Part III, The Means of Grace: The Principal Devotional Exercises

1. There are ordinary and extraordinary practices of devotion,

The former take place at regular, appointed times; the latter only on special occasions.

2. The regular services held in the parish church on Sundays and holydays both in the forenoon and the afternoon, as well as week-day services, belong to the ordinary practices of devotion.

On Sundays and festivals, in all parish churches, one Mass or several Masses, according to the size of the parish and the number of priests, are said one after another, at one of which a short sermon is generally preached. In the afternoon or evening, either the Rosary and a litany are said (the Litany of the Saints, the Litany of the Holy Name, the Litany of Loretto and the Litany of the Sacred Heart are approved by the Holy See for the public services of the Church, no other being allowed without the permission of the bishop) ; or Vespers are sung, with Benediction of thet Blessed Sacra ment. On week-days in almost every parish church a parochial Mass i? said daily with afternoon or evening services, consisting generally of the Rosary or some other devotion, and Benediction, on. one or more days in the week.

3. Processions, pilgrimages, the Way of the Cross, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and Missions, belong to the extraordinary practices of devotion.

Christian burial services come under the class of processions, and the Way of the Cross is in fact nothing more or less than visiting the scenes of Our Lord's Passion at Jerusalem, without leaving our own country.

Processions

1. Processions are a solemn religious ceremony, during which prayers are recited in common by those who take part in them.

Processions were customary under the Old Dispensation. We read of the Ark of the Covenant being carried round about the city of Jericho ( Josue vi.) ; of the ark being brought in solemn procession to Mount Sion by King David (2 Kings vi.), and thence transferred to the Temple built by Solomon (3 Kings viii.) ; Our Lord also made a solemn entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matt. xxi.).

The ceremonial observed in our Christian processions is in tended to portray the truth that we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one to come (Heb. xiii. 14).

The procession issues (proceeds, hence the name procession} from the church and returns thither, to show that we must enter the

698 The Means of Grace.

Church on earth if we would reach the Church in heaven. The cross is carried first, because in this life we can never be wholly free from crosses and sufferings, if we follow the maxims of Our Lord. The banners are to remind us that we are warriors, because here below we have constantly to contend against the malignant foe and our own evil proclivities. Those who walk in the procession go two and two, to signify the twofold precept of charity, especially that of charity to our neighbor. The children take the lead, because their greater innocence renders them more pleasing to God; the adults follow, first the men, with the priest in their midst, and finally the women. Processions, if possible, are held in the open air. The prayers recited vary according to the object of the procession; on Rogation days the Litany of the Saints is sung. By rights the men ought to walk bareheaded, but not so the clergy and persons in official dress ; this is to show the respect due to authorities both ecclesiastical and civil. In the procession of Corpus Christi all heads are uncovered, by reason of the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

2. The Church holds processions either for the purpose of setting before us more forcibly certain events in the life of Christ, certain doctrines of the faith, or in order to obtain speedy help from God; on these occasions an opportunity is afforded us of testifying in a public manner our faith and our loyalty to the Church.

The object the Church proposes in setting before us more vividly certain events in Our Lord's life, or certain doctrines of the faith., is to confirm our beliefs. Processions are a means of obtaining more speedy assistance from on high, because God inclines His ear more readily to petitions offered in common; and experience proves that processions are most efficacious modes of supplication. The processions on Candlemas Day and on Palm Sunday are in remembrance of events in Our Lord's life; those on Holy Saturday and on the feast of Corpus Christi are illustrative of doctrines of the faith; the processions of St. Mark and of the Rogation days are for the purpose of entreating the divine help.

3. The following processions form part of the ritual of the Church everywhere:

The procession on the feast of the Purification.

At this lighted tapers are carried round the church., because on that day the aged Simeon declared the Child Jesus to be " a light to the revelation of the Gentiles " (Luke ii. 32).

