have I abused all Thy gifts. And yet now, with all the tenderness of a loving Father, thou recallest me from sin and rescuest me from hell and everlasting damnation.

Alas! my soul is full of anguish and confusion at the recollection of the many sins whereby I have offended Thee, my merciful Redeemer, made myself a slave to the devil, and provoked Thy anger.

Oh, that I had never transgressed Thy commandments, nor fallen into such an abyss of misery and calamity! Oh, that I had never sinned! Happy those souls who have preserved their innocence: oh, that I had been so happy!

But now I am resolved, with the help of Thy grace, to be more watchful over myself, to amend my failings, and fulfil Thy law. Look down on me with the eyes of mercy, O God, and blot out my sins.

Forgive me what is past, and, through Thine infinite goodness, secure me, by Thy grace, against all my wonted failings for the time to come.

My sins surpass in number the sands of the sea, and I confess myself, O Lord, unworthy of Thy mercy; but Thy goodness is above all my offences.

Thou hast declared, O Lord, that there is joy in heaven for the conversion of a sinner; grant me, then, the grace of true repentance, and let heaven rejoice at my amendment.

Thou willest not the death of a sinner, but that he be converted and live; grant me, then, that spiritual life which I need; for behold, O Lord, I sincerely desire to live to Thee.

Thou didst come, O dear Redeemer, not to call the just, but sinners, to repentance; behold a miserable sinner here before Thee: oh, draw me powerfully to Thyself.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy; and, according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my iniquities. Sprinkle me with Thy precious blood, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let not Thy precious blood, my dear Saviour, be shed for me in vain; but may it now bring forth in me the fruit of sincere repentance, and open to me the way to life everlasting.

How great is Thy goodness, O Lord, in having so long spared such a worthless servant, and waited with so much patience for his amendment. What return shall I make for Thy infinite mercies? Oh, let this mercy be added to the rest, that I may never more offend Thee: this single favor I earnestly beg of Thee, O Lord, viz. that I may for the future renounce my own way to follow Thine.

Help me, O Lord my God, and have compassion on my sinful soul Amen.

AND

I. THE HOLY EUCHARIST AS A SACRAMENT.

WE have already, in the instruction on Mass, spoken of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament, and of its consecration and consumption in the Mass: but then we regarded the Mass itself as a sacrifice, the only sacrifice acceptable to God, a sacrifice at which the Church commands all her children to be present with faith and devotion on every Sunday and holiday in the year. But it is not our mere presence that she requires, she commands us at least once every year to approach the altar, and in holy communion receive the Blessed Saciament, the adorable Victim sacrificed for us, that by it we may become partakers of the redemption purchased for us and she renews the sacrifice daily, that we may, if possible, daily there find strength amid the trials, temptations, and dangers of this world's pilgrimage. This sacrament was instituted by Christ himself, in words clear, distinct, and precise, which require no comment to enable us to understand them. With his own hands he gave his Sacred Body and Blood under the form of bread and wine, and commanded his apostles, the priestl ood of the new law, to renew to the end of time the listribution among his disciples.

This great sacrament had not been unannounced. Addressing the Jews at Capharnaum, he had promised this heavenly bread, the true manna. "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." The Jews shrunk away from the idea conveyed by his words, but he, the God of all truth, repeated again and again the same expression, to show that he had not been misunderstood: "Verily, verily I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day, for my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hatk sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me." In vain did some of his disciples murmur, Our Lord spoke to them of still greater mysteries; and when they persisted in their unbelief, and abandoned him, he asked the twelve, "Will ye also go away?''

Communion was the mode which his infinite love de vised for effecting a close union with such as believed in him. It would even seem that Judas, who remained, disbelieved and fell; and even so thousands, refusing to believe, have left the Church, and our Lord seems to turn to us, who remain, and ask, "Will ye also go?" Let us remember who it is that speaks to us and says, "This is my Body," and answer with St. Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

How immense is the honor conferred on man by this sacrament! who could believe-had not the Almighty himself spoken-that God could, for love of man, become man, endure all the hardships of life, die on a cross, and give himself to the end of time to be devoutly received and consumed by those who love him, that he might dwell in them forever!

The Eucharist is the most august and most holy

sacrament, the sacrament of sacraments.

In the others

we receive the gift of God in this we receive Jesus Christ himself, God and man, the author of all grace, to whom we are bound by every tie. Great as is the power of God, he could not conceive a greater favor to bestow upon man, for in giving us his beloved Son he hath given us all things.

The very excellence of the sacrament has given the enemy of man two sources of temptation. On the one hand he seeks to lead men into disbelief, asking, "How can God do this?" and many, alas! like the unbeliev ing Jews, listen to his false and fatal suggestion. With those whom he cannot-lead to doubt and deny the faith he pursues another course, and holding up to them their own misery, asks, "How dare you approach so excellent a sacrament?" and by dissuading them from communion seeks to defeat our divine Lord's object in founding this signal mark of his love. Let us carefully guard ourselves against these temptations, and with St. Peter reply to the first, "If we doubt the express words of Christ, to whom shall we go? He has the words of eternal life." And let it still the second by the words of St. Cyril of Alexandria: "If we would attain life everlasting, if we would possess the author of immortality, let us readily and willingly receive the Eucharist; and let us be greatly on our guard, lest the devil should ensnare us in a damnable religion through a pretended motive of respect for this sacrament.

How great is the happiness of those who have learned to taste and see how sweet the Lord is! No greater favor can be conferred on a Christian than to communicate early in life, and afterwards frequently. Christian parents should never defer tlie first communion of their children, but prepare them for it with care; inasmuch as the communions of the whole life depend in no slight degree on their first. Man cannot maintain his spiritual life without this bread of the strong, and should early accustom himself to take this salutary food, that he may have strength to finish his pilgrimage. One worthy communion enriches the soul with more graces than can accrue from all the other practices of religion combined; no words, then, express