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 the Cornell University Library. 
 
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 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924084284490 
 
3 1924 084 284 490 
 
 \ A /E ask your indulgence on behalf of 
 ^ ^ our Boys if they have made any 
 errors in arranging the half-tone cuts in these 
 volumes. The entire work has been done 
 by them and it is their first effort. 
 
 ANGEL GUARDIAN PRESS. 
 
OUR CHURCH 
 
 HER CHILDREN AND 
 
 INSTITUTIONS 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 Compiled and Edited 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY COYLE — THEODORE MAYHEW - FRANK S. HICKEY 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 An explicit exposition of Catholic Doctrine and pious practices. 
 
 Historical review of the Church in America since the landing of Columbus. 
 
 Authentic Sketches of the Religious Orders; their work and missions most 
 
 entertainingly explained. 
 A Compendium of the leading societies connected with the Catholic Church in America. 
 
 VOLUME I 
 
 Terse and Timely Articles 
 
 BY 
 
 CARDINAL GIBBONS 
 
 RT. REV. EDWARD P, ALLEN, bishop of mobile 
 RT. REV. T. J. CONATY, D. D. 
 JOHN GILMARY SHEA 
 
 ELEANOR C. DONNELLY 
 LELIA HARDING BUGG 
 MARY E. DESMOND 
 
 AND MANY OTHER WRITERS OF NOTE. 
 
 MOST PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED, MANY OF THE ENGRAVINGS 
 
 BEING REPRODUCED FROM ORIGINAL PAINTINGS 
 
 SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR THIS BOOK. 
 
 Angel Guardian Press, 
 Boston. 
 
Copyright, 1908, 
 
 Angel Guardian Press. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
CONTENTS- Volume I. 
 
 CHAPTER. 
 
 
 page. 
 
 CHAPTER. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 I. 
 
 Of the " Sign of the Cross" 
 
 1 
 
 XIX. " Sacrament of Matrimony" 
 
 110 
 
 II. 
 
 Of the "Sacrament of 
 
 
 XX. ChurcBing of Women After 
 
 
 
 Baptism" 
 
 3 
 
 Child-B earing .... 
 
 116 
 
 III. 
 
 Of the "Ceremonies of 
 
 
 XXI. Fasting and Abstinence in 
 
 
 
 Baptism" 
 
 8 
 
 General 
 
 lis 
 
 IV. 
 
 Of the " Sacrament of Con- 
 
 
 XXII. Canonical Orders AND Pray- 
 
 
 
 firmation" 
 
 13 
 
 ers 
 
 126 
 
 V. 
 
 Of the "Sacrament of the 
 
 
 XXIII. Of the Festivals of the 
 
 
 
 Eucharist" 
 
 17 
 
 Catholic Church . . 
 
 128 
 
 VI. 
 
 Of the " Sacrifice of the 
 
 / 
 
 XXIV. Of the "Invocation of 
 
 
 
 Mass" 
 
 47 
 
 Angels and Saints" . . 
 
 134 
 
 VII. 
 
 Of the "Ceremonies of the 
 
 
 XXV. Devotion of Catholics to 
 
 
 
 Mass" 
 
 51 
 
 the Blessed Virgin Mary 
 
 140 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Of the "Saying of the 
 
 
 XXVI. Veneration of Relics in 
 
 
 
 Mass in Latin" . . . 
 
 62 
 
 THE Catholic Church 
 
 144 
 
 IX. 
 
 Of the "Sacrament of 
 
 
 XXVII. Use of Pictures and Im- 
 
 
 
 Penance" 
 
 64 
 
 ages IN THE Catholic 
 
 
 X. 
 
 Of the "Indulgence of 
 
 
 Chltrch 
 
 147 
 
 
 the Jubilee" .... 
 
 72 
 
 XXVIII. Of THE "Exorcisms and 
 
 
 XI. 
 
 Or the "Sacrament of 
 
 
 Benedictions and the 
 
 
 
 Extreme Unction" . . 
 
 76 
 
 Blessing of Creatures in 
 
 
 XII. 
 
 Order of Recommendation 
 
 
 THE Catholic Church . 
 
 152 
 
 
 of a Soul Just Departing 
 
 79 
 
 In Memoriam. By Eleanor C. Donnelly 
 
 155 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Office of the Burial of the 
 
 
 The Way of the Cross. By Bouvitr. . 
 
 156 
 
 
 Dead 
 
 82 
 
 A Prayer to Direct the Intention 
 
 156 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Prayers for the Dead 
 
 85 
 
 The Stations of the Cross . . . 
 
 158 
 
 XV. 
 
 "Sacrament of Holy Or- 
 
 
 The Forty Hours Devotion, Its Origin 
 
 
 
 ders" 
 
 90 
 
 AND History 
 
 174 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Supremacy of the Pope . 
 
 92 
 
 Questions of Catholic Faith . . 
 
 188 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Celibacy of the Clergy . 
 
 98 
 
 Devotions for Each Day of the Week 
 
 192 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Religious Orders and Con- 
 fraternities .... 
 
 103 
 
 Feasts and Saints of the Month 
 
 192 
 
 LITTLE GEMS OF CATHOLIC WISDOM. 
 
 page. 
 
 Importance of the Catechism . . . 209 
 
 What it is to be a Catholic . . . 209 
 
 Symbols of Our Lady 210 
 
 Blessings and Graces at Meals . . 210 
 
 The Blessing of the Meal .... 210 
 
 Grace After the Meal 210 
 
 How the Apostles Died 211 
 
 Where the Apostles Rest . . . - 211 
 Facts About THE Popes ... .211 
 
 Meaning of the Sign of the Cross . 212 
 Object of the Devotion to the Sacred 
 
 Heart 213 
 
 The Catholic Church 215 
 
 Baptism 215 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 The Christian Child at School . .215 
 
 On the Playground 216 
 
 Confession 216 
 
 At Confession 218 
 
 Penitence 218 
 
 How TO Receive 219 
 
 The Season of Lent .... 219 
 
 The Correct Thing for Catholics . 221 
 
 Observation of Holy Week ... 221 
 
 Holy Week Explained .... 222 
 
 Easter An Essay 223 
 
 Titles of a Catholic Priest . . . 225 
 
 The Priest as a Man of God . . . 225 
 
 The Priest as a Father .... 225 
 
CONTENTS— Volume L— c<?«//««^^. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Work of the Priesthood .... 226 
 
 Obligation of Hearing Mass ... 226 
 
 First Mass in America 228 
 
 Early to Mass 228 
 
 Assisting at Mass 228 
 
 The Nuptial Mass 229 
 
 Good Advice to Chdrch Goers . . 229 
 
 Whispering in Church 230 
 
 Candles 230 
 
 Teaching the Catechism .... 230 
 
 Graveyard Politeness 231 
 
 What a Catholic Should Remember . 232 
 
 The True Catholic 232 
 
 The Word "Catholic" Explained . 233 
 
 How 10 Pray 233 
 
 page. 
 
 The Manner of Saying the Rosary . 233 
 
 The Benefit of Vocal Prayer . . 234 
 
 Perseverance in Prayer 234 
 
 Use of the Prayer Book .... 235 
 
 Answers to Prayers 236 
 
 Unanswered Prayer 236 
 
 The Sign of the Cross 237 
 
 The Ideal Catholic Family ... 237 
 
 The Catholic Home 239 
 
 Home Sweet Home 239 
 
 The Need of Good Reading in the 
 
 Home 240 
 
 Advice to Catholics 241 
 
 Titles of the Clergy 242 
 
 Christian Politeness 244 
 
PATRICK J. SUPPLE 
 
 Censor Librorum 
 
 * WILLIAM 
 
 Archbishop of Boston 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 7 HIS work, without pretending to he an elaborate or exhaustive exposition, 
 contains, in convenient compass, a brief history of the Catholic Church in this 
 country from its beginning down to our own day, with biographical sketches, 
 and information concerning the practices of our Holy Religion. It especially pictures 
 the progress and expansion of the Church in New England. One of the most 
 learned theologians in this country examined critically the historical articles, and 
 made a general revision of the book. 
 
 The work will be found useful as a text-book for the more advanced instruction 
 of young people, in the history, doctrine and practices of the Catholic Church. In 
 a work of this kind historical completeness would be impossible, but if the space here 
 is necessarily limited, there need not be any limit to the enquiring mind for further 
 knowledge, which may owe its first impulse to the reading of this book. 
 
 The compilers' aim was to prepare a manual and guide for Catholics in the 
 external practice of their Holy Religion, a book full of useful, interesting and neces- 
 sary information for Catholic families regarding the Church and religious practices 
 which it is often difficult to acquire without much labor and research. The compilers 
 hope the book will become a standard work of Catholic instruction, and a family 
 reference book upon matters concerning Catholic practice and observance. It con- 
 tains a vast amount of useful information, doctrinal, biographical, historical, and 
 statistical, clearly and attractively written, with elegant and profuse illustrations, 
 and will be found valuable for Catholics who are not well-learned in their Catechism, 
 m who have need to learn again that which they have forgotten of their faith. 
 
 THE EDITORS. 
 
/ 
 
 HIS HOLINESS PIUS " 
 
MOST REV. WM. H. O'CONNELL, D. D., ARCHBISHOP OF BOSTON. 
 
Phot.i by Marcmu, Boston. 
 
 RT. RFA'. JOSEPH G. ANDERSON, BISHOP ELECT 
 
Phol Photo ly Conlin, Boston 
 
 <RT. REV. GEO. J. PATTERSON,' VICAR-GENERAL. 
 
Photo By Conlin, Boston. 
 
 REV. PATRICK. J. SUPPLE, D. D., DIOCESAN CENSOR. 
 
AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. 
 
OTHER REFUGE HAVE I NONE I 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Of the Sign of the Cross. 
 
 Q. Why do you treat of the agn of the cross, before you begin to speak of the 
 sacraments ? 
 
 A, Because this holy sign is made use of in all the sacraments, to give us to 
 understand that they all have their whole force and efficacy from the cross, that 
 is, from the death and passion of Jesus Christ. What is the sign of Christ, says 
 St. Augustine,* which all know, but the Cross of Christ? which sign, if it be rot 
 applied to the foreheads of the believers, to the water with which they are baptized, 
 to the chrism with which they are anointed, to the sacrifice with whidi they are fed, 
 none of these things is duly performed. 
 
 Q. But did the primitive Christians only make use of the sign of the cross in 
 the administration of the sacraments? 
 
 A. Not only then, but also upon all other occasions at every step, says the 
 ancient and learned Tertullian,t at every coming in and going out, when we put 
 on our clothes or shoes, when we wash, when we sit down to taUe, when we light 
 a candle, when we go to bed — whatsoever conversation employs us, we imprint 
 on our foreheads the sign of the cross. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of this frequent use of the sign of the cross? 
 
 A. It is to show that we are not ashamed of the Cross of Christ; it is to make 
 an open profession of our believing in a crucified God ; it is to help us to bear always 
 in mind His death and passion; and to nourish thereby in our souls the three divine 
 virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. 
 
 Q. How are these three divine virtues exercised in the frequent use of the cross ? 
 
 A. First, faith is exercised, because, the sign of the cross brings to our remem- 
 brance the chief articles of the Christian belief, viz. : The Son of God dying for 
 us upon the cross. Secondly, our hope is thereby daily nourished and increased; 
 because this holy sign continually reminds us of the passion of Christ, on which 
 is grounded all our hope for mercy, grace and salvation. Thirdly, charity, or the 
 love of God, is excited in us by that sacred sign, by representing to us the love which 
 God has showed us in dying upon the cross for us. 
 
 Q. In what manner do we make the sign of the cross ? 
 
 A. In blessing ourselves, we form the sign of the cross by putting our right 
 hand to the forehead, and so drawing, as it were, a line down to the breast or 
 stomach, and then another line crossing the former from the left shoulder to the 
 right: and the words that we pronounce at the same time are these: "In the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost " ; by which we make a solemn 
 profession of our faith in the blessed Trinity. But in blessing other persons or 
 things we form the cross in the air with the right hand extended towards the thing 
 we bless. 
 
 * Tract 119, in Joan. 
 
 t L. de Corona Milit. c. 3. 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. Have you anything more to add in favor of the cross, and the use of signing 
 ourselves with the sign of the cross ? 
 
 A. Yes, the cross is the standard of Christ, and is called by our Lord Himself 
 (St. Matt. xxiv. 30), the sign of the Son of Man. It is the badge of all good Chris- 
 tians represented by the letter Tau,* ordered to be set as a mark upon the forehead 
 of those that were to escape the wrath of God (Ezekiel ix. 4). It was given by our 
 Lord to Constantine, the first Christian emperor, as a token and assurance of 
 victory; when he and his whole army in their march against the t5Tant Maxentius 
 saw a cross formed of pure light, above the sun, with this inscription: "By this 
 conquer;" which account the historian Eusebius, in his first book of the life of Con- 
 stantine, declares he had from that emperor's own mouth. To which we may 
 add that the sign of the cross was used of old by the holy fathers, as an invincible 
 buckler against the devil, and a powerful means to dissipate his illusions ; and that 
 God has often made it an instrument in their hands of great and illustrious miracles, 
 of which there are innumerable instances in ancient church history, and in the 
 writings of the fathers, which it would be too tedious here to recount. 
 
 * St. HiAom. upon Ezek. iz. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Of the Sacrament of Baptism. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by a sacrament ? 
 
 A. An outward sign or ceremony of Christ's institution, by which grace is 
 given to the soul of the worthy receiver. 
 
 Q. What are the necessary conditions for a thing to be a sacrament ? 
 
 A. These three. First, it must be a sacred sign, and consequently, as to the 
 outward performance, it must be visible or sensible. Secondly, this sacred sign 
 must have annexed unto it a power of communicating grace to the soul. Thirdly, 
 this must be by virtue of the ordinance or institution of Christ. 
 
 Q. How then do you prove that baptism is a sacrament, since the Scripture 
 nowhere calls it so ? 
 
 A. Because it has three conditions. First it is an outward visible sign, con- 
 sisting in the washing with water, with the form of words prescribed by Christ. 
 Secondly, it has a power of communicating grace to our souls in the way of a new 
 birth; whence it is called by the Apostle (Tit. ni. 5), "the laver or washing of 
 regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Thirdly, we have the ordinance 
 and institution of Christ (St. Matt, xxvin. 19), "Go teach all nations, baptizing 
 them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." And 
 (St. John ni. 5), "Except a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he 
 cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 
 
 Q. In what manner must baptism be administered, so as to be valid ? 
 
 A. It must be administered in true natural water, with this or the like form 
 of words: "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost"; which words ought to be pronounced at the same time as the water 
 is applied to the person that is baptized, and by the same minister, who ought to 
 have the same intention of doing what the Church does. 
 
 Q. What if these words, "I baptize thee," or any one of the names of the Three 
 Persons should be left out ? 
 
 A. In that case it would be no baptism. 
 
 Q. What if the baptism should be administered in rose-water, or any of the 
 like artificial waters? 
 
 A. It would be no baptism. 
 
 Q. Ought baptism to be administered by dipping, or by pouring of the water ; 
 or by sprinkling of the water? 
 
 A. It may be administered validly in any of these ways; but the custom of the 
 Church is to administer this sacrament either by dipping in the water, which is 
 used in the East, or by pouring of the water upon the person baptized, which is 
 more customary in these parts of Christendom. Moreover, it is the custom in all 
 parts of the Catholic Church, and has been so from the Apostles' days, to dip or 
 pour three times at the names of the Three Divine Persons; though we do not look 
 upon this as so essential that the doing otherwise would render the baptism invalid. 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. What think you of those that administer baptism so slightly that it is doubt- 
 ful whether it may in any sense be called an ablution or washing; as for instance 
 those that administer it only with a fillip of a wet finger ? 
 
 A, Such as these expose themselves to the danger of administering no baptism. 
 
 Q. What do you think of baptism administered by heretics, or schismatics ? 
 
 A. The Church receives their baptism, if they observe the Catholic matter 
 and form; that is, if they baptize with true natural water, and have the intention 
 of doing what the Church does; pronouncing at the same time these words: "I 
 baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Q. What think you of baptism administered with the due form of words, but 
 without the sign of the cross ? 
 
 A. The omission of this ceremony does not render the baptism invalid. 
 
 Q. What is your judgment of the baptism said to be administered by some 
 modern Arians, "In the name of the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Ghost ?" 
 
 A. Such a corruption of the form makes the baptism null and invalid. 
 
 Q. What is the doctrine of the Church as to baptism administered by a layman 
 or by a woman ? 
 
 A. If it be attempted without necessity, it is a criminal presumption; though 
 even then the baptism is valid, and is not to be reiterated : but in a case of necessity, 
 when a priest cannot be had, and a child is in immediate danger of death, baptism 
 may not only validly, but also lawfully be administered by any person whatsoever. 
 In which case a cleric, though only in lesser orders, is to be admitted preferably to 
 a layman, and a man preferably to a woman, and a Catholic preferably to a heretic. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that infants may be baptized who are not capable of 
 being taught or instructed in the faith? 
 
 A. I prove it, first, by a tradition which the Church has received from the 
 Apostles,* and practised in all ages ever since; now, as none were more likely or 
 better qualified than the Apostles, to understand the true meaning of the com- 
 mission given them by their Master to baptize all nations, so none were more dili- 
 gent than they to execute faithfully this commission according to His meaning and 
 to teach their disciples to do the same. (St. Matt, xxviil. 20.) So that what the 
 Church has received by tradition from the Apostles and their disciples, was un- 
 doubtedly agreeable to the commission of Christ. 
 
 Secondly, I prove it by comparing together two texts of Scripture, one of which 
 declares that without baptism no one can enter into the kingdom of heaven ; (St. 
 John ni. 5) "Except a man be bom again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot 
 enter into the kingdom of God." The other text declares that infants are capable 
 of this kingdom (St. Luke xvm. 16), "Suffer little children to come to Me, and 
 forbid them not ; for of such is the kingdom of God:" and consequently they must 
 be capable of baptism. 
 
 Thirdly, circumcision in the old law corresponded to baptism in the new law. 
 and was a figure of it. (Coloe. n., 11, 12.) But circumcision vras administered 
 to infants. (Gen. xvil.) Therefore, baptism in like manner is to be administered 
 to infants. 
 
 * St. Iretiffius, 1, 2, c. 39. Origen, 1, 5, in c. 6, ad Rom. St. Cyprian, Ep. ad. Fidum. St. Chrysostom, Horn, ad 
 Neophytes. St. Augustine, 1, 10, de Gen. c. 23, etc. 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Fourthly, we read in Scripture of whole families baptized by St. Paul (Acts 
 XVI. 15, 33, and i. Cor. i, 16), Now, it is probable thatjn so many whole families 
 there were some infants. 
 
 Fifthly, as infants are not capable of helping themselves by faith and repentance, 
 were they not capable of being helped by the sacrament of baptism, they could 
 have no share in Christ, and no means to be delivered from original sin ; and con- 
 sequently almost one-half of mankind dying before the use of reason must inevitably 
 perish, if infants were not to be baptized. 
 
 Sixthly, if infants' baptism were invalid, the gates of hell would have long since 
 prevailed against the Church; yea, for many ages there would have been no such 
 thing as Christians upon earth; since for many ages before the Anabaptists arose, 
 all persons had been baptized in their infancy, which baptism, if it were null, there 
 were no Christians, and consequently there was no Church. Where, then, was 
 that promise of Christ (St. Matt. xvi. 19), "Upon this rock I will build My church, 
 and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," and (St. Matt, xxvni. 20), 
 "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world." 
 
 Besides, if infants' baptism be null, the first preachers of the Anabaptists had 
 never received baptism, or had received it from those who never had been baptized. 
 A likely set of men for bringing back God's truth banished from the world, who 
 had not so much as received the first badge or character of a Christian ; and who 
 so far from having orda's or mission, had not so much as been baptized. 
 
 Q. How do you prove against the Quakers that all persons ought to be 
 baptized ? 
 
 A. From the commission of Christ (St. Matt, xxvin. 19), "Go teach all 
 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost." From that general sentence of Our Lord (St. John in. 5), "Except a 
 man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
 God." From the practice of the Apostles and of the first Christians, who were all 
 baptized: thus we read (Acts n. 38), with relation to the converts to Christianity 
 at Jerusalem, when they asked of the Apostles what they should do, that Peter 
 said unto them: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus 
 Christ." And (ver. 41), "Then they that gladly received His word were baptized," 
 etc. Thus we read of the Samaritans converted by Philip (Acts vrii. 12, 13), 
 that, "They were baptized both men and women; and that Simon (Magus) 
 himself also believed and was baptized; as was also the eunuch of Queen Candace" 
 (ver. 36, 38). Thus we find Paul baptized by Ananias (Acts ix. 18); Cornelius 
 and his friends, by order of St. Peter (Acts x. 47, 48); Lydia and her household, 
 by St. Paul (Acts xvi. 15), etc. In fine, from the perpetual bdief and practice of 
 the whole Church ever since the Apostles' days, which in all ages and all nations has 
 ever administered baptism in water to all her children, and never looked upon any 
 to be Christians until they were baptized. Now "if a person will not hear the 
 Church let him be to thee as a heathen and a publican" (St. Matt, xviii. 17). 
 
 Q. How do you prove from Scripture that the Apostles gave baptism in water ? 
 
 A. From Acts vni. 36, 38, "See here is water," said the eunuch to St. Philip, 
 "what does hinder me to be baptized? . . . and they both went down into the 
 water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him." And (Acts x. 47, 48); 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 "Can any man forbid water," said St. Peter, "that those should not be baptized 
 which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we ? and he commanded them to be 
 baptized in the name of the Lord." Where we see that even they who received the 
 Holy Ghost, and consequently had been baptized by the Spirit, were, nevertheless, 
 commanded to be baptized in water. Hence, St. Paul (Ephes. v. 25, 26), tells 
 us, that "Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it that He might sanctify 
 it, cleansing it by the laver of water, in the word of life:" and (Heb. x. 22), "Let 
 us draw near with a true heart — having our hearts sprinkled from an evil con- 
 science, and our bodies washed vdth pure water." 
 
 Q. What are the effects of the sacrament of baptism ? 
 
 A. First, it washes away original sin, in which we are all born, by reason of 
 the sin of our first father, Adam. Secondly, it remits all actual sins, which we 
 ourselves have committed (in case we have committed any before baptism) both 
 as to the guilt and pain. Thirdly, it infuses the habit of divine grace into our 
 souls, and makes us the adopted children of God. Fourthly, it gives us a right 
 and title to the kingdom of heaven. Fifthly, it imprints a character or spiritual 
 mark in the soul. Sixthly, in fine, it lets us into the Church of God, and makes us 
 children and members of the Church. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that all sins are remitted in baptism ? 
 
 A. From Acts n. 38, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name 
 of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins;" (Acts xxn. 16), "Arise and be baptized," 
 says Ananias to Paul, "and wash away thy sins [in the Greek be washed from thy 
 sins] calling upon the name of the Lord." (Ezekiel xxxvi. 25), "I will pour clean 
 water upon you, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness." Hence, in 
 the Nicene creed, we confess one baptism unto the remission of sins. 
 
 Q. May not a person obtain the remission of his sins, and eternal salvation, 
 without being actually baptized ? 
 
 A. In two cases he may. The first is, when a person not yet baptized, but 
 heartily desiring baptism, is put to death for the faith of Christ, before he can have 
 this sacrament administered to him, for such a one is baptized in his own blood. 
 The second case is, when a person, that can by no means procure the actual 
 administration of baptism, has an earnest desire of it joinedwith a perfect love of 
 God, and repentance of his sins, and dies in this disposition : for this is called the 
 baptism of the Holy Ghost ; Baptismus Flaminis. 
 
 Q. From whence has baptism the power of conferring grace, and washing 
 away our sins ? 
 
 A. From the institution of Christ, and in virtue of His blood, passion and 
 death. From whence also all the other sacraments have their efficacy. For there 
 is no obtaining mercy, grace or salvation, but through the passion of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Q. In what manner must a person that is come to years of discretion prepare 
 himself for the sacrament of baptism? 
 
 A. By faith and repentance: and therefore it is necessary that he be first well 
 instructed in the Christian doctrine, and that he firmly believe all the articles of 
 the Catholic faith. Secondly, that he be heartily sorry for all his sins, firmly re- 
 solving to lead a good Christian life, to renounce all sinful habits, and to make full 
 satisfaction to all whom he has in any way injured. 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. But what if a person should be baptized without being in these dispositions ? 
 
 A. In that case he would receive the sacrament and character of baptism, but 
 not the grace of the sacrament, nor the remission of his sins, which he cannot obtain 
 until by a sincere repentance he detests and renounces all his sins. 
 
 Q. Is it necessary for a person to go to confession before he receives the sacra- 
 ment of baptism? 
 
 A. No, it is not: because the sins committed before baptism are washed away 
 by baptism, and not by the sacrament of penance; and therefore there is no need 
 of confessing them. 
 
 Q. What think you of those that put off for a long time their children's bap- 
 tism? 
 
 A. I think they are guilty of a sin, in exposing them to the danger of dying 
 without baptism, since, as daily experience ought to convince them, young children 
 are so quickly and so easily snatched away by death. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Ceremonies of Baptism; and the Manner of Ad" 
 ministering this Sacrament in the Catholic Church. 
 
 Q. Why does the Church make use of so many ceremonies in baptism? 
 
 A. First, to render thereby this mystery more venerable to the people. 
 Secondly, to make them understand the effect of this sacrament, and what the obli- 
 gations are, which they contract in this sacrament. 
 
 Q. Are the ceremonies of baptism very ancient ? 
 
 A. They are all of them very ancient, as may be demonstrated from the writ- 
 ings of the holy fathers; and as we know no beginning of them we have reason to 
 conclude that they come from apostolical tradition. 
 
 Q. In what places does the Church administer the sacrament of baptism? 
 
 A. Regularly speaking, and excepting in the case of necessity, she does not 
 allow baptism to be administered anywhere else but in the churches which have 
 fonts ; the water of which, by apostolical traditions, is solemnly blessed every year 
 on the vigils of Easter and Whit-Sunday. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of having godfathers and godmothers in baptism? 
 
 A. First, that they present to the Church the person that is to be baptized, 
 and may be witnesses of his baptism; secondly, that they may answer in his name, 
 and be sureties for his performance of the promises which they make for him. 
 
 Q. What is the duty of godfathers and godmothers ? 
 
 A. To see, as much as lies in them, that their godchildren may be brought up 
 in tTie true faith, and in the fear of God; that they be timely instructed in the whole 
 Christian doctrine, and that they make good those engagements which they have 
 made in their name. 
 
 Q. May all sorts of persons be admitted for godfathers and godmothers ? 
 
 A. No; but only such as are duly qualified for discharging the obligations of 
 a godfather or godmother; upon which account none are to be admitted that are 
 not members of the Catholic Church; none whose lives are publicly scandalous, 
 none who are ignorant of the Christian doctrine, etc. (Rit. Rom.) 
 
 Q. How many godfathers and godmothers may a person have in tKe Catholic 
 Church? 
 
 A. The Council of Trent (Sess. 24, chap. 2), orders, that no one should have 
 any more than one godfather and one godmother; that the spiritual kindred, which 
 the child and its parents contract with the godfathers and godmothers, and which 
 is an impediment of marriage, may not be extended to too many persons. 
 
 Q. In what order or manner does the Catholic Church proceed in the adminis- 
 tration of baptism? 
 
 A. First, the priest having asked the name of the person that is to be baptized 
 (which ought not to be any profane or heathenish name, but the name of some 
 saint, by whose example he may be excited to a holy life, by whose prayers he may 
 be protected), inquires of him: "iV. what dost thou demand of the Church of 
 
 8 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 God?" To which the persoQ himself, if of age, or the godfather ard godmother 
 for him, answer, "Faith"; by which is meant not the bare virtue by which we 
 believe what God teaches, but the whole body of Christianity, as comprehending 
 both belief and practice ; into which the faithful enter by the gate of baptism. The 
 priest goes on and asks : "What does faith give thee?" Answ. "Life everlasting." 
 
 Priest. "If then thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments; thou shalt 
 love the Lord thy God mth thy whole heart, and vrith thy whole soul, and vrith thy 
 whole mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." 
 
 After this, the priest blows three times upon the face of the person that is to be 
 baptized, sa5dng: "Depart out of him, or her, O unclean spirit! and give place 
 to the Holy Ghost the comforter." This ceremony was practised by the universal 
 Church long before St. Augustine's days, who calls it* a most ancient tradition ; and 
 it is used in contempt of Satan, and to drive him away by the Holy Ghost, who is 
 called the Spirit or breath of God. 
 
 Then the priest makes the sign of the cross on the forehead and on the breast 
 of the person that is to be baptized, sa}ang: "Receive the sign of the cross, upon 
 thy forehead, and in thy heart ; receive the faith of the heavenly commandments, 
 and let thy manners be such that thou mayest now be the temple of God." This 
 sign of the cross upon the forehead is to give us to understand that we are to make 
 open profession of the faith of a crucified God, and never be ashamed of His cross ; 
 and the sign of the cross upon the breast is to teach us that we are always to have 
 Christ crucified in our hearts. 
 
 After this, there follow some prayers for the person that is to be baptized, to 
 beg of God to dispose his soul for the grace of baptism. Then the priest blesses 
 some salt, and puts a grain of it in the mouth of the person that is to be baptized. 
 By which ancient ceremony we are admonished to procure and maintain in our 
 souls true wisdom and prudence, of which salt is an emblem or figure, inasmuch 
 as it seasons and gives a relish to all things. Upon which account it was com- 
 manded in the law (Levit. n. 13), that salt should be used in every sacrifice or 
 oblation made to God; to whom no offering can be pleasing where the salt of dis- 
 cretion is wanting. We are also admonished by this ceremony so to season our 
 souls with the grace of God, as to keep them from the corruption of sin, as we make 
 use of salt to keep things from corrupting. 
 
 Then the priest proceeds to the solemn prayers and exOTcisms, used of old 
 by the Catholic Church in the administration of baptism, to call out the devil from 
 the soul, under whose power we are born by original sin. "I exorcise thee," 
 says he, " O unclean spirit ! in the name of the Father t^, and of the Son ^, and of 
 the Holy Ghost t^, that thou mayest go out, and depart from this servant of God, 
 N. For He commands thee, O! thou accursed and condemned wretch. Who with 
 His feet walked upon the sea, and stretched forth His right hand to Peter that was 
 sinking. Therefore, O accursed devil, remember thy sentence, and give honor to 
 the living and true God. Give honor to Jesus Christ His Son, and to the Holy 
 Ghost, and depart from this servant of God, N. For our God and Lord Jesus 
 Christ has vouchsafed to call him to His holy grace and blessing and to the font of 
 baptism." Then he signs the forehead \nth. the sign of the cross, saying; "And 
 
 * L. de Nuptis, c. 18 and 29. 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 this sign of the holy cross, which we imprint on his forehead, mayest thou, O cursed 
 devil! never dare to violate, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen." 
 
 All that has been hitherto set down of the prayers and ceremonies of baptism, 
 is usually performed in the porch or entry of the church, to signify that the cate- 
 chumen, or person that is to be baptized, is not worthy to enter into the church, until 
 the devil first be cast out of his soul. But after these prayers and exorcisms the 
 priest reaches forth the extremity of his stole to the catechumen, or if it be an infant, 
 lays it upon him, and so introduces him into the church, saying: "N. Come into 
 the temple of God that thou mayest have part with Christ, unto everlasting life, 
 Amen." 
 
 Being come into the Church, the priest, jointly with the party that is to be 
 baptized, or if it be an infant, with the godfather and godmother, recites aloud the 
 Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer. Then he reads another exorcism over 
 the catechumen, commanding the devil to depart in the name, and by the power of 
 the most blessed Trinity. After which, in imitation of Christ, Who cured with 
 his spittle the man that was deaf and dumb (St. Mark vti. 32, etc.), he wets his 
 finger with his spittle, and first touches the ears of the catechumen, saying, 
 "Ephpheta," that is, be thou opened: then his nostrils, adding these words, "unto 
 the odor of sweetness. But be thou put to flight, O devil! for the judgment of 
 God wDl be at hand," by which ceremony the Church instructs her catechumens to 
 have their ears open to God's truth, and to smell its sweetness; and begs this grace 
 for them. 
 
 Then the priest asks the person that is to be baptized, "N. dost thou re- 
 nounce Satan?" To which the person himself, if of age, otherwise the godfather 
 and godmother in his name, answer, "I renounce him." The priest goes on, 
 "And all his works?" Answ. "I renounce them." Priest. "And all his 
 pomps?" Answ. "I renounce them." 
 
 This solemn renouncing of Satan, and his works, and his pomps, in the receiving 
 of baptism, is a practice as ancient as the Church itself and in a particular mannw 
 requires our attention : because i? is a promise and vow that we make to God, by 
 which we engage ourselves to abandon the party of the devil, to have nothing to do 
 with his works, that is, with the works of darkness and sin ; and to cast away from 
 us his pomps, that is, the maxims and vanities of the world. It is a covenant we 
 make with God, by which we, on our part, promise Him our allegiance, and to 
 fight against his enemies; and He, on His part, promises us life everlasting if we are 
 faithful to our engagements. But in the moment we break this solenm covenant 
 by wilful sin, we lose both the grace of baptism, and all that title to an eternal 
 inheritance which we received in baptism, together with the dignity of children of 
 God ; and become immediately slaves to the devil, and children of hell. 
 
 After this renouncing Satan, and declaring war against him, to give us to 
 understand what kind arms we are to procure in this spiritual conflict, the priest 
 anoints the catechumen upon the breast, and between the shoulders, with holy oil, 
 which is solemnly blessed by the bishop every year on Maundy-Thursday; which 
 outward unction is to represent the inward anointing of the soul by divine grace, 
 which, like a sacred oil, penetrates our hearts, heals the wounds of our souls, and 
 fortifies them against our passions and concupiscences. Where note, that the 
 
 10 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 anointing of the breast is to signify the necessity of fortifying the heart with heavenly 
 courage, to act manfully, and to do our duty in all things ; and the anointing between 
 the shoulders is to signify the necessity of the like grace to bear and support all the 
 adversities and crosses of this mortal life. The words which the priest uses at this 
 conjuncture are, "I anoint thee with the oil of salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord, 
 that thou mayest have eternal life. Amen." 
 
 Then the priest asks the catechumen: "N. dost thou believe in God the 
 Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth?" Ans. "I believe." Priest 
 "Dost thou believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born and who 
 suffered for us?" Ans. "I believe." Priest. "Dost thou believe in the Holy 
 Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, 
 the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?" Ans. "I believe." Which 
 answers are made, either by the catechumen himself, if able, or by the godfather 
 and godmother; and imply another part of the covenant of baptism, viz., the 
 covenant of faith, by which we oblige ourselves to a steady and sincere profession 
 of the great truths of Christianity, and that not by words alone, but by the constant 
 practice of our lives. 
 
 After this the priest asks: "A'', wilt thou be baptized?" Ans. "I will." 
 Then the godfather and godmother both holding or touching their godchild, the 
 priest pours the water upon his head three times in the form of a cross, or where 
 the custom is to dip, dips him three times, saying at the same time these words: 
 "iV. I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost." Which words are pronounced in such manner, that the three pourings of 
 the water concur with the pronouncing of the three names of the Divine Persons. 
 For the form is to be pronounced but once. 
 
 But if there be a doubt whether the person has been baptized before or not, 
 then the priest makes use of this form, "N. if thou art not already baptized, I bap- 
 tize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Then the priest anoints the person baptized on the top of the head in form of 
 a cross with holy chrism, which is a compound of oil and balm, solemnly conse- 
 crated by the bishop. Which ceremony comes from apostolical tradition, and gives 
 us to understand, first, that in baptism we are made partakers with Christ (whose 
 name signifies anointed), and have a share in His unction and grace. Secondly, 
 that we partake also in some manner in His dignity of king and priest, for all Chris- 
 tians are called by St. Peter (1. Pet. ii. 9), a royal priesthood and therefore we 
 are anointed in this quality, as kings and priests are anointed. Thirdly, that we 
 are consecrated to God by baptism, and therefore are anointed with holy chrism, 
 which the Church is accustomed to make use of in anointing all those things which 
 she so solemnly consecrates to the service of God. The prayer which the priest 
 recites on this occasion is as follows. "May the Almighty God, the Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who has regenerated thee of water and the Holy Ghost and who 
 has given thee the remission of all thy sins, »J« anoint thee with the chrism of 
 salvation in the same Christ Jesus our Lord, unto life everlasting." "Amen." 
 Then the priest says, "Peace be to thee." Ans. "And with thy spirit." 
 
 After which the priest puts upon the head of the person that has been bap- 
 tized, a white linen cloth, commonly called the chrism, in place of the white garment 
 
 II 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 with which the new Christians used formerly to be clothed in baptism, to signify 
 the purity and innocence which we receive in baptism, and which we must take 
 care to preserve until death. In putting on this white linen, the priest says: 
 "Receive this white garment, which thou mayest carry imstained before the judg- 
 ment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thou mayest have eternal life. Amen." 
 Then he puts a lighted candle into the hand of the person baptized, or of the god- 
 father, saying: "Receive this burning light, and keep thy baptism without reproof; 
 observe the commandments of God, that when our Lord shall come to His nuptials, 
 thou mayest meet Him together with all the saints, in the heavenly court, and 
 mayest have life eternal, and mayest live for ever and ever. Amen." Which cere- 
 mony alludes to the parable of the ten virgins (St. Matt, xxv.) who took their lamps 
 and went forth to meet the bridegroom, and admonishes us to keep the light of faith 
 ever burning by the oil of good works; that whensoever our Lord shall come, we 
 may be found with our lamps burning, and may go in with Him into the eternal 
 life of His heavenly kingdom. 
 
 12 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of the Sacrament of Confirmation, and of tlie Manner 
 
 of Administering it. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by confirmation ? 
 
 A. A sacrament by which the faithful after baptism receive the Holy Ghost, 
 by the imposition of the hands of the bishop and prayer, accompanied with the 
 unction of anointing of their foreheads with holy chrism. 
 
 Q. Why do you call it confirmation ? 
 
 A. From its effect, which is to confirm or strengthen those that receive it 
 in the profession of the true faith, to make them soldiers of Christ, and perfect 
 Christians, and to arm them against their spiritual enemies. 
 
 Q. How do you prove from Scripture, that the Apostles practised confirmation ? 
 
 A. I prove it from Acts vm. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, where we read of St. Peter and 
 St. John confirming the Samaritans. "They prayed for them that they might 
 receive the Holy Ghost, . . . then they laid their hands on them, and they received 
 the Holy Ghost," etc.; item. Acts xix. 5, 6. "They were baptized in the name of 
 the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Ghost 
 came on them." It is of confirmation also that St. Paul speaks (Heb. vi. i, 2), 
 "Not laying again the foundation, etc., of the doctrine of baptism, and of laying 
 on of hands," etc. And (i Cor. i, 21, 22), "Now he who confirmeth us with you 
 in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God: Who hath also sealed us, and given the 
 earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." 
 
 Q. How do you prove that confirmation is a sacrament ? 
 
 A. First, because it is plain from Acts vn. that the visible sign of the impo- 
 sition of hands has annexed to it an invisible grace, viz., the imparting of the Holy 
 Ghost : consequently confirmation is a visible sign of invisible grace, and therefore 
 is a sacrament. Secondly, because the Church of God from the Apcetles' days, has 
 always believed it to be a sacrament and administered it as such. See St. Diony- 
 sius, L. de Eccles., Heriarch, c. 4. Tertidlian L. de Baptismo, c. 7. L. de Resur- 
 rectione camis, c. 8. L. de Prcsscrip. adversus Hcsreses. c,. 4. St. Cornelius, Epist. 
 ad. Fabium Antioch apud Eusebium, L. 6. Histor. c. 43. St. Cyprian, Epist. 70. 
 ad Januarium, Epist. 72, ad Stephanum Papam. Epist. 73. ad Jubianum, Epist. 
 74. ad Pomperum. Firmilian, Epist. ad St. Cyprianum. The Council of Illiberis, 
 Can. 38. The Council 0} Laodicea, Can. 48. St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. 3, 
 My stag. St. Pacion. Epist. 1 &= ^. ad Symnon &= in Sermone de Baptismo. St. Am- 
 brose, L. de iis qui mysteriis initiamiur, c. 7. The Author of the Books of the Sacra- 
 ments attributed to St. Ambrose, L. 3. c. 2. St. Optat of Milevis. L. 7. contra Par- 
 menianum. St. Hierome in Dialogo conira Lu^iferianos. St. Irmocentius, Epist. 
 9. ad Dicentum. St. Augustine, Tract. 6. in Epist. i. Joarmis, L. 2. contra Liter as 
 Petilani, c. 104, etc. St. Cyril of Alexandria, ad Joelis, 2, v. 24. St. Leo Pope, Serm. 
 4. de nativi. Theodoret in comment, ad Cantic. i, i'. 3. St. Gregory the Great, Homil. 
 17, in Evangelia, etc. 
 
 13 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. Who is the minister of this sacrament ? 
 
 A. The ordinary minister of this sacrament is a bishop only. 
 
 Q. Can this sacrament be received any more than once ? 
 
 A. No, because like baptism, it imprints a character or spiritual mark in the 
 soul, which always remains. Hence, those that are to be confirmed are obliged 
 to be so much the more careful to come to this sacrament worthily, because, it can 
 be received but once; and if they then receive it unworthily, they have no share in 
 the grace which is thereby communicated to the soul ; instead of which, they incur 
 the guilt of a grievous sacrilege. 
 
 Q. In what disposition is a person to be, in order to approach worthily to the 
 sacrament of confirmation ? 
 
 A. He must be free from mortal sin, and in the state of grace; for the Holy 
 Ghost will never come into a soul which Satan possesses by mortal sin. 
 
 Q. In what manner then must a person prepare himself for the sacrament of 
 confirmation ? 
 
 A. First, he must examine his conscience, and if he finds it charged with wilful 
 sin, he must take care to purge it by a good confession. Secondly, he must fre- 
 quently and fervently call upon Grod, to dispose his soul for receiving the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Q. What kind of grace does this sacrament communicate to the soul ? 
 
 A. It communicates to the soul the fountain of all grace, the Holy Ghost, with 
 all its gifts; but more in particular a fortifying grace to strengthen the soul against 
 all visible and invisible enemies of the faith. 
 
 Q. Is then this sacrament absolutely necessary to salvation ? 
 
 A. It is not so necessary, but that a person may be saved without it; yet, it 
 would be a sin to neglect it, when a person might conveniently have it ; and a 
 crime to contemn or despise it. 
 
 Q. What kind of persons stand most in need of the grace of this sacrament ? 
 
 A. Those that are the most exposed to persecutions upon account of their 
 religion, or to temptations against faith. 
 
 Q. At what age may a person be confirmed ? 
 
 A. Ordinarily speaking, the Church does not give confirmation until the person 
 is come to the use of reason, though sometimes she confirms infants; in which case 
 great care must be taken, and they be put in mind, when they come to the use of 
 reason, that they have received this sacrament. 
 
 Q. What is the obligation that a Christian takes upon him in confirmation ? 
 
 A. He lists himself there for a soldier of Christ; and consequently is obliged, 
 after having received this sacrament, to fight manfully the battles of his Lord. 
 
 Q. May a person have a godfather or godmother in confirmation ? 
 
 A. He may by way of an instructor and encourager in the spiritual welfare; 
 and this godfather or godmother contracts the like obligations as in the sacrament 
 of baptism, and the same spiritual kindred. 
 
 Q. May a person that is confirmed take a new name ? 
 
 A. It is useful so to do, not by way of changing one's name of baptism, but by 
 way of adding to it another name of some saint, to whom one has a particular devo- 
 tion, and by whose prayers he hopes to acquit himself more faithfully of the obli- 
 gations of a soldier in Christ. 
 
 14 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. Is a person obliged to receive this sacrament fasting ? 
 
 A. No, he is not, though it is advisable so to receive it. 
 
 Q. In what manner is the sacrament of confirmation administered ? 
 
 A. First: the bishop turning toward those that are to be confirmed, with his 
 hands joined before his breast, says: "May the Holy Ghost come down upon you, 
 and the power of the Most High keep you from sins." 
 
 Ans. "Amen." 
 
 Then signing himself with the sign of the cross he says: "Our help is in the 
 name of the Lord." 
 
 Ans. "Who made heaven and earth," etc. 
 
 Then extending his hands towards those that are to be confirmed (which is 
 what the ancients call the imposition of hands), he prays that they may receive 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Bishop. Let us pray. 
 
 O Almighty everlasting God! who has vouchsafed to regenerate these Thy 
 servants by water and the Holy Ghost ; and who hast given them the remission of 
 all their sins; send forth upon them Thy sevenfold Holy Spirit, the Comforter from 
 heaven. Ans. Amen. 
 
 Bishop. The spirit of wisdom and of understanding. 
 
 Answer. Amen. 
 
 Bishop. The spirit of counsel and of fortitude. 
 
 Answer. Amen. 
 
 Bishop. The spirit of knowledge and of piety. 
 
 Answer. Amen. 
 
 Bishop. Replenish them with the spirit of Thy fear, and sign them with the sign 
 of the cross ijl of Christ, in Thy mercy, unto life everlasting: Through the same 
 Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity 
 of the same Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 Then the bishop makes the sign of the cross with holy chrism, upon the fore- 
 head of each one of those that are to be confirmed, saying: "N. I sign thee with 
 the sign of the cross, I confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." 
 
 After which he gives the person confirmed a little blow on the cheek, saying, 
 "Pax tecum," that is, peace be with thee. 
 
 Then the bishop, standing with his face towards the altar, prays for those that 
 have been confirmed, that the Holy Ghost may ever dwell in their hearts, and 
 make them the temple of His glory. And then dismisses them with this blessing: 
 "Behold, thus shall every man be blessed, who feareth the Lord. May the Lord 
 bless you from Sion, that you may see the good things of Jerusalem all the days 
 of your life; and may have life everlasting. Amen," 
 
 Q. I would willingly be instructed in the meaning of these ceremonies : there- 
 fore, pray tell me first why the Church makes use of chrism in confirmation, and 
 what this chrism is ? 
 
 A. Chrism is a compound of oil of olives and balm of Gilead, solemnly con- 
 secrated by the bishop on Maundy-Thursday: and the unction, or outward anoint- 
 ing the forehead with chrism, is to represent the inward anointing of the soul in this 
 
 15 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 sacrament with the Holy Ghost, The oil, whose properties are to fortify the limbs, 
 and to give a certain vigor to the body, to assuage our pains, etc., represents the 
 like spiritual effects of the grace of this sacrament in the soul, and the balm, which 
 is of a sweet smell, represents the good odor or sweet savor of Christian virtues, and 
 an innocent life, with which we are to edify our neighbors after having received the 
 sacrament- 
 
 Q. Why is this unction made on the forehead, and in form of the cross ? 
 
 A. To give us to understand that the effect of this sacrament is to arm us 
 against wordly fear and shame ; and therefore we receive the standard of the cross of 
 Christ upon our foreheads, to teach us to make an open profession of His doctrine 
 and maxims: and not to flinch from this profession for fear of an)^hing that the 
 world can either say or do. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the Bishop's giving a little blow on the cheek to the 
 person that is confirmed? 
 
 A. It is to imprint in his mind, that from this time forward he is to be ready, 
 like a true soldier of Jesus Christ, to suffer patiently all kinds of affronts and in- 
 juries for his faith. 
 
 Q. And why does the bishop, at the same time as he gives the blow, say, 
 "Peace be with thee?" 
 
 A. To signify that the true peace of God, which as St. Paul says* exceeds all 
 understanding, is chiefly to be found in patient suffering for God and His truths. 
 
 * Philip, iv. 7. 
 
 i6 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by the sacrament of the Eucharist ? 
 
 A. The sacrament which our Lord Jesus Christ instituted at His last supper, 
 an which He gives us His body and blood under the forms or appearances of bread 
 and wine. 
 
 Q. Why do you call this sacrament the Eucharist ? 
 
 A. Because the primitive Church and the holy fathers* have usually called it 
 so : for the word Eucharist in the Greek signifies thanksgiving, and is applied to 
 this sacrament, because of the thanksgiving which our Lord offered in the first 
 institution of it (St. Matt. Xxvi. 27; St. Mark xiv. 23; St. Luke xxii. 19; i Cor. 
 xr. 24). And because of the thanksgiving with which we are obliged to offer and 
 receive this great sacrament and sacrifice, which contains the abridgment of all 
 God's wonders, the fountain of all grace, the standing memorial of our redemption, 
 and the pledge of a happy eternity. This Blessed Sacrament is also called the holy 
 communion, because it unites the faithful with one another, and with their head, 
 Christ Jesus (i Cor. x. 16, 17). And it is called the supper of the Lord because 
 it was first instituted by Christ, at His last supper. 
 
 Q. What is the faith of the Catholic Church, concerning this sacrament ? 
 
 A. That the bread and wine are changed by the consecration into the body 
 and blood of Christ. 
 
 Q. Is it then the belief of the Church tha.t Jesus Christ Himself, true God and 
 man, is truly, really and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament ? 
 
 A. It is, for where the body and lalood of Christ are, there His soul also and 
 His divinity must needs be. And consequently, ther« must be whole Christ, God 
 and man ; there is no taking Him in pieces. 
 
 Q. Is that which they receive in this sacrament tne same body as that which 
 was born of the Blessed Virgin, and which suffered for us upon the cross ? 
 
 A. It is the same body: for Christ never had but one body: the only difference 
 is that then His body was mortal and passible, it is now immortal and impassible. 
 
 Q. Then the body of Christ in the sacrament cannot^be hurt or divided, neither 
 is it capable of being digested or corrupted ? 
 
 A. No, certainly, for though the sacramental species, or the outward forms of 
 bread and wine are liable to these changes, the body of Christ is not. 
 
 Q. Is it then a spiritual body ? 
 
 A. It may be called a spiritual body, in the same sense as St. Paul (i Cor. xx. 
 44), speaking of the resurrection of the body, says, "It is sown a natural body, it 
 is raised a spiritual body"; not but that it still remains a true body, as to all that 
 is essential to a body; but that it partakes in some measure of the qualities and 
 properties of a spirit. 
 
 * St. Justin, in Apolog. 2. St. Irensus, 1. 4. c. 34. Tertullian L. de Cor. mititis, c. 3. St. Cyprian, Epist. 54. 
 First Council of Nice, Can. 18. 
 
 17 
 
First Proof of the Real Presence from the Words of 
 
 Christ at the First Institution of this 
 
 Blessed Sacrament. 
 
 Q. How do you prove the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in this 
 sacramert? 
 
 A. I prove it first from the express and plain words of Christ Himself, the 
 eternal truth, delivered at the time of the first institution of this Blessed Sacrament, 
 and recorded in no less than four different places in the New Testament, viz. : (St. 
 Matt. XXVI. 26, 27; St. Mark xiv. 22, 24; St. Luke, xxn. 19,; i Cor. xi. 24, 25). 
 In all these places Christ Himself assures us that what He gives us in the Blessed 
 Sacrament is His own body and blood (St. Matt, xxvi.), "Take; eat; this is My 
 BODY . . . This is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for 
 the remission of sins." (St. Mark xiv.), "Take; eat; this is My body — This is 
 My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many." (St. Luke xxii.), "This 
 is My body which is given for you — This cup is the New Testament, in My blood 
 which is shed for you." (i Cor. xi.), "This is My body which is broken (klo- 
 menon, sacrificed) for you — This cup is the New Testament in My blood." Now 
 the boidy which was given and sacrificed for us, the blood of the New Testament 
 which was shed for us, are verily and indeed the real body and blood of Christ. 
 Therefore, what Christ gives us in this Blessed Sacrament is His real body and blood : 
 nothing can be more plain. 
 
 Q. Why do you take these words of Christ at His last supper according to the 
 letter, rather than in the figurative sense ? 
 
 A. You might as well ask a traveller why he chooses the high-road, rather 
 than to go by by-paths with evident danger of losing his way. We take the words 
 of Christ, according to their plain, obvious and natural meaning, agreeably to that 
 general rule acknowledged by our adversaries,* that in interpreting Scripture, the 
 literal sense of the words is not to be forsaken, and a figurative one followed without 
 necessity; and that the natural and proper sense is always to be preferred, where 
 the case will admit it. It is not, therefore, incumbent upon us to give a reason why 
 we take these words of Christ according to their natural and proper sense: but it 
 is our adversaries' business to show a necessity of taking them otherwise. The 
 words themselves plainly speak for us; for Christ did not say, This is a figure of 
 My body, and this is a figure of My blood; but He said, This is My body, and this 
 is My blood. It is their duty, as they tender the salvation of their souls, to beware 
 of offering violence to texts so plain, and of wresting them from their evident 
 meaning. 
 
 However, we have many reasons to offer why we take the words of Christ, 
 (which He spoke at His last supper in the institution of the Blessed Sacrament), in 
 their most plain, natural and obvious meaning. First, because He was then all 
 alone mih His twelve Apostles, His bosom friends and confidants, to whom He was 
 
 * Dr. Harris's sermon on Transubstantiation, p. 7, 8. 
 
 i8 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 always accustomed to explain in clear terms whatever was obscure in His parables 
 or other discourses to the people (St. Mark iv. ii). "To you," says He to His 
 disciples, "it is given to know the mystery (the secrets) of the kingdom of God, but 
 unto them that are without, all things are done in parables." And (ver. 34), 
 "Without a parable spoke He not unto them (the people), but when they were 
 alone He expounded all things to His disciples." (St. John XV. 15), "Henceforth I 
 call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what His Lord doth: but I have 
 called you friends, for all thirgs that I have heard of My Father, I have made known 
 unto you." How then is it likely that on this most- important occasion of all, when 
 the very night before His death, He was taking His last leave and farewell of these 
 His dear friends, He should deliver Himself to them in terms which (if they are not 
 to be taken according to the letter), are obscure beyond all example, and not any- 
 where to be paralleled ? 
 
 Secondly, He was at that time making a covenant which was to last as long as 
 time itself should last : He was enacting a law, which was to be forever observed 
 in His Church. He was instituting a sacrament, which was to be frequented by 
 all the faithful until He should come: He was, in fine, making His last will and 
 testament, and thereby bequeathing to His disciples, and to us all, an admirable 
 legacy and pledge of His love. Now, such is the nature of all these things, viz., 
 of a covenant, of a law, of a sacrament, of a last will and testament, that, as he 
 that makes a covenant, a law, etc., always designs that what he covenants, appoints 
 or ordains, should be rightly observed and fulfilled, so of consequence he always 
 designs that it should be rightly understood ; and therefore always expresses him- 
 self in plain and clear terms in his covenants, laws, etc. This is what all wise 
 men ever observe in their covenants, laws, and last wills, industriously avoiding all 
 obscure expressions, which may give occasion to their being misunderstood, or to 
 contentions and lawsuits about their meaning. This is what God Himself observed 
 in the old covenant; in all the ceremonial and moral precepts of the law: in all 
 the commandments, in the institution of the legal sacraments, etc. All are ex- 
 pressed in most clear and plain terms. It can then be nothing less than impeaching 
 the wisdom of the Son of God, to imagine that He should make His new law and 
 everlasting covenant in figurative and obscure terms, which He knew would be 
 misunderstood by the greatest part of Christendom; or to suppose that He should 
 institute the chief of all His sacraments, under such a form of words, which in their 
 plain, natural and obvious meaning, imply a thing so widely different from what 
 He gives us therein, as His own body is from a bit of bread; or, in fine, to believe 
 that He would make His last will and testament in words aflfectedly ambiguous 
 and obscure; which if taken according to that sense which they seem evidently 
 to express, must lead His children into a pernicious error concerning the legacy 
 that He bequeathes them. 
 
 In eflFect, our Lord certainly foresaw that His words would be taken according 
 to the letter by the bulk of all Christendom; that innumerable of the most learned 
 and most holy would understand them so; that the Church even in her general 
 councils would interpret His words in this sense. It must be then contrary to all 
 probability that He who foresaw all this would affect to express Himself in this 
 manner, in His last will and testament, had He not meant what He said, or that 
 
 19 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 He should not have somewhere explained Himself in a more clear way, to prevent 
 the dreadful consequences of His whole Church authorizing an error in a matter 
 of so great importance. 
 
 Q. Have you any other reason to offer for taking the words of the institution 
 according to the letter rather than in a figurative sense ? 
 
 A. Yes, we have for so doing, as I have just now hinted, the authority of the 
 best and most authentic interpreter of God's words, viz.: His holy Church; which 
 has always understood these words of Christ in their plain, literal sense, and con- 
 demned all those that have presumed to wrest them to a figure. Witness the many 
 synods held against Berengarius; and the decrees of the general councils of Lateran, 
 Constance and Trent. Now, against this authority hell's gates shall never prevail 
 (St. Matt. XVI. i8). And with this interpreter Christ has promised, that both He 
 Himself and the Holy Ghost, the spirit of truth, should abide for ever. (St. Matt. 
 XXVIII. 20, and St. John xrv. i6, 17.) 
 
 Q. But are not many of Christ's sayings to be understood figuratively, as when 
 He says. He is a door, a vine, etc. ? And why then may not also the words of the 
 institution of the Blessed Sacrament be understood figuratively? 
 
 A. It is a very bad argument to pretend to infer that because some of Christ's 
 words are to be taken figuratively, therefore all are to be taken so: that because in 
 His parables or similitudes His words are not to be taken according to the 
 letter, therefore we are to wrest to a figurative sense, the words of the institution of 
 His solemn covenant, law, sacrament, and testament, at His last supper: that 
 because He has called Himself a door, or a vine, in circumstances in which He 
 neither was, nor ever could be misunderstood by any one (He having taken so much 
 care in the same places to explain His own meaning), therefore He. would call bread 
 and wine His body apd blood, in circumstances in which it was natural to under- 
 stand His words according to the letter, as He foresaw all Christendom would under- 
 stand them, and yet has taken no care to prevent this interpretation of them. 
 
 There is therefore a manifold disparity between the case of the expressions 
 you mention, viz., I am the door, the vine, etc., and the words of His last supper, 
 "This is my body, this is My blood." First, because the former are delivered as 
 parables and similitudes, and consequently as figures ; the latter are the words of a 
 covenant, sacrament, and testament, and therefore, are to be understood according 
 to their most plain and obvious meaning. Secondly, because the former are ex- 
 plained by Christ Himself in the same places in a figurative sense, the latter are not. 
 Thirdly, because the former are worded in such a manner, as to carry with them 
 the evidence of a figure, so that no man alive can possibly misunderstand them, or 
 take them in any other than a figurative meaning; the latter are so expressed, and 
 so evidently imply the literal sense, that they that have been the most desirous to find 
 a figure in them have been puzzled to do it,* and all Christendom has for many ages 
 judged without the least scruple that they ought to be taken according to the letter. 
 Fourthly, because the Church of God has authorized the literal interpretation of 
 the words of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament : not so of those other expres- 
 sions. In fine, because according to the common laws and customs of speech a 
 
 * It was the case of Luther himself, as we learn from his epistle to his friends at Strasburg, torn. 5. fol. 502; 
 and of Zuinglius, as we learn from his epistle to Pomeranus, fol. 256. 
 
 20 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 thing may, indeed, by an elegant figure, be called by the name of that thing of which 
 it has the qualities or properties, and thus Christ, by having in Himself the property 
 of a door, inasmuch as it is by Him that we must enter into His sheepfold (St. John 
 X. 9), and the property of the vine, in giving life and fruit to its branches (St. John 
 XV. i), might, according to the usual laws of speech, elegantly call Himself a door 
 and a vine, but it would be no elegant metaphor, to call bread and wine without 
 making any change in them, His body and blood; because bread and wine have in 
 themselves neither any similitude nor quality, nor property of Christ's body and 
 blood; as it would be absurd, for the same reason, to point at any particular door 
 or vine, and say, this is Jesus Christ. 
 
 - Q. But, may not the sign or figure according to the common laws of speech, 
 be called by the name of the thing signified ? And have we not instances of this 
 nature in Scripture; as, when Joseph, interpreting the dream of Pharaoh (Gen. 
 XLi. 26), says "The seven good kine, are seven good years?" and our Lord inter- 
 preting the parable of the sower (St. Luke viii. 11), says, "The seed is the Word 
 of God," and St. Paul (i Cor. x. 4), says: "The rock was Christ" ? 
 
 A. In certain cases, when a thing is already known to be a sign or figure of 
 something else, which it signifies or represents, it may indeed, according to the 
 common laws of speech and the use of the Scripture, be said to be such or such a, 
 thing; as in the interpretation of dreams, parables, ancient figures, and upon such 
 like occasions; where, when a thing is said to be this or that, the meaning is evident, 
 viz., that it signifies or represents this or that. But it is not the same in the first 
 institution of a sign or figure; because, when a thing is not known beforehand to be 
 a sign or representation of some other thing, to call it abruptly by a foreign name 
 would be contrary to all laws of speech, and both absurd and unintelligible. As 
 for instance, if a person, by an act of memory, has appointed within himself that an 
 oak tree should be a sign or memorandum of Alexander the Great, and pointing 
 to the tree, should gravely tell his friends (who were not acquainted with his design) 
 this is that hero that overcame Darius, such a proposition as this would justly be 
 censured as nonsensical and unworthy of a wise man; because such a figure of 
 speech would be contrary to all laws of speech, and unintelligible. Just so would 
 it have been, if our Saviour, at His last supper, without giving His disciples any 
 warning beforehand, any meaning to speak figuratively, and without their con- 
 sidjering beforehand the bread and wine as signs and representations of anything 
 else, should have abruptly told them, "This is My body, this is My blood," had He 
 not meant that they were so indeed. For abstracting from the change which Christ 
 was pleased to make in the elements by His Almighty word, a bit of bread has no 
 more similitude to the body of Christ than an oak tree has to Alexander the Great. 
 So that nothing but the real presence of Christ's body and blood could verify His 
 words at His last supper, or vindicate them from being highly absurd and un- 
 worthy of the Son of God. 
 
 Q. But do not those words which our Lord spoke (St. Luke xxii. 19), "This 
 do in remembrance of Me," sufficiently clear up the diflaculty, and determine His 
 other words to a figurative sense ? 
 
 A. These words, "Do in remembrance of Me," inform us indeed of the end for 
 which we are to offer up, and to receive the body and blood of Claist, viz., for a 
 
 21 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 perpetual commemoration of His death (i Cor. xi. 26), but they no way interfere 
 with these other words: "This is My body, and this is My blood," so as to explain 
 away the real presence of Christ's body and blood. For why should Christ's body 
 and blood be less present in the sacrament, because we are commanded in the 
 receiving of them to remember His death? Certainly St. Matthew and St. Mark, 
 who in their Gospels have quite omitted those words, "Do this in remembrance of 
 Me," never looked upon them as a necessary explication of the words of the institu- 
 tion, or as any ways altering or qualifying the natural and obvious meaning of these 
 words, "This is My body." 
 
 Q. But does not the remembrance of a thing suppose it to be absent : for other- 
 wise, why should we be commanded to remember it ? 
 
 A. Whatsoever things we may be liable to forget, whether really present or 
 really absent, may be the object of our remembrance ; and thus we are commanded 
 in Scripture to remember God (Deut. vni. 18; Eccles. xii. i), though in Him we 
 live, move and have our being. (Acts xvin. 28.) So that this command of remem- 
 bering Christ is no ways opposite to His real presence; but the most that can be 
 inferred from it is, that He is not visibly present; which is very true, and therefore, 
 lest we should forget Him, this remembrance is enjoined. Besides, if we hearken 
 to the Apostle (i Cor. xi. 26), he will inform us that what we are commanded to 
 remember is the death of Christ; now, the death of Christ is not a thing really 
 present, but really past, and therefore, a most proper subject for our remembrance. 
 
 22 
 
The Second Proof of the Real Presence; from St. 
 
 John VI. 51, Etc. 
 
 Q. What other proof have you for the real presence of Christ's body and blood 
 in the sacrament of the Eucharist, besides the words of the institution, "This is My 
 body," and "This is My blood"? 
 
 A. We have a very strong proof in the words of Christ, spoken to the Jews in 
 the sixth chapter of St. John ; where, upon occasion of the miracle of feeding the 
 multitude with five loaves, having spoken of the necessity of believing in Him Who 
 is the living bread that came down from heaven. He passes from this discourse con- 
 cerning faith, to speak of this sacrament (ver. 51), etc. "I am the living bread that 
 came down from heaven : if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever, and the 
 bread that I will give is My flesh which I will give for the life of the world." The 
 Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, how can this man give us His 
 flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except 
 ye eat of the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood you shall not have life in 
 you. Whosoever eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life, and I 
 will raise him up at the last day; for My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is 
 drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, 
 and I in Him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father : so he 
 that eateth Me, even He shall live by Me. This is that bread which came down from 
 heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead; he that eateth of this 
 bread shall live forever." In which words the eating of Christ's flesh, and the 
 drinking His blood, is so strongly, so clearly, and so frequently inculcated ; and we 
 are so plainly told, that the bread which Christ was to give, is that very flesh which 
 He gave for the life of the world, that one must be resolved to keep one's eyes shut 
 against the light, if one will not see so plain a truth. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that Christ in this is speaking of the Blessed Sacrament ? 
 
 A. By comparing the words which He spoke upon this occasion with those 
 which He delivered at His last supper in the institution of the Blessed Sacrament : 
 in the one place He says: "The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give 
 for the life of the world;" in the other, taking bread and distributing it. He says, 
 "This is My body which is given for you." Where it is visible that the one is a 
 promise which the other fulfils; and consequently that both the one and the other 
 have relation to the same sacrament. Hence we find, that the current of the holy 
 fathers has always explained those words of the sixth chapter of St. John, as spoken 
 of the sacrament. (See St. Irenaeus L. 4. c. 34; Origen Hom. 16. upon Numbers; 
 St. Cyprian upon the Lord's Prayer; St. Hilary, in his 8th Book of the Trinity; 
 St. Basil, his Moral Rules; Reg. 1, c. i; St. Cyril, of Jerusalem, Catech. Mystag. 
 4; St. Ambrose, of the Mysteries, c. 8; St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and 
 St. Cyril, of Alexandria, writing upon the sixth chapter of St. John ; St. Epiphanius 
 Haeresi 55; Theodoret L. 4; Hist. Eccles. c. xi., etc.) 
 
 Q. But does not Christ promise eternal life (St. John vi. 51, 54, 58), to every 
 
 23 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 one that eateth of that bread of which He is there speaking; which promise cannot 
 be understood with relation to the sacrament which many receive to their own con- 
 demnation ? (i Cor. XI. 29.) 
 
 A. He promises eternal life to every one that eateth of that bread; but this is 
 to be understood: provided that he eat it worthily, and that he persevere in the 
 grace which he thereby receives. And in this sense it is certain that this sacrament 
 gives eternal life: whereas, the manna of old had no such power (ver. 54). In like 
 manner our Lord promises (St. Matt. vii. 7, 8), "that every one that asketh shall 
 receive": "and yet many ask and receive not, because they asketh not as they 
 ought." (St. James iv. 3). Thus St. Paul tells us (Rom. x. 13), "that whosoever 
 shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved": which also certainly must 
 be understood, provided they do it worthily and perseverantly; lest this text con- 
 tradict that other (St. Matt. vn. 21), "Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord} 
 shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father 
 who is in heaven." Thus, in fine, Christ tells us (St. Mark xvi. 16), "He that 
 believeth and is baptized shall be saved." And yet many believe and are baptized, 
 like Simon Magus (Acts vm. 13), "who for want of a true change of heart or of 
 perseverance in good, are never saved." 
 
 Q. But if those words of Christ (St. John vi. 52, 53, etc.) be understood of 
 the sacrament, will it not follow that no one can be saved without receiving this, 
 sacrament, and that also in both kinds ; contrary to the belief and practice of the 
 Catholic Church, since our Lord tells, us (ver. 53), "Verily, verily I say unto you. 
 except you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have not 
 (or you shall not have) life in you"? 
 
 A. It follows from those words that there is a divine precept for the receiving 
 this Blessed Sacrament, which if persons wilfully neglect, they cannot be saved. 
 So that the receiving this sacrament either actually or in desire, is necessary for all 
 those that are come to the years of discretion (not for infants, who are not capable 
 of discerning the body of the Lord), (i Cor. xi. 29.) But that this sacrament 
 should be received by all in both kinds, is not a divine precept, nor ever was under- 
 stood to be such by the Church of God, which always believed that under either 
 kind Christ is received whole and entire, and that consequently under either kind 
 we sufl&ciectly comply with the precept of receiving His flesh and blood. 
 
 Q. Why may not these words of Christ (St. John vi. 51, 52, 53, etc.) be taken 
 figuratively, so as to mean no more than the believing in His incarnation and death ? 
 
 A. Because it would be too harsh a figure of speech, and unbecoming the 
 wisdom of the Son of God, to express the believing in Him by such strange meta- 
 phors as eating His flesh, and drinking His blood, such as no man ever used before 
 or since; and to repeat and inculcate these expressions, so often to the great offence 
 both of the Jews and even of his ovm disciples, who upon this account went back 
 and walked no more with Him (ver. 60, 66) when He might so easily have satisfied 
 both the one and the other, by telling them that He meant no more by all that dis- 
 course than that they should believe in Him. 
 
 Q. Did then the Jev?s and those disciples who cried out (ver. 60), "This is a 
 hard sa5dng, and who can hear it?" understand our Saviour right, or did they 
 mistake His meaning? 
 
 24 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. They understood Him right, so far as relates to the real receiving His 
 flesh and blood; but as to the manner of receiving they understood Him not; since 
 they had no thoughts of His giving Himself whole and entire, veiled in a sacrament, 
 but apprehended the eating of His flesh, cut off from His bones, and drinking of 
 His blood, according to the vulgar manner of other meat and drink, which we 
 digest and consume. However, their not understanding Him seems not to have 
 been so faulty, as their refusing to believe Him; hence, our Lord, reprehends not 
 their want of understanding, but their not believing (ver 64.). And Peter, in the 
 name of the Apostles (ver. 68, 69), in opposition to those disciples that had fallen 
 off, says, " Lord ! to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And 
 we "believe and are sure that Thou art Christ the Son of the living God. " So that 
 these ought, like the Apostles, to have submitted themselves to believe what as yet 
 they understood not; and not to have run away from Him, who by His evident 
 miracles proved Himself to be the Son of God, and consequently incapable of an 
 untruth. By which example, we may see how much more wisely Catholics act 
 (who in this mystery, like the Apostles, submit themselves to believe what they 
 cannot comprehend, because they know that Christ has the words of eternal life) 
 than those who like the apostate disciples cry out: "This is a hard saying and who 
 can hear it?" and thereupon will walk no more with Christ and His Church. 
 
 Q. What did our Lord say to His disciples, who were offended with His dis- 
 course concerning the eating of His flesh ? 
 
 A. He said unto them: (ver. 61, 62) "Doth this offend you? what, and if ye 
 shall see the Son of man ascend up where He was before" : which words are variously 
 interpreted, and may either be understood to signify that they who made a diffi- 
 culty of believing that He could give them His flesh to eat, then whilst He was visible 
 amongst them, would have much more difficulty of believing it after He was gone 
 from them by His ascension : or else Christ, by mentioning His ascension, would 
 correct their mistaken notion of giving them His flesh and blood, in that gross 
 manner which they apprehended: or, in fine. He mentioned His ascension into 
 heaven, to convince their incredulity, by the evidence of so great a miracle, which 
 at once was to demonstrate both His Almighty power and the truth of His words. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the following words (ver. 63), "It is the spirit that 
 quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are 
 spirit and they are life?" 
 
 A. The meaning is, that the flesh separated from the spirit, in the manner 
 which the Jews and incredulous disciples apprehended would profit nothing : for 
 what would it avail us to feed upon dead flesh, separated from the soul and divinity 
 and consequently from the life-giving spirit ? But then it would be blasphemy to 
 say that the flesh of Christ, united to His spirit (in that manner in which the Catho- 
 lic Church believes His flesh to be in the Blessed Sacrament accompanied with His 
 soul and divinity) profits nothing: for, if the flesh of Christ Trere of no profit, He 
 would never have taken flesh for us, and His incarnation and death would be un- 
 profitable to us; which is the height of blasphemy to affirm. 
 
 What means "the flesh profits nothing?" Says St. Augustine, writing upon 
 this text: (Tract. 27. in Joan) "It profits nothing, as they iinderstood it; for they 
 understood flesh as it is torn in pieces in a dead body, or sold in the shambles; and 
 
 25 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 not as it is animated by the spirit. Wherefore it is said, 'the flesh profits nothing,' 
 in the same manner as it is said, 'knowledge puffeth up' (Cor. vm. i). Must we 
 then fly from knowledge? God forbid: what then means: 'knowledge puffeth' ? 
 That is, if it be alone without charity; therefore the Apostle added, 'but charity 
 edifieth.' Join therefore charity to knowledge, and knowledge will be profitable 
 not by itself, but through charity; so here also the flesh profiteth nothing, viz., the 
 flesh alone; let the spirit be joined with the flesh, as charity is to be joined with 
 knowledge, and then it profits much. For if the flesh profiteth nothing, the Word 
 would not have been made flesh, that He might dwell in us." So far St. Augustine. 
 Besides, according to the usual phrase of Scripture, flesh and blood are often 
 taken for the corruption of our nature, as for man's natural sense and apprehension, 
 etc. As when it is said, (i Cor. xv. 50), "That flesh and blood cannot inherit the 
 kingdom of God." And (St. Matt. xvi. 17) "Flesh and blood hath not revealed 
 it unto thee," etc. And in this sense the flesh profiteth nothing, but it is the spirit 
 and grace of God that quickeneth and giveth life to our souls. And as the words 
 which our Lord had spoken to them tended to insinuate to them so great a sacra- 
 ment in which they should receive this spirit, grace and life in its very fountain ; 
 therefore He tells them, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they 
 are life. 
 
 26 
 
other Proofs of the Real Presence of Christ's Body and 
 Blood in the Blessed Sacrament. 
 
 Q. Have you any other proofs from Scripture of the real presence of the body 
 and blood of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament ? 
 
 A. Yes (i Cor. x.), where the Apostle, to discourage Christians from having 
 anjrthing to do with the sacrifices offered to idols, tells them (ver. i6), "that the cup 
 of blessing, which we bless, is the communion of the blood of Christ, and the bread 
 which we break, is the communion of the body of Christ." 
 
 Secondly: (i Cor. xi. 27), "Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread or drink 
 this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." 
 How so, if what the unworthy receiver takes be no more than bread and wine ? 
 
 Thirdly: (i Cor. xi. 29), "He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth 
 and drinketh damnation to Himself, not discerning the body of the Lord." How 
 shall he discern it, if it be not there really present. 
 
 Q. Have you anything more to add by way of proof out of Scripture ? 
 
 A. Yes, from the ancient figures of the Eucharist, which demonstrate that 
 there is something more noble in it than bread and wine, taken only in remem- 
 brance of Christ. 
 
 Q. What are those ancient figures ? 
 
 A. There are many; but I shall take notice chiefly of three, viz. : The paschal 
 lamb, the blood of the testament, and the manna from heaven. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that these three were figures of the Eucharist ? 
 
 A. I prove it with regard to the paschal lamb (which is acknowledged at all 
 hands to have been a tjT)e of Christ), because it is visible that the rites and cere- 
 monies of it, prescribed (Exodus xn.) had chiefly relation to eating of it; and con- 
 sequently to this typical lamb in the Old Testament corresponds in the New Testa- 
 ment the Lamb of God, as eaten by His people in this sacrament; which for this 
 reason was instituted immediately after our Lord had eaten the passover with His 
 disciples, that the figure might be both explained and accomplished, and make 
 way for the truth. (See concerning this figure the current sense of the fathers in 
 Tertullian, L. 4, in Marcionem; St. Cyprian, L. de unitate Ecclesiae; St. Hierome 
 in c. 26; St. Matthaei; Chrysostom, Homil. de Proditione Judae; St. Augustine, 
 L. 2. contra Literas Petiliani, c. 37; St. Gaudentius, Tract 2. in Exod.; St. CjtII of 
 Alexandria, contra Nestor, p. 112; Theodoret in i Cor. xi., St. Leo, Serm. 7 de 
 Passione Domini; Hesychius, in c. 23. Levit.; St. Gregory, Hom. 22, in Evan g.) 
 
 Secondly, that the blood of the Testament with which Moses sprinkled the 
 people (Exod. xxrv. and Heb. ix.) saying, "This is the blood of the Testament 
 which God hath enjoined to you," was a figure of the blood of Christ in this sacra- 
 ment, our Lord Himself sufficiently declared by evidently alluding to this figure, 
 when He gave the cup to His disciples, saying, "This is My blood of the New Testa- 
 ment" (St. Matt. XXVI. 28; St. Mark xrv. 24), or, "This cup is the New Testa- 
 ment in My blood" (St. Luke xxn. 20; i Cor. xi. 25). 
 
 27 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Thirdly, that the manna was a figure of this sacrament, appears from St. John 
 VI.: 58. "Your fathers did eat manna and are dead, he that eateth of this bread 
 shall live for ever." And from i Cor. x. where the Apostle speaking of the figures 
 of our sacraments in the old law, and taking notice of the cloud, and the passage 
 of the Red Sea, as figures of baptism (ver. i and 2), in the 3d and 4th verses, gives 
 the manna and the water from the rock as figures of the Eucharist. The same is 
 the current doctrine of the Holy Fathers, and is sufficiently demonstrated from the 
 analogy which is found between the manna and this Blessed Sacrament. For which 
 see the annotations, in the Douay Bible, upon the XVL chapter of Exodus. 
 
 Q. How do you prove from these ancient figures the real presence of Christ's 
 body and blood in this sacrament? 
 
 A. Because if in this sacrament there were nothing more than bread and wine, 
 taken in remembrance of Christ, and as types and figures of His body and blood, 
 then would the figures of the old law equal the sacraments of the new law, yea, far 
 excel them. For who does not see that the paschal lamb was a more noble 
 type and far better representing Christ than bread and wine ? Who does not per- 
 ceive that the blood of victims solemnly sacrificed to God was a better figure of 
 Christ's blood than the juice of the grape ? Who can question, but the heavenly 
 manna, which is called the bread of angels, and was so many ways miraculous, 
 was far beyond the bread of men ? Who will not acknowledge that it is sometimes 
 more excellent and divine to foretell things to come than only to commemorate 
 things past ? it must therefore be visible to every Christian, that if the paschal lamb, 
 the blood of the Testament, and the manna, were types of Christ, given to us in 
 this sacrament, that this sacrament itself must be something more than a type, 
 figure or remembrance of Christ; and consequently must contain and exhibit Him 
 really to us. 
 
 Q. But why may not a person suppose that the figures of the Old Testament 
 might equal or excel the sacrament of the new ? 
 
 A. No one that pretends to the name of Christian can suppose this: since the 
 Apostle assures us that the old law had nothing but "a shadow of the things to 
 come;" (Heb. x. i), that all its sacrifices' and sacraments were but "weak and 
 beggarly elements" (Gal. rv. 9), and that it was annulled by reason of the "weak- 
 ness and unprofitableness thereof." (Heb. vn. 18.) And does not the very nature 
 of the things assure us, that the figure must be inferior to the things prefigured ? 
 
 Q. Have you any other argument from Scripture in favor of the real presence 
 of our Lord's body in the Blessed Sacrament ? 
 
 A. Yes. Those innumerable texts of Scripture which prove the unerring 
 authority of the Church of Christ, and the indispensable obligation of the faithful 
 to follow the judgment of the Church, and to rest in her decisions, plainly demon- 
 strate that to be truth which the Church has so long ago declared with relation to 
 this controversy; and that all Christians are obliged to yield to this decision. 
 
 Q. When did the Church decide this matter ? 
 
 A. As soon as ever it was called in question, that is, about seven hundred years 
 ago, in the days of Berengarius, who was the first that openly attacked the doctrine 
 of the real presence, and was thereupon condemned by the whole Church, in no 
 less than fourteen coundls held during his lifetime in divers parts of ChristeiDdom; 
 
 28 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 and the determination of these councils was afterwards confirmed by the general 
 councils of Lateran, Constance and Trent. 
 
 Q. What Scripture do you bring to show that all Christians are obliged to sub- 
 mit to these decisions of the councils and pastors of the Church? 
 
 A. (St. Matt. xvni. 17) "If he neglect to hear the Church, let him be to thee 
 as a heathen and a publican." (St. Luke x: 16), "He that heareth you, heareth me; 
 and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me ; and he tkat despiseth Me despiseth Him 
 that sent me." (St. John xx. 21), "As my Father hath sent Me, even so I send 
 you." (Heb. xn. 7), "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have 
 spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow." (Ver. 17), " Obey them that 
 have the rule over you, submit yourselves." (St. John rv. 6), "He that knoweth 
 God heareth us (the pastors of the Church), he that is not of God heareth not us: 
 by this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." And what wonder that 
 Christ should require this submission to His Church, and her pastors, and teachers, 
 whom He has given for the perfecting of the saints, etc., that we henceforth be no 
 more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, 
 since even in the old law, he required under pain of death, a submission to the 
 synagogue and her ministers, in their decisions relating to the controversies of the 
 law, as may be seen (Deut. xvii. 8, 9, etc.). 
 
 Q. What Scripture do yoU bring to show that the Church is not liable to be 
 mistaken in these decisions ? 
 
 A. This is evidently proved from a great many texts both of the Old and New 
 Testaments: in which we are assured, first, "that the Church is the pillar and 
 ground of the truth," and consequently not liable to error, (i Tim. in. 15.) 
 Secondly, "that Christ has built His Church upon a rock, and that the gates of hell 
 (the powers of darkness and error) shall not prevail against her" (St. Matt. xvi. 18). 
 Thirdly, that Christ who is "the way, the truth, and the life (St. John xvi. 6), will 
 always be with the teachers of His Church, even to the end of the world." (St. 
 Matt, xxvin. 20.) Fourthly, that "the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, shall abide 
 forever with these same teachers of the Church (St. John xvi. 16, 17), and guide 
 them into all truth" (c. xvi. 13). Fifthly, "that God has made a covenant with 
 the Church, that His Spirit, and His words, which He has put in her mouth at the 
 time when our Redeemer came, should not depart out of her mouth, nor out of the 
 mouth of her seed, nor out of the mouth of her seed's seed, from henceforth and 
 forever." (Isaiah lix. 20, 21.) Sixthly, "that God has made a solemn oath to 
 His Church like that which He made to Noah, that He would not be wroth with 
 her, nor rebuke her (Isaiah Lrv. 9, 10), that He has promised to be her everlasting 
 light (Isaiah lx. 18, 19, etc.), and to set His sanctuary in the midst of her 
 forevermore" (Ezek. xxxvn. 26), and which is inconsistent with her being 
 led astray by damnable errors; and thus the Scripture, by plainly giving testimony 
 to the Church, and Church authority, plainly also gives testimony to the truth 
 of Christ's freal presence in the Eucharist, which has been so often declared by 
 that authority. 
 
 Q. Besides these arguments from Scripture and Church authority, have you 
 anything else to allege in proof of the real presence ? 
 
 A. First, the authority of all the ancient Fathers, whose plain testimonies may 
 
 29 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 be seen in an appendix to a book entitled, A Specimen of the Spirit of Dissenting 
 Teachers, etc., anno. 1736. 
 
 Secondly, the perpetual consent of the Greeks, and all the Oriental Christians, 
 demonstrated by Monsieur Arnauld and the Abb€ Renaudot in their books bearing 
 title: "La Perpituite de la Foi," etc., confirmed by the authentic testimonies* of 
 their patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, abbots, etc., by the decrees of their synods,** 
 against Cyril Lucar, by the writings of their ancient and modern divines; and by 
 all their liturgies: and acknowledged by manyf Protestant witnesses. Now, what 
 can be a more convincing evidence of this doctrine having been handed down by 
 tradition from the Apostles, than to see all sorts of Christians, who have any pre- 
 tensions to antiquity, all agreeing in it ? 
 
