MORNING PRAYERS FOR PASCHAL TIME

             MORNING PRAYERS

             FOR PASCHAL TIME

During Paschal Time, the Christian, on waking in the morning, will unite himself with the Church, who, in her office of Matins, says to us these solemn words, which choirs of religious men and women, throughout the universe, have been chanting during the deep silence of the night:

Surrexit Dominus vere. Alleluia.

The Lord hath truly risen. Alleluia.

He will profoundly adore the Son of God rising from the Tomb, and surrounded with the dazzling rays of his grand triumph. He will hail him with delighted joy, as being the divine Son of Justice, who rises on the world that he may rescue it from the darkness of sin, and illumine it with the light of grace. It is with these ideas deeply impressed upon his mind, that he must perform his first acts of religion, both interior and exterior, wherewith he begins the day. The time for Morning Prayer being come, he may use the following method, which is formed upon the very prayers of the Church.

            MORNING PRAYERS

First, praise and adoration of the Most Holy Trinity:

V. Benedicamus Patrem et Filium, cum Sancto Spiritu.

R. Laudemus et superexaltemus eum in saecula.

V.  Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.

R.  Sicut erat in principio, et nunc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

V. Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

R. Let us praise him and extol him above all, for ever.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. 

R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Then, praise to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ:

V. In resurrectione tua, Christe, alleluia. 

R. Coeli et terra laetentur, alleluia.

V. In thy Resurrection, O Christ, alleluia.

R. Let heaven and earth rejoice, alleluia.

Thirdly, invocation of the Holy Ghost:

Veni, Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidélium, et tui amoris in eis ignem accende.

Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful, and enkindle within them the fire of thy love.

After these fundamental acts of religion, recite the Lord's Prayer, begging of God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would mercifully establish here upon earth, the kingdom of his divine Son, who has won for himself all power, in heaven and on earth, by the triumph gained over Death and Hell by his Resurrection; and that he vouchsafed to deliver us from evil, that is, from sin, which brought Death into this world, and made it necessary for Jesus himself to suffer that very Death, over which he gained victory both for himself and for us.

Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

Then, address our Blessed Lady, using the words of the Angelical Salutation. Congratulate her on the happiness, which her maternal heart must have felt, when she saw her Jesus after his Resurrection. How must she have exulted at the sight of her Son, all radiant with the splendour of his triumph! Her joy was the greater, because the Agony and cruel Death of this dear Fruit of her womb had pierced her soul with a sword of sorrow.

THE ANGELICAL SALUTATION

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with thee, Blessed art thou among women, And blessed is the fruit Of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners Now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

After this, you should recite the Creed, that is, the Symbol of Faith. It contains the dogmas we are to believe; and amongst these are the Resurrection of Christ, which is the foundation of the Christian religion, and the Ascension, which raises up our thoughts and hopes to heaven. You should dwell, with devout attention, on those words: I believe in the Holy Ghost, for it was during this season that this Spirit of love came down upon the earth in order to sanctify us. Repeat, with enthusiasm, the words, I believe the Holy Catholic Church, because this our Mother was installed in her glorious ministry by our Saviour, before his Ascension, and was made fruitful by the Holy Ghost's descending upon her. Finally, put on all the ardour of your faith, when you pronounce the words, I believe in the resurrection of the body; it will be a homage most pleasing to our Redeemer, who vouchsafed to communicate to our poor flesh the reality and glory of his own Resurrection.

THE APOSTLES CREED

Credo in Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae. Et in Jesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus et sepultus: Descendit ad inferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis. Ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dextram Dei Patris omnipotentis. Inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam Catholicam, sanctorum communionem, remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, vitam aeternam. Amen.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

After having thus made the Profession of your Faith, give praise to your divine Lord, who, early on the Sunday morning, rose from the Tomb by his own power. He, hereby, invited all men to share in the Easter joy, and, from the very midst of Death, enriched them with life. With this before you, recite the following Hymn, given you by the Church in her Office of Lauds during Paschal Time.

