope save in God, and without being discouraged by the havoc wrought by the ministers of Satan, who force them perpetually to make new beginnings.

In our days as in thine the enemies of the Church congratulate themselves upon the prospect of the speedy overthrow of the House of God, and now as formerly everything appears to justify their sinister hopes. However, in our days as in thine the teaching of the apostles, upheld by the example and prayers of the saints, is able to save the world. If more than ever the world can see only foolishness in the Cross and those who preach it, yet for all that it is more than ever the power of God.¹ The saying, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject,'² is fulfilled once more before our eyes. At this moment where are the wise? Where are the learned and the clever³ who promise to adapt the word of salvation to the needs of the present? Never to alter the Word of God, to announce it before God as God gives it,⁴ without claiming to make it acceptable to those who insist upon being lost,⁵ is to fulfil the first condition for gaining that triumph which St Paul says will never be wanting to the faithful of Jesus Christ.⁶

Disciple and faithful follower of St Paul, the knowledge of Christ learnt in his school changed thee from a doctor of the body into a pastor of souls; that love which surpasseth all knowledge⁷ made thy short yet full life fruitful even beyond the grave. May God arouse in us that desire for the salvation of souls and spirit of reparation which the Church asks for by thy intercession. May thy sons and daughters drawn up under the apostolic banner do honour to the great name of the Doctor of the Gentiles.

¹ 1 Cor. i 18. ² 1 Cor. i 19. ³ Ibid. 20. ⁴ 2 Cor. ii 17.
⁵ Ibid. 15, 16. ⁶ Ibid. 14. ⁷ Eph. iii 19.

July 6

THE OCTAVE DAY OF THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL

Firmly resting upon Peter, the Church turns to him whom the Spouse has given to be her Head, and testifies to him no less veneration and love than obedience and fidelity; such is the craving of her gratitude. Moreover, she is fully aware of what is thus expressed by St Peter Damian (or as others say by a disciple of St Bernard): 'None may pretend to intimacy with our Lord unless he be intimate with Peter.'¹ Such is the admirable harmony between God's approach to his creature and its advance towards him. God is not found save in Jesus; nor Jesus, save in the Church; nor the Church, save in Peter. 'If you had known me,' said Christ, 'you would without doubt have known my Father also';² but the Jews sought God outside Jesus, and their efforts were vain. Since then others have come, wanting to find Jesus whilst setting aside his Church; but that which God has joined, what man shall put asunder?³ So these men, running after a Christ, a phantom of their own conceptions, have found neither Jesus Christ nor his Church. Finally, others are sons of the Church, yet they persuade themselves that in those pastures where, by right, the soul may feed upon God, they have none to seek save the divine Shepherd who dwells in heaven; but by the very fact of his having committed to another the care of feeding both lambs and sheep, our Lord seems to have had quite a different view, for these words imply not only some, either mere beginners and the imperfect, or the strong and saints, but all, little and great, whom the heavenly Shepherd confided to Simon Bar-Jona, by him to be fed, directed, advanced and guarded.

¹ Pet. Dam. vel Nicol. Claravall. Sermo de S. Petro Ap.
² St John xiv 7. ³ St Matt. xix 6; Eph. v 32.

O thou soul that hungerest after God, go to Peter, think not otherwise to appease thy cravings. Formed in the school of the holy liturgy, thou hast surely no part with such as neglect the Humanity, as they say (speaking of Mary's divine Son), in order to come all the more assuredly to the Word; but in like manner take care, thou also, not to turn God's Vicar into an obstacle in thy path. Jesus longs for the blissful meeting, even as thou dost; be certain, therefore, that what he places between thee and himself, on the way, is no obstacle but a help. Just as in the adorable Eucharist, the sacred species are but to point out to thee where he is whom, of thyself, thou couldst never find here below; so, too, the mystery of Peter has no other end but this, to show thee with absolute certainty where he, who resides for thee in the divine Sacrament in his proper substance, resides also for thee in his authority and infallible guidance. These two mysteries complete one another; they go together, and will both cease at the moment when our eyes gaze at last directly upon Jesus; but, from now till then, the Church sees herein not so much an intermediary or a veil, as the most precious sign of the invisible Spouse. Therefore, wonder not if the homage she pays to Peter seems to rival that which she bestows on the sacred Host; in her multiplied genuflections which she makes before both, she is indeed adoring; adoring not that man, it is true, whom we see seated on the apostolic throne, nor yet the mere species perceived by our senses on the altar; but adoring, in both instances, Jesus, who is silent in the Eucharistic Sacrament and who speaks and commands in his Vicar.

Further still, she knows that Peter alone can give her the sacred Host. Baptism which makes us to be sons of God, and all the sacraments which multiply the divine energies within us, are a treasure which he alone has licence to dispose of legitimately, either by himself or by others. It is his word, throughout the world, that in every grade of authorized teaching gives birth within souls to faith which is the beginning of salvation, and develops it from these humble commencements right up to the luminous summits of sanctity. And because, on the mountain heights, the life of the evangelical counsels is the chosen garden reserved to himself by the Spouse, Peter likewise claims as his own the guidance and protection, in a more special manner, of religious communities; for he wishes to be always able himself to offer directly to Jesus the fairest flowers of that holiness of which his exalted ministry is the very principle and support. Thus sanctified, to Peter again does the Church address herself, when she would learn in what way to approach her Spouse in her worship; she says to him, as heretofore the disciples said to our Lord, 'Teach us to pray';¹ and Peter, animated with what he knows so well of the gorgeous pomp of worship in the heavenly country, regulates for us here below the sacred ceremonial, and dictates to the bride herself the theme of her songs. Lastly, who but Peter can add to her holiness those other marks of unity, catholicity, and apostolicity, which are, in the face of the whole world, her unquestionable right and title to govern and to be loved by the Son of God?

¹ St Luke xi 1.

If we are truly sons of the Church, if in very deed it is from the heart of our mother that we draw our sentiments, let us well understand what should be our gratitude, respectful love, tender confidence and utter devotedness of our whole being towards him from whom, by the sweet will of God, come all these good things. Peter, in his own person, and in that of his successors, especially in him who in these our own days bears the weight of the whole world and our burdens also, ought to be the constant object of our filial reverence and homage. His glories, his sufferings, his thoughts should become ours. Forget not that he, of whom the Roman Pontiff is visible representative, has willed that every one of his members should have their invisible share in the government of his Church; the responsibility of each one in a point of such major importance is clearly indicated in the great duty of prayer, which in God's sight is of more value than action, and which is rendered by love stronger than hell!¹ Then, there is that other strict duty of almsdeeds, whereby we are obliged to come to the relief of the needs of our humblest brother: if so, can we deem ourselves free with regard to the bishop and father of our souls, when unjust spoliation makes him know, in the necessities of his immense administration, cramping want and difficulty? Happy they who to the tribute of gold may be allowed to add that of blood! But all are not granted such an honour.

