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Then placing the holy Sacrament, with the corporal, on a table, when the candles have been lighted, he adores upon his knees, all present doing likewise; after which he takes holy water, and sprinkles the sick man and the bed on which he lies, saying

The Asperges, as at p. 203.

After which is said the Confiteor, as at p. 207.

Then again adoring on his knees, he takes the Sacrament in his hands, and elevating it, he shews it to the sick man, saying: Ecce Agnus Dei (Behold the Lamb of God, &c.), and repeating three times, in the usual way: Domine, non sum dignus (Lord, I am not worthy, &c.).

Then communicating the sick man, he says: Accipe, frater (vel soror), Receive, brother (or sister), viaticum Corporis Domini the viaticum of our Lord nostri Jesu Christi, qui te custodiat ab hoste maligno, et perducat in vitam æternam. Amen.

Jesus Christ, that he may preserve thee from the malignant enemy, and bring thee to life everlasting. Amen.

But if Communion is not given in the way of Viaticum, he pronounces the usual words, Corpus Domini nostri (May the body of our Lord, &c.).

The Priest then washes his fingers in silence, and the ablution is given to the sick man; after which he says:

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These things done, if any particle of the Sacrament remains, he genuflects, rises, and taking the Sacrament in its receptacle,

he makes with it the sign of the Cross over the sick man in silence. Returning to the Church, he recites Psalm cxlviii., and other psalms and hymns, as time allows. If no particle of the Sacrament remains, the Priest blesses the sick man with his hand, in the usual way.

A Form of Thanksgiving after Communion.

Glory and thanksgiving be to thee, O Lord, who, in thy sweetness, hast been pleased to visit and refresh my poor soul. Now let thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word.

Now thou art come to me, and I will not let thee go; now I willingly bid farewell to the world, and with joy I come to thee, my God.

Nothing more, O good Jesus, nothing more shall separate me from thee. Now I am united to thee, in thee will I live, and in thee will I die, and in thee I hope to abide for ever.

Now life seems uneasy to me; I desire to be dissolved and be with Christ; for Christ is my life, and to die will be my gain.

Now I will fear no evils, though I walk in the shadow of death, because thou art with me, O Lord. As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so doth my soul thirst after thee, O God. My soul is athirst for the fountain of living water; oh, when shall I come and appear before the face of my God!

What have I more to do with the world! and in heaven, what have I to desire but only thee, my God! Into thy hands I commend my spirit; receive me, sweet Jesus; in thee may I rest, and in thy happiness rejoice without end. Amen.

The Sacrament of Extreme Unction.

OUR Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in his tender solicitude for those whom he has redeemed by his precious blood, has been pleased to institute another Sacrament, to help us at that most important hour on which eternity depends,-the hour of death. This Sacrament is called Extreme Unction, or the Last Anointing.

Of this blessed Sacrament St. James the Apostle thus speaks: Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him (v. 14, 15). These words shew the great and salutary graces bestowed by this Sacrament.

The Priest, in administering this Sacrament, anoints the five principal senses of the body; the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, the lips, the hands, and the feet, because these may have been employed, during life, in offending God. At each anointing he pronounces these words: "By this holy unction, and by his own most tender mercy, may the Lord pardon thee whatever sin thou hast committed by thy sight, hearing," &c.

The sick person should endeavour to prepare himself to receive this Sacrament by acts of sincere contrition for all his sins, by great confidence in the tender mercies of his Redeemer, and by a perfect resignation of himself to the holy will of God.

A Prayer before Extreme Unction.

