Short Responsory Cibávit illos ex ádipe fruménti

Today, being the Octave Day of the Feast of Corpus Christi, it would be well to dwell on the Short Responsory that is found in the Office of Sext, wherein our favorite passage occurs:

V. Cibávit illos ex ádipe fruménti, * Allelúja, allelúja. R. Cibávit illos ex ádipe fruménti, * Allelúja, allelúja. V. Et de petra, melle saturávit eos. R. Allelúja, allelúja. V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto. R. Cibávit illos ex ádipe fruménti, * Allelúja, allelúja.

V. He fed them with the fat of wheat, * Alleluia Alleluia. R. He fed them with the fat of wheat, * Alleluia Alleluia. V. And filled them with honey out of the rock. R. Alleluia Alleluia. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R. He fed them with the fat of wheat, * Alleluia Alleluia.

The text of the Short Responsory is closely connected with the mysteries of Corpus Christi, occuring as many as five times in the divine services of this Feast: it constitutes the Introit for the Mass; it constitutes the Versicle and Responds that concludes the psalmody of the Second Nocturn; the Psalm wherein it occurs (Ps. lxxx) if found in the third Nocturn of Matins; it is echoed in the Antiphon accompanying this Psalm (Cibávit nos Dóminus ex ádipe fruménti : et de petra, melle saturávit nos); and it constitutes the Versicle and Response at Terce.

Our Holy Mother Church in bringing to our attention this passage again and again during the course of this Feast and its Octave, is presenting for our consideration a sublime meditation on the mysteries of this sacred Sacrament. It is very curious that, in the third Nocturn of Matins, Psalm LXXX follows Psalm XLII, which is said at the foot of the Altar, thus further substantiating a connection between the words of this Short Responsory and the august Mysteries that take place on the Altar.

Greater than the manna the Lord rained down on the Israelites (Ex. xvi.), and greater than the water the Lord caused Moses to draw out of the rock (Ex. xvii.), the Lord gives us Himself in this greatest of Sacraments, typified in the wheat and honey of which this Short Responsory speak. The fat of the wheat is a type of the sacred Host, who is Our Lord Himself. It is under the species of wheat that we behold him with our mortal eyes, but it is with the eyes of our intellect illumined by supernatural Faith that we behold our Sovereign Creator and Redeemer, so that we may contemplate him unimpeded and everlastingly in Heaven.

The figure of the honey is a type of the most precious Blood of Our Lord. The Angelic Doctor (Opusc. De venerabili sacramento altaris, cap. xxxii.), thus comments on this verse of Psalm LXXX: As the rock signifieth the incorruptible Body of Christ, so the honey out of the rock is the sweet Blood of Christ, which the faithful draw from the Body of Christ (Sicut petra corpus Christi incorruptibile, sic mel de petra significat dulcem sanguinem Christi, quem sugunt fideles de corpore Christi). O how sweet is the nourishment that Our Lord deigns to give us!

Our Blessed Lord bade his Apostles to ever continue this Holy Sacrifice in memory of Him: In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me (I Cor. xi. 25). This sacred anamnesis was prefigured marvelously in Holy Writ: His remembrance shall be sweet as honey in every mouth, and as music at a banquet of wine (Ecclus. xlix. 2).

Such sweet imagery becomes this sweetest Lord, who out of His infinite love and mercy deigns to feed us with His very Body and Blood. He gives us His very Self, entirely and utterly, so that we may gives ourselves entire and utterly, and love Him and His commandments super aurum et topázion (Ps. cxviii. 127)!

Doxology Jesu tibi sit glória

In the sacred Breviary and Missal, there is a connection between the Christmastide liturgy and the Feast of Corpus Christi: in the Mass, the Preface of the Nativity is said; the versicle Qui natus es de Maria Vírgine is said the Short Responsory of Prime and the Hymns, including the Hymn Rector potens, verax Deus of Sext, end with the Christmas doxology:

Jesu tibi sit glória,

Qui natus es de Vírgine,
Cum Patre et almo Spíritu,
In sempitérna sæcula. Amen.

All honour, laud, and glory be,
O Jesu, Virgin-Born, to thee;
Whom with the Father we adore,
And Holy Ghost, for evermore. Amen.