¹ Cant. viii 6.

On this, the last day of the octave consecrated to the triumph of these two princes of the apostles, let us once again salute the city which was witness of their final combat. She is guardian of their tombs, and continues to be the See of Peter's successors; by this double title she is the vestibule of heaven, the capital of the spiritual empire. The very thought of the august trophies that adorn both banks of her noble river, and of all those other glorious memories that linger around her, made the heart of St John Chrysostom exult with enthusiasm beneath the Eastern sky. We give his words as addressed to the people in one of his homilies: 'In very deed, the heavens illuminated by the fiery rays of the meridian sun have naught comparable to Rome's resplendent rays shed over the whole earth by these two luminaries. Thence will Paul arise, thence Peter likewise. Reflect, yea, tremble, at the thought of what a spectacle Rome is to witness, when Peter and Paul, rising up from their graves, shall be borne aloft to meet the Lord. How brilliant in her roseate hue is Rome before the eyes of Christ! What garlands encircle this city! With what golden chains is she girded! What fountains are hers! Oh! this city of stupendous fame! I admire her, not because of the gold wherewith she abounds, nor because of her proud porticoes, but because she holds within her these two Pillars of the Church.'¹ Then the illustrious orator goes on to remark how he burned with longing desire to visit these sacred tombs, the treasure of the world, the secure rampart of the queen city.

In these days the bishops of God's Church are bound by law to come at fixed intervals, from their various dioceses throughout the world, to visit the basilicas raised over the precious remains of Peter and Paul; like the latter, they too must needs come and see Peter,² still living in the Pontiff, his successor in the Primacy. Although simple Christians are not subject to the same obligation to which bishops are bound by oath, yet ought every true Catholic frequently to visit in thought, at least, those blessed hills, whence flow the streams of salvation that divide and carry their waters over the whole world. One of the most consoling symptoms at the present time is the visible stir which is evidently taking hold of the masses, and urging them to the eternal city. This movement should be encouraged as much as possible, because it is a return to the wisest traditions of our forefathers; and in these days the facility for such a pilgrimage, once in a lifetime, is so great, that few or none would thereby undergo any serious inconvenience as regards either their family or social position.

But if some there be who really cannot apply to themselves in this literal sense these words of the psalm, 'I have rejoiced at the things that have been said to me, we shall go into the house of the Lord,' let them, at least, make these sentiments of true spiritual patriotism their own, and more so than did the Jews of yore: 'May there be abundance for them that love thee, O true Jerusalem! Let peace be in thy strength and abundance in thy towers. For the sake of my brethren who are in thee, this is my prayer: yea, this is my prayer, because thou art the house of the Lord our God.'³

¹ Homil. xxxii in Ep. ad Rom. ² Gal. i 18. ³ Ps. cxxi.

To pay honour to the churches of the eternal city where are preserved the chief memorials of the holy apostles, Benedict XIV fixed that on each of the days within the octave a pontifical Mass should be sung in one of these churches successively, the cantors and other ministers of the papal chapel attending. The festival of the twenty-ninth of June is reserved to the Sovereign Pontiff himself, who celebrates in the Vatican basilica, at the tomb of the prince of the apostles; but the following day, the bishops assistants at the pontifical throne are convoked in the basilica on the Ostian Way, built not far from the site of St Paul's martyrdom, and enclosing both the body of the doctor of the Gentiles and his chains. The apostolic protonotaries are assembled on the first of July, in the Church of St Pudentiana, formerly the house of the senator Pudens, where, as we are informed by Benedict XIV, 'Peter preached the divine word and celebrated the sacred mysteries; thus, in a way, laying the first foundations of the Roman Church, the mother and mistress of all other Churches.' On the second of July the major domo or master of the sacred palace and the auditors of the Rota pay homage, in like manner, at Sancta Maria in Via Lata, to the memory of the two years' sojourn of the apostle of the Gentiles in this place. On the fifth day, July the third, the Pontifical Mass is celebrated at St Peter's ad Vincula, the clerks of the camera assisting; on the sixth day, at the Mamertine prison, in the presence of the referendarii of the Signatura; on the seventh, before the abbreviators of the greater Parco, at St Peter's in Montorio, said, by tradition, to be the spot of the apostle's martyrdom. Lastly, on July the sixth, the sacred college of Cardinals terminates the octave with a grand solemnity at St John Lateran, where are exposed to public veneration the heads of St Peter and St Paul, in rich reliquaries.

Let us enter into the thought which inspired the great Pontiff Benedict XIV in his distribution of the days within the octave of the holy apostles, and so let us pray

¹ Bull Admirabilis Sapientiæ Dei sublimitas, April 1, 1745.

with him for the city and the world by taking from the sacramentary of his immortal predecessor, Saint Leo I, the following two formulas.

PREFACE

Vere dignum ... Qui prævidens quantis nostra civitas laboratura esset incommodis, apostolici roboris in eadem sacra membra posuisti.

O felix, si tuos præsules, Roma, cognosceres, et tantos digne studeres celebrare rectores! — Nulli te hostes impeterent, nulla prorsus arma terrerent, si eorum famulata doctrinis veraciter atque fideliter eos proposito christianæ sinceritatis ambires; quum tibi sufficienter appareat, qua benemeritis dona conferrent, qui tuentur etiam peccatores.

Truly it is right and just to give thanks to thee, who, foreseeing what great difficulties our city would have to labour under, didst place therein the leading members of apostolic strength. Yet, happy thou, O Rome, if thou do but know these thy leaders, if thou do but study how worthily to celebrate such rulers! No foe shall attack thee, no armies shall henceforth terrify thee, if so thou walk truly and faithfully in obedience to their teaching, in the profession of sincere Christianity; for it is indeed sufficiently manifest unto thee what great gifts they may confer on the well-deserving, since they give protection even unto sinners.

PRAYER

Deus, qui Ecclesiæ tuæ in sanctis montibus fundamenta posuisti: da, ut nullis errorum subruatur incursibus, nulla mundi perturbatione quatiatur; sed apostolica semper et institutione sit firma, et interventione secura. Per Dominum.

