Response 5.

Lesson 6.

Response 6.

gence: Let the abstinence of the faster be the refreshment of the poor.

Her time is well nigh come, and her days shall not be prolonged the Lord shall have pity upon Jacob, and Israel shall be saved.

Return, O virgin of Israel, return into thy cities.

The Lord shall have pity, &c.

Let us give attention to the defence of widows, the welfare of orphans, the consolation of mourners, the reconciliation of enemies. Befriend the foreigner, assist the oppressed, clothe the naked, nurse the sick; that whoso of us by righteous labours shall offer to God, the author of all good, such pious sacrifice, may receive in turn for the same the reward of His heavenly kingdom. Let us keep fast on Wednesdays and Fridays; let us keep Vigil on the Sabbath with the blessed Apostle Peter, whose deeds of grace working together with our prayers, we may obtain what we seek through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, world without end. Amen.

The Lord shall descend as the rain into a fleece of wool: righteousness shall spring forth in His days, yea, and abundance of peace.

And all kings shall worship Him, all the heathen shall serve Him.

Righteousness shall spring forth, &c.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

Righteousness shall spring forth, &c.

(go on (k))

Lesson 4.

(From St. Leo.)

Response 4.

SUNDAY 4.

If we understand truly and wisely, dearly beloved, the history of our creation, we shall find that man was therefore formed after the likeness of God, that he might imitate the Creator; and that the natural dignity of our race consists in the image of divine kindness shining within us as in a mirror. Towards which we are daily renewed by the grace of the Saviour, so that what fell in the first Adam, is raised again in the second.

Unto us a child is born, and He shall be called the mighty
God: He shall sit upon the throne of David His Fa-
ther and shall reign: and the dominion shall be upon
His shoulder.

Lesson 5.

Response 5.

Lesson 6.

Response 6.

And in Him shall all tribes of the earth be blessed, and all nations shall serve Him.

He shall sit, &c.

The sole cause of our recovery is the pitifulness of God, whom we should not love, unless He first loved us, and scattered the darkness of our ignorance with the light of His truth; which the Lord declaring by holy Isaiah saith, I will bring the blind by a way that they know not, and paths of which they were ignorant, will I make them tread; I will make their darkness light, and their crooked straight. This will I do to them, and not forsake them. And again, I am found of them who sought me not, and I am manifested to them that asked not for me.

Behold the fulness of time is now come, in which God sent forth His Son upon the earth, born of a virgin, made under the Law: to redeem those that are under the Law.

For His great love wherewith He loved us, God sent forth His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.

To redeem those, &c.

How this was fulfilled the Apostle John teaches, saying, We know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding that we may know Him that is true, and we are in His true Son. And again, We love God, because He first loved us. Therefore God, by loving us, restores in us His own image, and that He may find in us the likeness of His own goodness, He giveth whence we also may work what He worketh, by lighting the lamps of our minds, and kindling in us the flame of His own love, that we may love not Him only, but all that He loves.

O Virgin of Israel, return to thy cities; how long wilt thou be put aside and be in sorrow? thou shalt conceive the Lord and Saviour, a new oblation in the earth: men shall go forward to salvation.

I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.

How long wilt thou be put aside and be in sorrow? thou shalt conceive thy Lord and Saviour, a new oblation in

the earth men shall go forward to salvation.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

Men shall go forward to salvation, &c.

(k) Antiphon.

(1) Antiphon.

(m) Antiphon.

(n) Verse and Response.

Lesson 7.
Luke xxi. 25–33.

(Homily of Pope Gregory.)

NOCTURN III.

The Angel Gabriel: spake unto Mary, saying, Hail thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.

Mary said: What meaneth this salutation? for my soul is troubled, and I shall bear my King, and yet remain a virgin.

Before the coming of the great King, let the hearts of men be cleansed, to walk worthily to meet Him, for behold He will come, and will not tarry.

The Lord will come forth of His holy place.

He will come to save His people.

SUNDAY 4.

At that time Jesus said to his disciples,

There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees;

When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Our Lord and Redeemer, desirous of finding us ready, foretels what evils shall attend the ageing world, in order to sober us from the love of it. He makes known how great strokes shall precede its approaching end; that, if we will not fear God in prosperity, at least when afflicted by His strokes, we may dread His near judgment.

Response 7.

Lesson 8.

Response 8.

Lesson 9.

Response 9.

Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, saith the Lord, and His name shall be called Wonderful, the mighty God.

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom shall He reign for ever.

And his name shall, &c.

Shortly before the passage of the holy Gospel, which my brethren have been hearing, the Lord had said, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and pestilences and famines. Then after some additions, He says what you have heard: There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring. Of all these signs certainly some we see fulfilled already, others we fear as soon coming.

Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it
in the ends of the earth; and say to the isles afar off,
Our Saviour shall come.

Declare it, and make it heard; speak, and cry out.
And say to the isles, &c.

For nation is rising against nation, and distress from them presses upon the countries, more in the events we see than in the books we read. You know too how often we hear from other parts of the world, of earthquakes overwhelming cities; pestilences we suffer without respite. We do not yet openly behold signs in the sun, moon, and stars: but the alteration of the atmosphere betokens that they are not far off.

Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth: and this is His name whereby He shall be called: The Lord our Righteousness.

In his days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely.

And this is His name whereby He shall be called: The

Lord our Righteousness.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

The Lord our Righteousness.

(End of Matins.

The Te Deum is not sung in Advent.)

Lesson 7.

Matt. xi. 2-9.

(Homily of Pope Gregory.)

Response 7.

Lesson 8.

SUNDAY 2.

Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples.

And said unto Him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see :

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

So many signs and so many miracles, were to each beholder not an offence but a wonder. Yet the mind of unbelievers took this serious offence at Him, that after all His miracles He should be seen to die. Whence also Paul saith, We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Gentiles foolishness. For it seemed to man to be foolish, that for man the Source of life should die; and thus man took offence at Him for the very thing, whence he ought to have felt himself the more His debtor. God is so much the more worthy of honour from men, by how much he has for men undergone dishonour.

For

The Lord shall come from Samaria to the Eastern Gate, and shall come to Bethlehem, walking upon the waters of the redemption of Judah: then shall every man be saved, for behold He cometh.

And his throne shall be prepared in mercy, and He shall sit on it in truth.

Then shall every man, &c.

What means His saying, that he is blessed whosoever is not offended in Him, but to mark, in plain words, the abject and degrading nature of his death? as if He openly said, I do what is marvellous, yet I submit to suffer what is abject. Since then I shortly follow thee in dying, men must specially beware, lest, though venerating My signs, they despise my death.