 Thirdly, both ancient and modern Church history furnish us with many in- 
 stances of miracles the best attested, which from time to time have been wrought in 
 testimony of the same truth: of which, in divers parts of Christendom, there are 
 standing monuments to this day. It would be too tedious to descend to particulars 
 and so much the less necessary, because all the miracles of Jesus Christ Himself, as 
 they prove that He could not be a liar, so they demonstrate, that what He gives us 
 in this sacrament, is verily and indeed His body and blood, as He has so clearly 
 told us. 
 
 * See the testimony of seven archbishops of the Greek Church, Perpeluite; (vol. iii. p. 569) the testinionies of 
 the archbishops and clergy of the isles of the Archipelago, etc., or divers abbots and religious; (chap. iv. and v.) 
 or four patriarchs of Constantinople, of the patriarch of Alexandria, and of the thirty-five metropolitans or arch- 
 bishops; (anno 1762, chap. vi. p. 623,) of the Churches of Georgia and Mingrelia; (chap. vii. p. 634) of the patri- 
 arch of Jerusalem, and of several other archbishops, abbots, etc.; (p. 703), of Macarius and Neophytus, patriarchs 
 of Antioch; (p. 723, etc.) of Mecroditus, patriarch of Constantinople, Reponse generale. (p. 151.) See also the 
 Orthodox Confession of the Oriental Church signed by the four patriarchs and many other bishops; (ibidem, p. 138.) 
 That the same is the faith of the Armenians is proved by the testimonies of Haviadour, an Armenian prelate of 
 Uscanus, bishop of St. Sergius; also of David, the patriarch, and other bishops and priests of the Armenians, given 
 at Aleppo; (anno 1668) also the appendix to the first volume of the Per^^w/e; (pp. 80, 81, 82) of James, patriarch 
 of the greater Armenia, and other bishops and priests. Reponse ginerale; (L. I. chap, xviii. ) of the archbishops of 
 the Armenians in Constantinople, Adrianople, and Amassea; (ibid.), of Cruciadorus, patriarch of the lesser Ar- 
 menia, with other bishops and priests, (anno 672, tom. 3. Perpituite, p. 774) of the Armenians of Grand Cairo, 
 (anno 1678) and of several bishops at Ispahan, the same year. (ibid. p. 775 and 778.) See also in the first and 
 third volumes of the Perpeluite and in the Reponse ginerale, many other attestations of the belief of the Mus- 
 covites, Jacobites or Syrian Copts, Maronites and Nestorians, touching the real presence and transubstantiation. 
 
 ** See the acts of the synod of Constantinople under the patriarch Cyril of Bersea; (anno 1639) and of the synod 
 under the Patriarch Parthenius (anno 1642), and of the synod of Cyprus (anno 1668). 
 
 See (besides the testimonies of the Greek Fathers of the first six centuries) Anastasius, of Sienna, in his Odegos 
 Germanus; Patriarch of Constantinople, in his Theoria; St. John Damascene, Orat. 3 de Imaginibus, Lib. 2, 
 Parallel c. 5. L. 4, Fidei Orthodoxae, c. 13. The second Council of Nice, of 350 bishops; Act 6, Elias Crer. 
 Comment, in Orat. 1; St. Greg. Naz. Niccephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople; Antiheretico 2. Theodorius 
 Stuites, Antiheretic, Num. 10; Theophylactus ad Cap. 26; Samonus Bishop of Gaza, in Discip, contra Achmet 
 Saracenum; Nicholas of Methone, de Corp. and Sang. Christi; Nicholas Cabafileis; Mark of Ephesus and Beffa- 
 rion; qui omnes in suis opusculis, says Bishop Forbes, de Euch. L. I. c. 3, apertissime transubstantiationem con- 
 ■fitentur; Jereraias, Patriarcho in Resp. 1 and 2, ad Lutheranos; Gabriel Philadelph. de Sacrament; the Greeks 
 of Venice, in Resp. ad Cardinal, Guis Agapius, etc. See also in the additional volumes of Renaudot to the Per- 
 peluite de la Foi, etc., the concurrent testimonies of the divines of the other Oriental sects, and of all their liturgies. 
 
 t Sir Edwin Sandy's relation of the Religions of the West; (p. 233,) Dr. Potter's Answer to Charitv Mistaken; 
 (p. 225.) Bishop Forbes de Euch. L. I.; (c. 3, p. 412.) Crufius in Germano-Graecia; (L. 5, p. 226.) Dana- 
 werus, L. de Eccles. Graec. hodierna (p. 46, etc.) Hence, Dr. Philip Nicholas, a Protestant, in his first book of the 
 Kingdom of Christ (p. 22), writes thus: "Let my Christian readers be assured, that not only the Churches of the 
 Greeks, but also the Russians, and the Georgians, and the Armenians, and the Indians, and the Ethiopians, as 
 many of them as believe in Christ, hold the true and real presence of the body and the blood of the Lord, etc." 
 
 3° 
 
Transubstantiation Proved. Objections Answered. 
 
 Q. What do you understand by transubstantiation ? 
 
 A. That the bread and wine in the Blessed Sacrament are truly, really, and 
 substantially, changed by consecration into the body and blood of Christ. 
 
 Q. In what then does the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation diflEer from 
 the consubstantiation maintained by the Lutherans? 
 
 A. It differs in this, that Luther and his followers maintain the real presence of 
 the body and blood of Christ in the bread and wine, or with the bread and wine: 
 whereas the Catholic Church believes that the bread and wine are converted into 
 the body and blood of Christ, so that there remains nothing of the inward substance 
 of the bread and wine after consecration, but outward appearances or accidents. 
 
 Q. How do you prove this transubstantiation ? 
 
 A. First, from the texts of Scripture above quoted, especially from the words 
 of institution (St. Matt. XXVL 26, etc.) and from the words of Christ (St. John vi. 
 51, etc.), for our Lord, when He first gave the Blessed Sacrament, did not say, "In 
 this, or with this, is My body and blood;" but He said, "This is My body and this 
 is My blood." Neither did He say (St. John vi. 51), "In the bread that I will give 
 will I give you My flesh, etc." but He said "The bread that I will give is My flesh, 
 which I will give for the life of the world." 
 
 Secondly, from the tradition of the ancient Fathers, whose doctrine may be seen 
 in the books above quoted. 
 
 Thirdly, from the authority and decision of the Church of God in her general 
 councils of Lateran, Constance and Trent. 
 
 And indeed supposing that the words of Christ, in the institution of the Blessed 
 Sacrament are to be taken according to the letter, as both Catholics and Lutherans 
 agree, the most learned Protestants have often urged against Luther and his fol- 
 lowers, that the Catholic transubstantiation is more agreeable to the letter of Christ's 
 words, than the Lutheran consubstantiation. (See the bishop of Meaux Histoire 
 des Variations, L. 2, Num. 31, 32, 33.) 
 
 Q. But does not St. Paul (i Cor. x. and xi.) speaking of the sacrament after 
 consecration, call it bread? 
 
 A. He does; and so do we, first, because it is the bread of life, the food and 
 nourishment of the soul. Secondly, because it still retains the qualities and acci- 
 dents of bread; and has the whole outward appearance of bread: and therefore, 
 according to the Scripture-phrase is called bread, as angels in the shape of men, 
 are oftentimes in Scripture called men. (See St. Luke xxvi. 4, Acts i. 10, etc,). 
 Thirdly, because it was consecrated from bread, and therefore, according to the 
 method of speaking usually in Scripture, is called bread, because it was made from 
 bread; as man is called dust (Gen. m, 19), because made out of dust; and the 
 serpent is called a rod (Exod. vn. 12), because made from a rod, etc. 
 
 Besides, we have two very good interpreters, that inform us what this bread is, 
 of which St. Paul is there speaking, viz., the same Apostle when he tells us (i Cor. 
 V. 16), that "the bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ"; 
 
 3^ 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 and our Saviour Himself, when He tells us (St. John vi. 51), "The bread that I 
 will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." 
 
 Q. But what will you say to our Saviour's calling the sacrament the fruit of 
 the vine? (St. Matt. xxvi. 29). 
 
 A. If it were certain our Saviour had so called the consecrated wine of the 
 Blessed Sacrament, it would prove no more than St. Paul's calling the other kind 
 bread; that is, it would only show that the name of wine, or the fruit of the vine, 
 might be given to it, from having the accidents and appearances of wine, and having 
 been consecrated from wine. But there is all the reason in the world to think that 
 this appellation of the fruit of the vine was given by our Saviour, not to the conse- 
 crated cup or chalice, but to the wine of the paschal supper, which they drank 
 before the institution of the sacrament, this appears evident from St. Luke, who 
 thus relates the whole manner (Chap. xxn). 
 
 Ver. 14. "When the hour was come He sat down and the twelve Apostles 
 with Him." 
 
 15. "And He said unto them, with desire I have desired to eat this passover 
 with you before I suffer." 
 
 16. "For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in 
 the kingdom of God." 
 
 17. "And He took the cup and gave thanks and said, take this and divide it 
 amongst yourselves." 
 
 18. "For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the king- 
 dom of God shall come." 
 
 19. "And He took bread and gave thanks and brake it, and gave unto them, 
 saying: this is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me." 
 
 20. "Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the New Testament 
 in My blood which is shed for you." 
 
 28. "But behold the hand of him that betrayeth Me is with Me at the table, 
 etc." __ 
 
 Where it is visible, that it was not the sacramental cup, but that which was 
 drunk with the passover, to which our Saviour gives the name of the fruit of the vine. 
 
 Q. But if the bread and wine do not remain after consecration, what then 
 becomes of them? 
 
 A. They are changed by the consecration into the body and blood of Christ. 
 
 Q. How can bread and wine be changed into the body and blood of Christ ? 
 
 A. By the Almighty power of God, to whom nothing is hard or impossible, 
 who formerly changed water into blood, and a rod into a serpent (Exod. vn.) and 
 water into wine (St. John n.), and who daily changes bread and wine by digestion 
 into our body and blood. 
 
 Q. But do not all our senses bear testimony, that the bread and wine still 
 remain ? 
 
 A. No; they only bear testimony that there remain the color and taste of bread 
 and wine as indeed they do; but as to the inward substance, that is not the object 
 of any of the senses, nor can be perceived by any of them. 
 
 Q. Are not our senses deceived in this case? 
 
 A. Properly speaking they are no*;, because they truly represent what is truly 
 
 32 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 there, viz., the color, shape, taste, etc., of bread and wine. But it is the judgment 
 that is deceived when upon account of this color, shape, taste, etc., it too hastily 
 pronounces that this is bread and wine. 
 
 Q. But are we not sufficiently authorized by the testimony of the senses to 
 make a judgment of a thing's being in effect, that which it has all the appearances 
 of? 
 
 A. Regularly speaking we are, when neither reason nor divine authority inter- 
 poses itself, to oblige us to make another judgment. And thus the miracles and 
 resurrection of Christ were demonstrated to the Apostles by the testimony of their 
 senses. But the case would have been altered if God Himself had assured them 
 that what appeared to be flesh and bones, were indeed another thing: for in such a 
 case they ought certainly to have believed the testimony of God, rather than their 
 own senses. 
 
 Q. Can you give me any instances in which the testimony of man's senses has 
 represented one thing, and the divine authority of God's work has assured us, that 
 it was not indeed what it appeared to be, but quite another thing ? 
 
 A. Yes, we have many such instances in Scripture; as when angels have ap- 
 peared in the shape of men (Gen. xviii., St. Matt, xxvni., St. Markxvi., etc.), and 
 the Holy Ghost, in the shape of a dove. (St. Luke m. 22, etc.) 
 
 Q. Is there not then any of our senses that we may trust to, in relation to the 
 judgment that we are to make concerning the inward part of the sacrament of the 
 Eucharist ? 
 
 A. Yes, we may safely trust to the sense of hearing; which informs us by the 
 word of God, and the authority of the Church of God, that what appears to be 
 bread and wine in this sacrament, is indeed the body and blood of Christ; now 
 faith comes by hearing, saith St. Paul (Rom. x. 17), and hearing by the word of 
 God. 
 
 Q. But if the substance of the bread and wine be not there, what is it then that 
 gives nourishment to our bodies when we receive the sacrament ? 
 
 A. This sacrament was not ordained for the nourishment of the body but of 
 the soul ; though I do not deny but the body also is nourished, when we receive the 
 blessed Eucharist, not by the substance of bread and wine, which is not there, nor 
 by the body and blood of Christ, which are incorruptible, and therefore cannot be 
 digested for our corporal nourishment; but by the quantity and other accidents of 
 the bread and wine (if with the Aristotelian philosophers you suppose them really 
 distinguished from the matter and substance), or by another sutetance, which the 
 Almighty substitutes when by the ordinary course of digestion the sacramental 
 species are changed, and the body and blood of Christ cease to be there. 
 
 Q. But how can the accidents of bread and wine remain without the substance ? 
 
 A. By the Almighty power of God: which answer, if it satisfy you not, I remit 
 you to the Cartesian philosophers, who will tell you, that as the body and blood of 
 Christ in the sacrament are contained precisely in the same circumscription and 
 dimensions as the bread and wine were before the consecration, it follows of course 
 that they must affect our senses in the same manner; now color, taste, etc., accord- 
 ing to modern philosophy, are nothing but the affections of our senses. (See 
 Purchot, Part i, Phys. 2, Sect. 5, cap. i.) 
 
 33 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. How can the whole body and blood of Christ be contained in so small a 
 space as that of the Host ; nay, even in the smallest sensible particle of it ? 
 
 A. By the same Almighty power by which a camel can pass through the eye 
 of a needle: with men that is impossible; says our Saviour (St. Matt. xix. 26; and 
 St. Mark x. 27), "but not with God, for with God all things are possible." 
 
 Q. How can the body of Christ be both in heaven, and at the same time in so 
 many places upon earth? 
 
 A. By the same Almighty power of God, which we profess in the very first 
 article of our creed when we say: "I believe in God the Father Almighty." So 
 that it is a question better becoming an infidel than a Christian to ask, "How this 
 can be?" when we are speaking of a God to whom nothing is impossible; and 
 who would not be God indeed, if He could not do infinitely more than we can con- 
 ceive. It is like the Jewish question (St. John vi. 52), "How can this man give us 
 His flesh to eat ? " As if the power of God were not as incomprehensible as Himself; 
 and as if it were not worse than madness for weak mortals to pretend to fathom 
 this immense depth of the power of the Almighty, by the short line and plummet 
 of human reason. 
 
 Q. But is it not an evident contradiction for the same body to be at once in two 
 places ? 
 
 A. Not at all ; no more than for one God to subsist in three distinct persons; or 
 one person in two natures; or one soul to be at once both in the head and in the 
 heart, or two bodies to be at once in the self-same place; as when Christ's body 
 came in to the disciples, the doors being shut (St. John xx. 26), or the same body, 
 after having returned to dust, to be many ages after restored at the resurrection. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that there is no evident contradiction in any of these 
 things ? 
 
 A. Because thousands of as good philosophers and divines as any are, cannot 
 see any such contradiction ; which is a plain demonstration there is no evidence in 
 the case; and consequently, it would be the highest rashness to deny the possibility 
 of these things, to the power of the Almighty. 
 
 Q. But what need was there that Christ should leave us His real body and 
 blood in this sacrament ; since without this real presence He might have bequeathed 
 the self -same graces to our souls ? 
 
 A. He might indeed, if so He had pleased; as He might also have brought 
 about the salvation of mankind, if He had so pleased, without becoming man Him- 
 self and dying upon the cross for us; but He chose these wondrous ways as most 
 suitable to His love, and most proper to excite us to love Him. And who shall 
 presume to call Him to an account why He has condescended so far ? 
 
 Q. But are not the body and blood of Christ liable to be hurt and abused in 
 this sacrament ? 
 
 A. The body and blood of Christ are now immortal, impassible and incor- 
 ruptible, and consequently not liable to be hurt, nor divided, nor corrupted, though 
 it may be said indeed, to be abused by the unworthy communicant; and upon that 
 account St. Paul (i Cor. xi. 27), says, that "such a one is guilty of the body and 
 blood of Christ:" but this abuse no more hurts the immortal body of Christ than 
 this or any other crime can hurt or violate His divinity. 
 
 34 
 
Of the Bread and Wine Made Use of in tiiis Sacrament. 
 
 Q. What kind of bread does the Church make use of for the sacrament of the 
 Eucharist ? 
 
 A. The Church of Rome makes use of wafers of unleavened bread; that is, of 
 bread made of wheaten flour, with no other mixture but pure water. 
 
 Q. Why does not the Church make use of common bread for this sacrament ? 
 
 A. Because she follows the example of Christ, who at His supper when He 
 first instituted and gave the Blessed Sacrament to His disciples, made use of un- 
 leavened bread. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that ? 
 
 A. I prove it, because the day on which Christ first gave the Blessed Sacrament 
 was, according to St. Matt. xxvi. 17; St. Mark xrv. 12, and St. Luke xxn. 7, "the 
 first day of unleavened bread." Now, upon that day, and for the whole following 
 week there was no other bread to be found in Israel ; and it was even death to use 
 any other but unleavened bread, as we learn from Exod. xn. 15. "Seven days shall 
 ye eat unleavened bread, even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your 
 houses; for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day till the seventh 
 day that soul shall be cut o£E from Israel"; ver. 19. "Seven days shall there be 
 no leaven found in your houses," etc. So that it is plain that our Saviour made use 
 of unleavened bread at His last supper, and that there was no other bread used at 
 that time. 
 
 Q. Is there any other reason why we should prefer unleavened bread ? 
 
 A. Yes, unleavened bread is an emblem or symbol of sincerity and truth. 
 Hence St. Paul admonishes us (i Cor. v. 7, 8), to "purge out the old leaven of 
 malice and wickedness, and to feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and 
 truth." 
 
 Q. What kind of wine do you make use of for this sacrament ? 
 
 A. Wine of the grape, with which, by apostolic tradition, we mingle a little 
 water. 
 
 Q. Has the practice of mingling water with wine been always observed from 
 the Apostles' days? 
 
 A. It certainly has, and that throughout the whole Church: (See St. Justin, 
 Apolog. 2; St. Irenaeus, L. 5. c. 2; St. Cyprian, Epistola 6;^. ad Csecilium, etc.) 
 
 Q. Did Christ when He gave the cup to His disciples mingle water with the wine ? 
 
 A. It is probable He did; though the Scripture neither mentions the water nor 
 the wine; but only speaks of His giving them the cup; however, the ancient and 
 universal practice of the Church, in all probability, comes originally from the ex- 
 ample of Christ. 
 
 Q. Is there not some mystery or secret meaning in the mingling of the water 
 with the wine in the chalice ? 
 
 A. Yes, it represents to us, first, the union of human and divine nature, in the 
 person of the Son of God; secondly, the union of the faithful with Christ their 
 head. Thirdly, the water and the blood that flowed from the side of Christ. 
 
 35 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. Why did our Lord appoint bread and wine for the matter of this sacrament ? 
 
 A. First, because bread and wine being most nourishing to the body were the 
 most proper to represent the grace of this sacrament, which is the food and nourish- 
 ment of the soul. Secondly, because bread and wine are both composed of many 
 individuals, viz., grains or grapes, made one by a perfect union of them all; and 
 therefore, as the holy fathers take notice, are a more proper type or symbol of Christ's 
 mystical body, the Church, and of that unity which our Lord would recommend 
 to the faithful by this sacrament. According to that of St. Paul (i Cor. x. 17), 
 "We being many are one bread, and one body, for we are all partakers of that one 
 bread." 
 
 Q. What other things are signified or represented by the outward forms of bread 
 and wine in this sacrament? 
 
 A. They are chiefly designed to signify or represent to us three things; the one 
 now past, viz., the passion of Christ, of which they are the remembrance; another 
 really present, viz., the body and blood of Christ, of which they are the veil; a third 
 to come, viz., everlasting life, of which they are the pledge. 
 
 36 
 
Of Communion in One Kind. 
 
 Q. Why do not the faithful in the Catholic Church receive under the form of 
 wine, as well as under the form of bread ? 
 
 A. The Catholic Church has always looked upon it to be a thing indifferent 
 whether the faithful receive in one kind or in both; because she has always believed 
 that they receive Jesus Christ Himself, the fountain of all grace, as much in one 
 kind as in both: but her custom and discipline for many ages have been to ad- 
 minister this sacrament to the laity only in one kind, viz., under the form of bread, 
 by reason of the danger of spilling the blood of Christ, if all were to receive the 
 cup; which discipline was confirmed by the general Council of Constance in oppo- 
 sition to the Hussites who had the rashness to condemn in this point the practice 
 of the universal Church. 
 
 Q. Did the Catholic Church never allow of the communion in both kinds? 
 
 A. She did, and may again, if she pleases; for this is a matter of discipline, 
 which the Church may regulate or alter, as she shall see most expedient for the 
 good of her children. 
 
 Q. What do you mean when you say this is a matter of discipline; I thought 
 communion of one kind had been looked upon in the Catholic Church as a matter 
 of faith? 
 
 A. You must distinguish in this case between that which is of faith, and that 
 which is of discipline only. It is a matter of faith, that under one kind we receive 
 Christ whole and entire, and the true sacrament ; and that there is no command of 
 Christ for all the faithful to receive in both kinds, so far both is and ever was the 
 faith of the Catholic Church; for her faith is unalterable. But then, whether the 
 Blessed Sacrament should actually be administered to the laity in one kind or in 
 both, that is to say, what is most proper or expedient for the Church to practice 
 or ordain in this particular, considering the circumstances of time, place, etc., this 
 is what I call a matter of discipline which may be different in different ages, without 
 any alteration of the faith of the Church. 
 
 Q. But did not Christ command the receiving in both kinds (St. Matt. xxvi. 
 27), "Drink ye all of it"? 
 
 A. These words were addressed to tne twelve Apostles, who were all that were 
 then present; and the precept was by them all fulfilled: "And they all drank of it." 
 (St. Mark xrv. 23.) Now it is certain, that many things were spoken in the Gospel 
 to the Apostles, in equality of pastors of the Church, which were not directed to 
 the laity; as when they were commissioned to preach and baptize (St. Matt, xxvni. 
 19, 20), and to absolve sinners (St. John xx, 22), and upon this very occasion to do 
 what Christ had done; that is, to consecrate and administer this sacrament in re- 
 membrance of Him (St. Luke xxn. 19). And consequently, it is no argument that 
 all are obliged to drink of the cup, because Christ commanded all the Apostles to 
 drink of it; no more than that all are obliged to consecrate the sacrament, because 
 Christ commanded all the Apostles to do it. For both these commands were 
 delivered at the same time, upon the same occasion, and to the same persons. 
 
 37 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. But why should the Apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests 
 of the Church, be commanded to drink of the cup rather than the laity ? Or why 
 should Christ, at the first institution of this sacrament, consecrate and give it in 
 both kinds, if all Christians were not always to receive it in both kinds ? 
 
 A. To satisfy both these queries at once, you are to take notice that the blessed 
 Eucharist, according to the faith of the Catholic Church, and as we shall show 
 hereafter, is a sacrifice as well as a sacrament; and of this sacrifice, by the institu- 
 tion of Christ, the Apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests of the 
 Church, are the ministers, whom He has commended to oflfer it in remembrance 
 of His death (St. Luke xxii. 19). Now, this sacrifice in remembrance of Christ's 
 death, for the more lively representing the separation of Ch.ist's blood from His 
 body, requires the separate consecration of both kinds, and therefore the priests, 
 that are the ministers of this sacrifice, receive at that time in both kinds; and Christ, 
 in the fiirst institution of this sacrifice, consecrated and gave both kinds, design- 
 ing without doubt that it should be so received, at least by the ministers. 
 
 Q. But why should not the nature of the sacrament as much require both kinds 
 to be received by all, as the nature of the sacrifice requires both kinds to be con- 
 secrated ? 
 
 A. Because the nature of the sacrament consists in being the sign and cause of 
 grace; now, under either kind there is both a sufiicient sign of grace, viz., of the 
 nourishment of the soul, and at the same time the fountain and cause of all grace, 
 by the real presence of Christ, in Whom are locked up all the treasures of grace; 
 so that the nature of the sacrament sufficiently subsists in either kind. But the 
 nature of the sacrifice particularly requires the exhibiting to God the body and 
 blood of His Son, under the veils that represent the shedding of His blood, and 
 His death; and therefore, the nature of the sacrifice requires the separate consecra- 
 tion of both kinds; which, being consecrated, must be received by some one, and 
 by no one more properly than by the minister. 
 
 Q. Does not Christ say (St. John vi. 53), "Except ye eat of the flesh of the 
 Son of man, and drink His blood, ye shall not have life in you" ? 
 
 A. He does; and in the same chapter (ver. 57, 58), He tells us, "He that eat- 
 eth Me, even he shall live by Me ; and, he that eateth of this bread, shall live for 
 ever." Which texts are easily reconciled, if we consider that according to the 
 Catholic doctrine, and according to the truth, whosoever receives the body of Christ, 
 most certainly receives His blood at the same time; since the body which he re- 
 ceives is a living body (for Christ can die no more, Rom. vr. 9), which cannot be 
 without the blood. There is no taking Christ by pieces; whoever receives Him, 
 receives Him whole. 
 
 Q. But, are not the faithful deprived of a great part of the grace of this sacra- 
 ment by receiving only in one kind ? 
 
 ^. No; because the grace of this sacrament being annexed to the real presence 
 of Christ, Who is the fountain of all grace; and Christ being as truly and really 
 present in one kind as in both, consequently He brings with Him the same grace 
 to the soul, when received in one kind, as He does when received in both. 
 
 Q. Is it not then a privilege, granted to the priests above the laity, to receive 
 in both kinds? 
 
 38 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. No; their receiving in both kinds, as often as they say Mass, is no privilege, 
 but the consequence of the sacrifice which they have been offering, as you may 
 gather from what I have told you already: for, as for other times, when they are 
 not saying Mass, no priest, bishop or pope, even upon his deathbed ever receives 
 otherwise than one kind. 
 
 Q. Have you anything more to add in favor of communion in one kind ? 
 
 A. Yes; first that the Scripture in many places, speaking of the holy com- 
 munion, makes no mention of the cup. (See St. Luke xxiv. 30, 31, Acts n. 42, 46; 
 XX. 7; I Cor. X. 17.) Secondly, that the Scripture promises life eternal to them 
 that receive in one kind. (St. John vi. 51, 57, 58.) Thirdly, that the ancient 
 Church most certainly allowed of communion in one kind, and practised it on many 
 occasions. (See Tertullian L. 2, ad Uxorem, c. 5; St. Denis of Alexandria, Epist. 
 ad Fabium Antioch, recorded by Eusebius, L. 6; Histor. c. 34; St. Cyprian, L. de 
 Lapsis; St. Basil, Epist. 269; St. Ambrose de Sat)To Frater. Paulinus in Vita 
 Ambrosii, etc.) Fourthly, that many learned Prostestants have acknowledged that 
 there is no command in Scripture for all to receive in both kinds. (See Luther, in 
 his epistle to the Bohemians; Spalatenis de Rep. Eccles. L. 5, c. 6; Bishop Forbes, 
 L. 2, de EucWrist c. i, 2; White, bishop of Ely, Treatise on the Sabbath, p. 79; 
 Bishop Montagu, Orig. p. 79.) 
 
 Q. But what would you say further to a scrupulous soul, which, through the 
 prejudice of a Protestant education, could not be perfectly easy upon the article? 
 
 A. I should remit such a person to the Church and her authority, and to all 
 those divine promises recorded in Scripture, by which we are assured, that in hear- 
 ing the Church and her pastors, we are secure; that Christ and His holy Spirit shall 
 be always with them, to guide them into all truth and that the gates of hell shall 
 never prevail against this authority. So that a Christian soul has nothing to fear, 
 in conforming herself to the authority and practice of the Church of God; but 
 very much in pretending to be wiser than the Church, or making a scruple to hear 
 and obey her spiritual guides. 
 
 39 
 
Of the Manner of Administering this Blessed Sacra- 
 ment; of Devotion Before and After Communion; 
 of the Obligations of Receiving It; and of Its 
 Effects. 
 
 Q. In what manner is the blessed Eucharist administered to the people? 
 
 A. After the communion of the priest in the Mass, such of the people as are to 
 communicate, go up to the rail before the altar, and there kneel down ; and taking 
 the towel, hold it before their breasts, in such manner, that if in communicating, it 
 should happen that any particle should fall, it may not fall to the ground, but be 
 received upon the towel. Then the clerk, in the name of all the communicants, 
 says the Confiteor, or the general form of confession, by which they accuse them- 
 selves of all their sins to God, to the whole court of heaven, and beg the prayers and 
 intercession of all the triumphant and militant Church, After which the priest, 
 turning towards the communicants, says: 
 
 "May the Almighty God have mercy on you, and forgive you your sins, and 
 bring you to everlasting life. Amen. 
 
 "May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant you pardon, absolution, and re- 
 mission of all your sins. Amen." 
 
 Then the priest taking the particles of the Blessed Sacrament, which are de- 
 signed for the communicants, and holding one of them which he elevates a little 
 over the pyx or paten, pronounces the following words: "Ecce Agnus Dei," etc. 
 that is, " Behold the Lamb of God : behold Him who taketh away the sins of the 
 world." Then he repeats three times, "Domine non sum dignus," etc., that is, 
 "Lord! I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; speak but 
 only the word, and my soul shall be healed." After which he distributes the holy 
 communion, making the sign of the cross with the consecrated particle upon each 
 one, and saying to each one, "Corpus Domini nostri" etc. "The body of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ preserve thy soul unto life everlasting. Amen." 
 
 Q. In what manner is the Blessed Sacrament administered to the sick? 
 
 A. The Catholic Church has always practised reserving some consecrated 
 particles of the blessed Eucharist for communicating the sick; and where she enjoys 
 free exercise of religion, takes care that this Blessed Sacrament be carried to them 
 with a religious solemnity, attended with lights, etc. When the priest comes into 
 the chamber where the sick person lies, he says, "Peace be to this house." Ans. 
 "And to all that dwell therein." Then setting down the pyx with the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment upon the table, which must be covered with a clean linen cloth, he takes holy 
 water and sprinkles the sick person and the chamber, saying, " Asperges," etc. 
 "Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord! with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: Thou 
 shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow" (Psalm i), "Have mercy 
 on me, O God! according to Thy great mercy. Glory be to the Father," etc. 
 Then be again repeats the Anthem, "Thou shalt sprinkle me," etc. After which 
 
 40 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 he adds, "Our help is in the name of the Lord." Ans. "Who made heaven 
 and earth." Priest. " O Lord ! hear my prayer." Ans. "And let my cry come 
 unto Thee." Priest. "The Lord be with you." Ans. "And with thy Spirit." 
 Priest. "Let us pray." 
 
 The Prayer. 
 
 O holy Lord, Almighty Father, everlasting God! graciously hear us; and 
 vouchsafe to send Thy holy angel from heaven, to guard, to cherish, protect, visit 
 and defend all that dwell in this habitation, through Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Then the priest coming to the sick person, endeavors to dispose him, and pre- 
 pare him for receiving the Blessed Sacrament ; and, if he has any sin upon his con- 
 science, hears his confession, and absolves him. After which the sick person, or 
 some other in his name, says the Confiteor, and the priest says, "May the Almighty 
 God have mercy on thee," etc.; as above. "Behold the Lamb of God," etc. 
 "Lord, I am not worthy," etc. And in giving the Blessed Sacrament, if it be by 
 the way of Viaticum, or preparation for death, he says, "Receive, brother! (or 
 sister) the Viaticum of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who may guide thee from 
 the wicked enemy, and bring thee to everlasting life, Amen." But if the sick person 
 be not in danger of death, the priest, in giving the Blessed Sacrament, pronounces 
 the usual form: "May the body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy soul to life 
 everlasting. Amen." 
 
 After which the priest says the following prayer: 
 
 O holy Lord, Almighty Father, eternal God, we beseech Thee with faith, that 
 the sacred body of our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son may be available to this our 
 brother (or sister), that he has received it as a medicine to eternity, both for body 
 and soul, through the same Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth 
 with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, forever and ever. Amen. 
 
 Then, if there remain in the pyx any other particles of the Blessed Sacrament, 
 the priest gives the benediction therewith to the sick person : otherwise he pro- 
 nounces the usual blessing, making the sign of the cross and saying, "May the 
 Wessing of the Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost descend 
 upon thee, and remain always with thee. Amen." 
 
 Q. In what disposition of soul is a person obliged to be, in order to receive 
 worthily the Blessed Sacrament? 
 
 A. He is obliged to be in a state of grace, and free at least from the guilt of 
 mortal sin ; that is to say, from the guilt of any wilful transgression in any matter 
 of weight of the commandments of God, or His Church. The reason of this is, 
 because a soul that is under the guilt of mortal sin is an enemy to God, and a slave 
 to the devil ; and therefore it would be a grievous crime for a soul in that state to 
 presume to receive the body and blood of Christ, which, according to the doctrine 
 of St. Paul, would be receiving damnation to herself. 
 
 Q. What then is a person to do in order to prevent so great an evil ? 
 
 A. St. Paul tells you, (i Cor. xi. 28), that he is to try himself; that is, to search 
 and examine diligentiy his own conscience before he ventures to approach this 
 Blessed Sacrament. 
 
 Q. And what, if upon examination, he finds his conscience charged with any 
 weighty matter? 
 
 41 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. He must take care to discharge it in the manner that Christ has appointed, 
 ■viz., by a hearty repentance and sincere confession; laying open the state of his 
 soul to those sacred judges to whom Christ said (St. John xx. 23), "Whose sins you 
 shall forgive, they are forgiven : and whose sins you shall retain they are retained." 
 
 Q. What else is required of a person that is to receive the Blessed Sacrament ? 
 
 A. He must be fasting, at least from midnight; for so the Church commands, 
 agreeable to a most ancient and apostolic tradition. So that if through inadvert- 
 ence a person has taken anything, though it were no more than one drop or crumb 
 after twelve o'clock at night, he must by no means receive that day; it would be a 
 crime to attempt it. 
 
 Q. Is there no exception from this rule? 
 
 A. Yes, the case of danger of approaching death is excepted; for then persons 
 are permitted to receive the Blessed Sacrament by way of Viaticum, though they are 
 not fasting. 
 
 Q. What kind of devotion do you recommend to a Christian that is preparing 
 himself for the holy communion ? 
 
 A. Besides his clearing his conscience from sin by a good confession, I 
 recommend to him, first, to think well on the great work he has on hand, to consider 
 attentively who he is, and Who it is that he is preparing to receive, and earnestly to 
 beg of God to make him worthy. Secondly, to propose to himself a pure intention, 
 viz., the honor of God, and the health of his own soul, and in particular, that by 
 worthily receiving Christ we may come to a happy union with him, according to 
 that of St. John, vi. 56: "He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, dwelleth 
 in Me, and I in him." Thirdly, to meditate on the sufferings and death of his 
 Redeemer, in compliance with that command of our Lord (St. Luke xxn. 19), 
 ^'Do this in remembrance of Me." Fourthly, to prepare himself by acts of virtue, 
 more especially of faith, love and humility: that so he may approach to his Lord 
 with a firm belief of His real presence in this sacrament, and of His death and 
 passion ; with an ardent affection of love to Him who has so much loved us, and 
 with a great sentiment of his own unworthiness and sins, joined with a firm confi- 
 dence in the mercies of His Redeemer. 
 
 Q. What ought to be a Christian's behavior at the time of receiving this 
 Blessed Sacrament? 
 
 A. As to the interior, he ought to have his soul at that time full of the senti- 
 ments we have just now mentioned of faith, love and humility. And as to the ex- 
 terior, he ought to have his head erect, his eyes modestly cast down, his mouth 
 moderately open and his tongue a little advanced on his under lip, so that the priest 
 may conveniently put the sacred Host on his tongue, which he must gently convey 
 into his mouth, and after having moistened it for a moment or two on his tongue, 
 swallow it as soon as he can, in all which he is carefully to avoid, first, the putting 
 his mouth to the towel; secondly, the chewing with his teeth, or raising the Host to 
 the roof of his mouth; thirdly, the letting the sacred particle quite dissolve in his 
 mouth; fourthly, the spitting soon after communion. But if the particle should 
 happen to stick to the roof of his mouth, let him not be disturbed, nor put his finger 
 in his mouth to remove it; but gently remove it with his tongue as soon as he can, 
 and so convey it down. 
 
 42 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. What devotion do you recommend after communion ? 
 
 A. First, adoration, praise and thanksgiving, in order to welcome our dear 
 Saviour upon His coming under our roof. Here then let the soul cast herself at 
 the feet of her Lord: let her, like Magdalen, wash them in spirit with her tears; or, 
 if she dares presume so high, let her embrace him with the Spouse in the Canticles, 
 and say, "I have found Him whom my soul loves: I will hold Him, and shall not 
 let Him go." Let her, like the royal prophet, invite all heaven and earth to join 
 with her in praising her Lord ; and let her excite all her powers to welcome Him. 
 Secondly, I recommend to the devout communicant to make a present or offering 
 to Christ, in return for His having given Himself. The present that He expects 
 is our heart and soul, which, with all its faculties, ought on this occasion to be 
 offered and consecrated to our Lord. Thirdly, at this time the soul ought to lay 
 all her necessities before her Redeemer, and not neglect so favorable a conjuncture 
 of suing for His mercy and grace both for herself and the whole world; for those 
 more especially whom she is so particularly obliged to pray for: and above all 
 things let her pray, that nothing in life or death may ever separate her from the love 
 of Him Whom she has here received, and chosen for her Lord and Spouse forever. 
 
 Q. What do you think of those that spend little or no time in recollection and 
 devotion after communion ? 
 
 A. I think they put an affront upon Christ in so quickly turning their backs 
 upon Him; and that they wrong their own souls, which by this neglect are robbed 
 of those graces and comforts which they would have received if they had stayed in 
 His company. 
 
 Q. Have you anything more to recommend after communion ? 
 
 A. I have this to recommend with regard to the whole following day, that a 
 person take care to be more than ordinarily recollected, and very much upon his 
 guard against the snares of the enemy, who is never more busy than upon this 
 occasion to fling some temptation or provocation in a Christian's way, by which 
 he may disturb the soul, and rob her of the treasure which she has received ; and 
 therefore it behooves Christians to be cautious against this wicked enemy and all 
 his stratagems, lest by putting us into a passion, or otherwise drawing us into sin, 
 he quickly put Christ out of our souls. 
 
 If you desire to be more perfectly instructed in what relates to this Blessed 
 Sacrament, and the devotion that is proper before and after communion, I refer you 
 to Father Lewis de Granada's Memorial of a Christian Life, Book III; Dr. Gobi- 
 net's second volume of the Instruction of Youth, or Mr. Gother's little book of 
 Instructions and Devotions for Confession and Communion. 
 
 Q. Are all Christians that are come to the years of discretion, under an obliga- 
 tion of receiving this sacrament ? 
 
 A. They certainly are, first, by a divine precept or commandment of Christ, 
 (St. John VI. 54), "Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, 
 you shall not have life in you." Which precept obliges to the receiving sometimes 
 at least in our life, and at our death. Secondly, by a precept or commandment 
 of the Church published in the great council of Lateran, anno 1215, by which 
 all the faithful are obliged to receive at least once a year, and that within the Easter- 
 time (which begins on the first Sunday of Lent and ends on Trinity Sunday), 
 
 43 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 except the person, by the advice of his pastor, should, for some just reason be per- 
 mitted to put off his communion till another time. 
 
 Q. What is the penalty imposed by this council on such as neglect their Easter 
 communion ? 
 
 A. The council orders that such offenders should be excluded from the Church 
 and, if they die in this transgression, be deprived of Christian burial. 
 
 Q. Are persons then actually exconmiunicated that neglect their Easter com- 
 munion ? 
 
 A. No, they are not, till superiors pronounce the sentence of excommunication 
 against them: because the council does not actually inflict this penalty, but only 
 orders or authorizes the inflicting of it. 
 
 Q. If a person has passed by the time of Easter, or was hindered from com- 
 municating at that time is he obliged to communicate afterwards, as soon as he can ? 
 
 A. Yes he is; at least if you speak of one that has been a whole year without 
 communicating; for the Church-precept obliges to the receiving at least once a year. 
 For the same reason, a person that has not been at communion within a year, and 
 foresees that he shall be hindered at Easter, ought to anticipate Paschal communion 
 by receiving beforehand. 
 
 Q. And what if a person has made a sacrilegious communion at Easter, has 
 such a one satisfied the precept of the Church? 
 
 A. No, certainly. (See the 55th proposition condemned by Innocent And 
 XI.) Therefore such a one remains obliged to communion, in the same manner as if 
 he had not communicated at all. 
 
 Q. At what age are Christians obliged by the precept of the Church to com- 
 municate ? 
 
 A. As soon as they come to the years of discretion, as it is expressed in the 
 council of Lateran, that is, when they have that perfect use of reason, and are so 
 well instructed in their duty as to be able to discern the body of the Lord, and to 
 receive it with due reverence and devotion. Now this happens in some earlier, in 
 others later; but seldom earlier than about ten years of age. 
 
 Q. But what if a child, that is between seven and ten years of age, should be in 
 evident danger of death? 
 
 A. Many divines are of opinion, if such a one be come to the use of reason, 
 (which is commonly presumed after seven years of age), that he may, or even ought 
 to receive, because of the command of Christ (St. John vi. 54). So Suarez, Na- 
 varrus, etc. " 
 
 Q. What are the effects of this Blessed Sacrament in the worthy receivers ? 
 
 A. It is the food, nourishment, strength and life of the soul, by supplying it 
 with sanctifying grace, by repairing its forces, by arming it against its passions and 
 concupiscences, by maintaining it at present in the life of grace, and bringing it to 
 life and glory everlasting; according to that of St. John vi. 51, "The bread that I 
 will give is My flesh, for the life of the world"; and (ver. 58) "He that eateth of 
 this bread, shall live forever." 
 
 44 
 
Worship of Christ in this Sacrament; Where also of 
 Benedictions and Processions. 
 
 Q. What kind of honor is due to this Blessed Sacrament ? 
 
 A. Divine honor and adoration, inasmuch as it contains truly and really the 
 Divine Person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; Who, as He is truly God, ought most 
 certainly to be adored, wherever He is. 
 
 Q. Is there no danger of idolatry in this practice? 
 
 A. No, certainly; because this honor is not paid to the outward veil, or the 
 sacramental signs, but to Jesus Christ, Who lies hidden there; now Jesus Christ is 
 no idol, but the true and living God. 
 
 Q. But if the doctrine of the real presence and transubstantiation should not 
 be true, should we not then at least be guilty of idolatry? 
 
 A. We are as positively certain by divine faith, of the truth of the doctrine of 
 the real presence, and of transubstantiation, as Protestants can be of the the divinity 
 of Jesus Christ ; and therefore we are as much out of the reach of the danger of 
 idolatry, in worshipping Christ in this sacrament as they are in worshipping Him in 
 heaven. I shall add, for their further satisfaction, that some of their best divines 
 have discharged us from all danger of idolatry in worshipping Christ in this sacra- 
 ment as they may find in Dr. Jeremy Taylor's Liberty of Prophesying, sect. 20, 
 numb. 26, and Mr. Thorndike's Just Weights and Measures, c. 19, p. 125. Dr. 
 Taylor's words on this subject deserve to be remarked. He writes as follows: 
 "Idolatry is a forsaking the true God, and giving divine worship to a creature, or 
 to an idol; that is, to an imaginary God. Now it is evident that the object of their 
 (the Catholics') adoration, in the Blessed Sacrament, is the only true and eternal 
 God, hypostatically joined with His holy humanity, which humanity they believe 
 actually present, under the veil of the sacramental signs. And if they thought Him 
 not present, they are so far from worshipping the bread in this case, that themselves 
 profess it idolatry to do so. Which is a demonstration that the soul has nothing 
 in it that is idolatrical ; the will has nothing in it but what is a great enemy to idolatry; 
 and nothing burns in hell but proper will." So far this learned Protestant prelate. 
 
 Q. Why does the Catholic Church reserve the Blessed Sacrament in her 
 churches ? 
 
 A. She reserves the Blessed Sacrament in tabernacles, upon her altars, partly 
 that she may have it there to carry to the sick at all hours, whenever they shall be 
 in need of it; and partly for the comfort of her children, who by this means have 
 Jesus Christ always amongst them, and may come when they please to visit Him. 
 This custom, of reserving the Blessed Sacrament, is as ancient as Christianity, as 
 appears from the most* certain monuments of antiquity. And it is upon account 
 of the Blessed Sacrament, reserved in the tabernacle, that a lamp hangs before the 
 altar to burn there day and night, and that we kneel as often as we pass before the 
 tabernacle. 
 
 * Tertullian 1. 2. ad Uxorum c. 5. St. Cyprian, I. de Lapsis, etc. 
 
 45 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. Why is the Blessed Sacrament, upon certain days, exposed to the view of 
 the people in a monstrance set up upon the altar ? 
 
 A. It is to invite the people to come there to adore Jesus Christ, and to excite 
 in them a greater devotion by the sight of their Lord, veiled in these sacred mysteries, 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the benediction given on certain days ? 
 
 ^. It is a devotion practised by the Church, to give adoration, praise and 
 thanksgiving to God, for His infinite goodness and love, testified to us in the insti- 
 tution of this Blessed Sacrament. 
 
 46 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Of the Sacrifice of the Mass. 
 
 Q. "What do you mean by the Mass ? 
 
 A. The Mass is the liturgy of the Catholic Church, and consists in the conse- 
 cration of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, and the offering 
 up of this same body and blood to God, by the ministry of the priest ; for a per- 
 petual memorial of Christ's sacrifice upon the cross, and a continuation of the same 
 till the end of the world. 
 
 Q, Why is this liturgy called the Mass ? 
 
 A. Some think this word is derived from the Hebrew word missach (Deut. 
 XVI.), which signifies a voluntary offering; others are of opinion that it is derived 
 from the missa or misso, that is from the dismission of the catechumens and others,, 
 who were not permitted anciently to be present at this sacrifice. But be this as it 
 will, the name is of very ancient use in the Church, as appears from St. Ambrose,. 
 1. 2. Epist. 14. ad Sororem; St. Leo. Epist. 81. ad Dioscorum; and St. Gregory,, 
 Hom. 6, in Evangelia. 
 
 Q. Is the Mass properly a sacrifice ? 
 
 A. Yes it is. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by a sacrifice ? 
 
 A, A sacrifice, properly so called, is an oblation or offering of some sensible 
 thing made to God by a lawful minister, to acknowledge, by the destruction or 
 other change in the thing offered, the sovereign power of God, and to render Him 
 the homage due to His Supreme Majesty. 
 
 Q. How then is the Mass a sacrifice ? 
 
 A. Because it is an oblation of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, offered under 
 the outward and sensible signs of bread and wine to God, by the ministry of the 
 priests of the Church, lawfully consecrated and empowered by Christ; and this 
 oblation is accompanied with a real change and destruction of the bread and wine,, 
 by the consecration of them into the body and blood of Christ and a real exhibiting; 
 of Christ our Victim, heretofore immolated upon the cross, and here mystically 
 dying in the separate consecration of the two different species; and this obla- 
 tion is made to God to acknowledge His sovereign power, to render Him our 
 homage, and for all the other ends for which sacrifice is offered to His Divine 
 Majesty. 
 
 Q. What are the ends for which sacrifice of old was offered, and is still to be- 
 offered to God ? 
 
 A. For these four ends: first for God's own honor and glory, by acknowledging 
 His sovereignty and paying Him our homage; secondly, to give God thanks for all 
 His blessings; thirdly, to beg pardon for our sins; fourthly, to obtain grace and 
 blessing from His Divine Majesty. 
 
 Q. Have the servants of God, from the beginning of the world, been always 
 accustomed to honor Him with sacrifices ? 
 
 A. Yes, they have. Witness the sacrifice of Abel (Gen. iv.), the sacrifice of 
 Noah (Gen. vm.), the sacrifice of Melchisedech (Gen. xiv.), the sacrifices of Abra- 
 ham (Gen. XV. and xxn.), the sacrifices of Job (ch. i. and xlh.), and many different 
 
 47 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 kinds of sacrifices prescribed in the law of Moses. Of these ancient sacrifices some 
 were holocausts or whole burnt-ofiEerings, in which the victim or host was wholly 
 consumed by fire, and thereby given fully to God without reserve for the more 
 perfect acknowledgment of His sovereignty. Others were sin-oflFering or sacrifices 
 offered for sin ; others were pacific or peace-offerings, and these were either offered 
 in thanksgiving for blessings received or for obtaining of graces and favors from 
 the divine Majesty. Again, some were bloody sacrifices, in which the victim was 
 slain ; others unbloody, as the sacrifice of Melchisedech, which was bread and wine 
 (Gen. XIV.), the sacrifices of fine flour with oil and frankincense, of unleavened 
 cakes, etc., prescribed Levit. n., of the scapegoat. (Levit xvi., etc.) 
 
 Q. Were these sacrifices of the law of nature and of the law of Moses agreeable 
 to the Divine Majesty? 
 
 A. They were, as often as they were accompanied with the inward sacrifice of 
 the heart, not for any virtue or efl&cacy that they had in themselves, as being but 
 weak and needy elements, but in view of the sacrifice of Christ, of which they all 
 were types and figures, and in consideration of the faith of those that offered them, 
 by which they believed in a Redeemer to come, whose blood alone was capable to 
 reconcile them to God. 
 
 Q. Why are all these sacrifices now abolished? 
 
 A. Because they were but figures of the sacrifices of Christ, and therefore were 
 to give place to His sacrifice, as figures to the truth. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that these ancient sacrifices had no power nor efficacy 
 of themselves, and were to make way for another sacrifice, viz., that of Christ ? 
 
 A. This is evident from many texts of Scripture: I shall only allege one at 
 present, viz., Psalm xxxrx., spoken in the person of Christ to His Father. "Sacri- 
 fice and oblation Thou wouldst not ; but ears Thou hast perfected to me (or as St. 
 Paul reads it, Heb. x. $, a body Thou hast prepared for Me), holocaust and sin- 
 offering Thou didst require, then said I, behold I come." 
 
 Q. What is then the sacrifice of Christians under the new law? 
 
 A. We have no other sacrifice but that of Christ, which He once offered upon 
 the cross, and daily offers by the ministry of His priests upon the altar in the 
 Eucharist. 
 
 Q. Is the sacrifice of the cross and that of the Eucharist the same sacrifice, or 
 two distinct sacrifices? 
 
 A. It is the same sacrifice ; because the victim is the self -same, viz., Jesus Christ, 
 and the priest or principal offerer is also the self -same Jesus Christ; it was He that 
 offered Himself upon the cross ; it is He that offers Himself upon the altar. The 
 only difference is in the manner of the offering; because in the sacrifice of the cross, 
 Christ really died, and therefore that was a bloody sacrifice; in the sacrifice of the 
 altar. He only dies mystically, and therefore this is an unbloody sacrifice. I say 
 He dies mystically, inasmuch as His death is represented in the consecrating apart 
 the bread and wine, to denote the shedding of His sacred blood from His body at 
 the time of His death. 
 
 Q. Why do you say that Jesus Christ is the priest that offers the sacrifice of 
 the altar, since there is always another priest to perform this office ? 
 
 A. Because the priest that officiates in the Mass officiates as Christ's vice- 
 gerent, and in His person ; and therefore when he comes to the consecration of the 
 
 48 
 
Copynght 1Q06 by I'nderwood & Underwood. N. Y. 
 
 HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL GIBBONS 
 This fine portrait was made iy his home at Baltimore, September 4th, 1906. 
 
THE MOST REV. JOHN JOSEPH WILLiAMS, 
 ARCHBISHOP OF BOSTON, 1866-1907. 
 
NOTE 
 
 The^-.Typework, [Presswork and Bookbinding, in fact the 
 entire mechanical process connected with the Alaking oj 
 these handsome volumes, was done by our orphan boys. 
 We feel proud of our boys and it clearly demonstrates 
 the place our Industrial School takes in the printing world. 
 
 Brothers of Charity. 
 
PATRICK J. SUPPLE 
 
 Censor Librorum 
 
 ^ WILLIAM 
 
 Archbishop of Boston 
 
RT, REV. JOHN BRADY, D. D., 
 AUXILIARY BISHOP OF BOSTON. 
 
RT. REV 
 J DE CHEVERUS 
 
 FIRST BISHOP 
 OF BOSTON. 
 
THE LATE REV. P. F. LYNDON, V. G. 
 
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 Courtesy of "Republic." 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 RT. REV. JOHN S. MICHAUD, D. D. 
 LATE BISHOP OF BURLINGTON, VT. 
 
 MOST REV. M. A. CORRIGAN, 
 LATE ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK. 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 elements in which this sacrifice essentially consists, he speaks not in his own name, 
 but in the name and person of Christ, saying: "This is my body, this is the chalice 
 of MY blood," etc. So that Christ Himself is the principal priest; the officiant only 
 acts by His authority, in His name and person. 
 
 Q. But what need was there of the sacrifice of the altar, since we are fully 
 redeemed by the sacrifice of the cross ? 
 
 A. First, that we might have in the sacrifice of the altar a standing memorial 
 of the death of Christ. Secondly, that by the sacrifice of the altar the fruit of His 
 death might daily be applied to our souls. Thirdly, that His children might have 
 till the end of the world an eternal sacrifice, in which they might join together in 
 the outward worship of religion, as the servants of God from the beginning of the 
 world had always done. Fourthly, that in and by this sacrifice, they might unite 
 themselves daily with their High Priest and Victim Christ Jesus, and daily answer 
 the four ends of sacrifice. 
 
 Q. What proofs have you that the Mass is properly a sacrifice ? 
 
 A. Because as we learn from many plain texts of Scripture, quoted in the fore- 
 going chapter, and from the perpetual tradition of the universal Church, in the 
 consecration of the Holy Eucharist, the bread and wine are really changed into the 
 body and blood of Christ: and consequently in and by this consecration, the real 
 body and blood of Christ our Victim, which for us was immolated upon the cross, 
 is in the Mass exhibited and presented to God. Therefore, the Mass is properly 
 a sacrifice, and the same sacrifice as that which Christ offered upon the cross. And 
 that this sacrifice is propitiatory for the obtaining of the remission of our sins, 
 we learn from the very words of Christ our Lord, at the first institution of it, at His 
 last supper, when in the consecration of the elements, speaking in the present tense, 
 He tells us (as His words are in the original Greek), "This is my body which is 
 broken or sacrificed for you" (i Cor. xi. 24). "This is My blood of the New Testa- 
 ment which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matt. xxvi. 28; St. Mark 
 xrv. 24), or "This cup is the New Testament in My blood, which (cup) is shed for 
 you, viz., for the remission of your sins." 
 
 Q. Have you any other texts of Scripture for the sacrifice of the Mass ? 
 
 A. Yes, besides many figures of this sacrifice in the Old Testament (of which 
 the most evident is that of the bread and wine offered by Melchisedech, the priest 
 of the Most-high God (Gen. xrv.), according to whose order, Christ is said to be 
 a priest forever (Psal. ex.), and that as the holy Fathers* take notice, by reason of 
 this sacrifice of the Eucharist), we have the prophecy of Malachy (chap. i. 10, 11), 
 where God rejecting the Jewish sacrifices, declares His acceptance of the sacrifice 
 or pure offering which should be made to Him in every place among the Gentiles: 
 which text the ancient Fathers, both Greek and Latin, urge to show that the 
 Eucharist is a sacrifice. (See St, Justin in Dialog, cum Tryphone; St. Irenaeus 1. 
 4. c. 32; St. Chrysostomin Psal. 92; St. Augustine 1. 18, de Chivitate Dei, c. 35, etc.) 
 
 In the New Testament we have (Heb. xni. 10), where the Apostle tells us, that 
 under the new law we have an altar (and consequently a sacrifice), whereof they 
 have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle; that is, they who continue in the 
 service of the old law; and (i Cor. x. from ver. 14 to 21), the same Apostle makes 
 
 * St. Cyprian, Epist. 63; St. Chrysostom, Horn. 35, de Gen. St. Epiphanius, Hier. 55; St. Jerome, Epist. 126, 
 ad Evang.; St. Augustine, Cone. 1. in Ps. 33. 1. 15. de Civ. D. c. 22 Lei. 18, c. 35, etc. St. Cyril, 1. 2; Glaphyrs 
 Theodtoret Qu. 64, in Gen. 
 
 49 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 a parallel between the partakers of the Christian sacrifice and those that partake 
 of the Jewish and Heathenish victims, so as evidently to suppose, that the Christian 
 table which he mentions (ver. 21), is an altar, where Christ is mystically immo- 
 lated, and afterwards eaten by the faithful as in the Jewish and Heathenish sacrifices 
 the victim was first offered on the altar, and then eaten by the people. From 
 whence the Apostle infers, that they who were partakers of this great sacrifice of the 
 body and blood of Christ (ver. 16), ought not to be partakers with devils, by eating 
 of the meats sacrificed to idols (ver. 21). The sacrifice of the Mass is also men- 
 tioned in the 13th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles (ver. 2), where what we read 
 in the Protestant Testament, "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, "etc., in 
 the Greek original is, "as they were sacrificing to the Lord, and fasting, the Holy 
 Ghost said. Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called 
 them." Where the word which we have rendered in English sacrificing, is the self- 
 same which to this day is used by the Greeks to express the sacrifice of the Mass. 
 
 Besides these arguments from Scripture for the sacrifice offered to God in the 
 blessed Eucharist, we have the authority and the perpetual tradition of the Church 
 of God, from the days of the Apostles, Witness the most ancient liturgies of all 
 the churches and nations, Latins, Greeks, Goths, Syrians, Armenians, Eg5^tians, 
 Ethiopians, Indians, etc. Witness the manifold testimonies of councils ard Fathers 
 of all ages; witness the frequent use in all Christian antiquity of the names of altar, 
 sacrifice, oblation, priest, etc. Witness, in fine, the universal consent of Christians 
 of all denominations before Luther's time, in offering up the Eucharist as a sacrifice; 
 which is a matter of fact that cannot be contested. To which, if we add another 
 truth, no less notorious, viz., that no one of our adversaries can pretend to assign 
 the time in which the use of this sacrifice first began, we cannot have a more certain 
 proof of an apostolical tradition. It is the rule which St. Augustine gives to discern 
 apostolical traditions by (i, 2. de Bapt. c. 24). 
 
 Q. But does not St. Paul say (Heb. x. 14), that Christ, by one offering, viz., 
 that of the cross, hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. What room, then, 
 can there be for the sacrifice of the Mass ? 
 
 A. What the Apostle says is certainly true, that the sacrifice of Christ upon the 
 cross, is that one offering by which we are perfected forever, because the whole 
 world was redeemed by that one sacrifice, and all other means of our sanctification 
 or salvation have their force and efficacy from that one offering. Yet as that one 
 offering, by which Christ has perfected forever them that are sanctified, is no way 
 injured by His supplications which as man He makes for us to His Father in 
 heaven, where, as the same Apostle tells us (Heb. vii. 25), "He ever liveth to make 
 intercessions for us"; so neither is it any ways injured but highly honored by the 
 representing the same offering to God in the sacrifice of the altar. 
 
 Q. But the Apostle tells us (Heb. xi. 25), that Christ does not offer Himself 
 often ; what say you to this ? 
 
 A. He speaks there of offering Himself in a bloody manner, by dying for the 
 redemption of the world; which was to be but once. But though the price of our 
 redemption was to be paid but once, yet the fruit of it was to be daily applied to 
 our souls, by those means of grace which Christ has left in His Church, that is, 
 by His sacraments and sacrifice. 
 
 50 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Of Hearing Mass; Where also of the Order and 
 Ceremonies of the Mass; and the Devotion Proper 
 for that Time. 
 
 Q. Are the faithful obliged to be present at the sacrifice of the Mass ? 
 
 A. They are obliged, by a precept of the Church, to be present thereat upon all 
 Sundays and holy-days. 
 
 Q. Why does the Church oblige all her children to assist at rae sacrifice of the 
 Mass upon all Sundays and holy-days? 
 
 A. That as Sundays and holy-days are particularly set apart for the worship 
 of God, and the sanctification of their souls, they may answer these ends by assem- 
 bling together on these days, to commemorate the death of Christ, and to offer to 
 God this most solemn worship of sacrifice, by the hands of the priests and of their 
 High-Priest, Christ Jesus: first, in the testimony of God's sovereignty, and as a 
 homage due to His Divine Majesty; second, to give thanks for all His blessings 
 general and particular; third, to beg mercy and pardon for all their sins; fourth, 
 to obtain all necessary graces from the fountain of all grace. 
 
 Q. Why might not this as well be done without going to hear Mass ? 
 
 A. Because, as we have seen in the foregoing chapter, the Mass is a sacrifice 
 instituted by Christ to be offered for all those ends. And as in this sacrifice Christ 
 Himself is both the Priest and the Victim, who here presents to His eternal Father 
 that same body and blood by which we were redeemed; it must be evident, that 
 there can be no better means of adoring God, and offering our homage to Him, 
 than by uniting ourselves to this sacrifice of His only Son; no more acceptable 
 thanksgiving than that which is here offered, by and through Jesus Christ; no^ 
 means of obtaining mercy and pardon comparable to this oblation of the blood of 
 the Lamb: in fine, no more seasonable time for obtaining the favors of heaven, 
 than when we appear before the throne of grace with Him, and through Him, in; 
 whom His Father is always well pleased. 
 
 Q. In what disposition of soul ought persons go to hear Mass ? 
 
 A. They ought to go as if they were going to Mount Calvary, to be present at 
 the passion and death of their Redeemer; since the Mass is indeed the same sacri- 
 fice as that which He there offered. And consequently there can be no better devo- 
 tion for the time of the Mass, than that which has relation to the passion of Christ, 
 which is therein commemorated and represented to the eternal Father. And all 
 the faithful, when they are at Mass, should endeavor to put their souls in the like 
 dispositions of adoration, thanksgiving, love, and repentance for their sins, with 
 which a good Christian would have assisted at the sacrifice of the cross, had he been 
 present there. 
 
 Q. What think you of those, who, during the time of Mass, instead of attending 
 to this great sacrifice, suffer themselves to be carried away with wilful distractions ? 
 
 51 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. Such as these do not hear Mass, that is, they do not fulfil the Church pre- 
 cept, nor satisfy the obligation of the day, but rather mock God, whilst outwardly 
 they pretend to honor Him, and their heart is far from Him. 
 
 Q. What then do you say to those, who during the time of the Mass, are 
 laughing and talking, or pass their time in criminal amusements ? 
 
 A. These not only are guilty, like the former, of breaking the Church precept, 
 but also must answer for the scandal that they give by their ill example, and for 
 their hindering others to attend to their duty; as well as for their profaning those 
 most sacred mysteries, by such an unchristian behavior at this holy time. 
 
 Q. I should be glad if you would explain to me the order and ceremonies of 
 the Mass: and first, pray what is the meaning of the priest's vestments? 
 
 A. The priest, in saying Mass, represents the person of Christ, who is the 
 High- Priest of the New Law, and the Mass itself represents His passion ; and there- 
 fore, the priest puts on these vestments, to represent those with which Christ was 
 ignominiously clothed at the time of His passion. Thus, for instance, the Amice 
 represents the rag or clout with which the Jews muffled our Saviour's face, when at 
 every blow they bid Him prophesy who it was that struck Him (St. Luke xxii. 64). 
 The Alb, represents the white garment with which He was vested by Herod. The 
 Girdle, Maniple, and Stole, represent the cords and bands with which He was 
 bound in the different stages of His passion. The Chasuble, or outward vestment 
 represents the purple garment with which He was clothed as a mock king; upon the 
 back of which there is a cross, to represent that which Christ bore on His sacred 
 shoulders. Lastly, the priest's tonsure or crown, is to represent the crown of thorns 
 which our Saviour wore. Moreover, as in the Old Law, the priests that were to 
 officiate in sacred functions had, by the appointment of God, vestments assigned 
 for that purpose as well for the greater decency and solemnity of the divine worship, 
 as to signify and represent the virtues which God required of His nndnisters, so it 
 was proper, that in the Church of the New Testament, Christ's ministers should, 
 in their sacred functions, be distinguished from the laity by their sacred vestments, 
 which might also represent the virtues which God requires in them; thus the Amice, 
 whichisfirstputupon the head, represents divine hope, which the Apostle calls the 
 helmet of salvation; the Alb, innocence of life; the Girdle (with which the loins 
 are begirt), purity and patient suffering, the labors of this mortal life; the Stole, 
 the sweet yoke of Christ to be borne in this life, in order to gain a happy immortality 
 in the next; in fine, the Chasuble, which as uppermost, covers ill the rest, the virtue 
 of Charity. 
 
 In these vestments the Church makes use of five colors ; the white, on the feasts 
 of our Lord, of the Blessed Virgin, of the angels, and of the saints that were not 
 martyrs; the red, on the feast of Pentecost, of the invention and exaltation of the 
 cross, and of the Apostles and martyrs ; the green on the greatest part of the Sun- 
 days; the violet, in the penitential times of Advent and Lent, and upon Vigik and 
 Ember-days; and the black upon Good Friday, and in the Masses for the dead. 
 
 Q. Why is there always a crucifix upon the altar at the time of Mass ? 
 
 A. That as the Mass is in remembrance of Christ's passion and death, the 
 priest and people may have always before their eyes the image that represents His 
 passion and death. 
 
 52 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of having lighted candles upon the altar at the time of 
 Mass? 
 
 A. First, to honor the triumph of our King, which is there celebrated by these 
 lights, which are tokens of our joy, and of His glory. Second, to denote the light 
 of faith, with which we are to approach Him. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of making a reverence to the altar ? 
 
 A. First, because the altar is a figure of Christ who is not orly our sacrifice and 
 our high-priest, but our altar too, inasmuch as we are to offer our prayers and 
 sacrifices through Him. Second, because the altar is the seat of the divine mys- 
 teries, and therefore deserves our reverence. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the use of incense in the Mass and other offices of 
 the Church? 
 
 A. Incense is an emblem of prayer, ascending to God from a heart inflamed 
 with His love, as the smoke of incense ascends on high from the fire of the censer. 
 Hence the royal prophet (Psal. cxx.), says, "Let my prayer O Lord! be directed 
 like incense in thy sight." And St. John, in the Revelation (c. v. 8, and c. vm. 
 3, 4), saw the four-and-twenty elders and the angel offering up to God odors and 
 incense, which were the prayers of the saints. Moreover the incensing of the altar, 
 of the priest, etc., is, according to the use of the Church, a token of honor to the 
 thing that is incensed : not of divine honor, since we also incense the whole choir 
 and the people, but of a due respect for the things of God, for His ministers and 
 people. 
 
 Q. What is the use of singing, and of organs in the divine service? 
 
 A. To help us to raise our hearts to heaven and to celebrate with greater solem- 
 nity the divine praises. 
 
 Q. Tell me now, if you please, the different parts of the Mass, and the cere- 
 monies thereof, that I may be the better instructed in this heavenly sacrifice ? 
 
 A. First, the priest standing at the foot of the altar, having made a low rever- 
 ence, begins with the sign of the cross, saying, In Nomine Patris, etc., In the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and then reci es alternately 
 with the clerk the 42d Psalm, Judica me Deus, etc.. Judge me, O God ! etc., com- 
 posed by David, in the time that he was persecuted by Saul, and kept at a distance 
 from the tabernacle or temple of God, and expressing his ardent desires and hopes 
 of approaching to God's altar, and offering praise and sacrifice to Him. And there- 
 fore this Psalm is most proper here, as expressing the sentiments of soul with which 
 we ought to come to this holy sacrifice? 
 
 Second, the priest, bowing down at the foot of the altar, says the Confiteor, 
 or general confession, acknowledging his sins to God, to the whole court of heaven, 
 and to all the faithful there assembled, and begging their prayers to God for him;, 
 and the clerk repeats the same in the name of the people, to the end that both priest 
 and people may dispose themselves for this great sacrifice, by a sincere repentance 
 for their si s. Our adversaries object against this form of confession, because 
 therein we confess our sins to the saints; as if this was giving them an honor that 
 belongs to God alone, not considering that the confession of our sins to anyone, 
 so far from being an honor peculiar to God, is what we are directed in Scripture to 
 do to one another. (St. James v. 16.) And accordingly in this very form, which 
 
 S3 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 we call the confiteor, we not only confess our sins to God, and to His saints, but the 
 priest also confesses to the people and the pveople to the priest. 
 
 Third, the priest in going up to the altar begs for himself and the people, that 
 God would take away their iniquities, that they may be worthy to enter into His 
 sanctuary. Then coming up to the altar he kisses it in reverence to Christ, of Whom 
 it is a figure; and going to the book, he reads what is called the Introit, or entrance 
 of the Mass; which is different every day, and generally an Anthem taken out of 
 the Scripture, with the first verse of one of the Psalms, and the Gloria Patri, to 
 glorify the blessed Trinity. 
 
 Fourth, he returns to the middle of the altar, and says alternately with the 
 clerk the Kyrie Eleison, or Lord have mercy on us, which is said three times to God 
 the Father ; three times Christe Eleison, or Christ have mercy on us, to God the Son ; 
 and three times again, Kyrie Eleison, to God the Holy Ghost. This frequently 
 calling for mercy, teaches us the necessity of approaching to this sacrifice with a 
 penitential spirit, and that the best devotion for this beginning of the Mass, is to 
 •offer up to God the sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart. 
 
 Fifth, after the Kyrie Eleison, the priest recites the Gloria in Excelsis, Glory be 
 to God on high, etc., being an excellent hymn and prayer to God, the beginning of 
 which was sung by the angels at the birth of Christ. This being a hymn of joy, 
 is omitted in the Masses for the dead, and in the penitential times of Advent, Lent, 
 etc. After this the priest, turning about to the people, says, "Dominus vohiscum," 
 "The Lord be with you," Ans. "Et cum spiritu tuo," "And with thy spirit." 
 Then returning to the book, he says, "Oremus,''^ "Let us pray" ; and then reads the 
 Collects or prayers of that day, concluding them with the usual termination, "Per 
 Dominum nostrum," e'c, "Through our Lord Jesus Christ," etc., with which the 
 Church commonly concludes all her prayers, as hoping for no mercy, grace or 
 blessing, but through our Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 
 Sixth, after the Collects, is read the Lesson or Epistle of the day (and upon the 
 Wednesdays and Saturdays in the Ember-weeks several Lessons or Epistles), at 
 the end of which the clerk answers, "Deo Gratias," i. e., "Thanks be to God"; to 
 give God thanks for the heavenly instruction contained in that divine lesson of 
 Holy Writ. The Lesson or Epistle is followed by the Gradual or Tract, consisting 
 of some devout verses taken out of Scripture, to which are joined the Alleluias, to 
 praise God with joy, excepting in the penitential time between Septuagesima and 
 Easter, for then Alleluia is not said. 
 
 Seventh, after the Epistle and Gradual, the book is removed to the other side of 
 the altar, in order to read the Gospel of the day ; which removal of the book repre- 
 sents the passing from the preaching of the Old Law, figured by the Lesson or 
 Epistle, to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, published by the preachers of the New Law. 
 The priest, before he reads the Gospel, makes his prayer, bowing down before the 
 middle of the altar, that God would cleanse his heart and his lips, that he may be 
 •worthy to declare His Gospel. At the beginning of the Gospel both priest and 
 people make the sign of the cross, first, upon the forehead, to signify that they will 
 not be ashamed of the cross of Christ and His doctrine; secondly, upon the mouth, 
 to signify that they will profess it in words; thirdly, upon the breast, to signify that 
 they will always keep it in their hearts. During the Gospel the people stand, to 
 
 54 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 show by this posture, their readiness to go and do whatsoever they shall be com- 
 manded by their Saviour in His Divine Word. At the end, the clerk answers, in 
 the name of the people, "Laus tibi Chrisie," "Praise be to Thee, O Christ"; to give 
 praise to our Redeemer for His heavenly doctrine; and the priest kisses the book in 
 reverence to those sacred words which he has been reading out of it. In the high 
 or Solemn Mass, the Gospel is sung by the deacon, and lighted candles are held by 
 the acolytes on each side, to denote the light which Christ brought us by His Gospel. 
 
 Eighth, after the Gospel upon all Sundays, as also upon the feasts of our Lord, 
 of the Blessed Virgin, of the Apostles, and of the doctors of the Church, the priest, 
 standing at the middle of the altar, recites the Nicene Creed, and kneels down at 
 these words, "Et homo factus est," "And was made man," in reverence to the 
 mystery of our Lord's incarnation. Then turning about to the people, he greets 
 them with the usual salutation, "Dominus voUscum" "The Lord be with you." 
 Ans. "Et cum spiritu tuo" "And with thy spirit." After which he reads a short 
 sentence of Scripture called the Offertory and then takes off the veil from the chalice, 
 in order to proceed to the offering up of the bread and wine for sacrifice. 
 
 Ninth, he offers first the bread upon the paten, or little plate; then pours the 
 wine into the Chalice, mingling with it a little water, and offers that up in like 
 manner, begging that this sacrifice may be accepted of by the Almighty for the re- 
 mission of his sins, for all there present, for all the faithful, living and dead, and 
 for the salvation of the world. Then bowing down, he says, "In the spirit of 
 humility, and in a contrite mind, may we be received by thee, O Lord : and so may 
 our sacrifice be made this day in Thy sight, that it may please Thee, O Lord God." 
 Then he blesses the bread and wine with the sign of the cross, invoking the Holy 
 Ghost, saying, "Come Thou, the Sanctifier, the Almighty and Eternal God, and 
 bless ^ this sacrifice prepared for Thy holy name." After this he goes to the 
 corner of the altar, and there washes the tips of his fingers, sa)ring, "Lavabo," etc., 
 "I will wash my hands among the innocent, and I will encompass Thy altar, O 
 Lord," etc., as in the latter part of the 25th Psalm. This washing of the fingers 
 denotes the cleanness and purity of soul with which these divine mysteries are to 
 be celebrated; which ought to be such, as not only to wash away all greater filth, 
 but even the dust which sticks to the tips of our fingers, by which are signified the 
 smallest faults and imperfections. 
 
 Tenth, after washing his fingers the priest returns to the middle of the altar, and 
 there bowing down, begs of the blessed Trinity to receive this oblation in memory 
 of the passion, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, and for an 
 honorable commemoration of the Blessed Virgin and of all the saints, that they 
 may intercede for us in heaven, whose memory we celebrate on earth. Then 
 turning about to the people, he says, "Orate Fratres," etc. that is, "Brethren, pray 
 that my sacrifice and yours may be made acceptable in the sight of God the Father 
 Almighty." The clerk answers in the name of the people, "May the Lord receive 
 this sacrifice from Thy hands, to the praise and glory of His own name, for our 
 benefit, and that of all His holy Chvirch." 
 
 Eleventh, then the priest says, in a low voice, the prayers called the Secreta, 
 which correspond to the Collects of the day, and are different every day. He con- 
 cludes, by saying aloud, "Per omnia scBculd scBculorum," that is, "World without 
 
 55 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 end." Ans. "Amen." Then, after the usual salutation, "The Lord be with you." 
 Ans. "And with thy spirit," he admorishes the people to lift up their hearts to 
 God ("Sursum corda"), and to join with him in giving thanks to our Lord "Gratias 
 agamus Domino Deo nostro," to which the clerk answers, "Dignum et justum est," 
 "It is meet and just." Then follows the Preface, so called because it serves as 
 an introduction to the Canon of the Mass; in which, after solemnly acknowledging 
 ourselves bound in duty ever to give thanks to God through His Son Jesus Christ, 
 whose Majesty all the choirs of angels ever praise and adore, we humbly beg kave 
 to have our voices admitted together with theirs in that celestial hymn, "Sanctus, 
 Sandus," etc., i. e., "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts. The heavens and 
 earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He that comes 
 in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest." 
 
 Twelfth, after the Preface follows the Canon of the Mass, or the most sacred 
 or solemn part of this divine service, which is read with the low voice, as well to 
 express the silence of Christ in His passion, and His hiding at that time His glory 
 and His divinity, as to signify the vast importance of that common cause of all 
 mankind, which the priest is then representing, as it were, in secret to the ear of 
 God, and the reverence and awe with which both priest and people ought to assist 
 at these tremendous mysteries. The Canon begins by the invoking the Father of 
 Mercies, through Jesus Christ His Son, to accept this sacrifice for the holy Catholic 
 Church, for the Pope, for the Bishop, and for all the professors of the Catholic and 
 Apostolic faith, throughout the whole world. Then follows the Memento, or com- 
 memoration of the living for whom, in particular, the priest intends to offer up 
 that Mass, or who have been particularly recommended to his prayers, etc. To 
 which is subjoined a remembrance of all there present, followed by a solemn com- 
 memoration of the Blessed Virgin, the Apostles and Martyrs, and all the saints, to 
 honor their memory by naming them in the sacred mysteries, to communicate with 
 them, and to beg of God the help of their intercession, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. 
 
 Then the priest spreads his hands over the bread and wine, which are to be 
 consecrated into the body and blood of Christ, according to the ancient ceremony 
 prescribed in the Levitical law (Levit. I. 3, 4: 16), that the priests or persons wha 
 offered sacrifice, should lay their hards upon the victim before it was immolated, 
 and he begs that God would accept this oblation, which he makes in the name of 
 the whole Church, and that he would grant us peace in this life, and eternal salva- 
 tion in the next. Then he blesses the bread and wine with the sign of the cross (a 
 ceremony frequently repeated in the Mass, in memory of Christ's passion, of which 
 this sacrifice is the memorial ; and to give us to understand that all grace and sanctity 
 flow from the cross of Christ, that is, from Christ crucified), and he prays that God 
 would render this oblation blessed, received, approved, reasonable and acceptable, 
 that it may be made to us the body and blood of His most beloved Son our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. Then he proceeds to the Consecration, first of the bread into the 
 body of our Lord, and then of the wine into His blood; which Consecration is made 
 by the words of Christ pronounced by the priest in His name, and as bearirg His 
 person ; and that is the chief action of the Mass, in which the very essence of this 
 sacrifice consists; because by the separate Consecration of the bread ard wine, the 
 
 56 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 body and blood of Christ are really exhibited and presented to God, and Christ is 
 mystically immolated. 
 
 Immediately after the Consecration follows the Elevation, first of the Host, 
 then of the Chalice, in remembrance of Christ's elevation upon the cross and that 
 the people may adore their Lord veiled under these sacred signs. At the Elevation 
 of the Chalice, the priest recites these words of Christ, "As often as you shall do- 
 these things, you shall do them in remembrance of Me." Then he goes on making 
 a solemn commemoration of the passion, resurrection and ascension of Christ, and 
 begging of God to accept this sacrifice, as he was pleased to accept the oblation of 
 Abel, Abraham and Melchisedech; and to command that it may, by His holy angel, 
 be presented upon the altar above, in presence of His Divine Majesty, for the benefit 
 of all those that shall partake of these mysteries here below. 
 
 Then the priest makes the Memento or remembrance for the dead ; praying for 
 all those that are gone before us with the sign of faith, and rest in the sleep of peace,. 
 and in particular for those for whom he desires to offer this sacrifice that God 
 would grant them a place of refreshment, light and peace, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Then raising his voice at "Nobis quoque peccatoribus," "And to us 
 sinners," etc., he strikes his breast, in token of repentance, like the humble pub- 
 lican in the Gospel, and begs of God mercy and pardon, and to be admitted into 
 some part and society, with the holy Apostles and Martyrs, through Christ our Lord. 
 He goes on, "By whom O Lord! Thou dost always create, sanctify, enliven, bless, 
 and give us all these good things." Then kneeling down, and taking the sacred 
 Host in his hand, he makes the sign of the cross with it over the Chalice, saying, 
 "Through Him, and with Him, and in Him, is to Thee, God the Father, in the 
 unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory," which last words he pronounces- 
 elevating a little the Host and Chalice from the altar; and then kneels down, saying,, 
 with a loud voice, " Per omnia scecula sceculorum." "For ever and ever." Ans, 
 "Amen." 
 
 Thirteenth, after this follows the "Pater Noster," or "Lord's Prayer," which 
 is pronounced with a loud voice; and in token of the people's joining in this prayer 
 the clerk in their name says aloud the last petition, "Sed libera nos a malo," "But 
 deliver us from evil." The priest answers, " Amen : " and goes on with a low voice 
 begging that we may be delivered from all evils, past, present and to come ; and 
 by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, and of all the saints, be favored with 
 peace in our days, and secured from sin and all disturbance, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Then he breaks the Host, in imitation of Christ's breaking the bread 
 before He gave it to His disciples, and in remembrance of His body being broken 
 for us upon the cross; and puts a particle of it into the Chalice, saying to the people, 
 "The peace of the Lord be always with you :" Ans. "And with thy spirit." This 
 ceremony of mixing a particle of the Host vsith the species of wine in the Chalice, 
 represents the re-uniting of Christ's body, blood and soul at His resurrection; and 
 the priest's wish of prayer for peace, at the time of this ceremony, puts us in mind 
 of that "Pax vobis," or "Peace be unto you," which our Lord spoke to His disciples 
 when He first came to them after His resurrection (St. John xx. 19, 21, 26). 
 
 Fourteenth, then follows the "Agnus Dei," etc., which the priest pronounces 
 three times, striking his breast in token of repentance; the words are, "Lamb of 
 
 57 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 God! who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us." At the third 
 time, instead of "have mercy on us," he says, "grant us peace." After the Agnus 
 Dei, follow three prayers, which the priest says to himself by way of preparation 
 for receiving the blessed sacrament. After which kneeling dowp, and then rising 
 and taking up the Blessed Sacrament, he three times strikes his breast, saying, 
 "Domine, non sum dignus," etc. "Lord! I am not worthy that Thou shouldst 
 enter under my roof; but only thou say the word, and my soul shall he healed." 
 Then receiving the Sacred Host, he says, "The body of our Lord Jesus Christ pre- 
 serve my soul to life everlasting, Amen." Having paused a while, he proceeds 
 to the receiving of the Chalice, using the like words, "The blood of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ," etc. Then follows the Communion of the people, if any are to 
 receive. 
 
 Fifteenth, after the Communion, the priest takes first a little wine into the 
 Chalice which is called the first ablution, in order to consummate what remains of 
 the consecrated species in the Chalice; and then takes a little wine and water, 
 which is called the second ablution, upon his fingers, over the Chalice, to the end 
 that no particle of the Blessed Sacrament may remain sticking to his fingers, but 
 that all may be washed into the Chalice, and so received. Then wiping the Chalice, 
 and covering it, he goes to the book and reads a versicle of the Holy Scripture, 
 called the Communion, because it was used to be sung in the High Mass, at the 
 time that the people communicated. After this, he turns about to the people with 
 the usual salutation, "Dominus vobiscum;" and then returning to the book, reads 
 the Collects, or prayers called the Post-Communion: after which he again greets 
 the people with "Dominus vobiscum" and gives them leave to depart, with "Ite Missa 
 est," i. e., "Go, the Mass is done." Here, bowing before the altar, he makes a short 
 prayer to the Blessed Trinity, and then gives his blessing to all there present, in 
 the name of the same Blessed Trinity : "Benedicat vos," etc. " May the Almighty 
 God, the Father, ►J* and the Son and the Holy Ghost, bless you." He concludes 
 by reading at the corner of the altar the beginning of the Gospel according to St. 
 John, which the people hear standing, but at these words " Verbum caro factum est," 
 "The Word was made flesh," both priest and people kneel, in reverence to the 
 mystery of Christ's incarnation. The clerk at the end answers, "Deo Gratias," 
 "Thanks be to God." And then the priest departs from the altar, reciting to him- 
 self the Benedicite, or the canticle of the three children, inviting all creatures in 
 heaven and earth to bless and praise our Lord. 
 
