PROPER OF THE TIME

PASSION SUNDAY
Hodie, si vocem Domini To-day if yon shall hear the
audieritis, nolite obdurare voice of the Lord, harden not
corda veatra. your hearts.
THB holy Church begins her night Office of this
Sunday with these impressive words of the royal
prophet. Formerly, the faithful considered it their
duty to assist at the night Office, at least on Sundays
and feasts; they would have grieved to lose the grand
teachings given by the litur�y. Such fervour has
long since died out; the assiduity at the Offices of
the Church, which was the joy of our Catholic fore­
fathers, has now become a thing of the past; and.
even in countries which have not apostatized from
the faith, the clergy have oeased to celebrate publicly
Offioes at which no one assisted. Exoepting in
cathedral churches and in monasteries, tlie grand
harmonious system of the divine praise has been
abandoned, and the marvellous power of the liturgy
has no longer its full influenoe upon the faithful.
This is our reason for drawing the attention of
our readers to oertain beauties of the Divine Office,
which would otherwise be totally ignored. Thus,
what can be more impressive than this solemn In­
vitatory of to-day's Matins, which the Church takes
from one of the psalms, and which she repeats on
every feria between this and Maundy Thursday ?
ijh� says: TQ-dav, if ve &hqll hear the �oice of the ,40rd1
104: PAS�I9NT1DE AND HOLY WEEK

harden not '!fOUr hearts I The sweet voice of your

suffering Jeeue now speaks to you, poor sinners ! be
not your own enemies by indifference and hardnesa
of heart. The Son of God ie about to give you the
last and greatest proof of the love that brought Him
down from heaven; Hie death ie nigh at hand: men
are preparing the wood for the immolation of the
new Ieaao: enter into yourselves, and let not your
hearts, after being touched with grace, retum to their
former obduracy; for nothing could be more dan­
gerous. The great anniversaries we are to celebrate
have a renovating power for those eoule that faith­
fully correspond with the grace which. ie offered
them ; but they increase insensibility in those who
let them paee without working their conversion.'
To-day, therefore, if '!fOU kear tke ooice of tke Lord,
harden not '!fOUr hearts I
During the preceding four weeks, we have noticed
how the malice of Jeeue' enemies hae been gradually
increasing. Hie very presence irritates them; and
it ie evident that any little circumstance will suffice
to bring the deep and long-nurtured hatred to a head.
The kind and gentle manners of Jeeue are drawing
to Him all hearts that are simple and upright; at the
same time, the humble life He leads, and the stem
purity of Hie doctrines, are perpetual souroee of
vexation and anger, both to the proud Jew that looks
forward to the Meeeias being a might! conqueror,
and to the pharisee, who corrupts the Law of God,
that he may make it the instrument of hie own base
passions. Still, Jesus goes on working miracles ; Hie
dieoourees are more than ever energetic; Hie prophe­
cies foretell the fall of Jerusalem, and such a destruc­
tion of its famous temple, that not a stone ie to be
left on a stone. The doctors of the Law should,
at least, reflect upon what they hear; they should
e�e tb84e wo:p.dedul work� which ;rep.def such
 PA88ION SUln>AY

llttOJlg testimony in favour of the Son of David; and

they ihoqld consult those divine prophecies which, up
to the present tirue, have been so literally fulfilled
in His person. Alas I they themselves are about to
� them out to the ve� last iota. There . is not
a single outrage or su:ffenng foretold by Davtd and
Isaias, as having to be put upon the Messias, which
these blind men are not scheming to verify.
In them, therefore, was fulfilled that terrible say­
ing: 'He that shall speak against the Holy Ghost,
it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world,
nor in the world to oome.' 1 The Synagogue is nigh
to a curse. Obstinate in her error, she refuses to see
or to hear; she has deliberately perverted her judg­
ment: she has extinguished within herself the light
of the holy Spirit ; she will go deeper and de�er
into evil, and at length fall into the abyss. This
same lamentable conduct is but too often witnessed
nowadays in those sinneni, who, by habitual resistance
to the light, end by finding their happiness in sin.
Neither should it surprise us, that we find in people
of our own generation a resemblance to the murderers
of our Jesus: the history of His Passion will reveal
to us many sad secrets of the human heart and
its perverse inclinations ; for what hapr_ened in Jeru­
salem, happens also in every sinner s heart. His
heart, according to the saying of St. Paul, is a Cal­
vary, where Jesus is crucified. There is the same
ingratitude, the same blindness, the same wild mad­
ness, with this difference: that the sinner who is
enlightened by faith, knows Him whom he crucifies ;
whereas the Jews, as the same apostle tells us, knew
not the Lord of glory.9 Whilst, therefore, we listen
to the Gospel, which relates the history of the Passion,
let us turn the indignation which we feel for the
1 l Cor. µ. $,
106 PA8810NTIDB AND HOLY WEBJC

