the facts, one after the other, without any remarks; but, in the Verses, we have Job himself speaking, his body all humbled, and his soul full of sorrow: the repetition of the same words, their interruptions, their refrain, their broken phrases, vividly represent his panting for breath, and intense suffering. OFFERTORY. There was a man, whose name was Job, and that man was simple and upright, and fearing God: and Satan asked to tempt him; and power was given him by the Lord over his possessions, and over his flesh: and he destroyed all his substance, and his sons: and he wounded his flesh with a grievous ulcer. . I. Oh! that my sins were weighed in a balance! Oh! that my sins, whereby I have deserved wrath, whereby I have deserved wrath,—were weighed in a balance! and the calamity, -the calamity that I suffer,it would appear heavier! There was a man. . II. For, what is,-for, what is, for, what is my strength, that I can hold out? or, what is my end, that I should keep patience? There was a man. V. III. Is my strength the strength of stones? Or, is my flesh of brass?—or, is my flesh of brass? There was a man. . IV. For,-for,-for, mine eye shall not return to see good things, to see good things, -to see good things,-to see Vir erat in terra Hus nomine Job, simplex et rectus ac timens Deum: quem Satan petiit, ut tentaret; et data est ei potestas a Domino in facultates, et in carnem ejus, perdiditque omnem substantiam ipsius, et filios: carnem quoque ejus gravi ulcere vulneravit. V. I. Utinam appenderentur peccata mea; utinam appenderentur peccata mea, quibus iram merui, quibus iram merui; et calamitas, et calamitas quam patior: hæc gravior appareret. bona, ut videat bona, ut videat bona, ut videat bona, ut videat bona, ut videat bona, ut videat bona. Vir erat. good things, to see good things, The salvation of the world, and that of each individual man, is, virtually, ever in the august Sacrifice, whose power restores man, by appeasing God. With a confidence that fails not, let us use it, as the most efficacious recourse that can be made to the divine mercy. An unflagging hope ever accompanies the admirable patience of holy Church. Persecutions, be they ever so fierce or long, never interrupt her prayer; for, as the Communion expresses it, she keeps in her heart a faithful recollection of the word of salvation that was given her by God. COMMUNION. In salutari tuo anima mea, et in verbum tuum speravi: quando facies de persequentibus me judicium iniqui persecuti sunt me: adjuva me, Domine Deus meus. My soul hath looked to be saved by thee, and hath relied on thy word: when wilt thou judge them that persecute me The wicked ones have persecuted me: help me, O Lord my God! Now that we have been nourished by the food of immortality, let us live on it, with all the evidence of a soul that is made pure. POSTCOMMUNION. Having received the food of immortality, we beseech thee, O Lord, that what we have taken with our mouths, we may receive with a pure mind. Through, etc. Immortalitatis alimoniam consecuti, quæsumus Domine: ut quod ore percepimus, pura mente sectemur. Per Dominum. The other Postcommunions, as in VESPERS. page 137. The Psalms, Capitulum, Hymn, and Versicle, as above, pages 74-84. ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT. Thou wicked servant! I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldst not thou, then, have had compassion also on thy fellow-servant, even as I had compassion on thee? Alleluia. LET US PRAY. Preserve thy family, O Lord, we beseech thee, by thy constant mercy: that, under thy protection, it may be freed from all adversities, and be devoted to thy name in the practice of good works. Through, etc. Serve nequam, omne debitum dimisi tibi, quoniam rogasti me: nonne ergo oportuit et te misereri conservi tui, sicut et ego tui misertus sum? Alleluia. OREMUS. Familiam tuam, quæsumus Domine, continua pietate custodi: ut a cunctis adversitatibus, te protegente, sit libera: et in bonis actibus tuo nomini sit devota. Per Dominum. THE TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. MASS. According to Honorius of Autun, the Mass of today has reference to the days of Antichrist.' The Church, foreseeing the reign of the man of sin,2 and as though she were actually undergoing the persecution, which is to surpass all others,-she takes her Introit of this twenty-second Sunday from the Psalm De profundis.3 If, unitedly with this prophetic sense, we would apply these words practically to our own personal miseries, we must remember the Gospel we had eight days ago, and which, formerly, was the one appointed for the present Sunday. Each one of us will recognise himself in the person of the insolvent debtor, who has nothing to trust to, but his master's goodness; and, in our deep humiliation, we shall exclaim: I thou, O Lord, mark iniquities, who shall endure it 24 INTROIT. Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine, Domine, quis sustinebit? quia apud te propitiatio est, Deus Israel. Ps. De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine: Domine, exaudi vocem meam. Gloria Patri. Si iniquitates. 1 HON. AUG. Gemm. an. iv. 93. 2 2 Thess. ii. 3 If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities, Lord! who shall endure it? For with thee there is merciful forgiveness, O God of Israel ! Ps. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord: Lord! hear my voice. Glory, etc. If thou. 3 Ps. cxxix. 4 RUP. De. div. off. xii. 22. We have just been rousing our confidence, by singing, that with God, there is merciful forgiveness. It is He himself who gives that loving unction to the prayers of the Church, which proves that he wishes to grant them. But, we shall not be thus graciously heard, as she is, unless, like her, we ask with faith, that is to say, conformably with the teachings of the Gospel. To ask with faith, is to forgive our fellowcreatures their trespasses against us; on that condition, we may confidently beseech our common Lord and Master to forgive us.1 |