November 15 — Saint Gertrude. Virgin

The school whioh is founded upon the rule of the great Patriarch of the Monks of the West, began with St. Gregory the Great. Such was the independent aotion of the Holy Spirit who guided it, that in it women have prophesied as well as men. It is enough to mention St. Hildegarde and St. Gertrude, with whom we may fitly associate St. Meohtilde and St. Franoes of Rome. Any one who has tried modern methods will find, on making acquaintance another atmosphere, and is urged onward by a gentle authority whioh is never felt, but whioh allows no rest. He will not find that subtlety, that keen and learned analysis, he has met with elsewhere, and whioh rather weary than aid the soul.

The pious and learned Father Faber has brought out, with his characteristic sagacity, the advantages of that form of spirituality which gives the soul breadth and liberty, and so produoes in many persons

1 As our Right Reverend Father and Master, Dom Gueranger, has treated this subject in his edition of the Exercises of St. Gertrude, the following pages are entirely his. (For the English, we have made use of the well-known beautiful translation by the Kev* 1 . T. A, Pope of the Oratory, Birmingham. 1863), with these ancient effeots whioh some modern methods fail of producing : " No one," says he, " oan be at all acquainted with "the old-fashioned Benedictine school of spiritual " writers, without perceiving and admiring the beau- " tiful liberty of spirit whioh pervades and possesses " their whole mind. It is just what we should expect " from an order of suoh matured traditions. St. " Gertrude is a fair specimen of them. She is tho-

" roughly Benedictine A spirit of breadth, a

" spirit of liberty, that is the Catholic spirit ; and it "was eminently the badge of the old Benedictine " ascetics. Modern writers for the most part have "tightened things, and have lost by it instead of " gaining. By frightening people, they have less- " ened devotion in extent ; and by overstraining it, " they have lowered it in degree." 1

In any oase, there are many ways, and every wayis good whioh brings men back to God by a thorough conversion of heart. But we are sure that those who may be led to commit themselves to the guidance of a saint of the old school will not lose their time; and that if they meet with less philosophy and less psychology on their way, they will be subdued by the simplicity and authority of her language, and be moved and melted as they contrast their own souls with that of their saintly guide. And this blessed revolution will take place in almost every, soul that follows St. Gertrude in the week of Exercises she proposes to them, if only they really desire to draw yet more olosely the ties which unite them to God, if their intention be fixed aright, and their souls truly recollected in God. We may almost venture to assure such persons that they will come forth from these Exercises transformed in their whole being. They will return to them again and again with ever increasing pleasure ; for they will have no

1 All for Jesus.

V

NOV. 15. SAINT GERTRUDE. discouraging memory of fatigue, nor of the slightest constraint laid upon their liberty of spirit. They will feel confounded, indeed, to be admitted so near the inmost heart of so great a saint ; but they will also feel that they have been created for the same end as that saint, and that they must bestir themselves, and quit all easy, dangerous ways, which lead to perdition.

And if we be asked whence comes that wonderful influence which our Saint exeroises over all who listen to her, our answer would be: from her surpassing holiness. She does not prove the possibility of spiritual movement and advance ; she moves and advances. A blessed soul, sent down from heaven to dwell awhile with men, and speaking the language of the heavenly country in this land of exile, would doubtless, utterly transform those who heard its speech. Now St. Gertrude was admitted to such familiar converse with the Son of God, that her words have just the accent of such a soul ; and this is why they have been and are like winged arrows, which pierce and wound all within their range. The understanding is enlarged and enlightened by her pure and elevated doctrine, and yet St. Gertrude never lectures or preaches ; the heart is touched and melted, and yet St. Gertrude speaks only to God ; the soul judges itself, condemns itself, renews itself by compunction, and yet St. Gertrude has made no effort to move or convict it.

And if we ask what is the source of the special blessing attached to the language of St. Gertrude, the answer is, that it blesses because it is so impregnated with the divine Word, not only with the revelations which St. Gertrude received from her heavenly Spouse, but with the sacred Scriptures and the liturgy of the Church. This holy daughter of thv cloister drank in light and life day by day from

TIME AFTEB PENTECOST. the sources of all true contemplation, from the very fountain of living waters which gashes forth from the psalms and the inspired words of the divine Offioe. Her every sentence shows how exclusively her soul was nourished with this heavenly food. She so lived into the liturgy of the Church that we continually find in her revelations that the Saviour discloses to her the mysteries of heaven, and the Mother of God and the saints hold converse with her on some Antiphon, or Response, or Introit, which the Saint is singing with delight, and of which she is striving to feel all the force and the sweetness.

Hence that unceasing flow of unaffected poetry which seems to have become quite natural to her, and that hallowed enthusiasm whioh raises the literary beauty of her writings almost to the height of mystical inspiration. This child of the thirteenth century, buried in a monastery of Suabia, preoeded Dante in the paths of spiritual poetry. Sometimes her soul breaks forth into tender and touohing elegy ; sometimes the fire whioh consumes her bursts forth in transports of fervour; sometimes her feelings clothe themselves quite instinctively in a dramatio form ; sometimes she stops short in her sublimest flights, and she who almost rivals the seraphim, descends to earth, but only to prepare herself for a still higher flight. It is as though there had been an unending struggle between the humility which held her prostrate in the dust and the aspirations of her soul, panting after Jesus, who was drawing her, and who had lavished on her such exceeding love.

In our opinion the writings of St. Gertrude lose nothing of their indescribable beauty, even when placed beside those of St. Teresa. Nay, we think that the saint of Germany is not unf requently superior to her sister of Spain. The latter, full of impetuous ardour, has not, it is true, the tinge of pensive melancholy which colours the writings of the former ; but St. Gertrude knew Latin so well, and was so profoundly versed in the letter and the spirit of the holy Scriptures, that we do not hesitate to pronounce her style superior in richness and in force to that of St. Teresa.

Still we pray the reader not to be frightened at the thought of being placed under the guidanoe of a seraph, when his conscience tells him that he has still so much to do in the purgative way, before he can venture to enter upon paths which may never open to him on earth. Let him simply listen to St. Gertrude, let him fix his eye upon her, and have faith in the end she proposes to him. When the holy Church puts in our mouths the language of the Psalms, she knows full well that that language is often far beyond the feelings of our soul ; but if we wish to bring ourselves up to the level of these divine hymns, our best method is certainly to repeat them frequently in faith and humility, and await the transformation they will assuredly effect. St. Gertrude detaches us gently from ourselves, and brings us to Jesus by going before us herself, and by drawing us after her, though at a great distanoe. She goes straight to the heart of her divine Spouse, and she might well do so ; but will it not be an inestimable blessing if she bring us to his feet like Magdalen, penitent and transformed by love ?

Even when she writes for her sisters alone, let us not suppose that these exquisite pages are useless to those of us who are living in the midst of the world. The religious life, when expounded by such an interpreter, is a spectacle as instructive as it is striking. Need we say that the practice of the precepts of the Gospel becomes more easy to those who have well pondered and admired the practice of its ooun- sels ? What is the Imitation of Christ but a book written by a monk for the use of monks ; and yet who is not familiar with its teaching ? How many seculars delight in the writings of St. Teresa ; and yet the holy Oarmelitess makes the religious life the one theme of her teaching.

