The Vigil of Saint John the Baptist

There was in the days of Herod the Kvag of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of tlie daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth. And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame. And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. And it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the order of his course before God, according to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord; and all the multitude of the people was praying without, at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an Angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zachary seeing him was troubled, and fear fell upon him ; but the Angel said to him : Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John: and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his nativity. For he shall be great before the Lord: and shall drink no wine nor strong drink : and he shall be filled yrith the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias ; that

28G he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto Hie children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people}

This page which the Church reads to us to-day, is precious in the annals of the human race, for here begins the Gospel itself, here we have the first word of the good tidings of salvation* Not that man had up to this, received no knowledge of Heavens designs for the lifting up of our fallen race and the giving of a Redeemer : but weary and long had been this period of expectancy, since the day when first the sentence pronounced against the accursed serpent pointed out to Adam and Eve a future wherein man should be healed by the " Son of the woman," and God also by him should be avenged. Age upon age rolled on, and the promise, all unaccomplished still, gradually assumed certain developments. Each generation saw the Lord, by means of the prophets, adding some new feature to the characteristics of this Brother of our race ; in himself so great that the Most High would call him my Son; so impassioned for justice, that he would shed the last drop of his blood to ransom earth's whole debt. A Lamb in his immolation, he would rule the earth by his gentleness ; though springing from Jesse's root, yet was he to be the desired of the gentiles; more magnificent than Solomon, he would graciously hearken to the love of these poor ransomed souls: taking the advance of their longing desires, he is fain to announce himself as the Spouse descending from the everlasting hills. The Lamb laden with the crimes of the world, the Spouse awaited by the Bride ; such was to be this Son of Man, Son likewise

1 St. Luke, i. 5-17. • Is. liii. 7. * Is. xi. 10.

9 Ps. ii. 7. 4 Ibid. xvi. 1. « Ps. xliv.

7 Osee, ii. 19 ; Gen. xlix. 26. of God, the Christ, the Messias promised unto earth. But when will he come, he, this desired of nations f Who will point out, unto earth, her Saviour ? Who will lead the Bride to the Bridegroom ?

Mankind, gone forth in tears from Eden, had stood with wistful gaze fixed on futurity. Jacob, when dying, hailed from afar this beloved Son whose strength would be that of the lion, whose heavenly charms, still more enhanced by the blood of the grape (Oh! mystery ineffable 1) rapt him in inspired contemplation on his funeral couch. In the name of the gentile world, Job seated on the dung-hill, whereon his flesh Was falling to pieces, gave response to ruin, in an act of sublime hope in his Redeemer and his God. Breathlessly panting under the pressure of his woe and the fever of his longing desires, mankind beheld century roll upon century, the while consuming death suspended not its ravages ; the while 'his craving for the expected God ceased not to wax hotter within his breast. Thus, from generation to generation, what a redoubling of imploring prayer ; what a growing impatience of entreaty ! Oh ! that thou wouldst rend the heavens, and wouldst come down /3 " Enough of promises" cries out the devout St. Bernard, together with all the Fathers, speaking in the name of the Church of the expectation, and commenting the first verse of the Canticle of Canticles : " enough of figures and of shadows, enough of " others' parleying ! I understand no more of Moses ; " no voice have the prophets for me ; the Law which "they bear has failed to restore life to my dead. " What have I to do with the stammerings of their "profane mouths, I to whom the Word hath an-

1 Gen. xlix. 9-12, 18. 3 Is. lxiv. 1.

2 Job. xix. 25-27. 4 4 Kings, iv. 31.

6 Exod. iv. 10 ; Is. vi. 5.

" nounced himself ? Aaron's perfumes may not com- "pare with the Oil of gladness poured out by the "Father on him whom I await. No more deputies, " no more servants for me : after so many messages, "let him come at last, let him come himself!"

Yea, prostrate, in the person of the worthiest of her sons, upon the heights of Carmel, the Church of the expectation will not raise herself up, till appears in the heavens the proximate sign of salvation's raincloud. Vainly, even anon seven times, shall it be answered her that as yet naught can be descried " arising sea- wards ;" prolonging still her prayer and her tears, her lips parched by the ceaseless drought, and cleaving to the dust, she will yet linger on, awaiting the appearance of that fertilising cloud, the - light cloud that beareth her God under human features. Then, forgetting her long fasts and weary expectant years, she will rise upon her feet, in all the vigour and beauty of her early youth; filled with the gladness the angel announceth to her, in the joy of that new Elias, whose birthday this Vigil promises on the morrow, she will follow him, the predestined Precursory running (more truly than did the ancient Elias) before the chariot of Israel's king.

We borrow from the Mozarabic Breviary the following beautiful Liturgical formula, which will put us thoroughly into the spirit of the feast :

CAPITULA.

Adsunt, Domine, princi- Lo ! the first beginnings of

Eia christian® laetitise, qui- Christian joy, Lord, whereby us olim nasciturum in car- erstwhile, the sanctified Voice ne Verbum vox sanctificata preceded the Word about to be praecessit, et luminis ortum born in flesb, and the herald of fucis protestator insigniter light signally announced the

1 Pa. xliv. 8. * 3 Kings, xviii. 42-46. 3 Ibid. rising of the Day -Star, himself had witnessed : by him, both faith's mysteries and Salvation's fountains have produced marvels : he is approved whose conception is miracle, whose birth is joy ; therefore do we beseech thee, that we who with

§lad ovations hail the birthay of thy Precursor, may with purified hearts draw nigh like - wise unto thine own Nativity : so that the Voice which preached thee in the desert, may cleanse us in the world ; and he who preparing the way for the coming Lord, washed in his baptism the bodies of living men, may now, by his prayers, purify our hearts from vices and errors; so that, following in the foot-prints of the Voice, we may deserve to come to the promises of the Word.

Let us here add two Fri tary of Gelasius. nuntiavit : ex quo et Christianas fidei sacramenta, et salutaris lavacri prodierunt insignia: cujus concept us miraculum, cujus nativitas gaudium approbatur : quaesumus ergo, ut qui natalem nunc Prsecursoris tui ovantes suscipimu, ad festum quoque natalis tui purgatis cordibus accedamus :, ut vox, quae te praedicavit in eremo, nos purget in saeculo; et qui viam venturo Domino praeparans corpora viventium suo lavit baptismate, nostra nunc corda suis precibus a vitiis et errore depurget : qualiter Vocis sequentes vestigia, ad Verbi mereamur pervenire promissa. ers from the Saoramen-

PRAYRR.

May the prayer of Blessed John Baptist, 0 Lord, plead for us, that we may both understand and merit tne mystery of thy Christ.

O Almighty and Eternal God, who in the days of Blessed John Baptist, didst fulfil the institutions of the Law and the declarations of the holy Prophets, grant we beseech thee, that figures and signs being ended, Truth Himself, by his own manifestation, may speak, Jesus Christ our Lord*

Beati nos, Domine, Baptistae Johannis oratio, et intelligere Christi tui mysterium postulet et mereri.

Omnipotens, sempiterne Deus, qui instituta legalia et sanctorum praeconia Prophetarum in diebus beati Baptist® Johannis implesti : praesta quaesumus, ut, cessantibus signification um figjuris, ipsa sui manifestauone Veritas eloquatur, Jesus Christus Dominus noster.

June 24.

THE NATIVITY OP SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST.

The Voice of one crying in the wilderness,: , Prepare ye the way of the Lord ; behold thy Ood Z"1 Oh ! in thia world of ours grown notf so cold, who can understand earth's transports, at hearing these glad tidings so long expected P The promised God was not jet manifested ; but already have the heavens bowed down, to make way for his passage. No longer was he "the One who is to come, he for whtfm our fathers, the illustrious saints of the prtpEetio Ag& oeaselessly called, in their indomitable hope. Still hidden, indeed, but already in our midst, he was resting beneath that virginal cloud oompared with which, the heavenly purity of Thrones and Cherubim wax dim ; yea, the united fires of burning Seraphim grow faint, in presenoe of the single love wherevrith she alone encompasses him in her human heart, she that lowly daughter of Adam whom he had ohosen for his mother, Our accursed earth, made suddenly more blessed far than yonder heaven so long inexorably closed to suppliant prayer, awaited only that the august mystery should be revealed; the hour wets oome for earth to join her canticles to that

• xl.3-9. *Ps. xyii. 10. efteftal and divine praise, which henceforth was ever rfcing troth her depths, and which being itself no other than the Word Himself, would celebrate God condignly. But beneath the veil of humility where his divinity, eveii after as well as before his birth, must still continue to hide itself from men, who may discover the EfcimanuelP who, having recognised him in his fiierciful abasements, may sucoeed in making him tfbceptedby a world lost in pride? who may ory, pointing out the Carpenter's Son, in the midst of the tiroud : Behold Sim whom your fathers have so Wistfully awaited !

For such is the order decreed from on high, in the inanifestation of the Messias. Conformably to the Ways 6f men, the God-Man would not intrude himself into public life ; he would await, for the inauguration of his divine ministry, some man who having preceded him in a similar career, would be hereby sufficiently abpredited, to introduce him to the people.

Sublime part for a creature to play, to stand guarantee for his God, witness for the Word ! The exalted dignity of him who was to fill such a position, had been notified, as had that of the Messias, long before his birth. In the solemn liturgy of the Age of types, the Levite choir, reminding the Most High of the meekness of David and of the promise made to hitn of a glorious heir, hailed from afar the mysterious lamp prepared by God for his Christ. Not that, to give light to his steps, Christ should stand in need of external help : he, the Splendour of the Father, had only to appear in these dark regions of ours, to fill them with the effulgence of the very heavens ; but so many false glimmerings had deceived mankind, during the night of these ages of expectation, that had the true Light arisen on a sudden, it would not

1 St. Matth. xiii. 55. * Ps. cxxxi. 17. have been understood, or would have but blinded eyes now beoome well nigh powerless, by reason of protracted darkness, to endure its brilliancy. Eternal Wisdom therefore decreed that just as the rising sun is announced by the morning-star, and prepares his ooming by the gently tempered brilliancy of aurora ; so Christ, who is Light should be preoeded here below, by a star, his precursor; and his approach be signalised by the luminous ravs which he himself, (though still invisible) would shed around this faithful herald of his ooming. When, in by-gone days, the Most-High vouchsafed to light up, before the eyes'of his prophets, the distant future, that radiant flash which for an instant shot across the heavens of the old covenant, melted away in the deep night, and ushered not in, as yet, the longed-for dawn. The "morning-star" of winch the psalmist sings, shall know naught of defeat : declaring unto night that all is now over with her, he will dim his own fires only in the triumphant splendour of the Sun of Justice. Even as aurora melts into day, so will he confound with Light Increated, his own radiance ; being of himself, like every creature, nothingness and darkness, he will so reflect the brilliancy of the Messias shining immediately upon him, that many will mistake him even for the very Christ. The mysterious conformity of Christ and his Precursor, the incomparable proximity which unites one to the other, are to be found many times marked down in the sacred scriptures. If Christ is the Word, eternally uttered by the Father, he is to be the Voioe bearing this divine utteranoe whithersoever it is to reaoh; Isaias already hears the desert echoing with these aooents, till now unknown ; and the prinoe of prophets expresses his joy, with all the

1 St. Luke, iii. 16. enthusiasm of a soul already beholding itself in the very presence of its Lord and God. The Christ is the Angel of the Covenant ; but in the very same text wherein the Holy Ghost gives Him this title, for us so full of hope, there appears likewise bearing the same name of angel, the inseparable messenger, the faithful ambassador, to whom the earth is indebted for her coming to know the Spouse : Behold, I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord whom ye seek, and the Angel of the testament whom you desire, shall come to his Temple ; behold he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts} And putting an end to the prophetic ministry, of whioh he is the last representative, Malachias terminates his own oracles by the words which we have heard Gabriel addressing to Zachary, when he makes known to him the approaching birth of the Preoursor.

