safeguard that must preserve the soul on its journey to heaven, it is the pledge of immortal glory. "He that eateth this bread shall live for ever" (St. John vi.). And so urgent is the obligation of receiving it at the approach of death, that the Church dispenses with her rule in behalf of those who are dangerously sick, and allows them to communicate after having broken their fast. The sick person will, therefore, use his best endeavour to make a worthy preparation for this blessed Sacrament. A Short Exercise in preparation for Death, which may be used every day.

1. My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready; not my will, but thine be done. O my Lord, I resign myself entirely to thee, to receive death at the time and in the manner it shall please thee to send it.

2. I most humbly ask pardon for all my sins committed against thy sovereign goodness, and repent of them all from the bottom of my heart.

3. I firmly believe whatsoever the holy Catholic Church believes and teaches; and, by thy grace, I will die in this belief.

4. I hope to possess eternal life by thy infinite mercy, and by the merits of my Saviour Jesus Christ.

5. O my God, I desire to love thee as my Sovereign Good, above all things, and to despise this miserable world. I desire to love my neighbour as myself, for the love of thee, and to forgive all injuries from my heart.

6. O my divine Jesus, how great is my desire to receive thy sacred Body! O, come now

into my soul, at least by a spiritual communion! O, grant that I may worthily receive thee before my death! I desire to unite myself to all the worthy communions which shall be made in thy holy Church, even to the end of the world.

7. Grant me the grace, O my divine Saviour, perfectly to efface all the sins I have committed by any of my senses, by applying daily to my soul thy blessed merits, and the holy unction of thy precious blood.

8. Holy Virgin, Mother of God, defend me from my enemies in my last hour, and present me to thy divine Son. Glorious St. Michael, prince of the heavenly host, and thou, my angel guardian, and you, my blessed patrons, intercede for me, and assist me in this last and dreadful passage.

9. O my God, I renounce all the temptations of the enemy, and whatsoever may in any way displease thee. I adore and accept of thy divine appointments with regard to me, and entirely abandon myself to them as most just and equitable.

10. O Jesus, my divine Saviour, be thou a Jesus to me, and save me. O my God, hiding myself with an humble confidence in thy dear wounds, I give up my soul into thy divine hands. O, receive it into the bosom of thy mercy. Amen.

THE ORDER OF ADMINISTERING HOLY COMMUNION TO THE SICK.

The Priest, on entering the sick-room with the Most Holy Sacrament, says:

Peace be to this house.

R. And to all who dwell therein.

Then, placing the Holy Sacrament on the corporal, on a table with lighted candles, he adores upon his knees, all present doing likewise; after which he takes holy water, and sprinkles the sick person and the bed on which he lies.

He then approaches the sick, and, if necessary, hears his confession; after which is said the Confiteor. Then, again adoring on his knees, he takes the Blessed Sacrament from his pyx, and elevating it, he shows it to the sick person, saying, Ecce Agnus Dei (Behold the Lamb of God, &c.); and repeating three times Domine, non sum dignus, &c., he says:

Receive, brother (or sister), the viaticum of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he may preserve thee from the malignant enemy, and bring thee to life everlasting. Amen. But if Communion is not given in the way of Viaticum, he pronounces the usual words, Corpus Domini nostri.

The Priest then washes his fingers in silence, and the ablution is given to the sick; after which he says: y. The Lord be with you, &c.

Let us pray.

O holy Lord, almighty Father, eternal God, we earnestly beseech thee that the most sacred Body of our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, which our brother (or our

sister) has now received, may be to him an eterna! remedy, both of body and soul: who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

These things done, if a particle of the Sacrament remains, he genuflects, rises, and taking the pyx with the Blessed Sacrament, he makes with it the sign of the Cross over the sick person in silence. Returning to the Church, he recites Psalm cxlviii., and other psalms and hymns, as time allows. If no particle of the Sacrament remains, the Priest blesses the sick with his hand in the usual way.

The Order of Administering the Sacrament of
Extreme Anction.

On arriving at the place where the sick person lies, the
Priest, with the holy oil, entering the room, says:
Peace be to this house.

Ry. And to all who dwell therein.

Then, after placing the oil on a table, being vested in a surplice and purple stole, he offers the sick person a crucifix, to be piously kissed; after which he sprinkles both the chamber and the bystanders with holy water in the form of a cross, saying the Asperges.

Then he says:

7. Our help is in the name of the Lord. R. Who hath made heaven and earth. y. The Lord be with you,

P. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

Let there enter, O Lord Jesus Christ, into this house. at the entrance of our humility, everlasting felicity, divine prosperity, serene gladness, fruitful charity, per

petual health: let the approach of devils flee from this place, let the angels of peace be present therein, and let all malignant discord depart from this house. Magnify, O Lord, upon us thy holy name, and bless + our conversation: sanctify the entrance of our humility, who art holy and good, and abidest with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever and ever. Amen.

Let us pray and beseech our Lord Jesus Christ, that blessing he may bless this tabernacle, and all who dwell therein, and give unto them a good angel for a guardian, and make them serve him, that they may consider the wonderful things out of his law. May he avert from them all adverse powers: may he deliver them from all fear and from all disquiet, and vouchsafe to keep them in health in this tabernacle. Who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth God for ever and ever. Amen,

Let us pray.

Hear us, O holy Lord, almighty Father, eternal God, and vouchsafe to send thy holy angel from heaven, to guard, cherish, protect, visit, and defend all that are assembled in this house. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(These Prayers, if time will not permit, may be either wholly or in part omitted.) After which is said the Confiteor, &c., as at p. 108, except when the Sacrament of Extreme Unction is administered immediately after the receiving of the holy Viaticum.

(Before the Priest begins to anoint the sick person, he admonishes the bystanders to pray for him; and when it is convenient to do so, they recite for him the Penitential Psalms, with Litanies or other prayers, whilst the Priest is administering the holy unction;) then he says:

In the name of the Father +, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Ghost, may all the power of the