to whom shall we go? We know that these others have left you, we see with sorrow their (blindness; and though we can understand no more than they the mysterious announcement you have made, we know that thou canst do all thou promisest—that thou hast the words of eternal life. Dark and incomprehensible to teries, and in all whatsoever thou shalt be dear sees them leave him in crowds. In vain he quickening impulse of the Spirit of God. looks fondly towards them, and reminds them (They hushed the noisy clamors which the flesh of the oft-repeated miracles they had seen had excited in the minds of the other disciples; him operate-in vain with outstretched arms and they believed, though they could not comhe assures them, he that believeth in me hath prehend, those sacred words which gave them everlasting life, (47.) They go-crowd after (spirit and life, (64.) Lord," they exclaim, crowd abandons him, and he is left alone with the twelve! Ah! methinks I can even now see the tear-drop glistening in his eyes, and mark the convulsive agony with which, turning from the retreating multitude, he looks with all the anxious solicitude of a Saviour upon the little band still faithful, and exclaims: "Will you also go away?" (68.) Ah! why us are all thy mysteries-thy birth, thy incar was I not there, divine and loving Saviour!(nation, thy divinity; yet, mid all these mys. that I might have fallen down before you, and in this poor single heart of mine have offered thee as many victims of atonement as thou didst suffer pains at the ingratitude of thy faithless disciples! At the word, St. Peter, the chief of the apostles, could no longer restrain the mingled feelings of grief and indignation which swelled his generous soul; but in the name of his fellow apostles he exclaims: "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, (69;) and we have believed and have known that thou art the Christ, the Son of God," (70.) Glorious confession, worthy the prince of the apostles! They had viewed with sorrow and dismay the faithless-tiguing proof of the pertinacity with which I ness of those disciples who had yielded to the pride of opinion, and who had impiously sought to measure the power of divine truth by the extent of their limited understanding. They had heard all that the renegade disciples had heard; they too were incapable, as the others were, to fathom the mystery of Christ's real presence in the sacred banquet he had promised them. But they remembered the proofs he had given them of his divinity. They had long known, followed, and listened to him; and they knew he could not lead them wrong. (the Gospel of St. John. They listened with docility to the small, gen- And now adieu for the present. May that tle voice within them. They bowed in hum-kind Father and Saviour, whose holy religion ble acquiescence to the revelations of him you are investigating, hear your fervent praywhom they knew and believed to be the Christ,ers and crown all your efforts with entire sucthe Son of God, (70.) They felt within the cess! have adhered to my promise, given in good faith and redeemed with sincerity. I could have wished for better opportunities and less interruption in the process of my writing; but, such as it is you have it. Peruse, I pray you, the various arguments adduced. Give them serious reflection; and all I ask is that you suspend your judgment on the subject until I am able to lay before you the second source of proof in the fulfilment of all the promises Christ has made on this subject in J. P. D. TO A MOONBEAM. BY MISS DAVIDSON. AH! whither art straying, thou spirit of light, Thou art resting here on the autumn leaf, Thou art glancing down on the ocean waves, Thou art piercing deep in its coral caves, Where the green-haired sea nymphs dwell! Thou art pouring thy beams on Italia's shore, Thou art casting a fretwork of silver rays Thou art gilding the temples of other days Thou art silently roaming through forest and glade, Where mortal foot never hath trod; Thou art lighting the grave where the dust is laid, Thou art looking on those I love! oh! wake And perchance thou art casting this mystic spell Where the dear ones of earth have departed to dwell, O yes! with that soft and ethereal beam Thou hast looked on the mansions of bliss, And some spirit, perchance, of that glorified world Hath breathed thee a message to this. 'T is a mission of love, for no threatening shade And it whispers compassion; for, lo! on thy brow And a misty veil, as of purified tears, Hail, beam of the blessed! my heart In the light of this exquisite hour! Sweet ray, I have proved thee so fair In this dark world of mourning and sin, May I hail thee more bright in that pure region where From Doellinger's History of the Church. LITURGIES OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH. No. II. ORDER OF THE DIVINE WORSHIP.