The wax tapers are emblematic of Christ, the Light of the world. The wax betokens His manhood, the flame Plis Godhead ; as the light shines forth from the taper, so the divinity of Christ shines forth from His sacred humanity by His teaching and His miracles; and as the taper is consumed, while illuminating all around, so the human nature of Our Lord was sacrificed for the sake of enlighten ing mankind. Christ is in very truth the Light of the world, since by His teaching He dispels the darkness of ignorance and error.

The Principal Devotional Exercises. 699

The procession on Palm Sunday.

When blessed palms are carried round the church, in memory of the day of Our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

The palm branches borne by the Jews were symbols of victory — the victory that Christ was to gain by His death over the devil, the prince of this world. Our procession is significant of the Christian's triumphal entry into heaven. The priest knocks three times at the door of the church with the processional cross, then it is opened, to show that only through trials and tribulation can we enter the gate of heaven, and be admitted to the realms of bliss.

The procession on Holy Saturday.

When the Blessed Sacrament is solemnly taken from the place where it was deposited, and borne by the priest, attended by the clergy, back to the high altar.

This procession is significant of our future resurrection. The ceremony ought by rights to take place at daybreak on Easter Day, but as few could then be present, it is anticipated on the eve of the feast.

The procession on the feast of Corpus Christi.

When the Blessed Sacrament is carried to one or more altars of repose, to testify publicly our faith in the presence of Our Lord in the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar.

The festival of Corpus Christi (the body of Christ) is on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday, consequently in the second week after Pentecost, because soon after the descent of the Holy Ghost the apostles began to dispense holy communion to the faithful. This festival was instituted some six centuries ago. It was first celebrated in Belgium, by order of the Bishop of Liege, in consequence of a revelation made to a nun, Blessed Juliana (1250), and shortly after Pope Urban IV. decreed that it should be kept throughout the whole Church. In this procession the sacred Host is carried in a monstrance beneath a canopy, flowers are strewn on the way, and censers swung; the altars of repose are beautifully decorated with lights and flowers in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. In someplaces four altars are erected, and a pause is made at each, and one of the accounts of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament given by the four Evangelists is read. The four altars signify the four quarters of the world. After the reading of the Gospel, a prayer is added for protection against lightning and tempest, and for a good harvest. This solemn ceremony, which is generally terminated by the Te Deum in the church, cannot fail to impress every beholder, and lead the non-Catholic to inquire what it is towards which such profound reverence and veneration is displayed.

The procession on St. Mark's Day.

700 The Means of Grace.

When, in Catholic countries, the priest goes out to bless the fields, and prays God to grant the fruits of the earth in due season.

St. Mark is commemorated on the twenty-fifth of April. The procession on this day owes its origin to Pope St. Gregory the Great about the year 600. At the time when the plague raged in Rome, St. Gregory ordered the procession to be held for the purpose of imploring the mercy of God; and immediately after the pestilence was stayed.

The procession on the three Kogation days.

The object of which is to ask of God the blessing of an abundant harvest.

The Rogation days are the three days preceding the ascension of Our Lord. The processions were first introduced by St. Mamertus, Bishop of Vienne in France, about the year 470, at a season when a failure of crops and the damage occasioned by earthquakes had brought about great scarcity and destitution.

In addition to the processions above named, there are local processions held yearly in honor of the patron saint of the place, or to some shrine in the vicinity. Sometimes processions aro ordered by the Pope or the bishop of the diocese, as for instance, on occasion of a jubilee, or in seasons of great calamity.

When the bishop visits a church, the clergy go in procession to meet and receive him; processions are also formed at funerals. Prayer is the soul of processions; he who does not go to join in the supplication had better remain at home.

Christian Burial

1. Christian burial is a solemn service accompanied by special ceremonies, in which the remains of a departed Catholic are carried in procession to the place of interment.

As is usual in every procession, the cross is carried first, to denote that our prayers are offered in the name of the crucified Redeemer. The bells are tolled, psalms and funeral hymns are sung.

2. The special ceremonies customary at Christian obsequies are all significant of our prayer that God may have mercy on the soul of the deceased.

