Friday of the Fourth Week after Easter

f. In resurrectione tua, f. In thy resurrection, 0 hriste, alleluia. Christ, alleluia.

19. Coeli et terra laetentur, 19. Let heaven and earth re-

Praise be to our Risen Jesus, for his having said to us : He that believeth and is baptised, shall be saved I1 Thanks to his infinite mercy, — we believe and have been baptised ; we are, therefore, in the path of salvation. It is true, that Faith will not save us without good works ; but, on the other hand, good works, without Faith, cannot merit eternal salvation. With what transport of joy ought we not to give thanks to God, for his having produced in us, by his grace, this unspeakable gift} this first pledge of our everlasting happiness ! How carefully ought we not to strive to keep it pure, yea and increase it by our fidelity ! Faith, like other virtues, has its degrees : we should, therefore, frequently use the prayer addressed to Jesus by his Apostles : Lord ! increase our faith !z

We are living in an age when Faith is weak amongst the majority of even them that believe; and it is one of the greatest dangers that could befal us in this world. When Faith is weak, Charity must needs grow cold. Our Saviour one day asked his Disciples,

1 St. Mark, xvi. 16. 9 II. Cor. ix. 15. 3 St Luke, xvii. 5. joiee, alleluia. if they thought that he would find Faith upon the earth when he should come to judge mankind? Have we not reason to fear that we are fast approaching that awful time, when the want of Faith will paralyse men's hearts ?

Faith proceeds from our will moved by the Holy Ghost. We believe, because we wish to believe ; and, for this reason, it is a happiness to believe. The blind man, to whom Jesus restored his sight, said to him, when he bade him believe in the Son of God : Who is he, Lord ? that I may believe in him. These same dispositions ought to animate us, when there is question of our making an act of faith, — we should believe, in order that we may know that which, without faith, we could not know : then will God manifest himself to both our mind and heart.

You will meet with Christians who seem to make it their business to keep down the Faith of their friends as much as possible. They seem to be jealous of Faith getting too much ; are ever talking about the rights of Reason ; and will have it that they who are so ready to believe, are guilty of underrating the dignity, range, and divine origin of Reason. Let them that are thus accused, answer : " We are far from " denying the existence of that natural light within us, " which is called Reason. The teaching of the Church " is too express on this point, to admit of any doubt ; " but she also teaches us, that this light, — even had it " retained its primal power, and had not been ob- " scured by original sin, — is incapable of discovering, " by itself alone, the end for which man was created, " and the means whereby that end is to be gained. " Faith alone can enable man to attain to such sub- " lime knowledge as this."

Others, again, maintain that as soon as a Christian comes to the full age of Reason, he has a right to

1 St. Luke, xviii. 8.

9 St. John, iz. 36. suspend the exercise of his Faith, in order that he may examine for himself whether it be reasonable or not to continue believing. Such an opinion is most false, and has made many an apostate. The Church has ever taught from the days of the Apostles down to our own times, and will so teach to the end of the world, — that the child who has received holy Baptism, has also, and at that same instant, received the gift of infused Faith ; that he thereby became a member of Christ, and child of his Church ; and that if, when he comes to the age of Reason, he should be tempted with doubts regarding matters of Faith, he receives grace to resist those doubts by Faith, and that he would be risking his salvation were he to suspend his Faith. This does not imply that the Church forbids him to confirm his Faith by study and science ; far fir m it. This is a totally different thing from suspension of one's faith ; it is, according to the admirable saying of the great St. Anselm, "Faith seeking understanding," and, we may add, finding it, for God gives this recompense to Faith.

You may probably meet with persons who think it right that there should be found among us a class of men, called Free-thinking Philosophers, that is to say, men without Faith, who hold, with regard to God and creatures, doctrines which are wholly independent of Revelation, and who teach a morality that entirely ignores the supernatural element. Is it possible that Catholics can not only countenance and praise such men as these, but even defend them, and be pkrtial towards them ?

