He then says:

V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with thy spirit.

V. The beginning of the Holy Gospel according to John.

R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.

T

John i., p. 158.

He then blesses the sick person, adding:

HE blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, descend upon thee and remain with thee always. R. Amen.

He then sprinkles the sick person with holy water.

If there are many sick in the same room, all the above prayers are said in the plural number. And all can be abbreviated at the will of the Priest.

The Last Blessing and Plenary

Indulgence.

S the hour of death approaches-that hour on which so much depends-the pious Christian should fervently prepare to receive the Last Blessing and Plenary Indulgence granted to those who are near their end. For our Lord Jesus Christ promised to St. Peter (Matt. xvi. 19) the keys of the kingdom of heaven; assuring him that whatever he should bind on earth should be bound also in heaven, and whatever he should loose on earth should be loosed also in heaven. By this power of binding and loosing, derived from St. Peter to his successors, and by them specially communicated to the pastors of souls, the latter are authorized to grant a Plenary Indulgence, together with a solemn Blessing, to all such as are in or near their last agony. But then the dying Christian should remember well that, in order to receive the benefit of this Plenary Indulgence and blessing, it is requisite that he concur on his part, by renouncing and detesting all his sins, both known and unknown, mortal and venial; by accepting with patience and resignation whatever he may have yet to suffer, and offering up his pains and death, in union with the sufferings and death of his Redeemer, in satisfaction for his sins.

To this end the Church directs the Priest who ministers to the sick person to put him in mind frequently to invoke the name of Jesus, and to exhort him:

1. That he firmly believe all the articles of the Faith, and what ever the holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church believes and teaches.

2. That he confidently hope that our Lord Jesus Christ, in

His boundless compassion, will have mercy on him: and that, by the merits of His most holy Passion, and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints, he will obtain everlasting life.

3. That he love the Lord God with all his heart, and that he desire to love Him more and more perfectly, with that love wherewith all the Saints and Blessed in heaven love Him.

4. That, for the love of God, he grieve from the heart for all offences whatsoever that he has committed against God and his neighbor.

5. That, for the love of God, he forgive from the heart his enemies, and all that have in any way injured him and done him wrong.

6. That he beg forgiveness of those whom he has at any time offended in word or deed.

7. That he patiently endure all the pains and discomfort of sickness, for God's sake, in penance for his sins.

8. That if God shall vouchsafe to restore him to his bodily health, he resolve henceforth, to the best of his power, to guard against sin, and to keep His commandments.

9. That, as far as he is able, he should say such prayers as these:

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy great mercy.-In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped: let me never be confounded.-Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.-Come unto my help, O God: O Lord, make haste to help me.- -O Lord, be Thou unto me a God, a Protector.-O God, be merciful to me a sinner.-O sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of Thy most holy Passion, receive me into the number of Thine Elect.-O Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit. -O Mary, mother of grace, mother of mercy, do thou protect me from the enemy, and receive me at the hour of death.-O holy Angel of God, assist me as my Guardian.-O all ye holy Angels, and all ye Saints, intercede for me, and hasten to my aid.

THE FORM OF BESTOWING THE APOSTOLIC BLESSING AND THE PLENARY INDULGENCE AT THE

HOUR OF DEATH.

The Priest having faculties to bestow this Apostolic Blessing enters the house, and says:

AX huic domui.

EACE be unto this house.

R. And unto all who dwell therein.

The Priest then exhorts

R. Et omnibus habitantibus in ea. After which he sprinkles the sick person, the room, and the bystanders, with holy water in the form of a cross, saying the Asperges as on p. 112. He then hears the Confession of the sick person; or if that be not necessary, bids him at least make an act of Contrition, and, if time allows, briefly instructs him concerning the efficacy and power of this Blessing. him to bear his sufferings patiently, as an expiation for the sins of the past; to offer himself wholly to God, prepared to cheerfully accept whatever may be His holy will; and to be ready to undergo death itself as a payment of the penalty due to his sins. with consoling words, the Priest bids him have great confidence in God, and to be assured that he will attain, through the riches of His exceeding bounty, a remission of temporal punishment, and the reward of everlasting life. The priest then says:

R. Qui fecit cœlum et terram.

Then,

OUR help is in the

name of the Lord.

R. Who hath made heaven and earth.

Ant. Remember not, O

Ant. Ne reminiscaris, Domine, delicta famuli tui Lord, the offences of Thy neque vindictam sumas de servant, neither take Thou

peccatis ejus.

revenge of his sins.

LEMENTISSIME O

Let us pray.

MOST gracious God,

Deus, Pater miseriFather of mercies cordiarum, et Deus totius and God of all comfort, consolationis, qui nemi- who wouldest not that any nem vis perire in te cre- should perish who believ dentem atque sperantem, eth and trusteth in Thee; multitudinem according to the multitude miserationum tuarum res- of Thy tender mercies, pice propitius famulum tu- look favorably upon Thy um N., quem tibi vera servant N., whom the true et spes Christiana Faith and Hope of Christ

secundum

fides