Jews against ourselves and our own sins; let us weep

over the sufferings of our Victim, for our sins caused
Him to suffer and die.
Everything around us urges us to mourn. The
images of the saints, the very crucifix on our altar,
are veiled from our sight. The Church is oppressed
with grief. During the first four weeks of Lent, she
compassionated her Jesus fastin� in the desert; His
coming sufferings and crucifixion and death are
what now fill her with anguish. We read in to-day's
Gospel, that the Jewe threaten to stone the Son of
God as a blasphemer: but His hour is not yet come.
He is obliged to flee and hide Himself. It is to
express this deep humiliation, that the Church veils
the cross. A God hiding Himself, that He may
evade the anger of men-what a mystery I Is it
weakness? Is it, that He fears death? No; we shall
soon see Him going out to meet His enemies: but at
present He hides Himself from them, because all that
had been prophesied regarding Him has not been
fulfilled. Besides, His death is not to be by stoning:
He is to die· upon a cross, the tree of malediction,
which, from that time forward, is to be the tree of life.
Let us humble ourselves, as we see the Creator of
heaven and earth thus obliged to hide Himself from
men, who are bent on His destruction I Let us go
back, in thought, to the sad day of the first sin,
when Adam and Eve hid themselves because a guilty
conscience told them they were naked. Jesus has
come to assure us of our being pardoned, and lo I He
hides Himself, not because He is naked-He that
is to the saints the garb of holiness and immortality
-but because He made Himself weak, that He might
make us strong. Out' first parents sought to hide
themselves from the sight of God; Jesus hides Him­
self from the eye of men. But it will not be thus for
ever. The day will oome when sinners, from whOSQ
 1ot
anr·
PAsslON SUNDAY

r He now flees, will pray to the mountains to

fal on them and shield them from His gaze ; but
their prayer will not be granted, and they shall see
the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with
much power and majesty.I
This Sunday is called Pa8sion Sunday, because
the Churoh begins, on this day, to make the suffer­
ings of our Redeemer her chief thought. It is called
also, Judica, from the fil'Bt word of the Introit of the
Maes ; and again Neomania, that ie, the Sunday of
the new (or the Easter) moon, because it always
falls after the new moon which regulates the feast
of Easter.
In the Greek Church, this Sunday goes under the
simple name of the fifth Sunday of the holy fasts.

MASS
At Rome, the Station is in the basilica of St.
Peter. The importance of this Sunday, which never
gives way to any feast, no matter what its solemnity
may be, required that the place for the assembly of
the faithful should be in one of the chief sanctuaries
of the holy city.
The Introit is taken from the fint verses of Psalm
xlii. The M�as appeals to God's tribunal, and
protests a�ainst the sentence about to be pronounoed
against Him by men. He likewise expresses Hie confi­
dence in Hie Father's help, who, after Hie sufferings
and death, will lead Him in triumph into the holy
mount.
INTROIT
Judica me, Deus, et dis- Judge me, 0 God, and dis-
Q81'Qe ca\18&Dl meam de tinguish my caus(I from th�
1 �t. Mat*. Div. 3Q.
108 PASSIONTIDB AND BOLT WEE'll'.

gente non sancta: ab homine nation that is not holy; deliver

iniquo et doloso eripe me:
quia tu es Deus meus, et
fortitudo mea.
Ps. Emitte lucem tuam
et veritatem tuam: ipsa me
deduxerunt et adduxerunt
in montem sanctum tuum, et
in tabernacula tua. Judica
me.
me from the unjust and deceit­
ful man: for thou art my God
and my strength.
Ps. Send forth thy light
and thy truth; for they have
conducted me, and brought
me to thy holy mount, and
into thy tabernacles. Judge
me, &c.