* N the ancient Church the solemnization of were not permitted to hear them before the I the divine worship, (the mass, missa, so fourth century; pagans and heretics also were then suffered to be present, although the synod of Laodicea commanded that the latter should be entirely excluded from the Church. The mass of the catechumens began with the sing called instead of missio, dismissal, because before the offertory the catechumens and penitents were dismissed from the church,) was divided into two principal parts, the mass of the catechumens and the mass of the faithful.ing of psalms: in the Latin Church, and in The first part consisted of the singing of psalms, the lecture of the Scripture, the sermon, and the prayers for the catechumens, the energumeni, and the possessed. Together with the catechumens, heathens, Jews, and heretics were allowed to be present during the singing of the psalms, the lecture, and the prayers. In the first three centuries the reading of the gospel and the sermon did not form part of the mass of the catechumens, who Jo. Card. Bona, Rerum Liturgicarum, lib. ii.; Commentario auxit, Rob. Sala; Aug. Taurin. 1753, 3 vols. folio.-Bocquillot, Traite Historique de la Liturgie Sacrec, ou de la Messe; Paris, the liturgy of the Constitutions, it commenced with the lecture from the sacred Scriptures, between the parts of which verses of the Psalms were sung, which were thence called responsaries. Pope Celestine I. first introduced into the west, probably after the example of St. Ambrose, the custom of reciting a psalm at the beginning of the mass. In the first ages the psalms were sung by the whole assembly standing; after the fourth century the practice introduced by St. Ambrose from the east was adopted in the west, by which the psalms were sung in alternate chant by the congregation, divided into two choirs. The melodies in which they were sung were simple, almost recitative; but at the end of 1701.-Dom. Georgii, De Liturgia Romani Pontificis in solemni celebratione Missæ; Romæ, 1731, 3 vols. 4to.-Fre. De Berlendis, De oblationibus ad altare; Venet. 1743, 4to.-Orsi, De Liturgica S. Spir. Invocatione; Mediol. 1731, 4to.the fourth century a more artificial song was introduced into some churches, as in that of Milan. The psalm or antiphon which was sung whilst the priest ascended to the altar, by the people and afterwards by the choir, was named the introit or ingressa. In later times, instead of the entire psalm, only some verses were sung, as we learn from the anti-Scripture. Between the lesson and the gosphonarium of Gregory the Great, and from the Gallic and Mozarabic liturgies. Sometimes the bishops regulated the lessons at pleasure; and during the first four centuries the writings and letters of celebrated men were read in the churches: but the synod of Laodicea and of Carthage, in 397, prohibited to be read all writings except the sacred pel a psalm (Gradualis) was sung. The gospel was more anciently read by the lector; later, that is, from the sixth century, only by the deacon: while it was read the people stood. After the gospel, the bishop addressed his discourse (¡μia, tractatus) to the assembly, generally from his throne. In the east priests, and even laics sometimes, who were The general confession made by the priest, for which there was at first no prescribed order, formed part of the preparation before his approach to the altar. The Kyrie Eleison, which in the Gallic and Mozarabic liturgies was preceded by the Trisagion, is found in all the ancient liturgies of the east, and was in-requested by the bishop, delivered the sermon: troduced into the Italian, at least, in the fifth in Africa no one but the bishop preached becentury, and into the Gallic as early as the fore the time of St. Augustine. In Rome, year 529: in the Greek Church it was chanted according to the account of Sozomen, neither by the people; in the Roman, alternately, by the bishop nor any other person preached, a the people and the choir. Then followed (but custom which could not be without excepin Rome only on Sundays) the greater Dox-tions, and which was certainly abolished by ology, the Gloria, which is found entire, with only a few variations from its present form, in the apostolical constitutions: in its more modern form it occurs in the Mozarabic liturgy and in the sacramentary of Bobbio. In the Gallic liturgies, instead of the Gloria, we have the prophecy of Zachary, the canticle "Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel." After the salutation, "Peace with you," or "The Lord be with you," there was sung a short prayer, addressed always to the Father, and concluding with an invocation of the Son, which was named the Collect, as in it the devotion of the whole assembly was offered up collectively by the priest. At the conclusion the people answered “ Amen.” The lessons from the Scripture were then read: besides the lessons from the apostolical epistles, many Churches read portions from the Old Testament: the Roman Church had only the former. Particular seasons had their proper lessons; thus, in the fourth century, the Acts of the apostles were read between Easter and Pentecost; the book of Genesis during Lent, and, at Milan and Alexandria, the book of Job in Passion week. These lessons were contained in books called lectionaries, of which an ancient one, belonging to the Gothic Church, has been preserved. Leo I. It was often the practice, in the east, to deliver several discourses to one assembly. Many bishops preached on the days of the week, particularly on the festivals of martyrs and during the fast of Lent; and sometimes twice,-first, in the mass of the catechumens, and, secondly, in the mass of the faithful, when they explained the mysteries and the sacraments. In churches