Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews: Which of you shall convice me of sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me? He that is of God, heareth the words of God. Therefore, you hear them not, because you are not of God. (John 8:46)

The Holy Church begins her Night Office of this Sunday with these impressive words of the Royal Prophet. Formerly, the faithful considered it their duty to assist at the Night Office, at least on Sundays and Feasts; they would have grieved to have lost the grand teachings given by the Liturgy. Such fervour has long since died out; the assiduity at the Offices of the Church, which was the joy of our Catholic forefathers, has now become a thing of the past; and, even in countries which have not apostatised from the faith, the clergy have ceased to celebrate publicly Offices at which no one assisted. Excepting in Cathedral Churches and in Monasteries, the grand harmonious system of the Divine Praise has been abandoned, and the marvellous power of the Liturgy has no longer its full influence upon the Faithful.

This is our reason for drawing the attention of our readers to certain beauties of the Divine Office, which would otherwise be totally ignored. Thus, what can be more impressive than this solemn Invitatory of today's Matins, which the Church takes from one of the psalms, and which she repeats on every Feria between this and Maundy Thursday?

She says: Today, if ye shall hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts! The sweet voice of your suffering Jesus now speaks to you, poor sinners! be not your own enemies by indifference and hardness of heart. The Son of God is about to give you the last and greatest proof of the love that brought him down from heaven; his Death is nigh at hand: men are preparing the wood for the immolation of the new Isaac: enter into yourselves, and let not your hearts, after being touched with grace, return to their former obduracy, for nothing could be more dangerous. The great anniversaries we are to celebrate have a renovating power for those souls that faithfully correspond with the grace which is offered them; but they increase insensibility in those who let them pass without working their conversion. Today, therefore, if you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts!

During the preceding four weeks, we have noticed how the malice of Jesus' enemies has been gradually increasing. His very presence irritates them; and it is evident, that any little circumstance will suffice to bring the deep and long nurtured hatred to a head. The kind and gentle manners of Jesus are drawing to Him all hearts that are simple and upright; at the same time, the humble life he leads, and the stern purity of his doctrines, are perpetual sources of vexation and anger, both to the proud Jew that looks forward to the Messias being a mighty conqueror, and to the Pharisee, who corrupts the Law of God, that he may make it the instrument of his own base passions. Still, Jesus goes on working miracles; His discourses are more than ever energetic; His prophecies foretell the fall of Jerusalem, and such a destruction of its famous Temple, that not a stone is to be left on stone. The doctors of the Law should, at least, reflect upon what they hear; they should examine these wonderful works, which render such strong testimony in favour of the Son of David, and they should consult those divine prophecies which, up to the present time, have been so literally fulfilled in His person. Alas! they themselves are about to carry them out to the very last iota. There is not a single outrage or suffering foretold by David and Isaias, as having to be put upon the Messias, which these blind men are not scheming to verify.

In them, therefore, was fulfilled that terrible saying: He that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come (St. Matth. xii. 32.). The Synagogue is nigh to a curse. Obstinate in her error, she refuses to see or to hear; she has deliberately perverted her judgment: she has extinguished within herself the light of the Holy Spirit; she will go deeper and deeper into evil, and at length fall into the abyss. This same lamentable conduct is but too often witnessed now-adays, in those sinners, who, by habitual resistance to the light, end by finding their happiness in sin. Neither should it surprise us, that we find in people of our own generation a resemblance to the murderers of our Jesus: the history of His Passion will reveal to us many sad secrets of the human heart and its perverse inclinations; for what happened in Jerusalem, happens also in every sinner's heart. His heart, according to the saying of St. Paul, is a Calvary, where Jesus is crucified. There is the same ingratitude, the same blindness, the same wild madness, with this difference, that the sinner who is enlightened by faith, knows Him Whom he crucifies; whereas the Jews, as the same Apostle tells us, knew not the Lord of Glory (I. Cor. ii. 8.). Whilst, therefore, we listen to the Gospel, which relates the history of the Passion, let us turn the indignation we feel for the Jews against ourselves and our own sins: let us weep over the sufferings of our Victim, for our sins caused Him to suffer and die.

