Thursday of the Third Week after Easter

ty. Coeli et terra lsetentur, ty. Let heaven and earth realleluia, joice, alleluia.

This Church, — founded and maintained by Christ, — is it nothing more than a society of minds that know, and of hearts that love, the truths revealed to it by heaven ? Have we adequately defined it, when we call it " a spiritual society ?" No, most assuredly ; for we are told that it was to spread, and actually has been spread, throughout the whole world. Now, how could such progress and conquest have taken place, if the spiritual society, founded by our Redeemer, had not also been exterior and visible ? On earth, souls cannot hold inter- communication without the bodies. Faith cometh by hearing, says the Apostle : and how shall they hear without a preacher ? 1 When, therefore, our Risen Jesus says to his Apostles: Go, teach all nations ! he distinctly implies that the word of God will be heard, that it will resound throughout the world, and that its sound will be heard both by them that obey, and by them that reject, the teaching of his Ministers. Has this word a right to circulate thus freely, independently of any permission from earthly powers ?

1 Rom. x. 17, 14.

• St. Matth. xxviii. 19. of God has said : Go, teach all nations ! He must be obeyed; the word of God cannot be fettered.

The word, then, the exterior word is free; and being free, it obtains numerous disciples. Will these disciples live isolatedly? Will they not rather group around their apostle, the better to profit by his teaching ? Will they not look on one another *as brethren, and members of the same family ? And if so, they must hold their assemblies. Thus, the new people is brought before the notice of the world. It was necessary that this should be; for if this people, which is to attract all others to itself, be not visible, how can it do its work ?

But the people thus assembled must have their buildings, their temples. Therefore do they erect houses of preaching and prayer. The stranger, — that is, he who is not a Christian, — seeing these new places of worship, asks : " What means all this ? Whence " come these people who pray aloof from their fellow- 4t citizens ? Would not one be inclined to say, that " we have a nation within the nation V The stranger is right: there is a nation within the nation, and it will continue to be so until the whole nation itself have passed into the ranks of this new people.

Every society stands in need of laws ; the Church, therefore, will not be long without giving outward proof of her internal government. There are her festivals, her solemnities, which denote a great people ; her ritual rules, forming a visible bond of union between the members of her society, and this not merely during the hours of divine service ; there are commandments and orders made by the various degrees of the hierarchy, which are promulgated and claim obedience ; there are institutions and corporations existing within the great society itself, and they add to her strength and beauty ; in a word, there is

Tim. ii. 9. everything that is needed, even penal laws against offending and refractory members.

But it does not suffice to the Church that she have places, where her children can assemble together ; provision must also be made for the support of her clergy, for the expenses attendant on the divine worship, for the necessities of her indigent members. Aided by the generosity of her children, she enters into possession of certain landed properties, which become sacred by reason of their use, as also because of the superhuman dignity of her who owns them. Nay more ; when the princes of this earth, tired of their vain efforts to stay the Church's progress, shall ask to be admitted as her children, — a new necessity will arise from this : the supreme Pontiff can be no longer the subject of any temporal sovereign, and he himself must become King. The Christian world hails with joy this crowning of the work of Christ), to whom all power has been given in heaven and in earth, and who was one day to reign, with temporal power, in the person of his Vicar.

Such is the Church : a spiritual, but, at the same time, an exterior and visible Society ; just in the same way as man is spiritual because of his soul, and yet is material because of his body, which is an essential part of his being. The Christian, therefore, should love the Church such as God has made her ; he should detest that false and hypocritical spiritualism which, with a view to subvert the work of Christ, would confine religion within the exclusively spiritual domain. We never can admit such a limitation. The Divine Word has assumed our flesh ; he permitted his creature man, to hear and see and handle him; and when he organised his Church on earth, he made it speaking, visible, and so to say, palpable. We are a vast State ; we have our Bang, our magis-

\ St. Matth. xxviii. 18. 1 St. John, i. 1.

• trates, our fellow-citizens ; and we should be willing to lay down our lives for this supernatural Country, whose excellence is as far superior to that of our earthly country, as heaven is better than the whole earth. Satan has an instinctive hatred for this Country, which is to bring us to the Paradise whence he has been driven ; he has used every means in his power to ruin it. He began by attacking the liberty of the word, which is preached to men, and leads them to the Church. Did not his first agents forbid the Apostles to speak at all in the name of Jesus, to any man i 1 The strategy was shrewd enough ; and although it failed to arrest the progress of the Gospel, it has ever been resorted to by the enemy, even to this very day.