in the country there were few sermons, although the synod of Vaison, in 529, commanded that they should be frequently delivered in them. The best preachers were often loudly applauded by acclamations or the clapping of hands: their sermons, particularly those which were delivered extemporaneously, were often copied in the church, either by private persons or by public notaries, as were those of Origen, St. John Chrysostom, Atticus, St. Gregory Nazianzen, and St. Augustin. In the oriental Church, after the dismissal of the infidels and catechumens, who were in the class of the hearers, particular prayers for the catechumens, penitents, and energumeni, were recited. The deacon first exhorted the catechumens to pray, and the faithful to pray for them: after they were dismissed he exclaimed, "Pray, ye energumeni, who are troubled by unclean spirits;" and when these had community. From those who were excluded from communion no offerings were received. Money also, and other things for the wants of the clergy and poor, were offered, but were not placed upon the altar: the donor gave his received a sign from the bishop to retire, the same was practised towards the penitents. Whether these particular prayers were recited after the gospel, in the west, is not certain: St. Augustin and St. Ambrose so express themselves, as if the mass of the faithful fol-name in writing (nomen offerebat) to the dealowed immediately after the homily of the bishop. con, who read it aloud (the same was practised also if the donor were dead), with the amount of the benefaction, in presence of the assembly. In the Roman and African Churches, if not in others, the names of the offerers and their gifts were commemorated in the prayer of the priest. The prayers found in the ancient Roman liturgies, and entitled super oblata or secretæ, contain the supplica. tion that God would graciously vouchsafe to receive the gifts lying on his altar, and that the faithful, united together, might be as a sacrifice most acceptable to him: then, as the Church offers first bread and wine, which The doors of the church were now closed, and the mass of the faithful, who alone remained within, commenced: it consisted of three parts, the Offertory, the Consecration, and the Communion. According to the oldest liturgies, the silent prayer of the assembly (which silence was commanded by the dea- › con) was followed by an audible, alternate prayer (συvaлTM, or πрcoœnσis), recited by the bishop or deacon, and the people, who were kneeling, for the bishop, the clergy, and the various classes of the faithful; and after this the collect of the bishop (επίκλησις or παραθη- ( were to be changed into the body and blood ), wherein he recommended the prayers of { of Christ; next, this body and this blood themthe faithful to God. The Nicene creed, with (selves, and, lastly, itself as a sacrifice to God, the addition of the council of 381, was first so the prayers before the consecration, and received into the liturgy of Constantinople in particularly the Secret and the Preface, clearly 519; it was adopted also into the Sunday lit-express this first oblation of the bread and urgy of the Spanish Church, by the synod of wine, as the commencement of the holy sacri Toledo, in 589; this example was followed fice. But as the bread and wine became a by the Gallic and, finally, by the Roman perfect oblation by their conversion into the Church. flesh and blood of the Lord, the sacrifice and the sacrificer were designated in these prayers as the sin-offering for our redemption, as the spotless victim coming from the womb of his virgin mother, our Lord and Saviour himself. In the preface it was said that Christ presented himself as a suffering victim on the altar; and, as in the Liturgy of Constantinople, it was said, "we offer to thee Thine from Thine" (ra ou ix Tut out), that is, the flesh and blood of thy Son, formed from bread and wine created by thee: it was said also, in the Roman canon, de tuis donis ac datis. From the sixth century it was the custom to offer gifts to the altar only on Sunday. During the oblation the choir, according to a practice first introduced in Africa, sung a psalm, and, From the oblations of the bread and wine later, only a verse, which was called the anthe deacon and subdeacon took what would tiphon or offertorium. As the number of the be sufficient for the communion of the faith-communicants became less, and as, in the ful; all that remained was divided amongst seventh century, the then unleavened euchathe clergy and the poorer members of theristic bread was prepared by the clergy, the The offertory, or oblation, was preceded by the salutation of the priest to the people; and in the east by the kiss of peace. The faithful then presented their gifts of bread and wine. In the earlier ages the first fruits formed a part of their offerings, and were blessed by the bishop: one of the apostolical canons permitted, with incense and oil, young ears of corn and bunches of fresh grapes to be placed on the altar. This mention of incense proves to us its early use in the sacrifice; and as St. Ambrose speaks of the incensing of the altar, and St. Ephraim, the Syrian, of the burning of incense during the mass, this usage must have been introduced into some Churches as early as the fourth century. |