November 30 — Saint Andrew, Apostle

Peter, on the tree of the Cross. The Church has compiled it from the ancient Acts of the Martyrdom of the holy Apostle, drawn up by the Priests of the Church of Patrae, which was founded by the Saint. The authenticity of this venerable piece has been contested by Protestants, inasmuch as it makes mention of several things which would militate against them. Their sentiment has been adopted by several critics of the 17th and 18th centuries. On the other hand, these Acts have been received by a far greater number of Catholic writers of eminence ; amongst whom may be mentioned the great Baronius, Labbe, Natalis Alexander, Gallandus, Lumper, Morcelli, &c. The Churches, too, both East and West, which have inserted these Acts in their respective Offices of St. Andrew, are of some authority, as is also St. Bernard, who has made them the groundwork of his three admirable Sermons on Saint Andrew.

Andrew, the Apostle, born at Bethsaida, a town of Galilee, was brother of Peter, and disciple of John the Baptist. Having heard his master say, speaking of Christ : Behold the Lamb of God ! he followed Jesus, and brought to him his brother also. When, afterwards, he was fishing with his brother in the sea of Galilee, they were both called, before any of the other Apostles, by our Lord, who, passing by, said to them : Come after me ; I will make you to be fishers of men. Without delay, they left their nets and followed him. After the passion and resurrection, Andrew went to spread the faith of Christ

Andreas Apostolus, Bethsaidae natus, qui est Galilaeae vicus, frater Petri, discipulus Joannis Baptistae, quum eum de Christo dicentem audisset, Ecce Agnus Dei, secutus Jesum, fratrem quoque suum ad eumdem perduxit. Quum postea una cum f ratre piscaretur in mari Galilaeae, ambo a praetereunte Christo Domino ante alios Apostolos vocati illis verbis : Venite post me, faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum : nullam interponentesmoram, et relictis retibus secuti sunt eum. Post cujus Passionem et Kesurrectionem Andreas cum in Scythiam Europae; quae ei provincia ad Christi fid em disseminandam ob- tigerat, venisset, deinde Epirum ac Thraciam peragrasset, doctrina et miraculis innunierabiles homines ad Christum convertit. Post Patras Achaiae profectus, et in ea urbe plurimis ad veritatem E vangelicam perductis, ^Egeam Proconsulem, praedicationi Evangelicae resistentem, liberrime increpavit quod qui judex hominum haberi vellet, Christum Deum omnium Judicem a da3monibus elusus non agnosceret.

Tunc iEgeas iratus : Desine, inquit, Christum jactare, cui similia verba nihil

Jrofuerunt, quominus a udaeis jcrucifigeretur. Andream de Christo nihilominus libere praedicantem, quod pro salute humani generis se crucifigendum obtulisset, impia oratione interpellat, ac demum hortatur, ut sibi consulens, diis velit immolare* Cui An^ dreas : Ego omnipotenti Deo, qui unus et verus est, immoio quotidie, non taurorum carnes, nec hircorum sanguinem, sed immaculatum Agnum in altari, cujus carnem posteaquam omnis populus credentium manducaverit, Agnus qui sacrificatus est, integer perseverat et vivus. Quamobrem ira accensus Jfcgeas jubet eum in carcerem detrudi : unde populus in Scythia in Europe, which was the province assigned to him ; tnen he travelled through Epirus and Thrace, and by his teaching and miracles converted inumerable souls to Christ. Afterwards, having reached Patrae in Achaia he persuaded many in that city to embrace the truth of the Gospel. Finding that the Proconsul JSgeas resisted the preaching of the Gospel, he most freely upbraided him for that he, who desired to be considered as a judge of men, should be so far deceived by devils as not to acknowledge Christ to be God, the Judge of all.

Then Mgeas being angry, said : Cease to boast of this Christ, whom such like words as these kept not from being crucified by the Jews. But finding that Andrew continued boldly preaching that Christ had offered himself to be crucified for the salvation of mankind? he interrupts him by an impious speech, and at length exhorts him to look to his own interest and sacrifice to the gods. Andrew answered him : I offer up every day to almighty God, who is one and true, not the flesh of oxen, nor the blood of goats, but the spotless Lamb upon the altar ; of whose flesh the whole multitude of the faithful eat, and the Lamb that is sacrificed, remains whole and living. Whereupon JSgeas being exceeding angry, orders him to

NOV. 30. ST. A* be thrust into prison, whence the people would easily have freed Andrew, had he not himself appeased the multitude, begging of them, with most earnest entreaty, that they would not keep him from the long-sought-for crown of martyrdom, to which he was hastening.

Not long after this, he was brought before the tribunal, where he began to extol the mystery of the Cross, and rebuke the judge for his impiety. Mgea,s, no longer able to contain himself on hearing these words, ordered him to be hoisted on a cross, and so to die like Christ. Andrew, having been brought to the place of execution, seeing the Cross at some distance, began to cry out : O good Cross, made beautiful by the body of my Lord ! so long desired, so anxiously loved, so unceasingly sought after, and now at last ready for my soul to enjoy ! take me from amidst men, and restore me to my Master, that by thee He may receive me, who by thee redeemed me. He was therefore fastened to the cross, on which he hung alive two days, preaching without cessation the faith of Christ : after which he passed to Him, whose death he had so coveted. The Priests and Deacons of Achaia, who wrote his Passion, attest that all the things which they have recorded were heard and seen by them. His relics were first translated to Constantinople,

Andream facile liberasset, nisi ipse sedasset multitudinem* vehementius rogans, ne se act optatissimam martyrii coronam properantem impedirent.

Igitur paulo post in tribunal productum, cum -JSgeas Cruris extollentem mysteria, sibique suam impietatem exprobrantem diutius ferre non posset, in crucem tolli, et Christi mortem imitari jussit. Adductus Andreas ad locum martyrii, cum crucem vidisset longe, exclamare coepit : O bona Crux, quae decorem ex membris Domini suscepisti, diu desiderata, sollicite amata, sine intermissione quaesita, et aliquando cupienti animo prseparata : accipe me ab hominibus, et redde me magistro meo ; ut per te me recipiat, qui per te me redemit. Itaque cruci afflxus est : in qua biduum vivus pendens, et Christi fidem praedicare nunquam intermittens, ad eum migravit, cujus mortis similitudinem concupierat. Quae omnia Presbjrteri et Diaconi Achaiae qui ejus Passionem scripserunt, se ita ut commemorata sunt, audisse et vidisse testantur. Ejus ossa prlmum Constantio imperatore Constantinopolim, deinde Amalphim translata sunt. Caput, Pio Secundo Pontifice, Romam allatum, in Basi- lica sancti Petri collocatum under the emperor Constanest. tius, and afterwards to

Amalfi. During the Pontificate of Pius n., the head was taken to Home, and placed in the Basilica of St. Peter.

Let us now listen to the several Churches on earth, celebrating the grand triumph of our Apostle. Let us begin with Rome, the Mother and Mistress of all Churches. Nothing could be more expressive than the language she uses in praise of the Apostle of the Cross. First, she employs the words of the Gospel, which record the circumstances of his vocation; then, she selects the most touching passages from the Acts of his martyrdom, drawn up by the Priests of Patrse ; and both are intermingled with appropriate sentiments of her own. Our first selection shall be from the Responsories of Matins.

1$. Cum perambularet Dominus juxta mare Galilseae, vidit Petrum et Andream retia mittentes in mare : et vocavit eos, dicens : * Venite post me, faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum. y. Erant enim piscatores, et ait illis : * Venite post me, faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum.

1$. Mox ut vocem Domini praedicantis audivit beatus Andreas, relictis retibus, quorum usu actuque vivebat,

• iEternae vitae secutus est praemia largientem. ~ff. Hie est qpi pro amore Christi pependit in cruce, et pro lege ejus sustinuit passionem.

• JEternae vitae secutus est praemia largientem.

1$. When the Lord was walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw Peter and Andrew casting nets into the sea, and he called them, saving : * Come after me, I will make you to be fishers of men. ^. For they were fishers, and he saith to them : * Come after me, I will make you to be fishers of men.

1$. As soon as blessed Andrew heard the voice of the Lord calling him, leaving his nets, by the use and working of which he lived, * He followed him who gives the reward of eternal life. /V. This is he who, for the love of Christ, hung upon a cross, and for* his law endured a passion. * He followed Him who gives the reward of eternal life.

NOV. 30. ST. Al

1$. Andrew, the good Teacher, and the friend of God, is led to the cross ; which, seeing afar off, he says : Hail, O Cross ! * Receive the disciple of Him who hung upon thee, Christ, my master. ft. Hail, O Cross, which art consecrated by the body of Christ, and art adorned by his members as with pearls. * Receive the disciple of Him who hung upon thee, Christ, my master.

1$. Andrew seeing the Cross, cried out, saying : O admirable Cross ; O desirable Cross ! O Cross which shinest throughout the whole world ! * Receive the disciple of Christ, and by thee may He receive me, who dying by thee redeemed me. ft. O good Cross, which art made fair and beautiful by the body of the Lord. * Receive the disciple of Christ, and by thee may He receive me, who dying by thee redeemed me.

