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on all hearts and on all lips the lovely name of Mary, that name so powerful, which constitutes the delight, the security, the happiness, of all who utter it with a sweet confidence and a holy joy!

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us, who have recourse to thee.

Prayer to our Lady of Peace.

O holy Virgin, my august Queen, obtain for me from thy divine Son the peace which he left as a heritage to his disciples. The world knows it not, it resides only in souls that are sanctified by grace. Obtain for me, I beseech thee, grace to maintain this peace with God, by my fidelity in keeping his law; with my superiors, by my submission, obedience, and respect; with my equals, by meekness, patience, and charity; with myself, by the practice of all virtues: so that it may be poured forth also upon my relations, friends, and all mankind. Obtain for me grace to live on earth in the peace of innocence, that at the last I may be found worthy of that ineffable peace which the blessed enjoy in heaven. Amen.

Prayer to our Lady of Consolation.

O Mary, most sweet, most amiable, and most glorious, thy name cannot be uttered in the secret of the heart without inflaming it with thy love; and they who love thee cannot think of thee without feeling themselves animated to love thee more and more, and putting all their confidence in thee. O Mary, O my Mother, thou seest my trouble, look upon me with an eye of pity; thou art the consolation of all who call upon thee in affliction, be thou, then, mine. Hearken to the sighs, graciously hear the prayers of my poor heart; forsake me not, but support me in affliction, and strengthen me in danger. Thou art the heavenly dew that sweetenest our sorrows; O Mother of consolation, I pray thee, sweeten mine; give peace to my soul, grant me all that thou knowest I desire of thee; obtain for me, from

thy divine Son, the pardon of all my sins, the grace to sin no more, the blessedness to imitate thy virtues all the rest of my life, and finally a holy and a happy death. At that tremendous hour, be thou my protectress and my consolation, I beseech thee; O my tender Mother, come and receive my soul, to present it at the tribunal of the sovereign Judge, and to obtain for me a favourable sentence. I deserve not this at thy hands; but I am thy child. I love thee, and I desire to make thee loved by all hearts. Amen.

An Act of Reparation to the Holy Virgin.

How great is my grief, O most holy Virgin Mary, when I consider the injuries which thou receivest every day on the part of men! How can there be found hearts so hard and impious as to despise thee, who art worthy of the respect and love of angels and men! And among the very children of the Church, thine own children, there are some, alas! who feel nothing but coldness and indifference for thee; who take no pains to testify their gratitude and devotion towards thee; who never honour thee, or invoke thy intercession, or seek to gain thy protection. And how many times have I myself plunged into thy heart the two-edged sword! Ŏ Mother of mercy, I should never dare to lift up my eyes to thee, wert thou not the advocate of sinners. Oppressed with the burden of my infidelities, I come to ask forgiveness at thy feet, for myself and for all mankind. I acknowledge thy glory to be above that of all creatures; I honour, with the Church, thy immaculate Conception and thy glorious Assumption; I believe thy power and all thy perfections to be proportioned to thy dignity of Mother of God; I acknowledge thee with joy as my advocate, my refuge, and my mother; I will glory all my life in being of the number of thy most devoted children, and it shall be my happiness to win all hearts to thy love. Vouchsafe, O spotless Virgin, to obtain for me grace to imitate thy virtues, and to dwell with thee hereafter in the abode of glory. Amen.

An Act of Consecration to the Holy Virgin.

O holy Mary, Mother of God, who, from the first moment of thy conception, wast free from the stain of original sin, I choose thee this day for my queen, my patroness, my advocate with God, and my glorious mother. I am most earnestly resolved, from this day, to persevere in thy worship, and in promoting thy honour, during the whole course of my life; I will never say any thing, nor do any thing, nor suffer any who belong to me to offer, in their conversation or their actions, the slightest injury to the reverence and homage which are due to thee by a thousand titles. Vouchsafe, then, I beseech thee, O august Queen of heaven and earth, to admit me to-day into thy service for ever, and to grant me thy holy protection every moment of my life. Above all, O most sacred Mother of my Saviour, I beseech thee not to abandon me at the hour of my death. Amen.

