E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
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76<br />
EXPLANATION <strong>OF</strong> <strong>THE</strong> LAVABO.<br />
which at his ordination were consecrated for the offering<br />
of the adorable Sacrifice, and not the hands, are washed<br />
to express that the priest should be clean wholly (see<br />
St. John xiii. 10). The Lavabo, that is, the verses from<br />
the 25th Psalm, run thus :<br />
1. I will wash my hands among the innocent:<br />
will encompass Thy altar, O Lord.<br />
and<br />
2. That I may hear the voice of praise, and tell of<br />
3.<br />
all Thy marvellous works.<br />
I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of Thy house<br />
and the place where Thy glory dwelleth.<br />
4. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked,<br />
nor my life with bloody men.<br />
5. In whose hands are iniquities : their right hand<br />
is filled with gifts.<br />
6. As for me, I have walked in my<br />
redeem me and have mercy on me.<br />
7. My foot hath stood in the right path<br />
churches I will bless Thee, O Lord.<br />
Glory be to the Father, &c.<br />
EXPLANATION <strong>OF</strong> <strong>THE</strong> LAVABO.<br />
innocence :<br />
: in the<br />
David s prayer to be delivered from exile and to<br />
worship God in His tabernacle is placed by the Church<br />
in the mouth of the priest. In the first verse David<br />
alludes to a custom among the Jews, who before<br />
entering into the Tabernacle purified themselves<br />
and the victims they offered, and this external washing<br />
is the sign of internal purity. David says, I will<br />
wash my hands among the innocent, as a sign<br />
of real inward purity, as an innocent person would<br />
wash them ; and not with the hypocrites, who do so<br />
with clean hands and unclean hearts.