And what must we say of the sad effects resulting from the living with heretics ? Most of us could give instances of the dangerous compromises, and deplorubler concessions made in consequence of much intercourse with those who are not of the Faith. The terrible line of demarcation specified by St. John, in his second Epistle, is being forgotten ; the very mention of it is offensive to modern ears. A strong indication of this is to be found in the frequency ot Mixed Marriages, which begin with a profanation of a Sacrament, and often, though it may be imperceptibly, lead the Catholic party to religious indifference. Let us listen to the energetic language of that illustrious ascetical writer, Father Faber: "The old "fashioned hatred of Heresy is becoming scarce. " God is not habitually looked at as the sole Truth ; " and so the existence of Heresies no longer appals " the mind. It is assumed that God must do nothing " painful, and his dominion must not allow itself to u take the shape of an inconvenience or a trammel to " the liberty of his creatures. If the world has out- " grown the idea of exclusiveness, God must follow " our lead, and lay it aside as a principle in his deal- " ings with us. What the many want they must " have at last. This is the rule and the experience " of a Constitutional country. Thus discord in reli- " gion, and untruth in religion, have come to be less " odious and less alarming to men, simply because " they are accustomed to them. It requires courage, " both moral and mental, to believe the whole of a " grand nation in the wrong, or to think that an entire " country can go astray. But Theology, with a brave " simplicity, concludes a whole world under sin, and " sees no difficulty in the True Church being able to " claim only a moderate share of the population of the " earth. The belief in the facility of salvation out- " side the Church is very agreeable to our domestic "loves and to our private friendships. Moreover, " if we will hold this, the world will pardon a whole <: host of other superstitions in us, and will do us the " honour of complimenting the religion God gave, as " if it were some literary or philosophical production

» TI. St. Johii, 10.

" of our own. Is this such a huge gain ? Many seem "amazingly pleased with it, and pay dear for it quite "contentedly. Now it is plain that this belief must " lower the value of the Church in our eyes. It must "relax our efforts to convert others. It must relax " our efforts to convert ourselves. Those who use the " system of the Church least, will of course esteem it " least, and see least in it ; and are therefore least "fitted to be judges ofit. Yet it is just these men who "are the most forward and the most generous in surrendering the prerogatives of the Church to the "exigencies of modern smoothness and universal- "ism."1

Another sign of the decay of the spirit of Faith, even among many of those who do not neglect their Religion, is the disregard for, one might almost say the ignorance of, holy practices recommended by the Church. How many Catholic houses are there not, where there is never to be seen either a drop of Holy Water, or a blessed Candle, or a Palm ? These sacrea objects, given to us to be a protection, deserve from us that same reverence and love which our forefathers had when they defended them, even at the risk of their lives, against the Protestants of the 16th Century. What a jeering look of incredulity is evinced by many amongst us, when mention is made of any Miracle that is not found in the Bible 1 With what an air of contemptuous disbelief they hear or read of anything in connection with the Mystic Life, such aa ecstasies, raptures, or revelations I How uneasy they seem, when the subject of the heroic acts of penance done by the Saints, or of the simplest practices of bodily mortification, happens to come across them ! How loudly and pathetically do they not protest against the noble sacrifices which some favoured souls are inspired to make, whereby they break

1 Spiritual Conference* : Heaven and Hell. asunder the dearest ties, and shut themselves out of the world, behind the grille of a Monastery or Convent ! The spirit of Faith makes a true Catholic appreciate the beauty, the reasonableness, and the sublimity of all these practices and acts ; whilst the want of this spirit makes them be condemned as extravagant, unmeaning, and folly.

Faith longs to believe ; for believing is its life. It limits not itself to the strict Creed promulgated by the Church. It knows that the Spouse of Christ possesses all truths, though she does not solemnly declare them all, nor under the pain of anathema. Faith forestalls the declaration of a dogma ; it believes piously, before believing under obligation. A secret instinct draws it towards this as yet veiled truth ; and when the dogma is published by a Definition of the Supreme Pontiff, then does this same Faith rejoice in the triumph of the truth which was revealed from the very commencement of the Church ; and its ioy is great in proportion to the fidelity wherewith it honoured the* truth, when only generous and loyal hearts embraced it.

^ Glory, then, be to our Risen Jesus, who requited his Mother's faith, who strengthened that of the Disciples and the holy women, and who, as we humbly pray, will mercifully reward ours. Let us offer him our homage, in the words of a Sequence from the ancient Missals of Saint Gall's.

Let us proclaim the glory of Pangamus Creatoris, our Creator and Redeemer ! Atque Redemptoris glo- riam.

By his grace, he gave a new Qui bene creates,

SEQUENCE. existence to them whom he

Sed seductos

Astutia callidi serpentis, Sua refecit gratia.

Prsedicens, Futurum ut germen Sancta proferret fcemina ;

Quod host is antiqui Nociva exsuperaret capita. Quod primitus perdita, Serius nostra Gernunt ssecula. Quum splendida flosculo virgula Novo pollet Maria.

Qui editus Mire edidit miracula.

Nec juvenis tantum, Sed statim inter sme nativitatis primordia. Per sideris lumen, Per Simeon is verba Judaica ad se vel corda,

Vel munera Attrahens nutu gentilia.