 Q. In what manner ought the people to be employed during the Mass ? 
 
 A. In such prayers and devotions as are most suitable to that holy sacrifice; 
 which having so close a relation to the passion of Christ, is then best heard, when 
 the assistants turn the attention and affections of their souls towards the mysteries 
 of the passion of our Lord, which are there represented. 
 
 Q. Is it not a good way of hearing Mass to accompany the priest through every 
 part of it, so as to accommodate one's devotion to what he is then about ? 
 
 A. It is a very good and profitable way, not that the very prayers of the priest, 
 especially in the Canon and Consecration, are always proper for the people, but 
 that in every part of the Mass, it is proper that the people should use such prayers 
 as are adapted to what the priest is then doing. 
 
 58 
 
OUR CHIJRCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. What kind of prayers and devotions then do you esteem the best adapted 
 to the several parts of the Mass ? 
 
 A. I should recommend first, in the beginning of the Mass an earnest applica- 
 tion of the soul to God, by way of begging His divine grace for the worthily and 
 profitable assisting at this sacrifice. 
 
 Second, at the Confiteor, and what follows, until the Kyrie Eleison inclusively, 
 I should advise the assistants to an humble confession of their sins to God, with a 
 most hearty repentance, and earnestly begging His mercy. 
 
 Third, at the Gloria in excelsis, let them join in that heavenly hymn and excite 
 their souls to the affections expressed therein. 
 
 Fourth, at the Collects, let them recommend to God their own necessities, and 
 those of the whole Church. 
 
 Fifth, at the Epistle, Gradual, and Gospel, either let them attend to the heavenly 
 lessons contained in them; or, if they have not the convenience for this let them 
 employ themselves in giving thanks to God for revealing to us His divine truths 
 and instructing us not only by His servants the prophets and Apostles, but also by 
 His Son; and begging of God that their lives may be always conformable to the 
 maxims of His Gospel. 
 
 Sixth, at the Credo, let them recite it to themselves, with a lively faith of the 
 great truths contained in it. 
 
 Seventh, at the Offertory, let them join with the priest in oflFering up first the 
 Host, and then the Chalice, for themselves and for the whole Church; but let them 
 at the same time unite themselves closely with their High Priest, Christ Jesus, and 
 with Him, through Him, and in Him, offer up their hearts and souls to God, to be 
 consecrated to His divine service, and changed into Him; and in particular, at the 
 mingling of the water with the wine in the Chalice, let them pray for this happy 
 union with God. 
 
 Eighth, at the Lavabo, when the priest washes his fingers at the corner of the 
 altar let them recite in their souls a hearty acf of repentance, and beg to be washed 
 from their sins in the blood of the Lamb. 
 
 Ninth, when the priest turns about and says. Orate Fratres, let them pray that 
 God would accept of that oblation for His own honor and their salvation. 
 
 Tenth, at the Preface, let them raise up their hearts to God at Sursum Corda 
 and pour forth their souls in thanksgiving to Him; joining themselves with the 
 heavenly choirs, and with them humbly and fervently pronouncing that sacred 
 hymn, "Sanctus," etc. "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts," etc. 
 
 Eleventh, during the Canon of the Mass, let them, together with the priest, 
 and together with the invisible priest, Christ Jesus, offer up the sacrifice for the four 
 ends of the sacrifice, viz., first for God's honor, adoration and glory. Second, in 
 thanksgiving for all His benefits, and especially for our redemption through Jesus 
 Christ. Third, to obtain mercy and pardon through Him for all their sins. Fourth, 
 to obtain all graces and blessings of which they stand in need. Let them all join 
 in the solemn commemoration that is here made of the passion, resurrection and 
 ascension of the Son of God, and of the glory of His Church trumphant in heaven. 
 
 Twelfth, at the Memento for the living, let them earnestly recommend to God 
 their parents, friends, benefactors, etc.; their superiors, spiritual and temporal; 
 
 59 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 those that have particularly desired their prayers; those that are in agony, or other 
 great necessities, temptation, or aflSiction; those to whom they have given scandal 
 or ill example; their enemies, and all unbelievers and sinners, that God may con- 
 vert them; in fine, all true servants of God, and all such for whom God would have 
 them to pray. 
 
 Thirteenth, at the Consecration and Elevation, let them again offer themselves 
 to God with and through Christ, and with all the reverence of their souls adore 
 their Lord there really present under the sacramental veils. 
 
 Fourteenth, at the Memento for the dead, let them represent to the Eternal 
 Father this Victim which takes away the sins of the world, in behalf of all the faith- 
 ful departed in the communion of the Church, and particularly of their relations, 
 friends, etc., and those who stand most in need of prayers, or for whom Grod is best 
 pleased that they should pray. 
 
 Fifteenth, at the Pater Noster, let them join in that heavenly prayer ; begging 
 in the first petition (Hallowed be Thy name), the honor and glory of God's name; 
 in the second petition, the propagation of His kingdom here upon earth, and that 
 they may have a share in His kingdom in heaven; in the third petition, the perfect 
 accomplishment of His will by all, and in all : in the fourth, the participation of the 
 bread of life; in the fifth, the forgiveness of their sins; in the sixth, the grace of 
 God against temptations; and in the seventh, a deliverance from all evils. 
 
 Sixteenth, at the breaking of the Host, let them remember Christ's body broken 
 for them upon the cross, and let them pray for that peace which the priest wishes 
 them, with God, with their neighbors, and with themselves. 
 
 Seventeenth, at Agnus Dei, etc., let them, in the spirit of humility and contri- 
 tion, beg mercy and pardon for their sins. 
 
 Eighteenth, during the following prayers, and whilst the priest is receiving, 
 let them make a spiritual communion first, by a lively faith, of the real presence of 
 the Lamb of God slain for our sins, and of the abundance of grace which He brings 
 to those that receive Him worthily. Second, by an ardent desire of partaking of 
 this life-giving food. Third, by humbly acknowledging at the Domine non sum 
 dignus, and heartUy bewailing their unworthiness and sins, which hinder them 
 from daring to approach to this heavenly table. Fourth, by fervent prayer, begging 
 that Christ would communicate to them some share in those graces which He 
 brings with Him to the worthy receiver, and that He would come at least spiritually 
 to their souls, and take possession of them, and unite them to Himself by an indis- 
 soluble band of love. 
 
 Nineteenth, after the Communion, let them return thanks to God for the 
 passion and death of His Son, and for having been permitted to assist at these 
 divine mysteries ; let them receive with humilty the benediction given by the priest 
 in the name of the Blessed Trinity; let them beg pardon for their negligences and 
 distractions; and so offering themselves and all their undertakings to God depart 
 in peace. 
 
 Q. What advice would you give to those who through indisposition, or other 
 unavoidable impediments, are not able to assist at Mass upon a Sunday or holy 
 day? 
 
 A. I would advise them to endeavor to hear Mass at least in spirit, according 
 
 60 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 to the method prescribed by Mr. Gother, for the absent, in the little book of instruc- 
 tions and devotions for hearing Mass. 
 
 Q. What if a person, through the absolute necessity of his unhappy circum- 
 stances, should be tied to a place where he can never hear Mass, do you think he 
 might not then be allowed to join in prayer with those of another communion, by 
 way of supplying this defect ? 
 
 A. No, certainly not. It is a misfortune, and a great misfortune to be kept like 
 David, when he was persecuted by Saul, at a distance from the temple of God, 
 and His sacred mysteries; but it would be a crime to join one's self upon that 
 account with an heretical or schismatical congregation, whose worship God rejects 
 as sacrilegious and impious. In such a case therefore a Christian must serve his 
 God alone to the best of his power, by offering to Him the homage of prayer, adora- 
 tion, contrition, etc., and must frequently hear Mass in spirit, by joining himself 
 with all the faithful throughout the earth, wherever they are oflFering to God that 
 Divine Sacrifice; ever sighing after these heavenly mysteries, and praying for his 
 delivery from that Babylon, which keeps him at a distance from the temple of God. 
 
 6i 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of the Saying Mass in Latin. 
 
 Q. Is it not a great prejudice to the faithful that the Mass is said in Latin, 
 which is a language that the generality of them do not understand ? 
 
 A. It is no prejudice to them at all, provided they be well instructed in the 
 nature of the Sacrifice, and taught (as we have explained above), how to accompany 
 the priest with prayers and devotions adapted to every part of the Mass ; such as 
 they commonly have in their manuals or other prayer-books. Hence it is visible 
 to any unprejudiced eye that there is far more devotion amongst Catholics at Mass, 
 than there is at Protestants' common -prayer. 
 
 Q. But is not the Mass also a common-prayer, that ought to be said alike by 
 the faithful? 
 
 A. It is a common Sacrifice that is offered for all, and in some manner by all; 
 but as for the particular form of prayers used by the priest in the Mass, there is 
 no obligation for the faithful to recite the same; all that God or His Church expects 
 from them is to assist at that sacrifice with attention and devotion ; and this they 
 fully comply with when they endeavor to follow the directions given above, and use 
 such prayers as are adapted to each part of the Mass; though they be not the self- 
 same as the priest uses. 
 
 Q. Can you explain to me, by some example, how a person may devoutly and 
 profitably assist at this sacrifice, though he may be ignorant of the prayers which 
 the priest is saying? 
 
 A. Yes; What do you think if you or any good Christian had been present 
 upon Mount Calvary, when Christ was offering Himself upon the cross, a sacrifice 
 for the sins of the whole world ; would not the very sight of what was doing (pro- 
 vided that you, had the same faith in Christ as you have) have sufl&ced to excite 
 in your soul most Mvely acts of love of God, thanksgiving for so great a mercy, 
 detestation of your sins, etc., though you should neither hear any word from the 
 mouth of Christ your High-Priest, nor know in particular what passed in His soul ? 
 Just so in the Mass, which is the same sacrifice as that which Christ offered upon 
 the cross, because the Priest and the Victim are the same; it is abundantly sufficient 
 for the people's devotion, to be well instructed in what is then doing, and to excite 
 in their souls suitable acts of adoration, thanksgiving, repentance, etc., though 
 they understand not the particular prayers used by the priest at that time. 
 
 I must add, that for the devoutly and profitably concurring in sacrifice offered 
 to God, it is not even necessary that the people should hear or recite the same 
 prayers with the priest, but that the very seeing of Him is more than God was 
 pleased to require in His law. Hence we find, (St. Luke i. lo), that the whole 
 multitude of the people were praying without, when Zacharias went into the temple 
 to burn incense. And (Levit. xvi. 17), it was expressly ordered that there should 
 be no man in the tabernacle or temple, when the high-priest went with the blood 
 of the victims into the sanctuary to make atonement. 
 
 Q. But does not St. Paul (i Cor. xiv.), condenm the use of the unknown 
 tongues in the Liturgy of the Church ? 
 
 62 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. He has not one word in that whole chapter of the Liturgy of the Church; 
 but only reprehends the abuse of the gifts of tongues, which some amongst the 
 Corinthians were guilty of, who out of ostentation affected to make exhortations 
 or extemporary prayers in their assemblies in languages utterly unknown, which 
 for want of an interpreter could be of no edification to the rest of the faithful. But 
 this is far from being the practice of the Catholic Church, where all the exhorta- 
 tions, sermons and such-like instructions are made in the vulgar language; where 
 no new unknown extemporary prayers are recited, but the ancient public Liturgy 
 and Office of the Church, which, by long use are well-known, at least as to the 
 substance, by all the faithful; where in fine there is no want of interpreters, since 
 the people have the Church Offices interpreted into their own ordinary prayer-books; 
 and the pastors are commanded to explain to them the mysteries contained in the 
 Mass. (Council of Trent, Sess. 22, Chap. 8.) 
 
 Q. But why does the Church celebrate the Mass in Latin, rather than in vulgar 
 language ? 
 
 A. First, because it is her ancient language, used in all her sacred offices even 
 from the Apostles' days throughout all the Western parts of the world: and there- 
 fore the Church, which hates novelty, desires to celebrate her Liturgy in the same 
 language as the saints have done for so many ages. Second, for greater uniformity 
 in the public worship ; that so a Christian, in whatsoever country he chances to be, 
 may still find the Liturgy performed in the same manner, and in the same language 
 to which he is accustomed at home; and the Latin is certainly of all languages the 
 most proper for this, as being the most universally studied and known. Third, 
 to avoid the changes, to which all vulgar languages, as we find by experience, are 
 daily exposed. For the Church is unwilling to be chopping and changing her 
 Liturgy at every turn of language. 
 
 Q. Have any other Christians besides Roman Catholics ever celebrated their 
 Liturgy in a language which the greater part of the people did not understand ? 
 
 A. Yes; it is the practice of the Greeks, as we learn from Alex. Ross, in his 
 "View of the Reli^ons of Europe," (p. 481); and Mr. Breerwood in his "En- 
 quiries" (chap. 2, p. 12). It is the practice of all other sects of Christians in the 
 East and South, viz., of the Armenians, of the Syrians, of the Nestorians, of the 
 Copts or Egyptians, of the Abyssinians or Ethiopians, who all use in their liturgies, 
 their ancient languages, which have long since ceased to be understood by the 
 people: as we learn from Monsieur Renaudot in his "Dissertation Upon the Orien- 
 ental Liturgies" (chap. 6). And as for Protestants, we learn from Dr. Heylin's 
 "History of Reformation," (p. 128, etc.), that in Queen Elizabeth's time, "The 
 Irish Parliament passed an act for the uniformity of common-prayer; with per- 
 mission of saying the same in Latin, where the minister had not the knowledge of 
 the English tongue. But for translating it to Irish there was no care taken. The 
 people are required by that statute, under several penalties to frequent their churches 
 and to be present at the reading of the English liturgy, which they understood no 
 more than they do the Mass. By which means, we have furnished the Papists 
 with an excellent argument against ourselves, for having the divine service cele- 
 brated in such a language as the people do not understand." Thus Dr. Heylin. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Of the Sacrament of Penance; of Confession, and the 
 Preparation for It; of Absolution^ etc. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by the Sacrament of Penance ? 
 
 A. An institution of Christ by which our sins are forgiven, which we fall into 
 after baptism. 
 
 Q. In what does this institution consist ? 
 
 A. On the part of the penitent it consists in these three things, viz., contrition, 
 confession, satisfaction ; and on the part of the minister, in the absolution pro- 
 nounced by the authority of Jesus Christ. So that Penance is a Sacrament by which 
 the faithful, that have fallen into sins, confessing the same with a true repentance, 
 and a sincere purpose of making satisfaction to God, are absolved from their sins 
 by the ministers of God. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that the ministers of God have any such power as to 
 absolve sinners from their sins ? 
 
 A. I prove it from St. John, (xx. 22, 23), where Christ said to His ministers, 
 "Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whosesoever sins ye forgive they are forgiven unto 
 them, and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained." And St. Matt. (xvni. 18), 
 "Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, 
 and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 
 
 Q. But was this power given to any besides the Apostles ? 
 
 A. It was certainly ^ven to them and to their successors till the end of the 
 world; no less than the commission of preaching, baptizing, etc., which, though 
 addressed to the Apostles, were certainly designed to continue with their successors, 
 the pastors of the^Church forever according to that of Christ (Matt. xxvn. 20), 
 "Lo I am with you always even to the end of the world." And so the Protestant 
 Church understands these texts, in order for the visitation of the sick, in the com- 
 mon prayer-book, where she prescribes a form of absolution the same in substance 
 as that used in the Catholic Church, viz. 
 
 "Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to His Church to absolve all 
 sinners, who truly repent and believe in Him, of His great mercy forgive thee thine 
 offences : man by His authority committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, 
 in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." 
 
 Q. Is it then your doctrine that any man can forgive sins? 
 
 A. We do not believe that any man can forgive sins by his own power, as no 
 man by his own power can raise the dead to life: because both the one and the 
 other equally belong to the power of God. But as God has sometimes made men 
 His instruments in raising the dead to life, so we believe that He has been pleased 
 to appoint that His ministers should in virtue of His commission, as His instruments, 
 and by His power, absolve repenting sinners : and as this is evident from the texts 
 above quoted, it must be false zeal, under pretext of maintaining the honor of God, 
 to contradict this commission which He has so evidently given to His Church. 
 
 64 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. But will not sinners thus be encouraged to go on in their evil ways, upon the 
 confidence of being absolved by the pastors of the Church, whenever they please, 
 from their sins ? 
 
 A. The pastors of the Church have no power to absolve anyone without a 
 sincere repentance, and a firm purpose of a new life, and therefore the Catholic 
 doctrine of absolution can be no encouragement to any man to go on in his sins. 
 
 Q. What then is required on the part of the sinner in order to obtain forgive- 
 ness of his sins in the Sacrament of Penance ? 
 
 A. Three things, viz., contrition, confession, and satisfaction. By contrition, 
 we mean, "a heaxty sorrow for having offended so good a God, with a firm purpose 
 of amendment." By confession, we mean, "a ftill and sincere accusation made 
 to God's minister, of all mortal sins, which after a diligent examination of con- 
 science, a person can call to his remembrance." By satisfaction, we mean, "a 
 faithful performance of the penance enjoined by the priest." 
 
 Q. Wliat preparation then do you recommend before confession, in order to 
 discharge one's self well of this important duty? 
 
 A. A person that is preparing himself for confession has four things to do before 
 he goes to confession. First, he must pray earnestly to God for His divine grace 
 that he may be enabled to make a true and good confession. Second, he must 
 carefully examine his own conscience, in order to find out what sins he has com- 
 mitted, and how often. Third, he must take due time and pains to beg God's 
 pardon, and to procure a hearty sorrow for his sins. Fourth, he must make firm 
 resolutions with God's grace to avoid the like sins for the future, and to fly the 
 immediate occasions of them. 
 
 Q. Why must he begin his preparation by praying earnestly to God for His 
 divine grace? 
 
 A. Because a good confession is a work of the utmost importance, and withal 
 a difficult task, by reason of the pride of our hearts, and that fear and shame which 
 are natural to us, and which the devil, who is a mortal enemy to confession, seeks 
 to improve with all his power. And therefore a Christian that desires to make a 
 good confession, ought in the first place to address himself to God by fervent prayer 
 for His divine assistance. And the more he finds the enemy busy to instil into 
 him an unhappy fear or shame, the more earnestly must he implore the mercy arid 
 grace of God upon this occasion. 
 
 Q. In what manner must a person examine his conscience in order to make 
 a good confession? 
 
 A. He must use a moral diligence to find out the sins he has committed; 
 which requires more or less time and care, according to the length of time frorn his 
 last confession, and the greater or less care that he usually takes to determine the 
 state of his conscience. The common method of examination is to consider what 
 one has done against any of the commandments of God; what neglects there may 
 have been of Church precepts; how one has discharged one's self of the common 
 duties of a Christian, and of the particular duties of one's respective station of 
 life; how far one has been guilty of any of the seven sins, which are commonly 
 called capital, because they are the springs or fountains from whence all our sins 
 flow, etc. And for the helping of a person's memory in this regard, the table of 
 
 6s 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 sins which is found in the manual or other prayer-books may be of no small 
 service. 
 
 Q. Is a person to examine himself as to the number of times that he has been 
 guilty of this or that sin ? 
 
 A. Yes; because he is obliged to confess, as near as he can, the number of his 
 sins. But in sins of habit, which have been of long standing and very numerous, 
 it will be enough to examine and confess the length of time that he has been subject 
 to such a sin, and how many times he has fallen into it, in a day, in a week or month, 
 one time with another. 
 
 Q. What method do you prescribe to a person, in order to procure that hearty 
 sorrow for sin, which is the most necessary part of the preparation for confession ? 
 
 A. The best method to procure it is to beg it heartily of God; for it must be 
 His gift. None but God can give that change of heart, which is so essential to a 
 good confession, and he has been pleased to promise (St. Matt. vn. 7), "Ask and 
 it shall be given you: seek and ye shall find: knock and it shall be opened unto 
 you." To this end also pious meditation and considerations, and devout acts of 
 contrition, which are found in books of devotion, will much contribute, if read 
 lekurely and attentively, so as to sink into the heart. But because many persons 
 content themselves with running over in haste the Prayers before Confession, which 
 they meet with in their books, with little or no change in the heart, which perhaps, 
 is grown hard by sinful habits, it is to be feared their performances are too often 
 worth nothing in the sight of God. 
 
 Q. What then do you advise in the case of habitual sinners, in order to procure 
 a true change of heart ? 
 
 A. I advise them to a spiritual retreat for some days, in which being retired 
 as much as possible from the noise of the world, they may think of the great truths 
 of religion, of the end for which they came into this world, of the benefits of God, 
 of the enormity of sin, of the sudden passing away of all that this world admires, 
 of the four last things, of the passion of Christ, etc. ; that so the serious considera- 
 tions of these great truths, joined to retirement and prayer, may make a due im- 
 pression on their hearts, and effectually convert them to God. Those whose cir- 
 cumstances will not permit them to make a regular retreat, may at least endeavor 
 during some days to think as often and as seriously as they can upon the truths 
 above mentioned and by frequently and fervently calling upon the Father of mercies, 
 in the midst of all their employments, may hope to procure to themselves the like 
 grace. 
 
 Q. What must be the chief motive of a sinner's sorrow and repentance, in 
 order to qualify him for absolution? 
 
 A. Divines are not perfectly agreed in the resolution of this query; but all 
 are perfectly agreed in advising every one to aim at the best motive he can; and 
 that the best and safest way is to renounce and detest our sins for the love of God 
 above all things. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by the resolution of amendment, which you suppose tO' 
 be a necessary ingredient in the preparation for confession ? 
 
 A. I mean a full determination of the soul to fly iv the future all wilfuL 
 sin, and the inuAediate occasions of it. 
 
 66 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by the immediate occasions of sin? 
 
 A. All such company, places, employment, diversions, books, etc., which are 
 apt to draw a person to mortal sin, either in deed, word, or in thought. 
 
 Q. And is a person indispensably obliged to avoid all such immediate occasions 
 of sin? 
 
 A. He is obliged to avoid them to the very utmost of his power, according to 
 that Gospel-rule of parting even with a hand or an eye, that is an occasion of offence 
 to the soul. (St. Matt. xvm. 8, 9.) 
 
 Q. What Scripture do you bring to recommend the confession of our sins to 
 God's ministers? 
 
 A. First, the precept of God in the Old Testament (Numb, v.: 6, 7), "When 
 a man or a woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against 
 the Lord, and that person be guilty, then they shall confess their sin which they 
 have done," etc. Second, the example of the people that hearkened to the preach- 
 ing of St. John the Baptist, who were baptized by him, "confessing their sins,'* 
 (St. Matt. m. 6). Third, the prescription of St. James V. 16. "Confess your 
 sins one to another"; that is, to the priests, or elders of the Church, whom the 
 Apostle had ordered to be called for (v. 14). Fourth, the practice of the first 
 Christians (Acts xix. 18), "Many that believed came, and confessed and declared 
 their deeds." 
 
 Q. How do you prove that there is any command of Christ, for the confession 
 of our sins to His ministers ? 
 
 A. I prove it from the conunission which Christ has given to His ministers, 
 (St. John XX. 22, 23), "Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whosesoever sins you remit 
 they are remitted unto them, and whosesoever sins you retain, they are retained." 
 And (St. Matt. xvni. 18), "Verily I say unto you, whatsoever you shall bind on 
 earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be 
 loosed in heaven." For it is visible that this commission of binding or loosing, 
 forgiving or retaining sins, according to the merits of the cause and the disposition 
 of the penitent, cannot be rightly executed without taking cognizance of the state 
 of the soul of him who desires to be absolved from his sins by virtue of this com- 
 mission; and consequently cannot be rightly executed without confession. So 
 that we conclude with St. Augustine*, that to pretend it is enough to confess to 
 God alone, is making void the power of the keys given to the Church (St. Matt. 
 XVI. 19) ; that it is contradicting the Gospel, and making void the commission of 
 Christ. 
 
 Q. Are Christians then obliged to confess all their sins to the ministers of Christ ? 
 
 A. They are obliged to confess all such sins as are mortal, or of which they 
 have reason to doubt, lest they may be mortal; but they are not oUiged to confess 
 venial sins, because as these do not exclude eternally from the kingdom of heaven^ 
 so there is not a strict obligation of having recourse for the remission of them to the 
 keys of the Church. 
 
 Q. But by what rule shall a person be able to make a judgment whether hw 
 sins be mortal or venial ? 
 
 A. AH those sins are to be esteemed mortal which the word of God represents 
 
 * Homir 49. Inter 50. 
 
 67 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 to us as hateful to God, against which he pronounces a woe, or of which it declares 
 that such as do those things shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven: of these 
 we have many instances (Rom. i. 29, 30, 31; i Cor. vi. 9, 10; Galat. v. 19, 20, 21; 
 Ephes. V. 5; Apocalypse xxi. 8), and in the Old Testament (Isai. v. Ezek. xvni., 
 etc.). But though it be very easy to know that some sins are mortal, and others 
 but venial, yet to pretend to be able always perfectly to distinguish which are mortal 
 and which are not, is above the reach of the most able divines; and therefore a 
 prudent Christian will not easily pass over sins in confession, under pretence of 
 their being venial, unless he be certain of it. And this caution is more particularly 
 necessary in certain cases, where persons being ashamed to confess their sins, are 
 willing to persuade themselves they are but venial ; for in such cases it is much to 
 be feared lest their self-love should bias their judgment. 
 
 Q. Is it a great crime to conceal, through shame or fear, any mortal sin in 
 confession? 
 
 A. Yes, it is a great crime; because it is telling a lie to the Holy Ghost; for 
 which kind of sin Aianias and Sapphira were struck dead, by a just judgment of 
 God. (Acts V.) It is acting deceitfully with God, and that in a matter of the 
 utmost consequence. It is a sacrilege, because it is an abuse of the sacrament of 
 Penance, and is generaJly followed by another greater sacrilege in receiving un- 
 worthily the body and blood of Christ. And what is still more dreadful, such sinners 
 seldom stop at the first bad confession and communion, but usually go on for a 
 long time in these sins, and very often die in them. But it is not only a great crime 
 to conceal one's sins in confession, it is a great folly and madness too; because 
 such offenders, if they have not renounced their faith, know very well that these sins 
 must be confessed, or that they must burn for them; and they cannot be ignorant 
 that these bad confessions do but increase their burden, by adding to it the dreadful 
 guilt of repeated sacrileges, which they have far more difficulty of confessing, than 
 these very sins of which they are now so much ashamed. 
 
 Q. Have you any instances in Church History of remarkable judgments of 
 God upon those that have presumed to approach to the Blessed Sacrament, without 
 making a sincere confession of their sins? 
 
 A. Yes; we have several recorded by St. Cyprian (L. de Lapsis), and other 
 grave authors; but the most common, and indeed the most dreadful punishment of 
 these sins, is a blindness and a hardness of heart, which God justly permits such 
 sinners to fall into, and which is the broad road to final impenitence. 
 
 Q. Have you any things to offer by the way of encouragement to sinners to 
 confess their sins sincerely? 
 
 A. Yes; first, the great benefit that their souls will reap in the remission of 
 their sins, promised by Christ (St. Matt, xviii. 18; and St. John xx. 22, 23), and 
 the other advantages which an humble confession of sins brings along with it, such 
 as a present comfort and ease of conscience, a remedy against future sins, directions 
 and prescriptions from the minister of God for the curing the spiritual maladies 
 of the soul, etc. Second, that by this short passing confusion, which will last but 
 a moment, they will escape the dreadful shame of having their sins written on their 
 foreheads at the last day to their eternal confusion. Third, that the greater their 
 sins have been, the greater will be the joy, as of the whole court of heaven, so of 
 
 68 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 their confessor here upon earth, to see their sincere conversion to God testified by 
 the humble confession of their shameful sins upon which account, so far from 
 thinking worse of them, he will conceive far greater hopes of their future progress, 
 and a more tender affection for them. Fourth, that by the law of God and His 
 Church, whatever is declared in confession can never be discovered directly or in- 
 directly to any one, upon any account whatsoever, but remains an eternal secret 
 between God and the penitent soul; of which the confessor cannot, even to save 
 his ovm life, make any use at all to the penitent's discredit, disadvantage or any 
 other grievance whatsoever. Vide Decretum Innocenti XI.:, die Ncrvmib. Anno 
 1682. 
 
 Q. But suppose it has been the sinner's misfortune to have made a bad con- 
 fession, or perhaps a great many bad confessions, what must he do to repair this 
 fault and to reinstate himself in God's grace ? 
 
 A. He must apply himself to God by hearty prayer for His grace and mercy; 
 and so prepare himself to make a good general confession of all his sins at least 
 from the time of his going astray, because all the confessions that he has made 
 since he began to conceal his sins were all sacrilegious and cor^sequently null and 
 invalid; and therefore must be all repeated again. 
 
 Q. But is he obliged in this case to confess again those sins which he has con- 
 fessed before ? 
 
 A. He is, because the concealing of any orie mortal sin in confession makes the 
 whole confess on worth nothing; ,and all the following confessions, until this fault 
 is repaired, are all null; and therefore they must all be made again. But if it be 
 to the same confessor, who has a confused remembrance of the sins before confessed, 
 It may suffice for the penitent to accuse himself in general terms of all that has 
 been confessed before; and then to specify in particular the sins that have been 
 omitted, together with the number of the bad confessions and commtinions that 
 have been made by him. 
 
 Q. Are there any other cases in which the confession is worth nothing, and 
 consequently must be made again, besides this case of concealing mortal sin? 
 
 ,A. Yes; if the penitent has taken no care to examine his conscience, or to pro- 
 cure the necessary sorrow for his sins, or a true purpose of amendment, his cori- 
 f^sion is good for nothing, and must ht repeated; and also, if the priest to whom 
 he has made his confession has not had the necessary faculties and approbation. 
 
 Q. What, if the penitent, through forgetfulness, pass over some mortal sin in 
 confession? 
 
 A. This omission, provided there was no considerable negligence which gave 
 occasion to it, does not make .the confession invalid; But then the sin that has 
 been thus omitted must be confessed afterwards when the peniteiit remembers 
 it; and if he remembers it beforfe communion, it ought to be confessed before he 
 goes to Communion; if he remembers it not till after Communion, he inust confess 
 it in the next confession. 
 
 Q. Is a person obliged to Confess the cifcuttistances of his sins ? ' 
 
 ^. He is obliged to confess such circumstances as alter the kind or nature' of 
 the sin; and also, such as notably aggravate the guilt; but in modest and decent 
 terms, particularly in confessing the circunist'ances of sins against chastity. • 
 
 69 
 
OUR CHXJRCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. Would it be a crime to neglect tne penance or satisfaction enjoined by the 
 priest? 
 
 A. Yes, it would; the more because we ought to regard the penance enjoined 
 as an exchange which God makes of the eta-nd punishments, which we have de- 
 served by sin, into these small penitential works. 
 
 Q. Has the Church of God always enjoined penances to sinners? 
 
 A. Yes, she has, and in the primitive times much more severe than now-a-days, 
 when three, seven or ten years of penance used to be imposed for sins of impurity, 
 perjury, etc 
 
 Q. Does the Church at present approve of giving ordinarily very slight penances 
 for very great sins ? 
 
 A. So far from it, that the Council of Trent (Sess. 14. chap. 8), gives us to 
 understand, that a confessor, by such excessive indulgence, is in danger of drawing 
 upon his own head the g^t of his penitent's sins, and declares that a priest ought to 
 enjoin a swtaUe penance according to the quality of the crime and the penitent's 
 alnlity. 
 
 Q. Ought the penitent to content himself with performing the penance en- 
 joined, so as to take no farther thought about making satisfaction to God for his sins ? 
 
 A. No, by no means, for it is to be feared that the penance enjoined is seldom 
 sufficient to take off all the punishment due to God's justice upon account of our 
 sins; and it is certain, that the more a penitent is touched with a hearty sorrow for 
 his offences against God, the more he will be desirous of making satisfaction, and 
 reven^ng upon himself by penitential severities the injury done to God by his sins. 
 Hence the life of a good Christian ought to be a perpetual penance. 
 
 Q. What then do you recommend to a penitent, besides the performance of his 
 penance, in order to cancel the punishment due to his sins, and to make satisfaction 
 to the Divine Justice? 
 
 A. I recommend to him, first, ever to maintain in himsdf a penitential spirit, 
 and in that spirit to perform all his prayer; daily offering up to God the sacrifice 
 of a contrite and humble heart. Second, I recommend to him alms-deeds, both 
 corporal and spiritual, according to his ability. Third, fasting and other mortifica- 
 tions, e^edally the retrenching all superfluities in eating, drinking, and sleeping; 
 all unnecessary diversions, and much more all such as are dangerous, all idle 
 curiosity, vanity, etc. Fourth, I recommend to him to have recourse to indulgences, 
 and to perform with rdi^^ous exactitude the conditions thereunto required. Fifth, 
 in fine, I recommend to him to take from the hands of God, in part of penance for 
 his sins, all sicknesses, pains, labors, and all other crosses whatsoever, and daily 
 to offer them up to God, to be united to and sanctified by the sufferings and death 
 of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Q. What is the form and manner of confession? 
 
 A. The penitent, having duly prepared himself by prayer, by a serious exami- 
 nation of his conscience, and a hearty contrition for his sins, kneels down at the 
 confession chair on one side of the priest, and making the sign of the cross nptm 
 himself, asks the priest's blessing, saying: "Pray, Father! give me your blessing." 
 Then the priest blesses him in the following words: "The Lord be in thy heart. 
 and in thy lips, that thou mayest truly and humUy confess all thy sins, in the nanw 
 
 70 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen." After which the 
 penitent says the Confiteor, in Latin^ or. in English,, as far asMea culpa, etc., and 
 then accuses himself of all bis sins as to the kind, number, and aggravating circum* 
 stances; and concludes with this or the like form: "Of these, and all other sins of 
 my whole life, I humHy accuse myself; I am heartily sorry for them, I beg pardon 
 of God and penance and absolution of you, my ghostly father." And so he finishes 
 the Confiteor, " Therefore I beseech thee," etc. And then attends to the instructions 
 igiven by the priest, and humbly accepts the penance enjoined. 
 
 Q. What is the form of absolution ? 
 
 A. First, the priest says: "May the Almighty God have mercy on thee, and 
 forgive thee thy sins, and bring thee to life everlasting. Amen." 
 
 Then stretching forth his right hand towards the penitent, he says, "May 
 the Almighty and merdful Lord give thee pardon, absolution and remission of thy 
 sins. Amen. 
 
 "Our Lord Jesus Christ absolve thee, and I, by His authority, absolve thee, in 
 the first place, from every bond of exconununication or interdict, as far as I have 
 power, and thou standest in need: in the next place, I absolve thee fi-om all thy 
 sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 
 
 "May the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary, and of all the saints, and whatsoever good thou shalt do, whatsoever evil thou 
 shalt suff^, be to thee unto the remission of thy sins, the increase of grace, and the 
 recompense of everlasting life. Amen." 
 
 Q. In what case is a confessor to defer or deny absolution ? 
 
 A^ The rule of the Church is to defer absolution, excepting the case of neces- 
 sity, to those of whose disposition the confessor has just cause to doubt, and to deny 
 absolution to those who are certainly indisposed for it; which is the case of aU 
 such as refuse to forgive their enemies, or to restore ill-gotten goods, or to forsake 
 the halnts or immediate occasions of sin, or in a word, to comply with any part of 
 their duty, to which they are oUiged under mortal sin. (Rit. Rom. de Sacramento 
 Poenitentioi). 
 
 Q. How do you prove, from all that has been said, that penance, i. e., the 
 confession and absolution of sinners, is properly a sacrament ? 
 
 A. Because it is an outward sign of inward grace, ordained by Jesus Christ ; 
 which is the very notion and definition of a sacrament: the outward sign is found 
 in the sinner's confession, and the form of absolution pronounced by the priest; 
 the inward grace is the remission of sins, promised by Jesus Christ (St. John xx. 
 3a, 33), and the ordinance of Christ is gathered from the same place, and from St. 
 Matt. xvm. i& 
 
 7« 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Of Indulgences and Jubilees, 
 
 Q. What do you mean by indulgences? 
 
 A. There is not any part of the doctrine of the Catholic Church that is more 
 grossly misrepresented by our adversaries than this of indulgences, for the gen- 
 erality of Protestants imagine that an indulgence is a license to commit sin, or at 
 least, that it is a pardon for sins to come; whereas, indeed, it is no such thing. 
 There is no such power in heaven or earth that can give leave to commit sin; and 
 consequently there is no giving pardon beforehand for sins to come. All this 
 is far from the belief and practice of the Catholic Church. By an indulgence, 
 therefore, we mean no more than a releasing to true penitents the debt of temporal 
 punishment, which remained due to their sins, after the sins, themselves, as to the 
 guilt and eternal punishment had been abready remitted by the Sacrament of 
 Penance, or by perfect contrition. 
 
 Q. Be pleased to explain this a little farther. 
 
 A. That you may understand this better, take notice, that in sin there are 
 two things: there is the guilt of the sin, and there is the debt of the punishment 
 due to God upon account of the sin. Now upon the sinner's repentance and con- 
 fession, the sin is remitted as to the guilt, and likewise as to the eternal punishment 
 in hell, due to every mortal sin; but the repentance and conversion are seldom 
 so perfect as to release the sinner from all debt of temporal punishment due to 
 God's justice, which the penitent must either discharge by the way of satisfaction 
 and penance; or, if he be deficient therein, he must expect to suffer hereafter in 
 proportion to this debt which he owes to the Divine Majesty. Now, an indul- 
 gence, when duly obtained, is a release from this debt of temporal pimishment. 
 
 Q. How do you prove, that after the guilt of sin and the eternal punishment 
 have been remitted, there remains oftentimes a debt of temporal punishment due 
 to the Divine Justice? 
 
 A. I prove it, first; from Scripture; where, to omit other instances, we find in 
 the case of David (2 Sam. xn.), that although upon hij repentance the prophet 
 Nathan assiired him (v. 13), that the Lord hath put away his sin, yet he denounced 
 unto him many temporal punishments, which should be inflicted by reason of this 
 sin: which, accordingly, after ensued. (See v. 10, 11, 12, 13.) Second, I prove it 
 from the perpetual practice of the Church of God, of enjoining penances to the 
 repenting sinners, in order to cancel this punishment due to their sins. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that the Church has received a power from Christ of 
 discharging a penitent sinner from this debt of temporal punishment, which re- 
 mains due upon account of his sins ? 
 
 A. I prove it by that promise of our Lord made to St. Peter (St. Matt. xvi. 19), 
 "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou 
 shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever that shalt loose on 
 earth shall be loosed in heaven." Which promise, made without any exception, 
 
 .72 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 reservation or limitation, must needs imply a power of loosing or releasing all such 
 bonds as might likewise hinder or retard a Christian soul from entering heaven. 
 
 Q. Did the primitive Church ever practise an)^hing of this nature ? 
 
 A. Yes, very frequently, in discharging penitents, when there appeared just 
 cause for it, from a great part of the penance due to their sins as may be seen in 
 TertuUian, St. C3rprian, and other ancient monuments; and of this nature, was 
 what St. Paul himself practised in forgiving, as he says (2 Cor. n. 10), in the person 
 of Christ — that is, by the power and authority received from Him, — the in- 
 cestuous Corinthian, without waiting his going through a longer course of 
 penance. 
 
 Q. But were these primitive indulgences imderstood to release the punish- 
 ment due to sin in the sight of God, or only that which was enjoined in the Church 
 in her penitential canons? 
 
 A. Both one and the other, as often as they were granted upon a just cause: 
 according to what our Lord has promised (St. Matt. xvrn. 18,) "Verily I say unto 
 you, whastoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatso- 
 ever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 
 
 Q. What conditions are necessary for the validity of an indulgence? 
 
 A. First on the part of him that grants the indulgence, besides sufficient au- 
 thority, it is necessary that there be a just cause or motive for the grant ; for, accord- 
 ing to the common doctrine of the best divines, indulgences, granted without cause, 
 wUl not be ratified by Almighty God. Second, on the part of him that is to obtain 
 the indulgence, it is requisite that he duly perform the conditions prescribed, such 
 as going to confession and communion, fasting, alms, prayers, etc., and that he be 
 in a state of grace; for it is in vain to expect the remission of the punishment due 
 to sin, whilst a person continues in the guilt of mortal sin. 
 
 Q. Does the indulgence so far remit all temporal pimishment, as to free a 
 penitent from all obligation of doing penance for his sins ? 
 
 A. No; for the obligation of doing penance for sin, and leading a penitential 
 life, is an indispensable duty. Hence the Church usually enjoins penitential works, 
 in order for the obtaining of indulgences. And the opinion of the learned Cajetan 
 and others is highly probable, that one condition for attaining to the benefit of an 
 indulgence, in the release of the punishment of the next life, is a disposition to do 
 penance in this life: for the treasure of the Church, out of which indulgences are 
 granted, is intended by our great Master for the relief of the indigent ; yet not so 
 as to encourage the lazy, who refuse to labor at all for themselves. 
 , Q. Are yoU; then of opinion, that a Christian receives no farther benefit by an 
 indulgence, than he would do by the penitential works which he performs for the 
 obtaining of that indulgence? 
 
 . 4., I am far from being of that opinion; for, according to that way of thinking, 
 no benefit would be reaped from the indulgence, but only from the works performed 
 for the obtaining of it : whereas, the Church of God has declared in the Council 
 'of Trent, that "Indulgences are very wholesome to Christian people." (Sess. 25.) 
 But what many divines maintain is, that regularly speaking, there is " required 
 t'h6ugh not an equality^ yet sortie proportion at least between the works to be done 
 for the obtaining of an indulgence, and the indulgence itself : and this I believe to 
 
 ■73 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 T)e true. (See Soto in 4tum. Dist. 12. Q. 2. Art. 2. and Sylvius in Sup. Q. 35. 
 Art. a. Quesito a. Condus. 5.) 
 
 Q. What is meant by the treasure of the Church, out of which indxilgences are 
 ■said to be granted ? 
 
 A. The treasure of the Church, according to divines, is the merits and satis- 
 faction of Christ and lEs saints, out of which the Church, when she grants an 
 indulgence to her children, offers to God an equivalent for the punishment which 
 was due to the Divine Justice. For the merits and satisfaction of Christ are of 
 infinite value, and never to be exhausted, and the source of all our good: and as the 
 merits and satisfactions of the saints have their value from Christ, and through Him 
 are accepted by the Father, so by the Communion, which all the members of Christ's 
 mystical body have one vnth another, they are applicable to the faithful upon earth. 
 
 Q. What is meant by a plenary indulgence? 
 
 A. That which, when duly obtained, releases the whole pimishment that re- 
 mained due upon account of past sins. 
 
 Q. What is meant by an indulgence of seven years or of forty days? 
 
 A. By an indulgence of so many years or days is meant the remission of the 
 penance of so many years or days, and consequently of the punishment corre- 
 sponding to the sins, which, by the canons of the Church, would have required so 
 many years or days of penance. {Bellarmin, 1. i. de Indulg. c. 9.) And thus, if it 
 be true that there ever were any grants of indulgence of a thousand years or more 
 they are to be understood with relation to the punishment corresponding to the 
 sins, which according to the penitential canons would have required a thousand or 
 more years of penance. For since, by these canons, seven or ten years of penance 
 were usually assigned for one mortjil sin of lust, perjury, etc., it follows, that habitual 
 sinners, according to the rigor of the canons, must have been liable to great numbers 
 ■of years of penance, and perhaps some thousands of years. And though 
 they could not be expected to live so long as to fiJfil this penance, yet, as by their 
 sins they had incurred a debt of punishment proportionable to so long a time of 
 penance these indulgences of so many years, if ever granted (which some call in 
 ■question), were designed to release them from the debt. 
 
 Q. Wiat is the meaning of indulgences for the dead? 
 
 A. They are not granted by way of absolution, since the pastors of the Church 
 have not that jurisdiction over the dead: but they are only available to the faithful 
 departed, by way of suffrage, or spiritual succor applied to their soula out of the 
 treasure of the chiirch. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of a jubilee? 
 
 A. A jubilee, so called from the resemblance it bears with the jubilee-year in 
 the Old Law, Levit. xxv. and xxvrr. (which was a year of renussion, in which 
 lx>ndsmen were restored to liberty, and every one returned to his possession), is 
 a plenary indulgence granted every twenty-fifth year, as also upon other extraordi- 
 nary occasions, to such as, being truly penitent, shall worthily receive the Blessed 
 Sacrament, and perform the other conditions of fasting, alms and prayer, usually 
 prescribed at such times. 
 
 Q. What then is the difference between a jubilee and any other plenary indul- 
 ■gcncc? 
 
 74 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. A jubilee is more solemn, and accompanied with certain privileges, not 
 iiso^y granted upon other occasions, with regard to the being absolved by an 
 ^proved confessor from all excommunications and other reserved cases, and 
 having vows exchanged into the performance of other works of piety. To which 
 ire may add, that as a jubilee is extended to the whole Church, which at that time 
 joiiis, as it were, in a body, in offering a holy violence to heaven by prayers and 
 penitential works; and as the cause for granting an indulgence as such times is 
 usually more evident and more of greater works of piety are prescribed for the ob- 
 taining it, the indulgence in consequence is likely to be much more certain and 
 secure. 
 
 Q. What are the fruits which usually are seen amongst Catholics at the time 
 of *. jubilee? 
 
 A. As at that time the Church most pressingly invites all sinners to return to 
 God with their whole hearts, and encourages them by setting open her spiritual 
 treasure in their favor, so the most usual effects of a jubilee are the conversions of 
 great numbers of sinners, and the multiplying of all sorts of good works amongst 
 the faithful. So far it is from being true, that indulgences are an encouragement 
 to sin, or an occasion of a neglect of good works, as oxir adversaries unjustly object. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ; H^ i 
 
 73 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by Extreme Unction ? 
 
 A. I mean the anointing of the sick, prescribed (St. James v. 14, 15), "Is any 
 man sick among you, let him call for the priests of the Church, and let them pray 
 over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith 
 shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall ease him, and if he be in sins, they shall 
 be forgiven him." 
 
 Q. How do you prove that this anointing of the sick is a sacrament ? 
 
 A. Because it is the outward sign of an inward grace or a divine ordinance, to 
 which is annexed a promise of grace in God's holy Word. The anointing, together 
 •with the prayers that accompany, it are the outward sign: the ordinance of God is 
 found in the words of St. James above quoted: the inward grace is promised in the 
 same place, "The prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and if he be in sins, 
 they shall be forgiven him." 
 
 Q. How do you prove that this ordinance was designed for all ages, and not 
 only for the time of the apostles ? 
 
 A. Because the words of the Scripture in which this ordinance is contained, are 
 no way limited to the Apostles' time, no more than the words of the ordinance of 
 Baptism (St. Matt, xxvm.), and because the Church of God, the best interpreter 
 of His words and ordinances, has practised it in all ages. 
 
 Q. To what kind of people is the Sacrament of Extreme Unction to be ad- 
 ministered? 
 
 A. To those who after having come to the use of reason, are in danger of death 
 by sickness; but not to children under the age of reason, nor to persons sentenced 
 to death, etc. 
 
 Q. Can the same person receive the Sacrament of Extreme Unction more than 
 once? 
 
 A, Yes: but not in the same illness, except it should be of long continuance, 
 and that the state of the sick man should be changed, so as to recover out of the 
 danger, and then fall into the like case again. 
 
 Q. What are the efiFects and fruits of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction ? 
 
 A. First, it remits sins, at least such as are venial, for mortal or deadly sins 
 must be remitted, before receiving Extreme Unction, by the Sacrament of Penance 
 and confession. Second, it heals the soul of her infirmity and weakness, and a 
 certain propension to sin contracted by former sins, which are apt to remain in the 
 soul, as the unhappy relics of sin; and it helps to remove something of the debt of 
 punishment due to past sins. Third, it imparts stringth to the soul, to bear more 
 easily the illness of the body, and arms her against the attempts of her spiritual 
 enemies- Fourth, if it be expedient for the good of the soul, it often restores the 
 health of the body. 
 
 Q. What kind of oil is that which is made use of in the Sacrament of Extreme 
 Unction ? 
 
 76 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. Oil of olives, solemnly blessed by the bishop every year on Maundy- 
 Thursday. 
 
 Q. What are the form and manner of administering this sacrament ? 
 
 A. First, the priest, having instructed and disposed the sick person to this 
 sacrament, recites, if the time permit, certain prayers prescribed in the Ritual, to 
 beg God's blessing upon the sick, and that his holy angels may defend them that 
 dwell in that habitation, from all evil. Second, is said the Confiteor, or general 
 form of confession, and absolution; and the priest exhorts all present to join in 
 prayer for the person that is sick; and if opportunity permit according to the quality 
 or number of persons there present, to recite the Seven Penitential Psalms with 
 the Litanies, or other prayers, upon this occasion. Third, the priest, making three 
 times the sign of the cross upon the sick person, at the name of the Blessed Trinity, 
 says, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, may all 
 power of the devil be extinguished in thee, by the laying on of our hands, and the 
 invocation of all the holy angels, archangels, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, 
 confessors, virgins, and all the saints. Amen." Fourth, dipping his thumb in the 
 holy oil, he anoints the sick person, in the form of the cross, upon his eyes, ears, 
 nose, mouth, hands and feet ; at each anointing making use of this form of prayer : 
 "Through this holy unction, and His own most tender mercy, may the Lord pardon 
 thee whatever sins thou hast committed by thy sight. Amen." And so of the 
 hearing, and the rest, adapting the form to the several senses. Fifth, after this the 
 priest goes on: "Lord, have mercy on us. Christ have mercy on us. Lord have 
 mercy on us. Our Father, etc. And lead us not into temptation. R. But deliver 
 us from evil. V. Save thy servant. R. Trusting in Thee, O my God. V. Send 
 him, O Lord, help from Thy sanctuary. R. And do thou defend him from Sion. 
 V. Be to him, O Lord, a tower of strength. R. From the face of the enemy. V. 
 Let not the enemy have any power over him. R. Nor the son of iniquity be able 
 to hurt him. V. Lord, hear my prayer. R. And let my cry come unto Thee. 
 V. The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit." 
 
 Let us pray. 
 O Lord God, who hast said by Thy Apostle James, "Is any one sick among 
 you, let him call for the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, 
 anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save 
 the sick, and the Lord shall ease him; and if he be in sins they shall be remitted 
 to him"; heal we beseech Thee, O our Redeemer, by the grace of the Holy Ghost, 
 the maladies of this sick man, cure his wounds, and forgive him his sins, and expel 
 from him all pains of mind and body, and mercifully restore unto him perfect health, 
 both as to the interior and exterior, that being recovered by Thy mercy, he may 
 return to his former duties. Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and 
 reignest one God, forever and ever. Amen. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 Look down, we beseech Thee, O Lord, on Thy servant N., fainting under the 
 infirmity of his body, and refresh a soul which Thou hast created that he, being 
 improved by Thy chastisements, may be saved by Thy medicine. Through Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 77 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 O Holy Lord, Almighty Father, everlasting God! who, by imparting the grace 
 of Thy benediction to sick bodies, preservest, according to the multitude of Tbj 
 mercies, the work of Thy hands; favorably attend to the invocation of Thy nam^ 
 and deliver Thy servant from his illness, and restoring him to health, raise hirri up 
 by Thy right hand, and strengthen him by Thy virtue, defend him by Thy power, 
 and restore him with all desired prosperity to Thy Holy Church. Through CbrKt 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 As to what belongs to the order of the visitation of the sick, and the prayeas 
 and devotions proper upon that occasion, as also the manner of assisting those 
 that are dying, consult the Roman Ritual; out of which I shall present you with 
 the following form of the recommendation of a departing soul. 
 
 78 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Order of the Recommendation of a Soul that is 
 
 Just Departing. 
 
 Q. What is the form or order of the recommendation of a soul to God in its 
 last passage? 
 
 A. First, there is a short litany recited, adj^ted to that occasion- then the 
 following prayers : 
 
 Go forth, O Christian soul! from this world, in the name of God the Father 
 Almighty, who created thee; in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of the living God 
 who suffered for thee; in the name of the Holy Ghost, who sanctified thee; in the 
 name of the angels and the archangels; in the name of the thrones and dominations; 
 in the name of the principalities and powers; in the name of the cherubim and 
 seraphim; in the name of the patriarchs and prophets; in the name of the holy 
 Apostles and Evangelists; in the name of the holy martyrs and confessors; in the 
 name of the holy monks and hermits; in the name of the holy virgins, and of all 
 the saints of God: let thy place be this day in peace, and Thy abode in the holv 
 Sion. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 God most merciful! O God most clement! O God! Who, according to the 
 multitude of Thy tender mercies, Hottest out the sins of the penitent, and gra- 
 ciously remittest the guilt of their past offences; mercifully regard this Thy servant 
 N. and vouchsafe to hear him, who with the whole confession of his heart begs 
 for the remmission of all his sins. Renew, O most merciful Father! whatever has 
 been corrupted in him through human frailty or violated through the deceit of the 
 enemy; and associate him as a member of redemption to the unity of the body of 
 the Church. Have compassion, O Lord! on his sighs; have compassion on his 
 tears, and admit him, who has no hope but in Thy mercy, to the Sacrament of Thy 
 reconciliation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 1 recommend thee, dear brother, to the Almighty God, and commit thee ta 
 His care, Whose creature thou art ; that when thou shalt have paid the debt of all 
 mankind by death, thou mayest return to thy Maker, Who formed thee of the slime 
 of the earth. When thy sod therefore shall depart from thy body, let the re- 
 splendent multitude of the angels meet thee: let the triumphant army of the mar- 
 tyrs, clad in their white robes conduct thee: let the glorious company of illustrious 
 confessors encompass thee; let the choir of joyful virgins receive thee: and mayest 
 thou meet with a blessed repose in the bosom of the patriarchs: Let Christ Jesus 
 appear to thee with a mild and cheerful countenance, and order thee a place amongst 
 those that are to stand before Him forever. Mayest thou never know the horror of 
 darkness, the gnashing in flames or racking torments. May the most wicked 
 enemy, with all his evil spirits, be forced to give way: may he tremble at thy ap- 
 proach in the company of angels, and fly away into the vast chaos of eternal night. 
 Let God arise, and His enemies be dispersed: and let them that hate Him fly before 
 His face; let them, like smoke, come to nothing, and as wax that melts before the 
 
 79 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 fire, so let sinners perish in the sight of God, but may the just feast and rejoice in 
 His sight. Let then all the legions of heU be confounded and put to shame, and 
 may none of the ministers of Satan dare to stop thee in thy way. May Christ 
 deliver thee from torments, who was crucified for thee. May Christ deliver thee 
 from eternal death, who vouchsafed to die for thee. May Christ the Son of God 
 place thee in the ddightful garden of His Paradise, and may He, the true Shepherd, 
 number thee amongst His sheep. May He absolve thee from all thy sins, and 
 place thee at His right hand in the lot of His elect. Mayest thou see Thy Redeemer, 
 face to face, and standing always in His presence, behold with joyful eyes the most 
 clear truth. Mayest thou be placed amongst the companies of the blessed, and 
 enjoy the sweetness of the contemplation of thy God forever. Amen. 
 
 Receive Thy servant, O Lord! into the place of salvation, which he hopes for 
 from Thy mercy. R. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord! the soul of Thy servant, from all the perils of hell, from 
 pains and all tribulations. R. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord! the soul of Thy servant, as Thou deliveredst Enoch and 
 Elias from the common death of the world. R. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord! the soul of Thy servant, as Thou deliveredst Noah from the 
 flood. R. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord ! the soul of Thy servant, as Thou deliveredst Abraham from 
 Ur of the Claaldeans. R. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord! the soul of Thy servant, as Thou deliveredst Job from his 
 sufferings. R. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord! the soul of Thy servant, as thou deliveredst Isaac from 
 being sacrificed by the hand of his father Abraham, i?. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord! the soul of Thy servnant, as Thou deliveredst Lot from 
 Sodom, and the flames of fire. R. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord! the soul of Thy servant, as Thou deliveredst Moses from 
 the hands of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. R. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord! the soul of Thy servant, as Thou deliveredst Daniel from the 
 lion's den. R. Amen! 
 
 Deliver, O Lord! the soul of Thy servant, as Thou deliveredst the three chil- 
 dren from the fiery furnace, and from the hands of a wicked king. R. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord ! the soul of Thy servant, as Thou deliveredst Susannah from 
 her false accusers. R. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord! the soul of Thy servant, as Thou deliveredst David from the 
 hands of King Saul, and from the hands of Goliath. R. Amen. 
 
 Deliver, O Lord! the soul of Thy servant, as Thou deliveredst Peter and Paul 
 out of prison. R. Amen. 
 
 And as Thou deliveredst the most blesssed St. Thecla, virgin and martyr, 
 from three most dreadful torments, so vouchsafe to deliver the soul of this Thy 
 servant, and make it rejoice with Thee in the joys of heaven. R. Amen. 
 
 We commend to Thee, O Lord! the soul of Thy servant N. And we beseech 
 Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ ! the Saviour of the world! that Thou wouldst not refuse 
 to admit into the bosom of Thy patriarchs, a soul for which, in Thy mercy. Thou 
 wast pleased to come down upon earth. Own him for Thy creature, not made by 
 
 80 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 any strange gods, but by Thee the only living and true God; for there is no other 
 God but Thee, and none that can equal Thy works. Let his soul rejoice in Thy 
 presence, and remember not his farmer iniquities and excesses, the unhappy effects 
 of passion or evil concupiscence; for although he has sinned, he has not renounced 
 the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Ghost ; but believed, and had a zeal for God, 
 and faithfully worshipped Him who made all things. 
 
 Remember not, O Lord! we beseech Thee, the sins of his youth, and his 
 ignorance; but according to Thy g eat mercy, be mindful of Him in Thy heavenly 
 glory. May the heavens be opened to him, and may the angels rejoice with him. 
 Receive, O Lord! Thy servant into Thy kingdom. Let St. Michael, the archangel 
 of God, conduct him, who is the chief of the heavenly host. Let the holy angels 
 of God come to meet him, and carry him to the city of the heavenly Jerusalem. 
 May St. Peter the Apostle receive him, to whom God has given the keys of the 
 kingdom of heaven. May St. Paul the Apostle assist him, who was a vessel of elec- 
 tion. May St. John the chosen Apostle of God intercede for him, to whom were re- 
 vealed the secrets of heaven. May all the holy Apostles pray for him, to whom our 
 Lord gave the power of binding and loosing. May all the saints and elect of God 
 intercede for him, who in this world suffered torments for the name of Christ ; that he 
 being delivered from the bonds of the flesh, may deserve to be admitted into the glory 
 of the kingdom of heaven: through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with 
 the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth forever and ever. Amen. 
 
 After which, if the sick person still continue to labor in his agony, it may be 
 proper, as the Ritual prescribes, to continue reciting other Psalms and prayers 
 adapted to those circumstances. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the lighting of a blessed candle, and keeping it 
 burning during a person's agony ? 
 
 A. This light represents the light of faith in which a Christian dies, and the 
 light of glory which he looks for. Besides these candles are blessed by the Church 
 with a solemn prayer to God, to chase away the devils from those places where 
 they shall be lighted. 
 
 Q. What is the form of blessing candles ? 
 
 A. The Ritual prescribes the following prayer; 
 
 V. Our help is in the name of the Lord. 
 
 R. Who made heaven and earth. 
 
 Lei us pray. 
 
 O Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, bless |J< by our prayers these 
 candles; pour forth upon them by the virtue of the holy ^ cross Thy heavenly 
 benediction, who hast given them to mankind to chase away darkness; and may 
 they receive such a blessing, by the sign of the holy ►{< cross, that in what place 
 soever they shall be lighted or set up, the rulers of darkness, with all their ministers, 
 may depart, and trembling fly away from those dwellings; nor presume any more 
 to molest those that serve thee, the Almighty God, who livest and reignest forever 
 and ever. Amen. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of tolling the passing bell when a person is expiring ? 
 
 A. To admonish the faithful to pray for him that God may grant him a happy 
 passage. 
 
 8i 
 
CHAPTER Xm. 
 
 Of the Office for the Burial of the Dead. 
 
 Q. What is the manna- and order of burying the dead in the Cathdic Qiurch ? 
 
 A. The pastOT or parish-priest, accompanied by his clerics, goes to the house 
 of the deceased, and having sprinkled the body or cofl^ with hdy wato", recites 
 the Anthem, "If thou shalt observe iniquities, O Lord I O Lwdl vrho shall sustain 
 it?" with the 120th Psalm, "De profundis" "From the depths, I have cried/' 
 etc., at the end of v?hich he says: "Eternal rest give to him, O Lord!" R. "And 
 let perpetual light shine i^)on him." Thai he r^>eats the Anthan, "If Thou shalt 
 observe iniquities," etc. 
 
 After this, the body is carried to the Churdi, the dergy going brfcM-e, two and 
 two, after the manner of a procession and singing the 50th Psalm, Miserere, "Have 
 mercy on me, O God! according to Thy great mercy," etc., and the people following 
 the corpse, and praying in silence for the deceased. When they are come to the 
 Church, the corpse is set down in the middle of the Church, with the feet towards 
 the altar (except the deceased was a priest, in which case the head is to be towards 
 the altar), and wax tapers are lighted and set up round the coflBn. Then, if time 
 and opportunity permit, is recital the Dirge, that is, the office of the Matins and 
 Lauds for the dead, followed by a Solemn Mass for the soul of the deceased, accord- 
 ing to the most ancient custom of the univoBal Church. 
 
 The Dirge and Mass being finished, the priest, standing at the head of the 
 deceased, begins the office of the burial as follows: 
 
 Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, O Lord! for no one shall be justi- 
 fied in Thy sight, except Thou vouchsafe to grant him the renHssion of all His 
 sins. Let not therefore, we beseech Thee, the sentence of Thy judgment fall upon 
 him, whom the true supplication of Christian faith recommendeth to Thee: but 
 by the assistance of Thy grace let him escape the judgment of Thy vengeance, 
 who, whilst he was living, was marked with the sign of the Holy Trinity: Who livest 
 and rdgnest forever and ever. Amen. 
 
 Th«i the choir sings the following responsory: 
 
 Deliver me, O Lord! from eternal death, at that dreadful day, when the 
 heavens and earth shall be moved, when Thou shalt come to judge the world by 
 fire. V. I am struck with trembling, and I fear, again^ the day of account, and 
 of the wrath to come; when the heavens and earth shall be moved. V. That day, 
 a day of wrath, of calamity and misery, a great and most bitter day, when Thou 
 shalt come to judge the world by fire. V. Eta^nal rest give to him, O Lord ! and 
 let perpetual light shine upon him. Deliver me, O Lord, etc., as be}ore, till the 
 verse, "I am struck," etc. 
 
 Lord, have mercy on us. Christ have mercy on us. Lord have mercy on us. 
 Our Father, etc. Here the priest puts the incense into the thurible and then going 
 round the coffin, sprinkles with holy water, and afterwards incenses the body, aad 
 then concludes the Lord's Prayer. V. Lead us not into temptation. F. Bu*- 
 
 82 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 deliver us from evil. V. From the gate of hell. R. Delivar his soul, O Lord! 
 V. Let him rest in peace. R. Amen. Y. O Lord! hear my prayer, R. And 
 let my cry come to Thee. V. The Lord be irith you. R. And with thy spirit. 
 
 Let as pray. 
 
 O God! to whom it bdongg always to show mercy, and to spare, we humtly 
 beseech Thee for the soul of Thy servant N. which Thou hast this day commanded 
 to depart out of this world, that Thou wouldst not deliver it up into the hands of 
 the enemy, nor put it out of Thy memcHTr forever, but that Thou wouldst order it to 
 be received by the holy angds, and conducted to Paradise, its true country: that 
 since it has bdieved and hoped in Thee, it may not suflFer the pains of hell, but take 
 possession of everlasting joys, through Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 After this, whilst the body is carried towards the place of its intermoit, is sung 
 or said the following anthem: 
 
 May the angels conduct Thee into P^adise, may the martyrs receive thee at 
 thy coming, and bring thee to the holy city of Jerusalem; may the choir of angels 
 receive thee, and mayest thou have eternal rest with Lazarus, who was formo-ly 
 poor. 
 
 When they are come to the grave, if it has not been Uessed before, the priest 
 blesses it by the following prayer, which is the same that we make use of in this 
 country, in blessing the mould or earth, which we put in the coflBn with the corpse, 
 in the private burial office: 
 
 God! by whose tender mercy the souls of the faithful find rest, vouchsafe 
 to bless this tomb, and depute Thy holy angd to guard it, and absolve from all 
 the bonds of sin the sods of those whose bodies are here interred, that with Thy 
 saints they may ever rejoice without ^d in Thee. Through Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Then the priest sprinkles i^h holy water, and afterwards incenses both the 
 corpse of the deceased and the grave. Then, whilst the body is put in the earth, 
 is sung or said the following Anthem, with the Canticle Benedicius, or the song of 
 Zacharias. (St. Luke I. 65, etc.) 
 
 1 am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, although he be 
 dead, shall live: and every one that liveth, and believeth in Me shall not die forever. 
 (St. John XI. 25). 
 
 Or else (as it is the custom in many places), when the body is put in the earth, 
 the priest, with the assistants, recites the Penitential Psalm, Miserere. 
 
 Then the priest says: Lord, have mercy on us. Christ have mercy on us. 
 Lord! have mercy on us. Our Father, etc. Here he sprinkles the body with 
 holy water. V. And lead us not into temptation. R. But deliver us from evil. 
 V. From the gate of hell. R. Deliver his soul, O Lord! V. Let him rest in peace. 
 R. Amen. V. O Lord, hear my prayer. R. And let my cry come unto Thee. 
 V. The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 Grant, O Lord! this mercy to Thy servant deceased, that he (or she) may 
 not receive a return of punishment for his (or her) deeds who in his (or her) wishes 
 
 83 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 was held fast by Thy will ; that as here true faith has joined him (or her) to the 
 company of Thy faithful, so Thy mercy there may associate him (or her) to the 
 choirs of angels. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 V. Eternal rest give to him, O Lord! R. And let perpetual light shine upon 
 him. V. Let him rest in peace. R. Amen. May his soul, and the souls of all 
 the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
 
 Then the priest, returning from the grave, recites the Psalm, "De profundis," 
 with the Anthem, "If Thou shalt observe iniquities, O Lord! O Lord! who shaE 
 sustain it?" 
 
 
 
 
 
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 84 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Of Prayers for the Dead, and of Purgatory. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of prayers for the dead ? 
 
 A. Praying for the dead is a practice as ancient as Christianity, received by 
 tradition from the Apostles, as appears by the most certain monuments of antiquity 
 and observed by the synagogue, or Church of God in the Old Testament, as appears 
 from 2 Machab. xn. written long before Christ's coming, and followed by the Jews 
 to this day; — a practice grounded upon Christian charity, which teaches us to pray 
 for all that are in necessity, and to implore God's mercy for all that are capable 
 of mercy; which we have reason to be convinced is the case of many of our deceased 
 brethren and therefore we pray for them. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that the practice of praying for the dead is as ancient as 
 Christianity ? 
 
 A. From Tertullian, in his book of the Soldiefs Crown (chap, m.), written 
 about a hundred years after the death of the Apostles; where he reckons the obla- 
 tions for the dead upon their anniversary days, amongst the immemorial traditions 
 observed by all Christians: and in his book de Monogama (chap, x.), where he 
 afl&rms it to be the duty of a Christian widow to pray for the soul of her husband, 
 and to beg a refreshment for him, and to keep his anniversaries. See St. Cyprian, 
 Epist. 66; Arnobius, 1. 4; Eusebius, 1. 4; de Vita Constantini, c. 71; St. Cyril of 
 Jerusalem, Catech. Mystag. 5; St. Gregory Nazianzen, Orat. 10, etc. Hence, St. 
 John Chrysostom, Hom. 3, upon the Epistle to the Philippians, tells us that it was 
 ordained by the Apostles that the dead should be commemorated in the sacred 
 mysteries; and St. Augustine, serm. 32, de Verbis Apost., sec. 2, that it was a prac- 
 tice received from the fathers, and observed by the universal Church. And it 
 appears from St. Epiphanius (Haer. 75), that Arius was ranked amongst the heretics 
 by the Church in the fourth century, for denying that the pra^^ers of the living did 
 the dead any good. 
 
 Q. Is it any argument, in favor of prayers for the dead, that it was practised 
 by Judas Machabeus, and by the Jews before the coming of Christ ? 
 
 A. Yes; a very great argument; first, because this practice is expressly ap- 
 proved in the 12th chapter of the second book of Machabees; which books, by 
 many councils and fathers, are ranked amongst the divine Scriptures. Second, 
 because the Jews in those days were undoubtedly the people of God. Third, be- 
 cause, as Dr. Taylor writes: (Lib. of Prophesying, sect. 20, numb. 11, p. 265), 
 "We find by the history of the Machabees that the Jews did pray and make offerings 
 for the dead, which also appears by other testimonies, and by their form of prayers, 
 still extant, which they used in their captivity. Now it is very considerable, that 
 since our blessed Saviour did reprove all the evil doctrines and traditions of the 
 Scribes and Pharisees, and did argue concerning the dead and the resurrection 
 against the Sadducees, yet he spoke no word against this public practice, but left it 
 as He found it ; which He who came to declare to us all the will of His Father would 
 not have done, if it had not been innocent, pious, and full of charity." 
 
 85 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. But what reason is there to believe, that our prayers can be of any sa^ce 
 to the dead? 
 
 A. The same reason as there is to believe that our prayers are of service to 
 the living; for whether we consult the Scriptures, or primitive tradition, with rela- 
 tion to the promises or encouragements given in favor of our prayers, we shall 
 nowhere find the dead excepted from the benefit of them: and the perpetual prac- 
 tice of the Church of God, which is the best interpreter of the Scripture, has from 
 the very beginning ever authorized prayers for the dead, as believing such prayers 
 beneficial to them. 
 
 Q. But are not they that have passed this mortal life arrived to an unchangeable 
 state of happiness or misery, so that they either want not our prayers, or cannot be 
 bettered by them? 
 
 A. Some there are, though I fear but few, that have before their death so fully 
 cleared all accounts with the Divine Majesty, and washed away all their stains in 
 the Blood of the Lamb, as to go straight to heaven after death; and such as those 
 stand not in need of our prayers. Others there are, and their numbers are very 
 great, who die in the guilt of deadly sin, and such as these go straight to hell, like 
 the rich glutton in the Gospel (St. Luke xvi.), and therefore cannot be bettered by 
 our prayers. But, besides these two kinds, tha"e are many Christians, who, when 
 they die, are neither so perfectly pure and clean, as to exempt them from the least 
 spot or stain, nor yet so unhappy as to die imder the guilt of unrepented deadly 
 sin. Now, such as these the Church believes to be, for a time, in a middle state, 
 •which we call purgatory, and these are they who are capable of receiving benefit 
 by our prayers. For though we pray for all that die in the communion of the 
 Church, because we do not certainly know the particular state in which each one 
 ■dies, yet we are sensiUe that our prayers are available for those only that are in 
 this middle state. 
 
 Q. But what grounds have you to believe that there is any such place as a 
 purgatory, or middle state of souls ? 
 
 A. We have the strongest grounds imaginable from all kinds of arguments, 
 from Scripture, from perpetual tradition, from the authority and declaration of the 
 Church of God, and from reason. 
 
 Q. What grounds have you for purgatory from Scripture ? 
 
 A. First, because the Scripture teaches us in many places, that it is the fixed 
 rule of God's justice, "to render to every man according to his works." (See Psalm 
 Lxn. 12; St. Matt. xvi. 27; Romans n. 6; Rev. xxn. 12, etc.) So that according 
 to the works which each man has done in the time of his mortal life, and according 
 to the state in which he is found at the moment of his departure out of this life, he 
 shall certainly receive reward or punishment from God. Hence it evidently follows, 
 that as by this rule of God's justice, they that die in great and deadly sins, not 
 cancelled by repentance, will be eternally punished in hell; so by the same rule, 
 they that die in lesser or venial sins (which is certainly the case of a great many), 
 will be punished somewhere for a time, tiU God's justice be satisfied, and this is 
 what we call purgatory. 
 
 Second, because the Scripture assures us (Rev. xxi. 27), that "there shall in 
 no wise enter into the heavenly Jerusalem anjlhing that defileth, or that is defiled." 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 So that if the soul is found to have the least spot or stain, at the time of her de- 
 parture out of this life, she cannot in that condition go straight to heaven. 
 
 Now, how few are there that depart this life, perfectly pure from the dregs and 
 stains, to which we are ever subject in this state of mortality ? and yet God forbid 
 that every little spot or stain should condemn the soul to the everlasting torments 
 of hell. Therefore, there must be a middle place for such souls as die under these 
 lesser stains. Third, because the Scriptvire assures us (St. Matt. xn. 36), that we 
 are to render an account hereafter to the great Judge, even, "for every word," 
 that we have spoken; and consequently, every idle word, not cancelled here by 
 repentance, is liable to be punished by God's justice hereafter. Now, no one can 
 think that God will condemn a soul to hell for every idle word; therefore there 
 must be another place of punishment for those that die guilty of these little trans- 
 gressions. 
 
 Fourth, because St. Paul informs us (i Cor. m. 13, 14, 15), that "every man's 
 works shall be made manifest," by a fiery trial; and that they who have built upon 
 the foundation, which is Christ, wood, hay, and stubble (that is, whose works have 
 been very imperfect and defective, though not to the degree of losing Christ), shall 
 suSer loss; but themselves shall be saved, yet so as by fire." Which place cannot 
 be well explained otherwise than by the fire of purgatory. 
 
 Fifth, because our Lord tells us (St. Matt. xi. 32), that "whosoever speaketh 
 against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither 
 in the world to come." Where our Lord (Who could not speak an)1;hing absurd, 
 or out of the way), would never have mentioned "forgiveness in the world to come," 
 if sins not forgiven in this world could never be forgiven in the world to come. 
 Now, if there may be forgiveness of any sin whatsoever in the world to come, there 
 must be a middle place or purgatory; for no sin can enter heaven to be forgiven 
 there, and in hell there is no forgiveness. 
 
 Add to these texts of Scripture the prison mentioned (St. Matt. v. 26), out of 
 which a man "shall not come till he has paid the uttermost farthing"; and "the 
 spirits in prison," to which our Saviour is said to have gone to preach (i Pet. m. 
 18, 19, 20). 
 
 Q. What grounds have you for purgatory from perpetual tradition ? 
 
 A. Because, as we have seen already, the Jewish Church long before our 
 Saviour's coming, and the Christian Church from the very beginning, have offered 
 prayers and sacrifice for the repose and relief of the faithful departed, cis appears 
 from innumerable testimonies of the fathers, and from the most ancient liturgies 
 of all Christian Churches and nations — Romans, Greeks, Syrians, Armenians, 
 Nestorians, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Indians, Mosarbes, etc. Which consent, so 
 ancient and so universal, of all ages and of all nations, before Protestantism, is a 
 most convincing argument that this practice came by tradition from the Apostles ; 
 and consequently that the belief of a purgatory is an apostolic tradition: for what 
 sense could there be in praying for the repose and relief of the souls of the faithful 
 departed, if there were no middle place, but all went straight tovheaven, or hell ? 
 
 Q. What grounds have you for the belief of a purgatory from the authority of 
 the Church? 
 
 A. Because the Church of Christ has declared that there is a purgatory, as well 
 
 87 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 "by the condemning of old Arius for a heretic for denying that the prayers of the 
 living did the dead any service, as also by the express definitions of her general 
 Councils. Now the Scripture most evidently teaches us, in many places, that we 
 are to hear and obey the Church, and that Christ and the Holy Ghost will be always 
 with the Church to guide her into aU truth, and that the gates of hell shall not pre- 
 vail against her. So that what the Church has thus declared can be no error, but 
 must absolutely be a most certain truth. 
 
 Q. What grounds have you for the belief of a purgatory from reason ? 
 
 A. Because reason teaches these two things: First, that every sin, be it ever 
 so small, is an offence to God, and consequently deserves punishment from the 
 justice of God; and therefore that every person that dies under the guilt of any 
 such oflfence unrepented, must expect to be punished by the justice of God. Second, 
 that there are small sins, in which a person may happen to die, that are so small, 
 either through the levity of the matter, or for want of a full deliberation in the act, as 
 not to deserve everlasting punishment. From whence it plainly follows, that besides 
 the place of everlasting punishment, which we call hell, there must be also a place of 
 temporal punishment for such as die in those lesser offences, and this we call pur- 
 gatory. 
 
 Q. But does not the blood of Christ sufl&ciently purify us from all our sins, 
 vnthout any other purgatory ? 
 
 A. The blood of Christ purifies none that are once come to the use of reason, 
 from any sin without repentance; and therefore such sins as have not been here 
 recalled by repentance, must be punished hereafter, according to their gravity, by 
 the Divine Justice, either in hell, if the sins be mortal ; or if venial, in purgatory. 
 
 Q. Do you then think that any repentance can be available after death ? 
 
 A. No; but God's justice must take place after death, which will render to 
 every man according to his works. So that we do not believe that the repentance 
 of the souls that are in purgatory, or anything else that they can then do, will cancel 
 their sins ; but they must suffer for them till God's justice be satisfied. 
 
 Q. Are they not then capable of relief in that state? 
 
 A. Yes, they are, but not from anything that they can do for themselves, but 
 from the prayers, alms, and other suffrages offered to God for them by the faithful 
 upon earth, which God in His mercy is pleased to accept of, by reason of that com- 
 munion which we have with them, by being fellow members of the same body of 
 the Church, under the same head, which is Christ Jesus. 
 
 Q. But what do you say to that text of Scripture (Eccles. xi.), "If the tree fall 
 towards the south, or towards the north, in the place where the tree falleth there 
 shaU it lie?" 
 
 A. I say that it is no way evident that this text has relation to the state of the 
 soul after death, but if it be so understood as to have relation to the soul, it makes 
 nothing against purgatory, because it only proves what no Catholic denies; viz., 
 that when once a soul is come to the south, or to the north, that is, to heaven or hell, 
 its state is unchangeable. 
 
 Q. But does not the Scripture promise rest after death to such "as die in the 
 Lord"? (Rev. xiv. 13.) 
 
 A. Yes, it does, but then we are to understand, that those are said to die in 
 
 88 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 the Lord, who die for the Lord by martyrdom; or at least those who, at the time of 
 their death, are so happy as to have no debts nor stains to interpose between them 
 and the Lord. As for others who die but imperfectly in the Lord, they shall rest 
 indeed from the labors of this world; but as their works that follow them are im- 
 perfect, they must expect to "receive from the Lord according to their works." 
 
 89 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by the Sacrament of Holy Orders ? 
 
 A. A sacrament by which the ministers of Christ are consecrated to their sacred 
 functions, and receive grace to discharge them well. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that Holy Orders is a sacrament ? 
 
 A. Because it is a visible sign of an invisible grace, and that by divine 
 institution, or by the ordinance of Christ, which alone can annex the gift of grace 
 to any outward rite or ceremony. The outward and visible sign is found in the 
 imposition or laying on of the bishop's hands and prayer: after which sort we find 
 the seven deacons ordained (Acts vi. 6, and St. Paul and St. Barnabas, Acts xiii. 3). 
 The invisible grace, conferred by this imposition of hands, is attested (2 Tim. i. 6), 
 ^'Stir up the grace of God, which is in thee by the imposition of hands." And 
 the divine institution of Holy Orders is gathered, as well from the use of the Apostles, 
 and the perpetual tradition of the Church, as from those texts in which Christ 
 bequeathed the whole power of the priesthood to His disciples, and to their suc- 
 cessors (St. Luke xxn. 19), "Do this in remembrance of Me"; (and St. John xx. 
 22, 23), "Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted 
 ■unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." 
 
 Q. By what steps do persons ascend in the Catholic Church to the Order of 
 Priesthood ? 
 
 A. First, they must be initiated by the clerical tonsure, which is not properly 
 an Order, but only a preparation for Orders. The bishop cuts off the extremities 
 of their hair, to signify their renouncing the world, and its vanities ; and he revests 
 them with a surplice, and so receives them into the clergy; they making at the same 
 time a solemn profession of taking the Lord as their inheritance and portion forever. 
 
 Second, they must pass through the minor or lesser Orders, which have been 
 received from the primitive Church, viz., the Orders of porter or door-keeper of 
 the Church; lector or reader of the lessons in the divine office; exorcist, whose 
 function is to read the exorcisms and prayers of the Church over those who are 
 possessed or obsessed by the devil; and acolyte, whose function is to serve the Mass, 
 light the candles in the church, etc. All these are ordained by receiving from the 
 bishop the instruments or books belonging to their respective ofl&ces, and solemn 
 prayers prescribed in the Pontifical. 
 
 Third, from the minor Orders they are promoted to the Order of sub-deacon, 
 which is the first of those that are called holy. In the conferring of this Order, 
 the bishop puts the candidates in mind that hitherto they have had their liberty 
 lo quit the ecclesiastical calling, and engage themselves by marriage in the world; 
 but if they wiU be ordained sub-deacons, which he leaves to their choice, they are 
 thereby tied forever to the service of God and His Church in the state of perpetual 
 continence. Sub-deacons also are obliged to the canonical hours of the church- 
 ofl&ce ; and in the High Mass assist the deacon in his ministry. 
 
 Fourth, from the Order of sub-deacon, they are advanced to the Order of 
 
 90 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHH^DREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 deacon, which is conferred upon them by the imposition of the bishop's hands, and 
 by delivering to them the book of the Gospels. The deacon's ofl&ce is to assist the 
 bishop or priest in the sacrifice of the Mass, to sing and preach the Gospels, to 
 baptize, etc. 
 
 Fifth, from the Ordor of deacon the next ascent is to the Order of priest or 
 presbyter, above which is the Order of bishops amongst whom the chief is called 
 the Pope. 
 
 Q. In what manner is the Order of priesthood administered ? 
 
 A. The person that is to be ordained is presented to the bishop by the arch- 
 deacon, desiring, in the name of the Church, that he may be promoted to priest- 
 hood, and bearing testimony of his being worthy of that oflSce. Then the bishop 
 publishes to the clergy and people there present the designed promotion, that if 
 any one has anything to allege against the person that is to be ordained, he may 
 freely declare it. If no one appears to allege anything against him, the bishop 
 proceeds to admonish him of duties and functions of the priesthood, and to exhort 
 liim to a dilligent discharge thereof. After which, both the bishop and the person 
 that is to be ordained, prostrate themselves in prayer, whilst the litanies are sung 
 or said by the choir or clergy there present ; which being ended the bishop stands 
 up, and the person that is to be ordained kneeling, the bishop first, and then all the 
 priests there present, one after another, lay both their hands on his head, which 
 imposition of hands is immediately followed by the solemn prayers of consecration, 
 and by revesting him with the priesdy ornaments ; then the Holy Ghost is invoked 
 by the h)rmn, Veni Creator. After which the bishop anoints the hands of the 
 person ordained, and then delivers into his hands the chalice with the wine and 
 water, and the paten with the bread, saying, "Receive the power to oflEer sacrifice 
 to God, and celebrate Mass, as well for the living as for the dead, in the name of 
 the Lord." Then the person ordained says Mass with the bishop, and receives the 
 Holy Communion at his hands. At the end of the Mass the bishop again imposes 
 his hands upon him, saying those words of Christ (St. John xi. 22, 23): "Receive 
 the Holy Ghost: whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose 
 sins you shall retain, they are retained." After which he receives from him the 
 promise of obedience, and gives him the kiss of peace. 
 
 .-^^^iJ^^-^ 
 
 91 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Of the Superiority of the Bishops, and of the Supreme 
 
 acy of the Pope. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that besides priests or presbyters, there has been always 
 in the Church the Order of Bishops, superior to that of priests ? 
 
