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should respect religion. Nations should also keep the
Commandments of God, draw up laws according to the
Spirit of the Gospel and protect the Church and her
ministers. Finally, nations and their rulers are bound
to facilitate the preaching of the Gospel and divine
worship ; to reject all teaching contrary to faith ; to
suppress corrupt morals ; to punish the guilty. Nations
which are disloyal to God and His Church will be punish
ed, as were the Israelites whenever they abandoned
the Law of God and fell into idolatry. Nations must
not try to impede one another in the perform
ance of these different duties. As for infidel nations,
their rulers have no right to hinder the propagation
of the faith, to drive away missionaries, or persecute
the Christians. For God is the Sovereign Lord of
kings and of nations. Jesus Christ, as the Son of God,
commanded the apostles and their successors to preach
the Gospel to all nations.
In the Collect, the Church foreseeing the trials which
await her in the last days, invokes God as her protector
and her support. In the Secret, she begs of God through
the merits of the holy Sacrifice, that she may be deliver
ed from sin, and may find in Him a sure refuge from
every affliction. In the Postcommunion, enriched with
the divine gifts, she prays that she may use these gifts
to sustain and support all those who are weak.
The Introit prays that the Lord from whom flows all
mercy would not regard
the sins nor the debts of His
children, for no creature is able to stand the divine
wrath. This Introit harmonizes with the Gospel of the
previous Sunday which was formerly read in to-day s
Mass ;
it is also a forecast of the trials of the latter days,
when the sufferings of the faithful will seem as merited
punishment. The Gradual and the Alleluia extol the
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