January 1 — Christmas Day : Early Morning

scattered ; let the whole earth sing praise to Him, by whom it has been illumined. totus illustratus go illi referat. laudes er-

The Church of Armenia thus sings to our Emmanuel, during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass :

A fresh flower has, this day, sprung up from the Root of Jesse : and a daughter of David has given birth to the Son of God.

A multitude of Angels and the Heavenly Host, coming down from heaven with -the Only Begotten King, sang and said : This is the Son of God ! Let us all exclaim : Ye heavens exult, and ye foundations of the world be glad ! for, the Eternal God has appeared upon the earth, and has conversed with men, that he may save our souls !

Novus flos hodie oritur ex radice Jesse, et hlia David parit Filium Dei.

Multitudo Angelorum et militias coelestis, descendentes de ccelis cum unigenito rege cantabant et dicebant : Hie est Filius Dei. Omnes dicamus : exsultate coeli, et laetamini fundamenta mundi, quia Deus aeternus in terris apparuit, et cum hominibus conversatus est, ut salvet animas nostras.

The Greek Church thus cries out in her beautiful language :

Come ! let us rejoice in the Lord, celebrating the mystery of this day. The wall of division is destroyed ; the fiery sword is sheathed, and the Angel no longer keeps us from the Tree of Life. I, yea I, that was driven, by the sin of disobedience, from the Paradise of delights, may now enter and feast. The unchangeable Image of the Father, the type of his eternity, assumes the form of a servant, and is born of a Virgin-Mother ; yet, h& suffers not any change : for, that which he was, he continues to be — the true God ;

Venite, exsultemus Domino, hodiernum celebrantes mysterium. Murus dirutus est medius ; avertitur flammeus gladius, Cherubim a ligno vitse recedit. Et ego paradisum deliciarum participo, a quo per inobedientiam expulsus fueram. Incommutabilis imago Patris, typus ejus aeternitatis, formam servi accipit, ex nuptinecia matre progrediens, nullam passus commutationem : quod enim erat permansit, Deus cum esset verus ; quod autem non erat praeteraccipit, homo factus

CHRISTMAS. per philanthropiam. Illi but that which he was not, he clamenius : Qui natus es de now becomes, being made Man Virgine, miserere nobis. for love of man. Let us cry- out to him : O thou, that art born of the Virgin ! have mercy on us.

The holy Roman Church, by the mouth of St. Leo, in his Sacramentary, thus celebrates the mystery of the divine Light :

Vere dignum et justum est, aBquum et salutare : nos tibi gratias agere, seterne Deus, quia nostri Salvatoris hodie lux vera processit, quae clara nobis omnia et intellectu manifestavit et visu. Quibus non solum praesentem vitam suo splendore dirigeret, sed ad ipsam nos majestatis immensae gloriam perduceret intuendam.

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should give thanks to thee, 0 Eternal God : because, this day, has risen the true light of our Saviour, whereby all things are made clear to our intellect and sight : that thus, by his own brightness, he might not only direct us in this our present life, but bring us to the very vision of thy divine Majesty.

The same Church of Rome, in the Sacramentary of St. Gelasius, makes the following prayer to the heavenly Father, who sent his Son to redeem us :

Omnipotens, sempiterne Deus, qui hunc diem per incarnationem Yerbi tui, et per partum beatae Yirginis consecrasti ; da populis tuis in hac celebritate lietitias, ut et qui tua gratia sunt redempti, tua adoptione sint filii.

O Almighty and everlasting God, who hast consecrated this day by the Incarnation of thy Word, and the Delivery of the Blessed Virgin ; grant to thy people, upon this joyous solemnity, that they who have been redeemed by thy grace, may also be made thy children by adoption.

And, again, the same Church thus invokes upon her children the Light of Christ : she uses the words of the Sacramentary of St. Gregory the Great :

Concede nobis, omnipo- Grant unto us, O .Almighty tens Deus, ut salutare tuum, God ! that the Saviour — whom

CHEISTMAS DAY : EAELY MORNING. thou sendest for the world's nova coeloram luce mira- salvation on this day's solem- bile, quod ad salutem mundi nity, whereon the heavens hodierna festivitate proces- are renewed in light — may sit, nostris semper innovan- ever rise in our hearts and re- dis cordibus oriatur. new them.