The Gloria Patri is not said during P&SSiontide

and Holy Week (unl088 a saint's feast be kept), but
the Introit is repeated immediately after the Psalm.
In the Collect, the Church prays that there may
be produced in her children that total reformation,
which the holy season of Lent is intended to produoe.
This reformation is such, that it will not only subject
the body to the spirit, but preserve also the spirit it­
self from those delusions and passions, to which it
has been, hitherto, more or less a slave.
COLLECT
Quresumus, omnipotens Mercifully look down on thy
Deus, familiam tuam pro- people, we beseech thee 0
pitius respice: ut, te largi- almighty God, that by thy
ente, regatur in corpore, bounty and protection, they
et, te servante, custodiatur may be governed and guarded
in mente. Per Dominum. both in body and soul,
Through, &c.

Then is added one of the following prayers :

AGAINST THE PBRSBCUTORS OP THB CHURCH
Ecclesire ture, quresumus, Mercifully hear, we beseech
Domine, preces placatus thee, 0 Lord, the prayers of
admitte: ut destructis ad­ thy Church: tbatall oppositiona
versitatibus et erroribus and errors being removed, she
universis, secura tibi serviat may serve thee with a secure
libertate. Per Dominum. liberty. Throu�h, &c.
 PA88ION SUNDAY
POR THB POPB
Deus, omnium fidelium
Pastor et Rector, famulum
tuum N., quem Pastorem
Ecclesue tWB prreesse vo-
luisti, propitius respice:
da ei, quresumus, verbo
et exemplo, quibus prre-
est, proficere; ut ad vitam,
una cum grege sibi credi-
to, perveniat sempiternam.
Per Dominum.
BPISTLB
Lectio Epistolre beati Pauli Lesson of the Epistle of Saint
Apoetoli ad HebnBOs.
Cap. IX.
Fratrea: Christus assi­
akna Pontifex futurorum
bonorum, per ampliua et
perfectius tabernaculum non
manufactum, id est, non hu­
jus creationis: neque per
sanguinem hircorom aut vi­
tulorum, sed per proprium
Sanguinem introivit semel
in Sancta, •terna redem­
ptione inventa. Si enim
sanguis hircorum et tau­
rorum, et cinis vitullB asper­
BUI inqninatos sanctificat ad
emundationem carnis: quan­
to magia Sanguis Christi,
qui per Spiritum sanctum
aemetipaum obtulit imma­
culatum Deo, emundabit
conscientiam nostram ab
operibus mortuis, ad aervi-
109
O God, the Pastor and
Ruler of all the faithful, look
down, in thy mercy, on thy
servant N., whom thou hast
appointed Pastor over thy
Church; and grant we be­
seech thee, that both by word
and example, he may edify all
those that are under his
charge: and, with the flock
entrusted to him, arrive at
length at eternal happiness.
Through, &c.
Paul the Apostle to the
Hebrews.
Ck.IX.
Brethren: Christ being
come, an High Priest of the
good things to come, by a
greater and more perfect taber­
nacle not made with hands,
that is, not of this creation,
neither by the blood of goata
or of calves, but by his own
Blood, entered once into the
Holies, having obtained eternal
redemption. For, if the blood
of goats and of oxen, and the
ashes of an heifer being sprin­
kled, sanctify such as are de­
filed, to the cleansing of the
flesh; how much more shall the
Blood of Christ (who by the
Holy Ghost offered himself
unspotted unto God), cleanse
our conscience from dead
works to serve the living God?
110 PA881ONTIDB AND HOLY WBll

