wilt not abandon us in any circumstances, but wilt lovingly draw us back when we have wandered away from Thee by sin; give us a thirst after Thy justice, that we may desire nothing but to advance Thy glory, to edify our neighbour, and to sanctify ourselves. Vouchsafe to regard with compassion the poor souls in purgatory, most especially those who were most devout to Thee in the blessed Sacrament, and to Thy blessed Mother Mary; wash them with Thy blood from all their past sins, receive them into Thy bosom, after which they continually long; satiate their thirst quickly in those torrents of delight which Thou hast made ready for the blessedness of Thy servants in paradise for all eternity. Requiem.

At the Communion.

O most sweet Jesus, God of goodness and mercy; by the three hours of most bitter agony which Thou didst endure on the cross, by the painful death to which Thou didst voluntarily subject Thyself, after Thou hadst accomplished man's redemption, satisfied the justice of God, and fulfilled all Scripture; make us patient and resigned in all adversity, and enable us always to bear in mind the infinite price which it cost Thee to redeem us, that we may never again let our souls become a prey to the infernal enemy, from whom Thy death had released our souls. Vouchsafe to regard with an eye of pity the poor souls in purgatory, especially those who, passing suddenly to another life, had not. time to practise the necessary penances; listen to their prayers, take them quickly out of their frightful prison, where they suffer incessant torments, forgotten by all men, and far away from Thy presence their great and only good. Ah, since Thou dost humble Thyself so far as to remain with us in the blessed Sacrament of our altar, admit to the contemplation of Thy beatific vision Thy sorrowful spouses, that, once arrived in Thy kingdom, they may never cease to love Thee for all eternity. Requiem.

At the last Prayer.

O most sweet Jesus, God of goodness and mercy; by

the triple victory which thou didst gain over death and sin and hell, by Thy glorious resurrection on the third day, by that benignity which led Thee to remain forty days upon earth to instruct Thy apostles in the faith, and to strengthen them in Thy love; by Thy wonderful ascension into Heaven, by the infinite glory with which Thy humanity is invested at the right hand of the Father; recall us to a life of grace and holiness, illuminate us continually with Thy interior inspirations, and, by the hand of Thy ministers, bless us with the abundance of favours which Thou didst grant to the first witnesses of Thy divinity, and make us worthy to be received, after death, into Thy blessed kingdom, which is open for all the faithful who walk according to the bright example of Thy heavenly life. Be pleased to regard with compassion the poor souls in purgatory, and those most especially who are nearest the term of their liberation; remove them from the state of suffering to that of glory, that they may obtain possession of the thrones which Thou hast prepared for them, where they shall not cease to intercede for us in recompense for the sacrifice which we have offered in their suffrage. We hope in Thy mercy to partake of these blessings throughout eternity. Requiem.

After the Mass.

I humbly entreat of Thee, O Lord, pardon for all the dissipation of mind and all the tepidity with which I have assisted at this holy and salutary sacrifice. Vouchsafe, O Fountain of mercy, by the infinite merits of these most holy mysteries, to behold with pity my unhappy soul, to provide for all its necessities, and to afford it a part in the benefits of Thy passion and death; and deign to extend to the poor souls in purgatory the infinite efficacy of Thy divine blood, to purify their souls from all their sins, and to put them in possession of Thy blessedness for all eternity. Requiem.

To Mary.

Most clement Lady, most worthy Mother of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, most holy Mary, through whom

our wretched human nature has been replenished with the fulness of grace and benediction; offer, I pray thee, to the eternal Father the most holy sacrifice of the real body and blood of thy Son, together with all He said, did, and suffered for our redemption, in suffrage for the souls in purgatory, especially those to whom we are most obliged, and those for whom we offered our intention in this Mass. Vouchsafe, O Mother of mercy, fountain of all consolation, to make them sensible of the efficacy of this most holy sacrifice. Cause them to be conducted by their guardian angel to enjoy with thee the blessed contemplation of the most holy Trinity, to whom be all honour and glory for all ages for ever.

Amen.

HE eternal Son of God came down from heaven and clothed Himself with our mortality, in order to rescue poor erring

man from the state of sin into which he

had fallen, and to enable him to rise to the happy condition of grace here upon earth, and of glory hereafter in His eternal kingdom. "I am not come to call the just," said He to the Pharisees, "but sinners." And on the eve of His passion, whilst He was in the act of instituting the blessed Sacrament, He said to His Apostles: "This is the chalice of My blood, which shall be shed for you, and for many, unto the remission of sin."

Amongst the principal means which He left to His Church, to enable it to fulfil this His most gracious and merciful design of saving sinners, He instituted the sacrament of Penance, or sacramental Confession, which has power to remit those actual sins which have been committed after baptism, in the same manner as the sacrament of Baptism has power to remit original sin.

That our blessed Saviour has left a power in His Church to forgive and remit sins in His name, and by His authority, is most evident, from the teaching of the holy Scriptures, as well as from the doctrine of the Fathers. We read in St. John's Gospel that, on the very day of His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples, and thus spoke to them: "As My Father has sent Me, I also send you;" which clearly means, I send you with the same power and authority which I received from My Father who sent Me; I send you as My substitutes, as My delegates, as My representatives, as Pastors of My Church. And that there might be no doubt that in these words He included the power of forgiving sins, He immediately breathed upon them, and said: "Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins ye shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins ye shall retain, they are retained;" by which words we see that, in the clearest and most expressive terms, He confers upon them the power of forgiving sin, and gives them a solemn assurance that He will ratify in heaven the sentence of forgiveness which they should pass here upon earth. In these acts and words Jesus Christ fulfilled the promise which, some time previous to His passion and death, He had made to His disciples, that He would communicate to them this power, when He said: "Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven."

At the same time that our blessed Lord conferred on the pastors of His Church the power of binding and loosing, of remitting and retaining sins, as by a necessary consequence He also laid an indispensable obligation on 2 Matt. xviii. 18.

John xx. 22, 23.