O God, who hast laid the foundations of thy Church in the holy mountains; grant that she may be undermined by no attacks of error, nor shaken by any perturbation of the world; but let her be ever firm in apostolical institution, and secure in the same intervention. Through our Lord.

The following Prose, by Adam of St Victor, will serve as an appropriate termination to the collection of liturgical pieces which have assisted our devotion during this octave in acquiring the spirit of holy Church. We have chosen it in preference to another, by the same illustrious author, commencing with the words Gaude Roma, caput mundi, inasmuch as this latter is exclusively dedicated to the life and miracles of St Peter.

SEQUENCE

Roma Petro glorietur, Roma Paulum veneretur Pari reverentia;

Imo tota jocundetur, Et jocundis occupetur Laudibus Ecclesia,

Hi sunt ejus fundamenta, Fundatores, fulcimenta, Bases, epistylia;

Iidem saga, qui cortinæ,
Pelles templi jacinthinæ,
Scyphi, sphæræ, lilia.

Hi sunt nubes coruscantes, Terram cordis irrigantes Nunc rore, nunc pluvia; Hi præcones novæ legis,
Et ductores novi gregis Ad Christi præsepia.

Laborum socii Triturant aream, In spe denarii Colentes vineam. His ventilantibus Secedit palea, Novisque frugibus Implentur horrea. Ipsi montes appellantur: Ipsi prius illustrantur Veri solis lumine.

Mira virtus est eorum: Firmamenti vel cœlorum
Designantur nomine. Fugam morbis imperant, Leges mortis superant, Effugant dæmonia.
Delent idolatriam,

Let Rome glory in Peter, let Rome venerate Paul with equal reverence; or rather, let the whole Church be made glad, and be occupied with songs of joy.

Lo! here, her foundations, her founders, her buttresses, her bases, her architraves; yea, here, her costly hangings and canopies, her hyacinth-dyed skins (as of the temple), her cups, her pomegranates, her lilies.

These are refulgent clouds watering the earth of our hearts, now with dew, now with rain. These are the heralds of the new law, and leaders of the new flock unto Christ's fold.

Companions in labour, they tread the threshing-floor: in hopes of the penny, they till the vineyard.

By their winnowing is the chaff separated, and the barns are filled with new harvestings.

They are called mountains: they are the first to be illumined by the rays of the true sun. Wondrous is their power; they are entitled firmaments, or heavens.

They command sickness to flee away, they overrule the laws of death; demons they put to flight. To the guilty they

Reis donant veniam, Miseris solatia. Laus communis est amborum Quum sint tamen singulorum Dignitates propriæ:
Petrus præit principatu,
Paulus pollet magistratu Totius Ecclesiæ.

Principatus uni datur, Unitasque commendatur Fidei catholicæ;
Unus cortex est granorum, Sed et una vis multorum Sub eodem cortice.

Romam convenerant Salutis nuntii, Ubi plus noverant Inesse vitii, Nihil disciplinæ.
Insistunt vitiis Fideles medici: Vitæ remediis
Obstant phrenetici, Fatui doctrinæ.
Facta Christi mentione, Simon Magus cum Nerone Conturbantur hoc sermone, Nec cedunt apostolis. Languor cedit, mors obedit. Magus crepat, Roma credit, Et ad vitam mundus redit, Reprobatis idolis.

Nero fremit sceleratus, Magi morti desolatus, Cujus error ei gratus, Grave præcipitium.
Bellatores prælecti
Non a fide possunt flecti: Sed in pugna stant erecti, Nec formidant gladium.

Petrus, hæres veræ lucis,
Fert inversus pœnam crucis,
Paulus ictum pugionis:

give pardon, to the sorrowful consolation.

Praise is common to both of them; yet a peculiar dignity is proper unto each: Peter holds the first rank in the primacy, Paul is famous for his teachings throughout the whole Church.

Primacy is given but to one, so that thus the unity of Catholic faith is proclaimed: one rind contains many grains, and all, in their multiplicity, have the same virtue under one single rind.

Unto Rome come the messengers of salvation, where they know there is much of vice and naught of remedy. The faithful physicians attack vice, yet the delirious sick reject the medicine of life, the insane refuse doctrine.

Christ's name being preached, Simon Magus and Nero are troubled at this word, nor will they yield to the apostles. Sickness gives way, death obeys. Magus is dashed to pieces, Rome believes, and the world returns to life, rejecting her idols.

Wicked Nero trembles with rage, aggravated at the magician's death, whose downfall is as annoying to him as his deception had been pleasing. But the chosen warriors can never be turned from the faith; bold they stand erect for the combat, nor dread the sword.

Peter, heir of the true light, endures the penalty of the inverted cross; and Paul, the

Nec diversæ passionis
Sunt diversa præmia.

Patres summæ dignitatis,
Summo Regi conregnatis: Vincla nostræ pravitatis
Solvat vestræ potestatis
Efficax sententia. Amen.

stroke of the sword. Though diverse the suffering, yet the rewards are alike.

O ye fathers of surpassing worth, ye are reigning now with the supreme King: may the efficacious sentence of your immense power loose the chains of our guilt. Amen.

July 7

SAINTS CYRIL AND METHODIUS BISHOPS AND CONFESSORS, APOSTLES OF THE SLAVS

Twin stars this day arise in the heavens of holy Church, illuminating by the radiant beams of their apostolate immense tracts of country. Seeing that they start from Byzantium, one is at first led to suppose that their evolution is going to be performed independently of the laws which Rome has the right to dictate for the movement of the heavens, whereof it is said that they shall declare the glory of God and the works of his hand.¹ But the auspicious influence of St Clement I, through his sacred relics, diverts their course, as we shall see, towards the mistress of the world; and presently they can be descried gravitating with matchless splendour in Peter's orbit, manifesting once more to the whole earth that all true light, in the order of salvation, radiates solely from the Vicar of the Man-God. Then once again is realized that word of the psalmist, that there are no speeches nor languages where the voices of the messengers of light are not heard.²

To the sudden and splendid outburst of the good tidings that marked the first centuries of our era had succeeded the labours of the second apostolate, to which the Holy Ghost entrusted the gathering in of those new nations called by divine Wisdom to replace the ancient world. Already under that mysterious influence of the eternal city whereby she assimilated to herself even her conquerors, another Latin race had been formed out of those barbarians whose invasion seemed, like a deluge, to have submerged the whole empire. Scarcely was this marvellous transformation effected by the Baptism of the Franks, the conversion from Arianism of the Goths and of their variously named brethren in arms, than the Anglo-Saxons, the Germans, and lastly the Scandinavians, conducted respectively by the three monks, Augustine, Boniface and Anscharius, came in turn to knock for admission at the gates of holy Church. At the creative voice of these new apostles Europe appeared, issuing from the waters of the sacred font.

