V. Because I brought thee out of the land of Egypt, thou hast prepared a cross for thy Saviour.

I. Choir sings, Agios o Theos.
II. Choir answers, Sanctus Deus.
I. Choir, Agios Ischyros.
II. Choir, Sanctus Fortis.

I. Choir Agios, Athanatos eleison

imas.

II. Choir, Sanctus Immortalis, mi

serere nobis.

}

O holy God.

O Holy Mighty One. O Holy Immortal One, have mercy

on us.

After singing the foregoing praises of God in Greek and Latin, (formerly the two most universal languages,) to show the union between all the Churches, two of the second choir proceed with the Reproaches.

V. Because I was thy guide through the desert for forty years, and fed thee with manna, and brought thee into an excellent land, thou hastprepared a cross for thy Saviour.

Then Agios o Theos, &c., is repeated alternately as above, after which two of the first choir sing:

V. What more should I have done to thee, and have not done? I have planted thee for my most beautiful vineyard; and thou hast proved very bitter to me, for in my thirst thou gavest me vinegar to drink, and piercedst the side of thy Saviour with a spear.

Agios o Theos, &c., is repeated as above.

V. For thy sake I scourged Egypt with her first-born; and thou hast delivered me up to be scourged.

The whole Choir. O my people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? Answer thou me.

ever, therefore, we kneel or prostrate ourselves before a crucifix, it is Jesus Christ only whom we adere, and it is in him alone that our respects terminate.

Two of I. Choir. V. I led thee out of Egypt, having drowned Pharao in the Red Sea; and thou hast delivered me up to the chief priests. The whole Choir. O my people, &c.

Two of II. Choir. V. I opened the sea before thee; and thou hast opened my side with a spear. The whole Choir. O my people, &c.

Two of I. Choir. V. I went before thee in a pillar of a cloud; and thou hast brought me to the court of Pilate. The whole Choir. O my people, &c.

Two of II. Choir. V. I fed thee with manna in the desert; and thou hast beaten me with buffets and stripes. The whole Choir. O my people, &c.

Two of I. Choir. V. I gave thee wholesome water to drink out of the rock; and thou hast given me for my drink gall and vinegar. The whole Choir. O my people, &c.

Two of II. Choir. V. For thy sake I smote the kings of Canaan; and thou hast smote my head with a cane. The whole Choir. O my people, &c.

Two of I. Choir. V. I gave thee a royal sceptre; and thou hast given me a crown of thorns. The whole Choir. O my people, &c.

Two of II. Choir. V. By great might I raised thee on high; and thou hast hanged me on the gibbet of the cross. The whole Choir. O my people, &c.

Ant. We adore thy cross, O Lord, and we praise and glorify thy holy resurrection, for by the wood of the cross the whole earth is filled with joy. Ps. May God have mercy on us and bless us; may his countenance shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us. Ant. We adore thy, &c., to Ps.

Then is sung the Versicle, O faithful cross! with the Hymn, in the following manner :

No earthly groves, no shady bowers
Produce such leaves, such fruits, such flowers.

* Sweet are the nails, and sweet the wood That bears a weight so sweet, so good.

Hymn.

Sing, O my tongue, devoutly sing The glorious laurels of our King. Sing the triumphant victory Gain'd on the cross erected high; Where man's Redeemer yields his breath, And, dying, conquers hell and death.

O faithful cross, &c. is repeated to *.

With pity our Creator saw

His noblest work transgress his law,
When our first parents rashly ate
The fatal tree's forbidden meat;
He then resolved the cross's wood
Should make that tree's sad damage good.
Sweet are the nails, &c. from *.

By this wise method God design'd
From sin and death to save mankind;
Superior art with love combines,
And arts of Satan countermines:
And where the traitor gave the wound
There healing remedies are found.
O faithful cross, &c. to *

When the full time decreed above
Was come to show this work of love,
Th' Eternal Father sends his Son,
The world's Creator, from his throne!
Who on our earth, this vale of tears,
Clothed with a virgin's flesh, appears.

Sweet are the nails, &c. from *.
Thus God made man, an infant lies,
And in the manger weeping cries;
His sacred limbs by Mary bound,
The poorest tatter'd rags surround;
And God's incarnate feet and hands
Are closely bound with swathing bands.
O faithful cross, &c. to *.

Full thirty years were fully spent
In this our mortal banishment;
And then the Son of man decreed
For the lost sons of men to bleed;
And on the cross a victim laid,
The solemn expiation made.

Sweet are the nails, &c. from

Gall was his drink; his flesh they tear
With thorns and nails; a cruel spear
Pierces his side, from whence a flood
Streams forth, of water mix'd with blood;
With what a tide are wash'd again
The sinful earth, the stars, the main!
O faithful cross, &c. to *.

Bend, tow'ring tree, thy branches bend,
Thy native stubbornness suspend:
Let not stiff nature use its force,
To weaker saps have now recourse;
With softest arms receive thy load,
And gently bear our dying God.

Sweet are the nails, &c. from *.

On thee alone the Lamb was slain,
That reconciled the world again;
And when on raging seas was tost
The shipwreck'd world and mankind lost,
Besprinkled with His sacred gore,
Thou safely brought them to the shore.
O faithful cross, &c. to *.

All glory to the sacred Three,
One undivided Deity;

To Father, Holy Ghost, and Son,
Be equal praise and homage done
Let the whole universe proclaim

Of One and Three the glorious name. Amen.
Sweet are the nails, &c. from *.

Towards the end of the Adoration, &c., the Candles on the Altar are lighted, and the Cross being placed thereon, the Priest with his Attendants goes to fetch the Presanctified Host from the place where it was yesterday deposited. Whilst the Procession is returning, the following HYMN is sung:

VEXILLA regis prodeunt,
Fulget Crucis mysterium:
Qua vita mortem pertulit,
Et morte vitam protulit.

Quæ vulnerata lanceæ
Mucrone diro, criminum
Ut nos lavaret sordibus,
Manavit undâ et sanguine.
Impleta sunt, quæ concinit
David fideli carmine,

Dicendo nationibus. Regnavit à ligno Deus. Arbor decora et fulgida, Ornata regis purpura' Electa digno stipite [gere! Tam sancta membra tanBeata, cujus brachiis Pretium pependit sæculi, Statera facta corporis, Tulitque prædam tartari.

O crux, ave spes unica Hoc passionis tempore! Piis adauge gratiam, Reisque dele crimina.

Te fons salutis, Trinitas, Collaudet omnis Spiritus; Quibus crucis victoriam Largiris, adde præmium. Amen.

Having placed the Sacred Host on the altar, he incenses it on his knees, and lays it on the Corporal; and after receiving the Chalice with wine and water from the Deacon, he incenses both Host and Chalice, saying:

MAY this incense, which hath been blessed by thee, O Lord, ascend to thee, and may thy mercy descend upon us.

At the incensing of the Altar.

LET my prayer, O Lord, ascend like incense in thy sight, and let the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Place, O Lord, a guard upon my mouth, and a gate of prudence before my lips, that my heart may not wander after words of malice, to seek excuses in sin.

On returning the Censer to the Deacon.

MAY the Lord kindle in us the fire of his love, and the flame of everlasting charity.

Ile washes his fingers without saying any thing: and then bowing at the middle of the altar, says: IN a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be accepted by thee, O Lord, and so let our sacrifice be made in thy sight this day, that it may please thee, O Lord God.

Then turning about towards the people, he says: BRETHREN, pray that this my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father almighty.

Let us pray.

INSTRUCTED by thy saving precepts, and following thy divine directions, we presume to say: Our Father, &c., p. 70. R. Deliver us from all evil,