under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen. ΜΑ 1 Then he says, AY the reading of the Holy Word (or Holy Gospel) be unto us salvation and protection. Amen. Then he reads one of the short chapters following: AND they brought young child dren to Jesus, that He should touch them and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto 3them, Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them. : For the Feast of the Epiphany. From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. NOW ... when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him . . And lo, the star which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His to be baptised of him. But John shipped Him: and when they had 1 St. Mark x. 13. 2 St Matt. iii. 13. 3 St. Matt. ii. 1. For the Feast of the Purification | God. 1 to St. Luke. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was AND, behold, there was a man called barren. For with God no in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him after the custom of the law, then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people: a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and His mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of Him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary His mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. For the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. From the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. And thing shall be impossible. Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me accordAnd the angel ing to thy word. departed from her. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: and she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. For the Feast of St. Michael and From the Revelation of St. John the Divine. 3 THE Revelation of Jesus Christ, 3which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John: who ND the angel answered and bare record of the word of God, said unto Mary, The Holy and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, Ghost shall come upon thee, and and of all things that he saw. the power of the Highest shall Blessed is he that readeth, and overshadow thee: therefore also they that hear the words of this that holy thing which shall be born prophecy, and keep those things of thee shall be called the Son of which are written therein: for the ΑΝ 1 St. Luke ii. 25. 2 St. Luke i. 35. 3 Rev. i. 1. time is at hand. John to the man could number, of all nations, seven churches which are in Asia: and kindreds, and people, and Grace be unto you, and peace, from tongues, stood before the throne, Him which is, and which was, and and before the Lamb, clothed with which is to come; and from the white robes, and palms in their seven Spirits which are before His hands; and cried with a loud voice, throne; and from Jesus Christ, saying, Salvation to our God, which who is the faithful witness, and the sitteth upon the throne, and unto first begotten of the dead, and the the Lamb. And all the angels prince of the kings of the earth. stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. For the other Saints' Days. From the Holy Gospel according 'AN to St. Matthew. ND seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him and He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain Blessed are the pure heart for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of hea ven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. For the same. From the Revelation of St. John the Divine. "AFTER this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no 1 St. Matt. v. 1. Amen. And one of the elders an swered, saying unto me, What are robes ? and whence came they? these which are arrayed in white And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white : in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto God shall wipe away all tears from living fountains of waters and their eyes. H° 2 Rev. vii. 9. [OW great is the goodness of the Lord, and how great is 3 Zech. ix. 17. His beauty! Corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids. 1 And the disciples drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and Jesus made as though He would have gone further. But they constrained Him, saying, Abide with us for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And He went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as He sat at meat with them, He took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight. Then he says, . The righteous shall give thanks unto Thy name, Ry. And the just shall continue in Thy sight. . But Thou, O Lord, remember us with the favour Thou bearest unto Thy people, Ry. And visit us with Thy salvation. . So that we that are Thy people and sheep of Thy pasture will give Thee thanks for ever. Ry. And will shew forth Thy praise from generation to generation. . O Lord, remember not the offences of our youth. Ry. But according to Thy mercy, think Thou upon us, and keep us without sin. Then all kneeling, say the following Confession and Litany : BLESSED Trinity, one God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we here assembled, prostrate in spirit before Thee, do confess in the sight of the whole court of heaven our innumerable offences committed against Thy divine majesty. We have sinned, Lord, we have sinned; we have grievously offended Thee, through the whole course of our lives, in thought, word, and deed, and therefore are most unworthy to lift up our eyes to heaven, or so much as to name Thy sacred name. But, O God, eternal Creator of all things, Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, who hast made us in Thine own image, redeemed us by Thy only Son, adopted us Thy children, and shewest mercy to those who humbly and sincerely seek it, be merciful to us, O Lord, and give us a true contrition for all the sins we have committed against Thee, that being turned from all our evil ways, we may, by a sincere repentance, obtain Thy peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 1 St. Luke xxiv. 28. We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord, and grant that we may ever appear before Thee with a reverence becoming Thy majesty, before whom saints and angels minister, with a heart fixed on Thy goodness, and with a fervency answering to our infinite wants; We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord. That Thou wouldst mercifully assist us in preparing our hearts to be the temples of the Holy Ghost, that Thou, O God, mayest abide with us for ever; We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord. Vouchsafe, we beseech Thee, to conduct us by Thy wisdom, to restrain us by Thy justice, to comfort us by Thy mercy, and to defend us by Thy power. That we may learn to submit our reason to the obedience of faith, and so much the more exalt the wonders of Thy goodness, as they exceed the capacity of our understanding; We beseech thee to hear us, O Lord. If it be the Feast of the Epiphany, here say, If it be the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, here say, If it be the here say, That we may bless and praise Thee for the defence and propagation of Thy holy Church, and the continual gathering in of Thine elect throughout the world; We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord. That we may consecrate to Thee all our thoughts, words, actions, and sufferings, and receive thankfully from Thee whatever of joy or suffering Thou shalt appoint for us; We beseech thee to hear us, O Lord, Give us grace to do Thy will on earth with the same diligence, cheerfulness, and zeal, that Thy holy angels do it in heaven. Give us grace to imitate them in their perfect obedience, burning devotion, profound humility, unspotted purity, unbounded charity, and thus engage their protection in all our necessities; We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord. Fill our hearts with affection for Thy goodness, hatred of our faults, love of our neighbour, and contempt of the world. Discover to us the nothingness of this world, the greatness of heaven, the shortness of time, and the length of eternity; We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord. |