Meanwhile, the constant movement of the great migration of nations had, by degrees, brought as far as the banks of the Danube a people whose name began in the ninth century to attract universal attention. Between East and West the Slavs, profiting on the one side by the weakness of Charlemagne's descendants, and by the revolutions of the Byzantine court on the other, were aiming at erecting their various tribes into principalities, independent alike of both empires. This was now the hour chosen by Providence to win over to Christianity and to civilization a race hitherto without a history. The Spirit of Pentecost rested on the heads of the two holy brethren whom we are to-day celebrating. Prepared by the monastic life for every trial and suffering, they brought to this people struggling to issue from the shades of ignorance the first elements of letters, and tidings of the noble destiny to which God, our Saviour, invites men and nations. Thus was the Slavonic race fitted to complete the great European family, so evidently the object of eternal predilection, and God ceded to it a larger territory than he had bestowed upon any other in Europe.

Happy this nation had she but continued ever attached to Rome, that had lent her such valuable assistance in the midst of the early struggles disputing her existence! Nothing, indeed, so strongly seconded her aspirations for independence as the favour of having a peculiar language in the sacred rites, a favour obtained for her, from the See of Peter, by her two apostles. The outcries uttered, at that very time, by those who would fain hold her fast bound under their own laws, showed clearly enough, even then, the political bearing of a concession as unparalleled as it was decisive, in securing the existence, in those regions, of a new people distinct at once both from Germans and Greeks. The future was to prove this better still. If, nowadays, from the Balkan to the Ural Mountains, from the Greek coasts to the frozen shores of the Northern Ocean, the Slavonic race spreads ever strong, ever indomitable to the influence of invasion, maintaining, in the midst of the empires that by force of arms have at last prevailed over it, a dualism which the conquering nation must be resigned to endure through the course of centuries as a living menace within her, a very thorn in her side, such an unparalleled phenomenon is but the product of the powerful demarcation effected a thousand years ago between this race and the rest of the world, by the introduction of its national language into the liturgy. Having by this use become sacred, the primitive Slavonic tongue has undergone none of those variations incident to the idiom of every other nation; whilst giving birth to the various dialects of the different peoples issuing from the common stock, it has itself remained the same, following the most insignificant Slavonic tribes through every phase of their history, and continuing, in the case of the greater number of them, to group them apart from all other nationalities at the foot of their own altars. Beautiful indeed such unity as this, a very glory for holy Church, had but the desire and the hope of the two saints who based it on the immutable rock been able to keep it ever fixed thereon! But woful and terrible would such an arm become in the service of tyranny, if ever Satan should make it fall by schism into the hands of one of hell's accursed agents!

But such considerations as these are leading us too far. It is time for us to turn to the ample narrative of the two illustrious brothers, SS Cyril and Methodius, given us by the Church for this day.

Cyrillus et Methodius fratres germani, Thessalonicæ amplissimo loco nati, Constantinopolim mature concesserunt, ut in ipsa urbe Orientis principe humanitatis artes addiscerent. Uterque plurimum brevi profecerunt; sed maxime Cyrillus, qui tantam scientiarum laudem adeptus est, ut singularis honoris causa philosophus appellaretur. Deinde monachum agere Methodius cœpit; Cyrillus autem dignus est habitus, cui Theodora imperatrix, auctore Ignatio patriarcha, negotium daret erudiendi ad fidem christianam Chazaros trans Chersonesum incolentes; quos præceptis suis edoctos et Dei numine instinctos, multiplici superstitione deleta, ad Jesum Christum adjunxit. Recenti Christianorum communitate optime constituta, Constantinopolim rediit alacer, atque in monasterium Polychronis, quo se jam Methodius receperat, Cyrillus ipse secessit. Interim cum res trans Chersonesum prospere gestas ad Ratislaum Moraviæ principem fama detulisset, is de aliquot operariis evangelicis Constantinopoli arcessendis cum imperatore Michaele tertio egit. Igitur Cyrillus et Methodius illi expeditioni destinati, et in Moraviam celebri lætitia excepti, animos christianis institutionibus tanta vi tamque operosa industria excolendos aggrediuntur, ut non longo intervallo ea gens nomen Jesu Christo libentissime dederit. Ad eam rem non parum scientia valuit dictionis Slavonicæ, quam Cyrillus ante perceperat, mul-

Cyril and Methodius were brothers, born of noble parents in Thessalonica, and when old enough were sent to Constantinople that they might, in the great capital of the East, learn the principles of literature and the arts. Both of them made great progress in a short time; but especially Cyril, who attained such a reputation for learning that as a token of distinction he was called the philosopher. Methodius afterwards became a monk; whilst Cyril was judged worthy by the empress Theodora, at the suggestion of Ignatius the patriarch, to be entrusted with the labour of instructing in the faith of Christ the Chazars, a people dwelling beyond the Chersonesus; which people, being taught by his precepts and incited by the grace of God, abolishing their numerous superstitions, he added unto the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Having excellently organized the new Christian community, he returned, filled with joy, to Constantinople, and betook himself to the same monastery of Polychrone, wherein Methodius had already retired. In the meanwhile, the fame of the success gained in the country beyond the Chersonesus having reached the ears of Ratislas, prince of Moravia, he was earnest with the emperor Michael the Third, in negotiating the grant of some evangelical labourers. Cyril and Methodius being therefore designated for this expedition, were received with great joy in Moravia; and with so much energy, care, and ability did they strive to infuse into the minds of the people the Christian doctrine, that it was no-

¹ Ps. xviii. 2. ² Ibid. 4.

tumque potuerunt sacra utriusque Testamenti Litteræ, quas proprio populi sermone reddiderat: nam Cyrillus et Methodius, principes inveniendi fuerunt ipsas litteras, quibus est sermo ipsorum Slavorum signatus et expressus, eaque de causa ejusdem sermonis auctores non immerito habentur.

