the beloved object of thy complacency. Behold this adorable Victim, who, to appease thy anger, sacrifices his own precious body and blood; that body, which was torn with stripes, and covered with wounds; and that blood, which was shed to wash away the sins of the world. He immolates himself with the same excess of mercy and love, as he did on Mount Calvary. O let not this sacred blood be shed in vain, but grant that its infinite merits may be applied to the souls of thy suffering servants, and give them admittance to thy presence, that they may bless and praise thee for ever and ever. Ah, my God! thou knowest that the flames which surround them are not more active than their ardent desire to behold thee.

When shall these souls be united to thee, O God? When shall they see thee in the land of the living? Till then, they sigh and bewail their banishment, desiring continually to enjoy thy divine presence, to be admitted into thy eternal kingdom. Alas! while myriads of blessed spirits see, love, and enjoy thee incessantly; while they are inebriated with the plenty of thy house, the souls of these thy servants are perhaps burning in flames, plunged in darkness, and far removed from the light of heaven. O! thou who art infinite in mercy! be not deaf to my supplications for their speedy relief. O blessed Angels and Saints! vouchsafe to join me in making intercession for N. N., and obtain for them admittance into your happy society. As the hart pants after the fountains of living water, so do these souls thirst after thee, O God! the inexhaustible source of eternal and ineffable joys. Thou knowest the longing sighs of these suffering souls, O infinitely bountiful and compassionate Father! and thou alone

canst terminate their banishment. Thou canst open that spring of living water, for which they so ardently thirst; thou canst fill their hungry souls with good things, and bestow on them the inheritance purchased by the blood of a dying Saviour. Draw aside then the veil which hides thy amiable countenance; for what do these souls desire, but to contemplate, praise, and love thee, their Sovereign Good, for all eternity.

I

AT THE COMMUNION.

MOST ardently desire, O my adorable Saviour, that thou wouldst honour this day the dwelling of my heart by thy divine presence. With what confidence could I then implore rest and eternal peace for the suffering souls of purgatory, whom thou lovest, though thy justice forces thee to banish them for a time from their heavenly inheritance. Look, nevertheless, O merciful Redeemer, on the work of thy hands; hasten the happy hour of their deliverance, and grant that, partaking spiritually of the merits of thy august sacrifice, I may submissively accept and patiently bear all that is disagreeable and painful to my inclination, and thus avert a long separation from thee after the close of my mortal life. Amen.

POST COMMUNION.

RANT, we beseech thee, O Lord! that our

prayers of souls

servants, both men and women, may be profitable to them; so that thou mayest deliver them from all the punishment due to their sins, and make them partakers of the redemption thou hast purchased for them. Who livest, etc.

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

ΜΑ

AT THE LAST GOSPEL.

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

May your God arise and put your enemies to flight. Let them vanish like smoke; and as wax before the fire, so let them perish. May all the reprobate of hell be filled with confusion and shame; but let the just and elect rejoice, and be happy in the presence of God, and may you be of that blessed number. May Christ Jesus himself rescue you from torments, who lovingly died for you. May the eternal Son of the living God place you in his garden of Paradise, and may he, the true Shepherd, own you for those of his flock; may he liberate you from confinement, and place you at his right hand in the inheritance of his elect. We pray that it may be your happy lot to behold your Redeemer face to face; to be for ever in his presence, in the vision of that truth which is the joy of the blessed: and, thus placed among those happy spirits, may you be for ever replenished with heavenly sweetness. Amen.

ND now,

A PRAYER AFTER MASS.

A O God! having recommended to thy

mercy the souls of thy departed servants, grant we may ever remember that we are most certainly to follow them. Give us grace to prepare for our last hour by a good life, that so, death, however

sudden it may be, may not find us unworthy of admittance into eternal glory. Open likewise the eyes, and soften the hearts of those who have the misfortune of being at variance with thee; inspire them, we humbly beseech thee, with a true sense of their dreadful danger, that by a timely consideration of the uncertainty of life, and the certainty of death, they may be sincerely converted, and obtaining pardon for their sins in this life, be happy with thee for ever in the next. Amen.

A METHOD OF ASSISTING AT

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,

WHEN WE OFFER IT

AS A PREPARATION BEFORE DEATH.

HERE is no better safeguard of virtue than the

Talut is to better safegua "In all thy works,"

says the Wise Man, "remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin." (Ecclesiastic vii. 40.) Though we all are made subject to death by original sin, we do not know when death shall come; this only we know, that it shall come when we least expect it. It is, therefore, a pious exercise to offer up the holy Sacrifice of the Mass that we may be at all times prepared for death, and that God may grant us the grace of a happy death. The Imitation of Christ teaches that there is no more fruitful method of hearing Mass, than to make the offering of ourselves in union with the infinite holocaust offered

by our Divine Redeemer upon Calvary, and perpetuated through love for us on our altars. We thus in a most perfect manner acknowledge God's supreme power over us, and our total dependence on him, and we may hope that in return, through his mercy, our death may be pleasing in his sight.

RE

From the beginning of Mass to the Offertory.

CONSIDERATION.

EFLECT, that in consequence of Adam's sin, God ordained that he and his posterity should die. If this evil is due to us on account of original sin, how much more do we deserve the punishment no account of our own sins.

SINCH

AFFECTIONS.

INCE death, my God, is the punishment thou hast ordained for sin, I submit in the spirit of penance to the decrees of thy justice. I accept, with an humble and submissive heart, all the pains, humiliations, and privations which accompany it, in satisfaction for my sins, for which I am truly sorry. O pardon me, my God, I beseech thee. How great is my ingratitude to thy divine Majesty, who didst draw me out of nothing, and give me all that I have; after all thy blessings I have disowned thy sovereignty over me, by refusing to subject myself to thy law. I have slighted thy justice, and offended thee deliberately, though thou couldst at each moment have punished me: I have dishonored thy sanctity by the sinfulness of my life, and have slighted thy goodness which adopted me as thy child, by refusing to honour and obey thee as my Father. Thou didst proffer me a share in thy happiness, and in the eternal enjoyment of thy glory,