We will not now speak of her wonderful style of expression. We are so unused to the decided and elevated language of the ages of faith, that some readers, accustomed to modern books alone, may be startled, and even pained, by St. Gertrude. But what is the remedy for this inconvenience ? If we have unlearned the language of that antique piety which fashioned saints, surely our best way is to learn it again as soon as we can ; and St. Gertrude will give us wonderful help in doing so.

The list of the devoted admirers of her writings would be long and imposing. But there is an authority far higher still — that of the Church herself. That mother of the faithful, ever guided by the Holy Ghost, has in her holy liturgy set her seal upon St. Gertrude. The Saint herself, and the spirit which animated her, are there for ever recommended and glorified in the eyes of all Christians, in virtue of the solemn judgment contained in the Office of her festival. 1

The life of Gertrude the Great, as she has merited to be distinguished among the Saints of the same name, was humble and obscure. (1256 — 1302). At five years of age she entered the Abbey of Helfta near Eisleben, and there she remained hidden in the secret of God's face. 1 For several centuries, by an error which has also found its way into the Legend of the feast, she was confounded with the Abbess Gertrude of Hackeborn, who governed the monastery

1 Dom Gueranger, Exercises of St. Gertrude, (1865) Preface. » Ps. xxx. 21. during our Saint's life-time, and was herself favoured with divine gifts. It was not until Gertrude's sublime Revelations, oontained in the five books of the Legatus divince pietatis, or Legate of divine love, had at length been published, that in 1677 her name was inscribed in the Roman Martyrology. In the following century (1738) Clement XII. ordered her feast to be oelebrated, as a Double, by the whole Church. The West Indies chose her as patroness ; and a town in New Mexico bears her name.

In order to furnish the faithful with an expression of their piety towards St. Gertrude, we offer them the following beautiful Hymn, Antiphon and Collect, taken from the Benedictine Breviary.

HYMN.

Gertmdis, area Numinis, Sponsoque juncta virginum, Da nuptialis pangere Oastos amores foederis.

Quadrima Christo nubilis In claustra prompte convolas;

Spretoque nutricis sinu, Sponsi requiris oscula.

Candentis instar lilii Odore mulces sidera ; Et virginali coelitum Begem decore pertrahis.

Qui vivit in sinu Patris Cinctus perenni gloria, Amanter, ut sponsus, tua Becumbit inter ubera.

Amore Christum vulneras;

0 Gertrude, shrine of the Divinity, united to the Spouse of virgins ; grant us to celebrate the chaste love of thy espousals.

Scarcely hadst thou completed thy fourth year when thou wast espoused to Christ, and didst flee to the shelter of the cloister. Thou didst put from thee the breast of thy nurse, and seek the divine kiss of thy Spouse.

Like a fair spotless lily thou dost give forth a perfume which gladdens heaven ; and the splendour of thy virgin beauty draweth to thee the King of Saints.

He who dwelleth in the bosom of the Father, surrounded with everlasting glory, deigns to take his repose in thy love.

Thou woundest Jesus with love; and he woundeth thee

TIMS AFTER PENTECOST.

Hie te vicissim vulnerat, Tuoque cordi propria Inurit alte stigmata.

O singularis charitas, O mira commutatio ; Hie corde respirat tuo : Tu vivis hujus spiritu.

Te, sponse Jesu, virginum

Beata laudent agmina ; Patri, simul Paraclito, Par sit per sevum gloria. Amen. in return, and deeply graveth on thy heart the marks of his sacred Passion.

O peerless love, 0 wondrous interchange; he it is who breatheth in thy heart, and thy life hangeth on the breath of his mouth.

Let the blessed choirs of virgins sing thy praise, O Jesus, Spouse of virgins; and equal glory be ascribed to Father and to Paraclete. Amen.

ANTIPHON.

0 dignissima Christi sponsa, quam lux prophetiaB illustravit, zelus apostolicus inflammavit, laurea virginum coronavit, divini amoris incendium consummavit.

O most worthy spouse of Christ, on whom the prophetic light hath shone, whose heart an apostolic zeal inflamed, whose head the wreath of virgins hath crowned, whom the glowing fire of divine love consumed.

PRAYER.

Deus, qui in purissimo corde beatae Gertrudis vir- finis tu jucundam tibi haitationem prseparasti; ejus mentis et intercessione cordis nostri maculas clem enter absterge ; ut digna divinee majestatis tuse habitatio effici mereatur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

0 God, who hast prepared for thyself a dwelling-place of delights in the most pure heart of the blessed virgin Gertrude ; deign, we beseech thee, through her merits and intercession, to wipe away all stains from our hearts, that they may become meet abodes of thy divine majesty. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

0 revealer of the Sacred Heart, what better prayer could we offer in thine honour than to say with thee to the Son of the Blessed Virgin :

NOV. 15. 8AINT GERTRUDE.

0 thou my soul's calm untroubled Light ! 0 dawn of morning, soft-gleaming with thy beauteous light, beoome in me the perfeot day. 0 my Love, who dost not only enlighten but deify, come unto me in all thy might ; oome and gently melt my whole being. May all that is of me be destroyed utterly; may I wholly pass into thee, so that I may no more find myself in time, but may be already and most intimately united to thee for all eternity.

Thou hast first loved me; it is thou who hast ohosen me, and not I who have first chosen thee. Thou art he who of his own aocord runneth towards his thirsting oreature; and on thy kingly brow fleams the fair splendour of the everlasting light, how me thy countenance, and let me gaze upon thy beauty. How mild and full of charms is that face, all radiant with the rosy light of the dawn of the divine Sun ! How can the spark live and glow far from the fire that gave it being ? Or how can the drop of water abide far from the spring from whence it was taken ? 0 compassionate Love, why hast thou loved a oreature so defiled and so covered with shame, but that thou hast willed to render it all fair in thee P O thou delicate flower of the Virgin Mary, thy goodness and thy tender mercy have won and ravished my heart. 0 Love, my glorious noontide, to take my rest in thee, gladly would I die a thousand deaths.

0 Charity, 0 Love, at the hour of my death thou wilt sustain me with thy words, more gladdening far than choicest wine. Thou wilt then be my way, my unobstructed way, that I may wander no more nor stray. Thou wilt aid me then, 0 love, thou queen of heaven ; thou wilt clear my way before me to those fair and fertile pastures hidden in the divine wilderness, and my soul shall be inebriate with bliss ; for there shall I see the face of the Lamb, my

TIMB AFTER PBNTBOOST.

Spouse and my God. 0 Love, who art God, thou art my best beloved possession. Without thee neither earth nor heaven could excite in me one hope, nor draw forth one desire : vouchsafe to effect and perfect within me that union which thou thyself desirest : may it be the end, the crown, and consummation of my being. In the countenance of my God thy light beameth soft and fair as the evening star. 0 thou fair and solemn Evening, let me see thy ray when my eye shall close in death.

