preserved in its purity May it be a fountain of life a regenerating water a purifying stream that all those who shall be washed in this wholsom bath may obtain the grace to be perfectly purified by operation and assistance of the Holy Ghost The Priest signs the Font thrice with the sign of the Cross to shew us that as the Holy Trinity was by visible Tokens present at Christs Baptism So these Three Persons by an invisible Presence are so assisting when the People are Baptized ANd therefore I bless thee O creature water by the living ✚ God by the true ✚ God by the holy ✚ God by that God who at the beginning of the world separated thee from the dry land by his word and whose spirit was carried upon thee The Priest divides the Water with his Hand and casts it towards the four parts of the World instructing us thereby that the grace of Baptism is poured forth through the whole Earth And the Church setting before our Eyes the Wonders wrought by God upon the Waters both in the Old and New Testament teacheth us that we are not to think it strange that this Element is made use of to make a Sacrament for our Regeneration and Sanctification GOD who made thee spring in Paradise and dividing thee into four rivers commanded thee to water the whole earth who changed thy bitterness in the desart and made the potable by an imprinted suavity and to issue out of a rock to quench his peoples thirst I bless thee also through our Lord Jesus Christ his only Son who in Cana Galilee changed thee into wine by a singular miracle of his omnipotency who walked dry-foot upon thee and was baptized in thee by St. John in Jordan who caused thee together with blood to issue out of his side and who commanded his disciples to baptize all those in thee who should believe in him saying Go ye and teach all nations and baptize them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost The Priest invocates Gods assistance with a profound respect OMnipotent God mercifully assist us observing thy commandments and of thy goodness infuse thy spirit into us Then the Priest breaths upon the Waters in form of a Cross to teach us that Jesus Christ by the Merits of his Cross and Passion communicates his Holy Spirit to those that are Baptized as he communicated it to his Disciples by the breath of his Mouth BLess these simple waters with thy mouth that besides their natural quality of cleansing the body they may receive yet further vertue to purifie our souls The Priest dippeth the hallowed Candle into the Water to shew us that the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ represented by this Virgin-wax sanctified the Waters when he was Baptized in Jordan and that he gave them the virtue to regenerate and that as the Holy Ghost descended then upon Jesus Christ he also descends upon those that are new Baptized MAy the vertue of the Holy Ghost descend upon this water The Priest breaths three times upon the Water to instruct us that not only the Holy Ghost but the Father and Son also descend upon the Baptized as these three Persons visibly appear'd at our Saviours Baptism we are also taught by it that in this Sacrament of Regeneration we receive Faith Hope and Charity ANd make the whole substance of this water fruitful and capable to regenerate The Priest takes the Taper out of the Water to instruct us that by Baptism we are dis-engaged from sin re-established in grace admitted into a new life which entitles us by our good works to Eternal Glory MAy here all the stains of sin be blotted out may here nature created unto thy image being restored to its original dignity to the honour of its Authour be purified from all filth of the old man that all who receive this Sacrament of Regeneration may be born in true innocency of a new birth Through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who shall come to judge the living and the dead and world by fire After this the Priest pours the Oyl for the Catechumens into the Water cross-wise to represent unto us the strength we receive by this Sacrament as Champions of Jesus Christ to persevere generously in the encounters of this World that so we may wear the Crown prepared for us in Everlasting Life And as the Oyl is drawn from Olives bruised in a Press this Liquor denotes unto us that grace and strength figured thereby is given us by the Passion of Jesus Christ MAy this Font be sanctified and made fruitful by this health-giving oyl for those who shall be regenerated therein unto life everlasting Amen Then the Priest pours into the Water Oyl of Chrism to teach us that Baptism is a Spiritual and Mystical Consecration by which being invisibly anointed with the grace of the Holy Ghost we partake of the Regality and Priesthood of Jesus Christ and thence we are called Christians that is anointed MAy this infusion of the Chrism of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Holy Ghost the comforter be done in the Name of the Holy Trinity Amen Lastly the Priest pours Oyl and Chrism together into the Water to put before us the advantages we reap by this Sacrament of Baptism and the Sollicitude we ought to use to conserve them The Water signifies that we are cleansed from all our sins The Oyl that we are anointed with the Holy Ghost as Champions of Christ to be guarded and fortified in all Encounters and Assaults that befal us in this Life as in all sorts of Temptations interior and exterior in Afflictions Persecutions and generally in all occasions which may hazard our loss of Faith and of the grace of God The Chrism represents unto us that we are consecrated unto God by the participation of the Regality and Priesthood of Jesus Christ MAy this commixture of the Chrism of Sanctification and the Oyl of Unction and of the Water of Baptism be made in the Name of the Father ✚ and of the Son ✚ and of the Holy Ghost ✚ Amen The blessing of the Font being ended the Priest accompanied with his Ministers goes before the Altar and upon his knees sings the Litanies to implore the Intercession of the Saints But in Churches where no Fonts are after the Sixth Prophecy is read and the Prayer following it Litanies are sung to implore the Intercession of the Saints LOrd have mercy on us Christ have mercy on us Lord have mercy on us Christ hear us Christ graciously hear us God the Father of heaven have mercy on us God the Son Redeemer of the world have mercy on us God the Holy Ghost have mercy on us Holy Trinity one God have mercy on us Holy Mary pray for us Holy Mother of God pray for us Holy Virgin of Virgins pray for us St. Michael pray St. Gabriel pray St. Raphael pray All ye Holy Angels and Archangels pray for us All ye Holy Orders