1$. Saint Andrew prayed, as he looked up to heaven, and with a loud voice, cried out and said : Thou art my God, whom I have seen : suffer me not to be detached by the impious judge : * For I have learnt the power of the holy Cross. ft. Thou art the Christ my master, whom I have lovea, whom I have known, whom I have confessed : graciously hear me in this one prayer. * For I have learnt the power of thy holy Cross.

1$. Doctor bonus, et amicus Dei Andreas ducitur ad crucem ; quam a longe aspiciens dixit : Salve, Crux !

• Suscipe discipulum ejus, qui pependit in te magister meus Christus. ft. Salve? Crux, quae in corpore Christi dedicata es ; et ex membris ejus tan quam margaritis ornata. * Suscipe discipulum" ejus qui pependit in te, magister meus Christus.

Videns crucem Andreas exclamavit, dicens : O Crux admirabilis ! O Crux desiderabilis ! O Crux quae per totum mundum rutilas ! * Suscipe discipulum Christi, ac per te me recipiat, qui per te moriens me redemit. ft. O bona Crux, guae decorem et pulchritudinem de membris Domini suscepisti.

• Suscipe discipulum Christi, ac per te me recipiat, qui per te moriens me redemit.

Oravit sanctus Andreas, dum respiceret in coelum, et voce magna clamavitet dixit : Tu es Deus meus, quem vidi : ne me patiaris ab impio judice deponi : * Quia virtutem sanctae Crucis agnovi. ft. Tu es magister meus Christus, quem dilexi, quem cognovi, quem confessus sum : tantummodo in . ista voce, exaudi me. * Quia virtutem sanctae Crucis agnovi

The Antiphons of Vespers are full of a lyric gracefulness and unction.

ANTIPHONS.

Hail, O precious Cross ! receive the disciple of Him, who hung upon thee, Christ my master.

The blessed Andrew prayed, saying : O Lord, King of eternal glory, receive me hanging on this gibbet

Andrew, the servant of Christ, the worthy Apostle of Goa? the brother of Peter, and his companion in the cross.

Maximilla, a woman dear to Christ, took the body of the Apostle, and embalming it, buried it in a most honoured place.

Thou, O Lord, didst plunge into hell them that persecuted thy just one, and wast his guide and helper- on the wood of the cross.

The following Hymn was composed, in honour of the holy Apostle, by Pope St. Damasus, the friend of St. Jerome. There is an allusion in it to the name Andrew, which, amongst its many meanings, has that of Beauty.

Salve Crux pretiosa! suscipe discipulum ejus, qui pependit in te, magister meus Christus.

Beatus Andreas orabat, dicens : Domine, Kex seternae gloriae, suscipe me pendentem in patibulo.

Andreas Christi famulus dignus Dei Apostolus, germanus Petri, et in passione socius.

Maximilla Christo araabilis, tulit corpus Apostoli, optimo loco cum aromatibus sepelivit.

Qui persequebantur justum, demersisti eos, Domine? in inferno, et in ligno Crucis dux justi fuisti.

HYMN.

Decus sacrati nominis, Vitamque nomen exprimens, Hoc te Decorum prsedicat Crucis beatae gloria.

Andrea, Christi Apostole, Hoc ipso jam vocabulo Signaris isto nomine, Decorem idem mystice.

The Beauty of thy sacred name, expressive of thy life, declares how Beautiful thou art in the glory of thy blessed cross.

Andrew, Apostle of Christ, thy very name points to the mystic Beauty of thy soul

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The Cross exalts thee, the blessed Cross loves thee, the bitter Cross prepares for thee the joys of tne light to come.

The mystery of the Cross shines in thee with a twofold beauty : for by the Cross thou dost vanquish insults, and thou preachest to men the Divine Blood shed on the Cross.

Then warm up our languid hearts, and take us under thy care : that so, by the victory 01 the Cross, we may reach our heavenly country.

Amen.

Quern Crux ad alta provehit,

Crux quern beata diligit, Cui Crux amara preeparat Lucis futurse gaudia.

In te Crucis mysterium Cluit gemello stigmate, Dum probra vincis per Crucem,

Crucisque pandis sanguinem.

Jam nos foveto languidos, Curamque nostri suscipe, Quo per Crucis victoriam Coeli petamus patriam.

Amen.

The two following Sequences, in honour of the Apostle of the Cross, were written in the Middle Ages. The first belongs to the eleventh century. Like all the Sequences of that period, it has no regular rhythm.

SEQUENCE.

The most holy praises of this day's solemnity.

Let the universal Chufch sing in worthy strains.

The most holy merit of the meekest of saints is to be extolled,

Of the Apostle Andrew, so bright in his admirable graces.

Having learned from John the Baptist, that He had come, who would take sin away,

He straightways entered his dwelling, and listened to his words ;

Sacrosancta hodiernse festivitatis praeconia.

Digna laude universa categorizet Ecclesia.

Mitissimi sanctorum sanctissima extollenda merita,

Apostoli Andrese, admiranda prsefulgentis gratia.

Hie accepto a Joanne Baptista quod Venisset qui tolieret peccata ;

Mox ejus intrans habitacula, aucftebat eloquia.

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Inventoque fratre suo Barjona : Invenimus, ait ovans, Messiam.

Et duxit eum ad dulcifl uam Salvatoris prsesentiam.

Hunc perscrutantem maria, Christi vocavit dementia.

Artem piscandi commutans dignitate apostolica.

Hums animam post clara festi Paschalis gaudia,

Sancti Spiritus prseclara perlustravit potentia ;

Ad prsedicandum populis pcenitentiam, et Dei Patris per Filium clementiam.

Gratulare ergo tanto patre, Achaia ;

Illustrata ejus salutari doctrina ; .

Honorata multimoda signorum f requentia.

Et tu gemens plora, trux carnifex iEgea.

Te lues inferna et mors tenet aeterna.

Sed Andream felicia per Crucem manent gaudia.

Jam Regem tuum spectas, jam in ejus conspectu, Andrea, stas.

Odorem suavitatis jam adspiras, quern divini amoris aroma dat.

Sis ergo nobis inclyta dulcedo, spirans intima ccelestis vitae balsama.

Amen.

And finding his own brother, Barjona, he said to him with great joy : We have found the Messias.

And he led him to the loved presence of the Saviour.

As Andrew was fishing in the sea, the mercy of Christ called him.

Giving him, in exchange for his art of fishing, the dignity of an Apostle.

His soul, after the grand joys of the Paschal feast,

Was visited by the glorious power of the Holy Ghost,

That he might go and preach penance to the world, and tell it of the mercy of the Father by the Son.

Rejoice, then, O Achaia ! that thou hast such an Apostle,

Who enlightened thee with his saving doctrine,

And honoured thee with his many and manifold miracles.

But thou fierce torturer, iEgeas, cry and weep :

The pains of hell and eternal death are thine :

Whilst Andrew has won happiness and joy by his Cross.

O Andrew ! now thou seest thy King : now thou art in his presence;

Now thou art breathing the odour of sweetness, which comes from the aroma of divine love.

Be, then, unto us a delicious sweetness, giving out the hidden balsam of the celestial life.

Amen.

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The second Sequence, written in rhythm and correct metre, is the composition of the pious Adam of Saint Victor, the greatest lyric poet of the Middle Ages.

SEQUENCE.

Let us exult and rejoice, and be delighted in the praises sung to Andrew the Apostle.

His faith, and teachings, and actions, and all his labours for Christ, deserve a worthy celebration.

Twas he led Peter to the faith. 'Twas he on whom the Light first shone ; the Baptist showed it him.

Near the sea of Galilee, our Lord called Peter and Andrew by the one same election.

They who were once fishermen, are become heralds of the Word, and models of every virtue.

They let down their nets for a draught of men \ and carefully watch over the infant Church.

Andrew is separated from his brother, and sent into the country about Achaia.

A great portion of that province enters, by the grace of God, into Andrew's net.

The holy and learned Doctor forms the heart of his people by his faith, life, preaching, and miracles.

When JSgeas discovered what Andrew had done, he was excited to great anger.

But Andrew's mind, ever calm and manly, set little value on this life, and armed itself with patience.

Exsultemus et laetemur : Et Andreae delectemur Laudibus Apostoli.

Hujus fidem, dogma, mores,

Et pro Christo tot labores, Digne decet recoli. Hie ad fidem Petrum duxit,

Cui primum lux illuxit, Joannis indicio.

Secus mare Galilaeae, Petri simul et Andrea Sequitur electio.

Ambo prius piscatores, Verbi fiunt assertores, Et forma justitiae.

Bete laxant in capturam ; Vigilenigue gerunt curam Nascentis Ecclesiae.

A fratre dividitur, Et in partes mittitur Andreas Achaiae.

In Andreae retia Currit, Dei gratia, Magna pars provinciae.

