May 2 — Saint Atha.nasius

be indeed a paradise, for thou sowedst in her the holy word, tearing up the thorns of heresy.

O God-bearing Saint ! thou wast a river of grace, a spiritual Nile, bringing to the Faithful the good fruits of holy doctrine, refreshing us all, and nourishing the whole earth.

With the staff of thy teachings, thou drovest heretical wolves far from the Church of Christ. Thou didst encompass and defend her with the fortifications of thy words, and presentedst her sound and safe to Christ. Beseech him, therefore, that he would deliver from perversion and all dangers us who faithfully celebrate thine ever venerable memory. ilia pium seminasti sermonem, et hsereseon spinas evellisti.

Gratise fluvius, Deifer, et spirit aalis Nilus nobis apparuisti ; bonos pi» doctrinal fructus fidelibus afferens, universos irrigans, et late nutriens terram.

Dogmatum tuorum baculo, lupos hsereticos ab Ecclesia Christi procul removisti; et illam turribus verborum tuorum circumdans et defendens, sanam et incolnmem Ckristo servans praesentasti. Ideo Christum Deum exora, ut nos tuam semper venerabilem memoriam in fide celebrantes a corruptione et periculis omnibus liberet.

Thou wast throned, O Athanasius ! on the Chair of Mark in Alexandria ; and thy name is emblazoned near his on the sacred Cycle. He left Rome, sent, by Peter himself, to found the second Patriarchal See ; and thou, three centuries later, visitedst Rome, as successor of Mark, to seek protection from Peter's successor against them that were disturbing thy venerable See by injustice and heresy. Our Western Church was thus honoured by thy presence, O intrepid defender of the Faith. She looked on thee with veneration, as the glorious Exile, the courageous Confessor ; and she has chronicled thy sojourning in her midst as an event of dearest interest.

Intercede for the country over which was extended thy Patriarchal jurisdiction ; but forget not this Europe of ours, which gave thee hospitality and protection. Rome defended thy cause ; she passed

PASCHAL TIME. sentence in thy favour, and restored thee thy rights ; make her a return, now that thou art face to face with the God of infinite goodness and power. Protect and console her Pontiff, — the successor of that Julius who so nobly befriended thee, fifteen hundred years ago. A fierce tempest is now raging against the Rock, on which is built the Church of Christ ; and our eyes have grown wearied looking for a sign of calm. Oh ! pray, that these days of trial be shortened, and that the See of Peter may triumph over the calumnies and persecutions which are now besetting her, and endangering the faith of many of her children.

Thy zeal, 0 Athanasius ! checked the ravages of Arianism ; but this heresy has again appeared, in our own times, and in almost every country of Europe. Its progress is due to that proud superficial learning, which has become one of the principal perils of the age. The Eternal Son of God, Consubstantial to the Father, is blasphemed by our so-called Philosophers, as being only Man, — the best and greatest of men, they say, but still, only Man. They despise all the proofs which reason and history adduce of Jesus being God; they profess a sort of regard for the Christian teaching which has hitherto been held, but they have discovered, (so they tell us,) the fallacy of the great Dogma, which recognises, in the Son of Mary, the Eternal Word, who became Incarnate for man's salvation. O Athanasius, glorious Doctor of holy Mother Church ! humble these modern Arians ; expose their proud ignorance and sophistry ; undeceive their unhappy followers, by letting them see how this false doctrine leads either to the abyss of the abominations of Pantheism, or to the chaos of Scepticism, where all truth and morality are impossibilities.

Preserve within us, by the influence of thy prayers, the precious gift of Faith, wherewith our Lord ha& mercifully blessed us. Obtain for us, that we may ever confess and adore Jesus Christ as our eternal and infinite God; "God of God; Light of Light; u True God of True God ; Begotten, not made ; who, " for us men, and for our salvation, took Flesh of the "Virgin Mary." May we grow, each day, in the knowledge of this Jesus, until we join thee in the face-to-face contemplation of his perfections. Meanwhile, by means of holy Faith, we will live with him on this earth, that has witnessed the glory of his Resurrection. How fervent, O Athanasius, was thy love of this Son of God, our Creator and Redeemer ! This love was the very life of thy soul, and the stimulus that urged thee to heroic devotedness to his cause. It supported thee in the combats thou hadsto to sustain with the world, which seemed leagued together against thy single person. It gave thee strength to endure endless tribulations. Oh ! pray that we may get this same love, — a love which is fearless of danger, because faithful to Him for whom we suffer, — a love which is so justly due, seeing that he, though the Brightness of his Father's glory, and Infinite Wisdom, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and humbled himself becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the Cross. How else can we make him a return for this his devotedness to us except by giving him all our love, as thou didst, O Athanasius ! and by striving to compensate the humiliations he endured for our salvation, by ever singing his praise ?