them to receive him worthily WE therefore Almighty God most humbly beseech thee to command these things to be represented to thy High Altar in presence of thy Divine Majesty by the hands of thy Holy Angel that all who participating of this Altar shall receive the Body and Blood of Christ may be replenished with thy Heavenly Grace and Blessing Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen The Commemoration for the Dead Memento c. As our Redeemer by his descent into Hell after his death by the Merits of his Sacrifice freed the Faithful from Limbus and Purgatory who there expected his coming and were in a condition of relief the Priest begs of God by the Merits of this Sacrifice which he offers in memory of his Son's death and descent into Hell that he will please to grant relief and rest to the Souls of the Faithful which they expect in Purgatory being there as in a dream of Peace either for that they are to come one day thence as out of a dream to enjoy a peaceable and happy life no longer subjected to the necessity of sleep or because the anguish of their pains troubles not the peace of their conscience in obedience and conformity to our Saviour's will being full of hope and confidence insomuch that we may say these transitory pains are but as a dream in comparison of those which are damned suffer in Hell for ever REmember also O Lord thy servants Men and Women N. and N. who have gone before us with the sign of Faith and now rest in Peace Here remember such particular persons as you best please WE humbly beseech O Lord to grant to these and to all those who rest in Christ a Place of Refreshment Light and Peace Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen The Priest striking his breast says Nobis quoque peccatoribus The Priest after he hath prayed to God for the Faithful both living and dead prays for himself and all other Priests that it may please his Divine Majesty by his mercy to supply their defects and grant him the grace to partake of the company of the Saints through the Merits of Jesus Christ VOuchsafe also to grant unto us sinners thy servants hoping from the multitude of thy mercies a part and society with thy Apostles and Martyrs John Stephen Matthias Barnaby Ignatius Alexander Marcellinus Peter Felicitas Perpetua Agatha Lucy Agnes Cecily Anastasia and with all Saints among whom we humbly beseech thee to admit us not esteeming our merit but mercifully granting thy pardon Through Christ our Lord. Amen Per quem haec omnia c. The Priest protests before God the Father that the Sacraments now upon the Altar with all the Benefits it contains proceeds from him through Jesus Christ by whom as by the Chief Priest he daily produces it by a kind of Creation and Consecration and life-giving Satisfaction replenished with all sorts of Blessings bestowing it upon us as a nourishment fit for our Souls that being enlivened by his Spirit we may render him all due Honour and Glory confessing that God the Father receives nothing by us but by with and in Jesus Christ By Jesus Christ as Mediator and Fountain of all good works with Jesus Christ for being but one and the same Divinity and Nature he communicates his Glory with him and the Holy Ghost in the bottom of his Divinity In Jesus Christ in the Unity of his Body and Members who make one person with him and it is in his Person incarnate that God is perfectly adored BY whom O Lord thou dost always create all these goods thou dost sanctifie quicken bless and bestow them on us by him and with him and in him O God the Father Almighty all Honour and Glory is due to thee in the Unity of the Holy Ghost Per omnia saecula c. The Priest in a loud voice concludes his protestation That he comes to praise and adore God eternally and invites the Faithful to a consent saying World without end The Faithful consenting answer Amen Let us Pray Praeceptis c. After the Priest has declared that the Glory which we give to God the celestial nourishment of this Sacrament and all other Benefits are derived unto us from God the Father through Jesus Christ we beseech him in the same words which Christ commanded us to use wherein he encourageth us to call him our Father as he was pleased to become our Brother to make us worthy to acknowledge that we can want Nothing since we have a Father so omnipotent BEing taught by our Saviour's Commands and lead by Divine Institution we are bold to say Our Father which art in Heaven where thy glory appears in more splendour and whether thou wouldst have us raise up our thoughts Hallowed be thy Name Acknowledged and adored Thy Kingdom come The Empire of thy Grace in this world and of thy Bliss in the other Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily bread The precious Body and Blood of thy Son which is to day consecrated thy holy Grace and all things necessary unto us for the sustentation of this life And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation The Faithful testifying that they pray with the Priest answer R. But deliver us from Evil. The Priest to shew that he said this Prayer in all our Names says Amen Libera c. The Priest considering there can be nothing more prejudicial to us nor which is more contrary to the communion of this Holy Sacrifice than that which disorders and troubles the Christian Peace and Union he beseeches God to deliver us from it by the Merits of Christ by the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin the Apostles and all Saints and to give us that Peace and Union which we ought to have with our Saviour and the Three Members of his Church which he signifies by dividing the Host into three parts That part which he puts on the Patine signifies the Faithful living that which he holds in his hands those in Purgatory that which he breaks off them from that the blessed in Heaven DEliver us from all Evil past present and to come and by the Intercession of the blessed and ever glorious Virgin Mary Mother of God of thy holy Apostles Peter and Paul St. Andrew and all Saints Grant propitiously unto us Peace in our days that through the assistance of thy mercy we may both be freed from sin and secured from all trouble Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who liveth and reigneth with thee in the Unity of the Holy Ghost world without end Whereunto the Faithful joyn their Prayers and answer Amen Pax Domini c. The Priest makes thrice the sign of the Cross over the Chalice with that part of the Host which represents the Blessed to testifie that Christ rising again and ascending into Heaven hath left the Legacy of Peace
sleep and rest Because thou Lord hast singularly setled me in hope Glory be to the Father c. PSALM 30. This Psalm represents unto us how we ought to put all our Trust and Confidence in God's Justice and not in our own and that we must acknowledge we can neither be just or merit any thing of our selves or have any hope but through Gods holy Grace who hath given it unto us through the Merits of our Redeemer which also he hath declared to us by his Example And in this Confidence we must commit our Soul into the hands of God IN thee O Lord have I hoped let me not be confounded for ever in thy justice deliver me Incline thine ear to me make haste to deliver me Be unto me for a God protector and for a house of refuge that thou mayst save me Because thou art my strength and my refuge and for thy name thou wilt conduct me and wilt nourish me Thou wilt bring me out of the snare which they have hid for me because thou art my protector Into thy hands I commend my spirit thou hast redeemed me O Lord God of truth Glory be to the Father c. PSALM 90. or 91. This Psalm represents unto us the Temptations Dangers and Evils whereto we are subject in this Life whereof the least are compared to the Fear that surprises in the Night and to the Arrows flying in the Day And the most outragious and hazardous resemble those Enterprises which are undertaken in Darkness and in open invasion and in the Mid-day Devil Or they are like the infectious Air which spreads it self in darkness and like the Plague which rages at Mid-day We are environed with wicked Spirits which the Scripture