November 2 — The Absolution

After Mass, the Clergy preceded by the Cross range themselves round the catafalque, which is placed in the nave of the church, to represent the dead, at the very spot where their bodies once rested before the altar of God. The cantors intone the ninth Responsory of Matins ; it is followed by the Prayers said at the conclusion of the Offioe, during the singing of which, the Priest honours the dead -with holy water and incense, as on each one's funeral-day. This rite is called Absolution from the Prayer Absolve, the one most frequently used, although, as to-day, the Collect of the Mass may be chosen instead, or some other Prayer according to circumstances.

RESPONSORY.

Libera me, Domine, de morte seterna, in die ilia tremenda : * Quando coeli movendi sunt et terra : * Dum veneris judicare sseculum per ignem. f. Tremens f actus sum ego, et timeo, dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira,

• Quando. y. Dies ilia, dies ira, calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde.

• Dum veneris. f. Bequiem aeternam dona eis, Domine : et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Deliver me, 0 Lord, from eternal death, in that dreadful day, * when the heavens and earth are to be moved, * when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. f. I tremble and do fear, when the examination is to be, and thy wrath to come. *When the heavens and the earth are to be moved. f. That day is the day of anger, of calamity, and of misery, a great day, and very bitter, * when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. f . Grant them eternal rest, 0 Lord, and let perpetual light fthji>fl on t-hftn i r

TIMB AFTER PBNTBC08T. f. Libera me, tuque ad primum y. Kyrie, eleison. Onriste, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Pater noster, quod secreto prosequitur, f. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem. ft. Sed libera nos a malo.

A porta inferi. ft. Erue Domine animas eorum. Jf. Eequiescant in pace. Amen.

Domine exaudi orationem meam. ft. Et clamor mens ad te veniat. y. Dominus vobiscum. ft. Et cum spiritu tuo. f. Deliver me, as far as the first f. Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us. Our Father, the rest in secret. p. And lead us not into temptation. ft. But deliver us from evil. y. From the gate of hell. ft. Deliver their souls, O Lord.

May they rest in peace, ft. Amen. j. 0 Lord, hear my prayer. ft. And let my cry come unto thee, y. The Lord be with you. ft. And with thy spirit.

PRAYER.

Absolve, qusesumus Domine, animas famulorum famularumque tuarum ab omni vinculo delictorum : ut in resurrectionis gloria, inter Sanctos et electos tuos resuscitati respirent. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. ft. Amen. y. Eequiem seternam dona eis Domine. ft. Et lux perpetua luceat eis. f. Eequiescant in pace, ft. Amen.

Absolve, we beseech thee, 0 Lord, the souls of thy servants from every chain of sin : that rising again in the glory of thy resurrection, they may enjoy a new life amongst thy saints and elect. Through Christ our Lord. ft. Amen. f. Grant them eternal rest, 0 Lord. ft. And let perpetual light shine on them. f. May they rest in peace. ft. Amen.

The Missal of Marmoutier offers us the following Sequence wherewith to honour the Saints, whose Ootave is celebrated side by side with the Commemoration of the Dead.

NOT 2. ALL SOULS.

SEQUENCE.

Ut sequamur pari zelo Sanctorum vestigia,

Nobis horum vitam, mores Proponit Eoclesia.

Offert nobis tria : rosam,

Violam et lilium, TJt ostendat nobis viam

Ad coeleste bravium.

Rosa signat Martyres Per colorem rubeum ; Confessores viola Per florem purpureum ;

Yirginalem candidatum

Attestatur lilium : Per hoc ergo sequi Deum

Nos oportet trivium.

Nos mactet ut martyres Vera patientia, Confessores faciat Jugis abstinentia.

Nos conservet virgines Jugis castimonia, Aut lapsos aliquando Pirma continentia.

Adjuvent nos Sancti quorum Colimus sollemnia,

TJt horum prece possimus Assequi coelestia. Amen.

That we with equal may tread the footprints of the Saints, the Church proposes to our contemplation their life and actions.

She offers us the rose, the violet, and the lily ; emblems of the triple way leading to the heavenly reward.

The rose by its ruby colour signifies the Martyrs ; the violet's purple flower the Confessors.

The lily proclaims the lover of Virginity : by these three ways, then, must we follow our God.

Let true patience make us suffer as Martyrs; and by continual abstinence let us be Confessors.

May constant purity preserve us Virgins ; but if any have fallen, courageous continence will save them.

May the Saints, whose feast we celebrate, come to our assistance ; that by their intercession we may be enabled to attain the heights of heaven. Amen.

TIME AFTER PENTECOST.

November 3.

THIED DAT WITHIN THE OCTAVE OP ALL SAINTS.

Had we Angels' eyes, we should see the earth as a vast field sown with seed for the resurrection. The death of Abel opened the first furrow, and ever since, the sowing has gone on unceasingly the wide world over. Tins land of labour and of suffering, what treasures it already holds laid up in its bosom ! And what a harvest for heaven, when the Sun of Justice, suddenly darting forth his rays, shall cause to spring up as suddenly from the soil the elect ears ripe for glory ! No wonder that the Church herself blesses and superintends the laying of the preoious grain in the earth.

But the Church is not content to be always sowing. Sometimes, as though impatient of delay, she raises from the ground the chosen seed she had sown therein. Her infallible discernment preserves her from germ, she forestalls the glory of the future. She encloses the treasure in gold or precious stuffs, oarries it in triumph, invites the multitudes to come and reverence it ; or she raises new temples to the name of the blessed one, and assigns him the highest honour of reposing under the Altar, whereon she offers to God the tremendous Sacrifice.