Holy Mother Church, inspired by the Holy Ghost, is most wise in uniting for our edification the Mysteries of the Nativity and the Holy Eucharist. Saint John Chrysostom (Sermo lx.) admonishes us: The Lord satisfieth us with his own holy Flesh, setting himself slain before us. What excuse therefore shall we have, if, being so fed as we are, we sin as we do? If, eating of the Lamb, we are still wolves? If, pastured as the sheep of the flock, we raven like lions? This mysterious Sacrament forbiddeth unto us not outrage only, but any the least enmity ; it is the Mystery of peace (vi. Lesson, ii. Noct., Matins, Monday in the Octave of Corpus Christi). What wondrous name does this holy Doctor give this Sacrament, pacis mystérium!

Our Holy Mother Church commences the Office of Christmas Day by exultingly praising her newborn Lord as the Rex pacíficus: The King of Peace hath shown his greatness, whose countenance the whole earth desires, The King of Peace is magnified above all the kings of the whole earth (i. & ii Ants., I Vesp. Christmas Day). How sublime is the Feast of Corpus Christi, wherein is celebrated not merely the arrival of this King of Peace into the Earth, but the arrival of this selfsame King into our very hearts as our nourishment!

Whereas in the most chaste womb of the Sacred Virgin He became incarnate only once, this King of Peace deigns to become incarnate and born in every Altar of Holy Mother Church. Our Lord could have descended upon the Earth in the flower of his manhood, as Adam was created, but that could not have satiated his infinite love. All the mysteries of His sacred life did not have as their end the union with humanity in general, but rather the union of each and everyone of us, the member of His Mystical Body. In this Mystery of Peace, as Saint John Chrysostom calls it, Our Lord brings about the prolongation of His sacred Incarnation, and thus the Mysteries of Christmas find their fruition in the Mysteries of this Sacrament.

The Christmas doxology, and the versicle Qui natus es de Maria Vírgine said at the Short Responsory at Prime, present for our consideration the role of Our Blessed Lady in this Mystery of Peace. The sacred flesh of Our Lord, the very nourishment that He gives us in the Holy Eucharist, is indeed the flesh of this Celestial Maiden. Holy Mary alone was found worthy to clothe the Eternal Word with human flesh, and so the fiat she pronounced at the Annunciation finds its wondrous consummation in the Holy Eucharist. Whensoever the Priest pronounces the words of Institution, he parallels the momentous fiat of the Blessed Virgin. Wherefore, Holy Mother Church demands perfect chastity from her ministers, so that their purity may be like unto Our Lady's purity.

We would do well in recoursing to Our Lady, imploring her intercession so that our reception of this great Sacrament may be trully for us a Sacred Banquet wherein the soul with grace is filled, and a pledge of future glory is bestowed (Ant. Mag., II Vesp.). No creature, either on Earth or in Heaven, has loved and adored Our Lord so perfectly as this Sacred Lady, and if we but unite our love and adoration to hers, then we would please Our Blessed Lord and render fitting thanks for instituting this wondrous Sacrament.

With the intercession of Our Blessed Lady, we can indeed worthily recieve Our Lord in Holy Communion; and so increase in faith, hope and charity that we may truly love Him super aurum et topázion (Ps. cxviii. 127)!

Antiphon Pinguis est panis

How marvelous is the Feast Day of Corpus Christi, wherein is commemorated the greatest of all miracles, the ineffable thaumaturgy of the Transubstantiation, whereby the Almighty and Eternal King of the Universe, Who in Himself is perfect, wanting of nothing, deigns, out of the infinite love he has for His poor creatures, to become our very nourishment. Throughout the Octave our favorite verse has occured under the following Antiphon, full of delectable imagery and curious beauty:

Pinguis est panis Christi, et præbébit delicias régibus, allelúja.
The bread of Christ is fat, and it shall yield dainties to kings, alleluia.

Curious indeed to say that of the Holy Eucharist. The words of the Antiphon, however, parallel the sublime and mysterious blessing Jacon bestowed upon his son: Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to kings (Gen. xlix. 20). This connection between Jacob and Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament shows that in the Holy Eucharist is to be found the marvelous fruition of all the promises and prophecies given to the Patriachs and Prophets of ancient yore. Whensoever we partake of Holy Communion, we truly feed on that sacred Redeemer Who descended from the great Patriarchs and for whom all the just shuddered with yearning.

