eyes and heart cast down, and with a deep sense of my manifold treasons, and great unworthiness, I humbly beg pardon of thee for all my sins, and implore thy mercy. Oh! merciful Saviour, have compassion on me, and suffer me at least to sigh after thee; and though I am unworthy of thine embraces, permit me, like the penitent Magdalen, to present myself at least before thy feet, and wash them in spirit with my tears! Oh! may thy sacred blood, which thou hast shed for all sinners, cleanse my poor soul this day from all its filth. Oh! come to me, dear Lord, in spirit, and take possession of all the powers of my soul. Oh! let me be thine, and thou mine from henceforth and for ever; and grant that nothing in life or death may ever separate me from thee any more. In this one prayer, hear me, O Lord, and in all things else do with me what thou wilt.

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AFTER THE COMMUNION.

RETURN thee now most hearty thanks, O my God, through Jesus Christ thy Son, that thou hast been pleased to deliver him up to death for us, and to give us his body and blood, both as a sacrament and a sacrifice, in these holy mysteries; at

which thou hast permitted me, a most unworthy sinner, to assist this day. May heaven and earth bless and praise thee for ever, for all thy mercies. Oh! pardon me, dear Lord, all my distractions, and the manifold negligences which I have been, guilty of this day in thy sight; and let me not depart without thy benediction. Behold, I desire from this moment to give up myself, and all that belongs to me, into thy hands; and I beg that all my undertakings, all my thoughts, words, and actions, may henceforward tend to thy glory: through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN.

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N 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 amongst us (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.

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A PRAYER AFTER MASS.

RENDER thee all possible praise and thanks, O sovereign Creator, for the favour I have this day received of thy bounty, and of which many better deserving Christians are deprived. Receive, O Lord, my unworthy prayers, supply all my defects, pardon all my distractions and indevotions, and grant that, by the strength and virtue of these divine mysteries, I may go on cheerfully in the path of thy commandments, love, and service, amidst all the temptations, troubles, and dangers of my

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life's pilgrimage, till I shall one day happily arrive at thy heavenly kingdom, where, with thy blessed angels and saints, I shall more clearly contemplate thee, more perfectly enjoy thee, and more worthily celebrate thy infinite goodness and mercy with uninterrupted canticles of eternal praise, admiration, and gratitude. Amen.

Method of assisting at Mass,

BY ST. LEONARD, OF PORT MAURICE.

Divide the Mass into four parts. In the first part, which will be from the beginning to the Gospel, humble yourself with Jesus, and, sinking into the abyss of your own nothingness, confess sincerely that you are a most miserable nothing before the majesty of God; and thus humbled interiorly, and also with a composed and modest exterior, say:

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H! my God, I adore thee. I acknowledge thee for my Lord and Master of my soul. I protest that all I am and have are thy gifts. And because thy majesty merits infinite honour and homage, I, who am a poor, miserable creature, utterly incapable of paying the great debt which I owe to thee, offer to thee the humiliations and homage which Jesus pays to thee on the altar. What Jesus does, I also intend to do. I humble and prostrate myself with him before thy majesty. I adore thee with the same adoration which Jesus offers to thee. I am filled with joy and delight in reflecting that Jesus gives thee, for me, infinite honour and homage.

Repeat many internal acts of this kind. You need not adhere to the words; it is better to use the language which your own devotion will dictate. Oh, how fully will you pay your first debt by assisting at the first part of the Mass in this manner,

In the second part, which will be from the Gospel to the Elevation, you shall discharge your second obligation. Reflecting for a moment on the enormity of your sins, and on the immense debt which you have contracted by them towards the divine justice, say, with a humble heart:

BEHOLD, my God, the traitor that has so often

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rebelled against thee. Ah, with a sorrowful heart, and with all the affections of my soul, I abhor and detest my most grievous sins, and I offer for them the same satisfaction which Jesus presents to thee on the altar. I offer to thee all the merits of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, Jesus entirely, God and man, who is here immolated again for me. since my Jesus himself is, on this altar, my mediator and my advocate, and since, with his most precious blood, he implores pardon for me, I unite with the cry of his blood, and supplicate mercy for all my sins. The blood of Jesus cries for mercy; and my sorrowful heart also implores mercy. Ah! my dear God, if my tears do not move thee, let, at least, the groans of my Jesus excite thy pity. Why should he not obtain for me that mercy which he merited for the whole human race, upon the cross? Yes, I hope that, for the sake of that most precious blood, thou wilt pardon all my most grievous sins, which I will continue to bewail till my last breath.

Repeat many such acts of true contrition, and rest assured that you shall thus most fully discharge the debt which you have contracted by so many grievous sins.

In the third part, from the Elevation to the Communion, reflecting on the great and important benefits received from God, you shall, in return for them, offer to him a gift of infinite value, that is, the body and blood of Christ. Invite all the angels and saints to thank God in the following, or in some other similar manner:

BEH

EHOLD me, O my most loving God, loaded with the general and particular benefits which thou hast bestowed, and wilt bestow upon me, in time and eternity. I know that thy mercies to me