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MtfRICAM
UTMWiUmK CO,N'
St.
Matt,
vii
BEAUTIFUL PEARLS
OF
CATHOLIC TRUTH
CONTAINING THE
BIBLE
AS INTERPRETED BY
DIVINE SAVIOUR
INCLUDING
THE HISTORY OF THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE: LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN: GOSPEL
STORY OF THE PASSION OF OUR LORD; GROUNDS OF CATHOLIC DOCTRINE: LIFE
AND WRITINGS OF ST. PETER: FAITH AND HOPE; FAITH AND REASON, ETC.
TOGETHER WITH
Bernard O'Reilly,
LL.D., His
TO WHICH
IS
.s,
CINCINNATI, OHIO
IN
THOMAS
In the office
M.
FITZGERALD,
at
Washington, D. C.
lOAt) STACK
SPECIAL NOTICE.
The
book
It
published exclusively for subscribers, and can only be obtained by ordering it of our authorized representatives who have secured agencies for
is
this
great work.
sriuted orices.
It
will
on no account be sold at
less
than regular
ini.W'i
Ijil
ct5tbi897
iii.:;iriuii,n,.;,u.iiyi'
^h^Uh
J(i.Jr.K.ii2k6ad.
Cer^son Depiitaliis.
ct6t!?i897
Arc\ih\^liop offlewMovk.
f
403
2008
IVIicrosoft
Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/beautifulpearlsoOOoreirich
Truth,"
of
writings
the
Cardinal
D. C.
Catholic
Manning,
Bishop
S. J.,
The volume
Among
woodcuts
as are
many
other
articles.
Washington, D.
Dear
I
Street N. W.,
C.
Sir
"
hope your
Yours sincerely,
Y//^'
a>
-SB
THB
STATIONS;.
OR.
CROSS.
THE ANTIPHON.
Thee, O Lord ! to assist and direct our actions by
btgin and end with Thee. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
T.'B beseech
Thy
all
may always
O Jesus,
the arms of
in this life,
treasure of
my
Thy
and glory
in the next.
Amen.
Jesus
^tatt0n
Christ
We
adore Thee,
is
I.
Lord Jesus
Christ,
and
bless Thee.
rv.
UR
Prayer.
victim of my sins
O suffering Jesus I have deserved those
bloody scourges, that cruel sentence of death and yet Thou didst die for
me, that I should live for Thee. I am convinced that if 1 desire to please
men, I cannot be Thy servant. Let me then displease the world and its vain
admirers.
I resign myself into Thy hands.
Let love take possession of my
heart ; let Tiy eyes behold with contempt everything that can alienate my affections from
Thee let my ears be ever attentive to Thy word let me through this painful journey
accompany Thee, sighing and demanding mercy. Mercy Jesus
Amen.
Our Father, &c. Hail Mary, &c.
Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us
Mangled
Vou pious
Station
Christ
is
I.
sentenced to death by
Pilate.
Station
II.
Chj^ist
his
shoulder.
Station
n.
We
adore Thee,
Lord Jesus
Christ,
iv.
j^HIS second
Redeemer
Him
is
inhuman
garment of derision with which Hewas clothed, when as a visionary
king they crowned Him with plaited thorns. The heavy burthen of the Cross
Is violently placed on His mangled shoulders.
Behold your gracious Saviour, though torn with wounds, covered with blood, a man
of griefs, abandoned by all
with what silent patience He bears the taunts and injuries
the
with which
Jews insult Him. He stretches out His bleeding arms, and tenderly emReflect with confusion on that sensitive pride which is fired with imbraces the Cross.
patience at the very shadow of contempt on your discontented murmurs in your lightest
afflictions
and your obstinate resistance to the will of Heaven in the crosses of life,
clad in his usual attire, after His
of
the purple
which are calculated to conduct you. not to a Calvary of Crucifixion, but to joys of eternal
glory and from your heait unite in the following
;
Prayer.
EEK AND HUMBLE Jesus my iniquity and perverseness loaded Thy shoulders
!
shameful ingratitude!
fly
charity.
Our
Amen.
Jesus.
Father, &c.
Glory, &c.
No
Lamb was
As a mock King
my
to
be found
^tatian III
yesiis falls the first time
We adore Thee, O
Lord Jesus
Christ,
Iv.
CI?c IHystery.
^HIS
overwhelmed by the
Christ,
falls
to the
ground the
time.
first
and
infirmity,
presume
and blasphemies.
and beholding your amiable Jesus prostrate under the Cross, excite
sallies
in
of temper
yourself a just
sins,
afflicted
Jesus
Prayen
LAS, MY Jesus
Thy inhuman
burthen of
sinful
will
Our
Amen,
Jesus
;
that
stretch
may
Thy
holy hand to
at the
my
Glory, &c.
!
He
And on His
bitter
have shed
assistance, that
Je.sus.
Father, &c.
my
art.
way unmurmering
goes.
false
and
'^f
attachments
salvation.
to the earth.
Thou dost not refuse new tortures for me. Will I then refuse the light
Thy commandments will I refuse to do violence to my perverse passions and
delusive tears
fall
Thee
crush
sins,
executioners, the
affair
of
my
Station
^B^^^/vL
/k^ik^^^^^lB^^^B'
.^HH^KN,'*^^^^Sf^^^^V>v,^jH
III.
/^^^^^^^^^T '^'^^^wH^
\^^mj^:u^m^
^^^^^^^^H
IWr^/'
^^^^J^HL.
^F^^NI^iA
-iilP^^^^'Hi
"^^^
V^ls-----^ v^^h/JKIIHL ^^
JFI^IPm w
I::
::
fir,st
i^
Station
IV.
<CAN
uTMowuvwc ea,t
^tatim TV,
yesus carrying the Cross, meets His most
Iv.
We
adore Thee,
Lord Jesus
afflicted
Mother,
Christ,
(EI?e
'HE
Znystery,
late
Jesus, staggering
soul,
Jesus
covered with blood, dragged violently to the place of execution, reviled and
rabble.
looks of silent agony exchanged between the Mother and the Son
Him
to death.
confusion at the thought that neither the Son's pains nor Mother's grief have softened
the hardness of your heart, contritely join in the following
Prayer,
MARY
am
alive
cold,
refuge of sinners
Cross,
soul,
let
me
when thou
par-
didst
Mournful Mother
fountain of love
let
me
may weep with thee, and mingle my tears with thine, and
thy Son's blood.
O suffering Jesus by Thy bitter passion, and the heart-breaking compassion of Thy afflicted Mother, grant me the efficacious grace of perseverance
Mother
feel the force
death receive
Our
me
me
to the
Father, &c.
Jesus, behold
me
with,
an eye of
Amen,
pity,
and
Jesus.
Glory, &c.
With feeble
At
last
step, in
Exclaiming
My Son, my
He
heart
can see
is
in the
hour of
my
^tottan y.
Chriil assisted by Simon the Cyrenean
V. We
adore Thee,
Lord Jesus
to
Christ,
tv.
*HE
fifth
it,
in their
to
Him
to the
Cross.
Consider here the repugnance of Simon to carry the Cross after Christ
and
that
you with repugnance, and by compulsion, carry the Cross which Providence has placed on
who
you
to take
up your
your shoulders.
Him
Will you yet with shameless ingratitude refuse the Cross, sanc-
by His suffering
tified
invites
Prayer*
SUFFERING
proceed
Beholding Thee
faint
Have
tlieir
and deplore
heart cheerfully
it
in
my
executioners' cruelty
Thee by my crimes ?
with which Thy mercy
to detest
Thy impious
my
sinful impatience,
accompany Thee
Amen, Jesus.
Our Father, &c.
to
my
Have
visited
me
Inspire
let
me
Thee.