terms fierce and venemous Beasts to represent unto us the several Employments they maliciously exercise over Men. By the Aspick who with all his force presses one of his Ears against the Ground and stops his other with his Tail to hinder his hearing the Enchantments of the Hunters she signifies such as are obstinate persisting in Evil and in the Love of earthly things By the Basilisk who carries his Venom in his Eyes is signified Envy and Vain-glory. By the Lion whose Roaring terrifies the other Beasts is signified Menaces and Persecutions By the Dragon who kills whatever he toucheth with his burning Breath is signified Anger Then the Royal Prophet shews us in this Psalm that in the Perils and Dangers we find our selves we must ever stand upon our guard God being ever ready and his Angels to protect and conduct us But to be worthy his Protection 't is necessary we confide wholly in him and give unto his Name the whole Glory of our Salvation HE that dwelleth in the help of the Highest shall abide in the protection of the God of heaven He shall say to our Lord Thou art my Protector and my refuge my God I will hope in him Because he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters and from the sharp word With his shoulders shall he overshadow thee and under his wings thou shalt hope With shield shall his truth compass thee thou shalt not be afraid of the fear in the night Of the Arrow flying in the day of business walking in darkness of invasion and the mid-day devil A thousand shall fall on thy side and ten thousand on thy right hand but to thee it shall not approach But thou shalt consider with thine eyes and shalt see the retribution of sinners Because thou O Lord art my hope thou hast made the Highest thy refuge There shall no evil come to thee and scourge shall not approach to thy tabernacle Because he hath given his Angels charge of thee that they keep thee in all thy ways In their hands they shall bear thee lest perhaps thou knock thy foot against a stone Upon the Asp and the Basilisk thou shalt walk and thou shalt tread upon the Lion and the Dragon Because he hath hoped in me I will deliver him I will protect him because he hath known my name He shall cry to me and I will hear him with him I am in tribulation I will deliver him and I will glorifie him With length of days I will replenish him and I will shew him my salvation Glory be to the Father c. PSALM 132. or 133. The Psalmist exhorts the Clergy to sing Praises to God whilst the People are asleep BEhold now bless our Lord all ye servants of our Lord. Which stand in the house of our Lord in the courts of the house of our God In the nights lift up your hands unto the holy places and bless ye our Lord. Our Lord out of Sion bless thee who made Heaven and earth Glory be to the Father c. Ant. Have mercy on me O Lord and hear my Prayer The HYMN for EVENING BEfore the closing of the Day Creator thee we humbly pray That for thy wonted Mercies sake Thou us into protection take May nothing in our Minds excite Vain Dreams and Fantomes of the Night Our Enemy repress that so Our Bodies no Uncleanness know To JESUS from a Virgin sprung Be Glory given and Praises sung The like to God the Father be And Holy Ghost eternally Amen CHAPTER taken out of the Fourteenth Chapter of the Prophet Jeremy BUt thou O Lord art in us and thy holy name is invocated upon us forsake us not O Lord our God R. Thanks be to God Pettit R. Into thy hands O Lord I commend my spirit Into thy hands O Lord I commend my Spirit V. Thou hast redeemed us O Lord God of truth R. Into thy hands O Lord I commend my spirit V. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost R. Into thy hands O Lord I commend my spirit V. Keep us O Lord as the apple of thy eye R. Protect us under the shadow of thy wings Ant. Save us THE SONG OF SIMEON Luke 1. NOw thou dost dismiss thy servant O Lord according to thy word in peace Because my eyes have seen thy Salvation Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people A light to the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel Ant. Save us O Lord waking and keep us sleeping that we may watch in Christ and rest in peace THE PRAYERS LOrd have mercy on us Christ have mercy on us Lord have mercy on us Pater noster c. V. And lead us not into temptation R. But deliver us from evil I believe in God c. V. The Resurrection of the Flesh R. And Life everlasting Amen V. Thou art blessed Lord God of our Fathers R. And laudable and glorious for ever V. Let us bless the Father and the Son with the Holy Ghost R. Let us praise and super-exalt him for ever V. Blessed art thou Lord in the Firmament of Heaven R. And laudable and glorious and superexalted for ever V. The Almighty and Merciful Lord bless and keep us R. Amen V.
made use of the Element of Water in the greatest Mysteries hear favourably our humble Prayers and pour forth thy Blessings upon this Element prepared for several Purifications to the end that thy Creature made use of in thy Mysteries may receive the effect of thy Divine Grace to drive away Devils and cure Infirmities to the end all thy Faithful which shall be sprinkled within or without doors may be thereby preserved from all impurity and evil and that no pestilential spirit or corruption remain in them let all snares of our secret Enemy depart thence and whatever is obnoxious to the health and repose of any that inhabit there may be expelled by the sprinkling of this Water that the health implored by the invocation of thy holy Name may be preserved from all sorts of assaults Through our Lord c. Then the Priest saying these following words puts Salt three times into the Water making the sign of the Cross to signifie that to be purified from sin which is figured by the Water and to persevere in purity figured by the Salt we ought to implore the assistance of the Holy Trinity by the Merits of the Cross LEt this commixtion of Salt and Water be made in the Name of the Father ✚ and of the Son ✚ and of the Holy Ghost ✚ Amen V. Our Lord be with you R. And with thy Spirit Let us Pray O God the Author of invincible Power King of irresistable Empire and for ever magnificently triumphant who dissipatest the strength of the adverse party who suppressest the fury of the raging Enemy and powerfully vanquishest his Malice We O Lord trembling humbly beseech and pray thee to regard favourably this creature Salt and Water to enlighten it with thy Grace and to sanctifie it with the Dew of thy Bounty that wherever it shall be sprinkled through the invocation of thy Holy Name it may chase away all suggestions of the unclean Spirit that there be no fear of the venomous Serpent and that the presence of the Holy Spirit will vouchsafe every where to accompany us imploring thy Mercy Through our Lord Jesus Christ who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost one God World without end Amen The Benediction being ended the Priest who is to celebrate Mass putting on his Coap again kneeling at the foot of the Altar accompanied with his Ministers and sprinkling it thrice with Holy Water he sprinkles himself and arising besprinkles them intoning these first words of the Antiphon taken out of the 50 Psalm Thou shalt sprinkle me and then the Quire sings the rest O Lord with Hyssop and I shall be cleansed thou shalt wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow He sprinkles the Clergy and People