the Holy Ghost. And may our God, by the intercession and merits of his Saint, admit us into the choir of the blessed in heaven. Amen. Qui sancti Thomæ merito Nos coeli jungat agmini. Amen. HYMN. Noble by birth and parentage, Thomas, whilst in the bloom of youth, embraced the Order of Preachers. Like to the star of morn, brightly does he shine amidst the luminaries of earth, and, more than any Doctor of the Church, refutes the doctrines of the Gentiles. He explores the depth of mysteries, and brings to light the hidden gems of truth, for he teaches us what the mind of man had else never understood. God gives him to the Church as a Fountain of wisdom, like to that four-branched river of Paradise. He made him to be her Gedeon's sword, her Trumpet, her Vase, her Torch. Praise, then, be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. And may our God, by the intercession and merits of his Saint, admit us into the choir of the blessed in heaven. Amen. Thomas insignis genere, Claram Ducens originem, Subit ætatis teneræ Prædicatorum Ordinem. Typum gessit Luciferi, Splendens in cœtu nubium, Plusquam doctores cæteri Purgans dogma Gentilium. Profunda scrutans fluminum, In lucem pandit abdita, Dum supra sensus homi num Obscura facit cognita. Fit paradisi fluvius, Quadripartite pervius: Fit Gedeonis gladius, Tuba, lagena, radius. Laus Patri sit, ac Genito Simulque Sancto Flamini, Qui sancti Thomæ merito, Nos cœli jungat agmini. Amen. Lauda, Mater Ecclesia, Thomæ felicem exitum, Qui pervenit ad gaudia Per Verbi vitæ meritum. HYMN. Dear Church, our Mother! the happy death of thy Thomas deserves a hymn of praise. By the merits of Him that is 2 I LENT. Fossa Nova tunc suscipit Thecam thesauri gratiæ, Gum Christo Thomam efficit, Hæredem regni gloriæ. Manens doctrinæ veritas, Monstrat hunc dignum Laus Patri sit, ac Genito, Simulque Sancto Flamini, Qui sancti Thomæ merito Nos cœli jungat agmini. Amen. the Word of Life, he is now in endless joy. It was at Fossa Nova that the rich treasury of grace was welcomed as a guest. It was there that he received from Christ the inheritance of eternal glory. He has left us the fruits of truth; he has left us his glorious relics, which breathe forth a heavenly fragrance, and work cures for the suffering sick. Right well, then, is honour his due; earth, and sea, and heaven, all may give him praise. May his prayers and merits intercede for us with God. Praise, then, be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. And may our God, by the intercession and merits of his Saint, admit us into the choir of the blessed in heaven. Amen. How shall we worthily praise thee, most holy Doctor! How shall we thank thee for what thou hast taught us? The rays of the Divine Sun of Justice beamed strongly upon thee, and thou hast reflected them upon us. When we picture thee contemplating Truth, we think of those words of our Lord: Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Thy victory over the concupiscence of the flesh merited for thee the highest spiritual delights; and our Redeemer chose thee, because of the purity of thy angelic soul, to compose for his Church the Office whereby she should celebrate the Divine Sacrament of his Love. Learning did not impair thy 1 St. Matth. v. 8. humility. Prayer was ever thy guide in thy search after Truth; and there was but one reward, for which, after all thy labours, thou wast ambitious,the possession of God. Thy life, alas! was short. The very master-piece of thy angelical writings was left unfinished. But thou hast not lost thy power of working for the Church. Aid her in her combats against error. She holds thy teachings in the highest estimation, because she feels that none of her Saints has ever known so well as thou, the secrets and Mysteries of her Divine Spouse. Now, perhaps more than in any other age, Truths are decayed-they are diminished among the children of men; strengthen us in our Faith, get us Light. Check the conceit of those shallow self-constituted philosophers, who dare to sit in judgment over the actions and decisions of the Church, and force their contemptible theories upon a generation that is too ill-instructed to detect their fallacies. The atmosphere around us is gloomy with ignorance; loose principles, and truths spoilt by cowardly compromise, are the fashion of our times; pray for us, bring us back to that bold and simple acceptance of truth, which gives life to the intellect and joy to the heart. Pray, too, for the grand Order, which loves thee so devoutly, and honours thee as one of the most illustrious of its many glorious children. Draw down upon the family of thy Patriarch Saint Dominic the choicest blessings, for it is one of the most powerful auxiliaries of God's Church. We are in the holy season of Lent, preparing for the great work of earnest conversion of our lives. Thy prayers must gain for us the knowledge both of the God we have offended by our sins, and of the wretched state of a soul that is 1 Ps. xi. 2. at enmity with its Maker. Knowing this, we shall hate our sins; we shall desire to purify our souls in the Blood of the spotless Lamb; we shall generously atone for our faults by works of penance. MARCH 8. SAINT JOHN OF GOD, CONFESSOR. THIS day month we were keeping the feast of St. John of Matha, whose characteristic virtue was charity; our Saint of to-day was like him: love for his neighbour led him to devote himself to the service of them that most needed help. Both are examples to us of what is a principal duty of this present Season; they are models of Fraternal Charity. They teach us this great lesson,—that our love of God is false, if our hearts are not disposed to show mercy to our neighbour, and help him in his necessities and troubles. It is the same lesson as that which the Beloved Disciple gives us, when he says: He that hath the substance of this world, and shall see his brother in need, and shall put up his mercy from him, how doth the Charity of God abide in him?1 But, if there can be no love of God, where there is none for our neighbour, the love of our neighbour itself is not genuine, unless it be accompanied by a love of our Creator and Redeemer. The charity which the world has set up, which it calls Philanthropy, and which it exercises not in the name of God, but solely for the sake of man,—this pretended virtue is a mere delusion, is incapable of producing love 1 I. St. John, iii. 17. |