Glory, &c.
furious Jews
Simon
when
Jesus fainting
fell
And follow
the
Lamb
me
live in
my Jesus,
me with all
now,
Mount Calvary
in
Station V.
Station VI
imMAM'cCa.ti*
Station YI.
Veronica presents a handkerchief to Christ.
We
adore Thee,
Lord Jesus
Christ,
Jtv.
ZHystery.
(El?e
I^HE
ating our agonizing Redeemer, beholding His sacred face livid with blows
this
to
is
Reflect here, that though you cannot personally discharge the debt of humanity
to
it
Though you
you can wipe away the
cannot wipe away the blood and sweat from the face of Jesus,
made
his face.
of Jesus.
terchief,
and
Prayer*
^^
JESUS, grant me
_^
the world
and
its
my
my
vanities
Let
me
soul, that
Amen, Jesus!
Our Father, &c.
ingratitude.
weep my
tears to
my
soul
Thy
sufferings, to fix
I,
infatu-
them on
it
Glory, &c.
often have
glory.
How
yn.
^taticn
iv.
We adore Thee, O
Lord Jesus
Christ,
and
time.
bless Thee.
(Ct^e 2Tiystcry.
'HE
seventh Station represents the gate of Jerusalem, called the gate of Judg-
ment, at the entrance of which our Saviour, through anguish and weakness,
He
ground.
to the
falls
is
rise.
fall,
and
your haughty
pressed
Him
and proud
spirit
to the
disposition.
It
and pride of
sins
which again
Will you then sin again, and add to the afflictions of your
ground.
gracious Saviour?
praycn
MOST
Holy Redeemer
led
and honor
out to punishment
weakness of Thy
to the earth.
I
am
tion,
the
delicate
What
spirit
humble Jesus.
Our
of pride.
my heart
Teach
my
ambitious pride,
may
my
Alas,
my
Jesus
haughty indigna-
Glory, &c.
To save our
a second time
my mind
fall
Amen.
Father, &c.
didst
unhappy
my
through
erring souls
my meek and
Station VII.
UIHPOOAPHrC CO
efMT.r'v.
'^>
time.
Station VIII.
Ghf^ist
him.
Vni.
Station
Christ consoles the
We
adore Thee
Women of
Lord Jesus
yerusalem,
who wept
over
Him.
Christ,
rv.
!HIS Station represents the place where several devout women meeting
Jesus,
in
Consider the excessive love of Jesus, who, though languishing and half
"
Weep
the sources of
They merited
is
my
affliction.
Yes,
O my
soul
will
obey
my
Weep
for
suffering Lord,
mouth of
your
sins,
and pour
Address
Him
the following
Prayer*
who will give water to my head,
and a fountain of tears to my eyes, that I may day and night weep and
lament my sins ? I humbly beseech Thee by these tears of blood Thou didst
shed for me, to soften my flinty bosom, that tears may plentifully flow from
my
eyes,
render
me
secure
in
heart, this
hardened
heart, to cancel
Father, &c.
my
crimes and
Our
my
Glory, &c.
With
O Lamb of
to
me.
to
judge
Jesus.
^tattan IX.
yesus falls under the Cross the third
We adore Thee, O
Lord Jesus
Christ,
time.
rv.
IHystcry,
(EI?c
^HIS
Mount
wounds
is
Him
many
to rise
Injuries
and hasten
to
Approach Him
weight of
if
in
of His
renewed.
Cross.
The anguish
Him
to
Him
expire on the
thought to the foot of Mount Calvary, and cry out against the accursed
in
the flames of
hell,
His mercy and the merits of His passion had not preserved thee.
Prayer*
CLEMENT
Jesus
return
Thee
infinite
ungrateful sinner, as
their sins.
sin,
perseverance,
children of
Our
kindle
until,
Father, &c.
co-heirs.
Amen, Jesus
Glory, &c.
On
To
save
my
Station
IX.
Station X.
Jesus
is
^taiwn X*
yesus
We
is
adore Thee,
Lord Jesus
Christ,
rv.
Ct?e ttlystery.
!HIS Station represents how our Lord Jesus Christ ascended Mount Calvary,
off with
The
skin
Consider the confusion of the modest Lamb, exposed naked to the con-
Condemn
a refreshment.
you
flatter
your
Pray here
sinful body.
die
gall for
if,
its
Think
Prayer.
Buffering
Jesus
old.
Thy
Divest
to foot, insulted
my
soul of
pleasure, that
tion arrive at
Our
head
its
my
its
Glory, &c.
in the pres-
cold,
tremb-
deceitful affections.
wounds
Father, &c.
old
Christian mortifica-
3ttttwn
Christ
Iv.
We
adore Thee,
is
Lord Jesus
XL
Christ,
(n?e JTtystcry*
.HIS Station represents the place where Jesus
afflicted
mother,
the torture
is
Christ, in the
and nailed
to
presence of Hia
How insufferable
it.
nails.
your criminal
and
desires,
nail
Son of God
to the will of
will
Contemplate
of God.
Prayer.
PATIENT
Jesus
and
nail
it
cut,
but spare
be done
to the
me crucify my
me for eternity.
Let
in all things
Amen, Jesus.
Our Father, &c.
meek Lamb
of
God
When I shall be
I will draw all things to myself," attract my heart to Thee,
Cross.
I now renounce and detest my past impatience.
Grant
who promised,
me
resignation, grant
me Thy
Glory, &c.
"
Thy
love,
mercy.
Thy
will
desire no more.
Station XI.
Jesus
is
Station XII.
Christ
is
Xn.
Station
Christ
We adore Thee, O
is
Lord Jesus
Christ,
and
and
dies.
bless Thee.
fv.
!HIS Station represents the place where Jesus Christ was publicly exalted or.
the Cross between two robbers, who, for their enormous crimes, were executed
with the innocent Lamb.
?)^
His clemency
me
is
in Paradise."
beloved
St.
John.
" This
day
shalt thou
be with
spirit.
eternal captivity.
Prayer,
SUFFERING
of death
Son of God
Thy veins
distilling blood.
Thou
didst pray,
my
Jesus, for
Thy
enemies.
forgive mine.
embrace them
in the
bowels of Thy charity. I bury my resentment in Thy wounds. Shelter me in the day of
wrath in the sanctuary of Thy side. Let me live, let me die, in my crucified Jesus.
Amen.
Our
Father, &c.
Hail Mary, &c.
Glory, &c.
Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us
I
Christ
Iv.
We
adore Thee,
is
taken
Lord Jesus
down from
Christ,
the Cross.
d?e mystery.
>HIS Stition represents the place where Christ's most sacred body was taken
down from the Cross by Joseph and Nicodemus, and laid in the bosom of His
weeping Mother.
Consider the sighs and tears of the Virgin Mother, with what pangs she
embraced the bloody remains of her beloved Jesus. Here unite your tears with those of
the disconsolate Mother.
Reflect that your Jesuj wouM not descend from the Cross until
He consummated the work of redemption and that at His departure from, as well as at
His entrance into the world, He would be placed in the bosom of His beloved Mother.
Hence learn constancy in your pious resolutions cleave to the standard of the Cross.
Consider with what purity that soul should be adorned which receives, in the blessed
Sacrament of the Eucliarist, Christ's most sacred body and blood.
;
Prayer*
T LENGTH, O
Blessed Virgin
Mother of sorrow thou art permitted
to embrace thy beloved Son.
But alas the fruit of thy immaculate womb
is all over mangled, in one continued wound.
Yes, O Lord the infernal
!
Thee by our
sins,
inflicting
new wounds.
yet
we renew
Most
afflicted
their barbarity,
Redeemer,
as
let
me embrace
Tliee,
my
When
my
common
my sins,
mother of
As
often
Jesus, in the
my
salvation.