The powers of the world have always been jealous of the Christians assembling together ; the jealousy began early, and has periodically manifested its fury during these eighteen centuries. Frequently during a fit of persecution, we have been obliged to flee to caves and forests, and seek the hours of night, for our celebrations of the mysteries of light, and for our singing the praises of the Divine Sun of Justice. Our dearest Churches, which had been erected by the piety of our ancestors, and were sacred by innumerable memories, — how many times have they not been made ruins! Satan's ambition is to efface every vestige of Christ's kingdom on earth, for that kingdom is his defeat*.

The Laws promulgated by the Church, and the communications of the Pastors with one another and with the Sovereign Pontiff, — these, also, have excited the most tyrannical jealousy. The right of self-government has been denied to the Church ; servile men have aided Emperors and Kings to fetter the Spouse of Christ. Her temporal possessions, too, have

» Acts, iv. 17, 18. tempted the avarice of sovereigns. These possessions procured her independence ; it was, therefore, considered necessary to rob her of them, that she might become the creature of the State. Wicked as the attempt was, and one which has brought the most terrible chastisements upon the countries where it was perpetrated, yet there is one more wicked still, which is even now being plotted, and aims at depriving of his Throne, venerable by its thousand years' duration, the Pontiff who holds in his sacred hands the keys of the Kingdom of God.

Meanwhile, the most detestable errors are being propagated. Among these, we would mention one, which in spite of its impious absurdity, finds favour with thousands: we mean the doctrine that the Church should be purely spiritual, or, if it is to be a visible Church, that it should be an instrument in the hands of government, for political purposes. Let us hold such doctrine in execration ; let us think of those countless Martyrs, who have shed their blood in order to the maintaining and securing to the Church of Christ her position as a Society, visible, external, independent of every human power, in a word, complete in herself. It may be, that we are the last inheritors of the promise ; and if so, it would be an additional reason for our proclaiming the rights of the Spouse of Christ, upon whom he has conferred the empire of the world, which only exists because of her, and will be destroyed as soon as it refuses her a resting place.

Let us close these reflections with a hymn of praise to our Divine Head. The ancient Missals of Saint Gall's give us this other Sequence in honour of our Paschal Mystery.

SEQUENCE.

Come, Brethren ! let us, in sweetest hymns of praise,

Together celebrate the joys of this bright Spring time,

When, through Christ, our hopes of heaven revive.

Now Pharaoh pines with grief to see himself deprived of the slaves he tortured with the scourge of death.

But let us give thanks to the divine King, who delivered us from the abyss.

And being, as the Jews of old, delivered by Christ from Egyptian tyranny, — let us prepare ourselves to offer up the mystic Lamb.

His Blood most holy shall mark the dwelling of our souls, and we not fear the avenging sword of the destroying Angel.

And that we may worthily partake of his sacred Flesh, let us put away the leaven of sin, and make our lives the unleavened bread of sincerity.

Thus, by the aid of heavenly light, we shall be delivered from the wicked enemies that fill this world's desert.

The waters, prepared for us by Christ, shall save us from our enemies, and we will praise him in the Canticle,

Eia harmoniis, Socii, laudum resonis Hujus splendide vernantis

Celeb remus gaudia * Simul temporis,

In quo patriae coelestis Per Christum patet Reserata spes nobis. Nunc gemit Pharao Sibi raptos, Plaga mortis Qnos afflixit vernaculos. Nos autem referamus

Supremo Grates regi, Qui nos redemit Barathro. Et qui per Christum Canopica, More Judaeorura, Solvimur pceno, Mentes pariter Praaparemus, Typicam ut immolemus Victimam, Cujus cruore sacrosaneto Insigniti mentis domo, Non pavemus Angeli enseal Plectentis reos vindicem.

Et digne Mysticis ut ejus Epulemur carnibus, Fermenta criminum

Purgemus, Sinceriter vivamus.

Sic eripi in hujus Eremo vitse quimus Per cceleste lumen De tetris hostibus ; Per lavacrumque Christi Inimicis elapsi, Digne ipsum laudare Hymno Moysi,

186 pasc

Qui suo maligno pressos Pharaone alumnos Liberat, Obstructo Atris abyssis inimico.