0 Love, thou much-loved Evening-tide, at that dread moment let the sacred flame, which burneth evermore in thy divine essence, consume all the stains of my mortal life. 0 thou my calm and peaceful Evening, when the evening-tide of my life shall come, give me to sleep in thee in tranquil sleep, and to taste that blissful rest which thou hast prepared in thyself for them that love thee. With thy serene, enchanting look vouchsafe to order all things and prepare all things for my everlasting espousal. 0 Love, be thou unto me an eventide so bright and calm, that my ravished soul may bid! a loving farewell to its body, and return to God who gave it, and rest in peace beneath thy beloved shadow ! 1

1 From the 5 th Exercise. To enkindle in the soul the love of God.

November 17.

SAINT GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.

BISHOP AND CONFBSSOR.

Moses instructed in all the icisdom of the Egyptians, mighty in his words and in his deeds y 1 retired into the desert : Gregory, adorned with the best gifts of birth and nature, brilliant in rhetoric, rich in every science, hid himself from men in the flower of his youth, and hastened to offer to God in solitude the holocaust best pleasing to the Lord. Each was the hope of his race; yet each turned away to lose himself in the contemplation of heavenly mysteries. Meanwhile, the yoke of Pharaoh lay heavy upon Israel ; meanwhile, souls were perishing, whom one of Gregory's burning words might have snatched from the empire of idolatry : was not such flight, then, desertion ?

Is it for man to proclaim himself a saviour, when Jesus did not arrogate that title to himself ? And when evil was rife all around, did the Carpenter of Nazareth do wrong to remain in the shade for thirty years previous to his short period of ministry ? 0 ye

1 Acts yii. 22. teachers of our excited, fevered times, who dream of a new hierarchy among the virtues, and understand divine charity far otherwise than di<i our fathers : not those are of the race of Israel's saviours whose ideas concerning social good differ from those of the world's Redeemer.

Gregory, like Moses, was of that hlessed race. His friends and enemies agreed in saying that he resembled the Hebrew legislator in the excellence of his virtue, and in the splendour of the prodigies wrought by his word. 1 Both were actuated by the desire of knowing God, and manifesting him to the men they were called to lead : the fulness of doctrine is the gift most necessary to the guides of the people, and their want of it the greatest penury. / am who am was the answer to Moses' enquiry ; and this sublime formula, confided to him from the midst of the burning bush, authenticated the mission which called him forth from the desert. When Gregory was commanded by God to go out into the world, the blessed Virgin, of whom the burning bush was a figure, appeared before his dazzled eyes in the dark night when he was praying for light. And St. John, following the Mother of God, let fall from his lips this other formula completing the former for the disciples of the Law of love :

" One only God, Father of the living Word, of that " substantial and mighty Wisdom who is the eternal " expression of himself ; the perfect principle of the " only and perfect Son begotten by him. One only " Lord, sole-begotten of the Only one ; God of God, " efficacious Word, Wisdom embracing and contain- " ing the world, creative power of all creation, true " Son of a true Father. One only Holy Spirit, hold- " ing of God his divine existence, revealed to men by

1 Basil. De Spiritu Sancto. xxix.

€t the Son of whom he is the perfeot likeness, life and " life-giving, holy and imparting holiness. The Ci perfect Trinity, immutable, inseparable in glory, " in eternity, in dominion." 1

This was the message our Saint was to communicate to his oountry, the creed that was to bear his name in the Church. By his faith in the most holy Trinity he was to remove mountains, and set limits to the waves, to drive out Satan, and eradicate infidelity from Pontus. When, towards the year 240, Gregory, then bishop, was on his way to NeocsBsarea, he saw on all sides the temples of idols, and stopped for the night at a famous sanctuary. In the morning all the gods had taken to flight and refused to come back ; but the Saint gave to the priest of the oracle a note thus worded : Gregory to Satan : return. A more bitter defeat awaited the demons ; forced to stay their precipitate retreat, they were compelled to witness the ruin of their empire over the souls they had abused. The priest was the first to give himself up to the Bishop, and became his deacon ; and soon upon the ruins of the temples everywhere overthrown arose the Church of Christ, the only God.

Happy was that Church, so firmly founded that heresy was powerless against it in the following century, when so many others bowed before the storm of Arianism. On the testimony of St. Basil, the successors of St. Gregory, themselves eminent men, were as an adornment of precious stones, a orown of stars, to the Church of Neocsesarea. Now all these illustrious Pontiffs, says he, considered it an honour to keep up the memory of their great predecessor ; they would never suffer that any act, word, or movement other than his, in performing the sacred rites, should prevail over the traditions he had left. 2

1 Greg. Nyss. Vita* Greg. Thaumaturg. 2 Basil. De Spiritu Sancto zzix.

When Clement XII., as we have seen, established in the entire Church the feast of St. Gertrude the Great, he at first decreed that it should be kept on this day, on which it is still celebrated by the Order of St. Benedict. But as the 17 th November had been for long centuries assigned to St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, it seemed unfitting, said Benedict XIV. that he who moved mountains should himself be moved from his plaoe by the holy virgin. Accordingly in 1739, the year following its institution, the feast of St. Gertrude was fixed on the fifteenth of this month. 1

Let us read the brief account of the great Thaumaturgus given in the holy Liturgy.

Gregorius Neocaesareae Ponti episcopus sanctitate doctriuaque illustris, signis vero ac miraculis multo illustrior, quorum multitudine atque prsestantia Thaumaturgus appellatus est, et sancti Baailii testimonio cum Moyse, Prophetis et Apostolis comparatus ; montem, qui ecclesiae aedificationem impediebat, oratione alio transtulit. Item paludem, inter fratres causam discordiarum, exsiccavit. Lycum fluviura, perniciose agros inundantem, defixo ad ripam, quo sustentabatur, baculo, qui statim virentem crevit in arborem, coercuit, ut postea ultra eum terminum non effluxerit.

1 Benepict x|y. De canonizat, SS, Lib. i. cap. xli. 40. 41 r

Gregory, bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus, was illustrious for his holiness and learning, but still more for his miracles, which were so startling and so numerous that he was called the Thaumaturgus ; and, according to St. Basil, he was considered comparable to Moses, the Prophets, and the Apostles. By his prayer he removed a mountain, which was an obstacle to the building of a church. He also dried up a lake which was a cause of dissension between brothers. The river Lycus, which was inundating and devastating the fields, he restrained by fixing in the bank his stick which immediately grew into a green tree, and served as a limit which the river henceforth never

Ssepissime dsemones ex idolorum simulacris, atque ex hominum corporibus ejecit, multaque alia mirabiliter effecit, quibus innumerabiles homines traduxit ad Jesu Christi fidem, cum etiam prophetico spiritu futura prsediceret. Qui migTaturus e vita, cum qusesisset quot in civitate Neocsesariensi reliqui essent infideles, responsumque esset tantum esse septemdecim ; Deo gratias agens, Totidem inquit, erant fideles, cum coepi episcopatum. Plura scripsit, quibus etiam, non solum miraculis, Dei Ecclesiam illustravit.