A Prayer for Perseverance in Devotion to the Blessed

Virgin.

O God, who hast placed us under the patronage of the most holy Mother of thy Son Jesus, and dost excite us to strive for the prize of our high calling; come into our hearts, and pour down upon us thy purifying grace, whereby we may persevere in thy service, and in the service of the same most holy Virgin Mary; so that, fortified by so powerful a protection, we may perform those good desires which thou hast put into our hearts, and having effectually accomplished all that was set before us to do, may attain those things which thou hast been pleased to promise to those that abide in thee. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Way of asking our Lady's Blessing.

Come, O my soul, prostrate thyself at the feet of

Mary, thy Mother, and depart not till she hath blessed thee. O blessed of God, and enriched with all blessings, in thy mercy and kindness, bless my afflicted soul, and obtain for me, from thy beloved Son, abundant grace; that I may so faithfully serve both him and thee in this world, that I may be made partaker of eternal glory. Amen.

An Act of filial Reverence to Mary.

Pope Leo XII. granted, in perpetuity, to all the faithful who should recite the three following prayers, together with three "Hail Marys," to ask the Blessed Virgin's assistance in the practice of Christian virtues, and especially the holy virtue of purity:-1. An indulgence of 100 days each time they are said. 2. A plenary indulgence, once a month, on reciting them every day, with the usual conditions. These indulgences are applicable to the souls in purgatory.

I.

I venerate thee with all my heart, O most holy Virgin, as the Daughter of the Father of heaven; and I consecrate to thee my soul, with all its powers. Hail Mary!

II.

I venerate thee with all my heart, O most holy Virgin, as the Mother of the only Son of God; and I consecrate to thee my body, with all its senses. Hail Mary!

III.

I venerate thee with all my heart, O most holy Virgin, as the beloved Spouse of the Holy Ghost; and I consecrate to thee my heart, with all its affections: obtain for me of the Holy Trinity the graces necessary for my salvation. Hail Mary!

The Confraternity of our Blessed Lady of Mount

Carmel;

COMMONLY CALLED THE SCAPULAR.

THE Scapular, or little habit of the most holy Virgin, was given by our blessed Lady herself to St. Simon Stock, general of the Carmelites, at Cambridge, 16th July, 1251, as a pledge of her love and patronage.

The principal indulgences attached to this Confraternity are:-1. A plenary indulgence (with the usual conditions) on the day of admission, the feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel, or any day within the octave, and at the hour of death, on invoking the holy name of Jesus. 2. An indulgence of five years and five quadragenæ any day in each month, with the usual conditions. 3. An indulgence of three years and three quadragenæ on any feast of the Blessed Virgin, with the usual conditions. 4. An indulgence of 300 days for abstaining from flesh-meat on Wednesdays. 5. An indulgence of 40 days, once a day, for saying seven "Our Fathers" and seven "Hail Marys," in honour of the seven joys of the Blessed Virgin; viz. those which she had at the Annunciation of the Angel, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration by the Magi, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, the Resurrection, and the Assumption. 6. An indulgence of 100 days for reciting the office of the Blessed Virgin; also, for assisting at a funeral, and for attending Mass, and other pious offices, in the chapel of the Scapulary; for shewing hospitality to the poor, or performing any other work of charity. 7. An indulgence of five years and five quadragene for accompanying the holy Viaticum when carried to the sick, and praying for them.

All these indulgences are applicable to the souls in purgatory.

To gain these indulgences, it is necessary, 1. To be admitted into the Confraternity by a priest who has faculties for so doing. 2. To wear the Scapular night and day.' Those who, from any cause, have neglected to wear it, may resume it themselves, and enjoy anew all the privileges of the Confraternity.

No particular devotions are prescribed; but it is customary I Their names ought also to be inscribed in the Register of Members.

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