Pinguis est panis Christi, or, as it is translated by certain authors, the Bread of Christ is rich. Rich indeed is the bread of Christ, and exceedinly so! Possessing in itself the fullness of the Divinity and humanity of Our Blessed Lord, true God and true Man. Exceedinly rich is this sacred banquet, wherein Christ is received, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the soul with grace is filled, and a pledge of future glory is bestowed (Ant. Mag., II Vesp.). Thus we can say with our Holy Mother Church, O how sweet is thy spirit, O Lord, who, to shew thy loving-kindness to thy children, doest feed them with that sweetest Bread which came down from heaven; filling the hungry with good things, and sending the rich and disdainful empty away(Ant. Mag., I Vesp.).

Et præbébit delicias régibus, and it shall dainties to kings. What wondrous mystery is contained within these few words! It speaks of our peerless dignity, for who are these kings of whom the Antiphon speaks if not us? To whom does the Bread of Christ yield its dainties if not to us? O immense love wherewith Our Savior at once nourishes and elevates us! For in partaking of Holy Communion we are raised to a whole new dignity. The very Lord, before Whom the very Seraphim veil their faces out of holy dread, before Whom the Thrones and Principalities tremble, becomes our very food! With what admiration must the holy Angels behold us when he return from the Communion rail! With what love and veneration must our very Angel Guardian behold us, being made the living shrines of Almighty God like unto the Altar before us!

We are indeed greater than kings! At our sacred Baptism, we were given a new identity, a dignity ontologically superior to that of any creature upon the Earth, being cleansed of original sin and being made into members of the Mystical Body of Christ. By the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, however, we get to rival the very Angels themselves! For we really and trully are nourished with the very God whom they blissfully and everlastingly behold!

Non fecit táliter omni natióni (Ps. cxlvii. 20). He indeed has wrought this great thaumaturgy only for us, the children of our Holy Mother Church. We are indeed the chosen people, the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand (Ps. xciv. 7). How then can we not love this sweet Lord, this God of infinite love, super aurum et topázion (Ps. cxviii. 127)!

Antiphon Rem diffícilem postulásti, Off. S. Elisei Prophetæ, Breviarium Carmelitarum

Today, the venerable Order of the Carmelites commemorates the Prophet Eliseus, whom they venerate as the Father of their Order together with the Prophet Elias. It is a singular thing that these Prophets are thus venerated as, aside from the Holy Machabees, no other figure of the Old Testament is paid liturgical honors in the Roman Rite.

The Carmelites adopted the reformed Psalter that Pope Saint Pius X promulgated for the Roman Rite, so that our favorite verse likewise occurs in the Festal Office of Sext in the Carmelite Breviary. For the Office of Saint Eliseus, the Antiphon for Sext is the following:

Rem diffícilem postulásti attámen si víderis me, quando tollar a te, erit tibi quod petísti.

Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked (IV Kings ii. 10)

In order to understand this Antiphon, one must contextualize it properly according to the accound narrated in Holy Writ. When it came to pass that the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind (IV Kings ii. 1), Elias told Eliseus to stay, but Eliseus said unto him As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee (ii. 2). At Bethel the sons of the Prophets knew the wonder the Lord was to work with Elias, and said unto Eliseus Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? to which Eliseus replied I also know it: hold your peace (ii. 3). Three times Elias told his disciple to stay and three times did Eliseus tell his master that he will never depart from him. When it came time to cross the Jordan, Elias wrought a miracle, And Elias took his mantle and folded it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they both passed over on dry ground (ii. 8). Then Elias says unto his disciple, Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eliseus said: I beseech thee that in me may be thy double spirit (ii. 9). Behold what difficult thing Eliseus asked of his master, duplex spíritus tuus! A singular marvel indeed! Elias responds the words that consitute the Antiphon: Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked ( ii. 10).

What shall we say of the merits of Eliseus, writes Saint Ambrose (Sermo lxxxvii; iv. Lesson, ii Nocturns, Matins), What shall we say of him whose first glory it was that he sought to surpass his father in grace, for he asked of him a gift which he knew to be greater than the giver possessed? Covetous was he in his demands, but distinguished, too, in his merit. When he claimed from his father more than the latter had, Eliseus, by his own merits, forced him to grant more than he could. Oh what great power there is in prayer! We would do well to follow the example of the holy Prophet and Pray without ceasing (I Thess. v. 17). Eliseus' perseverence was thrice tested and thrice he swore to never leave his master, much like Saint Peter was thrice asked by Our Lord if he loved Him (St. John xxi.).

