310 LAST BLESSING AND PLENARY INDULGENCE.

pleasest. Should it be thy will to inflict greater punishments on my weak body and languishing soul, than those which I now suffer, my heart is ready, O Lord, to accept them and to suffer in whatever manner and measure may be most conformable to thy divine will.

This one grace I most humbly beg of thee, that I may die the death of the just, and be admitted, after the sufferings and tribulations of this transitory and sinful life, into the kingdom of thy glory, there to see and enjoy thee in the company of the blessed, for a never-ending eternity. Amen.

THE LAST BLESSING AND PLENARY INDULGENCE.

As the hour of death approaches, that awful hour on which so much depends, the pious Christian should fervently prepare to receive the Last Blessing and Plenary Indulgence granted to those who are near their end. For our Lord Jesus Christ promised to St. Peter, Matt. xvi. the keys of the kingdom of heaven, assuring him that, whatsoever he should bind on earth, should be bound in heaven, and whatsoever he should loose on earth should also be loosed in heaven. By this power of binding and loosing, derived from St. Peter to his successors, and by them comnrunicated to the pastors of souls, the latter are authorized to grant a Plenary Indulgence, together with a solemn Blessing to all such as are in or near their last agony. But then the dying Christian should remember well that, in order to receive the benefit of this Plenary Indulgence and Blessing, it is requisite that he concur on his part, by renouncing and detesting all his sins, both known and unknown, mortal and venial; by accepting with patience and resignation whatever he may have yet to suffer, and offering up his pains and death, in union with the sufferings and death of his Redeemer in satisfaction for his sins. During the time the Priest is conferring this solemn Blessing, the following prayer may be repeated.

0 MY God, I once more renounce and detest all my sins. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. I cast myself into the arms of thy holy love, and I resign myself to thy blessed will. Receive me, I beseech thee, into the number of thy servants, that I may praise thee for

RECOMMENDATION OF A DEPARTING SOUL. 311 ever. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Lord Jesus, receive my soul. Amen.

The Recommendation of a Soul that is just departing. ORD have mercy on him (or her.)

L Christ, have mercy on him.

Lord have mercy on him.
Holy Mary, pray for him.

All ye holy Angels and Archangels,
Holy Abel,

All ye choirs of the Just,

Holy Abraham,

St. John Baptist,

St. Joseph,

All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets,
S. Peter,

St. Paul,

St. Andrew,

St. John,

All ye holy Apostles and Evangelists,
All ye holy Disciples of our Lord,
All ye holy Innocents,

St. Stephen,

St. Lawrence,

All ye holy Martyrs,

St. Sylvester,

St. Gregory,

St. Augustin,

All ye holy Bishops and Confessors,

St. Benedict,

St. Francis,

All ye holy Monks and Hermits,

St. Mary Magdalen,

St. Lucy,

All ye holy Virgins and Widows,

Pray for him (or her.)

All ye men and women, Saints of God, intercede for him (or her.)

Be merciful unto him, Spare him, O Lord,

Be merciful unto him, Deliver him, O Lord.
Be merciful unto him,

From thy wrath,

From the dangers of eternal death,

From an evil death,

From the pains of hell,
From all evil,

From the power of the devil,
By thy Nativity,

By thy Cross and Passion,
By thy Death and Burial,
By thy glorious Resurrection,

By thy wonderful Ascension,

By the grace of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter
In the day of Judgment,

We sinners, beseech thee hear us.

That thou spare him,

We beseech thee hear us.
Lord, have mercy on him.
Christ, have mercy on him.
Lord, have mercy on him.

O forth,

Deliver him (or her) O Lord.