The lighted tapers express the desire that the departed may be admitted into the realms of perpetual light ; the holy water sprinkled on the coffin expresses the desire that his soul may be cleansed from sin; the incense that is burned expresses the desire that our prayers on his behalf may ascend to the throne of the Most High.

I7te Principal Devotional Exercises. 701

even is the clouds of smoke roll upward. A requiem Mass is generally celebrated at funerals, and sometimes an oration is delivered, to invite the mourners to pray for the departed. If the body is not present, a catafalque occupies the place of the coffin. The ceremonies observed at the obsequies of a child under seven years of age are such as express joy and gladness; white vestments are worn by the priest. The wreaths placed on the coffin are supposed to represent the victor's crown gained by the departed. The present custom of loading the coffin and covering the grave with costly floral decorations of every size and shape is greatly to be deprecated; it is a waste of money that had far better be given to the poor, or expended on Masses for the repose of the departed. St. Augustine expressly says that unnecessary display should be avoided at funerals. The soul of the departed can surely reap no benefit from what is reprehensible.

3. Christian obsequies are conducted with so much solemnity, because it is well pleasing to God that we should show reverence to the mortal remains of those who have departed this life in the grace of God.

It is becoming to treat the human body with respect after death, for during our lifetime our bodies are sacred, as being the abode and instrument of the soul which is made to God's image. They are also the temple of the Holy Ghost, and to be held in honor for God's sake. Moreover the burial of the dead is a work of mercy which is not without its reward. Remember how Tobias acted. In the early days of Christianity persons of the highest position, even Popes, did not consider it demeaning themselves to carry the remains of the martyrs in their arms to the graves, and bury them with their own hands. In the days of persecution the place of burial was in the Catacombs, where the holy sacrifice was offered. Hence it came to pass that in later times the dead were buried in the crypts of churches, or in the ground surrounding the church, which is called the churchyard. This custom is now abolished, on sanitary grounds, cemeteries being situated on the outskirts of towns for the most part. An exaggerated idea as to the uiihealthiness of intramural sepulture has contributed to the introduction of the unnatural and pagan custom of cremation. No danger to the living may be apprehended from the proximity of a burial-ground, provided the graves are of a proper depth, for earth is known to be the best possible disinfectant.

4. Cremation is condemned by the Church as being an abominable abuse.

Originally the custom of interring the dead in the ground was common to all nations, for the most ancient human remains that have been discovered bear no signs of having been subjected to fire. Vaults containing skeletons have also been met with, closed by a slab of stone. We know that the Jews buried their dead ; Holy Scripture constantly speaks of the burial of kings and prophets. That his corpse should be left unburied was a chastisement threatened to the transgressor (Deut. xxviii. 26). Only during a time of pestilence were the Jews allowed to burn individual corpses (Amos vi. 10). The Romans in

702 The Means of Grace.

earlier times buried their dead. Cicero tells us that their graves were considered as sacred, and the profanation of a tomb was severely punished, even by the loss of a hand. Bodies were often deposited in sarcophagi, where they were reduced to dust. Pliny records that the Romans only burned their dead when they feared they might be outraged by the enemy. In later times when manners became corrupt, cremation was practised among them. The custom of embalming the dead prevailed among the Egyptians. It is a noteworthy fact that all barbarous nations, who in an uncivilized state burned their dead, substituted the grave for the funeral pyre as soon as civilization shed its light in their land. Christianity did, in fact, abolish cremation. But in these days, when Christian faith is on the decrease, cremation is once more becoming the fashion. St. Augustine denounces the practice as horrible and barbarous. It offends our Christian instincts. For we are taught to regard death as a sleep ; the dead sleep in Christ (1 Cor. xv. 18), for they will rise again; they are laid to rest in peace, and the idea of the repose they enjoy is connected with the churchyard, not with the crematorium. When we commit our dead to the kindly earth, we tacitly express our belief that our body is like a seed, which is cast into the ground, to germinate and spring up. " It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption " (1 Cor. xv. 42). As Christians we have a higher esteem for the soul, which partakes of the divine nature, and consequently for the body, which is the servant and tool of the soul. No true Christian can fail to shrink from the horrors of cremation; only those who are lost to all sense of the dignity of human nature, to all belief in the truths of religion, can desire it for themselves. Let us remember that Christ, our great Exemplar, was laid in the tomb and rose again. For pagans such considerations naturally have no weight; they disliked the sight of the sepulchral monument, the mound raised over the dead, because it reminded them of death, which would put an end to their earthly enjoyments. For the same reason unbelievers in our own day advocate cremation. Burial suggests to them too strongly the immortality of the soul, whereas c'remation appears to promise the annihilation that they desire as their portion after death. Yet let no one imagine that the Christian dreads the destruction of the body by fire as an impediment to its future resurrection, for God can effect the reintegration of the body after it has been dissolved into gaseous elements. In the interests of justice destruction of the body by fire is highly reprehensible, since, if a body is buried, it can be afterwards exhumed if this is necessary for the detection of a crime, such as murder. By this means many a murderer has been brought to justice ; after cremation this is impossible. Those therefore who speak in favor of cremation befriend criminals, inasmuch as they aid in the removal of all traces of their crime.