Station XIII
Christ
is
Station XIV.
m-fHitiH i.r.-ji;i*WiiCa).1
Christ
is
laid in the
Holy Sepulchre.
XIV.
Station
V We
.
adore Thee,
Lord Jesus
Christ,
and
bless Thee.
Iv.
d?e
IHystcry,
.HIS Station represents Christ's Sepulchre, where His oiessed body was
with piety and devotion.
laid
Consider the emotions of the Virgin her eyes streaming with tears, her
bosom heaving with sighs. What melancholy, what wisttul looks she cast on
that monument where the treasure of her soul, her Jesus, her all, Jay entombed.
Here
lament your want of contrition for your sins, and humbly adore your deceased Lord,
who, poor even in death, is buried in another's tomb. Blush at your dependence on the
world,
its.
perishable advantages.
Prayen
"HARITABLE
of the
Jesus, for
Let
Cross.
the
Redeemer
life,
painful journey
Thee, gracious
conduct to the
heavenly Jerusalem.
Would that Thou wert entombed in my heart, that
being united to Thee, I might rise to a new life of grace, and persevere to the end.
Grant me, in my last moments, to receive Thy precious Body, as the pledge of immortal
Let my last words be Jesus and Mary, my last breath be united to Thy last breath
on the Cross that with a lively faith, a firm hope and ardent love, I may die with Thee
and for Thee that I may reign with Thee for ever and ever. Amen, Jesus. Our Father,
&c. Hail Mary, &c. Glory, &c. Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on us
life.
You
And join
Who
To
(lortclusion.
^
Jm
^1
^,|i^ OMPASSIONATE Jesus behold with eyes of mercy this devotion I have endeavored to perform,
in honor of Thy bitter passion and death, in order to obtain remission of my sins, and the pains
incurred
by them. Accept of it for the salvation of the living and the eternal repose of the
(WfM)
!
Vy)^#r
^^^^
ineffable price of
Thy blood
The
voice of
to
be
than
whom
nor
my
fruitless,
my
Amen,
directed
it.
Do
not,
my
Have mercy
then,
it,
to perish.
Lord
have
CONTENTS.
The Teaching of the Twelve.
Jesus Christ.
How
Old
Tes-
Legends of St.
tament.
St.
Towns of the
P'rancis.
Antony of Padua.
Bible.
St.
Thomas Aquinas.
Way
of the Cross.
The Little
the Poor.
How
in
the
Profession of Faith.
Sisters of
of Immutable
of Advent.
Pearls from the Hidden Treasures of Holy Mass
The Ministry of
The Furniturk
The Tabernacle in the Wilderness; The Molten Sea; High Priest in "Linen
"
by
Truth.
Robes
Leper.<;.
and
in "
Saint
Jesus.
Testament.
Bible Atlas
Showing
THE Bible.
INS
in
A Comprehensive History
OF THE BOOKS OF
BERNARD
REV.
Author of
'
-I^roic
Women
O'REILLY,
L D.
(LAVAL.)
"The Mirror
of True Womanhood,"
The Whole Beautifully Illustrated with Appropriate and Select Scripture Subjects.
Copyright, 18&4.
INTRODUCTORY.
Most
them
how would
their
own
and to
all
nobleness of
of books, the
life?
He
God, with whom He is eternally one in the unity of the Godhead, by the sweet and endearing
name of Father.
world.
And
fallen in
Adam,
Adam and
his
therefore His
descendants could
*The word "bible" is of Greek origin. The Egyptian reed papyrus (ancient
Egyptiat V/) was called pj^xoj, i}'i/os, by the Greeks, and from its innermost bark or cuticle, covering the p^j<, was made the papyrus or paper which, when
written upon, was denominated /JijSjloj.
A bundle of these scrolls was given
Ihe name of 3i/3j.tov
and the nomin.ntive plural /3tf3xta, was adopted by the
Latins,
we now
and the
BiBLE, that
Testaments.
call the
New
is,
the col
and of Henoch.
write, for the instruction of all future time, the story of the creation
of the world, of man's origin, of his elevation and fall, and of the
Promise thus successively committed, like God's will and testament, to Adam, to Seth, to Noe, to Abraham, and to Moses in
behalf of our fallen and disinherited race.
To the five books (Pentateuch) left us by Moses others were
added age after age, completing the story of God's dealings witli
mankind, till God's own Son at length came down on earth,
uniting our human nature with His Godhead, and to all who
receive him as their Redeemer He giveth "power to be made the
Sons of God."
Of Him the Saviour, the Promised One the Old Testament is
full as well as the New.
What wonder, then, seeing that God's
faithful servants under the law of nature, and God's chosen people
under the Mosaic law, were alike, upon earth, the Family of the
Almighty Father what wonder, if in that family, men and
women, generation
and most
make of
the Sacred
profitable meditation ?
a)
HISTORY Or
each as
it
And
since His
do His
to
which
He
lift
man
omon
still
lowliest,
in
instructs
princes
God, and
images of
the godlike men, who, since' Adam, have glorified the Creator of
mankind as well as human nature itself.
all
Law
Son, "the sweet singer of Israel." The church, spread all over
the earth, uses his Psalms of prayer and praise in her solemn
offices ; and her children, in their private devotions, ever find in
these heart-cries of the nnx:h-tried David the very sentiments and
words most suited to their needs in good and ill fortune, in trial
and
in temptation.
And
IIBLE.
how we
fancied
around His
to be
ourselves
crib,
or travelling
jrith
Him
Him
shop
the
lovingly obedient to
obscure
work?
And
then
preaching, healing,
How
we loved
in the carpenter's
and patient
toil
He grew up
in imagination's
all
these years of
for
Have we not, in our turn, reid to our dear parents in their hour
of darkness and trial in poverty, or sickness, or when the shadow
of death was over the home sane one sweet passage, more pregnant
with heavenly light and consolation than the others, which made
once more sunshine in their louls, which lifted up the fainting
heart, which filled the spirit of our sorely-tried dear ones with renewed hopes and strength to doandto endure, which enabled them
to bear the bitter pang of pBsent losses in view of the eternal
reward or which made the passage from this life to the next
bright, lightsome, joyous and ixultant, like the blessed bridals of
God?
how wonderfully
the children of
And
see
thit all-wise
to
end ordereth
all
then
from history.
Have we
side,
pher
They remain distinct J'om all other peoples while living
among them 'mingling with Europeans, Africans, Asiatics and
1
Americans
in
every walk of
preserving their
own
Ijfe
and
field
clearly
faith
HOLY CATHOLIC
BIBLE.
Anciently the Jews divided these books into " the Law and the
tnd to the abiding faith of their ancestors and themselves in the
Prophets."
Down to the time of our Lord the Jewish teachers
promised Redeemer.
The conquering and widely dominating races of Babylon, Nine- had devised various arbitrary divisions of the Old Testament
They were agreed in giving to the Pentateuch, or five
veh, Persia, and Egypt have utterly disappeared from the face of books.
We can dig up from the Mesopotamian plains gigantic books of Moses, the appellation of Torah, " the Law." But
the earth.
the ornaments of palaces and temples contemporary with under the designation of " The Prophets " they included, together
statues
Heber and Abraham and we discover far beneath the surface of with the twelve lesser prophets and the three greater (Isaias, Jerethe ruin-strewed earth whole chambers crowded with inscribed mias, and Ezechiel), Josue, Judges, and the Four Books of Kings.
bricks and cylinders, the fragmentary annals of kingdoms grown Under the designation ol Hagiographa (Hebrew, Chetubim, "writBut the wild nomadic tribes ings ") they classed all the other Scriptures of the Hebrew canon,
old before Rome had been founded.
who aid the discoverer in his researches are not the descendants whether historical, prophetical, didactic, or poetical.