saying with a low voice the 50 Psalm begging of the Holy Trinity by this penitential Psalm both that he may worthily celebrate this adorable Sacrifice and that others of the Faithful may participate thereof as they were purified first in Baptism by Water and the Holy Ghost and now that he will please to grant them a second time repentance in tears and acknowledgment of their sins that preserving them from all temptations of the Devil they may be acceptable to the Divine Majesty and freed from the corruption of sin as Water cleanseth the body and as Salt gives a savory tast to meat and preserves it from corruption HAve mercy on me O God according to thy great mercy And according to the multitude of thy commiserations blot out my iniquities Wash me more amply from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin Because I do know my iniquity and my sin is before me always To thee only have I sinned and have done evil before thee that thou mayest be justified in thy words and when thou art judged For behold I was conceived in iniquities and my mother conceived me in sins For behold thou hast loved truth the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me Thou shalt sprinkle me with Hysop and I shall be cleansed thou shalt wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness and the bones humbled shall rejoyce Turn away thy face from my sins and wipe away all my iniquities Create a clean heart in me O God and renew a right spirit in my bowels Cast me not away from thy face and thy holy spirit take not from me Render unto me the joy of thy salvation and confirm me with thy principal spirit I will teach the unjust thy ways and the impious shall be converted unto thee Deliver me from Blood O God the God of my salvation and my tongue shall exalt thy justice Lord thou wilt open my lips and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Because if thou wouldest have had sacrifice I had verily given it with holocausts thou wilt not be delighted A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit a contrite and humble heart O God thou wilt not despise Deal favourably O Lord in thy good will with Sion that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up Then shalt thou accept Sacrifice of Justice Oblations and Holocausts then shall they lay calves upon thine altar Gloria Patri Filio c. is not used because during these days the Church represents unto us the Indignities and Affronts offered by the Jews to our blessed Saviour After this Antiphon Thou shalt sprinkle me c. is repeated the Priest having sprinkled the Holy Water returns to the foot of the Altar where standing upright and there joyning his hands he beseeches God that the Angel of his Great Council our Saviour JESUS CHRIST who is ready to descend from Heaven by the consecration of these Divine Mysteries will assist with his saving Grace all those that are in the Church that they being purified may worthily present themselves before his Majesty Let us Pray V. Shew us O Lord Mercy R. And give us thy Salvation V. O Lord hear my Prayer R. And let my cry come unto thee V. Our Lord be with you R. And with thy Spirit Let us Pray O Holy Lord Omnipotent Father Eternal God graciously hear us and vouchsafe to send thy Holy Angel from Heaven to keep protect cherish visit and defend all that dwell in this habitation Through Christ our Lord c. Amen THE BENEDICTION OF THE PALMS After sprinkling Holy Water in the usual manner the Priest accompanied with his Ministers in their Ornaments goes to bless the Palms This Ceremony is very ancient for it is not only in the Roman Institute and in the Book of the Divine Offices which Alcuinus composed in the Ninth Age and in St. Adelmus his Treatise of Virginity in the Eighth Age but also St. Maximus Bishop of Turin in the Fifth Age preaching upon this Subject which you may read in St. Ambros tells us it was an ancient custom in the Church to teach us that it was in memory of Christ's
into Jerusalem and the Priest says Let us go on in peace The Quire answers In the Name of Christ Amen The Antiphon taken out of the 21st Chapter of St. Matthew WHen Jesus drew nigh unto Jerusalem he sent two of his Disciples saying Go ye into the Town that is against you and immediately you shall find an Ass tied and a Colt with her loose them and bring them to me and if any man shall say ought unto you say ye that our Lord hath need of them And they brought the Ass and the Colt and laid their Garments upon them and made him to sit thereon Others spread their Garments in the way others cut Boughs from the Trees and strewed them in the way and those that followed cryed Hosanna blessed is he who cometh in the Name of our Lord and blessed be the Kingdom of David our Father Hosanna in the highest O Son of David have mercy on us Another ANTIPHON THE People hearing that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem they took Palm-branches and went forth to meet him the Children crying aloud This is he who comes to save his People This is our Salvation and Redemption of Israel How great is he whom the Thrones and Dominations meet Fear not Daughter of Sion behold thy King comes unto thee sitting upon an Ass-Colt as it is written Hail King Maker of the World who art come to redeem us ANOTHER SIX Days before the Solemn Pasch our Lord coming to Jerusalem the Children went forth to meet him carrying Boughs of Palms and crying with a loud voice Hosanna in the highest Blessed art thou that comest in the multitude of thy Mercies Hosanna in the highest ANOTHER THE Multitude went with Flowers and Palms to meet the Redeemer and render him triumphant and victorious due honour The Gentils publish the greatness of the Son of God their voices thundring through the clouds the praise of Christ Hosanna in the highest ANOTHER GRant that we may be found faithful with the Angels and Children singing to the triumpher over death Hosanna in the highest ANOTHER A Great Multitude assembled to the Festival cryed out to our Lord saying Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of our Lord. Hosanna in the highest The Procession being come to the Church-Porch the following Hymn is sung in memory of Jesus Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem GLory to thee Eternal King On this great triumphant day Lo we a loud Hosanna sing And with our Garments strew the way Thou art the King of Israel Sprung from the Royal David 's stem Thou cam'st from Heaven with us to dwell Thy captive Subjects to redeem Glory to thee c. The holy Quires of Angels bow And in their Hymns thy Praise proclaim While we and all our world below Kneel and adore the same blest Name Glory to thee c. Thy Sion once with holy Palms Thee their Messias went to meet Behold we now with Prayers and Psalms Prostrate our glad hearts at thy feet Glory to thee c. They by their Songs prepar'd the way Vp to thy humble Throne the Cross While we a happier Ditty pray And in thy Victory rejoyce Glory to thee c. Great King of sweetest clemency Whom all sincere endeavours please As they accepted were may we Thy Favour gain thy Wrath appease Glory to thee c. Then the Priest with the foot of the Cross knocks at the Church-door which is shut to signifie that Jesus Christ through the merit of his Passion hath opened Heaven for us which besore was shut upon the account of our first Parents transgression And to express the sentiments of Joy and