5. Christian burial is denied to the imbaptized, to non-Catholics, and to Catholics who are known to have died in mortal

sin.

Catholics to whom Christian burial is denied are: Suicides (unless they are insane at the time of death and therefore irresponsible) ; duellists, and any persons who obstinately refuse to receive the last

The Principal Devotional Exercises. 703

sacraments, or who have not for years past fulfilled the Easter precept. In the two last cases the matter is generally laid before the bishop. The denial of Christian burial to bad Catholics is not intended as a sentence of damnation, but merely as the public expression of abhorrence of their sin, and for the purpose of deterring others from falling into the same sin. An association would be little thought of if one of its members followed to the grave a fellow-member who had been a disgrace to that society; so it would be derogatory to the Church and her ministers if she were to celebrate the obsequies of an unfaithful Catholic. The Church also refuses ecclesiastical burial to non-Catholics, because she holds to the principle expressed by Pope Innocent III. in the words : " It is impossible for us to hold communion after their death with those who have not been in communion with us during their life. To do so would give rise to the idea that all religions were alike. It would destroy the prestige of the Church, and injure the souls of men. The maxim of the Church is that the ground she has consecrated is the last resting-place of her children, and none but members of her family have a right to be interred therein." Yet she permits non-Catholic relatives to be laid in a family vault. For suicides a portion of the cemetery which has not been consecrated is set apart.

Pilgrimages

1. Pilgrimages are journeys made to sacred places, where God oftentimes vouchsafes to give miraculous assistance to the suppliant.

The Jews were accustomed to make pilgrimages; on the three principal solemnities of the year, the Paschal feast, the feast of Weeks, and the feast of Tabernacles, all the men had to go up to the Temple at Jerusalem. Thus we read that Our Lord, when twelve years old, went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem (Luke ii. 41).

2. The places of pilgrimage are either the holy places in Palestine, spots sacred to the holy apostlesj or shrines of the blessed Mother of God.

The principal places of pilgrimage in the Holy Land are: The scene of the crucifixion and the holy sepulchre on Calvary at Jerusalem; the place where Christ was born in Bethlehem, arid the place of the annunciation at Nazareth.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is situated on Mount Calvary; it consists of three separate churches, called respectively the Church of the Crucifixion, the Church of the Ascension, and that of the Invention of the True Cross; all are under one roof. The early Christians journeyed thither in great numbers ; in order to deter them from doing this, the Emperor Hadrian erected a heathen temple in the holy places, about one hundred years after Our Lord's death. About the year 325 the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, discovered the cross of Christ; this gave a fresh impetus to

704 The Means of Grace.

the pilgrimages. The Emperor Charlemagne erected a hospice close to the Holy Sepulchre for the accommodation of pilgrims to Jerusalem. In the ninth century the Saracens conquered the Holy Land; the crusades undertaken to recover it from them were nothing less than heroic pilgrimages. In the fifteenth century pilgrimages to the Holy Land again became frequent, but in Luther's time the number of those whose piety prompted them to undertake what was then a long and toilsome journey greatly diminished.

