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had been with Christ on the mount. For the Lord had commanded them to tell no man till He had risen from the dead'."

The same author takes notice of a custom which prevails in some places of mixing the chalice with wine of new grapes, at the adorable Sacrifice on this day. And the reason which he gives for it is this; "On the day of the last supper, Jesus said to His disciples, 'Verily I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine until I drink it new in the kingdom of My Father.' Since then the Transfiguration belongs to that glorious renewal which Christ had after His resurrection, and which the faithful shall have after their resurrection; therefore on this feast the Blood of Christ is made of new wine, and new grapes are blessed upon it." In the Office of Sarum is this prayer of benediction of new grapes on this day: "Bless, O Lord, these fruits of the new grape, which Thou, O Lord, hast deigned to bring to maturity by the dew of heaven, the fall of rain, and the serenity of the seasons, and which Thou hast given us to use with thanksgiving. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Per Quem.”

Good Jesu! while time's scroll I still unfold,
Do Thou to me Thy love make manifest,
That I, 'mid clouds that wrap me, may behold
Thine everlasting glory, and find rest.

He whom Thy love makes glad as with new wine,
He knows that knowledge which is from above;
Full blest is he; that fulness is Divine;

And there is nothing else that he can love.

1 Rationale Div. Offic. lib. vii. c. 22.

Thou art the Fount of pity; as it flows,

All drink of Thine abundance infinite:
Thou art the only Sun Thy country knows ;
Scatter the clouds, and show us Thy true light.
Hymns from the Parisian Breviary, p. 232.

AUGUST 7.

Holy Name of Jesus.

HITHERTO Our contemplations have been such as condition of the Church militant

the imperfect

can entertain in the country of its exile.

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But on this day we are invited to raise our thoughts from past scenes on earth to the present glory of our Divine Lord in heaven. There the Church in triumph beholds the face of Jesus unveiled, and is inebriated with the pure stream which issues from that Fount of joy. And we from afar off may this day adore Him "Whom not having seen we love;" in patience waiting and longing for the day when we too shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." "For the Festival of His holy Name," says a pious writer, seems in some measure to comprise every mystery, every mercy, every title of honour, every benefit, every grace, every effort of Divine love, which we adore in the whole process of His Incarnation, Life, Death, Resurrection, Ascension, and Coming as sovereign Judge of the living and dead. This sacred Name of Jesus presents to our mind the majesty and glory of His divinity, the most endearing charms of His humanity, under the

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character of the Divine Saviour and eternal Spouse of our souls. The adorable Name of Jesus was given by the Father to His only co-eternal Son, to be the title of His Supreme Majesty, power, and dominion, and of His glorious victory over sin and hell, and to express in Him the unexhausted source of all grace, blessings, and comfort, which He is to us."

Before the birth of our Lord, the holy Name was declared by the message of an angel; once to His Blessed Mother at the Annunciation, and at another time in a dream to S. Joseph. The holy Gospel for the day in the Office of Sarum, records, in the words of S. Matthew, the appearance of the angel to S. Joseph. "The angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His Name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a Virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel; which, being interpreted, is, God with

us.

Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife, and knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born Son, and he called His Name Jesus'.'

The name of Jesus was given to the holy Child at His Circumcision, when He shed the first drops of

1 S. Matt. i. 20, to the end.

His precious blood in obedience to the law. And as He began to fulfil His office in humility and suffering, so He consummated it in the shame and agony of the cross. And the Name which He received on the eighth day after His birth was inscribed upon the instrument of His death. But how full of hidden meaning is that writing of Pilate-Jesus, the King! It comprehends the history of His life and of His glory. "For He went not up to joy but first He suffered pain; He entered not into His glory before He was crucified." "He made Himself of no reputation," says S. Paul, "and took upon Him the form of a slave, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name; that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father'."

"O my Jesu!" cries the holy Ignatius, "even so despised and rejected of men, so filled with reproaches and acquainted with infirmity, I adore Thee with the highest worship, my Lord, and my God, my King, and my Guide! So far is it from me to esteem little of Thee in this guise, that the more I perceive Thy divinity concealed in Thee, so much the more do I love Thy humanity: the viler Thou art become for me, so much the more precious

1 Philippians ii. 7—11.

art Thou to me. O who can sufficiently admire, who can embrace with a love worthy of it, Thy sublime goodness, which made Thee willing to become nothing, that Thou mightest raise me up; to take upon Thee the form of a slave, that Thou mightest make me a son of God; to be the reproach of men, that I might be made a partaker of Thine eternal glory! O whither has Thy love towards me impelled Thee1!"

When the Lord had returned from the grave, and before His admirable ascension to the right hand of His Father, He promised to His Apostles that in His Name they should cast out devils, and speak with new tongues, and lay hands on the sick, and they should recover2. The first miracle which is recorded in holy Scripture, after the day of Pentecost, was accomplished in this all-powerful Name. S. Peter said to the lame man at the gate of the temple called Beautiful, "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee; in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk'." And in the words which the Sarum Office uses at the Epistle of this day, he further declares the majesty of this blessed Name. "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom ye crucified, Whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in

1 Exercit. Spir. Dies vii.

2 S. Mark xvi. 17.

3 Acts iii. 6.

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