tent thief, saying, This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise; by thy descent into Limbus, and the joy thou communicatedst to the just souls therein detained; by the glory of thy triumphant resurrection, and the consoling appearance thou frequently didst vouchsafe for forty days' space to thy sacred Virgin Mother, to thy apostles, and thy other chosen friends and servants; by thy admirable ascension, when, in the sight of thy holy Mother and thy Apostles, thou wast elevated into heaven; by the miraculous coming down of the Holy Ghost in the form of fiery tongues, whereby thou replenishedst the hearts of thy disciples with thy love, and gavest them strength and courage to plant thy faith in the whole world; by the dreadful day of general judgment, on which thou wilt pass sentence on all mankind.

By all those sorrows, joys, passions, compassions, and whatsoever else is dear to thee in heaven and on earth, take pity on me, O compassionate Redeemer! hear my prayers, and grant me that for which I now most humbly and heartily petition thee. [Mention here the thing you desire, or reflect mentally upon it.] Give me, O gracious Saviour, speedily to experience thy divine succour and comfort, who, according to the accustomed sweetness of thy tender heart, art wont to grant the requests of those who fear and love thee, even to their soul's desire and satisfaction; bestow on me also, O blessed Jesus, a constant faith, a firm hope, a perfect charity, a true contrition, a sincere confession, a full satisfaction, a diligent guarding of myself from future failings, a contempt of the world, a complete conquest of my passions, a zealous imitation of thy exemplary life and conversation, an entire accomplishment of my vows, an absolute mortification of my self-will, a willing readiness to die for thy love and honour, a final perseverance in grace and good works, a happy departure of my soul out of this world, with my perfect senses about me, and with thy holy sacraments to strengthen me; thyself, O dear Jesus, to comfort me! thy sacred Virgin Mother, with the saints, my particular patrons, to pray for me; and my good angel to conduct me to eternal rest and happiness. Amen.

THE THIRTY DAYS' PRAYER

TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, IN HONOUR OF THE SACRED PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, BY THE DEVOUT RECITAL OF WHICH, FOR THE ABOVE SPACE OF TIME, WE MAY CONFIDENTLY HOPE TO OBTAIN OUR LAWFUL REQUEST.

It is particularly recommended as a proper devotion for every day in Lent, and all the Fridays throughout the year.

Ever-glorious and blessed Mary, queen of virgins, mother of mercy, the hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls; through that sword of sorrow which pierced thy tender heart, whilst thine only Son Jesus Christ our Lord suffered death and ignominy on the cross; through that filial tenderness and pure love he had for thee, grieving in thy grief, whilst from his cross he recommended thee to the care and protection of his beloved disciple St. John; take pity, I beseech thee, on my poverty and necessities; have compassion on my anxieties and cares; assist and comfort me in all my infirmities and miseries, of what kind soever. Thou art the mother of mercies, the sweet comforter and only refuge of the needy and the orphan, of the desolate and afflicted. Cast, therefore, an eye of pity on a poor child of Eve, and hear my prayer; for since, in just punishment of my sins, I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils, and oppressed with much anguish of spirit, whither can I fly for more secure shelter, O amiable mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! than to the wings of thy maternal protection? Attend, therefore, I beseech thee, with an ear of pity and compassion to my humble and earnest request. I ask it through the mercy of thy dear Son: through that love and condescension wherewith he embraced our nature, when, in compliance with the divine will, thou gavest thy consent; and whom, after the expiration of nine months, thou broughtest forth from thy chaste womb to visit this world, and bless it with his presence. I ask it through that anguish of mind wherewith thy beloved

Son, our dear Saviour, was overwhelmed on the Mount of Olives, when he besought his eternal Father to remove from him, if possible, the bitter chalice of his passion. I ask it through the threefold repetition of his prayer in the garden, from whence afterwards, with sorrowing steps, and mournful tears, thou didst accompany him to the doleful theatre of his death and sufferings. I ask it through the wounds and sores of his virginal flesh, occasioned by the cords and whips wherewith he was bound and scourged, when stripped of his seamless garment, for which his executioners afterwards cast lots. I ask it through the scoffs and ignominies wherewith he was insulted; the false accusations and unjust sentence by which he was condemned to death, and which he bore with heavenly patience. I ask it through his bitter tears and bloody sweat, his silence and resignation, his sadness and grief of heart. I ask it through the blood which trickled from his royal and sacred head, when struck with his sceptre of a reed, and pierced with his crown of thorns. I ask it through the excruciating torments he suffered, when his hands and feet were fastened with heavy nails to the cross. I ask it through his vehement thirst, and bitter passion of vinegar and gall. I ask it through his dereliction on the cross, when he exclaimed: My God! My God! why hast thou forsaken me? I ask it through his mercy extended to the good thief, and through his recommendation of his precious soul and spirit into the hands of his eternal Father before he expired, saying, It is finished. I ask it through the blood mixed with water which issued from his sacred side when pierced with a lance, from whence a plenteous stream of grace and mercy has flowed to us. I ask it through his immaculate life, his bitter passion, and ignominious death on the cross, at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions, by the bursting of rocks, rending of the veil of the temple, the earthquake, and darkness of the sun and moon. I ask it through his descent into hell, where he comforted the saints of the old law with his presence, and led captivity captive. I ask it through his glorious victory over death, when he rose again to life on the third day, and through the joy