The principal places of pilgrimage in honor of the holy apostles are: The tomb of the princes of the apostles in Rome, and the tomb of St. J ames at Compostella.

The remains of St. Peter rest in the Church of St. Peter in Rome, the largest church in Christendom, of world-wide renown; it was a hundred and ten years in building, and was finished in 1626. The remains of St. Paul are laid in the church dedicated to him outside the walls of the city.

Some of the principal places of pilgrimage sacred to the Mother of God are: Lourdes in France, Loretto in Italy, Maria- Zen in Hungary, Einsiedelii in Switzerland, Altotting in Ba varia, Kevelaer in the Rhineland.

Lourdes is situated in the south of France on the slope of the Pyrenees. It was there that, in 1858, the Mother of God appeared in a grotto to a little peasant girl named Bernadette, and intimated to her her desire that a church should be built on the spot, and that pilgrims should go thither in procession. Our Lady proclaimed herself to be the Immaculate Conception. From that time forward a spring has flowed out of the grotto, the water of which has been the means of healing thousands of sick persons. No less than one hundred and twenty thousand bottles of this water are annually sent out into all parts of the world ; and the number of pilgrims who visit the shrine can only be counted by millions. They come from the remotest quarters of the world. Loretto in Ancona has, since 1295, possessed the holy house of Nazareth, where our blessed Lady lived. This lowly house was seen in the year 1252 by St. Louis in Nazareth ; forty years later it suddenly appeared at Tersato in Dalmatia ; thence it was miraculously transferred to Ancona, and finally found a permanent resting-place at Loretto. There is no doubt that it was carried to these various spots by the angels. An altar which was miraculously conveyed thither at the same time, is supposed to be that upon which St. Peter offered the holy sacrifice. The statue of Our Lady which stands on that altar, carved in cedar-wood, three feet in height, is said to be the work of St. Luke. A spacious church has been erected over the holy house; copies of the latter have been made, and are seen in several places. At Loretto Pope Pius in his youth was cured of apoplexy. The most eminent saints are known to have made pilgrimages thither; and the number of pilgrims who visit it yearly is computed at five hundred thousand. The place of pilgrimage known as Maria-Zell owes its origin to the Benedictine monks. About the commencement of the thirteenth century atterh

The Principal Devotional Exercises. 705

tion was attracted to it by the miracles wrought there. King Louis I. of Hungary built a large church at Maria-Zell, in thanksgiving for the victory he gained over the Turks in 1363, with an army immensely inferior in numbers, which he attributed to the intercession of Our Lady. Einsiedeln was originally the humble dwelling of the hermit St. Meinrad, a priest and Benedictine, a scion of the house of Hohenzollern. In 861 he was slain in his forest solitude by robbers; later on a church was built on the site of his hermitage, in which an ancient and venerated image of Our Lady was preserved. While the bishop who came to consecrate the church was watching in the sacred edifice during the night preceding the appointed day, he beheld Our Lord Himself perform the ceremony, attended by saints and angels, amid the chanting of celestial choirs. In consequence of this vision, both he, and his successors in the see, with the Papal sanction, desisted from any attempt to consecrate the church. This circumstance, together with the canonization of Meinrad, whose remains were interred at Einsiedeln, and the numerous miracles which were wrought there, 'brought the spot into great repute as a pilgrimage. During the French revolution the church was burned down, the miraculous image alone escaping injury. The shrine at Altotting dates from a somewhat earlier period, the church having been built by St. Rupert, the Apostle of Bavaria, in 700. A Benedictine monastery was afterwards erected there. Thousands of pilgrims visits the shrine. That of Kevelaer on the Rhine was built in 1642 by a citizen of Geldern, who while at prayer heard a voice commanding him to raise a sanctuary in honor of Our Lady. The number of pilgrims, principally from the adjacent country, who annually visit Kevelaer is also very great.

3. The object for which, as a rule, Christian people visit places of pilgrimage, is to beseech the divine assistance in season of deep affliction, or to fulfil a vow.