0 holy Pontiff, thy faith, removing mountains and commanding the waves, was a justification of our Lord's promise. Teaoh us in our turn to do honour to the Gospel, by never doubting of our Lord's word and of the help he promises us against Satan, whom the Church points out to us to-day as the proud mountain that is to be cast into the sea ; 1 and also against the overflowing tide of our passions, and the enticements of the world, of which thy writings teaoh us the vanity. 2 After the victory let us not forget that the succour came to us from heaven ; preserve us from ingratitude, which thou didst so detest. We still possess the touching eulogy dictated by thy gratitude towards the illustrious master, to whose teachings, under God, thou didst owe the glorious strength and splendour of thy faith. Here is a precious and practical lesson for all : while praising divine Providence in the man who was his predestined instru-

1 Homil. ad Matut. ex Beda in Marc. 2 Greg. Thatjmat. Metaphrastis in Ecclesiasten Salomonis.

He frequently expelled the devils from idols and from men's bodies, and worked many other miracles, by means of which he led multitudes to the faith of Christ. He also foretold future events by the spirit of prophecy. When he was dying, he asked how many infidels remained in the city of Neocsesarea ; and on being informed that there were only seventeen, he gave thanks to God, and said : When I was made bishop, there were but seventeen believers. He wrote several works, by which, as well as by his miracles, he adorned the Church of God. ment in thy regard, thou didst not forget the homage due to the Angel of God, who had preserved thee from falling into the abyss, during the darkness of infidelity in which thy first years were spent ; that heavenly Guardian who, ever watchful in his active, enlightened, persevering devotedness, supplies for our insufficiencies, nourishes and instruots us, leads us by the hand, and secretly arranges for our souls those blessed circumstances and occasions, which transform our life and secure eternal happiness. 1

How can we sinful creatures sufficiently thank the Author of all good, the infinite Being who gives to man both the holy Angels and the visible intermediaries of divine grace on earth ? But let us take courage, for we have as our Head his own Son, his Word who saved our souls, and who rules the universe. He alone, and that without effort, can render to his Father unceasing, eternal thanksgiving, for himself and for us all, without risk of not knowing or of forgetting the least subject of gratitude, without fear of any imperfection in the manner or the magnitude of his praise. To him, then, to the divine Word, we commit as thou didst, 0 Gregory, the care of perfecting the expression of our gratitude for the unspeakable kindness of our heavenly Father ; for the Word is to us, as to thee, the only channel of piety, gratitude, and love. 2 May he give us in these days pastors who will imitate thy works ; and may he raise up again the ancient churches of the East, which once received such light from thee !

1 In Origenem oratio panegyrica. 2 Ibid.

November 18. DEDICATION OF THE BASILICAS OP SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES.

QUOD DUCE TE MUNDUS SURREXIT IN ASTRA TR1XJM- PHAN8, HANC CONSTANTINUS VICTOR TIBI CONDIDIT aulam. Because the world under thy conduct has risen triumphant to the very heavens, Constantine the conqueror has built this temple in thy honour. This inscription stood in letters of gold over the triumphal arch in the ancient Vatican Basilica. 1 Never did the Soman genius frame a more magnificent utterance in so few words ; never did the greatness of Simon Bar- Jona appear to such advantage on the seven hills. In 1506 the great arch, that had looked down upon twelve centuries of prostrate pilgrims, fell from old age, and the beautiful inscription perished. But Michael Angelo's lofty dome points out to the city and the world the spot where sleeps the Q-alilaean fisherman, the successor of the Caesars, the Vicar of Christ, the ruler of the destinies of Home.

The second glory of the eternal City is the tomb of St. Paul on the Ostian Way. Unlike that of St. Peter, which lies deep down in the Vatican crypt, this tomb is raised to the level of the floor by

1 Db Rossi, Inscript. christ. T. II. 345.

PENT. VI. X massive masonry, on which rests the great sarcophagus. This circumstance was ascertained in 1841, when the papal altar was reconstructed. It was evidently to obviate the consequences of inundations from the Tiber, that the sarcophagus had thus been raised above the place where Lucina had first laid it. 1 The pilgrim certainly finds nothing to blame in this arrangement, when, on looking through the small opening in the centre of the altar, his respectful glance falls upon the marble of the tomb, and he reads these imposing words traoed in large characters of Constantino's period : Paulo Apostolo et Martyri. To Paul Apostle and Martyr?

Thus Christian Rome is protected on the North and South by these two citadels. Let us enter into the sentiments of our fathers, when they said of this privileged city : " Peter the door-keeper, sets his " holy dwelling at the entrance : who can deny that " this city is like heaven P At the other extremity, " Paul from his temple guards the walls ; Rome lies " between the two : here then God dwelleth." 3

The present feast therefore deserves to be more than a looal solemnity ; its extension to the universal Church is a subject for the world's gratitude. Thanks to this feast, we can all make together in spirit to-day the pilgrimage ad limina Apostolorum* which our ancestors performed with such fatigue and danger, yet never thought they purchased too dearly its holy joys and blessings. " Heavenly et la Societe romaine aux deux s Janitor aDte fores fixit sacraria Petrus : Quis neget instar esse poli ? Parte alia Pauli circumdant atria muros : Hos inter Roma est : hie sedet ergo Deus.

1 See the Legend of St. Cornelius, Sept. 16 th . *Dom. Guerangbr, Saint Cecile premiers siecles, ch vi. has arces Inscription on the gate of Rome which was called in the 6 th century the gate of St. Peter. (Db Rossi, Inscript. ii. 99.)

4 To the threshold of the Apostles, i. e. of their basilicas, where pilgrims used to prostrate before entering.

"mountains, glittering heights of the new Sion! " There are the gates of our true country, the two " lights of the immense world. There Paul's voioe "is heard like thunder; there Peter withholds or "hurls the bolt. The former opens the hearts of " men, the latter opens heaven. Peter is the foun- " dation-stone, Paul the architect of the temple " where stands the altar by which God is propitiated. " Both together form a single fountain, which pours " out its healing and refreshing waters." 1

In the following Lessons the Roman Church gives us her traditions concerning the two basilicas whose dedication feast we are celebrating.

Ex locis sacris quae olim apud Christianos venerationem habuerunt, ilia celeberrima et frequentissima fuerunt, in quibus condita sanctorum corpora, vel aiiquod Martyrum vestigium aut monumentum esdet. In quorum numero sanctorum locorum, in primis semper fait insignia ea Yaticani pars, quam sancti Petri Confessionem appeilabant. Nam eo Ohristiani ex omnibus orbis terrae partibus, tamquam ad fidei petram et Ecclesise f undamentum convenientes, locum Priucipis Apostolorum sepulchro cousecratum, summa religione ac pietate venerabantur.

Blue Constantinus Magnus imperator octavo die post susceptum baptismum venit, depositoque diademate, et humi jacens, vim

Among the holy places venerated of old by the Christians, those were the most honoured and most frequented in which the bodies of the Saints were preserved, or some relic or memorial of the Martyrs. Chief among these holy places has ever been that part of the Vatican hill which was called the Confession of St. Peter. Christians from all parts of the world flocked thither, as to the rock of the faith and the foundation of the Church, and honoured with the greatest reverence and piety the spot hallowed by the sepulchre of the prince of the Apostles.