which his appearance, for forty days after, gave to thee, his blessed Mother, his apostles, and the rest of his disciples, when, in thine and their presence, he miraculously ascended into heaven. I ask it through the grace of the Holy Ghost, infused into the hearts of the apostles, when he descended upon them in the form of fiery tongues, which inspired them with zeal for the conversion of the world, when they went forth to preach the gospel. I ask it through the awful appearance of thy Son, at the last dreadful day, when he shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire. I ask it through the compassion he bore thee in this life, and the ineffable joy thou didst feel at thine assumption into heaven, where thou art eternally absorbed in the sweet contemplation of his divine perfections. O glorious and everblessed Virgin! comfort the heart of thy suppliant, by obtaining for me [here mention your request, under the condition of its being agreeable to the will of God]. And as I am persuaded my divine Saviour doth honour thee as his beloved Mother, to whom he can refuse nothing, so let me speedily experience the efficacy of thy powerful intercession, according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection, and his filial loving heart, who mercifully granteth the requests and complieth with the desires of those that love and fear him. Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin, besides the object of my present petition, and whatever else I may stand in need of, obtain for me also of thy dear Son, our Lord and our God, a lively faith, a firm hope, a perfect charity, a true contrition of heart, unfeigned tears of compunction, a sincere confession, an abstinence from sin, a love of God and my neighbour, a contempt of the world, and patience under all affronts and ignominies; nay, even, if necessary, an opprobrious death itself, for the love of my Saviour Jesus Christ. Obtain likewise for me, O sacred Mother of God! perseverance in good works, the performance of good resolutions, the mortification of self-will, a pious conversation through life, and, at my last moments, a strong and sincere repentance, accompanied by such a lively and attentive presence of mind as may enable me to receive the last sacraments of the Church worthily, and die in

thy friendship and favour. Lastly, obtain, I beseech thee, for the souls of my parents, brethren, relations, and benefactors, both living and dead, life everlasting. Amen.

Six Prayers of St. Bridget.

To be said in honour of the sacred Wounds of our Blessed Saviour.

1. O most sweet Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal sweetness of those who love thee; the joy, desire, and firm hope of the hopeless; solace of the sorrowful, and most merciful lover of all penitent sinners; who hast said, thy delight is to be with the sons of men; for the love of whom thou didst assume human nature in the fulness of time: remember, most sweet Lord Jesus, all those sharp sorrows which did pierce thy sacred soul, from the first instant of thy incarnation, until the time of thy sorrowful passion, preordained from all eternity: remember, O most amiable Saviour, all that bitter anguish thou didst suffer, when at thy last supper thou didst wash the feet of thy disciples, didst feed them with the sacred banquet of thy precious body and blood, and most sweetly comforting them, didst foretel them thy ensuing passion; after which, going to Mount Olivet, thou saidst, My soul is sorrowful unto death. Remember, I beseech thee, O most sweet Saviour, that bitter grief and anguish which thy sacred soul did suffer when, praying three several times to thy heavenly Father, thou didst sweat water and blood, thou wast betrayed by thy own disciple, apprehended by thy chosen people, accused by false witnesses, unjustly arraigned before three judges, and in thy chosen city, in the Paschal solemnity, in the flourishing age of thy youth, wrongfully condemned, bound, beaten, spurned, spit upon, despoiled of thy garments, and clothed with others in scorn; wast blindfolded, buffeted, spit upon again, bound naked to a pillar, most cruelly scourged, crowned with thorns, struck with a reed, and afflicted with innumerable other torments, pains, and injuries. O my Lord Jesus, by the memory and merit of all that bitter pain and anguish, before thou