Sequence 102. Of the Holy Evangelists

OBE joyful, faithful nation !
Seed of God's own generation !

Mindful of the revelation
In Ezekiel's prophecy :
In that witness John uniteth, $
Who the Apocalypse inditeth ;
" Witness true my true pen writeth
Of what truly met mine eye ! "
Round the footstool of the Godhead,
'Mongst the blessed Saints included,
Stand four creatures there embodied,
Diverse in their form to view.

One an eagle's semblance weareth.
One a lion's likeness beareth,
But as man or ox appeareth
Each one of the other two.

As Evangelists, these creatures
Figure forth, in form and features.

Those, whose doctrines' stream, like Nature's
Rain, is on the Church outpoured;
Matthew, Mark, and Luke pourtraying,
Him too, who His sire obeying,
By the nets no longer staying,
Came to follow thee, O Lord !

Matthew as the man is treated,
Since 'tis he, who hath related,
How from man, by God created,
God did, as a man, descend.

Luke the ox's semblance weareth.
Since his Gospel first declareth,
As he thence the Law's veil teareth,
Sacrifices' aim and end.

Mark, the lion, his voice upraises,
Crying out in desert places :
" Cleanse your hearts from all sin's traces ;
For our God a way prepare ! "
John, the eagle's features having,
Earth on love's twain pinions leaving,
Soars aloft, God's truth perceiving
In light's purer atmosphere.

Thus the forms of brute creation
Prophets in their revelation
Use ; but in their application
All their sacred lessons bring.

Mystic meaning underlieth
Wheels that run, or wing that flieth ;
One consent the first implieth,
Contemplation means the wing.

These four writers in pourtraying
Christ, His fourfold acts displaying,
Show Him, — thou hast heard the saying, —
Each of them distinctively :
Man — of woman generated ;
Ox — in offering dedicated ;
Lion — having death defeated ;
Eagle — mounting to the sky.

These four streams, through Eden flowing,
Moisture, verdure, still bestowing.

Make the flowers and fruit there growing
In rich plenty laugh and sing :
Christ the source, these streams forth sending ;
High the source, these downward trending ;
That they thus a taste transcending
Of life's fount to Saints may bring.

At their stream inebriated,
Be our love's thirst aggravated,
More completely to be sated
At a holier love's full fount !

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May the doctrine they provide us
Draw us from sin's slough beside us,
And to things divine thus guide us,
As from earth we upward mount ! Amen.

THE Church on earth those joys pourtrays,
Which heavenly Mother-Church displays ;
Keeping her annual holydays,
For endless ones she sighs and prays.

In this dark vale of woe to-day,
That Mother must her daughter stay ;
Here Angel-guardians' bright array
Must stand beside us in the fray.

The world, the flesh, the devil's spite
By different methods wars excite :
Such countless phantoms' rush destroys
The sabbath that the heart enjoys.

This evil kindred hate displays
Alike against all holydays.

As, one and all, they fight and strive
Peace from the face of earth to drive.

Ill DIES OMNIUM SANCTORUM.
Things strangely mingle here below,
Hope, terror, happiness, and pain ;
While scarce for half an hour, we know.

Is silence kept in heaven's domain.
How blest that city is, wherein
Unceasing feast-days still begin !

How happy that assembly, where
Is utter ignorance of care !

Nor languor here, nor age, they know,
Nor fraud, nor terror of a foe :
But with one voice their joy they show ;
One ardour makes all hearts to glow.

The angel-citizens on high
There, 'neath a triple hierarchy,
The Trinity in Unity
Serve and obey rejoicingly.

With wonder, — never giving o'er ! —
They, seeing Him whom they adore,
Enjoy what, craving as before,
They thirst but to enjoy the more.

There all the Fathers stand around,
Ranking as worthy they are found ;
The darkness now removed of night,
In light they look upon the light.

These Saints, whose feast to-day we grace
With solemn service as of old,
The King, unveiled and face to face,
In all His glory now behold.