The Church of Milan, in its Ambrosian Liturgy, also celebrates the new Light and the joys of the Yirgin-Mother :

When our Lord came, he dispelled all the darkness of night ; and where had been no light, there was made brightness, and the day appeared.

Rejoice and be glad, O Mary, thou joy of Angels ! Rejoice, O thou Virgin of the Lord, and joy of the prophets ! Rejoice, thou Blessed one, the Lord is with thee. Rejoice, thou that didst receive, at the Angel's announcing, Him who is the joy of the world. Rejoice, thou that didst give birth to thy Creator and Lord. Rejoice, in that thou wast worthy to be made the Mother of Christ.

The ancient Church of Gaul expresses its gladness by these joyous Antiphons, and which were adopted, for several ages, by the Church of Rome :

Adveniens Dominus, abstulit omnem caliginem noctis ; et, ubi non erat lumen, facta est claritas, et apparuit dies.

Gaude, et laetare, exsultatio Angelorum. Gaude, Domini Virgo, prophetarum gaudium. Gaudeas, benedicta, Dominus tecum est. Gaude, quae per Angelum gaudium mundi suscepisti. Gaude, quae genuisti factorem et Dominum. Gaudeas, quia digna es esse Mater Christi.

The purest of Virgins gave us our God, who was this day born of her, clothed in the flesh of a Babe, and she was found worthy to feed him at her Breast : let us all adore Christ, who came to save us.

Ye faithful people, let us all rejoice, for our Saviour is born in our world : this Day, there has been born the Son of the

Hodie intacta Virgo Deum nobis genuit, teneris indutum membris, quern laetare meruit ; omnes Christum adoremus qui venit salvare nos.

Gaudeamus omnes fideles, Salvator noster natus est in mundo : hodie processit Proles magnifici germinis,

CHRISTMAS. et perseverat pudor virginitatis.

O mundi Domina, regio ex semine orta, ex tuo jam Christus processit alvo, tanquam sponsus de thalamo : hie jacet in praesepio qui et sidera regit. great Mother, and she yet a pure Virgin.

O Queen of the world, and Daughter of a kingly race ! Christ has risen from thy womb, as a Bridegroom coming from the bride-chamber : He that rules the stars, lies in a Crib.

The Gothic Church of Spain unites her voice with that of all these others, and, in her Mozarabic Breviary, thus hails the rising of the Divine Sun :

Hodie lumen mundi prodiit : hodie salus aevi emicuit : hodie Salvator Israel de climate cceli descendit, ut eruat omnes captivos, quos antiquus hostis prasdo per primi hominis delictum captivaverat : et ut caecis mentibus lumen, surdis auditum, gratia praeveniente, restitueret : ob istius tanti mysterii beneficia montes et colles tripudiant, ipsaque mundi elementa ineffabili gaudio ista in die melos decantant : ob hoc gemebunda prece pii Redemptoris clementiam suppliciter exoramus ; ut nos, qui in tenebris peccatorum nostrorum involvimur, per cordis acclamationem protinus expiemur, ut illo in nobis apparente, et splendor glorias jucundius, ac multiplicius nostris in prascordiis vigeat, et salutis gaudia sine fine dulcescant.

To-day, has risen the Light of the world : to-day, has shone forth the earth's salvation : to-day, the Saviour of Israel has come down from the heavenly country, that he may set free all the slaves, whom the old enemy and robber had enslaved by the sin of our first Parent ; that he might, also, restore, by his preventing grace, light to the blind of heart, and hearing to the deaf. For the benefits of this so great a mystery, let the mountains and hills leap with joy, and the very elements of the world be exceeding glad, on this day, and sing sweet melody. Therefore, let us, in humblest prayer, suppliantly beseech our most merciful Redeemer ; that we, who are beset by the darkness of our sins, may, by this our hearts' acclamation, be speedily delivered ; that, he appearing among us, the brightness of his glory may more joyously and abundantly gleam in our souls, and the happiness of salvation gladden them with never-ending sweetness.