January 24 — Saint Timothy

didat master thy passions, and unburden tny soul, and the harmony was established in thee which was taught by blessed PauL

He, Paul, brilliant as the sun, sent thee forth as a shining ray, that thou mightest most brightly illumine the earth with a rich abundance of light, unto our directiou and encouragement, O Timotheus, thou revealer of God 1

O Timotheus 1 as a chariot of God, thou didst carry his divine name before impious tyrants, fearing not their cruelty, O thou beloved of God ! for thou hadst clad thyself with Jesus' invincible strength.

O most blessed Timotheus ! O divinely-gifted mind! 0 Apostle ! thou hast received a glorious crown ; thy brow has been girt with the diadem of the kingdom ; and thou hast stood before the throne of thy Master, beautiful in glory, together with Paul, in the eternal tabernacles, O most blessed one 1 animam alleviasti, PauH documents harmonic* ordinate*.

Fulgurans quasi sol Paulas te misit quasi radium splendidum terrain abundantiori lumine illuminantern lucidissime, Theophantes Timothee, ad directionem nostram et eonfirmationem.

Currus Dei apparuisti, Timothee, portans divinum nomen, ante impios tyrannos, Deograte, non timens istorum crudelitatem ; tu enim invincibilem Salvatoris fortitudinem induisti.

Coronam gloriosam pisti, Timothee omnibeate, divinamente pradite, Apostole, et diadema regni praecinxisti, et astitisti ante thronura magistri tui, cum Paulo decoratus in aeternis tabernaculis, beatissime.

In thee, O holy Pontiff! we honour one of the disciples of the Apostles— one of the links which connect us immediately with Christ. Thou appearest to us all illumined by thy intercourse with Paul the great Doctor of the Gentiles. Another of his disciples, Dionysius the Areopagite, made thee the confidant of his sublime contemplations on the Divine Name* ; but now, bathed in light eternal, thou thyself art contemplating the Sun of Justice, in the face-to-face vision. Intercede for us, who enjoy but a glimpse of his beauty through the veil of his

CHRISTMAS. humiliations, that we may so love him, as to merit to see him, one day, in his glory. In order to lessen the pressure of the corruptible body, which weigheih down the soul, thou didst subject thy outward man to so rigorous a penance, that St. Paul exhorted thee to moderate it : do thou assist us in our endeavours to reduce our flesh to obedience to the spirit. The Church reads without ceasing the counsels, which the Apostle gave to thee, and to all Pastors through thee, for the election and the conduct of the clergy : pray that the Church may be blessed with Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, endowed with all those qualifications, which he requires from the dispensers of the mysteries of God. Lastly, we beseech thee, who didst ascend to heaven decked with the aureola of martyrdom, encourage us who are also soldiers of Christ, that we may throw aside our cowardice, and win that kingdom, where our Emmanuel welcomes and crowns his elect for all eternity.