Hither on the octave day of his baptism, came the emperor Constantino the Great ; and taking off his diadem, he prostrated on the ground with

1 Vbnant. Fortunat. MisceUania, iii. 7.

TIMB AFTER PENTECOST. laorimarum profudit : mox sumpto ligone ac bidente, terram eruit : indeque duodecim terrse cophinis, honoris causa duodecim Apostolorum, ablatis, ac loco basilicas Principis Apostolorum designato, ecclesiam aedificavit. Quam sanctus Silvester Papa decimo quarto calendas decembris, eo modo quo Lateranen8em ecclesiam quinto idus novembris consecraverat, dedicavit : et in ea altare lapideum chrismate delibutum erexit ; atque ex eo tempore sancivit, ne deinceps altaria nisi ex lapide fierent. Idem beatus Silvester basilicam sancti Pauli Apostoli in via Ostiensi ab eodem Constantino imperatore magnificentissime sedificatam dedicavit. Quae basilicas idem imperator multis preediis attributis locupletavit, ac muneribus ampkssimis exornavit.

Porro Vaticanam basilicam vetustate jampridem collabentem, ac propterea multorum Pontificum pietate latius ac magnificentius a fundamentis erectam, Urbanus Octavus hac eadem recurrente die anni millesimi sexcentesimi vigesimi sexti, solemni ritu consecravit. Basilicam vero Ostiensem, quum dira incendii vis, anno millesimo octingentesimo vigesimo tertio penitus consumpsisset, indefessa quatuor Pontificum cura splendidius quam an tea many tears. Then taking a hoe and mattock he broke up the earth, of which twelve basketfuls were taken away in honour of the twelve Apostles ; and on the site thus marked out, he built the basilica of the Prince of the Apostles. Pope St. Sylvester dedicated it on the fourteenth of the Calens of December, just as he had consecrated the Lateran church on the fifth of the Ides of November. He erected in it a stone altar which he anointed with chrism, and decreed that thenceforward all altars should be made of stone. The same blessed Sylvester dedicated the basilica of St. Paul the Apostle on the Ostian Way, also magnificently built by the emperor Constantino, who enriched both basilicas with many estates and rich gifts and ornaments.

The Vatican basilica, however, began to decay through age ; and was rebuilt from its foundations on a more extensive and magnificent scale, through the piety of several Pontiffs. It was solemnly dedicated by Urban VIII., on this day in the year 1626. In the year 1823 the Ostian basilica was burnt to the ground ; but the ruins were repaired and it was rebuilt more splendidly than before, through the unwearied exertions of four Popes. Pius IX., seizing the auspicious occasion, when his erectam, et ab interitu veluti vindicatam, Pius Nonus au8picati88imam nactus occasionem qua dogma de Immaculata beatae Mariae Virginis Conceptione nuper ab ipso proclamatum, ingentem cardinalium et episcoporum numerum ex dissitis etiam catholici orbis regionibus Eomam attraxerat, die decima decembris anni millesimi octingentesimi quinquagesimi quarti, tanta circumdatus purpuratorum patrum et antistitum corona solemniter dedicavit, ejusque celebritatis memonam hao die recolendam decrevit.

Definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the blessed Virgin Mary had drawn an immense number of Cardinals and Bishops even from distant parts of the Catholic world to Kome, solemnly dedicated this basilica on the tenth of December 1854, assisted and surrounded by this noble gathering of prelates ; and he decreed that the anniversary commemoration should be celebrated on this day.

In honour of the holy Apostles we gladly borrow from the libraries of our Anglican brethren the following Sequence, sung four centuries ago by the venerable church of York.

SEQUENCE.

In sollemni memoria Apostolorum principis, Pise laudis harmonia Leetis resonet canticis.

Veneremur simul pari Dignum laude venerari Apostolum gentium ; Ut quos amor vita junxit, Nec mors ipsa post disjunxit

Jungat et praeconium. Horum laus est quod de- structa JJomanre potentiee idolatria,

On this solemn commemoration of the Prince of the Apostles, let the harmony of our loving praise resound in joyous canticles.

With him let us also honour the Apostle of the Gentiles, worthy of equal praise; that those whom love united in life, and death itself did not sever, may together receive our homage.

Their praise consists in this, that the idolatry of the Eoman empire has been destroy-

Jam fundata et firmata Ibidem orbem gubernat Eoclesia.

Fide Petri fundamentum Pauli tenet firmamentum

Dogmate Ecclesia ; Clayis huic potentira, Uli cessit scientiee

Juncta ad officia. Petro namque sub pastore Gratulatur et rectore

Inter fluctus swculi ; Pauli viget ex doctrina, Vitro sumpta medicina

Grex'fidelis populi.

Iste verbo instruit, Hie coelum aperit Verbo vitae credulis, Et quod unus prsedicat Alter verum comprobat Orebris hoc miraculis. Hie Judeeos, Die gentes Viam vitse nescientes

Ad salutem convocat ; Ambo prsesunt convocatis, Ambo certant desolatis, Hostis ne prevaleat.

Contra summse potentise Consurgunt imperium, Unus crucis, alter ensis

Perpessus supplicium. Sicque una urbe mortem Una die passi, sortem

Ad justorum transmeant ; Qui malorum nos exsortes Sua prece et consortes

Beatorum faciant. Amen. ed; and in that same Rome the Church has been founded and built up, and rules the world.

The Church is founded on Peter's faith, and strengthened by Paul's teaching; one holds the key of authority, the other that of knowledge, both for the same work.

With Peter for their shepherd and guide, the faithful people rejoice amid the billows of this world ; while they grow strong and receive life- fiving medicine from Paul's octrine.

Paul instructs them by his word, Peter opens heaven to believers in the word of life, and what the one preaches the other proves by many miracles.

One calls the Jews to salvation, the other the Gentiles ignorant of the way of life ; together they direct the called, together they strive lest the enemy should prevail against them.

They stand against the highest power of the empire, and incur the penalty, one of the cross, the other of the sword.

Thus they suffer death in the same city, on the same day, and together pass to the reward of the just ; by their prayer may they deliver us from all evil, and make us companions of the blessed. Amen.

To-day let us call to mind and complete the instructions we received on the general feast of the Dedication of churohes ; and let us conclude with the following Sequence, worthy of the pen of Adam of St. Victor, to whom it was long attributed. It sets forth in all the figures once so well known, the great mystery of Christ's union with the human race, which is expressed in the oonseoration of Christian temples.

SEQUENCE.

Quam dilecta tabernacula Domini virtutum et atria !

Quam electi Architects, Tuta radificia, Quae non movent Imo fovent Ventus, flumen, pluvia ! Quam decora fundamenta Per coucinna sacrainenta Umbrfe preecurrentia ! Hiatus Ad® dormientis Evam fundit, in manentis Copulse primordia.

