ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS.
These are Thy ministers, these dost Thou own,
LORD GOD of Sabaoth, nearest Thy Throne;
These are Thy messengers, these dost Thou send,
Help of the helpless ones! man to defend.
These keep the guard amidst Salem's dear bowers,
Thrones, Principalities, Virtues, and Powers,
Where, with the Living Ones, mystical Four,
Cherubim, Seraphim bow and adore. Then, when the earth was first poised in mid space,
Then, when the planets first sped on their race,
Then, when were ended the six days' employ,
Then all the Sons of GoD shouted for joy.
Still let them succour us; still let them fight,
LORD of Angelic hosts, battling for right;
Till, where their anthems they ceaselessly pour,
We with the Angels may bow and adore. Amen.
" Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall 424 be heirs of salvation?" THEY come, GOD's messengers of love, They come from realms of peace above, From homes of never- fading light, From blissful mansions ever bright. They come to watch around us here, To soothe our sorrow, calm our fear: Ye heavenly guides, speed not away, GOD willeth you with us to stay. But chiefly at its journey's end Tis yours the spirit to befriend, And whisper to the faithful heart, " O Christian sou!, in peace depart. Blest JESU, Thou Whose groans and
tears
Have sanctified frail nature's fears, To earth in bitter sorrow weighed, Thou didst not scorn Thine Angel's aid;
An Angel guard to us supply, When on the bed of death we lie; And by Thine own Almighty power O shield us in the last dread hour. To GOD the FATHER, GOD the SON, And Gon the SPIRIT, THREE in ONE, From all above and all below Let joyful praise unceasing flow.
Amen.
These Hymns on the ministry of Angels may be sung, if desired, at other times.
St. Luke the Evangelist. " The brother, whose praise is in the 425 gospel."
WHAT thanks and praise to Thee we
owe,
O Priest and Sacrifice Divine,
For Thy dear Saint through whom we know
So many a gracious Word of Thine; Whom Thou didst choose to tell the
tale
Of all Thy Manhood's toils and tears, And for a moment lift the veil That hides Thy Boyhood's spotless years.
How many a soul with guilt oppressed Has learned to hear the joyful sound In that sweet tale of sin confessed, The FATHER's love, the lost and found!
How many a child of sin and shame Has refuge found from guilty fears Through her, who to the Saviour came With costly ointments and with tears!
What countless worshippers have sung
In lowly fane or lofty choir,
The song that loosed the silent tongue Of him who was the Baptist's sire!
And still the Church through all her days
Uplifts the strains that never cease, The Blessed Virgin's hymn of praise, The aged Simeon's words of peace.
O happy Saint! whose sacred page, So rich in words of truth and love, Pours on the Church from age to age This healing unction from above;
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The witness of the Saviour's life, The great Apostle's chosen friend Through weary years of toil and strife, And still found faithful to the end.
So grant us, LORD, like him to live, Beloved by man, approved by Thee, Till Thou at last the summons give, And we, with him, Thy Face shall see. Amen.
St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles.
" Just and true are Thy ways, Thou 426 King of Saints."
THOU Who sentest Thine Apostles Two and two before Thy Face, Partners in the night of toiling, Heirs together of Thy grace, Throned at length, their labours ended,
Each in his appointed place;