Admiration which the Angels had at our Saviour's entry into Heaven represented in the 23d Psalm the Church uses the same words with the Royal Prophet LIft up your Gates ye Princes and be ye lifted up O Eternal Gates and the King of glory shall enter in Those who are within the Church representing the Angels answer Who is this King of glory To whom the Priest knocking again replies 'T is our strong and mighty Lord 't is our Lord mighty in Battel Lift up your Gates ye Princes and be you lifted up O Eternal Gates and the King of glory shall enter in Those within the Church replies again Who is this King of glory The Priest knocking again says The Lord of Powers he is the King of Glory lift up your Gates c. Whereupon those within the Church representing the Angel open the doors saying Who is this King of glory And the Procession goes into the Church singing the following Antiphon to signifie that Christ's solemn entry into Jerusalem was a figure of his triumphant entry into Heaven OUr Lord entering into the Holy City the Hebrew Children foretelling the Resurrection unto Life with Olive-boughs cryed out Hosanna in the highest When the People heard that Christ was coming into Jerusalem they went to meet him with Palms THE MASS FOR Palm-Sunday The Priest coming to the foot of the Altar kneels and bowing makes the sign of the Cross saying Introibo ad altare Dei c. Psal 42. he acknowledgeth with humble respect in the name of the Faithful the Grace received of God through the Merits of Christ's Passion whereof the Sacrifice of the Mass is a representation and by the assistance of the Holy Ghost spiritually to regenerate them and establish them in the Rights of their Heavenly Inheritance which they had forfeited by Sin He seems to be renewed in spirit and in that takes confidence to approach the Altar which in as much as it stands Eastward according to the ancient Order of the Church is a figure of Paradise where God had placed Adam in the state of his Innocency In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Amen I Will enter unto the Altar of God The Church using the Psalm Judica me Deus c. in their Names who have received Baptism and preserved themselves in the state of Grace thereby received in testimony of the joy they apprehend in that they are become Children of God forbears it now in the beginning of Mass till Holy Saturday this being a time of Sorrow representing the Sufferings of Christ her Spouse and Head Our help is in the Name of our Lord. R. Who made Heaven and Earth Then the Priest confesses himself unworthy of so great a Benefit as well through Original as his Actual Sin and therefore admonisheth the Faithful on whose behalf he prays to joyn with him in repentance and acknowledge their own unworthiness before God I Confess unto Almighty God to the blessed Virgin S. Mary to the blessed S. Michael the Arch-angel to the blessed S. John Baptist to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul to all the Saints and you my Brethren that I have very much sinned in Thought Word and Deed through my Fault through my Fault through my most grievous Fault Therefore I beseech the blessed Virgin S. Mary the blessed S. Michael the
to his Church And that this Peace is a reflection of that which he possesses infinitely in the Glory and Bosom of the Holy Trinity and which is fully communicated to the blessed The Priest begs this Peace for the Faithful and prays God that they may never fail of it THe Peace of our Lord abide always with you The People crave the same for him And with thy Spirit Haec Commixtio c. Then the Priest puts this part of the Host into the Chalice to signifie the happy state of the Church in our Saviour's Resurrection and glory after the union of his Body with his Blood and beseeches God to make us partakers of that happiness by vertue of this Sacrament LEt this Commixtion and Consecration of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ be unto me and to all that receive effectual to life everlasting Amen Agnus Dei c. As Sin is the onely Obstacle of this Divine Peace and our Bliss the Priest confessing in the name of the Faithful that we never are without sins in this life and that it is onely Christ who blots them out having been pleased to be sacrificed as an innocent Lamb for our attonement with God his Father and to settle this Peace between Heaven and Earth which sin had divided he implores mercy by this act of Adoration taught us by Saint John the fore-runner of our Saviour Behold the Lamb of God taketh away the sins of the world LAmb of God who takest away the sins of the World have mercy on us Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the World have mercy on us Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the World grant us peace In Masses for the Dead instead of saying Have Mercy on us Or Grant us Peace We say Grant them Rest Grant them Eternal Rest Because the dead being no longer in this World amongst us we have no occasion to beg peace with them and they being in a state of Grace where they are in peace and assurance of their salvation it would be in vain to ask God's grace to free them from sin and give them peace assuring them of their salvation we beseech God to deliver them from the pains they endure at present and grant them eternal rest which they expect Domine Jesu Christe qui dixisti c. Peace being the chief disposition of this Sacrament it being the Sacrament of Union and Charity the Priest begs it for the Faithful who are to receive this Holy Communion and acknowledging that he being a sinner deserves not that his Prayers should be heard he humbly beseeches his Majesty to have regard unto his own goodness who has vouchsafed to offer this Peace and to the Faith of the Church which demands it of him O Lord Jesus Christ who didst say unto thy Apostles Peace I leave unto you regard not my Sins but look upon the Faith of thy Church and according to thy pleasure give us Peace and Union Who livest and reignest God for ever and ever Amen At Solemn Mass the Priest having kissed the Altar to signifie that he receives peace from Jesus Christ gives it to the Deacon by a kiss to transmit it to the Faithful Peace be with you The Deacon receiving this Peace testifies his concurrence by his words And with thy Spirit At Masses for the Dead the Pax is not given to the Faithful nor is the foregoing Prayer said because the Faithful do not receive the Communion at those Masses and for other reasons before mentioned The Priest after he has prayed for the Faithful he prays for himself to obtain all requisite dispositions to receive the Holy Eucharist worthily O Lord Jesus Christ Son of the living God who according to thy Father's will the Holy Ghost co-operating by thy death didst give life to the World deliver me by this thy most holy Body and Blood from all my sins and from all evil and making me always obedient to thy commands grant that I be never separated from thee Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest c. GRant O Lord Jesus Christ that this participation of thy Body which I now however unworthy presume to receive be not to my Judgment and Condemnation but through thy mercy may avail to the safeguard of my Soul and Body and likewise as a wholsome remedy Who livest and reignest with God the Father c. Then with bending knee having adored the blessed Sacrament taking the Host in his hands and