anguish; he himself sends him sufferings, in order that, having thus brought him to sound the frightful depth of his misery, he might trust Himself to the safe welcome and keeping of his creature's humility. This done, he would raise him up by repentance, and strengthen him with hope, and, joyously meeting him, disclose to him again his divine charms, and enrich him with the treasures which are in the keeping of his love.1 This is Saturday; let us turn to Mary, who was made, for us Gentiles, the Seat of Wisdom. It was in her chaste womb that was wrought the mystery of mercy, which had been the expectation of all the long ages past. It was her most pure blood which provided the substance of that spotless Body, wherewith the most beautiful of the sons of men contracted the indissoluble alliance of our nature with eternal Wisdom. Mary's soul is enraptured at seeing the ineffable mystery of these divine nuptials effected in her chaste womb. She is that enclosed Garden, where, more delightedly than in the early days of the universe, Wisdom enjoys light and love; the flowery couch of the Canticle, perfumed, by the Holy Spirit, with the sweetest fragrance; the glorious tabernacle, incomparably more holy than that of Moses. It is within her, under the immaculate veil of her flesh, that, by the unspeakable embrace of the two natures in the unity of God's Only Begotten Son, the Holy Ghost pours forth the unction, which makes him Spouse, and, at the sametime, Priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech. Let man, then, be of good courage; the Bread of heaven, the Bread of the covenant, is at last come down upon our earth; and although nine months must pass before the great night comes, when he is to be made visible to us all in Bethlehem, yet, even 1 Ecclus. iv. 18, 21. 2 Cant. i. 15. now, the High Priest is at his work in this his holy temple. Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldest not, says he to his eternal Father; but a Body thou hast fitted unto me. Holocausts for sin did not please thee. Then said I: "Behold I come; in the head of the book it is "written of me,—that I should do thy will, O God!" We will close, to-day, our selections from the Office of the Blessed Juliana, by the following Hymn; it is assigned to Compline in the ancient books of the Church of St. Martin-au-Mont. HYMN FOR COMPLINE. Christ is truly our meat, Christ is truly our drink; the Flesh of Christ is truly our meat, the Blood of Christ is truly our drink. The true Flesh, which he took from the Virgin, is what we eat; the true Blood, which he shed for man, is what we drink. In this banquet, the Word made Flesh is truly eaten; it is on him that our worship rests, and by him that we enter heaven. This Bread, which is all full of sweetness and grace, is the King of eternal glory, that was carried in the Virgin's womb. Let us feed on the richness of Angels' Bread; that we may find delight in the sweetness of a viaticum so full of mercy. O thou heavenly banquet! O glory of the redeemed! O repose of the humble! grant us eternal joys. VOL. X. Christus noster vere cibus, Christus noster vere potus, Caro Christi vere cibus, Sanguis Christi vere potus. Vera caro quam sumimus, Quam assumpsit de Virgine: Verus sanguis quem bibi mus, Quem effudit pro homine. Vere tali convivio, Panis iste dulcedinis Hujus panis angelici O cœleste convivium ! 1 Heb. x. 5, 7. Ꮓ Præsta Pater per Filium, Præsta per almum Spiritum; Quibus hoc das edulium, Prosperum serves exitum. Amen. Grant, O Father, through thy Son, grant, through the Spirit of love, that we, to whom thou givest such nourishment as this, may be brought by thee to a prosperous end. Amen. We will continue our selections from the magnificent Preface given in the Liturgy of the 8th Book of the Apostolic Constitutions. CONSTITUTIO JACOBI. Tu enim es opifex hominum, vitæ largitor, indigentim expletor; legum dator, easque servantium remunerator, trar sgredientium vindex. Qui diluvium mundo propter impie viventium multitudinem intulisti, et eo ex diluvio in arca eripuisti cum octo animabus justum Noam, finem quidem eorum qui præterierant, originem vero successurorum. Qui horrendum ignem adversus Sodomitanam pentapolim concitasti, ac sanctum Lotum ex incendio eruisti. And not this only; but, when thou hadst increased the posterity of man to an innumerable multitude, thou glorifiedst them that kept faithful to thee, but punishedst them that fell off; accepting the sacrifice of Abel, because he was innocent, rejecting the gifts of the fratricide Cain, because he was abominable. For thou art the maker of mankind, the giver of life, the supplier of indigence; the giver of laws, and the rewarder of such as keep them, the avenger of them that transgress. 