endum Deo viventi? Et And therefore, he is the me­

ideo novi Testamenti medi- diator of the new Testament:
ator est: ut morte interce- that by means of his death, for
dente, in redemptionem ea- the redemption of those trans­
rum pnevaricationum, qua, gressiona which were under
erant sub priori Testamento, the former Testament, they
repromissionem accipiant, that are called may receive the
qui vocati sunt, aiternai hai- promise of eternal inheritance,
redit.atis: in Christo Jeau in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Domino nostro.
It is by blood alone that man is to be redeemed.
He has offended God. This God cannot be aJ>peased
by anything short of the extermination of HIS rebel­
lio118 creature, who, by shedding his blood, will give
an earnest of his repentance and his entire eubmis­
eion to the Creator, against whom he dared to rebel.
Otherwise, the justice of God must be satisfied by
the einner's suffering eternal punishment. This troth
was understood by all the people of the ancient world,
and all confeseed it by shedding the blood of viotims,
as in the sacrifices of Abel at the very commencement
of the world, in the heoa.tombs of Greece, in the
countless immolations whereby Solomon dedicated
the temple. And yet God thus speaks to His people:
'Hear, 0 My people, and I will speak: 0 Israel, and
I will testify to thee: I am God thy God. I will not
reprove thee for thy sacrifices, and thy burnt-offerings
are always in my sight. I will not take calves out
of thy ho1188, nor he-goats out of thy flocks. I need
them not: for all the beasts of the woods are Mine.
If I should be hungry I would not tell thee ; for the
world is Mine, and the fullness thereof. Shall I eat
the flesh of bullocks P or shall I drink the blood of
goats P' 1 Thus, God commands the blood of viotims
to be offered to Him, and, at the same time, deolaree
that neither it nor they are precious in His sight.
l l'a. XU, 7 •13.
 PA.llSTON SUNDAY 111
Is this a contradiction? No: God would hereby have
man understand that it is only by blood that he oa.n
be redeemed, but that the blood of brute animals
oannot effect this redemption. Can the blood of man
himself bring him his own redemption, and appease
God's justice? No, not even ma.n's blood, for it is
defiled; and even were it undefiled, it is powerle88 to
oompensate for the outrage done to God by sin. For
this there was needed the Blood of a. God; such was
the Blood of Jesus, and He has come that He may
shed it for our redemption.
In Him is fulfilled the most sa.ored of the figures of
the old Law. Once ea.oh year, the high-priest entered
into the Holy of holies, there to make intercession
for the people. He went within the veil, even to
the Ark of the Covenant ; but he was not allowed to
enjoy this great privilege, unless he entered the holy
pla.oe oa.rrying in his hands the blood of a. newly­
offered victim. The Son of God, the true High­
Priest, is now a.bout to enter heaven, and we a.re to
follow Him thither; but unto this, He must have an
offering of blood, and that Blood can be none other
than His own. We a.re going to assist at this His
compliance with the divine ordinance. Let us open
our hearts, that this precious Blood may, as the
apostle says in to-day's Epistle, cleanse our conscience
�m dead works to serve the living God.
The Gradual is ta.ken from the Psalms. Our
Saviour here prays to be delivered from His enemies,
and protected from the rage of them that have risen
up age.inst Him ; yet is He ready to do the will of
His Father, by whom He will be avenged.
In the Tract, which is also ta.ken from the Psalms,
the Messias, under the name of Israel, complains of
the persecution He has met with from the Jewe, even
:from His youth. They a.re now about to scourge Him in
112 PASSIOMTU>B AND HOLY WBB:tt