 A. I prove it both from Scripture and perpetual tradition. The New Testa- 
 ment, in several places, mentions bishops, as Philip i. i; i Tim. in. 2; Tit. I. 7; 
 Acts XX. 28. And it is visible, that the angels of the seven churches of Asia, men- 
 tioned in the first, second, and third chapters of the Revelation, were the bishops of 
 those sees, and accordingly had a jurisdiction over them. It is no less visible, 
 from the Epistles of St. Paul to Timothy and Titus, that both one and the other 
 were bishops, with power of ordaining inferior priests ; and Timothy in particular, 
 is instructed by the Apostle, in what manner he is to comport himself to the priests 
 under him (i Tim. v. 18, 19). And as for perpetual tradition, it is evident from all 
 kinds of monuments, and from the most ancient Church history, that the Church 
 has always been governed by bishops, and that the Apostles everywhere established 
 bishops. Thus St. Irenaeus (1. 3, c. 3; Tertullian, L. de Prescip.), and other 
 ancients assure us that Linus and Clement were ordained bishops by St. Peter and 
 St. Paul for the See of Rome. Thus Eusebius, and other ancient monuments 
 inform us, that St. Mark was the first bishop of Alexandria, and was succeeded by 
 Anianus ; that Evodius and Ignatius, disciples of the Apostles, were after St. Peter 
 the first laishops of Antioch; that St. James was constituted by the Apostles the first 
 bishop of Jerusalem, and had for successor Simeon, the son of Cleophas; that St. 
 Polycarp was made bishop of Smyrna by St. John, etc. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that amongst bishops one should be head, and have a 
 jurisdiction over the rest ? 
 
 A. Because Christ has so appointed, who gave that preeminence to St. Peter 
 with respect to the rest of the Apostles; as appears from St. Matt. (xvi. 18, 19),, 
 when in reward of his faith and confession, he confirmed to him the name of Peter, 
 or rock; and promised to him, that upon this rock he would build his Church, and 
 the gates of hell should not prevail against i'; and that he would give him "the 
 keys of the kingdom of heaven," etc. And from St. John xxi. 15, etc., when our 
 Lord after having asked St. Peter, "Dost thou love me more than these?" three 
 times committed to him the charge of all his lambs and sheep, without exception; 
 that is, of His whole Church. Hence St. Matthew, (ch. x. 2), reckoning the names 
 of the twelve Apostles says, "The first Simon, who is called Peter." Now, it does 
 not appear that he could be called the first, upon any other account but by reason 
 of his supremacy; for that he was first in age is more than appears, and that he was 
 first in calling is not true; for St. Andrew came to Christ before Peter, and was 
 probably the elder brother; and certain it is, that the Evangelists, in reckoning up 
 the names of the Apostles, upon several occasions, neither follow the order of 
 their ages nor of their calling; yet they always reckon Peter in the first place, and. 
 
 92 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 sometimes more clearly to intimate his preeminence, name him alone as ciief 
 or prince; as (St. Mark i. 36), "Simon, and they that were with him:" (St. Luke 
 IX. 32) "Peter and they that were with him." (Acts 11. 14) "Peter standing up 
 with the eleven:" (Acts v. 29) "Peter and the Apostles answered, and said:" etc., 
 where the Protestant translation has put in the word "other Apostles," at clearly 
 seeing that the former expression (which is that of the original), too clearly ex- 
 pressed St. Peter's being something more than the rest. 
 
 It is also worth observing, our Lord was pleased to teach the people out of 
 St. Peter's ship (St. Luke v. 3) ; that He ordered the same tribute to be paid for 
 himself and Peter (St. Matt. xvn. 27); that He particularly prayed for Peter, that 
 his faith should not fail, and ordered him to confirm or strengthen his brethren. 
 (St. Luke XXII. 32, etc.) 
 
 Hence St. Peter's supremacy is acknowledged by the perpetual tradition of the 
 holy fathers. (See Origen on the sixth chapter to the Romans, and in his fifth 
 Homily upon Exodus; St. Basil, of the judgment of God, c. 2. p. 402; St. Cyril, of 
 Jerusalem, in his 2d Catechesis; Epiphanius, Hser. 51, sec. 17, and Haer. 54, sec. 7, 
 and in his Anchoratus, 1. 6, p. 14, 15; St. John Chrysostom in his second Homily 
 on the 5cth Psalm; in his 54th Homily upon St. Matthew, etc., St. Cyril, of Alex- 
 andria, in his 12th book upon St. John; St. Austerius, Bishop of Amas^a, in his 
 sermon upon St. Peter and St. Paul; and among the Latins, St. Cyprian, Epist. 
 70 to Januarius; St. Optatus of Milevis, 1. 2, and 7; St. Ambrose, 1. 10, upon St. 
 Luke; St. Hierome in his ist Book against Jovinian; St. Augustine, 1. 2. de Bap- 
 tismo, c. i; St. Leo, Epist. 84 to Anastasius; St. Gregory the Great, 1. 4. Epist. 
 32, etc.) 
 
 Q. How do you prove that St. Peter was to have a successor in this office of 
 chief bishop of the Church ? 
 
 A. Because as Christ established His Church to remain till the end of the 
 world (St. Matt, xxvni. 20), so most certainly He designed that the form of govern- 
 ment which He established in His Church should remain forever. Hence supposing 
 the supremacy of St. Peter, which we have proved above from Scripture, it cannot 
 be questioned, but that our Lord designed that this supremacy, which He appointed 
 for the better government of His Church, and the preserving of unity, should not 
 die with Peter, no more than the Church (with which He promised to remain for- 
 ever), but should descend, after St. Peter's decease, to his successors. For it is 
 not to be imagined, that Christ should appoint a chief bishop for the government 
 of His Church, and maintaining unity in the Apostles' time, and design another 
 kind of government, for succeeding ages, when there was likely to be so much 
 greater danger of schism, and consequently so much greater need of one head, to 
 preserve all in one faith and one communion. 
 
 Q. But how do you prove that the Pope or bishop of Rome is the successor of 
 St. Peter? 
 
 A. I prove it, first, because the Church never acknowledged any other for h^ 
 chief pastor ; and ho other does, or ever did, put in a claim to the spiritual supremacy, 
 in quality of St. Peter's successor; so that, supposing what has been proved, that 
 Christ appointed a chief pastor of His Church, the bishop of Rome must be the man. 
 
 Second, I prove it from the current sense of the holy fathers and councils, that 
 
 93 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND mSTITUTIONS, 
 
 have acknowledged this Buprcmacy in the See of Rome and her bishops. See St, 
 Ignatius, disciple of the jostles, in the beginning of his Epistle to the Romans, 
 where he calls the Church of Rome the presiding Church; St. Irenacus (L 3, c 3), 
 who calls the same the greatest and most ancient Church, founded by the two most 
 glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul; and adds, that all sectaries are confounded by 
 the Roman tradition: for to this Church, by reason of its more powerful princi- 
 pality, says he, it is necessary that every Church resort, or have recourse, in which, 
 (Church), the apostolical tradition has always been preserved by those that are in 
 every place; and St. Cyprian, in his 55th Epistle to Pope Cornelius, where he 
 calls the See of Rome the chair of Peter, and the principal Church from which 
 the priestly unity has its origin. Ecdesiam Prmcipalem, tm de Uniias Sacerdotalis 
 exorta est. 
 
 See also St. Optatus, bishop of Mdevis, in his 2d Book agains Parmaiianus, 
 the Donatist Bishop of Carthage: where he thus addresses himself to his adversary: 
 "You cannot prdiend to be ignorant, that Peter held first the bishop's chair in the 
 city of Rome, in which Peter, head of aU the Apostles sat, in which one-chair unity 
 might be maintained by all, lest the rest of the Apostles should each one claim his 
 own separate chair. So that he is now a schismatic, and an offender, who against 
 this single chair erects any other. In this one chair, which is the first of the proper- 
 ties of the Church, Peter first sat; to him succeeded Linus, to him Qement, etc. 
 Give you now an account of the origin of your chair, you who claim to yourselves 
 the holy Church." 
 
 And St. Jerome, writing to Pope Damasus (Epist. 57), tells him: "I am joined 
 in communion with your Holiness, that is, with the chair of Peter : upon that rock 
 I know the Qiurch is built; whoever eats the Lamb out of this houseis profane: 
 whosoever is not in this Ark shall perish in the deluge." etc. 
 
 And St. Augustine in his Psalm against the Donatists thus addresses himself 
 to these schismatics: "Come brethren," says he, "if you have a mind to be en- 
 grafted in the vine, it is a pity to see you lopped off in this manner from the stock. 
 Reckon up the prdates in the very See of Peter : and in that order of fathers see 
 which has succeeded which. This is the rock over which the proud gates of hell 
 prevail not." And in his i62d Epistle he tells the Donatists, that in the See of Rome 
 the principality (or supremacy), of the apostolic Church was ever acknowledged. 
 Semper ApostoliccB Cathedra viguit Principatus. 
 
 And St. Prosper, in his dogmatic Poem against the enemies of grace, calls Rome 
 the See of Peter, which being made to the world the head of pastoral dignity, rules 
 by religion all that which she possesses, not by her arms. And to the same effect 
 St. Leo the Great, in his first sermon upon St. Peter and St. Paul, thus addresses 
 himself to Rome : " These are they who have advanced tnee to this glory, that being 
 made the head of the world, by being St. Peter's See, thou hast a wider extent of 
 religious empire than of earthly dominion. For though by thy many victories 
 thou hast extended thy dominions far and near, by sea and land, yet that which has 
 been subdued by the labor of thy arms is not so much as that which has been mac^" 
 subject to thee by Christian peace." All these fathers, hitherto quoted, flourished 
 within four hundred years after the Passion of Christ. 
 
 The supremacy of the bishops of Rome has also been acknowledged by many 
 
 94 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND mSTITUTIONS. 
 
 general councfls: as by the general Council of Ephesus, in the sentence of depo- 
 sitions against Nestorius, anno 431 ; by the general Council of Chalcedon, in their 
 epistle to St. Leo, anno 451; by the General Council of Constantinople^ anno 680; 
 in their epistle to Pope Agatha; not to mention the decrees of later general councils,, 
 especially the fourth of Lateran, anno 1215; the second of Lyons, anno 1274; and 
 that of Florence, anno 1439. Though as Pope Gelasius, long ago, in the Council of 
 Rome of seventy bishops, aimo 494, has declared: "The Roman See hath not its 
 preeminence over other churches from any ordinances of councils, but from the 
 words of our Lord and Saviour in the Gospd, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock 
 I will build my Church," etc 
 
 Q. But has the Pope or bishop of Rome in every age since the days of the 
 Apostles, exercised this supremacy over other Churches ? 
 
 A. Yes; most certainly, in the very age immediately after the Apostles, that 
 is, in the second century. Pope Victor threatened to excommunicate the bishops of 
 Asia Minor, for keeping Easter at an undue time TEusebius, 1. 5. Histor. Eccles.,. 
 c. 24). And though it is probable he relented upon the remonstrances of St. Irenaeus 
 and others, yet not one of them all charged him with usurping an authority which 
 did not of right belong to him. Li the third century, St. Cyprian (epist. 67), wrote 
 to Pope Stephen, desiring him to despatch his letters into the province and to the 
 people of Aries, by which they might be authorized to depose Marcianus the bishop 
 of Aries and substitute another in his place. Dirigantur in Provinciam 
 a te Uteres, quibus absenie Marciano, alius in locum ejus substituaiur. 
 
 In the fourth century Pope Julius cited St. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, 
 that is to say, the second patriarch of the Church, to his Council at Rome, to answer 
 the accusations of his adversaries; who accordingly did appear, and was there 
 cleared. See St. Athanasius' Apology against the Arians, num. 29, p. 148, of the 
 new edition; and Theodoret, I. 2, Hist. c. 3. The same Pope, as we learn from 
 the historian Socrates, I. 2, c. 15, and Sozomenus, 1. 3, c, 8, about the same time 
 restored by his authority to their respective Sees, from whence they had been de- 
 posed by the Eusebians, St. Paul, bishop of Constantinople; St. Lucius, bishop of 
 Adrianople; Marcellus, bishop of Ancyra in Galatia, and Asclepas, bishop of Gaza 
 in Palestine; and this as Sozomenus expressly words it, because, by reason of the 
 dignity of his See, the care of all belonged to him. In the fifth century, Pope 
 Cdestine deputed St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, to proceed as his delegate to 
 the excommunication of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople (torn. 3), Council 
 Labbe, p. 349. And in the same century, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Flavian, 
 both Patriarchs of Constantinople, unjustly deposed by numerous councils in the 
 East, appealed from their judgment, the one to Pope Innocent I., the other to 
 Pope Leo the Great. (See the epistle of St. John Chrysostom to Pope Innocent, 
 and the twenty-third epistle of St. Leo). In the sixth century Pope Agapitus 
 deposed Anthymus, Patriarch of Constantinople; not to mention many other in- 
 stances in all these centuries of the exercise of the Pope's jurisdiction over other 
 churches, and as for the following ages there is no dispute. 
 
 From all which it follows, that the Protestant pretences of the Pope's having 
 received the supremacy from Phocas, the emperor of Constantinople, who began 
 to reign anno 602, is a groundless fiction, like the idle tale of Pope Joan. 
 
 95 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. But does not our Lord intimate (St. Luke xxn. 24, 25, 26), that amongst 
 His disciples none should be the chief or head ? 
 
 A. No; but only that: "He that is the greatest should be as the younger and 
 he that is chief as he that doth serve." (verse 16). Which words, so far from deny- 
 ing, evidently suppose a chief; which is further confirmed by our Lord's alleging 
 Himself for example in the following verse, who was most certainly chief. So that 
 what is here recommended, is not equality of jurisdiction, but humility in superiors. 
 
 Q. But does not St. Paul say (2 Cor. xn. 11), "In nothing am I behind the 
 very chief est apostle, though I be nothing"; where was then St. Peter's supremacy? 
 
 A. It is visible that St. Paul speaks with regard to his labors, miracles and 
 doctrine, in which he was inferior to none; but whether St. Peter or he had a su- 
 perior jurisdiction, was foreign to the matter he had then in hand, and therefore 
 no wonder that he takes no notice of it. 
 
 Q. If St. Peter was head, how came St. Paul to withstand him to his face at 
 Antioch? (Gal. n. 11.) 
 
 A. Because as the Apostle tells us in the same place, he was to blame, viz., in 
 withdrawing himself from the table of the Gentiles, for fear of giving offence to the 
 Jews: and this it was that St. Paul reprehended, because of the danger of the 
 Gentiles taking scandal thereby. But this no way disproves St. Peter's superiority, 
 since no one doubts, but that a superior, when in fault, may sometimes lawfully be 
 reprehended by an inferior. 
 
 And, after all, do our adversaries imagine that the enhancing the dignity and 
 authority of St. Paul makes anything against the bishop of Rome, who indeed 
 inherits the succession both of St., Peter and St. Paul, who both honored Rome vdth 
 their preaching and with their death ? 
 
 Q. But some Protestants doubt whether St. Peter ever was at Rome; what 
 say you to this ? 
 
 A. Grotius, a learned Protestant, writes that, "No Christian ever doubted but 
 St. Peter was at Rome." In Synopsi Criticorum, p. 1450, H. And Chamierus, 
 another learned Protestant, tells us, that "all the fathers with great accord have 
 asserted that Peter went to Rome and governed that Church." Omnes Patres 
 magna consensu asseruerunt Petrium Romam esse profectum, eamque Ecclesiam ad- 
 ministrasse (1. 13, c. 4, sec. 2). And Dr. Pearson, the Protestant bishop of Chester, 
 one of the most eminent men amongst the Protestant writers ever known, has 
 demonstrated, by innumerable arguments, that Peter was at Rome, and that the 
 bishops of Rome are his successors. (See Pearson's Opera Posthuma, printed at 
 London, anno 1688, p. 27, etc.) 
 
 Q. Does the Scripture anywhere affirm that St. Peter was at Rome? 
 
 A. St. Peter's first Epistle seems to affirm it (chap. v. 13), where by Babylon, 
 the best interpreters understand Rome, so called by the Apostle, as afterwards by 
 St. John in the Apocalypse, because then the chief seat both of the empire and of 
 heathenish idolatry, as formerly Babylon had been. And so this place is under- 
 stood by St. Papias, disciple of the Apostles, and Clement of Alexandria, alleged by 
 Euseb. 1. 2, Hist., c. 15, and by St. Hierome, I de Scriptor, in Marco; by Venerable 
 Bede, CEcumenius, and others. Nor is there any probability that the Babylon here 
 mentioned could be that in Chaldea, which at this time was nothing but a heap 
 
 96 
 
ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA. 
 

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 ST. PETER, 
 
CHRIST ENTERING JERUSALEM. 
 
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 ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI. 
 
ST. JOHN BERCHMANS. 
 
THE GUARDIAN ANGEL. 
 
DEATH OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 of ruins, nor that in Egj^t, which was but a very inconsiderable place in those days 
 and in which no monuments of antiquity give us the least hint that St. Peter ever 
 preached. 
 
 But if the Scripture had been entirely silent in this matter, we have it proved by 
 universal tradition, which is the means by which we come to the knowledge of the 
 Scripture itself. And indeed there is a more universal tradition for St. Peter's 
 being at Rome, than there is for many parts of the Scripture which Protestants 
 receive; for whereas many of the ancient fathers have called in question some 
 books of Scripture — for instance, the Revelation, the Epistle to the Hebrews, etc., 
 and there is scarce any part of the Bible or New Testament but what has been re- 
 jected by some heretics of old ; yet we cannot find that St. Peter's being at Rome 
 was ever called in question by any single man, infidel or Christian, Catholic or 
 heretic, for thirteen or fourteen hundred years after Christ; though all heretics 
 and schismatics, as being always enemies of the Church of Rome, would have been 
 most glad to have called in question this succession of St. Peter (which the bishops 
 of Rome ever gloried in), had not the matter of fact been out of dispute. 
 
 The ancient fathers that have attested St. Peter's being at Rome, besides many 
 others, are, St. Irenaeus, 1. 3, c. 3; St. Denys, bishop of Corinth; Caius and Origen, 
 alleged by Eusebius in his Church History, p. 71, 78; Tertullian, 1. de Prcescript, 
 c. 36, and in Scorpiaco, c. 5; St. Cyprian, Epist. 52 and 55; Arnobius, 1. 2, contra 
 Gentes; Lactantius, 1. de morte Persecutorum, c. 2; Eusebius, 1, 2, Hist. c. 14, p. 52; 
 I. 3, c. 4, p. 74; St. Athanasius, in Apolog. de }uga stia, p. 331 ; St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 
 Catech. 6, p. 54; St. Ambrose, 1. 4; Hexam. c. 8; St. Jerome, de Scriptoribus 
 Eccles. in Petro and in Marco, and in his Chronicon ad Annos 43 and 69 ; Sulpitius 
 Severus 1. 2; Hist. St. Augustine, 1. de hcerc, i, Epist. 53, 1. 2. contra Lit. Petil, c. 51; 
 St. John Chrysostom, torn. 5, Horn. 12; Orisitus, i; 7, c. 6; St. Peter Chrysologus, 
 Epist. ad Eutych; St. Optatus, 1. 2, contra Parmenia; Theodoret, in Epist. ad Rom. 
 and 1. I, Hmret. Fab. c. i, etc. 
 
 97 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Of the Celibacy of the Clergy. 
 
 Q. What is the reason why the Catholic clergy are not allowed to marry ? 
 
 A. Because at their entering into Holy Orders, they make a solemn promise to 
 God and the Church to live continently. Now the breach of such a promise as 
 this would be a great sin; witness St. Paul (i Tim. v. ii, 12), where speaking of 
 widows that are for marrying, after having thus engaged themselves to God, he 
 says: "They have damnation, because they have cast off their first faith"; that is 
 their solemn engagement made to God. 
 
 Q. But why does the Church receive none to Holy Orders but such as are 
 willing to make this solemn engagement ? 
 
 A. Because she does not think it proper that they, who by their oflSce and func- 
 tion^ ought to be wholly devoted to the service of God, and the care of souls, should 
 be diverted from these duties by the distractions of a married life, (i Cor. vn. 32, 
 33.) "He that is unmarried, careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how 
 he may please the Lord: but he that is married, careth for the things that are of the 
 world, how he may please his wife." 
 
 Q. But was it always the law of the Church that the clergy should abstain from 
 marriage ? 
 
 A. It was always a law in the Church that bishops, priests, and deacons shall 
 not marry after having received Holy Orders; and we have not one example, in all 
 antiquity, either in the Greek or Latin Church of any such marriage; but, it has 
 been at some times, and in some places, as at present among the Greeks, permitted 
 for priests and deacons, to continue with their wives which they had married before 
 their ordination, though even this was disallowed by many ancient canons. 
 
 The 27th of the Apostolic canons allows none of the clergy to marry but those 
 that are in the minor Orders, that is, lectors and cantors. The Council of Neo- 
 caesarea, which was more ancient than that of Nice, in its first canon, orders that 
 if a priest marries he would be deposed. The Council of Ancyra, which was held 
 about the same time, orders the same thing with regard to deacons, except they 
 protested at the time of their ordination that they could not live unmarried, and 
 were therefore presumed to be dispensed with by the bishop. (Council Ancyra, 
 Can. ID.) 
 
 The great Council of Nice, in the third canon forbids clergymen to have any 
 women in their house, except it be mother, sister, or aunt, etc., a caution which 
 would never have been thought of if they had been allowed to have wives. 
 
 In the West the Council of Illiberis, which was held about the close of the third 
 century, canon 33 commands bishops, priests, deacons and sub-deacons to abstain 
 from their wives, under pain of degradation. The second Covmcil of Aries (can. 2) 
 ordains that no married man be made priest, unless he promise conversion, that is 
 to live continently. The second Council of Carthage (can. a) ordains that bishops, 
 priests and deacons should live continently, and abstain from their wives; and this 
 because the Apostles so taught, and all antiquity observed. Ut quod Apostoli 
 
 98 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 docuerunt, et ipsa servavit antiquitas, nos quoque custodiamus. And the fifth 
 Council of Carthage, anno 598, can. 2, ordains, in like manner, that all bishops, 
 priests and deacons should abstain from their wives, or be deposed. There are 
 many other ancient canons to the like effect, as well as decrees of the ancient Popes; 
 as of Siricius, in his epistle to Himmerius, bishop of Tarragona, c. 7 ; of Innocent I. 
 in his epistle to Victricius, bishop of Roan c. 9; of St. Leo the Great, epist. 82, to 
 Anastasius, c. 3 and 4. 
 
 Hence St. Epiphanius, who flourished in the East in the fourth century, in his 
 great work against all heresies (Haer. 59), writes thus: "The Church does not 
 admit him to be a deacon, priest, bishop, or sub-deacon, though he be a man of one 
 wife, who makes use of conjugal embraces." He adds that this "is observed in 
 those places chiefly in which canons of the Church are exactly kept which being 
 directed by the Holy Ghost, aims always at that which is most perfect ; that those 
 who are employed in divine functions may have as little as can be of worldly dis- 
 tractions." And St. Jerome, Epist. 50. "Bishops," says he, "priests and deacons 
 are chosen either virgins or widowers, or from the time of their priesthood perpet- 
 ually chaste." He affirms the same in his book against Vigilantius, by the name 
 of the Churches of the East, and of Egypt, and of the See Apostolic; and of aU 
 bishops, in his book against Jovinianus. See also Origan, Hom. 13, upon Num- 
 bers; Eusebius, 1. i. Demonst Evang. c. 9; and St. John Chrysostom, Homil. 
 de Patientia Job. 
 
 If you ask the reason why the Church has insisted so much in all ages upon 
 this point of discipline, besides the reason alleged above out of St. Paul (i Cor. vn. 
 32, 33), "The reason of single life for the clergy," says Mr. Thorndyke, an eminent 
 Protestant divine, in his letters at the end of Just Weights and Measures, p. 239, 
 "is firmly grounded by the fathers and canons of the Church upon the precept of 
 St. Paul, forbidding man and wife to part, unless for a time to attend unto prayer, 
 (i Cor. vn. 5.) For priests and deacons being continually to attend upon occasions 
 of celebrating the Eucharist, which ought continually to be frequented; if others 
 are to abstain from the use of marriage for a time, then they always." Thus far 
 Mr. Thorndyke. 
 
 Q. But were not the Apostles married? 
 
 A. Some of them were before they were called to the apostleship; but we do 
 not find that they had any commerce with their wives after they were called by 
 Christ. St. Jerome expressly affirms that they had not. (Epist. 50.) And th^ 
 seems to be clear from St. Matt. (XDC. 27), where St. Peter says to our Lord, "Be- 
 hold, we have forsaken all things, and followed thee"; for, that amongst the all 
 which they had forsaken, wives also were comprehended, is gathered from the 
 enumeration made by our Saviour in the 29th verse, where he expressly nameth 
 
 wives. 
 
 Q. But does not St. Paul say (Cor. rx. 5), "Have we not power to lead about 
 a sister, a wife, as well as other Apostles," etc. ? 
 
 A. The Rotestant translation has vrilfully corrupted the text in this place; 
 it should have been translated a woman, a sister. The Apostle speaks not of his 
 wife, for it is visible he had none, from i Cor. vn. 7, 3. But he speaks of such pious 
 women, as, according to the custom of the Hebrew nation, waited upon the Apostles 
 
 99 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 and other teachers, serving them in necessaries; as they had done also upon our 
 Lord in the time of His mortal life. (See St. Luke vni. 2, 3.) Though St. Paul, 
 that he might be less burthensome to the faithful, chose rather to serve himself and 
 live by the work of his own hands. 
 
 Q. Does not the Apostle (i Tim. m. 2 and 12), require that bishops and 
 deacons should be "the husband of one wife?" 
 
 A. The meaning of the Apostle is not that every bishop, priest or deacon 
 should have a wife, for he himself had none; and he declares (i Cor. vn. 8): "I 
 say to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I." But 
 his meaning is, that none should be admitted to be a bishop, priest or deacon, that 
 had been married more than once, which law has ever since been observed in the 
 Catholic Church: for since it was not possible in those days of the first preaching 
 of the Gospel (when there were few or no converts, either among the Jews or Gen- 
 tiles, but such as were married), to have found a sufficient number of proper min- 
 isters, if they had not admitted married men, they were consequently obliged to 
 admit suck to the ministry; but still with this limitation provided they had not been 
 twice married. But now the Church has a sufficient nunjber of such as are trained 
 up to a single life, and are willing to embrace perpetual continency; and therefore 
 prefers such to the ministry, and is authorized so to do by the Apostle (i Cor. vn. 32, 
 23, 38). And if after having consecrated themselves to God in this kind of life, 
 they should be for looking back, and engaged in a married life, they are expressly 
 condemned by the same Apostle, (i Tim. v. 12.) 
 
 Q. Is it not said (Heb. xin. 5), "Marriage is honorable in all?" 
 
 A. The Protestant translation has strained the text to make it say more than 
 the original, which may as well be rendered in the imperative mood, thus: "Let 
 marriage be honorable in all, and the bed undefiled; for whoremongers and 
 adulterers God will judge;" as the next verse which is rendered in the Protestant 
 translation by the imperative, "Let your conversation be without covetousness," 
 etc. So that the true meaning of this text is, that married persons should not dis- 
 honor their holy state by any liberties contrary to the sanctity of it ; but not to allow 
 marriage to those who have chosen the better part, and consecrated themselves by 
 vow to God. 
 
 Q. But is not forbidding marriage called a doctrine of devils? (i Tim. rv. 3.) 
 
 A. It certainly was so in those of whom the Apostle there speaks, viz., the 
 Gnostics, the Marcionites, the Encratites, the Manicheans, and many other heretics, 
 who absolutely condemned marriage as the work of the devil. For our part, 
 nobody reverences marriage more than we do; for we hold it to be a Sacrament, 
 and forbid it to none but to those that have voluntarily renounced it to consecrate 
 themselves more wholly to the divine service: and in such as these St. Paul con- 
 demns it as much as we. (See i Tim. v. 12.) That these same heretics also con- 
 demned absolutely the use of all kinds of meat, not on fasting-days only (as was 
 also practised by the Church), but at any time whatsoever; because they looked 
 upon all flesh to be from an evil principle. So that it is evident these were the men 
 of whom the Apostle (i Tim. rv.) intended to speak, 
 
 Q. But do you think that a vow of continency so stnctiy obliges any person, 
 that it would be a sin in such a person to marry? 
 
 100 
 
OUR CHURGH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. Yes, most certainly; because the law of God and nature requires that we 
 shotdd keep our vows to God (Deut. xxni, 21, 22, 23). "When thou shalt vow a 
 vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God 
 will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear 
 to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep 
 and perform." (Psal. Lxxvi. n.) "Vow and pay unto the Lord your God." 
 (Eccles. V. 4.) "Pay that which thou hast vowed. Better it is that thou shouldst 
 not vow, than that thou shouldst vow and not pay." For if it be a crime to break 
 our faith with man, how much more with God ? If you say that the state of con- 
 tinency is not more acceptable to God than that of marriage, and therefore cannot 
 be the proper matter of a vow, you contradict the doctrine of the Apostle: (Cor. 
 vn. 38), "He that giveth his virgin in marriage, doth well; but he that giveth her 
 not doth better." 
 
 Hence St. Augustine {I. de bono Viduitatis, c. n), aflfirms that the breach of 
 such a vow of chastity is worse than adultery: and St. John Chrysostom (ad Theo- 
 dorttm Lapsum), "Though you call it marriage a thousand times, yet I maintain 
 it is much worse than adultery." Hence the Council of Illiberis, can. 13; the 
 fourth Council of Carthage, can. 104; and the great Council of Chalcedon, can. 
 15, excommunicate those who presume to marry after such a vow. What would 
 the Church of those ages have thought of a religion introduced into the world by 
 men that had notoriously broken through those most solemn engagements, and 
 who raised the fabric of their pretended reformation upon thousands of broken vows ? 
 
 Q. But all have not the gift of continency; why then should the first reformers 
 be blamed, if, finding they had not the gift, they ventured upon marrying with 
 nuns ? 
 
 A. Continency is not required of all, but such as have by vow engaged to keep 
 it : and therefore, before a person engages himself by vow, he ought certainly to ' 
 examine whether he has a call from God, and whether he can go through with 
 what he thinks of undertaking: but after he has once engaged himself by vow, 
 he is not now at liberty to go back; but may assure himself, that the gift of conti- 
 nence will not be denied him, so that he uses proper means to obtain and preserve 
 it, particularly prayer and mortification, which because Luther laid aside, by 
 quitting his canonical hours of prayer and other religious exercises, to which he had 
 been accustomed in his convent, no wonder if he lost the gift of continency, which 
 he owns he enjoyed whilst he was a popish friar : " Whilst I was a religious (says he), 
 I observed chastity, obedience and poverty: and, in short, being wholly disengaged 
 from the cares of this present life, I wholly gave myself up to fasting, watching and 
 prayer." (In Gal. 2, 15, t. 5, Wittemb. fol. 291. 2.) But as soon as he commenced 
 reformer, to demonstrate that he was changed for the worse, he declares he had so 
 far lost this gift that he could not possibly live without a woman. (Sermon de 
 Matrim., t. 5, fol. 119, i.) 
 
 Q. But does not Christ say, concerning continency (St. Matt. XIX. ii), "All 
 men cannot receive this saying:" and St. Paul (Cor. vn. 9), "If they cannot 
 contain, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn?" 
 
 yl. No; both these texts are wilfully corrupted in the Protestant Testament. 
 Where he speaks not of such as have vowed chastity, but of other Christians, whom 
 
 lOI 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHH^DREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 he adrises rather to marry than to bum with unlawful lust here, and for unlawful 
 lust hereafter. And the same advice is most frequently inculcated by Catholic 
 divines. But as for those that have vowed chastity, they must make use of other 
 means to prevent this burning, particularly prayer and fasting. But what a 
 'wretched case must that of the adversaries of the celibacy of the clergy be when 
 to maintain it they have in so many places wilfully corrupted the Scripture! and 
 ■what a melancholy case it must be, that so many thousands of well-meaning souls 
 should be wretchedly deluded with the pretence of God's pure word, when instead 
 <of this, they have nothing put in their hands but corrupted tran^ations, which 
 present them with a mortal poison, instead of the food of life! 
 
 loa 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Of Religious Orders and Coafraternities. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of so many religious orders in the Catholic Church, 
 under different denominations; are not all Catholics of the same religion? 
 
 A. Yes, certainly; all Catholics, and consequently all these religious, though 
 called by different denominations are all of one religion, professing one and the 
 same faith, acknowledging one and the same Church authority, and all the de- 
 cisions of the Church; subject to one and the same head, and closely united together 
 in one communion. 
 
 Q. In what then do these religious Orders differ one from another, if they are 
 all of one religion ? 
 
 A. They differ in having different rules'and constitutions prescribed by their 
 respective founders; different habits; different exercises of devotion and penance, 
 different institutes; some wholly sequestered from the world, and addicted to 
 prayer and contemplation; others employed in preaching, teaching and converting 
 souls; others tending the sick, redeeming captives, etc., so as to make a beautiful 
 variety in the Church of God of different companions, all tending towards Christian 
 perfection, though by different exercises, according to the spirit of their respective 
 institutes. ► 
 
 Q. Are not all these religious consecrated to God by certain vows ? 
 
 A. Yes: there are three vowsos^hich are common to them all, viz., of poverty, 
 chastity, and obedience. By the vow of poverty, they renounce all property in the 
 things of this world, so as to have nothing at their own disposal; by the vow of 
 chastity they renounce all carnal pleasures; and by the vow of obedience, they 
 give up their own will to follow that of God in the person of their superior, 
 
 Q. How do we know that this voluntary poverty, perpetual chastity, and entire 
 obedience, are agreeable to God? 
 
 A. That voluntary poverty, or renouncing the goods and possessions of this 
 world, is agreeable to God, is evident from (St. Matt. xrx. 21): "If thou wilt be 
 perfect, go and sell all thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have a treasure 
 in heaven: and come and follow Me." That perpetual chastity is agreeable to 
 God, is no less evident from St. Matt. (xix. la): "There'be eunuchs, which have 
 made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake — he that is able to 
 receive it," let him receive it. And that an entire obedience to lawful superiors 
 must needs be agreeable to the Divine Majesty, is evident, because obedience is 
 better than sacrifice; since by obedience we give up to God, and for God, that 
 which is naturally most dear to us, viz., our liberty, and that which stands most in 
 the way of our souls' welfare, viz., our own will and self-love. 
 
 Q. Ought any Christians to embrace this state of life without a call from God ? 
 
 A. No, certainly; it would be rashness to attempt it. 
 
 Q. How shall any person know if he have a call from God to this state of life ? 
 
 A. By consulting God, his director, and his own heart. In choosing a state 
 
 103 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 of life every one ought to consult God, in the first place, by fervent prayer, begging 
 daily of Him like the convert, St. Paul (Acts DC. 6): "Lord! what wilt Thou have 
 me to do?" He ought also to consult with a virtuous and prudent director, and 
 to lay open to him the inclinations of his heart, and the motives upon which he is 
 inclined to embrace this kind of life; for there is no better proof of a call from God 
 than when a person, after having consulted God by prayer, finds in himself a 
 strong inclination to a religious life, and that for a long time, and upon motives 
 which have nothing in them of self-love, but are such as could not be suggested but 
 by the grace of God. 
 
 Q. What are the motives upon which a Christian should embrace a religious life ? 
 
 A. To do penance for his sins; to fly from the dangers and corruptions of this 
 wicked world; to consecrate himself wholly to the service of God, and sanctify 
 himself by the exact observance of his vows, and all the exercises of a religious life; 
 and to tend without ceasing to Christian perfection. 
 
 Q. But may it not be feared, that young persons may too rashly engage them- 
 selves by vows in a reli^ous state for which they are not fit ? 
 
 A. To prevent this inconvenience, the Catholic Church suffers none to be 
 professed in any order of men or women without a year's noviceship, by way of 
 probation or trial. 
 
 Q. Is a religious state of life very ancient in the Church of God ? 
 
 A. Yes, very ancient; for not to mention St. John Baptist's life in the wilder- 
 ness (St. Luke I. 30), and the lives of the first Christians of Jerusalem, who had all 
 things in common and sold their possessions and goods, continuing daily with one 
 accord in the temple, etc. (Acts n. 44, 45, 46), in which they exhibit a specimen of 
 a religious life, we learn from the most certain monuments of antiquity, that even 
 in the three first centuries there were religious men, whom Eusebius calls Ascetas, 
 and great numbers of nuns or virgins consecrated to God; though neither the one 
 nor the other was as yet formed into the regular monasteries till the beginning of 
 the fourth century. 
 
 About the middle of the third century, St. Paul, the first herntiit, flying from 
 the fury of the persecution begun by Decius, in the year 289, retired into the desert 
 of Thebais, and there passed ninety years and upwards in a lonesome cave, in con- 
 versation with God. His wonderful life is extant, written by St. Jerome. 
 
 About the year 271 St. Anthony, a young gentleman of Egypt, left his estate 
 and the world to consecrate himself to a religious life. He found, at his first retire- 
 ment, some others that had already undertaken that kind of life, though few in 
 number, and those living near the towns or villages; but he, by his example, drew 
 great numbers after him into the desert, and is generally looked upon as the author 
 and father of a monastic life. His life is written by the great St. Athanasius, and 
 is full of excellent lessons of spirituality. 
 
 About the year 313, St. Pachomius retired from the world, and after having 
 lived some time in solitude with St. Palemon, became the father of so many re- 
 ligious, and the first founder of the famous congregation of Tabenne, to which he 
 prescribed a rule which he had received from an angel. 
 
 From these beginnings, the deserts of Egj^t and of Thebais were soon peo- 
 pled with innumerable solitaries, and all those parts were full of religious of both 
 
 104 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 sexes of admiraUe virtue; insomuch, that when Rufinus visited those countries in 
 the latter end of the fourth century, he found in the city of Oxyrincus alone, ten 
 thousand religious men, and twenty thousand nuns. 
 
 From Eg)^t this kind of life, so agreeable to the principles of the Gk)spel, and 
 the spirit of Cb-istianity, quickly spread itself through all parts of the world in- 
 habited by Christians. St. Hilarian, having learned St. Anthony's way of living, 
 began to practice the like in Palestine about the beginning of the fourth century; 
 and that country also was quickly replenished with religious men and women; 
 whilst St. James, afterwards bishop of Nisibis, St. Julian Sabas, and other great 
 servants of God, whose lives and miracles are recorded by Theodoret and his Philo- 
 theus, propagated the same way of living in Syria and Mesopotamia. About the 
 same time, or not long after, the deserts of Pontus and Cappadocia began also to 
 be inhabited by religious men, whose manner of life was embraced by those two 
 great lights of the Church, St. Gregory Nazianzen and St. Basil, the latter of which 
 composed an excellent rule for his religious, professed to this day by the Greek 
 and Russian monks, and by some in Poland and Italy. 
 
 As for the Western parts of the Church, we find that the monastic life had 
 already gained a great footing there in the fourth century. St. Augustine informs 
 us of a monastery near the walls of Milan, full of good religious men, under the care 
 of St. Ambrose, 1. 8, Confess, chap. 6; and of several such religious societies at 
 Rome, in his book of the manners of the Catholic Church, chap, ^y, and of a re- 
 ligious house near Treves, in Germany, where two courtiers, upon reading the life 
 of St. Anthony, consecrated themselves to God, (1. 8. Confess, c. 6.) And the same 
 St. Augustine, upon his return into Africa, after his conversion, propagated the 
 same land of life in that part of the world also. 
 
 In France, the great St. Martin, bishop of Tours in the fourth century, whose 
 apostolic life and miracles are recorded by Sulpicius Severus, founded the 
 monastery of Marmoutier, in which he united together in one the clerical and mo- 
 nastical life, as St. Eusebius had done before him at Vercelli in Piedmont. But 
 the most famous monastery in all France was that of the Isle of Lerines, founded 
 towards the close of the fourth century, by St. Honoratus, afterwards bishop of 
 Aries, which was the fruitful parent of many great saints and illustrious prelates. 
 
 As for the British Islands, though we know not the particular time when the 
 first monasteries began to be established, yet we are assured, that they were not long 
 behind their neighbors in embracing this kind of life. The monastery of Bangor, 
 in Wales, in which there were above two thousand monks, was very ancient; and 
 we are told of an ancient monastery at Winchester, before the Saxons came over 
 into this land. As for Ireland, St. Patrick, who established Christianity there, 
 settled also the monastic discipline amongst his converts; which from thence was 
 propagated to the Picts in Scotland, by St. Columba, alias Columbkil, the apostle 
 of that nation, who having first founded in Ireland the famous abbey Dearmach, 
 afterwards passing into Scotland, founded that of the isle of Hy; from which two 
 monasteries, many others, as well in Ireland as in Scotland, had their origin, as 
 following the institute of the aforesaid St. Columba, of whom Ven. Bede, in his 
 Third Book of Ecclesiastical History of the English Church, chap. 4, writes thus: 
 "Of whose life and words (he speaks of St. Columba) some writings are said to be 
 
 105 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 preserved by his disciples. But whatsoever he was himself this we know of him 
 for certain, that he has left successors renowned for much continency, the love of 
 God, and regular observance." 
 
 From this monastery of the Isle of Hy, St. Aiden, the first bishop of Lindisfarn, 
 and many other apostolic preachers, came, who preached and established Chris- 
 tianity among the Northern English, as St. Augustine and his companions did 
 amongst those of the South, St. Fdix amongst the East English, and St. Birinus 
 amongst those of the West. 
 
 Q. I should be glad to know which are the chief religious Orders that flourish 
 at present in the Church of God; together with the names of their founders, the 
 time of their first institution, etc. 
 
 A. I shall endeavor to satisfy you as briefly as I can. And, first, as to the 
 East. The Orders that flourish there, are those of St, Anthony, and of St, Basil, 
 of which we have spoken already. 
 
 In the West St. Augustine, upon his return into Africa, about the year 390, 
 with divers others of his companions, entered into a religious society, wherein he 
 lived for three years before his coming to Hippo. And after his coming to that city, 
 where he was first made priest, and afterwards bishop, he erected a monastery 
 within his own house, living there with his clergy in common; to which institute 
 the canon regulars of Saint Augustine owe their original, who have flourished ever 
 since in the Church of God, and have branched out into divers congregations, as 
 that of Saint John Lateran, that of Saint Victor, of Saint Genovesa, etc. As the 
 hermits of St. Augustine's Order, commonly called Austin Friars, derive their insti- 
 tute from his first religious society, before his coming to Hippo, those hermits were 
 translated from the desert into towns by Pope Innocent the Fourth, to the end that 
 their godly conversation might be more profitable to their neighbors. From this 
 Order Luther apostatized in the sixteenth century, and like the dragon (Revel, xn. 
 ver, 4) : "Drew with him the third part of the stars of heaven (that is, great num- 
 bers of religious of all denominations), and cast them to the earth." 
 
 Towards the end of the fifth century, St. Benedict, vidgo Bennet, retired from 
 the world; and after having practised for many years a religious life in a most 
 eminent degree of perfection, founded twelve monasteries in Latium; and the 
 thirteenth at Mount Cassini, in the kingdom of Naples, from which he happily 
 passed to the mountain of eternity, in the sixth century. He composed an excellent 
 rule, which was afterwards embraced by almost all the religious of the West till 
 towards the twelfth century; and has furnished the Church of God with innumera- 
 ble prelates and apostolic men, and heaven with innumerable saints. The wonder- 
 ful life of St. Benedict was written by St. Gregory the Great in his dialogues. 
 
 From the rule of St. Benedict many other Orders have sprung besides the 
 Benedictines, as the Cluniacenses,^o called from their first abbey of Cluny in France. 
 These were instituted by St. Odo, in the tenth century, and for a long time flourished 
 in great sanctity. The Camaldulenses, instituted by St. Romuald, amongst the 
 Apennine mountains, about the year 1000, and to this day edifying the Church, 
 yielding a sweet odor of sanctity to all that come near them. The monks of Valom- 
 brosa, instituted by St. John Gualbert, in the eleventh century, and called from 
 the place of their first institution. The Cistercians, so called from their first abbey, 
 
 106 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 founded about the end of the eleventh century, by St. Robert, abbot of Molesme 
 in France. St. Robert being obliged to return to his abbey of Molesme, left for 
 his successor, St. Albericus, who was succeeded by St. Steven Harding, an English- 
 man, who had the happiness to receive St. Bernard into his society, by whose 
 preaching and miracles this Order was wonderfully propagated, and the religious 
 of it from him are commonly called Bernardines. Of this Order is the famous 
 abbey of La Trappe in France which in these, our days, has renewed the 
 austerities and alstracted lives of the primitive religious. I pass over several 
 other religious professing the rule of St. Benedict, as the Silvesterines, the 
 Grandimontenses, the Celestines, so called from St. Peter Celestine, their founder; 
 the Olivetants, etc. 
 
 Towards the end of the eleventh century, St. Bruno, a doctor of Paris, with 
 six companions, retired from the world to the desert mountains of Carthusia, in 
 the diocese of Grenoble, in Dauphine, and there laid the foundation of the Order 
 of the Carthusians, formerly in England called the Charterhouse monks; who, to 
 this day have happily preserved their primitive fervor, keeping perpetual silence 
 (only when they are singing the praises of God), perpetual abstinence, wearing al- 
 ways a rough hair shirt, and continually employed in prayer and contemplation. 
 
 About the year 1120, St. Norbert, who had exchanged the court life for the 
 voluntary poverty recommended by the Gospel, founded an Order of canon regulars 
 from him called Norbertines, and Premontratenses, from Premontr^, the place of 
 their first abbey, in the diocese of Laon in France. 
 
 In the same age also was instituted in France the Order of the Blessed Trinity, 
 for the redemption of captives out of the hands of infidels, by St. John de Matha 
 and St. Felix de Valois, two holy priests and solitaries invited to this charitable 
 work by divine visions, as in the following age another Order was instituted in 
 Spain for the same end, by St. Peter Nolascus. This is commonly called the Order 
 of Our Lady de Mercede, or of the Redemption. 
 
 About the year 1200, the Carmelites were first brought into Europe, and were 
 quickly spread through all parts of Christendom, where they have flourished ex- 
 ceedingly: nowhere more than heretofore in England, where, from the color of 
 their mantles, they were called white friars. These were originally hermits living 
 upon Mount Carmel, who, whilst the Christians were in possession of Syria and the 
 Holy Land, were assembled together by Aimeric, the Patriarch of Aotioch, and 
 received a rule from Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem. This rule was afterwards 
 mitigated by the Pope; but embraced again in its full extent by St. Teresa, in the 
 sixteenth century, and by the friars and nuns that follow her reform, and are called 
 Discalced, or Barefoot Carmelites. 
 
 Not long after the Carmelites coming into Europe, God was pleased to raise 
 two new Orders, which have flourished from that time to this day, and furnished 
 the Church with several Popes, innumerable cardinals, bishops, ecclesiastical 
 writers, and apostolic men; and have both been very fruitful in saints, viz., the 
 Order of St. Dominic, and that of St. Francis. The Dominicans, or Friars Preachers, 
 were instituted for preaching the Gospel to infidels and sinners, which they have 
 done with great success. These were formeriy, in our country, called Black Friars, 
 from the color of their cloak or outward habit, which is black, as the Franciscans 
 
 107 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 were called Grey Friars. St. Francis would2have his religious for humility, called 
 Friars Minors, whom he trained up in great poverty and penance. And so great 
 and speedy was the increase of this Order, that in a chapter held by the Saint 
 himself, at Assisium, there were assembled no less than five thousand religious. 
 This Order at present is the"most numerous in the Church of God, and is divided 
 into three chief branches, under their respective generals, viz., the Conventuals, 
 the Observants, and the Capuchins. The Observants are again sub-divided into 
 Cordeliers, Recollects, etc. Besides which, there is the congregation of St. Peter 
 of Alcantara, which is the strictest of all. The nuns who follow the rule of St. 
 Francis are commonly called Poor Clares, from St. Clare, who first received the 
 habit from St. Francis, and was the first abbess. Besides these there are Capuchi- 
 nesses or penitent nuns, of the Third Order of St. Francis, etc. 
 
 Other Orders that have been founded between the beginning of the thirteenth 
 century and the sixteenth, are the Servites, or Servants of the Blessed Virgin, in- 
 stituted about 1232, by seven gentlemen of Florence, who retired themselves to 
 a neighboring mountain to do penance; the Crucigeri, or Crutched Friars, though 
 these, by some, are supposed to have been much more ancient, the Jesuati, insti- 
 tuted by St. John Colombin, anno 1356; the Brigittins, by St. Brigit, anno 1360; 
 the Hieronnimites, by Pedro Ferdinando, anno 1383; the Minims, by St. Francis 
 of Paula, about the year 1450, etc. 
 
 The sixteenth century gave rise to several new Orders: the Theatins, or Regu- 
 lar Clerks, were instituted anno 1528, by St. Cajetanus Thianseus, a man of apostolic 
 life. This order flourishes very much in Italy, as well as the Barnabites or Clerics 
 Regular of St. Paul. 
 
 The Jesuits, or Society of Jesus, were instituted by St. Ignatius of Loyola, 
 anno 1540, as a troop, or company of auxiliaries, to assist the pastoral clergy in that 
 time of the Church's greatest necessity; to labor in the conversion and sanctifica- 
 tion of souls; to train up youth in piety and learning; to defend the faith against 
 heretics, and propagate it amongst infidels, in all which particulars this Order has 
 done signal services to the Church in these two last centuries. 
 
 About the same time, St. John de Deo founded an Order of religious brethren, 
 to take care of the sick, and to provide for them all necessary assistance both for 
 soul and body. 
 
 In the beginning of the seventeenth century, St. Francis de Sales, bishop of 
 Geneva, instituted the Order of the nuns of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin. 
 
 And thus have I given you a short account of the chief Orders that flourish in 
 the Church. 
 
 Besides these religious Orders, there are certain regular congregations of clergy 
 living in common, though not under the tie of religious vows, as, the Oratorians, 
 instituted by St. Philip Nerius, in the sixteenth century; the Fathers of the Chris- 
 tian Doctrine; the Lazarians, or Fathers of the Mission, etc. 
 
 Q. Are there not also many confraternities amongst the Catholics, in which 
 many of the laity are enrolled; pray what is the meaning of these confraternities? 
 
 A. These confraternities, or brotherhoods, are certain societies or associa- 
 tions, instituted for the encouragement of devotion, or for promoting of certain 
 works of piety, religion and charity, under some rules or regulations, though without 
 
 108 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 being tied to them, so far as that the breach or neglect of them would be sinful. 
 The good of these confraternities is, that thereby good works are promoted, the 
 faithful are encouraged to frequent the Sacraments, to hear the Word of God, 
 mutually to assist one another by their prayers, etc. 
 
 ^#>^<i>#^ 
 
 109 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Of the Sacrament of Matrimony, and of the Nuptiat 
 
 Benediction. 
 
 Q. When was matrimony instituted? 
 
 A. It was first instituted by God Almighty between our first parents in the 
 earthly paradise (Gen. n.), and this institution was confirmed by Christ in the New 
 Testament (St. Matt. xix. 4, 5, 6), where he concludes: "What God has joined 
 together, let no man put asunder." And our Lord, to show that this state is holy, 
 and not to be condemned or despised, was pleased to honor it with his first miracle, 
 wrought at the wedding of Cana. (St. John n.) 
 
 Q. What are the ends for which matrimony was instituted ? 
 
 A. For the procreation of children, who may serve God here, and people 
 heaven hereafter ; for a remedy against concupiscence, and for the benefit of con- 
 jugal society, that man and wife may mutually help one another, and contribute 
 to one another's salvation. 
 
 Q. How do we prove that matrimony is a sacrament ? 
 
 A. Because it is a conjunction made and sanctified by God Himself, and not 
 to be dissolved by any power of man, as being a sacred sign or mysterious repre- 
 sentation of the indissoluble union of Christ and His Church. Hence St. Paul, 
 (Eph. V. 31, 32), expressly calls it a "great sacrament or mystery," with regard to 
 Christ and His Church; and as such it has been always acknowledged in the Cath- 
 olic Church. See St. Ambrose, 1. i, de Abraham, c. 7; St. Augustine, 1. de Bono 
 Conjug. c. 18, and 24, 1. de Fide et Operibus, c. 17, 1. de Nuptis et Concep. 10, etc. 
 
 Q. Does matrimony give grace to those that receive it ? 
 
 A. Yes, if they receive it in the dispositions that they ought, it gives a grace to 
 the married couple to love one another according to God, to restrain the violence 
 of concupiscence, to bear with one another's weaknesses, and to bring up their 
 children in the fear of God. 
 
 Q. How comes it then that some marriages are unhappy, if matrimony be a 
 Sacrament which gives so great a grace ? 
 
 A. Because the greatest part do not receive it in the dispositions they ought: 
 they consult not God in their choice, but only their own lust or temporal interest; 
 they prepare not themselves for it, by putting themselves in the state of grace; and 
 too often are guilty of freedoms before marriage, which are not allowable by the 
 law of God. 
 
 Q. In what dispositions ought persons to receive the Sacrament of matrimony? 
 
 A. They ought to be in a state of grace, by confession: their intention ought 
 to be pure, viz., to embrace this holy state for the ends for which God instituted it; 
 and, if they be under the care of parents, etc., they ought to consult them, and do 
 nothing of this kind without their consent. 
 
 Q. In what manner does the Catholic Church proceed in the administration 
 of matrimony? 
 
 A. First, she orders that the banns should be proclaimed on three Sundays, 
 
 no 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 or festival days, before the celebration of marriage; to the end, that if anyone knows 
 any impediment why the parties may not, by the law of God or His Church, be 
 joined in matrimony, he may declare it. 
 
 Second, the parties are to be married by their own parish priest, in the presence 
 of two or three witnesses. 
 
 Third, the parties express, in the presence of the priest, their mutual consent ; 
 according to the usual form of the Church; after which, the priest says, "I join you 
 in matrimony, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
 Amen." 
 
 Fourth, the priest blesses the ring according to this form: 
 
 V. Our help is in the name of the Lord. 
 
 A. Who made heaven and earth. 
 
 V. O Lord! hear my prayer. 
 
 A. And let my cry come to Thee. 
 
 V. The Lord be with you. 
 
 A. And with thy spirit. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 Bless, l5^ O Lord ! this ring, which we bless \^ in Thy name, that she that 
 shall wear it keeping inviolable fidelity to her spouse may ever remain in peace and 
 in Thy will, and always live in mutual charity. Through Christ our Lord. 
 
 Then the priest sprinkles the ring with holy water ; and the bridegroom taking 
 it, puts it on the fourth fiinger of the left hand of the bride, saying, "In the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Here, also, ac- 
 cording to the custom of Ireland, the bridegroom puts some gold and silver into the 
 hand of the bride, saying: "With this ring I thee wed, this gold and silver I give 
 thee, and with all my worthly goods I thee endow." 
 
 After this the priest says: V. Confirm O God! this which Thou hast wrought 
 in us. A. From Thy holy temple which is in Jerusalem. Lord! have mercy 
 on us. Christ ! have mercy on us. Lord ! have mercy on us. Our Father, etc. 
 And lead us not into temptation. A. But deliver us from evil. V. Save Thy ser- 
 vants. A. Trusting in, Thee, Omy God! V. Send them help, O Lord! from Thy 
 sanctuary. ^. And defend them from Sion. 7. Be to them, O Lord! a tower of 
 strength. ^4. Against the face of the enemy. 7. O Lord! hear my prayer. ^. And 
 let my cry come to Thee. V. The Lord be with you. A. And with Thy spirit. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 Look down, O Lord! we beseech Thee, upon these Thy servants, and afford 
 Thy favorable assistance to Thy own institution, by which Thou hast ordained 
 the propagation of mankind; and that they, who are joined together by Thy 
 authority, may be preserved by Thy aid. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Fifth, after this, if the nuptial benediction is to be given, the priest says the 
 Mass appointed in the Missal, for the bridegroom and the bride; and having said 
 the Pater Noster, turning about to the new married couple, he says over them the 
 following prayers: 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 Mercifully give ear, O Lord! to our prayers, and let Thy grace accompany 
 
 III 
 
OUR CHURCH, ^ER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 this Thy institution, by which Thou hast ordained the propagation of mankind, 
 that this tie, which is made by Thy authority, may be preserved by Thy grace. 
 Through our Lord Jesus Christ, etc. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 O God! who by Thy omnipotent hand didst create all things of nothing; who, 
 at the first forming of the world, having made man to the likeness of God, didst, 
 out of his flesh, make the woman, and gave her to him for his help, and by this 
 didst inform us that what in its beginning was one, ought never be separated: 
 O God! who by so excellent a mystery hast consecrated this union of both sexes, 
 that Thou wouldst have it be a type of that great Sacrament which is between 
 Christ and His Church: O God! by whom this contract and mutual commerce 
 has been ordained, and privileged with a blessing, which alone has not been recalled, 
 either in punishment or original sin, or by the sentence of the flood, mercifully 
 look on this Thy servant the bride, who, being now to be given in marriage, ear- 
 nestly desires to be received under Thy protection. May love and peace aboimd 
 in her; may she marry in Christ faithful and chaste; may she ever imitate those 
 holy women of former times; may she be as acceptable to her husband as Rachel; 
 as discreet as Rebecca; may she, in her years and fidelity, be like Sarah, and may 
 the author of evil at no time have any share in her actions; may she be steady in 
 faith and the commandments; may she be true to her engagements, and flee all 
 unlawful addresses; may she fortify her infirmity by Thy discipline; may she be 
 gravely bashful, venerably modest, and well-learned in the doctrine of heaven; 
 may she be fruitful in her offspring; may she be approved and innocent; and may 
 her happy lot be to arrive at length to the rest of the blessed in the kingdom of 
 heaven ; may they both see their children's children to the third and fourth genera- 
 tion, and live to a happy old age. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, etc. 
 
 After the priest's communion, they both receive the Blessed Sacrament, and at 
 the end of the Mass, before the usual blessing of the people, the priest turns to the 
 bridegroom and bride, and says: 
 
 "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob be with you, 
 and may He fulfil His blessing in you, that you may see your children's children 
 to the third and fourth generation, and afterwards enter into the possession of 
 everlasting life, by the help of our Lord Jesus Christ ; who, with the Father, and 
 the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth God forever and ever. Amen." 
 
 Then the priest admonishes them to be faithful to one another, to love one 
 another, and to live in the fear of God, and exhorts them to be continent, by mutual 
 consent, at the times of devotion, and especially at the times of fasting, and of great 
 solemnities, and so he finishes the Mass in the usual manner. 
 
 Q. Is there any obligation of receiving this nuptial benediction when persons 
 are married? 
 
 A. The Church wishes that it were never omitted in the first marriage, when it 
 may be had, because of the blessing it draws down from heaven, and it would 
 certainly be a fault for persons to marry without it, when and where it may be had. 
 
 Q. Why does not the Church allow of this nuptial benediction when the man 
 or woman has been once married before? 
 
 A. Because the second marriage does not so perfectly represent the union of 
 Christ and His Church, which is an eternal tie of one to one. 
 
 112 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. Why does not the Church allow of solemnity of marriage from the first 
 Sunday of Advent till after Twelfth day, and from Ash- Wednesday till after Low- 
 Sunday ? 
 
 A. Because the times of Advent and Lent are times of penance, as the times 
 of Christmas and Easter are times of extraordinary devotion, and therefore are not 
 proper for marriage feasts, or such like solemnities. 
 
 Q. What are the duties of married people to one another ? 
 
 A. You shall hear them from Scripture: Ephes. v. 22: "Let women be subject 
 to their husbands, as to the Lord." Ver. 23: "Because the man is the head 
 of the woman, as Christ is the head of the Church: He is the Saviour of His 
 body." Ver. 24: "Therefore, as the Church is subject to Christ, so also let 
 women be to their husbands in all things." Ver. 25: "Husbands love your 
 wives, as Christ also loved the Church, and delivered Himself for it." Ver. 
 28: "So ought also husbands to love their wives as their own bodies: he 
 that loveth his wife, loveth himself." Ver. 29: "For no one ever hated his 
 own flesh, but nourisheth it, and cherisheth it, as Christ also doth the 
 Church." Ver. 30: "Because we are members of His body, of His flesh, 
 and of His bones." Ver. 31: "For this cause shall a man leave his father 
 and his mother, and shall adhere to his wife, and they shall be two in one 
 flesh." Gen. n. ver. 32: "This Sacrament is great, but I say in Christ and in the 
 Church." Ver. 33: "However, let every one of you in particular love his wife as 
 himself; and let the wife reverence the husband." (See to the same effect, Colos. 
 in: 18, 19.) 
 
 I St. Peter m. n: "Let women be subject to their husbands, to the end, that if 
 any believe not the Word, they be gained without the word by the conversation 
 of the woman." Ver. 2: "Beholding your chaste conversation in fear." Ver., 3; 
 "Whose adorning let it not be in the outward plaiting of the hair, or laying 
 on gold round about or putting on apparel." Ver. 4: "But the hidden 
 man of the heart, in the incorruptibility of a quiet and modest spirit, 
 which is rich in the sight of God." Ver. 5: "For in this manner hereto- 
 fore also holy women, hoping in God, adorned themselves, being subject to 
 their husbands." Ver. 6: "As Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, 
 whose daughters you are," etc. Ver. 7: "Husbands, in like manner, dwelling 
 with them according to knowledge, give honor to the woman as to the weaker 
 vessel, as to the joint heirs of the grace of life, that your prayers may not 
 be hindered." 
 
 I Cor. xn. 3: "Let the husband render the (marriage) debt to the wife; and 
 in like manner the wife to her husband." Ver. 4: "The wife hath not power of 
 her own body, but the husband; and in like manner the husband hath not power 
 of his own body but the wife." Ver. 5: "Defraud not one another, unless perhaps 
 . by consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to prayer, and return again 
 together to the same, lest Satan tempt you on account of your incontinency." Ver. 
 6: "Yet this I speak according to indulgence, not according to command." Ver. 
 7: "For I would have you all to be as myself," etc. Ver. 10: "But as to them 
 who are joined in wedlock, it is not I but the Lord commands that the wife depart 
 not from the husband." Ver. 11: "But if she shall depart that she remain 
 
 113 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband and let not the husband put away 
 his wife." 
 
 Titus n. 4: "They may teach the young women prudence, that they love 
 their husbands, be tender of their children." Ver. 15: "Discreet, chaste, sober, 
 having care of the house, gentle, submissive to their husbands, that the Word of 
 God be not blasphemed," 
 
 There are also excellent documents for married people in the Book of Tobias 
 (ch. vr. 16), "Then the Angel Raphael said to him, hear me, and I will show thee 
 who they are over whom the devil can prevail." Ver. 17: "For they who in such 
 manner receive matrimony as to shut out God from themselves and from their 
 mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and the mule, which have 
 not imderstanding: over them the devil hath power." Ver. 22: "Thoushalt 
 take the virgin with the fear of the Lord, moved rather for the love of 
 children than for lust, that in the seed of Abraham thou mayest obtain blessing 
 in children." 
 
 And chap. ni. 16: "Thou knowest. Lord! that I never coveted a husband, 
 and have kept my soul clean from all concupiscence." Ver. 16: "I never kept 
 company with them that play, nor with them that walk in lightness did I make 
 myself a partner." Ver. 17: "But a husband I consented to take, with Thy fear, 
 not with my lust." 
 
 And chap. m. 8: "Thou madest Adam of the slime of the earth, and gavest 
 him Eve for his helpmate." Ver. 9: "And now. Lord, Thou knowest that not 
 for fleshly lust do I take my sister to wife, but only for the love of posterity, in 
 which Thy name may be blessed forever." 
 
 Q. What are the duties of married people with regard to the education of their 
 cliildren ? 
 
 A. They are obliged to train them up from their very infancy in the fear of 
 God, and to give them early impressions of piety; to see that they may be instructed 
 in the Christian Doctrine, and that they be kept to their prayers and other religious 
 duties ; in fine, to give them good example, and to remove them from the occasion 
 of sin, especially bad company and idleness. 
 
 Q. Does the Catholic Church allow her children to marry with those that are 
 not of her communion ? 
 
 A. She has often prohibited such marriages, as may be seen in the sixteenth 
 canon of the Council of lUieribis, the loth canon of the Council of Laodicea, the 
 14th canon of the Council of Chalcedon, the 67th canon of the Council of Agde, 
 etc. Though some times, and in some places, pastors of the Church, for weighty 
 reasons, have been forced to dispense with this law, and to cdebrate such 
 marriages. 
 
 Q. Why is the Church so averse to this kind of marriages ? 
 
 A. First, because she would not have her children communicate in sacred 
 things, such as matrimony is, with those that are out of her communion. Second, 
 because such marriages are apt to give occasion to dissensions in families, whilst 
 one of the parties draw one way, the other another. Third, because there is a 
 danger of the Catholic party being perverted, or at least of not being allowed the 
 free exercise of religion. Fourth, because there is a danger of the diildren being 
 
 114 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 brought up in error, of which we have seen some sad instances. Where note, that 
 those bargains are by no means to be allowed of, by which contracting parties 
 agree to have the boys brought up in the religion of the father, and the girls to 
 follow the mother. God and His Church will have no such division, nor give up 
 thus their right to any one. 
 
 "5 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Of the Churching of Women after Child-Beariog. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the churching of women after child-bearing? Is 
 it that you look upon them to be under any uncleanness, as formerly in the Old 
 Law, or to be any ways out of the Church by child-bearing? 
 
 A. No, by no means; but what we call the churching of women is nothing 
 else but their coming to the Church to give thanks to Gk)d for their safe delivery 
 and to receive the blessing oi the priest upon that occasion. 
 
 Q. What is the form and manner of churching of women ? 
 
 A. The woman that desires to be churched, kneels down at the door or entry 
 of the church, holding a lighted candle in her hand; and the priest, vested with 
 his surplice and stole, sprinkles her first with holy water, and then says: 
 
 V. Our help is in the name of the Lord. 
 
 R. Who made heaven and earth. 
 
 Anthem. This woman shall receive a blessing from the Lord. 
 
 PSALM 23. 
 
 The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the compass of the world and 
 all that dwell therein. 
 
 Because He hath founded it upon the seas, and prepared it upon the rivers. 
 
 Who shall go up into the mountain of the Lord, or who shall stand in his holy 
 place ? 
 
 The innocent of hands and clean of heart, that hath not taken his soul in vain, 
 nor sworn to his neighbor in guile. 
 
 He shall receive blessing of the Lord, and mercy of God and his Saviour. 
 
 This is the generation of them that seek Him, of them that seek the face of 
 the God of Jacob. 
 
 Lift up your gates ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates, and the 
 King of Glory shall enter in. 
 
 Who is the King of Glory? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord mighty 
 in battle. 
 
 Lift up your gates, ye princes, and be ye lifted up O eternal gates, and the King 
 of Glory shall enter in. 
 
 Who is the King of Glory ? The Lord of power, he is the King of Glory. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 As it was in the beginning, etc. 
 
 Anthem. The woman shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy 
 from God, her Saviour; for this is the generation of them that seek the Lord. 
 
 After this the priest stretches out to her hand the end of his stole, and so intro- 
 duces her into the Church, saying, "Come into the temple of God, adore the Son 
 of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who has given to thee to be fruitful in thy offspring." 
 
 ii6 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Then she kneels before the altar, giving thanks to God for His benefits be- 
 stowed on her, whilst the priest prays as follows : 
 
 Lord! have mercy on us. CMst! have mercy on us. Lord! have mercy 
 on us. Our Father, etc. V. And lead us not into temptation. A. But deliver 
 us from evil. V. Save Thy handmaid, O Lord! A. Trusting in Thee, O my 
 God! F. Send her help, O Lord! from Thy Sanctuary. A. And defend her 
 from Sion. V. Let not the enemy have any power over her. A. Nor the son 
 of iniquity presume to hurt her. V. O Lord! hear my prayer, A. And let my 
 cry come to Thee. 7. The Lord be with you. A. And with Thy spirit. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 Almighty everlasting God! Who, by the Blessed Virgin Mary's bringing 
 forth, hast changed into joys the pains of the faithful in their child-bearing; merci- 
 fully look down on this Thy servant, who comes with joy to thy holy temple to 
 return Thee thanks; and grant, that after this life, she may, by the merits and 
 intercessions of the same Blessed Mary, deserve to be received with her child into 
 the joys of everlasting happiness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Then the priest sprinkles her again with holy water, in the form of the cross, 
 saying: "May the peace and blessing of Almighty God, the Father, >J< and the 
 Son, and the Holy Ghost, come upon thee and remain with thee forever. Amen." 
 
 "7 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Of the Fasts of the Catholic Church. 
 Of Fasting aod Abstinence in General. 
 
 Q. Have you any reason to think that fasting and abstinence are agreeable 
 to God? 
 
 A. Yes, certainly; John the Baptist's abstinence is conunended (St. Luke 
 I, 15 and St. Matt. m. 4), and Anna the prophetess is praised (St. Luke n. 37), 
 for serving God with fasting and prayers night and day. The Ninivites by fasting 
 obtained mercy. (Jonas m. 5.) Daniel joined fasting with prayer (Dan. ix. 3), 
 and by fasting was disposed for heavenly visions. (Dan. x. 3. 7. 12.) The royal 
 prophet humbled his soul in fasting. (Psalm xxxiv. alias xxxv.) Ezra and 
 Nehemiah sought and found seasonable aid from God by fasting. (Ezra vni. 23, 
 and Nehemiah i. 4.) And God by the prophet Joel, calls upon his people (Joel 
 n. 12) "To turn to him with all their hearts in fasting, weeping and mourning." 
 
 Q. But did our Lord Jesus Christ design that His followers should fast ? 
 
 A. Yes, he not only gave them an example by fasting forty days, (St. Matt. 
 ■VI. 16, etc.), but also expressly aflSrmed, that after the bridegroom should be taken 
 from them, that is, after his passion, resurrection and ascension, all His children, 
 that is, all good Christians, should fast (St. Matt. ix. 15; St. Mark n. 20; St. 
 Xuke V. 35). Hence, we find the Christians at Antioch fasting (Acts xm. 2), and 
 Paul and Barnabas ordained with prayer and fasting (Ver. 3), and priests ordained 
 Ijy them in every church with prayer and fasting (Acts xrv. 23), and are Apostles 
 "'approving themselves as the ministers of God — in fasting." (2 Cor. vi. 4, 5, etc.) 
 
 Q. Has fasting any particular efl&cacy against the devil ? 
 
 A. Yes: "This kind (of devils) can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and 
 fasting," saith our Lord. (St. Mark iv. 29.) 
 
 Q. What are the ends for which Christians are to fast, and for which the Church 
 prescribes days of fasting and abstinence ? 
 
 A. First, to chastise ourselves, and to do penance for our sins, that so, like 
 the Ninivites, we may obtain mercy of God. Second, to curb and restrain our 
 passions and concupiscences, and to bring the flesh under subjection to the spirit. 
 Third, to be enabled by fasting to raise our souls the easier to God, and to offer Him 
 purer prayer. 
 
 Q. What are the rules prescribed by the Catholic Church with regard to eating 
 on fasting-days? 
 
 A. First, the Church prohibits all fleshmeat on fasting-days, unless in Lent 
 a dispensation to the contrary be granted; formerly wine was prohibited, but 
 this prohibition, by a contrary custom, has been long since laid aside. Second, 
 the Church allows her children but one meal on fasting-days; besides which, custom 
 has introduced a small collation at night. Third, the meal which the Church 
 allows on fasting-days must not be taken till towards noon; formerly, for the first 
 twelve hundred years of the Church, the meal was not to be taken in Lent before 
 
 118 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 the evening; and on the other fasting-days not till three o'clock in the afternoon. 
 These rules regard the days of fasting; but as to those that are only days of absti- 
 nence, such as the Fridays throughout the year, we are only obliged to abstain from 
 flesh on those days, but no ways confined to one meal. 
 
 Q. But why does the Church prohibit flesh on days of fasting and abstinence ? 
 
 A. Not that she looks upon any meats as unclean by the New Law but she 
 does it that her children may better comply with the ends of fasting, viz., mortifi- 
 cation and penance, by abstaining on those days from that kind of food which is 
 most nourishing and agreeable. 
 
 Q. But is not this condemned by the Apostle (i Tim. iv. 3), "where he calls it 
 the doctrine of devils to command to abstain from meats which God hath created 
 to be received with thanksgiving?" 
 
 A. The Apostle speaks of the doctrine of those, who with the Marcionites, 
 Manichseans, and other heretics, forbid the use of meat, not as the Church does, 
 by way of mortification and penance, on days of fasting and humiliation, but as 
 a thing absolutely unclean, and unlawful to be used at any time, as coming from 
 an evil principle. All that know an)1:hing of Church history, know that it was 
 the system of many heretics, who also upon the same account, absolutely con- 
 demned marriage, as tending to the propagation of the flesh. Now they that know 
 these things are guilty of the highest injustice, pretending that these words of the 
 Apostles were levelled at the Catholic Church, when their own consciences must 
 tell them that they were designed for another set of people. The Catholic Church 
 is far from condemning the use of God's creatures in proper times and seasons; 
 but she neither does, nor ever did, think all kinds of diet proper for days of fasting 
 and penance: and in this particular the modern Church is so far from going beyond 
 the primitive Christians, that on the contrary, all kinds of monuments of antiquity 
 make it evident, that our forefathers, in the first ages of the Church, were more 
 severe in their abstinence than we now are. 
 
 Q. But does not the Apostle say (i Cor. x. 25), "Whatsoever is sold in the 
 shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience's sake?" 
 
 A. He speaks not this with relation to the days of fasting, as if any sorts of 
 meat might be eaten on fasting-days; but he speaks, as it is visible from the con- 
 text, with regard to the meats offered to idols; which some weak brethren were 
 so much afraid of eating, that upon this account they durst not eat the meat sold 
 in the shambles, lest it might have been offered to idols. Upon the same principle 
 the Apostle adds (ver. 27), "If any of them that believe not, invite you to a feast, 
 and you be disposed to go, whatsoever is set before you eat, asking no questions 
 for conscience's sake." (Ver, 28 :) " But if any man say unto you, this is offered in 
 sacrifice unto idok, eat not for his sake that showed it, and for conscience' sake," etc, 
 
 Q. Do you take it then to be a sin to eat meat on fasting-days, or otherwise to 
 break the Church fasts without necessity? 
 
 A. Yes, certainly; because it is a sin to disobey our lawful superiors, and more 
 particularly to disobey the Church of God. "If he neglect to hear the Church let 
 him be to thee as a heathen and a publican." (St. Matt. xvni. 17.) 
 
 Q. Does not Christ say (St. Matt. xv. n), "That which goeth into the mouth 
 doth not defile a man?" 
 
 119 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. True; it is not any uncleanness in the meat, as many heretics have imagined, 
 or any dirt or dust which may stick to it by eating, without first washing the hands 
 (of which case our Lord is speaking in the text you quote), which can defile the 
 soul ; for every creature of God is good, and whatsoever corporal filth enters in at 
 the mouth is cast forth into the draught ; but that which defiles the soul, when a 
 person transgresses the Church fast, is the disobedience of the heart, in breaking 
 the precept of the Church, which God has commanded us to hear and to obey. 
 And thus an Israelite would have been defiled in the time of the Old Law, by 
 eating of blood or swine's flesh; and thus our first parents were defiled by eating 
 the forbidden fruit, not by the imcleanness of the food, but by the disobedience 
 of the heart to the law of God. 
 
 Q. What are the conditions that ought to accompany a Christian faith, to 
 make it such a fast as God has chosen ? 
 
 A. The great and general fast of a Christian is to abstain from sin; and God 
 would not accept of the fasts of the Jews (Isai. Lvm.), because on the days of the 
 fasting they were found doing their own will and oppressing their neighbors. So that 
 the first condition that ought to go along with our fasts, is to renounce our sins; 
 the second is to let our fasts be accompanied with alms-deeds and prayer (Tob. 
 xn. 8), the third to endeavor to perform them in a penitential spirit. 
 
 Q. What persons are excused from the strictness of the Church fast ? 
 
 ^. ^(Children under age, sick people, women that are with child, or that give 
 suck^Jlikewise those that upon fasting days are obliged to hard labor and, in a 
 word, ill such who through weakness, infirmity or other hindrance, cannot fast 
 without great prejudice or danger, where note, first, that if the cause be not evident 
 a person must have recourse to his pastor for dispensation. Second, that in some 
 of the above mentioned cases, a person may be excused from one part of the fast, 
 and not from another; or may be excused from fasting, and yet not from abstinence. 
 Third, that such as for some just cause are dispensed with from fasting, ought to 
 endeavor, as far as their condition and circumstances will allow, to be so much the 
 more diligent in their devotions, more liberal in their alms, more patient in their 
 sufferings, and to make up by the interior spirit of penance what is wanting to the 
 outward fast. 
 
 lao 
 
Of the Fast of Lent. 
 
 Q. When did the Church first begin to observe the fast of Lent ? 
 
 A. We know no beginning of it; for it is a fast that has been observed by the 
 Church from the time of the Apostles, and stands upon the same foundation as the 
 observation of the Lord's day, that is, upon apostolical tradition. 
 
 Q. Have the ancient fathers often mentioned the solemn fast of forty days, 
 which we call Lent ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is mentioned by the holy fathers in innumerable places; who alsa 
 inform us, that they had received it by tradition from the Apostles ; see St. Jerome,. 
 Epist. 54, ad Marcellum, and St. Leo the Great, serm. 43 and 46. And the trans- 
 gressors of this solemn fast are severely punished by the 68th Canon of the Apostles. 
 
 Q. Have you an)^hing else to offer to prove that the fast of Lent comes from 
 an ordinance of the Apostles ? 
 
 A. Yes: It is proved by that rule of St. Augustine (Epist. I. 18), to Januarius 
 viz. : That what is found not to have had its institution from any Council, but to 
 have ever been observed by the universal Church, that same must needs have come 
 from the first fathers, the founders of the Church, that is from the Apostles. But 
 the fast of Lent is not found to have had its institution from any Council, but ta 
 have been observed in all ages, from the very beginning, amongst all Christian people 
 from East to West ; therefore the fast of Lent is an apostolical ordinance and tra- 
 dition. 
 
 Q. For what ends was the fast of Lent instituted ? 
 
 A. First, that by this yearly fast of forty days we might imitate the fast of 
 our Lord. (St. Matt. rv. 2.) Second, that by this institution we might set aside 
 the tithe, or tenth part of the year, to be more particularly consecrated to God by 
 prayer and fasting; as it was commanded in the law, to give God the tithes of all 
 things. Third, that by this forty days' fast, joined with prayers and alms deeds, 
 we might do penance for the sins of the whole year. Fourth, that we might at this 
 time enter into a kind of spiritual exercises, and a retreat from the world; to look 
 more narrowly into the state of our souls, to repair our decayed strength, and ta 
 provide effectual remedies against our usual failings for the time to come. Fifth, 
 that by this solemn fast we might celebrate in a more becoming manner, the passion 
 of Christ, which we particularly commemorate in the Lent. In fine, that this fast 
 might be a preparation for the great solemnity of Easter, and for the paschal com- 
 munion. 
 
 Q. In what spirit would the Church have her children undertake and ga 
 through the fast of Lent ? 
 
 A. In a. penitential spirit, that is, with a deep sense of repentance for having 
 offended God; an earnest desire and resolution of a new life, and of mortifying 
 and chastising themselves for their sins. These lessons she inculcates every day 
 in her office and Liturgy; witness the hymns prescribed for this holy time, the 
 responsories, the collects, tracts, etc. I shall give you a specimen of the spirit of 
 the Church in this regard, by setting down some passages of the Scripture, which 
 
 121 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 she orders to be read in the canonical hours of prayer every day during this 
 time. 
 
 1. At Lauds (Isaiah Lvm.), "Cry out, cease not, raise thy voice like a trumpet, 
 and declare to My people their wickedness, and to the house of Jacob their sins." 
 
 2. At Prime, or the first hour (Isaiah lv.), "Seek the Lord whilst He may be 
 found, call upon Him whilst He is near." 
 
 2. At Terce, or the third hour (Joel ii.), "Be converted to Me with your whole 
 heart, in fasting, and weeping, and mourning; and rend your hearts, and not your 
 garments, saith the Lord Almighty." 
 
 At Sext, or the sixth hour (Isaiah lv.), "Let the wicked man forsake his ways, 
 and the unjust man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord and He will 
 have mercy on him; and to our God for His mercy is great." 
 
 5. At None, or the ninth hour (Isaiah Lin.), "Break thy bread to the hungry, 
 and bring in the needy and the harborless into thy house; when thou shalt see 
 the naked, clothe him, and despise not thy own flesh." 
 
 6. At Vespers, or Evening-song (Joel n.), "Between the porch and the altar 
 the priests and the ministers of the Lord shall mourn, and they shall say. Spare, 
 O Lord! spare thy people; and let not Thy inheritance fall into reproach, for 
 the nations to domineer over them." 
 
 To the same effect she often repeats in her office the following exhortation: 
 "Let us repent and amend the sins which we have ignorantly committed, lest being 
 suddenly overtaken by the day of our death, we seek for time of penance, and be 
 not able to find it." 
 
 And again: "Behold now is an acceptable time, behold now are the days of 
 salvation; let us recommend ourselves in much patience," etc. 
 
 Q. Why do you call the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday ? 
 
 A. From the ceremony of blessing ashes upon that day, and putting them on 
 the foreheads of the faithful, to remind them that they must very quickly return 
 to dust ; and therefore must not neglect to lay hold of this present time of mercy, 
 and like the Ninivites and other ancient penitents, do penance for their sins in 
 sackcloth and ashes. The prayers which are said by the Church, for the blessing 
 of the ashes, are directed for the obtaining of God the spirit of compunctiony and 
 the remission of sins for all those who receive those ashes; and the priest, in making 
 the sign of the cross with the ashes on the forehead of each one of the faithful, says 
 these words: "Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt 
 return." 
 
 Q, Was it ever the custom of the Catholic Church to meet on that day to curse 
 sinners ? 
 
 ^. No; but to pray to God to obtain mercy for sinners. 
 
 Q. What benefit is it to the faithful to have regular times of fasting appointed 
 by the Church, rather than to be left to their own discretion to fast when they 
 please ? 
 
 A. First, it is to be feared that many would not fast at all, were they not called 
 upon by these regular fasts of the Church. Second, it is not to be doubted, but that 
 sinners may more easily and readily find mercy, when they join thus all in a body 
 with the whole Church of God in suing for mercy. 
 
 122 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. But is this mercy to be expected, if sinners only mortify themselves in point 
 of eating, and in all other things indulge themselves in their accustomed liberties ? 
 
 A. It is certain that the true spirit of penance, which is the spirit of Lent, 
 requires that they should be mortified, not only in their eating, but also by retrench- 
 ing all superfluities in other things, as in drinking, idle visits and unnecessary 
 divertisements, according to that of the Church Hymn for Lent : 
 
 Utamur ergo parcitis 
 Verbis, cibis et potibus, 
 Somno, jocis, et arclMs 
 Perstemus in custodia. 
 
 Q. What do you think of preparing for Lent by a carnival of debauchery and 
 excess ? 
 
 A. I think it is a relic of heathenism, infinitely opposite to the spirit of the 
 Church. The very name of Shrove-tide, in the language of our forefathers, signi- 
 fies the season or time of confession, because our ancestors were accustomed, ac- 
 cording to the true spirit of the Church, to go to confession at that time, that so 
 they might enter on the solemn fast of Lent, in a manner suitable to this peni- 
 tential fast. 
 
