December 2 — Saint Bibiana

Holy Bibiana, most wise Virgin ! thou hast gone through the long unbroken watch of this life ; and when, suddenly, the Spouse came, thy lamp was bright and richly fed with oil. Now thou art dwelling in the abode of the eternal marriage-feast, where the Beloved feeds among the lilies. Remember us who are still living in the expectation of that same divine Spouse, whose eternal embrace is secured to thee for ever. We are awaiting the Birth of the Saviour of the world, which is to be the end of sin and the beginning of justice ; we are awaiting the coming of this Saviour into our souls that he may give them life and union with himself by love ; we are awaiting our Judge, the Judge of the living and the dead. Most wise Virgin! intercede for us, by thy fervent prayers, with this our Saviour, our Spouse, and our Judge; pray that each of these three visits may work and perfect in us that divine union, for which we have all been created. Pray also, O faithful Virgin, for the Church on earth, which gave thee to the Church in heaven, and which so devoutly watches over thy precious remains. Obtain for her that strict fidelity, which will ever render her worthy of Him, who is her Spouse as he is thine. Though he has enriched her with the most magnificent gifts, and given her confidence by his promises which cannot fail, yet does he wish her to ask, and us to ask for her, the graces which will lead her to the glorious destiny which awaits her.

We will to-day consider the state of nature at this season of the year. The earth is stripped of her wonted verdure, the -flowers are gone, the fruits are fallen, the leaves are torn from the trees and scattered by the wind, and every living thing stiffens with the cold. It seems as though the hand of death had touched creation. We see the sun rise after the r

ADVENT. long night of his absence ; and scarce hav^ we felt his warmth at noon, than he sets again, and leaves us in the chilly darkness. Each day he shortens his visit. Is the world to become sunless, and men to live out the rest of life in gloom ? The old pagans, who witnessed this struggle between light and darkness, and feared the sun was going to leave them, dedicated the twenty-fifth day of December, which was the winter solstice, to the worship of the sun. After this day, their hopes revived, in seeing the glorious luminary again mounting up in the sky, and gradually regaining his triumphant position.

We Christians can have no such feelings as these ; our light is the true faith, which tells us that there is a Sun to be sought for which never sets, and is never eclipsed. Having Him, we care little for the absence of any other brightness ; nay, all other light, without Him, can only lead us astray. O Jesus ! thou true light, that enlightenest every man coming into this world ! thou didst choose, for thy birth among us, a time of the year which forces us to reflect upon the miserable state of the world when thou didst come to save it. "The evening was " coming on, and the day was far spent," says St. Bernard : " the Sun of Justice had all but set, so " that exceeding scanty was his light or warmth on " earth : for the light of divine knowledge was very " faint, and, sin abounding, the heat of charity had " grown cold. There was neither Angel to visit men, " nor Prophet to speak to them ; both seemed in " despair, for the hardness and obstinacy of man had " made every effort useless : then I said, they are " the words of our Redeemer, then I said, lo ! I " come Z"1 0 Jesus ! O Sun of Justice ! give us a clear knowledge of what the world is without thee ; what our understanding is without thy light ; and what our

1 First Sermon of Advent.

DEC. 2. ST. BIBIANA. heart, without thy divine heat. Open thou the eyes of our 'faith ; that whilst seeing with the eyes of the body the gradual decrease of the material light, we may think of that other darkness, which is in the soul that has not thee. Then, indeed, will the cry, which comes from the depths of our misery, make its way to thee, and thou wilt come on the day thou hast fixed, dispelling every shadow of darkness by thy irresistible brightness.

PRATER FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT.

{The Mozarabic Breviary, Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent, Capitula.)

Domine, J esu Christe, qui assumpto homine, hominum susceptor efFectus, in lucem gentium datus es ; aperi oculos cordium in te credentium populorum, atque abmisericors de conclusione religatos adhuc vinculis diffidentiae : et quos in domo carceris detineri conspicis in tenebris ignorantiae, cap- tuaa quaesumus scientiae splendore.

O Lord, Jesus Christ, who having assumed human nature, and becoming the Saviour of the human race, wast given as a light to the nations ; open the eyes of the hearts of them that strahe believe in thee, and mercifully set free from their prison them that are bound in the fetters of unbelief ; and whom thou seest tives in prison in the dart- irradies ness of ignorance, enlighten them, we beseech thee, by the splendour of the knowledge of thee.

ADVENT.

December 3. SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER, CONFESSOR,

APOSTLE OF THE INDIES.

The Apostles being the heralds of the Coming of the Messias, it was fitting that Advent should have, in its calendar, the name of some one among them. Divine Providence has provided for this ; for, to say nothing of St. Andrew, whose feast is oftentimes past before the season of Advent has commenced, St. Thomas' day is unfailingly kept immediately before Christmas. We will explain, later on, why St. Thomas holds that position rather than any other Apostle ; at present, we simply assert the fitness of there being at least one of the Apostolic College, who should announce to us, in this period of the Catholic cycle, the Coming of the Redeemer. But God has not wished that the first Apostolate should be the only one to appear on the first page of the liturgical calendar; great also, though in a lesser degree, is the glory of that second Apostolate, whereby the Spouse of Jesus Christ multiplies her children, even in her fruitful old age, as the Psalmist expresses it. There are Gentiles who have still to be evangelised ; the Coming of the Messias is far from having been announced to all nations. Now, of all the valiant messengers of the divine Word