a most oruel manner. But He also foretells the

punishment their deicide is to bring upon them.
GRADUAL
Eripe me, Domine, de ini­ Deliver me, 0 Lord, from
micis meis: doce me facere my enemies; teach me to do
voluntatem tuam. thy will.
t. Liberator meus, Do­ t. Thou, 0 Lord, art my
mine, de gentibus iracundis: deliverer from the enraged
ab insurgentibus in me ex­ Gentiles: thou wilt put me out
altabis me: a viro iniquo of the reach of those that as­
eripies me. sault me; and thou wilt rescue
me from the unrighteous man.
TRACT
Sepe expugnaverunt me Many a time have they
a juventute mea. fought against me from my
youth.
t. Dicat nunc Israel; f. Let Israel now say:
Siepe expugnaverunt me a They have often attacked me
juventute mea. from my youth.
f. Etenim non potuerunt f. But they could not pre­
mihi: supra dorsum meum vail over me: the wicked have
fabricaverunt peccatores. wrought upon my back.
f. Prolongaverunt ini­ t. They have lengthened
quitates suas: Dominus ju­ their iniquity: the Lord who
stus concidet cervices pec­ is just, will cut the necks of
catorum. sinners.
GOSPEL
Sequentia sancti Evangelii Sequel of the holy Gospel,
secundum Joannem. according to John.
Cap. viii. Ch. viii.
In illo tempore: Dicebat At that time: Jesus said to
Jesus turbis Judieorum: the multitade of the JeWB:
Quis ex vobis arguet me de Which of you shall convince
peccato? Si veritatem dico me of sin? If I say the truth
vobis, quare non creditis to you, why do you not believe
mihi? Qui ex Deo est, ver- me? He that is of God, hear­
ba Dei audit. Propterea vos eth the words of God. There­
�on auditis, quia ex Deo fore you hear them not, �
 P.18810:N StTNl>AY
non estia. Reepondernnt er-
go Judmi, et dixerunt ei:
Nonne bene dicimue nos
quia Samaritanus es tu, et
wemonium habes? Reepon-
dit Jesus: Ego dmmonium
non habeo: sed honorifico
Patrem meum, et vos in-
honorastie me. Ego autem
non qumro gloriam meam:
eat qui qurerat et judicet.
Amen, amen dico vobis: Si
quis sermonem meum serva-
vaverit, mortem non videbit
in retemum. Dixerunt ergo
Judrei: Nunc cognovimus
quia dremonium habee. A-
braham mortuue est, et pro-
phet&!: et tu dicie: Si quis
sermonem meum servaverit,
nongustabit morteminreter-
num. Numquid tu major es
patre nostro Abraham, qui
mortuus est? et prophet&!
mortui sunt. Quem teipsum
facis? Reepondit Jesus: Si
ego glorifico meipeum, glo-
ria mea nihil est: est Pater
meue, qui glorificat me,
quern voe dicitis quia Deus
veeter est, et non cognovi-
etis eum; ego autem novi
eum: et ei dixero quia non
scio eum, ·ero similis vobis
mendax. Sed scio eum, et
sermonem ejue servo. Abra-
ham pater vester exsultavit
ut videret diem meum: vidit,
et gavieus est. Dixerunt ergo
Judmi ad eum: Quinquagin-
ta annos nondum habes, et
Abraham vidisti? Dwt eis
113
cause you are not of God. The
Jewe, therefore, answered and
said to him; Do not we say
well that thou art a Samari­
tan, and hast a devil? Jesus
answered: I have not a devil;
but I honour my Father, and
you have dishonoured me.
But I seek not my own glory:
there is one that seeketh and
judgeth. Amen, amen, I say
to you: If any man keep my
word, he shall not see death
for ever. The Jews therefore
said: Now we know that thou
hast a devil. Abraham is dead,
and the prophets: and thou
sayest: If any man keep my
word, he shall not taste death
for ever. Art thou greater
than our father Abraham, who
is dead? And the prophets
are dead. Whom dost thou
make thyself? Jesue an­
swered: If I glorify myself
my glory is nothing. It is my
Father that glorifieth me, of
whom you say that he is your
God; and you have not known
him, but I know him. And
if I shall say that I know him
not, I shall be like to you,
a liar. But I do know him,
and do keep his word: Abra­
ham your father rejoiced that
he might see my day: he saw
it, and was glad. The Jews
therefore said to him: Thou
art not yet fifty years old, and
hast thou seen Abraham? Je­
sue said to them: Amen, amen,
I say to you, before Abraham
6
114 PA88IONTIDB A'ND HOLY WBBK