The presence of Gabriel, on this occasion, of itself shows with what intimacy with the Son of God, this child then promised shall be favoured ; for the very same Prince of the heavenly hosts, oame again, soon afterwards, to announce the Emmanuel. Countless are the faithful messengers that press around the throne of the Holy Trinity, and the choice of these august ambassadors usually varies, according to the dignity of the instructions, to be transmitted to earth by the Most High. Nevertheless, it was fitting that the same archangel charged with concluding the sacred Nuptials of the Word with the Human Nature, should likewise prelude this great mission by preparing the coming of him whom the eternal decrees had designated as the Friend of the Bridegroom* Six months later, on his deputation to Mary, he strengthens his divine message, by revealing to that

1 Is. xl. 2 Malack iii. 1, 3 {bid. iv. 5-$. * §t. John, iii. 29. purest of Virgins, the prodigy, widely h^4 W &fRf already given a son to the sterile Elizabeth ; being the first step of the Almighty towards a stjJJ greater marvel. John is not yet born ; but without longer delay, his career is begun : he is employed to attest the truth of the angel s promise*. Hot? ifl^fcr fable this guarantee of a ohild hidden as yet in mother's womb, but already brought forwr QB God's witness, in that sublime negotiation whiph at that moment is holding heaven and earth in suspense ! Illumined from on high, Mary receives the testimony and hesitates no longer. Behold the handmaid <)>f ih$ Lord, says she to the archangel, be U done unto me according to thy word.

Gabriel has retired, bearing away with him £ta divine secret which he has not been commissioned to reveal to the rest of the world. Jfeithqr will the most prudent Virgin herself telj. it ; eyeji Joseph, her virginal Spouse, is to reoeive no (MDmmunioatxqn of the mystery from her lips. Yet fear not ; the w$r ful sterility beneath whioh earth hfts been so long groaning, is not to be followed by an ignoranoe more sorrow-stricken still, now that it has yielded its fruit. There is one from whom Emmanuel will have no secret, nor reserve ; it were fitting to reveal th$ marvel unto him. Scarce has the Spouse taken possession of the sanctuary all spotless, wherein the pine months of his first abiding amongst men, mu$t run their course, yea, soarce has the Word beep mad$ Flesh, than Our Lady, inwardly taught what is he? Son's desire, arising, makes all haste to speed into the hill -country of Judea. The voice of my Beloved ! Behold he cometh, leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. His first visit is to the " Friend of the i St, Luke, i. 2 Ps. lxxxiv. 13. « St. Luke, i $9, 4 Cantic. ii. 8.

Bridegroom," the first out-pour of his graces is to iohn. A distinct feast psrill allow us to kbuoiv ioi i special manner, the precious day on which the divine Child, sanctifying his Precursor, reveals himself to John, by the voice of Mary ; the day on which Qur Lady, manifested by John, leaping within the Womb of his mother, proclaims at last the wondrous things operated within her, by the Almighty, according io the merciful promise which he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever}

But the time is oome, when the good tidings are to spread, from children and mothers, through all the adjacent country, until at length they reach the whole world. John is about to be born, and, whilst still himself unable to speak, he is to loosen his father's tongue. He is to put an end to that dumb* ness, with much the aged priest, a type of thd old law. had been struck by the angel ; and Zachary, himself % filled with the Holy Qjhost, is about to publish in a new oantiole, the blessed visit of the Lord God of Israel.*

Let us usher in the gladness of this great solemnity, by chanting the first Vespers thereof, together with our Mother the Church. First of all, let us gptico the white colour of the vestments wherein the JJride is clad to-day ; the pages that follow will explain the mystery of this her ohoioe.

FIRST VESPERS.

Ant. He shall go before him Ant. Ipse prseibit ante in the spirit and power of Elias, ilium in spiritu et virtnte to prepare unto the Lord a per- Elise, parare Domino pjebem feet people. perfeciam.

Ps. Dixit Dominus, page 52. 1 St, Luke, i. 66, » Jbid, i, 68,

TIME AFTER PENTEC08T.

Ant. Johannes est nomen Ant. John is his name : he ejus : vinum et siceram non shall drink no wine nor strong bibet, et multi in natavitate drink ; and many shall rejoice ejus gaudebunt. at his Nativity.

Ps. Confitebor tibi Domine, page 53.

Ant. Ex utero senectutis Ant. From an aged and et sterili Johannes natus est barren womb, was born John, precursor Domini. the fore-runner of the Lord.

Ps. Beatus vir, page 54.

Ant. Iste puer magnus Ant. This child shall be coram Domino : nam et ma- great before the Lord : for His nus ejus cum ipso est. hand is with him.

Ps. Laudate pueri, page 55.

Ant. Nazarseus vocabitur Ant. This child shall be puer iste : vinum et siceram called a Nazarite ; he shall not non bibet, et omne immun- drink wine nor strong drink, dum non manducabit ex and from his mother's womb, utero matris suae. he shall eat nothing unclean.

PSALM. 116.

Laudate Dominum, om- Praise the Lord* all ye nes gentes : laudate eum, gentiles : praise him, all ye omnes populi. peoples.

Quoniam confirm ata est super nos misericordia ejus : * et Veritas Domini manet in seternum.

For his mercy is confirmed upon us : and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever,

CAPITTJLTJM.

(Is. xlix.)

Audite, insulse, et attendite, populi de longe : minus ab utero vocavit me, de ventre matris mese recordatus est nominis mei.

Give ear, ye Islands; and Do- hearken ye people from afar : The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name.

The preceding Antiphons have recalled the promises concerning the holy Precursor. He himself, in the Oapitulum, invites us to sing the sublime preventions of grace from the hand of the Most High, in his regard. The hymn which follows, furnishes the Church with a beautiful formula of prayer and praise. There are few pieces so famous as this, in the holy liturgy.

Its composition is attributed to Paul the Deaoon, a monk of Monte Cassino, in the eighth oentury; and the story attached to it, is particularly touching. Honoured with that sacred order the very title of which remains through the oourse of ages inseparably linked with his name, Paul Warnefrid, the friend of Charlemagne and the historian of the Lombards, was on a certain occasion, deputed to bless the paschal candle, the triumphal appearanoe whereof, yearly announces to Holy Church, the Resurrection of the Spouse. Now it happened, that whilst he was preparing himself for this function, the most solemn of those reserved to the Levites of the New Testament, he suddenly lost his voice, until then clear and sonorous, so that, he was powerless to sound forth the glad notes of the Exsuttet. In this extremity, Paul recollected himself ; and turning to Saint John, patron at once of the Lombard nation and of that Church built by Saint Benedict at the top of the holy mount, he invoked him whose birth had put a stop to the dumbness of his own father, and who still preserves his power of restoring to " vocal chords their lost suppleness." The son of Zaohary heard his devout client. Such was the origin of the harmonious strophes which now form the three hymns proper to this feast.

What is still better known, is the importance which the first of these strophes has aoquired in the history of Gregorian chant and of music The primitive air to which the hymn of Paul the Deacon was sung possessed tins peculiarity, namely, that the initial syllable of each hemistich rose just one degre£ higher than the preceding, in the scale of sounds; thus was obtained, on bringing them together, the series of fundamental notes which form the basis of our present gamut. The custom was afterward? introduced of giving to the notes themselves, the names of these syllables : TJt, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La. Guido of Arezzo, in his method of teaching, originated this custom ; and by completing it with the introduction of the regular lines of the musical soale, he was the cause of an immense stride being made in* £he science of sacred music, until then so laborious to render, and so tedious to acquire. He thus acknowledged that the divine Precursor, the Voice whose accents reveal to the world the harmony of the eternal oanticle, ought to have the honour of having attaohed to his name the organisation of earth's melodies.

HYMN.

Ut queant laxis resonare fibris ifira gestorum famuli tuorum,

Solve polluti labn reatum, Sancte Johannes.

Nuntius celso veniens Olympo, Te patri magnum fore na- scitunim, Nomen et vitse seriem gerendse Ordine promit.

Me promissi dubius superoi,

Eerdidit prompt® modulos loquelsB ;

Since thy servants desire to sound fortn, with vocal chords well strung, thy wondrous deeds, from all uncleanness free the lips of the guilty ones, 0 holy John !

Lo! a messenger coming from the heights of heaven, unto thy father, annQu4oea that thou who art to be born wilt be great; thy name and life's scope he foretells, in order due.

Dubious he of heavenly promises, the power of fluent speech, he sudden forfeits; but when born, thou promptly

THB NATiyfW GW if. ?0B9 TOT BAPTIST. dost restore $he pilaus of his yoioe extinct.

Yet lying in the secret of tfee inaternal womb, thou perceiyest the King reposing in the Ijride- chamber : thus both parents, by the merits of their child, come to know hidden mysteries.

GUory be to the Father, and to the Only-Begotten Son, and to thee, 0 Power eternally

8u*l ^o them Both, 0 Spirit, $q, #>r ^erer And ever.

Amen.. f. There was a man sent from. God, & Wh<W name was John.

Sed reformaaft genitus peremptte Organavopi^.

Yj^tew oba^rnao r*cuftans cupih,

Senseras regem ftftjam manentem : WW parens, »ati

^SSSita pandit.

Sit deeus Patri, genitseque Proli, Et obi, oompar utriusque virtus

Spiritus semper, Deus nans, pmni

Tempori sevo. Amen. f. Fuit homo missus a Deo, j*. Qui nomen erat Jopannes* fid tl^e ^gnjfic^lpt us reoogniae the part whiqj^ our ^aint bad in this ineffable effusion of the Virgin Mother^ sentiments, already alluded to, in the fourth strophe pf the preceding hymn. These two, tjie ]jf(?gnificat an<J Benedict^ our evening and morning oapticiks, are closely linked to the name pf $air Jpfpi ; for, fry his mystip " leaping iqr joy," and by hgjs ha^wed birth, he w&f the main-spring of both. antiphon of thb Magnificat.

^achaxy being come into the Ter^pLe of the X*qrd, there appeared unto him the Angel Gabriel, standing on the right aide o£ the altar of incense.

Ingresao Zacharia templum Domini, apparuit ej Gabriel angelus, stans a dextris altaris incensi.

