Wednesday in Passion Week

Yivifica crux hodie proponitur: cum gaudio igitur et timore adoremus Domini crucem, ut Spiritum sanctum accipiamus.

Accedens ut te tangam, vivifica crux, cohorresco et lingua et mente, cernens in te divinum Domini mei sanguinem effusum esse.

Confirma, Domine, Ecclesiam tuam, quam acquisivisti virtute crucis tu»; in ilia enim inimicum triumphasti, totumque mundum iUuminasti.

The life-giving cross is this day exposed: let us, then, with joy and fear, venerate the cross of our Lord, that we may receive the Holy Ghost.

0 life-giving cross, my tongue and heart tremble with fear, as I draw nigh to touch thee, for I see the divine Blood of my Lord poured forth upon thee.

Strengthen, 0 Lord, thy Church, which thou didst purchase to thyself by the power of thy cross; for by the cross thou didst triumph over the enemy and enlighten the whole world.

WEDNESDAY

IN PAS8ION WEEK

At Rome, the Station is in the church of Saint Marcellus, Pope and Martyr. This church was once the house of the holy lady Lucina, who gave it to the Pontiff, that he might consecrate it to God.

COLLECT

Sanctificato hoc jejunio, Enlighten, 0 God of mercy,

Deus, tuorum corda fidelium the hearts of thy people by miserator illustra: et quibus means of this holy fast ; and devotionis praestas affectum, since all our devotion is the preebe supplicant ibus pium effect of thy bounty, mercifully benignus auditum. Per hear the petitions we make.

Christum Dominum no- Through Christ our Lord, strum. Amen. Amen.

Lectio Libri Levitici.

Cap. xix. In diebus illis : Locutus est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens: Loquere ad omnem ccetum filiorum Israel, et dices ad'eos: Ego Dominus Deus vester. Non facietis furtum. Non mentiemini, nec decipiet unusqnisque proximum snum. Non perjurabis in nomine meo, nec pollues nomen Dei tui. Ego Dominus. Non facies calumniam proximo tuo, nec vi opprimes eum. Non morabitur opus mercenarii tui apud to usque mane. Non maledices surdo, nec coram caeco pones offendiculum: sed timebis Dominum Deum tuum, quia ego sum Dominus. Non facies quod iniquum est, nec injuste judicabis. Non consideres personam pauperis, nec honores vultum potentis. Juste judica proximo tuo. Non eris criminator, nec susurro in populo. Non stabis contra sanguinem proximi tui. Ego Dominus. Non oderis fratrem tuum in corde tuo, sed publice argue eum, ne habeas super illo peccatum. Non quaeras ultionem, nec memor eris injuriae civium tuorum. Diliges amicum tuum sicut teipsum. Ego

Lesson from the book of Leviticus. Ch. xix.

In those days: the Lord spake to Moses, saying: Speak to all the assembly of the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: I am the Lord your God. You shall not steal. You shall not lie: neither shall any man deceive his neighbour. Thou shalt not swear falsely by my name, nor profane the name of thy God. I am the Lord. Thou shalt not calumniate thy neighbour, nor oppress him by violence. The wages of him that has been hire'd by thee, shall not abide with thee until the morning. Thou shalt not speak evil of the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind: but thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, because I am the Lord. Thou shalt not do that which is unjust, nor judge unjustly. Respect not the person of the poor, nor honour the countenance of the mighty. Judge thy neighbour according to justice. Thou shalt not be a detractor nor a whisperer among the people. Thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbour. I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, but reprove him openly, lest thou incur sin through him. Seek not re-

Dominus. Leges meas cu- venge, nor be mindful of the instodite. Ego enim sum jury of thy citizens. Thou shalt Dominus Deus vester. love thy friend as thyself. I am the Lord. Keep ye my laws, for I am the Lord your God.