Jesus: Amen, amen, dico was made, I am. They took

vobis, antequam Abraham up stones therefore to cast at
fieret, ego sum. Tulerunt him. But Jesus hid himself,
ergo lapides ut jacerent in and went out of the temple.
eum: Jesus autem abecondit
se, et exivit de templo.
The fury of the Jews is evidently at its height, and
Jesus is obliged to hide Himself from them. But
He is to fall into their hands before many days are
over; then will they triumph and put Him to death.
They triumph, and Jesus is their victim: but how
different is to be His lot from theirs I In obedienoe
to the decrees of His heavenly Father, and out of
love for men, He will deliver Himself into the hands
of His enemies, and they will put Him to death ;
but He will rise victorious from the tomb, He will
ascend into heaven, He will be throned on the right
hand of His Father. His enemies, on the contrary,
after having vented all their rage, will live on
without remorse, until the terrible day come for
their chastisement. That day is not far off, for
observe the severity wherewith our Lord speaks to
them: ' You hear not the words of God, beoa.1188 you
are not of God.' Yet there was a time when they
were of God, for the Lord gives His grace to all men;
but they have rendered this grace useless; they are
now in darkness, and the light they have rejected
will not return.
You &a'!f that My Father is your God, and you hafJe
not known Him; but I know Him. Their obstinacy
in refusing to acknowledge Jesus as the M:essias, has
led these men to ignore that very God, whom they
boast of honouring; for if they knew the Father,
they would not reject His Son. Moses, and the
P11alms, and the Prophets, are all a dead letter to
them ; these sacred Books are soon to pass into the
bands of the Gentiles, who will both read and under-
 PA.SSlON SUNDAY 115

stand them. II, oontinues Jesus, I should say that

1 know Him not, I should be like to you, a liar. This
strong language is that of the angry Judge who is
to oome down, at the last day, to destroy sinners.
Jerusalem has not known the time of her visitation:
the Son of God has visited her, He is with her, and
she dares to say to Him: Thou hast a demi I She
says to the eternal Word, who proves Himself to be
God by the most astonishing miracles, that .Abraham
and the pr<Yphets are greater than He ! Strange blind­
ness, that comes from pride and hardness of heart I
The feast of the Pasch is at hand; these men are
going to eat, and with much parade of religion, the
flesh of the figurative lamb; they know full well that
this lamb is a s;rmbol, or a figure, which is to have
its fnlfllment. The true Lamb is to be sacrificed by
their hands, and they will not know Him. He will
abed His Blood for them, and it will not save them.
How this reminds us of those sinners, for whom this
Easter promises to be as fruitless as those of the past
years I Let us redouble our prayers for them, and
beseech our Lord to soften their hearts, lest trampling
the Blood of Jesus under their feet, they should have
it to ary vengeanoe against them before the throne
of the heavenly Father.
At the Offertory, confiding in the merits of the
Blood that has redeemed us, let us, in the words of
the Psalm, give praise to God, and proclaim Him to
be the author of that new life, of which the eaorifioe
of the Lamb is the never-failing source.
OFFERTORY
Confitebor tibi, Domine, I will praise thee, 0 Lord,
in toto corde meo: retribue with my whole heart: reward
servo tuo; vivam, et custo­ thy servant: I shall live, and
diam sermonea tuoa: vivi­ keep thy commandments: eave
fica me aecundum verbum me according to thy word 1
tamu, Domine. 0 Lord.
116 PA88IONT1DB Alfi) BOLT WBB!t

The Sacrifice of the spotlem Lamb bu �uoed

two effect.a upon the einner: it baa broken hia fetters,
and has made him the objeot of God's love. The
Church praye, in the Secret, that the Saorifioe whioh
she ie about to offer, and whioh ie one with that of
the oross, may work the same results in us.

SECRBTB
Hiec munera, qwesumua, May these offerings, 0 Lord,
Domine, et vincula nostne both looeen the bonds of oar
pravitatis absolvant, et tua, wickedness, and obtain for
nobis misericordire dona con- 118 the gift.a of thy meroy.
cilient. Per Dominum. Through, &c.

AGAINST THE PERSBCUTOM OP THE CHURCH

Protege nos, Domine,
tuis mysteriis servientes: ut
divini1 rebus inhrerentes, et
corpore tibi famulemur et
mente. Per Dominum.
Protect 118, 0 Lord, while
we assist at thy sacred my1-
teries: that being employed
in acts of religion, we may
serve thee both in body and
mind. Through &c.