Fide, vita, verbo, signis, Doctor pius et insignis Cor informat populi.

Ut iEgeas comperit Quid Andreas egerit, Irae surgunt stimuli.

Mens secura? mens virilis, Cui praesens vita vilis, Viget patientia.

Blandimentis aut tormentis

Non enervat robur mentis Judicis insania.

Crucem videns praeparari, Suo gestit conform ari Magistro discipulus.

Mors pro morte solvitur, Et Crucis appetitur Triumphalis titulus.

In cruce vixit biduum, Victurus in perpetuum : Nec vult volente populo Deponi de patibulo.

Hora fere dimidia, Luce perfusus nimia, Cum luce, cum laetitia, Pcrgit ad lucis atria.

The senseless judge offers him his favour, or threatens him with tortures, but cannot shake his constant soul.

Seeing the Cross was being prepared, Andrew, as a true disciple, is proud to be thus made like his Master.

He repays the death of J esus by his own, ambitious to have the trophy of triumph, the Cross.

He lived two days hanging on that Cross, which was to make him live for ever ; the people resolve to loose him from it : but he would not have it so ; and clings to his Cross.

An exceeding bright light surrounds him for nearly half an hour ; and then, in this light, and in this joy, he mounts to the realms of light.

O glorious Andrew, whose prayers are so precious, and whose bright death is so sweet to think on,

Take us, by thy loving prayers, from this vale of tears, and transfer us to that fair land of light, O thou good Shepherd of souls. Amen.

O Andrea gloriose, Cujus preces pretiosae, Cujus mortis luminosse Dulcis et memoria.

Ab hac valle lacrymarum,

Nos ad illud lumen clarum, Pie Pastor animarum, Tua transfer gratia. Amen.

The pieces so far given belong to the Roman Liturgy, being taken from the books of this Mother of Churches, or from those of the different Churches of the West, which follow the form of her Offices. We will now give, in honour of our holy Apostle, some of the formulae, which the other ancient Liturgies used for his feast; we will begin with the Ambrosian Rite, from which we take the following beautiful Preface.

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PREFACE.

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Almighty Father, Eternal God ; for we are keeping the feast of a sacred mystery, a day on which the blessed Andrew showed himself to be indeed the brother of Peter the Apostle, both by his preaching and his confession of thy Christ ; and filled up the 'measure of the apostolic dignity by his passion and his glory ; for what he had loudly and boldly preached, he would not cease to proclaim even on his cross : and he deserved to follow, during life, the author of eternal life, and to imitate him in the manner of his death ; that thus having, in .obedience to his precept, crucified in himself all earthly desires, he might, in accordance with his example, be fastened to a cross. The two brothers, the two fishermen, are both, therefore, raised up to heaven by a cross ; that so, having been, by thy grace, bound together by so many ties during this life, they might also be like each other by the crown they wear in heaven ; and as their combat was the same, their reward might be the same.

The Gallican Liturgy also celebrated the glories of St. Andrew. Amongst the few fragments which

Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus. Adest enim nobis dies sacri votiva mysterii : qua beatus Andreas germanum se Petri Apostoli tarn praedicatione Christi tui, quam confessione monstravit ; et apostolicae numerum dignitatis simul passione supplevit et gloria ; ut id, quod libera praedicaverat voce, nec pendens taceret in cruce : auctoremque vitae perennis tam in hac vita sequi, quam in mortis genere meruit imitari : ut cujus prsecepto terrena in semetipso crucifixerat desideria, ejus exemplo ipse patibulo figeretur. Utrique igitur germani piscatores, ambo cruce elevantur ad ccelum ; ut, quos in hujus vitae cursu tua gratia tot vinculis pietatis constrinxerat, hos similis in regno coelorum necteret et corona : et quibus erat una causa certaminis, una retributio esset et praemii have been handed down to us of this Liturgy, there is not a single piece in poetry. The following Preface, or, as it was then called, Contestation, will show that the Church of Gaul, from the fourth to the eighth centuries, shared the enthusiasm of the Roman and Ambrosian Churches for the glorious Apostle of the Cross.

CONTESTATION.

Dignum et justum est ; aequum et justum est : pietati tuae ineffabiles gratias referre, omnipotens sempiterne Deus ; et inaestimabili gaudio passionem tuoruin praedicare Sanctorum, per Christum Dominum nostrum. Qui beato Andreae in prima vocatione dedit fidem ; et in passione donavit victoriam. Acceperat haec utraque beatus Andreas ; ideo nabebat et in praedicatione constantiam, et in passione tolerantiam. Qui post iniqua verbera, post carceris septa, alligatus suspendio se purum sacrificium tibi obtulit Deo. Extendit mitissimus brachia ad ccelos ; amplectitur crucis vexillum ; dengit in osculis ora : Agni cognoscit arcana. Denique dum ad patibulum duc"eretur, in cruce suspenderetur, came patiebatur, et Spiritu loquebatur. Obliviscitur crucis tormenta ; dum de cruce Christum praeconat. Quantum enim corpus ejus in ligno extendebatur : tantum in lingua ejus Christus exaltabaturj quia pendens in ligno, socian se ei gratulabatur. Absolvi se

It is meet and just ; it is right and just, that we should give ineffable thanks to thy mercy, O almighty and eternal God ! and celebrate with incomparable joy the sufferings of thy Saints, through Christ our Lord : Who gave to the blessed Andrew, at his first calling him, the gift of faith; ana in his martyrdom, victory. Both had the blessed Andrew received j therefore had he constancy in his preaching, and patience in his passion. After being unjustly scourged, and thrust into prison, he was tied to a gibbet, and on it offered himself a pure sacrifice to thee his God. Most gentle Saint, he lifts up his hands to heaven ; he embraces the standard of the cross ; he kisses it ; he understands the secrets of the Lamb. When, at last, he was led to the cross, and fastened to it, his flesh suffered, but his spirit spoke. He forgot the torture of the Cross, whilst he preached Christ from the Cross ; for the more his body was being stretched on the dbyGoogk

NOV. 30. ST. ANDBEW, APOSTLE. wood, the more did his tongue extol Christ, seeing that by thus hanging on the cross, he was honoured with being made a companion of Christ. He suffers not himself to be loosened from the cross, lest the combat should lose intensity by the delay. The crowd looks upon him, and is in lamentation; it knows him to be the physician of the soul, and demands that he be freed from his chains. It demands that the just man be liberated, lest this crime should destroy the people. Meanwhile, the Martyr breathes forth his soul, and goes to take possession of the kingdom of the eternal Judge. Grant us, O almighty God, by his merits, that we, being safe and protected from all evils, may for ever give praise and thanks to thee, our Lord, the God of the Martyrs, and the Prince of the Apostles.

The Mozarabic Liturgy is extremely rich in its praises of St. Andrew, both in the Missal and the Breviary : we must limit ourselves to the following beautiful prayer. non patitur a cruce, ne tepescat certamen in tempore. Turba circumspicit, et lamentat : demitti a vinculo petit, quern reparatorem mentis intelligit. Laxari postulat justum, ne pereat populus hoc delicto. Interea fundit Martyr spiritum, possessurus sempiterni Juaicis regnum : pro cujus meritis concede nobis, omnipotens Deus ; ut a malis omnibus tuti atque defensi, tibi Domino nostro, Deo Martyrum et Principi Apostolorum, laudes semper et gratias re* feramus.

CAPITXJLUM.

O Christ, our Lord, who didst beautify the most blessed Andrew with the grace of Apostleship, and the crown of Martyrdom, by granting to him this special gift, that by preaching the mystery of tlie Cross, he

Christe, Dominus noster, qui beatissimum Andream, et Apostolatus gratia, et Martyrii decorasti corona ; hoc illi specialiter in munere praestans, ut Crucis prsedicando mysterium? ad Crucis mereretur pervenire patibu- lum : da nobis, ut sanctae Crucis tuae verissiini amatores efFecti, abnegantes nosmetipsos tollamus crucem nostram. et sequamur te : ut passionious tuis in hac vita communicantes, ad aeternam vitaui pervenire mereamur felices. should merit the death of the Cross : grant us to become most true lovers of thy holy Cross, and, denying ourselves, to take up our cross and follow thee ; that by thus sharing thy sufferings in this life, we may deserve the happiness of obtaining life everlasting.

The Greek Church is as fervent as any of the Churches of the West in celebrating the prerogatives and merits of St. Andrew. He is the more dear to it, because Constantinople considers him as her patron Apostle. It would, perhaps, be difficult for the Greeks to give any solid proofs of St. Andrew's having founded, as they pretend, the Church of Byzantium ; but this is certain, that Constantinople enjoyed, for many centuries, the possession of the precious treasure of the Saint's Relics. They were translated to that city in the year 357, through the interest of the Emperor Constantius, who placed them in the Basilica of the Apostles built by Constantine. Later on, that is, about the middle of the 6th century, Justinian caused them to be translated a second time, but only from one part of that same Basilica to another. We borrow the two following beautiful Hymns from the Menaea of the Greeks; the first is sung in the Evening Office, the second in the Morning Office.