This passage from Leviticus, wherein our duties to our neighbour are so clearly and so fully defined, is read to us to-day, in order that we may see how we fulfil these important duties, and correct whatever short-comings we may discover in ourselves. It is God who here speaks; it is God who commands. Observe that phrase: / am the Lord: He repeats it several times, to show us that if we injure our neighbour, He, God Himself, will become the avenger. How strange must this doctrine have seemed to the catechumens, who had been brought up in the selfish and heartless principles of paganism! Here they are told that all men are brethren, and that God is the common Father of all, commanding all to love one another with sincere charity, and without distinction of nation or class. Let us Christians resolve to fulfil this precept to the letter: these are days for good resolutions. Let us remember that the commandments we have been reading were given to the Israelite people, many ages before the preaching of the law of love. If, then, God exacted from the Jew a cordial love of his fellow-men, when the divine law was written on mere tablets of stone ; what will He not require from the Christian, who can now read that law in the Heart of the Man-God, who has come down from heaven and made Himself our Brother, in order that we might find it easier and sweeter to fulfil the precept of charity? Human nature united in His Person to the divine, is henceforth sacred ; it has become an objeot of the heavenly Father's love. It is out of fraternal love for this our nature that Jesus suffered death, teaching us, by

His own example, to have such love for our brethren, that, if necessary, we ought to lay down our lives for them. It is the beloved disciple that teaches us this, and he had it from his divine Master.

GOSPEL

Sequent ia sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem. Cap. x. In illo tempore: Facta sunt encoenia in Jerosolymis: et hiems erat. Et ambulabat Jesus in templo, in porticu Salomonis. Circumdederunt ergo eum Judaei, et dicebant ei: Quousque animam nostram tollis? Si tu es Christus, die nobis palam. Eespondit eis Jesus: Loquor vobis, et non creditis. Opera quae ego f acio in nomine Patris mei, haec testimonium perhibent de me. Sed vos non creditis, quia non estis ex ovibus meis. Oves mesa vocem meam audiunt: et ego cognosco eas, et sequuntur me: et ego vitam aeternam do eis: et non peribunt in aeternam, et non rapiet eas quisquam de manu mea. Pater meus quod dedit mihi, majus omnibus est: et nemo potest rapere de manu Patris mei. Ego, et Pater unum sumus. Sustulerunt ergo lapides Judaei, ut lapidarent eum. Respondit eis

Sequel of the holy Gospel according to John. Ch. x.

At that time: it was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem: and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. The Jews therefore came round about him, and said to him: How long dost thou hold our souls in suspense? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them: I speak to you and you believe not. The works that I do in the name of my Father, they give testimony of me. But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice: and I know them, and they follow me: and I give them eternal life: and they shall not perish for ever, and no man shall pluck them out of my hand. That which my Father hath given me, is greater than all: and no man can snatch it out of the hand of my Father. I and the Father are one. The Jews then took up stones to stone him. Jesus answered them: Many

1 1 St. John iii. 16.

Wednesday In fcAssioN WeeJc 145

Jesus: Malta bona opera ostendi vobis ex Patre meo; propter quod eorum opus me lapidatfe? Responderunt ei Judsei: De bono opere non lapidamus te, sed de blasphemia, et quia tu homo cum sis, facis teipsum Deum. Respondit eis Jesus: Nonne scriptum est in lege vestra: Quia ego dixi, dii estis? Si illoe dixit deos, ad quos sermo Dei factus est, et non potest solvi Scriptura: quern Pater sanctificavit, et misit in mundum, vos dicitis: Quia blasphemas; quia dixi, Films Dei sum? Si non facio opera Patris mei, nolite credere mihi. Si autem facio, et si mihi non vultis credere, operibus credite, ut cognoscatis, et credatis, quia Pater in me est, et ego in Patre. good works I have showed you from my Father; for which of those works do you stone me? The Jews answered him: For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy: and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them: Is it not written in your law: I said you are gods? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God was spoken, and the Scripture cannot be broken; do you say of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world: Thou blasphemest: because I said I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though you will not believe me believe the works, that you may know, and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.

Alter the feast of tabernacles oame that of the Dedication, and Jesus remained in Jerusalem. The hatred His enemies bore Him is greater than ever. They come round about Htm, that they may make Him say He is the Christ, and then accuse Him of olaiming a mission which does not belong to Him. Jesus deigns not to reply to their question, but tells them that they have seen His works, and that these

S>e ample testimony of His being Christ, the Son of od. It is by faith, and by faith alone, that man can here know his God. God manifests Himself by His divine works: man sees them, and is bound to believe the truth to which they bear testimony. By thus believing, he has both the certitude of what he believes, and the merit of believing. The proud Jew rebels against this: he would fain dictate to God how He should act, and sees not that such a pretension is impious and absurd.