FOR THB POPE

Oblatis, quresumua, Do- Be appeased, 0 Lord, with
mine, placare muneribus: the offering we have made:
et famulum tuum N. quem and cease not to protect thy
Pastorem Ecclesire tulll servant N., whom thou hut
pra,esse voluisti, aasidua been pleased · to appoint
protectione guberna. ,Per Pastor over thy Church.
Dominum. Through, &c.

The Communion-anti11hon ie formed out of the

very words spoken by Jesus, when instituting the
augUBt Sacrifioe which has jUBt been celebrated, and
of which the priest and people have partaken, in
memory of the Passion, for it renews both the
remembrance and the merits of the Passion.
 PilalON SUNDAY 117

COMMUNION
Hoc corpus, quod pro vo­ This is the body which shall
bis ttadetur: hie calix novi be delivered up for you; this
teltamttnti est in meosangui­ is the cup of the new covenant
ne, dicitDominUB: hoc facite, in my blood, saith the Lord.
quotiesque sumitis, in meam As often as you roceive them,
commemorationem. do it in remembrance of me.

In the Postoommunion, the Church prays to God,

that He would maintain in the faithful the fruits of
the visit He has so graoiouely paid them; for, by
their participation in the sacred mysteries, He has
entered into them.
POBTCO!DilUNIONS
Adesto nobis, Domine Help 118, 0 Lord our God,
Deus noster: et, quos tuis and for ever protect those
mysteriis recreasti, perpe- whom thou hast refreshed
tuis defende subsidiis. Per with thy sacred mysteries.
Dominum. Through, &c.
AGAINST THB PBR8BCUTOR8 OF THE CHURCH
QulllSumus, Domine Deus We beseech thee, 0 Lord
noeter: ut quos divina tri- our God, not to leave exposed
buis participatione gaudere, to the dangers of human life,
humanis non ainas subjacere those whom thou hast per­
periculis. Per Dominum. mitted to partake of these
divine mysteries. Through, &c.
FOB. THE POPB
H1ec nos qu1esumus, Do­ May . the participation of
mini, divini Sacramenti this divine Sacrament protect
perceptio protegat: et fa­ us, we beseech thee, 0 Lord,
mulum tuum N. quem Pa­ and always procure safety and
atorem Ecclesi1e tUIB pTIB­ defence to thy servant N.,
esae voluisti, una cum com­ whom thou hast appointed
misso Bibi grege salvet sem­ Pastor over the Church, to­
per et muniat. Per Domi­ gether with the flock commit­
ll�, ted to his charge. Throu�h &c,
118 PASSIONTIDE AND HOLY WEEK