IN THE SOLEMN EVENING OFFICE.

Luci antelucanae assimilatus, quern splendorem hy-

Sostaticum Paternae glorise icimus, hominum genus per suam magnam misericordiam salvare cum voluisset? tunc primus, gloriose, ilk occurristi, illustratus interius

When He, who is likened to the Star of early morn, whom we call the hypostatic splendour of the Father's glory, willed in his great mercy to save the human race ; thou, O glorious Andrew, wast the first to dbyGoogk

NOV. 30. ST. Al meet him, being enlightened interiorly with the most perfect brightness of his Divinity : hence thou art called the herald and Apostle of Christ our Lord. Pray to him for us. that he save and enlighten our souls.

When He, whom the Precursor's voice had proclaimed, the all-holy Word, was made Flesh, and gave us life, and gave the good tidings of salvation to the earth ; then didst thou, most holy Andrew, follow him, and make thyself his first-fruits, and sacrifice, and as it were the first oblation of men : thou didst make him known to thy brother, telling him that tnis was our God. Pray to Jesus for us, that he save our souls.

When He appeared who clothed himself with our flesh in a virginal yet fruitful womb, and was thus the Son of a Virgin, the teacher of piety, giving us this model of purity ; then wast thou happy, O Andrew, most ardent lover of virtue ; disposing in thy heart to ascena step by step, and wast raised up from glory to the unspeakaole glory of the Lord our God. Beseech him, that he save and enlighten our souls.

Leaving thy fishing of fish, thou catchest men by the roa of thy preaching, throwing to them the bait of virtue, and dragging all nations from the depths of error, O Andrew, the Apostle, brother of the perfectissima ejus Deitatis claritate ; unde et praeco et Apostolus vocaris Christi Dei nostri ; quem deprecare salvare et illuminare animas nostras.

Prsecurrenti voce insonans, quando omnisanctum Verbum caro factum est, quando nobis vitam donavit, salutemque in terris evangelizavit, tunc, sanctissime, istud secutus es, et teipsum primitias et sacrificium quasi primam ipsi oblationem constituisti : quem cognoscere fecisti, fratrique tuo monstrasti Deum nostrum ; hunc deprecare salvare animas nostras.

Qui carnem e sterili florescenti induit, quando VirginalisFilius apparuit, praeceptor pietatis puritatem demonstrans, tunc tu, ardentissime virtutis amtitor, Andrea, beatus effectus es ; ascensiones in tuo corde disponens, agloriain gloriam sublimatus es inauditam Domini Dei nostri : quem deprecare salvare et illuminare animas nostras.

Piscium piscationem derelinquens, homines carpis calamo praedicationis, mittens hamum pietatis, et extrahens e profundo erroris omnes Gentes, Andrea Apostole, Coryphaei frater, et terrae

298 AD"V dux celeberrime, excellens et non deficiens ; tenebrosos homines illustra tua veneranda memoria.

Primovocatus discipulus et imitator passionis tuae, assimilatus tibi, Domine, Andreas Apostolus in abysso degentes ignorantiae olimque errantes, hamo tuae Crucis cum abstraxisset, tibimetipsi adduxit : et ideo salvati fideles ad te clamamus precibus illius, optime Domine, vitam nostram pacifica, et salva animas nostras.

Ignis illuminans mentes et comburens peccata, in corde interius ampiens, Apostolus Christi discipulus fulget mysticis radiis mstructionum in Gentium tenebrosis cordibus. Urit autem iterum surculosas impiorum fabulas ; ignis enim Spiritus tantam habet energiam ! O mirabiliter terribile ! Coenosa lingua, fictilis natura, corpus pulverinum, intellectualem et im~ materialem praebuit Gnosim. Sed tu, O initiate rerum ineffabilium, et contemplator coelestium, deprecare illuminari animas nostras.

Gaudeas, disertum coelum, gloriam Dei passim enarrans. Primus Domino obediens ar-

Leader, most honoured Prince of the earth, excelling and unfailing ! may the venerable remembrance of thee enlighten them that are in darkness.

Andrew, the Apostle, the first-called of thy disciples, O Lord, and the imitator of thy Passion, and made like to thee, drew out with the hook of thy Cross them that lived and wandered in the sea of ignorance, and then brought them unto thee : therefore do we thy faithful, who have been saved, cry to thee by his prayers, O infinitely good Lord : grant us peaceful lives, and save our souls.

The Apostle, disciple of Christ, is a fire which inflames men's minds and burns out their sins, penetrating into the very depth of their hearts : and by the mystic rays of his instructions he shines in the darkheartsof the Gentiles. Then, too, he burns the wild brambles of pagan f ables,f or the fire of the Spirit has such energy ! And is it not a wonder to be trembled at. that a tongue of slime, a nature of clay, a body of dust, should make known the intellectual and the immaterial Knowledge] Do thou, the initiated into unspeakable things, the contemplator of heavenly truths, pray that our minds be illumined.

Be glad, O thou heaven of eloquence, everywhere telling the glory of God ! The first to obey our Lord with ardour, immediately uniting thyself to him, thou wast set on fire by him, and didst appear as a second light, enlightening with thy rays them that sat in darkness, thus imitating the mercy of Jesus for man- Therefore do we celebrate thy most holy memory, and kiss with great joy the shrine of thy Relics, from which flows health and every sort of boon to thy clients.

By the nets of thy oracles thou didst draw from the abyss of ignorance the nations that knew not God, and gavest them life. Like the splendid courser of the Ruler of the Sea, thou, O worthy of all praise, didst stir up the bitter waves by thy wisdom. Thou, the venerable salt of earth, didst season with thy penetrating wisdom what ungodliness was corrupting. This thy wisdom, O glorious Apostle, struck dumb with admiration those who had become imbued and puffed up with an unsound wisdom, and ignored the Lord that showed his great mercy to the world. denter effectus, ipsi immediate adhaerens, ao ipso accensus, lumen apparuisti alterum? et degentes in tenebris tuis illuminasti radiis, hanc homini benignitatem imitatus : unde tuam omnisanctam perficimus laudem, et Reliquiarum thecam cum gaudio magno deosculamur, ex qua scaturit salus petentibus et magna misericordia.

Gentes nescientes Deum quasi ex abysso ignorantiae vivas carpsisti sagenatuorum oraculorum, safiaque cornmoves aequora sapienter, equus optimus visus Dominatoris maris, celebrande ; qui siccasti putredinem impietatis, sal honorandum, spargens sapientiam tuam: quam stupentes admirati sunt, Apostole gloriose, qui malesana sapientia inflati amplexi erant, ignorantes Dommum donantem mundo magnam misericordiam.

IN THE MORNING OFFICE.

Not by thirst but by love wast thou urged, O Andrew, when thou didst run, as a stag, to the fountain of life. Leaning on faith, thou didst give to drink of the fountains of incorruption to the distant nations that were parched with thirst.

Accurristi siti non vocatus, Andrea, sed voluntarie, sicut cervus ad f ontem vitae. Fide innixus, de incorruptionis fontibus siti fatigatas extremas usque regiones potasti.

300 AD\

Cognovisti naturae leges, Andrea admirande, et comparticipem accepisti fratrem, clamans : Invenimus Desideratum ; atque ei qui iter fecerat secundum carnis generationem, accersisti Spiritus cognitionem.

Verbum cum dixisset : Hie retro mei, Christum alacer secutus est cum Andrea et Cephas, genitori valedicentes, et naviculae, et retibus. tanquam fidei propugnacula.

Deifica inexhaustaque potentis omnifactoris atque flammantis Spiriti is virtus in te, Andrea divine, inhabitans in igneae linguae forma, ineffabiEum te mdicavit praeconem.

Non arma ad defensionem attulit carnea, et ad destructionem terribilium inimici ropugnaculorum, Andreas onoratissimus; sed ad Christum loricatus, quas captivitate redegerat Gentes, aaduxit submissas.

Tuam ineffabilem pulchritudinem Andreas videns primus, Jesu, fratrem clara voce vocavit : Petre ardenter desiderans, invenimus Messiam, qui in Lege et in Prophetis proclamatus est ; veni, verae Vitae agglutinemur.

Hunc pro mercede recu-

Thou didst feel the law of nature, O admirable Andrew, and thou didst take thy brother into partnership, crying out to him : We have found the Desired One! ana thus he who was walking in the ways of the flesh, was brought by thee to the knowledge of the Spirit.

When the Word said : Now, follow me, Cephas also joyfully followed Christ with Andrew, bidding farewell to father, boat, and nets, and became the citadels of the, faith.

The deifying and exhaustless virtue of the mighty Creator of all things, and of the burning Spirit, dwelt in thee in the form of a fiery tongue ; showing that thou, O divine Andrew, wast a herald of unspeakable things.

Most honoured Andrew ! he bore not weapons of the flesh for his defence, or for the destruction of the formidable ramparts of the enemy ; but with a breastplate on him, he led subject to Christ the nations which had been redeemed by Christ from captivity.