Cum rerum gestarum gloriam secundus rumor Romam nuntiasset, sanctus Nicolaus Primus Pontifex Maximus fratres optimos Romam contendere jussit. Illi Romanum iter ingressi, reliquias sancti Clementis Primi Pontificis Maximi, quas Cyrillus Chersonæ repererat, secum advehunt. Quo nuntio Hadrianus Secundus, qui Nicolao demortuo fuerat suffectus, clero populoque comitante, obviam eis magna cum honoris significatione progreditur. Deinde Cyrillus et Methodius de munere apostolico in quo essent sancte laborioseque versati, ad Pontificem Maximum, assidente clero, referunt; cum autem eo nomine ab invidis accusarentur, quod sermonem Slavonicum in perfunctione munerum Sacrorum usurpassent, causam dixere rationibus tam certis tamque illustribus, ut Pontifex et clerus et laudarint homines et proba-

long ere this nation most cordially subscribed its name to Jesus Christ. This success was in no small measure due to the knowledge of the Slavonic tongue which Cyril had previously acquired; and of very great avail, likewise, was the translation which he made of both Testaments of the holy Scriptures, into the language proper to this people: indeed Cyril and Methodius were the first to find alphabetical letters whereby this language of the Slavs is signified and expressed, and, on this account, they are not undeservedly held as the originators of this same language.

When favourable rumour brought as far as Rome the glorious fame of these achievements, the Pope, Saint Nicholas I, ordered these two illustrious brethren to repair to Rome. They set out on their journey to Rome, bearing with them the relics of Saint Clement I which Cyril had discovered in the Chersonesus. At which news, Adrian II, who had succeeded on the death of Nicholas, went forth with a great concourse of the clergy and people, to meet them, in token of veneration. Then Cyril and Methodius related to the Sovereign Pontiff, in the presence of his clergy, the details regarding their apostolic ministry in which they had been holily and laboriously engaged; but as they were accused by the envious of having presumed to use the Slavonic tongue in the performance of the sacred rites, such weighty and clear reasons did

rint. Tum ambo jurati se in fide beati Petri et Pontificum Romanorum permansuros, episcopi ab Hadriano consecrati sunt. Sed erat provisum divinitus, ut Cyrillus vitæ cursum Romæ conderet, virtute magis quam ætate maturus. Itaque defuncti corpus elatum funere publico, in ipso sepulchro quod sibi Hadrianus exstruxerat compositum fuit; tum ad sancti Clementis deductum, et hujus prope cineres conditum. Cumque veheretur per urbem inter festos psalmorum cantus, non tam funeris quam triumphi pompa, visus est populus Romanus libamenta honorum cœlestium viro sanctissimo detulisse. Methodius vero in Moraviam regressus, ibique factus forma gregis ex animo, rei catholicæ inservire majore in dies studio institit. Quin etiam Pannonios, Bulgaros, Dalmatas in fide christiani nominis confirmavit; in Carinthiis autem ad unius veri Dei cultum traducendis plurimum elaboravit.

Apud Joannem Octavum, qui Hadriano successerat, iterum de suspecta fide violatoque more majorum accusatus, ac Romam venire jussus, coram Joanne, et episcopis aliquot cleroque urbano, facile vicit catholicam pror-

they allege for so doing, that the Pope and his clergy both praised and approved these holy men. Then both of them, having sworn that they would persevere in the faith of blessed Peter and of the Roman Pontiffs, were consecrated bishops by Adrian. But it was the divine decree that Cyril, ripened rather in virtue than in age, should end his mortal course at Rome. He, therefore, being dead, his corpse was borne in a public funeral to the very grave that Adrian had prepared for himself; later on, the holy body was taken to St. Clement's that it might lie near the ashes of that saint. And as he was thus borne through the city amidst the festive chanting of psalms, with pomp rather triumphal than funeral, the Roman people seemed to be paying to the holy man the firstfruits of heavenly honours. Methodius, on his part, having returned into Moravia, there applied himself with his whole soul to be an example in his works to his flock; and day by day he strove more and more to further Catholic interests. He likewise confirmed in the faith of the Christian name the Pannonians, Bulgarians, and Dalmatians; moreover he laboured much among the Carinthians to bring them over to the worship of the one true God.

Being once more accused to John VIII, who had succeeded Pope Adrian, of suspected faith and of the violation of the custom of the ancients, he was summoned to Rome, where in presence of John, several bishops, and likewise the clergy

sus fidem et se retinuisse constanter, et cæteros diligenter edocuisse: quod vero ad linguam Slavonicam in sacris peragendis usurpatam, se certis de causis ex venia Hadriani Pontificis, nec Sacris Litteris repugnantibus, jure fecisse. Quapropter in re præsenti complexus Methodium Pontifex, potestatem ejus archiepiscopalem, expeditionemque Slavonicam, datis etiam litteris, ratam esse jussit. Quare Methodius in Moraviam reversus, assignatum sibi munus explere vigilantius perseveravit, pro quo et exsilium libenter passus est. Bohemorum principem ejusque uxorem ad fidem perduxit, et in ea gente christianum nomen longe lateque vulgavit. Evangelii lumen in Poloniam invexit, et, ut nonnulli scriptores tradunt, sede episcopali Leopoli fundata, in Moscoviam proprii nominis digressus, thronum pontificalem Kiowensem constituit. Demum in Moraviam reversus est ad suos; jamque sese abripi ad humanum exitum sentiens, ipsemet sibi successorem designavit, clerumque et populum supremis dictis ad virtutem cohortatus, ea vita, quæ sibi via in cœlum fuit, placidissime defunctus est. Ut Cyrillum Roma, sic Methodium Moravia decedentem summo honore prosecuta est. Illorum vero festum, quod apud Slavoniæ populos jamdiu celebrari consueverat, Leo Decimustertius Pontifex Maximus cum Officio et Missa pro-

of the city, he easily proved that he had ever constantly maintained and carefully taught to others the Catholic faith; but as to his having introduced the Slavonic tongue into the sacred liturgy, he exculpated himself by reason of the permission of Pope Adrian, and of certain motives not contrary to the sacred letters. Wherefore, embracing the cause of Methodius in the matter at issue, the Pope recognized his archiepiscopal power and his Slavonian expedition, giving him likewise letters to that effect. Hence Methodius, returning into Moravia, persevered in fulfilling still more vigilantly the duties of his charge, and for this even gladly suffered exile. He brought over the prince of Bohemia and his wife to the faith, and spread the Christian name throughout the length and breadth of this land. He carried the light of the Gospel into Poland, and, as some writers assert, founded the episcopal See of Lwow; and having gone as far as Muscovy, properly so called, there raised an episcopal throne at Kiev. Afterwards, returning to his own people in Moravia, feeling now that he was drawing near his mortal term, he designated a successor, and having, by his last precepts, exhorted the clergy and people to virtue, he peacefully passed away from this life which he had made to be his path to heaven. Even as Rome had paid homage to Cyril, so did Moravia lavish honours on Methodius after his death. Their feast, which had

pria in universa Ecclesia quotannis agi præcepit.

long been kept among the Slavonic people, Pope Leo XIII ordered to be celebrated yearly throughout the universal Church with a proper Mass and Office.