Quern Pater in voce, Atque Spiritus Sanctus specie, Glorificat. Visentes doctorem, vel arclriatrum, Docent auctoritate sua.

Qui postquam salutis Dona dedit multa, Doctrina3que perplura verba, Ore suo promulgavit saluberrima ; Ad probra, sputa, Colaphos, et flagella, Vestem quoque ludo qusesitam,

Et spineum venit sertuni Ad crucis brachia.

Qui hodie triumphali A mortuis resurgens, Sprevijt victoria, ducens secumprimitiva had created aright, yet who were seduced by the cunning of the crafty serpent.

He foretold, that a holy Woman would, one day, bring forth a Fruit,

That should crush the baneful head of the old enemy.

Our times have seen fulfilled these promises that were long lost sight of.

Mary, the lovely Branch, put forth a new Flower.

His birth was a prodigy, and miracles marked his lite,

Not only when he had grown up, but immediately after his birth.

By the light of the star, and by Simeon s words, he drew to himself the heart of the Jew or the gift of the Gentile.

He was glorified by the Father's words, and by the visible form under which the Holy Ghost appeared.

They that saw this Teacher, this Physician of men, were nppointed to teach others in his name.

After bestowing on men abundant gifts of salvation, and promulgating, with his own lips, the doctrine of eternal life,

He came to his Passion, in which he was insulted, spit upon,buffeted,scourged, vested as a mock-king, crowned with thorns, and nailed to a Cross.

But, to-day, by a glorious victory, he rises triumphant from tne grave :( he takes them that belonged to the genera- tions of old, and leads them, Ad ccelos membra, with himself, to heaven ; he Et nuper dispersa forms into one fold the then Revocans ovilia. living, but scattered, sheep.

Yea, and to us, though the Quae et nobis in fine spe- last of his children, he pro- randa, mises future gifts, and bids us Licet ultima membra si- hope. Amen. mus,

Spondet dona. Amen.

SATURDAY

OF THE FOUftTH WEEK AFTER EASTER. f. In resurrectione tua, f. In thy resurrection, O

Christe, alleluia. Christ, alleluia.

R7. Coeii et terra laatentur, R7. Let heaven and earth realleluia, joice, alleluia.

Saturday brings us once more to the dear Mother of our Jesus. Last Saturday, when closing our week's considerations upon the establishment of the Church, we reverently drew a parallel between these two Mothers, — Mary and the Church. During the present week, we have been considering how our Saviour confided his Doctrine, — that is, the object of our Faith, — to his Apostles ; let us devote this last day to a loving remembrance of the dogmas which Jesus revealed to them regarding the dignity and office of Her, whom he chose for his own and our Mother.

Holy Church teaches us several truths concerning Mary ; and these truths are the object of our faith, on the same ground as the other articles contained in the Catholic Creed. Now they could not be the object of our faith, except inasmuch as they were revealed by the lips of our Divine Lord himself. The Church of our days has received them from the Church of past ages, just as this last named received them from the Apostles, to whom Jesus first confided them. There has been no new revelation since our Saviour s Ascension ; consequently, the manifestation of all the dogmas transmitted to the Church, and promulgated by her to the world, dates from the teaching given by- Jesus to his Apostles. It is on this account that we believe them with theological faith, — a faith which can only be given to truths directly revealed by God to man.

How beautiful is the affection here shown by the Son of God to his Mother! He revealed to his Apostles the impenetrable secrets of the Divine Essence, the Trinity in Unity, the eternal generation of the Word in the Father's bosom, the eternal procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son, the union of the two Natures in one Person in the Incarnate Word, the Redemption of the world by the Blood of the Man-God, the restoring of fallen man and the elevating him to a supernatural state by grace. But this same Jesus also reveals the prerogatives of his dearest Mother ; and we are to believe them, and with the same Faith, as we do the dogmas which relate to God himself! Jesus, the Wisdom of the Father, the Conqueror of death, has revealed to us, Mary's dignity with the same lips that taught us what he himself is ; we believe the two revelations with equal faith, because he spoke both.

Jesus said to his Apostles, and they, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, communicated his teaching to the Church : " Mary, my Mother, is a daughter *' of Adam and Eve ; but the stain of original sin was "not upon her. The decree, — that every human 4t being should be conceived in sin, — was suspended in

' moment of her Conception. Jeremias and John " the Baptist were sanctified in their mother's womb ; ' "Mary was Immaculate from the first moment of " her existence."