 Q. Why is the Evening-Ofl&ce said before dinner on all days in Lent except- 
 ing Sundays? 
 
 A. It is a relic of the ancient custom of fasting in Lent till the evening. 
 
 Q. Why is the Alleluia laid aside during the time of Lent ? 
 
 A. Because it is a canticle of joy, and therefore is omitted in this time of 
 penance: but instead of it, the Church, at the beginning of all the canonical hours 
 of her daily office, repeats these words: "Praise be to Thee, O Lord! King of 
 everlasting Glory." 
 
 Q. Why is the fifth Sunday in Lent called Passion Sunday ? 
 
 A. Because from that day till Easter, the Church, in a particular manner, 
 commemorates the Passion of Christ. 
 
 Q. Why are the crucifixes and altar pieces covered during this time, in which 
 we celebrate Christ's passion? 
 
 A. Because the Church is then in mourning for her Spouse, Who in His passion 
 was truly a hidden God, by concealing His divinity, and becoming for us "as a 
 worm, and no man, the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people." (Psalm 
 
 XXI.) 
 
 123 
 
Of other Days of Fasting and Abstinence in the 
 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 Q. Does the Church observe any other days of fasting and abstinence besides 
 the forty days of Lent? 
 
 A. Yes; she fasts upon the Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, in the four 
 Ember-weeks and upon the vigils or eves of some of her festivals; as also upon 
 Fridays in Advent; and she abstains from flesh on the Fridays throughout the 
 year. 
 
 Q. Which do you call the four Ember-weeks ? 
 
 A. The four Ember-weeks are the weeks in which the Church gives Holy 
 Orders, at the four seasons of the year, viz. : the first week in Lent, Whitsun-week, 
 the third week in September, and the third week in Advent; and they are called 
 Ember-weeks, from the custom of our forefathers, of fasting at that time in sack- 
 cloth and ashes, or from eating anything but cakes baked under the embers, and 
 from thence called Ember-bread. 
 
 Q. Why has the Church appointed these fasts of the Ember-days, at the four 
 seasons of the year ? 
 
 A. First, that no part of the year might pass without offering to God the tribute 
 of a penitential fast. Second, that we might beg His blessing on the fruits of the 
 earth, and give Him thanks for those which we have already received. Third, 
 that all the faithful might join at these times in prayer and fasting to obtain of God 
 worthy pastors, these being the times of their ordination. Thus the primitive 
 Christians fasted at the times of the ordination of their ministers. (Acts xm. 2 
 and 3, and chap. xrv. 22.) 
 
 Q. Why does the Church fast upon the eve or vigils of some holidays ? 
 
 A. To prepare her children by mortification and penance for the worthily 
 celebrating of those days. 
 
 Q. Why do we abstain upon Fridays? 
 
 A. Because our Lord suffered for us upon a Friday. Hence the rule of ab- 
 staining upon Fridays; except if Christmas Day occur upon a Friday, we do not 
 abstain on that day. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the three Rogation days ? 
 
 A. The Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, before Ascension Day, are 
 called the three Rogation Days, or days of solemn supplication and prayer. 
 On these days we keep abstinence, and in every parish we go in procession, 
 singing the Litanies, to beg God's blessing upon the fruits of the earth and 
 to be preserved from pestilence, famine, etc. Upon the same account we 
 keep al»tinence on the day of St. Mark, April 25, with the like solemn supplica- 
 tions and litanies. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of keeping abstinence upon Saturday ? 
 
 A. Because Saturday was the day that our Lord lay dead in the monument^ 
 
 124 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 and a day of mourning to His disciples. This abstinence is also a proper prepara- 
 tion for the solemnity of the Lord's day. 
 
 N. B. That in the East, instead of the Saturday, they fast upon the Wednesday, as being the day on which 
 the Jews held their council against Christ, and on which He was sold by Judas.— The Rogation-days, St. Mark's 
 day, and Saturdays, unless the Satuidays in Lent and Advent, are not days of abstinence in the U. S. 
 
 125 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Of the Church-Office, or the Canonical Hours of Prayer 
 
 in the Catholic Church. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by the Church Office? 
 
 yi. It is a form of prayer, consisting of Psalms, Lessons, Hymns, etc., used 
 by all the clergy and by the religious of both sexes in the Catholic Church, This 
 Office is divided into seven parts, commonly called the Seven Canonical Hours, 
 according to the different stages or stations of Christ's passion, viz., the Matins, 
 or Midnight-Office, to which are annexed the Lauds or Morning-praises of God; 
 the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours of prayer, commonly called Mme, Terce, Sext 
 and None; the Vespers, or Evening-song; and the Complin. All these are duly 
 performed by the clergy and religious every day, according to that of the Royal 
 Prophet (Psalm cxvm.), "Seven times in the day I give praise to Thee." 
 
 Q. Have you any warrant in Scripture for these different hours of prayer ? 
 
 A. Yes, as to the Midnight-Office, King David tells us (Psalm cxxvni.), 
 that "he arose at midnight to confess to God," and we find that St. Paul and Silas, 
 even in prison, "prayed at midnight and sung praises to God." (Acts xvi. 25.) 
 
 As for the Lauds, or praises of God at break of day, they are also recommended 
 to us by the example of the Psalmist (Psalm Lxn.), "O God! my God! to Thee 
 do I watch from the morning liglit " ; and by the admonition of the Wise-man (Wisd. 
 XVI. 28), "That we ought to get up before the sun to bless God, and at the rising 
 of light to adore Him." 
 
 Of Prime, or at the first hour of prayer at sunrising, we may understand that 
 of the Royal Prophet (Psalm v.), "In the morning thou shalt hear My voice," etc. 
 At Terce, or the third hour of prayer, it was, that the Apostles received the Holy 
 Ghost (Acts n. 15). At Sext, or the sixth hour, St. Peter was praying when he 
 was called by a vision to open the Church to the Gentiles (Acts x. 9). And we 
 read also of St. Peter, with St. John, going up to the temple to the "ninth hour 
 of prayer." (Acts m. i.) For Vespers, or Even song, and Complin, which are 
 evening-prayers, we have the example of the Royal Prophet. (Psalm Liv.): "In 
 the evening and morning, and at noon-day, I will speak and declare and He will 
 hear my voice." Hence we find, that the Night-Office, the morning praises, the 
 third, sixth and ninth hours of prayer, and the Even-song, were among the primi- 
 tive Christians regularly observed, not only by the clergy, but also by the rest of 
 the faithful ; to which the religious afterwards added the Prime and Complin. 
 
 Q. Can you give me a short scheme of the Canonical Hours of prayer, accord- 
 ing to the Roman Breviary? 
 
 A. Matins begin with the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles' 
 Creed; then, after a Versicle or two, to call for God's assistance, and the Gloria 
 Patri, etc., follows the 94th Psalm (alias 95), by which we invite one another to 
 praise and adore God. Then comes a hymn, which is followed by the Psalms, 
 with their proper anthems, and the lessons of the day, with their responsories. 
 
 126 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 In tne Matins for Sunday, we read eighteen Psalms, and nine lessons : on festivals, 
 and saints' days, we read nine Psalms and nine lessons, divided into three Noc- 
 turns : on Ferial, or common days, we read twelve Psalms and three lessons. The 
 Psalms are so distributed, that in the week we go through the whole Psalter: the 
 lessons are partly taken out of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, 
 partly out of the acts of the saints, and the writings and homilies of the Holy Fathers. 
 Upon fasting days, and during the whole Paschal time, and upon all Sundays from 
 Easter to Advent, and from Christmas to Septuagesima, we close the Matins with 
 the Te Deum. 
 
 In the Lauds we recite seven Psalms, and one of the Scripttire canticles, with 
 their respective anthems, and a hymn, then the canticle Benedictus, with the prayer 
 or prayers of the day: and in the end an anthem and prayer of the Blesssed Virgin 
 Mary. 
 
 The Prime begins with the Pater, nve, and Creed, Deus in adjutorium, etc., 
 Gloria Patri, etc. After which there follow a morning hymn, the 53d Psalm (alias 
 54), with a part of the 118th (alias 119), to which on Sundays is prefixed the 117th 
 Psalm, and subjoined the Athanasian Creed. Then follow an anthem, a capitu- 
 lum, or short lessson, with its responsory, and diverse prayers to beg God's grace 
 for the following day. 
 
 Terce, Sext and None, begin with Pater, Ave, etc., and consist each of them 
 of a proper hymn, and six divisions of the 11 8th Psalm, which excellent Psalm the 
 Church would have her clergy daily recite, because every verse of it contains the 
 praises of God's holy law and commandments, or excites the soul to the love and 
 esteem thereof, or in fine, prays for the grace to fulfil the same. After the Psalm 
 follows an anthem; then a short lesson, responsory and prayer; and each hour is 
 concluded with the Pater Noster. 
 
 Vespers, or Even-song, is begun also with Pater, Ave, etc., and consists 
 of five Psalms, with their anthems, a short chapter or lesson, a hymn, and the Mag- 
 nificat, or Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with its proper anthem, and a col- 
 lect or prayer, to which are usually joined three or four commemorations, consist- 
 ing of anthems, verses and prayers. 
 
 Complin consists of the Lord's Prayer, the Confiteor, etc., four Psalms, an 
 anthem, hymn, lesson, responsory, the canticle Nunc dimittis with an anthem, 
 and some short prayers which are closed with an anthem and prayer of the Blessed 
 Virgin, and the Pater, Ave, and Creed. 
 
 127 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Of the Festivals of the Catholic Church : Where also of 
 the Holy Week and Ceremonies Thereof. 
 
 Q. What are the days which the Church commands to be kept holy ? 
 
 A. First, the Sundays, or the Lord's day, which we observe by apostolical tra- 
 dition, instead of the Sabbath. Second, the feasts of our Lord's Nativity, or Christ- 
 mas Day; His Circumcision, or New Year's Day; the Epiphany, or Twelfth day; 
 Easter Day, or the day of our Lord's Resurrection ; the day of our Lord's Ascension ; 
 Whit-Sunday, or the day of the coming of the Holy Ghost ; Trinity Sunday ; Corpus 
 Christi, or the feast of the Blessed Sacrament. Third, we keep the days of the 
 Annunciation, and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fourth, we observe 
 the feast of All Saints. 
 
 Q. What warrant have you for keeping the Sunday, preferable to the ancient 
 Sabbath, which was the Saturday ? 
 
 A. We have for it the authority of the Catholic Church and apostolic tradi- 
 tion. 
 
 Q. Does the Scripture anywhere command the Sunday to be kept for the 
 Sabbath ? 
 
 A. The Scripture commands us to hear the Church (St. Matt, xvin: 17, St. 
 Luke X. 16), and to hold fast the traditions of the Apostles (2 Thess. n: 15), but 
 the Scripture does not in particular mention this change of the Sabbath. St. 
 John speaks of the Lord's day (Rev. i. 10), but he does not tell us what day of the 
 week this was, much less does he tell us that this day was to take the place of the 
 Sabbath ordained in the commandments: St. Luke also speaks of the disciples 
 meeting together to break bread on the first day of the week. (Acts xx. 7.) And 
 St. Pavd (i Cor. xvi. 2), orders that on the first day of the week the Corinthians 
 should lay by in store what they designed to bestow in charity on the faithful in 
 Judea. But neither one nor the other tells us, that this first day of the week was to 
 be henceforward the day of worship, and the Christian Sabbath: so that truly, 
 the best authority we have for this is the testimony and ordinance of the Church. 
 And therefore those who pretend to be so religious observers of the Sunday, whilst 
 they take no notice of other festivals ordained by the same Church authority, show 
 that they act by humor, and not by reason and religion; since Sundays and Holy- 
 days all stand upon the same foundation, viz., the ordinance of the Church. 
 
 Q. But ought it not to be enough to keep one day in the week, according as it 
 was prescribed in the commandments, without enjoining any other festivals or 
 holy-days; especially since it is expressly said in the commandment, "Six days shalt 
 thou labor and do all thy work" (Exod. xx: 9)? 
 
 A. God did not, in the Old Testament, only appoint the weekly Sabbath, 
 which was the Saturday, but moreover ordained several other festivals, command- 
 ing them to be kept holy, and forbidding all servile work on them; as the feast of 
 the Pasch or Passover; the feast of Pentecost; the feast of the sound of Trumpets, 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HLR CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 on the first day of the tenth month; the feast of Atonement, on the tenth day of the 
 same month, the feast of Tabernacles, on the fifteenth day of the same month, etc. 
 See the 23rd chapter of Leviticus, so that when it is said in the law "Six days 
 shalt thou labor," this must needs be understood, in case no holy-day came in 
 the week, otherwise the law would contradict itself. 
 
 Q. But does not St. Paul reprehend the Galatians (Gal. iv: 10, 11), for observ- 
 ing days, and months, and times, and years? 
 
 A. This is to be understood either of the superstitious observation of lucky or 
 unlucky days, etc., or, as it is far more probable from the whole context, of the 
 observation of the Jewish festivals which, with the old law, were now abolished, 
 but were taken up by the Galatians, together with circumcision, upon the recom- 
 mendation of certain false teachers: but far was it from the design of the Apostle 
 to reprehend their observation of Christian solemnities, either of the Lord's day, 
 or of other festivals observed by apostolical tradition, or recommended by the 
 authority of the Church of Christ. For these come to us reconamended by Christ 
 Himself, who says to the pastors of His Church, "he that heareth you, heareth Me," 
 and "he that despiseth you despiseth Me." (St. Luke x: 16.) 
 
 Q. What was the reason why the weekly Sabbath was changed from the Sat- 
 urday to the Sunday? 
 
 A. Because our Lord fully accomplished the work of our redemption by rising 
 from the dead on a Sunday, and by sending down the Holy Ghost on a Sunday: 
 as therefore the work of our redemption was a greater work than that of our crea- 
 tion, so the primitive Church thought the day in which this work was completely 
 finished was more worthy her religious observation, than that in which God rested 
 from the creation, aiid should be properly called the Lord's day. 
 
 Q. But has the Church a power to make any alterations in the commandments 
 of God? 
 
 A. The commandments of God, as far as they contain his eternal law, are 
 unalterable and indispensable; but as to whatever was only ceremonial they cease 
 to oblige, since the Mosaic law was abrogated by Christ's death. Hence, as far 
 as the commandment obliges us to set aside some part of our time for the worship 
 and service of our Creator, it is an unalterable and unchangeable precept of the 
 eternal law in which the Church cannot dispense: but for as much as it prescribes 
 the seventh day in particular for this purpose, it is no more than a ceremonial pre- 
 cept of the old law, which obligeth not Christians. And therefore, instead of the 
 seventh day, and other festivals appointed by the old law, the Church has prescribed 
 the Sundays and holidays to be set apart for God's worship ; and these we are now 
 obliged to keep in consequence of God's commandment, instead of the ancient 
 Sabbath. 
 
 Q. What was the reason of the institution of other festivals, besides the Lord^s 
 
 day? 
 
 A. That we might celebrate the memory of the chief mysteries of our redemp- 
 tion; that we might give God thanks for His mercies, and glorify Him in His saints. 
 
 Q. In what manner ought a Christian to spend the Sundays and holidays? 
 
 A. In religious duties; such as assisting at the great sacrifice of the Church, 
 and other public prayers, reading good books, and hearing of the Word of God, etc. 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. Why does the Church prohibit all servile works upon Sundays or holydays ? 
 
 A. That the faithful may have nothing to take them off from attending to God's 
 service and the sanctification of their souls upon these days. And certainly a 
 Christian that has any religious thoughts, can never think much of devoting now 
 and then a day to that great business, for which alone he came into this world. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the institution of Christmas? 
 
 A. To celebrate the birth of Christ: to give God thanks for sending His Son 
 into the world for our redemption ; and that we may, upon this occasion, endeavor 
 to study and to learn those great lessons of poverty of spirit, of humility, and of 
 self-denial, which the Son of God teaches us from the crib of Bethlehem. 
 
 Q. What is the reason that on Christmas-day Mass is said at midnight ? 
 
 A. Because Christ was born at midnight. 
 
 Q. Why are three Masses said by every priest upon Christmas-day? 
 
 A. This ancient observance may be understood to denote three different births 
 of Christ : His eternal birth from His Father, His temporal birth from His mother, 
 and His spiritual birth in the hearts of good Christians. 
 
 Q. Are all the faithful obliged to hear three Masses on Christmas-day ? 
 
 A. No, they are not: though it would be very commendable so to do. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the time of Advent before Christmas? 
 
 ^. It is a time appointed by the Church for devotion and penance, and is 
 called Advent or coming, because in it we prepare ourselves for the worthy cele- 
 brating the mercies of our Lord's first coming, that so we may escape the rigor of 
 His justice at His second coming. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of New Year's day? 
 
 A. It is the octave of Christmas, and the day of our Lord's circumcision, when 
 He first began to shed His innocent blood for us : and on this day we ought to study 
 how we may imitate Him by a spiritual circumcision of our hearts. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the Epiphany, or twelfth-day? 
 
 A. It is a day kept in memory of the coming of the wise men of the East, ta 
 adore our Saviour in His infancy: and it is called Epiphany, or Manifestation, be- 
 cause our Lord then began to manifest Himself to the Gentiles. The devotion of 
 this day is to give God thanks for our vocation to the true faith, and like the wise 
 men to make our offerings of gold, frankincense and m)TTh, that is of charity, 
 prayer and mortification to our new born Saviour. On this day the Chvirch alsa 
 celebrates the memory of the baptism of Christ, and of His first miracle of changing 
 water into wine in Cana of Galilee. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of Candlemas-day? 
 
 .4. It is the day of the purification of the Blessed Virgin after child bearing, 
 and of the presentation of our Lord in the temple; when the just man Simeon, wha 
 had a promise from the Holy Ghost of seeing the Saviour of the world before his 
 death, received Him into his arms, and proclaimed Him to be the light of the 
 Gentiles. Upon this account, the Church upon this day makes a solemn pro- 
 cession with lighted candles, which are blessed by the priest before Mass, and 
 carried in the hands of the faithful, as an emblem of Christ, who is the true light of 
 the world. And from this ceremony this day is called Candlemas, or the Mass of 
 candles. 
 
 130 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the Annunciation or Lady-day, the 25th of March. 
 
 A, It is the day or our Lord's Incarnation, when He was first conceived by the 
 Holy Ghost in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary: and it is called the Annuncia- 
 tion, from the message brought from heaven on this day to the Virgin by the Angel 
 Gabriel. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the Holy Week before Easter ? 
 
 A. It is a week of more than ordinary devotion in honor of the passion of Christ. 1 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of Palm-Sunday? 
 
 A. It is the day in which our Lord being about to suffer for us, entered into 
 Jerusalem, sitting upon an ass, as had been foretold by the prophet Zachariah 
 (chap. IX: ver. 9), and was received with hosannas of joy, accompanied by a great 
 multitude bearing branches of palms in their hands. In memory of which we go 
 in procession round the Church on this day, bearing also branches of palms in our 
 hands, to celebrate the triumphs of our victorious King. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the Tenebrse Office in Holy Week? 
 
 A. The Matins of Christ's passion, which formerly used to be said in the night, 
 and are now said in the evening, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in Holy 
 Week, are called the Tenebrse Office, from the Latin word, which signifies darkness, 
 because towards the latter end of the Office, all the lights are extinguished in memory 
 of the darkness which covered all the earth, whilst Christ was hanging upon the 
 cross: and at the end of the Office a noise is made to represent the earthquake 
 and splitting of the rocks, which happened at the time of our Lord's death. 
 
 Q. What is the reason of Maundy-Thursday ? 
 
 .4. It is the day on which Christ first instituted the Blessed Sacrament; and 
 began His passion by His bitter agony and bloody sweat. From the Gloria in 
 excelsis of the Mass of this day, till the Mass of Easter Eve, our bells are silent 
 throughout the Catholic Church, because we are now mourning for the passion of 
 Christ. Our altars are also uncovered and stript of all their ornaments, because 
 Christ our true altar hung naked upon the cross. On this day also prelates and 
 superiors wash in the church the feet of their subjects, after the example of Our 
 Lord (St. John xin). 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of visiting the sepulchres upon Maundy-Thursday ? 
 
 A. The place where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the church, in order 
 for the Office of Good Friday (on which day there is no consecration), is by the 
 people called the sepulchre, as representing by anticipation the burial of Christ. 
 And where there are many churches, the faithful make their stations to visit our 
 Lord in these sepulchres, and meditate on the different stages of His passion. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of Good Friday? 
 
 A. It is the day on which Christ died for us upon the cross. The devotion 
 proper for this day, and for the whole time in which we celebrate Christ's passion,, 
 is to meditate upon the sufferings of our Redeemer, to study the excellent lessons of 
 virtue, which He teaches us by His example in the whole course of His passion j 
 especially His humility, meekness, patience, obedience, resignation, etc., and above 
 all, to learn His hatred of sin and His love for us; that we may also learn to hate 
 sin, which nailed Him to the cross; and to love Him that has loved us even xmto 
 death. 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of kneeling to the cross and kissing it on Good Friday ? 
 
 A. It is to express by this reverence outwardly exhibited to the cross, our ven- 
 eration and love for Him, Who upon this day died for us on the cross. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of Holy Saturday? 
 
 A. It is Easter Eve, and therefore in the Mass of this day the Church resumes 
 the Alleluias of joy, which she had intermitted during the penitential time of Sep- 
 tuagesima and Lent. On this day is blessed the Paschal candle, as an emblem 
 of Christ, and His light and glory, which burns during the Mass from Easter until 
 Ascension, that is, during the whole time that Christ remained upon earth after 
 His resurrection. This day and Whitsun-eve were anciently the days deputed 
 by the Church for solemn baptism, and therefore on this day the fonts are sol- 
 emnly blessed. 
 
 Q. WTiat is the meaning of Easter ? 
 
 A. It is the chief feast of the whole year as being the solenmity of our Lord's 
 resurrection. The devotion of this time is to rejoice in Christ's victory over death 
 and hell ; and to labor to imitate His resurrection, by arising from the death of sin 
 to the life of grace. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of Ascension day? 
 
 A. It is the yearly memory of Christ's ascending into heaven, forty days after 
 His rising again from the dead ; and therefore it is a festival of joy, as well by reason 
 of the triumphs of our Saviour on this day, and the exaltation of our human nature, 
 by Him now exalted above the angels; as likewise, because our Saviour has taken 
 possession of that kingdom in our name, and is preparing a place for us; and in 
 the meantime He there discharges the Ofl&ce of our High Priest and our Advocate, 
 by constantly representing His death and passion to His Father in our behalf. 
 It is also a part of the devotion of this day, to labor to disengage our hearts from 
 this earth and earthly things, to remember that we are but strangers and pilgrims 
 here, and to aspire after our heavenly country, where Christ our treasure is gone 
 before us, in order to draw our hearts thither after Him. 
 
 Q. What is the most proper devotion for the time between Ascension and 
 Whitsunday ? 
 
 A. To prepare ourselves for the Holy Ghost, as the Apostles did by retirement 
 and prayer, and to purify our souls from sin, especially from all rancor and impurity. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the solemnity of Whitsunday or Pentecost ? 
 
 A. It was a festival observed in the old law, in memory of the law having been 
 given on that day in thunder and lightning and it is observed by us now in memory 
 of the new law, having been promulgated on this day by the Holy Ghost's descent 
 upon the Apostles in the shape of tongues of fire. The proper devotion of this 
 time is to invite the Holy Ghost into our souls by fervent prayer, and to give our- 
 selves to His divine influences. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of Trinity Sunday? 
 
 A. The first Sunday after Pentecost is called Trinity Sunday, because on that 
 day we particularly commemorate that great mystery of Three Persons in one 
 God, and glorify the Blessed Trinity for the whole work of our redemption, which 
 we have celebrated in the foregoing festivals. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the solenmity of Corpus Christi? 
 
 132 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSriTUTIONS. 
 
 A. It is a festival observed by the Church, to give God thanks for His goodnes' 
 and mercy in the institution of the Blessed Sacrament ; and to this end are ordained 
 the processions and benedictions of His octave. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the feast of the Invention, or Finding of the Cross, 
 May the 3d ? 
 
 A. It is a day of devotion in memory of the miraculous finding of the cross of 
 Christ, by the empress Helen, mother to Constantino the Great; and the chief 
 devotion of the Church upon this day, as well as upon that of the Exaltation of 
 the Cross, September 14, is to celebrate the victorious death and passion of our 
 Redeemer. 
 
 Q. What are the days observed by the Church in honor of our Lady the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary. 
 
 A. Besides her Purification and the Annunciation, of which we have already 
 spoken, we observe the day of her Conception, December 8, the day of her birth 
 or Nativity, September 8, and the day of her happy passage to eternity, August 15, 
 which we call her Assumption ; it being a pious tradition that she was taken up to 
 heaven both in body and soul, though not till after she had paid the common 
 debt by death. We also keep the day of her presentation or consecration to 
 God in the temple, November 21, and of her Visitation, July 2, but only the 
 Immaculate Conception and Assumption are now holy-days of obligation. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of keeping the festivals of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
 and of other saints? 
 
 A. First to glorify God in His saints, and to give to Him thanks for the graces 
 and glory bestowed upon them. Second, to communicate with these citizens of 
 heaven, and to procure their prayers for us. Third, to encourage ourselves to 
 imitate their examples. 
 
 Q. Does not the Church also observe some days of devotion in honor of the 
 angels ? 
 
 A. We observe Michaelmasday in honor of St. Michael the Archangel, and of 
 all the heavenly legions. We also commemorate an illustrious apparition of St. 
 Michael, May 8, and we keep the day of our Angel Guardians, October 2, to give 
 God thanks for giving His angels a charge over us; though these are not days of 
 obligation. 
 
 Q. How do you prove that we have angels for our guardians ? 
 
 A. From St. Matt, xvin: 10: "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little 
 ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of 
 My Father Who is in heaven. " (Heb. 1. 14) "Are they not all ministering spirits, 
 sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of their salvation?" 
 
 133 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Of the Invocation of Angels and Saints. 
 
 Q. What are the doctrine and practice of the Catholic Chturch, with regard to 
 ithe invocation of angels and saints? 
 
 A. We hold it to be pious and profitable to apply ourselves to them, in the 
 "way of desiring them to pray to God for us; but not so as to address ourselves to 
 them, as if they were the authors or dispensers of pardon, grace, or salvation; or 
 as if they had any power to help us independently of God's good-will and pleasure. 
 
 Q. But in some of the addresses made to the saints or angels, I find petitions 
 for mercy, aid or defence; what say you to that ? 
 
 A. The meaning of those addresses, as far as they are authorized by the Church, 
 is no other than to beg mercy of the saints in this sense, that they would pity and 
 compassionate our misery, and would pray for us. In like manner, when we 
 beg their aid and defence, we mean to beg the aid and defence of their prayers; 
 and that the angels to whom God has given charge over us, would assist us and 
 defend us against the angels of darkness. And this is no more than what the 
 Protestant Church asks in the collect for Michaelmas Day, praying, that as the 
 holy angels always serve God in heaven, so by His appointment they may succor 
 and defend us upon earth, 
 
 Q. Have you any reason to believe that it is pious and profitable to beg the 
 prayers of the saints and angels? 
 
 A. We have the same reason to desire the saints and angels to pray for us, 
 and to believe it profitable so to do, as we have to desire the prayers of God's ser- 
 vants here upon earth; or as St. Paul had to desire so often the prayers of the faith- 
 ful, to whom he wrote his epistles. (See Rom. xv: 30; Ephes. vi: 18, 19; i Thess. 
 V: 25; Heb. xm: 18.) For if it be pious and profitable to desire the prayers of 
 sinners here upon earth (for all men here upon earth must acknowledge them- 
 selves sinners) how can it be otherwise than pious and profitable to desire the 
 prayers of saints and angels in heaven ? Is it that the saints and angels in heaven 
 have less charity for us than the faithful upon earth ? This cannot be, since charity 
 never faileth (i Cor. xm: 8), and instead of being diminished is increased in heaven. 
 Or is it that the saints and angels of heaven have less interest with God than the 
 faithful upon earth ? Neither can this be said, for as they are far more holy and 
 pure, and more closely united to His divine Majesty than the faithful upon earth, 
 so must their interest in heaven be proportionably greater. Or is it, in fine, that 
 the saints and angels have no knowledge of what passes upon earth, and therefore 
 are not to be addressed for their prayers? Neither is this true, since our Lord 
 assures, that "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that 
 repenteth" (St. Luke xv: 10), which could not be if the citizens of heaven knew 
 nothing of what passes here upon earth. 
 
 Q. Have you any instances in Scripture of the angels or saints praying for us, 
 or offering up our prayers to God ? 
 
 A. Yes: (Zachar. i: 12) "The angd of the Lord answered and said, O Lord 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 of host! how long wilt Thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of 
 Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years." 
 (Rev. v: 8) "The four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every 
 one of them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the 
 saints." (Rev. vni: 3, 4) "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having 
 a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer 
 it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 
 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before 
 God out of the angel's hands." 
 
 Q. Have you any instances in Scripture of asking the blessing or prayers of 
 angds or saints? 
 
 A. (Gen. XLvm: 15, 16) "God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac 
 did walk, the God which fed me all my life long until this day, the angel which 
 redeemed me from all evil, bless these boys." (Rev. i: 4) "Grace be unto you, 
 and peace from Him Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, and from the seven 
 spirits which are before His throne." But if there had been no instances in Scrip- 
 ture, both reason and religion must inform us that there cannot possibly be any harm 
 in desiring the prayers of God's servants, whether they be in heaven or upon earth. 
 
 Q. At least there is no command in Scripture for desiring the prayers of the 
 angds or saints; what say you to this? 
 
 A. The Scripture did not command St. Paul to desire the prayers of the Romans, 
 nor does it conunand a child to ask his father's blessing, nor the faithful to kneel 
 at their prayers, or pull off their hats when they go to church, yet these things are 
 no less commendable, as being agreeable to the principles of piety and religion, 
 and so it is with regard to the invocation of the saints and angels. In the mean- 
 time, we are sure that there is no law nor command in Scripture against any of 
 these things, and consequently they are guilty of a crying injustice, who accuse 
 us of a crime for begging the prayers of the saints, for "where there is no law, there 
 is no transgression." (Rom. iv: 15.) 
 
 Q. Does not God say (Isaiah xlh: 8), "I will not give My glory to another?" 
 
 A. Yes: but that makes nothing against desiring the saints to pray to God 
 for us; for this is no more robbing God of His honor, than when we desire the 
 prayers of the faithful here below. 
 
 Q. But does it not argue a want of confidence in God's mercy, to have recourse 
 to the prayers of the saints? 
 
 A. No, by no means; no more than it argues a want of confidence in God's 
 mercy, to have recourse to the prayers of our brethren upon earth. The truth is, 
 though God be infinitdy merciful and ready to hear our prayers, yet it is our duty 
 and His will, that we should neglect no means by which we may be forwarded 
 in our progress to a happy eternity: and therefore it is agreeable to His Divine 
 Majesty, that we should both pray ourselves without ceasing, and that we should 
 also procure the prayers of our brethren, whether in heaven or on earth, that He 
 may have the honor, and we the profit of so many more prayers. 
 
 Q. Have you any proof or instances in Scripture that God will more readily 
 hear His servants when they intercede for us, than if we alone were to address 
 oursdves to Him? 
 
 135 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. Yes: (Job xlh: 7, 8) the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath 
 is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of Me 
 the thing that is right, as My servant Job hath. Therefore take unto you now 
 seven bullocks, and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for your- 
 selves a burnt-offering, and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept : 
 lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing that 
 is right, like my servant Job." 
 
 Q. But is it not an injury to the mediatorship of Christ to desire the intercession 
 of the angels and saints ? 
 
 A. No more than when we desire the intercession of God's servants here; 
 because we desire no more of the saints than we do of our brethren upon earth, 
 that is, we only desire of them to pray for us, and with us, to Him that is both our 
 Lord and their Lord, by the merits of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is both our Media- 
 tor and their Mediator. 
 
 Q. Does not St. Paul say (i Tim. n: 5), "There is one God, and one Mediator 
 between God and man, the man Jesus Christ"; and does not this exclude the 
 intercession of the saints? 
 
 A. The words immediately following are, "Who gave Himself a ransom for 
 all"; so that the plain meaning of the text is, that Christ aJone is our Mediator of 
 redemption. But as for intercession and prayer, as nothing hinders us from seek- 
 ing the mediation of the faithful upon earth to pray for us, so nothing ought to 
 hinder us from seeking the like from the saints and angels, though neither the one 
 nor the other can obtain anything for us any other way than through Jesus Christ, 
 who is the only Mediator that stands in need of no other to recommend His petitions. 
 
 Q. Have you anything else to add in favor of the Catholic doctrine and practice 
 of the invocation of saints? 
 
 A. Yes; first, that it is agreeable to the "communion of saints," which we 
 profess in the creed and of which the Apostle speaks (Heb. xn: 22, 23, 24), "Ye 
 are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jeru- 
 salem, and to an innumerable company of angels; to the general assembly and 
 church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, 
 and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new 
 covenant," etc. 
 
 Second, that it is agreeable to the doctrine and practice of the ancient fathers, 
 saints, and doctors of the Church, and this by the confession even of our adver- 
 saries. "I confess," says IVIr. Fulk, in his Rejoinder to Brislow, p. 5, "that Am- 
 brose, Augustine, and Hierome held invocation of the saints to be lawful"; and 
 upon 2 Pet. I., sect. 3, fol. 443, that in Nazianzen, Basil and Chrysostom is mention 
 of invocation of saints, and that Theodoret also speaks of prayers to the martyrs; 
 and the Centuriators of Magdeburg in their Fourth Century, col. 295, allege several 
 examples of prayers to saints in St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Gregory Nazianzen, 
 St. Ambrose, Prudentius, St. Epiphanius, and St. Ephrem. All which fathers, 
 together with St. Augustine, St. Jerome, etc., are also charged by Mr. Brightman 
 (in Apocalypse, chap. 14, p. 382) of establishing idolatry by invocation of saints, 
 worshipping of relics, and such like wicked superstitions. And Mr. Thorndyke, 
 in Epilog, par. 3, p. 358, writes thus: "It is confessed that the lights both of the 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND. INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Greek and Latin church, St. Basil, St. Gregory Nazianzen, St. Gregory Nyssene, 
 St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. Chrysostom, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 
 St. Cyril of Alexandria, Theodoret, St Fulgentius, St. Gregory the Great, St. Leo, 
 and more or rather all after that time, have spoken to the saints, and desired their 
 assistance." (SeeMelancthon, quarta Porta Operum, p. 218; Kemnitius, Exam, par. 
 3, p. 200; Beza, in Pr^/. Nov. Test.; Archbishop Whitgift's Defence against 
 Cartwright, p. 473; and Daille, Advers. IM. Tradit, p. 53.) 
 
 Third, that it stands upon the same bottom as all other Christian truths, viz., 
 upon the authority of the Church of Christ, which the Scripture commands us to 
 hear, with which both Christ and His holy Spirit will remain for ever, and against 
 which the gates of hell shall not prevail. See St. Matt. xvi. 18; xvin. 17; xxvin. 
 20; St. Luke X. 16; St. John xiv. 16, 17, 26; and xvi. 13. 
 
 Fourth, that it has been authorized by God Himself, by innumerable miracles 
 in every age, wrought in favor of those that have desired the prayers and intercession 
 of the saints. See St. Augustine's City of God (1. 22, c. 8). 
 
 Q. But what do you say to Coloss. 11. 18, where St. Paul condemns the religion 
 or worship of angels; and to Rev. xix. 10, where the angel refused to be wor- 
 shipped by St. John? 
 
 A. 1 say that neither one nor the other makes anything against desiring the 
 angels or saints to pray to God for us, for this is not giving them any adoration, 
 or divine worship, no more than when we desire the prayers of one another. Now, 
 it was adoration, or divine worship which the angel refused to receive from St. 
 John. (Rev. xix) "I fell at His feet to worship Him," says the Apostle; and it 
 was "a. superstitious worship," and not the desiring the prayers of the angels, 
 which is condemned by St. Paul, Coloss., "a superstitious worship," I say, either 
 of bad angels, of whom the Apostle speaks, ver. 15, or of good angels, in such a 
 manner as to leave "Christ not holding His head," says the Apostle, ver. ig. Such 
 was the worship which many of the philosophers (against whom St. Paul warns 
 the Colossians, ver. 3) paid to angels or demons to whom they offered sacrifices, 
 as to the necessary carriers of intelligence between the gods and men. Such also 
 was the worship which Simon Magus and many of the Gnostics paid to the angels, 
 whom they held to be the creators of the world. (See Theodoret, 1. 5, Haer. Fah., c. 9.) 
 
 Q. What do you think of making addresses to the angels or saints upon our 
 knees? Is not this giving them divine worship? 
 
 A. No more than when we desire the blessing of our fathers or mothers upon 
 our knees; which is indeed the very case, since what we ask of our parents, when 
 we desire their blessing, is that they would pray to God for us; and this same we 
 ask of the angels and saints. 
 
 Q. But is it not giving to the angels and saints the attributes of God, viz., the 
 onmiscience and omnipresence, that is, knowing all things, and being everywhere, 
 if they suppose that they can hear or know all our addresses made to them ? 
 
 A. No: we neither believe the angels or saints to be everywhere, nor yet to 
 have the knowledge of all things, though we make no question but they know our 
 prayers, since the Scripture assures us that they offer them up to God. (Rev. 
 vn. 8 and vm. 3, 4)- V ' .' ' ' 
 
 If you ask me how thev can know our prayers without being everywhere and 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 knowing all things, I answer, that there are many ways by which they may know 
 them. 
 
 First, the angels may know them by being amongst us in quality of our guard- 
 ians; and the saints may know them by the angels, whose conversation they enjoy. 
 
 Second, both angels and saints may see them and know them in God, whom 
 they continually see and enjoy, or by revelation from God, as in God they see 
 the repentance of sinners. (St. Luke XV. lo). For they that see God face to face, 
 by the light of glory, discern all His divine attributes, and in them innumerable 
 secrets impenetrable to nature. And therefore, though they themselves are not 
 everywhere, yet, by contemplating Him that sees and knows all things, they have 
 a vast extent of knowledge of things that pass here below. "In Thy light shall 
 we see light," says the Royal Prophet. (Psalm xxxv., alias xxxvi. 9) And "we 
 shall be like to Him," says St. John (I John m. 2), "for we shall see Him as He is." 
 For "now we see," says St. Paul (I Cor. xin. 12), "through a glass darkly, but then 
 face to face.: now I know in part, but then shall I know, even as also I am known." 
 
 Third, both angels and saints may know our petitions addressed to them, by 
 the ordinary way by which spirits speak to one another and hear one another, and 
 that is, by our directing our thoughts to them with a desire of opening our minds 
 to them; for we cannot otherwise understand or explain the speech and conversa- 
 tion of spirits, who, having neither tongue nor ears, must converse together by the 
 directing of their thoughts to one another. Now this kind of conversation by 
 the thoughts may extend to ever so great a distance, as being independent on sound 
 and all other corporal qualities, and consequently independent on distance. 
 
 Besides all this, the saints, whilst they were here upon earth, knew very well 
 the miseries we labor under in this vale of tears ; they also knew that good Christians 
 earnestly desired to be helped by the prayers of God's saints; and as they knew 
 this whilst they were here upon this earth, so they know it still. Consequently, 
 as their charity prompts them to pray for the faithful in general, so it is not to be 
 doubted but they pray more particularly for those who stand most in necessity of 
 their prayers, or most earnestly desire their prayers ; it being the property of charity, 
 which is perfect in heaven, to act in this manner. Hence it follows that, though 
 we were even to suppose that the saints did not know in particular our addresses, 
 yet it would still be profitable to desire their prayers, because they certainly pray 
 for Christians in general, and for those more particxilarly who desire the help of 
 their prayers. 
 
 In fine, the experience of eighteen hundred years, and the innumerable favors 
 that have been granted in every age to those that have desired the prayers of the 
 angels and saints, have convinced the Church of God, that this devotion is both 
 pleasing to God and profitable to us ; and therefore we may dispense with ourselves 
 from a curious enquiry into the manner of their knowing our requests, since we find 
 by experience so great benefit from them. 
 
 Q. Does not the prophet Isaiah say (chap. Lxm. 16), that "Abraham is ignorant 
 of us?" 
 
 A. His meaning is plain, that the fatherly care and providence of God over His 
 people were infinitely beyond that of Abraham and Israel, who were their parents 
 according to the flesh. "Doubtless Thou art our Father," says the prophet, 
 
 138 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 ^'though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not; Thou O 
 Lord! art our Father, our Redeemer," etc. In the meantime, that Abraham was 
 not ignorant of what passes amongst his children (though before Christ had opened 
 heaven by His death, the patriarchs did not as yet enjoy the beatific vision) is clear 
 irom what we read. (St. Luke xvi. 25, 26.) v. 
 
 And here I cannot but take notice, how strangely unreasonable the notions of 
 some people are, who make a scruple of allowing any knowledge to the saints 
 and angels of God, whilst they are ready enough to grant that the devils both know 
 our works and hear the addresses of their impious invokers; as if these wretched 
 •spirits of darkness, by nature alone, could know more than the saints, who, besides 
 the light of nature, enjoy the light of grace and glory; or as if those rebels had 
 acquired any greater degree of perfection and knowledge by their fall, than they 
 "would have had if they had remained angels. 
 
 Q. But can you prove from Scripture that the saints enjoyed God in heaven, 
 before the general resurrection? 
 
 A. Yes; this is visibly the doctrine of St. Paul (II Cor. v. i), "For we know, 
 that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of 
 God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heaven." (ver. 6 and 7.) "There- 
 fore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we 
 are absent from the Lord: (for we walk by faith, and not by sight) we are confident, 
 1 say, and willing rather to be absent from the body; and to be present with the 
 Lord." Where He visibly supposes, that the souls of the saints, when let loose 
 from their bodies by death, enter into the eternal tabernacles, are present with the 
 Lord, and enjoy His sight. The same thing He supposes, Philip i. 23, 24: "I am 
 in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ ; which is 
 far better. Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you." 
 
 r^ 
 
 II^=^=H 
 
 139 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Of the Devotion of Catholics to the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary; of Her Perpetual Virginity; of the Beads, 
 Rosary and Angelus Domini. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the great respect and devotion of Catholics to the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary ? 
 
 A. It is grounded, first, upon her great dignity of Mother of God, and the 
 dose relation which she has thereby to Jesus Christ her Son; for how is it possible 
 to love and honor Christ with our whole heart, and not value His blessed Mother ? 
 
 Second, it is grounded upon that super-eminent grace which was bestowed 
 upon her to prepare her for that dignity; upon account of which she was saluted 
 by the angel Gabriel (St. Luke i. 28) "full of grace," (which the Protestants, who 
 are no great friends of this ever-blessed Virgin, have chosen rather to translate 
 highly favored) ; and both by the angel and by St. Elizabeth (St. Luke i. 42) she is 
 styled, "Blessed among women." 
 
 Third, it is grounded upon her extraordinary sanctity; for if she was full of 
 grace before she conceived in her womb the fountain of all grace, to what a degree 
 of sanctity and grace must she have arrived during so many years as she lived 
 afterwards, especially since she bore nine months in her womb the Author of all 
 sanctity, and had lEm thirty years under the roof, ever contemplating Him and 
 His heavenly mysteries (St. Luke n. 19 and 51), and on her part never making any 
 resistance to the affluence of His graces ever flowing in upon her happy soul. 
 
 Fourth, it is grounded upon that super-eminent degree of heavenly glory, with 
 which God has now honored her, in proportion to her grace and sanctity here upon 
 earth, and the great interest she has with her Blessed Son, and through Him with 
 His heavenly Father. 
 
 Q. Is there anything in Scripture that insinuates this great devotion, that 
 should be in aU ages to this Blessed Virgin? 
 
 A. Yes, it was foretold by herself in her Canticle (St. Luke i. 48), "Behold 
 from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." 
 
 Q. Do you then allow divine honor or worship to the Blessed Virgin Mary ? 
 
 ^. No; certainly the Church in this, as in all other things, keeps the golden 
 mean between the two extremes: she condemns those that refuse to honor this 
 Blessed Mother of God; but those much more that would give her divine worship. 
 She thinks no honor that can be given to any pure creature too great for this Blessed 
 Virgin: but as she knows that there is an infinite distance still between her and 
 God, she is far from offering sacrifice to her, or paying her any worship that belongs 
 to God alone. And whatever honor she gives the Mother, she refers it to the 
 glory of the Son, as the chief motive and end of aU her devotions. 
 
 Q. But why do you call the Blessed Virgin the Mother of God ? 
 
 A. Because she is truly the Mother of Jesus Christ, who is true God and true 
 
 140 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 man and consequently she is truly the Mother of God ; not by being Mother of the 
 Divinity, but by being Mother of Him Who in one and the same Person is both 
 God and man. Hence she is called by St. Elizabeth (Luke i), "The Mother of 
 my Lord." 
 
 Q. Why does the Church, in her hymns and anthems, style the Blessed Virgin 
 Mother of Mercy. 
 
 A . Because she is the Mother of Him Who is the fountain of all grace and mercy ; 
 and is both most willing by reason of her super-eminent charity, and most able 
 by her great interest with her Son to obtain grace and mercy for us. 
 
 Q. And why is she styled the Queen of heaven, or the Queen of angels and 
 saints ? 
 
 A. Because she is the Mother of the King of heaven, and the greatest of all 
 the saints. 
 
 Q. What then do you think of those that presume to say she was no more than 
 any other woman; nor ought to have any regard or honor paid to her? 
 
 A. Such as these have very little regard for Jesus Christ, Whose Mother they 
 treat with such contempt. 
 
 Q. And what do you think of the opinion of those that say she had children 
 by St. Joseph after the birth of our Saviour? 
 
 A. This was a heresy condemned by the Church near fourteen hundred years 
 ago, as contrary to apostolical tradition, and to the very creed of the Apostles, 
 which styles her Virgin. And that indeed she had determined by vow never to 
 know man, the holy fathers gather from her words to the angel (St. Luke i. 34), 
 "How shall this be, for I know not man?" 
 
 Q. Who then were they that are called in the Scripture the brethren of our 
 Saviour ? 
 
 A. They are named by St. Mark (vl 3) James and Joses or Joseph, and Jude, 
 and Simon or Simeon : these were the sons of Mary, the wife of Cleophas, whom 
 the gospel calls the sister, that is the near kinswoman of the Blessed Virgin, and 
 therefore her sons are caUed our Saviour's brethren, according to the usual Scripture 
 phrase, by which those that are near akin are called brothers and sisters. 
 
 If you ask me how I prove that Mary, the wife of Cleophas, was mother to James 
 and Joses, etc., I prove it evidently by comparing the gospel together: St. Matthew 
 (chap. xxvn. ver. 56) acquaints us that amongst the women who had followed 
 our Saviour from GalUee, ministering to Him, and who were present at His death, 
 were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joses, etc., which same 
 thing is attested by St. Mark (chap. xv. ver. 40). Now St. John (xix. 25) expressly 
 informs us, that this Mary, who stood by the cross, was sister to the Blessed Virgin 
 and wife of Cleophas: so that James, Joses, etc., as it is manifest from the gospel 
 •were not children of Our Lady, but of her kinswoman Mary, the wife of Cleophas. 
 
 Q. But why then is our Saviour called her first-bom? (St. Matt. i. 25, and St. 
 Luke n. 7.) 
 
 A. It is a Hebrew phrase, not signifying that any were born after Him, but that 
 no one was born before Him. 
 
 Q. And why is it said of St. Joseph (St. Matt. I, 25) "that he knew her not till 
 she had brought forth," etc. 
 
 141. 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. This also was said, according to a propriety of speech amongst the Hebrews,, 
 to signify what was not done before, without meddling with the question what was 
 done after: this latter being foreign to the great point which the Evangelist had 
 then in view, which was to assure us that Christ was born of a virgin. We have 
 examples of the like expressions in the Old Testament; as when (Psalm crx. alias 
 ex.) it is said, "The Lord saith to my Lord, sit thou on my right hand till I make 
 my enemies thy footstool." Will He therefore cease to sit at the right hand of His 
 Father, after His enemies are made His footstool? No, certainly. 
 
 Q. What is the common address which the Church makes to the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary? 
 
 A. The angelical salutation of the Hail Mary, a great part of which is takea 
 out of the Gospel (St. Luke i. 29, and 42) ; and the other part is added by the Church 
 to beg the prayers of the Blessed Virgin for us sinners. 
 
 Q. Why do Catholics so often repeat the Hail Mary? 
 
 A. To commemorate the Incarnation of the Son of God; to nonor His blessed 
 Mother, and to desire her prayers. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the Beads? 
 
 A. It is a devotion consisting of a certain number of Our Fathers, and Hail 
 Marys, directed for the obtaining of blessings from God, through the prayers and 
 intercession of Our Lady. 
 
 Q. But is it not highly absurd, that according to the common way of saying 
 the Beads, there are repeated ten Hail Marys for one Our Father ? 
 
 A. It would be absurd indeed and blasphemous too, if the meaning of this 
 were to signify that the Blessed Virgin is either more powerful or more merciful 
 than her Son; or that we have a greater confidence in her than in Him: but we are 
 far from any such notions. 
 
 Q. Why then is the Hail Mary repeated so much oftener in the Beads than 
 the Lord's Prayer? 
 
 A. Because, the Beads being a devotion particularly instituted to commemorate 
 ■the Incarnation of Christ, and to honor Him in His blessed Mother, it was thought 
 proper to repeat so much the oftener that prayer which is particularly adapted to 
 these ends. In the meantime, it may be proper to take notice, first, that if in the 
 Beads there be ten Hail Marys said for one Our Father, in the Mass and Ofl&ce 
 of the Church almost all the prayers are directed to God alone. Second, that 
 every Hail Mary, both by the nature of the prayer, and the intention of the Church, 
 is directed more to the honor of the Son than of the Mother; as well because the 
 Church, in honoring the Mother, has principally in view the honor of the Son; as 
 also because this prayer particularly relates to the Incarnation of Christ; and if 
 withal it begs the prayers of the Blessed Virgin, it is plain that He is more honored 
 to whom we desire she should address her prayer, than she, whom we only desire 
 to pray for us. 
 
 To which, if we add, that her prayers are ten times better and more acceptable 
 to God than ours, it will appear no ways absurd that we should frequently desire 
 her prayers. For as to the repetition of the same prayer, it is what is recommended 
 to us by the example of our Lord (St. Matt xxvL 42, 24, etc.) and has nothing 
 of absurdity in it. 
 
 142 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the Rosary? 
 
 A. The Rosary is a method of saying the Beads, so as to meditate upon the 
 Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ. And it is divided into three 
 parts, each part consisting of five Mysteries, to be contemplated during the repeating 
 of five decades of tens upon the beads. The fixst five are called the five joyful 
 Mysteries: viz., the Annunciation, when our Lord was first conceived in His Mother's 
 womb; the Visitation when the Blessed Virgin visited her kinswoman St. Elizabeth, 
 and by her was declared blessed among women, etc. ; the Nativity of our Lord ; His 
 Presentation in the Temple, together with the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, 
 and His being found in the Temple in the midst of the doctors, etc. The five next 
 are called the dolorous or sorrowful mysteries, as having relation to the Passion 
 of Cluist ; and are His Prayer and Agony in the Garden ; His being scourged at the 
 Pillar; His Crowning with Thorns; His Carriage of the Cross; and His Crucifixion 
 and Death. The five last are called the five glorious Mysteries, viz., the Resur- 
 rection of Our Lord; His Ascension into Heaven; the Coming of the Holy Ghost; 
 the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin ; and her Coronation ; together mth the eternal 
 glory of the saints in the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of giving three tolls with the bells every morning, 
 noon and night, in all Catholic countries? 
 
 A. This is to remind the faithful of the great mystery of the Incarnation of the 
 Son of God; and it is the practice of all good Christians, when they hear these 
 bells, to perform the devotion which we call the Angelus Domini. 
 
 Q. What is this devotion, and in what manner is it performed? 
 
 A. The bell tolls three times, with a short space between each time. At the 
 first toll we say, "The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary, and she conceived of 
 the Holy Ghost"; then we say the Hail Mary, etc. At the second toll we say, 
 "Behold the hand-maid of the Lord, be it done to me according to Thy word," 
 Hail Mary, etc. At the third toll we say, "And the Word was made flesh, and 
 dwelt amongst us"; Hail Mary, etc. Then we conclude with the following prayer: 
 "Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord! Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to 
 whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an 
 angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection. 
 Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen." 
 
 This devotion is used in all Catholic countries, and is called the Angelus Dom- 
 ini, from the first words, the Angel of the Lord, etc. 
 
 143 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 The Use and Veneration of Relics in ttie Catholic Church. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by Relics? 
 
 A. The dead bodies or bones of the saints we call relics; as also whatever 
 other things have belonged to them in their mortal life. 
 
 Q. And what is the doctrine and practice of the Church with regard to these 
 things ? 
 
 A. We keep such things as these with a religious respect and veneration for the 
 sake of those to whom they have belonged, but principally for the sake of Him to 
 whom the saints themselves belonged ; that is, for the greater glory of Grod, who is glo- 
 rious in His saints, and to whom is referred all the honor that is given to His saints. 
 
 Q. What reasons has the Church for showing this respect to the dead bodies, 
 or bones of the saints? 
 
 A. First, because they have been the victims and the living temples of God, 
 in which His Divine Majesty has in a particular manner inhabited, and which He 
 has sanctified by His presence and grace, and therefore, if God required of Moses 
 (Exod. in. 5), and of Joshua (Josh. v. 15), to loose their shoes from oS their feet, 
 in respect to the ground on which they stood, as being rendered holy by His presence, 
 or that of His angels, we must conclude that it is agreeable to His Divine Majesty 
 that we should testify the like honor to that venerable earth of the bodies of His 
 saints, which He in such an extraordinary manner has sanctified by abiding in 
 them as in His temples. 
 
 Second, we know that the bodies of the saints are pre-ordained to a happy 
 resurrection and eternal glory, and upon this account also deserve our respect. 
 
 Third, the bodies and other relics of the saints have been, and are daily the 
 instrument of the power of God, for the working of innumerable miracles, which 
 God, who is truth and sanctity itself, would never have efiFected, if it had not been 
 agreeable to Him that we should honor and respect these precious remnants of His 
 servants. 
 
 Fourth, the relics and shrines of the martyrs and other saints sarve much to 
 encourage the faithful to an imitation of their virtues, and to help to raise their 
 souls from the love of things present and temporal to the love of things eternal. 
 
 Q. Did the primitive Christians show this respect to the relics of the saints ? 
 
 A. Yes: nothing is more evident, from all kinds of monuments of antiquity, 
 than that the veneration of the relics of the saints is one of the most ancient things 
 in Christianity. The learned Church-historian Eusebius (1. 7, c. 19), relates that 
 St. James' chair was kept with great veneration by the Christians of Jerusalem 
 J from the Apostles' time till the days in which the historian wrote, that is, till the 
 beginning of the fourth century. The acts of the martyrdom of St. Ignatius 
 bishop of Antioch, disciple of the Apostles, who suffered at Rome, anno 107, written 
 by the Christians who accompanied him to Rome, bear record that his holy relics 
 were carried to Antioch by the Christians, and left to that church as an inestimable 
 treasure. The Christians of Smyrna, in the account that they give of the martyr- 
 
 144 
 
ST. PATRICK. 
 
SACRED HEART OF JESUP. 
 
ADORATION OF THE MAGI. 
 
THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 
 
THERESA OF JESUS. 
 
APPARITION OF OUR LORD TO BLESSED MARGARET MARY. 
 
THE HOI.Y FACE. 
 
ST. CATHERINE OF SIENNA. 
 
OUR CHURGH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 dom of their holy bishop St. Polycarp, disciple of the Apostles, inform us, that the 
 faithful carried away his relics, which they valued more than gold and precious 
 stones. (Euseb. hist. 1. 4, c. 15.) And that this veneration of relics was approved 
 by all the most holy and most learned bishops and doctors of the Church, and 
 condemned by none but infidels and heretics, such as Julian the apostate, Eunom- 
 ius and Vigilantius, may be seen in the writings of the holy fathers. See St. Basil, 
 in Ps. 115, t. I, 274; Homil. 5, in Martyrem Julittam, p. 217; Horn. 20 in 40; Mar- 
 tyre, p. 479. St. Gregory Nyssen, Orat. de St. Theodora Martyre, t. 3; St. Gregory 
 Nazianzen, Orat. 3 in Jidianum, 1. 1. p. 76, 77; St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. 18; St. 
 John Chrysostom, ad Pap. And. Ham. 40, 47, 59 ; /. contra Gentiles, Hom. 26, in II 
 Cor. 2, etc.; St. Ambrose, Epist. 22; St. Hierome, /. adversus Vigilantium; Su 
 Augustine, 1. 9. Confess, c. 7. Serm. 92, de Diverses, 1. 22, of the City of God, c. 8^ 
 Epist. 103; Theodoret, 1. 8, contra Grcecos, etc., to pass over many others, who all 
 agree in approving this practice, and all or most of them bear record, that God also 
 has approved it by innumerable miracles. 
 
 Q. But have you any instance in Scripture of miracles vn-ought by the bon^ 
 of God's saints, or other things belonging to them? 
 
 A. Yes; we read (2 alias 4, Kings, xin. 21), of a dead man raised to life by the 
 touch of the bones of the Prophet Elisha, and (Acts xrx. 12) "that from the body 
 of Paul were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases de- 
 parted from them, and the evil spirit went out of them. 
 
 Q. But does not Christ reprehend the Scribes and Pharisees for building up 
 and adorning the sepulchres of the prophets (St. Matt. xxni. 29, 30, 31) ? 
 
 A. He does not reprehend them for the action which in itself was good, but for 
 their wicked disposition; inasmuch as, whilst they should seem to honor the proph- 
 ets, and thereby obtain the favor of the people, they sought all the while to fill 
 up the measure of their fathers, by persecuting unto the death the Lord of proohets. 
 
 Q. What kind of honor does the Catholic Chvirch allow to relics? 
 
 A. An inferior and relative honor, as to things belonging to God's saints; but 
 by no means divine honor. 
 
 Q. But are not candles allowed to burn before them ? And are they not some- 
 times fumed with incense? 
 
 A. These are honors indeed, but such as we may give to one another; as in 
 effect we incense in the Church both clergy and people, and burn candles to our 
 princes upon occasions of joy: for since these honors are no ways appropriated to 
 God, either by the nature of the things in themselves, or by any divine ordinance, 
 why may not the Church of God allow them to the relics of the saints ; not as divine 
 honors, but as tokens of our love and respect to them; of our joy for the triumphs 
 of Christ in His saints, and as emblems of their eternal life, light and glory ? 
 
 Q. Does not this practice of the veneration of relics expose the faithful to the 
 danger of idolatry and superstition, by honoring false relics ? 
 
 ^. No; first, because the Church of God, by her public canons and her zealous 
 pastors, takes what care she can to prevent such impostures. Second, because, 
 if by the wickedness of men it should sometimes happen that the faithful should 
 be imposed upon in this regard so far as to honor a false relic for a true one, there 
 would be neither any idolatry nor superstition in the case, but a mistake on their 
 
 \ ^45 . 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 part, innocent, as when a charitable Christian rclicTes an impostor or a hypocrite, 
 innocently believing him to be a real object of charity. 
 
 Q. But if the Church has so much zeal against false relics, how comes she to 
 tolerate them in so many cases, as when divers churches pretend to possess the 
 body of the same saint, for some or other of these must be false relics ? 
 
 A. You are too hasty in concluding that these must needs be false relics, first, 
 because it often happens, that some part of the body of a saint is in one place, and 
 some part in another, in which case both places daim the body of such a saint, 
 though they really possess only a part of it ; and yet neither the one nor the other 
 is therefore to be charged with honoring false relics. Second, many of the saints 
 and martyrs have borne the same names, and hence it easily happens, that relics, 
 which indeed belong to one saint, are attributed to another of the same name. 
 Third, there have been many ancient martyrs, whose names at present are not 
 known, whose relics nevertheless have been all along honored by the Church: now 
 it was easy that the ignorance of some, or the vanity of others, might attribute to 
 them the names of other saints, so that all these may be true relics, notwithstand- 
 ing that they do not all belong to the saints to whom they are attributed. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of making pilgrimages to the shrines or other memo- 
 rials of the saints ? 
 
 A. To honor God in His saints, to excite devotion by the sight of those places 
 sanctified by these heavenly pledges, and to obtain graces and blessings of God 
 by the prayers of the saints: for though God be everywhere and His bounty and 
 mercy be not confined to any particular place, yet the experience of all past ages 
 convinces us, that it is His holy will and pleasure to bestow His favors more plenti- 
 fully, and to show more frequent and miraculous effects of His power and goodness 
 in some places than in others. See St. Augustine, Epist. 137. 
 
 Q. Have not Catholics a more than ordinary veneration for the wood of the 
 cross, the nails, the thorns, and other instruments of Christ's passion? 
 
 A. Yes, they have, because these things have so close a relation to the passion 
 of Christ, by which we were redeemed, and have been sanctified by the blood of 
 our Redeemer. " — 
 
 146 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Of the Use of Pictures and Imagesjo the Catholic 
 
 Church, c "" 
 
 Q. What is the doctrine of the Church with regard to pictures or imagra of 
 Christ and His saints? 
 
 A. First, that it is good to keep tnem and retain them, and to have them in 
 churches, not only for ornament and for the instruction of the ignorant, but for 
 the honor and remembrance of Christ and His saints, and for a help to raise our 
 thoughts and hearts to heavenly things. 
 
 Second, that there is a relative honor due to them, by reason of the persons'^ 
 whom they represent. See the second Coiuicil of Nice, Act 7, and the Coundl of 
 Trent, Sess. 25. 
 
 Q. Does the Catholic Church give divine worship to the pictures or images of 
 Christ or His saints? 
 
 A. No, by no means: the second Council of Nice, in the 7th Action or Session,, 
 has expressly declared that divine worship is not to be given them; to which the- 
 Council of Trent, in the 25th Session, has added, that we are not to believe that 
 there is any divinity of power in them for which they are to be worshipped; and' 
 that we are not to pray to them, nor put our trust or confidence in them. 
 
 Q. But does not the first (or second) commandment absolutely forbid the; 
 making of any image, or the likeness of anything in heaven, earth, sea? 
 
 A. No: it only forbids the making of idols, that is, of such images as are made- 
 for gods, and are worshipped as such; or in which a divinity or divine virtue andi 
 power is believed to reside. Hence the ancient version of the Septuagint (which 
 is venerable by having been made use of by the Apostles themselves) renders the 
 words of the commandment thus, "Thou shalt not make thyself an idol," etc. 
 And that God does not absolutely forbid the making of the likeness of anj1;hing is. 
 not only the general belief of all Christians, who carry about with them without 
 scruple the likeness of their Kings in the current coin of their respective countries,, 
 but it is visible from Scripture, wherein "God commanded the making of twa 
 cherubim of beaten gold, to be placed over the Ark of the Covenant in the very- 
 Sanctuary," (Exod. XXV. 18, ig, 20, 21) "and in like manner commanded the 
 making of the brazen serpent, for the healing of those who were bit by the fiery 
 serpents," (Numb. 3Da. 8, 9) which serpent was an emblem of Christ (St. John* 
 m. 14, is). 
 
 Q. But at least, does not God forbid, by this conamandment, all honor or 
 reverence to pictures or images? 
 
 A. He forbids all honor or reverence to idols or image gods, but not the relative 
 honor which Catholics show to the pictures of Christ and His saints, for the sake 
 of the persons represented by them, for it is visible that the images which by this 
 commandment are forbid to be honored, are also by the express words of the 
 commandment forbid to be made. Now few or no Christians suppose that the 
 
 147 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 pictures of Christ or His saints are forbid to be made; therefore they cannot infer 
 from this commandment, that they are forbid to be honored, since this command- 
 ment does not speak of them at all, but only of idols or images set up to be wor- 
 shipped for gods. 
 
 Q. What then do you mean by this relative honor, which you allow to the 
 pictures of Christ and His saints? 
 
 A. By a, relative honor I mean an honor which is given to a thing, not for any 
 intrinsic excellence or dignity in the thing itself, but only for the relation which 
 it has to something else, which it represents or brings to our remembrance; as when 
 Christians bow to the name of Jesus, which is an image or remembrance of our 
 Saviour to the ear as the crucifix is to the eye. 
 
 Q. Have vqu any instances of this kind of relative honor allowed to Protes- 
 tants ? 
 
 A. Yes: in the honor they give to the name of Jesus, to their churches, to the 
 altar, to the Bible, to the symbols of bread and wine in the Sacrament, to the King's 
 chair, etc. Such also was the honor which the Jews gave to the ark and cherubim, 
 to the sanctuary, etc., and which Moses and Joshua gave to the land on whjch they 
 stood, as being holy ground. (Exod. m. 5; Joshua v. 15). 
 
 Q. How do you prove that there is a relative honor due to the images or pic- 
 tures of Christ and His saints ? 
 
 A. Because it is evidently agreeable, as well to nature and reason, as to piety 
 and religion, to express our esteem and affection for those whom we honor and 
 love, by setting a value upon all things that belong to them, or have any relation 
 to them. Thus good Christians, that love God with their whole hearts, honor all 
 things that are dedicated to His service, or that are memorials of Him, or have a 
 relation to Him; as His temples, His altars. His name, His word. His sacraments, 
 the sacred vessels, etc. And thus it is that we honor the efl&gies of Christ, of His 
 Blessed Mother, and of the saints, as memorials and representations of them, 
 and as helps to raise our thoughts to them. And is it not thus that a loyal subject, 
 a dutiful chUd, a loving friend, value the pictures of their king, father, or friend? 
 And would not these very men, that make no scruple of abusing the image of Christ, 
 severely punish such as would abuse the image of the king? 
 
 Q. Do you then aUow of worshipping God by an image? 
 
 A. If you mean by worshipping God by an image, the raising up your hearts 
 to God by or upon occasion of the sight of the picture or image ; or the referring to 
 Jesus Christ and to His worship whatever honor or respect we show to His picture 
 or image, there can be no reason to disallow the worshipping of God by a picture 
 or image. But if worshipping God by an image be so understood, as if the divinity 
 in some particular manner resided in the image, or some virtue or power, for which 
 it should be worshipped or trusted in, or as if our worship or prayers were believed 
 to be more acceptable to God and to have more influence upon Him, when offered 
 or presented by or through any such image, such kind of worshipping God by 
 an image is not only not allowed but condemned by the Catholic Church. (See the 
 Council of Trent, Sess. 25.) 
 
 Q. What means then the blessing of crucifixes or other images, if no virtue or 
 power be believed to reside in them after they are blessed ? 
 
 148 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A. The Church blesses all things that are used about the altar; not by way of 
 imparting to them any intrinsic power or virtue, but by way of dedicating them to 
 the divine service, and begging God's blessing for those that make use of them; so 
 that whatever advantage may be supposed in the use of them after they are blessed 
 more than before, is wholly to be attributed to the prayers of the Church. 
 
 Q. But are there not certain images, to which great miracles are attributed ? 
 Therefore Catholics must believe that in these at least there is some divinity, virtue 
 or power. 
 
 A. There have been many instances of undoubted miracles wrought by God in 
 the churches of the Blessed Virgin and other saints, in favor of those that have 
 sought their prayers and intercession before the pictures or images. But these 
 miracles are not to be attributed to any divinity or power in the image, but to the 
 Almighty power of God, moved to work these wonders by the prayers of His saints, 
 and bearing testimony thereby to the faith of His Church, and showing His appro- 
 bation of her religious practices. 
 
 Q. What do you think of the images or pictures of God the Father, or of the 
 blessed Trinity 
 
 A. I think that no corporeal image can bear a resemblance to the divinity; and 
 consequently that it would be unlawful to pretend to make any such likeness or 
 resemblance. But where no such resemblance is pretended, I do not take it to be 
 more imlawful to paint God the Father under the figure of a venerable old man, 
 because He was so represented in the vision of Daniel (chap, vn., ver. 9), than it 
 is to paint the Holy Ghost under the figure of a dove, because He appeared so when 
 Christ was baptized (St. Matt. in. 16). 
 
 Q. What do you think of the charge of idolatry laid to the Church by some of 
 her adversaries, upon account of the use and veneration of images ? 
 
 A. I think that nothing could be more visibly unjust than such a charge; since 
 idolatry is giving divine honor and service to an idol, or false god: which is far 
 from being the case of the Catholic Church. We acknowledge one only, true and 
 living God in three Persons, Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost : to Him alone do we 
 offer sacrifice or any other divine honors. Him alone do we adore in spirit and 
 truth. Whatever else in heaven or on earth we religiously honor, we honor for 
 His sake and for the relation it has to Him. And as for the worship of idols or 
 false gods it has been banished out of the world by the labors and preaching of our 
 Church alone: so far are we from abetting idolatry. 
 
 Q. What then do you think of the parallel which some would make between 
 the Heathen and Catholic worship? 
 
 A. I think that it is infinitely unjust and unreasonable, as must appear to any 
 unprejudiced mind by the following remarks : 
 
 First, Catholics adore and offer sacrifice to one only true and living God: the 
 Heathens adore and offer sacrifices to many false gods. 
 
 Second, the supreme object of Catholic worship is the sacred Trinity blessed 
 for evermore: the supreme object of the Heathen worship was the sim, or some 
 other part of God's creation; or else some wicked man, or more wicked devH. For 
 Heathen idolatry, according to the Apostle (Rom. i. 25), "changed the truth of 
 God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, 
 
 149 '' 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 "who is blessed for ever." The sun, and his symbol, the fire, was of old the sover- 
 eign god of the Persians; as he was of late of the inhabitants of Peru : the same was 
 worshipped as their chief god by the Phoenicians under the name of Baal ; by the 
 Ammonites under the name of Moloch; by the Moabites under the name of Chamos; 
 by the Accaronites under the name of Beelzebub; by those of Gaza under the name 
 of Marnas, etc., according to Vossius, Selden, and the whole nation of the critics, 
 alleged by the Protestant Doctor Parker, (test. p. 97). Him they called the king 
 iof heaven; as they called the moon or Astarte the queen of heaven. Of like 
 nature was the sovereign object of the worship of the Egyptians, viz., Ammon the 
 rain, and Osiris the bull, which are the two first signs of the Zodiac, and were wor- 
 shipped as symbols of the sim according to Doctor Parker, Ibidem. The chief 
 god of the Greeks and Heathen Romans was Jupiter, who was originally a king 
 that reigned in Crete, as the wiser Heathens have acknowledged. He was not 
 esteemed eternal by any of them, but the son of Saturn, that is, of time, and by 
 much posterior to heaven and earth. As for his idols and oracles, he who gave 
 answers thereby was no god, but an arch-devil, as Christians have ever believed. 
 
 Third, Catholics honor, though not vdth any part of divine worship, the angels 
 
 :and saints of God, as belonging to Him, and as truly worthy of honor, upon account 
 
 *of the excellent gifts of grace and glory received from Him: but they ask nothing of 
 
 them but what they know must come from God's hands; and therefore their usual 
 
 address to them is, "Pray for us.'' The Heathens not only gave the sovereign worship 
 
 -of adoration and sacrifice to their inferior deities, but looked upon them in many 
 
 ■jespects as independent of their chief god (whilst they made him himself dependent 
 
 upon fate), and accordingly they addressed themselves to them, not as intercessors 
 
 '(for in the whole Heathen theology we shall scarce find an Ora pro nobis), but as 
 
 distributers of blessings and gifts to men, according to their different offices and 
 
 T^owers. 
 
 Fourth, those whom the Catholics honor with an inferior veneration for God's 
 sake are indeed the ministers and servants of the one true God. The inferior 
 deities of the Heathens were wicked wretches, such as Mars, Bacchus, Hercules, 
 Venus, etc., or rather devils, as we learn from many texts of Scripture. See Levit. 
 xvn. 7; Deuter. xxxi. 17; Ps. cvi, 37; I Cor. x. 20. 
 
 Fifth, as to images, not to speak of the immense distance between the objects 
 Teprsented by Catholics and by Heathens, it is certain that the Heathens, at least 
 the generality of them, believed the very idols to be gods; for which see Gen. xxr. 
 30, 32; Exod. XX. 23; Levit. xix. 4; Judges xvm. 24; II Kings xvn. 29, and xix. 
 18; Isai. XLiv. 17; Jerem. n. 26, 27; Acts xix. 26. And as for those who would 
 seem to be more refined in their notion and worship, they believed at least that the 
 idols by consecration became the bodies of their gods, the places of their peculiar 
 residence, the symbols of their presence and the seats of their power. And accord- 
 ingly these, as well as the others, offered prayers and sacrifice to the idols, and gave 
 them the names of the deities which they worshipped in them. Now we neither 
 believe our images to be gods, nor to be the bodies of God, nor the peculiar places 
 of His residence, nor symbols of His presence, nor to have any power or virtue in 
 them; nor do we put our trust in them, or offer sacrifice or other divine honors to 
 them. Therefore there is no similitude between the Heathen worship and ours. 
 
 150 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 As for the Jewish worship of the golden calf in the wilderness, and afterwards 
 of the calves of Jeroboam at Bethel and Dan, which some are willing to extenuate, 
 as if they did not take these images to be gods, and thereby only meant to wor- 
 ship the God of Israel, the Scripture gives us a quite different account ; witness these 
 texts: Exod. xxxn. 8: "They have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped 
 it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, these be thy gods, O Israel, which have 
 brought thee up out of the land of Egypt;" ver. 31 : "They have made them gods 
 of gold." Psalm cvi, alias cv. 19, 20, 21 : "They made a calf in Horeb, and wor- 
 shipped the molten image, they changed their glory (their God) into the similitude 
 of an ox that eateth grass: they forgot God their Saviour, which had done great 
 things in Egypt." Acts vn. 39, 40, 41 : "To Whom our fathers would not obey, but 
 thrust Him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, saying 
 to Aaron, make us gods to go before us. And they made a calf in those days, and 
 offered sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Then 
 God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven." And of the calves 
 of Jeroboam, i Kings xn, 28: "He made two calves of gold and said unto them: 
 Behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egj^t;" and 
 ver. 32: "He sacrificed to the calves that he had made." And i Kings xiv. 9: 
 "he is accused by the prophet Abijah to have gone and made him other gods and 
 molten images," and "to have cast the Lord behind his back." n Chron. xi. 15: 
 "He ordained him priest for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves 
 which he had made." ll Chron. xin. 8. "There are with you golden calves which 
 Jeroboam made unto you for gods;" ver. 9: "Have ye not cast out the priests, etc., 
 and made you priests after the manner of the nations — of them that be no gods ?" 
 ver. 10: "But as for us, the Lord is our God." 
 
 But if any one will be contentious and maintain that these idolatrous Israelites 
 intended to worship in these calves, not the Egyptian Osiris, nor any other false 
 divinity^ but the God of Israel, because Aaron (who made the calf against His will 
 by compulsion of the people) seems to give it the proper name of the God of Israel 
 (Exod. xxxm. 5): "To-morrow is a feast to the Lord"; supposing this to be true, 
 their worship would still have been idolatrous, and these calves properly idols; 
 because they believed (as is manifest from the text above quoted) these very calves 
 to be gods; or, if you will have it so, to be the Lord of Israel, or, at least, that the 
 divinity had upon their dedication insinuated itself into them; and accordingly 
 they gave divine praises and offered sacrifice to them. Now, to believe any image 
 to be God, or to imagine any divinity, power or virtue in it, for which it is to be 
 worshipped, or to offer sacrifice to an image, is an idolatrous worship, and cannot 
 be excused, however the image be pretended by its worshippers to represent the 
 true God 
 
 Q. Is tTiere not in one of the Church hymns, and in one of the anthems of the 
 Roman Breviary, a prayer to the cross? How then do you maintain that the 
 Catholic Church does not attribute any power to images, nor prays to them? 
 
 A. The prayer you speak of is not directed to the wood of the cross, but Christ 
 crucified, by a figure of speech, as when St. Paul says (Gal. vi. 14), "that he glories 
 in the cross of Jesus Christ. " 
 
 151 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Of Exorcisms and Benedictions or Blessings of 
 Creatures in the Catholic Church, and the Use of 
 Holy Water. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by Exorcism? 
 
 A. The rites and prayers instituted by the Church for casting out devils, or 
 restraining them from hurting persons, disquieting places, or abusing any of God's 
 creatures to our harm. 
 
 Q. Has Christ given His Church any such power over the devils ? 
 
 A. Yes, He has; see St. Matt. x. i ; St. Mark m. 13; St. Luke ix. i : "where this 
 power was given to the Apostles;" "and to the seventy-two Disciples," St. Lukex. 
 19; "and to other believers," St. Mark xvr. 17. And that this power was not to 
 die with the Apostles, nor to cease after the apostolic age, we learn from the perpetual 
 practice of the Church and the experience of all ages. 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of blessing so many things in the Catholic Church? 
 
 A. We bless churches and other places, set aside for divine service; altars, 
 chalices, vestments, etc., by way of devoting them to holy us^; we bless our meats 
 and other inanimate things which God has given us for our use, that we may use 
 them in moderation, in a manner agreeable to God's institution; that they may be 
 serviceable to us, and that the devil may have no power to abuse them to our preju- 
 dice: we bless candles, salt, water, etc., by way of begging of God that such as 
 religiously use them may obtain His blessing, etc. 
 
 Q. But does it not savor of superstition to attribute any virtue to such inanimate 
 things as blessed candles, holy water, Agnus Deis, etc. 
 
 A. It is no superstition to look for a good effect from the prayers of the Church 
 of God; and it is in virtue of these prayers that we hope for benefit from these 
 things, when used with faith, and daily experience shows that our hopes are not 
 vain. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by Agnus Deis? 
 
 A. Wax, stamped with the image of the Lamb of God, blessed by the Pope 
 with solemn prayers, and anointed with the holy chrism. 
 
 Q. What warrant have you in Scripture for blessing inanimate things? 
 
 A. I Tim. IV. 4, 5: "Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, 
 if it be received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the Word of God and 
 prayer." 
 
 Q. Why does the Church make use of the Sign of the Cross in all her blessings 
 and consecrations? 
 
 A. To signify that all our good must come through Christ crucified. 
 
 Q. What do you mean by Holy Water? 
 
 A. Water sanctified by the Word of God and prayer. 
 
 Q. What is the use of Holy Water? 
 
 A. It is used by the Church in solemn prayers, to beg God's protection and 
 
 152 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 blessing upon those that use it, and in particular that they may be defended from 
 all the powers of darkness. 
 
 Q. Is the use of Holy Water very ancient in the Church of God? 
 
 A. It is very ancient, since it is mentioned in the Apostolical Constitutions (1. 8,, 
 c. 29). And as for the English nation in particular, it is visible from the epistles 
 of St. Gregory the Great (1. 9, epist. 71), "that we received it together with our 
 Christianity." 
 
 Q. Have the holy fathers and ancient Church writers left upon record any 
 miracles done by Holy Water? 
 
 A. Yes, they have; more particularly upon those occasions when it has been 
 used against magical enchantments and the powers of the devil. See instances 
 in St. Epiphanius {Har. 30), in St. Hierome, in the life of St. Hilarion, in Theodoret,. 
 (1. 5, Histor. Eccle. c. 21) in Palladius, Histor. Laus, c. 6, etc. 
 
 Q. What is the order and manner of blessing Holy Water? 
 
 A. First, the priest signs himself with the sign of the cross, saying, "Our help 
 is in the name of the Lord." Ans. "Who made heaven and earth." Then he 
 proceeds to the blessing of the salt which is to be mingled with the water, saying:: 
 
 The Exorcism of the Salt. 
 I exorcise thee, O creature of salt ! by the living ^ God; by the true 1^ God, by 
 the holy ^ God; by that God, Who by the prophet Elisha commanded thee to be 
 cast into the water to cure its barrenness, that thou mayest by this exorcism be made 
 beneficial to the faithful, and become to all them that make use of thee healthful 
 both to soul and body, and that in what place soever thou wilt be sprinkled, all 
 illusions and wickedness and crafty wiles of Satan may be chased away and depart 
 from that place; and every unclean spirit commanded in His name, who is to come 
 to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire. Amen. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 Almighty and everlasting God! we most humbly implore Thy infinite mercy 
 that Thou wouldst vouchsafe by Thy piety to bless ijl and to sanctify |J( this Thy 
 creature of salt, wWch Thou hast given for the use of mankind: that it may be to 
 all that take it for the health of mind and body; and that whatever shall be touched 
 or sprinkled with it may be free from all uncleanness, and from all assaults of 
 wicked spirits, through our Lord Jesus Christ, etc. 
 
 After this the Priest proceeds to the blessing of the water, as follows: 
 
 1 exorcise thee, O creature of water! in the name of God »{< the Father 
 Almighty, and in the name of Christ ^ His Son our Lord, and in the virtue of the 
 Holy »J< Ghost ; that thou mayest by this exorcism have power to chase away all 
 the power of the enemy; that thou mayest be enabled to cast him out, and put him 
 to Alight with all his apostate angels, by the virtue of the same Jesus Christ our 
 Lord, Who is to come to judge the living, and the dead, and the worid by fijre. Amen. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 O God! who for the benefit of mankind hast made use of the element of water 
 in the greatest sacraments, mercifully hear our prayers, and impart the virtue of 
 Thy blessing >{< to this element prepared by many kinds of purifications;; that this- 
 
 153 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Thy creature, made use of in Thy mysteries, may receive the effect of Thy divine 
 grace for the chasing away devils and curing diseases; and that whosoever shall be 
 sprinkled with this water in the houses or the places of the faithful, may be free 
 from aU uncleanness, and delivered from evil : let no pestilential spirit reside there, 
 no infectious air: let all the snares of the hidden enemy fly away; and may whatever 
 ■envies the safety or repose of the inhabitants of that place be put to flight by the 
 ■sprinkling of this water, that the welfare which we seek by the invocation of Thy 
 holy name may be defended from aU sorts of assaults. Through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, etc. 
 
 Then the Priest mingles the salt with the water, saying: 
 
 May this salt and water be mixed together, in the name of the Father »J* and of 
 -the Son iff, and of the Holy ^ Ghost. Amen. 
 
 V. The Lord be with you. 
 
 R. And with thy spirit. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 O God the author of invincible power. King of an empire that cannot be over- 
 tome, and forever magnificently triumphant; who restrainest the forces of the 
 ladversary, who defeatest the fury of the roaring enemy, who mightily conquerest 
 his malicious wiles; we pray and beseech Thee, O Lord ! with dread and humility, 
 t» regard with a favorable covintenance this creature of salt and water, to enlighten 
 it with Thy bounty, and to sanctify it with the dew of Thy fatherly goodness, 
 that wheresoever it shall be sprinkled, all annoyance of the unclean spirit may be 
 •chased away, through the invocation of Thy holy name, that the presence of the 
 Holy Ghost may be everywhere with us, who seek Thy mercy. Through Our 
 iord Jesus Christ, who with Thee and the same Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, 
 one God, forever and ever. Amen. 
 
 The Blessing being ended, the Priest sprinkles himself and the people with the 
 water, saying: 
 
 Anthem. Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord ! with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed ; 
 'Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. 
 
 Psalm, Have mercy on me, O God! according to Thy great mercy, etc. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 After which he repeats the Anthem: "Thou shalt sprinkle," etc. Then return- 
 ing to the altar, he says: 
 
 V. O Lord! show us Thy mercy. 
 
 R. And give us Thy salvation. 
 
 V. O Lord! hear my prayer. 
 
 R. And let my cry come to Thee. 
 
 V. The Lord be with you. 
 
 R. And with Thy spirit. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 Hear us, O Lord Holy, Almighty Father, everlasting God! and vouchsafe to 
 rsend Thy holy angel from heaven to guard, cherish, protect, visit, and defend all 
 that dwell in His habitation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 IS4 
 
In Memoriam. 
 
 Rev. James Major, S. J., who slept in the Lord at the Church of St. Joseph's, Providence, 
 P.. I., on January ist, 1S98. 
 