Area ligno f abricata Noe servat, gubernata

Mundi per diluvium. Prole sera tandem foeta Anus Sara ridet lseta,

Nostrum lactans gaudium.

Servus bibit qui legatur Et camelus adaquatur

Ex Rebeccas hydria. Haec inaures et armillas Aptat sibi, ut per illas

Virgo fiat congrua,

How lovely are the tabernacles and courts of the Lord of hosts !

So firmly is the temple built by the incomparable architect, that wind and flood and rain instead of shaking strengthen it.

Beauteous are its foundations, aptly prefigured by the mysteries of the time of shadows ! While Adam sleeps Eve comes forth from his side, the first type of an eternal union.

The ark, built of wood, preserves Noe, safely sailing through the deluge that destroys the world. Sara, advanced in years, laughs joyously to see herself a mother suckling the child whose name signifies our joy.

The servant sent as ambassador drinks from Rebecca's pitcher, and she waters his camels ; then she adorns herself with ear-rings and bracelets, that she may appear as beseems a virgin.

Synagoga supplantatur A Jaoob, dum devagatur

Nimis freta litterse. Liam lippam latent multa : Quibus Rachel videns fulta,

Pari nubit foedere.

In bivio tegens nuda, Geminos parit ex Juda

Thamar diu vidua. Hie Moyses a puella Dum se lavat, in fisoella

Reperitur scirpea. Hie mas agnus immolatur Quo Israel satiatur,

Tinctus ejus sanguine ; Hio transitur rubens unda, JEgyptios sub profunda

Obruens voragine. Hio est urna manna plena, Hio mandata legis dena,

Sed in area foederis. Hio sunt eedis ornamenta, Hie Aaron indumenta

Quae prsecedit poderis.

Hio Unas viduatur, Bethsabee sublimatur,

Sedis oonsors regies. Hseo regi varietate Vestis astat deauratse,

Siout regum nli». Huo venit Austri regina, Salomonis quam divma

Condit sapientia, Heeo est nigra sed formosa, Myrrhae et thuris f umosa,

Yirga pigmentaria.

Hseo futura Quae figura

The synagogue, wandering away and trusting too much to the letter, is supplanted by Jacob. Many things lie hid from blear-eyed Lia, which are a strength to Rachel the clear-sighted, and give her equal rights.

Thamar, long a widow, veils herself on the highway, and gives twin sons to Juda. Moses, in a wicker-basket, is found by the maiden as she is bathing.

The male lamb being immolated, the Israelites are fed therewith, and are marked with its blood. They cross the Red Sea, whose rushing waves engulf the Egyptians.

Here is the urn full of manna; here in the Ark of the Covenant are the ten commandments of the Law. Here are the ornaments of the temple; here the garments of Aaron, and first of them all the Pontiff's ephod.

Bethsabee, widow of Urias, is raised as bride even to share the royal throne, and stands before the king in robes of gold and all variety, even as the daughters of princes.

Hither comes the queen of the South, whom Solomon instructs with his divine wisdom ; though black, she is beautiful, breathing the fragrance of myrrh and incense and every perfume.

These future things foreshadowed thus in figures, the

Obumbravit,

Beseravit Nobis dies gratise ;

Jam in lecto

Cum dilecto

Quiescamus,

Et p8allamus : Adsunt enim nuptiee. Quarum tonat initium In tubis epulantium Et finis per psalterium. Sponsum millena millia Una canunt melodia, Sine fine dicentia : Alleluia !

Amen. day of grace has revealed to us ; let us rest in peace with the Beloved and sing to him, for it is the Nuptial-day.

The feast was opened by the clang of trumpets, and closes with the psaltery.

Millions of voices hail the Spouse with one same melody, repeating without end : Alleluia ! Amen.

November 19.

SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY DUCHESS OF THUEINGIA.

Although the blessed in heaven shine each with his own peculiar glory, God is pleased to group them in families, as he groups the stars in the material firmament. It is grace that presides over the arrangement of these constellations in the heaven of the Saints ; but sometimes it seems as if God wished to remind us that he is the sole Author of both grace and nature ; and inviting them, in spite of the fall, to honour him unitedly in his elect, he causes sanctity to become a glorious heirloom, handed down from generation to generation in the same family on earth. Among these races, none can compare with that royal line which, beginning in ancient Pannonia, spread its branches over the world in the most flourishing days of Christendom : Rich in virtue and studying beautifulness 1 , as Scripture says, it brought peace into all the royal houses of Europe, with which it was allied ; and the many names it has insoribed in the golden book of the blessed, perpetuate its glory.

Among these illustrious names, and surrounded bv them as a diamond set in a circle of pearls, the

1 Eccli. xliv. 6. greatest, in the esteem of the Church and of the people, is that of the amiable Saint, who was ripe for heaven at the age of twenty- four years, and who ascended on this day into the company of Stephen, Emeric, and Ladislas. Elizabeth was not inferior to them in manly virtues ; but the simplicity of her loving soul added to the heroism of her race a sweetness, whose fragrance drew after her along the path of sanctity her daughter Gertrude of Thuringia, and her relatives Hedwige of Silesia, Agnes of Bohemia, Margaret of Hungary, Cunigund of Poland, and Elizabeth of Portugal.

All the poetry of those chivalrous times appears in the beautiful pages of contemporaneous writers, as they describe to us the innocent child, transplanted like a tender flower from the court of Hungary to that of Thuringia ; and her life of devotedness there, with a bridegroom worthy to witness the ecstasies of her lofty but ingenuous piety, and to defend her heroic virtue against her slanderers. To the stewards who complained that during the absence of Duke Lewis she had, in spite of their remonstrances, exhausted the revenues upon the poor, he replied : " I " desire that my Elizabeth be at liberty to act as she "wishes, provided she leaves me Warteburg and "Naumburg." Our Lord opened the landgrave's eyes to see transformed into beautiful roses the provisions Elizabeth was carrying to the poor. Jesus crucified appeared in the leper she had taken into her own apartments that she might the better tend him. If it happened that illustrious visitors arrived unexpectedly, and the duchess having bestowed all her jewels in alms was unable to adorn herself becomingly to do them honour, the Angels so well supplied the deficiency that, according to the German chroniolers of the time, it seemed to the astonished guests that the Queen of France herself could not have ap- peared more strikingly beautiful or more richly attired.

Elizabeth indeed was never wanting to any of the obligations or requirements of her position as a wife and ;as a sovereign princess. As graciously simple in her virtues as she was affable to all, she could not understand the gloomy moroseness which some affected in their prayers and austerities. " They look as " if they wanted to frighten our Lord, " she would say, u whereas he loves the cheerful giver. " 1

The time soon came, when she herself had to give generously without counting the oost. First there was the cruel separation from her husband, Duke Lewis, on his departure for the crusade ; then the heart-rending scene, when his death was announoed to her, just as she was about to give birth to her fourth child ; and thirdly the atrocious aot of Henry Easpon, the landgrave's unworthy brother, who, thinking this a good opportunity for seizing the deoeased's estates, drove out his widow and children, and forbade anyone to give them hospitality. Then in the very land where every misery had been succoured by her charity, Elizabeth was reduced to the necessity of begging, and not without many rebuffs, a little bread for her poor children, and of seeking shelter with them in a pig-sty.

