Then follow the Collects; at the end of the first and last of which, the Acolyte answers, Amen.

The Collects vary with the season. They may be found in their proper place in the Missal, or any of the following may be used instead.

O God, the protector of all that hope in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; multiply thy mercy upon us; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through temporal goods, that we finally lose not those which are eternal. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Defend us, O Lord, we beseech thee, from all dangers of soul and body; and, by the intercession of the glorious and blessed Mary ever Virgin, Mother of God, the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, the blessed N. and all thy Saints, grant us, in thy mercy, health and peace; that all adversities and errors being done away, thy Church may serve thee with a pure and undisturbed devotion. Through, &c.

O God, who hast prepared invisible good things for them that love thee; pour forth into our hearts the grace of thy love; that, loving thee in all things and above all things, we may come to the enjoyment of thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire. Through, &c.

O almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is sanctified and governed; hear our humble supplications for all degrees and orders thereof, that, by the assistance of thy grace, they may faithfully serve thee. Through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son; who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

O God, the pastor and governor of all the faithful; look down, in thy mercy, on thy servant N., whom thou hast appointed to preside over thy Church; and grant, we beseech thee, that both by word and example, he may edify all those who are under his charge; so that, with the flock intrusted to him, he may arrive at length at life everlasting. Through, &c. Amen.

I The same remark applies to the Epistle, Gradual, Gospel, Offertory, Communion, and Post-Communion.

Then the Epistle for the day is read, which may be found in its proper place; or the following may be read instead:

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice. Let your modesty be known to all men: the Lord is nigh. Be not solicitous about any thing: but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. For the rest, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are modest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are holy, whatsoever things are amiable, whatsoever things are of good repute, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise of discipline, think on these things. The things which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, these do ye; and the God of peace shall be with you.

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury; but be ye filled with the Holy Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, singing, and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father.

Deo gratias.

After which is said:

Thanks be to God.

A prayer at the Epistle.

O eternal God, who never ceasest to incite us, by the public ministry of thy Church, the warnings of Prophets, the teachings of Apostles, and the writings of holy men, to the love and worship of thy Name, and to defend us from the snares of the world, the flesh, and the devil; grant that we may always gladly embrace all wholesome doctrine and instruction, and seriously endeavour to regulate our life and conduct in accordance with the same. And lest it should turn to our greater condemnation to have known, by so many teachers and preachers, the way of truth, which is thy holy will, and not to have followed it, give us grace and strength, that what we have so often heard, and know to be our duty, we may be able faithfully to perform. Amen.

Then the Gradual, Tract, Alleluia, or Sequence, according to the time.

For the Gradual.'

Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge to save me. In thee, O God, have I hoped; O Lord, let me never be confounded.

Deal not with us, O Lord, according to our sins which we have committed, nor punish us according to our iniquities. V. Help us, O God our Saviour; and for the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us, and forgive us our sins for thy name's sake.

Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Come unto him, and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be confounded. Alleluia, alleluia. Oh, clap your hands, all ye nations: shout unto God with the voice of joy. Alleluia.

[After this, at High Mass, the Deacon places the book of the Gospels on the Altar, and the Celebrant blesses the incense (as above). Then the Deacon, kneeling before the Altar, with joined hands, says:

Cleanse my heart and my lips, O almighty God, who didst cleanse the lips of the prophet Isaiah with

Munda cor meum ac labia mea, omnipotens Deus, qui labia Isaiæ prophetæ calculo mundasti ignito: ita me tua grata miseratione a burning coal: and vouchdignare mundare, ut sanctum Evangelium tuum digne valeam nuntiare. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.

Amen.

safe, through thy gracious mercy, so to purify me, that I may worthily proclaim thy holy Gospel. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Afterwards he takes the book from the Altar, and again
kneeling down before the Priest, asks his blessing, saying,
Sir, give me thy blessing.
The Priest says:

Dominus sit in corde tuo

The Lord be in thy heart

1 The Choir sing the Gradual, while the book is moved to the Gospel side, and the Priest says the prayer (Munda cor meum), “Cleanse my heart," &c.

et in labiis tuis, ut digne et competenter annunties Evangelium suum: in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

and on thy lips, that thou mayst worthily and in a becoming manner announce his holy Gospel in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Having received the blessing, he kisses the hand of the Priest; and then, with incense and lighted candles, he goes to the place where the Gospel is read, and, standing with his hands joined, says:

. Dominus vobiscum. Ry. Et cum spiritu tuo.

. The Lord be with you. Ry. And with thy spirit.

Then, giving out:

. Sequentia (vel ini- . The continuation (or tium) sancti Evangelii se- beginning) of the holy Goscundum N. pel according to N.

he makes the sign of the Cross with the thumb of his right hand on the Gospel which he is to read, and on his forehead, mouth, and breast (the people doing the same); and while the Minister and people answer:

Ry. Gloria tibi, Domine.

Ry. Glory be to thee, O

Lord.

he incenses the book three times, and then reads the Gospel.

For the Gospel.

Let your loins be girded, and lamps burning in your hands, and you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that when he cometh, and knocketh, they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and will minister to them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or if he shall come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But this know ye, that if a master of a family did know at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and

would not suffer his house to be broken open. Be ye also ready; for at what hour you think not, the Son of man will come.

Then Peter, answering, said to him: Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee: what, therefore, shall we have? And Jesus said to them: Amen I say unto you, that ye, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting.

If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive; because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him: but you shall know him; because he shall abide with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you orphans: I will come to you. Yet a little while; and the world seeth me no more. But ye see me; because I live, and you shall live. In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me, shall be loved by my Father: and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Then is said:

Ry. Laus tibi, Christe.

Ry. Praise be to thee, O Christ.

A prayer at the Gospel.

O Lord Jesus, who, according to thy Father's will, hast declared unto the world the message of the Gospel; grant that we may receive it into our minds, embrace it with our wills, preserve it in our memory, and practise it in our lives; and, being united here with those elect sheep who hear thy voice, may be numbered with them also at the last day at thy right hand, and hear thee say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."