Thy ineffable beauty, O Jesus, was first seen by Andrew, who then called out with a loud voice to his brother : Peter, he said, thou man of ardent desires ! we have found the Messias, whom the Law and the Prophets have foretold. O come, let us cling to this true life.

As thy reward, O Apostle, nov. 30. st. a:

Andrew, thou hast regained him whom thou desirest : him, with whom thou didst bind up and worthily garner the sheaves of thy labours. Therefore do we sing to thee our hymns of praise.

Thou desiredst the Master, and thou hast followed him, walking unto life in his footsteps, and imitating, even unto death, his passion, O verily venerable Andrew !

Calmly sailing the sea of the spiritual life, O Apostle, thou didst cross it with the sails of the Spirit and the faith of Christ. Therefore didst thou enter with joy into the port of life for ever. #

The spiritual Sun having, by his own will, sunk on the cross, Andrew, that Sun's reflection, the great and bright light of the Church, wishing also to be dissolved and to set with Him, was hung upon a cross.

As the best of all the disciples of Him, who, of his own will, was fastened to the cross, thou, O blessed Apostle, following thy Master even unto death, thou didst ascend with joy to the summit of the Cross, showing us the way that leads to heaven.

Kejoice now, O Bethsaida! for in thee and thy maternal fount bloomed the two most fragrant lilies, Peter and Andrew, bearing, by the grace of Christy whom they resembled in his passion, the odour of the preaching of the faith to the whole world. perasti quern desiderabas, Andrea Apostole, ligatis cum eolaborum manipulis,tuisque digne cum eo collectis : unde te hymnis glorificamus.

Magistrum desiderasti, et ilium insecutus es, qui illius vestigiis ad vitani ambulasti, et illius passiones, vere honorande Andrea, usque ad mortem imitatus.

Spiritualem vitae tranquille navigatus abyssum, Apostole, perambulasti cum velo Spiritus, fide Christi : ideoque ad vitae portum pervenisti gaudens in cuncta saecula.

Spiritali Sole in cruce occidenti voluntate propria, solis jubar cum illo quaerens dissolvi et occidere in Christum, in ligno suspensus est Andreas, fax magna et fulgida Ecclesiae.

Velut discipulus omnium optimus, illius qui voluntarie amxus est Cruci, magistrum tuum usque ad mortem secutus, cum gaudio in altitudinem ascendisti Crucis, viam instruens ad ccelos, beate Apostole.

Gaude nunc, Bethsaida; in te enim floruerunt e materno fonte nimis odorifera lilia, Petrus et Andreas, universo mundo fidei praedicationis odorem ferentes gratia Christi, cujus passionibus communicaverunt.

Te patrum ci vitas pastorem possidet, et divinum praesidem, et periculorum omnium liberatorem, et custodem te, Andrea sapiensgratanter honoravit te : sea tu deprecare incessanter pro ea, ut 8ervetur ab omni perditione.

The city of the Fathers possesses thee as its pastor, and its divine chief, and its liberator in all dangers, and its keeper, O Andrew full of wisdom ! Gratefully has it kept thy feast ; but do thou unceasingly pray for it, that it may be preserved from all danger.

The Church of Constantinople, so devoted, as we have seen, to the glory of St. Andrew, was at length deprived of the precious treasure of his Relics. This happened in the year 1210, when the City was taken by the Crusaders. Cardinal Peter of Capua, the Legate of the Holy See, translated the body of St. Andrew into the Cathedral of Amalfi, a town in the Kingdom of Naples, where "it remains to this day, the glorious instrument of numberless miracles, and the object of the devout veneration of the people. It is well known how, at the same period, the most precious Relics of the Greek Church came, by a visible judgment of God, into the possession of the Latins. Byzantium refused to accept those terrible warnings, and continued obstinate in her schism. She was still in possession of the Head of the holy Apostle, owing, no doubt, to this circumstance, that in the several Translations which had been made, it had been kept in a separate reliquary by itself. When the Byzantine Empire was destroyed by the Turks, Divine Providence so arranged events, as that the Church of Rome should be enriched with this magnificent Relic. In 1462, the Head of St. Ajidrew was, therefore, brought thither by the celebrated ♦Cardinal Bessarion ; and on the twelfth of April of that same year, Palm Sunday, the heroic Pope Pius II. went in great pomp to meet it as far as the Bridge Milvius (Ponte Molle), and then placed it in the Basilica of St. Peter, on the Vatican, where it is at present, near the Confession of the Prince of the Apostles. At the sight of this venerable Head, Pius II. was transported with a religious enthusiasm, and before taking up the glorious Relic in order to carry it into Rome, he pronounced the magnificent address which we now give, as a conclusion to the liturgical praises given by the several Churches to St. Andrew.

" At length, thou hast arrived, O most holy and " venerable Head of the saintly Apostle ! The fury " of the Turks has driven thee from thy resting-place, " and thou art come as an exile to thy Brother, the " Prince of the Apostles. No, thy Brother will not " fail thee ; and by the will of God, the day shall " come when men shall say in thy praise : O happy " banishment, which caused thee to receive such a " welcome ! Meanwhile, here shalt thou dwell with " thy Brother, and share in his honours.

" This is Rome, the venerable City, which was de- " dicated by thy Brother's precious blood. The peo- " pie thou seest, are they whom the blessed Apostle, " thy most loving Brother, and St. Paul, the Vessel " of Election, regenerated unto Christ our Lord. " Thus the Romans are thy kinsmen. They vene- " rate, and honour, and love thee as their Father's " Brother ; nay, as their second Father ; and are con- " fident of thy patronage in the presence of the great "God.

" 0 most blessed Apostle Andrew ! thou preacher " of the truth, and defender of the dogma of the " most Holy Trinity ! with what joy dost thou not " fill us on this day, whereon it is given us to behold " thy sacred and venerable Head, which deserved that, " on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Paraclete should " rest upon it in the form of fire !

" O ye Christians that visit Jerusalem out of re- " verence for your Saviour, that there ye may see the " places where his feet have stood ; lo ! here is the

" throne of the Holy Ghost. Here sat the Spirit of " the Lord. Here was seen the Third Person of the "Trinity. Here were the eyes that so often saw " Jesus in the flesh. This was the mouth that so " often spake to Jesus ; and on these cheeks did that " same Lord doubtless impress his sacred kisses.

" 0 wondrous Sanctuary, wherein dwelt charity, " and kindness, and gentleness, and spiritual conisolation. Who could look upon such venerable " and precious Relics of the Apostle of Christ, and " not be moved ? and not be filled with tender de- " votion ? and not shed tears for very joy ? Yea, O " most admirable Apostle Andrew ! we rejoice, and " are glad, and exult, at this thy coming, for we " doubt not but what thou thyself art present here, " and bearest us company as we enter with thy Head " into the Holy City.

"The Turks are indeed our enemies, as being the " enemies of the Christian Religion ; but in that " they have been the occasion of thy coming amongst "us, we are grateful to them. For, what greater " blessing could have befallen us, than that we should " be permitted to see thy most sacred Head, and " that our Rome should be filled with its fragrance ? " Oh ! that we could welcome thee with the honours " which are due to thee, and receive thee in a way " becoming thy exceeding holiness ! But, accept our " good will, and our sincere desire to honour thee, " and suffer us now to touch thy Relics with our un- " worthy hands, and, though sinners, to accompany "thee into the walls of the City.

" Enter, then, the Holy City, and show thy love "to her people. May thy coming be a boon to " Christendom. May thy entrance be peaceful, and " thy abode amongst us bring happiness and prosperity. Be thou our advocate in heaven, and, "together with blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, " defend this City, and protect, with thy love, all

S05

" Christian people ; that, by thy intercession, the " mercy of God may be upon us, and if his indignation " be enkindled against us by reason of our manifold " sins, let it fall upon the impious Turks and the pa- " gan nations that blaspheme our Lord Jesus Christ. " Amen."

Thus has the glory of St. Andrew been blended, in Rome, with that of St. Peter. But the Apostle of the Cross, whose feast was heretofore kept, in many Churches, with an Octave, has also been chosen as Patron of one of the Kingdoms of the West. Scotland, when she was a Catholic country, had put herself under his protection. May he still exercise his protection over her, and, by his prayers, hasten her return to the true faith !

Let us now, in union with the Church, pray to this holy Apostle, for this is the glorious day of his feast : let us pay him that honour which is due to him, and ask him for the help of which we stand in need.

We have scarce begun our mystic journey of Advent, seeking our divine Saviour Jesus, when lo ! God grants us to meet thee, 0 blessed Andrew, at our very first step. When Jesus, our Messias, began his public life, thou hadst already become the obedient disciple of his Precursor, who preached his Coming : thou wast among the first of them who received the Son of Mary as the Messias foretold in the Law and the Prophets. But thou couldst not keep the heavenly secret from him who was so dear to thee ; to Peter, then, thou didst bear the Good Tidings, and didst lead him to Jesus.