{^{rigu, ( Magnificat) y page 60,

OBEMUS. LET US PRAY.

Deus, qui preesentem di- O God, who hast made this em honorabilem nobis in day glorious unto us on account beati Johannis nativitate of the Nativity of blessed John; fecisti : da populis tuis spi- grant to thy people the grace ritualium gratiam gaudio- of spiritual joys; and direct the rum ; et omnium ndelium souls of all the Faithful into mentes dirige in viam salu- the way of eternal salvation, tis seternse. Per Dominum. Through our Lord, &c.

The chants of Holy Church in honour of the Precursor's Nativity, have fairly begun ; and already everything about the feast is telling us that it is one of those solemnities dearest to the heart of the Bride. But what would it be, if going baok to the good days of yore, we were able to take our share in the olden manifestations of Catholic instinct on this day ! In those grand ages wherein popular piety followed with docile step the inspiration of the one Mother Church, such demonstrations suggested by a common faith, on the recurrence of each loved anniversary, kept alive in every breast, the understanding of the divine Work and its mystio harmonies, thus gorgeously displayed on the cycle. Now-a-days, when the liturgical spirit has fallen to a lower standard in the minds of the multitude, the Catholic verve, whioh used to urge on the mass of the people, is no longer felt in the same marked way. Left to itself, and henoe without unity of view, popular devotion but too often lacks justness of proportion : nevertheless, these regrettable inconsistencies cannot impair the spirit of piety itself ever inherent in Holy Churoh ; she is ever guided aright by the Spirit of Prayer that is within her ; she ever holds the sure hand of her unerring authority on all the varieties of pious demonstrations of a non-liturgical character, as well as on the diminutions of the former solemnity of her own sacred rites ; henoe, she is<ever on the watqh to prevent her maternal oondesoension becoming a pretext for opening the way to error. "We are far, however, from the days when two rival armies meeting faoe to face on St. John's Eve, would put off the battle till the morrow of the feast. In England, though no longer kept as a " day of obligation, the feast of St. John is still marked in the Kalendar as a double of first classVith an ootave ; and gives plaoe to no other, save to the festival of Corpus Christi : it is moreover, a " day of devotion," and continues thus to attract the attention of the Faithful, as one of the more important feasts of the year.

Another festival is yet to come, at the end of August, calling for our renewed homage to the son of Zaohary and Elizabeth ; the feast, that is to say, of his glorious martyrdom. But, " venerable" as it has every right to be in our eyes, (so the Church expresses herself on that day,)2 its splendour is not to be oompared with that of this present festival. The reason is, because this day relates less to John himself, than to Jesus whom he is announcing ; whereas the feast of the Decollation, though more personal to our Saint, has not in the divine plan that same importance which his Birth had, inasmuch as it preludes that of the Son of God.

There hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than John the Baptist, are the words to be spoken by the Man- God of his Precursor ; and already has Gabriel, when announcing both of them, declared the same thing of each, that he shall be great.* But the greatness of Jesus is that He shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the greatness of John is that he shall go before Him. The name of John brought down from heaven, like that of his Master,

1 The Battle of Fontenay ( Saturday 25th June 841 ): : Nithardi histor. L. ii. * Collecta diei. 4 St. Luke, l* 15-32.

3 St. Matth. xi. 11. 6 Ibid. proolaims the grfeoe which Jesus, by saving xbankiiid^ is to bring to the world. Jesud who cometh from above in person, A. above all, it is He and He alone whom all mankind is expecting ; John who is of earth, on the contrary, hath nOthitig but what he hath received ; btrt he hath received to be the friend of the Bride- $roofo,% his usher; so that the Bridegroom cometh not to the Bride, but by him.

Yea, the Bride eveti caaaot com* to know herself* nor to prepare herself for tine satfred nuptial but by him : his preaching awakens hef, in the wilderness y* he adorns her with the oharms of penitenoe and all Virtues ; his hand, m the one baptism, at last unites her to Christ beneath the waters. Snb&nto moment t in which, raised far above all men and angels, John, in th midst of the Holy Trinity, as it Were, in virtue of an authority that is his, inverts th$ Second Person Incarnate with a new title ; the Father and the Holy Oho* acting the whiles in oonoert with him I But presently, oom&g down from those lofty heights, more than human, to which his mission had raised him, be is fain to disappear altogether : the Bridle is become the Bridegroom's own ; the joy therefore of John is full, his work is done ; he has ni>w but to effaoe himself and to decrease. To Jesus here manifested,* it henceforth alone belongs to appear and to increase. Thus too, the day-star, from the feast of John's Nativity when he beams his rays upon us in all his splendour, will begin to decline from the heights of his solstioe, towards the horizon ; whereas Christmas will give him signal to return, to reeum* that upward movement which progressively restore* all his fiery efrulgeftoe.

• St. Luke, i. 13-31.

• St. John iii. 27-31. » JW.i. 7.

• Cantic. viii. 5.

5 Johannes totius medius TrinitatiB.

Petr. Dam. Senno 23(editCajet.)

6 St. J<to. iii. 29-SO.

Verily, Jesus alone is Light, the light without whioh earth would remain dead ; and John is but the man sent from Ood, without whom the Light would have remained unknown. But Jesus being inseparable from John, even as day is from aurora, it is by no means astonishing that earth's gladne& at John's birth should partake of something of that excited by the coming of our Redeemer. Up to the fifteenth oentury , the Latin Church, together with thd Greeks who still continue the custom, celebrated, in the month of September, a feast called the conception of the Precursor : not that his conception was in itself holy, but because it announced the beginning at mysteries. Just in the same way, the Nativity of Saint John Baptist indeed made holy, is celebrated with so much pomp, merely because it seems to enfold within itself the Nativity of Christ, our Redeemer. It is as it were Midsummer's " Christmbs Day." From the very onset, God and his Church brought about, with most delicate dure, many such parallel resemblances and dependences between these two solemnities. These we are now about to study.

God, who in his Providence, seeks in all 'things, the glorification of Sis Word made Flesh, estimates men and centuries, by the measure of testimony they render to Christ ; and this is why John is so gre&t. For, Him whom the Prophets announced as about to come, whom the Apostles preached as already come, John, at once prophet and apostle, pointed out with his finger, exclaiming " Behold, this is He ! " John, being then the witness by excellence, it is fitting that he should open that glorious period, during which for three centuries, the Church was to render to her Spouse that testimony of blood, whereby the Martyrs, after the Prophets and Apostles, whereon

1 St. John, i. 4-10. 2 Ibid. 7. she is built up, hold the first olaim to her gratitude. Just as Eternal Wisdom had decreed that the tenth and last great struggle of that epoch, should be for ever linked with the Birth-Day of the Son of God whose triumph it secured, by the memory of the Martyrs of Nioomedia on the 25th of December, 303 ; so likewise does John's birth-day mark the beginning of the first of those giant contests. For, the 24th of June, in the Roman Martyrology, is sacred likewise to the memory of those soldiers of Christ, who first entered upon the arena opened to them by pagan Borne, in the year 64. After the proclamation of the Nativity of the Precursor, the Church's reoord runs thus : " At Borne the memory of many holy Martyrs " who under the Emperor Nero being oalumniously " aooused of setting fire to the city, were at the oom- "mand of the same, most cruelly put to death by " divers torments ; some of whom were sown up in " beasts' skins and so exposed to be torn by dogs ; " others crucified ; others set on fire, so that at the " decline of day, they might serve as torches to light " up tfee, night. All these were disciples of the " Apostles ; and first fruits of the Martyrs offered "to the Lord by the Roman Church, the fertile "field of Martyrs, even before the death of the "Apostles."8

The solemnity of the 24th of June, therefore, throws a double light on the early days of Christianity. There never were even then, days evil enough for the Church to belie the prediction of the Angel, that many should rejoice in the birth of John;* together with joy, his word, his example, his interces-

1 Eph. ii. 20.

• This present Work, " Christmas, " Vol. I. g. 244 ; Martyrol. Bom. ad diem 25. Dec. Octavo Kalendas Januarii.

8 Martyrol. Rom. ad diem 24 Junii . Octavo Kalendas Julii.

• St. Luke, i. 14.

8ion, brought courage to the Martyrs. After the triumph won by the Son of God over pagan negation ; when to the testimony of blood succeeded that of confession by works and praise, John maintained his part as Precursor of Christ in souls. Guide of monks, he conducts them far from the world, and fortifies them in the combats of the desert ; Friend of the Bridegroom, he continues to form the Bride, by preparing unto the Lord a perfect people}

In the divers states and degrees of the Christian life, his ever needful and beneficent influence makes itself felt. At the beginning of the fourth Gospel, in the most dogmatic passage of the New Testament, not by mere accident, is John brought forward, even as heretofore at Jordan, as one closely united with the operations of the Adorable Trinity, in the universal economy of the Divine Incarnation: There was a man sent from God whose name was John, saith the Holy Ghost; he came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all might believe through him. "Precursor at his birth, Precursor "at his death, St. John still continues," says St. Ambrose, " to march in front, before the Lord. "More perhaps than we are aware of, may his " mysterious action be telling on this present life of " ours. When we begin to believe in Christ, there "comes forth virtue, as it were, from St. John, " drawing us after him : he inclines the steps of the "soul towards faith; he rectifies the crooked ways "of life, making straight the road of our earthly " pilgrimage, lest we stray into the rugged wilds of " error; he contrives so, that all our valleys be filled " with the fruits of virtue, and that every elevation " be brought low before the Lord."3

But if the Precursor maintains his part in each

1 St. Luke, i. 17. 2 St. John, i. 6-7. 3 Ambr. iu Luc. i. 38.

U progressive movement of faith which brings souls nearer to Christ, he intervenes still more markedly in each baptism conferred, whereby the Bride gains increase. The baptistry is especially consecrated to him. It is true, the baptism which he gave to the crowds pressing day by day, on Jordan's banks, had never power such as Christian baptism possesses ; but when he plunged the Man-God beneath the waters, they were endowed with a virtue of fecundity emanating directly from Christ, whereby they would be empowered until the end of time to complete, by the accession of new members, the Body of Holy Church united to Christ.

The faith of our fathers never ignored the great benefits for which both individuals and nations are indebted to Saint John. So many neophytes received his name in baptism, so efficacious was the aid afforded by him in conducting his clients to sanctity, that there is not a day in the Kalendar, on which there may not be honoured the heavenly birth-day of one or other so named. Amongst nations, the Lombards formerly claimed Saint John as Patron, and French Canada does the same now-a-days. But whether in East or West, who could count the countries, towns, religious families, abbeys, and churches placed under this same powerful patronage : from the temple which, under Theodosius, replaced that of the ancient Serapis in Alexandria with its famous mysteries, to the sanctuary raised upon tha ruins of the altar of Apollo, on the summit of Monte Cassino, by the Patriarch of monks; from the fifteen churches which Byzantium, the new Rome, consecrated within her walls in honour of the Precursor, to the august Basilica of Lateran, well worthy of its epithet, the golden Basilica, and which in the Capital of Chris-

1 Annus Johannis, auctore Johanne N. (Prag», 1664.) tendom remains for ever Mother and Mistress of all churches, not alone of the City, but of the whole world ! Dedicated at first to our Saviour, this latter Basilica added at an early date another title which seems inseparable from this sacred name, that of the Friend of the Bridegroom. Saint John the Evangelist, also a "friend of Jesus," whose precious death is placed by one tradition on the Twenty-fourth day of June, has likewise had his name added to the other two borne by this Basilica; but all the same, it is none the less certain, that common practice is in keeping with ancient documents, in referring, as it does, more especially to the Precursor, the title of Saint John Lateranf whereby the patriarchal Basilica of the Roman Pontiffs is always designated in these day 8.