'Twas thou didst bring a deluge upon the world, because of the multitude of the ungodly; from which deluge, thou, by the ark deliveredst the just Noe, with eight souls, Noe who was the end of the foregoing generations, but the source of them that were to follow. 'Twas thou that kindledst a fearful fire against the five cities of Sodom, and snatchedst holy Lot from the burning. 'Twas thou deliveredst Abraham from the impiety of his forefathers, and madest him the heir of the world, and showedst him thy Christ. 'Twas thou appointedst Melchisedech to be high-priest of thy_divine worship; thou that madest Isaac the son of the promise; thou that broughtest Jacob into Egypt. Thou, Lord, didst not abandon the Hebrews, when they were oppressed by the Egyptians, on account of the promises made to their fathers. And when men had corrupted the natural law, and had, at one time, looked on creation as the effect of chance, and, at another, had honoured it more than it deserved, thou permittedst them not to be led astray by error, yea, thou raisedst up thy holy servant Moses, giving, through him, the written law, as an aid to Tu es qui Abrahamum liberasti avita impietate, et mundi hæredem consti tuisti, ipsique Christum tuum apparere fecisti. Qui Melchisedecum pontificem divini cultus designasti. Qui Isaacum effecisti filium promissionis. Qui Jacobum ad Ægyptum introduxisti. Tu, Domine, Hebræos ab Egyptiis oppressos, ob promissa patribus eorum facta, non neglexisti. Cumque homines legem naturalem corrupissent, et creaturam modo fortuitam arbitrarentur, modo plusquam oportet honorarent ; non sivisti errore duci; quin potius edito sancto famulo tuo Moyse, per eum legem scriptam in adjutorium naturalis tribuisti; et creaturas ostendisti opus_tuum esse, errorem vero de multitu the natural; thou showedst dine deorum exterminasti. that creatures are thy work, and tookest away the error of plurality of gods. 'Twas thou didst adorn Aaron and his posterity with the priestly honour; that punishedst the Hebrews, when they sinned, receiving them, when they repented; that inflictedst the ten plagues on the Egyptians; that carriedst the Israelites across the divided sea; that drownedst the Egyptians, who pursued them. 'Twas thou madest the bitter water become sweet, by the wood; that broughtest water out of the hard rock; that rainedst manna from heaven; Aaron et posteros ejus honore sacerdotali decorasti. Hebræos, cum peccarent, castigasti; cum reverterentur, suscepisti. Egyptios decem plagis ultus es; mari diviso trajecisti Israelitas; insecutos Ægyptios delevisti submersione. Ligno amaram aquam dulcescere fecisti; ex petra dura aquam profudisti; e cœlo mannam depluisti; præbuisti ex aere escam, ortygometram: constituisti nocte columnam ignis ad illustra tionem, et die columnam nubis ad umbraculum in æstu. Per Jesum ducem a te declaratum septem gentes evertisti, Jordanem dirupisti, fluvios Ethan siccasti, muros prostravisti absque machinis. Pro omnibus tibi gloria, Domine omnipotens. Te adorant innumerabiles copiæ angelorum, archangelorum, thronorum, dominationum, principatuum, potestatum, virtutum et cherubini, item seraphini, senis alis, binis quidem velantes pedes suos, binis vero capita, et duabus aliis volantes, ac dicentes una cum mille millibus archangelorum et denis millibus denum millium angelorum, indesinenter ac sine vocis intermissione clamantibus: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Sabaoth pleni sunt cœli et terra gloria ejus Benedictus in sæcula. Amen. that grantedst quails to come from the air, as food; that appointedst a pillar of fire, by night, to give light, and a pillar of a cloud, by day, to overshadow them from heat. By Josue, proclaimed by thee as leader, thou didst overthrow the seven nations; thou dividedst the Jordan, driedst up the rivers of Ethan, and overturnedst the walls, without instruments. Glory be to thee, O almighty Lord, for all these things! Thee do adore the innumerable hosts of angels, archangels, thrones, dominations, principalities, powers, virtues, and cherubim; the seraphim, also, with their six wings, with two covering their feet, with two their heads, and with two flying, and saying, with thousand thousands of archangels, and ten thousand times ten thousand angels, incessantly, and, with uninterrupted voices, crying out: Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord of hosts: heaven and earth are full of his glory: be he blessed for ever! Amen. |