0 blessed Apostle ! we also are longing for the Messias, the Saviour of our souls ; since thou hast found him, lead us also unto him. We place under thy protection this holy period of expectation and preparation, which is to bring us to the day of our Saviour's Nativity, that divine Mystery in which he x will manifest himself to the world. Assist us to render ourselves worthy of seeing him on that great night. The baptism of Penance prepared thee for receiving the grace of knowing the Word of life ; pray for us that we may become truly penitent and may purify our hearts, during this holy time, and thus be able to behold Him, who has said : Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see. Ood.

Thou hast a special power of leading souls to Jesus, 0 glorious Saint ! for even be, who was to be made the Pastor of the whole flock, was presented to the Messias by thee. By calling thee to himself on this day, our Lord has given thee as the Patron of Christians who, each year, at this season, are seeking that God in whom thou art now living : they must begin it with praying to thee to show them the way which leads to Jesus.

Thou teachest us this way ; it is that of fidelity, of fidelity even to the Cross. In that way thou didst courageously walk : and because the Cross leads to Jesus Christ, thou didst passionately love the Cross. Pray for us, 0 holy Apostle ! that we may begin to understand this love of the Cross ; and that having understood it, we may put it in practice. Thy brother says to us in his Epistle : Christ having suffered in the flesh, be you also armed with the same thought. Thy feast, O blessed Andrew ! shows us thee as the living commentary of this doctrine. Because thy Master was crucified, thou wouldst also be crucified. From the high throne to which thou hast been raised by the Cross, pray for us, that the Cross may be unto us the expiation of the sins which are upon us, the quenching of the passions which burn within us, and the means of uniting us by love to Him, who, through love alone for us, was nailed to the Cross.

Important, indeed, and precious are these lessons

1 I. St Pet. iv. 1. of the Cross ; but the Cross, O blessed Apostle, is the perfection and the consummation, and not the first commencement. It is the Infant God, it is the God of the Crib that we must first know and love ; it was the Lamb of God that St. John pointed out to thee ; and it is that Lamb whom we so ardently desire to contemplate. The austere and awful time of Jesus' Passion is not come ; we are now in Advent. Fortify us for the day of combat; but the grace we now most need, is compunction and tender love. We put under thy patronage this great work of our preparation for the Coming of Jesus into our hearts.

Remember also, 0 blessed Andrew, the holy Church, of which thou wast a pillar, and which thou hast beautified by the shedding of thy blood: lift up thy hands for her to Him, whose battle she is for ever fighting. Pray that the Cross she has to bear in this ber pilgrimage, may be lightened ; that she may love this Cross, and that it may be the source of her power and her glory. Remember with especial love the holy Roman Church, the Mother and Mistress of all Churches ; and by reason of that fervent love she has for thee, obtain for her victory and peace by the Cross. Visit anew, in thy Apostolic zeal, the Church of Constantinople, which has forfeited true light and unity, because she would not render homage to Peter, thy brother, whom thou honouredst as thy Chief, out of love to Him who is the common Master of both him and thee. And lastly, pray for Scotland, that has dishonoured thy protection for these three past ages ; obtain for her that the days of her rebellion from the faith may be shortened, and, with the rest of our Isle of Saints, soon return to the fold of the One Shepherd.

We will close this day with a prayer to the Saviour, whom we are expecting ; and celebrate, by this ancient and venerable Hymn, the mystery of his Coming.

HYMN FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT.

{The Mozarabic Breviary : in the Hymnarium.)

Gaudete, flores Martyruin ! Salvete, plebes gentium, Visum per astra mittite, Sperate signum glorias.

Voces Prophetarum sonant, Venire Jesum nuntiant, Redemptionis praevia Quae nos redemit gratia.

Hie mane nostrum promicat,

Et corda laeta exasstuant, Cum vox fidelis personat Praenuntiatrix gloriam.

Tantae salutis gaudium, Quo est redemptum saeculum,

Exceptionis inclytum Abhinc ciamus canticum.

Adventus hie primus fuit, Punire quo non saeculi Venit, sed ulcus tergere, Salvando quod perierat.

At hunc secundus praemonet,

Adesse Christum januis Sanctis coronas reddere, Ccelique regna pandere. iEterna lux promittitur, Sidusque salvans promitur ; Jam nos jubar praefulgidum Ad jus vocat ccelestium.

Te, Christe, solum quaerimus

Rejoice, ye Flowers of the Martyrs ! Hail, all ye people and nations ! lift up your eyes to heaven, and await the sign of glory.

The voice of the Prophets is heard, announcing the coming of J esus ; it is the harbinger of our Redemption, of the grace which saved us.

How bright is our morn, and how do our hearts swell with joy, when the faithful voice comes heralding in our glory !

May the ioy of so great a salvation, whereby the world is redeemed, inspire us with a solemn canticle in praise of Jesus' coming.

It was his first : and he came not to punish, but to heal the sores and sins of the world, saving his creature that was lost.

But when the second Advent comes, it will tell the world that Christ is at its very doors, to give the Saints their, crowns, and throw open the kingdom of heaven.

We have a promise of eternal light ; the star of our salvation is rising ; and even now its splendid rays are calling us to our right to heaven.

Thee alone, O Jesus, do we seek, and wish to see thee as thou art, God. Videre sicut es Deus, Happy vision, which will Ut laeta nos haec visio put us out of all reach of Evellat omni tartaro.

That thus, when thou Quo dum Redemptor ve- comest, O Redeemer, sur- neris, rounded by the white-robed Cum candidate Martyrura army of Martyrs, thou may est Globo adunes ccelibi admit us also into their pure Nos tunc beato ccetui company.

To God the Father, and Deo Patri sit gloria, to his Only Son, and to the Ejusque soli Filio,

Holy Paraclete, be glory Cum Spiritu Paraclito, both now and for ever. Et nunc et in perpetuum. Amen. rno

FIRST DAY OF DECEMBER.

The Church of Rome does not keep this day as a feast of any Saint ; she simply recites the Office of the Feria, unless it happen that the first Sunday of Advent fall on this first day of the month, in which case, the Office of that Sunday is celebrated, as given above in the Proper of the Time.

But should this first day of December be a simple Feria of Advent, we shall do well to begin at once our considerations upon the preparations which were made for the merciful Coming of the Saviour of the world.

Four thousand years of expectation preceded that Coming, and they are expressed by the four weeks of Advent, which we must spend before we come to the glorious festivity of our Lord's Nativity. Let us reflect upon the holy impatience of the Saints of the Old Testament, and how they handed down, from age to age, the grand hope, which was to be but hope to them, since they were not to see it realised. Let us follow, in thought, the long succession of the witnesses of the promise : Adam, and the first Patriarchs, who lived before the deluge; then, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve Patriarchs of the Hebrew people ; then Moses, Samuel, David, and Solomon; then, the Prophets and the Machabees ; and, at last, John the Baptist and his disciples. - These are the holy ancestors, of whom the book of Ecclesiasticus speaks, where it says : Let us praise men of renown, and our fathers in their generation ;l and of whom the Apostle thus speaks to the Hebrews: All these being approved by the testimony of faith,

1 Eccles. xliv. 1. received not the promise ; God providing some better thing for us, that they should not be perfected with* out us : their faith was tried and approved, and yet they received not the object of the promises made to them. It was for us that God had reserved the stupendous gift, and therefore did not permit them to attain the object of their desires.

Let us honour them for their faith ; let us honour them as our veritable fathers, since it was in reward of their faith, that our Lord remembered and fulfilled his merciful promise ; let us honour them, too, as the ancestors of the Messias in the flesh. We may imagine each of them saying, as he lay on his dying bed, this solemn prayer to him who alone could conquer death : / will look for thy Salvation, 0 Lord ! It was the exclamation of Jacob, at his last hour, when he was pronouncing his prophetic blessings on his children : and then, says the Scripture, he drew up his feet upon his bed, and died, and he was gathered unto his people.

Thus did all these holy men, in quitting this life, go to await, far from the abode of eternal light, Him who was to come in due time, and re-open the gate of heaven. Let us contemplate them in this place of expectation, and give our grateful thanks to God, who has brought us to his admirable Light, without requiring us to pass through a Limbo of darkness. It is our duty to pray ardently for the Coming of the Deliverer, who will break down, by his Cross, the gates of the prison, and will fill it with the brightness of his glory. During this holy season, the Church is continually borrowing the fervent expressions of these Fathers of the Christian people, making them her own prayer for the Messias to come. Let us turn to those great Saints, and beg of them to pray, that our work of preparation for Jesus' coming to our hearts, may be blessed by God.

1 Heb. xi. 39, 40. * Gen. xlix. 32.

We will make use, for this end, of the beautiful hymn wherein the Greek Church celebrates the memory of all the Saints of the Old Testament, on the Sunday immediately preceding the Feast of Christmas.

HYMN FOB THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FATHERS.

(Taken from the Mencea of the Greeks.)