And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Eliseus saw him, and cried: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the driver thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own garments, and rent them in two pieces (IV Kings ii. 11-12). The sorrow Elisesus must have experienced when he saw his master taken away unto Heaven must have been like to the sorrow the Apostles experienced when they had seen Our Blessed Lord ascend unto the Father. Like the Apostles, however, the melancholy of Eliseus was tempered by hope in the promise if the Master, for the former it was the promise of the Holy Paraclete and for the latter it was the promise of the double spirit of Elias.

When the sons of the Prophets had seen the miracle Eliseus performed upon the waters of the Jordan they declared The spirit of Elias hath rested upon Eliseus. And coming to meet him, they worshipped him, falling to the ground (IV Kings ii. 15). Thus, we have in this sublime and tender scene of Elias departing from Eliseus a type of the mystery of the Ascension and in the double spirit of Elias we find a prefiguration of the descent of the Holy Ghost, the sacred Mystery we have just celebrated less than a fortnight ago. With this considerations in mind, let us pray to the Lord with the Collect found in the Carmelite Breviary for today's feast.

Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, qui in eléctis Prophétis tuis mirábilis prædicáris: præsta, quæsumus; ut, sicut Elíæ spíritum in Prophéta tuo Eliséo complevísti, ita in nobis Spíritus Sancti grátiam ad virtútum ópera exercénda multiplicáre dignéris. Per Dóminum... in unitáte ejusdem Spíritus Sancti Deus, &c.

Almighty and Everlasting God, who art proclaimed wonderful in Thy chosen prophets, grant, we beseech Thee, that, as Thou hast made perfect the spirit of Elias in Thy prophet, Eliseus, so Thou wilt deign to multiply within us the grace of the Holy Spirit, that we may perform works of virtue. Through our Lord... in the unity of the same Holy Ghost &c.

Let us then contemplate the mysteries that the holy Prophet Eliseus presents for our consideration and let us pray to him that we may have a portion of that spirit that enlightened his mind and infamed his heart. Let us also note the fact that the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is essentially the garment of the Carmelites, who have Saint Eliseus as their glorious Father, so those who wear the Holy Scapular are in really the children of Saints Eliseus and Elias. With the intercession of the holy Prophet Eliseus we are sure to have the spirit wherewith to love the commandments of the Lord above gold and the topazius (Ps. cxviii. 127)

Antiphon Glória laudis

This past Sunday was the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, Whom our Holy Mother Church marvelously declares and adores in the whole of her sacred Liturgy, but particularly in the Office of this Feast Day. In the Office of Sext, wherein our favorite verse occurs, we have the following Antiphon:

Glória laudis résonet in ore ómnium, Patri, genitæque Proli, Spirítui Sancto páriter resúltet laude perénni.

May the glory of praise resound in every mouth, unto the Father, and the only-begotten Son, and may it equally resound with everlasting praise unto the Holy Ghost.

What wondrous phrase have we here: gloria laudis. Is this not a fitting description of the splendor and beauty of our sacred Liturgy? In this Antiphon we have an excellent summary of the nature of sacred Liturgy. Glória laudis résonet in ore ómnium, that is, let the praise of glory sound forth from the mouths of all men, that all men may acknowledge the Blessed Trinity and may submit to our Holy Mother Church, who alone adores the true God according to His holy Will, and in whom alone men may find everlasting salvation so that they may forever praise the Holy Trinity in Heaven. Glória laudis résonet in ore ómnium, most especially in the mouths of the faithful, the Mystical Body of Christ, whose consecration at Baptism has indissolubly bound them to the ceaseless praise of Almighty God.

The Priests and Religious of Our Holy Mother Church are bound to the resound glória laudis in the recitation of the Divine Office, but the layfolk should also strive to participate in the Divine Office insomuch as they can. What more wondrous and effacious prayer is there, after Holy Mass, than the Divine Office? All private devotions, however good and admirable they may be, are as nothing compared to the sacred Breviary. Our forefathers of pious yore were immersed in the Divine Office, they knew and loved the Psalms, and from thence they derived much consolation and strength, so that many holy martyrs, virgins and confessors came from their midst. Let us then strive to participate in the Divine Office as much as we can, and we shall see how much graces and merits we shall gain. With the sacred Psalms enlightening our minds and consoling our hearts, we can become holy and pure, so that we may truly love Our Lord above gold and the topazius (Ps. cxviii. 127)

Responsory Spíritus Paraclitus

V. Spíritus Paraclitus, * Allelúja, allelúja. R. Spíritus Paraclitus, * Allelúja, allelúja. V. Docébit vos ómnia. R. Allelúja, allelúja. V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto. R. Spíritus Paraclitus, * Allelúja, allelúja.

