St. Peter Damian, whose Feast we kept a few days back, composed the following Hymn in honour of our Apostle. HYMN. pore Suæ præfert Ecclesiæ: Scripturæ sacræ mystica Tu nactus apostolicam Vicem simul et gloriam, Nos solve culpæ nexibus, Redde polorum sedibus. O Gregory, that once wast the Apostle of the Angli, and now art a companion of the Angels! protect now, as of old, the nations that believe in Christ. Thou spurnest wealth and riches, and all the glory of the world, that so thou, being poor, mayst follow the Lord Jesus, who was poor. An Angel presents himself to thee, in the garb of one that was shipwrecked, and asks an alms; thou first makest him a double gift, and then thou givest him a silver vase. After this, Christ puts thee over his Church, for thou didst imitate the virtues, and now thou hast the honours, of Peter. O excellent Pontiff! Light and ornament of the Church! Thou hast so richly instructed us, assist us in our dangers. From thy lips there flows honey that brings sweetness to the heart. Thy words are more fragrant than the richest perfume. Admirably dost thou solve the obscure figures of Sacred Writ. The divine mysteries are taught thee by Him that is the very Truth. O thou that hast the office and the glory of the Apostles, pray for us, that we may be loosened from the bonds of sin, and obtain the thrones prepared for us above. To the unbegotten Father, and to his Only Begotten Son, and to the Spirit of them both, be praise and highest kingship. Amen. Sit Patri laus ingenito, Father of the Christian people! Vicar of the charity, as well as of the authority, of Christ! O Gregory, vigilant Pastor! the Church, which thou hast so faithfully loved and served, turns to thee with confidence. Thou canst not forget the flock, which keeps up such an affectionate remembrance of thee; hear the prayer she offers thee on this thy solemnity. Protect and guide the Pontiff, who now holds the place of Peter, as thou didst; enlighten and encourage him in the difficulties wherewith he is beset. Bless the Hierarchy of the Pastors, which has received from thee such magnificent teachings and such admirable examples. Assist it to maintain inviolate the sacred trust of Faith; bless the efforts it is now making for the restoration of ecclesiastical Discipline, without which, all is disorder and confusion. God chose thee as the regulator of the Divine Service, the Holy Liturgy; foster, by thy blessing, the zeal which is now rising up among us for those holy traditions of Prayer, which have been so neglected; teach us the long-forgotten secret, that the best way of praying, is to use the Prayers of the Church. Unite all Churches in obedience to the Apostolic See, which is the ground and pillar of Faith, and the fountain of Spiritual Authority. The terrible schism, which has separated the East from Catholic unity, began to show itself during thy Pontificate. Byzantium has now consummated her crime, which has degraded and enslaved her; and yet she seems blind to the real cause of all her miseries. In these latter days she has been abetted in her sin and her haughtiness;-Russia, the despotic power that has her hands steeped in the blood of Martyrs, has made common cause with her in rebellion against the Church, and we have heard the proud threat, that she will rest not till she have put one foot on the Tomb of our Lord in Jerusalem, "and the other on the Confession of Saint Peter in "Rome," so that mankind shall make a god of the Czar-Rouse up the zeal of the Christian world, O Gregory and inflame them with holy resistance to this false christ. May his fall become a lasting monument of the vengeance of our true Christ, Jesus our Saviour, and a fulfilment of the promise he made to his Church: That the Gates of hell shall never prevail against the Rock. We know, O holy Pontiff, that this promise is to be fulfilled; but we dare to pray, that we may see its accomplishment verified even in our times. But there is one country, which was most dear to thee,—our own native land. O Apostle of England! look down with affection on this island, which has now rebelled from Rome, and has become the resort of countless false religions. But now, after three centuries of apostacy from the true Faith, the hand of God's mercy is pressing her to conversion. She is thine own child in Christ Jesus: wilt thou not aid her return to Him? Wilt thou not guide her, by thy prayers, to come forth out of the darkness, which still so thickly clouds her, and follow the Light which heaven holds out to her? Oh! if England were once more Catholic, who can tell the good she would do? for what country is there that can do grander things for the Propagation of the Faith? Pray for her, then; she may regain her glorious title of Isle of Saints, for she has thee for her Apostle! These are the days of salvation; pray for the Faithful, who have entered on their career of penance. Obtain for them compunction of heart, love of Prayer, and an appreciation of the Liturgy and its Mysteries. The solemn and devout Homilies, which thou didst address, at this Season, to the people of Rome, are still read to us; may they sink into our hearts, and fill them with fear of God's Justice, and hope in his Mercy, for his Justice and Mercy change not to suit the time. We are weak and timid, and this makes us count as harsh the laws of the Church, which oblige us to fasting and abstinence; get us brave hearts, brave with the spirit of mortification. Thy holy Life is an example to us, and thy Writings are struction; what we still want, is to be made true Penitents, and this thy Intercession must do for us: that so, we may return, with the joy of a purified. conscience, to the divine Alleluia, which thou hast taught us to sing on earth, and which we hope to chant together with thee, in Heaven. MARCH 17. SAINT PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR. THE Saint we have to honour to-day is the Apostle of that faithful people, whose martyrdom has lasted three hundred years;-it is the great St. Patrick, he that gave Erin the Faith. There shone most brightly in this Saint that gift of the Apostolate, which Christ has left to his Church, and which is to remain with her to the end of time. The Ambassadors or Missioners, sent by our Lord to preach his Gospel, are of two classes. There are some who have been intrusted with a small tract of the Gentile world; they had to sow the divine seed there, and it yielded fruit, more or less according to the dispositions of the people that received it: there are others, again, whose mission is like a rapid conquest, that subdues a whole nation, and brings it into subjection to the Gospel. St. Patrick belongs to this second class ; and in him we recognise one of the most successful instruments of God's mercy to mankind. And then, what solidity there is in this great Saint's work! When is it that Ireland receives the Faith? In the 5th century, when Britain was almost wholly buried in paganism; when the race of the Franks had not as yet heard the name of the true God; when Germany had no knowledge of |