 Methought I saw the Holy Infant lying 
 
 In Mary's arms on Circumcision Day, 
 Close to the couch whereon this saint lay dying, 
 
 (Even £is died the Old Year's shadow gray.) 
 
 Smiling, the Babe, in accents soft and gracious, 
 Called to the suffering soul that strove in prayer; 
 "O meek and humble son of Saint Ignatius! 
 
 Come to My Heart, and find thy refuge there!" 
 
 And, straightway on the Infant's snowy bosom, 
 
 A thorn-encircled Heart was bold revealed; 
 And in Its midst, a crown where blood-drops blossomed, 
 
 Red as a rose of a summer field. 
 
 Red as the glowing furnace of the fire 
 That from the bleeding heart unceasing came — 
 
 Methought the passing soul with great desire 
 Sank, like a star within the sea of flame. 
 
 But ere it disappeared in that pure ocean. 
 It sparkling shone with God's resplendent seal — 
 
 Heroic faith and hope, brave self-devotion. 
 Humility and meekness, love and zeal. 
 
 Hidden at last within its refuge holy, ^ 
 
 It sang the paean of its blest estate: 
 "Unless ye be as little children lowly. 
 
 Ye cannot enter heaven's narrow gate!" 
 
 And, glad the Babe proclaimed from Heart of fire: 
 
 "Blest be the life of meek humility! 
 All who would fain extend My love's empire, 
 
 Must first forget and lose themselves in Me!" 
 
 Philadelphia. Eleanor C. Donnelly. 
 
 iSS 
 
THE WAY OF THE CROSS. 
 
 Could you travel to the Holy Land, with what piety you would visit those spots 
 marked by the tears and the blood of our dear Saviour going to be crucified! The 
 Holy Church has made a provision by making the stations accompany Him for 
 those who cannot do this. You may go through all the scenes of His adorable passion 
 with as much profit to your soul as though you were actually present at the cruci- 
 fixion. Only those who will actually go through this holy exercise, can begin to 
 appreciate its value, — the good it works in the soul, the graces it is sure to bring. 
 You feel no devotion to the passion of Christ ? make the stations. You fed no 
 contrition for your sins ? make the stations. You are getting lukewarm and slug- 
 gish? make the stations. You cannot pray nor meditate? make the stations. 
 You have no relish for mortification ? make the stations. 
 
 The privilege of blessing and erecting stations was first granted to the Friars 
 Minor of the Order of St. Francis, about the year 1342, who, having the oflSce of 
 protecting the holy places, endeavored to enkindle a veneration for them in Italy 
 and other parts of the world. "To gain the Indulgences of the Way of the Cross, 
 it is necessary to go from one station to the other. It is, moreover, necessary to 
 visit each station with piety and devotion, meditating on each mystery, and praying 
 mentally or vocally. No prayers are specified, and consequently no set prayers 
 are necessary. But it is the custom for those who cannot read, to say five Our 
 Fathers and five Hail Marys; for those who can read one Our Father, one Hail 
 Mary, and Gloria Patri, with one or two stanzas of the Stabat Mater, and a prayer 
 appropriate to each mystery. The Way of the Cross may be performed privately 
 (by a single person) or solemnly. In the latter event it is usual for a priest to lead 
 the exercise." — Bouvier. 
 
 The amount of the indulgence is uncertain, though great indulgences are cer- 
 tainly attached to this devotion. The fruit, however, is certain, if performed with 
 piety and recollection. It is a most powerful incentive to the love of Jesus Christ 
 crucified. 
 
 * A PRAYER TO DIRECT THE INTENTION. 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of my soul, I present myself before Thee, to follow 
 the Way of Thy Cross, and to retrace in spirit that sacred path which was watered 
 with Thy adorable blood, during Thy painful journey to Calvary's Mount. I 
 offer to Thee this pious exercise, with the view of gaining the indulgences which 
 the sovereign Pontiffs have attached to it ; and I propose to pray for all the inten- 
 tions which they had in view in dispensing so rich a treasure. Grant me, O Lord, 
 the dispositions necessary for obtaining these indulgences, as well for myself as 
 for the souls in purgatory, and in particular for those for whom I design to pray. 
 May I by this holy exercise, merit Thy mercy in this werld, so as to secure, with 
 those suffering souls, a place in Thy eternal kingdom in the life to come. Amen. 
 
 And thou, O blessed Mother of God, assist me by thy powerful intercession. 
 Present this my feeble homage to thy divine Son, in reparation for the many injuries 
 
 156 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 He daily receives from bad Christians, and from so many impious men, who deny 
 Him that bought them. Let me participate in that ineffable sorrow which pierced 
 thy most tender soul during the several stages of His passion: that I may reap an 
 abundant fruit from this holy exercise, for the advantage and the benefit of all those 
 for whom I pray. Amen, 
 
 While moving towards each station a verse of the "Stabat Mater" may be sung: 
 
 Beneath the world's redeeming wood 
 
 The most afflicted Mother stood. 
 
 Mingling her tears with her Son's blood. 
 
 157 
 
OUR CHURCHjHER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 First Station. 
 
 JESUS IS SENTENCED TO DEATH BY PILATE. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name;. 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 Our gracious Redeemer, after suffering most injurious treatment before Annas 
 and Caiaphas, a cruel scourging and a crown of piercing thorns, is condemned ta 
 death. This iniquitous sentence your Jesus accepts, with admirable humility. 
 Innocence submits to punishment in order to free the guilty. Reflect that your 
 sins caused his condemnation, and your stubborn impenitence extorted the bloody 
 sentence from Pilate. Purpose now seriously to amend your life; and while you 
 reflect on the horrid injustice of Pilate, who condemns innocence lest he should not 
 appear a friend of Caesar, with deep conviction of your own guilt condemn your- 
 self for your many sins of human respect ; think how often you have offended God 
 from the fear of displeasing the world; and, turning to your Saviour, address Him 
 rather with tears of the heart than expressions of the tongue, in the following prayer: 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O mangled Victim of my sins, suffering Jesus, I have deserved those bloody 
 stripes, that cruel sentence of death; and yet Thou art put to death for me, that I 
 should live for Thee! I am convinced that if I desire to please the world, I cannot be 
 Thy servant ; let me then displease the world and its vain admirers. I resign my- 
 self into Thy hands. Let the love of Thee take possession of my heart. Let my 
 eyes behold with contempt everything that could alienate my affections from Thee. 
 Let my ear be still attentive to Thy word. Let me accompany Thee through Thy 
 painfvd journey, sighing and imploring mercy. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 As that flowed down from every part, 
 Of all His wounds she felt the smart; 
 What pierced His body, pierced her heart. 
 
 158 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Second Station. 
 
 JESUS RECEIVES THE CROSS ON HIS SHOULDERS. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name: 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross. Thou hast redeemed the worid. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents your amiable Redeemer, dad in IDs usual attire, after 
 His inhuman executioners have stripped Him of the purple garment with which 
 He had been clothed, when they crowned Him with platted thorns as a visionary 
 king. The heavy burden of the cross is violently placed on His mangled shoulders. 
 Behold your Saviour, covered with wounds, disfigured with gore, a man of sorrow^ 
 abandoned by all. With what wonderful patience He bears the taunts and insults. 
 of the Jews! Reflect with confusion on that proud sensibility of yours, which takes 
 fire at the very shadow of contempt; on your discontent and murmurs, at the slight- 
 est afflictions; your obstinate resistance to the will of Heaven, in the crosses of this 
 life; although these are calculated to lead you, not to Calvary, but to the joys of 
 eternal glory. From your heart unite in the foUowing: 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Meek, humble Jesus ! my iniquity and perverseness loaded Thy shoulders witli 
 the heavy burden of the cross. Yet, shameful ingratitude of mine! a vile worm of 
 the earth, I dislike even the appearance of mortification, and shrink from every- 
 thing that would check the violence of my passions, and if I suffer, it is with mur- 
 muring and reluctance. I now, O Saviour of the world, detest my past life, and 
 by Thy grace am determined no more to offend Thee mortally. Let me only glory 
 in the cross of my Lord, by which the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. 
 Lay then on me the cross of true penance. Let me, for the love of Thee, bear the 
 adversities of this life, and cleave to Thee inseparably in the bonds of charity. 
 Amen. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 Who can with tearless eyes look on 
 When such a Mother such a Son, 
 Wounded and gasping, does bemoan. 
 
 159 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Third Station. 
 
 JESUS FALLS UNDER THE CROSS FOR THE FIRST TIME 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name: 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross. Thou hast redeemed the world. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents our Lord Jesus Christ overpowered by the weight of 
 the cross, fainting through loss of blood, and falling to the ground. Contemplate 
 the unwearied patience of that meek Lamb, under the violence and insults of His 
 brutal executioners; while you, impatient m adversity and infirmity, presume to 
 complain, nay, to insult the majesty of heaven by your blasphemies. Purpose here 
 to suppress the sallies of an ill temper; and beholding your amiable Jesus prostrate 
 under the cross, excite in yourself a just hatred for sin, the cause of that insupport- 
 able weight under which your Saviour sank; and thus address your afl3icted Jesus: 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Alas! my Jesus, the violence of Thy heartless executioners, the weight of the 
 cross, or rather, the more oppressive load of my sins, bend Thee to the earth. Ex- 
 hausted, panting for breath. Thou dost not refuse new tortures for my sake; shaJl I 
 then refuse the light burden of Thy commandments ? Shall I refuse to do violence 
 to my passions and sinful inclinations ? Shall I relapse into the very crimes I have 
 often wept over? O Jesus, stretch out Thy hand to my assistance, that I may never 
 more fall into mortal sin, but secure the affair of my salvation Amen. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 O worse than Jewish heart, that could, 
 Unmoved, behold the double flood, 
 Of Mary's tears and Jesus' Uood! 
 
 i6o 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Fourth Station. 
 
 JESUS CARRYING HIS CROSS, MEETS HIS MOST AFFLICTED MOTHER, 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name: 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross. Thou hast redeemed the world. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station presents to our contemplation the meeting of the desolate mothef 
 and her bleeding Jesus, sinking under the weight of the cross. Consider what 
 pangs rent her soul, when she beheld Him, covered with blood, dragged violently to 
 the place of execution, reviled and blasphemed by an ungrateful, outrageous rabble. 
 Meditate on her inward feelings — the looks of silent agony exchanged between 
 the Mother and her Son: her anguish in not being permitted to approach and 
 embrace Him. Be filled with confusion, that neither the Son's pain, nor the 
 Mother's grief have softened the hardness of your heart. Approach, now, with 
 contrition, and join in the following : 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O Mary, I am the cause of thy sufferings : O refuge of sinners, let me share in 
 those bitter pangs which rent thy tender soul when thou didst behold thy Son, 
 covered with wounds, and fainting under the cross. Mother of sorrows, let me feel 
 the force of thy grief, that together with thee, I may mingle my tears with the blood 
 of thy Son. O suffering Jesus! by Thy bitter passion, and the deep anguish of 
 Thy aflflicted Mother, grant me the grace of perseverance. Mother of Jesus, inter- 
 cede for me! Jesus, look down on me with an eye of pity; and, in the hour of my 
 death, receive me into Thy arms. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in 
 peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 Alas ! our sins they were not His, 
 
 In this atoning sacrifice 
 
 For which He bleeds, for which He dies. 
 
 i6i 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Fifth Station. 
 
 JESUS ASSISTED BY SIMON THE CYRENIAN IN CARRYING THE CROSS. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name : 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents Christ fainting, unable to carry the cross. His sacri- 
 legious executioners compel Simon the Cyrenian to carry it, not through compas- 
 sion for Jesus, but lest He should expire before they could satiate their vengeance 
 by nailing Him to the cross. Consider here the repugnance of Simon to carry the 
 cross after Christ: and remember that you also reluctantly submit to the cross 
 which Providence has placed on your shoulders. Will you continue to spurn the 
 advice of your Jesus, who invites you to take up your cross and follow Him ? Will 
 you yet, with shameless ingratitude, refuse the cross sanctified by His sufferings ? 
 Offer up devoutly the following: 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O suffering Jesus! to what an excess did Thy impious executioners carry their 
 cruelty. Seeing Thee faint under the cross, and apprehending Thy death before 
 they could accomplish their bloody designs, they compelled Simon to aid in bearing- 
 Thy cross, that on it Thou mightest expire in tortures. But why should I complain 
 of the cruelty of the Jews, or the repugnance of Simon ? Have I not again crucified 
 Him by my crimes ? Have I not suffered with fretful impatience the light aflHiction 
 with which Thy mercy visited me ? Teach me now, my Jesus, to detest and deplore 
 my first impatience; and let me, with a willing heart, accompany Thee to Mount 
 Calvary: let me live in Thee and die in Thee. Amen. 
 
 Our Father, etc. HaU Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 When graves were opened, rocks were rent, 
 When nature and each element 
 His torments and her grief resent. 
 
 i6s 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Sixth Station. 
 
 VERONICA PRESENTS A HANDKERCHIEF TO CHRIST. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name: 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents the moment when the pious Veronica, moved with com- 
 passion on beholding the sacred face of our Redeemer, livid with blows and covered 
 with blood and sweat, presents a handkerchief with which Jesus wipes His face. 
 Consider the heroic piety of this devout woman, who is not intimidated by the 
 presence of the executioners, or the clamors of the Jews; and the benign acknowl- 
 edgment of Jesus, who leaves the impression of His countenance on her handker- 
 chief. Reflect, here, that although you cannot discharge the kind ofl&ces of human- 
 ity to your Saviour, you have it in your power to discharge them towards his suffer- 
 ing members, the poor. You cannot wipe away the blood and sweat from the face 
 of Jesus; but you can dry up the tears of wretchedness and misery. Examine what 
 returns you have made for the favor your bountiful Jesus has bestowed on you; 
 and, conscious of your ingratitude, address Him in the following: 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O Jesus, give me tears to weep for my ingratitude. How often have I turned 
 my eyes from Thee and Thy sufferings, to fix them on the world and its vanities ! 
 Let me henceforth be entirely Thine. Stamp Thy image on my soul, that it may 
 never admit any love incompatible with that which I owe Thee. Take possession 
 of my heart on earth, that my soul may possess Thee eternally in glory. Amen. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V, And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 Shall man, the cause of all His pain 
 And all His grief, shall sinful man 
 Alone insensible renaain ? 
 
 163 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Seveath Station. 
 
 JESUS FALLS UNDER THE CROSS THE SECOND TIME. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Chris, and bless Thy holy name: 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross. Thou hast redeemed he world. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents our Saviour at the gates of Jerusalem, falling to the 
 ground, through pain and weakness. He is compelled by blows and blasphemies 
 to rise. Consider your Jesus prostrate on the earth, bruised by His fall, and igno- 
 miniously treated by an ungrateful rabble. Reflect that your self-love and desire 
 of preference were the cause of your Saviour's humiliation. Implore, then, grace 
 to detest your proud and haughty disposition. It was your repeated sins that pressed 
 Him to the ground : will you then sin again, and add to the affliction of your gracious 
 Saviour? 
 
 PRAYER - 
 
 O most holy Redeemer, treated with extreme contempt, and led out to punish- 
 ment, through the excess of torments and weakness of Thy mangled body, Thou 
 f allest a second time to the earth. What impious hand has prostrated Thee ? Alas ! 
 my Jesus, I am that impious, that sacrilegious offender! My ambitious pride, my 
 haughty indignation, my contempt of others humbled Thee to the earth. Banish 
 forever from my mind the spirit of pride; teach me humility; that detesting all 
 vanities, I may be ever united with my meek and humble Jesus. Amen. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 Ah, pious mother, teach my heart, 
 Of sighs and tears the holy art, 
 And in thy grief to bear a part. 
 
 164 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Eighth Station. 
 
 JESUS CONSOLES THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM WHO WEEP OVER 
 
 HIM. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name: 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross. Thou hast redeemed the world, 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents the place where several devout women, meeting Jesus 
 and beholding Him wounded and bathed in His own blood, shed tears of compas- 
 sion Over Him. Consider the excessive love of Jesus, who, though languishing 
 through the multitude of His torments, is nevertheless attentive to console the 
 women who wept over Him. They heard that merciful consolation from the 
 mouth of Jesus : " Weep not over Me, but over yourselves and your children ; weep for 
 your sins, the sources of My afflictions." Yes, my soul! I will obey my suffering 
 Lord, and pour out tears of compunction. Nothing more eloquent than the voice 
 of the tears which flow from the horror of our sins. Let us address Him in the 
 following: 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O Jesus! only begotten Son of the Father! who will give water to my head, and 
 a fountain of tears to my eyes, that I may, day and night, weep and lament my 
 sins, I humbly beseech Thee, by those tears of blood Thou didst shed for me, to 
 soften my flinty bosom, that tears may plentifully flow from my eyes, and contrition 
 rend my hardened heart. Cancel my crimes, and render me secure in the day of 
 wrath and examination, when Thou wilt come to judge the living and the dead, 
 and to demand a rigorous account of Thy blood. Amen. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 The sword of grief, that did pass through 
 Thy very soul, O may it now 
 Upon my heart a wound bestow. 
 
 165 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Ninth Station. 
 
 JESUS FALLS UNDER THE CROSS THE THIRD TIME. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name: 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross. Thou hast redeemed the world. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents the foot of Mount Calvary, where Jesus Christ, quite 
 destitute of strength, falls a third time to the ground. The anguish of His woimd 
 is renewed. Consider here the many injuries and blasphemous derisions thrown 
 out against Christ, to compel Him to rise and hasten to the place of execution, 
 that His inveterate enemies might enjoy the bloody satisfaction of beholding Him 
 expire on the cross. Consider that by your sins you daily hurry Him to the place 
 of execution. Approach then, in thought, to the foot of Mount Calvary, and cry 
 out, accursed weight of sin that prostrated my Saviour, and had long since buried 
 me in the flames of hell, if His mercy and the merits of His passion had not pre- 
 served me! 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O amiable Jesus, I return Thee endless thanks for not permitting me, an un- 
 grateful sinner, as Thou hast permitted thousands, less criminal, to die in my sins. 
 I have added torments to Thy torments, by heaping sin on sin. Kindle in my 
 soul the fire of charity; maintain it with Thy continual grace until, delivered from 
 this body of death, I can enjoy the liberty of the children of God, and of Thy co- 
 heirs. Amen. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 Great Queen of Sorrows ! in thy train 
 Let me a mourner's place obtain. 
 With tears to cleanse all sinful stain! 
 
 i66 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Tenth Station. 
 
 JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS QARMENTS AND OFFERED VINEGAR 
 
 AND GALL. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name: 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents how our Lord Jesus Christ ascended Mount Calvary, 
 and was stripped of His garments by His inhuman executioners, the skin and con- 
 gealed blood torn off with them, and his wounds renewed. Consider the confusion 
 of the modest Lamb, exposed to the contempt and derision of an insulting rabble. 
 They present Him with vinegar and gall. Condemn here that delicacy of taste, 
 that sensual indulgence with which you have flattered your sinful body. Pray 
 here for the spirit of mortification. Think how happy you would die, if, stripped of 
 the world, and its attachments, you could expire covered with the blood, and par- 
 taking in the confusion of your Redeemer. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Suffering Jesus! I behold Thee stripped of Thy garments, Thy old wounds 
 renewed, and new ones added to the old. I behold Thee in the presence of thou- 
 sands, exposed to the inclemency of the weather, cold, trembling from head to foot, 
 insulted by the blasphemous derisions of the spectators. Strip, Thou mangled 
 Lamb of God, my heart of the world and its deceitful affections. Divest my soul 
 of its habits and sensual indulgence. Embitter the poisoned cup of pleasure, that 
 I may dash it with contempt from my lips, and through Christian mortification 
 arrive at Thy never-fading glory. Amen. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 To heal the leprosy of sin, 
 
 We must the cure with tears begin; 
 
 All flesh's corrupt without their brine. 
 
 167 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Eleventh Station. 
 
 JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name: 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross. Thou hast redeemed the world. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents the place where Jesus Christ, in the presence of His 
 afflicted mother, is stretched on the cross and nailed to it. How insufferable the 
 torture, the nerves and sinews being rent by the nails! Consider the exceeding 
 desolation, the anguish of the tender mother, eye-witness to this inhuman punish- 
 ment of her beloved Jesus. Generously resolve, then, to crucify your criminal 
 desires, and nail your sins to the wood of the cross. Contemplate the suffering 
 resignation of the Son of God to the will of His Father, while you are impatient in 
 trifling afflictions, in trivial disappointments. Purpose henceforth to embrace your 
 cross with ready resignation to the will of God, and address Him in the following: 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Patient Jesus! meek Lamb of God, who didst declare, "when I shall be exalted 
 from the earth, I will draw all things to myself," attract my heart to Thee, and nail 
 it to the cross. I now renounce and detest my past impatience. Let me crucify 
 my flesh with all its concupiscences and vices; here bum, here cut, but spare me 
 for eternity. I throw myself into the arms of Thy mercy. Thy will be done in all 
 things. Grant me resignation, grant me Thy love; I desire no more. Amen. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 O may the wounds of thy dear Son 
 Our contrite hearts possess alone, 
 And all terrene affection drown. 
 
 i68 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Twelfth Station. 
 
 JESUS IS EXALTED ON THE CROSS AND DIES. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name: 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents the place where Jesus Christ was publicly exalted on 
 the cross, between two robbers, who were executed with the innocent Lamb. Con- 
 sider here the confusion of your Saviour, exposed to the profane view of a blasphe- 
 mous multitude. Imagine yourself at the foot of the cross. Behold that sacred 
 body, streaming blood from every part. Contemplate the divine countenance, 
 pale and languid, the heart throbbing in the last pangs of agony; the soul on the 
 point of separation. Charity triumphs over His agony; His last prayer asks for- 
 giveness for His inveterate enemies. "Father, forgive them; they know not what 
 they do." His clemency is equally extended to the penitent thief: "This day 
 Thou shalt be with Me in Paradise." He recommends in His last moments His dis- 
 consolate Mother to His beloved St. John; He recommends His soul to His heavenly 
 Father; and bowing down His head, resigns His spirit. Turn your eyes on the 
 bloody portrait of charity. Number His wounds, wash them with tears of sympa- 
 thizing love. Behold the arms extended to embrace you. Loving Jesus! Thou 
 didst die to deliver us from eternal captivity. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O sufifering Son of God! I now behold Thee in the last convulsive pangs of 
 death; Thy veins opened. Thy sinews torn. Thy hands and feet distilling blood. 
 I acknowledge, most loving Jesus ! that my reiterated offenses have been Thy merci- 
 less executioners, the cause of Thy bitter sufferings and death. Yet, God of mercy! 
 look on my sinful soul bathed in Thy precious blood. Let me die to the vanity of 
 the world, and renounce its false pleasures. Thou didst pray, my Jesus ! for Thy 
 enemies; I forgive mine; I embrace them in imitation of Thy charity; I bury my 
 resentment in Thy wounds. SheUer me, in the day of wrath, in the sanctuary of 
 Thy side. Let me live, let me die in my crucified Redeemer. Amen. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 Those wounds, which now the stars outshine, 
 Those furnaces of love divine, 
 May they our drowsy souls refine. 
 
 169 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Thirteenth Statioo. 
 
 JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name. 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross. Thou hast redeemed the world. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents the moment when Christ's most sacred body is taken 
 .down from the cross by Joseph and Nicodemus, and laid on the bosom of His 
 weeping mother. Consider the sighs and tears of the Virgin Mother; with what 
 pangs she embraced the bleeding remains of her beloved Son. Here unite your 
 tears with those of the disconsolate mother. Reflect that your Saviour would not 
 descend from the cross, until He consummated the work of redemption. Hence 
 learn constancy in your pious resolutions ; cleave to the standard of the cross. Con- 
 sider with what purity that should be adorned, which receives, in the Blessed Sac- 
 -rament of the Eucharist, Christ's most sacred body and blood. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 At length, O blessed Virgin, Mother of sorrows, you are permitted to embrace 
 your beloved Son. But alas! the fruit of your immaculate womb is mangled. 
 From the crown of His head to the sole of His foot there is no soundness in Him. 
 Yes, the infernal fury of the Jews has at length triumphed: yet we renew their 
 barbarity, crucify Him by our sins, inflicting new wounds. Most afflicted Mother 
 ^f my Redeemer, I conjure you, by the pains and torments you suffered in the 
 common cause of salvation, to obtain for me, by your powerful intercession, the 
 pardon of my sins, and grace to deplore, with a sympathizing feeling, your and your 
 Son's afiliction. As often as I appear at the holy sacrifice of the Mass, let me 
 embrace Thee, O my Jesus, in the interior of my heart. May I worthily receive 
 Thee as the sacred pledge of my salvation. Amen. 
 
 Our Father, etc . Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 -in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 That when the dreadful trials come 
 
 For every man to hear his doom 
 
 On His right hand we may find room. 
 
 ■ % ■ 
 
 170 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN, AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Fourteenth Station. 
 
 JESUS IS LAID IN THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 
 
 V. We adore Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Thy holy name. 
 R. Because, by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the worid. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. 
 
 This station represents Christ's sepulchre, where His blessed body was laid 
 with piety and devotion. Consider the feelings of the Virgin; tears streaming from 
 her eyes, her bosom heaving sighs. What melancholy, what wishful looks she 
 casts on that monument, where the treasure of her soul, her Jesus, her all, lay en- 
 tombed. Here lament your want of contrition for your sins, and humbly adore 
 your deceased Lord, who, poor even in death, is buried in another's tomb. Blush. 
 at your dependence on the world, and the eager solicitude with which you labor to 
 grasp its perishable advantages. Despise henceforth the world, lest you perish 
 with it. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Most loving Jesus! for my salvation Thou didst perform the painful journey 
 of the cross. I adore Thee reposing in the holy sepulchre. Let me press the 
 footsteps marked by Thee, gracious Redeemer; the paths which, through the thorns 
 of life, conduct to the heavenly Jerusalem. Would that Thou wert entombed in 
 my heart, that being united to Thee I might rise to a new life of grace, and perse- 
 vere to the end. Grant me, in my last moments, to receive Thy precious body as 
 the pledge of immortal life. Let my last words be Jesus and Mary, my last breath 
 on the cross ; that vrith a lively faith, firm hope, and ardent love, I may reign with 
 Thee for ever and ever. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 O hear us, Mary! Jesus, hear 
 
 Our humble prayers; secure our fear 
 
 When Thou in judgment shalt appear. 
 
 Now give us sorrow, give us love, 
 That so prepared, we may remove 
 When called, to seats of bliss above. 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 Compassionate Jesus! behold with eyes of mercy this devotion I have endeav- 
 ored to perform, in honor of Thy passion and death, in order to obtain remission 
 of my sins, and of the pains incurred by them. Accept of it for the salvation of 
 the living, and the eternal repose of the faithful departed, particularly for those 
 for whom I offer it. Do not, O Jesus, suffer the ineffable price of Thy blood to 
 be paid in vain, or my miserable soul ransomed by it, to perish. The voice of Thy 
 blood cries louder for mercy than my crimes for vengeance. Have mercy, then, 
 O Lord, have mercy, and spare me for Thy mercy's sake. Amen. 
 
 On returning to the Altar, recite the following prayers: 
 
 Ant. Christ became obedient for us unto death, even the death of the cross. 
 
 V. By the holy cross deliver us, O God. 
 
 R. From all our enemies. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 Look down, we beseech Thee, O eternal Father, on this Thy family, for which , 
 our Lord Jesus Christ was pleased to be delivered into the hands of the wicked, .' 
 and to suffer the torment of the cross; who liveth and reigneth, one God in imity, 
 with Thee and the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 Ant. O aU ye, that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be grief like unto 
 my grief. 
 
 V. Pray for us, O most sorrowful Mother of Gk)d. 
 
 R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 We beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that the blessed Virgin Mary, who, 
 during Thy bitter passion, had her most holy soul pierced with the sword of sorrow, 
 may effectually intercede for us with Thy clemency, both now and at the hour of, 
 death; who livest and reignest, one God with the Father and the Holy Ghost, for 
 ever and ever. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 Then may be added for the dead, if desired, the folloiuing: 
 
 Ant. It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may 
 be loosed from their sins. 
 
 V. Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord. 
 
 R, And let perpetual light shine upon them. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of Thy 
 servants departed the remission of all their sins, that through pious supplications 
 they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired : who livest and reign- 
 est one God for ever and ever. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Our Father, etc. Hail Mary, etc. Glory be to the Father, etc. (Each to be 
 recited six times.) 
 
 V. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us. 
 
 R. Have mercy on us: O Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest 
 in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 173 
 
The Object and Spirit of the Forty Hours Devotion. 
 Its Origin and History. 
 
 The Forty Hours Prayer of Adoration, or, more briefly, the Forty Hours, is 
 thus called, because during eight-and-forty hours the Blessed Sacrament is conspic- 
 uously exposed on the altar that the faithful may come and pray before it, and adore 
 it. No pains are neglected to make this sacred rite as solemn and as devout as 
 possible. After a solemn mass and a procession, the Blessed Sacrament is enshrined 
 and enthroned above the altar, and around it is disposed a firmament, as it were, 
 of countless lights, radiating from it, symbolical of the ever wakeful host of heaven, 
 the spirits of restless life and unfading brightness, that keep watch round the seat 
 of glory above; and then the faithful gather about the altar as about a throne, and 
 adore in silence and in awe. 
 
 "In no other time or place," says Cardinal Wiseman, "is the sublimity of our 
 religion so touchingly felt. No ceremony is going forward in the sanctuary, no 
 sound of song is issuing from the choir, no voice of exhortation proceeds from the 
 pulpit, no prayer is uttered aloud at the altar. There are hundreds there, and 
 yet they are engaged in no congregational act of worship. Each heart and soul 
 is alone in the midst of a multitude; each uttering its own thoughts, each feeling 
 its own grace. Yet you are overpowered, subdued, quelled into a reverential mood, 
 softened into a devotional spirit, forced to meditate, to feel, to pray .... 
 
 "Looking at the scene comes nearer to the contemplation of a heavenly vision 
 than aught else that we know. It seems to us, as though, on these occasions, flesh 
 and blood lost their material grossness, and were spiritualized as they passed the 
 threshold 
 
 "How many .... have spent hours in that heavenly presence where they 
 seem to breathe the pure air of paradise. To them indeed it is 'the house of God 
 and the gate of heaven.' .... 
 
 "As night closes in, will there not be danger of this worship ceasing? .... 
 
 "While equipages are rolling through the streets, conveying the worldly to and 
 from places of entertainment, and long after they have ceased their din, there is one 
 carriage at least which is busy all night with a better errand; which at stated hours 
 may be seen to set down at the church a relay of night watchers and to take to their 
 homes those of the preceding hour. Pious confraternities devote themselves to 
 this, as well as to other deeds of piety, and carry on the goodly work night after 
 night, for centuries ..." 
 
 The Adoration lasts night and day till towards noon of the third day when the Ex- 
 position is brought to a close with another solemn mass, a procession, and benediction. 
 
 In this country as yet, and by concession, the Exposition and Adoration does 
 not continue during the night, and the Blessed Sacrament is removed in the even- 
 ing. Sometimes a sermon is preached in the evening. In this case the subject 
 must be the Blessed Sacrament, and during the delivery of the sermon the Blessed 
 Sacrament must be veiled. 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 The object of this devotion of the Forty Hotirs Adoration of the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment is to offer a solemn act of reparation to our Divine Lord for the neglect and, 
 abandonment to which His Sacred Humanity was exposed from the moment of 
 His death on the cross till the hour of His triumphant resurrection. By it we also 
 propose to offer to God some reparation for the sins of bad Christians in general, 
 and in particular for the heartless neglect of which so many disloyal Catholics are 
 guilty towards our Saviour, who dwells with us in the Blessed Sacrament; also to 
 atone for the profanations of the holy mysteries by bad Catholics, and for the insults 
 to which our Lord is exposed at the hands of heretics who refuse to believe in the- 
 Real Presence. 
 
 This devotion is said to have had the following origin. In the year A. D. 1537, 
 the city of Milan, in Italy, was desolated by a plague. A similar epidemic had 
 twelve years previously destroyed one hundred and twenty thousand of its inhab- 
 itants. It was also torn by civil discord, and oppressed by a foreign foe, whose 
 legions surrounded it, and threatened to besiege it. The city, at that period, had 
 ceased to belong to the duchy of Milan, Francis Sforza, the second duke of that, 
 name, having recently died without issue. The Emperor Charles the Fifth was 
 therefore invited by the Milanese to assume its protectorship. But the King of 
 France resolved to take upon himself the sovereignty of the duchy of Milan, on 
 account of his relationship with the late Duke. The French King, having gathered 
 a large army, surrounded Milan, and the herald of the French court was despatched 
 to demand the surrender of the city. This summons the Milanese with great 
 firmness and determination refused to obey. 
 
 There was at that time preaching the customary Lenten instructions in the 
 famed cathedral of Milan a Capuchin friar, equally distinguished for his holiness 
 of life and solid learning. Father Joseph di Fero. But what harvest could he 
 expect to gather into the celestial granary from a city threatened by the invasion 
 of a hostile army? This, however, did not dishearten or unnerve the zealous 
 servant of God. He commenced his course of sermons and his auditory increasing 
 each day, he was all at once enlightened by a ray of divine light — he suggested to 
 the citizens the sublime devotion of the public adoration of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 in the adorable Sacrament of the Eucharist, as a propitiatory offering to avert 
 the dreadful scourge which was about to fall upon the city. The people gladly 
 consented to so wise and holy a project, and hastened to begin the Exposition of 
 the adorable Sacrament on Palm Sunday, at the first hour of evening. The Holy 
 Sacrament was exposed, and not only did the Cardinal Archbishop, with the entire 
 clergy, both secular and regular, assist at the preparatory procession, but likewise 
 the senators of the city, all wearing sackcloth as an emblem of penance. 
 
 The Exposition was made in front of the chapel of our Lady of the Cross. 
 There the Blessed Sacrament was conspicuously exposed, elevated upon a lofty 
 throne which was reached by twelve steps, and surrounded by more than a hundred 
 lights. The Cardinal Archbishop worshipped in presence of the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment for the first hour, then followed the ecclesiastics according to their dignity, 
 then the senators, and finally came the citizens divided into groups, who assembled 
 from every quarter of the city, each bearing lighted torches. The concourse of 
 fervent worshippers was truly wonderful. The ardent and pious Father Joseph, 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 a crown of thorns upon his head, a rack such as was used to torture criminals about 
 his neck, and a crucifix in his hand, knelt at the right side of the Blessed Sacrament, 
 and pronounced each successive hour an earnest and moving exhortation to the 
 assembled citizens, who in rotation presented themselves to offer their humble 
 supplications before their divine Redeemer seated on His throne of mercy. This 
 impressive function, having been terminated in the cathedral, was renewed with 
 the same fervor and piety in each church in the city, in all of which Father Joseph 
 preached. The fervent faith of the MUanese obtained through this means the 
 removal of their enemies. The irritated feelings of the rival monarchs were changed 
 into feelings of concord and peace; and they agreed to a truce for six months. 
 The Dauphin, who occupied the heights above Milan, repassed the Alps, and 
 returned into France, leaving the Milanese under the protectorship of the Emperor 
 Charles the Fifth. 
 
 A favor so important, which had all the evidence of a miracle, animated the 
 Milanese with sentiments of the most fervent gratitude towards our divine Redeemer, 
 veiled in the most august Sacrament of the Altar; and from this period arose the 
 perpetual adoration of the most adorable Sacrament, in the form now known as 
 the Forty Hours Prayer. 
 
 It was afterwards used by St. Charles Borromeo, the holy Archbishop of Milan, 
 as an offset to the excesses of the Carnival in that city, and as a reparation to our 
 Lord for the scandalous conduct of those who indulged in the license which the 
 recurrence of the Carnival annually brought about. The example of St. Charles 
 was followed by one Italian bishop after another till the practice of this devotion 
 at Carnival time began to be general. Pope Benedict XIV. at last made it obli- 
 gatory on all the bishops of the Papal States to expose the Blessed Sacrament in 
 the churches of their dioceses during the time of the Carnival, and granted many 
 indulgences to all the faithful who would visit it during the Exposition, and pray 
 before it, especially if they would also approach the sacraments. 
 
 Clement XIII. extended this devotion to the whole Church, established the 
 regulations according to which it should be practised, and defined its object and spirit. 
 
 This devotion then began to be observed at other seasons besides that of the 
 Carnival, and now in very many dioceses the Exposition takes place under the 
 direction of the Ordinary in one church after another throughout the year, so that 
 the Blessed Sacrament is always exposed in some church, and thus the faithful 
 on earth imitate the ceaseless adoration of the blessed spirits in heaven. 
 
 The introduction of this devotion into the United States seems to have been 
 formally inaugurated by the late Archbishop F. P. Kenrick of Baltimore. 
 
 Feeling that all the rules imposed by Pope Clement XIII. could not weU be 
 observed in this country, he petitioned Pope Pius IX. to grant some modifications. 
 His Holiness graciously received the petition of the Archbishop, and by a Pontifical 
 Rescript dated December lo, 1857, made the following grants : — 
 
 I. That, as long as circumstances require it, the Blessed Sacrament may be 
 exposed to public adoration, in the form of the Forty Hours Prayer, in all the 
 churches and oratories of the diocese of Baltimore once or twice a year, as the 
 Archbishop may think best in the Lord, in the daytime only, and that at night it 
 may be replaced in the tabernacle. 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 2. That the procession may be omitted, even inside the church, if it cannot 
 be properly had. 
 
 3. To all the faithful, of either sex, he grants the indulgence of ten years, and 
 as many quarantines to be gained each day that they visit the church where the 
 Blessed Sacrament is exposed and remain there for some time in prayer, and a 
 plenary indulgence to all who, besides visiting the church where the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment is exposed, spending there some time in prayer, also go to confession, and 
 receive holy communion.* 
 
 4. All the altars of the church in which the Exposition takes place are declared 
 privileged during the Exposition. 
 
 These concessions were extended to all the dioceses in the United States, in 
 1868, by Pope Pius IX. in answer to the petition of the Fathers of the Second 
 Plenary Council of Baltimore. 
 
 Prayers for the Hour of Adoration During the Exposition of the 
 Most Adorable Sacrament. , 
 
 Acts of Faith and Adoration. 
 
 1. I believe Thee, O Lord Jesus, Who art now concealed under the sacramental 
 species, to be the only true Son of God, begotten of the Father from eternity. I 
 believe that Thou art also the Son of the ever Blessed Virgin Mary, and that Thou 
 wert conceived in time through the operation of the Holy Ghost, and I most humbly 
 unite my unworthy prayers with those of Thy most holy mother, Mary, when she 
 received Thee into her most chaste and immaculate womb. 
 
 2. Thou art, O Lord Jesus, the long expected object of the Gentiles; the desired 
 of the just of all nations, and of all ages ; the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies ; 
 the divine source of truth shadowed forth in the Old Testament. I most humbly 
 adore Thee, vpith all the fervent faith of the patriarchs and prophets, and jointly 
 with them confess Thee to be the Redeemer of the world. 
 
 3. I offer Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, through the mediation of Thy most holy 
 Church, the sacred hynm of praise chanted by the angelic host, at the moment of 
 Thy sacred birth: "Glory be to God in the highest, and peace on earth to men of 
 good vdll," together with the simple and devout homage of the shepherds at the 
 crib; and I unite them with the fervent adoration of the Magi, who acknowledged 
 Thee to be the true King of the Jews. 
 
 4. O true and only Light of the world, which puts to flight all darkness and 
 error, I most humbly adore Thee, with the same holy affection and joy with which 
 the holy old man, Simeon, received Thee into his arms; and I devoutly thank Thee 
 for having permitted me to receive the Holy Communion into my unworthy heart. 
 
 5. In this most divine Sacrament, O my Lord Jesus, Thou dost perpetuate 
 constantly the prodigies that Thou didst work during Thy mortal life, restoring 
 the sick, bringing the dead to life, bestowing Thy gifts and graces upon all who 
 approach Thee. I come to Thee, O Lord, to offer my adoration and thanksgiving 
 to Thee, Who alone art the true source of every blessing. 
 
 ' * It is not necessary to go to confession or receive holy communion in the church where the Blessed Sacrament 
 is exposed, and the confession may be made the day before the Exposition begins. 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 6. O divine Lord Jesus, great Teacher of humility, of poverty, of patience, of 
 charity, and of every perfect virtue, O what heavenly instruction Thou vouch- 
 safest to give me in this divine Sacrament, which is justly considered to be the 
 abridgment of Thy divine doctrine and of Thy most holy life. I most humbly adore 
 Thee, O Source of unerring truth, and infallible Guide to heaven! 
 
 7. Most holy soul of my Lord Jesus, humbled, afficted, and tortured for the 
 love of me! virginal body, tormented, bruised, and outraged for my iofidelities; 
 most precious blood, shed even to the last drop for my redemption! I, although 
 most unworthy, humbly unite my adorations with those of the ever Blessed Virgin 
 Mary, Thy most sacred mother, while she stood overwhelmed with affliction 
 beneath Thy ever adorable and all saving Cross. 
 
 8. O Lord Jesus, Conqueror of death, who didst rise again to life for our sancti- 
 fication, increase my faith, as Thou formerly didst animate the faith of Thy apostles, 
 in order that all my thoughts and desires, being freed from every earthly affection, 
 may always be turned towards that glorious life into which were received the first- 
 born of Thy elect. 
 
 9. Insomuch as Thou art humbled for our sakes in this most august Sacrament, 
 
 divine Lord Jesus, by so much also art Thou exalted to the infinite majesty 
 and splendor of Thy heavenly Father, sitting now at His right hand! I most 
 humbly unite with the Church in heaven, as well as the Church militant upon 
 earth, to praise and bless Thee with all the fervor of my heart. 
 
 10. O supreme Arbiter of the living and the dead, most loving Lord Jesus, I 
 humbly adore Thee with fear and trembling, on account of that hidden judgment 
 which Thou dost exercise in this divine Sacrament, which confers eternal bliss 
 upon all who worthily receive it, while it brings everlasting damnation to those 
 who unworthily approach it. Grant, O divine Lord, that, receiving it always with 
 purity of heart and a fervent faith during life, I may one day hear from Thy ever 
 adorable lips the blessed invitation to life everlasting. 
 
 Acts of Hope and Desire. 
 
 1. O Divine and Living Bread, descended from heaven to be the sustenance 
 of my unworthy soul; Thou alone canst obtain for me the life of grace! grant that 
 
 1 may always nourish myself with Thee in life, spiritually and temporally! 
 
 2. O Celestial Food of the strong! I expect to find in Thee, and only in Thee, 
 power to strengthen my weakness and to enable me to walk steadily in the path 
 which leads to heaven! 
 
 3. O Mystical Vine! that sustains and consoles Thy chaste spouses, destroy in 
 me the impure lusts of the flesh; and grant me the grace to be preserved spotless 
 and undefiled in the midst of the temptations of the world. 
 
 4. O Heavenly Manna! which satiates every taste, even such as are the most 
 refined; shed bitterness around all the false pleasures of this world, and make 
 me seek the life of the truly just. 
 
 5. O All-Powerful Physician! Who in the ever adorable Sacrament of the Altar 
 hast provided a certain cure for all our diseases; speak but one word to my sickly 
 soul, and it will instantly be healed. 
 
 6. O Good Shepherd! Who hast offered Thy sacred life to save Thy flock, seek, 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 in mercy, this lost sheep, and bear it upon Thy loving shoulders in the true sheep- 
 fold, and never permit the enemy to allure it from Thy most tender service. 
 
 7. O King and Lord of our souls: ransom me from the accursed bondage of 
 Satan, with the inestimable price of Thy most precious blood, that both in life 
 and in death I may be entirely Thine. 
 
 8. O Lord Jesus Christ! chosen Intercessor of Thy heavenly Father, Thou 
 art the Holy One by excellence! I acknowledge that my sins deserve punishment; 
 but Thy voice is still more powerful, and I humbly hope it will obtain my pardon. 
 
 9. O supreme Pontiff! holy, undefiled, and exalted above the highest heavens, 
 who offerest continually upon our altars, and likewise in heaven, the all-atoning- 
 sacrifice, consummated for our redemption upon the cross, I most humbly present 
 myself before the throne of Thy divine Father, in union with Thy adorable self, — 
 base and unworthy in every respect though I be, — feeling certain that I will thus 
 obtain help in all my spiritual necessities. 
 
 10. O Lord of indescribable majesty and glory! thus veiled for our sanctifica- 
 tion in the most august and adorable Sacrament of the Altar, grant, I most humbly 
 implore Thee, that I may henceforward live concealed from the world and from ■ 
 myself, in the perpetual anticipation of Thy coming upon the last day in power 
 and majesty; and deserve through these means to share in the happy lot of the 
 blessed. 
 
 Acts of Love and Oblation. 
 
 1. O unspeakable mystery of the love of God for sinful man! what should 
 hinder me from loving Thee with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my 
 strength ? 
 
 2. O adorable Lord, mighty in power, in wisdom, and in goodness! Thou hast 
 been prodigal of all Thy precious treasures, that Thou mightest enrich us with 
 this divine Sacrament. What, then, can I offer Thee in compensation for so stu- 
 pendous a gift ? 
 
 3. By a miracle the most sublime, Thou changest bread into Thy ever adorable 
 body, and wine into Thy sacred blood, in order to become my food and drink; ohE 
 change the hardness of my sinful heart into an equal tenderness and fervent love 
 for Thee! 
 
 4. O most sacred Lord Jesus ! upon the self-same night in which all the powere 
 of darkness and of Thy earthly persecutors were exercised to put Thee to death,, 
 Thou didst bequeath to us, ungrateful sinners, this exalted proof of Thy infinite 
 love. O how greatly has Thy inexhaustible charity triumphed over our base 
 perfidy! 
 
 5. O most wonderful and hidden union of my Lord Jesus with my weak nature! 
 I am, as it were, united in spirit with Him; O who can separate me from the love 
 of my divine Lord! 
 
 6. My beloved with me and I with Him ! the Lord Jesus liveth in me and I in 
 Him! may, then, all my life be united in service to my divine Lord, until death 
 unite me with Him forever! 
 
 7. The union perfected in the communion of Thy adorable flesh nourishes in 
 my frame the holy seeds of my future resurrection, Alas! why cannot I subdue 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 entirely all my base and unworthy passions, in order to merit so exalted a dignity ? 
 
 8. O Proof the most certain of my happy immortality in the glory of the heavenly 
 paradise, grant that I may never forfeit so inestimable a joy! 
 
 9. O sweet Bond of charity! which unitest all the faithful in one communion, 
 vouchsafe to make us but one body and one soul, so that we may ever praise, bless, 
 and love Thee upon earth, in order that we may equally desire to be allowed to 
 praise, bless, and glorify Thee in heaven! 
 
 10. O divine Fire of celestial charity ! that came from heaven to earth, to inflame 
 mankind with Thy holy love, we beseech Thee to diffuse Thy sacred love upon all 
 the children of the Church, that they may be inflamed with that same ardent love 
 which is felt by the blessed inhabitants of heaven. 
 
 Our Lord Jesus, the Lamb 0} God. 
 
 1. O Lamb of God! that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon 
 all unhappy sinners, enable them to feel their misery, give them a sincere contrition 
 for their sins, cleanse them from every imperfection, by the virtue of this most 
 precious blood which Thou, O Holy and Immaculate Holocaust, hast shed for them, 
 in order that they may deserve to seat themselves at Thy heavenly banquet with 
 stainless souls. 
 
 2. O Lamb of God, who, through the efl&cacy of Thy sacred blood, hast obtained 
 for us every grace, that we may be preserved from sin, vouchsafe to strengthen us 
 all in the paths of justice, sustain us in danger, render us unconquerable in our 
 temptations, support us in the hours of affliction, and preserve us faithful in all 
 trials, that we may more frequently be united vnih Thee in the divine Sacrament of 
 the Altar, and deserve, m our latest moments, to receive the holy Viaticum, and 
 merit the inestimable gift of holy perseverance. 
 
 3. O Lamb of God ! Who brought down true peace upon the earth, and merited 
 for us the happiness of eternal peace in heaven, vouchsafe to protect Thy holy 
 Church, defend it against Thy enemies, and sustain with Thy divine aid its tem- 
 poral Head, together with all the bishops and ministers of the sanctuary, as well 
 as all classes of the community! pour forth Thy holy benediction upon us all, 
 removing far from us all wars, enmities, and disagreements in our families! and 
 diffuse order, peace, and harmony amongst us, that, our hearts being united with 
 Thee and with our neighbors, we may deserve to rest one day tranquUly upon Thy 
 tender and loving bosom forever! 
 
 Act of Divine Faith. 
 
 O supreme and ever adorable Majesty, who didst create me in order to honor, 
 love, and serve Thee upon earth, and, finally, to reign with Thee in heaven, behold 
 me most humbly prostrate before Thy sacred throne to offer Thee my most humble 
 adorations, and to acknowledge Thee most devoutly for my true God, the one only 
 ruler of the world, the beginning of my being, the single object of my longing, the 
 supreme source of all my happiness, and the only fountain from which flows the 
 waters of everlasting life! I adore Thee with unbounded respect, and submit 
 my mind to receive all the sacred truths which Thou hast revealed. I believe all 
 
 180 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 that the holy Roman Catholic Church proposes to my belief, and reject all that 
 she condemns. I obediently admit and acknowledge whatsoever she teaches, and 
 desire to end my life in submissive communion with her whom I recognize as my 
 true spiritual mother. I believe in a particular manner the truths she requires 
 me to believe, and am willing to defend and sustain them at the sacrifice of my 
 life, — viz., that there is but one God in three persons, equally distinct in all their 
 attributes, but possessing the same qualities, the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost; that this great God has created all things which exist; that He guides and 
 sustains everything; that He will pronounce a final judgment upon all that have 
 ever lived upon earth, and that He will reward the good and punish the wicked 
 according to their deeds, with everlasting punishments or rewards. I believe that 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, His ever adorable Son, is true God 
 and true man; that He has existed with His divine Father from all eternity; that 
 He was begotten in time as man, of the most holy Virgin Mary, His true mother. 
 I believe that He came into the world to enlighten us by His doctrine, to edify and 
 instruct us by His example, to redeem us by His death, to enrich us through His 
 mercies, to purify us by His grace, and to impart to us supreme happiness by His 
 glory. I believe that the soul of man is immortal, that the grace of God is essential 
 to our salvation, and that our adorable Redeemer instituted seven sacraments for 
 the sanctification of our souls. I believe that our divine Saviour is truly and sub- 
 stantially present in the most august and venerable Sacrament of the Altar, that it 
 really contains His most sacred body. His blood. His soul, His humanity, and His 
 divinity; and that whosoever eats it unworthily, eats and drinks his own condem- 
 nation. I believe with the most unbounded confidence these truths, and all others 
 proposed to my belief, because Thou, O Lord, hast revealed them, and because 
 Thou art infinite wisdom, and the supreme source of everlasting truth. Thou, 
 O Lord, canst not be deceived in Thy judgments, nor yet canst Thou lead Thy 
 creatures into error. 
 
 Act of Hope. 
 
 O God of mercy and charity, infinite Abyss of bounty, and overflowing Fountain 
 of divine forgiveness, I distrust myself, but hope for all mercy from Thee, because 
 Thy clemency immeasurably exceeds my transgressions. I feel terrified at the 
 sight of Thy justice, but I am restored to confidence when I reflect upon Thy 
 inexhaustible charity; and in this attribute I take refuge. Whenever I reflect upon 
 my many wanderings, I am overcome with fear, but when I call to mind all the 
 bitter sufferings Thou didst endure for me, and Thy infinite merits, which are 
 all Thine own and which cannot be gainsaid, O my divine Redeemer, I feel in my 
 poor heart a ray of hope and of courage; for Thou hast offered Thy life in atone- 
 ment for my sins, and hast promised me a full forgiveness, if I have a contrite 
 and repentant heart, and that I now most fervently and humbly present to Thee. 
 Casting my eyes upon my own wretchedness, I acknowledge myself unworthy of 
 so many favors. But when I reflect upon Thy inexhaustible mercy, when I think 
 that Thou art the source and origin of my being, that I am the labor of Thy divine 
 hands, the breath of Thy sacred lips, the sigh of Thy sacred heart, the inestimable 
 price of Thy ever adorable blood and cruel death; these seem to me great and 
 
 i8i 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 powerful motives to hope for all things. Ah, yes, my God, I feel that Thou hast 
 firmly planted this hope in my breast. Thou hast assured it to me many times 
 by Thy prophets, saying that in the same moment in which the sinner rebels against 
 Thee, Thou tumest upon him a look of pity, and the instant in which he feels 
 repentant, at that moment Thou no longer rememberest them; so that, with his 
 firet penitential sighs and tears, Thou answerest his supplications. And then, 
 
 Lord, Thou never rejectest a contrite and humble heart. O my God and my 
 Father, I, alas! have not until the present moment truly known Thee! I have con- 
 ceived a terrif3ing opinion of Thy justice, but now I have learned the depth of Thy 
 divine mercy. No matter how grievous has been the weight of my crimes, they 
 cannot equal the extent of Thy all-merciful charity. However desolate my spirit 
 may become, I will hope in Thy loving mercy; and whenever I fall into any abyss 
 of aflBiction, I will invoke Thy all-boundless clemency, and reject every temptation 
 to despair. Ah: do not, most dear Lord, permit me to be shipwrecked in the bark 
 of despair, like Cain and Judas. Defend me, I implore Thee, from such an out- 
 rage against the Holy Spirit. Grant, also, I beg of Thee, that I may be armed 
 against all vain presumption of Thy mercy, as well as of despair of the pardon of 
 my sins, that I may never yield unhappily to one or other of these excesses. 
 
 Act of Love. 
 
 O God of my heart! O Beloved of my soul! why cannot I love Thee always! 
 Can there be a greater happiness than to love Thee ? Can there be a greater mis- 
 iortune than not to love Thee ? Canst Thou threaten me with a greater punish- 
 iment than to deprive me of Thy love ? How is it possible not to love a God infinitely 
 ♦good, a God who has loved us without any reward, affectionately and constantly, 
 a God Who is infinitely holy, a God of boundless perfections, a God Who has con- 
 ferred upon us immeasurable blessings, a God Who desires to render us holy and 
 blessed only by His divine grace; — and yet I do not seem to experience within 
 my heart even the slightest spark of divine love. I am all inflamed with impure 
 affection towards creatures, and indifferent to Thy service; I am proud, passionate, 
 envious, hasty, immortified, and slothful; my faith is weak, my hope inconstant; 
 
 1 cannot endure any trial ; how then can I expect salvation while I live thus ? O 
 my God, how long wilt Thou neglect this wretched creature ? Too late to have 
 loved Thee, O beauty ever ancient, and yet always new! But grant, O Lord, that 
 I may no longer feel languor in serving Thee, in praising Thee, or in loving Thee! 
 I humbly entreat Thee, from this moment, to remove me from this world, rather 
 than allow me to live without loving Thee. Ah! from this hour, I will, by the aid 
 of Thy most holy grace, think only of Thee, desire only Thee, labor for Thee alone, 
 and breathe purely for Thy service. 
 
 Act of Contrition. 
 
 There can be no greater subject for wonder, O divine Lord, than the considera- 
 tion of the extraordinary meekness with which Thou hast endured my amazing 
 insolence in the outrages I have so frequently offered to Thy divine Majesty. How- 
 ever, as a slight reparation, I now come most humbly to adore Thee, seated as 
 Thou art in this temple, upon Thy throne, surrounded by a countless host of angels 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 and blessed spirits. They, contemplating Thy infinite power, tremble with awe 
 and reverence, and without ceasing repeat exultingly, "Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord 
 God of Hosts! Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord!" And not 
 satisfied with this act of homage, they veil their faces, and, prostrating themselves 
 before Thy supreme Majesty, acknowledge themselves as unworthy to appear 
 before Thy throne. But I, a wretched worm of the earth, whilst Thou art thus 
 recognized and adored, at least with reverence and love, I, a most miserable being, 
 continue to outrage Thee. Alas! nothing can exceed my wickedness in thus 
 offending Thee, or prove more efficaciously Thy mercy in thus patiently bearing 
 with me. Whenever I am so unhappy as to fall into sin, I do not deserve that this 
 earth of ours should any longer hold me, that the wonderful works of nature should 
 any longer contribute to my happiness, that the sun should shed his blessed beams 
 upon me, but rather that he should consume me with his burning rays when I 
 happen to be beneath their influence. Yet Thou, O merciful Redeemer, dost 
 tender me forgiveness, and art the first to make me overtures of reconciliation. O 
 wonderful clemency! O meekness incomprehensible! Listen, O ye saints of the 
 celestial kingdom, to my most humble resolution. In order to correspond, how- 
 ever inadequately, to such great love, I promise, with the help of divine grace, that 
 deep and fathonaless as is the abyss of hell, so equally enduring shall be my hatred 
 and detestation of sin, and merely because it is an outrage to the majesty of my divine 
 Creator. Not all the powers of this world, with the help of the divine assistance 
 will be able to cause me to relapse into it, even though I should feel certain that I 
 would never be punished. In all the days which yet remain to me in life, I desire 
 to attach myself only to Thee, O divine Lord, because Thou alone art the source 
 of happiness. These eyes, O Lord, these faithless hands, this wretched tongue, 
 this miserable body of corruption, which have formerly been the instruments of 
 so many crimes, I desire may henceforward be the medium of my true contrition ! 
 And I most humbly supplicate Thee, O divine Redeemer, that, for the glory and 
 honor of Thy adorable name, and in virtue of Thy divine assurance to aid us in our 
 good resolutions. Thou wilt grant that I may faithfully fulfil them all. Join mercy 
 to mercy; change, I implore Thee, my sinful heart, in order that great as have 
 been in former days my errors and wanderings, equally great also may be my zeal 
 for the extension of our Holy Religion for the remainder of my life, beginning now, 
 and ending only in eternity. 
 
 Act of Adoration and Praise. 
 
 Acknowledging, O Lord, the extent of Thy almighty power, and awe-struck 
 in contemplating the exalted glory of Thy infinite majesty, I most humbly prostrate 
 myself before Thy sacram.ental throne. I adore Thee, here present, O living God, 
 as my firet beginning; I worship Thee, with the most profound veneration, O my 
 God, king of kings, sovereign ruler of all centuries, creator and judge of the entire 
 human race! I adore Thee most humbly, O God of all power, infinite, supreme, 
 everlasting, immortal, indescribable, and incomprehensible! The entire world in 
 Thy sight appears but as a grain of sand upon the sea-shore, or like a glistening 
 drop of dew that falls in the mommg upoii the fields. Thou art, O Lord, a being 
 of whose majesty no mortal can form a just idea; Thou alone, Lord of glory, 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 canst fathom and appreciate Thy own greatness; Thou art the origin of all created 
 objects, and by Thy power alone all things in nature exist. Thou art the sacred 
 fountain from whose perennial source every blessing flows, and which maintains 
 itself solely by its own divine power. Thou O Lord, art the commencement, the 
 end, the foundation of all that possesses life, the centre of all creation, and hast not 
 nor canst have any limit. Thou art the divine author of all that I behold in nature, 
 pure and holy in Thy essence, creating from nothing all that has existence. Thou 
 alone art the source of true beauty, which embellishes all that is comely; the true 
 origin of all happiness, the principle of all that is valuable. Thou didst create 
 the sun to give light to the earth, heat to warm Thy creatures, water to refresh 
 them, bread to nourish them, all that the earth produces for their sustenance, and 
 all that is lovely in nature to gladden their hearts; and, finally, Thou art a being 
 incomprehensible, yet seeing everything; invisible, yet beholding all things; indi- 
 visible, yet uniting all things; inapproachable, yet ruling all things; eternal, yet 
 giving life to all things; immovable, yet animating all things; unchangeable, yet 
 ever altering all things else. Thou dwell est within Thy own essence; Thou hast 
 Thy happiness within Thyself. Thou art sufl&cient for Thyself, and findest all 
 within Thyself; everlasting, yet without duration; all and entire, but without divi- 
 sion. Thou art in every place without being separated; abiding in everything, 
 and yet not enclosed; removed from Thy creatures and yet not distant. Thou 
 art higher than all created objects, yet not exalted. Thou art beneath everything 
 and yet not humbled. In Thee I live, I dwell, I move. In Thee I rest. I am 
 always with Thee, and Thou art constantly with me. And notwithstanding all 
 this, I do not think sufficiently of Thee. I feel animated with but little love for 
 Thee. I think of myself only, I am only solicitous for my own requirements. O 
 dreadful injustice, O intolerable ingratitude! Thy essence is goodness itself; Thy 
 greatness is majesty; Thy life is fruitfulness; Thy wisdom is just. Thou sanctifiest 
 the will, enlightenest the mind; Thy only disposition is to love. Thou art ever 
 present, yet never seen; always in motion, yet ever calm; always giving away Thy 
 treasures, yet ever equally wealthy. Thou art, O Lord, goodness without envy; 
 beauty without defect; perfection without blemish; wisdom without false judgment; 
 strength without weakness; plenty without want; glory without imperfection; 
 happiness without alloy; and peace without uneasiness. But, with all these attri- 
 butes, how little, O Lord, do I love Thee! And yet Thou possessest within Thy 
 own essence every source of blessing, and I have not discovered outside of Thee 
 aught else capable of giving me the least happiness. Alas! my heart is strangely 
 covetous, not to be satisfied, with Thee, O most merciful Redeemer, and grievously 
 in error not to repose in Thee alone all its felicity. O my Lord and my God, I 
 love Thee now above all created objects ! I desire to love Thee with all my heart, 
 because Thou alone art my joy, supreme source of pleasure, the beginning of my 
 being, the centre of my happiness. I will seek for nothing outside of Thy divine 
 love. In Thee alone shall I in future find all that I can desire. 
 
 Familiar Conversation with Our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 O Lord Jesus, infinitely amiable. Thou art the most beautiful amongst the 
 children of men, the most powerful of monarchs, the most loving of parents, the 
 
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®UR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 most faithful of friends, the most indulgent of masters, the most tender of spouses, 
 a pastor the most anxious and the most watchful ! Thou hast solicitude for all 
 my wants, governing all things by Thy wisdom, shielding me by Thy omnipotent 
 power. Thou art the shepherd that leads me into rich and luxuriant pastures, 
 where I find abundance of healthy food; Thou openest for my heart this fount of 
 living water, which alone can slake my thirst; Thou healest me when I am sick, 
 protectest me when I am wronged ; Thou raisest me up when I am trampled upon, 
 seekest me out and leadest me back when I have gone astray; Thou didst, for my 
 sake, descend from heaven and become man, endure sorrow, and finally suffer 
 death. For me Thou didst humble Thyself to become an infant, poor and desti- 
 tute; Thou didst undergo painful labors during a period of three and thirty years; 
 suflEeredst every kind of insult and outrage; and in fine, didst pour out Thy most 
 adorable blood, even to the last drop. Not a thorn belonging to Thy martyr's 
 crown, none of the wounds inflicted upon Thy adorable body, not an instant of 
 Thy sad sufferings and bitter agony upon the cross, that do not belong to me. 
 Thou didst leave Thy place in heaven to suffer and die for my salvation; Thou hast 
 always a tender watchfulness over me now, and hast given charge to Thy angels 
 to guard me, — they descending upon the earth for this single purpose, to become 
 my guides, my protectors, my companions, and my support. Thou knockest 
 constantly at the door of my unworthy heart, in order to enter it and render it per- 
 fectly happy by uniting it to Thine! And I should be, O Lord, the most ungrateful, 
 the most abandoned of men, not to offer my humble heart to Thee, and consecrate 
 it entirely to Thy service. How is it possible not to love Thee, who art so bountiful 
 a father, so faithful a friend, so powerful a king, a pastor so loving, a master sO' 
 indulgent, a spouse so tender and so perfect! Yet notwithstanding all my obliga- 
 tions, I love Thee so little, or, rather, do not love Thee at all ; for I basely violate 
 Thy sacred laws, and also sin against my neighbor, who is so precious in Thy sight;, 
 and when, in addition, to all these reasons to influence my fidelity, all manland are 
 certain that their actions, even the most secret, are manifest to Thy all-seeing eye, 
 I do not even spend a thought upon Thee, nor do I anything to promote Thy glory. 
 I cannot even remain for the brief space of one hour in Thy ever adorable presence: 
 without being distracted, if not irreverent, when all my senses should be fully recol- 
 lected; and I constantly prefer to Thy most tender yoke the accursed slavery of the 
 devil. If I love Thee it is with a cold affection, more apparent than real, more 
 by my lips than by my meritorious deeds. O love above all love, O most Sacred 
 Heart, exalted above all hearts, grant that I may love Thee as Thou deservest to 
 be loved, and even as Thou hast vouchsafed to love me, though so unworthy. 
 Cursed be he who does not love Thee, O merciful Lord Jesus Christ, Thee to whom 
 no created being can be compared. 
 
 Act of Supplication. 
 
 O merciful God! grant me the grace to love with fervor what and only what 
 pleases Thee. ; Vouchsafe to regulate the condition of my future life; grant that I 
 may know what I should do; and give me, O Lord, the grace to fulfil it in the manner 
 which may best suit the future well-being of my soul. Grant that I may be always 
 faithful to Thee in prosperity as in adversity; in joy as in sorrow; that I may have 
 
 i8S 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 TK) anxiety to please or displease other than Thee, O Lord; that so from Thy 
 bounty, that I may seek no happiness outside of Thee; render agreeable, if it 
 please Thee, O Lord, every toil that I undergo for love of Thee, and make 
 burthensome every pleasure that I seek unconnected with Thee. Grant me the 
 grace, O Lord, to raise my heart to Thee; and whenever I may have the misfortune 
 to fall into sin, grant me strength to return quickly to Thy service, with a sincere 
 desire to amend. Grant, O most merciful Lord that I may become obedient, 
 poor in spirit, chaste, patient, and sincerely humble. Grant that I may rejoice 
 in moderation, and that I may sustain my trials without murmuring. Grant that 
 I may be thoughtful without severity, joyous without levity, timid without despair, 
 and prudent without deceit. Grant that I may do good without ostentation ; that 
 I may correct my neighbor without harshness or pride; that I may give edification 
 by my conversation and good example without affectation. Give me, O good and 
 merciful Redeemer, a heart ever watchful, that no subtle or dangerous fancy may 
 turn away my thoughts from Thy service. Grant me a noble and generous spirit, 
 that no base affection may ever gain the ascendency over me; a just heart, in order 
 that no deceitful intention may bind or overthrow it ; a heart altogether free, innocent, 
 and sufiSciently strong not to succumb to any irregular or disgraceful passion. 
 Grant me, I beseech Thee, O Lord, intelligence that I may understand, wisdom that 
 I may discover, and grace that I may follow the life which pleases Thee. Grant 
 that I may deserve to be made a participator in Thy sorrows, through the means 
 of penance, in order that I may pass through this life of exile in Thy friendship, 
 by means of Thy holy grace, and deserve one day to enjoy the blissful vision of Thy 
 sublime glory, O good Lord Jesus, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth 
 and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen. 
 
 An Abridgment 0} all the Acts of Religion. 
 
 My God, I believe in Thee, do Thou strengthen my faith; I hope in Thee, 
 confirm my hope; I love Thee, increase my love; I am sorry for having offended 
 Thee, grant me a deeper sorrow; I adore Thee as my first beginning, I aspire to 
 Thee as my last end, I thank Thee as my constant benefactor, I call upon Thee, 
 as my true and almighty protector. 
 
 My God, vouchsafe to direct me by Thy wisdom, to govern me by Thy clemency, 
 and to shelter me by Thy omnipotence, in order that I may be altogether Thy 
 servant, in conformity to the promises I made at my baptism, when I renounced 
 the devil and his works, the world with its false charms, and the flesh, with all its 
 concupiscences. I consecrate to Thee all my thoughts, my words, my actions, 
 and my humble sufferings, promising from this time forward to think only of Thee, 
 to speak but of Thee, to labor solely for Thy honor, and to suffer for Thy name's 
 sake alone. Lord, I desire only what is conformable to Thy own merciful desires, 
 that it may be accomplished in the manner Thou wishest, and in the time Thou 
 orderest, and I form this wish because such is Thy adorable will. My God, en- 
 lighten my understanding, inflame my will, cleanse my heart, and remove every 
 stain from my soul. Strengthen me, O Lord, to punish myself for my past infi- 
 delities, to overcome future temptations, to subdue my predominant passion, and 
 to practise faithfully the virtues which are necessary to work out my salvation. 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Grant that my heart may love above all things Thy boundless goodness, and that 
 through a sincere love of Thee I may love my neighbor, detest my sins, and despise 
 the world. Render me, O Lord, humble and submissive to my superiors, consid- 
 erate towards my inferiors, patient towards my equals, charitable and indulgent 
 towards my enemies. Vouchsafe me Thy divine help to overcome the desire 
 for pleasure by mortification, meanness by liberality, anger by meekness, pride 
 by humility, coldness by fervor. My God, grant me prudence in my undertakings, 
 fortitude in danger, patience in trials, and humility in every fortunate occurrence. 
 Grant that I may ever be fervent in prayer, temperate in living, diligent in my 
 employments, and faithful to all my good resolutions. Vouchsafe me Thy help to 
 overcome my evil habits, and strength to conform my conduct to the inspirations 
 of grace, that I may observe Thy commandments, and finally deserve eternal sal- 
 vation. My God, grant me the grace to keep ever before my mind the miseries of 
 this world, the happiness of heaven, the shortness of time, and the duration of 
 eternity. Finally, O Lord, grant me the grace to prepare worthily for death, by 
 a salutary fear of Thy judgments, that I may escape hell, and deserve paradise, 
 as I most humbly desire and hope I may do, through the all-powerful merits of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom, in union with the Father and the Holy Ghost, 
 be honor, praise, and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 187 
 
QUESTIONS OF CATHOLIC FAITH. 
 
 A collection of timely questions and answers of interest to both old and young. 
 
 How should we hear Mass ? 
 
 With the greatest respect, attention and devotion, it being one of the most 
 important acts of the Christian life. 
 
 What is the Church? 
 
 It is the temple of the living God, not merely because it is dedicated to HKs 
 service, but because He dwells therein. It is at all times holy, and is therefore 
 always to be entered with the respect due to the house of God. 
 
 What significance has the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? 
 
 The sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacrifice of the Cross are essentially one and 
 the same, the only difference being in the manner in which the Sacrifice is offered. 
 
 Wherein does this difference consist ? 
 
 Jesus Christ offered Himself on the Cross in a bloody manner; that is, He 
 suffered, bled, and died; while in the Holy Mass He offers Ilimself in an unbloody 
 manner, that is, without suffering, bleeding or dying. 
 
 Is it important to attend Mass ? 
 
 So important, that the Church pronounces him guilty of mortal sin who vdl- 
 fully neglects to hear Mass on Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation. 
 
 What should we do, when we are not reading our prayer lx)ok at Mass ? 
 
 We should keep our eyes fixed on the altar on which the Adorable Sacrifice is 
 offered, and never gaze thoughtlessly about the Church, or engage in conversation. 
 
 Why do we observe the Ember Days? 
 
 To consecrate to God the four seasons of the year by penance; to obtain His 
 blessing on the fruits of the earth, and to beg of Him worthy ministers of the Church. 
 
 What ceremony generally takes place on Ember Saturday ? 
 
 The ordination of clergymen. 
 
 What is the meaning of the word Alleluia ? 
 
 It is derived from the Hebrew, and means "Praise the Lord." In the Apoca- 
 lypse, St. John mentions that he heard the angels singing it in heaven. 
 
 What is attrition ? 
 
 It is an imperfect sorrow for sin. 
 
 What are the motives of attrition ? 
 
 The fear of hell, the loss of heaven, the turpitude of sin. The sorrow which 
 makes a man renounce sin because he is afraid of hell, while at the same time he 
 would be ready to offend God if he could do so vwthout incurring the penalty. 
 
 What does the baptismal name signify? 
 That the baptized person has become a new creature in Christ. 
 
 What is the meaning of the words Benedicamus Domino? 
 
 Let us bless the Lord. 
 
 i88 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 What is the birretta? 
 
 A square cap with three or sometimes four projecting corners rising from its 
 crown. It is worn by the priest as he approaches the altar to say Mass. The 
 birretta worn by the Pope is white; that of a cardinal red; bishop's, purple. 
 
 What are the cardinal virtues ? 
 
 Prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. 
 
 What does the word casuistry mean? 
 
 The science which deals with cases of conscience. 
 
 What is a catechist ? 
 
 A name originally given to those who instructed persons preparing for baptism. 
 
 When are white vestments used at Mass ? 
 
 On all feasts of our Lord, of confessors and virgins, to signify their spotless 
 innocence. 
 
 When are red vestments used ? 
 
 On the festival of the Holy Ghost, Who, in the form of fiery tongues, descended 
 on the apostles, and on the festivals of the apostles and martyrs, because they shed 
 their blood for religion. 
 
 When are purple or violet vestments used ? 
 
 In times of mourning, Lent, Advent, etc. 
 
 When are green vestments used ? 
 
 On Sundays on which the proper office is said. 
 
 When are black vestments used ? 
 
 In Masses for the dead, and on Good Friday. 
 
 Why do we make a reverence to the Altar ? 
 
 Because it is the seat of Divine mysteries, and a figure of Christ, Who is not 
 only our Priest and Sacrifice, but our altar, too, as we offer our prayers and sacri- 
 fices through Him. 
 
 Why is there always a crucifix on the altar? 
 
 Because the Mass is said in remembrance of Christ's passion and death, and 
 priest and people may have before their eyes, during the sacrifice, the image that 
 reminds them of His passion and death. 
 
 Why are candles lighted upon the altar during Mass ? 
 
 To honor the victory and triumphs of Jesus Christ which there is celebrated, 
 as tokens of our joy and His glory. 
 
 Why is the little bell rung at intervals during the Mass ? 
 
 To direct the attention of the faithful to certain events in this great Sacrifice, 
 and also to warn those who cannot see the priest of the particular parts of the pas- 
 sion they are celebrating. 
 
 Why is Mass celebrated in Latin ? 
 
 Because it is the ancient language of the Church and for a greater uniformity 
 in the public worship so that a Christian, in whatever country he may be, may still 
 find the liturgy performed in the same manner. 
 
 Lesson XIII., Matt. xv. 21-31. 
 
 Who was Aaron? 
 
 He was brother of Moses, and the first high priest of the Jews. 
 
 189 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 What does the word anathema signify ? 
 
 It means the devoting of an animal, person or place to destruction. 
 
 What does antichrist mean ? 
 
 A false teacher, hostile to the Church of Christ, and to the precepts and spirit 
 of His religion. 
 
 Who were first called the apostles ? 
 
 The twelve chief disciples of our Lord. 
 
 What was the Ark? 
 
 A vessel constructed by Noah, at God's command, for the preservation of him- 
 self and family, and a stock of various animals, etc., when the earth was devastated 
 by the flood. 
 
 What is atonement? 
 
 This word means reconciliation, satisfaction, reparation, or expiation. 
 
 What was the greatest atonement ever made ? 
 
 The great atonement made for sin by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christy 
 upon the cross. 
 
 Who were the catechumens? 
 
 Those who were being instructed and prepared for baptism. 
 
 What is a catafalque? 
 
 An erection like a bier placed during Masses of the dead, when the corpse 
 itself is not there, in the center of the church, surrounded with candles, and cov- 
 ered with black cloth. 
 
 Who is the celebrant of the Mass ? 
 
 The priest who actually offers Mass, as distinct from others who assist him in 
 doing so. 
 
 What is the chasuble ? 
 
 The chief garment of a priest celebrating Mass. It is worn outside the other 
 vestments. 
 
 What is the chrism? 
 
 Olive oil mixed with balm, blessed by the bishop and used by the Church in 
 confirmation as well as in baptism, ordination, consecration of churches, etc. 
 
 What does the oil and balm signify ? 
 
 The oil signifies the fulness of grace; the balm, incorruption, and the "good 
 odor of Christ." 
 
 What are the six principal commandments of the Church? 
 
 I. To keep Sundays and holydays of obligation holy, by hearing Mass, and rest- 
 ing from servile work. 2. To keep the days of fasting and abstinence appointed by 
 the Church. 3. To go to confession at least once a year. 4. To receive the Blessed 
 Sacrament at least once a year, and that at Easter. 5. To contribute to the sup- 
 port of our pastors. 6. Not to marry within certain degrees of kindred; not to 
 solemnize marriage at the forbidden times. 
 
 What is a conclave ? 
 
 The term is applied both to the place where the Cardinals assemble for the 
 selection of a new Pope, and to the assembly itself. 
 
 Who were the Evangelists ? 
 
 The authors of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 What is the meaning of the word Feria ? 
 
 It is a name given in the ecclesiastical calendar to all days of the week except 
 Sunday and Saturday. 
 
 What is the frontal of the altar? 
 
 An embroidered cloth which often covers the front side of the altar. The color 
 varies with the feast or season. 
 
 What is the girdle? 
 
 A cord with which the priest binds his alb. It is the symbol of continence 
 and self-restraint. 
 
 What is the gradual ? 
 
 An antiphon sung after the Epistle, and so called because it was sung on the 
 altar steps. It is also called the responsory. 
 
 What is the gremiale ? 
 
 A piece of cloth, adorned with gold or silver lace, which is placed on the bishop's- 
 lap when he sits in celebrating Mass or conferring orders. 
 
 What is the humeral veil ? 
 
 An oblong scarf of the samelnaterial as the vestments worn by the sub-deacon 
 at High Mass, when he holds the paten, between the Offertor}' and Pater Noster," 
 by the priest when he raises the monstrance to give benediction with the Blessed 
 Sacrament: and by priests and deacons when they remove the Blessed Sacrament, 
 from one place to another, or carry it in procession. 
 
 What is the H5T3ostatic Union ? 
 
 The union of Christ's human nature to the hypostasis or person of God the 
 Word. 
 
 What is a concordat ? 
 
 A treaty between the Holy See and a secular state, touching the conservation 
 and promotion of the interests of religion in that state. 
 
 What is a confraternity ? 
 
 An association, generally of laymen, having some work of devotion, charity 
 or instruction for its object, undertaken for the glory of God. 
 
 What is the corporal used at Mass ? 
 
 The linen cloth on which the body of Christ is consecrated. 
 
 What is the credence used at High Mass? 
 
 A table on which the cruets with wine and water, etc., are placed, and from 
 which they are taken when required for use in the function. It should be on the. 
 epistle side of the altar. 
 
 What does the word discalced mean, practised by certain religious orders ? 
 
 Going without shoes — barefoot. 
 
 What is dogma, in its theological sense ? 
 
 A truth contained in the Word of God, written or unwritten. 
 
 What is the dove a symbol of ? 
 
 The Holy Ghost, Who appeared at Christ's Baptism under that form. 
 
 What is an encyclical in the ecclesiastical sense ? 
 
 It is a letter addressed by the Pope to all the bishops of the Church on certaia 
 occasions. 
 
 191 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 DEVOTION FOR EACH DAY OF THE WEEK. 
 
 Sunday, the Holy Trinity. 
 Monday, the Souls in Purgatory. 
 Tuesday, the Guardian Angels. 
 Wednesday, St. Joseph. 
 Thursday, the Blessed Sacrament. 
 Friday, the Sacred Heart and the Passion. 
 Saturday, the Blessed Virgin. 
 
 JANUARY, MONTH OF THE INFANT JESUS. 
 
 jAmjARY had originally twenty-nine days, and Julius Caesar added two more. 
 It was called by the Saxons ^fter-Yula, or After-Christmas. The Greeks called 
 it Anthesterion, which means flowery, from the quantities of flowers used at the 
 feast of Bacchus, which was celebrated in this month. It was known by the 
 Scandinavians as the month of Thor. The present name, January, is derived 
 from the Latin, Janus, who was called by the ancients, "the door-keeper of heaven." 
 The name indicates that it is the gate of the year. The church has dedicated this 
 month to the Holy Infancy of Our Redeemer. The year now begun may be the 
 last of your life. Were a voice from heaven to give you such a warning, how would 
 you regard this last year ? With what duties would it be filled, and what prepara- 
 tions you would make! It would be wise for us to act as if this was going to be 
 the last year of our life on earth. Let every day be spent so that they may bear 
 to heaven for us the record of duties done, and preparations made for our final 
 departure. Remember, "each day, each week, each month, each year, is a new 
 chance given you by God." 
 
 FEASTS AND SAINTS OF THE MONTH. 
 
 January ist is a day of Holy Obligation, the Feast of the Circumcision, the 
 day on which Our Lord received in His flesh the mark of the children of Abraham, 
 Our Lord submitted to this ceremony to show that He was truly man, descended 
 from Abraham and David, and to show us the respect we must have for the laws 
 of God and the Church. He received the name of Jesus, which signifies Saviour. 
 
 January 6th the Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany, the day on 
 which Our Lord was adored by the Magi. A miraculous star having appeared in 
 the east, the Magi, enlightened by grace, went to Bethlehem, prostrated themselves 
 before the Infant Jesus, and offered Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrfe. 
 
 ST. POLYCARP, JANUARY 26th. 
 
 St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, was the first victim of the persecution under 
 Marcus Aurelius. He was a disciple of St. John. His friends advised him to try 
 and escape; he yielded to their counsel, but his hiding place was soon discovered. 
 To the officers who came to arrest him, he gave both food and drink. They carried 
 him to Smyrna, into the presence of the proconsul, who said to the saint, "Blas- 
 pheme Jesus Christ." Polycarp made this beautiful reply: "It is now eighty-six 
 years that I serve Him; He has never done me any harm. On the contrary, 
 he has loaded me with favors. How can I blaspheme my King and my 
 
 192 
 

 
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ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, LOWELL. 
 
>ST. VINCENT DE PAUL TAKING THE PLACE OF A GALLEY-SLAVE. 
 
ST. JOSEPH'S PARISH, LYNN, MASS. 
 
 The second largest Catholic Congregation in Lynn is St. Joseph's, founded in 1874 
 by its present Rector, the Rev. John C. Harrington, P. R. The Church is an im- 
 posing brick and stone edifice. The School i.s one of the best equipped in the Diocese 
 with an attendance of about eight hundred children with the Sisters of St. Joseph as 
 instructors. The work of the Parish is shared by Revs. Michael F. Madden, Timothy 
 James Hurley and George Gately. In addition to the Church and School, Father 
 Harrington has erected a substantial Rectory and a Convent for the Sisters. 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Saviour?" The proconsul ordered him to be burnt aJive, but the flames did him 
 no harm. Then they struck him with a dagger, and the blood gushed forth, and 
 extinguished the fire, when he expired. 
 
 FEBRUARY, THE MONTH OF THE PASSION. 
 
 February was the month of Expiation among the ancient Romans, and de- 
 rived its name from an old verb jebruare, signifying to purge or purify. The fes- 
 tival of purification was introduced by Numa. During this month, too, the Lamb 
 of God, by His passion, made expiation for the sins of men, and hence it is rightly 
 styled the month of the passion. It is true that Lent does not always commence 
 with the early part of February, but the three preparatory Sundays at least warn 
 us of its approach. Those who wish to continue the devotions of January until 
 Ash Wednesday can easily do so, and begin the month of the passion on that day, 
 continuing it until Easter Sunday, and then take up the month of April with its 
 resurrection joys. Now we have spent a whole month at Nazareth; we have seen 
 that wonderful Child, so gentle, so patient, so meek, so silent; we have felt the beat- 
 ing of His burning heart, we have seen His tears, we have heard His prayers — is 
 it not enough? Must He suffer more? 
 
 SAINTS OF THE MONTH. 
 THE FEAST OF ST. BLASE, FEBRUARY 3rd. 
 
