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consuetam benedictionem, verba una voce decantantes, solemniter impertiantur?

V. De Episcopo Ordinario et de Vicario Generali, qui est Episcopus titularis Auxiliaris.

1. Potestne Episcopus Ordinarius permittere suo Vicario Generali, qui est etiam Episcopus titularis Auxiliaris, induere solam mozzetam loco mantelleti ?

2. Idem Vicarius Episcopus etiam Auxiliaris potestne benedicere populo intra et extra Ecclesiam ?

3. Attento can. 337 § 3, Codicis I. C., manetne in suo robore Decretum S. R. C., n. 4023, diei 12 iunii 1899, super iure Episcoporum Dioecesanorum cedendi thronum alteri Episcopo ?

Sacra porro Rituum Congregatio, audito specialis Commissionis suffragio, omnibus et singulis propositis quaestionibus maturo examine perpensis, ita rescribendum censuit ; nimirum :

I. Ad 1. Negative.

Ad 2. Negative, iuxta Caeremoniale Episcoporum (lib. I, cap. III, nn. 1, 3), adhibito nempe rudiori vel leviori panno ex lana pro opportunitate: textili enim serico (non undulato) legitime utuntur qui sunt de Cappella, Domo, Familia Summi Pontificis.

Ad 3. Romae, semper esse debent violacei coloris, excepta Sede vacante; extra Urbem, laudabiliter coloris nigri, exceptis bireto ac pileolo, quae semper erunt violacei coloris.

Ad 4. Negative, et serventur: Pontificale Romanum (edit. typ., 3 augusti 1888), Caeremoniale Episcoporum (edit typ., 21 augusti 1886), et Decreta.

Ad 5. Negative, quum mitra ex tela argentea sit propria Summi Pontificis in luctuosis; sed neque damascena, quae vel Cardinalium (specialis) vel Protonotariorum Apostolicorum ad instar est propria.

II. Ad 1. Servetur Caeremoniale Episcoporum (lib. I, cap. IV, n. 7). Ad 2. Ad primam partem, affirmative. Attamen illam explicabit pontificalia peracturus, inserviente de ea caudatario, illos actus excipiendo, quos immediate cum Cardinali vel Metropolitano aut versus eos exhibeat. Ad secundam affirmative, iuxta Caeremoniale Episcoporum (lib. I, cap. IV).

Ad 3. Affirmative.

Ad 4. Negative ad primam partem; affirmative ad secundam.

III.-Ad 1. Imo convenit, domi, invitante Episcopo Ordinario, aut ex praesumpto ipsius beneplacito; extra, negative, nisi iuxta Caeremoniale Episcoporum (lib. I, cap. IV, nn. 4 et 7) et Decreta (praesertim Decr. n. 388, Ianuen., 20 iulii 1621), cum mozzeta habeatur simul mantelletum: paulatim amota, iuxta prudens arbitrium Ordinarii, consuetudine, ubi adsit.

Ad 2. Rite utitur cappa, quando Pontificalia solemnia ad solium legitime peragit; si tamen sit Ordinarii Coadiutor seu Auxiliaris, uti

poterit iis in adiunctis, in quibus licet iuxta leges liturgicas, de licentia Ordinarii, ad mentem Decretorum S. R. C. nn. 2010, Veliterna, 6 septembris 1698, ad 1 et 2; 2011, Veliterna, item 6 septembris 1698, ad 1, et 4023, 12 iunii 1899.

Ad 3. Semper cum parte reflexa ab se; scilicet, versus personas vel res quas prospicit.

Ad 4. Affirmative ad primam partem; imo Missae pontificalis ad thronum celebratio ad tramitem Caeremonialis Episcoporum habenda est, etiam quoad situm throni Celebrantis, qui sit in abside, seu in centro Chori, aut e cornu Evangelii. Negative ad secundam salvo iure Metropolitani et Legati Apostolici Episcopali charactere insigniti, quoad assistentiam in throno a latere Epistolae, celebrante Episcopo, etiam Ordinario, ad faldistorium, iuxta Caeremoniale Episcoporum (lib. I, cap. XXIII, n. 24, et lib. II, cap. IX, nn. 5-7); quod assistentiae ius non competit cuilibet Episcopo Ordinario, nisi ad tramitem Caeremonialis Episcoporum, loco secundo citato, scilicet in propria sede, celebrante alio Episcopo ad faldistorium.

Ad 5. Negative.

Ad 6. Ad (a): Negative; ad (b): Affirmative.