Avorum hodie, Fideles,

Eerficientes memorias, reymnificenms Christum Kedemptorem, qui illos magnificavit in omnibus gentibus, et qui incredibilia in eis per. fidem operatus est ; Dominum, utpote fortem et potentem ; et ex illis maniiestavit virgam potentiae nobis, unicam virum nescientem et Deiparam, Mariam castam, ex qua flos prodiit. Christus germinans omnibus vitain, et salutem seternam.

Tu es qui sanctos pueros ex igne liberasti, Domine, et ex ore leonum Daniel ; qui Abraham benedixisti, et Isaac servum tuum, et filium ejus Jacob, qui dignatus es ex illorum semine nasci apud nos ut prius lapsos salvares proavos nostros, crucifigi autem et sepeliri : et rupisti mortis vincula, et consurgere facis omnes qui a seculo inter mortuos erant, adorantes tuum, Christe, regnum aeternum.

Adam primum veneremur, manu honoratum Creatoris

Celebrating, O ye faithful, on this day, the memory of the ancient Fathers, let us sing a new hymn to our Kedeemer Christ, who magnified them in all nations, and worked incredible things in them by faith, for he is the strong and mighty Lord. By them did he manifest to us the sceptre of his power, the unparalleled Virgin-Mother of God, the chaste Mary, from whom came the Flower that buds forth life and eternal salvation to all, Christ.

It was thou, O Lord, that didst deliver the holy Children from the furnace, and Daniel from the mouth of the Hons ; that didst bless Abraham, and Isaac thy servant, and Jacob his son ; that didst vouchsafe to be born among us from their seed, so to save our first parents who had fallen, and to be crucified and buried ; that didst break the bonds of death, and gavest resurrection to all them who had died from the beginning, and who adored, O Christ, thy eternal kingdom.

And first let us venerate Adam, who was honoured by the Creator's hand, and was the first father of us all : who now dwells in the heavenly tabernacles, and rests amidst the holy elect.

The God and the Lord of all things received Abel, who offered his gifts with a generous heart ; and took him into the heavenly light as a divine Martyr, when he was slain by the murderer's hand.

Seth is celebrated throughout the world for his ardour towards the Creator : who saved him for his irreproachable life and this holy disposition of mind ; and now, in the region of the living, he sings : Holy art thou, O Lord!

Enos, prophetically called the admirable, for his words and voice and heart, hoped in spirit in the Lord of all, and after a life spent on earth in exceeding goodness, he departed full of glory.

Let us praise, in our sacred canticles and prayers, the blessed Henoch ; who, when he had pleased God, was translated to glory, and, as became so faithful a servant of God, without being overcome by death, as it is written of him.

Let us give praise to God by celebrating, with our hymns, Noah, who was just : in all things, God honoured him with his divine commands, and he was wellpleasing to Christ, to whom let us sing with faith : Glory be to thy power, 0 Lord !

et omnium nostrum proavum, jam nunc habitantem in ccelestibus tabernaculis, inter sanctos electos quiescentem.

Abel dona proferentem mente generosa, admisit omnium Deus et Dominus ; eumque homicida olim manu peremptum, in altum recepit ad lumen, ut divinum Martyrem.

Canitur in mundo Seth pro suo erga Creatorem ardore : nam in irreprehensibili vitae ratione et animae dispositione ilium vere sanavit ; et in regione vivorum clamat : Sanctus es, Domine.

Ore et lingua et corde Enos admirabilis cognominatus prophetice, in omnium Dominum speravit in spiritu, et optiine vita in terris acta, gforiosus decessit.

Sacris eloquiis et orationibus Henoch beatum praedicemus ; qui, cum Deo placuisset, translatus est in gloriam, visus, ut fertur, mortem superasse, sicut Dei servus fidelissimus.

Laudem proferamus Deo, honorantes melodiis Noe, qui fuit justus : in omnibus enim divinis mandatis ornatus, visus est Christo beneplacitus ; cui canamus cum fide : Gloria virtuti tuae, Domine.

Videns tuam Deus nobilem indolem et mentis tua? sinceritatem, et te in omnibus, Noe, perfectum, secundi mundi ducem te signat, salvantem ex omni genere contra diluvium, sensibile semen, ut ipse mandaverat.

Noe, Dei legem incorruptam servantem, justumque inventum in generatione sua, et qui lignea salvavit olim in area irrationabilia genera, ordinatione omnimoda, beatum piis prsedicemus hymnis.

Vinum compunctionis nobis scaturire facit honorantibus te, Noe beate, memoria tua, laetificans et animas et corda undique beatificantium sincere mores tuos honestos, et divinam agendi rationem.

Laudibus honoretur Sem, qui fructificare fecit paternam benedictionem, et ante Deum placidus deinonstratus, et proavorum choris adscriptus, et in regione vivorum lsetantissime requiescens.

Videre meruit, tamquam Dei amicus, Abraham diem Creatoris sui, plenus factus laetitiae paternae : hunc ergo recto corde honorautes, beatum dicamus omnes, ut Dei fidelem servum.

Vidisti, ut homini videre fas est, Trinitatem, et illam hospitatus es : unde mercedem recepisti hospitalitatis,

God seeing thy noble heart, and the sincerity of thy mind, and how in all things thou wast perfect. O Noah, he makes thee tne Father of the second world, and bids thee save from the deluge a remnant of every species of animal

Let us in our holy hymns

E raise Noah, who kept the iw of God without reproof, and was found just in his generation, and who, by an admirable arrangement, saved, in the wooden ark, all the brute creation.

Thy memory, O blessed Noah, fills us with the wine of compunction, which gladdens our souls and hearts, whilst we devoutly extol thy holy life and thy divine manner of acting.

Sem is worthy of our praise, who brought forth plentiful fruit from his lather's blessing, and by his meekness found favour with God, and was numbered in the choir of the Fathers, and now rests in perfect joy in the land of the living.

Abraham merited, as the friend of God, to see the day of his Creator, and was filled with the joy promised to the Fathers : him, therefore, let us honour with sincere devotion, and let us all proclaim him the blessed Abraham, God's faithful servant.

Thou didst see, as far as it is permitted man to see, the Trinity, and thou didst make it thy guest : wheref ore thou r

DECEMBER FIRST. receivedst the reward of thy hospitality, and wast made the Father, in the faith, of countless nations.

Most blessed Isaac, the divine wisdom made thee the type of Jesus in his Passion, when thy fathers sublime faith led thee to the sacrifice : therefore art thou blest, and loved of God as a most faithful friend, and seated on a throne with all the just.

Of all the servants of God Jacob was the most faithful : therefore was it that he wrestled with the Angel, seeing God in spirit, and his name was changed ; and as he slept, he beheld the divine ladder, on which God was leaning ; it was God, assuming to himself, in his mercy, human flesh.

Joseph, when he lovingly obeyed his father, was let down into a well and sold, and was the prototype of Him that was sacrificed, and thrown down into a pit. He gave corn to Egypt and saved it ; he was wise and just, and a most true king over his passions.

Job lawfully endured the combat of ceaseless temptations, and deserves to be praised ; he was God's most true servant, he was meek, and a man without guile, upright, perfect, without reproof, ever saying : Blessed art thou, O God !

Let us faithfully honour Moses, and Aaron, and Hor : factus immensarum gentium in fide pater.

Typus Christi passionis factus es sapienter, Isaac beatissime, patris bona fide ad immolandum adducte : ideoque beatus effectus es et amicus Dei visus es fidelissimus, et cum omnibus justis sedem consecutus es.

Visus est Jacob omnium Dei servorum fidelissimus : ideoque pugnavit cum Angelo, in mente videns Deum, et nomen mutavit, dormiensque divinam contemplatus est scalam, cui insidebat Deus, carni in bonitate sua adhaerens.

Patris obedientiam cum amore amplectens Joseph in puteum demissus, tamquam lllius prototypus venditur qui immolatus est, et in puteum demissus est Christus ; et ^Egypto frumenta distribuens monstratus est, sapiens et justus effectus, rexque concupiscentiarum verissimus.

Legitime incessantium certamini tentationum luctatus, celebratus est Job Dei seryus verissimus, mitis, vir sine malitia, rectus, perfectus, irreprehensibilis, clamans : Benedictus es, Deus.

In fide Moysen Aaron que et Hor honoremus, adhuc

316 ADVJ celebrantes Josue et Levi sanctissimum, Gedeonque et Samson, et clamemus : Deus Patrum, benedictus es.

Phalangem Deo gratam divinorum Patrum celebremus, Baruch et Nathan, et Eleazarum, Josiam et David, Jephte, Samuel qui anteacta videbat, et clamaoat : Benedicat omnis creatura Dominum.

Laudem melodise Dei Prophetis feramus, celebrantes Osee, Michaeam, Sophoniam et Habacum, Zachariam, Jonam, Aggseum et Amos, et cum Abdia, Malachia, Nahum,Isaiara, et Jeremiam, et Ezechiel, et simul Daniel, Eliam et Elisaeum.

