petty king or
tiny state, but we represent the entire Church, the well-beloved spouse
of Christ, to whose prayer He ever hearkens. _Sonet vox tua in auribus
meis; vox enim tua dulcis est_ (Canticle of Canticles, ii. 14). And St.
Bernard says "_Sacerdos publica persona et totius Ecclesie os_." Hence,
every priest is the ambassador of Christ and of His Church, the guardian
of His interests. And as it is the duty of ambassadors to study
carefully, to watch and further the interests of the kings whom they
represent, it is a priest's duty to study carefully and further the
interests of Christ's Church by the devout fulfilment of the great daily
duty, the recitation of the Divine Office. History brands as traitors
those ambassadors who through ignorance of the language of the foreign
court, or through want of vigilant attention, allow the interests of
their royal masters to suffer. What a punishment awaits the days and
years of ignorant, careless or inattentive fulfilment of the great
official work of a priest--the Divine Office.

Who are a priest's associates in this work? They are the thousands of
priests and religious throughout the world who say the Hours, and who
send up daily and nightly the great prayer of praise and thanksgiving to
God. _Secundum nomen tuum, sic et laus tua in fines terrae_ (ps. 47, v.
ii). _Dies diei eructat verbum et nox nocti indicat scientiam_ (ps. 18,
v. 3). In this holy work of reciting the Hours, we are united with the
angels and saints in heaven in honouring our common Creator; for, the
Church herself reminds us of this ineffable honour in the hymn for the
dedication of the Church:--

"Sed ilia sedes Coelitum
Semper resultat laudibus
Dumque trinum el unicum
Jugi canore jungimur
Almae Sionis aemuli."

"That house on high--it ever rings
With praises of the King of kings;
For ever there, on harps divine,
They hymn th' eternal One and Trine
We, here below, the strain prolong;,
And faintly echo Sion's song."

What are the ends for which the Office is said? (a) To glorify God, (b)
to help holy Church, and (c) to sanctify ourselves.

(a) "To glorify God," that is, to adore His infinite majesty, to thank
Him for his innumerable and constant blessings, to satisfy His justice
in expiating the sins of the world and to beg His grace and mercy. The
ends for which the Office are said are the same as those for