Everything around us urges us to mourn. The images of the Saints, the very crucifix on our Altar, are veiled from our sight. The Church is oppressed with grief. During the first four weeks of Lent, she compassionated her Jesus fasting in the desert; his coming Sufferings and Crucifixion and Death are what now fill her with anguish. We read in today's Gospel, that the Jews threaten to stone the Son of God as a blasphemer: but his hour is not yet come. He is obliged to flee and hide himself. It is to express this deep humiliation, that the Church veils the Cross. A God hiding Himself, that he may evade the anger of men, what a mystery! Is it weakness? Is it, that he fears death? No, we shall soon see Him going out to meet His enemies: but, at present, He hides Himself from them, because all that had been prophesied regarding Him has not been fulfilled. Besides, His death is not to be by stoning; He is to die upon a Cross, the tree of malediction, which, from that time forward, is to be the Tree of Life. Let us humble ourselves, as we see the Creator of heaven and earth thus obliged to hide Himself from men, who are bent on His destruction! Let us go back, in thought, to the sad day of the first sin, when Adam and Eve hid themselves because a guilty conscience told them they were naked. Jesus is come to assure us of our being pardoned! and lo! He hides Himself, not because He is naked, He that is to the Saints the garb of holiness and immortality, but because He made Himself weak, that He might make us strong. Our First Parents sought to hide themselves from the sight of God; Jesus hides himself from the eye of men; but it will not be thus for ever. The day will come, when sinners, from whose anger He now flees, will pray to the mountains that they fall on them to shield them from His gaze; but their prayer will not be granted, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with much power and majesty (St. Matth. xxiv. 30).

This Sunday is called Passion Sunday, because the Church begins, on this day, to make the Sufferings of our Redeemer her chief thought. It is called also, Judica, from the first word of the Introit of the Mass; and again, Neomania, that is, the Sunday of the new (or, the Easter) moon, because it always falls after the new moon which regulates the Feast of Easter Day.

It is by Blood alone that man is to be redeemed. He has offended God. This God cannot be appeased by anything short of the extermination of His rebellious creature, who, by shedding his blood, will give an earnest of his repentance and his entire submission to the Creator, against Whom he dared to rebel. Otherwise, the justice of God must be satisfied by the sinner's suffering eternal punishment. This truth was understood by all the people of the ancient world, and all confessed it by shedding the blood of victims, as in the sacrifices of Abel, at the very commencement of the world; in the hecatombs of Greece; in the countless immolations whereby Solomon dedicated the Temple. And yet, God thus speaks to His people: Hear, O my people, and I will speak: O Israel, and I will testify to thee: I am God thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices, and thy burnt-offerings are always in my sight. I will not take calves out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy flocks. I need them not: for all the beasts of the woods are mine. If I should be hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? or shall I drink the blood of goats (Ps. xlix. 7-13.)? Thus, God commands the blood of victims to be offered to Him, and, at the same time, declares that neither it nor they are precious in His sight. Is this a contradiction? No: God would hereby have man understand, that it is only by Blood that He can be redeemed, but that the blood of brute animals cannot effect this redemption. Can the blood of man himself bring him his own redemption, and appease God's justice? No, not even man's blood, for it is defiled; and even were it undefiled, it is powerless to compensate for the outrage done to God by sin. For this, there was needed the Blood of a God; that was the Blood of Jesus, and He has come that He may shed it for our redemption.

In him is fulfilled the most sacred of the figures of the Old Law. Once each year, the High-Priest entered into the Holy of Holies, there to make intercession for the people. He went within the Veil, even to the Ark of the Covenant; but he was not allowed to enjoy this great privilege, unless he entered the holy place carrying in his hands the blood of a newlyoffered victim. The Son of God, the true HighPriest, is now about to enter heaven, and we are to follow Him thither; but unto this, He must have an offering of blood, and that Blood can be none other than His own. We are going to assist at this His compliance with the divine ordinance. Let us open our hearts, that this precious Blood may, as the Apostle says in to-day's Epistle, cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

At that time: Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews: Which of you shall convice me of sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me? He that is of God, heareth the words of God. Therefore, you hear them not, because you are not of God. The Jews, therefore, answered and said to him: Do not we say well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered: I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and you have dishonoured me. But I seek not my own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Amen, amen, I say to you: If any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever. The Jews therefore said: Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever. Art thou greater than our Father Abraham, who is dead! And the prophets are dead. Whom dost thou make thyself? Jesus answered: If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father that glorifieth me, of Whom you say that He is your God; and you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I should say that I know Him not, I should be like to you, a liar. But I do know Him, and do keep His word. Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it, and was glad. The Jews then said to him: Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say unto you, before Abraham was made, I am. They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.