Ad 7. Ad a, b, c. Servetur Caeremoniale Episcoporum (lib. II, cap. IX, nn. 5-7), delata Episcopo Ordinario etiam benedictione concionatoris. Ad 8. Servetur Caeremoniale Episcoporum (lib, II, cap. VIII, n. 51). Ad 9. Negative, quum benedictio, ex Caeremoniali et Pontificali, secumferat Indulgentiarum concessionem, quam omittere irregulare esset; verumtamen Episcopus celebrans, neque ex Ordinarii delegatione, valeret Indulgentias concedere; Ordinarius autem non posset benedictionem impertiri, quippe quae a celebratione nequit separari.

IV. Ad 1. Servetur Caeremoniale Episcoporum.

Ad 2. Nihil obstat; abstineant tamen a stola et baculo pastorali gerendis.

Ad 3. Ad (a): Servetur consuetus in processionibus ordo ; ad (b) : Negative in casu.

Ad 4. Negative, non obstante, sicubi inoleverit, istiusmodi consuetudine, quae prudenter eliminanda est.

V. Ad 1. Negative.

Ad 2. Episcopus auxiliaris, qui simul sit Vicarius Generalis, potest in Dioecesi ubique benedicere populo, tum in Ecclesia tum extra Ecclesiam, idque iure, quin opus sit specialem concessionem obtinere ab Episcopo Ordinario; ad normam can. 370 § 2, collati cum can. 349 § 1 et 239 § 1, n. 12.

Ad 3. Affirmative.

Atque ita rescripsit, declaravit et servari mandavit.
Die 26 novembris 1919.

L. S.

A. CARD. VICO, Ep. Portuen. et S. Rufinae,
S. R. C. Praefectus.

ALEXANDER VERDE, Secretarius.

REVIEWS AND NOTES

ST. BERNARD'S SERMONS ON THE CANTICLE OF CANTICLES. Translated by A Priest of Mount Melleray. Vol. I. Dublin: Browne and Nolan, Ltd.

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THE Canticle of Canticles, one of the three books of Solomon, contained in the Hebrew, the Greek, and the Christian Canon of the Scriptures, according to the general interpretation of the name, signifies most excellent, best song.' The book describes the love for each other of Solomon and the Sulamitess in lyrico-dramatic scenes and reciprocal songs. Before the 16th century tradition gave an allegorical or symbolical meaning to this love, the love of Christ for His Church. At the present day most non-Catholics are strongly opposed to the higher interpretation; on the other hand most Catholics accept the allegorical interpretation of the book, which is found not only in the tradition and the decision of the Church but also in the song itself.

The spiritual interpretation of the song has proved a rich source for mystical theology and asceticism. Gregory of Nyssa, Theodoret, Ambrose, Gregory the Great, Venerable Bede have all written commentaries on it. The greatest of the saints enkindled their love for God on the tender expressions of affection of Christ and his bride, the Church, in the Canticle of Canticles. Perhaps no one bestowed such care on and devoted so much time to the interpretation of the Canticle as St. Bernard, the Doctor of Love and Prince of Mystics. The Sermons containing this interpretation were begun in the Advent of 1135 and continued until his death in 1153. Interruptions were frequent and long, for the preacher was often called away to bring to an end a dangerous schism, to make peace between princes, to put an end to scandals, or to marshal the forces of Europe for another mighty effort against the powers of the Saracen. In all he delivered 86 homilies. The text of the Song of Solomon' serves him but as a framework whereon to weave the wondrously beautiful fabrics of an extraordinarily fertile imagination, and as a medium to contemplate all things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Thus, these homilies, instead of being dry as dust, are as varied and manycoloured as is the spiritual life, every aspect of which they discuss with equal solidity and elegance. They exhibit the same independence of thought and treatment which characterises all the other works of St. Bernard. No other writer is so full of Holy Scripture, from which he borrows something in nearly every sentence. Death overtook him when engaged on the first verse of the third chapter, that is when he had completed a fourth of his task. Gilbert of Hoyland took up the work

where St. Bernard had left off, and added 48 homilies, which, in the judgment of Mabillon, are almost worthy of the Saint himself. According to the same eminent authority, this Gilbert was an Irishman, and Abbot of St. Mary's, Dublin.

