therefore, I beseech thee, with an ear of pity and compassion, to my humble and earnest request. I ask it, through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son; through that love and condescension wherewith He embraced our nature, when, in compliance with thy divine will, thou gavest thy consent, and whom, after the expiration of nine months, thou didst bring forth from the chaste enclosure of thy womb, to visit this world, and bless it with His presence. I ask it, through that anguish of mind wherewith thy beloved Son, our dear Saviour, was overwhelmed on Mount Olivet, when He besought His eternal Father, to remove from Him, if possible, the bitter chalice of His future passion. I ask it, through the threefold repetition of His prayers in the Garden, from whence afterwards, with dolorous steps and mournful tears, thou