Quapropter Certante nunc vote,

Jubilemus Tant» potestatis Domino,

Et suae januam PraBcelsae pietatis Pulsemns Precibus devotis, Moriendo ut qui mortis Legem rupit atrocis. Hie redemptos custodiat, Ne post tergum decidant, Sed ut regnum acandant Promissum. Amen. lL time. which Moses sang when he rescued his Israelites from Pharaoh's cruelty, and saw the dark waves close upon the pursuant foe.

Wherefore, let us strive to outdo each other in the praise we sing to this Almighty Lord ;

And, knocking at the door of his infinite mercy, let us devoutly beseech him, that having, by his own dying, broken the yoke of Death, he may watch over the people he has redeemed, preserve them from lagging behind, and aid them to reach the Promised Land above. Amen.

FRIDAY, 3RD WEEK AFTER EASTER.

FRIDAY

OF THE THIRI) WEEK AFTER EASTER. ♦ f. In thy resurrection, O % In resurrectione tua, Christ, alleluia. Christe, alleluia.

R7. Let heaven and earth 19. Cceli et terra l»tentur, rejoice, alleluia. alleluia.

Church of Jesus! that was promised by him to the earth during the days of his mortal life ; that earnest forth from his sacred Side when wounded by the Spear upon the Cross ; that wast organised and perfected by him during the last days of his sojourn here below ; — we lovingly greet thee as our Mother ; Thou art the Spouse of our Redeemer, and it is through thee that we were born to him. It is thou that gavest us life by baptism ; it is thou that givest us the Word, which enlightens us ; it is thou that ministerest to us the helps, whereby we are led, through our earthly pilgrimage, to heaven ; it is thou that governest us, in the spiritual order, by thy holy ordinances.

Under thy maternal care, we are safe; we have nothing to fear. What can error do against us? Thou art the pillar and ground of the truth I1 What effect can the revolutions of our earthly habitation have upon us ? We know, that if everything else should fail us, thou wilt ever be with us. It was during these very days, which precede the Ascension, that our Lord Jesus said to his Apostles, and through them, to their successors: Behold! I lI Tim. in. 15. am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. What a promise of duration was not this ! If we consult the history of theselast eighteen hundred years, it will tell us, that this promise has never once been broken. The gates ->f hell have risen up against thee innumerable times ; but they have never prevailed against thee, no, not for one single moment !

And thus it is, O Church ! that being founded on Christ thy Spouse, thou givest us a share in thine own divine immutability ! Established as we are in thee there is not a truth, which the eye of our faith cannot see ; there is not a blessing, which, despite our weakness, we may not make our own ; there is no object shown us by hope, which we may not attain. Thou holdest us in thine arms ; and, from the height whereto thou raisest us, we see the mysteries of time and the secrets of eternity. Our eye admiringly follows thee, whether we consider thee as militant on earth, suffering in thy dear ones who are in the temporary state of expiation, or triumphant in heaven. Thou art with us in our exile, and already art thou, in millions of thy children, heiress of the eternal kingdom. Keep us near thee, nay, within thee, O thou our Mother, who art the beloved Spouse of our Lord : To whom shall we go but to thee ? Is it not to thee, and to thee alone, that he has intrusted the words of eternal life ?

How much they are to be pitied, 0 Church ! who do not know thee ! And yet, if they are seeking God with all their heart, they will, one day, know thee. How much they are to be pitied, who once knew thee, and afterwards, in their pride and ingratitude, denied thee ! And yet, no one ever fell into such misery, unless he first voluntarily shut his eyes against the light that was within him. How much they are to be pitied, who know thee, and still live

1 St. Matth. xxviii. 20. enjoying what thou givest thy children, and who yet take side with thine enemies in insulting and betraying thee ! They are men whose character is shallowness of mind ; they speak their opinions as though they were oracles ; they have contracted the flippant effrontery of our age : and to hear them speak of thee, one would suppose that they look on thee as a human institution, which they may approve or blame according to their humour.

