. Introibo ad altare Dei: B. Ad Deum qui lætificat juventutem meam.

. Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini.

B. Qui fecit cœlum et

terram.

I am going to the altar of God; there I shall feel the presence of Him who desires to give me a new life.

This my hope comes not to me as thinking that I have any merits; but because of the all-powerful help of my Creator.

The thought of his being about to appear before his God, excites, in the soul of the Priest, a lively sentiment of compunction. He cannot go further in the holy Sacrifice without confessing, and publicly, that he is a sinner, and deserves not the grace he is about to receive. Listen, with respect, to this confession of God's Minister, and earnestly ask our Lord to show mercy to him; for the Priest is your Father; he is answerable for your salvation, for which he every day risks his own. When he has finished, unite with the Servers, or the Sacred Ministers, in this prayer:

Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis tuis, perducat te ad vitam æternam.

May Almighty God have mercy on thee, and, forgiving thy sins, bring thee to everlasting life.

The Priest having answered Amen, make your Confession, saying with a contrite spirit:

Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatæ Mariæ semper Virgini, beato Michaeli Archangelo, beato Joanni Bap. tistæ, sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo, omnibus sanctis, et tibi, Pater, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo et opere, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxiina culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem, beatum Michaelem Arch

I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the Saints, and to thee, Father, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech the blessed Mary ever Virgin,

blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the Saints, and thee, Father, to pray to our Lord for me.

angelum, beatum Joannem Baptistam, sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et te, Pater, orare pro me ad Dominum Deum nostrum.

Receive, with gratitude, the paternal wish of the Priest, who says to you:

May Almighty God be merciful to you, and, forgiving your sins, bring you to everlasting life.

B. Amen.

Misereatur vestri omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis vestris, perducat vos ad vitam æternam. R. Amen.

Indulgentiam, absolutionem, et remissionem peccatorum nostrorum, tribuat nobis omnipotens et misericors Dominus. R. Amen.

Invoke the divine assistance, that you may approach

to Jesus Christ:

V. O God, it needs but one look of thine, to give us life! P. And thy people shall rejoice in thee!

V. Show us, O Lord, thy

mercy,

R. And give us the Saviour, thou art preparing to give us. . O Lord, hear my prayer,

B. And let my cry come unto thee.

. Deus, tu conversus vivificabis nos.

B. Et plebs tua lætabitur in te.

. Ostende nobis Domine misericordiam tuam, B. Et Salutare tuum da nobis.

V. Domine, exaudi orationem meam,

B. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

The Priest here leaves you and ascends to the altar; but first he salutes you:

. The Lord be with you.

V. Dominus vobiscum.

Answer him with reverence:

B. And with thy spirit.

B. Et cum spiritu tuo.

He ascends the steps, and comes to the Holy of Holies. Ask, both for him and yourself, deliverance

from sin :

OREMUS.

Aufer a nobis, quæsumus, Domine, iniquitates nostras; ut ad Sancta Sanctorum puris mereamur mentibus in troïre, Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

LET US PRAY.

Take from our hearts, O Lord, all those sins, which make us unworthy to appear in thy presence. We ask this of thee, by thy divine Son, our Lord.

When the Priest kisses the altar, out of reverence for the relics of the Martyrs which are there, say:

Oramus te, Domine, per merita sanctorum tuorum quorum reliquiæ hic sunt et omnium sanctorum, ut indulgere digneris omnia peccata mea.

Amen.

Generous soldiers of Jesus Christ, who have mingled your own blood with his, intercede for us, that our sins may be forgiven: that so we may, like you, approach unto God.

If it be a High Mass at which you are assisting, the Priest censes the Altar in a most solemn manner; and this white cloud, which you see ascending from every part of the Altar, signifies the prayer of the Church, who addresses herself to Jesus Christ; and which this Divine Mediator then causes to ascend, united with his own, to the throne of the majesty of his Father.

The Priest then says the Introit. It is a solemn opening-anthem, in which the Church, at the very commencement of the Holy Sacrifice, gives expression to the sentiments which fill her heart.

It is followed by nine exclamations, which are even more earnest still,-for they ask for mercy. In addressing them to God, the Church unites herself with the nine choirs of Angels, who are standing around the altar of Heaven,-one and the same with this, before which you are kneeling.

Then, mingling his voice with that of the heavenly host, the Priest intones the sublime Canticle of Bethlehem, which announces glory to God, and peace to men. Instructed by the revelations of God, the Church continues, in her own words, the Hymn of the Angels.

THE ANGELIC HYMN.

Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram.

Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.

Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris. Anien.

Who takest away the sins of the world, receive our humble prayer.

Who sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.

For thou alone art holy, thou alone art Lord, thou alone, O Jesus Christ, together with the Holy Ghost, art most high, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Priest then turns towards the people, and again salutes them, as it were to make sure of their pious attention to the sublime act, for which all this is but the preparation.

Then follows the Collect, or Prayer, in which the Church formally expresses to the divine Majesty the especial intentions she has in the Mass which is being celebrated. You may unite in this Prayer, by reciting, with the Priest, the Collects which you will find in their proper places; but, on no account, omit to join, with the Server of the Mass, in answering

Amen.

After this, comes the Epistle, which is, generally, a portion of one or other of the Epistles of the Apostles, or a passage from some Book of the Old Testament. Whilst it is being read, give thanks to that God, who not satisfied with having spoken to us, at sundry times, by his Messengers, deigned, at last, to speak unto us by his well-beloved Son.'

The Gradual is a formula of prayer, intermediate between the Epistle and the Gospel. Most frequently, it again brings before us the sentiments already expressed in the Introit. Read it devoutly, that so you may the more and more enter into the spirit of the mystery proposed to you this day, by the Church.

1 Heb. i. 2.