Hymn

Day-dawn gilds the heavens; the air re-echoes with our hymns, the world is triumphant and glad, and hell howls with fear and rage.

This is the hour when our most mighty King freed from the deep prison of death the venerable host of the fathers, and led them to the light of life.

A numerous body of soldiers keep watch at the Tomb; a stone is rolled against it, and all is sealed. But Jesus triumphs over death, and buries it in his own Grave.

A bright Angel cries out: "Away with mourning, tears, and grief! The conqueror of death is risen!"

That thou, O Jesus, mayst be an endless Paschal joy to our hearts, free us, who have been regenerated unto life, from the dread death of sin.

Glory be to God the Father, and to the Son who rose from the dead, and to the Paraclete, for everlasting ages. Amen.

Here make an humble confession of your sins, reciting the general formula made use of by the Church.

THE CONFESSION OF SINS

I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and to all the saints, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech the blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, to pray to our Lord God for me.

May Almighty God have mercy on us, and, our sins being forgiven, bring us to life everlasting. Amen.

May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon, absolution, and remission of our sins. Amen.

This is the proper place for making your Meditation, as no doubt you practise this holy exercise. During Paschal Time, the following should form the leading subjects of our Meditations: The power and glory of the Man-God in his Resurrection; the love he has shown us by giving us to share in his victory over death; the apparitions wherewith he consoled his Blessed Mother, Magdalene and the other holy women, the Apostles and Disciples; the forty days he passed on earth, previous to his Ascension; the glorious qualities of his Body after its Resurrection; our own Resurrection; the magnificence of the Ascension; the Descent of the Holy Ghost, and the preparation we should make for it; and lastly, the obligation we are under of walking in that new life which Easter brings with it, and which is the absolutely necessary means of our benefiting by the sublime Mysteries now brought before us.

The next part of your Morning Exercise must be the asking of God, by the following prayers, grace to avoid every kind of sin. Say, then, with the Church, whose Prayers must ever be preferred to all others:

V. Domine, exaudi orationem meam.

R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

Oremus  

Domine, Deus omnipotens, qui ad principium hujus diei nos pervenire fecisti, tua nos hodie salva virtute, ut in hac die ad nullum declinemus peccatum, sed semper ad tuam justitiam faciendam nostra procedant eloquia, dirigantur cogitationes et opera Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto thee.

Let us pray             

Almighty Lord and God, who hast brought us to the beginning of this day, let thy powerful grace so conduct us through it, that we may not fall into any sin, but that all pure thoughts, words, and actions may be regulated according to the rules of thy heavenly justice, and tend to the observance of thy holy law. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then beg the divine assistance for the actions of the day, that you may do them well, and say thrice:

V. Deus, in adjutorium meum intende.  

R. Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina.

V. Deus, in adjutorium meum intende.  

R. Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina.

V. Deus, in adjutorium meum intende.  

R. Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina.

Oremus  

Dirigere et sanctificare, regere et gubernare dignare, Domine Deus, Rex coeli et terrae, hodie corda et corpora nostra, sensus, sermones, et actus nostros in lege tua, et in operibus mandatorum tuorum, ut hic et in aeternum, te auxiliante, salvi et liberi esse mereamur, Salvator mundi. Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

V. Incline unto my aid, O God.  

R. O Lord, make haste to help me.

V. Incline unto my aid, O God.  

R. O Lord, make haste to help me.

V. Incline unto my aid, O God.  

R. O Lord, make haste to help me.

Let us pray

Lord God, and King of heaven and earth, vouchsafe this day to rule and sanctify, to direct and govern our souls and bodies, our senses, words, and actions in conformity to thy law, and strict obedience to thy commands; that by the help of thy grace, O Saviour of the world! we may be fenced and freed from all evils. Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.