Instead of revering whatsoever thou hast taught regarding thyself and thy rights ; instead of revering what thou hast ordained, regulated, and practised ; these Catholics, whose sympathies are all with thine enemies, would have thee conform thy teachings and conduct with the so-called Progress of the times. The whole world is given to thee as thine inheritance ; and yet these insolent children would have thee be content with what they think proper to assign to thee. Thou, the Mother of mankind, must be under their wise care ! It is from them, thou must, henceforth, learn how best to fulfil thy mission ! Godless men, adorers of what they called the rights of man, dared, a century back, to expel thee from political * life, which up till then thou hadst kept in harmony with its Divine Master. These men have left disciples, who would have thee withdraw from everything fchat regards the outward world, and look on as a mere stranger. Thou must no longer exercise the rights given thee, by the Son of God, over both soul and body ; this royalty of thine is out of date, and thou must be satisfied to enjoy the liberty, which, in virtue of the law of Progress, is granted alike to error and to truth. The wise and powerful ones of this world are discussing the question of dethroning, now after a thousand years' reign, the Vicar of thy Spouse; and instead of resenting such a project with holy indignation, as tending to the destruction of the last bulwark of Christendom, — there are many among us who approve of it, and this on principles which are, it is true, in favour with rationalistic politicians, but which are formally condemned by thy teachings, thy acts, nay, by thy very existence. How short sighted are such Catholics as these, who hope to make thee acceptable to the world by giving thee the semblance of a human institution ! The world is too shrewd : it knows thee to be essentially supernatural, and this is what it never can tolerate.

Wiser and more Christian by far are they, who detesting such profane theories, have, like devoted Machabees, drawn the sword against thine enemies, O Church of Christ ! and even in an age like this, when faith has grown weak, have so well understood their Christian duty as to die in thy defence, and, by so dying, to win the crown of martyrdom. Yes, it is our duty to confess thee : to disguise thee, is to beli* thee. Thou art one of the articles of our Creed : " 1 believe the holy Catholic Church." Thou hast been known these eighteen hundred years ; and shall men now pretend that thou must conform to the world's capricious views? This cannot be. Jesus made . thee be like himself, — a sign of contradiction z and as such we must receive thee. We must listen to thy protestations against false principles and practices, and not attempt to remodel thee. Only God has power to give his Church a form other than that he has already given her.

Blessed are they who share thy lot, dear Church of our Redeemer ! In these unchristian times, thou art unpopular. Thou wast so in ages long gone by, when men could not become thy children, save at the risk of being despised. It is the same now, and we are resolved to espouse thy cause. We confess thee to be our Mother, inaccessible to the changes of this world. Whether honoured or persecuted, thou conti-

1 St. Luke, ii. 34. nuest thy mission here below. Thus will it be, until the time comes when this earth, which was created to be thy kingdom, shall see thee ascend to heaven, and flee from a world, which will deserve the severest chastisements of God's anger, because of its having despised and rejected thee.

In honour of the Divine Spouse of our Mother, let us sing this Paschal canticle, taken from the ancient Missals of Flanders.

SEQUENCE.

Let the whole earth sing Alleluia t and, by its prayers and hymns, celebrate the Paschal solemnity.

Let the young troop share in the common joy ; it comes, white as snow, from the sacred font, having been rescued from the waters of the stream of hell.

Let us, too, string our harps to tune ;

And sing, whilst going through the many -varied modes, with voices sweet and ringjing.

For Jesus, the meek Lamb, has become the Victim of our salvation, and has carried the Wood of his Cross.

He suffered Death, that we might have eternal life.

He deigned to drink the bitter cup of gall.

He permitted himself to be cruelly wounded with the Nails and Spear.

Having thus suffered for our sins, which he took upon him-

Concinat orbis cunctus Alleluia, votis, voce solemnia

Celebrando paschalia.

In sumptu tenera Congaudeat turma, Sacro fonte nivea, Spernens Phlegethontis undas.

Nos quoque laxas

Aptemus fibras

Arte musica ;

Voce sonora

Modificantes Prorsus neumata Voce satis tinnula.

Christus namque mitis hostia

Factus nostra ob remedia, Crucis tulit robora ;

Ut jugis vita Maneret, subiit lethalia.

Fellis amara Passus prselibare pocula*

Vulnera satis toleravit dura

Transfixus clavis et lancea. Sic tolerando, mala Gerens nostra,

Descendit ad ima Tartara. Hostis antiqui confringens arma Revehit potens ampla O van do trophsea. Sicque devicta morte Ac resumpta came, Resurgit victor Die hodierna. Unde jam jocundas Tpsi canamus odas.

Per quern nobis vita Redit aeterna, Et cceli clara Nobis patescit aula. Cui sit laus praeclara. Amen. self, he descended into the depths below.

He broke the sword of the old enemy, and brought back, in power and triumph, the richest trophies.

He conquered Death ; his Soul was reunited to his Body ; and this is the Day of his glorious Resurrection.

Therefore, let us sing to him our lays of joy.

Life everlasting has been restored to us and heaven's bright gate thrown open to us by him.

To him be praise eternal.

Amen.