"Fitting it was," says Saint Peter Damian, " that " the authority of the Bride should subscribe to the "judgment of the Bridegroom, and that this latter " should see his greatest Friend raised in glory there, " where she is enthroned as queen. A remarkable " choice is this, to be sure, whereby John is given " the primacy, in the very city that is consecrated by " the glorious death of the two lights of the world. " Peter from his cross, Paul beneath the blade, both " behold the first place held by another ; Rome is " clad in the purple of innumerable martyrs, and yet " all her honours go straight to the blessed Precursor. "Everywhere John is the greatest I"1

On this day, therefore, let us too imitate Mother Church; let us avoid that obliviousness which be*-

1 Peter. Dam. Sermo 23. This discourse is frequently attributed to St. Bernard, or to Nicholas of Clairvaux ; but this is proved to be false, by a passage of the same discourse, in which the author declares that in his time, the Church honoured no Birth-days save that of our Lord and of St. John; now it is certain that in St. Bernard's time, as he himself attests, the Nativity of our Lady was kept. speaks ingratitude; let us hail, with thanksgiving and heartfelt gladness, the arrival of him who promises our Saviour unto us. Yea, already Christmas is announced. On the Lateran Piazza (or Square), the faithful Roman people will keep vigil to-night, awaiting the hour which will allow the eve's strict fast and abstinence to be broken, when they may give themselves up to innocent enjoyment, the prelude of those rejoicings wherewith, six months hence, they will be greeting the Emmanuel.

Saint John's Vigil is no longer of precept, in a great many Churches. Formerly, however, not one day's fasting only, but an entire quarantine was observed at the approach of the Nativity of the Precursor, resembling in its length and severity that of the Advent of our Lord. The more severe had been the holy exactions gf the preparation, the more prized and the better appreciated would be the festival. After seeing the penance of Saint John's fast equalled to the austerity of that preceding Christmas, it is not surprising to behold the Church in her Liturgy making the two Nativities closely resemble one another, to a degree that would be apt to stagger the limping faith of many a one now-a-days.

The Nativity of Saint John was celebrated by three Masses, just as is that of Him whom he made known to the Bride: the first, in the dead of night, commemorated his title of Precursor; the second, at daybreak, honoured the Baptism he conferred; the third, at the hour of Tierce, hailed his sanctity. The preparation of the Bride, the consecration of the Bridegroom, his own peerless holiness ; a threefold triumph, which at once linked the servant to the Master, and deserved the homage of a triple sacrifice to God the Thrice-Holy, manifested to John in the

1 See Councils, Capitularies, Penitential Canons.

• Sacrament. Gregor. Amal., pseudo-Alcuin., Ord. rom. plurality of His Persons, and revealed by him to the Church. In like manner, as there were formerly two Matins on Christmas Night, so, in many places, was there a double office celebrated on the feast of Saint John, as Durandus of Mende, following Honorious of Autun, informs us. The first Office began at the decline of day; it was without Alleluia, in order to signify the time of the Law and the Prophets which lasted up to Saint John. The second Office, begun in the middle of the night, terminated at dawn; this was sung with Alleluia, to denote the opening of the time of grace and of the kingdom of Ood?

Joy, which is the characteristic of this Feast, outstripped the limits of the sacred precincts and shed itself abroad, as far even as the infidel Mussulmans. Though at Christmas, the severity of the season necessarily confined to the domestic hearth all touching expansion of private piety, the lovely summer nights, at Saint John's tide, gave free scope to popular display of lively faith among various nationalities. In this way, the people seemed to make up for what circumstances prevented in the way of demonstrations to the Infant God, by the glad honours they could render to the cradle of his Precursor. Scarce had the last rays of the setting sun died away, than all the world over, from the far East to the furthest West, immense columns of flame arose from every mountain top; and, in an instant, every town and village and smallest hamlet was lighted up. "Saint " John's fires," as they called them, were an authentic testimony, repeating over and over again the truth of the words of the Angel and of prophecy, whereby that universal gladness was announced which would hail the Birth-day of Elizabeth's son. Like to a

1 Dur. Ration, vii. 14 ; Hon. Gemma Anim. iv. 48.

2 St. Luke, xvi. 16. 3 Ibid. burning and shining light, to use the expression of our Lord, he had appeared in the midst of endless night, and, for a time, the Synagogue was willimg to rejoice in his light; but disconcerted by his fidelity which prevented him from giving himself out as the Christ and the true Light? irritated at the sight of the Lamb that he pointed out as the salvation of the whole world, and not of Israel alone, the Synagogue had presently turned back again into night, and had drawn across her own eyes that fatal bandage which suffers her to remain, up to this day, in her sad darkness. Filled with gratitude to him who had neither wished to diminish nor to deceive the Bride, the gentile world, on her side, exalted him all the more for his having lowered himself ; gathering together and applying to herself those sentiments which ought to have animated the repudiated Synagogue, she was fain to manifest by all means in her power, that without confounding the borrowed light of the Precursor with that of the Sun of Justice Himself, she none the less hailed with enthusiasm this light which had been to the entire human race a very aurora of nuptial gladness.

It may almost be said of the " Saint John's fires," that they date, like the festival itself, from the very beginning of Christianity. They made their appearance, at least, from the earliest days of the period of peace, like a sample fruit of popular initiative;, but not indeed without sometimes exciting the anxious attention of the Fathers and of Councils, ever on the watch to banish every superstitious notion from manifestations, which otherwise so happily began to replace the pagan festivities proper to the solstices. But the necessity of combating some abuses, which are just as possible in our own days as in those, did not withhold the Church from en-

1 St, John, v. 35. * Ibid. i. 20. * Ibid. 29. couraging a species of demonstration which so well answered to the very character of the feast. " Saint "John's fires" made a happy completion to the liturgical solemnity ; testifying how one and the same thought possessed both the mind of Holy Church and of the terrestrial city ; for the organisation of these rejoicings originated with the civil corporations, and the expenses thereof were defrayed by the municipalities. Thus the privilege of lighting the bon-fire was usually reserved to some dignitary of the civil order. Kings themselves, taking part in the common merry-making, would esteem it an honour to give this signal to popular gladness; Louis XIV, as late as 1648, for example, lighted the bon-fire on the "place de Grkve," as his predecessors had done. In other places, as is even now done in Catholic Brittany, the clergy were invited to bless the piles of wood, and to cast thereon the first brand; whilst the crowd, bearing flaming torches, would disperse over the neighbouring country, amidst the ripening crops, or would march along the ocean side, following the tortuous cliff-paths, shouting many a gladsome cry, to which the adjacent islets would reply by lighting up their festive fires.

In some parts, the custom prevailed of rolling a " burning wheel ;" this was a self-revolving red-hot disk, that rolling along the streets or down from the hill-tops, represented the movement of the sun, which attains the highest point in his orbit, to begin at once his descent; thus was the word of the Precursor brought to mind, when speaking of the Messias, he says : He must increase, and I must decrease. The symbolism was completed by the custom then in vogue, of burning old bones and rubbish on this day which proclaims the end of the Ancient Law, and the commencement of the New Covenant, according to

1 St. John, iii. 30. . the holy Scripture, where it is written: .... And new store coming on, you shall cast away the old. Blessed are those populations amongst whom is still preserved something of such customs, whence the old simplicity of our fore-fathers drew a gladness assuredly more true and more pure than their descendants seek in festivities wherein the soul has no part!

To the Office of Lauds, on this day, a special importance is to be attached, because the Canticle Benedicts, which is sung during Lauds all the year round, is the very expression itself of the sentiments inspired by the Holy Ghost to the father of Saint John the Baptist, on the occasion of that Birth-day which gave joy both to God and man. Wherefore, being unable to insert the entire Office, we give at least this Canticle which will be found below, after the Hymns for Matins and Lauds, composed by Paul the Deacon, and forming the sequel to that already given above, for Vespers. The Antiphons, Capitulum, and Versicle used at Lauds are the same as those marked, further on, for second Vespers.

HYMN AT MATINS.

Antra deserti teneris sub The desert cavern didst thou annis, seek, in tenderest age, fleeing

Civium turmas fugiens,.pe- betimes the crowded city, lest tisti, by the slightest sin of tongue, Nelevi posses maculare vita m thy life should e'er be sullied. Crimine linguae.

Praebuit durum tegumen Unto thy sacred body, rough camelus garment tne camel did afford,

Artubus sacris, strophium — victims, a cincture; the run- bidentes ; ning stream supplied thy drink,

Cui latex haustum, soci- honey with locusts, a repast ata pastum Mel la locustis.

1 Lev. xx vi. 10.

Other Prophets but sang, with heart inspired, the Light that was to come : whilst thou didst with thy finger point out Him who taketh the world's dark sin away.

Not in all the wide world was one born holy as this John, who was deemed worthy to plunge beneath the wave, e'en Him, that washeth away earth's crimes.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Only-Begotten Son, and to Thee, O Power, eternally equal to them both, O Spirit, One God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Caeteri tantum cecinere vatum

Corde praesago jubar affu- turum: Tu quidem mundi scelus auferentem Indice prodis. Non fuit vasti spatium per orbis Sanctius quisquam genitus Johanne, Qui nefas saecli meruit lavantem

Tingere lymphis. Sit decus Patri, genitaeque Proli, Et tibi, compar utriusque virtus

Spiritus semper, Deus unus, omni Tempore aavo.

Amen.

HYMN AT LAUDS.

O most happy Thou, and of merit high ; unknowing stain upon thy snowy purity ; Martyr all potent ! Man of prayer, hid in dark thicket's shade ! Of Prophets mightiest thou !

With wreaths by works increased thrice threefold, some, and e'en with double that, are others crowned* whilst tripled fruits a hundred-fold accumulate, with radiant bands thy brow bedeck.

Now, O potent one, these

O nimis felix, meritique celsi,

Nesciens labem nivei pudoris,

Praepotens martyr, nemorumque cultor, Maxime vatum. Serta ter denis alios coronant

Aucta crementis, duplicate quosdam ; Trina te fructu cumulata centum Nexibus ornant. Nunc potens nostri me-

1 Et aliud cecidit in terram bonam : et dabat fructum ascendentem, et crescentem ; et afferebat unum triginta, unum sexaginta, et unum centum. — St. Marc. iv. 8, 20. ritis opimis Pectoris duros lapides revelle,

Aspenim planans iter, et reflexos Dirige calles. Ut pius mundi Sator et Kedemptor, Mentibus culpae sine labs puris,

Rite dignetur veniens beatos

Ponere gressus. Laudibus cives celebrent superni Te, Deus simplex pariter- que trine, Supplices et nos veniam precamur : Parce redemptis.

