Images de page
PDF
ePub

entertain, not only on this day, and Whitsun-eve, but frequently, and more particularly during this Paschal

time.

When the Celebrant goes towards the Font, is said the

TRACT. As the hart that panteth after the fountains of water: so my soul panteth after thee, O God. V. My soul hath thirsted after the living God: when shall I come and appear before the face of God. V. My tears have been my bread day and night, while they say to me every day, Where is now thy God?

Sicut desiderat cervus ad

fontes aquarum: ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus. V. Sitivit anima mea ad Deum vivum: quando veniam & apparebo ante faciem Dei. V. Fuerunt mihi lacrymæ meæ panes die ac nocte, dum dicitur mihi per singulos dies: Ubi est Deus tuus ?

May the Lord be with you all. R. And with thy spirit. Let us pray. Concede.

G

Rant, we beseech thee, O Almighty God, that we, who celebrate the gift of the Holy Ghost, may, by the inspiration of heaven, earnestly thirst after the fountain of life. Thro' in unity of the same.

When the Priest comes to the Font. May the Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit. Let us pray. Omnipotens.

at these mys

Almighty and Eternal God, be present teries, be present at these sacraments of thy great goodness: and send forth the spirit of thy adoption to regenerate the new people, whom the font of baptism bringeth forth: that what is to be done by the ministry of us thy servants, may be accomplished by the effect of thy power. Thro'. R. Amen.

V. May the Lord be with you. R. and with thy spirit. V. Raise up your hearts on high. R. We have them raised up to the Lord. V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. R. It is meet and just.

I

T is

V. Dominus vobiscum.

R. Et cum spiritu tuo. V. Sursum corda. R. Habemus ad Dominum. V. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro. R. Dignum & justum est.

truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, to give thee thanks always, and in all places, O holy Lord, Almighty Father, and Eternal God. Who, by thy invisible power, dost wonderfully produce the effecte of thy sacraments: and, though we are unworthy to administer such great mysteries, yet, as thou dost not abandon the gifts of thy grace, so thou inclinest the ears of thy goodness even to our prayers. O God, whose spirit in the very beginning of the world moved upon the waters; that even then the nature of water might receive the virtue of sanctification. O God, who by water didst wash away the crimes of a guilty world, and by the overflowing of the deluge didst give us a figure of regeneration; that one and the same element might, in a mystery, be the end of vice, and the origin of virtue. Look down, O I.ord, on thy church, and multiply in her thy regenerations, who, by the streams of thy abundant grace, fillest thy city with joy; and openest the fonts of baptism all over the world for the renewing of the Gentiles; that by the command of thy majesty it may receive the grace of thy only Son from the Holy Ghost; Here the Priest divides the water in the form of a cross. of his divine virtue, may

W

secret mixture HO, by a

render this water fruitful for the regeneration of men: to the end that those, who are to be sanctified in the immaculate womb of this divine font, and are to be born again new creatures, may come forth a heavenly offspring; and that all, however distinguished by age in time, or sex in body, may be brought forth to the same infancy by grace, their spiritual mother. Therefore may all unclean spirits, by thy command, O Lord, depart from hence: may all the malice of diabolical wiles be entirely banished; may no power of the enemy prevail here : let him not fly about to lay his snares; let him not creep in by his secret artifices; let him not corrupt with his infection.

M

Here he touches the water with his hand.

AY this holy and innocent creature be free from all assaults of the enemy, and purified by the destruction of all his malice. May it become a living fountain, a regenerating water, a purifying stream; that all those that are to be washed in this saving bath, may obtain, by the efficacy of the Holy Ghost, the grace of a perfect pu

rification.

Here he makes the sign of the cross thrice over the Font, saying:

HEREFORE I bless thee, O creature of water,

W by the living + God, by the true † God, by the

holy + God; by that God, who in the beginning separated thee by his word from the dry land; and whose spirit moved upon thee;

W

Heré he divides the water with his hand, and throws some of it out towards the four parts of the world, saying: HO made thee flow from the fountain of paradise, and commanded thee to water the whole earth with thy four rivers. Who changing thy bitterness in the desert into sweetness, made thee fit to drink; and produced thee out of a rock to quench the thirst of the people. I † bless thee also by our Lord Jesus Christ, his only Son; who, in Cana of Galilee, changed thee into wine, by a wonderful miracle of his power. Who walked upon thee dry foot, and was baptized in thee by John in the Jordan. Who made thee flow out of his side, together with his blood, and commanded his disciples, that such as believed, should be baptized in thee, saying: Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Do thou, O Almighty God, mercifully assist us, who observe this commandment; do thou graciously inspire

us.

Here he breaths thrice upon the water in form of a cross, and says :

D

O thou with thy mouth bless these clear waters : that, besides their natural virtue of cleansing the body, they may be also effectual for the purifying of the soul.

Here the Priest sinks the Paschal Candle into the water at three different times, saying each time : of the Holy Ghost descend into all

M

AY the virtue

the water of this Font.

Then breathing thrice on the water, he goes on:
ND make the whole substance of this water fruitful,

A

and capable of bringing to a new life.

Here the Paschal Candle is taken out of the water, and the Priest goes on:

H

ERE may the stains of all sin be washed out; here may human nature, created to thy image, and reformed to the honor of its author, be cleansed from the filth of the old man that all who receive this sacrament of regeneration, may be born again new children of true innocence. Thro' our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who is to come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire. R. Amen.

Here the people are sprinkled with the blest water, and some is taken away by the Ministers to distribute to the people to use in their houses. Afterward the oil of the Catechumens is poured in, in form of a cross, the Priest saying:

M

AY this font be sanctified and made fruitful by the oil of salvation for such as are to be Kirn a-new in it, unto life everlasting. R. Amen.

it

Then he pours the Chrism into it in the same manner, saying:

M

AY this infusion of the Chrism of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Ghost the comforter, be performed in the name of the Holy Trinity. R. Amen. Lastly he pours the Oil and Chrism both together into the water, in form of a cross, saying:

M

AY this mixture of the Chrism of sanctification, and of the oil of salvation, and of the water of baptism, be performed in the name of the + Father, and of the + Son, and of the + Holy Ghost. R. Amen.

After the Blessing of the Font, and baptizing such as are presented, the Priest with his Ministers, goes and lies prostrate before the altar; and all the rest kneel while the Litany is sung by two Chanters in the middle of the Choir, the whole Choir repeating the same words after them.

But if there be no Font to bless, after the sixth Prophecy and the Prayer following the Litany is sung, as directed above.

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]
« PrécédentContinuer »