The Jewish authors of the Greek or Septuagint version of the
of the mighty races who ruled there upward of three thousand years
These have left upon earth no lineal heirs to the land, to its Old Testament deviated from this classification, giving the books
ago.
of Scripture in the order which we have them both in the Latin
ruins, or to its glories.
Modern curiosity and modern science have Vulgate and in the Douay Bible.
So is it with Egypt.
However, as modern biblical scholars have agreed to treat of these
found their way into the very heart of the Pyramids, and rifled the
books in the more convenient order of
we
the
venerable
who
')uilt
them
have
penetrated
monarchs
the
tombs of
The Pentateuch, The Historical Books, The Prophets,
deepest cave-sepulchres of the Valley of Kings at Thebes the Magnificent and Incomparable. Bu\. the sordid Arab and ignorant Fellah, The Poetical Books,
We shall follow this classification in our remarks.
who serve as guides and workmen to the explorer, have no thought
of claiming descent from or kinship with the ancient people who
I.
inhabited the Nile Valley in its days of surpassing glory.
The descendants of Joseph and Aaron do, indeed, still live and
five books
formed in the origIt is most probable that these
thrive amid the modern cities along the shores of the great river
The present
inal Hebrew only one volume or roll of manuscript.
but of the warlike people who went forth under the Pharaohs to title 71 Ttivtdtsvxoi ((3i'j3^o5), "the fivefold book"
was bestowed
enslave the surrounding nations, no trace is left save in the tombs on it by the Greek translators.
To them also may be, in all likeliwhere the mummies of princes, priests, and warriors have slept for hood, attributed the division of the books as each now stands,
three thousand years beside the remains of the dumb animals they together with the Greek titles which distinguish them.
In the
had, in life, worshiped in place of the living God
Hebrew manuscripts the only division known was that into small
Even so is it in the once imperial Rome. Not even the proudest sections called parshijoth and sedarim, which had been adopted for
of her living nobles, much less the lower and middle classes of her the convenience of the public reader in the synagogue.
actual population, can establish any claim to direct descent from the
Of all books ever written, this fivefold book of Moses is the only
families who dwelt there under the consuls or under the emperors.
one that enlightens us with infallible certainty on the origin of all
Thus, in every civilized country beneath the sun, and every day things in this universe, visible and invisible ; on the creation of
on which that sun rises, we have these two immortal societies stand- mankind and their destinies on their duties, during this life, toing before us, side by side the Jewish synagogue and the Catholic ward their Almighty Creator and toward each other, and on the
Church and presenting to us the Old and the New Testaments as rewards and punishments of the eternal life hereafter.
the Revealed Will of the one true and living God who is the
In its first pages we see how our Divine Benefactor prepares this
For the divinity earth to become the blissful abode of our first parents and their
Creator and the Judge of the whole race of man.
of the Old Testament Scriptures and the faith in the Promised descendants.
We read of the compact or covenant which He
Messiah the Jewish race has borne unfaltering and heroic witness makes with Adam and Eve ; then comes the violation of that comfor three thousand years ; to the divinity of the New Testament and pact ; and then the fall and banishment of the transgressors from
THE PENTATEUCH.
'
'
'
'
the fulfillment of
the Catholic
turies.
And
all
twofold testimony
fills
all
noonday
sun.
tian
who
sets
more
store
The Pentateuch*
or
five
The Law.
Then come
the
historical
From
the
vessel.
The
ably, from the fact that the ancient manuscripts or rolls of writing
cylinders or vessels
when
not in use.
first
delightful abode.
faithful servants of
were pjoced in
We
see the
human
their
Creator destroys the entire race, with the exception of one good
man and
his family.
man, Noe, and with his three sons, God once more
They are the parents
renews the covenant made in the beginning.
of the human family as it now exists. But their descendants, counting, probably, on the long life of many centuries hitherto enjoyed
by mankind as a privilege not to be taken away from themselves,
soon fall into the old self-worship, the abominable sensuality, and
the demon-worship begotten of pride, and following it as its sure
chastisement. God, to preserve as a living faith the Promise in the
With
this
five
books.
for
title
means
"birth," just as the first word bereschith in the Hebrew text means "in the beginGenesis, therefore, gives us, in its first chapters, the brief and inspired history
ning."
of the birth and first beginning both of the world and of mankind.
creation,
the
of
St. Paul, in his epistle to the infant church of the Colossians (i. 12-17), tells them
hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in
that "the Father
delivered
us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us
Who hath
light.
into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption through His
blood, the remission of sins; ... for in Him were all things created in heaven
.
Him
all
things consist."
Before the coming of Christ the whole pagan world was plunged in darkness impenetrable concerning the origin of man and the world, and the sublime destinies appointed
Christian teaching disin Christ for Adam and his posterity in the very beginning.
pelled this midnight darkness and revealed to all believers both the secret of man's
We,' children
origin and the incomprehensible glory of his supernatural destinies.
of the nineteenth century of Christian civilization, being thus made "partakers of the
lot of the saints in light," can find unspeakable pleasure in standing with the inspired penman at the very first beginning of God's wys, and in allowing our souls
to dwell
on the contemplation of
his magnificence
of His
infinite
infinite love.
According to the definition of the late general council 01 the Vatican, renewing the
dogmatic decree of another general council also held in Rome, God in the beginning
of time created that is, brought from a state of absolute non-existence into full and
Man
complete existence both the material universe and the world of angelic spirits.
was only created after these.
Word
Moreover, all things were created in and by the uncreated and eternal Son and
in heaven and on earth, visible and inof the Almighty Father, "all things
Thus,
visible, whether Thrones, or Dominations, or Principalities, or Powers.'
magnificence,
together with the world of matter in all its inconceivable variety and
...
was created the world of angelic spirits, in their own different orders of greatness,
goodness, wisdom, beauty, and loveliness to be, in the design of their Creator and
King, associated afterward with man and his heavenly destin'.es- They, too ^befbra
man appeared on earth had their own eventful history. They v/ere created freefree to love their Divine Benefactor and to consecrate to him in dutiful and devoted
or free to refuse such service
service the life and exalted powers He had given them
to the Highest.
jg^'iBai^il
Many chose to serve their own pride, and were forever separated from God and
from the glorious abode of everlasting bliss, where He reveals His inmost being and
shares His inmost life with His faithful ones. Many more yielded rapturous submission
and lowly service to their most loving and magnificent Lord and Father, and they were
forthwith exalted to the unchangeable possession of Himself and His Kingdom.
So, in these first verses and pages of Genesis the Book of Origins we are treading
on abysses of revealed truth of truth which explains to us both the world beneath and
around us, and that unmeasured world which extends on all sides above and beyond
our little globe, both the world we can see with the bodily eye and touch with this
hand of flesh, and the unseen realities of that world far otherwise glorious, in which
the Lord of Hosts Himself is the central Sun of spiritual beings innumerable, whose
brightness and glory is shadowed 'brth dimly in the starry hosts of the firmament above
our heads.
He,
the Angels.
little less
by
too,
was created
free to
between a
loving submission and devoted service to his Maker, and obedience to his own weak
will.
Raised so high, surrounded with such lavish wealth of gifts and graces, "crowned
with glory and honor, and set over the works" of God's hands here below, he oo
freely disobeyed and sinned, and was separated from the Most Holy God.
Not separated hopelessly and forever; for the merciful Son, whose work man was,
took on Himself to expiate, in His own o;ood time, the awful guilt of man's ingratitude
and disobedience.