Amen. ft. Iste puer magnus coram Domino.

1$. Nam et manus ejus cum ipso est.

Ant. Apertum est os Zachariae, et prophetavit, dicens : Benedictus Deus Israel. copious merits thine, asunder rend these stony breasts of ours ! Make plain the rugged way, and the diverging path make straight I

So that the compassionate Creator and Redeemer of the world, finding our souls clean and pure from every stain of sin, as it behoves, may thereon vouchsafe, at His coming, to set His blessed feet.

With praiseful song, let all the heavenly citizens hail Thee, O God simple and three in Persons; whilst we suppliants implore pardon : Thy redeemed ones spare !

Amen. ft. This child shall be great before the Lord.

1$. For His hand is with him.

Ant. The mouth of Zachary was opened, and he prophesied, saying : Blessed be the God of Israel.

CANTICLE OF ZACHARY.

Benedictus DominusDeus Israel: * quia visitavit, et fecit redemptionem plebis suae.

Et erexit cornu salutis nobis : * in domo David pueri sui.

Sicut locutus est per os Sanctorum: * qui a saeculo sunt Prophetarum ejus.

Salutem ex inimicis nos-

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel : because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people.

And hath raised up a horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant.

As he spoke by the mouth of his holy Prophets, who are from the beginning.

Salvation from our enemies,

THE NATIVITY OF ST. and from the hand of all that hate us.

To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament.

The oath which he swore to Abraham, our father ; that he would grant to us,

That being delivered from the hand of our enemies we may serve him without fear,

In holiness and justice before him, all our days.

And thou child, Precursor of the Emmanuel, shalt be called the Prophet of the Most High : for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, to prepare his ways.

To give unto his people the knowledge of salvation, unto the remission of their sins.

Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us :

To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death ; to direct our feet in the way of peace. tris : * et de manu omnium qui oderunt nos.

Ad faciendam misericordiam cum patribus nostris : * et memorari testamenti sui sancti.

Jusjurandum quod juravit ad Abraham patrem nostrum : * daturum se nobis.

Ut sine timore de manu inimicorum nostrorum liberati : * serviamus iUL

In sanctitate et justitia coram ipso : * omnibus diebus nostris.

Et tu puer, Propheta Altissimi vocaberis : * praeibis enim ante faciem Domini parare vias ejus.

Ad dandam scientiam salutis plebi ejus : * in remissionem peccatorum eorum.

Per viscera misericordiae Dei nostri : * in quibus visitavit nos Oriens ex alto.

Illuminare his, qui in tenebris et in umbra mortis sedent: * ad dirigendos i pedes nostros in viam pacis.

TIERCE.

The Hymn and the three Psalms of which the Office of Tierce is composed, are to be found above, page 37.

Ant. Ant. Innuebantpatriejus vellet vocari eum : et est nomen ejus,

They made signs to his father, how he would quern have him called : and he scripsitdicens: Johannes wrote saying: John is his name.

The Oapitulum is the same as in First Vespers, see page 296.

1$. Brev. Fuit homo, * 1$. Brev. There was a man

Missus a Deo. Fuit * sent from God. There was.

% Cui nomen erat Jo- Whose name was John, hannes. * Missus. * Sent Glory be to the Fa- Gloria Patri. Fuit. ther. There was.

Inter natos mulierum % Among them that are non 8urrexit major. born of women, there hath not risen a greater.

1$. Johanne Baptists. 1$. Than John the Baptist

The Prayer is the Collect of the Mass, page 317. MASS.

The Mass is composed of divers passages from the Old and New Testaments. The Church, as liturgical authors say, wishes hereby to remind us that John forms the link binding together both Testaments, he himself sharing in each. He is the precious clasp, which fastens the double mantle of Law and of Grace, across the breast of the eternal Pontiff.

The Introit is from Isaias; the text from which it is taken will occur again, and at greater length, in our Epistle. The Psalm formerly chanted with it, is the 9l8t, the first verse alone of which is now used, although the primary motive of this choice lay in its following verse and in its thirteenth : It is good . . . . to shew forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the night: . . . The just shaft, flourish like the palm-tree; he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus.

INTROIT.

De ventre matris meae vo- The Lord hath called me by cavit me Dominus nomine myname,from the womb of my meo : et posuit os meum ut mother : and he hath made my

1 Petr. Chrys. Sermo 91. mouth like a sharp sword ; in gladium acutum : sub tegu- the shadow of his hand he mento manus suae protexit hath protected me, and hath me, et posuit me quasi sa- made me as a chosen arrow. gittam electam.

Pa. It is good to give praise Ps. Bonum est confiteri to the Lord, and to sing to thy Domino : et psallere nomini name, O Most High. tuo, Altissime. Gloria

Glory, <fcc The Lord, <fec. Patri. De ventre.

The Collect gathers together the desires of the Faithful, upon this day, which is so great because hallowed by the birth of the Precursor. The voice of the Church implores herein an abundance of spiritual joy, which is the grace peculiar to this feast, as we learn from the very words of Gabriel. Bearing in mind the special part allotted to Zachary's son, which consists in setting in order the paths of salvation, the Church prays that not one of her Christian children may turn aside from the Way of Life Eternal.

COLLECT.

O God, who hast made this Deus, qui praesentem di- day glorious unto us on account em honorabilem nobis in of the Nativity of blessed John; beati Johannis nativitate grant to thy people the grace f ecisti : da populis tuis spi- of spiritual joys; and direct the ritualium gratiam gaudio- souls of all the Faithful into rum ; et omnium fidelium the way of eternal salvation, mentes dirige in via m salu-

Through our Lord, <fec. tis aeternae. Per Dominum.

Lesson of the Prophet Isaias. Ch. XLIX.

Give ear, ye islands, and hearken, ye people from afar. The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name. And he hath

Lectio Isaiae Prophetae. Cap. XLIX.

Audite Insulae, et attendee populi de longe: Dominus ab utero vocavit me, de ventre matris meae recordatus est nominis mei. Et posuit os meum quasi gla- dium acutum : in umbra made my mouth like a sharp manus suae protexit me, et sword ; in the shadow of his posuit me sicut sagittam hand he hath protected me, and electam: in pharetra sua ab- hath made me as a chosen ar- scondit me. Et dixit mihi : row ; in his quiver he hath

Servus meus es tu, Israel, hidden me. And he said to me, quia in te gloriabor. Et Thou art my servant Israel, for nunc dicit Dominus, for- in thee will I glory. And now mans me ex utero servum saith the Lord that formed me sibi : Ecce dedi te in lucem from the womb to be his ser- gentium, ut sis salus mea vant : Behold I have given thee usque ad extremum terra, to be the light of the gentiles,

Reges videbunt, et consur- that thou mayest be my salva- gent principes, et adora- tion even to the farthest part of bunt propter Dominum, et the earth. Kings shall see, and

Sanctum Israel, qui elegit princes shall rise up, and adore te. for* the Lord's sake, and for the

Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.

Isaias, in these few lines, has directly in view the announcing of Christ ; the application here made by the Church to Saint John Baptist once more shows us how closely the Messias is united with his Precursor in the work of the Redemption. Rome, once capital of the gentile world, now Mother of Christendom, delights in proclaiming, on this day, to the sons whom the Spouse has given her, the consoling prophecy which was addressed to them of yore, before she herself was founded upon the seven hills. Eight hundred years before the birth of John and of the Messias, a voice had been heard on Sion, and, reaching beyond the frontiers of Jacob, had re-echoed along those distant coasts where sin's darkness held mankind in the thraldom of hell : Give ear, ye islands ; and hearken, ye people from afar! Itwasthe Voice of Him who was to come, and of the Angel deputed to walk before him, the voice of John and of the Messia, proclaiming the one predestination common to them both, which as servant and as Master, made them to by Google be objects of the self-same eternal decree. And this voice, after having hailed the privilege which would designate each (though so diversely) from the maternal womb, as objects of complacency to the Almighty, went on to utter the divinely formulated oracle which was to be promulgated, in other terms, over the cradle of each by the respective ministry of Zachary and of Angels. And he said to me : Thou art my servant Israel, for in thee ivill I glory, in thee who art indeed Israel to Me ; . . . .And he said : It is a small thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dregs of Israel, who will not hearken to thee, aod of whom thou shalt bring ba,ck but a small remnant. Behold I have given thee to be the Light of the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth; to make up for the scant welcome my people shall have given thee, kings shall see, and princes shall rise up, at thy word, and adore for the Lordfs sake, because he is faithful, and for the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee as the negotiator of his alliance.

Children of the Bridegroom, let us enter into this thought of his ; let us understand what ought to be the gratitude of us Gentiles to him to whom all flesh is indebted for its knowledge of the Redeemer. From the wilderness, where his voice stung the pride of the descendants of the patriarchs, he beheld us succeeding to the haughty Synagogue ; without at all minimising the divine exactions, his stern language when addressed to the Bridegroom's chosen ones, assumed a tone of considerateness which it never had for the Jews. "Ye offspring of vipers," said he to these latter, " who hath shown you to flee from " the wrath to come ? Bring forth, therefore, fruits " worthy of penance, and do not begin to say, We have

1 Is xlix. 3, 6. 9 Ibid. 7. 3 Ibid. xl. 5.

" Abraham for our Father. For I say unto you, that " God is able of these stones to raise up children to "Abraham. For in your case, already is the axe " laid to the root of the tree. Every tree, therefore, "that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut " down and cast into the fire."1 But to the despised

Eublican, to the hated soldier, to all those parched earts of the gentile world, hard and arid as the desert rock, John the Baptist announced a flow of grace that would refresh their dried up souls making them fruitful in justice : " Ye publicans/ do nothing " more than what is appointed you, by the exigences " of the tax-laws ; ye soldiers, be content with your " pay. The Law was given by Moses ; but better is "grace ; grace and truth come by Jesus Christ whom "I declare unto you : He it is who taketh away the "sins of the world, and of His fulness we have all " received."6

What a new horizon was here opened out before these objects of reproach, held aloof so long by Israel's scorn! But in the eyes of the Synagogue, such a blow aimed at Juda's pretended privilege was a crime. She had borne the biting invectives of this son of Zachary; she had even, at one moment, shown herself ready to hail him as the Christ; but she who vaunted herself as pure, to be invited to go hand in hand with the unclean Gentile, — that she could never brook ; it were too much : from that moment, John • was judged of, by her, as his Master would afterwards be. Later on, Jesus will insist upon the difference of welcome given to the Precursor by those who listened to him. Yea, he will even make thereof the basis for his sentence of reprobation pronounced against the

1 St. Luke, iii. 7-9. 4 St. John, i. 29.

2 Ibid. 12-14. 5 Jbid. 16.

3 St. John, i. 15-17. • Ibid. 19.

Jews : " Amen I say to you, that the publicans and "harlots shall go into the kingdom of God before "you; for John came to you in the way of justice, "and you did not believe him. But the publicans " and harlots believed him : but you seeing it, did not "even afterwards repent, that you might believe "him."1

Following in the train of Isaias, who has been prophesying the coming of John and of Christ, Jeremias, the figure of both, stands before us in the Gradual ; he too was sanctified in his mother's womb, and there prepared for the ministry which he was to exercise. The verse leaves the sense suspended, upon an announcement of a word of the Lord ; according to the rite formerly in use it was completed by the repetition of the Gradual. The Alleluia Verse is taken from the Gospel. Its words occur in the Benedictus.