considering that he is to receive his Creator he puts his trust in his mercy saying I Will take this Heavenly Bread and call upon the Name of our Lord. And representing how acceptable the Centurians humility was to the Son of God where he was pleased to honour his house in imitation of him he professeth himself unworthy of so great a favour and striking his breast he repeats the same words thrice LOrd I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter into my house say but the word and my soul shall be healed Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter into my house say but the word and my soul shall be healed Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter into my house say but the word and my soul shall be healed In receiving the Body of our Saviour he makes the sign of the Cross with the Host to mind us that 't is the Body of Jesus Christ which hath been exposed to death for our salvation THe Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve my soul to life everlasting Amen In taking the Chalice he gives God thanks for the Benefits he receives by the Communion of the Blood of Christ using these following words out of the 15th and 17th Psalm WHat shall I render to our Lord for all things that he hath given to me I will take the Chalice of Salvation and will Invocate the Name of our Lord. Praising I will Invocate our Lord and I shall be saved from my enemies In receiving the Blood of our Saviour he makes the sign of the Cross with the Chalice representing thereby that it is Christ's Blood which he shed to save us and says THe Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve my soul to life everlasting Amen Then taking Wine into the Chalice to wash his mouth and fingers to the end that the least particle of the Sacrament may not remain thereon and to instruct us of the care we ought to have to preserve our selves in purity he says GRant O Lord what we have taken with our mouth we may receive with a pure mind and that of a temporal gift it may become to us an everlasting remedy In taking the second Lotion he says LEt thy Body which I have received O Lord and thy Blood which I have drank cleave unto my bowels and grant that no stain of sin may remain in me whom thy pure and holy Sacrament hath satiated Who livest and reignest for ever and ever Amen Then the Priest
the temple on the right side Praise to God And all who were sprinkled with this water were saved and they shall say Praise to God praise to God The Priest begs of God that the Angel of his great Council our Saviour Jesus Christ who descends from Heaven by the Consecration of these Divine Mysteries will assist all those of his Church with his healing Grace that being purified they may worthily present themselves before his Majesty V. O Lord shew unto us thy mercy Praise be to God R. And give us thy salvation R. O Lord hear my Prayer And let my cry come unto thee V. Our Lord be with you R. And with thy spirit Let us Pray VOuchsafe O Lord Holy Father Almighty and Everlasting God to hear us and send us from Heaven thy Holy Angel to defend sustain protect visit and guard us all that here inhabit Through Christ c. Amen ON EASTER-DAY At MASS The station in the Church of St. Mary Major At Rome the Station is this day at our Ladies Church to represent unto us that no Creature had so great a share in the Glory of our Saviour's Resurrection as the Blessed Virgin because the Body of this adorable Saviour risen again was formed in her Womb and as by her Faith she merited to be the Mother of our Saviour in his Incarnation so by the same Faith she merited to receive all those advantages due unto her as a Mother in the glorious Resurrection of her Son The INTROIT taken out of the 138th Psalm The Church teaches us that Christs Humanity was not separated from his Divinity neither in his Death nor Resurrection and that nothing happened in the marvellous work of our Redemption but by order of the Divine Providence whose Judgments are incomprehensible 'T was Gods will that his only Son should become Man suffer Death and rise again to the end that having by his death expiated the sins of Men which subjected them to death he gave them hopes of Resurrection by his own and of following him their Head and Leader into Glory whither he went before to establish them there with him I Am risen and yet I am with thee Praise God Thou hast put thy hand upon me Praise God Thy knowledge is wonderful Praise God praise God PSALM CXXXVIII In this Psalm the Church instructs us that there is not any Man so Holy who can represent himself before God at the Resurrection without trembling and dread of his Judgments That Christ was the only Person not apprehensive of them being absolutely assured that he was free from all that could be offensive to the Divine Eye that only knows perfectly all that is in Man LOrd thou hast proved me and hast known me thou hast known my sitting down and my rising up Kyrie eleison c. as before pag. 36. And as our Saviours Glorious Resurrection crowns the Mystery of his Incarnation The Faithful testifying their joy and acknowledgments by singing that Canticle which the Angels used when the Divine Word became Man to the end to praise God for this great work which gave to his Majesty a perfect Adorer and to Men a Sovereign Mediator who reconciles them by his Divine Grace unto him and settles Peace between Heaven and Earth which Sin had broken Gloria in Excelsis Deo c. as before pag. 167. The COLLECT The Faithful beg of God that as Christs Humanity being united to his Divine Person by an Hypostatick Union was never separated from his Divinity so that being united to Jesus Christ as to their Head by the Union of his Grace may never be divided from his Majesty but being freed from Death and Sin conquered by Christ they may follow him as their Guide into the state of Glory whither he is gone before them to establish them there with him Let us Pray O God who this day hast opened to us by thy only begotten Son the entrance to Eternity through his victory over death vouchsafe by thy mercy to grant those Petitions which thy preventing grace inspires Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ who with thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost one God for ever and ever Amen The Lesson out of the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians and Fifth Chapter The Church instructs us that we are to dye unto sin that so we may be capable of the benefit of Jesus Christs Resurrection That is to say that as Jesus Christ dyed and by dying destroyed that flesh which in appearance was Criminal and as he extinguished that sin which was not in him but because he would take it upon him to satisfie the Divine Justice so we must put off the Old Man which truly is a sinner and putting on the New destroy sin which is truly ours to live the life of Grace which the life of Glory will follow if we be united as perfectly with Jesus Christ as the condition of our Mortality permits To entertain us in this new life of Grace given us by the Merits of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ This Divine Saviour was pleased by an excess of love to give himself unto us for our Spiritual Nourishment figured by the Paschal Lamb. This Lamb immolated in the Ancient Law was the Jewish Pasch and Jesus immolated on the Cross is our Pasch The Jews were not to eat the Paschal Lamb