Jesus also said to his Apostles, and commanded them to repeat his words to the Church : " Mary "is truly Mother of God, and must be honoured as 41 such by all creatures; for she truly conceived me

"her regard.

" and gave me birth, according to my human nature, " which forms but one Person with my divine nature."

Jesus also said to his Apostles, and commanded them to repeat his words to the Church : " Mary, my "Mother, conceived me in her chaste womb without " ceasing to be a Virgin, and she gave me birth with- " out her Virginity suffering any injury."

Thus, Mary 'slmmaculat e Conception, — which prepared her for her sublime office, — her divine Maternity, and her perpetual Virginity, are three dogmas of our faith, which were revealed to the Apostles directly by our Lord. Holy Church merely repeats them after the Apostles, just as the Apostles repeated them after hearing them from their Divine Master.

But did not Jesus reveal other prerogatives of his august Mother, — prerogatives which are consequences of the three magnificent gifts just mentioned ? Let us ask the Church what she believes, on this subject, and what she teaches, both by her doctrinal utterance, and by her equally infallible practice. Every development, which is produced in her by the action of the Holy Ghost, is based upon the Word of God, which was spoken at the beginning. Thus, it is impossible to doubt but what our Saviour made known to his Apostles his intention of raising his Blessed Mother to the dignity of Queen of the universe, of Mediatrix of men, of Mother of grace, of Co-operatrix of our Redemption. Had she not, by the three unparalleled gifts just mentioned,, already been raised above all other creatures ? Yes, we cannot doubt it ; — these glories of the Mother of God were known, revered, and loved by the Apostles ; and we, who have received, from the Church, these same sublime and consoling truths, we, too, prize and love our knowledge. Should we not be offering violence to every noble feeling of our nature, were we to believe that Jesus ascended into heaven, without having made known to the world the glories of his

Mother, whom he loved both as her Son and her God!

What must have been thy sentiments, 0 Mary, thou most humble of creatures, when Jesus unveiled thy glories to the Disciples ? They already reverenced thee, but they could never have known the grand gifts bestowed on thee by God, unless that God himself had revealed them. What glorious things were said of thee, 0 City of God ! 1 If thy humility was troubled when the Archangel called thee full of grace, and blessed among women; how must thou not have shrunk from the homage paid thee by the Apostles, when they were first told that thou wast the Mother of God, the ever spotless Virgin, Immaculate from thy very Conception ! But no, Blessed Mother ! thou canst not shun the honours that are richly thy due. The prophecy spoken by thyself, in Zachary's house, must be fulfilled : All generations shall call thee Blessed !a The time is at hand; in a few days hence, the preaching of the Gospel will have commenced. Thy name, thy ministry, thy glories are an essential part of the Greed which is to be carried throughout the world. Up to this time, thou hast been shrouded in a veil of mystery ; that veil must now be drawn aside, — Jesus will have it so, — and thou must be known as Mother of the God, who, when he came to save us, disdained not to assume our human nature in thy chaste womb. Dearest Mother! Queen of Angels and Men ! suffer us to unite our fervent homage with that which the Apostolic College gave thee, when Jesus first revealed to them thy glories !

Let us, in honour of the blessed Mother, recite this Sequence of the Cluny Missal of 1523. It is a graceful imitation of the Victimce Paschali.

1 Pa. lxxxvi. 3. a St. Luke, i. 48.

PASCH : TIME. II. S

SEQUENCE;

Virgini Mariae laudes lntonent ChristianL

O beata domina, Tua per suffragia Beconcilientur peccatores*

Fiant per te liberi A fermento veteri, Victim 8B paschalis Perceptores. Da nobis, Maria, Virgo clemens et pla, Aspectu Christi viventis, Et gloria frui Kesurgentis. Tu prece nos pia, Christo reconcilia, Quae sola Mater intacta, Es Genitrix Verbi Dei facta. Credendum est ex te Deum Et hominem natum, Kesurrexiese Glorificatum. Scimus Christum surrexisse

A mortuis vere ; Conserva Mater nos et tuere. Amen.

Let Christians offer to the Virgin Mary their hymns of praise.

O Lady ever blessed) let sinners be reconciled to God by thy prayers.

May they that receive the Paschal Lamb, be, by thy intercession, cleansed from the old leaven.

Give us, O Mary, thou merciful and loving Virgin !

To enjoy the sight of the living and Itisen Christ.

Reconcile us with Jesus, by thy holy prayers,

O thou the spotless Mother of the Word of God I

We believe that the God- Man, who was born of thee, hath risen again in glory.

We know that Christ hath truly risen from the dead. Do thou, O Mother ! preserve and defend us. Amen.