the virtue of thy cross, and to exult in the memory of thy sacred passion.

Sing then the canticle of thanksgiving, ye dear-bought nations of the earth; sing immortal praises to the God of our salvation;

To him, who for us endured so many trials, and patiently bore so many indignities;

To him, who for our sake was exhausted by a bloody sweat, and drank to the very dregs the bitter cup of suffering;

Sing to the mighty Lord of heaven and earth, who for us was slain by the hands of an impious mob;

Who, as a meek lamb when led away to the slaughter, opened not his mouth, nor made any resistance to his enemies.

Whither, O my God! did thy mercy lead thee! to what lengths didst thou go for the love of us!

Was it not enough to have become man, that thou shouldst submit to the varied miseries of our nature?

Was it not enough to have led a laborious life, that thou must eventually die in opprobrious torture?

No, divine Saviour! thou knewest that our frail being needed further instruction and encouragement;

That, wedded as we are to the things of this world, we could never resignedly how under the stroke of death, if not animated by thy example.

Thou knewest that we would always tremble at the thought of suffering, if not led on by thee to the exercise of penance and selfdenial.

O blessed redeemer! whose grace is the commencement and the consummation of all our hopes;

How indebted are we to thy infinite goodness! what return can we make thee for thy incomparable mercies?

Glory be to the Father, &c.

Psalm LXXI.

ARISE, my soul! and prepare a fervent sacrifice of praise for thy bountiful Lord.

Awake, and summon all thy affections for the worthy offering of thy adorations.

Let us reverently draw near to the hallowed

mount on which he was slain, and at the foot of the cross promise an inviolable fidelity in his service.

Thither let us fly from the troubles of the world; there let us dwell amid the outpourings of divine beneficence.

Under the shade of that redeeming wood let us kneel, contemplating in wonder the august victim who is there immolated for our salvation.

Let us recall every incident of his love, let us dwell upon every circumstance of his death, let us adore individually his gaping wounds.

Blessed be the hands that wrought so many miracles, and were pierced with cruel nails.

Blessed be the feet whose steps were always

directed by the will of heaven, and which at length were fastened to the hard wood of the

cross.

Blessed be that venerable head crowned with thorns, which bowed itself in death for our redemption.

Blessed be that divine heart transfixed with a lance, which so ardently desired to promote our real happiness.

Blessed be the entire person of our crucified Lord, and may all the powers of our soul unite in praising his unbounded mercy.

O what wondrous charity! what excessive goodness is exhibited in the sacrifice of Calvary!

The Lord is sold, that the slave may be set at liberty; the innocent is condemned, that the guilty may be saved.

The physician becomes sick, that the patient may be cured; and God himself dies that man may live.

Tell me, my soul! who has ever rendered us a service like this? who has ever manifested for us the same disinterested love?

What have our best friends, or even our parents done for us, that can be placed on a parallel with this extraordinary charity?

The saviour who redeemed us is no other than the Son of God; the price he paid for us is nothing less than his own precious life.

What could the favour of the whole world procure for us, compared with this stupendous liberality of heaven?

Our hope is to be one day associated with

the angels of God; our inheritance is the kingdom of everlasting glory.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

Psalm LXXII.

To thee, O God! we owe our whole being, for having created us according to thy image and likeness.

But we owe thee more than our being, for having redeemed us by the death of thy only Son.

It was not so easy to repair the losses of fallen man, as to have called him into exist

ence.

One word was sufficient to create us; while to raise us from the degradation of sin was a laborious and painful task.

To redeem us, the Son of God humbled himself under the frailty of human nature, and submitted to all our infirmities.

He patiently endured the discomforts of poverty, and bore in silence the insults of his enemies.

How frequently did he hazard his life, in announcing and defending the truths of the gospel!