GRADUAL.

Before I formed thee in the Priusquam te formarem bowels of tby mother, I knew in utero, novi te : et ante- thee : and before thou earnest quam exires de ventre, sanc- forth out of the womb, I sane- tificavi te. tified thee. ft. The Lord put forth his ft. Misit Dominus mahand, and touched my mouth : num suam, et tetigit os mean d said to me. urn, et dixit mibi.

Alleluia, Alleluia. Alleluia, Alleluia. ft. Thou,child,shaltbecalled ft. Tu, puer, Propheta Al- the Prophet of the Highest: tissimi vocaberis: praeibis thou shalt go before the Lord ante Dominum parare vias to prepare his ways. Alleluia, ejus. Alleluia.

GOSPEL.

Sequel of the holy Gospel Sequentia sancti Evangelii according to Luke. secundum Lucam.

Ch. I. Cap. I.

Elizabeth's full time of being Elisabeth impletum est

J St. Matth. xxi. 31, 32. tempus rariendi, et peperit filium. Et audieruntvicini, et cognati ejus, quia magnificavit Dominus misericordiam suam cum ilia, et con- •gratulabantur ei. Et factum est in die octavo, venerunt circumcidere puerum, et vocabant eum nomine patris sui Zachariam. Et respondens mater ejus, dixit : Nequaquam, sed vocabitur Johannes. Et dixerunt ad illam : Quia nemo est in cognatione tua, qui vocetur hoc nomine. Innuebant autem patri ejus, quern vellet vocari eum. Et postulans pugillarem scripsit, dicens: Johannes est nomen ejus. Et mirati sunt universi. Apertum est autem illico os ejus, et lingua ejus, et loquebatur benedicens Deum. Et factus est timor super omnes vicinos eorum : et super omnia montana Jud«eae divulgabantur omnia verba haec : et posuerunt omnes qui audierunt incorde suo, dicentes : Quis putas, puer iste erit ? Etenim manus Domini erat cum illo. Et Zacharias pater ej us repletus est Spiritu Sancto : et prophetavit, dicens : Beneaictus Dominus Deus Israel, quia visitavit, et fecit redemptionem plebis suae. delivered was come, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shewed his great mercy towards her, and they congratulated with her. And it came to pass that on the eighth day they came to cirr cumcise the child, and they called him by his father's name, Zacbary. And his mother answering said : Not so, but he shall be called John. And they said to her : There is none of thy kindred that is called by that name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And demanding a writing-table, he wrote, saying: John is his name : and they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue loosed ; and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came upon all their neighbours ; and all these things were noised abroad over all the hill country of Judea ; and all they that heard them, laid them up in their heart, saying: What a one, think ye, shall this child be t For the hand of the Lord was with him. And Zachary his father was filled with the Holy Ghost; and he prophesied, saying : Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he hath visited, and wrought the redemption of his people.

After the places hallowed by the sojourn, here below, of the Word made Flesh, there is no spot of greater interest for the Christian soul than that wherein were accomplished the events just mentioned in our Gospel The town illustrated by the birth of the Precursor is situated about two leagues from Jerusalem, to the west ; just as Bethlehem, our Saviour's birthplace, is at the same distance southwards from the Holy City. Going out by the gate of Jaffa, the pilgrim bound for St. John of the Mountain passes on his way the Greek monastery of Holy-Cross, raised on the spot where the trees which formed our Lord's cross were hewn down : then pursuing his course through the close-set woods of the mountains of Juda, he attains a summit whence he can descry the waters of the Mediterranean. The house of Obed-Edom, that for three months harboured the sacred Ark of the Covenant, stood here, whence a by-path leads by a short cut directly to the place where Mary, the true Ark, dwelt for three happy months in the house of her cousin Elizabeth. Two sanctuaries, distant about a thousand paces one from the other, are sacred to the memory of the two great facts just related to us by Saint Luke: in the one, John the Baptist was conceived and born; in the other, the circumcision of the Precursor took place eight days after his birth. The first of these sanctuaries stands on the site of Zachary's town-house ; its present form dates from a period anterior to the Crusades. It is a beautiful church with three naves and a cupola, measuring thirty-seven feet in length. The high Altar is dedicated to St. Zachary, and another altar, on the right, to Saint Elizabeth. On the left, seven marble steps lead to a subterraneous chapel hollowed out of the rock, which is identical with ithe furthermost apartment of the original house: this is the sanctuary of St. John's Nativity. Four lamps glimmer in the darkness of this venerable crypt, whilst six others, suspended beneath the altar-slab itself, throw light on the following inscription en- graved upon the marble pavement: Hie precursor DOMINI NATUS EST. Let us unite, on this day, with the devout sons of Saint Francis, guardians of those ineffable memories ; more fortunate here than at Bethlehem with its sacred grotto, they have not to dispute with schism the homage which they pay in the name of the legitimate Bride to the Friend of the Bridegroom upon the very spot of his Nativity.

Local tradition sets at some distance from this first sanctuary, as we have said, the memorable place where the circumcision of the Precursor was performed. Besides a town-house, Zachary was owner of another more isolated. Elizabeth had retired thither during the first months of her pregnancy, to taste in silence the gift of God. There, did the meeting between herself and Our Lady on her arrival from Nazareth take place ; there, the sublime exultation of the Infants and their Mothers ; there, the Magnificat proclaimed to heaven, that earth henceforth could rival, and even surpass, supernal songs of praise and canticles of love. It was fitting that Zachary's song, the morning canticle, should be first intoned there, where that of evening had ascended like incense of sweetest fragrance. In the accounts given by ancient pilgrims, it is noticed that there were here two sanctuaries placed one above the other : in the lower one Mary and Elizabeth met ; in the upper storey of this same country-house of Zachary, the greater portion of the facts just set before us by the Church were enacted.

Urban V, in 1368, ordered that the Credo should be chanted on the day of St. John Baptist's Nativity and during the Octave, to prevent the Precursors appearing to be in any way inferior to the Apostles.

1 St. Luke, i. 24, 25.

The more ancient custom, however, of suppressing the Symbol on this feast has nevertheless prevailed : not that it is a mark of inferiority in regard of him who rises above all others that have ever announced the kingdom of God ; but to show that he completed his course before the promulgation of the Gospel.

The Offertory is taken from the Introit Psalm ; it is the verse which anciently formed the Introit of the Aurora Mass of this feast

OFFERTORY.

The just shall flourish like Justus ut palma florehit : the palm-tree : he shall grow sicut cedrus, quae in Libano up like the cedar of Libanus. est, multiplicabitur.

The Secret brings out in strong light the twofold character of Prophet and Apostle, which makes John so great; the sacrifice which is being celebrated in his honour is to add new lustre to his glory, by placing anew, before our gaze, the Lamb of God, whom he announced and whom he will still point out to the world.

SECRET.

Tua, Domine, muneiibus altaria cumulamus, illius Nativitatem honore debito com- celebrantes, qui Salvatorem mundi et cecinit adf uturum, et adesse monstravit, Dominum nostrum Jesum Filium tuum : qui tecum.

We cover thy altars with offerings, O Lord; celebrating with due honour his Nativity, who both proclaimed the ing of the Saviour of the world, and pointed him out, when come, our Lord Jesus Christ, Christhy Son, who liveth and reign- turn eth with Thee, <fcc.

The Bridegroom is in possession of the Bride, and it is John the Baptist who hath prepared the way ; thus sings our Communion Antiphon. The moment of the Sacred Mysteries is that in which he repeats every day: He that hath the Bride is the Bridegroom: but the friend of the Bridegroom, who atandeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy because of the Bridegroom voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled.

COMMUNION.

Tu, puer, Propheta Altissimi vocaberis : prseibis enim ante faciem Domini parare vias ejus.

Thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest ; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways.

If the Friend of the Bridegroom is overflowing with gladness at this sublime moment of the Mysteries, how shall not the Bride herself be all joy and gratitude? Let her then extol, in the Fostcommunion, him who has brought her to know her Redeemer and Lord !

POSTCOMMTJKION.

Sumat Ecclesia tua, Debeati Johannis generatione laetitiam : per quern suae regenerationis cognovit auctorem, Dominum nostrum Jesum FUium tuum : qui tecum.

May thy Church, O God, put us, Baptist® on gladness in the Nativity of blessed John Baptist: by whom she hath known the author of her regeneration, our Lord Chris- Jesus Christ thy Son, <fcc. turn

SEXT.

The Hymn and Psalms are given in page 42.

Ant. Johannes vocabitur Ant. His name shall be nomen ejus, et in Nativitate called John, and many shall ejus mufti gaudebunt. rejoice in his Nativity.

1 St. John, iii. 20.

OAPITULUM.

(JTs. xlix.)

And now,saith theLord, that Et nunc dicit Dominua, formed me from the womb to formans me ex utero servum be his servant : I have given sibi : Dedi te in lucem gen- thee to be the light of the gen- tium, ut sis salus mea usque tiles, that thou mayest be my ad extremum terras, salvation unto the farthest part of the earth.

Inter natos ma* lierum * Non surrexit major. Inter.

1$. Brev. Among them that 1$. Brev. are born of women, * There hath! not risen a greater, Among.

T. Than John the Baptist. J. Johanne Baptista. *

• There hath not. Glory be Non. to the Father. Among. Gloria Patri Inter.

Elizabeth, Zachary's wife, % Elisabeth Zachari® hath brought forth agreat man : magnum virum genuit :

1$. John the Baptist, Pre- 1$. Johannem Baptistam cursor of the Lord. Praecursorem Domini.

The Prayer is the Collect of the Mass, page 317.

NONE.

The Hymn and Psalms are given in page 46.

Ant. Thou, child, shalt be Ant. Tu, puer, Propheta called the Prophet of the High- Altissimi vocaberis : praeibis est : thou shalt go before the ante Dominum parare vias

Lord to prepare his ways. ejus.

CAPITULUM. (is. xlix.)

Reges videbunt, et eonsurgent principes, et adorabunt Dominum Deum tuum et Sanctum Israel, qui elegit te.

Kings shall see, and princes shall rise up, and adore the Lord thy God and the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.

]$. Brev. Elisabeth Za- 1$. Brev. Elizabeth, wife of chariae * Magnum viram Zachary * Hath brought forth genuit. Elisabeth. a great man. Elizabeth. ft. Johannem Baptistam ft. John the Baptist, Pre-

Prsecursorem Domini.* Ma- cursor of the Lord. * Hath, gnum.

