APRIL DAYS OF DEVOTION. 2 The Purification, or Candlemas-day. 19 St. Joseph, Spouse of the B. Virgin. 25 The Annunciation of the B. V. or Lady-day. 23 St. George the Martyr. 1 St. Philip and St. James, Apostles. 24 The Nativity of St. John Baptist. 26 St. Anne, Mother of the B. Virgin. AUGUST 10 St. Lawrence, Martyr. OCTOBER 29 Michaelmas-day. 28 St. Simon and St. Jude. NOVEMBER 30 St. Andrew, Apostle. DECEMBER 8 The Conception of the B. Virgin. 29 St. Thomas of Canterbury. Easter Monday and Tuesday. Monday and Tuesday in Whitsun-week. All the week-days of Lent, beginning on Ash- Wednesday. The Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent. Ember-days, four times a year, viz. the Wednesdays, Fridays, 3. Next after the fourteenth of September. 4. Next after the third Sunday of Advent. DAYS OF ABSTINENCE FROM FLESH-MEAT. All Fridays, except when Christmas-day falls on a Friday. 1. The Vigil of SS. Peter and Paul, June 28. 2. The Vigil of the Assumption, August 14. 3. The Vigil of All Saints, October 31. 4. The Vigil of the Nativity of our Lord, December 24. The solemnising of Marriage is forbidden from the first Sunday in Advent until after the Twelfth-day, and from the Plenary Indulgences GRANTED TO THE FAITHFUL IN ENGLAND. I. CHRISTMAS-DAY, and the twelve days following, to the day of the Epiphany, inclusively. II. The first week of Lent, beginning with the first Sunday, and ending with the second Sunday, inclusively. III. Easter, i.e. from Palm-Sunday, inclusively, to LowSunday, inclusively. IV. From Whit-Sunday, inclusively, to the end of the Octave of Corpus Christi. V. The Feast of SS. Peter and Paul, and during the Octave. VI. From the Sunday, inclusively, preceding the Festival of the Assumption of the B. V. Mary, to the 22d day of August, inclusively. But if the Festival of the Assumption fall on a Sunday, the Indulgence begins on that day. VII. From the Sunday, inclusively, preceding the Festival of St. Michael, to the Sunday following, inclusively. But if the Festival of St. Michael fall on a Sunday, the Indulgence begins on that day. VIII. From the Sunday, inclusively, preceding the Festival of All-Saints, to the 8th day of November, inclusively. But if the Feast of All-Saints fall on a Sunday, the Indulgence begins on that day. The Conditions of II. IV. and VIII. are, 1. That the faithful confess their sins, with sincere repentance, to a Priest approved by the Bishop. 2. That they worthily receive the Holy Communion. 3. That if their state and condition allow it, they give some alms to the poor, either on the eve or on the day of their communion. 4. That on the day of their communion, they offer up some prayers to God, for the whole state of the Catholic Church throughout the world; for bringing back all straying souls to the fold of Christ; for the general peace of Christendom; and for the blessing of God upon this nation. The Conditions of I. III. VI. and VII. are, 1. That the faithful confess their sins, with sincere repentance, to a Priest approved by the Bishop. 2. That they worthily receive the Holy Communion. 3. That they visit some chapel or oratory, where Mass is celebrated, and pray to God for the peace of his Church. 4. That they be in a readiness of mind to assist the poor with alms in proportion to their abilities; or to frequent catechism and sermons as often as they can do it without great inconvenience; or to afford their assistance to the sick, or to such as are near their end, out of the motive of Christian charity. Note. It is not required for the gaining of these four Indulgences, granted by Pope Benedict XIV., that these works of mercy, corporal or spiritual, or the assisting at catechism and sermons, be done on the same day with the communion; but only that persons be then in a disposition or readiness of mind to do these things, or some of them at least, when they have an opportunity. The Conditions of V. are, 1. That the faithful confess their sins, with sincere repentance, to a Priest approved by the Bishop. 2. That they worthily receive the Holy Communion. 3. That, for some space of time, on the day of their communion, they pray to God with a sincere heart, for the conversion of Infidels and Heretics, and for the free propagation of the Holy Faith. LAY BAPTISM. PROVIDED an infant is in danger of dying before a Priest can be procured, any other person, whether man, woman, or child, may baptise it in the following manner : Whilst pouring common water on the head or face of the infant, pronounce the words, "I baptise thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." An Abridgment of Christian Doctrine, CALCULATED TO ASSIST THE MEMORY OF THE FAITHFUL. The Ten Commandments of God.-Exodus xx. 1. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them : I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of fathers upon their children, unto the third and fourth generation of those that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of those that love me, and keep my commandments. 2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain. 3. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day. Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works; but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God thou shalt do no work on it, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it. 4. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long-lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee. 5. Thou shalt not kill. 6. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 7. Thou shalt not steal. 8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, nor his servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his. The Six Precepts of the Church. 1. To hear Mass on Sundays, and all holidays of obligation. 2. To fast and abstain on the days commanded. 3. To confess our sins at least once a year. 4. To receive the blessed Eucharist at Easter. 5. To contribute to the support of our pastors. 6. Not to solemnise marriage at the forbidden times; nor to marry persons within the forbidden degrees of kindred, or otherwise prohibited by the Church: nor clandestinely. The Four Cardinal Virtues. Prudence-Justice-Fortitude-and Temperance. The Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost.-Isa. xi. 2, 3. |