Fortitudine tua, Domine, virtutes operatae sunt sorores nostras, Anna, J udith et Debbora, Olda, Jahelque, et Esther, Sara, Maria Moysis, et Rachel, et Rebecca, et Ruth, magnanimes.

Venite omnes, cum fide

Eanegyrim dicamus Patrius .ante Legem : Abrahae, et eorum qui cum illo sunt festivam memoriam celebremus ; Judas tribum digne honoremus ; Juvenes in Babylone qui flammam in camino extinxerunt, ut Trinitatis typum, cum Daniele celebremus ; Prophetarum vaticinia tuto servantes, cum Isaia magna voce clamemus : Ecce Virgo in utero concipiet let us commemorate Josue, and the most holy Levi, and Gedeon, and Samson ; and let us sing : Blessed art thou, O God of our Fathers ! Let us celebrate the memory of that group of Fathers so loved of God. Baruch and Nathan and Eleazar ; Josias, David, Jephte? and Samuel who had the vision of what had passed, and cried out : Let every creature bless the Lord!

Osee, Micheas, Sophonias, Habacuc, Zacharias, Aggeus, Amos, Abdias, Malachias, Nahum, Isaias, Jere-

Let our melodies praise God's Prophets, celebrating Jonas, mias, Ezechiel, Daniel, Elias, and Eliseus.

By thy power, O Lord, virtuous exploits were achieved by those magnanimous women, our sisters, Anne, Judith, Debbora, Olda, Jahel, Esther, Sara, Mary, sister of Moses, Rachel, Rebecca and Ruth.

Come all ye people, let us, with faith, give praise to the Fathers who were before the Law ; let us celebrate the festive memory of Abraham and them that are with him ; let us give due honour to the tribe of Juda ; let us celebrate the Children who quenched the fiery furnace in Babylon, the blessed Three, the type of the Trinity, and with them Daniel ; let us hold fast to the oracles of the Prophets,

DECEMBER FIRST. and with Isaias sing with a loud voice : Lo ! a Virgin shall conceive in her womb and shall bring forth a Son, Emmanuel, that is, God with us. et pariet filium, Emmanuel, quod est, Nobiscum Deus.

A RESPONSORY OF ADVENT.

{The Roman Breviary, First Sunday of Advent, at Matins.)

1$. Looking afar off, lo ! I see the power of God coming and a cloud that covereth the whole earth : * Go ye out to meet him and say : * Tell us, if thou be he, * Who art to rule over the people of Israel y. All ye that are earthborn and children of men, both rich and poor together,

• Go ye out to meet him, and say : ft. Give ear, O thou that rulest Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep,

• Tell us if thou be he?

ft. Lift up your gates, O ye princes ; and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates : and the Kingof Glory shall enter in.

• Who art to rule over the people of Israel.

1$. Adspiciens a longe, ecce video potentiam Dei venientem et nebulam totam terrain tegentem : * Ite obviam ei, et dicite : * Nuncia nobis si tu es ipse, * Qui regnaturus es in populo Israel ft. Quique terrigena et filii hominum, simul in unum dives et pauper,

• Ite obviam ei et dicite, ft. Qui regis Israel intende, qui deducis velut ovem Joserjh,

• Nuncia nobis si tu es ipse. ft. Tollite portas, principes, vestras, et elevamini, portse aeternales, et introibit Bex gloriae.

• Qui regnaturus es in populo Israel.

December 2. SAINT BIBIANA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR.

Of the Saints, whose feasts are kept during Advent, five are Virgins. The first, St. Bibiana, whom we honour to-day, is a daughter of Rome ; the second, St. Barbara, is the glory of the Eastern Churches ; the third, St. Eulalia of Merida, is one of Spain's richest treasures ; the fourth, St. Lucy, belongs to beautiful Sicily ; the fifth, St. Odila, is claimed by France. These five wise Virgins lighted their lamps and watched, waiting for the coming of the Spouse. Such was their constancy and fidelity, that four of them shed their blood for the love of Him, after whom they longed. Let us take courage by this noble example ; and since we have not, as the Apostle expresses it, as yet resisted unto blood, let us not think it hard if we suffer fatigue and trouble in the holy exercises of this penitential season of Advent : He, for whom we do them all, will soon be with us and repay us. To-day, it is the chaste and courageous Bibiana, who instructs us by her glorious example.

Bibiana, Virgo Virnobili genere nata, nobilior fuit. Ejus enim pater Flavianus sub tyranno expraefectus, ser- rant vilibusque notis compuncdetus, ad Aquas Taurinas de- prived portatus, martyr occubuit.

Roman a, Bibiana was a Roman Chris- gin, noble by birth, but more tiana tide noble by her profession of the Christian faith. For, Juliano Apostata impiisimo under the most wicked ty- Julian the Apostate, Flavian, her father, was of his dignity of prefeet, and being branded with dbyGoogk dec. 2. s: the mark of slavery, lie was banished to Aquae Taurinae, and there died a martyr. Her mother, Dafrosa, was first shut up in her own house with her daughters, that she might die by starvation ; but shortly afterwards was banished from Rome and beheaded. The virtuous parents thus put to death, Bibiana was deprived of all her possessions, as also was her sister, Demetria. Apronianus, the City Praetor, thirsting after their wealth, persecutes the two sisters. They are bereaved of every human help. But God, who gives food to them that are in hunger, wonderfully nourishes them ; and the Praetor is exceedingly astonished on finding them in better health and strength than before.

Apronianus, notwithstanding, endeavours to induce them to venerate the gods of the Gentiles. If they consent, he promises them the recovery of all their wealth, the Emperor's favour, and marriage to the noblest in the empire : but should they refuse, he threatens them with prison, and scourgings, and the sword. But neither promises nor threats can make them abandon the true faith ; they would rather die, than be defiled by the idolatrous practices of paganism ; and they resolutely resist the impious Praetor. Whereupon, Demetria was struck down in the presence of Bibiana, and slept in the Lord. Bibiana

Mater Dafrosa, et filiae primum conclusae domi, ut inedia conficerentur • mox relegata mater extra Urbem capite plexa est. Mortuis autem piis parentibus, Bibiana cum sorore sua Demetria bonis omnibus spoliatur. Apronianus, Urbis Praetor, pecuniis inhians, sorores persequitur, quas humana prorsus ope destitutas, Deo mirabiliter qui dat escam esurientibus, enutriente, quum vivaciores vegetioresque conspexisset, vehementer est admiratus.

Suadet nihilominus Apronianus, ut venerentur deos Gentium ; amissas ideo opes, Imperatoris gratiam, praeclarissimas nuptias consecuturae. Si secus fecerint, minatur carceres, virgas, secures. At illae neque blanditiis, neque minis a recta fide declinaiites, paratae potius mori, quam fcedari moribus ethnicorum, Praetoris impietatem constantissime detestantur. Quare Demetria ob oculos Bibianae repente corruens, obdormivit in Domino : et Bibiana Rufinae mulieri vaferrimae seducenda traditur : quae ab incunabilis edocta Christianas leges, et iUibatum servare virginitatis florem, seipsa fortior, feminae superavit insidias, et Praetoris astus delusit.

Nihil autem proficiente Rufina, quae praeter dolosa verba, illam quotidie verberibus affligebat, ut de sancto proposito dimoveret, spe sua frustratus Praetor, accensus ira, quod in Bibiana perdidisset operam, a lictoribus earn denudari, vinctisque manibus columnae alligari, eamque plumbatis caedi jubet. donee efflaret animam. Cu jus sacrum corpus objectum canibus biduo jacuit in foro Tauri, illaesum tamen, et divinitus servatum; quod deinde Joannes Presbyter sepelivit noctu juxta sepulchrum sororis et matris ad palatium Licinianum, ubi usque in praesens extat ecclesia Deo, sanctae Bibianae nomine dicata, quam Urbanus Octavus instauravit, sanctarum Bibianaa, Demetriae et Dafrosae corporibus in ea repertis, et sub ara maxima collocatis. was delivered over to a woman by name Rufina, who was most skilled in the art of seduction. But the virgin, taught from her infancy to observe the Christian law, and to preserve with the utmost jealousy the flower of her virginity, rose above nature, defeated all the artifices of the wretched Rufina, and foiled the craft of the Praetor.

Finding, therefore, that Rufina could in no wise shake the virgin's holy resolution, and that both her wicked words and frequent blows were of no avail ; and seeing his hopes disappointed and his labour thrown away ; the Praetor became violently enraged, and ordered Bibiana to be stripped by the lictors, to be fastened to a pillar with her hands bound, and to be beaten to death with leaded whips. Her sacred body was left for two days in the Bull-Forum, as food, for dogs ; but received no injury, being divinely preserved. A priest called John then buried it during the night, close to the grave of her sister and mother, near the Palace Licinius, where there stands at this dciy a Church consecrated to God under the title of St. Bibiana. Urban VIII. restored this Church, having there discovered the bodies of Saints Bibiana, Demetria, and Dafrosa, which he placed under the high altar.