Gloria PatrL Elisabeth. Glory be to the Father. Elizabeth. ft. Iste puer magnus co- ft. This child shall be great ram Domino. before the Lord.

1$. Nam et manus ejus 1$. For His hand is with cum ipso est. him.

The Prayer is the Collect of the Mass, page 317.

SECOND VESPERS.

The Second Vespers of St. John the Baptist are the same as the first, except the Antiphons and Versicle. The Church continues therein to hail the dignity of him who comes bringing joy to the world, by pointing out the God so wistfully expected.

Ant. Elisabeth Zachariae Ant. Elizabeth, Zachary 's magnum virum genuit, Jo- wife, hath brought forth a great hannem Baptistam Praecur- man, John the Baptist, Pre- sorem Domini. cursor of the Lord.

Ps. Dixit Dominus, page 52.

Ant. Innuebant patri Ant. ejus quern vellet vocari eum : et scripsit dicens : est nomen ejus.

They made signs to his father, how he would have him called : and he wrote say- Johannes ing : John is his name.

P«. Confitebor tibi Domine, page 53.

Ant. Johannes vocabitur Ant. His name shall be nomen ejus, et in Nativitate called John, and many shall ejus multi gaudebunt. rejoice in his Nativity.

Pa. Beatus vir, page 54.

Ant. Ant. Inter natos mulierum non surrexit major Jo- Baptista.

Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the hanne Baptist.

Ps. Laudate pueri, page 55.

Ant. Thou, child, shalt be Ant. Tu, puer, Propheta called the Prophet of the High- Altissimi vocaberis : praeibis est : thou shalt go before the ante Dominum parare vias

Lord to prepare his ways. ejus.

Ps. Laudate Dominum omnes gentes, page 296.

The Capitulum, page 296.

The Hymn, page 298. ft. This child shall be great ft. Iste puer magnus co- before the Lord. ram Domino.

1$. For His hand is with 1$. Nam et manus ejus him. cum ipso est.

ANTIPHdN OF THE MAGNIFICAT.

Ant. The child that is born Ant. Puer qui natus est to us is more than a Prophet : nobis, plus quam propheta

Lo ! this is he of whom the Sa- est ; hie est enim de quo viour saith : Among them that Salvator ait : Inter natos are born of women there hath mulierum non surrexit ma- not risen a greater than John jor Johanne Baptista. the Baptist. the canticle (Magnificat), page 60.

The Prayer, page 300.

— + —

The following beautiful Sequence has well deserved to be attributed to Adam of Saint- Victor, though it may perhaps be somewhat more ancient :

• sequence.

In thine honour, O Christ, Ad honorem tuum, Christhe Church doth celebrate the te,

Recolat Ecclesia Praecursoris et Baptistae

Tui natalitia. Laus est Regis in praeconis

Ipsius praeconio Quern virtutum ditat donis

Sublimat officio.

Promittente Gabriele

Seniori filium. Haesitavit, et loquelae

Perdidit officium.

Puer nascitur, Novae legis, novi regis Praeco, tuba, signifer.

Vox praeit Verbum, Paranymphus sponsi sponsum,

Solis ortum lucifer.

Verbo mater,

Scripto pater, Nomen indit paryulo, -

Et soluta

Lingua muta Paths est a vinculo. Est ccelesti praesignatus

Johannes oraculo, Et ab ipso praemonstratus

Uteri latibulo.

8uod aetate prematura atur h seres, id figura Quod infecunda Diu parens, res profunda ! Contra carnis quidem jura Johannis haec genitura:

Talem gratia Partum format, non natura.

Alvo Deum Virgo claudit, Clauso clausus hie applaudit

De ventris angustia. Agnum monstrat in aperto

Natal-day of thy Precursor and Baptist

Tis the King's own praise is heralded when his herald is extolled, whom richly he hath endowed with gifts of virtue, and, sublime in office, hath exalted !

Lo ! Gabriel unto the hoary sire a son doth promise. He, hesitating, anon doth forfeit power of speech.

The child is born ; of the new Law, of the new King, Herald, Trumpet, Standard- Bearer, he ! The Voice before the Word, the Paranymph before the Spouse, the Morning- Star before the Rising-Sun, doth go !

The mother, by word, the father, by writing, the child's name doth declare ; forthwith is loosed from bond the mute tongue of the father.

By heavenly oracle is John foretold ; and by himself yet hidden in the womb is he foreshown.

That in an age too far advanced, an heir should be given, — that one so long sterile should become a mother, — Oh ! mystery profound ! Yea, contrary indeed to the law of flesh is this conception of John: such birth as this is produced by grace, not by nature.

The Virgin in her womb holds God enclosed ; the enclosed to the Enclosed doth clap applause, that narrow womb within. The Voice crying in the wilderness, the heralding Voice of the Word, doth point out the Lamb to open view.

Burning in faith, luminous in .word, and unto the true Light leading, he teacheth many thousands. He was not the Light, but yet was indeed the Lamp ; For Christ is light Eternal, Light enlightening all.

Clad in garment of haircloth, girt with cincture of leather, he was fed on a banquet of locusts and wild honey.

List to Christ attesting of him : None hath arisen greater than this man, of all that are born of woman. Take good heed, however, Christ here excepts Himself who of flesh did Flesh accept, yet without flesh's operation.

By capital punishment, in prison, is the Just man commanded to be put an end to, — whose head the king abhorred not to present as a gift at a banquet table.

Martyr of God! guilty though we be, nor apt unto thy praise, yet, of thy clemency, deign graciously to hear us confiding in thee and praising thee.

On this thy Natal-day, grant to us the promised joy ; nor yet may thy triumphant martyrdom delight us the less.

Ohl how many mysteries do we venerate and admire in thee ! By thee may Christ grant unto us to enjoy his presence. Amen.

Vox clamantis in deserto, Vox Verbi praenuntia.

Ardens fide, verbo lucens, Et ad veram lucem ducens,

Multa docet millia. Non lux iste, sed lucerna ; Christus vero lux ae tenia,

Lux illustrans omnia,

Cilicina tectus veste,

Pellis cinctus strophium, Cum locustis mel silvestre

Sumpsit in edulium. Attestante sibi Christo, Non surrexit major isto

Natus de muliere : Sese Christus sic excepit. Qui de came carnem cepit

Sine carnis opere.

Capitali justus poena Jubetur in carcere Consummari, Cujus caput rex in coena Non horret pro munere PraesentarL Martyr Dei, licet rei Simus, nec idonei Tuas laudi, Te laudantes et sperantes De tua dementia, Nos exaudi. Tuo nobis in natale

Da promissum gaudium, Nec nos minus triumphale Delectet martyrium. Veneramur Et miramur In te tot mysteria: Per te frui Christus sui Det nobis presentia ! Amen.

The Liturgical collections of the divers Churches abound in formulae full of depth and beauty, expressing the grandeur of John and his mission. Such, for instance, is the solemn Antiphon of Lauds from the Ambrosian Breviary.

PSALLENDA.

Lumen, quod animi cernunt, non sensus corporeus, in utero vidit ezsultans in Domino. Na- in tus est luminis Precursor; Propheta mirabilis ostendit Agnum, qui venit peccata mundi tollere.

The Light, which not corporeal sense, but souls perceive, Johannes, did John behold whilst still the womb, exulting in the Lord. Lo! the Precursor of the Light is born ; Lo ! the wondrous Prophet points out the Lamb, who cometh to take away the sins of the world.

Such also, is the following ancient Prayer of the Gallican Sacramentary :

COLLECTIO.

Deus, qui hunc diem na- O tivitate Johannis Baptistse incomparabilem hominibus consecratconsecrasti : praesta nobis de ejus meritis, illius nos calceamenti sequi vestigium qui se ad solvendam Salvatoris corrigiam praedicavit indignum. latchet

God, who hast rendered this day incomparable in the history of mankind, ing it by the Birth of John the Baptist ; grant us by his merits, to follow in the prints of the shoes of him who deemed himself unworthy to loosen the of those of our Re- deemer.

But, the Roman Church, so devoted to John, surpasses, as is fitting, all other Churches whereof she is Mother and Mistress, in the abundance and magnificence of the formulae wherewith she hails the 4i Friend of the Bridegroom." Not to mention the three Masses of the Gregorian Sacramentary for this day, the Leonian contains two others called ad Fontem, the text of which refers to the newly Baptized, according to the ancient custom whereby Baptism was given on the Feast of St John, just as was done at Easter, Pentecost, and Epiphany. Of the five proper Prefaces in the Leonian Sacramentary, for each of these Masses, we give only the following :

It is truly meet and just that we should praise thee, O Lord, on this day's festival, whereon the blessed ft rid renowned Baptise, John, was born ; he not yet beholding things terrene, did already reveal things celestial ; Preacher of Eternal Light was he before he had yet perceived temporal light ; witness to the Truth before he was himself seen ; hiding in the bowels of his mother, yet foretelling by prescient exultation the Only-Begotten of God ; not yet born, but already was he the Precursor of Thy Christ. Nor is it to be wondered at, O Lord, that when born he pointed out Thy Son, whom, whilst still enclosed in the womb, he already recognised. Deservedly among those born of women none is found like to him, since to none of the human race has it been granted to be administrator of the Divinity, before he had first inhaled life of this our human condition ; enough is it proved how admirable is He who is announced, the Announcer of whom hath appeared to be so wondrous ; and seemly was it that considering the Baptismal Ministry which he held, he should render functionary service un-

Vere dignum In die festivitatis hodiernae, quo beatus ille Baptista Johannes exortus est, nondum terrena conspiciens, coelestia jam revelans ; lucis aeterns praedicator, priusquam lumen temporale sentiret ; testis veritatis, antequam visus; etanteprophetaquam natus ; maternis visceribus latens, et Unigenitum Dei praescia exsultatione praenuntians; Christique tui, nondum genitus, jam precursor. Nec mirum, si Filium tuum, Domine,procreatus ostendit quern adhuc utero clausus agnovit ; meritoq ue inter natos mulierum nullus inventus est similis, quia nulli hominum prorsus indultum est, ut exsecutor Divinitatis existeret, priusquam vitam humans conditionis hauriret ; satisque hrmatum, quam esset mirabilis Nuntiatus, cujus tarn insignis Nuntius appareret ; conyenieuterque pro lavacri ministerio, quod gerebat, detulit famulatum perfecti baptismatis mysterium consecranti, et ad remissionem peccatorum mortalibus conferendam, huic jure debitam reddidit servitutem, quern mundi tollere dixerat ve- to Him who was consecrating nisse peccatum. Undecum the Mystery of Perfect Bapangelis, &c. tism, and that speaking of re- mission of sins unto mortals, he should only yield obedience unto Him whom he declared to have come to take away the sin of the world. Wherefore with the angels, <fcc.

