with entreaties before thee: Virgins shall be brought in her retinue to the King: her relations shall be presented to thee with joy and gladness. Ps. My heart hath uttered good tidings: my works I refer to the King. V. Glory.

G

vites plebis: adducentur Regi virgines post eam : proximæ ejus afferentur tibi in lætitia et exultatione. Ps. Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum: dico ego opera mea Regi. V. Gloria.

COLLECT. Exaudi nos.

YIVE ear to us, O God our Saviour, that as we celebrate with joy the solemnity of blessed N. thy. virgin, so we may improve in the affection of piety. Thro'.

B

:

EPISTLE. 1 Cor. vii. 25, 34.

RETHREN: Concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord: but I give counsel, as having obtained mercy of the Lord, to be faithful. I think therefore that this is good for the present necessity, that it is good for a man so to be. Art thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But if thou take a wife, thou hast not sinned. And if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned nevertheless, such shall have tribulation of the flesh. But I spare you. This therefore I say, brethren: the time is short: it remaineth, that they also who have wives, be as if they had none: and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as if they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world as if they used it not: for the fashion of this world passeth away. But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife and he is divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord: that she may be holy both in body and spirit, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

'GRADUAL.

The King is taken with thy beauty, for he is the Lord thy God. V. Hear, O daughter, and see, and be attentive.

Psalm xliv.

Concupivit rex decorem tuum, quoniam ipse est Dominus Deus tuus. V: Audi, filia, et vide, et inclina aurem tuam.

Alleluia, Alleluia. V. This is a wise virgin, and one of the number of the prudent ones, Alleluia.

V.

Alleluia, Alleluia.
Hæc est virgo sapiens, et
una de numero prudentum,
Alleluia.

After Septuagesima, instead of the Alleluias, and V. following, is said the

TRACT. Psalm xliv.

Hear, O daughter, and see, and be attentive; for the King is taken with thy beauty. V. All the rich among the people shall come with entreaties before thee; the daughters of Kings shall honour thee. V. Virgins shall be brought in her retinue to the King; her relations shall be presented to thee. V. They shall be introduced with joy and gladness; they shall be introduced into the temple of the King.

Audi, filia, et vide, et inclina aurem tuam ; quia concupivit Rex speciem tuam. V. Vultum tuum deprecabuntur omnes divites plebis; filiæ regum in honore tuo. V. Adducentur Regi Virgines post eam; proximæ ejus afferentur tibi. V. Afferentur in lætitia et exultatione; adducentur in templum Regis.

GOSPEL. Matt. xiii. 44, 52. p. xlix.
OFFERTORY. Psalm xliv.

Virgins shall be brought in her retinue to the King; her relations shall be presented to thee with joy and gladness; they shall be introduced into the temple to the Lord the King.

Mbe

Afferentur Regi Virgines post eam; proximæ ejus afferentur tibi in lætitia et exultatione; adducentur in templum Regi Domino.

SECRET.

AY the offerings, O Lord, of thy devout people be acceptable to thee in honour of thy saints; by whose merits they have experienced help in their afflictions. Thro'.

COMMUNION. Matt. xiii.

The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking good pearls; and having found one of a great price, he gave all he had, and purchased it.

Simile est regnum cœlorum homini negotiatori quærenti bonas margaritas; inventa una pretiosa, dedit omnia sua, et comparavit

eam.

TH

HOU hast fed, O Lord, thy family, with these sacred oblations; ever therefore comfort us with her intercession, whose feast we celebrate.

Thro'.

THE COMMON OF HOLY WOMEN, NEITHER VIRGINS NOR MARTYRS.

W

HEN we

INSTRUCTION.

celebrate the festivals of those saints who were engaged in the married state, we ought seriously to meditate on the virtues by which they sanctified themselves in that state of life. A profound humility, purity of heart, and an exact compliance with the duties, and untired patience under the difficulties of that state of life, rendered them agreeable to God. These are the virtues the Church honours in these saints; and these are the virtues we ought to beg for all engaged in the married state, on the feasts of these holy women.

The Church likewise honours some, who, after an irregular course of life for some time, received of God the grace of true repentance; and were so inflamed with the love of God, that the ardour of their love rendered them almost equal to Virgins. Let us beg of God, thro' their intercession, the spirit of true repentance, and that charity that covereth a multitude of sins.

I. VESPERS.

Anth.W
W King was on

HILE the Ant.

his couch; my perfume sent forth a sweet odour.

Psalm cix. Dixit Anth. We run after the odour of thy perfumes; the

D

UM esset Rex in accubitu suo; nardus mea dedit odorem suavitatis. Dominus. p. 74.

Ant. In odorem unguentorum tuorum currimus ;

This and the following Anthems are taken out of the Canticle of Canticles, or Song of Solomon, which is a dialogue between the bridegroom and the bride, and the companions of the bridegroom and bride; that is, between Christ and his Church, and the holy souls it contains. In the first Anthem the Church speaks in the name of those holy souls. In the second the bride speaks to the bridegroom. In the third the bridegroom speaks to the bride. In the fourth he invites her to a perpetual union with himself, after having been delighted with the odour of her virtues in this time of rain and tempests. In the last, the beauty and happiness of any holy soul is celebrated, after it hath entered the heavenly Jerusalem.

young virgins have loved adolescentulæ dilexerunt te

thee exceedingly.

nimis.

Psalm cxii. Laudate pueri, p. 77.

Anth. Now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone; arise, my love, and

come.

Ant. Jam hiems transiit; imber abiit et recessit : surge, amica mea, et veni.

Psalm cxxi. Lætatus sum, p. 101.

Anth. Come, my chosen one, and I will place my throne in thee, Alleluia.

Psalm cxxvi. Nisi Anth. She is beautiful among the daughters of Jerusalem.

Ant. Veni, electa mea, et ponam in te thronum meum, Alleluia. Dominus, p. 102.

Ant. Ista est speciosa inter filias Jerusalem

Psalm cxlvii. Lauda Jerusalem, p. 103.

LITTLE CHAPTER, Beginning of the LESSON to this mark*, p. lxvi.

FORTEM virili pectore

With more than woman's Laudemus omnesfæminam,

To thee for help we sinners Hujus precatu, quæsumus,

fly,

G

Ant. Simile et regnum cœlorum homini negotiatori quærenti bonas margaritas ; inventa una pretiosa, dedit omnia sua, et comparavit

eam.

COGN

Psalm cxviii. OGNOVI, Domine quia æquitas judicia tua; et in veritate tua humiliasti me. Corrige timore tuo carnes meas; a mandatis tuis timui. Ps. Beati immaculati invia; qui ambulant in lege Domini. V. Gloria.

COLLECT. Exaudi.

IVE ear to us, O God our Saviour, that as we celebrate with joy the solemnity of blessed N. so we may improve in the affection of true piety. Thro'. LESSON. Prov. xxxi. x.

W

HO shall find a valiant woman? The value of her is as of things brought from afar off, and from the uttermost coasts. The heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no need of spoils. * She will render him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. She sought wool and flax, and wrought it by the contrivance of her own hands. She was like the mer