Founder of the Order of TRINITARIANS. 21 The Presentation of the B. V. M. 22 St. Cecilia, V. M. In the Diocess of Cloyne, 25 St. Catherine, V. M. 29 (Vigil.) St. Saturninus, M. 30 St. Andrew, Apostle. On the second Sunday in November, the Feast of the Protection of the B. V. M. DECEMBER 31 Days. 1 St. Eligius, B. C. Apostle of the Indies. 4 St. Peter Chrysologus, B. C. St. Barbara, V. M. 5 St. Sabbas, Ab. 6 St. Nicholas, B. C. Patron of Carrick, Galway, &c. 7 St. Ambrose, B. C. D. 8 The Immaculate Conception of the B. V. M. with an Octave. 9 St. Leocadia, V. M. AN ABRIDGMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. The Ten Commandments of God.-Exodus xx. 1. I AM the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange Gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of fathers upon their children unto the third and fourth generation of those that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of those that love me, and keep my command ments. 2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain. 3. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works; but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore, the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, 4. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long-lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee. 5. Thou shalt not kill. 6. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 7. Thou shalt not steal. 8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, nor his servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his. The six Precepts of the Church. 1. To hear Mass on Sundays, and all holidays of obligation. 2. To fast and abstain on the days commanded. 3. To confess our sins at least once a year. 4. To receive the blessed Eucharist at Easter, or within the time appointed. 5. To contribute to the support of our pastors. 6. Not to solemnize marriage at the forbidden times; nor to marry persons within the forbidden degrees of kindred, or otherwise prohibited by the church; nor clandestinely. The four Cardinal Virtues. Prudence-Justice-Fortitude-and Temperance. The seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost.-Isa. xi. 2, 3. To give counsel to the doubtful.-To instruct the ignorant. -To admonish sinners.-To comfort the afflicted.-To forgive offences.-To bear patiently the troublesome.-To pray for the living and the dead. The corporal Works of Mercy. To feed the hungry.-To give drink to the thirsty.-To clothe the naked.-To harbour the harbourless. To visit the sick. To visit the imprisoned;—and, to bury the dead. The eight Beatitudes.-Matt. v. 1. Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 2. Blessed are the meek; for they shall possess the land. 3. Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted. 4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice; for they shall be filled. 5. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy. 6. Blessed are the clean of heart; for they shall see God. 7. Blessed are the peace-makers; for they shall be called the children of God. 8. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The seven deadly Sins, and the opposite Virtues. Presumption of God's mercy-Despair -Impugning the known truth-Envy at another's spiritual good-Obstinacy in sin-Final impenitence. Sins crying to Heaven for Vengeance. Wilful murder-The sin of Sodom-Oppression of the poor -Defrauding labourers of their wages. Nine Ways of being accessary to another's Sin. By counsel-By command-By consent-By provocationBy praise or flattery-By concealment-By partaking - By silence-By defence of the ill done. Three eminent good Works. Alms-deeds, or works of mercy-Prayer-and Fasting. Voluntary poverty-Chastity-and Obedience. The four last Things to be remembered. Death-Judgment-Hell-and Heaven. Subjects for daily Meditation. Remember, Christian soul, that thou hast this day, and every God to glorify, Jesus to imitate, day of thy life, Heaven to gain, Eternity to prepare for, The angels and saints to in- Time to profit of, Neighbours to edify, The world to despise, Devils to combat, Death perhaps to suffer, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and first commandment: and the second is like to this -Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets.— St. Matt. xxii. MORNING EXERCISE. It is of great consequence to the perfection of each day that it should be begun well. The first thoughts of a Christian in the morning are, as it were, those first-fruits of which the Almighty was always most jealous. Endeavour to contract the holy habit of raising your heart to the Almighty immediately on awaking, to implore his protection and holy grace, that the day which his infinite goodness now adds to your life may not add to your sins, but, on the contrary, increase your merits, and tend to his glory. It may be the last of your life—perhaps you may never see another morning, perhaps you may never have another day to glorify God, to imitate Jesus Christ, to expiate your sins, to avoid hell, to gain heaven, or to devote to any of the other important duties of a Christian, which this page presents to you as subjects for daily meditation. You are accustomed to repeat those subjects while you dress; endeavour to do so with such serious attention, that they may powerfully animate you not to throw away a single moment of the day you are commencing, and which may terminate by your being presented before the tribunal of divine justice. Let your first remembrance, then, be of God, your first action the sacred sign of the cross, and your first words an offering of your whole being to your Creator, in the following or any other form. My God, I offer thee my heart, and most fervently beg of thee to take possession of my whole being. It is |