The promise that He would do so \/as deposited in the sorrowing hearts of our first
parents, when they were justly uanished from their beautiful abode in the earthly paraThis is the Promise and tk Hope kept alive in the long line of patriarchs
dise.
extending from Abel and Seth to Abraham.
Genesis, from the end of the third chapter to its close, is but the history of thii
immortal Hope, and the other books of the Pentateuch do but describe the national
institutions, political and religious, by and through which this Hope was to be preserved undimmed among the universal darkness cf Heathendom, till the Star of Beth*
lehem warned Israel that the Light of the World was come.
THE BOOK OF EXODUS.The title is a Greek word, meaning " a going out " or
' departure,' because its chief purpose is to describe the miraculous means by which God
enabled Moses to lead the people of God out of Egypt in order that He might, in the
wilderness of Mount Sinai, renew more solemnly His covenant with them, and give theso
such national laws and institutions as would distinguish them from all other peoples.
'
iilBLE.
Jews.
The central fact and miracle in the book is the passage of the
Red Sea so strikingly typical of Christ's pas; n in Jerusalem,
and of the manner in which the Cross wrought our redemption.
Tlie paschal lamb, whose blood on the Hebrew door-posts saved
many unto remission of sins" (Matt. xxvi. 28), clearly points out
fhe identity of the Victim, and of the redeeming Blood, both in
the eucharistic celebration
Calvary.
and
in
the fearful
consummation of
by the
It is
and perfection
His supreme struggle ; it was symbolical of the ex- typified the Lamb of God immaculate ; purity in the pontiffs,
tremity of weakness and shame in the Sufferer the Almighty priests, and inferior Levites who ministered at the altar, and purity
Power thus shining forth in this very extremity. Even so did the also in the people who offered the victims for sacrifice or assisted
aged Aaron's staff in the hand of Moses open a pathway through at its celebration ; all these are inseparably connected with the
the waves for God's people in their dire need, and overwhelm in notion of worship ; all these form the subject of the various ordiutter destruction Pharaoh and his pursuing hosts.
nances of Leviticus ; and all point most significantly to the far
The fatal tree had been in the Garden the occasion of Adam's greater moral perfection and far higher purity of heart and hand
downfall and of the ruin of his posterity ; a feeble staff in the hands required of the priests and people of the New Law, when they
of Moses works out the liberation of the chosen race and effects the approach its altar.
destruction of their enemies: even so did our Divine Deliverer
tread the Red Sea of His passion with all its abysses of shame and
THE BOOK OF NUMBERS.It is so named from the double
degradation, dividing the waves of the sanguinary multitude by His numbering or census of the Israelites mentioned, the first, in chapcross of ignominy, and allowing Himself to be nailed to the accursed ters i.-iv., and, the second, in chapter xxvi.
It contains, moreTree and to hang therefrom in death as the true fruit of saving over, the history of their wanderings in the desert, from their
Redeemer
in
The whole
ievfl"\tion to
life
book
U so called
because
promised land.
The new
people,
as they
came within
of Palestine, were nearly all born in the wilderness; they had not tasted of the bitterness of Egyptian servitude, nor had they witnessed the terrible display of Jehovah's
power at the passage of the Red Sea. It was necessary, therefore, that he who, under
God, had been the guide and parent of the nation in the crisis of its fate, should remind
his followers of what God had done for them, and explain how truly the law which He
gave them was a law of love Ihat the Covenant of the Most High with Israel was one
pregnant with untold blessings to iM who would faithfully observe it, while its violation
was sure to be visited by the most awful chastisements.
Hence the Book is mainly taken up with the record of three discourses of the great
Hebrew Lawgiver, delivered, all of them, in the plains of Moab, on the lofty eastern
The country itself, the theatre of the
side of the Jordan, overlcoiiig the Dead Sea.
most terrible vengeance of the outraged Majesty of Heaven on a favored but deeply
sinning race, was eloquent of the suddenness and certainty of the divine retribution.
Abraham, the father of the mighty multitude now assembled around Moses, had in his
day witnessed the (uKe of the guilty " cities of the plain " of Jordan. A brackish sea
now rolled its sullen waters where they had once stood in their besuty and pride amid
Beyond and above toward the north, extended the fertile
all the fairest fruils of earth.
regions amid which Abraham and Sara had once tarried as pilgrimSj and which had been
promi-sed as a lasting homestead to their posterity.
How WeU raight Moses, himself about to close his earthly career, urge upon that
posterity with all the fervor of a patriot and a parent the duty of being true to the God
of Israel, c>f observing lovingly that law which distinguished them from all the
peoples of the earth, and fidelity to which should ensure them victory over every
U)e, v/ith all the blessings of uninterrupted peace and prosperity
I. The first discourse (chaps, i. to iv. 40) vividly recalls the causes for which their
immediate ancestors were not allowed to take possession of the national territory. Then
foUows a most touching and eloquent exhortation to the perfect obedience in which
"And now, O Israel, hear the com<heir fathers had been so lamentably deficient.
mandments and judgments which I teach thee that doing them, thou mayst live,
and entering in mayst possess the land which the Lord the God of your fathers will
give you " (iv. i).
:
There is nothing in the Old Testament more impressive or more fruitful in lessons
of heroic generosity for parents and children and all who fear God, than these sublime
"Behold, I
pages, into which the dying Moses seems to have poured his great soul.
shall
pass
and possess
over
the
not
pass
you
shall
Jordan
Moab)
;
I
die in this land (of
:
8
Beware
which
2.
He
hath
made with
The second
lest
thee
"
iv.
God
22, 23.
One
" Hear,
God
is,
The
up"
(viii. 3, 4, 5).
govern the people after Moses the duty of binding the whole nation, when in possession of the landof Chanaan, to give themselves a solemn sanction to this covenant with
God, by the alternate blessings on the obedient observers and curses on the transThe entire
gressors, to be uttered near the grave of Joseph in the Valley of Sichem.
ceremonial to be observed in this memorable national solemnity is minutely detailed
by the legislator.
God's grace, vouchsafed abundantly even then to His children in view of the future
" This commandmerits of His incarnate Son, will not fail the subjects of this law.
ment that I command thee this day, is not above thee, nor far off from thee. Nor is
Which of us can go up to heaven to bring it
it in heaven, that thou shouldst say,
unto us, and we may hear and fulfill it in work?' Nor is it beyond the sea, that thou
mayst excuse thyself and say, Which of us can cross the sea and bring it unto us,
that we may hear and do that which is commanded ?
But the word is very nigh unto
thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayst do it. ... I call heaven and
earth to witness this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing.
Choose therefore life, that both thou and thy seed may live " (xxx. 11-19)
'
'
'
There
not a family in which these inspired lessons should not still be repeated by
The Spirit of God, who spoke by Moses, is ever near at
hand to give efficacy to the dear voice of father or of mother, rehearsing these immortal
teachings, and faithfully laboring to bring down on their loved ones the blessings
promised by the Almighty Father, and to turn away from their homes the terrible
is
Most
beautiful, too,
V;*iawn
antiUlpnm
w
?>.<.
'-"00^. tr^:
^"^"rjik-^:
i'-'^'-
flie Jordan ; of the prophetic words of blessing poured in turn on each of the Tribes
of Israel enc; nped below on the plains of Moab, and, finally, of his holy and mysterious
death.
One
forcibly carried forward to another age, when He of whom Moses was only
and precursor was to tread these same plains, and to prepare the way for the
foundation of another kingdom, and then, after having tasted of the bitterness of
the most awful death, to appear before His own with His person all transformed by
the glories of a heavenly existence, with His transpierced heart all aglow with divinest
charity, to ascend to Heaven while blessing them and filling their souls with undying
faith and all-embracing love.
is
figure
II.