When Dom Bosco was cruelly persecuted on account of his efforts to instruct the neglected youth of Turin, and he was at a loss what course to pursue, he made a pilgrimage, and obtained the aid he sought in an unexpected and marvellous manner. God hears our petitions more quickly in places of pilgrimage ; they are the audience chamber of the King of kings ; there graces are lavishly bestowed. Many sick persons make a vow to undertake a pilgrimage if they are restored TO health; the number of ex votos on the walls of these sanc tuaries afford evidence of the frequency with which suppliants obtain their cure.

4. A visit to some place of pilgrimage leads many to a complete amendment of life.

The pilgrim on his way to a shrine forgets his worldly cares, and is more diligent in prayer; when he arrives at his destination he makes his confession to a strange priest, and under the influence of the Holy Spirit, makes perhaps a better confession. Pilgrimages are works of penance ; they are fatiguing and often expensive. They are also public professions of faith, for no one would undertake them without deep religious convictions. Thus many actual graces are

706 The Means of Grace.

obtained by the devout pilgrim. In former times they were frequently enjoined as penances; sometimes indeed they were abused, and made occasions of sinning more freely, hence the saying : " The more of a pilgrim, the less of a saint." But what is in itself good must not be rejected because it is sometimes abused; who would condemn the use of wine, because occasionally a man gets drunk'? St. Jerome says : " It is no great praise to have seen Jerusalem, but it is very great praise to have offered pious and devout prayers within its walls."

The Way of the Cross

It is said that the Way of the Cross owes its origin to the Mother of God.

Tradition says that the Blessed Mother of God was wont often to walk in the steps of her Son to Calvary, pausing at the spots marked by some special incident. The early Christians nocked in crowds to the holy places to follow the Via Crucis. But when, in the Middle Ages, the Holy Land fell into the hands of the infidels, and the devout pilgrim could only visit the scenes of Our Lord's sufferings at the risk of his life, the stations were erected in churches, and enriched by the Popes with large indulgences. St. Francis of Assisi contributed greatly to spread this devotion.

1. The Way of the Cross is the name given to the fourteen stations which depict the way along which Our Redeemer passed, bearing His cross, from Pilate's palace to Mount Calvary.

The fourteen stations consist of fourteen wooden crosses, to which pictures and inscriptions are generally added. They are erected in churches, sometimes in the open air, on the slope of a hill; occasion ally in cemeteries.

2. The manner of performing the Way of the Cross is to go from one station to another, making meanwhile a meditation on Our Lord's Passion.

It is not necessary to go from station to station in the church if one stands up and kneels down as every station is being made. It is enough to meditate on the Passion in general, without making a special meditation at each station. An Our Father, Hail Mary, and an act of contrition are generally recited at every one.

3. By performing the Way of the Cross large indulgences may be gained; we also obtain contrition for sin and are in cited to the practice of virtue.

Daily meditation on the Passion of Christ is more profitable than fasting every Friday in the year on bread and water, or taking the discipline to blood. A single tear shed in compassion for Our Lord's sufferings is of greater value in God's sight than a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We learn how acceptable meditation on His Passion is

The Principal Devotional Exercises. 707

to Our Lord, from the revelations of St. Bridget. Our Lord once appeared to her, with blood streaming from all His wounds. She asked what had reduced Him to this pitiable condition? He answered : " It is the doing of those who never consider the great love I manifested towards them by all I suffered upon the cross." It was as a continual memorial of His Passion that Our Lord instituted the holy sacrifice of the Mass. The same indulgences are granted for making the Way of the Cnoss as for visiting the corresponding places in the Holy Land. What the indulgences are we do not know precisely; let us be content to know that they are great and numerous ; they can however only be gained once in the day. The wooden crosses must be blessed by a Franciscan, or some priest who has the requisite powers, and the stations must be visited without any break. The Way of the Cross is a means of obtaining the grace of contrition. As the Israelites who were bitten by the fiery serpents were healed by looking upon the brazen serpent, so sinners are healed of the deadly wound of sin by frequent meditation on the Passion of Christ. The Way of the Cross is also an incentive to the practice of virtue. The saints often tell us that meditation on Our Lord's Passion imparts strength to suffer not merely with patience, but with joy. Our arrogance, our avarice, our anger will be cured by the humility, the poverty, the patience of the Son of God. If, O man, you would progress from virtue to virtue, contemplate with all possible devotion the sufferings of your Lord, for this is most conducive to sanctity.