but with unleavened Bread yet since it was but a figure of Jesus Christ who gives himself in the new Banquet whereunto he calls us far more excellent than their Pasch we ought to purifie our hearts from the old leaven that is from our former sins and instead of Malice and Iniquity we there must lodge Innocence and Truth being obliged to be as new Paste without Leven that is without sin BRethren purge the old leven that you may be a new paste as you are azyms for our Pasch Christ is immolated therefore let us feast not in old leven nor in the leven of malice and wickedness but in the azym of sincerity and truth The GRADUAL taken out of the 117th Psalm The Church representing unto us how Jesus Christ hath by his Death freed us from the Tyranny of the Devil and Servitude of Sin and how by his Resurrection hath given us here a new Life and Glory hereafter expressed her resentments and joy in the same words which the Royal Prophet used in expectation of this day revealed unto him by God according to St. Chrysostome in his Homily upon this day THis is the day which our Lord hath made let us rejoyce and be glad in it V. Confess ye unto the Lord for he is good because his mercy endureth for ever Alleluia Alleluia V. Jesus Christ who was our Pasch hath been immolated The Church by the following Prose tells us that our sins and the Devil being vanquished by Jesus Christ we have cause to sing Songs of Praise with more joy than the Israelites when they had passed
the Red Sea and beheld the Egyptians on all sides stretcht out upon the Sands and their Chariots drowned in the bottom of the Sea The PROSE BRing all ye dear-bought Nations bring Your richest Praises to your King That spotless Lamb who more than due Paid for his Sheep and those Sheep you That Innocent Son who wrought your peace And made his Father's anger cease Life and Death together fought Each to a strange extream were brought Life died but soon revived again And even by death's self has slain Say happy Magdalen O say What didst thou see these by the way I saw the Tomb of my dear Lord I saw himself and him ador'd I saw the Napkin and the Sheet That bound his Head and wrapt his Feet I heard the Angels witness bear Jesus is risen he 's not here Go tell his followers they shall see Thine and their hope in Galilee They Lord with faithful heart and chearful voice We on thy glorious rising day rejoyce O thou whose conquering pow'r o'recame the grave By thy victorious grace us sinners save Amen Alleluia Munda cor meum as before pag. 14. The Sequence of the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark Chap. 16. MUNDA COR MEUM c. as before pag. 14. Wherein the Church relating what happened at our Saviours Sepulcher at his Resurrection teacheth us what we ought to do to prepare our selves for the celebrating worthily this Solemnity and then proposes to us the advantages we reap 1. This Gospel teacheth us that the three Maries went early in the Morning with Perfumes to seck Jesus Christ in his Sepulcher The Example of these Holy Women tell us our obligation of going to seek for Christ in his Sepulcher as soon as we are enlightned with his grace That is in the Sacrament of Penance which is the figure of it there to bury our sins making a stock of Good Works signified by the Perfumes 2. These Holy Women had the happiness to see the Angels to teach us that the Souls which seek Christ with Holy desires and the Odour of Vertues have a particular assistance from the Blessed Spirits 3. The Angel appeared to these Holy Women in white as a token of Innocence and Joy to tell us with what purity and joy we are to solemnize the Resurrection of our Lord. This Joy is common to us with the Angels who rejoyce because the void places of their Hierarchies are replenished and we ought to rejoyce for that by its vertue we are raised in this World from the death of sin to a life of grace and we receive a pledge of happy Immortality whereunto we aspire 4. The Angel appeared sitting on the right hand which signifies that by Christs Resurrection we are called to possess Spiritual Blessings expressed in Holy Scripture by the right hand 5. These Holy Women were surprised with fear at their arrival but afterwards were emboldned by the Angel To teach us that Souls which seek God carefully and are toucht with a Holy fear which is the first gift of the Holy Ghost are confirmed with Celestial consolations 6. The Angel recommended to these Holy Women to publish our Saviours Resurrection namely to St. Peter to shew us the Providence which God hath for true Penitents and the hope he gives them to partake of the Glory of his Sons Resurrection AT that time Mary Magdalene and Mary of James and Salome brought spices that coming they might anoint Jesus And very early the first of the Sabboths they came to the monument the sun being now risen And they said one to another Who shall roul us back the stone from the door of the monument And looking they saw the stone rouled back for it was very great And entring into the monument they saw a young man sitting on the right hand covered with a white robe And they were astonished who said to them Be not dismayed You seek Jesus of Nazareth that was crucified he is risen he is not here behold the place where they laid him But go tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee there you shall see him as he told you CREDO as before pag. 54 55. The OFFERTORY taken out of the 75th Psalm The Church represents unto us that if the Earth trembled at Christs Resurrection and that all present were astonished at his going forth of his Tomb when he came in Mercy to men how much more cause have we to fear and tremble when we consider the severity of his Justice at his coming to examine us a Judge whose Judgments are so piercing that he sees into the most secret corner of our hearts yea what our selves cannot discover when at the general Resurrection he shall come to Judge the living and the dead in such Majesty and Power that the Heavens and all the Elements will be reduced to a condition of Horror and Terror This fear of Gods Judgment when it is joyned to the hope we have through his Mercy to reap the Fruit of our Saviours Resurrection makes our hopes the more beneficial THe earth trembled and was still when God arose in judgment Alleluia Suscipe Sancte Pater c. till the Secret as before pag. 56. The SECRET The Priest begs of God on the behalf of the Faithful to give them the grace to celebrate worthily the Mysteries of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ so that they may reap its wholsom effects ACcept O Lord we beseech thee the Prayers of thy People with the Oblation of these Hosts that these Paschal Mysteries which we celebrate may be wholesom and by thy assistance availing us to obtain Life Everlasting Through our Lord Jesus Christ c. The Preface till Vere dignum justum est c. as before pag. 60 c. The Priest in the name of the Faithful acknowledges the Obligation we have of giving continual thanks to God for Christs Resurrection whereby to raise us again to Life Everlasting and confessing that of himself he cannot worthily acquit this Duty he joyns with the Angels Thrones and Dominations and the rest of the Celestial Spirits who in Heaven sing incessantly Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus and the Canticle which the Children sung at Christ's Triumphant entry into Jerusalem Benedictus qui venit c. as a testimony of the Spiritual Union between Men and Angels in praising his Divine Majesty and to confess that the Purity of Angels and Innocence of Infants is required to praise God worthily IT is truly meet and just right and wholesom O Lord that at all times we set forth thy praises But more especially in this Night wherein Jesus Christ our Paschal Lamb was immolated who hath taken away the sins of the World who by dying hath destroyed our death and by rising again hath restored life And therefore with Angels and Archangels with the Thrones and Dominations together with the Celestial Host we sing this Hymn of thy Glory without end saying Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God of Sabbath The