THE BOOK OF JOSUE. The title of this book is derived both from its being
most generally believed to have been written by the great man whose name it bears,
and from its containing a faithful record of his government of God's people.
The name itself (Hebrew, yi?/wj->'/<z/i, i. e., "God the Saviour") is identical with
the adorable Name of our Lord.
Hence, in the Septuagint Greek and in the early
is called " the Book of Jesus the Son of Nave."
chosen to be the successor of Moses, to lead the Israelites into
the Promised Land, to defeat the combined armies of the heathen Canaanites, to divide
the national territory thus conquered among the Twelve Tribes, and to leave them in
secure possession of their independence, was a fit type of the Redeemer to come, who
could alone reconquer for all our race the forfeited inheritance of eternity, who alone
could introduce us into His Kingdom, and share its glories with us.
And the personal
character of the man could sustain the burthen of the Name which is above all names,
The
blameless
man
bear the
return
(0
are the inspired pages in which Josue relates how he crossed the Jordan at the head
of the embattled Tribes God's Ark and the priestly bands leading the way, while the
wavers of Jordan stood still. Then the half-peaceful, half-military processions around
tne walls of Jericho (chap, vi.) ; the terrible punishment of the avaricious and hypo
Achan (vii.); the utter extermination of a people given body and soul to the
abominable idolatry of which even modern science is ashamed, and the purification l.y
critical
fire
of the very
site
of the polluted
cities
vale of
" Move
Nor
not,
tbon,
religion.
His
last
Israel
was
in
le
tomb of Joseph, on the spot hallowed so long before by Ab' aham and Jacob, looked
"
upon not only as the birthplace of the nation but as " the f inctuary of the Lord
faith(xxiv. 26).
To the people over whose welfare he has watchel so long and so
fiilly the venerable leader, now one hundred and ten years c Id, delivers a prophetic
message from the Most High, rehearsing briefly the History of His own providence over
Abraham and his descendants, from the calling of the great pitriarch in Chaldaea to
the present hour of triumph and blissful security amid their
redestined inheritance.
Again this most privileged race are challenged by their Divine Benefactor to use theii
' Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him with a perfect and most sinfree will.
cere heart - Rut If it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, SQ\ have your choice . .
the
the Lord,
God
forbid
we should
leave
" Josue
therefore
the people
wrote all these things in the volume of the law of the Lord and he
took a great stone, and set it under the oak that was in the sanctuary of the Lord " (xxiv. 14-26).
:
The power
to serve the
on Him, so clearly
Lord
of Holy Writ,
and again most shock-
How
down on
engraving 00 page 10
is
but too eloquent an illustration of the sad fate of those who, chosen
priests.
Thus we
idolatry
much
31
Some
tribes.
fill
of water from
" the ancients, and the princes, and the judges, and the masters."
He chose no one to succeed to his office ; nor did God appoint any
one to be his successor. Of the people, after his death, it is said
"They served the Lord all his (Josue's)
(Judges ii. 7-14):
days, and the days of the ancients that lived a long time after him,
and who knew all the works of the Lord, which He had done for
Israel
And all that generation was gathered to their fathers
and there arose others that knew not the Lord, and the works
which He had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil
in the sight of the Lord, and they served Baalim.
And the
Lord being angry against Israel, delivered them into the hands of
plunderers, who took them and sold them to their enemies that
dwelt round about."
The first chapters in the book clearly account for this state of
Thus, in chap, i., we see the joint efforts made by the
things.
neighboring tribes of Juda and Simeon, who held an extreme
own
territory,
lites that
men worthy
future time
More forcible still is the lesson taught by Samson in his incoinparable strength and resistless prowess while faithful to his Nazarite
vows and observant of the divine law, as well as by the extremity
God and
of his people.
A life heroic,
...
To
Honor hath
Israel
and freedom, . . .
To himself and father's house eternal fame;
And, which is best and happiest yet, all this
With God
left
assisting to the
was
end."
feared,,
xxix. 29
upon the grand figure of Samuel, one which arrests our attention
and challenges our admiration equally with the sublime personage?
Samson died gloriously, and by his heroic
of Josue and Moses.
death expiated the sad weaknesses which marred his career and
prevented him from effecting the complete independence of his
people and reigning in undisputed power over a united and regene-
FIRST
parent not only leads her to forsake country, relatives, and friends
From
who
we
down
the road
we come
travel
saintly
marries her.
rated Israel.
husband's,
in the
whole
trust in
and hope
of
life
and
salvation borne
by
.
'
'
Kings or Kingdoms
lators
and
is
and
this
Protestants
affecting
Hebrew
text
he Jewish authorities.
The first book contains the history of Samuel down to his death,
in the beginning of chap. xxv.
Hence the first twenty-four chapgenerally attributed to
him
and
as he
Paralipomenon
and people do
forget the
their
Saul and David to be kings over Israel, these two first books, which
narrate the history of their reigns, may seem a continuation of the
record begun by Samuel.
The continuators are thought to be the
among them by
and
and
ters are
1%
David
night with the bitter tears wrung irom him by his grief.
after God's own heart, because, even in his fall, he forgot not the God of his youth ; and the sense of his guilt only made
was a man
seek to serve the Divine Majesty with tenfold fervor and increased humility. Saul, guilty, turned his back on God and sought
from demons the knowledge of his own future and of the fortunes
David, guilty, prostrated himself in the dust and
of his house.
him
sent
up
his
mercy on
his people
and on
Kings
xxii. 2, 3).
tcrril.le
even than the end of Saul is that of the wise and magnificent
Solomon, David's son. God lavished on this prince the rarest
gifts of mind and heart, together with the undisputed possession
To him whose reign was "established in
of his father's kingdom.
it
14
And
political division.
in captivity.
We
rival
and
when
the other prevails, calls in the aid of the stranger and the heathen to help restore
the balance.
fatal mistake against sound policy
that is, against the laws of
nature.
But amid the gloom and the guilt of that long period grand figures loom
up
men
of God, the prophets commissioned to keep alive the true faith among populations given over to doubt, to ignorance, to idolatry, and manifold
corruption ; or
the
who wrote
these
life
same two
last
being numbered
among
name
is
original
Hebrew
title
of these two
)oks literally
e considered to be the
ship after the captivity.
He
evidently
made
he
^^''
'
ill
drew up
Iff
behold in this precocious despot's conduct the natural result of the paternal training
and examples.
Roboam had for mother an Ammonite princess, one of those women which God had
so often and so solemnly forbidden his people to connect with themselves by marriage.
What the influence of this idolatrous woman over the perverted and prematurely old
monarch (he died at sixty) may have been, we know not from authentic history. The
mere fact that her son became Solomon's successor allows us to suppose that she ruled
supreme over the silly, pleasure-seeking king. Her son, as well as " the young men
.
brought up with him in pleasures," and his evil counselors from the beginning
of his reign, had not more of faith than he had of kingly prudence.
Even after the
disruption of his kingdom, he refuses to profit by the terrible prophetic lessons delivered
to Jeroboam during Solomon's lifetime (3 Kings xi. 29).
" When the kingdom of
Roboam was strengthened and fortified, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel
with him." And what is the consequence?
"In the fifth year of the reign of Roboam, Sesac king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem (because they had sinned
against the Lord."
There is terror and a show of that kind of repentance which is
begotten of mortal fear.
"The Lord is just!" both prince and people exclaim in
their extremity.
But the Lord, who is ever more merciful than just, will not allow
the Egyptian to exterminate the guilty ones.
They become vassals and tributaries of
" So Sesac king of Egypt departed from Jerusalem,
their old-time foes and oppressors.
taking away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house" (2
.
Paral.
ii.
9).
it,
the gift of David, the fruit of his conquests and pious economies.