 St. Blase was Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, and was crowned with martyr^ 
 dom, A. D. 316. During his life-time God wrought many miracles through his 
 hands. Once a boy was brought to him whose life was in danger, he having 
 swallowed a fish-bone, which lodged in his throat. Taking two blessed candles, St. 
 Blase placed them cross-wise under the boy's throat, and made the sign of the 
 cross, and the boy was saved. When the priest touches the throat with the blessed 
 candles on February 3rd, he says, "Through the intercession of St. Blase, bishop 
 and martyr, may God free you from every evil of the throat, and from every other 
 evO, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." In re- 
 ceiving the blessing on St. Blase's day, we should first make an act of contrition, an 
 act of faith, and a promise to use ouV throats for the glory and service of God. 
 
 ST. VALENTINE, FEAST, FEBRUARY 14th. 
 
 Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who, with St. Marius and his family, 
 assisted the martyrs in the persecution under Claudius II. He was apprehended, 
 and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who, on finding all his promises 
 to make him renounce his faith ineffectual, commanded him to be beaten with clubs, 
 and afterward to be beheaded, which was executed on th» fourteenth of February, 
 
 ST. MATTHIAS, FEAST, FEBRUARY 24th. 
 
 St. Matthias was one of the twenty-two disciples and he was a constant 
 attendant on our Lord from the time of His baptism by St. John to His ascension. 
 St. Peter having in a general assembly of the faithful, declared the necessity of 
 choosing a twelfth apostle, to take the place of Judas, two were selected as most 
 worthy of the dignity, Joseph, called Barsabas, and Matthias. After devout prayer 
 to God, that He would direct them in their choice, they drew lots and Matthias 
 
 193 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHH^DREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 ■was successful. Judas' misfortune filled St. Matthias with humility and fervor, 
 lest he should also fall. St. Matthias received the Holy Ghost with the rest soon 
 after his election, and, after the dispersion of the disciples, applied himself with 
 zeal to converting nations to the faith. He suffered great hardship and labor 
 among a savage people and he finally received the crown of martyrdom in Ethiopia. 
 He was an humble servant of God, with a burning zeal for His glory and honor. 
 
 MARCH, THE MONTH OF ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 March is the month dedicated to St. Joseph, the foster-father of Our Lord. 
 In the heart of every devout Catholic there is always to be found a deep-seated 
 reverence and tenderness for St. Joseph. It would be impossible to love the Divine 
 Child and His Holy Mother, and exclude from our thoughts and affections him 
 who was the husband and protector of Mary, and guardian of her Son. We are 
 all under his protection, and we may call him father, for he has been declared 
 "Patron of the Universal Church." A generous advocate he has ever proved to 
 those who invoke him. He is never deaf to any humble prayer that is addressed 
 to him. He will always obtain for us what is best. Every one has a claim on him. 
 Other saints are invoked for special graces, but St. Joseph's intercession avails in 
 every necessity. 
 
 FEASTS AND SAINTS OF THE MONTH. 
 
 The Church celebrates on the 25th of March the Feast of the Annunciation 
 of the Blessed Virgin. The Archangel Gabriel being sent to Mary to announce to 
 her that she was to be the mother of God, said to her: "Hail full of grace, the Lord 
 is with thee, blessed art thou among women." 
 
 The Blessed Virgin, being troubled at these words, kept a modest silence, 
 thinking within herself what this salutation could mean. The angel, seeing that 
 she was troubled, hastened to relieve her anxiety, saying: "Fear not, Mary, for 
 thou hast found grace with God; the power of the Most High shall overshadow 
 thee; and thou shalt bring forth a son, and He shall be called the Son of God." 
 Mary, whose consent was necessary, humbly submitted, saying: "Behold the 
 hand-maid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word." And instantly 
 the Son of God was incarnated in the chaste womb of Mary. It is to this great 
 honor to Mary as Mother of God, that women are indebted for the position and 
 respect they enjoy since the preaching of the gospel, for before that time women 
 were considered as little better than slaves. 
 
 ST. PATRICK, MARCH 17th. 
 
 The labors of St. Patrick, and the story of the conversion of Ireland, are 
 familiar to our readers. A shepherd boy, an exile, tending flocks on the bleak 
 heights of Antrim, he received an order from heaven to leave his master, Milcho, and 
 repair to the shore, where a boat awaited him. The boy obeyed the call, and 
 after much suffering, reached France. He was there educated, trained, and 
 ordained. Years later we find him entering Rome, and receiving from the hands 
 of Pope Celestine his arduous and perilous mission — " Go forth from thy father's 
 house, and from thy kindred into the land that I shall show thee, and I will make 
 of thee a great people, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." 
 
 194 "" 
 
. OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND DESTITUTIONS. 
 
 '' St. Patrick landed in Leinster, made a few fruitless attempts to convert that 
 province, and then went to Ulster. Here he tried in vain to convert his former 
 master, and at last turned his steps toward Tara, where he was allowed by the 
 king to preach and exhort. The saint then went to Connaught, converted it, 
 crossed into Ulster, and completed his great mission in Leinster, Munster and 
 Armagh. Without a single martyrdom, a fact unparalleled in the history of the 
 Church, he had made known Him in Whose doctrine is to be found a solution to 
 every vexed question that bums and agitates mankind. If the ease and bloodless- 
 ness with which the faith was planted in Ireland is a characteristic of St. Patrick's 
 apostleship, the perpetuity of that same faith through centuries of untold persecu- 
 tion is another distinctive mark. Men, women and children have stood undaunted 
 before tyrants, confronting without fear the fire and sword, but the spectacle of a 
 nation immolated for its faith had never before been witnessed. There have been 
 saints and apostles who extended their influence over a wider range, but their con- 
 verts and their converts' children, have not guarded untainted for so long their 
 heritage of faith. 
 
 ST. JOSEPH, MARCH 19th. 
 Nothing is known of the details of the life of St. Joseph. We know that he 
 was poor though a descendant of the royal house of David, that he was by trade 
 a carpenter, and that he lived with Jesus and Mary at Nazareth. As head 
 of the Holy Family, as the guardian of Jesus and the protector of Mary, how great 
 must have been his holiness ! No office save that of Mary herself could be greater 
 or bring its incumbent more closely in union with God. Like the patriarch Joseph,,' 
 this great saint was set over the things of the king; more than this he was placed 
 over the King himself, for Jesus "was subject to him." (Luke n. 51.) This month 
 the Church pays special honor to him and we cannot do better than to pray, es- 
 pecially to him for our spiritual and temporal needs. He whom Jesus obeyed 
 on earth is certainly most powerful with Him in heaven. St. Teresa tells us 
 that she never invoked St. Joseph in vain. We should strive this month to increase 
 our devotion toward him. 
 
 APRIL, MONTH OF THE HOLY ANQELS. 
 
 In the ancient Alban calendar, in which the year was represented as consisting 
 of ten months of irregular length, April stood first, with thirty-six days to its credit. 
 In the calendar of Romulus, it had the second place, and was composed of thirty 
 days. Numa's twelre-month calendar assigned it the fourth place, with twenty- 
 nine days, and so it remained till Julius Caesar changed it to thirty days, as at 
 present. 
 
 APRIL 30th, ST. CATHERINE OF SIENNA. 
 
 In the street de I'Oca at Sienna, is a house of humble appearance, at the side 
 of which is a little chapel that attracts many pilgrims. This house in the beginning, 
 of the fourteenth century was the dwelling of a dyer named Giacomo di Benincasa, 
 and his wife was a good and pious woman. Catherine was one of a large family 
 of children, and she was her mother's favorite. 
 
 She early consecrated her virginity to God. Our Lord appeared to her in a. 
 vision with His Heart in His hand, and He placed it against her side, saying: "I 
 
 195 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 exchange My heart for thine," as He stamped on her body the print of His wounds. 
 She always wore a rough hair cloth next to her skin, and a large iron girdle with 
 sharp points, about her waist. 
 
 When she was twelve years old, St. Catherine's parents wished her to marry, 
 and she endured bitter persecution from her family for refusing. A few years 
 later she entered the Third Order of St. Dominic, but continued to reside with 
 her parents in the world, where she lived a life of active charity and contemplation, 
 and served Jesus Christ in the person of the poor, looking for no return save His love. 
 
 She was often sorely tempted by the Evil One, and once after such a trial, she 
 was conscious of the presence of Our Lord. "O my Saviour, my Lord, why didst 
 Thou forsake me?" she cried. "My child," He answered, "I have been with 
 thee through all." "What my Lord! in the midst of these vile thoughts and 
 foul imaginations?" "My child, yes, I was in thy heart all the while, for thy will 
 xiid not consent to the thoughts and images presented to thee." 
 
 ! MONTH OF THE SACRED HEART OF MARY. 
 
 We have now arrived at the month dedicated to the pure and immaculate Heart 
 ©f our Mother Mary — another month of grace and benediction, another month 
 of joy. There is no limit to our confidence in the heart of Mary. For it is the only 
 heart which breathed and burned for Jesus only, and, therefore, it is the heart we 
 should love above all others save His alone. The Heart of Mary! could we but 
 read it, what a volume of Divine Love we should find therein! From the first 
 earthly pulsation of her holy heart till the last, when she loved her life away, all, 
 all was for Jesus; and yet those who are aliens from the fold of the Church think it 
 strange that we should love her so much. Ah, me! the wonder is we love her so 
 little. Heart of our Mother, we will, we must love you! How often did not our 
 sweet Jesus lie cradled in' your arms, and close, oh! so close, to your sacred heart. 
 Sweet Mother, it is well for us that there was a heart so warm to love and comfort 
 Him; it is well for us that His infant head had whereon to rest. O, sweet Lady! 
 So long as your kind hands could shelter Him, and your dear heart console Him, 
 He had a home and love amid the worid's contempt and scorn ; and if, in the cares 
 of His weary life. He received this solace, it was not, O Lady, that He loved you 
 less, but that He loved us more, if we may make bold to say so, and would rather 
 suffer for us than have the only comfort He might have had in your maternal care. 
 It is remarkable what a devotion there has been am.ongst saints to the Assumption; 
 what longings to die on that day or during its octave ; and to many this favor has been 
 granted. August, must, therefore, surely be a month of joy and hope for us. Let 
 us then, in our united devotions, offer them all with one heart as a thanksgiving 
 for all the mercies we have received from God, and, above all, for the crowning 
 mercy which we now celebrate — our Mother's Assumption, and the graces which 
 consequently have been poured out upon us through her intercession, particularly 
 those granted to the confraternities in honor of her most pure Heart. It was usual 
 for us to connect Mary's dolors and Heart so intimately that it seems impossible to 
 speak of them apart, and it is well that it should be so ; if our Mother had not suf- 
 fered, and if we did not know and enter into her sufferings, how could we expect 
 lier sympathy in ours ? How her heart must have bled, when she saw her trembling 
 
 196 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Infant rejected by the world He came to save, and driven homeless to bear the 
 winter's cold in a poor stable! Then came His first cruel blood-shedding, while 
 yet a babe. Then there was the flight into Egypt, with its aggravated and bitter 
 trials ; the blasphemies of idolaters, perhaps not as galling as the scorn of the Jews. 
 But this must follow also; she must see Him spend a childhood of painful labor, 
 unnoticed and unknown; she must see Him bear the semblance of a slave, whom she 
 knew was her God; and when His ministry began, oh! what sorrows on sorrows 
 flooded her poor sovil! Surely her love for sinners was scarcely less than His, or 
 she might have knelt at His feet, and implored Him, by her Mother's love, to leave 
 the world, which scorned Him, to perish as it deserved. 
 
 She who knew the glories of His divinity, as no other creature could, how could she 
 bear to see him despised and rejected of men! But Calvary was yet to come, the 
 crowning sorrow of all ; and we are told ^t was revealed to a holy religious), that our 
 Mother, when all was over — when her Jesus, cold and lifeless, disfigured beyond 
 all thought by the cruelty of His people, was laid in the silent tomb, and the seal set 
 on it by His mocking guards — she returned, not to her home, or to the sympathy 
 of the beloved disciples, she sought not to rest her aching head nor to solace her 
 broken heart — no ; she remembered that she was a mother. Her younger children 
 had killed and crucified her elder Son ; but still she was a mother. Bad as children 
 may be, the mother's heart still yearns toward them, and vile as were her children, 
 she never for a moment forgot that they ivere hers. Jesus had given them to her; 
 this was enough, even had she not been bound as the second Eve to repair what had 
 been done by the first. O noble, O beautiful Mother! and what didst thou da 
 then ? What new device has thy love sought out for us ? Ah! let us see; she can 
 scarcely move, but she has a mission to fulfil, and it must be accomplished. The 
 tree stands there, reeking with the blood of her Son, and Mary, scarcely alive, drags . 
 on her feeble frame until she reaches it; and there she stands in the cold moonlight, ■ 
 alone by that awful Tree, and offers the Precious Blood upon it, and all that has 
 been done and all that has been upon it for our salvation, to the Eternal Father. 
 She nearly forgets she is human, that her powers are limited; but she has done all, 
 suffered all. And when she arises from her forty hours of ecstatic prayer, on Easter 
 morning she, first of all, sees the risen glories of her Beloved. O Mary! O Mother! 
 didst thou pray for me, in that hour of inconceivable anguish? Didst thou think 
 of me when thou hadst forgotten thyself and all else save our salvatioa? Yes, 
 we know it, we are sure of it; mothers never forget even their worst children, and 
 each one may believe that his mother remembered him in that hour of woe and 
 awful expectation. But if Our Lady's sufferings were beyond those ever endured 
 by mortal heart, her joys were proportionately great, and she has revealed to her 
 children that a devotion to them is peculiarly agreeable to her. To St. Thomas of 
 Canterbury, that ever remembered martyr. Our Blessed Mother revealed the 
 devotion to her glories. He was in the habit of reciting seven Ave Marias each day 
 in honor of her joys, namely: The Annunciation by Gabriel; the Visitation to 
 Elizabeth to sanctify the unborn St. John; the bringing forth of the God-Child ; 
 the Presentation in the Temple, and the finding in the Temple. Whilst performing 
 this pious act one day he was favored by an apparition of his blessed Patroness, 
 who taught him to add seven more in honor of her seven glories, to-wit: The 
 
 197 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Resurrection, Ascension, Descent of the Holy Ghost, her Assumption, and her Coro- 
 nation — promising at the same time, she would especially assist those who should 
 perform this devotion in all their afilictions, and particularly at the hour of death. 
 
 What more do we need to encourage us to perform this devotion with fervor 
 and joy, especially in this month, in which we are commemorating the glories of Mary. 
 
 The Echo. 
 ASCENSION OF OUR LORD. 
 
 After His resurrection our Blessed Saviour frequently appeared to His dis- 
 ciples and instructed them in the duties of the grand mission for which they had 
 been chosen. Nearer and nearer the time came when our Blessed Lord should 
 return to His Heavenly Father to take possession of the glory prepared for Him by 
 His Heavenly Father and to prepare a home for us. How painful it must have been 
 to the holy aposties to have our Blessed Lord speak of this return to heaven, we 
 can easily imagine. Nothing is harder to human nature than to be separated from 
 the object of our love. To be separated then from the Son of God seemed almost 
 unbearable to the apostles, but our dear Lord consoled them, saying: "A little 
 while and now you shall not see me; and again a little while and you shall see Me; 
 because I go to the Father." As Christ had gained heaven by doing the will of 
 His Heavenly Father, so the apostles should do likewise. They should not dream 
 of a temporal kingdom on earth, not look for fleety and hollow honors of the world, 
 but as messengers of God and soldiers of Christ fight the battles of God; attack 
 Satan and sin, and bring back the lost sheep to the one and only true Church of 
 Christ. This was the mission of the apostles and this must be ours, if we want 
 to go to heaven. 
 
 ST. JOHN DE LA SALLE, MAY 15th. 
 
 The Church was attacked in the i8th century by libertinism, Jansenism, and 
 the philosopher, but God came to the succor of the faith by raising up learned 
 doctors who refuted the apostles of error, and by giving birth to many religious 
 congregations for the instruction of youth, especially that of the Brothers of the 
 Christian Schools founded by the Abbe La Salle, canon of Rheims, who drew up 
 for the Brothers rules far superior to those given by men of the world for the in- 
 struction of youth. The order of the Brothers contributed much to the preserva- 
 tion of the faith among the people during the last century. 
 
 JUNE. 
 
 JiTNE is the month of roses. All the earth is now sweet with bird, leaf and 
 flower. The fulness of Nature's dower to her own has come, and all the forest 
 bends with its weight of song and foliage. Rounded out to its day of extreme joy 
 Summer now holds in her fair hands sdl created life. Tender and fair she seems 
 and glorious is the heritage she gives, as skies bending, the soft cloud here and there 
 upon the blue, she leaves the perfect day, the day that comes with its scented air, 
 and that gives to the heart contentment. For to the follower of the seasons, he who 
 lives out the life of thought, blended with the picture each day gives, June is the 
 month of music. For now it is that Nature from all her abundance weaves and 
 wears, from her white hand woven, her own fair crown immaculate. Month set 
 apart by the Church for the worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the deep sweets 
 
 198 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 of day and night, which now in starlight and in sunlight hold and captivate the 
 senses, are but as added dreams unto His shrine, making to the heart that loves 
 the June, its days and nights, all dear because it is His month, the month of Him 
 Who once came to earth, and for man's redemption left in love His Bleeding Heart 
 typified by the rose that is red, and which now blooms by wayside or in garden. 
 
 PENTECOST. 
 
 Pentecost is the day on which the Holy Ghost descended upon the apostles. 
 The word signifies fifty, and it was fifty days after the resurrection of Our Lord 
 that the Holy Ghost descended upon the apostles. These fifty days comprise 
 the paschal time, which is a joyful preparation for the Feast of Pentecost. 
 
 The Church prepares us for this feast by inviting us to spend in pious medita- 
 tion the ten days between the Ascension and Pentecost, and by appointing a Vigil 
 with the obligation of fasting. The Holy Ghost descended upon the apostles in 
 the shape of tongues of fire to show that the apostles were everywhere to preach 
 the Gospel, of which He came to give them a perfect understanding. To celebrate 
 properly this feast we should have an ardent desire to receive the Holy Ghost, and 
 be entirely free from all inordinate affections. 
 
 HOLY TRINITY. 
 
 On the following Sunday, occurs the Feast of the Holy Trinity, the day on 
 which the Church honors in a special manner one God in three persons. The Feast 
 of the Trinity may be said to be perpetual, but a particular feast has been estab- 
 lished to satisfy the devotion of Christians who, not content with the general 
 feast, wished to consecrate a particular day to honor this mystery. 
 
 CORPUS CHRISTI. 
 
 The Feast of Corpus Christi is the day consecrated to honor in a special 
 manner our Lord Jesus Christ in the holy Sacrament of the altar. The feast is 
 of ancient date, but the particular feast dates from the thirteenth century. 
 
 It was established to atone for the outrages offered to our Saviour by heretics 
 and the impious, to renew the devotion of Christians to the adorable Sacrament. 
 The Office of Corpus Christi, the most beautiful of Church offices, was composed 
 by St. Thomas of Acquin. 
 
 ST. VINCENT DE PAUL, JUNE 23rd. 
 
 St. Vincent of Paul was bom in Gascony, in the year 1576. His father 
 owned a small farm, and Vincent was employed in the fields to keep the cattle. 
 In after years, when adviser and friend of the Queen, and head of the Church in 
 France, he used to tell the courtiers how, in his youth, he had guarded his father's 
 pigs. Vincent was first placed under the care of the Franciscan friars, where he 
 remained four years when a wealthy gentleman, impressed by the strong inclina- 
 tions of the lad to learning and piety, enabled him to continue his studies. When 
 he was twenty years old, he was qualified to enter the university of Toulouse, and 
 was ordained a priest in the year 1600. Soon after his ordination, Vincent was 
 captured by corsairs, and carried into Barbary. He accepted this cross with 
 
 199 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 patience, although reduced to slavery at Tunis. He converted his renegade master, 
 and escaped with him to France. After serving as a curate in a village near Paris, 
 he prevailed upon five other zealous priests to form a little community in the parish 
 of Chatillon, to work among the poor. The Countess de Goudi gave him 16,000 
 livres to found a perpetual mission, and the Archbishop of Paris, brother of the 
 countess, gave the College of Bon Enfants to the new community, In 1625. In 
 his work in the prisons St. Vincent brought hope where hitherto despair had reigned. 
 A mother mourned for her imprisoned son. Vincent put on his chains and took 
 his place at the oar, and gave him to his mother. His charity embraced the poor, 
 young and old, provinces desolated by civU war. Christians enslaved by the infidel. 
 St. Vincent died in 1660, when he was eighty-five years old, and was buried in the 
 church of St. Lazarus, in Paris. 
 
 MONTH OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD. 
 
 The Precious Blood! How shall we speak of it? Ah! dearest Lord, if it has 
 cost this to redeem us, we might almost wish that we might not be redeemed. 
 
 "Why then, is Thy apparel red, and Thy garments like theirs that tread in 
 the wine press?" Why this profusion of blood? Would not one drop have 
 sufficed ? Would not the agony of Gethsemane have redeemed us without the blood 
 of Calvary? Yes; Gethsemane might have saved us, but it would not have told 
 us how much Jesus loved. And we, how do we show our love? Oh! think of the 
 seven cruel blood -sheddings, and think of our own cowardly lives! So careful to 
 save ourselves pain; so anxious to escape suffering; so critical to find out what we 
 may or may not do, just to escape mortal sin ; and to escape mortal sin, because it 
 involves hell. Oh! if Jesus had made the measure of our love the measure of His, 
 where should we now be? Why, Lord, is Thy apparel so red? Why art Thou 
 bathed in gore? Ah! we know, we see; but do we feel ? It is Thy excessive love. 
 Do not the wounds in Thy blessed hands and feet, and in Thy open side speak 
 plainly enough? Thou wilt have Thy apparel red that ours may be white. Well 
 may we love the precious blood of Jesus ; well may it be our song in the land of our 
 exile. Now the lesson we must learn during the month of the Precious Blood is 
 generosity. Here, then, the inspired Apostle, St. Peter, tells us at once the reason 
 why we must be holy, and the means by which we may become so. We must be 
 holy because we have been redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb: we must he holy be- 
 cause Jesus gave His Blood so liberally that we can never do enough for Him. 
 Have we ever thought enough of this Precious Blood ? It is true we say we are 
 redeemed by it; we are sanctified by it; it purchases for us all grace on earth; 
 it has brought for us all glory in heaven ; but do we ever think it is the Blood of God, 
 or consider what it cost that God each time He shed its Precious Drops ? There 
 was a time when we might have worshipped that Blood upon earth; we might have 
 knelt in the Garden of Olives and adored the great drops as they fell on the cold, 
 shuddering ground. We might have joined with the angels who guarded them, 
 and wept our lives away at a sight so pitiful. We might have seen the scourging 
 and beheld the purple tide fall unheeded on the pavement of Herod's hall. We 
 might have stood on Calvary and seen the garments of His humanity reddened 
 with gore; and we might and should have worshipped every drop, for to each the 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN, AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Divinity was still united. But now where is all this Precious Blood, and where 
 must we adore it? United, at the moment of the resurrection, for ever and ever 
 to the Incarnate Word, we behold this Blood at the right hand of God, and we see 
 Its rich purple stream flowii^ through the Sacred Heart, and purpling with un- 
 earthly beauty the five most glorious wounds. Let us, this month, frequently offer 
 the Precious Blood for ourselves, for others, for the whole Church. Last month 
 we learned much of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of Its tenderness. Let us now 
 learn to know the merits and treasures of His Church which He has enriched by 
 His Precious Blood, Why do we not value more, not only the sacraments of the 
 Church, but all its Blood-bought treasures? Why are we not more anxious for 
 indulgences, more devout to relics, more earnest for blessings, more reverent in the 
 use of holy things? Why, because we do not rightly estimate the value of the 
 Precious Blood from whence all these derive all their efficacy. Let us endeavor to 
 consider well all that was purchased for us by the Blood of Jesus; all the channels 
 of grace — from our absolutions to the drops of holy water which we so carelessly 
 touch — which flow out on us daily and hourly. The greater our gratitude and rev- 
 erence for the Precious Blood, the greater will be the graces we shall receive from It. 
 
 JULY, MONTH OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD. 
 THE VISITATION, JULY 2nd. 
 
 On July 2d the Church celebrates the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed 
 Virgin. We honor the visit of Mary to her cousin, St. Elizabeth, to congratulate 
 her on the graces with which she was favored by God. The feast was established 
 by His Holiness, Pope Urban IV., and made general in the fourteenth century by 
 Pope Boniface DL, to put an end to the great Western schism which was desolating 
 the Church. The Blessed Virgin practised many virtues in her visitation which 
 we should imitate in our conversations and visits — charity, humility, modesty, 
 and zeal for the greater glory of God. 
 
 FEAST OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD. 
 
 In the thirteenth century, Richard, brother of Henry III. of England, brought 
 from Germany a relic of the Precious Blood. He placed two-thirds of it in a mon- 
 astery in Hertfordshire, one-third in another monastery, and founded the Congre- 
 gation of "Goodman" to guard and honor the relic. In 1847 a Confraternity of 
 the Precious Blood was again established in England by Father Faber. 
 
 Venerable Gaspare, bom in Rome in 1786, vowed to kindle in men's souls 
 love of the Blood of Jesus, and no sickness or dangers could check his delivery of 
 the Divine Word. Followers gathered to his side, and with these he formed the 
 Congregation of the Missioners of the Precious Blood. He said he would die 
 content if a feast were established in its honor, and in 1849, twelve years after 
 his death. Pious IX. solemnly instituted the Feast of the Precious Blood, for the 
 first Sunday in July. 
 
 Let us learn from Gaspare to grow in hatred of sin, love of God, and zeal as 
 an apostle of souls, by devotion to the Precious Blood. "In these days, when the 
 wicked, in their hatred of the Catholic religion," says Ven. Gaspare, "make open 
 war against it by multiplying vices and sins, zeal for God's glory ought to inflame 
 
 201 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 every soul, like a holy fire, to double the triumphs of the Crucified through the ap- 
 plication of the merits of the Precious Blood." 
 
 ST. BONAVENTURE, JULY 14th. 
 
 Sanctity and learning raised St. Bonaventure to the Church's highest honors, 
 and from a child he was the companion of saints. Yet at heart he was ever the 
 poor Franciscan friar, and practised and taught humility and mortification. St. 
 Francis gave him his name, for having miraculously cured him of sickness; he 
 exclaimed, "O bona ventura — good luck!" He is known also as the "Seraphic 
 Doctor," from the fervor of Divine love which breathes in his writings. He was 
 the friend of St. Thomas Aquinas, who asked him one day whence he drew his 
 great learning. He replied by pointing to his crucifix. At thirty-five, he was 
 made General of his Order. He refused many honors, through humility, and 
 •died A. D. 1274. 
 
 ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, JULY 31st. 
 
 St. iGNATros was bom at Loyola, in Spain, about the year 1491. He served 
 his king, as a courtier, and soldier until he was thirty. At that age, being sick unto 
 death, he received the call of Divine grace to leave the world and follow Jesus 
 Christ. He at once embraced poverty and humiliation. Prompted by their love 
 for Jesus Christ he and a few friends made a vow to go to the Holy Land, but war 
 broke out, and prevented the execution of their plans. They then turned to the 
 Pope, and placed themselves under his obedience. This was the beginning of the 
 Society of Jesus; its motto was, "Ad majorem Dei gloriam," "To the greater 
 glory of God." Our Lord promised St. Ignatius that the precious heritage of 
 His Passion should never fail his society, a heritage of persecution. The saint 
 went to his crown on July 31st, 1556. 
 
 AUGUST, MONTH OF THE ASSUMPTION. 
 
 August was the sixth month of the year according to the Old Roman Calendar. 
 It was so called in honor of Augustus Caesar, as it was during this month he achieved 
 some of his greatest victories. The Saxons called it Bam Month, for at that 
 time the grain was stored in the bams. 
 
 FEASTS AND SAINTS OF THE MONTH. 
 THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, AUGUST 15th. 
 
 We read in the Psalms that God would not suffer his "Holy One to see Cor- 
 ruption" (Ps. XV. 10). This prophecy was fulfilled when, on the third day, the 
 glorious soul of Our Lord Jesus Christ retumed to resume His sacred body, and 
 rise resplendent with it from the tomb on Easter moming. Now it was the flesh 
 of Mary of which that sacred body was formed ; and was it not reasonable to expect 
 that neither would He suffer the pure and holy body of His Mother to moulder 
 in the grave, especially when we remember that He had already, as a special grace, 
 raised the bodies of many of the ancient saints, and reunited them to their sonls 
 to accompany His triumphant ascension into Heaven ? If so gracious to His ser- 
 vants, should we not expect that He would be far more munificent to His immac- 
 ulate Mother, she who was not only free from sin, but had been preserved stainless 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 in her conception even from original sin ? Mary died from an effort of love, and her 
 body was borne to Heaven without having felt the stain of corruption. The 
 Assumption of Mary is not an article of faith, but it is a truth which no one should 
 doubt. The feast was established previous to the sixth century. It has always 
 been observed with great pomp and fervor. 
 
 ST. ALPHONSUS LIQUORI, AUGUST 2nd, 
 
 St. Alphonsus was born of noble parents near Naples in 1696. His spiritual 
 training was entrusted to the Fathers of the Oratory in that city, and from his 
 boyhood Alphonsus was known as a most devout Brother of the Little Oratory. 
 At sixteen he was made doctor in law, and he threw himself into this career with 
 ardor and success. A mistake, by which he lost an important cause, showed him 
 the vanity of human fame, and determined him to labor only for the glory of God. 
 He entered the priesthood, devoting himself to the most neglected souls, and to 
 carry on this work he founded later the missionary Congregation of the Most 
 Holy Redeemer. He made a vow never to lose time, and though his life was 
 spent in prayer and good works, he wrote a great number of books, and he has 
 been declared one of the Doctors of the Church. This title has only been given to 
 eighteen in as many centuries. He lived in evil times, and met with many perse- 
 cutions and disappo ntments. During the last seven years he was prevented by 
 constant sickness from offering the Adorable Sacrifice, but he received Holy Com- 
 munion daily. He died in his 91st year, 1787. 
 
 ST. DOMINIC, AUGUST 4th. 
 
 St. Dominic was bom in Spain, 11 70. It was in 1208, while St. Dominic 
 knelt in the little chapel of Notre Dame de la Pronille, and implored Our Lady 
 to save the Church that she appeared to him, gave him the rosary, and bade him 
 go forth and preach. Beads in hand, he revived the courage of the Catholic troops, 
 led them to victory against overwhelming numbers, and finally crushed the heresy. 
 Twice since the saint went to heaven has the Church's cause been saved through 
 the rosary he taught. Once by the victory of Lepanto, in 1571, and again in 171 7, 
 when the Turks were defeated at Belgrade. St. Dominic died in 1221, when fifty- 
 one years old. 
 
 SEPTEMBER, MONTH OF THE SEVEN DOLORS. 
 
 This month was originally the seventh in the old Roman Calendar. The 
 word September is composed of two Latin words, sepiem and ember, meaning seven 
 and a shower of rain, this month having been considered a rainy season. By the 
 Saxons it was termed Geust-monath, or barley month, because it was the season 
 of harvest. After the introduction of Christianity it was called Haligmonath, or 
 holy month, in reference to some religious ceremonies observed at that time. 
 
 FEASTS AND SAINTS OF THE MONTH, 
 
 The feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin is celebrated on the 8th of 
 September. It originated in France, and passed into the other portions of the 
 Church. To celebrate it well we must thank God for having given us so good a 
 
 203 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Mother; felicitate the Blessed Virgin on the plentitude of grace with which she was 
 born, and form a resolution to imitate her virtues as a child. 
 
 EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS. 
 
 This feast was established in the eighth century, to return thanks to God for 
 the restoration of the true cross, which the Persians had carried away from Jeru- 
 salem. We should honor the cross by meditating often on the lesson which it 
 teaches us, and place it conspicuously in our houses, carry it on our persons, salute 
 it whenever we pass it, and make the sign of the cross with devotion frequently. 
 
 ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, SEPTEMBER i7th. 
 
 Having given all his possessions to the poor, St. Francis was disinherited and 
 disowned by his father, and looked upon by the world as a fanatic. The young 
 man took refuge in a half-ruined church, called "Our Lady of Angels," which 
 had been placed at his disposal by a kind Benedictine Abbot. This Church St. 
 Francis eventually restored by means of the alms contributed by faithful admirers, 
 calling it his little Legacy or Portiuncula. His severe spirit of penance, joined with 
 a cheerfulness, and humble disposition of mind, attracted many companions about 
 him with whom he made pilgrimages through the country, preaching penance, 
 not indeed by sublime eloquence, but in plain and simple language, intelUgible 
 to the least cultivated minds and heartj^. But his most eflfective sermon was his 
 example of holy poverty and self-denial. This severe voluntary poverty was the 
 foundation of the Order he instituted, which St. Francis called the "Bride of 
 Christ," the source, the very queen of all other virtues. Our Divine Lord, in order 
 to give supernatural proof before all men that He lived in His saints and in their 
 establishments, was pleased to imprint in a most miraculous manner the marks 
 of His five wounds in the hands, feet, and side of the saint, about two years before 
 His death. 
 
 St. Francis' rule of life was approved by Pope Honorius in 1223. The com- 
 munities were to live on the daily alms of the faithful people, and the monasteries 
 should possess no wealth, and all above their wants was to be given to the poor. 
 
 OCTOBER, MONTH OF THE ROSARY. 
 
 October is so called because it was originally the eighth month of the old 
 Roman year. October is derived from the Latin word Octo, which means eight, 
 and ember, a shower of rain, this month being a rainy month in the Latin countries. 
 It was called by the early Saxons Wyn-monath, because it was during this month 
 that grapes were gathered and wine made. 
 
 October is dedicated by the Church as the Month of the Rosary. " God has 
 never," said St. Dominic, "refused me what I have asked," and he has left us the 
 rosary that we may learn, with Mary's help, to pray easily and simply in the same 
 holy trust. "It alone wiU suffice to destroy heresy," he further assures us, "ard 
 nourish virtue. It wiU alone propitiate the Divine mercy, and will be a great a'-d 
 singular safeguard to the Church of God." Our Blessed Lady revealed to St. 
 Dominic the devotion of the rosary, and it became his most powerful weapon with 
 souls. The devotion of the Scapular began through the Carmelites. The Blecsed 
 
 204 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Virgin appeared to Simon Stock, Superior-General of the Order, when it was in 
 great trouble. She gave him a Scapular which she had in her hand, as a sign 
 that by it the Carmelites might be protected from the evils which threatened the 
 Community. "This will be the privilege for you and for all Carmelites — no 
 one dying in this scapular will sufiFer eternal burning." Many of the Popes have 
 granted numerous Indulgences to the Confraternities of the Scapular. "The 
 Scapular," says Bossuet, "is no useless badge. You wear it as a visible token 
 that you own yourselves Mary's children, and she will be your mother indeed if 
 you live in Our Lord Jesus Christ." There are several other Scapulars approved 
 by the Church, the Immaculate Conception, The Five Scapulars, etc. 
 
 FEASTS AND SAINTS OF THE MONTH. 
 FEAST OF THE GUARDIAN ANGELS, OCTOBER 2nd. 
 
 The feast of the Guardian Angels was established in the 17th century. This 
 feast ought to inspire us with great gratitude to God, and a high esteem for our 
 souls, which will make us respect ourselves, respect others, and never scandalize 
 them. We owe to our Guardian Angel respect on account of bis constant presence, 
 love, on account of his goodness to us, and confidence because of his powerful 
 protection. 
 
 ST. FRANCIS, OCTOBER 4th. 
 
 St. Francis, the son of a merchant of Assisi, was bom in that city in the year 
 1 182. His feast occurs on October 4th. Chosen by God to be a living mani- 
 tesfation to the world of Christ's poor and suffering life on earth, he was early 
 inspired with a high esteem and burning love of poverty and humiliation. The 
 thought of the Man of Sorrows, Who had not where to lay His head, filled St. Francis 
 with holy envy of the poor, and constrained him to renounce the wealth and worldly 
 station which he abhorred. The scorn and hard usage which he met with from 
 his father and friends when he appeared among them in the garb of poverty, were 
 delightful to him. "Now," he exclaimed, "I can say truly, 'Our Father who 
 art in heaven,' and ' Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of 
 heaven.' " 
 
 But Divine love burned in him too mightily not to kindle like desires in other 
 hearts. Many people followed him, and finally Pope Innocent III. constituted 
 the little band into a religious order, which prospered, and spread rapidly through- 
 out Christendom. St. Francis, after visiting the far East in the vain quest of 
 martyrdom, spent his life like his Divine Master — now in preaching to the multi- 
 tudes, now amid desert solitudes in fasting and contemplation. During one of 
 these retreats he received on his hands, feet and side the print of the Five Bleeding 
 Wounds of Jesus. With the cry, "Welcome, Sister Death!" he passed to the 
 glory of God October 4th., 1226. Truly, as St. Vincent de Paul observes, "Those 
 who love the poor in life shall have no fear of death." 
 
 NOVEMBER, MONTH OF POOR SOULS. 
 
 November is the month of Devotion to the Holy Souls, and "It is a holy and 
 wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins." 
 
 205 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 The doctrine of praying for the dead is found in all of the most ancient liturgies 
 of the world. Let us then pray every day during this month for the souls in purga- 
 tory. We have four good reasons to remember the dead: The glory of God, for 
 whom we procure perfect adorers, by aiding the Holy Souls to enter heaven. The 
 souls in purgatory have a claim on our charity, because they are our brethren in 
 Jesus Christ and our relations and friends, according to the flesh. Some of them 
 may be suffering on our account, and last, because these souls, when delivered by 
 our help, will intercede for us before God, and aid us to be released from purgatory 
 when His justice is satisfied. 
 
 FEASTS AND SAINTS OF THE MONTH. 
 THE FEAST OF ALL-SAINTS. 
 
 The Feast of All Saints is observed on November ist. On this day the Church 
 invites us to the two-fold sentiment of joy and sorrow. In the Epistle she encour- 
 ages us by showing that there are in heaven saints of every country and every age. 
 In the Gospel she marks the virtues we must practice in order to arrive there. In 
 the Preface, She tells us that the saints are our brethren, that they look upon us 
 with love, and aid us by their powerful prayers. At Vespers, she reminds us that 
 we are exiles, and teaches us to sigh like the captive Israelites at Babylon, for the 
 heavenly Jerusalem, our true country. The Feast of All Saints commenced in 
 the seventh century. It was established in Rome by Boniface IV. and then passed 
 into all the churches. It was established to honor all the saints, to thank God for 
 the graces bestowed upon His elect, to excite us to imitate the virtues of the saints, 
 and to give us an occasion to repair the faults committed in the celebration of the 
 particular feast of each saint. 
 
 ALL SOULS. 
 
 The Feast of All Souls, in commemoration of the dead, occurs November 2d. 
 This feast dates from the tenth century, and originated in Franche Comte. St. 
 Odilon, abbot of Cluny, made it obligatory for all the monasteries of his Order, 
 whence it prevails throughout the Church. But the practice of praying for the 
 dead is older than Christianity. Judas Machabeus "sent twelve thousand drams 
 of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead." In the 
 Old Testament we are told that "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to 
 pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sins." 
 
 ST. ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY, NOVEMBER 19th. 
 
 Elizabeth was daughter of a king of Hungary, and niece of St. Hedwige. 
 She was betrothed in infancy to Louis, Landgrave of Thuringia, and brought up 
 in his father's court. In her fourth year she began to spend her time in prayer, 
 and gave all she had to the poor; and growing up she increased in piety and humil- 
 ity, undeterred by the reproaches and ridicule of her husband's family and cour- 
 tiers. She never left her husband without necessity, and in his absence laid aside 
 her royal robes and lived in retirement. She was the first in Germany to join the 
 Third Order of St. Francis. Not content with receiving daily numbers of poor in 
 her palace, and relieving all in distress, she built several hospitals, where she served 
 
 206 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 the sick, dressing the most repulsive sores with own hands. God rewarded her 
 charity with many miracles. Once, on her way to a banquet, she gave her ducal 
 mantle to a poor man, and an angel restored it to her. Another time, being simply 
 dressed, she appeared before her father's ambassadors in a purple robe embroidered 
 with gold and precious stones. On her husband's death she was cruelly driven 
 from her palace and forced to wander through the streets with her little children, 
 a prey to hunger and cold; but she welcomed all her sufferings and continued to 
 be the mother of the poor, converting many by her holy life. She died in 1231, at 
 the age of twenty-four. 
 
 DECEMBER, MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
 
 December was so called from its being the tenth month of the old Roman 
 year. The word is derived from the Latin decern, or ten. The Saxons termed it 
 Winter-monath, but after their conversion to Christianity, they called it halig-monath, 
 orholy month, as the month in which Christ was bom. It is dedicated by the 
 Church to the Immaculate Conception. 
 
 FEASTS AND SAINTS OF THE MONTH. 
 FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DECEMBER 8th. 
 
 The Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgia is celebrated 
 December 8th. The Blessed Virgin being destined to be the Mother of God, was 
 preserved from original sm; this was due to the honor of the Three Persons of the 
 Holy Trinity: to the Father, whose daughter Mary was; to the Son, Whose mother 
 she was; and to the Holy Ghost, Whose Spouse she was. 
 
 The meaning of the Immaculate Conception is simply this: That in view of 
 the pre-applied merits of the Redeemer, the Virgin Mother, who was chosen from 
 all other women to bear Him, was never for a single instant under the dominion 
 of Satan ; and that the tabernacle which He, for nine months, inhabited, was never 
 tainted with the slightest taint of original sin. The Feast of the Immaculate Con- 
 ception of the Blessed Virgin is the patronal feast of the United States. The 
 Immaculate Mother of the God-man, Jesus Christ, is the patron saint, the guardian 
 the guiding star of our land. What a beautiful thought and what immense food 
 it furnishes for hope and true patriotism! America for Jesus Christ and for His 
 One, Holy, Catholic Church! America for our Immaculate Lady, and for all 
 highest ideals of womanhood and of the family. 
 
 CHRISTMAS, DECEMBER 25th. 
 
 The festival of Christmas celebrates the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We 
 must believe that the Son of God, incarnated in the womb of the Virgin Mary, 
 was bom in a stable of Bethlehem, for our salvation. To celebrate this festival 
 worthily, we must have a great horror of sin, and be detached from the world. 
 This is the teaching of the Infant Jesus, bom poor, humble and suffering. We 
 must tenderly love the Saviour, who, to make us love Him, put on the form of an 
 Infant and became our brother. Finally, we must ask of Him and imitate the 
 virtues of His infancy. 
 
 207 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 CHRISTMAS DAY. 
 
 Christmas Day commemorates the Birth of Christ and is one of the greatest 
 festivals in the ecclesiastical year. It recalls the coming of Jesus Christ in the 
 flesh, and His birth at Bethlehem. From the very earliest days of Christianity, 
 a feast similar to Christmas was observed, but the date was not imiversally the 
 same. St. John Chrysostom in 386 said: "It is not ten years since Christmas 
 Day, on December 25, was clearly known to ns, but it has been familiar from the 
 beginning to those who dwell in the West." He also tells us that Pope Julius I. 
 caused strict enquiries to be made as to the proper date, and thus settled authori- 
 tatively on December 25, as the day of the anniversary. Let us on this day join 
 our hearts with the thought of St. Francis of Assisi who sa)^, "Let us love the 
 Child of Bethlehem, Who, in order to win our hearts has given us such great proofs 
 of His love. Yes, let us love Him, let us retiun love for love, boundless love for 
 His infinite love." Christmas Day is a holy-day of obligation, and all Catholics 
 are obliged to hear Mass, under pain of mortal sin. 
 
 Catholic Calendar. 
 
 ST. STEPHEN, DECEMBER 26th. 
 
 There is a good reason to believe that St. Stephen was one of the seventy-two 
 disciples of our Blessed Lord. After the Ascension he was chosen one of the seven 
 deacons. His name is placed first, and he is singled out for praise as "a man full 
 of faith and the Holy Ghost." Many adversaries rose up to dispute with him, 
 but they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit that spoke. At 
 length he was brought before the Sanhedrin, charged, like his Divine Master, 
 with "blasphemy against Moses and against God." St. Stephen boldly upbraided 
 the chief priests with their hard-hearted resistance to the Holy Ghost, and with 
 the murder of Jesus. The priests were very angry and resolved to punish him 
 for his resistance and contempt for their authority. Filled with the Holy Ghost, 
 and looking up to heaven, St. Stephen cried out, "Behold, I see the heavens opened 
 and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." The priests could no 
 longer restrain themselves but rushed upon him. The cruel mob dragged him 
 to an open place without the city limits, and they stoned him to death. When 
 the stones were falling thick upon him, St. Stephen forgot the anguish of death, 
 and prayed, like his Lord, for his murderers. Kneeling down, he cried with a loud 
 voice, " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 
 
 Among those who had a hand in St. Stephen's death, a chief part was borne by 
 Saul, of Tarsus, a yoimg Pharisee, full of zeal for the law. A short time after, while 
 on the road to Damascus, in the full course of his cruel persecution of the Christians, 
 he was miraculously converted, and became the great apostle, St. Paul. Such was 
 the glorious reward of St. Stephen's dying prayer. St. Stephen bears the title of 
 proto-martyr, because he was the first, who, after our Saviour's death, had the 
 happiness to die for his faith. Let us imitate his example, and when we are 
 tempted to resentment, let us pray for him who has offended us. 
 
 208 
 
Little Gems of Catholic Wisdom. 
 
 A COLLECTION of hdpful hints for the Christian family that desires to lead a 
 truly virtuous life. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF THE CATECHISM. 
 
 The end of Catholic education being the training of the will and the heart upon 
 the motives and principles set forth by the Christian religion, it follows that the 
 most important of all text books for the young is the one embodpng the doctrines 
 of Christ's Church, and that the noblest work in which any one can be engaged is 
 the inculcation and application of the saving truths of His Gospel. 
 
 The last instructions of Pope Pius IX. to the clergy of Rome were that they 
 should redouble their zeal in teaching the Catechism to the little ones; for "the 
 child that grows up unconscious of the duties of religion will ignore the duties of 
 man." All the evils of the day may be traced to the ignorance of Christian doctrine. 
 
 WHAT IS IT TO BE A CATHOLIC? 
 
 An admirable definition of a Catholic was given by the Rev. Loxois A. Tierman, 
 of Cincinnati, State trustee of the Catholic Knights of Ohio, on the occasion of thtj 
 annual convention of that organization, in the coiurse of an eloquent sermon deliv- 
 ered to the delegates. It was as follows: "Now I ask, what is it to be a Catholic? 
 Go read the answer in the lives of the men and women who, for 1900 years, have 
 trod the ways of heroic virtue in the footsteps of the Crucified. Go study it in the 
 calm and peaceful heroism of the early Christian martjT, who laughed at the threats 
 of tyrants, and prayed for his executioners as his life went out beneath the horrors 
 of the tortures, which he bore with Joy, rather than betray his God. Seek it up 
 and down the ages, in every rank and station, from the monarch on the throne, 
 to the peasant in the field. Seek it in the hearts of nature's noble men and women 
 ■where it shines with a beauty and a lustre all its own, and elevates their hearts above 
 the ties of kindred and of country, even to the Eternal God Himself — the centre 
 and source of true Catholidty. Seek it and find it in the supernatural lives of men 
 and women living to-day — living not alone in cloistered solitude, not alone at the 
 ffoot of God's altar in constant adoration, not alone in priestly robes, but even in 
 the busy world of noise and wild distraction, in the marts of trade and in domestic 
 cares, where the lots of most of you are cast. What is it to be a Catholic ? It is 
 to rest secure in the possession of eternal truth, in the certainty of being right, in 
 the priceless privilege of not being blown about by every wind of doctrine. It is 
 to live with the sunshine of divine hope warming the human heart, and enlightening 
 the hmn:.n soul. To be a Catholic is to love God above all things and your neigh- 
 bor as yourself. It is to live in a disposition, at least, of the highest charity ; charity 
 toward our neighbor; charity that stops not at mere theory, not at mere specula- 
 tion or profession, but that works itself out in acting, high, noble, God-like acting. 
 This it is to be a Catholic. Faith, Hope and Charity, these are as the faculties of 
 his soul to a Catholic." 
 
 209 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 SYMBOLS OF OUR LADY. 
 
 Beneath her feet is the crescent moon, the emblem of perpetual virginity; 
 over her head the rays of the sun, betokening light or wisdom. 
 
 The star is often embroidered upon her veil or mantle, Star of the Sea being 
 one interpretation of her Jewish name, Miriam. When she is crowned with twelve 
 stars the allusion is to the text of the Apocalypse: "A woman clothed with the sun 
 and the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars." 
 
 The lily is the general emblem of purity; this is why the Florentines have 
 chosen it for their mxmicipal flower, the Blessed Virgin being their patroness. 
 
 The rose is the symbol of love and beauty hence especially Mary's flower. 
 
 BLESSINGS AND GRACES AT MEALS. 
 
 No practice is more characteristic of the faithful Catholic than that of asking 
 the Divine blessing before meals and giving thanks to God after them. In every 
 Christian household these prayers should be said aloud in a firm, clear voice, and in 
 plain language. If all present understand the liturgical language this should be 
 used, but not otherwise. 
 
 The prayer should be led by the head of the family, or, in his absence, by the 
 oldest person present, or by the oldest son, and all present should join in the re- 
 sponses. 
 
 The proper ritual for prayer at table is the following, which will be found, 
 with slight variations, on pages 58 and 59 of the authorized prayer-book of the 
 American Church — The Baltimore Manual 0} Prayers. Those of our readers 
 who do not have it in their prayer-books, and are not familiar with it, are requested 
 to cut this out and preserve it for study and use: 
 
 THE BLESSING OF THE MEAL. 
 
 (Leader) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 Amen. 
 
 Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive through 
 Thy bounty. 
 
 (Others) Amen. 
 
 (AH make the sign of the cross silently.) 
 
 GRACE AFTER THE MEAL. 
 
 (Leader) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 Amen. 
 
 We give Thee thanks, O Almighty God, for all Thy benefits, Who livest and 
 reignest world without end 
 
 (Others) Amen. 
 
 (Leader) Vouchsafe, O Lord, to reward with eternal life all those who do us 
 good for Thy Name's sake. 
 
 210 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 (Others) Amen. 
 (Leader) Let us bless the Lord. 
 (Others) Thanks be to God. 
 
 (Leader) May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of G|>d. 
 rest in peace. 
 
 (Others) Amen. 
 
 (All make the sign of the cross, silently.) 
 
 HOW THE APOSTLES DIED. 
 
 St. Matthew is supposed to have suffered martyrdom or to have been slaim 
 with a sword in Arabia Felix. St Mark was dragged through the streets of Alexan- 
 dria in Egypt until he expired. St, Luke was hanged on an olive tree in Greece. 
 St. John was put in a caldron of boiling oil in Rome, but he escaped death. He 
 afterward died a natural death at Ephesiis in Asia. St. James the Great was 
 beheaded at Jerusalem. St. James the Less was thrown from apinnacle or wing 
 of the temple, and then beaten to death with a fuller's club. St. Philip was hanged 
 up against a pillar at Hieropolis, a city of Phrygia. St. Bartholomew was flayed 
 alive by the command of a barbarous king. St. Andrew was bound to a cross 
 from which he preached to the people until he expired. St. Thomas was run 
 through the body with a lance at Caronadel, in the East Indies. St. Jude was 
 shot to death with arrows. St. Simon Zealot was crucified in Persia. St. Mat- 
 thias was first stoned and then beheaded. St. Barnabas was stoned to death by 
 the Jews at Salania. St. Paul was beheaded at Rome by the tyrant Nero. St. 
 Peter, or Simon Peter, according to the tradition of the early Church was crucified 
 at Rome about the same time as St. Paul. 
 
 WHERE THE APOSTLES REST. 
 
 Church authorities state that the remains of the Apostles of Christ are now in 
 the following places: Seven are in Rome — namely, Peter, Philip, James the 
 Lesser, Jude, Bartholomew, Matthias and Simon. Three are in the kingdom of 
 Naples, Matthew at Salerno, Andrew at Amalfi, and Thomas at Ortano. One is 
 in Spain, James the Greater, whose remains are at St. Jago de Compostella. Of 
 the body of St. John the EvangeUst, the remaining one of the twelve, there is no 
 knowledge. The evangelists, Mark and Luke, are also in Italy — the former at 
 Venice and the latter at Padua. St. Paul's remains are also believed to be in Italy. 
 Peter's are of course, in the church at Rome, which is called after him, as are also 
 those of Simon and Jude. Those of James the Lesser and Philip are in the Church 
 of the Holy Apostles; Bartholomew's in the church on the Island in the Tiber 
 called after him; Matthias' are in the Santa Maria Maggiore, under the great altar 
 of the renowned Basilica. 
 
 FACT ABOUT THE POPES. 
 
 Eighty of the popes are honored as saints, thirty-one martyrs, and forty-three 
 confessors. St. Agatho was the only pope who lived to be a centenarian, as he is 
 also the only one, after St. Peter, who may be honored with the title of "miracle- 
 worker." St. Agatho died at the age of one hundred and seven. The popes have 
 
 211 
 
^OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 been drawn from all classes of society. Many were nobles in rank or of great 
 wealth. Others sprang from obscurity. Sixtus VI. was the son of a fisherman. 
 Alexander V. was the son of poor, imknown parents, and passed his first years in 
 begging from door to door. Adrian IV., the only English pope, was abandoned 
 by his father, and had to subsist on charity until, going to France, he entered a 
 convent as a servant, where by his intelligence and by his virtues he was afterward 
 deemed worthy to be received into religion. Sixtus V. had for his father a poor 
 laborer, for mother a servant, and for sister, a laundress. St. Celestine V. was the 
 son of a simple farmer. Benedict VII. was the child of a baker. Urban IV. had a 
 carpenter for his father, as also had Gregory VII. Five of the popes had studied 
 medicine before taking Holy Orders. Benedic tXI. was the child of a notary; Julius 
 III. was the descendant of a jurisconsult; Pelagius I. was the son of the vicar of 
 the prefect of his province; Paul V. had for his father a patrician of Siena; and 
 EugentlV., Gregory XII., and Alexander VII. belonged to patrician families of 
 Venice. Whatever their origin, however, they no sooner acceded to the chair of 
 St. Peter than they displayed great wisdom, great charity, great dignity, and great 
 piety. 
 
 MEANING OF THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. 
 
 Every society makes use of certain signs by which the members may recognize 
 one another, and also as a means by which to distinguish itself from all other 
 societies. Nobody will maintain that such a custom is wrong. If it is right and 
 even necessary for men to have different kinds of societies, then it is also right and 
 it may be necessary for these different kinds of societies to use different Wnds of 
 outward signs. Otherwise how could we distinguish one society from another? 
 By the wearing of a badge, medal, ribbon, or other object of that sort, you are 
 recognized as belonging to a certain society. Secret societies make use of secret 
 signs whenever the members thereof wish to recognize one another secretly. 
 
 In like manner do we Catholic Christians make use of a certain sign by which 
 we not only recognize one another as being Catholics, but it is also by this sign 
 that any and everybody else may know that we are Catholics. This sign is the 
 sign of the cross — the sign which belongs particularly and exclusively to Roman 
 Catholics, and by the use of which, more than by any other outward sign, we make 
 public profession of our faith as members of the Roman Catholic Church. 
 
 Yes, the sign of the cross is the Catholic's sign. You may meet a man who is 
 an entire stranger to you. You do not know his name, nor his occupation, nor 
 his place of residence; you do not know whether he is rich or poor, learned or illit- 
 erate, of high or low rank in the world — simply, you know nothing at all about 
 him. But if you see this man making the sign of the cross, then you know some- 
 thing about him. You know that he is a Catholic, or at least that he then and there 
 claims to be such, whether truly or falsely; for he uses the sign that everywhere 
 designates the Catholic. 
 
 Certain Catholics are ashamed to make the sign of the cross in public, and 
 certain other Christians are disposed to ridicule Catholics when they see them 
 making this sign. If these "certain Catholics" are ashamed to make the sign of 
 
 212 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 the cross because they are ashamed of their religion, then there is some show of 
 reason for being ashamed to make it, although the "reason" is a very wrong one. 
 If those "certain other Christians" ridicule Catholics for making the sign of the 
 cross because they wish to ridicule their religion, then there is also some show of 
 reason for doing so, although the reason is a very foolish one. For is it not foolish 
 to ridicule something that one either knows nothing about, or about which one is 
 not suflSdently instructed ? Would it not be more reasonable, much more honor- 
 able, first to study the Catholic rehgion thoroughly before beginning to make fun 
 of it ? Even an infidel, if he is a well-bred gentleman, will respect the honest belief 
 of a Catholic as well as of any other Christian, even though he may imagine that 
 this belief is an entirely mistaken one. 
 
 But why any Catholic should be ashamed of the sign of the cross, or why any 
 other Christian should ridicule a Catholic for making the sign of the cross, in either 
 case simply because of the sign itself — indeed, it is most difficult to notice any 
 show of reason at all in either one or the other instance. What does the sign of 
 the cross mean ? Is there anjthing in that sign for a Catholic to be ashamed of or 
 for any other Christian to laugh at ? 
 
 The sign of the cross, as used by Catholics, reminds us of the principal and 
 fimdamental doctrines of the Christian religion. First, the sign made while pro- 
 nouncing the prescribed words reminds us of the doctrine of redemption, namely 
 that the Son of God Himself, the second person of the Most Holy Trinity, became 
 man for us, and that as God-man He shed His blood and died on the cross for our 
 salvation. Secondly, the prescribed words pronounced while making the sign 
 remind us of the doctrine of the Trinity, namely, that there is but one God, though 
 there are three persons in the Deity, one distinct from the other. The prescribed 
 words are these: " In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 Amen." 
 
 We say "In the name" (not "names"), to signify that we believe in the exist- 
 ence of but one God; and we pronounce the three names of "Father, and Son, and 
 Holy Ghost," to signify that we believe also in the three divine persons designated, 
 each person being distinct from the others, yet the three together being only one God. 
 
 This is what the sign of the cross means. Where is there a agn that contains. 
 a grander and more expressive meaning? 
 
 OBJECT OF THE DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART. 
 
 A DEVOXJX author writes: "The material or sensible object of this devotion is 
 the Heart of the Incarnate Word, inseparably xmited to His hvunanity and to His 
 divinity, and as much an object of worship as Jesus Christ Himself, with Whom 
 It is identified. The spiritual or abstract object is the love of Jesus Christ, of which 
 His Heart is the symbol. 
 
 In whatever way we consider it, the object of this devotion is all that we can 
 imagine most worthy of our adoration. It is the Heart of a God Who loves us 
 tenderly, it is Jesus Christ Himself represented by the most noble organ of His 
 humanity, and the most beautiful attribute of His divinity — His love. 
 
 No devotion can be more acceptable to Him, because none more powerfully 
 reminds us of all that He has done and suffered for us. His Heart has the same 
 
 .213 . 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 feelings as our own. We are pleased when those to whom we have rendered some 
 service are grateful to us. He shares this feeling as His words plainly show on 
 many occasions. 
 
 By this devotion we may make reparation for the insults and blasphemies of 
 heretics and infidels, and for the coldness and indiflference of Catholics, which 
 "Wound His Sacred Heart. 
 
 We commonly measure the generosity of a man by the sacrifices he makes for 
 his fellow-men. We may do the same with the generosity of the Heart of Jesus. 
 
 What was the extent of His sacrifice for us ? Of all that we possess that which 
 •we guard most jealously is oTir honor, or our reputation, and this our Saviour was 
 content to sacrifice as a reparation for the dishonor which sin had done to His 
 -Heavenly Father in order to reconcile us to His Father. He not only submitted 
 silently to the most atrocious calumnies, but He died stripped of all reputation. 
 
 Dvuing His whole life He was exposed to the hatred, calumnies and insults of 
 the doctors and rulers of the Jews. Before all the people they told Him, to His 
 iace, that He was possessed by the devil, that He worked miracles by the power of 
 Beelzebub, the prince of devils. And yet His meekness never failed. It remained 
 ixnchanged to the very last. As He hung upon the cross His enemies dared Him to 
 come down as a proof that He was the Son of God. But He descended not, leaving 
 them to conclude that He had not the power to come down, that He was an impos- 
 tor, the basest of men, and thus He died. He may indeed justly say to us, " Learn 
 <of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart." 
 
 Let us listen to the words of Blessed Margaret Mary, who received from our 
 -Divine Lord Himself the glorious title of Dearly Beloved Disciple of His Heart, and 
 ^he mission, not less glorious, of spreading this devotion. 
 
 "The amiable Heart of Jesus has an infinite desire to be known and loved by 
 Its creatures, in which It wishes to establish Its reign, as the source of every good, 
 in order to provide for all their wants. 
 
 I "Priests and all Apostolic men will through It possess the gift of touching the 
 most hardened hearts, and, if they be deeply imbued with a tender devotion to the 
 Sacred Heart of Jesus, the success of their ministry will be wonderful. 
 
 "Religious communities will derive from It so much benefit that the least orderly 
 Tvill see revive in their midst their primitive fervor and the most perfect regularity, 
 and those most subject to rule be enabled to reach the highest perfection of their state. 
 
 "The laity will obtain, by means of this devotion, peace in their families, ease 
 in their labors, the blessings of heaven on all their undertakings and consolation in 
 their miseries. 
 
 "The propagators of this devotion will be favored ^with inconceivable treasures 
 of special graces which our Saviour reserves for those engaging in this work of love. 
 Their labor will be rewarded with results far beyond their expectations, even in 
 matters which regard their own salvation and perfection. 
 
 " Every Christian will find this Divine Heart a place of refuge during life, and 
 still more so at the hour of death. How free from terror, or rather, how full of 
 peace and satisfaction must not the death of those be who remain during life con- 
 stantly devout to the Sacred Heart of Him who is about to become their Judge!" 
 From the Echo. "^ - Blessed Margaret Mary. 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS 
 
 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 The Catholic Church is indestructible. It cannot be conquered. For twenty 
 centuries, states a,nd rulers and societies have tried to crush it. If it had been 
 human, they would have obliterated it. But it is divine. It is the work of God. 
 It has the promise of perpetuity, let nations or individuals rage as they please against 
 it, for Christ Himself declared that He would abide with it forever. It therefore 
 fears no man and no combination of men. It will last until the end of the world. 
 
 Catholic Columbian. 
 
 BAPTISM. 
 
 A CHILD should be presented for baptism without delay in the parish church at 
 the proper time. If some grave reason impels one to have his child baptized out- 
 side of the parish, the written permission of the pastor is necessary. 
 
 There should be two practical Catholics for sponsors, a godfather and god- 
 mother. In case of necessity one sponsor of the same sex as the child, will suffice. 
 
 Parents should not baptize their own children except in danger of death, when 
 no one else is near. 
 
 It is proper for the mother to receive the blessing of the Church after her child 
 is baptized. The ceremony is called chxirching. 
 
 The following brief instruction refers to the baptism of children or infants: A 
 child should be presented for baptism without delay, in the parish church, at the 
 proper time. If some grave reason impels one to have his child baptized outside 
 the parish, the written consent of the pastor is necessary. 
 
 At least one Christian name should be selected for the child. The godmother 
 holds the child, with the head resting on her right arm. The clothing about the 
 neck should be loose, so that the priest may easily anoint the breast and back. 
 The responses are to be made and the Apostles' Creed and Our Father recited 
 clearly with sincerity. 
 
 The sponsors place their right hand upon the child at the pouring of the water. 
 They also hold the candlestick when the priest presents it. 
 
 It is becoming for the sponsor and the father to present an offering according 
 to their means to the officiating clergyman. No charge is made for the administra- 
 tion of the sacrament. Custom demands an offering or honorarium in proportion 
 to the means of the ones concerned. Those who are in poverty are not required to 
 observe this custom. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN CHILD AT SCHOOL. 
 
 1. Form a habit of punctuality. 
 
 By doing the same thing over and over again we form a habit. Then we do it 
 easily without effort. 
 
 Be always on time for school. It will be a help to you all through your lif«-^ 
 
 work. 
 
 The scholar who is always tardy is never good for much of anything. 
 
 2. On entering the class-room incline your head and say, "Good-morning," 
 to the teacher. 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 3. See if there is not some little service you can do for ter, — cleaning the black- 
 board, bringing fresh water for flowers, dusting her desk, etc. 
 
 4. When a clergyman, teacher, or any visitor enters the room, rise, stand on 
 both feet, and let the arms fall naturally at the side. Remain standing until you 
 have permission to be seated. 
 
 5. If you are sent on a message to another room, knock, and, when you have 
 entered bow to the teaxiier, and remain quietly standing vmtil she is ready to attend 
 to you. 
 
 Do your errand as simply as possible, not staring about the room but intent on 
 the duty. 
 
 6. Never borrow anything at school if you can help it. If you cannot, choose 
 the worst of what is offered you, and return it as soon as possible. 
 
 7. On meeting a clergyman or teacher in the corridors, pause an instant, then 
 incline your head and pass on. 
 
 Always look people straight in the face when they speak to you, or in speaking 
 to them. 
 
 ON THE PLAYGROUND. 
 
 All quarreling and fighting is low as well as displeasing to God, thereforcr 
 
 1. No screaming, pushing, or disputing on the playgroimd. The moment 
 you speak the sound of your voice tells what you are. 
 
 2. Be kind to all and wilhng to play with all as you would wish others to do to 
 you. 
 
 3. Never whisper in company; it is very rude. 
 
 4. Never praise yourself or tell of the fine things you have at home; no one 
 wants to hear it. 
 
 5. A brave child alwajrs tells the whole truth. A liar is always found out and 
 receives the contempt he has earned. 
 
 6. The child who cannot keep her temper, says many bitter, spiteful words and 
 is sad afterward at the remembrance of them. 
 
 ,7. "Do what you do." Laugh and play as hard as you work. 
 
 From the Christian Child. 
 
 CONFESSION. 
 
 Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on Calvary, in order to wash out the- 
 sins of the world. But though He thus shed His blood, still He arranged that this 
 blood, so shed, should be applied by the priest to the soul of each individual and 
 applied by means of the Sacrament of Penance, as when the sinner makes his con- 
 fession. It was after the shedding on Calvary that Christ instituted confession, 
 and this is an irresistible argument to prove that Christ meant that confession was 
 necessary, in order to apply His precious blood and thereby get sins forgiven. 
 
 A confession must have certain qualities in order to have effect in remitting sin.. 
 
 216 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 It must first be humble. In confession we should accuse ourselves as a criminal, 
 conscious of his guilt. We should not be throwing the blame upon others, or say- 
 ing as Adam and Eve, that it was this one's fault or that one's fault. 
 
 All men fall into sin. Sin is the common malady of all. It is the natural and 
 legitimate consequence of the infirmity of human nature. God has annexed shame 
 to sin, so that it may be a barrier to it; but the devil manages to invert this order 
 of things, for he takes away the shame when the sinner is about to commit sin, and 
 gives it back when the sinner is about to confess it 
 
 Secondly, our confession must be entire, that is, after having examined our 
 consciences carefully, we must tell, in confession, all the mortal sins that we recol- 
 lect and which have not been remitted in a good confession. We should give their 
 name jmd number, and the circumstances which increase or lessen the guilt. In 
 giving the number of mortal sins, care must be taken to give the exact number, 
 if possible, and if you cannot know the exact nmnber, then give a guess at the 
 number. If you have taken another's property, tell the amount, and whether you 
 have yet restored it. If you have injtured your neighbor's character or person, 
 tell to what extent, and whether you have restored the injury or not. 
 
 Thirdly, our confession must be sincere; we must confess our sins just as they 
 really are, without adding anything to them, or subtracting anything from them. 
 What is doubtful should be told as doubtful; what is certain, told as certain; what 
 is grievous, told as grievous. Sincerity is a beautiful quality in any person; it is. 
 specially beautiful in a penitent at confession. St. Gregory says: "If you excuse 
 yourself, God will accuse you; if you accuse yourself, God will excuse you." 
 
 Fourthly, our confession must be simple. By this is meant that we must con- 
 fine ourselves at confession exclusively to our sins; no irrelevant matter must be 
 brought in by the penitent, no more than by the confessor. The names of persons, 
 who may be implicated in our sins, or who may have given us scandal, must, on no 
 account be mentioned. Charity strictly requires this. In confession we should 
 have nothing to say about any person but ourselves; unless, indeed, it be abso- 
 lutely necessary for the due declaration of our sins; nor must we mention, or even 
 suggest, the name of a person of whom we have formed a rash judgment. And the 
 confessor is bound at once to check the penitent if he finds him about to make any 
 such disclosure. To have the confession simple, the penitent must confess his own 
 sins, the whole of his own sins, and nothing but his own sins. Behold the sacred 
 secrecy to be observed in the tribunal of confession. 
 
 In the Sacrament of Penance Jesus remains as a physician, inviting all who 
 are laboring against temptations and heavily laden with sin to come and He will 
 refresh and heal them. In this sacrament Jesus is the Father running with joy in 
 His eyes to meet His prodigal son whom He sees retiuming. In this sacrament 
 Jesus gives again the same sweet look of forgiveness which He gave once before 
 to Mary Magdalene the sinner. In this sacrament, Jesus is the Good Shepherd 
 climbing the hill in search of the lost sheep, and, finding it, claps His hands and 
 leaps for joy, and placing it fondly upon His shoulders returns home to the fold 
 rejoicing. "Behold I have foimd my sheep that was lost." Wherever there is a con- 
 fession made, there is Jesus present, silently and invisibly saying to the confessor: 
 *'Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them." 
 
 217 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 This whole institution, it cannot be denied, is worthy of divine wisdom ; and if, 
 in the Christian religion, there be any ordinance singularly excellent and worthy 
 of admiration, it is this which even the Chinese and Japanese admired, for the 
 necessity of confessing at once deters many, especially those who are not yet ob- 
 durate, from sinning, and administers great comfort to the fallen; insomuch that I 
 believe a pious, grave and prudent confessor to be a powerful instrument in the 
 hands of God for the salvation of souls, for his counsel is of great avail in assisting 
 ■us to govern our passions; to discover our vices; avoid occasions of sins; to make 
 restitution and reparation for injury; to dissipate doubts; to raise up the broken 
 spirit. 
 
 AT CONFESSION IT IS NOT THE CORRECT THING. 
 
 To go into the confessional without having duly examined one's conscience, 
 and made all necessary preparation. 
 
 To omit to state whether the penance imposed at the last confession was com- 
 plied with, and communion received. 
 
 To confess other people's sins, or to mention other people's names. 
 
 To be unduly scrupulous. 
 
 To be careless and mechanical in making one's confession. 
 
 To omit the act of contrition, or to say it carelessly. 
 
 To change confessors too often. 
 
 To try to rush in ahead of those kneeling around the confessional, and await- 
 ing their turn. 
 
 To leave the church before making a thanksgiving, and saying the penance 
 enjoined, if time will possibly permit of fulfilling that duty. 
 
 To tell any one, or to ask any one, what penance the priest imposed. 
 The Correct Thing for Catholics. Lelia Haeding Bugg. 
 
 Pursue with invincible courage the end to which you have been called; God 
 ias furnished such help and means to aid you in attaining it. 
 
 St. Ignatius. 
 
 PENANCE. 
 
 Penitence for a fault done is highly commendable. It earns forgiveness in 
 this world as well as in the next. But the need for penitence implies an original 
 fault, which it would be better to correct. The oflEenses for which men repent are 
 Tisually those which come from thoughtlessness or passion. Hardened offenders 
 who commit wrongs deliberately and with full understanding of what they are doing 
 seldom repent. The penitents are those who have acted thoughtlessly or at least 
 vrithout due consideration. When exposure or punishment impends they become 
 penitent. It is too late then to correct the mistake or wrong they have committed, 
 but it is not too late for them to take the lesson to heart that they are suffering 
 because they did not stop to think or because they neglected to take the advice of 
 their elders, who perhaps warned them of their danger. Other penitents regret 
 the wrongs committed in a moment of passion. They, too, will lose the fruit of 
 
 218 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 penitence if they do not trace their plight back to its cause and resolve to control 
 their tempers hereafter. 
 
 Repentance is the only recourse for those who feel that they have done wrong. 
 It cannot undo the wrong, and in itself accomplishes nothing except when it is 
 accompanied by a high resolve to correct the error of principle or conduct which 
 gave occasion for it. Repentance must be sincere to earn or gain forgiveness, but 
 that means more than sorrow for the past; its sincerity must be manifested in future 
 conduct. The ofl&ce of repentance is to humble the haughty spirit and to make 
 one feel the necessity of rigid self-control. 
 
 Young people stand in special need of such admonition as is brought to them 
 when they are obliged to repent some hasty or ill-considered action. They are 
 generally wilful, impatient of advice, satisfied in their own minds that they know 
 more than the "old fogies" who tender them advice, and they go their own way 
 until they stumble and fall and then they are ready to repent. Upon the character 
 of their repentance its value depends. 
 
 HOW TO RECEIVE. 
 
 Many people need instruction upon the matter of receiving Holy Communion. 
 It is often those who go most frequently who are most faulty in their manner of 
 acting at the rail. There are some who cause much distraction for themselves as 
 well as for the priest who has to give the Communion, by staring instead of keeping 
 their eyes closed or modestly cast down. Others are afraid of opening their mouths 
 or extending their tongues beyond the lip. It is vanity which makes them afraid of 
 seeming to have a large mouth — a sentiment which ill befits one who is receiving 
 Communion. But the worst of all are those whom we call "snappers." These 
 hardly allow the Sacred Host to touch the tongue before they snap at it, often 
 catching the priest's fingers. Although they certainly do not mean any disrespect, 
 it would be hard to imagine a more disedifying way of acting at the rail. The 
 proper manner of receiving Communion demands that the eyes be closed or cast 
 down, that the head be thrown back at the proper moment, and the tongue placed 
 well beyond the lower lip; but above all, that the head be kept perfectly steady 
 while receiving Communion. After the Sacred Host has been placed upon the 
 tongue, it should be taken into the mouth reverently and the head slowly bowed in 
 meditation. 
 
 The Season of Lent, Holy Week and Easter. 
 
 KEEPING LENT. 
 
 All are asked to deny themselves in Lent, to modify their appetites and abstain 
 from amusements; in a word, to deny the senses of the body that the soul may be 
 more free to ponder on the affairs of eternal salvation. The amusement halls 
 closed or deserted, the churches are opened for the presentation of solid doctrine, 
 and large and eager crowds are ready to receive it. Every good Christian wishes 
 to make a good Lent, and will do all in his power to accomplish that desire. All 
 
 219 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 recognize it as a time of special graces* and hence they wish to profit by it. In the 
 great cathedrals of the world noted preachers fill the pulpits and tens of thousands 
 crowd round to hear them. Some of the most powerful sermons extant have been 
 preached at these Lenten gatherings. The season itself is the most eflfective 
 preacher, for every day of the forty days of Lent tells the story of our Lord's pas- 
 sion with increasing pathos, that finally reaches the climax in the great Holy Week, 
 which commemorates His death Upon the cross. While everything outward leads 
 us in Lent to the greatest interior recollection, we have in the sacraments the means 
 to make lasting the fruits of our reflections, and these must be made use of fre- 
 quently during the holy season if we would pass a good and profitable Lent. It is 
 to bring us to our Lord that His word is preached; it is to imite us the closer to Him 
 that we are asked to withdraw from friends and pleasures of the world; and this is 
 consummated in receiving our Lord in Holy Communion. Frequent Holy Com- 
 munion is the acme of piety for the Catholic layman, as daily Mass is that of the 
 priest. All, therefore, should try and approach the altar often during the Lenten 
 season. Again, as the Mass is the greatest and most acceptable offering we can 
 make to God, daily Mass ought to be the custom for all during Lent. Finally, 
 God's poor should be remembered. The mortifications and denials we practise 
 always leave the more money in our purse. Thus we will be able to give to the 
 poor and bring them to bless God the more. Who inspires this remembrance of 
 them. Fast and abstinence, prayer, the frequent reception of the sacraments, 
 together with self-denial and aJms-deeds, make a good Lent. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 Lent will soon arrive. Yearly, our Mother the Church, the Spouse of the Holy 
 Ghost, guided by His counsel and filled with His love, calls on us to observe a fast 
 of some weeks. In all things so kind and compassionate, she is yet inflexible in 
 exempting none from the law of penance in some form or other. In this she is 
 moved by love for her children and a desire for the salvation of all. The true 
 religion is one of mortification and privation, because it is a continual exercise of 
 virtue, and virtue is acquired at the cost of pain and sacrifice. Nothing grand or 
 noble was ever gained without a struggle. 
 
 Whose example is ^ven us to follow ? That of our Lord Jesus Christ who came 
 on earth as the great Expiator of our crimes. As our model we find Him first in 
 suffering, laboring, fasting, and humbling Himself till He closes His fife by the 
 death of the cross. 
 
 AU of us who are guilty — and who is innocent ? must imitate our Redeemer 
 in His life of atonement. We, in our turn, must be expiators, must bewail oxir 
 sins and pray for pardon. To assist us in doing this, Holy Church now proclaims 
 the return of the solemn fast. 
 
 Oiu: own transgressions are not the only ones we should endeavor to repair. 
 The sins of others — those perhaps of our own families or friends — make penance 
 a pressing duty for tis. The frightful spread of impiety and irreligion, the general 
 reign of vice and the depravity of our times caU for reparation, if the world is not to 
 be allowed to sink under the load of its iniquity. 
 
 We do not sufficiently estimate the aJl powerful effect of prayer and penancp. 
 
 *220 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 ■■*v 
 
 What multitudes of sinners have been withdrawn from the ways of perdition and 
 sent to heaven ahnost in spite of themselves, by the prayers and fasts of Catholics 
 during Lent! Crime demands vengeance, but heartfelt contrition and repentance 
 propitiate God's justice. Witness the Ninivites whose tears and prayers disarmed 
 God's anger and obtained their pardon. 
 
 Far from finding the observance of the Lenten regulations difficult and painful, 
 thousands of fervent Christians are zealous in conforming with the penitential 
 precepts and add their own works of supererogation. The knowledge that they 
 are obeying God Whose eyes are fixed on them, and that they are effacing their sins, 
 make fasting and abstinence a pleasing duty. These Christians manifest a sincere 
 love of God, since love is proved by suffering. Let us, then, unite our fast to that 
 of our Divine Saviour, and enter joyfully on the career of penance. 
 
 Voice of the Precious Blood. 
 
 THE CORRECT THING FOR LENT. 
 
 Ix is the correct thing: 
 
 To resolve to observe all the regulations of the Church as far as one is able. 
 
 To decline all invitations to amusements. 
 
 To assist at the daily Mass, if at all possible. 
 
 To take but one fuU meal on any day in Lent (Sunday excepted), and then not 
 till after twelve o'clocL 
 
 To know that fish (o):sters) and meat cannot be used at the same meal during 
 any day in Lent, even on Sundays. 
 
 To know that meat is allowed but once a day, except on Sundays. 
 
 To know that one is obliged to fast as soon as he finishes his twenty-first year, 
 or begins his twenty-second. 
 
 That children should abstain from meat when they reach the age of seven years. 
 
 To remember that abstinence and fasting are two different things. 
 
 To remember that sick, convalescent, or deUcate people are not obliged to fast. 
 That those engaged at hard labor, tradesmen generally, railroaders, steamboat men, 
 etc., are not obliged to fast. 
 
 To lay aside the pipe or the bottle during Lent. 
 
 To make Ixnt a red-letter period for the poor and suffering. 
 
 To remember that travellers should keep Lent abroad, as well as at home, and 
 that the mere fact of leaving home does not abrogate the Lenten obligation. 
 
 Lelia Harding Bugg. 
 Th€ Correct Thing for Catholics. 
 
 THE CORRECT THING DURING HOLY WEEK. 
 
 It is the correct thing: 
 
 To redouble one's devotions dfiring Holy Week. 
 
 To genuflect on both knees when visiting repositories on Holy Thursday, as 
 is the regulation at all times when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the Church. 
 To receive Holy Communion on Holy Thursday. 
 
 2f2I 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 To know that a great many indulgences can be obtained by piously attending 
 the Holy Week services. 
 
 To go up one aisle and to come down another when visiting repositories in 
 crowded churches so as to avoid jostling against the throng. 
 
 To contribute to the fund for decorating the repository for Holy Thursday in 
 the Parish Church. 
 
 To remember that one who walks to the different Churches visited gains more 
 merit than one who rides, other things being equal. 
 
 Lelia Harding Bugg. 
 The Correct Thing for Catholics. 
 
 HOLY WEEK. 
 
 Holy Week, a special season of sorrow and repentance, is at hand, a time when 
 every Catholic, worthy of the name, should implore forgiveness of their sins, promis- 
 ing henceforth to lead a devout hfe, and to observe more faithfully God's law and 
 commands. He Who gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice and 
 atonement for our redemption. 
 
 The first day of the week, Christ entered Jerusalem, and the people followed 
 Him, crying out, "Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is He that cometh in the 
 name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest." This day was foretold by the prophets, 
 and we commemorate it by the blessing and distributing of the palms at Mass. 
 
 The next three days of the week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, are days 
 of mourning in the Church. Holy Thursday is observed by the faithful in visiting 
 various repositories, where they adore the Divine Mystery, surrounded by a wealth 
 of flowers and myriad lights. 
 
 Good Friday, day of sorrow and gladness — sorrow for our part in the Sruci- 
 fixion of Our Lord by our sins — gladness for the joy of salvation to man ! We 
 reverently kneel and kiss the cross laid on the steps before the altar, and caress the 
 sacred wounds of our Redeemer, imploring pardon for our transgressions in the 
 past, and promising better things in the future. 
 
 Holy Saturday our Lord rests in the tomb, and the Church awaits the Resur- 
 rection with subdued joy and gladness. On the morrow — the first day of the 
 week — we shall hail our Risen Lord. May it find us with clean and pure hearts, 
 that we may be worthy to approach the Lord's table and partake of the Blessed 
 Sacrament, and begin renewed lives of aspiration toward perfection. 
 
 The end of the Lenten season is now drawing near. Its last solemn week 
 is about upon us and we are called by the Church to pray devoutly. Through the 
 prayers we say, the acts of devotion we practise at this time, we are taught will 
 the life beyond the grave be compensated. Holy Week with its dark dread height 
 of Calvary is now before us. The meditation and bloody sweat, the betrayal, 
 and then — then Friday — Good Friday, with is sacrifice for man's redemption, 
 when the voice of his servant at the altar is hushed, and the world moans in its 
 grief; all this is what now comes to possess the soul, and make the heart of man 
 bow down in prayer. In the shadow of the great solemn event, the believing 
 mind turns away from all earthly thought, and dwells upon the great mystery. 
 
 222 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 To the Catholic it is not a dream, all this, not an ecstasy, or a story held and told 
 in print, or a symbol of what was once on earth, but a living, real, actual ocoir- 
 rence made sudi by the Real Presence, and as such has its ii^uence on the mind. 
 It is a shading, a drawing of the mantle of sorrow upon all the earth at mid-day, 
 that so, in greater relief, the eye of Faith may see upon Golgotha's height, the 
 Man- God impaled upon the cross by man in his blindness, and all allowed by 
 Heaven, that so man from his sins might find redemption. 
 
 EASTER. 
 
 "He is risen. Alleluia!" The glad words ring out at the happy Easter time, 
 and all bow in acknowledgment of the Divinity of Christ. The soldiers no longer 
 guard the portals of the dead Saviour's tomb. While Christmas commemorates 
 the birthday of our Lord, Easter marks the birth of the Christian Religion, for by 
 His resurrection Christ proved that He was "indeed the Son of God." After the 
 sadness which pervades Holy Week, comes the gladness of Easter, teaching us to> 
 rise with Christ to a new life. 
 