Christian soul, from this world, in

the name of God the Father Almighty, who created thee; in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who suffered for thee; in the name of the Holy Ghost, who sanctified thee; in the name of the angels and archangels; in the name of the thrones and dominations; in the name of the principalities and powers; in the name of the cherubim and seraphim; in the name of the patriarchs and prophets; in the name of the holy apostles and evangelists; in the name of the holy martyrs and confessors; in the name of the holy monks and hermits; in the name of the holy virgins and of all the saints of God: may thy place be this day in peace, and thine abode in holy Sion. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God most merciful, O God most clement, O God, who, according to the multitude of thy mercies, blottest out the sins of the penitent, and graciously remittest the guilt of their past offences; mercifully regard this thy servant, N. and vouchsafe to hear him, who, with the whole confession of his heart, begs for the remission of all his sins. Renew, O most merciful Father, whatever hath been corrupted

in him through human frailty, or violated through the deceit of the enemy; and associate him as a member of redemption to the unity of the body of the church. Have compassion, Lord, on his sighs; have compassion, on his tears; and admit him who hath no hope hat in thy mercy, to the sacrament of thy reconciliation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

I

RECOMMEND thee, dear brother, to the Almighty God, and commit thee to his care, whose creature thou art ; that when thou shalt have paid the debt of all mankind by death, thou mayest return to thy Maker, who formed thee of the dirt of the earth. When, therefore, thy soul shall depart from the body, may the resplendent multitude of the angels meet thee; may the court of the apostles receive thee, may the triumphant army of the martyrs clad in their white robes, come out to meet thee; may the glorious company of the illustrious confessors encompass thee; may the choir of joyful virgins receive thee; and mayest thou meet with a blessed repose in the bosom of the patriarchs; may Jesus Christ appear to thee with a mild and cheerful countenance, and order thee a place amongst those who are to stand before him for ever. Mayest thou never know the horror of darkness, the crackling of flames, or racking torments. May the most wicked enemy, with all his evil spirits, be forced to give way; may he tremble at thine approach in the company of angels, and fly away into the vast chaos of eternal night. Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered: and let them that hate him flee from before his face as smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let sinners perish at the presence of God; and let the just feast and rejoice before God. May then all the legions of hell be confounded and put to shame: and may none of the ministers of satan dare to stop thee in thy way. May Christ, who was crucified for thee, deliver thee from torments. May Christ, who vouchsafed to die for thee, deliver thee from eternai death. May Christ the Son of the living God place

thee in the ever-verdant lawns of his paradise: and may he, the true Shepherd, acknowledge thee for one of his flock. May he absolve thee from all thy sins, and place thee at his right hand, in the lot of his elect. Mayest thou see thy Redeemer face to face, and standing always in his presence, behold with happy eyes the most clear truth. Mayest thou be placed among the companies of the blessed, and enjoy the sweetness of the contemplation of thy God for ever. Amen.

ECEIVE, O Lord, thy servant into the place of salvation which he hopeth to obtain through thy mercy. R. Amen.

Deliver, O Lord, the soul of thy servant from all dangers of hell,and from all pain and tribulation.R.Amen Deliver O Lord, the soul of thy servant, as thou deliveredst Enoch and Elias from the common death of the world. R. Amen.

Deliver, O Lord, the soul of thy servant, as thou deliveredst Noah from the flood. R. Amen.

Deliver, O Lord, the soul of thy servant, as thou deliveredst Abraham from the midst of the Chaldeans. R. Amen.

Deliver, O Lord, the soul of thy servant, as thou deliveredst Job from all his afflictions. R. Amen. Deliver, O Lord, the soul of thy servant, as thou deliveredst Isaac from being sacrificed by his father. R. Amen.

Deliver, O Lord, the soul of thy servant, as thou deliveredst Lot from Sodom and the flames of fire. R. Amen.

Deliver, O Lord, the soul of thy servant, as thou deliveredst Moses from the hands of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. R. Amen.

Deliver, O Lord, the soul of thy servant, as thou deliveredst Daniel from the lions' den. R. Amen.

Deliver, O Lord, the soul of thy servant, as thou deliveredst the three children from the fiery furnace, and from the hands of an unmerciful king. R. Amen.

Deliver, O Lord, the soul of thy servant, as thou deliveredst Susanna from her false accusers. R. Amen.