THE AVE MARIA. "Hail Mary, full of grace, our Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. FOR THE DEAD. Amen. O God the giver of pardon and the lover of human salvation, with thee live the spirits of the just, and in thy keeping are the souls of those who, by their imperfections, being still unworthy of thy presence, are detained in a state of suffering and delayed hope. While, therefore, we bless thee for thy saints who are already admitted to thy glory, so, also, we humbly offer up our prayers for these thy afflicted servants; and in particular, for our departed friends, relations, and benefactors. Pardon them their past failings, supply for the unprepared state in which they were called before thy judgment seat; that they may see thee and, in thy glorious light, rejoice eternally. Amen. PRAYER FOR SELF-KNOWLEDGE. Oh Lord Jesus Christ give us thy grace carefully to examine our conduct during this day. Make known to us if we have been guilty of offending thee during those hours which should have been given up entirely to innocent rest and spiritual rejoicing. Discover to us all our sinful thoughts, words, actions, and omissions; that we may implore thy pardon for neglecting the holy inspirations and the helps to devotion which this day has afforded to our weakness. * (Pause for Self-examination.) AN ACT OF CONTRITION. Almighty God, we fear that we have offended thee and ill complied with all our duties. But do thou strengthen our weakness which so often leads us to do that of which we afterwards repent. Do thou, oh Lord, whenever we are about to do wrong, remind us of all that we owe to thy goodness, and thus save us from the sin of ingratitude which necessarily encreases every offence against thee to whom we owe so much. Accept, merciful Saviour, our sorrow for the past, and let thy saving providence keep us in all future trials. Amen. PRAYER AND HYMN TO THE HOLY GHOST. Oh God, who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that we may, by the gift of the same Spirit, be always truly wise, and ever rejoice in his consolations. 1. Bright Holy Spirit! kindly pour And worldly hope no more enthrall; 2. Oh raise our hearts, dear Lord, to thee! Instill'd by thee, our tempers rule. With all, and thus our souls prepare Oh Holy Ghost the Comforter, to thee we recommend our souls and bodies, the beginning and end of our lives. Of ourselves we are corrupt and blind in our affections and desires; and are easily seduced into error, easily overcome by temptations when we rely on our own judgment and strength. Wherefore, oh Lord, we offer and commit our souls to thee and to thy divine protection. Do thou teach us all things, and bring all things to our minds, whatsoever have been spoken to us by our divine Saviour. Amen. Visit, oh Lord, we beseech thee this house and family, and drive far from them all snares of the enemy. Let thy holy angels dwell herein, who may keep us in peace, and may thy blessing be always upon us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. May the divine assistance remain always with us, and may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God. MONDAY. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. FOR ATTENTION DURING PRAYERS. Almighty and eternal God, we beseech thee to impress upon our minds the importance of the duty we fulfil whenever we address thee. Thou hast taught us that we ought to be ever recollected in thee, and to sanctify the Lord Jesus in our hearts. Keep, therefore, our fickle minds from wandering at the very time when we profess to be praising thee and to be asking for a continuance of thy care and favour. Gracious Lord, we have called for thy attention to our requests-let us not insult thy goodness by putting them forth as if we ourselves were heedless whether we obtained them or not! Oh let us not call down thy anger by worshipping thee with our lips only, while our hearts are far from thee! May our prayers be prayers indeedrising warm from our hearts to thy throne of mercy, and leaving our hearts open to receive the answering showers of thy desending grace. Amen. Our Father who art in heaven, &c. FOR PROTECTION DURING THE NIGHT. Almighty and eternal God, be thou pleased, in thy mercy, to watch over us that we may not sleep in death. Forgive us if this day has been fruitless to us in good works. It was given us that we might labour in it to please thee, and to secure our everlasting salvation. It may be the last of our lives; and can we hope in thy mercy if we have squandered it away in spiritual sloth and vain occupations ! This very night, perhaps, our Redeemer may come suddenly upon us, and require of us those souls which should be the images of his divine perfections: oh pardon us if we have ungratefully defiled them with sin, with thoughtlessness, or with religious indifference; and grant us time to amend our lives for the future. Give us, oh Lord, this important future, and give us thy protection for the night to come. Let thy providence watch kindly over us, and may thy holy angels attend and guard us; may we be so protected and inspired through the night, as to be enabled hereafter to perform better all the duties of our calling, and morn faithfully to persevere in thy service. Grant that henceforward we may advance daily to fresh victories over our psssions, and to a more perfect observance of thy commandments; grant that we may pass the remainder of our days in thy holy fear, and that we may end them in thy favour; and grant that we may then be happy with thee for ever in thy heavenly klngdom. Amen. PRAYER BEFORE SELF-EXAMINATION. Almighty Saviour, make known to us if we have offended thee during this day. Oh let us not, at the beginning of a new week, heap up unrepented sins upon our consciences. Discover to us our faults, whether of thought, word, deed, or omission, that we may strictly judge |