Since Whitsuntide has ended with the Office of None today, it would indeed be fitting to end this blessed season with a consideration of the Responsory that occurs in the Office of Sext in Whitsundtide, wherein our favorite verse occurs and wherein is to be found the most consoling mystery of the Holy Ghost, who teaches us all things with lux jucunda, lux insignis, the glad and singular light of which Adam of Saint Victor speaks in his celebrated Sequence.

Let us, however, allow Saint Hildegard, Prophetissa Spiritus Sancti splendoribus illustrata, the Prophetess enlightened by the splendors of the Holy Ghost (Ant. Mag., Vesp., Off. S. Hildegardis Virg., Breviarium Monasticum), to shows us the glorious workings of the Holy Ghost in her Sequence O ignis Spiritus Paraclite. The Saint calls Him Vita vitae omnis creaturae, the life of every creature's life. Whereas our first Parent Adam received the spiraculum vitae when the Lord formed him out of the slime of the earth (Gen. ii. 7), the children of Holy Mother Church receive the spiraculum sanctitatis, the breath of holiness, wherewith we are given a new and greater life, wherewith we are made partakers of the divine nature (II Pet. i. 4).

Our Blessed Lord declared I am the way, and the truth, and the life (St. John xiv. 6), and the Holy Ghost is also the way: O iter fortissimum, quod penetravit omnia, in altissimis, et in terrenis, et in omnibus abyssis, quum omnes componis et colligis (O Way most irresistible, that penetratest all things in the highest, and on earth, and in every abyss, ordering and unifying all things!). Thus Saint Hildegard gives us to undertand the power of the Holy Ghost, penetrating all things with His omnipotence and light, even the recesses of the human heart: Tu etiam semper, the Saint continues, educis doctos, per inspirationem sapientiae laetificatos (Thou ever leadest the learned, gladdened through the inspiration of wisdom).

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ps. cx. x), wisdom lies in the holy dread of Our Lord as the Creator, Sovereign and Reedemer of every one of us, acknowledging our supreme and indissoluble duty to pay supreme worship to Him alone, to love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind (St. Matt. xxii. 37). Only when we love the Lord and His commandments can we gain the wisdom that the Holy Ghost brings.

Thus, with the light of the Holy Ghost, we can indeed love the precepts of the Lord above gold and the topazius (Ps. cxviii. 127). For wisdom is better than all the most precious things: and whatsoever may be desired cannot be compared to it (Prov. viii. 11). The things of this world cannot compare to the holy wisdom of the Lord: And if riches be desired in life, what is richer than wisdom, which maketh all things? (Wisd. viii. 5). The Holy Ghost can give this precious wisdom to us, the only wisdom that matters: the science of the Saints, the knowledge to gain eternal salvation.

O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways! (Rom. xi. 33) shall the Epistle of tomorrow's Mass declare! How wonderful is the clemency of God in the sacred mysteries of Whitsuntide! Let us, with Saint Hildegard, render our due worship to the Holy Spirit that teaches us the great Mystery we shall celebrate tomorrow: Unde laus tibi sit, qui es sonus laudis, et gaudium vitae, spes et honor fortissimus, dans praemia et lucis. Amen (Praise, then, be to Thee, Who art the sound of praise and joy of life, hope and honor most strong, giving the reward of light. Amen.)

Hymn Rector potens, verax Deus

Continuing our meditations on the Canonical Hour of Sext, seeing that our favorite passage occurs therein, it would be well to consider the Hymn Rector potens, verax Deus in more depth. This Hymn was authored by Saint Ambrose (340-397) and its meter is iambic dimeter:

Hymn

Rector potens, verax Deus,
Qui témperas rerum vices,
Splendóre mane illúminas,
Et ígnibus merídiem:

Exstíngue flammas lítium,
Aufer calórem nóxium,
Confer salútem córporum,
Verámque pacem córdium.