The lavish profusion of gold and silver with which Solomon had adorned and enriched
his own palaces and harems, had been ground out of his impoverished and over-taxed
people.
All is now swept into the coffers of the Egyptian
Brass replaced gold in the
!
=_
But the
Roboam and
his
My Name
might be there."
through the gloom of the long succeeding centuries,
this "lamp," the steady light of the Promise, shall continue to
cneer faithful hearts both in Jerusalem and amid the sorrows and
despair of exile, till our Day Star, our " Orient from on high,"
shines out above the hill-tops of Bethlehem,
that
And
so,
chains to Babylon."
On the throne of this unworthy prince
is
King Nabuchodonosor
Seciecias,
Lord his God, and did not reverence the face of Jeremias the Prophet speaking to him from the mouth of the Lord
And he hardened his neck and his heart from returning to the Lore!
the Gotl of Israel."
sight of the
everything strong and fair, all is swept from the face of the earth
by the Babylonian conqueror, and the miserable remnants of Juda
are driven away into captivity. Is it not terrible? and is not such
bhndriess, such perseverance in evil, a something so incredible that
one is staggered by the recital of such monstrous perverseness ?
the true faith and toward a people whose supernatural virtues formed
such a contrast with the surrrounding corruption of heathendom.
So, both priests and people had been chastened by the terrible
And God would once more gather
trials of exile and bondage
!
When
ESTemple
17
18
had been living in Judaea before the arrival of Esdras and his
colony of exiles had either become as heathenish and corrupt as
the neighboring Chanaanites, or had made of the little religion
they retained a mixture of idolatrous practices and Hebrew superstitions.
They were, at best, but poor auxiliaries to Esdras and his
zealous band of restorers. But what shall we say of the non-Hebrew
populations, the old enemies of God and of his people ? They used
every exertion and every artifice to prevent the restoration of JeruWiien force and fraud
salem and the rebuilding of the Temple.
as
failed,
pous pagan
festivals.
Nehemias had
this unfinished
reconstruction.
And
and pom-
anew
and material
The
captivity
first
they succeeded.
from all sin." Carried with his wife and child into
by Salmanasar (Shalman-Ezor) IV., King of Assyria,
Tobias shone so pre-eminently above his fellow-captives and the
Assyrian nobles and courtiers at Niniveh that he attracted the
notice and won the favor of the monarch himself, and was by
him loaded with honor and wealth. For in the midst of this
idolatrous and sensual race, when his Hebrew fellow-captives shared
in the forbidden rites and pleasures of their captors, Tobias " kept
his soul and never was defiled," being ever "mindful of the
Lord with all his heart."
to abstain
men, brother priests laboring together with power. What a picture is that household in the mighty Niniveh,
one mind and one heart, rekindle by voice and example the faith in which the now poor and sightless Tobias is made the butt of his
and zeal of their fellow-countrymen. They proclaim the Law wife's unfeeling sarcasm and headlong temper
He had risked
anew, and induce the people to celebrate with extraordinary fervor and spent everything on his persecuted countrymen ; and now as
and solemnity the Feast of Tabernacles (2 Esdras viii. and ix.) he sits at home, blind and destitute of all earthly comfort, a woWith one voice priests, princes, and people confess God's infinite man's foolish tongue ceases not to lash him. " Where is thy hope,
goodness in their behalf and their own inconceivable ingratitude. for which thou gavest alms, and buriedst the dead ? " It was in vain
" Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept that he replied, " We are the children of the saints, and look to
Thy law
And they have not served Thee in their kingdoms, that life which God will give to those that never change their faith
and in Thy manifold goodness,
and in the large and fat (wide from Him." The pitiless tongue ceased not for all that to scourge
and fruitful) land which Thou deliveredst before them
Be- him with the reproof: " It is evident thy hope is come to nothing,
And the poor, helpless sufferer,
hold, we ourselves this day are bondmen and the land, which Thou and thy alms now appear!"
seeing no further aim in life, would lift his soul to God on high
gavest our fathers, ... we ourselves are servants in it
. And
because of all this we ourselves make a covenant, and write it, and " Thou art just, O Lord, and all Thy ways mercy and truth and
judgment
Command my spirit to be received in peace ; for
our princes, our Levites, and our priests sign it " (Ibid. ix. 34-38).
ter, as
it is
man
after
better for
me
'
is
19
from the annals q( that same epoch of partial restoration from captivity and exile.
Moses had been saved from the waters of the Nile by the watchful love of his sister,
life in
^^iv.
till
her great brother could openly choose between the service of the Egyptian oppressor
and that of his own oppressed kinsmen. With him, when sent on his divine mission
of liberation, was associated Mary,
who
name of
Deliverer.
Then
came Debbora and Jael to work out the freedom of Israel during the period of the
Judges and now Judith stands forth to deliver the restored tribes from the threatened
No mere analysis
renewal of their subjugation and expulsion from their native land.
;
of the story can give the reader a truthful idea of the condition of things in Palestine
or of the desperate extremities from which a woman's inspired heroism treed her
Even those who see in Judith's artifice a something exceedingly
country and people.
must remember that Sacred History records more than one deed
of the most illustrious personages which the historian does not pretend to excuse or
justify.
But, to one who calmly considers the circumstances of the age and country
the brutal lust for conquest and plunder which animated the Nabuchodonosors and
Holophemes of these pagan times there can occur no valid reason for refusing to
Judith the glorious praise due to a woman, who devotes her own life and imperils her
honor in order to save the honor of her countrywomen and the independence of her
own nation, then struggling to confirm its long-lost and scarcely recovered freedom.
(See the Author's reasoning on this subject in Heroic Women of the Bible and the
Church, chap. xvii. pp. 180-81.)
like criminal
/t^r
fraud,
/ff.H--
ca
W^ ^
Xr-f"
G?
^r
1
^r
"VA
>^
mhilm:
20
within
tlieir
own
own
service
by inviolable
fidelity
national territory.
of such
prophets,
Their existence as a free people in Palestine was to be the con- Jerusalem and Samaria, while striving, under divine inspiration, to
sequence of this fidelity to the law of Jehovah,
His overshadowing correct and convert bad sovereigns and their sinful people, or to
protection secured them from disaster, defeat, and subjugation, so direct and encourage the good.
long as they served Him with their whole heart.
And in their
The name of prophets is sometimes given in Scripture to perexile among the nations, while they were taking to heart the bitter sons who had no claim to prophetic inspiration.
In classic Greek,
lessons of experience, He ever showed Himself ready and prompt the word irpoipf/nK, "prophet," designates any person who speaks
to assist them and to protect them from utter extinction, when the for another, especially one who s])eaks in the name of the Godhead,
cry of their heart went up to Him.
and thus declares or interprets His will to men.
The primary
Aman, the all-powerful favorite of Assuerus, has taken every meaning of tlie word prophet is, therefore, that of an interpreter.
means to annihilate the scattered remnants of the Hebrew race by In the Bible the word has several significations
ist. It applies to
one fell blow, and throughout the vast Persian empire. The young all persons of superior learning or uncommon intellectual gifts,
Hebrew Empress knows, as well as her uncle and foster-father, whether their knowledge regards divine or human things. Tims
Mardochseus, that the hand of God alone can arrest the blow about in I Corinthians xiv. 6, "prophecy" means the supernatural knowlto fall, and that united prayer to Him can make him stretch forth edge of divine things bestowed as a gift on certain persons, and
His arm to save the innocent and strike down the guilty aggressor. in the infancy of the Church, to enable them to teach others;
Trusting in the intervention of that Power and Goodness which whereas, in Titus i. 12, "a prophet of their own," means a Cretan
will have us entreat it in our direst need, Esther employs mean- author who had accurately described his own countrymen as "alwhile all the means which human prudence suggests to enlighten ways liars, evil beasts, etc.