These homilies of St. Bernard contain whatever the holy Doctor has said in his other works on the virtues and vices and on the spiritual life, but with greater solidity and elevation of style. The questions so beautifully treated are precisely those which appear in St. Thomas's Summa. In this immortal code of divine love, St. Bernard celebrates the nuptials of the soul with God. Human tenderness, no matter how eloquent, has never inspired accents more passionate or more profound. Besides possessing in an extraordinary degree the gifts of devotion and sanctity, genius and learning, he was gifted with a sublime eloquence. 'His mouth,' said St. Thomas Aquinas, was a chalice of purest gold, all studded with jewels, making the whole world drunk with the wine of its sweetness.' He enkindles in the hearts of his readers the same sweet flame of love which consumes his own. 'Next to the Sacred Scriptures,' says Mabillon, no works should be more prized by the religious-minded, for none are more profitable, than those of St. Bernard.' His influence is clearly discernible in the Imitation of Christ, in the Summa of St. Thomas, and in the Divina Commedia of Dante.

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And yet, the writings of the Mellifluous Doctor, those grandest of prose-poems, those sweetest of love-songs, which have been for ages the delight of religious souls and have nourished the piety of saints unnumbered, have been of late neglected, and chiefly by Catholics, with great loss to spirituality. Non-Catholic writers have shown themselves, if not more appreciative, at any rate more zealous and enterprising. Elegant translations of some of the Saint's more celebrated treatises have been published in our own times by such Protestant scholars as Drs. Eales and Gardner. The present translation of the homilies on the Canticle of Canticles is the first attempt on the part of a Catholic to render them available for English readers. The translator has endeavoured to be faithful to the original, and to represent the author's thought simply and clearly without any effort after ornament or eloquence. It has been an arduous task. Some consider St. Bernard's sermons almost untranslatable. That, however, is an exaggeration. But this at least is true, that there is scarcely another writer whose thought is so difficult to detach from his language, because there is scarcely another whose language is so closely wedded to his thought. That makes the translation all the more praise-worthy, for it reads as an original work in excellent, graceful English. We sincerely congratulate the Priest of Mount Melleray not only on the success he has achieved but also on the selection for his translation. Vol. I contains the first 48 Homilies, and Vol. II will contain the remainder. Vol. III will include, with selected treatises, the Saint's 27 Homilies on Psalm xc. These have never before appeared in English.

M. R.

THE GRAY NUNS IN THE FAR NORTH (1867-1917). By Rev. P. Duchaussois, O.M.I. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart; London: Burns and Oates, Washbourne.

WHEN we opened this book we expected to find a dry narrative of the foundation of Convents and Schools. We expected it to be one of local interest, a kind of pious tribute to a particular order of nuns. We were agreeably surprised. The book turns out to be one of absorbing interest. It is a narrative as thrilling as any tale of travel and adventure written by the great explorers. It is as full of incidents of extraordinary human interest and appeal as the best Canadian novel. It is all the more interesting as it tells of real people and real adventures in the service of Christ. It is a record of heroism, self-denial, and sacrifice in the lone Northland, one of the grandest examples of self-devotion which the Church of Christ has ever inspired in the course of ages. It is the story of a great mission, of those women who have laboured with us in the Gospel,' to heal not only the souls but the bodies of the Indians of this wild region, to bring religious instruction and education to the snow-bound natives of the Arctic Ocean.

The opening chapters of this volume give the story of the founding of the Order of the Gray Nuns at Montreal by Madame d'Youville, and the extension of their work later to Manitoba. It was a work that was beset with difficulties brought about by poverty and calumny. All manner of charitable work for the infirm, the leprous, the fallen, and for foundlings was undertaken generously and willingly by the little band. Their only resources were derived from the work of their hands, which were only a third of what they were able to gain before the English came. The branch houses now spread abroad from the Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean, and the nuns actually number over 4,000. The Cause of Beatification of the Venerable Foundress was introduced before the Roman Tribunals on March 27, 1890, and the formal document of preparation was signed by Leo XIII.

Mgr. Provencher, the first missionary of the North-west, and the first Bishop of the Red River, or St. Boniface, had been seeking in vain for motherly hands to break the bread of instruction for the little ones of his diocese. He was told to try the Gray Nuns; "they never refuse." Accordingly, on April 24, 1844, four of them set out on their great journey into the Great Lone Land. The modern tourist covers in four days the 2,200 miles, which took four months in the olden times. Travelling into the North-west in primitive fashion means a frail and inconvenient canoe, with a crew not over-civilized, shooting some rapids, endless portages elsewhere, rude carts on rough roads, slow and stubborn oxen, forced marches, treacherous quagmires, nights in the open air, piercing wind and rain, ice that comes too soon, and thaw that comes too late, snowstorm and wreck, unbearable cold, and then millions of mosquitoes, with heat as if of the dog-days. Such was the itinerary of these kind, delicately-reared nuns going to live among savages. They would be thankful if they had a hut for shelter from the ice and snow, and food that a criminal in penal servitude would not be offered. Since 1844, hundreds of

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