Deo Patri sit glória,
Et Fílio, qui a mórtuis
Surréxit, ac Paraclito,
In sæculórum sæcula. Amen.

Notes

"Liturgical Use: Hymn for Sext daily throughout the year. Sext was said at noon. The great heat of the noonday sun is compared to the heat of the passions which we beseech God to extinguish. We implore Him also to grant us health of body and peace of soul." (The Hymns of the Breviary and Missal by Rev. Matthew Britt, O. S. B.).

1. "'O mighty Ruler, truthful God, who dost regulate the changes of things, with splendor dost Thou light up the morning, and with burning heat the noonday,' Verax Deus: Est autem Deus verax: omnis autem homo mendax, sicut scriptum est [But God is true; and every man a liar, as it is written] (Rom. iii. 4). Splendore: 'Splendor' is here the beauteous, beneficent light of the morning, in contradistinction to the sweltering heat of the midday.
2. 'Extinguish Thou the flames of strife, remove harmful heat, grant health of body and true peace of heart.' Litium: Noli contendere verbis [Contend not in words] (II Tim. ii. 14). Calorem noxium: evil desires. Pacem cordis: Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis; non quomodo mundus dat, ego do vobis. Non turbetur cor vestrum, neque formidet [Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid] (St. John xiv. 27)"
3. "Grant this, O most loving Father, and Thou, only-begotten Son, equal to the Father, who reignest eternally with the Holy Ghost, the Comforter."

(The Hymns of the Breviary and Missal by Rev. Matthew Britt, O. S. B.)

The Canonical Office of Sext

Since our favorite passage occurs in the Sunday Office of Sext, and occured daily in the same in the old Roman Psalter, it would be pertinent indeed to learn more about this Canonical Office. Here is an excerpt from The Divine Office: A Study of the Roman Breviary by Rev. E. J. Quigley.

SEXT

Etymology. The word Sext comes from the Latin word sexta, (hora), the sixth hour, because the little Hour should be said at what was the sixth hour of the Roman day, about mid-day with us.

Structure. The structure of this hour is similar to that given in Terce above, the hymn, antiphon, psalms, little chapter and responses differing, but the order and form being similar in both.

Antiquity. The Psalmist wrote, “Vespere et mane et meridie narrabo et annuntiabo, et exaudiet vocem meam” (Ps. 54). This practice of devout Jews was maintained by the early Christians and in the Acts of the Apostles we read, “Ascendit Petrus in superiora ut oraret circam horam sextam” (Acts x, 9). At this hour, the Christians met for public, joint prayer.

Why does the Church wish us to pray at the sixth hour of the day?

1. Because at this hour Christ instructed the Samaritan woman, the type of the Gentiles; and He promised to give the living water, springing up unto life everlasting, which was His blood, poured out on Calvary at the sixth hour.
2. Because at this sixth hour Christ was raised on the cross for our salvation and it is right and just, daily, to remember Him and His great love for us. Besides, it is to realise His words “And if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself” (St. John xii. 32). And the Church, in the opening words of Sext for Sunday, impresses this idea on us “Deficit in salutare meum anima mea,” “My soul hath fainted after thy salvation” (Ps. 118).
3. To ask God to grant us health and peace of heart, as the hymn for Sext sings:—­

“O God, Who canst not change nor fail,

Guiding the hours as they go by,

Brightening with beam the morning pale,

And burning in the midnight sky,

Quench Thou the fires of hate and strife,

The wasting fever of the heart;

From perils guard our feeble life,

And to our souls Thy grace impart.

Grant this, O Father, only Son,

And Holy Ghost, God of Grace,

To whom all glory, Three in One,

Be given in every time and place—­Amen."

(Translation by Cardinal Newman of St. Ambrose’s hymn, Rector potens).

TEXTS AND INTENTIONS FOR THE PIOUS RECITATION OF SEXT.

1. “And they took Jesus, and after they had mocked Him, they took off the purple from Him and put His own garments on Him and led Him out to crucify Him” (St. Mark, c. 15).
2. “Bearing His own cross, Jesus went forth to that place called Calvary.”
3. “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but for yourselves.”

General Intentions. The wants of the Church; for peace and goodwill amongst all States and peoples; for the Pope; for Church students.

Personal Intentions. For patience; for fraternal charity; for the love of the practice of mortification.

Special Intentions. For Catholic schools; for increase in number of daily communicants; for the success of catechists and their work.