In this harmonious concert in honour of St. John, the Oriental Church deservedly holds a distinguished place. We regret to be obliged, by our limited space, to pass over in complete silence such a large number of beautiful pieces. Let us hearken to this one, which we select from the Syriac Church. This admirable hymn, composed by the great Deacon of Edessa, St. Ephrem, we here give in an abridged form, owing to its extreme length ; for the same reason, we reserve one half of it for the Octave Day.

HYMN.*

(De Domino nostro et Johanne.)

Mente translatus fui ad In Jordanem, miraque mihi visa sunt, quum gloriosus SponsusSponsseserevelavit, ut servitute peccati eximeret atque sanctificaret. spirit was I carried away to Jordan, and wondrous were the things I beheld, when the glorious Bridegroom revealed earn a himself, that he might set her free, the chosen one, from sin's servitude, and might sanctify her.

Vidi Johannemattonitum I et turbas circa eum stantes, gloriosumque Sponsum ante filium sterilis inclinatum ut ab eo baptismum acciperet. saw John astonished, and the crowd standing round abont him, yea and the glorious Bridegroom bowing nimself down before the son of the sterile one, that from him he might receive Baptism.

• S. Kphraem Syri. Hymni et Sermones. Th. L. Lamy, s. 1.

THE NATIVITY OF ST. , i My mind is amazed both at the Word and at the Voice. John indeed is the Voice, but it is in order that the Lord, the Word, be produced ; so that He, the Hidden One, be made manifest.'

The Bride betrothed to the Bridegroom looketh upon the Bridegroom, yet she knoweth him not : Lo ! the paranymphs are there ; the desert place is filled : in their midst the Lord is hiaden.

Then the Bridegroom manifesting himself cometh nigh unto John, beside the stream. The divine herald, amazed, crieth out concerning Him: " Lo ! the Bridegroom whom " I have proclaimed."

The Author of all Baptism came to be baptized, and manifested himself at J ordan. J ohn beheld him, and drew back his hand beseeching and saying :

"How dost thou, O Lord, "wish to be baptized, thou, "who by thy Baptism dost "sanctify all men? To thee " belongeth the true Baptism, " whence floweth perfect holi- " ness."

The* Lord replied : " I will it "so; draw nigh and confer " Baptism upon Me, that My "Will be fulfilled. Thou canst 44 not resist My Will : I will be 44 baptized by thee, because I 44 wish it so."

— Do not, I beseech thee, O Lord, do not constrain me, for exceeding hard is this thing thou say est unto me. I ought

Mens mea miratur turn Verbum turn Vocem. . Johannes quippe Vox est, Dominus autem ut Verbum prolatus est, ut in manifesto prodiret qui absconditus erat.

SponsaSponso desponsata Sponsum nescit quem intuetur; adsunt paranymphi ; plenum est desertum ; absconditur inter eos Dominus.

Tunc Sponsus seipsum manifestans ad Johannem juxta flumen accessit Com* motus divus prseco de eo dixit: "Ipse est Sponsus quem praedicavi."

Venit ad baptismum auctor omnis baptism i et manifestavit se ad Jordanem. Vidit eum Johannes, et manum contraxit deprecans et dicens :

44 Quomodo, Domine, baptizari vis, qui baptismo tuo omnes sanctificas? Ad te spectat verus baptismus, e quo stillat sanctitas perfect*."

Respondit Dominus : 44 Ego volo, accedas et conferas mini baptismum, ut impleatur mea voluntas. Mese voluntati resistere non vales, baptizabor a te, quia sic volo.'

— Noli, quseso, Domine, noli me cogere, quia difficile est quod mihi dixisti. Ego debeo a te baptizari ; hys- sopo quippe tuo omnia purificas.

— Rogo et placet mihi rem ita fieri. Ta autem Johannes, quid hsesitas ? sine nos adimplere justitiam. Age, baptiza me ; quid hie anceps stas 1

— Quis potest ignem ardentem manibus ampere? O tu qui totus ignis es, miserere mei et sine ut non accedam ad te, quia res mihi difficilis est.

— Manifestavi tibi voluntatem meam, quid scrutaris 1 Age, accedens baptiza me, nec combureris. Thalamus paratus est atque convivium, ne avertas me ab eo.

— Oportet, Domine, me nosse naturam meam, me scilicet e terra plasmatum esse, te vero mei plasmatorem omnibus subsistentiam prsebentem. Ad quid igitur te in aquis baptizarem?

— Scias oportet ad quid venerim et cur poposci baptismum a te. Baptism us media est in via quam incessi, ilium ne deneges.

— Angustior est amnis ad quern venisti ut in eum descendas. Cceli amplitudinem tuam continere non valent ; quanto magis baptismus te recipere nequeat 1 i PENTECOST. to be baptized by thee : Lo ! thy hyssop purifieth all.

— I demand, and it is pleasing unto Me that so this thing be done. But thou, John, how is it thou hesitatest? Suffer us to fulfil all justice. Do so, baptize me : Wherefore standest thou wavering %

— Who is able to snatch hold of the burning fire with his hands? O thou who art all Fire, have mercy on me, and suffer that I approach thee not, for it is a thing difficult unto me.

— I have made My Will manifest unto thee, wherefore dost thou search ? Do as I bid thee, drawing nigh baptize Me, thou shalt not be consumed. Lo ! the Bride-chamber is ready, so likewise is the Banquet, thence divert Me not.

— It behoveth me, 0 Lord, to know what my nature is, to wit, that I am formed out of earth, and that thou hast fashioned me, thou who givest existence unto all things. What availeth it that I should baptize thee in the waters)

— It behoveth thee to know wherefore am I come, and wherefore demand I Baptism of thee. Baptism is in the midst of the road upon which I have entered, refuse it not.

— All too narrow is the stream unto which thou art come, for that thou descend into it . Thy vastness the very heavens are unable to contain; how much more may this font be unable to receive thee )

THE NATIVITY OF ST.

— Narrower e'en than J or dan is the womb, nevertheless freely did I dwell in the Virgin's womb. Wherefore, even as I was able out of that Virginal womb to be born, so in Jordan am I able to receive Baptism.

— Lo! heavenly hosts are here present, and throngs of Angels adoring; therefore, 0 Lord, do trouble and trembling

Erevent my approaching to aptize thee.

— The whole throng of heavenly Virtues proclaims thee blessed, in that from the womb I chose thee to confer baptism upon Me ; wherefore, fear thou not, since it is my will.

— I have prepared the way, as was my mission ; I have betrothed the Bride, as I was bidden. Now that thou art come, be thy manifestation spread throughout the world, and be it not mine to confer Baptism upon thee.

— The sons of Adam are waiting to receive of Me the gift of new generation -} I will open the way to them in the Water ; this thing, however, without mine own Baptism is impossible.

— They that offer sacrifice are by thee consecrated, and priests are by the hyssop made clean ; kings and anointed ones thou dost constitute. What may Baptism avail thee 1

— The Bride thou hast betrothed unto Me expecteth Me, so that descending into the stream I be baptized and may

— Jordane angustior est uterus, sponte tamen in utero Virginis habitavi. Porro sicut ex utero Virginis nasci potui, ita in J ordane baptismum suscipere possum.

— Ecce ccelestes exercitus adstant, et agmina Angelorum adorant; porro commotio tremorque, Domine, obstant ne ad te baptizandum accedam.

— Coelestium virtutum agmina universa beatum te predicant, quod te ab utero elegerim ut baptismum mihi conferas ; ne lgitur timeas, quum mea sit voluntas.

— Paravi viam, quae mea erat missio ; desponsavi sponsam, quod facere jussus eram. Nunc quum ad veneris, diffundatur manifestatio tua per mundum, nec tibi baptismum conferam.

— Filii Adse a me exspectant novae generations donum ; aperiam eis viam in aqua; hoc autem absque meo baptismo possibile non est.

— Sacrificatores a te consecrantur et sacerdotes hyssopo tuo mundantur, unctos et reges constituis. Quid proderit tibi baptismus?

— Sponsa quam desponsasti mihi exspectat, ut in fluvium descendens baptizer et sanctificem earn. Amice

Sponsi, ne deneges ablutionem quae me exspectat sanctify her. O Friend of the Bridegroom, deny Me not the laving that awaits Me.

Precursor of the Messias, we share in the joy which thy birth brought to the world. This birth of thine announced that of the Son of God. Now, each year, our Emmanuel assumes anew his life in the Church and in souls ; and in our day, just as it was eighteen hundred years ago, he wills that this birth of his shall not take place without thy preparing the way, now as then, for that nativity whereby our Saviour is given to each one of us. Scarce has the sacred cycle completed the series of mysteries whereby the glorification of the Man-God is consummated and the Church is founded, than Christmas begins to appear on the horizon; already, so to speak, does John reveal by exulting demonstrations the approach of our Infant-God. Sweet Prophet of the Most High, not yet canst thou speak, when already thou dost outstrip all the princes of prophecy; but full soon the desert will seem to snatch thee for ever from the commerce of men. Then Advent comes, and the Church will show us that she has found thee once more ; she will constantly lead us to listen to thy sublime teachings, to hear thee bearing witness unto Him whom she is expecting. From this present moment, therefore, begin to prepare our souls ; having descended anew, on this our earth, coming as thou now dost, on this day of gladness, as the messenger of the near approach of our Saviour, canst thou possibly remain idle one instant, in face of the immense work which lies before thee to accomplish in us?

To chase sin away, subdue vice, correct the instincts falsified in this poor fallen nature of ours ; all this would have been done within us, as indeed it should long ago, had we but responded faithfully to thy past labours. Yet, alas, it is only too true, that in the greater number of us, scarce has the first turning of the soil been begun : stubborn clay, wherein stones and briers have defied thy careful toil these many years 1 We acknowledge it to be so, filled as we are with the confusion of guilty souls : yea, we confess our faults to thee and to Almighty God, as the Church teaches us to do, at the beginning of the great sacrifice; but, at the same time, we beseech thee with her, to pray to the Lord our God for us. Thou didst proclaim in the desert: From these very stones even, God is still able to raise up children of Abraham. Daily, do the solemn formulae of the Oblation wherein is prepared the ceaselessly renewed immolation of our Saviour tell of the honourable and important part which is thine in this august Sacrifice ; thy name, again pronounced whilst the Divine Victim is present on the Altar, pleads for us sinners to the God of all mercy. Would that, in consideration of thy merits and of our misery, he would deign to be propitious to the persevering prayer of our mother the Church, change our hearts, and in place of evil attachments, attract them to virtue, so as to deserve for us the visit of Emmanuel ! At this sacred moment of the Mysteries, when thrice is invoked, in the words of that formula taught us by thyself, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world, he, this very Lamb, will himself have pity upon us and give us peace : peace so precious, with heaven, with earth, with self, which is to prepare us for the Bridegroom by making us become sons of God, according to the testimony which, daily, by the mouth of the priest about to quit the altar, thou con-

1 St. John, i. 12.— St. Matth. v. 9. tinuest to renew. Then, O Precursor, will thy joy and ours be complete; that sacred union, of which this day of thy Nativity already contains for us the gladsome hope, will become, even here below and beneath the shadow of faith, a sublime reality, whilst still awaiting the clear vision of eternity.