Whilst inscribing the feast of SS Cyril and Methodius on the calendar of the universal Church, the Sovereign Pontiff Leo XIII was likewise pleased himself to give expression to the homage and prayers of holy Church in the two hymns proper to the day.

HYMN I

Sedibus cœli nitidis receptos
Dicite athletas geminos, fideles; Slavicæ duplex columen, decusque
Dicite gentis.

Hos amor fratres sociavit unus,
Unaque abduxit pietas eremo, Ferre quo multis celerent Pignora vitæ.

Luce, qua templis superis renidet, Bulgaros complent, Moravos, Bohemos; Mox feras turmas numerosa Petro Agmina ducunt.

Debitam cincti meritis coronam, Pergite o flecti lacrymis precantum; Prisca vos Slavis opus est datores Dona tueri.

Quæque vos clamat generosa tellus
Servet æterna fidei nitorem;
Qua dedit princeps, dabit ipsa semper Roma salutem.

Gentis humanæ Sator et Redemptor,
Qui bonus nobis bona cuncta præstas,
Sint tibi grates, tibi sit per omne Gloria sæclum.
Amen.

Sing, O ye faithful, sing two athletes, brothers, received unto their brilliant thrones celestial; sing the twofold strength and glory of the Slavonic race.

One love these brethren did together bind in union sweet, and one the tender pity that did them from their solitude urge forth; they haste to bear to many the pledge of blessed life.

Bulgarians, Moravians, and Bohemians they fill with light, that beams resplendent in supernal temples; to Peter soon these savage hordes they lead, a numerous throng.

Your brows encircled by the well-earned crown of merits, Oh! do ye still continue to be ever moved by suppliants' tears; needful indeed it is that ye protect your former gifts bestowed upon the Slavs!

May the generous soil, that crieth unto you, preserve the pure brightness of eternal faith: Rome, which first in the beginning gave, will ever give salvation to that land.

O Creator and Redeemer of the human race, who in thy goodness givest us all good things, to thee be thanksgiving, to thee be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

HYMN II

Lux o decora patriæ,
Slavisque amica gentibus, Salvete, fratres: annuo
Vos efferemus cantico;

Quos Roma plaudens excipit, Complexa mater filios, Auget corona præsulum,
Novoque firmat robore.

Terras ad usque barbaras Inferre Christum pergitis: Quot vanus error luserat, Almo repletis lumine.

Noxis soluta pectora Ardor supernus abripit; Mutatur horror veprium In sanctitatis flosculos.

Et nunc serena cœlitum
Locati in aula supplici Adeste voto: Slavicas Servate gentes Numini.

Errore mersos unicum Ovile Christi congreget: Factis avitis æmula
Fides virescat pulchrior.

Tu nos, beata Trinitas, Cœlesti amore concita,
Patrumque natos inclyta Da persequi vestigia. Amen.

O light all beauteous of the fatherland, and of the Slavonic race, benignant ray, brethren, all hail! To you, our yearly canticle we bring;

Whom Rome, applauding, did receive, as mother pressing to her heart loved sons, she upon your brow the bishop's diadem doth place, and girdeth you with new strength.

Ye penetrate to farthest barbarous lands, to bring them Christ. Whom error vain did darkly deceive, on them ye pour the radiance of fair light.

On hearts unshackled from the grasp of ill, doth heavenly ardour seize; thorns' horrid thicket now is changed for flowers of holiness.

Then deign, O ye who reign secure in courts celestial, to turn unto our suppliant prayer: preserve unto God the Slavonic people.

May the one fold of Christ enclose those plunged in error: emulating the deeds of their forefathers, may faith revive more beauteous still.

O thou, most blessed Trinity, spur us on by heavenly love, and grant that the sons may follow in the noble footprints of their sires! Amen.

We presume to join our humble prayer with this august homage: we would fain, together with the supreme Pontiff, sing your praises, and recommend to you that vast portion of Christ's inheritance wherein, watered by your toilsome sweat, flowers of holiness replaced the thorns. Prepared in solitude for every work good and serviceable to the Lord,¹ you feared not to be the first to set foot in these unknown regions, the terror of the ancient world, these lands of the north, wherein the prophets had pointed out Satan's throne,² the inexhaustible source of evils ravaging the universe!³ The call of the Holy Ghost made you become apostles, and the twelve having received orders to teach all nations,⁴ you in your turn went, with all the simplicity of obedience, to those that had not yet been evangelized. Rome would test this obedience—such was her duty—and she found it to be without alloy. Satan too found it so, to his utter defeat; for Scripture says: The obedient man shall speak of victory.⁵ Scripture likewise reveals to us another source of strength, and it was yours: 'A brother helped by his brother is like a strong city; and their judgements are like the bars of cities.'⁶ Driven away by one stronger than he, the strong-armed one beheld, with bitter rage, that dominion now passed on to Christ, which he thought to possess in peace,⁷ and his last spoils, the people of the north, become, like those of the south, an ornament to the bride.⁸

O Methodius, O Cyril, in the holy hymns which the Sovereign Pontiff has dedicated to you, there is the ring of an alarm-cry: 'Preserve unto God the Slavonic people! Needful indeed it is, that ye protect your former gifts.' 'Lift up your eyes and see,' may we truly say with the prophet, 'you that come from the north; where is the flock that was given you, your beautiful cattle? What! have ye taught them against you and instructed them against your own head?'⁹ Ah! the depths of Satan!¹⁰

¹ 2 Tim. ii 21. ² Isa. xiv 13. ³ Jer. i 14; xlvii 2, etc. ⁴ St Matt. xxviii 19. ⁵ Prov. xxi 28. ⁶ Ibid. xviii 19. ⁷ St Luke xi 21, 22. ⁸ Isa. xlix 12-18. ⁹ Jer. xiii 20, 21. ¹⁰ Apoc. ii 24.

but too well has he known how to repair his defeat; for your benefits and Peter's condescension have alike become a weapon of death for those people to whom you devoted your life! Be pleased, then, to console those exiled for the faith, and give them heart; sustain the martyrs, preserve the remnant of a nation of heroes. On the other hand, deter the rest from the fatal illusion that would incite them to be beforehand in running into tyranny's way.

