SEQUENCE. Hail Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with thee, O gentle Virgin! Blessed art thou among women, for thou didst bring forth peace to men and glory to the Angels. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who, by his grace, made us to be his coheirs. By this Ave, which sounded so sweetly to the world, thou didst conceive, and not by nature's laws. Thou wast the new Star that was to bring forth a new Sun. Thou, though ever the purest of Virgins, wast the Temple of our Saviour Jesus Christ, (who united in his person the little and the great,) of Jesus, the Lion and the Lamb. O Queen of Virgins! O Rose without thorns! Thou wast made Mother of Him who is our Sun, our Dew, our Bread, and our Shepherd. Thou art the City of the just King; thou art the Mother of mercy, bringing grace to Theophilus, by drawing him out of the den of filth and misery. The heavenly Court praises thee, for thou art both Mother and Daughter of its King. By thee, the guilty obtain pardon; by thy prayers, the just receive grace. LENT. Ave Maria, Tu parvi et magni, Tu Solis et Roris, Panis et Pastoris, Virginum regina, Rosa sine spina, Genitrix es facta. Tu civitas Regis justitiæ, Tu mater es misericordiæ, De lacu fæcis et miseriæ Theophilum reformans gra tiæ. Te collaudat cœlestis curia Tu mater es Regis et filia, Per te reis donatur venia, Per tejustis confertur gratia, 2 D Ergo maris stella, Ut nos solvat a peccatis, Therefore, O Star of the Sea, O Tabernacle of the Word, O Gate of heaven, by whom Light arose to the world!pray for us to thy Son, That he loose us from sin, and introduce us into the kingdom of brightness, where perpetual light shines for ever. Amen. PROPER OF THE SAINTS. THE time of Easter varies so much, that we have been obliged to repeat in this Volume several of the Saints' Feasts given in our Septuagesima, because, some years, they may be kept in Lent. We begin with the Ninth of February, the Feast of St. Apollonia, which is the earliest day on which the First Sunday of Lent can fall; and we take our present Volume to the Ninth of April, the Feast of St. Mary of Egypt, which is the nearest to Passion Sunday, when it occurs at the furthest term possible. We have already remarked, that the fewness of Feasts at this portion of the Year, is one of the characteristics of Lent. We ought to enter into the spirit of the Church, who, hereby, would encourage us to cherish the holy mournfulness of penance; but, at the same time, she offers us several of the Saints during this holy Season, that their example and protection may cheer us. PROPER OF SAINTS. FEBRUARY 9. SAINT APOLLONIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR. THE holy Virgin who this day claims the homage of our devotion and praise, is offered to us by the. Church of Alexandria. Apollonia is a Martyr of Christ; her name is celebrated and honoured throughout the whole world; and she comes to us on this ninth day of February, to add her own example to that which we have so recently had from her Sister Saints, Agathy and Dorothy; like them, she bids us fight courageously for heaven. To her, this present life was a thing of little value, and no sooner does she receive God's inspiration to sacrifice it, than she does what her would-be executioners intended doing, -she throws herself into the flames prepared for her. It is no unusual thing, now-a-days, for men that are wearied of the trials, or afraid of the humiliations, of this world, to take away their own lives, and prefer suicide to the courageous performance of duty: but Apollonia's motive for hastening her death by a moment's anticipation was, to testify her horror of the apostacy that was proposed to her. This is not the only instance we meet with, during times of Persecution, of the Holy Spirit's inspiring this lavish sacrifice, to saintly Virgins, who trembled for |