Thus God made man, an infant lies,
And in the manger weeping cries:
His sacred limbs by Mary bound,
The poorest tatter'd rags surround:
And God's incarnate feet and hands
Are closely bound with swathing bands.
O faithful cross, &c. to *.

Full thirty years were fully spent
In this our mortal banishment;
And then the Son of Man decreed
For the lost sons of men to bleed;
And on the cross a victim laid,
The solemn expiation made.

Sweet are the nails, &c. from
Gall was his drink; his flesh they tear
With thorns and nails; a cruel spear
Pierces his side, from whence a food
Streams forth, of water mix'd with blood:
With what a tide are wash'd again
The sinful earth, the stars, the main!
O faithful cross, &c. to *.

Bend, tow'ring tree, thy branches bend, Thy native stubbornness suspend: Let not stiff nature use its force, To weaker saps have now recourse; With softest arms receive thy load, And gently bear our dying God.

Sweet are the nails, &c. from On thee alone the Lamb was slain That reconcil'd the world again; And when on raging seas was tost The shipwreck'd world, and mankind lost, Besprinkled with his sacred gore, Thou safely brought them to the shore. O faithful cross, &c. to *.

All glory to the sacred Three, One undivided Deity:

To Father, Holy Ghost, and Son,
Be equal praise and homage done;
Let the whole universe proclaim

Of One and Three the glorious name. Amen.
Sweet are the nails, &c. from *

Towards the end of the Adoration or Prostration before the Cross, the Candles on the Altar are lighted, and the Cross being placed thereon, the Priest, with his Attendants, goes to fetch the Sacred Host from the place where it was yesterday deposited. Whilst the Procession returns

Is sung the following HYMN.

Exilla regis prode. Electa digno stipite

V Exill

unt,

Fulgit Cracis mysterium;
Qua vita mortem pertu-
lit,

Et morte vitam protulit.
Quæ vulnerata lanceæ
Mucrone diro, criminum
Ut nos lavaret sordibus,
Manavit unda et sangui-

ne.

Tam sancta membra
tangere !
Beata, cujus brachiis
Pretium pependit sæculi,
Statera facta corporis,
Tulitque prædam tartari.
O crux, ave spes uni

ca

Hoc passionis tempore!
Piis adauge gratiam,
Reisque dele crimina.

tas,

Te fons salutis, Trini [tus; Collaudet omnis Spiri Quibus crucis victoriam Largiris, adde præmium. Amen.

[cinit Impleta sunt, quæ conDavid fideli carmine, Dicendo nationibus : Regnavit a ligno Deus. Arbor decora et fulgida, Ornata regis purpura! The Priest having placed the Sacred Host on the altar, he censes it on his knees, and lays it on the corporal; and having received the Chalice with wine and water from the Deacon, he censes both Host and Chalice, saying:

Mathee, O Lord, ascend to thee, and may thy

AY this incense, which hath been blessed by

mercy descend upon us.

At the censing of the Altar.

ET my prayer, O Lord, ascend like incense in

be like the evening sacrifice. Place, O Lord, a guard upon my mouth, and a gate of prudence before my lips, that my heart may not wander after words of malice, to seek excuses in sin.

On returning the Censer to the Deacon, he says: WAY the Lord kindle in us the fire of his love, and the flames of everlasting charity.

MA

Then he washes his fingers without saying any thing; afterwards he bows down at the middle of the altar, and says:

Ο

ACCEPT us, O Lord, coming to thee in the spi

rit of humility, and with a contrite heart; and grant that the sacrifice of this day may be so celes brated by us, as to be well pleasing to thee, O Lord our God.

Pr.

Then turning about towards the people, he says:

Almighty.

yours may be acceptable to God the Father

P. May the Lord receive this sacrifice from thy hands to the praise and glory of his own name, to our benefit, and that of all his holy Church.

Pr.

Let us pray.,

Nstructed by thy saving precepts, and following thy divine directions, we presume to say: Our Father, &c. p. xxxix.

P. Deliver us from all evil.

Having answered Amen in silence, he then says aloud: Deliver us, O Lord, we beseech thee, from all evils, past, present, and to come; and by the intercession of blessed and glorious Mary, ever a Virgin and Mother of God, and of thy blessed apos tles Peter and Paul, and of blessed Andrew, and of all thy saints, favourably grant peace in our days, that, by the assistance of thy mercy, we may be al

ways free from sin, and secure from all disturbance. Thro' the same. R. Amen.

L

Having elevated the Sacred Host, and divided it into three parts, he puts one into the Chalice, saying: ET not the participation of thy body, O Lord Jesus Christ, which I, though unworthy, pre sume to receive, turn to my judgment and condemnation; but let it, through thy mercy, become a safe-guard and remedy both to soul and body; who with God the Father in unity with the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.

When he takes up the Sacred Host with the Paten, he

says:

Will take the bread of heaven, and call on the name of the Lord.

Then he strikes his breast, repeating thrice: LORD, I am not worthy thou shouldst enter under my roof; speak therefore but the word, and my soul shall be healed.

When he receives the Sacred Host, he says:

MA

AY the body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve my soul to everlasting life. Amen.

Having received the Chalice, and taken the Ablution, bowing down, he says:

GRA

RANT, O Lord, that what we have taken with our mouths, we may receive with a pure heart; that as we now receive it in this mortal life, it may procure us that which is eternal.

VESPERS.

ANTHEMS and PSALMS, as yesterday, p. 275,
At the Magnificat,

Ant. Cum accepissit acetum dixit; consummatum est: et inclinato capite, emisit spiritum.

V. Christus factus est pro nobis obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem cryċis.

Our Father being said in secret, the office concludes with P. Miserere, &c. p. 279.

MASS for HOLY SATURDAY.

INSTRUCTION.

IN the first ages of the Church there was no Mass cele brated either on this day or yesterday. The faithful adored Jesus Christ in silence in the sepulchre till to wards evening, when they assembled in the Church, and Occupied themselves in praying, reading lessons from the holy Scriptures, singing psalms, baptizing and confirming catechumens, &c. &c. until about midnight, when the Mass of the Resurrection began.

N. B. It is in order to perpetuate the remembrance of the fervent piety of her first children, that the Church still retains the word night in the Office of this day.

The BLESSING of the FIRE.

V. May the Lord be with you.

spirit.

R. And with thy

Let us pray. Deus, qui.

God, who by thy only Son, the chief corner

faithful the fire of thy divine love: bless this new fire produced from a flint for our use; and grant that, during this paschal solemnity, we may be so inflamed with heavenly desires, that, by purity of mind, we may come to those festivals, where we may enjoy a light which will never end. Thro' the same. R. Amen.

bless

Let us pray. Domine Deus. Lord God, Almighty Father, never-failing light, who art the Creator of all the lights:

this light, which hath been before blessed and sanctified by thee, who hast enlightened the whole world; that we may be inflamed by that same light, and enlightened by the fire of thy brightness; and, as thou didst enlighten Moses when he went out of Egypt, so enlighten our hearts and senses, that we may obtain that light and life which will have no end. Thro' Christ our Lord. R. Amen,