O apostles of the Slavs, and citizens likewise of that Rome where your sacred relics lie close to those of St Clement, assist the efforts of the supreme Pontiff, who is seeking how he may replace on the foundation whereon you built it that edifice which was your glory!

episcopate. At the age of fifty he died; but his work, carried on under the impulse of the Holy Ghost, far from dying with him, appeared more fruitful, and went on thus increasing during the course of succeeding ages.

While living the life of a humble monk on the banks of the Iris, whither his mother and sister had preceded him, his whole being was intent on the 'saving of his soul'¹ from the judgement of God,² and on 'running generously in the way that leads to the eternal recompense.'³ Later on others having begged him to form them also 'unto the warfare of Christ the King,'⁴ according to the simplicity of faith and the Scriptures,⁵ our saint would not have them embrace the life of solitaries, such isolation being not without danger for the many; but he preferred for them one that would join to the blissful contemplation of the solitary the rampart and completeness of community life, wherein charity and humility⁶ are exercised under the conduct of a head, who, in his turn, deems himself but the servitor of all.⁷ Moreover he would admit none into his monasteries without serious and prolonged trial, followed by a solemn engagement to persevere in this new life.⁸

At the remembrance of what he had admired amongst the solitaries of Egypt and Syria, Basil compared himself and his disciples to children who would strive in a puny way to mimic strong men; or unto beginners sticking at the first difficulties of the rudiments and scarce yet fairly started on the path of true piety. Yet the day would come when the ancient giants of the wilderness, and the hoary legislators of the desert, would see their heroic customs and their monastic codes cede the place of honour to the familiar conferences, to the unprepared answers given by Basil to his monks in solution of their proposed difficulties, and to form them to the practice of the divine counsels. Ere long the whole of the East ranged itself under his rule; whilst in the West St Benedict called him his father.⁹ His order, like a fruitful nursery of holy monks and virgins, bishops, doctors, and martyrs, has furnished heaven with saints. For a long time it served as a bulwark of the faith to Byzantium; and even of recent days it has beheld, despite the schism, its faithful children sparing not to render, under the savage persecution of the Tsar of Russia, their testimony of blood and suffering to holy mother Church.

Worthily also have they herein paid a personal testimony, as it were, to their intrepid father; for Basil too was the grandson of martyrs, the son and the brother of saints. Would that we might be allowed to devote a page to the praises of his illustrious grandmother Macrina the elder; who seems to have miraculously escaped from the hands of her executioners and from a seven years' exile in the wild forests, on purpose to be instrumental in infusing into Basil's young heart that faith firm and pure, which she had herself received from St Gregory Thaumaturgus. Suffice it to say that, towards the close of his life, the great Basil, doctor of the Church and patriarch of monks, was proud to appeal to Macrina's name as a guarantee for the orthodoxy of his faith, when this was called in question.¹⁰

Basil's lifetime was cast in one of those periods exceptionally disastrous to the Church, when shipwrecks of faith are common, because darkness prevails to such an extent as to cast its shades even over the children of light;¹¹ a period, in fact, when, as St Jerome expresses it, 'the astonished world waked up, to bewail itself Arian.'¹² Bishops were faltering in essentials of true belief and in questions of loyalty to the successor of Peter; so that the bewildered flock scarce knew whose voice to follow; for many of their pastors, some through perfidy and some through weakness, had subscribed at Rimini to the condemnation of the faith of Nicæa. Basil himself was assuredly not one of those 'blind watchmen: dumb dogs not able to bark.'¹³ When but a simple lector, he had not hesitated to sound the horn of alarm, by openly separating himself from his bishop, who had been caught in the meshes of the Arians; and now himself a bishop, he boldly showed that he was not such indeed. For when entreated for peace's sake to make some compromise with the Arians, vain was every supplication, every menace of confiscation, exile, or death. He used no measured terms in treating with the prefect Modestus, the tool of Valens; and when this vaunting official complained that none had ever dared to address him with such liberty, Basil intrepidly replied: 'Perhaps thou never yet hadst to deal with a bishop!'

Basil, whose great soul was incapable of suspecting duplicity in another, was entrapped by the guile of a false monk, a hypocritical bishop, one Eustathius of Sebaste, who, by apparent austerity of life and other counterfeits, long captivated the friendship of Basil. This unconscious error was permitted by God for the increase of his servant's holiness; for it was destined to fill his declining days with utmost bitterness, and to draw down upon him the keenest trial possible to one of his mould—namely, that several, in consequence, began to doubt of his own sincerity of faith.

Basil appealed from the tongue of calumny to the judgement of his brother bishops;¹⁴ but yet he recoiled not from likewise justifying himself before the simple faithful.¹⁵ For he knew that the richest treasure of a church is the pastor's own surety of faith and his personal plenitude of doctrine. Athanasius, who had led the battles of the first half of that century and had conquered Arius, was no more; he had gone to join, in the well-merited repose of eternity, his brave companions, Eusebius of Vercelli and Hilary of Poitiers. In the midst of the confusion that Valens' persecution was then reproducing in the East, even holy men knew not how to weather the storm. Many such were to be seen adopting first the extreme measure of utter withdrawal, through mistaken excess of prudence; and then rushing into equally false steps of indiscreet zeal. Basil alone was of a build proportioned to the tempest. His noble heart, bruised in its most delicate feelings, had drunk the chalice to the dregs; but, strong in him who prayed the prayer of agony in Gethsemani, the trial crushed him not. With wearied soul and with a body wellnigh exhausted by the jading effects of chronic infirmities, already in fact a dying man,¹⁶ he nevertheless nerved himself up against death, and bravely faced the surging waves. From this 'ship in distress,' as he termed the Eastern Church, 'dashing against every rock amid the dense fog,'¹⁷ his pressing cry of appeal reached the ears of the Western Church seated in peace in her unfailing light¹⁸—reached Rome, whence alone help could come, yet whose wise slowness, on one occasion, made him almost lose heart. While awaiting the intervention of Peter's successor, Basil prudently repressed anything like untimely zeal, and, for the present, required of weak souls merely what was indispensable in matters of faith;¹⁹ just as under other circumstances, and with equal prudence, he had severely reproved his own brother, St Gregory of Nyssa, for suffering himself to be betrayed by simplicity into inconsiderate measures, motived indeed by love of peace.²⁰ Peace is just what Basil desired as much as anybody;²¹ but the peace for which he would give his life could be only that true peace left to the Church by our Lord.²² What he so vigorously exacted on the grounds of faith proceeded solely from his very love of peace.²³ And therefore, as he himself tells us, he absolutely refused to enter into communion with those narrow-minded men who dread nothing so much as a clear, precise expression of dogma; in his eyes their captious formulas and ungraspable shiftings were but the action of hypocrites, in whose company he would scorn to approach God's altar.²⁴ As to those merely misled, 'Let the faith of our fathers be proposed to them with all tenderness and charity; if they will assent thereunto, let us receive them into our midst; in other cases, let us dwell with ourselves alone, regardless of numbers; and let us keep aloof from equivocating souls, who are not possessed of that simplicity without guile, indispensably required in the early days of the Gospel from all who would approach to the faith. The believers, so it is written, had but one heart and one soul.²⁵ Let those, therefore, who would reproach us for not desiring pacification, mark well who are the real authors of the disturbance, and so not point the question of reconciliation on our side any more.'²⁶