The fury of the Jews is evidently at its height, and Jesus is obliged to hide Himself from them. But He is to fall into their hands before many days are over; then will they triumph and put Him to death. They triumph, and Jesus is their victim; but how different is to be His lot from theirs! In obedience to the decrees of His heavenly Father, and out of love for men, He will deliver himself into the hands of His enemies, and they will put him to death; but he will rise victorious from the tomb, He will ascend into heaven, He will be throned on the right hand of His Father. His enemies, on the contrary, after having vented all their rage, will live on without remorse, until the terrible day come for their chastisement. That day is not far off, for observe the severity wherewith our Lord speaks to them: You hear not the words of God, because you are not of God. Yet there was a time, when they were of God, for the Lord gives his grace to all men; but they have rendered this grace useless; they are now in darkness, and the light they have rejected will not return.

You say, that my Father is your God, and you have not known Him; but I know Him. Their obstinacy in refusing to acknowledge Jesus as the Messias, has led these men to ignore that very God, Whom they boast of honouring; for if they knew the Father, they would not reject His Son. Moses, and the Psalms, and the Prophets, are all a dead letter to them; these sacred Books are soon to pass into the hands of the Gentiles, who will both read and understand them. If, continues Jesus, I should say that I know Him not, I should be like to you, a liar. This strong language is that of the angry Judge Who is to come down, at the last day, to destroy sinners. Jerusalem has not known the time of her visitation: the Son of God has visited her, He is with her, and she dares to say to Him: Thou hast a devil! She says to the Eternal Word, Who proves Himself to be God by the most astounding miracles, that Abraham and the Prophets are greater than He! Strange blindness, that comes from pride and hardness of heart! The Feast of the Pasch is at hand: these men are going to eat, and with much parade of religion, the flesh of the figurative lamb; they know full well, that this lamb is a symbol, or a figure, which is to have its fulfilment. The true Lamb is to be sacrificed by their hands, and they will not know Him. He will shed his Blood for them, and it will not save them. How this reminds us of those sinners, for whom this Easter promises to be as fruitless as those of the past years! Let us redouble our prayers for them, and beseech our Lord to soften their hearts, lest trampling the Blood of Jesus under their feet, they should have it to cry vengeance against them before the throne of the Heavenly Father.

Brightly shineth the blessed Cross, whereon hung the body of our Lord, when, with His Blood, He washed our wounds.

Become, out of tender love for us, a meek Victim, this divine Lamb did, by the Cross, rescue us His sheep from the jaws of the wolf.

Twas there, with his hands nailed to the wood, that He redeemed the world from ruin, and by His own death, closed the way of death.

Here was fastened with cruel nails that hand, which delivered Paul from sin, and Peter from death.

O sweet and noble Tree! how vigorous is thy growth, when, on thy branches, hang fruits so rare as these!

Thy fresh fragrance gives resurrection to many that lay in the tomb, and restores the dead to life.

He that shelters beneath thy shade, shall not be scorched either by the moon at night or by the mid-day sun.

Planted near the running waters, thou art lovely in thy verdure, and blossoms ever fresh blow on each fair branch.

Between thine arms hangs the pendant Vine, whence wine most sweet flows in a ruddy stream.

O Jesus, Who by reason of Thy burning love for us hast willed to be crucified and to shed Thy most Precious Blood for the redemption and salvation of our souls, look down upon us here gathered together in remembrance of Thy most sorrowful Passion and Death, fully trusting in Thy mercy; cleanse us from sin by Thy grace, sanctify our toil, give unto us and unto all those who are dear to us our daily bread, sweeten our sufferings, bless our families, and to the nations so sorely afflicted, grant Thy peace, which is the only true peace, so that by obeying Thy commandments we may come at last to the glory of heaven. Amen.