VESPERS
The psalms and antiphons are given on page 81.
CAPITULUM:
Heb. i"c
Fratres : Christus aasi- Brethren: Christ being come
1tens Pontifex futurorum an High Priest of the good
bonorum, per amplius et things to come, by a greater
perfectius tabernaculum non and more perfect tabernacle
manufactum, id est, non not made with hands, that is,
hujus creationis, neque per not of this creation, neither
sanguinem hircorum, aut by the blood of goats or of
vitulorum, sed per proprium calves, but by his own Blood,
sanguinem, introivit semel entered once into the Holies,
in Sancta, mterna redem- having obtained eternal re-
ptione invent.a. demption.
For the hymn and versicle, see page 89.
ANTIPHON OF THB MAGNIFICAT
Abraham pater vester ex- Abraham your father re-
aultavit ut videret diem me- joiced that he might see my
um: vidit et gaviS11s est. day: he saw it, and was glad.
OREMUS LET US PRAY
QuaiS11mns, omnipotens Mercifully look down on
Deus, familiam tuam pro­ thy people, we beseech thee,
pitius respice: ut, te lar­ 0 almighty God, that by thy
giente, regatur in corpore, bounty and protection, they
et, te servante, cnstodiatur may be governed and guard­
in mente. Per Dominum. ed both in body and soul.
Through, &c.
The following appropriate prayer is from the
Mozarabio breviary.
CAPITULUM:
Paasionis tme festum, The course of the year haa
Christe Dei Filius, devotis brought ns to the time for cele­
QOrdillDl officiis, rectµ'Sn �ratin�, with devout h�rts �d
 P.l88ION SUNDAY 119
temporia inchoantes, quo offices, the feast of thy Passion,
pro nobia et linguaa fuiati 0 Jesus, Son of God I wherein,
peraequeritium paasua, et for our sake, thou didst suffer
tradentium te vulneribua the calumnies of thine ene­
crucifix.us; rogamua atque mies, and wast crucified by the
exposcimua ne te elonges wounds of them that betrayed
a nobis: ut quia proxi­ thee. We pray and beseech
mante tribulatione, non est thee, that thou depart not from
qui adjuvet; tu aolus Pas­ us; and whereas tribulation is
aionis ture nos aubleves nigh at hand, and there is none
ope: ne tradaa ergo nos to help us, do thou, by the help
inimicia noatris in malum, of thy Passion, become our sole
aed excipe servos tuos in protector. Deliver us not,
hon.am: ut nos calumnian­ therefore, into the hands of
tea superbi, inimici acilicet our enemies unto evil, but re­
animarum nostrarum, vir­ ceive us, as thy servants, unto
tutia tum potentia propel­ good; that the haughty ones
lantur; tu es enim divina who calumniate us, namely the
lucerna per humanitatem enemies of our souls, may be
111per candelabrum crucia repelled by the might of thy
imposita; ideo te rogamus, power. Thou, by the human
ut nos accendaa, ne venia­ nature thou hast assumed, art
mua in prenam. Quos ergo the lamp set on the stand of
perapicia initiatum Paaaio­ the cross: we beseech thee,
nia tulB featum devotia cor­ therefore, that thou enkindle
dibua excepiase, facito eos us by thy flame, lest we become
Paaaioni ture communicare: a prey to punishment. Behold
ut tenebrarum nostrarum ua now entering, with devout
errore diacusao, lucia tum hearts, upon the feast of thy
muniamur prresidio. Passion; oh I grant that we may
partake of the merits of thy
Passion: that thus, being de­
livered from the error of our
darkuesa, we may be fortified
by the help of thy light.
That we may the better honour the holy cross,
we give, for each day of this week, an appropriate
hymn from one or other of the various ancient
liturgies. The one we have selected for to-day is
the oomposition of St. Venantius Fortunatus,. bishop·
qf Poitien,,
120 PASSIONTIDB AND HOLY WBEK

JIDIN
Crux benedicta nit.et, Do- Brightly shineth the blessed
minus qua came pe- cross, whereon hung the Body
pendit. of our Lord, when, with hia
Atque cruore suo vulnera Blood, he washed our wounds.
nostra lavat.
Mitis amore pio pro nobis Become, out of tender love
victima factus, for us, a meek Victim, this
Traxit ab ore lupi qua sacer divine Lamb did by the crou
Agnus ovea. rescue us his sheep from the
jaws of the wolf.
Transfixis palmia ubi 'Twas there, with hia handa
mundum a clade rede­ nailed to the wood, that he re­
mit, deemed the world from ruin,
Atque suo clausit funere and by his own death, closed
mortis iter. the way of death.
Hie manus illa fuit clavis Here was fastened with
confixa cruentis. cruel nails that hand which
Quie eripuit Paulum cri­ delivered Paul from sin, and
mine, morte Petrum. Peter from death.
Fertilitate potens, o dulce 0 sweet and noble tree!
et nobile lignum, how vigorous in thy growth,
Quando tuis ramis tam nova when, on thy branches, hang
poma geris. fruits so rare as these!
Cujus odore novo defun­ Thy fresh fragrance gives
cta cadavera surgunt, resurrection to many that lay
Et redeunt vitie qui caruere in the tomb, and restores the
die. dead to life.
Nullum uret iestus sub He that shelters beneath thy
frondibusarboris hujus: shade, shall not be scorched
Luna nee in noctem, sol ne­ either by the moon at night
que meridie. or by the midday sun.
Tu plantata micas secus Planted near the running
est ubi cursus aquarum: waters, thou art lovely in thy
Spargis et omatas flore re­ verdure, and bloBBOms ever
cente coqias. fresh blow on each fair branch.
Appensa est vitis inter Between thine arms hangs
tua brachia, de qua · the pendant Vine, whence
Dulcia sanguineo vina ru­ wine most sweet flows in a
bore fluunt. ruddy stream.