I will praise thee, O Lord, my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify thy name for ever.

For thy mercy is great towards me: thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest depths.

O God, the wicked are risen up against me: and the assembly of the mighty have sought my soul and they have not set thee before their eyes.

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And thou, O God, art a God of compassion, and merciful: patient, and of much mercy, and true.

O look upon me, and have mercy on me: give thy command to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid.

Make me a token for good: that they whohate me may see and be confounded, because thou, O Lord, hast helped me and hast comforted me.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

PSALM CXV.

I have believed, therefore have I spoken: but I have been humbled exceedingly.

I said in my excess: Every man is a liar. What shall I render unto the Lord for all the things that he has given me?

I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.

I will pay vows to the Lord before all his people precious, in the sight of the Lord, is the death of his saints.

O Lord, I am thy servant. I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid.

Thou hast broken my bonds: I will sacrifice to thee the sacrifice of praise, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.

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. Glory be to the Father, &c,

Incline thine ear to our prayers, most merciful God, and enlighten our hearts with the grace of the Holy Ghost; that we may be able to attend worthily to thy holy mysteries; and to love thee with everlasting charity.

O God, to whom every heart is open and every will is known, and before whom nought can remain secret; purify the thoughts of our hearts by the descent of the Holy Spirit, that we may be able to love thee perfectly and worthily to praise thee.

Inflame our hearts, O Lord, with the fire of the Holy Ghost, that we may serve thee with chaste bodies, and appease thee with pure minds.

We beseech thee, O Lord, that the Paraclete, who proceeds from thee, may enlighten our minds; and teach us all truth according to the promises of thy Son.

May the grace of the Holy Ghost be upon us, O Lord, we beseech thee, and mercifully purify our hearts and defend us from all evils.

O God, who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that we may, by the grace of the same Spirit, be always truly wise, and ever rejoice in his consolations.

We beseech thee, O Lord, purify our consciences, that when our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, shall come, he may find a mansion prepared for him who liveth and reigneth, with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER OF ST. AMBROSE.

Jesus Christ, our high priest and pontiff, who hast offered thyself, on the altar of the cross, a pure and unspotted host for us poor sinners, who hast given us thy flesh to eat and thy blood to drink-I beseech thee, by that blood, the great price of our salvation; I beseech thee, by that unspeakable charity which prompted thee to shed it for us, that thou wouldst teach me how to be present at this great mystery, how to behave with that reverence and honour, and to feel that fear and devotion, which is becoming so great an occasion. Make me, in thy mercy, ever believe and understand, think and speak of this awful mystery in a manner which may be pleasing to thee and good for mine own soul. Let thy good spirit enter within my breast, and breathe into it, silently and sweetly, every truth which learned words might more slowly convey.

For thy mysteries are profound indeed; and concealed beneath a sacred veil.

Permit me, O God, in thy great clemency, to go through this duty with a clear heart and a pure mind. Free my heart from all impure, vain, and hurtful thoughts. Strengthen me through the strong and faithful guardianship of thy blessed angels, that the enemies of my soul may be put to flight. May the virtue of this great mystery and the power of thy holy angels remove from me and from all thy servants the spirit of pride and indifference, of envy and blasphemy, of fornication and uncleanness, of doubt and hesitation. May those be confounded who persecute us: may those evil passions which war against our souls be destroyed.

O King of virgins and lover of chastity, may the dew of thy heavenly blessing quench within me every impure flame; so that unspotted chastity may alone find place in my body and soul. Mortify within me every disordered passion, every dangerous sensation; and, amid all thy other favours, give me that true and perpetual chastity which is pleasing to thee. For with what sorrow and tears, with what fear and reverence, with what chastity of body and purity of soul ought we not ever to approach this divine and heavenly sacrifice, where thy flesh is truly eaten, where thy blood is truly drunk? where the lowest and the highest, where earth and heaven are joined? where the holy

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angels are present? and where, in a wonderful and unspeakable manner, thou art both priest and sacrifice?

Who could worthily join in this celebration, unless thou, God omnipotent, didst make him worthy? I know, O Lord, I know and I confess that I am not worthy to approach this great mystery on account of my many sins and my endless negligences: but I know, also, and I firmly believe and steadfastly confess that thou, my God, canst make me worthy; that thou alone canst change impurity into cleanliness, and sin into justice and sanctity. By this thine omnipotence, I pray thee to enable me, a poor sinner, to partake of this sacrament with fear and trembling, with purity of heart, with tears of sorrow, with spiritual cheerfulness, with heavenly joy. Let my mind feel the sweetness of thy blessed presence, and of the company of thy holy angels around me.

For, O Lord, although a sinner, yet I approach to thy holy altar mindful of thy revered passion, that I may offer to thee the sacrifice which thou hast instituted, and which thou hast directed to be offered for our salvation in remembrance of thee. Receive it, I beseech thee, great God, for thy holy church, and for the people which thou hast purchased with thy blood. I offer to thee, O Lord, the sorrows of this thy people, the danger of nations, the groans of captives, the wants of orphans, the