But, if Jesus openly declare the truth, He will scandalize these evil-minded men ! Be it so ; the truth must be preached. Our Lord has others to consult besides them ; there are the well-intentioned, who will believe what He teaches. He, therefore, utters these sublime words, whereby He declares, not only that He is Christ, but that He is God: / and the Father are one. He knew that this would enrage His enemies ; but He had to make Himself known to the world, and to arm the Church against the false doctrines of heretics, who would rise up in future ages. One of these is to be Arius, who will teach that Jesus is not God, but only the most perfeot of creatures: the Church will answer, that Jesus is one with the Father, consubstantial with the Father: and then, after causing muoh trouble and sin, Arianism will die out and be forgotten. The Jews mentioned in to-day's Gospel are the fore-runners of Arius; they understand what our Lord says: He says He is God, and they seek to stone Him. Jesus gives them a fresh grace; He shows them why they should receive what He here teaches ; He reminds them, by the Soriptures they know off by heart, that the name god has sometimes been applied, in a limited sense, to men who had certain high offices put upon them by heaven ; and then, He bids them think of all the miracles they have seen Him work, which so plainly testify to His being assisted by His Father, and onoe more declares Himself to be God, saying: The Father is in Me, and 1 in the Father. But men hardened in obstinacy, as these are, cannot be convinced: and the sin they have committed against the Holy Ghost is working its effects. How different is it with the sheep of this divine Shepherd ! They hear His voice ; they follow Him ; He gives them eternal life ; no man shall pluck them out of His hand. Happy sheep indeed ! They believe, because they love ; and as it is through the heart that truth gains ascendancy over them, so is it by pride of intellect that darkness gains admission into the soul of the unbeliever, and lasts as long as pride lasts. Alas! poor unbeliever! he loves his darkness ; he calls it light ; he blasphemes * when he thinks he reasons, just as these J ews oruoified the Son of God, that, as they said, they might give glory to God.

Humiliate capita vestra Bow down your heads to Deo. God.

Adesto supplicationibus nostriSjOmnipotensDeus; et quibus fiduciam sperandre pietatis indulges, consuetae givest misericordiae tribue benignus effectum. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.

Hear our prayers and entreaties, 0 almighty God, and grant that those to whom thou hopes of thy mercy, may experience the effects of thy usual clemency. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Amen.

The Mozarabio breviary gives us the following beautiful prayer, which consists of exclamations to our suffering Jesus.

PRAYER

(Sabbato Dominicce V. Quadragesimce) f. Verus Dei Filius f. 0 Jesus! thou true Son

Ghriste, of God.

Ij?. Exaudi: populo sup- ty. Graciously hear us! have plicanti miserere. mercy on thy suppliant people. f . Qui triumpho crucis f. Thou that alone didst tu® salvasti solus orbem, tu save the world by the triumph cruoris tui poena nos libera,

, Et exaudi. Qui moriens mortem damnas, resurgens vitam prsastas, sustinens pro nobis poenam indebitam.

, Et exaudi. Passionis tuas dies celebremus indemnes: ut per hoc dulcedo tua nos foveat. fy. Et exaudi.

^. Pro quibus passus es crucem, non permittas perire; sed per crucem due ad vitam perpetuam.

Bp. Et exaudi. of thy cross, do thou, by the Blood thou didst shed, deliver us.

R?. And graciously hear us. t. By thy death, thou didst destroy death; by thy Resurrection, thou didst give us life ; for our sake thou didst suffer undue punishment. R?. And graciously hear us. y. May we celebrate, in peace, these days of thy Passion, and thereby be consoled by thy sweetness.

. And graciously hear us. Let not them perish, for whom thou didst suffer the cross ; but, by thy cross, lead them to life everlasting. I$f. And graciously hear us.

Let us now turn towards the holy Gross. These words oi the Greek Church, in her Triodion, will assist our devotion.