There may the virgins' queen, in light
Transcending far heaven's orders bright,
Plead our excuses in God's sight
For all our failures to do right.

When this life's troubles all are past,
Through prayer by them to God addressed.

May Christ's grace bring us at the last
To where the Saints in glory rest ! Amen.

July 2ist.
THE morning-star proclaims day's birth,
And dews revive the thirsty earth ;
May the true Sun of righteousness
Our souls with glory's dew-drops bless !

A day returns, from cloudlet free,
A day of festive jubilee,
Transcending all the clouds of earth :
O Choir ! rejoice with heartfelt mirth !

Jesu ! our tuneful choir requite
With Thy light's inspiration bright,
While, as both Light and born of Light,
All voices in Thy praise unite.

Our true devotion unto Thee
Cries out in heartfelt ecstasy,
Nor can the tongue enunciate
What our souls' fervour would dictate.

i8o S. VICTOR,
Ready we are and glad to raise,
O Victor ! songs of praise to thee ;
But, still unequal to due praise,
We need thy prayers exceedingly?

For Victor's glorious victor}' won
Glory to Father and to Son,
And to the Holy Ghost, in heaven
The link connecting both, be given ! Amen.

July 2ist.
JESU ! whose merits far transcend
Those that Thy soldiers' fame extend !

For this Thy soldier's praise do Thou
For his sake help on us bestow.

Grant us, who celebrate once more
With joy our Victor's victory,
To endless glory to pass o'er,
As victors too, triumphantly.

Victor, who shed his life-blood's stream,
A victor worthy of his name,
To heaven this day, as heaven's guest, came,
The palm of victory there to claim.

The voice of praise and gladness too.
With offerings of true thanks no less,
Are to the King of glory due
With all the readier eagerness ;
Since 'neath the iron rod to-day,
As grain, — the chaff thence threshed away ! —
Which miller doth 'twixt millstones bray,
Christ's latest victim slaughtered lay.

For Victor's glorious victory won
Glory to Father and to Son,
And to the Holy Ghost, in heaven
The link connecting both, be given ! Amen.

i86 S. AUGUSTINUS.
August 28th.

O AUGUSTINE, mighty Father ! carry thou
our prayers on high,
Never ceasing to commend us to our Maker's love
thereby ;
And, the chiefest pride of Bishops ! o'er thy flock
rule gloriously !

Poor men praise thee, who so lovest poverty, in
joyful strain ;
True and faithful judges love thee, who dost boldly
truth maintain ;
Honeycomb thou openest for us, as God's word
thou dost explain.

As what was obscure beforehand plain thou to our
minds dost make,
Thou delicious bread preparest from the words the
Saviour spake,
And a draught of living water from sweet Psalms
our thirst to slake.

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Thou, to guide the lives of clergy, dost a holy rule
indite,
Which all those who love and follow tread the
King's highway aright,
And beneath thy holy guidance reach their father-
land of light.

To the King of kings salvation, life, and power, and
empire be.

To the Trinity all honour and all praise eternally :
May our names, O Lord ! be written 'mongst the
heavenly company ! Amen.

HEIR of original sin, a child of \Tath too by
nature,
Rightfully banished from God, every man living
is born.

Wherefore is man so proud, since in sin his mother
conceived him,
Painful his birth, his life toil, a necessity
death ?

Vain is the health of a man, vain his beauty, and
vanity all things ;
And 'mongst things that are vain, nothing is
vainer than man.

While this present life's joys do more and more
mock the enjoyer,
Hence he passes, yea, flies ; flies ! rather perishes
quite !

After man he becomes a worm, after worm, alas !
ashes !

Thus doth our glory return to its original
dust.

I, who am laid in this grave, am the poor and
pitiful Adam ;
But for one prayer I ask, prayer tor the best
of all gifts :
Sinful I am, I confess, ask pardon ; O spare one
confessing !

Spare him, my father ! spare, brethren ! and
spare him, O God !

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