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Church, and found its way into some of the Hymns of the Western Church. The Church of Rome seems to countenance it, by one of the Antiphons in the Lauds of the Feast; but it must be acknowledged, that she has never favoured this opinion, althongh she has not thought proper to condemn it. More- over, the Tomb of St. John once existed at Ephesus ; we have early traditions regarding it, and miracles are related which were wrought by the miraculous oil, which flowed, for centuries, from the Tomb.

Still, it is strange, that no mention has ever been made of any Translation of the Body of St. John; no Church has ever boasted of its possessing it; and as to particular Relics of this Apostle, they are not only very rare, but a great deal of vagueness has always clung to them. At Rome, when a Relic of St. John is asked for, the only one given is a small piece of the Tomb. With these facts before us, we are forced into the idea, that there is something mysterious in this total ignorance with regard to the Body of a Saint so dear to the whole Church ; whereas, the Bodies of all the other Apostles have been the subject of most interesting and detailed accounts, and we can namc the Churches which have possessed either the whole or a portion of their venerable re- mains. Has our Redeemer willed that the Body of his dear Disciple should be glorified before the Day of Judgment? Has he, in his own inscrutable designs, withdrawn it from the sight of man, as he did that of Moses? These are questions, which will, perhaps, never be solved on this earth; but it is almost im- possible not to acknowledge, as so many holy writers have done, that the mystery, wherewith it has pleased our Lord to shroud the virginal Body of St. John, may be considered as an additional reward given to the Disciple, whom he so tenderly loved; daring life, on account of his purity.

The Mass is given above, page 283.