HYMN

(Ferim V. media Septimance)

Crucis speciem insinuans, When the most praise- manus, permutato ordine, worthy patriarch Jacob was, olim expandit decantatissi- of old, about to bless his chil- mus Jacob, benedictionem dren, he crossed his arms; in nepotibus impertiens ; si- this he represented the cross, « mulque salutiferam bene- and prefigured that saving dictionem quae ad nos o- blessing which thence came mnes pertingit indicans. to each of us.

Te salutiferam armatu- We embrace thee, most ram, te invictum trophaeum, venerable cross, as our ar- laatitiae signum, quo mors mour of salvation, the invin- occisa est, amplectimur, cible trophy, the standard of

Ulustres effecti, ejus gloria joy, whereby death was put to qui in te, crux honoratissima, affixus est.

Assistunt incorporearum Virtutum ordines trementes coram ligno vitam praebente. In te enim Christus sanguinem effudit, pretium redemptionis repraesentans, daemoriibus piaculare et capitals, ob perniciem hominibus illatam.

Percussum me hostis gladio sana sanguine tuo, Verbum, et lancea celeriter peccatorum meorum chirographum disrumpe, et in librum vitas inscribe.

Inferni habitaculum concussisti, ubi in terra defixa es: fidelibus autem fulcrum inconcussum et stabilis protectio effecta es, o veneranda crux.

Feraces virtutum effecti decerpamus divini ligni vivificos fructus, quos protulit nobis in hoc extensus Jesus vitis ilia fructifera.

Laudamus, Jesu, immensam bonitatem tuam adorantes crucem, lanceam et amndinem per quam sustulisti, misericors, inimicitiarum medium parietem. death; for we have been made to share in the glory of him that was nailed upon thee.

The choirs of the angelic Powers stand in holy awe around thee, 0 life-giving tree ! For it is on thee that Christ shed his Blood, which was the price of our redemption, and which utterly destroyed all those rights that sin had given the devil over mankind.

0 Word (made Flesh)! the sword of the enemy hath struck me; heal me by thy Blood. Speedily tear, with • thy spear, the hand-writing of my sins, and write my name in the book of life.

0 venerable cross! when thou wast fixed in the earth, thou didst make the region of hell to tremble; but thou wast made a firm support and unshaken protection to the faithful.

Being made fruitful in virtue, let us pluck from the divine tree those life-giving fruits, offered unto us by that rich Vine, Jesus, who hung • stretched upon it.

O Jesus! we praise thy immense goodness, as we venerate the cross, and spear, and reed, whereby, O merciful God, thou didst remove the wall of enmity that stood between us and thee.

THTTBSDAT

IN PASSION WEEK

The Station at Eome is in the church of Saint Apollinaris, who was a disciple of St. Peter, and afterwards bishop of Ravenna and martyr. collect

Pr»sta, qu©sumus, omnipotens Deus, ut dignitas conditionis human® per immoderantiam sauciata, medicinalis parcimoni© studio reformetur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Grant, we beseech thee, O almighty God, that the dignity of human nature, which hath been wounded by excess, may be cured by the practice of healing temperance. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

EPISTLE

Lectio Danielis Prophet®.

Cap. Hi. In diebus illis: Oravit Azarias Dominum dicens: Domine Deus noster, ne qu®sumus, tradas nos in perpetuum propter nomen tuum, et ne dissipes testamentum tuum: neque auferas misericordiam tuam a nobis, propter Abraham dilectum tuum, et Isaac servum tuum, et Israel sanctum tuum; quibus locutuses, pollicensquod multiplicares semen eorum sicut stellas cceli, et sicut arenam qu® est in littore maris: quia, Domine, imminuti sumus plus quam omnes

Lesson from Daniel the Prophet. Ch. Hi.

In those days, Azarias prayed to the Lord saying: O Lord our God, deliver us not up for ever, we beseech thee, for thy name's sake, and abolish not thy covenant: and take not away thy mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham thy beloved, and Isaac thy servant, and Israel thy holy one: to whom thou hast spoken, promising that thou wouldst multiply their seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the sea shore. For we, 0 Lord, are diminished more than any nation, and are brought