4. If we are prevented from making the Way of the Cross, we can gain the indulgence by reciting the Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Gloria twenty times, holding meanwhile a crucifix blessed for the stations in our hand.

The hindrances must be of a sufficient nature, such as long distance from a church, sickness, etc. The cross for performing the stations at home must be of strong material, with the figure of the Saviour attached to it, and must have been duly blessed for the purpose. The indulgences are not gained if the crucifix is not the property of the individual using it ; but if several persons perform the devotion together, it is enough for one to hold in his hand the cross. For the sick it suffices- to take the cross in the hand and make an act of contrition. The Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father are recited fourteen times for the fourteen stations, five times in honor of the five wounds of Our Lord and once for the Holy Father. If the cross has been blessed by a Redemptionist the prayers need only be repeated fourteen times.

Exposition of the Most Holy Sacrament

1. The solemn exposition of the Most Holy Sacrament consists in placing the sacred Host in a monstrance, unveiled, at some height above the altar for the adoration of the faithful.

In the early ages of Christianity the Blessed Sacrament was concealed as much r.s possible from sight, lest the unbaptized might

708 Tlie Means of Grace.

conceive contempt for the Christian mysteries. Public exposition was not introduced until after the institution of the feast of Corpus Christi. The number of lighted tapers must not be less than twelve. The mere opening of the tabernacle is not a solemn exposition ; every parish priest may do that on his own authority.

2. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament generally takes place on these occasions: After the parochial Mass, at the afternoon services on Sundays and festivals, on Holy Thursday on the altar of repose, on the feast of Corpus Christi. The bishop of the diocese often orders an exposition to be held for some reason of local or general interest; such as a public calamity, the dangerous sickness of the ruler of the land or of the Holy Father, etc.

Missions and Retreats

1. Missions are a course of sermons and other religious exercises conducted by able priests, for the purpose of giving a fresh impetus to the spiritual life of a community or congregation.

The home missions are quite distinct from foreign missions; they are held for the most part by Religious, the Jesuit, Redemptorist, or Lazarist Fathers, who are specially trained for the work, since the constitutions of their Order specify giving missions as part of the duties of their calling. These missions effect an immense amount of good. Being something out of the common, they make more impression on the parishioners, and the sermons coming "close upon one another, exercise a potent and gentle influence on the heart, as a soft spring rain does upon the dry soil. The Holy Ghost speaking through the mouth of His servants imparts to their words an unction calculated to soften the hardest heart. Many persons also make their confession more freely to a priest who is a complete stranger to them. Missions are generally seasons of grace to a parish ; how many feuds are ended, disputes settled, bad habits eradicated ; how often is restitution made of property wrongfully acquired, how many souls are won for God, sinners converted and just persons incited to progress in virtue !

2. Retreats have much the same effect as missions.

Retreats, or the spiritual exercises, consist of a series of discourses and religious services held in convents or any other place, for a certain class of persons, whether priests, teachers, or men and women living in the world. The retreat ends with the reception of the sacraments. The exercises, which require the retreatant to labor with greater fervor at the work of his salvation, conduce signally to quicken faith and inspire morals. A clock, although it is wound up daily, after a time needs to be cleaned and repaired; it is the same with the soul, it must ever and anon be stimulated to increased exertion by the spiritual exercises. The saints were wont to withdraw into solitude for a time; Our Lord Himself spent forty days in the

The Principal Devotional Exercises. 709

desert. The Holy See has frequently urged unon the faithful to make diligent use of the spiritual exercises.

Catholic Congresses and Passion Plays

Catholic congresses and Passion plays contribute largely in the present day to the revival of faith in Christendom.