In another place he thus continues: 'To every specious argument that would seem to counsel silence on our part, we oppose this other—namely, that charity counts as nothing either her own proper interests or the difficulties of the times. Even though no man is willing to follow our example, what then? Are we ourselves, just for that, to let duty alone? In the fiery furnace the children of the Babylonish captivity chanted their canticle to the Lord, without making any reckoning of the multitude who set truth aside: they were quite sufficient for one another, merely three as they were!'²⁷

He thus wrote to his monks, likewise pursued and vexed by a government that would not own itself a persecutor: 'There are many honest men who, though they admit that you are being treated without a shadow of justice, still will not grant that the sufferings you are enduring can quite deserve to be called confessing the faith; ah! it is by no means necessary to be a pagan in order to make martyrs! The enemies we have nowadays detest us no less than did the idolaters; if they would deceive the crowd as to the motive of their hatred, it is merely because they hope thereby to rob you of the glory that surrounded confessors in bygone days. Be convinced of it; before the face of the just Judge, your confession is every whit as real. So take heart! Under every stroke renew yourselves in love; let your zeal gain strength every day, knowing that in you are to be preserved the last remains of godliness which the Lord, at his return, may find upon the earth. Trouble not yourselves about treacheries, nor whence they come: was it not the princes among God's priests, the scribes and the ancients among his own, that plotted the snares wherein our divine Master suffered himself to be caught? Heed not what the crowd may think, for a breath is sufficient to sway the crowd to and fro, like the rippling wave. Even though only one were to be saved, as in the case of Lot out of Sodom, it would not be lawful for him to deviate from the path of rectitude, merely because he finds that he is the only one that is right. No; he must stand alone, unmoved, holding fast his hope in Jesus Christ.'²⁸

Basil himself, from his bed of sickness, set an example to all. But what was the anguish of his soul when he realized how scant a correspondence his efforts received among the leading men in his own diocese! He sadly wondered at seeing how their ambition was in no wise quenched by the lamentable state of the Churches; how they still could listen to nothing but their own puny jealous susceptibilities, when the vessel was actually foundering; and could contend for the command of the ship, when she was already sinking. Others there were, even among the better sort, who would hold aloof, hoping to be forgotten in their silent inertia;²⁹ quite ignoring that, when general interests are at stake, egotistic estrangement from the scene of struggle can never save an individual, nor absolve him from the crime of treason.³⁰ It is curious to hear our Saint himself relating the following story to his friend Eusebius of Samosata, the future martyr: how once Basil's death was noised abroad, and consequently all the bishops hurried at once to Cæsarea to choose a successor. 'But,' Basil continues, 'as it pleased God that they should find me alive, I took this opportunity to speak to them weighty words. Yet vainly; for while in my presence, they feared me and promised everything; but scarce had they turned their backs, than they were just the same again.'³¹ In the meantime persecution was pursuing its course, and, sooner or later, the moment came for each in turn to choose between downright heresy and banishment. Many, unfortunately, consummated their apostasy; others, opening their eyes at last, took the road to exile, where they were able to meditate at leisure upon the advantages of keeping quiet and of keeping out of the struggle; or better still, where they could repair their past weakness, by the heroism wherewith they would henceforth suffer for the faith.

Basil's virtue held even his persecutors at bay; and God preserved him in such wondrous ways, that at last he was almost the only one remaining at the head of his Church, although he had really exposed himself far more than anyone else to the brunt of every attack and to every peril. He profited hereby to the benefit of his favoured flock, upon whom he lavished the boon of highest teaching and wisest administration. This he did with such marvellous success, that so much could scarcely have been attainable by another bishop in times of peace, when exclusive attention could be devoted to those employments. Cæsarea responded splendidly to his pastoral care. His word excited such avidity amongst all classes, that the populace would hang upon his lips, and await his arrival the livelong day, in the ever more and more closely thronged edifice.³² We learn this from his remarks. For instance, once, when his insatiable audience would allow him no repose in spite of his extreme fatigue, he tenderly compares himself to a worn-out mother who gives her babe the breast, not so much to feed it as to stay its cries.³³ The mutual understanding of pastor and flock in these meetings is quite delightful! If the great orator by inadvertence left some verse of Scripture unexplained, his sons, by

¹ Sermo ascetic. ² Proœm. de judicio Dei. ³ Præf. instit. ascetica. ⁴ Ibid. ⁵ De fide; Moralia. ⁶ Reg. brev. tractatæ, 160 etc., 114 etc. ⁷ Reg. fus. tract. 30. ⁸ Ibid. 10; Epist. 23, al. 383; 199, al. 2, can. xviii, xix. — Epist. 207, al. 63. ⁹ S. P. Bened. Reg., cap. lxxiii. ¹⁰ Epist. 204, al. 75; 223, al. 79. ¹¹ 1 Thess. v. 5. ¹² Hieron. Dial. cont. Lucif. ¹³ Isa. lvi. 10. ¹⁴ Epist. 203, al. 77. ¹⁵ Ibid. 204, al. 75, etc. ¹⁶ Epist. 136, al. 257. ¹⁷ Lib. de Sp. S. xxx. ¹⁸ Epist. 91, al. 324; 92, al. 69, etc. ¹⁹ Ibid. 113, al. 203. ²⁰ Ibid. 58, al. 44. ²¹ Ibid. 259. ²² Ibid. 128, al. 365. ²³ Ibid. ²⁴ Ibid. ²⁵ Acts iv. 32. ²⁶ Epist. 128, al. 365. ²⁷ Lib. de Sp. S. xxx. ²⁸ Epist. 257, al. 303. ²⁹ Lib. de Sp. S. xxx. ³⁰ Epist. 141, al. 262. ³¹ Ibid. 136, al. 257.