Vouchsafe O Lord to keep us R. This night without Sin V. Have mercy on us Lord. R. Have mercy on us V. Let thy mercy O Lord come on us R. Even as we have trusted in thee V. O Lord hear my Prayer R. And let my Cry come unto thee V. Our Lord be with you R. And with thy Spirit Let us Pray VIsit we beseech thee O Lord this Habitation and repel far from it all Snares of the Enemy Let thy holy Angels dwell therein to preserve us in peace and thy Blessing be upon us for ever through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who with thee liveth and Reigneth in the Unity of the Holy Ghost One God for ever and ever Amen V. Our Lord be with you R. And with thy Spirit V. Let us bless our Lord. R. Thanks be to God THE BLESSING V. The Almighty and Merciful Lord the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost bless and keep us R. Amen THE ANTHYMN OF THE HOLY VIRGIN HAil Queen advanc'd to heavenly Reign Hail Lady of th' Angelick Train Hail Root hail Gate that did disclose The Light which to the World arose Virgin rejoyce whose Form divine All others Beauty do's out-shine Be ever bless'd thrice-beauteous Maid By thee let Christ be for us pray'd V. Vouchsafe that I praise thee O sacred Virgin R. Give me force against my Enemies Let us Pray GRant O merciful God defence unto our Frailty that we who make Commemoration of the Holy Mother of God may by the help of her Intercession arise from our Iniquities Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. R. Amen V. Let the Divine Help always remain with us R. Amen THE NIGHT-OFFICE ON WEDNESDAY IN Holy-Week FOR THVRSDAY at MATTINS ON this Day the Church represents unto us That Jesus Christ supped with his Apostles washed their Feet prayed in the Olive-Garden and that he was betrayed by Judas into the hands of the Jews These three following Days after having said Pater noster Ave Maria and Credo at Mattins and Prime without farther Ceremony they begin Mattins and Vespers with an Anthymn of the First Psalm and every Anthymn is repeated as on double Feasts Domine labia mea c. and Deus in Adjutorium are omitted to signifie that Jesus Christ was then abandoned by his Father to Torments and Death The Invitatory is likewise omitted Neither the Hymn nor Gloria Patri are said to shew us that the Honor due to the Blessed Trinity was violated by the excessive Wickedness and Infidelity of the Jews Fifteen Wax Tapers are lighted because there are recited two Canticles and thirteen Psalms in the Mattins and Laudes which are all sung under one and the same Anthymn Whereby are represented unto us the Light of the Faith which the Prophets in the Old Testament foretold unto the People And a Taper is extinguished at the end of each Psalm to declare that the Light of that Faith whereof the Prophets spoke unto the Jews was in them extinguished after they had crucified the Saviour of the World And at the end of the Canticle of Zachary the Father of St. John Baptist they put not out that Taper which represents Jesus Christ whom St. John Baptist declared to be the true Light of the World to shew that tho' Jesus Christ died according to his Humanity yet that he was always living according to his Divinity They also hide that Taper to signifie that the Divinity of Jesus Christ was hid under the Veil of his Humanity It likewise represents Jesus Christ in his Sepulcher Afterwards they shew the lighted Taper to represent his Resurrection AT THE FIRST NOCTVRN PSALM 68. That which the Royal Prophet foretold in this Psalm of the Mystery of the Passion of Jesus Christ the Church proposes unto us according to the Explication left us by the Apostles as well in the Book of their Acts and in their Epistles as in the Book of Gospels First She represents us with the Sufferings and Death of Jesus Christ which the Prophet compares to an overflowing of the Waters and to a Tempest and to a Wreck Secondly She presents us with the Prayer which our Saviour made to God his Father at the access of his Grief when in the condition of a Slave which our Infirmities occasion'd being in appearance forsaken of God his Father since in his Sufferings he denied him that which he desired through a propension of Humane Nature wherewith he was clothed drawing from the bottom of his Heart these Words full of Love and Piety My Father if it be possible let the Chalice of my Sufferances pass without my drinking it however thy will be done not mine That which he earnestly desired 't is that made his Innocency appear and that he voluntarily suffered those Pains for the Sins of Men and not for his own having never committed or been able to commit the least Sin And though his Passion seems ridiculous and is an Object of Scandal and Abomination in the judgment of the Jews and Gentiles yet the Faithful are not thereat troubled Thirdly The Church shews us that in this Psalm the Prophet foretells how our Saviour was to be betrayed by one of his Disciples and abandoned by his others and how many Outrages and Contempts the Jews would cast upon him Fourthly In this Psalm is declared the Zeal Jesus Christ had for the Honor of his Father his Resignation to his Father's Will his Submission to his Conduct and his Contempt of his own proper Interest For so the Apostle St. Paul in the fifteenth Chapter of his Epistle to the Romans explicates one part of this Psalm Fifthly According to St. Luke in the first Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles and of St. Paul in the second Chapter of his Epistle to the Romans in this Psalm is described the Punishment which was prepared for the Traytor Judas and the other Persecutors of Jesus Christ wherewith this adorable Saviour threatens them not through any Hate or Revenge but through the Zeal of God's Justice considering the Reprobation of those Wretches in the Decrees of his Providence Sixthly We are instructed in this Psalm That Jesus Christ having by his Death repaired the Honor of God his Father he was also to rise again and build his Church which through Sin was lost and establish his Faithful in the possession of the Heavenly Inheritance signified by Jerusalem and lost by Sin Establishing on Earth a more agreeable Sacrifice than that of Calves which was offer'd him in the Old Law to wit the Sacrifice of his own Body and Blood Ant. The zeal of thy house hath eaten me and the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me SAve me O God because waters are entred into my Soul I stick fast in the mire of the depth and there is no sure standing I am come into the depth of the sea and a tempest hath overwhelmed me I have laboured crying my jaws are made hoarse my eyes have failed whilst I hope