Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, Help of Christians, Queen of angels, Queen of patriarchs, Queen of confessors, Queen of all saints, Queen, conceived without stain of original sin, Pray for us. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray. 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. us. V. May the divine assistance always remain with V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. R. Amen. TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. O glorious Virgin Mary, I commit my soul and body to thy blessed trust, this night and for ever, but more especially at the hour of my death. I recommend to thy merciful charity all my hopes, my consolation, my distress and misery, my life and the end thereof that through thy most holy intercession, all my works may be directed according to the will of thy blessed Son. Amen. A PRAYER TO YOUR ANGEL GUARDIAN. 300 d. ap. O angel of God, to whose holy care I am committed by the supreme clemency, enlighten, defend, and protect me this night from all sin and danger. Amen. THE BLESSING. O God the Father, bless me ; Jesus Christ, defend and keep me; the virtue of the Holy Ghost enlighten and sanctify me, this night and for ever. Amen. Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Lord Jesus, receive my soul. When you go to bed, say: In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified, I lay me down to rest! Bless me, O Lord, defend and govern me, and after this short and miserable pilgrimage, bring me to everlasting happiness. Amen. THE MASS. Before the Mass the Acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity (p. 15), are frequently said; then the following: 27 A PRAYER BEFORE MASS. MERCIFUL Father, who didst so love the world as to give up for our redemption thy beloved Son; who, in obedience to thee, and for us sinners, humbled himself even unto the death of the cross, and continues to offer himself daily, by the ministry of his priests, for the living and the dead; we humbly beseech thee, that, penetrated with a lively faith, we may always assist with the utmost devotion and reverence at the oblation of his most precious body and blood, which is made at Mass, and thereby be made partakers of the sacrifice which he consummated on Calvary. In union with thy Holy Church and its minister, and invoking the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and all the angels and saints, we now offer the adorable Sacrifice of the Mass to thy honour and glory, to acknowledge thy infinite perfections, thy supreme dominion over all thy creatures, our entire subjection to thee, and total dependence on thy gracious providence, and in thanksgiving for all thy benefits, and for the remission of our sins. We offer it for the propagation of the Catholic Faith, for our most Holy Father the Pope, for our archbishop (or bishop), and for all the pastors and clergy of thy Holy Church, that they may direct the faithful in the way of salvation-for the Queen, and for all that are in high station, that we may lead quiet and holy lives-for peace and good-will among all states and people-for the necessities of mankind—and particularly for the congregation here present; to obtain all blessings we stand in need of in this life, everlasting happiness in the next, and eternal rest to the faithful departed. And, as Jesus Christ so ordained when he instituted at his Last Supper this wonderful mystery of his power, wisdom, and goodness, we offer the Mass in grateful remembrance of all he has done and suffered for the love of us; making special commemoration of his bitter passion and death, and of his glorious resurrection and ascension into Heaven. Vouchsafe, O Almighty and Eternal God (for to thee alone so great a sacrifice is due), graciously to accept it, for these and all other purposes agreeable to thy holy will. And to render it the more pleasing, we offer it to thee through the same Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour, our High Priest and Victim, and in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; to whom be honour, praise, and glory, for ever and ever. Amen. The Sacrifice of the Mass. Our faith assures us that the Sacrifice of the Mass is the same, in an unbloody manner, as the Sacrifice of the Cross. It is then to have the privilege of assisting with the Blessed Mother of God, with Mary Magdalen, with St. John, and the penitent thief, at the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Who, then, would not ardently desire to hear Mass every day? Hence all fervent Christians throughout the world put themselves to great inconvenience to enjoy this glorious privilege. The Sodalist of the B. Mother of God should especially love it. To increase our faith in it, and love for it, we recommend, with S. Leonard of Port Maurice, the following Method of Assisting at Mass. Having asked the aid of the Holy Spirit, of Our Blessed Lady, and your angel guardian, that you may hear this Mass with all reverence and devotion, consider it as divided into four spaces or parts, in order to pay during them the four obligations answering to the four ends of the sacrifice. ADORATION. From the beginning of Mass to the end of the Creed, spend in your first obligation of honouring and prais ing the majesty of God. Wherefore, humble yourself with Jesus, and descend in thought into the depth of your nothingness; confess sincerely how wretched, and how merely nothing you are before so immense a Majesty; and thus humbled internally and externally, and remaining reverently throughout Mass, all modest and composed, say the following prayer :— |