pleased. This Thy Beloved Son, and with Him my heart, I offer and present to Thee for all the blessings Thou hast this day given me. Mayest Thou, O Father, be now well pleased in Him, and through Him turn away Thine indignation from me.

Behold the One Mediator between God and men, a Man Christ Jesus, my Advocate and High-Priest, who intercedes for me. Him do I offer and plead before Thee, who committed no sin, but bore the sins of the world, and by whose stripes we are healed. Accept, therefore, O Holy Father, this Immaculate Victim, to the honor and glory of Thy name, in thanksgiving for all Thy benefits bestowed upon me, in remission also of my sins, and supply of all my defects and shortcomings.

O Blessed Virgin, Mother of my God and Saviour, recommend my petitions to thy Son. O all ye Angels and Saints, citizens of heaven, join also your prayers with mine. Ye stand always before the Throne, and see Him face to face, whom I here receive under veils. Be ever mindful of me, and obtain from Him and through Him that with you I may bless Him and love Him for ever. Amen.

Offer Yourself to Christ.

LORD, for that I am Thy servant and the son of

Thy handmaid, I therefore renounce the devil and all his works and pomps; all the vanity of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh. Thou alone art the God of my heart; Thou, O God, art my portion for ever. Thou art the portion of my inheritance and of my cup. Thou art He that will restore my inheritance unto me. Do Thou therefore take for

Thine own the whole powers of my soul, my memory, my intellect, and all my will. All that I am, and all that I have, Thou hast bestowed upon me: therefore I give back all to Thee, and surrender it to be wholly governed by Thy sovereign will. Grant me but grace to love Thee alone, and I am rich enough and ask no

more.

Here may be said the Tantum Ergo (p. 222), the Lauda Sion (p. 632), the Pange Lingua (p. 627), or any other Hymn in honor of the Blessed Sacrament.

A PRAYER (i)

To which Pope Pius VII. has annexed a Plenary Indulgence, which all the faithful may obtain who, after having confessed their sins with contrition, and received the Holy Communion, shall devoutly recite it before an image or representation of Christ crucified.*

Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus, I cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul I pray and beseech Thee that Thou wouldst impress upon my heart lively sentiments of Faith, Hope, and Charity, with true repentance for my sins, and a firm desire of amendment, whilst with deep affection and grief of soul I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate Thy five most precious Wounds; having before my eyes that which David spake in prophecy: They have pierced my hands and feet; they have numbered all my bones.

* Add five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys, for the intentions of the Holy Father. (S. Cong. Indulg., July 31, 1858.)

The Devotion of the forty hours'

Adoration.

HIS Devotion, known in Italy as the Quarant' ore, continues for Forty Hours, in memory of the forty hours during which the Body of our Lord remained in the Sepulchre. It was begun at Milan in 1534, and was introduced into Rome by St. Philip Neri in 1548, and sanctioned by Pope Clement VIII., who issued a solemn Bull respecting it, November 25, 1592.

The devotion owes its origin to Father Joseph, a Capuchin friar at Milan. In the year 1534 the city of Milan was suffering all the horrors attendant on war, and was reduced almost to despair, when Father Joseph called upon the citizens to raise their eyes from the miseries around them, and look up to heaven for succor, assuring them, on the part of God, that if they would give themselves to fervent prayer for forty hours, their city and their country would be liberated from the devastations of their enemies. The citizens obeyed the call. The Forty Hours' Prayer commenced in the Cathedral, and was taken up by the other churches of the city in rotation. The people meanwhile attended with fervor at the appointed prayers, and approached with great devotion the Sacraments of Penance, and the Holy Eucharist. Heaven did not delay to fulfil the assurance given by the pious servant of God; for in a short time the Emperor Charles V. and Francis,

King of France, were seen at the gate of Milan arranging the articles of peace.

To promote this devotion Pope Clement VIII. granted a Plenary Indulgence to all such as, confessing their sins and receiving Holy Communion, should visit any church or chapel where this devotion was being performed.

To gain this Indulgence it is required (1) to visit the Blessed Sacrament once during the three days of Exposition; and (2) to receive Holy Communion on the day preceding, or on one of the three days, but not necessarily in the same church or chapel in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed.

Pope Paul V. also granted an Indulgence of ten years and ten quadragenæ for every Visit made to the Blessed Sacrament thus exposed.

These Indulgences are applicable to the Souls in Purgatory.

The forms of prayers used in this devotion are, the Litany of the Saints, Collects, etc., as given on page 256; to which may be added the Litany of the Holy Name (p. 60), the Litany of the Blessed Virgin (p. 65), the Miserere (p. 249), and the Te Deum (p. 160).

I

A VISIT TO THE BLESSED SACRA

MENT..

AN ACT OF ADORATION TO THE MOST HOLY

TRINITY.

MOST humbly adore Thee, O uncreated Father,

and Thee, O Only-begotten Son, and Thee, O Holy Ghost the Paraclete, one Almighty, Everlasting, and Unchangeable God, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. I acknowledge in Thee a true and ineffable Trinity of Persons, a true and indivisible Unity of Substance. I glorify Thee, O Almighty Trinity, one only Deity, my most compassionate Lord, my sweetest hope, my dearest light, my

most desired repose, my joy, my life, and all my good. To Thy most merciful goodness I commend my soul and body; to Thy most sacred Majesty I wholly devote myself, and to Thy divine will I resign and yield myself eternally. All honor and glory be to Thee for ever and ever. Amen.

HEAVENLY Father, O most forgiving Father, O Lord God, have mercy upon me a wretched sinner, have mercy upon all men. In fullest reparation, expiation, and satisfaction for all my iniquities and negligences, and for the sins of the whole world, and perfectly to supply the deficiency of my works, I offer unto Thee Thy Beloved Son, Christ Jesus, in union with that sovereign charity with which Thou didst send Him to us, and didst give Him to us as our Saviour. I offer His transcendent virtues, and all that He did and suffered for us. I offer His labors, sorrows, torments, and most Precious Blood. I offer the merits of the most Blessed Virgin Mary and of all Thy Saints. Assist me, I beseech Thee, O most merciful Father, through the same Thy Son, by the power of Thy Holy Spirit. Have mercy on all unhappy sinners, and graciously call them back to the way of salvation. Grant to all the living pardon and grace, and to the faithful departed eternal light and rest. Amen.

OHOLY Spirit, sweetest Comforter, who proceedest

from the Father and the Son in an ineffable manner, come, I beseech Thee, and enter into my heart. Purify and cleanse me from all sin, and sanctify my soul. Wash away its defilements, moisten its dryness, heal its wounds, subdue its stubbornness, melt