On the return of the knights who had accompanied Duke Lewis to the Holy Land, justice was at length done to our Saint. But Elizabeth, who had become the passionate lover of holy poverty, chose to remain among the poor. She was the first professed Tertiary of the Seraphic Order ; and the mantle sent by St. Francis to his very dear daughter, became her only treasure The path of perfect self-renunciation soon brought her to the threshold of heaven. She who, twenty years before, had been carried to her be-

1 Montalbmbeet, Hietoire de sainte Elisabeth de Hongrie, ch. vii, trothed in a silver cradle, and robed in silk and gold, now took her flight to God from a wretched hovel, her only garment being a patched gown. The minstrels, whose gay competitions had signalized the year of her birtn, were no longer there ; but the Angels were heard singing, as they bore her up to heaven : The kingdom of this world have I despised, for the love of Jesus Christ my Lord, whom I have seen, whom I have loved, in whom I have believed, whom I have tenderly loved.

Four years later, Elizabeth, now declared a Saint by the Vicar of Christ, beheld all the nations of the holy Empire, with the emperor himself at their head, hastening to Marburg, where she lay at rest in the midst of the poor whose life she had imitated. Her holy body was committed to the care of the Teutonic Knights, who in return for the honour, made Marburg one of the head-quarters of their Order, and raised to her name the first Gothio church in Germany. Numerous miracles long attracted the Christian world to the spot.

And now, though still standing, though still beautiful in its mourning, St. Elizabeth's at Marburg knows its glorious titular only by name. And at "Warteburg, where the dear Saint went through the sweetest episodes of her life as a child and as a bride, the great memorial now shown to the traveller is the pulpit of an excommunicated monk, and the inkstain with which, in a fit of folly or drunkenness, he had soiled the wall, as he afterwards endeavoured with his pen to profane and sully everything in the Church of God.

It is time to read the liturgical history of the feast.

Elisabeth Andrese regis Elizabeth, daughter of An- Hungarise filia ab infantia drew king of Hungary, feared Deum timere coepit : et ere- God from her infancy, and scene aetate, crevit etiam pietate. Ludovico Lantgravio Hassiaa et Thuringiae in conjugem copulata, non rainori cora quae Dei, qaam quae viri 8ui erant, exsequebatur. Snrgens enim nocturno tempore, orationi diu incumbe- Dat ; ac variis misericordiae officiis dedita, viduis, pupillis, aegrotis, egentibus sedulo inserviebat; gravique fame urgente, domus suae frumenta liberaliter erogabat. Leprosos hospitio suscipiens, manus eorum et pedes osculabatur. Curandis autem et alendis pauperibus insigne xenodochium construxit.

Defuncto conjuge, ut Deo liberius serviret, depositis omnibus saecularis gloriae indumentis, vili tunica induta est, atque ordinem Poenitentium sancti Francisci in^ressa, patientiae et humilitatis virtu te max i me enituit. Nam bonis omnibus exuta, a propriis aedibus ejecta, ab omnibus derelicta, contumelias, irrisiones, obtrectationes invicto animo toleravit, adeo ut summopere gauderet, se talia pro Deo pati. Ad infima quaeque ministeria erga pauperes et aBgrotos se abjiciens, eis necessaria procurabat, solis oleribus et leguminibus pro suo victu contenta.

Cum vero in bis aliisque plurimis Sanctis operibus vitam religiosissime transe- increased in piety as she advanced in age. She was married to Lewis, landgrave of Hesse and Thuringia, and devoted herself to the service of God and of her husband. She used to rise in tbe night and spend a long time in prayer ; and moreover she devoted herself to works of mercy, diligently caring for widows and orphans, the sick and the poor. In time of famine she freely distributed her store of corn. She received lepers into her house, and kissed their hands and feet; she also built a splendid hospital, where the poor might be fed and cared for.

On the death of her husband, she, in order to serve God with greater freedom, laid aside all worldly ornaments, clothed herself in a rough tunic, and entered the Order of Penance of St. Francis. She was very remarkable for her patience and humility. Being despoiled of all her possessions and turned out of her own house, and abandoned by all, she bore insults, mockeries, and reproaches with undaunted courage, rejoicing exceedingly to suffer thus for God's sake. She humbled herself by performing the lowest offices for the poor and sick, and procured them all they needed, contenting herself with herbs and vegetables for her only food.

She was living in this holy manner, occupied with these and many other good works. gisset, finis tandem suae peregrinationis advenit, quern domesticis suis ante praedixit. Cumque defixis in ccelum oculis divinae contemplationi vacaret, a Deo mirabiliter recreata, et saeramentis refecta, obdormivit in Domino. Statimque plurima ad ejus tumulum miracula patrata sunt. Quibus auditis, et rite probatis, Gregorius nonus Sanctorum numero earn adscripsit. gory IX. when the end of her pilgrim - age drew nigh, as she had foretold to her companions, She was absorbed in divine contemplation, with her eyes fixed on heaven; and after being wonderfully consoled by God, and strengthened with the Sacraments, she fell asleep in our Lord. Many miracles were immediately wrought at her tomb ; and on their being duly proved, Greenrolled her among the Saints.

The following Hymn in honour of St. Elizabeth was sung in Germany in the fourteenth century.

HYMN.

Hymnum Deo vox jocunda

Decantat Ecclesiae ; Nam congaudet laetabunda

Sion mater filiae Ascendenti de profunda

Convalle miseriae. Quam re^ali stirpe natam

In anms infantiae Yir accepit desponsatam

Indolis eximiae, Semper tamen inspiratam

Voto continentiae. Fide, prole, sacramento

Eatum hoc conjugium, Yero docet argumento

Quod patrum coelestium Vitae sanctae succremento

Attigit consortium.

Lege carnis sic ligata

Son extinxit spiritum, Sed implevit fide rata

The Church in joyous accents sings a hymn to God ; Sion is in gladness, rejoicing with her daughter who' ascends from the valley of misery.

Born of royal race, she is affianced while yet a babe; her husband finds her adorned with every gift and enamoured of purity.

Their union is hallowed by fidelity, fecundity, and the grace of the Sacrament; Elizabeth's increasing holiness proves that she is being led to the company of her fathers in heaven.

Though subject to the law of the flesh, her spirit was not quenched ; faithful to her sa-

TIMS AFTER PENTECOST.

Nec reliquit irritum Quod a Deo mens parata Gerebat propositum.

Hfiec insignis, haec beata

Pauperum nutritia Fastu mundi non elata

Nec parentum gloria, In se came truoidata

Crucifixit vitia. Aauam earn dum rogavit

Hostis innocentiae, Potum lacte perf oravit

Clavo poenitentiae, Et sic sese libera vit

Virtus patientiae.

Tandem viro destituta Munda mundum exuit,

OhriBtum mente jam induta Saccum carni consuit,

Et in tempus hoc statuta Sic lampas emicuit.

