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dead, I will go down in spirit to that dread place where thy hand is heavy on thy children, the heirs of thy glory. There I will sigh and lament, I will unite my prayers to the sacrifice of thy dear Son, that thou mayest shorten their pains, and change their sufferings into consolation, their humiliation into glory. Lord, in the grief that oppresses them, their soul cries unto thee. Have mercy on me, for I acknowledge that I have sinned in thy sight. One thing have I asked of thee, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in thy house for ever, to behold the fair beauty of thy temple. I believe verily to see thy face in the land of the living.

During the Preface.

It is just and reasonable, right and salutary, to give thee thanks at all times and in all places, Father almighty, eternal God, through Jesus Christ our Lord; through whom thou hast given us the hope of a blessed resurrection, to the end that, if the recollection of the sentence of death passed upon all men comes to sadden us, the promise of immortality may encourage and console our faith; for to those who are faithful to thee, O Lord, to die is to lose a mortal life to pass into a better, and when this their earthly tabernacle is dissolved, they obtain one in the heavens, which shall endure eternally. And therefore, with all the heavenly host, we sing a hymn to thy glory, saying, without ceasing: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; his blood cries aloud for pardon, and its voice reacheth even to the throne of mercy.

During the Canon.

O almighty God, whose providence extendeth over all thy creatures, for thou art their Father, cast an eye of pity on the souls that love thee, and whose bitterest pain it is to be separated from thee. Remember, O my God, that they are the work of thine hands, and the price of the sufferings, the death, and the infinite merits of thy divine Son, Jesus. Wilt thou not relent towards them

for his name's sake? We offer thee, in their behalf, the precious blood which was shed for them on the cross; the powerful intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Peter, and St. Paul, and all the Saints; the humble supplications of thy Church, and the prayers and meritorious works of all the faithful. Having this confidence, we hope all from thy mercy, O my God, for the souls which were dear unto us, and which thou hast made it our duty to love and succour. Let thy paternal tenderness disarm at length thy justice. Open to them thy heart; manifest to them thy glory; shew thyself to them as thou art, and let flow into their souls that torrent of delights of which thou art the everlasting source.

At the Elevation.

O holy Victim, immolated for the salvation of the world, listen favourably to our prayers. O precious Blood of our Saviour, which wast shed to take away our sins, sanctify us, and cry for mercy on the souls of the faithful departed.

Continuance of the Canon.

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O Jesus, who didst go down into Limbo to deliver thence the souls of the patriarchs and prophets who awaited thy coming, visit the souls of thy servants in their place of suffering. Moderate the heat of the furnace in which they are tried with the dew of thy grace. Thou hast said that thou wilt consider as done unto thyself, the least good which we shall do unto our brethren: hope, then, that the relief which I shall procure for the souls of the faithful will be as acceptable to thee as if I had procured it for thyself. Cease from thy anger, O my God, through the intercession of Her who is the comforter of the afflicted, and through the prayers of all the heavenly host, who plead for the blessedness of the souls in purgatory. Grant, I beseech thee, eternal rest to these our brethren in whose behalf we prostrate ourselves before thee.

At the Pater.

O Jesus, O thou at whose name every knee doth bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; O thou who art the sovereign Judge of the living and the dead, let thy name be hallowed by the deliverance of the souls for whom we pray. Let the gate of thy tabernacles be opened to them, and thy will to save them be done this day. Grant that, after having eaten the bread of affliction, they may be nourished with the living bread, which is the fruition of thyself. We beseech thee in thy mercy to forgive the sins of our parents, friends, and benefactors, and the sins which we have caused them to commit, that thou mayest not impute the guilt to them in the rigour of thy justice. Preserve us from those avenging flames, which, alas! we have too justly merited by the abuse of thy graces, our tepidity in thy service, and our unfaithfulness in resisting temptation. Deliver us from sin, the greatest of all evils. We know that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

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At the Agnus Dei.

O Jesus, how great is the love which led thee to offer thyself, as a lamb to the sacrifice, for the expiation of the sins of the world! What tongue can worthily extol that charity which leads thee to become surety for our debts, even after our death! What ought not our gratitude to be for so great a benefit!

Lamb of God, who, by thy death, didst overcome the roaring lion that goeth about seeking whom he may devour, have mercy on the faithful departed.

Lamb without spot, who wast immolated to the justice of thy divine Father, to the end that he might forgive us our sins, have mercy on those who have died united by love to thy sacred heart.

Lamb of God, who wast offered in sacrifice, that thou mightest lead us out of this land of perdition to the true land of promise; thou who hast said: I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live, give to the souls of the faithful

departed that life, the principle of which was imparted to them by the grace of the holy sacraments; bestow upon them the happiness of which they have so often received the precious pledge in thy heavenly banquet. I desire to have part therein (spiritually), that I may obtain for them, as much as in me lies, the society of thine elect for ever; I offer to thee in their behalf, and especially for N., all the devotions and good works which I may be enabled to perform. Despise not my humble prayer; but be thou thyself my consolation in my loss, and grant relief to those souls which were so dear to me, and especially N.

Communion.

Let shine upon them, O Lord, thy eternal light, that they may dwell for ever with thy saints: grant this favour to them, I beseech thee, O God of mercy.

Post-Communion.

O my God, who hast constituted prayer for the souls in purgatory one of the most essential of our duties, grant that I may find, in thy infinite merits and charity, the pardon of all my past tepidity and sloth. Let the remembrance of thy justice, which keeps them fast bound in prison for faults which I myself so commonly commit, excite in me a firm resolution of entering on the way of penance to expiate my sins, and cause me to walk with more circumspection, that I may not relapse into my former errors. I will no longer delay to do penance. Henceforth I will labour thereat whilst there is yet time. I will pray most humbly for the souls of the faithful departed; I will deprive myself even of allowable pleasures and enjoyments, to quench the flames in which they suffer; I will pour my alms into the lap of the poor, to make interest in their behalf. Bless these resolutions, O my God, and grant me grace to fulfil them.

The Last Gospel.

"I know that my Redeemer liveth, and in the last

day I shall rise out of the earth, and I shall be clothed again with my skin, and in my flesh I shall see my God, my Saviour; my eyes shall behold him; this my hope is laid up in my bosom." Job xix. 25-27.

"I will look towards the Lord, I will wait for God my Saviour; my God will hear my voice. I shall arise when I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light..... He will bring me forth into the light, I shall behold his justice." Mich. vii. 7-9.

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