 Easter is indeed a joyous feast, and one when our hearts should go out in thank- 
 fulness to God for the many blessings He has given us; but most of all for the great 
 gift of faith, which is a priceless blessing. The feast comes to us in the early 
 spring when nature is awaking from her long sleep and putting on her new gar- 
 ments. The choicest flowers deck our altars, the pure Easter lilies emit their 
 fragrance, and before our Lord, veiled in the Blessed Sacrament, burn myriads 
 of lights. All this is in keeping with the great day which brought into the world 
 the Ught of Christian faith, and the sweet odor of sanctity. 
 
 Like the observance of Christmas, that of Easter has of late years become 
 general, and in the churches of all the sects the grand music of the old Catholic 
 masters is sung on that day. A perusal of the Easter programs of these churches 
 shows that more Catholic music is being added each year, and the observance of 
 recent years is much more elaborate than formerly. The influence of the Church 
 is spreading in a marvellous manner, and the persecution which she has suffered 
 during late years has done a good work in more closely uniting her members. 
 
 In this unity of the Catholic Church is her strength. The world to-day, 
 through many noted writers of different creeds, is also awaking to the fact that in the 
 Catholic Church alone the true democracy which Christ taught is practised. Within 
 her fold all classes are welcome, the rich who can contribute liberally to the many 
 good works which she supports, and equally as welcome the poor and down-trodden 
 who will there find solace and comfort. The outcast of society finds a refuge in 
 God's Church and are there taught that, if repentant, like Magdalen, they can be- 
 come saints and occupy high places in God's kingdom. The queen of society and 
 the woman who earns her daily bread by the most menial service, kneel side by 
 side in the Catholic Church on an equal footing. No spirit of caste exists in the 
 true Church of Christ, and surely this is carrying out the teaching of the meek and 
 humble Son of Mary, Who dwelt among the poor and lowly, and taught us that 
 the attainment of riches should not be the sole aim of our existence on earth. 
 
 The feast of Easter teaches many lessons, but mainly that of gratitude. When, 
 on that day, we kneel in solemn worship, we should not forget to give thanks for 
 our innumerable blessings, and ask that our faith be strengthened and sustained. 
 
 223 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Then will it be for us indeed a joyous feast, and one celebrated in the true spirit 
 of love and faith. Then can we join with the Church in her glad anthem: "He 
 is risen, Alleluia !" 
 
 "O death! where is thy bitter sting? 
 
 Where now thy victory? 
 
 To-day His glorious praise we sing, 
 
 Who triumphed over thee. 
 
 Nor triumphed for Himself alone, 
 
 But by His mighty power 
 
 Taught us to triumph in our timi. 
 
 Nor dread thy terrors more." 
 Haverhill. Mary E. Desmond. 
 
 Easter, the glad anniversary of our Saviour's resmrection, is the greatest festi- 
 val of the year — the Queen of festivals. In early times it was the custom for 
 Christians to greet each other on the morning of this day, with the words of the 
 Gospel, "The Lord hath risen indeed; Alleluia!" To which the person saluted 
 made reverent answer, "And hath appeared unto Simon, AUeluia!" 
 
 It is one of the movable feasts of the Church, and is not fixed to one particular 
 day of the month, but occurs according as the full moon next after the vernal equi- 
 nox falls near or further from the equinox. 
 
 In the language of Scripture, let us remember that on this great day of days, 
 " Christ, our Paschal Victim, was sacrificed, therefore let us keep the feast, not with 
 the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the 
 unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." 
 
 Christ is risen; He is no longer hidden in the gloom of the tomb. Let us re- 
 joice and be glad. This day brought salvation to man through Christ's resurrec- 
 tion from death, and the infamous cross is now glorified by His blood. It is truly 
 "a. day of faith, of hope, and of love, a day of happiness and joy I" 
 
 The Saviour suffered and died for our sins. We may return Him love for love 
 and show Him that we are grateful. How may we do this? By repentance and 
 contrition, by making a sincere confession and partaking of the Blessed Sacrament, 
 by rising from death in sin, to be bom anew. In this way we may prove our love, 
 and show Him gratitude for His cruel death on the cross in expiation for our trans- 
 gressions. 
 
 Easter is, then, a day of rejoicing, and earth and heaven sing the praises and 
 chant the glory of our Risen Lord. Let us resolve not to return to the path of sin, 
 but henceforth to be true children of God, and then, it may be said of all our days, 
 as well as Easter, "This is the day the Lord hath made, let us exult and rejoice 
 therein," 
 
 Happy are they who have during Lent become sensible of the darkness of sin, 
 and desire to rise out of it. Happy are they who look forward to the dawn of an 
 eternal Easter, and lead lives in anticipation of it. 
 
 " One moment now may give us more 
 Than fifty years of reason; 
 Our minds shall drink at every pore 
 The spirit of the season. 
 
 224 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Some silent laws our hearts will make, 
 
 Which they shall long obey; 
 We for eternity may take 
 
 Our temper from to-day." 
 
 TITLES OF A CATHOUC PRIEST. 
 
 1. He is a king, reigning not over unwilling subjects, but over the hearts and 
 aflfections of his people. 
 
 2. He is a shepherd, because he leads his flock into the delicious pastures of the 
 sacraments, and shelters them from the wolves that lie in wait for their souls. 
 
 3. He is a father, because he breaks the bread of life to his spiritual children 
 whom he has begotten in Jesus through the Gospel. 
 
 4. He is a judge whose ofl&ce it is to pass sentence of pardon on self-accusing 
 sinners. 
 
 5. He is a physician because he heals their souls from the loathsome distempers 
 of sin. 
 
 Cardinal Gibbons. 
 
 THE PRIEST IS A MAN OF GOD. 
 
 The priest is a man of God. He, of all men, nmst be a man of faith, a man of 
 sacrifice. He must be a lover of God, a lover of God's people, the example of Grod's 
 love for men. He bears faith to men, for he is the instrument through whom God 
 works. His faith should be full, it should be clearly defined, intelligently appre- 
 ciated, and intelligently made known. He should be a man of faith, who believes 
 in, God in the full meaning of belief; who believes in his Church, in the teachings 
 of the Fathers and Councils, who is loyal to his Bishop and the Holy See, who trusts 
 implicitly in Providence. His life ^ould be above reproach, for he deals with 
 sacred things, he handles holiness; he must be as Timothy, "Blameless, sober, 
 prudent." Albertus Magnus and St. Thomas have said that no greater power or 
 dignity than the power and dignity of consecrating the body of Christ was ever 
 bestowed on man; and no greater sanctity or perfection can be conceived than the 
 sanctity and perfection required for so divine an action, in the priest. To him, 
 above all men, is said the word of Christ, "Be perfect, imitate Me, be My disciple." 
 Woe to him, if by him any scandal comes. To him is given power over the body of 
 Christ. At his word, Christ the Lord comes in the sacrament of the Eucharist and 
 dwells upon our altars to be the food and nourishment of our souls. By his acts, in 
 conjunction with man's repentance, sins are remitted. In his hands, according to 
 the scheme of salvation, are the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Oh, indeed he 
 should be a man of faith. 
 
 Rt. Rev. T. J. Conaty, D. D, 
 
 THE PRIEST IS A FATHER. 
 
 The priest is a man of the people, a father, a friend, a guide, a defender. It is 
 his duty to commend good, to denounce evil, to lead the people into virtue, to keep 
 them from vice, to guard the fold from the ravening wolves, to feed the sheep with 
 life-giving food, to train them in the ways that lead to strength and beauty of goodness. 
 
 What a work the Christian priesthood has done in the history of the world ! It 
 
 225 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 preached the Gospel to pagan Rome and Jewish Palestine; it converted Constan- 
 tine and his empire;^ and evangelized the barbarians; it brought the Gospel of 
 Christ to every nation; it built the Christian altar by the running brook, on the hill- 
 side and in the mountain fastnesses, that everywhere the people might have salva- 
 tion; near the altar; it built the Christian school; it preserved letters and science,, 
 and civilized the world. The saints of old, who taught men morality, established 
 Christianity and ruled the Christian Church, were priests. The missionaries, who 
 gave up life and its ambitions to consecrate themselves to the service of God, were 
 ' saintly priests of the Christian Church. They built the Church of God into the 
 life of every nation; they have brought the Church to this land and to our day. We 
 are the successors to that same priesthood, and upon us falls the same responsibility. 
 There is call to us for action. The responsibility of the Church is our responsibility. 
 The priest of to-day must be prepared to meet the exigencies of the times; he 
 must have the spirit of his vocation and the courage of his convictions, manfully 
 and fearlessly standing for the truth. He is called to be a leader. 
 
 Rt. Rev. T. J. Conaty, D. D. 
 
 WORK OF THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Catholic priests have ever been the champions of virtue, and the Church was 
 always a barrier to tyranny and social disorder, says the Freeman's Journal. 
 Virtue! virtue! is their constant theme. They inculcate it to the powerful as welt 
 as the weak, to the rich as well as the poor. They protect the innocent and save 
 the oppressed from violence. They insist on the observance of law and the keeping 
 of the commandments. Children learn from their lips the obligation of obedience, 
 and parents are reminded of what they owe to their offspring. Husbands and wives 
 are taught fidelity and the necessity of mutual forbearance. Compassion for the 
 afflicted, mercy toward the erring, alms-giving to the needy and charity for all are 
 among their frequent lessons. When selfishness corrupts the hearts of men they 
 hear echoing the solemn duty of bearing each other's burden. These are the doc- 
 trines taught by the priesthood. There is not a virtue necessary for the individual 
 or society that has not its teacher, its champion and its model within the ranks of 
 the clergy. They are ever ready with arguments to show the beauty of virtue and 
 the horrid deformity of vice. With a zeal all their own and a power all divine 
 they illumine the intellect, fill the soul with grace, purify the heart and rescue the 
 sin-laden from eternal misery. 
 
 THE OBLIGATION OF HEARING MASS. 
 
 The one who appreciates the meaning of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass must; 
 indeed be surprised to learn that very many Catholics neglect to hear Mass on Sun- 
 days and Holy Days of Obligation. The slightest pretext is sufficient to keep them 
 at home, although much graver reasons would be required to prevent them from 
 keeping a business or social engagement. 
 
 From time to time we are told of the great loss the Church suffers by the apos- 
 tasy of her children, and in the majority of cases the cause may be traced to careless- 
 ness in attending Mass. It seems so easy to contract a bad habit, but it is very- 
 difficult to get rid of it. Those who work all the week, and often late Saturday 
 night, are inclined to believe that they are excused from the obligation of hearing 
 
 220 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHH^DREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Mass, and yet they would not hesitate to go to their stores and shops because they 
 were a little tired or suffered a slight headache. . 
 
 We are naturally inclined to undervalue what we can obtain free of all expense,, 
 and because it is so easy to hear Mass we do not properly appreciate the great bless- 
 ing we enjoy in being permitted to be present when it is celebrated. If the passioa 
 play were to be performed as it is at Oberammergau within a few miles of our home- 
 we would be impatient for the day to come, and would not think of remaining at. 
 home it if were possible for us to attend the performance. And yet how insignifi- 
 cant is the passion play when compared to the Sacrifice of the Mass. The one is 
 an imitation, the other the genuine. While we would rejoice to see the passion play 
 how much greater would our happiness be to be present at the Sacrifice of the Mass, 
 were it only celebrated once a year or once in ten years. Then we would appre- 
 ciate the great blessing which Our Saviour left us when He instituted this adorable? 
 mystery. 
 
 "If we go often to Mass," says a spiritual writer, "this holy sacrifice will cor- 
 rect our faults without bitterness; will heal our wounds without pain, will purify^ 
 our hearts without violence;, will sanctify our soul without alarm and almost with- 
 out a struggle. It will detach us from ourselves, withdraw us from creatures and 
 unite us to God. It is the remedy which Jesus Christ has left us in all sweetness. 
 The poor and the rich, the mechanic and the merchant, the married and the un- 
 married, the sick and the strong — all can easily participate in this admirable sacri- 
 fice without leaving the world, without injuring their health, or abandoning their 
 family or employments." 
 
 There should not be any necessity of a law to induce men to attend Mass, but 
 the Church appreciating the weakness of her children, in order to induce them ta 
 participate in the blessings derived from hearing Mass, has made it obligatory upoa 
 all to hear Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. To the well-instructed 
 Catholic the laws of the Church are commands that must be obeyed. "He that 
 will not hear the Church let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican." The 
 Council of Trent says: "To refuse obedience to this commandment is a proof of 
 extreme temerity, and the punishment with which its infraction has been visited 
 should be a salutary admonition to Christians. 
 
 It is said of St, Louis, King of France, that he used to hear two Masses every 
 morning, even on week days, and when his courtiers murmured he severely repri- 
 manded them, saying: "If I were to ask you to play or to go hunting with me^ 
 three or four times a day, you would find no time too long, and now you feel weary 
 of staying in the church diuing one or two Masses for the honor of our Lord and 
 Saviour." 
 
 Man does not require the law of the state to compel him to try to secure wealth. 
 He is willing to suffer and labor for gold, although he must leave it in a few years,, 
 and yet he cannot find time to seek what is ten million times more valuable than all 
 the gold in the world. He is very industrious in working to secure a beautiful home 
 here, but he cares very little for the home he shall inhabit for eternity. If he was 
 at all solicitous about the latter the Church would be compelled to make a law ta 
 remain away from the church long enough to supply his own and his family's wants. 
 
 Church News. 
 
 227 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 FIRST MASS IN AMERICA. 
 
 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered for the first time on the shores of 
 America by Father Juan Perez, who accompanied Columbus on his second voyage 
 to the New World. Selecting an elevated spot, an altar was erected beneath a 
 rude canopy, and there amidst the beauties of nature was laid the foimdation of 
 Catholicity in the Western world. Around the solitary altar and at its first Sacri- 
 fice Columbus and his mariners knelt in silent adoration and poured forth fervent 
 prayers. At a distance grouped upon the ground, the rude natives gazed upon the 
 scene in mute astonishment. At the conclusion of the Holy Sacrifice the minister 
 of God turned to impart a solemn benediction to the venerable Columbus and his 
 companions who knelt before him. Columbus had the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass 
 offered up in all the prominent places he discovered. At Havana one of the original 
 chapels stiU exists on the spot where the astonished natives witnessed the grand 
 and imposing ceremony. At Isabelle, in Hayti, the ruins of the church still re- 
 jmain. 
 
 EARLY TO MASS. 
 
 A YOUNG man was speaking of theatre-going the other evening, and said that he 
 liated to go in after the curtain had gone up, says The Paulist Calendar. It would 
 be good if some of you would feel the same way in regard to coming in time for 
 Mass. It seems strange that the person who would feel uncomfortable at the 
 thought of missing part of a play or of a dinner would feel no concern at losing part 
 of what he knows to be the greatest act of worship on earth — the sacrifice of the 
 Mass. 
 
 If you have a business appointment with some one which means advancement 
 to you, which puts money in your pocket, I take it you are there on the minute. 
 If you are taking the pleasure trip, and you must catch a certrain train or steamer, I 
 take it you are there some minutes before. And here you have an appointment, 
 made by the Chiu-ch of Christ, and you know it makes it for your spiritual advance- 
 ment if you do yoiu* part, and yet you are careless and negligent. 
 
 Nay, rather going to Mass should be regarded as a visit of pleasure, not as a 
 task imposed, for should we not be glad of a few minutes' converse with One Whom 
 we profess to love above all things on earth ? 
 
 ASSISTING AT MASS. 
 "Make every effort," says Saint Francis de Sales, "to assist daily at the Mass, 
 in order that with the priest you may offer up the holy sacrifice of your Redeemer, 
 to God His Father, for yourselves, and for the whole Church." Temporal blessings 
 are frequently poured upon those who obey this injunction of the Saint. It is re- 
 lated in the life of St. Joh» the Almoner, of some tradesmen, who lived in the same 
 town, that one of them who had a large family, and daily heard Mass, lived most 
 comfortably, while the other who had no one to support but his wife, could scarcely 
 live, though he worked day and night, not allowing himself time to go to Church 
 service, even on Sundays. Wondering at this, he once asked his more devout 
 fellow tradesman how it happened. "I'll show you," replied the other, so he led 
 him to Mass next morning. "Here it is," said he, "that I lay up treasures for the 
 next Hfe, and procure a sufficiency for this, for you know the Lord said, 'Seek first 
 
 228 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHH^DREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 the kingdom of God and His justice, and all things eke diall be added 
 unto you.' " 
 
 THE NUPTIAL MASS. 
 
 The Church has appointed a manner, a form, in which all should receive the 
 sacrament of matrimony. 
 
 See in what estimation she holds it. She would have the holy nuptial of her 
 children with all religious pomp and ceremony. It is so sacred in her eyes that she 
 bids her priest sing a Solemn Mass of benediction and joy, clothed in his most 
 precious robes. She would have the sanctuary adorned as if for a high festival^ 
 and to honor and reverence this sacrament she interrupts the sacred ritual to 
 bestow her fruitful and hallowing blessings. The only other occasion on which 
 she does this is in the ordination of her priests. Then, and then only, does she grant 
 nuptial benediction to the married pair, and those who aro not thus married never 
 receive it. Custom to the contrary, so much to be lamented, does not make up the 
 deficiency, and heavenly graces are simply rejected as if they were of little or na 
 worth. What would you think if the priest would simply baptize your children 
 with plain water, and omit the prayers, exorcisms and holy unctions appointed for 
 the solemn administration of that sacrament ? You would not be content, and you 
 would be scandalized at the priest's want of obedience to the Church and his want 
 of respect for so holy a rite. 
 
 Western Chronicle, 
 
 GOOD ADVICE TO CHURCH GOERS. 
 
 Often on a Stmday I visit the dififerent churches during the morning Mass and 
 notice with not a little surprise (a scribe you know must need be observant) that 
 the large majority of yoimg persons present on these occasions never use a prayer- 
 book. 
 
 Most of the young women seem to be deeply engaged in studying the stained 
 glass windows, the frescoing over the arches, the style of the latest bonnet, or the 
 dress of those occupying the next pew. 
 
 The young men are to be seen in groups around the door conversing in an 
 audible voice on the happenings of the past week, glancing now and then through 
 the screen door at the altar, only pausing when the soimd of the bell, ringing to 
 remind the congregation that they are about to witness the solemn mystery of the 
 Cross, tinkles in their ears. 
 
 Within the church also the young man may be found kneeling like a statue, 
 staring into vacancy. I had often been tempted to ask him, "a penny for your 
 thoughts." Were I to do so I feel perfectly satisfied his thoughts were not worth 
 half the copper, for he is thinking simply of nothing, and the awful Sacrifice of 
 Calvary goes on in his presence unheeded. 
 
 How these persons deceive themselves! Surely they do not need to go out on a 
 cold winter's day at eight or nine o'clock in the morning and stay in a chxirch an 
 hour or two, then return home again without fvdfilling the obligation incumbent on 
 every Catholic, namely, of hearing Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation. 
 
 St. Augustine says: "As material food constitutes the sustenance of the body, 
 so a spirit of prayer is the food and life of the soul." If people neglect prayer they 
 
 229 
 
* OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 <aeprive their souls of proper nourishment. The royal prophet assures vis of his 
 personal experience of this truth. "My heart," says he, "is withered because I 
 forget to get my bread." Mark the words — as soon as he ceased to take his food 
 his heart withered — in other words his soul became weak because he neglected to 
 pray. 
 
 ' Ah, my dear friends, better far is it for you to remain altogether from church 
 than to go there and oflfend God in His holy temple by irreverence and forgetfulness. 
 Take your prayer book along with you on Sunday morning; remember where 
 you are going, for what purpose; do not address any one in the church — for it is 
 the holy place where the soul communes with God alone. Do not look to the 
 right or to the left, keep your minds and hearts on the sacred Word; follow the 
 priest through all the stages of the Passion; contemplate the Victim immolated on 
 the altar, pray for strength to become better; pray also for your parents and rela- 
 tives, for all in need of grace who travel on the broad highway of this life; bow 
 lowly at the last benediction and ask the blessing of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacra- 
 ment. And when you have left the chiurch you experience a happiness and a joy 
 that cannot he described, and an abiding peace that will last forever. 
 
 WHISPERING IN CHURCH. 
 
 The worst of all kinds of soimds in church is that of human voices not engaged 
 In the service; worst in indecency, worst in moral transgression. Even religious 
 conversation is wrong; secular conversation is profanity. Comments on the ser- 
 vice itself, if favorable and friendly, are impertinent; if critical are disgraceful; if 
 •comical, or calculated to provoke laughter, are infamous. For all mutual com- 
 mimications that appear to be necessary, a sufl&cient forethought would, in most 
 instances, obviate the necessity. If those who whisper would think twice first, 
 they would commonly see that no serious harm would come of keeping still till after 
 the service. The insult lies against His courts, against the authorities of the Church, 
 against the congregation. A whisper reaches farther than the whisperer imagines. 
 And wherever it reaches it may rightly stir indignation. It is a form of ill-manners, 
 the more deplorable because it is scarcely capable of rebuke and suppression by 
 •any other means than a general sense of good behavior and a right education. 
 
 THE CANDLES. 
 
 Candles were used in the Church from the time of the Apostles. Doubtless 
 they recall to us that the divine mysteries were celebrated by the persecuted Church 
 in caves and catacombs. The candles of the altar are made of beeswax. Wax, 
 made by bees from the fairest flowers of earth, is a figure, of Jesus born of the Virgin 
 Mother, the purest flower of the human race. The flame of the candle tells of Christ 
 the true Light, and of His Church, shedding the knowledge of the gospel and of 
 heavenly things among the children of men. 
 
 TEACHING CATECHISM. 
 
 "What is meant by the teaching of the catechism?" was the subject recently 
 of a zealous priest, that has come under our notice. The study of the catechism 
 should make a deep and lasting impression. This is its spirit, and it is absolutely 
 necessary for the child. It does not consist in making children learn the mere 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 words, without the slightest attempt to explain the meaning. That kind of teach- 
 ing is dry, cold and useless. It is making of the study a mere task, and by no means 
 an agreeable task. The mere dry explanation is not true religious instruction. It 
 will bear no fruit; it will enter the mind without touching the heart, and will leave 
 the child as it found it. Religious instruction fails in its purpose if, besides en- 
 lightening the mind, it does not touch the heart and affect the will and form the 
 conscience. Catechism should teach children in their early years to love God, 
 to pray, to reflect on their salvation, to repent of their sins and correct bad habits. 
 The ordinary teacher thinks this is the work of the priest; but the teacher is the 
 co-laborer of the priest, and is his deputy. When catechism is thus taught by a 
 teacher who brings to the duty, for it is not a task, a zealous preparation and a con- 
 scientious study, teaching not only from the head but straight from the heart, their 
 pupils when adults, cannot excuse their profound and culpable ignorance of re- 
 ligion, by saying they are no scholars; thereby confounding knowledge of their 
 religion with ordinary literary acquirements, a fallacy extremely common among 
 those whose catechism was imparted to them in a mere perfunctory manner. 
 
 Pittsburg Catholic. 
 GRAVEYARD POLITENESS. 
 
 A LESSON of what might be expected of Catholics attending a funeral may not 
 he amiss. Don't be ashamed to bend your knee, or take holy water on entering 
 the church because you have a Protestant with you. If you want to practise what 
 you beUeve, see that you have a prayer-book, or a rosary with you, to pray for the 
 soul of the dead. It is ill-becoming for a Catholic to look upon the cemetery as 
 anything else but a sacred place. It is blessed and set apart as a temple, for the 
 departed. As it would be ill-becoming to misbehave in the church, even if the 
 Blessed Sacrament was not there, on account of it being a holy place, in like manner 
 is it a fault for us to misbehave in the cemetery. Too often has it occurred that 
 Catholics use it as a meeting place, at time of funerals, and there is the hand-shak- 
 ing, and greeting and very often laughter, which is not much less than a disgrace. 
 Sometimes loud-mouthed people will intrude themselves very near the grave and 
 disedify their neighbors with the description of the graveyard, teUing who was 
 buried here, and there, and all about the recent tombstones. 
 
 Even the pallbearers sometimes make comments, which are very unbecoming. 
 If you come to the cemetery to honor the remains of the party who is to be interred, 
 you should show the proper respect by going to the grave without unnecessary 
 delay. If you want to visit the graves of the members of your families or friends, 
 do so after the final exercises at the grave. 
 
 It would seem from appearance that some people make it a point to visit the 
 graves of their deceased friends, and kneel down and pray earnestly for them only 
 when there is a funeral in the cemetery. Everyone realizes that this is a sham, of 
 the meanest description, and the most illiterate can tell that you are showing off. 
 It becomes an abomination when such people bewail, in such a loud manner as to 
 attract the attention of everyone to the memory of their dead friends, who, when 
 they were alive, they heeded very little. 
 
 It is exceedingly unbecoming for a layman to usurp the priest's place as soon as 
 his back is turned, and kneeling offer an additional number of prayers. The Church 
 does not tolerate this. The priest is the only one to officiate in the cemetery, and 
 
 211 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 no lajonan should dare to assume the right to conduct public prayers in that holy 
 place. There are persons who do not kiiow better, but it is all yery wrong. It 
 indicates either that the priest docs not know his bxisiness, and, consequently, 
 someone else had to finish his work, or that the Church recognises a lay priesthood. 
 In both instances this is decidedly wrong. "Fools rush in where angels fear to 
 tread," is an old saying, which can be applied in this instance. 
 
 This custom of leading in prayer originated very likely in Ireland, when a 
 priest was not permitted to enter a cemetery and Catholics were compelled to bury 
 their dead in unconsecrated ground. It might also be tolerated when a priest can- 
 not attend the burial, but when a priest officiates it is exceedingly wrong. It must 
 not happen in the future. After the remains have been committed to the earth, it is 
 very proper that you should visit the graves of your deceased relatives and friends, 
 but not until then. 
 
 It seems hardly becoming to have children attend the burial, who have not 
 arrived at the age of reason, and think the whole aflFair is a matter of play. There 
 are persons in the neighborhood of -our home who will gladly care for them during 
 the funeral services. 
 
 In some parts of Canada it is customary for men only to go to the grave. The 
 women return home from the church. It is certainly a desirable custom; however, 
 one we are afraid which could hardly be introduced here at this late date. 
 
 The cemetery should be a reminder to each of us of the shortness of life, and 
 that our turn is sure to come earlier than we expect. It should inspire solemn, holy 
 thoughts, which should be of benefit to ourselves and the souls of the departed. 
 We should ever bear in mind the lessons which are imparted, the pra)rers which 
 recall to our minds our last end and the decorum which is becoming in a conse- 
 crated place. The AugusHnian. 
 
 CATHOLICS SHOULD REMEMBER THIS. 
 
 Peiests may justly complain, and do, at the unnecessary summoning of them 
 in the long hours of the night to a sick call. Cases of emergency arise, of a sudden 
 danger, and the priest readily responds and would censure the interested who do 
 not call on him, no matter the hour nor the inclemency of the season or his state of 
 feeling, so that he is able to go. There are too many among us who never think 
 of the priest but only as an automaton, to be moved about at their own sweet wilk, 
 especially in the sick calL Well-instructed Catholics, and there is no excuse 
 for there being ignorant ones, should call in the priest at a seasonable hour when 
 sickness of a serious nature manifests itself. Don't wait until the doctor gives the 
 patient up. Most oftentimes then it is too late for the priest to do any good the 
 Church desires, expects and demands. The clouded mind does not respond. A 
 sick person reconci .ed to God through the reception of the sacraments, has a calm 
 mind, and the priest's ministration goes far to effect a cure. Have reason and 
 common-sense, and attend to the religious duties promptly and in seasonable hours 
 as far as possible. The Catholic Review. 
 
 THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 The Catholic is serious, for ha sees the world lying in error and wickedness; 
 serious — for he has his own sins to lament, his own soul to save, and he sorrows; 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 but never does he soito-w as on« withont hope, and his sorrow is less of the sensi- 
 bility than the will, less in what he feels than in what he wilk Be it always free, 
 calm, rational, possessing his soul and overflowing with gladness. He eschews 
 melancholy as the devil's best friend upon earth, abhors the morbid sentimentality 
 of the soul which feeds upon itself and grows by what it feeds upon. He may be 
 grave, but never mopes; tender, affectionate, but never weak or sickly. He goes- 
 forth into the fresh air, the bright sunshine, and, when occasion requires rings out 
 the merry laugh that does one's heart good to hear. 
 
 Oresics Brownson. 
 
 THE WORD **CATHOLIC.« 
 
 The word "CathoBc" is first used in the Apostles' Creed, where it says: 
 "One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church." It is next used by Ignatius, who is 
 said to have been an Apostle of John. He used the word in this sentence : "Wher- 
 ever Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church." St. Augustine (A. D. 400), says: 
 "The very name of ' Catholic' holds me to the Church." The word is derived from 
 "kata," meaning "in"* or "throu^" and "olus," the whole. 
 
 HOW TO PRAY. 
 
 In order that the prayer may be always truly human, let it be in all ways sin- 
 cere. Say and do those things that serve to bring you nearer in feeling to your God. 
 Kneel when you pray, if that action come spontaneously as a true way of forgetting 
 the self in higher things. Bow down in prayer, not to be seen by others, nor in the 
 way of shocking your own self-reliance, but to do it when action seems to fit the 
 mood, and to express your glad reverence for all that is better than yourself. 
 
 When the body bows thus, the soul is looking up into the face of the Eternal. 
 This upward look of the soul is the essence of prayer — a brave and hopeful lifting 
 up of the spirit of a man. When any one is cast down, forsaken, crushed, imperiled 
 or in any other way stricken, let him not yield to the mood of fear or sorrow, but 
 rather let the spirit hold itselif erect and manful, face to face with the light eternal, 
 heart to heart with God, the life that is larger than ours. 
 
 All such prayer is rich in reasonableness, strong in helpfulness, noble in its 
 manliness. The progress of souls rests upon such prayer. It is the mainstay of 
 civilisation, the angel of the home, the comforter of men in trouble and their guide 
 in darkness. It is victory over sin. Learn then its simple wisdom, choose its 
 manly way and so advance into your grander life. 
 
 THE MANNER OF SAYING THE ROSARY. 
 
 There are different manners of saying this prayer well; The first is to attach 
 ourselves to the sense of the words, such as we have explained them, to enjoy them, 
 to penetrate into them; the mind tires and is wearied, the heart never. A second 
 manner is to propose to ourselves, before commencing each decade, a special in- 
 tention, which by occupying the mind and the heart whilst reciting it, obviates 
 the weariness of repetition by means of the particular interest attached to each 
 intention. For example: One decade may be said for some fault which needs to 
 be corrected. Another for such or such a virtue to be acquired; the third for such 
 or such a grace which we desire; the fourth for the conversion of sinners or some 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 particular sinner, and a fifth for the souls in piurgatory. A third manner is to 
 occupy ourselves with the mysteries of the rosary; one day with the mysteries — 
 the Annunciation, the Visitation, Christmas, the Purification, and the finding of 
 Jesus in the Temple;, the second day a meditation may be made on the sorrowful 
 mysteries — Jesus in the Garden of Olives, scourged, crowned with thorns, bearing 
 His cross, crucified; the third day it wiU be the glorious m)rsteries — ,the Resur- 
 rection, the Ascension, Pentecost, the Assumption, and the Coronation of the Blessed 
 Virgin in heaven. Is there not abundant and varied matter for our meditation in 
 all these great mysteries, and shall we still dare to speak of monotony? A fourth 
 manner of reciting the rosary is to consider the Blessed Virgin in the first decade 
 as daughter of the Father; in the second, as mother of the Son; • in the third, as 
 spouse of the Holy Ghost; in the fourth, as queen of the Church triumphant; in 
 the fifth, as queen of the Church suffering; in the sixth, as queen of the Church 
 militant. These are new points of view eminently suited to sustain piety during 
 the recitation of each decade. Have we recourse to these different means for saying 
 the rosary well? St. Boniface Calendar. 
 
 THE BENEFIT OF VOCAL PRAYER. 
 
 The great trouble of our spiritual lives is the tendency to get languid aad tepid; 
 and it seems to me the chief work of our Lents ought to be to resist and fight against 
 this, not by doing a great many more things, but by trying to get back to the better 
 way of doing them. There is one remedy for tepidity, but it is an all-powerful one, 
 and that is prayer. "Is any man sad ? Let him pray." Tepidity, in ever so small 
 a degree, always has something of the nature of sadness about it. 
 
 It is the weariness and disgust of the soul; and that is sadness. Now, prayer 
 Is the great weapon against sadness, and sadness is the great enemy of prayer. If 
 we find we have been getting careless in prayer, we are sure also to find that we have 
 been full of weariness and discouragement. Very often we go on in this suffering, 
 unsatisfactory condition for weeks and months, when, if we did but know it, we 
 might rid ourselves of the misery by half an hour of prayer. And very often, also, 
 when we feel as if we could not pray, that dreadful stupor of the soul would be 
 driven away if we knew how to make use of vocal prayer, following Mass atten- 
 tively with a prayer book, or saying, slowly and deliberately, some prayer in honor of 
 the passion, such as St. Bridget's. 
 
 Vocal prayer, used earnestly, has immense power for combating spiritual sloth 
 and slovenliness, and getting us out of that half paralyzed condition into which we 
 fall sometimes. And it is surprising how much comes out of a very little thing 
 if it is persevered in. 
 
 It is impossible to say any prayer on the passion, seriously and attentively, and 
 not to get good out of it, even sensible good. I believe some persons owe many 
 seasons of aridity and indevotion to the neglect of vocal prayer or of the use of a 
 prayer book. Mother Francis Raphael. 
 
 PERSEVERANCE IN PRAYER. 
 
 Many people complain that their prayers are not heard. Again and again 
 they have made some special request for temporal, or it may be even for spiritual 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 blessings, and nothing seems to have come of these petitions. Others get what thej 
 ask for, but they are not favored and they almost make up their minds it is of no 
 use for them to pray. They think, perhaps, that they are too great sinners for God 
 to hear them; .or they are even tempted to believe that they do not know how 
 to pray right; or that prayer is a mistake altogether; that God's will is not moved 
 by it; that, if any one does seem to get anything by it, it is only chance and would 
 have come without it just as well. 
 
 Now what can be the reason of the failure of these good people in prayer? Is 
 it, perhaps, what they asked is really an evil for them, and so God could not in mercy 
 grant it, but had to give them something better instead, which they have not noticed ? 
 Or is it that they did not strive to do their best to win what they wanted also by 
 their own exertions as well as by prayer; that they would not put their own shoulder 
 to the wheel? If it was some virtue, such as charity or patience, that they were 
 asking for, and meanwhile took no real pains to cultivate and practise it, no wonder 
 that God would not give it to them. Or, lastly, is the reason for their disappoint- 
 ment that they were praying for others whose will was obstinately set against their 
 prayers ? A mother prays for her son, and her prayers are heard, though they may 
 not seem to be. Graces are granted to him but he resists them. God has not 
 promised to send them in such a torrent as to sweep away and break down all oppo- 
 sition though He may yet do so if she will only persevere. 
 
 USE A PRAYER BOOK. 
 
 It is a bad sign when, in a congregation of Catholic worshippers able to read 
 and write, only a few persons habitually use a prayer book. Of course, as all 
 spiritual writers agree, the highest prayer is the uplifting of the soul to God in silent 
 adoration or in the simple ejaculations or earnest petitions that swell forth unso- 
 licited from the devout heart. But in most cases the neglect to use a prayer book in 
 public worship arises, not from a desire to leave the soul free to follow the inspira- 
 tions of the Holy Spirit, but from indifference, ignorance or pride. Very few persons 
 are able tcr remain long in a state of recollection, especially in this country where 
 the habit of newspaper reading and of undue absorption in material interests tends 
 to dry up the springs of interior life. The art of meditation and delicacy of the 
 sense by which Divine influence and utterances within the soul are perceived and 
 responded to, can be cultivated only by silence and attention. As a rule those 
 spiritual heights where the soul walks familiarly with God and enjoys the converse 
 of the immortals can only be attained by climbing slowly upward along the well- 
 trodden paths marked out by the enlightened piety of our ancestors. 
 
 The best of all written prayers are the Offices of the Church, the Liturgy of the 
 Holy Sacrifice, the Offices of Vespers, CompUne and the rest of the Canonical 
 Hours, and the Ritual of the Sacraments and Sacramentals. These prayers are 
 given us, in a special sense, by the Holy Spirit Himself; a large portion of them are 
 the Inspired Words of the Canonical Scriptures, and they all are the words of the 
 spotless Bride of Christ, in which she praises her Beloved, or edifies her children 
 or gives His benediction to the world of nature which God has placed under His 
 feet and hers. 
 
 But condescending to the needs of uneducated people, and of those who are 
 
 23s 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 spiritually but babi« in Christ, the Church has given her approbation to multitudes 
 of private devotions, and always encx)iu:ages the publication of private prayer books, 
 providing that their contents appear to be edifying. The fact that such books bear 
 the episcopal approbation is usually a sufficient guarantee of their usefulness and 
 freedom from error; so that when one does not use the Church's own prayers such 
 a book can be employed with great profit. 
 
 It is certain that no literate person who frequently relapses into mortal sin or 
 !who has not attained a high degree of Christian perfection can dispense with the 
 juse of some written guide to devotion, especially in assisting at Mass or preparing 
 ifor the reception of the Sacraments, without evil consequences. If God does not 
 guide one's devotion, the devil will; and we can enjoy the Divine Guidance only 
 through the direct inspirations of the Holy Spirit or by the aid of forms and direc- 
 ^tions furnished by enlightened servants of God. 
 
 The use of written aids to devotion is especially important whai one finds one's 
 mind wandering into worldly channels or suffers from the intrusion of unseemly 
 .thoughts or emotions of any kind. 
 
 ANSWERS TO PRAYERS. 
 
 In reading the numerotis favorable answers to pra3rers for physical and spiritual 
 needs ye must remember what a certain pious author has said: "God's dela)^ are 
 not God's denials." There are those who day after day, month after month, and 
 even year after year, have poured out heartfelt petitions for some cherished object 
 or loved one, but have yet to receive the desired answer. These must not be dis- 
 consolated or vrithout hope. "Time may be delayed, the maimer may be unex- 
 pected, but the answer is sxure to come. Not a tear of sacred sorrow, not a breath 
 of holy desire, poured out in prayer to God, ever will be lost; but in God's own time 
 and way, it will be wafted back again in clouds of mercy, and fall in showers of 
 blessing on you and those for whom you pray." 
 
 UNANSWERED PRAYERS. 
 
 St. Augustine sa37s there are three kinds of people who pray and are not heard, 
 and three ways in which they pray. 
 
 First, those who pray in a bad state of mind — that is, a state of mortal sin. 
 pliere is nothing which turns God from man so much as sin. Man, after being 
 regenerated by baptism, should always have his soul in a state of purity, instead 
 of which he very often has it in a state of sin, thus compelling Almighty Gkxi to 
 leave him and go far from him. Therefoi;e, when we pray we ^ould always be in 
 a state of grace. 
 
 Secondly, those who pray in an unfit manner — with a heart fuU of distractions 
 and a mind overwhelmed with the turmoils and affairs of this wicked world. They 
 may be on their knees — they may be in the temple of the Almighty, but their 
 heart is not there. When this is the case they cannot be heard, neither can God 
 grant them their prayers. 
 
 Lastly, those who ask for things which they should not, vie: things of the world, 
 or those which would be injurious to us. God, Who is all lore, has created man for 
 everlasting glory, therefore, how is it possible that He could grant iK a petition 
 which would only conduce to our own confusion and injury ? 
 
 236 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. 
 
 We are Christians, and our sign to make this known is the "Sign of the Cross." 
 
 Of what religion are you? Time was when the Christian used to answer this 
 question only by the sign of the cross, and he was sufficiently \mderstood, and by 
 this his faith suflSdently manifested. 
 
 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Meditate on 
 these mysterious words with which we accompany the religious sign of our redemp- 
 tion, and you will find in them an abridged profession of the whole Christian religion, 
 a memorial of its greatest mysteries, a prayer comprising faith, hope and charity, 
 an act containing adoration, praise and sacrifice. 
 
 With this sign we were marked when entering this life, we asked, in the person 
 of others, for our share in the immense merit of the Saviour Jesus Christ. With 
 this sign we shall be again marked by our mother the Church, when, departing 
 this world, we shall go to ask our share of the Eternal Kingdom. A sign of the 
 cross consecrated our cradle, a sign of the cross will bless and consecrate our grave. 
 Enter into life and walk in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost. Depart this world, Christian soul, in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Thus it is between two solemn invocations of the 
 Holy Trinity that religion has placed all the da3rs of man; and as man's days, fast 
 passing, like the sea-waves, might have lost their purity had they not run always 
 under the eyes of God, Christianity has sought to recall in our mind the remem- 
 brance and the thought of the Holy Trinity frequently during our life, in all im- 
 portant circumstances, and even several times in the day. So from the unction 
 of baptism to the last unction which prepares the Christian for death, all the sac- 
 raments are administered with the mysterious sign of the cross — in the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. It precedes and follows all 
 the prayers and ceremonies of the Church, and it is found mingled with all the acts 
 of her sacrifice. 
 
 Adorable and powerful sign! By it the early Christian disconcerted and dissi- 
 pated the prestiges of the devil in the magical and superstitious ceremonies of the 
 Pagans; by it the martyrs reanimated their own courage amidst the awful tortures 
 they had to suffer. By this sign all our men of faith wrought their miracles, and 
 by it all our saints stood firm against and eluded the attacks of their spiritual ene- 
 mies. "It is the shield," says St. Gregory Nazianzen, "which has protected me 
 against the evil spirit and his dangerous assaults." Happy he that knows the 
 answer and the virtue of the sign of the cross! Happy, he who, far from being 
 ashamed of it, glories in and cherishes and places in it his strength, his joy and his 
 hope! A sign of the cross religiously made, leaves always a good, a heavenly im- 
 pression on the brow over which it passes. It blesses and consecrates that of the 
 infant, it refreshes and brightens that of the youth, it removes the wrinkles from that 
 of the full grown man, it revives and renovates that of the old man. Make it your 
 constant practice to rise and go to rest with the sign of the cross, and God will bless all 
 your nights. Let the sign of the cross precede and follow your labors, your studies, 
 your meals and all your actions, and rest assured again that God will ever bless you. 
 
 THE IDEAL CATHOLIC FAMILY. 
 
 If it be asked what is the ideal family? we reply, simply, it is a family 
 
 237 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER 'CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 constructed upon and govfemed by'Christianprindples and pervaded by a trae Chris- 
 tian spirit. That is the whole matter in a nutshell, says a writer in The Sacred Heart 
 Review. It is a very simple statement and no doubt it sounds commonplace, but 
 it embraces a world of meaning. It contains a secret of true happiness in this world, 
 and furnishes the best security of happiness in the world to come. The details are 
 as simple and commonplace as the general proposition, but it may be well for us to 
 consider them for a moment. 
 
 In the first place, it goes without saying that the heads of the ideal family are 
 practical CathoUcs, which, of course, is the same as saying that they are practical 
 Christians. They live not for this world, its riches, its honors or its pleasures, 
 but for the world to come. They do not, indeed, neglect the business of the simple, 
 rational pleasiures of this life, but their whole spirit and their conduct shows that 
 their hearts are not supremely in this world, but they strive always to seek first the 
 kingdom of God and His justice with a firm faith that all other things necessary 
 in their happiness and well-being will be added unto them. Consequently their 
 household is a Christian household. God is constantly recognized in all their daily 
 life. 
 
 The parents have not entered upon the interesting relation of husband and 
 wife from fancy or impulse, or from motives of selfish interest or passion, but with, 
 a serious sense of the importance, the sacredness and the responsibility of the re- 
 lation. They have solemnly plighted their troth before the altar of God, and they 
 resolved with the help of Divine Grace, to keep their vows and fulfil their promises. 
 They have realized that the true secret of domestic happiness lies in mutual con- 
 cession and mutual forbearance. There is no clashing, no selfish bickering be- 
 tween them. They are specially careful not to set before their children the ex- 
 ample of strife and contention. They know well that example is catching, and 
 if they wish to have peace and harmony reign among the children it must originate 
 with the parents and flow down gently and silently from the fountain head of the 
 family. 
 
 If difference of opinion arises — and differences will sometimes arise in the best 
 of families — they are discussed, not with heat or passion or with a selfish desire 
 of victory on either side, but calmly, candidly, with a simple desire to know the 
 truth and with a disposition on both sides to yield the point at issue rather than give 
 rise to the least misunderstanding or bad feeling. 
 
 Alas! how many xmhappy famiUes are deprived of peace and harmony and 
 rendered wretched by the thoughtless, selfish bickering and contention of the 
 parents! If the parents quarrel the children will, of course, quarrel also, and 
 bedlam will then reign supreme. The children will quarrel among themselves 
 and with their parents. They will be disobedient and refactory, and they will,, 
 in all probability, be punished hastily and in anger, and this will add to their diso- 
 bedient and ugly spirit. 
 
 Not such is the ideal family. There the unfailing devotion and delicate and 
 affectionate consideration of the parents communicate themselves to the children. 
 They love their parents, and they love each other, and instinctively show the same 
 affectionate, imselfish consideration toward each other that they witness in their 
 parents. If at any time the children need correction it is administered not hastily^ 
 
 238 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 inconsiderately and in a passion, but, calmly, conscientiously and in love for the 
 child, and with a wise and thoughtful adaptation of the reproof or punishments 
 to the varying temperaments and dispositions of the children. 
 
 Above all, the controlling motive and all-pervading spirit of the ideal family is- 
 a religious one. Conscience rules in all questions of duty, and a spirit of love 
 prompted by Divine Grace in the habitual use of the sacraments of holy Church 
 pervades all hearts and binds them all in indissoluble and delightful bonds of 
 fraternal affection. 
 
 These people do not wear long faces; they do not exclude themselves from 
 society and retire from the world. They are in the world, but not of it. They 
 discharge the duties of the society in which they move, but their hearts are not in 
 its ambitions and its frivolities. The children are gay and light-hearted, fond of 
 innocent pleasures, but have been taught to avoid such as are attended with special 
 temptations. They have not to go abroad for recreation and diversion. Their 
 greatest attraction is the home circle, where, with books, pictures, works of art, 
 music and social converse, with various games and home amusements, their rational 
 aspirations are satisfied and they are happy in themselves. If you take up your 
 abode even for a short time in that family circle, you will be led to exclaim with 
 pleased surprise: "Surely this is an ideal family, this is a little heaven upon earth.'* 
 Is not such a family worth striving for? 
 
 THE CATHOLIC HOME- 
 
 What an earthly paradise is a refined Catholic home! The parents belonging 
 to some of the church societies, and the elder children are members of the sodality. 
 The sacraments keep them innocent, and the Sacrament of sacraments gives them 
 the ineffable peace of Christ. Quiet, order, gentleness and kindness are the 
 guardian angels of the household, and education brings in its accomplish- 
 ments to aid their charms to the ordinary monotony of hfe. The souls of all the 
 members of the family are growing in grace; their minds are open to what is most 
 choice in science and art; and in their material surroundings, they enjoy all the 
 comforts and some of the luxmries of twentieth centm-y existence. Troubles may 
 come and troubles may go, but the hearts in such a home are tranquil. 
 
 HOME, SWEET HOME. 
 
 In every girl's life there comes a time when she must think and act for herself. 
 More especially is this the case among the masses of people who are obliged to 
 struggle early and late for existence amidst the sharp competition of the present age. 
 Many a girl lives for a few happy years in careless ignorance of the great trials of 
 life, and then, even before her girlhood days are past, finds herself suddenly brought 
 face to face with the diflScult problem of self-support. 
 
 It was once the custom for girls to stay at the old homestead with their parents 
 imtil their marriage. Now, together with their brothers, they leave the safe shelter 
 of home, and one by one, go out into the world to seek a livelihood in offices, stores, 
 and factories. When this work calls them far away from relatives and friends, the 
 first great problem to be solved is how to find a place that can be called home. 
 
 Amid the many questionable places which are open in our cities, this is indeed 
 a matter of grave importance. How many an innocent, piure-hearted girl has 
 
 239 '' 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 teen dragged down by evil associations when there was no one near to advise and 
 help! And, on the other hand, how many, in ilbess or adversity, have met with 
 cold and even harsh treatment at the hands of strangers, until they were driven 
 almost to desperation! 
 
 In the world's great rush there are few who can stop to hold out a pitying hand 
 to others. Boarding-hovises are kept as a means of support for their owners, and 
 these are often men and women whose hearts are embittered by dealings with a 
 hard, grasping world and with deceitful and imposing characters. Even were their 
 intentions good, and their hearts warm, few hotel and boarding-house proprietors 
 in the large cities have time or opportunity to look after the individual welfare of 
 their boarders. 
 
 THE NEED OF GOOD READING IN THE HOME. 
 
 The need of the child's mental cultivation in order that he may, when he comes 
 to manhood, know intelligently why he is a Catholic, was most strongly set forth 
 recently by a Cahfomia priest. Rev. Father Peter C. Yorke. Here is a part of his 
 sermon: 
 
 "You older people, who have children to send out into the world, profess to 
 be exerting every effort to arm them as they should be armed to best acquit them- 
 selves in the inevitable afEray. You are earnest in your views and intentions, but 
 jou err by oversight, and the mistake is indeed grievous. You train the young 
 perhaps in theory, and again you inform them in a general way, but you do not 
 require that they keep abreast of the Church, and that great institution which should 
 look to you and yours as its leaders sweeps on by you, and then looks back in sup- 
 plication when you are not there to general its fights or to counsel with it in an hour 
 of dire distress. 
 
 "Your boys and your girls must be conversant with the affairs of the Church 
 if you would have them loyal to the principles which are to them at once a surety 
 to character, good name, standing and success. Too often, my good hearers, 
 the young go down in the fight where an inspiring principle might have saved the 
 day. How many of you have sent the child you love out to do for himself and 
 then wrung your hands in the agony of entire helplessness when you saw him 
 deviate from the path you wished him to follow, pause to reach out for the gaudy 
 allurements which lead to no good, and finally fall before your yery eyes, lost to the 
 precepts which a study of our religion might have insured, and with no idea of a 
 higher religion than the endurance of the forms and ceremonies which you see here 
 about us. It is the thought of the Church we most need. 
 
 "Your son, through lack of interest in the past, has failed to realize that the 
 Church is at his back, and in turn he feels no especial interest in the Church. Can 
 you wonder at it ? Your children must have good reading. I plead with you to 
 afford them a journal true to the principles of Cathoh'cism, to encourage a desire 
 to know what we hold most dear, our needs and our hopes. Let some weekly 
 paper come into your home which will teach them all this and more. Let them 
 be raised by its sentiments above the sordid, every-day recitals of commonplace 
 matters and anecdotes without a moral. At any rate, let them be raised some of 
 the time into a better mental sphere, there to broaden out and grow in the ways of 
 the Church you say you hope for them to serve faithfully. 
 
 240 
 
SITE OF FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSTON, 
 WAS LOCATED ON SCHOOL STREET. 
 
OLD ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL, BOSTON. 
 
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ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, LOWELL. (INTERIOR.) 
 
ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH AND RECTORY, BROCKTON. 
 
 On May 22, 1859, St. Patrick's Church, at Brockton, was dedicated ; its erection was brought 
 about through the efforts of Rev. Thomas B. McNulty, who was its first Pastor. The interior 
 of the Church is pure Romanesque in style excepting in the chancel where the apse paitially 
 follows the Gothic style. Father McNulty directed the parish until his death in 1885. Affil- 
 iated with St. Patrick's parish are many organizations both of a religious and secular nature for 
 the advantage of the old and young members of the Congregation. 
 
AN INSPIRING ALTAR 
 
•^""»*«, 
 
 CATHEDRAL OF THE HOLY CROSS, BOSTON, MASS 
 
ST JOHN'S INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, NEWTON, MASS. 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 " Our papers, the papers of Catholics, are not accepted everywhere, but this 
 is all the more reason for your careful nursing of the germs of thought which will 
 bring your children confidence and which will narrow down the distance between 
 the pulpit and the worshipper. We do not force ourselves upon any one, and that 
 cannot be construed as a fault. But when we see our Catholic children pinned to 
 a point of which they know next to nothing, and compelled to hang their heads 
 and blush with shame because of their inability to uphold the doctrine and digni- 
 ties, to say nothing of the right of their Church, we are constrained to reach out 
 in an endeavor to bring them up to the standard and prepare them to talk of Church 
 affairs as intelligently as would a priest standing in his pulpit. How can they 
 expect to have anything to say in their defense when they are in no way familiar 
 with facts which to-day gather themselves and make a condition for the Church ? 
 Literature, the proper kind regularly studied, is the one remedy, the one course 
 for us to pursue. 
 
 "It is putting it mildly even to say that some of us have forgotten what religion 
 really means. We do not read. We are laggards, and pay no attention to the 
 thousand and one things which come each day to demand out attention, our best 
 thought and our most determined action. I am impelled to speak, not of the 
 theoretical, but the actual; not of some evil which may be, but of something which 
 even now confronts us. There can be no more gloomy or deplorable desecration 
 of the sacred cloth, to my mind, than a bitter feud, and the lover of a Church as 
 well as the faithful to any Christian belief must revolt at the thought of an undigni- 
 fied exchange of sentiments, be they right or wrong. 
 
 "But there are other considerations to be paralleled here. You are citizens 
 of a great republic, in the land of your birth and adoption, and the lawful heirs of 
 certain common rights. You have done your share toward building up the com- 
 munity. You have been loyal to your country and her best interests are yours 
 to foster. You have good sense and liberal minds, and you lift your voices in stern 
 reproof against the signling out of any individual or organ, against an infamous 
 conspiracy, against an effort to do you harm. Can you be other than right in 
 doing so ? You know full well of the house to house canvass which has been made 
 in this city against the Catholics, o^ the vastly unjust and malicious sentiment rest- 
 ing against us, and yet I dare say that only a small percentage of my hearers this 
 morning are in any measure able to uphold their rights in discussion or even know 
 how grievously they have been wronged. You have not read of the cause of Cathol- 
 icism, and your children, through neglect, have done even worse. They have 
 failed to inform themselves on enough of our tradition to make it possible for them 
 to decide upon the right and wrong of a subject wherein the sacred privileges of a 
 pulpit are involved." 
 
 ADVICE TO CATHOLICS, BY BISHOP CONATY, D. D. 
 
 Don't get into the habit of being late for Mass. A moment of preparation 
 before Mass may be the means of opening your soul to many graces. 
 
 Don't go to Mass without either a prayer-book or rosary beads, unless you 
 wish distraction and not devotion to occupy your mind. 
 
 Don't talk in the church without necessity. Talk with God, Whom you may 
 
 241 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 not have visited, in His temple, since last Sunday; you will have plenty of time to 
 talk with your neighbors. 
 
 Don't criticize the sermon, nor the manner of preaching. It is the message 
 from God bearing some truth to you. Heed the instructions and profit by it; it 
 has something for you to learn. 
 
 Don't leave the church until the priest has left the sanctuary. Take a moment 
 in which to thank God for the graces of the Holy Mass. 
 
 Don't talk in the aisles going out. Remember you are in the presence of God, 
 in His holy sacrament. Your gossip will keep until you reach the street. 
 
 Don't forget to bend your knee as you enter and leave your seat. This is an 
 act of adoration paid to the Real Presence. Do it with faith and reverence. 
 
 Don't fail to see the holy water font and the poor box at the chiurch door. Take 
 a few drops from the one with which to bless yourself: drop a penny in the other 
 that you help to bless the deserving poor. 
 
 TITLES OF THE CLERGY. 
 
 The frequency with which changes have been occurring in the Catholic hier- 
 archy of late has given rise to an extended use of church titles or to be more exact, 
 it has given rise to an extended abuse of them, says a writer in the Boston Republic. 
 Men and women, well posted in almost everything else, intelligent and surely 
 conversant with current and pressing situations, have essayed time and again the 
 role of Mrs. Malaprop, the woman of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's fancy, who 
 was always putting her foot in it. It is criminal, almost, the way clever people refer 
 to members of the Catholic hierarchy; anything at all, from Your Honor to Your Ex- 
 cellency seems in order. So collected a mass of misinformation is seldom displayed. 
 
 The parish priest, pastor or curate, is saluted as "Father"; and he alone is 
 
 so greeted. And when his name is being written his ofl&dal title is the Rev. 
 
 -, as the rector of the cathedral would be styled. In case of a member of 
 
 a reUgious order, he, too, would be called "Father," and his title would be, for 
 
 instance, the Rev. ■ , S. J., as the head of the Immaculate Conception 
 
 Church would be styled. The only other variation besides the initials which 
 represent the priest's religious order when he is a member of an order, are the 
 initials P. R., which stand after the name of evsry pastor who happens to be a per- 
 manent rector. The initials D. C. L., S. T. L., and similar identification indicate 
 degrees in scholarship which the priest has received. 
 
 Next to the parish priest is the monsignor. All sorts and conditions of titles 
 are ascribed to the monsignori. It is Father Maginnis, and Right Rev. William 
 Byrne, and just plain Rev. Arthur J. Teeling. The custom and practice in the 
 case is this. A monsignor is generally a Right Reverend. Therefore, for each of 
 the above prelates they should be addressed Rt. Rev. Thomas Maginnis, Rt. Rev. 
 WilHam B3rrne and Rt. Rev. Arthur J. Teeling. Sometimes a monsignor is at the 
 head of an educational institution or of a house of study, and then he is addressed 
 as Very Rev. At any rate, whether monsignor or not, the title Very Rev. is usually 
 reserved for the heads of educational institutions; for instance, it is Very Rev. 
 Francis P. Harvey, S. S., who is president of St. John's Seminary, at Brighton, just 
 now. In the case of Monsignor Byrne, his full title is Rt. Rev. William Byrne, 
 
 242 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 V. G., he being also vicar-general of the diocese, and in the case of Monsignor 
 O'Callaghan of South Boston, and the others mentioned, it is Right Rev. Denis 
 O'Callaghan, D. D., P. R., the one a scholarship degree, the other denoting a per- 
 manent rectory. 
 
 Above monsignor is the bishop. In Boston we have Bishop Brady. His 
 ofl&cial title is Rt. Rev. John J. Brady. 
 
 The Archbishop, both in the case of Coadjutor — Archbishop William H. 
 O'Connell, and of Archbishop Williams, are subject to various and manifold mis- 
 representations. An Archbishop should be called Most Rev.; it is Most Rev. 
 John J. Williams, and Most Rev. William H. O'Connell. In addressing him he is 
 sometimes called Your Reverence, most frequently Your Grace. In writing his 
 name it should always be as indicated, Most Rev.; not Rt. Rev., and never Very- 
 Rev. 
 
 Finally, to take the Cardinal. More mistakes are made in addressing him 
 and in talking about him than in any other instance. The official title which he 
 signs when affixing his signature is James Cardinal Gibbons. Sometimes he is 
 called the Cardinal Archbishop of Baltimore, but that is merely a technical way of 
 referring to him. His office calls for the salutation. Your Eminence, and His Emi- 
 nence is the way he is generally reported. Sometimes it is His Eminence the 
 Cardinal Archbishop of Baltimore, the Cardinal being the director of that Southern 
 archdiocese. Sometimes, too, he is called His Eminence James Cardinal Gibbons; 
 both of which titles are correct, and really the only ones which are correct. 
 
 Above the cardinals, of course, is the Pope. The Holy Father is called the 
 Supreme Pontiff, the White Shepherd, and other high sounding titles. Officially 
 he is His Holiness, Pius X. There is apt to be very little trouble in ascribing the 
 correct title to the Pope, he being so universally known and so unique in distinction- 
 All through there seems an interest in the titles and in one's attempt to get them 
 right. All through, too, the same failures result. It is really simple if some little 
 care is given, and there is nothing quite so out of place as misnaming them. 
 
 243 
 
CHRISTIAN POLITENESS. 
 
 By Ven. De La Salle. 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Politeness consists in ease and gracefulness of manners, united with a desire 
 to please others, and a careful attention to their wants and wishes. 
 
 The Christian youth, at his entrance into society, should be well instructed, 
 not only in his religious duties, but also in those duties of politeness, without which 
 virtue itself loses much of its influence, and learning, that respect to which it is so 
 justly entitled. 
 
 Created to the image of God, and bound to imitate a Redeemer, each of whose 
 actions was distinguished by meekness and affability; intended also, to fulfill 
 an important destiny on earth, the Christian should be animated with the most 
 lively sentiments of benevolence towards men, while his conduct in their regard 
 should ever be the faithful expression of his sentiments. If not possessed of that 
 union of simplicity, meekness, and dignity, so characteristic of Christian manners,, 
 his deportment should, at least, be free from everything affected, rude or repulsive. 
 
 Parents, and those charged with the important office of educating youth, 
 should spare no pains to render their manners polite and engaging; and children, 
 on their part, should not fail to correspond with every effort tending to their im- 
 provement in this department of their education. Both should remember, that in 
 early life good habits can be most easily acquired, and that the impressions then 
 received will most generally influence the conduct and manners in after-life. The 
 precepts of a good education may, indeed, in some instances, seem to have been 
 forgotten; they may appear to exercise but little influence on a young man's senti- 
 ments and conduct; but it is not difficult to discern, even in the midst of his greatest 
 irregularities and excesses, the good effects of those lessons of virtue and politeness 
 which he learned in childhood. 
 
 This little treatise is intended to assist young persons in forming their manners 
 in accordance with the rules of decorum and the received usages of civilized life. 
 It is divided into two parts; the first treats of what relates to external appearance; 
 the second contains instructions on the more ordinary actions of life; namely, 
 rising, retiring to rest, meals, conversation, amusement, etc. All these require distinct 
 rules and the most marked attention, that everything may be done in order, and that 
 our daily actions, corresponding, in the motive and the manner of performing 
 them, with the designs of God, may ultimately tend to the perfection of our being. 
 
 Cleanliness of person renders us agreeable to others; it promotes cheerfulness, 
 and is an excellent preservative of health. It also bears a great analogy to purity 
 of mind, and naturally inspires refined sentiments. These reasons alone should 
 be sufficient to induce young persons to practice what they are taught on a subject 
 of such paramount importance. 
 
 Sleep is necessary to our existence, but it should be taken at suitable times, 
 and with due moderation; for, when it is either unseasonable or excessive, it be- 
 comes injurious to mind and body. 
 
 244 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Food should be proportioned to our constitution and necessities. Excessive 
 indulgence in its use, particularly if habitual, is displeasing to God, and is sure to 
 be attended with sleepiness, stupidity, and loss of health. Children, particularly,; 
 require instruction on this matter, as, not foreseeing the evil consequences, they 
 often yield to the present gratification of their appetite. 
 
 Man is born for society — to live and converse with his fellowmen. He should 
 therefore, in his conversation, in the visits which he receives and pays, and, finally,,, 
 in all the circumstances in which he may be placed, know well all the duties which 
 good breeding, reason, and religion prescribe. These duties are, prudence in 
 manners; circumspection in discourse; honesty of purpose; due regard for equals 
 and superiors; patience and meekness in dealing with persons of peevish or un- 
 manageable temper; uniform charity on trying occasions; a constant care to avoid 
 wounding either the reputation of the absent by malicious calumnies or disad- 
 vantageous reports, or the modesty of those present by ill-timed praise or sickening 
 adulation; an exact guard upon our eyes; a great restraint on the tongue; and the 
 flight of whatever might infringe, in the slightest degree, the sacred law of charity. 
 Such is an abstract of the virtues to which, from infancy, the young should be trained 
 by those to whose care they are entrusted. These virtues should be so deeply 
 imprinted on the memory and heart, that they may be instantly called into action^ 
 as occasion may require. 
 
 Although man, without exception of rank or condition, is irrevocably doomed 
 to labor, yet the Lord, ever equitable in His decrees, permits him to take the recrea- 
 tion necessary to recruit his strength and maintain his vigor. It should, however,, 
 be commensurate with his wants; for were it to degenerate into sloth or dissipation, 
 jt would be opposed to the will of God, and might, moreover, prove a fruitful source 
 of sin. On a subject, therefore, so little understood by a perverse and sinful world, 
 it is of great consequence to give detailed lessons to young people, who , are nat- 
 urally inclined to amusement, and but too frequently want discretion and modera- 
 tion in its use. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 When Michael Angelo had been several days employed on a statue, giving 
 what he termed a slight degree of grace to one Hmb and of energy to another, a 
 gentleman remarked to him that these were trifles, and unworthy of so much at- 
 tention. "Trifles, certainly," he replied; "but trifles make perfection and per- 
 fection is no trifle." This observation may be fitly applied to politeness, which 
 consists of a series of little things, such as a look, the tone of the voice, a kind word,, 
 an obliging action, an air of satisfaction and of gratitude for kindness received,, 
 and a number of considerate attentions, which can be better felt than described. 
 Though these, taken singly, may, perhaps, appear trifling, yet, in the aggregate,, 
 they form the characteristics of true politeness. 
 
 The source of true politeness is the heart, in which there must exist a great 
 degree of good-will to men, and a sincere desire to promote their happiness. Po- 
 liteness, when practised in early life, becomes a habit, and its exercise, like that of 
 other habits, will be easy and agreeable. It should begin under the paternal roof, 
 and be ctdtivated in the daily intercourse of domestic life. There the passions* , 
 
 245 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 as they gradually arise, can be placed under due restraint; the kindly feelings can 
 best and most frequently be exercised, the constant interchange of good ofl&ces 
 encouraged; and the manners formed to gentleness and courtesy. 
 
 The child who, in the retirement of home, acts towards his parents with rev- 
 erence and love, and towards his brothers and sisters with kindness and affection; 
 who seeks opportimities of r^dering them little services, and feels regret when he 
 cannot contribute to their comfort and happiness; who never indulges anger, 
 moroseness, or incivility, but is uniformly mild, amiable, and obliging — will find 
 it easy to act on all occasions towards others also with sweetness and affability. 
 He, on the contrary, who is wont to act with rudeness and incivility in the bosom 
 of his family, will never possess that amiable and generous disposition, nor those 
 poUte and engaging manners, which, in the intercourse of society, reqmre to be 
 unremittingly exercised. 
 
 It is mentioned of a certain prelate, remarkable for his meek and elegant de- 
 meanor, that, in the retirement of home, and in his intercourse with his domestics, 
 lie preserved, even in his least actions, the same meekness and courtesy which 
 marked his conduct in public. Hence, he was never surprised, but on every occa- 
 sion and in every place acted with such singular gracfulneess and benignity 'as 
 commanded the respect and won the esteem of all who approached him. What 
 a lesson for the young to accustom themselves at home to the duties they must 
 ■discharge abroad; never to act rudely or ill-naturedly, nor suffer an unkind look, 
 ;an angry or offensive word to escape them; and to be careful never to permit the 
 charming familiarity of domestic hfe to degenerate, as it not unfrequently does, 
 into neglect, rudeness, or incivility! They should remember, that no courtesy, 
 however great, can be sincere or lasting, if the love of God, and a view to Him, be 
 not its primary object. He who, in early life, learns to regard God and His good 
 pleasure in every act of kindness he performs, will gradually be strengthened in 
 love for others, and will be prompted, even under discouraging circumstances, to 
 render them a number of affectionate services. 
 
 There are two things extremely prejudicial to pohteness, and which, if indulged, 
 would prove fatal to its exercise. The first of these is selfishness. The continual 
 preference of others; the unremitting attention to please without embarrassing; 
 the self-government necessary to restrain the heart and tongue under circumstances 
 of provocation; the yielding with a good grace, to humors and caprices; and the 
 multitude of little sacrifices which politeness demands, appear intolerable to him 
 who never thinks but of self and its gratification, and who is a stranger to the 
 dehght that emanates from the consciousness of having communicated pleasure. 
 To the generous mind, such sacrifices become sources of pleasure, and seldom fail 
 to obtain many grateful returns from the objects of his attention. 
 
 The second is moroseness of temper. A cheerful disposition is one of the greatest 
 blessings; it imparts sunshine wherever it appears. It not only contributes to the 
 happiness of its possessor, but diffuses joy and happiness around him. How 
 gloomy the condition of the house from which, through the angry, vehement, or 
 dissatisfied disposition of some of its members, cheerfulness is entirely banished! 
 Peace, union, and good feehng cannot be inmates of such a dwelling; mutual 
 coldness, estrangement, and perhaps aversion, become its occupants; and the 
 
 246 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 domestic hearth, which should be the centre of light, love, and happiness, about 
 which all should gather in cheerful and affectionate festivity, becomes an object of 
 gloom and disaflfection. 
 
 A young person never should indulge a passion or a feeling which would occa- 
 sion or increase so deplorable an evil. If, unfortunately, he had not in childhood 
 been trained to gentleness and piety, and finds his temper headstrong and violent, 
 he should not, on that account, despair of its reformation. As there is no dispo- 
 sition naturally so good, as not to be susceptible of improvement, so there is not one 
 so decidedly bad, as not to admit of being restrained and moderated. He who said 
 to the waves, "Be still," and whose voice they instantly obeyed, is ever ready to 
 assist, with His grace, those who are desirous of quelling the tumult of passion. 
 When evil propensities are judiciously governed and corrected, they usually become 
 means of sanctification. 
 
 Persons of the most ardent and impetuous temperaments have, by the grace 
 of God, and there own care and watchfulness, become models of meekness, mod- 
 eration and sanctity. Of the youthful Duke of Burgundy, we are told by his 
 biographer that "He was born terrible, and, during his first years, continued an 
 object of terror: that he was hard-hearted; irascible to the extreme of passion, 
 even against inanimate objects; impetuous to a degree of fury; incapable of bearing 
 the least opposition to his wishes, even from time or climate, without putting him- 
 self into paroxysms of rage that made others tremble for their existence; stubborn 
 in the highest degree, and passionate in the pursuit of every kind of pleasure; that 
 he considered other men as atoms, to whom he bore no resemblance, and regarded 
 even his brothers, although they were educated on an equality with himself, as 
 intermediate beings between him and the rest of mankind. But," adds the 
 writer, "the prodigy was, that, in a short space of time, under the care of Fenelon, 
 religion and the grace of God made him a new man, and changed those bad quali- 
 ties into the opposite virtues. From the abyss which I have described, there arose 
 an affable, gentle, moderate, patient, modest prince, austere only to himself, ob- 
 servant of his duties, and sensible of their great extent. His only object seemed 
 to be, to perform all his duties as a son and a subject, and to qualify himself for 
 the discharge of future obligations." 
 
 St. Francis of Sales was of so ardent a temperament, that, to subdue it, he 
 assures us, it cost him twelve years' struggle; and yet his meekness became such 
 that it always appeared on his invariably serene countenance. His mien was so 
 inexpressibly amiable and benign, that, as we are assured by his contemporary, St. 
 Vincent of Paul, he might be regarded as the living image of our Blessed Redeemer. 
 
 The rudeness of others should not prevent us from exercising politeness towards 
 them. To treat them politely is the best means of triumphing over ourselves, and 
 very frequently, of reforming them; whilst it secures to us that interior peace which 
 always flows from the consciousness of having performed an action, at once op- 
 posed to the false maxims of corrupt nature, and in accordance with the dictates of 
 religion. 
 
 In a certain family there was one of a very disobliging disposition who would 
 not put himself to the slightest inconvenience, or make the least sacrifice to oblige. 
 He seemed so entirely engrossed with his own little gratifications as to be quite 
 
 247 
 
OUR CHURCH, HER CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 insensible to the feelings or convenience of others. Another member of the family, 
 of a very religious and affectionate disposition, resolved to efifect his reform. He 
 availed himself of every opportunity to oblige him, anticipated his most trifling 
 wants, even sought occasions of contributing to his convenience. A great change 
 was soon visible; acts of kindness began to be exercised; the disposition to da 
 them was gradually acquired; and this unaccommodating individual became after- 
 wards remarkable in the family for his polite atttentions. The person who had 
 made up the experiment, was amply compensated by the general good feeling which 
 the change produced, and by the great kindness which he afterwards received from, 
 the individual whose disobliging manners he had thus been instrumental in cor- 
 recting. 
 
 To acquire habits of politeness, then, a person must begin in youth — under 
 the eyes of his mother. He must cultivate a deep reverence for parents; a sincere 
 affection for relatives and friends; gentleness and courtesy to equals; affability to 
 inferiors; cheerfulness of mind; a desire to please and oblige; a gentle, amiable, 
 engaging manner of acquitting himself of every domestic duty. He must do all 
 this with a view of God, and an intention of pleasing Him. Such a person will not, 
 when he enters society, disgust by rude or unbecoming manners; but will, wher- 
 ever he may be placed, find the exercise of politeness easy and agreeable; will secure 
 for himself the respect of all who witness his conduct ; and, what is infinitely better,^ 
 he will, by the exalted motive of his actions, obtain the blessing and approbation 
 of Heaven. 
 
 This chapter cannot be more appropriately concluded than by the following 
 extract from the description of our divine Redeemer, in His intercourse with His 
 Apostles, by a Father of the Society of Jesus: — "They were men, for the most part, 
 without education, good-breeding, or politeness; yet never did He separate Himself 
 from them, never did He appear pained or dejected by their ill manners. He 
 instructed them with patience, reprehended them with meekness, and gave them 
 nothing to suffer. He lived with them on a kind of equality, always ready to serve 
 them, and to receive their least services with such sweetness and affability that 
 hardly could it be perceived that He was the master." 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Nothing contributes more to exterior dignity and propriety of manners, thaa 
 exactness in preserving the natural positions and motions of each part of the body;, 
 so true it is, as a late writer has very justly remarked, that " Gracefulness is to the 
 body what good sense is to the mind." Young persons, especially, are very subject 
 to defects, offensive alike to modesty and gracefulness. The first of these is a silly 
 affectation, which puts the body, as it were, upon the rack, and governs all its mo- 
 tions as if it were a piece of machinery. 
 
 An artificially measured step, accompanied with an air of affected gravity, 
 is no less opposed to propriety than that carelessness of manner which is the effect 
 of sloth, or of low and vulgar sentiments. Persons of a lively and impetuous tem- 
 perament should watch over themselves with greater vigilance than others. Their 
 posture in standing or sitting should be adjusted with thoughtfulness and decorum,. 
 
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 and their gestures few but appropriate. It is not, however, meant that a young 
 person should assume that grave and thoughtful air which is the companion of 
 matufer years; no more is required than that his deportment be modest, graceful, 
 and reserved, yet without stiffness or affectation. 
 
 There is a gravity of demeanor indicative of haughtiness, which, in any one, 
 but particularly in a Christian, whose divine Model was "meek and humble of 
 heart," is reprehensible. The exalted idea of his spiritual origin and destiny, that 
 every Christian should have, would impart to his conduct that sweet and amiable 
 gravity which inspires respect and confidence. An air of elevation and dignity, 
 when regulated by modesty, humility, and a feeling sense of what a Christian is, 
 or, at least, ought to be, bears a relation to the dignity and majesty of God. 
 
 If circumstances require a person to remain standing, he should not stoop, 
 keep his head on one side, or lean indolently against the wall or the furniture. In 
 sitting, he should, to preserve a graceful and agreeable position, select a high rather 
 than a low chair. He should not throw his arm over the back of it, nor rest his 
 elbow on the back of another chair to support his head, nor swing himself in his 
 chair in a balance. He should sit in rather an upright position, and not change his 
 seat without necessity; neither should he draw his chair with noise along the floor 
 nor place it in a situation inconvenient to those who leave or enter the apartment. 
 
 It would be improper to select the handsomest chair in the room, or an armed 
 chair, in' preference to an ordinary one, but if invited to either, he should take it 
 without hesitation. To take such a chair, in the first case, would betray rudeness, 
 or self-importance; to refuse it, in the second, would be questioning the judgment 
 of the person who offered it. 
 
 On entering an apartment, if there be many present, one should glance arotmd 
 , to pay his regards to all, and having bowed, retire to the place assigned him or to 
 ^ that which is most convenient. If on terms of intimacy, and that he finds it neces- 
 sary to shake hands, he should first advance to the mistress of the house, then to 
 the others, in the order of their rank. One should not stand while others are 
 sitting, nor sit while they are standing. If the person who addresses another 
 remains standing, the latter, if sitting, should rise, and not reply in a sitting posture, 
 unless desired to do so. In meeting acquaintances in the street, they should never 
 be addressed in so loud a tone of voice that either their names or the nature of the 
 conversation could be known by persons passing by. The same should be ob- 
 served in shops and places of public resort. When a person, in company with 
 another, meets a friend or an acquaintance, he should not introduce the parties 
 to each other unless he has reason to believe that doing so would be mutually agree- 
 able. The inferior in point of age or rank should be always introduced to the 
 superior. 
 
 Modes of salutation should be particularly attended to. With equals and 
 inferiors, the most ordinary is a slight inclination of the head; with equals on 
 familiar terms, a gesture with the hand; and with those who by their station or 
 virtues are entitled to peculiar respect, a touching or raising of the hat. This last 
 mode is that which is usual when meeting a clergyman. The exalted dignity to 
 which he has been raised, and the reverence and love which we feel for that Al- 
 mighty Being Whose ambassador he is, should inspire us with veneration for his. 
 
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 person; and this interior feeling should, on every suitable occasion, be accompanied 
 by its appropriate exterior expression. 
 
 Children should be instructed never to fail in this tribute of respect and rever- 
 ence. So long as they respect religion, so long will they respect its minister. When 
 they cease to respect him, they soon begin to disrespect religion also; and as it is 
 harldy possible to feel interior respect without manifesting it exteriorly, so these 
 sentiments will soon be extinguished within us, if their exterior expression be 
 habitually disregarded. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Children should be deeply impressed with the many advantages attending 
 early rising. It is one of the best economists of time; it promotes the health of 
 both body and mind, and greatly assists in the formation of moral and industrious 
 habits. Sleep, when indulged to excess, impairs both physical and mental energy, 
 interferes with the regular and efl&cient discharge of duty, and destroys all relish 
 for enjoyments, except those of a coarse and, often, dangerous character. Hence, 
 a fixed hour for rising, and also for retiring to rest, should be appointed, from which 
 there should be no deviation, unless health or some other necessity require it.* 
 
 The sluggard seldom, if ever, prospers in business, or attains any degree of 
 eminence in his profession; while those who have been remarkable for a healthy 
 old age, or for great intellectual acquirements, have generally acknowledged, that 
 they have been in a great measure indebted for these advantages to their regularity 
 in the distribution of time, and to their early rising. Seven or eight hours' rest is 
 as much as nature usually requires, and it should be remembered, that a difference 
 of two hours each day in the time of rising, would, in the ordinary average of 
 human life, be equivalent to nearly ten years; and would, as has been well observed, 
 *'add ten years to a man's really useful existence." 
 
 Man, whatever may be his station, is bom to labor. The dawning of day 
 should remind him of this appendage of mortality. How often is the order of 
 nature subverted! A large portion of the day is given to sleep, whilst almost the 
 entire night is spent in foolish and often criminal amusements, to the manifest 
 injury of health, and what is infinitely worse, the neglect of every religious duty. 
 
 The first thing that should be done by a Christian on awaking, is to make an 
 offering of his thoughts, words, actions, and entire being to the great Author of 
 his existence, by a fervent act of oblation, and with faith and humility to beg His 
 blessing and protection during the day. He should then rise modestly, and never 
 at this time converse with others, or occupy his mind with distracting concerns. 
 To give the first moments of the day to dissipation of mind, would be unworthy a 
 child of God, whose first thoughts should be consecrated to recollection and piety. 
 
 When clothed, he should place himself on his knees, and having recalled the 
 presence of God, say devoutly his morning prayers; nor should he ever permit 
 either business or amusement to interfere with so holy and essential a duty. A 
 Christian should never satisfy himself with a few prayers said hurriedly while 
 
 * An aged gentleman who had never known a day's illness having been asked his secret replied, " Dry feet, and 
 nearly rising, these are my only two precautions." 
 
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 dressing. God deserves and demands the homage of all our powers and affections. 
 Whoever entertains an exalted idea of the majesty of God, renders Him this tribute 
 with corresponding exterior and interior reverence. 
 
 On retiring to rest, children should respectfully salute their parents and the 
 elder members of the family. This act of politeness, besides being a duty, is an 
 excellent means of preserving that good feeling which should subsist in the bosom 
 of every family, and on which its happiness so much depends. 
 
 A Christian should never retire to rest without having adored God by humble 
 prayer, thanked Him for His benefits, and implored His protection. He should 
 examine his conscience, beg pardon for the sins into which he has fallen during 
 the day, and firmly resolve, with God's grace, to spend the day following in a manner 
 more worthy his dignity of child of God and heir of His heavenly kingdom. "The 
 path of the just, as a shining Ught, goeth forwards, and increaseth even to perfect 
 day." 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Clothing, in regard to its quality, form, and general appearance, should be 
 consistent vsdth the age and rank of the wearer. It should at all times be strictly 
 modest, nor ever slovenly or untidy. The coat and so forth, should be well brushed, 
 the shirt-collar closed and always clean, the shoes or boots well pohshed; in fine, 
 the whole exterior should exhibit great cleanliness, neatness, and unaffected grace. 
 
 Parents should be careful that the dress of their children be suitable to their 
 condition, and that every extravagance therein be studiously avoided. A fondness 
 for fine clothing often leads to ruinous expense; for, when vanity in dress has been 
 habitually indulged, it is very difficult to limit its excesses. 
 
 Singularity in dress, and in the manner of wearing it, should be carefully guarded 
 against. The usage of the country in which you live, and of the order of society 
 in which you move, should guide you in the choice and form of your clothing. 
 You must be careful, however, not to conform in all things to the custom which at 
 the moment, may prevail. Fashion is often whimsical and capricious and should 
 never be permitted to draw you into its follies and extravagances. 
 
 "Be not the first on whom the new is tried. 
 Nor yet the last to lay the old aside." 
 
 Your dress should never exhibit either vanity or ostentation. The man who 
 places his delight or his ambition in sumptuous apparel, degrades, whilst he seeks 
 to exalt himself. That merit must be questionable indeed, which requires to be 
 set off by trinkets and finery. Negligence, on the other hand, should equally be 
 avoided. It is usually the effect of sloth, and is but too often accompanied with 
 inattention to personal cleanliness. 
 
 The children of the poor should frequently be reminded how necessary it is 
 to pay due attention to cleanliness, as a means both of preserving health, and of 
 rendering themselves agreeable to those with whom they have intercourse. The 
 privations which they so frequently endure, and the wretched clothes with which 
 they are covered, together with the miserable, and inconvenient habitations ia 
 
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OUR CHURCH, HER CHH^DREN AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 ■which they dwell, render them so spiritless, that it becomes doubly incumbent 
 on their instructors, while they console them under their trials, to make them 
 sensible of the advantages resulting from personal cleanliness. How poorly so- 
 ever a child may be dressed, provided his person and clothing are kept clean and 
 in repair, and his demeanor is modest and imassuming, he will not fail to pre- 
 possess in his favor every one whose good opinion is really valuable. 
 
 The hat should be in keeping with the other parts of the dress. It should not 
 be worn on the top of the head, nor on the side, nor so low as to cover the eyes, but 
 straight on the head, with the front of the leaf facing the forehead. It should be 
 taken off with the right hand, and, if necessary for the individual to remain im- 
 covered, it may be held by the side, if standing; gracefully on the knees, if sitting; 
 or disposed of in the nearest convenient place. In short morning visits it is gen- 
 erally taken into the apartment; but if it is intended that the visit be of long con- 
 tinuance, it is left in the hall or a place assigned for it. In visiting persons of dis- 
 tinction, the hat is not, by persons of inferior station, generally taken into the visit- 
 ing apartment. 
 
 In concluding this chapter, it may be remarked, that an unassuming simplicity 
 in dress is that most befitting a Christian. It will serve to remind him of the modesty 
 by which his whole conduct should be distinguished, and will tend to the benefit 
 of others, by inciting them to follow so praiseworthy an example. "Let your 
 modesty be known to all men," says the apostle; "the Lord is nigh." 
 
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