And He, Who angels feeds as GOD,
Feeds men, as GOD made man.

To Him Who, to redeem

Our race, came down from heaven,
Praise with the FATHER evermore,
And HOLY GHOST be given.

Amen.

PSALM XLV. Eructavit cor meum.

My heart is inditing of a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made unto the King.

My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men : full of grace are thy lips, because GOD hath blessed thee for ever.

Gird thee with thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty: according to thy worship and renown.

Good luck have thou with thine honour: ride on, because of the word of truth, of meekness, and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.

Thy arrows are very sharp, and the people shall be subdued unto thee even in the midst among the King's enemies.

Thy seat, O GOD, endureth for ever: the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity wherefore GOD, even Thy GOD,

hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.

All thy garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia: out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.

Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in a vesture of gold, wrought about with divers colours.

Hearken, O daughter, and consider, incline thine ear: forget also thine own people, and thy father's house.

So shall the King have pleasure in thy beauty for He is thy LORD GOD, and worship thou Him.

:

And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift like as the rich also among the people shall make their supplication before thee.

The King's daughter is all glorious within her clothing is of wrought gold.

:

She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needle-work: the virgins that be her fellows shall bear her company, and shall be brought unto thee.

With joy and gladness shall they be brought and shall enter into the King's palace.

:

Instead of thy fathers thou shalt have children whom thou mayest make princes in all lands.

::

I will remember Thy Name from one generation to another: therefore shall the people give thanks unto Thee, world without end.

Glory be to the FATHER, &c.
As it was in the beginning, &c.

S. MARK, THE EVANGELIST.

"That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed."-S. Luke i. 4.

Such is the order of GOD in the Christian dispensation. First, the Church teaches by Apostles, and under them by the ministry and creeds, "the truth as it is in JESUS." Then the written Gospel confirms that which had been orally taught by the Church; and thus "we know the certainty of those things wherein we have been instructed." And blessed be GOD for His heavenly doctrine.

It was a blessed office that was entrusted to S. Mark, with the other three Evangelists, to write the things of the everlasting Gospel, to edify the Body of CHRIST,

and in this writing to be guided by the HOLY GHOST: so that whatsoever is written is infallibly true. It is the word, not of man, but of GOD.

But for whom was this word of the Holy Gospel written? It was for us, and for as many as the LORD our GOD has called, or shall call into His Church. And how priceless are these gifts of GOD!—the Holy Gospels, with the other Scriptures of the New as well as the Old Testament; and the living voice of the Church, which is the keeper of Holy Writ, "the pillar and ground of the Truth."

And here I recognise the benefit of belonging to that Church, because in her communion I receive the blessed Gospel, and the true meaning and interpretation of it. First of all, CHRIST Our LORD, without any merit of mine, made me a member of His Body. Then in that Body He made me partaker of His sacramental riches, by which my soul, if penitent and faithful, is renewed and nourished in grace. And to these, among other blessings, He adds the teaching and instruction of His holy Word, that I may become wise unto salvation. O rich blessing, that I inherit as a member of CHRIST'S Body, the Church! receiving through her those heavenly truths of the Gospel which GOD has vouchsafed to re

veal, and upon the acknowledging of which depends our eternal salvation. She has received from her Spouse the deposit of Divine revelation, and to her He has granted the HOLY SPIRIT'S aid, that she may be guided into all truth.

O let me engrave the words of the Holy Gospel in my heart! Let me meditate upon them when I sit in the house, and walk by the way! Let them be the manna of my soul day by day!

But this gift of the written Gospel calls forth certain affections. And first, what gratitude do I owe to GOD for the secret things He has revealed by His dear SON, such as the mysteries of the HOLY TRINITY, the Incarnation and Passion of our LORD, His Resurrection and Ascension; the Coming of the HOLY GHOST to build up the Church, and to fit us by His indwelling for the Eucharist, the remission of sins, the resurrection of the flesh, and life everlasting ?

Secondly, what submission of faith ought I to conceive towards GOD, Who gives me in the Holy Gospel the infallible means of knowing His truth, and teaches me the meaning of that Gospel by His Church? What would my reason and education avail me without His guidance? But with it, I simply constrain my understanding to be