Lord, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy,
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven,
Have mercy on us. *
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, *
God the Holy Spirit, *
Holy Trinity, one God, *
Jesus, the eternal Wisdom, *
Jesus, conversing with men, *
Jesus, hated by the world, *
Jesus, sold for thirty pieces of silver, *
Jesus, prostrate on the ground in prayer, *
Jesus, strengthened by an angel, *
Jesus, in Thine agony bathed in a bloody sweat, *
Jesus, betrayed by Judas with a kiss, *
Jesus, bound by the soldiers, *
Jesus, forsaken by Thy disciples, *
Jesus, brought before Annas and Caiaphas, *
Jesus, struck by a servant on the face, *
Jesus, accused by false witnesses, *
Jesus, declared worthy of death, *
Jesus, spit upon in the face, *
Jesus, blindfolded, *
Jesus, smitten on the cheek, *
Jesus, thrice denied by Peter, *
Jesus, delivered up to Pilate, *
Jesus, despised and mocked by Herod, *
Jesus, clothed in a white garment, *
Jesus, rejected for Barabbas, *
Jesus, torn with scourges, *
Jesus, bruised for our sins, *
Jesus, esteemed as a leper, *
Jesus, covered with a purple robe, *
Jesus, crowned with thorns, *
Jesus, struck with a reed upon the head, *
Jesus, demanded for crucifixion, *
Jesus, condemned to death by the Jews, *
Jesus, condemned to an ignominious death, *
Jesus, given up to the will of Thine enemies, *
Jesus, loaded with the heavy weight of the Cross, *
Jesus, led like a sheep to the slaughter, *
Jesus, stripped of Thy garmenets, *
Jesus, fastened with nails to the Cross, *
Jesus, wounded for our iniquities, *
Jesus, praying to Thy Father for Thy murderers, *
Jesus, reputed with the wicked, *
Jesus, blasphemed and scoffed at on the Cross, *
Jesus, reviled by the malefactor, *
Jesus, promising Paradise to the penitent theif, *
Jesus, commending Saint John to Thy Mother as her son, *
Jesus, declaring Thyself forsaken by Thy Father, *
Jesus, in Thy thirst given gall and vinegar to drink, *
Jesus, testifying that all things written concerning Thee were accomplished, *
Jesus, commending Thy spirit into the hands of Thy Father, *
Jesus, obedient even unto the death of the cross, *
Jesus, pierced with a lance, *
Jesus, made a propiation for us, *
Jesus, taken down from the Cross, *
Jesus, laid in the sepulcher, *
Jesus, rising gloriously from the dead, *
Jesus, ascending into heaven, *
Jesus, our Advocate with the Father, *
Jesus, sending down on Thy disciples the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete*
Jesus, exalting Thy Mother above the choirs of Angels, *
Jesus, Who shalt come to judge the living and the dead, *


Be merciful,
Spare us, O Lord.
Be merciful,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.


From all evil,
Lord Jesus, deliver us. **
From all sin, **
From anger, hatred, and every evil will, **
From war, famine, and pestilence, **
From all dangers of mind and body, **
From everlasting death, **
Through Thy most pure Conception, **
Through Thy miraculous Nativity, **
Through Thy humble Circumcision, **
Through Thy Baptism and holy fasting, **
Through Thy Labors and Watchings, **
Through Thy cruel Scourging and Crowning, **
Through Thy Thirst, and Tears, and Nakedness, **
Through Thy precious Death and Cross, **
Through Thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension, **
Through Thy sending forth the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete, **
In the day of judgment, we sinners, beseech Thee, hear us.


That Thou wouldst spare us,
We beseech Thee, hear us. ***

That Thou wouldst pardon us, ***

That Thou wouldst bring us to true penance, ***

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe mercifully to pour into our hearts the grace of the Holy Spirit, ***

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to defend and propagate Thy holy Church, ***

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to preserve and increase all societies assembled in Thy holy Name, ***

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to bestow upon us true peace, humility, and charity, ***

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to give us perseverance in grace and in Thy holy service, ***

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to deliver us from unclean thoughts, the temptations of the devil, and everlasting damnation, ***

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to unite us to the company of Thy Saints, ***

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe graciously to hear us, ***


Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world;
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world;
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world;
Have mercy on us.


Christ hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.


V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.


Let us pray:


O God, Who for the redemption of the world wast pleased to be born, to be circumcised, to be rejected by the Jews, to be betrayed by the traitor Judas with a kiss, to be bound with thongs, to be led as an innocent lamb to the slaughter, and to be shamefully presented to the gaze of Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod; to be accused by false witnesses, to be insulted with scourgings and revilings, to be spit upon and crowned with thorns, to be buffeted upon the face, and struck with a reed, to be blindfolded, to be stripped of Thy clothes, to be fastened with nails to the cross, to be hoisted up thereon, to be reckoned among thieves, to have gall and vinegar given Thee to drink, and to be pierced with a lance; through these Thy most holy sufferings, which we, Thy unworthy servants, devoutly call to mind, and by Thy holy Cross and by Thy Death, deliver us from the pains of hell, and vouchsafe to conduct us whither Thou didst conduct the thief who was crucified with Thee. Who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest, God, world without end. Amen