t-smelling incense upon the altar in the morning."(430) Hence we see
the Priest Zachariah "offer incense on going into the temple of the Lord.
And all the multitude were praying without at the hour of incense."(431)

You perceive that the altar is decorated today with _vases and flowers_
because this is a festival of the Church. There is one spot on earth which
can never be too richly adorned, and that is the sanctuary in which our
Lord vouchsafes to dwell among us. Nothing is too good, nothing too
beautiful, nothing too precious for God. He gives us all we possess, and
the least we can do in return is to ornament that spot which He has chosen
for His abode upon earth. The Almighty, it is true, has no need of our
gifts. He is rich without them. "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness
thereof." Nevertheless, He is pleased to accept our offerings when they
are bestowed upon Him as a mark of our affection, just as a father
joyfully receives from his child a present bought with his own means. Our
Savior gratefully accepted the treasures of the Magi, though he could have
done without such gifts. Some persons, when they see our sanctuary
sumptuously decorated, will exclaim: Would it not have been better to give
to the poor the money spent in purchasing these things? So complained
Judas (though caring not for the poor(432)) when Mary poured from an
alabaster vase the precious ointment on the feet of an approving Savior.
Why should not we imitate Mary by placing at His feet, around His
sanctuary, our vases with their chaste and fragrant flowers, that the
Church may be filled with their perfume, as Simon's house was filled with
the odor of the ointment?

Does not the Almighty at certain seasons adorn with lilies and flowers of
every hue this earth, which is the great temple of nature? And what is
more appropriate than that we should on special occasions embellish our
sanctuary, the place which He has chosen for His habitation among us? It
is sweet to snatch from the field its fairest treasures wherewith to
beautify the temple made with hands.

The _sacred vestments_ which you saw worn by the officiating Priest must
have struck you as very antique and out of fashion. Nor is this
surprising, for if you saw a lady enter church today with a head-dress
such as worn in the days of Queen Elizabeth, her appearance would look to
you very singular. Now, our priestly vestments are far older in style than
the days of Queen Elizabeth; much