Saint Matthias's Day.

And the lot fell upon Matthias; and
he was numbered with the eleven
Apostles.
ACTS i. 26.

JESUS, who caused the lot to fall,

And thus this holy saint did call
His staff to hold,

Gave charge of His own ransomed sheep,
By the great Father given to keep;
His guarded fold.

He knows them all, of them is known;
He knows, and goes before His own,
By stream and rock

To lead, and sheltered pastures give;
They hear, they follow, and they live,-
A gentle flock.

When one hath wandered from His sight, He seeketh it both day and night,

The mountains round;

And joy repayeth all His fears,

When to the fold He homeward bears

The lost, and found.

The roaring beasts He drives afar,

And wolves, that with more treacherous war
Come prowling nigh:

Their guileful hearts He knows full well,
Ready with His dear flock to dwell,
For them to die.

All praise to Thee, the Priest supreme, Through whom alone all blessings stream, The Eternal Son;

And may Thy ransomed heritage,

The glory sing from age to age,
God, Three in One.

Feed My sheep.

ST. JOHN xxi. 17.

My soul doth magnify the Lord,

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

ST. LUKE i. 46-48.

Was it nigh the fount at even,

In the palm-tree's spreading shade,
That the messenger of Heaven
Met the highly favoured maid?

Was she to her tasks attending,
Mindful of each homely care?
Or in grot, or chamber bending,
Pouring out her heart in prayer?

Wherefore ask? in service lowly,
As in prayer, the virgin mind,
To the Lord devoted wholly,

Doth alike His presence find.

Joy and peace shall never fail her
Walking in the light of Heaven,
Marvel not if angels hail her

Unto whom such grace is given.

Maiden, well thou know'st the story,
How the blessed Babe was born,
How that Virgin's crown of glory
May no other brow adorn.

But His handmaid still He seeketh,
Sends His angels e'en to thee,
Only say thou, when He speaketh,
"Let Thy word be done in me."

Even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in

the sight of God of great price.

Saint Mark's Day.

They that patiently abide the Lord, those shall inherit
the land.

PSALM XXXvii. 9.

BLESS'D are the poor in spirit, vile and low
In their own eyes; who their own frailties know;
The humblest here are highest in God's sight;
Theirs is the glorious realm of endless night.

Blessed are they who mourn, whose sighs, their own
And others' sins, with bitterness bemoan:
They sow in tears, and from each tear they weep,
They shall a thousand-fold of comfort reap.