O Lord, thou hast mercifully provided remedies for all our necessities; grant me thy grace so to use them, that my soul may receive all those good effects which thou didst intend in their institution. I desire now to be anointed, as thou hast commanded by thine Apostle; grant, I beseech thee, that by this holy unction, and the prayers of the Church, I may partake of that spirit with which Christ suffered on the cross, for thy glory, and for the destruction of sin. Give me true

patience to support all the pains and trouble of my illness; give me an inward strength to resist all the temptations of the enemy; give me grace for the pardon of all my failings; give me that true light, by which I may be conducted through the shadow of death to eternal happiness; and if my health be expedient for thy glory, let this be the means to restore it. Behold, I approach to this holy ordinance with a firm faith and confidence in thy goodness, that thou wilt not forsake me in this time of my distress; but that thou wilt stand by me with thy grace, and defend me from all evil, and prepare my soul for a happy passage.

My eyes have seen vanities; but now let them be shut to the world, and open to thee alone, my Jesus; and pardon me all the sins which I have committed by my seeing.

My ears have been open to detraction, profaneness, and unprofitable discourses; let me now give ear to thy word, to thy commandments, to thy calls; and pardon me, O Jesus, all the sins which I have committed by my hearing.

I have taken delight in the perfumes of this world, which are all nothing but corruptions; now let my heart and prayers ascend like incense in thy sight; and pardon me, O Jesus, all the sins which I have committed by my smelling.

My tongue hath in many ways offended both in speaking and tasting; now let its whole business be to cry for mercy; and pardon me, dear Jesus, all the sins which I have committed by words, or by excesses in eating or in drinking.

My hands have been full of evil; they have wrought many follies, injurious to myself and to my neighbour; now let them be lifted up to heaven, in testimony of a penitent heart; and pardon me, O Lord, all the sins which I have committed by the ill use of my hands.

My feet have gone astray in the paths of vanity and sin; now let me walk in the way of thy commandments; and forgive me, O Lord, all the sins which I have committed by my disordered steps.

Let my heart be now thy temple, the temple of thy Holy Spirit; and pardon me all the sins by which I have banished thee from my heart, and defiled my

soul.

By this holy anointing, and the power of thy grace, O God, forgive me all my sins, and convert my heart wholly to thee, that I may cheerfully submit to death, in punishment of my offences, and so enter into thy eternal rest. Amen.

1 While the Priest is administering the Sacrament to the sick person, one of the assistants may, before each anointing, read one of the above short prayers, corresponding to the organ of sense that is next to be anointed, that it may be repeated by the sick person.

The Order of Administering the Sacrament of

Extreme Unction.

On arriving at the place where the sick man lies, the Priest, with the holy oil, entering the chamber, says:

Pax huic domui.

R. Et omnibus habitantibus in ea.

Peace be to this house.

R. And to all who dwell therein.

Then, after placing the oil on a table, being vested in a surplice and violet-coloured stole, he offers the sick man a crucifix piously to kiss; after which he sprinkles both the chamber and the bystanders with holy water in the form of a cross, saying the Asperges, as at p. 203. Then he says:

V. Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini.

R. Qui fecit cœlum et ter

ram.

V. Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo.

Oremus.

Introeat, Domine Jesu Christe, domum hanc sub nostræ humilitatis ingressu, æterna felicitas, divina prosperitas, serena lætitia, charitas fructuosa, sanitas sempiterna: effugiat ex hoc loco accessus dæmonum, adsint Angeli pacis domumque hanc deserat omnis maligna discordia. Magnifica, Domine, super nos nomen sanctum tuum, et benedic + nostræ conversationi: sanctifica nostræ humilitatis ingressum, qui sanctus et pius es, et permanes cum Patre et Spiritu Saneto in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Oremus et deprecemur Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, ut benedicendo benedicathoc tabernaculum, et

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Let us pray.

Let there enter, O Lord Jesus Christ, into this house,' at the entrance of our humility, everlasting felicity, divine prosperity, serene gladness, fruitful charity, perpetual health: let the approach of devils flee from this place, let the Angels of peace be present therein, and let all malignant discord depart from this house. Magnify, O Lord, upon us thy holy name, and bless + our conversation: sanctify the entrance of our humility, who art holy and good, and abidest with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever and ever. Amen.

Let us pray and beseech our Lord Jesus Christ, that blessing he may bless this tabernacle, and all who dwell

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