THE LAITY.

NEW YORK

PUBLISHED WITH THE APPROBATION OF

THE RIGHT REV. THE BISHOP OF PHILADELPHIA

FIRST REVISED EDITION,

PHILADELPHIA.

PUBLISHED BY EUGENE CUMMISKEY,

1037 CHESTNUT STREET.

The Roman Missal translated into English for the use of the Laity, and now revised, and arranged by a Clergyman of the Diocese, is hereby duly approved of, and recommended by me to the faithful.

FREDERICK JAMES,

Bishop of Philadelphia.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, by

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

PREFACE

TO THE PRESENT EDITION.

THE use of the Roman Missal in their vernacular language seems scarcely to be appreciated by the laity. The Catholic mind, so habituated to the Great Sacrifice of the New Law, feels, in the presence of the Atoning. Victim, as if words or vocal prayers were needless, and union of mind and heart sufficient. There is much of truth and solid piety in this thought and yet it will be found, that the approved language of the Church will not unfrequently: excite and sustain that piety.

The great benefit, if not the principal end of the Liturgy, appears to be the daily application of the Great Sacrifice, in thanksgiving to God for his varied blessings, and in seeking his protection in the many difficulties to which we are so frequently exposed.

The beautiful selection from the Sacred Scripture with which the Missal is so filled, cannot fail to enlighten the attentive mind; whilst the appropriate Collects and other prayers which the (iii)

Church has added, must console and strengthen
the piety of her children. Indeed, the careful
study of the Roman Missal will afford the sweet-
est and most convincing testimony of the Divine
economy in the establishment and protection of
the Church. The Masses and ceremonies of Lent,
Holy Week, Advent, and Quatuortence,' furnish
not only food for piety, but for deep religious in-
struction; whilst the Sundays and Movable Fes-
tivals afford matter for the history of our Lord's
life, and of the formation and direction of the
Church which is his Kingdom upon the Earth.

In the edition now published, many Masses ap-
pear for the first time in the American reprint.
The Masse devoted to the Friday of Lent, to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the various Festivals
of the Blessed Virgin, as also of St. Alphonsus
Liguori, will be found in the Appendix. The
Calendar for each month is re-arranged, and a
table of General Contents has been added.

To understand the end and beauty of the Catho-
lic Liturgy, there can be no more appropriate or
practical book than the Roman Missal in the
English language; and it is hoped that the pre-
sent volume will fully satisfy the pious and in-
quiring mind.

FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE

CONCEPTION, 1860.