1. Catholic congresses are public meetings of Catholics for the purpose of taking counsel together and passing resolutions suited to the times and to the present needs of the Church.

These congresses are either general or provincial, according as the Catholics of a whole kingdom or only of a single State take part in them.

Ever since the year 1848 the Catholics of Germany have held annual congresses in one or other of the chief towns of the land. In other countries their example has been followed; general congresses are now a common occurrence both on the continent of Europe and also in England and the United States of America. Provincial meetings of a local interest are also frequently held in various places.

The object of Catholic congresses is not in any wise to control or take part in the government of the Church, but only to support those whose office it is to govern her.

The bishops alone possess authority to rule the Church of God. Hence those who proposed and arranged these assemblies of Catholics, remembering the saying of St. Ignatius of Antioch : " Let nothing be done without the bishop," took no steps without previously obtain ing the sanction and blessing of the Holy Father and of the bishops on their scheme. Nor have these congresses ever interfered with the direction of ecclesiastical matters ; they have merely been instrumental in carrying out Christian principles ; their members are a militia under episcopal command. Consequently the bishops have always highly approved of congresses and attended them in person.

These public meetings of Catholics are of great utility to the Church; they have been instrumental in founding sodalities adapted to meet the needs of the day, in promoting unity and concord among Catholics, in inspiring them with courage and confirming their convictions, in increasing the prestige of the Church, and gaining for her greater liberty of action.

Every one who has been present at a Catholic congress will have perceived what enthusiasm is evoked by the forcible addresses of the different speakers, how faith is kindled inwardly and manifested outwardly. And from the remarks of the anti-Catholic press, it may beseen how these congresses win respect even from the enemies of the Church by their vigorous protests and energetic action. The work of these congresses has been said to be to pull down the edifice of

710 The Means of Grace.

modern paganism stone by stone, and raise in its place a noble basilica.

2. Passion play is the name given to the portrayal of Our Lord's Passion, and other biblical events in a series of tableaux vivants.

In the Middle Ages, before the invention of printing had placed Holy Scripture within the reach of the people, it was customary to present to their view the chief events of Our Lord's life in theatric representations. For instance, St. Francis of Assisi obtained the Papal permission to construct a stable of brushwood and moss in the midst of a pine-wood. In it he placed a real manger in which was laid an image of the divine Infant, while figures representing Mary and Joseph stood beside it. A real ox and an ass were tied up to a stall outside the stable ; inside an altar was erected, at which at midnight the Christmas Mass was solemnly celebrated, St. Francis serving as deacon, to the great edification of the crowds who nocked from all parts round to witness the unwonted spectacle. From that time forth the custom of making a crib in churches began to prevail. In the Middle Ages, pains were taken to make representations of this description as picturesque and true to nature as possible; scenes from the life of Our Lord or other scriptural personages were represented on the stage in tableaux. The subject of these religious dramas or miracle-plays as they were called, was generally adapted to the season of the ecclesiastical year in which they were performed. At first they were enacted in the church, the actors speaking in Latin ; later on they were given in the open air, and the vernacular was used. In the fourteenth century these sacred dramas were customary in almost every village in France and Germany, but owing to abuses having arisen, they were strictly prohibited by the Holy See. In 1633 they were however revived at Oberammergau, in Bavaria, in consequence of a vow made by the inhabitants to perform a Passion play every ten years if they were delivered from a pestilence which was ravaging the village. This Passion play, as well as two others in the Tyrol, has acquired a world-wide renown. It is performed with wonderful skill by the peasants, and in a spirit of heartfelt piety and recollection. Experience proves that far from being, as some allege, a profanation of holy things, the representation of the solemn scenes of Our Loid's sacred Passion has the effect of impressing and touch ing the spectators, inspiring feelings of devotion, and elevating the heart so that the actors are forgotten in the entrancing interest of the scenes enacted. Besides, the gracious answer to the petition of the people of Oberammergau ought to silence the objector, for that cannot be reprehensible of which God manifests His approval in so signal a manner.