Veras censu paupertatis

Eedimens divitias De thesauro pietatis

Fudit auri copias, Et multorum egestatis

Supplevit inopias. Eecit opus f uso, cibi

Quserens alimoniam, Et vilescens ipsa sibi

Sprevit ignominiam, Sciens soli, Christe, tibi

Eecte dari gloria in. Gloria sit, Jesu bone,

Tibi nunc et jugiter, Qui certantes in agone

Adjuvas fideliter, Et mercedem das coronae

Vincenti viriliter. Amen. cred engagements, she obeyed the inspirations her willing heart received from God.

She became the noble and blessed feeder of the poor; neither by worldly glory nor by her kingly origin was she elated, bat she crucified the vices in her mortified flesh.

The enemy of innocence asked her for water, a* Suara asked Jahel; she deceived him with milk, and transpiercing him with the nail of penance, she delivered herself by her virtue of patience.

Bereaved of her husband, she abandoned the world, unsullied by its contact; and having already put on Christ interiorly, she now clothed her body with sack-cloth, and, even in the time of her mortality, shone as a bright lamp.

Buying true riches at the price of poverty, she poured out the golden treasures of her piety, and supplied the needs of innumerable poor.

Working with her spindle, she earned her daily oread; and, vile in her own eyes she made light of shame, knowing that to thee alone, O Christ, honour is due.

Glory be to thee, 0 good Jesus, both now and for ever ; for thou faithfully assistest them that fight the good fight, and rewardest the valiant victor with a crown. Amen.

What a lesson thou leavest to the earth, as thou mountest up to heaven, 0 blessed Elizabeth ! We ask with the Church, for ourselves and for all our brethren in the faith : may thy glorious prayers obtain from the God of mercy that our hearts may open to the light of thy life's teaching, so that despising worldly prosperity we, may rejoice in heavenly consolations. 1 The Gospel read in thy honour to-day tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like to a hidden treasure, and to a precious pearl ; the wise and prudent man sells all he has, to obtain the treasure or the pearl. 2 Thou didst well understand this good traffic, as the Epistle calls it, 3 and it beoame the good fortune of all around thee : of thy happy subjects, who received from thee succour and assistance for both soul and body , of thy noble husband, who found an honourable place among those princes who knew how to exchange a perishable diadem for an eternal crown ; in a word, of all who belonged to thee. Thou wast their boast ; and several among them followed in thy footsteps along the heavenward path of self-renunciation. How is it that others, in an age of destruction, could abjure their title of children of Saints, and draw the people after them to deal so wantonly with the sweetest memorials and the noblest traditions ? May our Lord restore to his Church and to thee the country where thou didst experience his love ; may thy supplications, united with ours, revive the ancient faith in those branches of thy stock which are no longer nourished with that life-giving sap ; and may the glorious trunk continue, in its faithful "branches, to give saints to the world.

The Church honours to-day a holy Pope of the persecution times, by name Pontian. Transported*

1 CoUect of the feast. « Gospel, from St. Matthew, xii,

3 Epistle, Proverbs xxxi.

TUCK AFTER PENTECOST. by order of the emperor Maximin to an island in the Mediterranean, he there suffered most cruel treatment, which earned him the crown of martyrdom. His second sucoessor, St. Fabian, translated his body to the cemetery of Callixtus.

PRAYER.

Infirmitatem nostram respioe omnipotens Deus : et ness, O quia pondus propriae actionis gravat, beata Pontiani Martyris tui atque Pontifiois intercessio gloriosa nos protegat. Per Dominum.

Have regard to our weak- Almighty God : and since the weight of our own deeds is grievous to us, may the glorious intercession of blessed Pontian, thy Martyr and Bishop, protect us.

Through our Lord.

November 20. SAINT FELIX OF VALOIS.

COWFESSOR.

Felix was called in his youth to dwell in the desert ; and he thought to die there, forgotten by the world he had despised. But our Lord had decreed that his old age should yield fruit before men.

It was one of those epochs, which may be oalled turning-points in history. The first of the great active Orders was about to be raised up in the Church by St. John of Matha ; others were soon to follow, called forth by the new requirements of the times. Eternat Wisdom, who remaining herself the same reneweth all things, 1 would prove that sanctity also never changes, and that charity, though assuming different forms, is ever the same, having but one principle and one aim, — God, loved for his own sake. Hence John of Matha was led by the Holy Spirit to Felix of Valois, as a disciple to the master ; and then, upon pure contemplation personified by the anchorite living out his deolining years in the depths of the forest, was grafted the intensely active life of the redeemer of captives. The desert of Cerfroid beoame the cradle, and remained the chief centre, of the Trinitarian Order.

Let us read the Church's history of the servant of (Jod, remembering that it requires tp be completed

1 WwO. vii. 27, by that of his son and di*

Felix, Hugo antea dictus, ex regali Valesiorum familia ortus in Gallia, ab ineunte aetate non levia dedit futurse sanctitatis indioia, prsesertim misericordise erga pauperes : nam adhuc infantulus, manu propria, ac si grandior esset, et judicii maturitate polleret, nummos ejjenis distribuit. Jam grandiusculus, solebat ex appositis in mensa dapibus ad ipsos mittere, et ferme eo, quod sapidius erat, obsonio pauperculos pueros recrtabat. Adolescens non semel vestibus se exspoliavit, ut inopes cooperiret. Ab avunculo Theobaldo, Xamphanse et Blesii comite, vitam reo mortis impetravit, praedicens nunc infamem hactenus sicarium, mox sanctissimis praeditum moribus evasurum : veridicum testimonium monstravit eventus.

Post exactam laudabiliter adolescentiam, ccepit coelestis contemplationis studio solitudinem cogitare ; prius tamen voluit sacris initiari, ut omnem regni, a cujus suocessione jure legis Salicse non longe distabat, spem sibi prsecideret. Sacerdos factus, et prima Missa deyotissime celebrata, non multo post in eremum secessit, ubi summa abstinentia viotitans, coelestium charismatum abundantia . pasoebatur. Ibi cum sancto

3iple. (Feb. 8 th ).

Felix, formerly called Hugh, was born in France, of the royal family of the Valois, and from his cradle gave promise of future sanctity and especially of charity towards the poor. While still an infant, he would distribute money to the needy with his own hand, as if he were grown up and had full use of reason. When somewhat older, he used to send them meat from the table, and would choose what was daintiest for poor little children. When a youth, he more than once stripped himself of his own garments to clothe the poor. He obtained the life of a condemned criminal from his uncle Theobald, Count of Champagne and Blois; foretelling that the man, hitherto an infamous murderer, would shortly become a saint; the truth of which prophecy was proved by the event.

Having spent his youth in the practice of virtue, he was induced by his love of heavenly contemplation to think of retiring into solitude. He determined, however, first to take Holy Orders, and thus cut off all possibility of succeeding to the crown, of which he had some expectations on account of the Salic Law. After being ordained priest, and celebrating his first Mass with the greatest devotion, he retired into the desert, where he lived in the severest abs*