2d. He is called a prophet who has
the Emperor on liis favorite's character and designs.
Woman's either of things past or present a knowledge exceeding the power
wit comes to the aid of woman's loveliness and patriotism; iniquity of nature.
Thus Elisjeus knew that his servant Giezi had secretly
falls into the net it had itself spread for the guiltless, and cruelty
obtained rich presents from Naaman.
Thus also when the soldiers
perishes by its own devices.
These are pages to be read again and buffeted our Lord the night before his death, they asked Him to
again as one reads the most enchanting tale of eastern romance. " prophesy " who had struck Him.
3d. Again, a man is said to be
For here no romance can come up to the reality.
a prophet when he is inspired to say what he does not understand,
as Caiphas (St. John xi. 51) " prophesied that Jesus should die for
FIRST AND SECOND MACHABEES.The two books bear- the nation." 4th. In the proper and primitive sense of the word,
ing this title contain the history of a heroic family of priests who Aaron is
to be the "prophet;" that is, the interpreter, of his
conquered the national independence under the Greek kings of brother Moses {Exodus vii.) Hence both our
Lord and St. Stephen
Syria, and were also the successful champions of religious liberty.
upbraid the Jews with having persecuted all the prophets ; that is,
The surname of " Machabee," first borne by Judas, son of the priest all those who had been sent to declare to them the will of God.
Mathathias, arose, according to some, from a Hebrew word signi5th. The designation of prophets was also given to all those who sang
fying "hammer"
both the father and his sons having been in hymns or psalms with extraordinary enthusiasm, so as to seem beyond
the hand of God a hammer for shattering the might of their opthemselves.
In i Kings x. 12, Saul meets a troop of these singers,
pressors.
Others, on the contrary, derive the appellation from the
joins them, is seized with their divine enthusiasm, and it is there" Who is
initial letters of the Hebrew sentence in Exodus xv. ii
fore said: "Is Saul also among the Prophets?"
This same meanlike to Thee among the strong, O Lord?"
These letters, it is ing applies on several occasions to David and Asaph and to the
said, were inscribed by Judas on his victorious banners and hence
young men trained as singers for the temple, and who are therefore
the surname.
The name is bestowed not only on Judas and his called " the sons of the prophets." 6th. The word " to prophesy,"
brethren, but on a generous widow and her seven sons most
again, is understood of the power of working miracles.
Hence
cruelly put to death in Antioch by the pitiless tyrant Antiochus
" After death his
(Ecclesiasticus xlviii. 14) it is said of Elisteus
Epiphanes.
body prophesied," because the contact with the holy man's corpse
The first book of Machabees a manuscript copy of which in raised a dead man to life. 7th. But this gift of miracles was the
Hebrew, or, rather, in the popular Syro-Chaldaic of the Machabean
seal which stamped with the divine authority the utterances of the
age, was seen by St. Jerome
is the history of forty years, from tlie
Prophet properly so called that is, the man to whom God has
beginning of the reign of .Antiochus Epiphanes to the death of the
revealed and enjoined to announce to the world future events
High Priest Simon Machabee. The second book is the abridged
which no created mind could of itself have foreseen. (See Bergier,
history of the persecutions under Antiochus Epiphanes and Ptolemy
Dictionnaire de Thi-ologie.')
Such are the divinely commissioned
Eupator his son, being compiled from a full and complete history
men whose books we are now to consider.
of the same in five books, written by Jason, and now lost.
This
abridgment describes in detail many of the principal occurrences
:
book.
Both historians, however, seem to have
written independently of each other, neither having seen the other's
work.
related in the
first
THE PROPHETS.
WP
h
21
TT
I
this great
man and
life
crowned with a cruel martyrdom under Manasses. Like the Prophet Elias before him,
and like John the Baptist long ages after him, Isaias in performing his sublime mission
wore the penitential garb of the Nazarites, the long blackish-gray tunic of haircloth
fastened round the loins with a rope or girdle of camel's hair.
Thus habited, the man
of God would, most probably, go into one of the spacious courts of the Temple, while
the people were flocking in to some solemn sacrifice, and from one of the lofty flights
of steps leading up to the altar of burnt offerings, would pour forth the words of his
divine message on the multitude beneath and around.
The very first words of these
inspired oracles still thrill the coldest reader with emotion " Hear, O ye Heavens I
For the Lord hath spoken. I have brought up children and
and give ear, O Earth
exalted them ; but they have despised Me.
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass
his master's crib.
But Israel hath not known Me, and My people hath not under:
stood
No words
could more aptly state God's case as against His blind and ungrateful
people under the Old Law, as well against the professed or nominal followers of Christ
under the New Law of Grace. We are, all of us who believe in Christ and through
Him in the Father, the adopted children, the family of God. How He has exalted the
sons of
I'h--.
Adam
How tenderly He
human
and Benefactor
And
is not our life one long act of contempt of that Adorable Majesty ?
one long and per
sistent ignoring and misunderstanding of that ever-present and patient Goodness ?
To understand even the literal sense of these most pregnant chapters, it will be necessary to read not only the history of the four kings under whom Isaias preached and
taught and performed miracles, but also the two preceding reigns of Amasias and his
father Joas.
Joas, saved in infancy, and by a miracle, from the slaughter of all the male
descendants of David, and brought up by his aunt Josabet in the very sanctuary of the
Temple, would, one might think, be sure to be worthy of David and lovingly faithful
And yet, in the very flower and pride of his manhood, he introto God his Protector.
duces among his people the abominable worship of Baal and Ashtarte murders in the
very sanctuary which had sheltered his infancy and childhood his cousin and fosterbrother, the High Priest Zacharias, and runs, uncontrolled, his race of wickedness, till
he is himself cut off" by the hand of a murderer. Not much better is his son Amasias.
He was a cruel king he caused 10,000 Edomite prisoners to be cast, in cold blood,
race to a God-like resemblance with their all-bountiful Parent
headlong from the cliffs of Petra, while he hesitated not in the hour of /ictory to cause
A cruel soldier
sacrifices to be offered in honor of the idols worshiped by his victims.
So Amasias provokes his
is rarely a brave man ; and a coward is always a vain one.
father's namesake, Joas, King of Samaria, to war ; is shamefully beaten, taken prisoner,
brought in chains to Jerusalem, which is partially dismantled by the victor, and at
There is no use in teachlength, like his father, is cut off by the red hand of murder.
ing or warning these purblind princes, in whose veins the heroic blood of David is
changed into mud : they will neither be taught, nor enlightened, nor wamed= Such were
22
the
ruled the
first five
before
the splendors of God's earthly house was but a tatnt image of the
everlasting, and that the holiness demanded of both priests jnd
chapters the prophetic denunciations people was only a preparation for the perfection of the beatified
This sublime revelation, together with the clear and definite
state.
and warnings which apply to the latter part of the long reign of
Like Solomon, he began his reign young at the age of
Ozias.
sixteen and by his piety and his genius raised the Kingdom of
Juda to a height of glory it had not kpown since Solomon. Though
he did not end his long reign like this prince, so unwise with all
his wisdom, Ozias forgot himself in his old age, and, like Saul,
attempted to usurp the functions of the priestly office. He was
stricken with leprosy at the very altar, and had thenceforward to
yield his kingly functions to his son Joathan, and live in the rigorous seclusion imposed on lepers. That there was degeneracy in
the body of the nation, as well as in the ruler himself, we may well
The prophecies
and
were delivered during the reign of Joatham's successor, the weakminded and unprincipled Achaz. The league formed against Jerusalem by the Kings of Israel and Syria had always been baffled by
the unflinching and prudent policy of Joathan.
His son inherited
ix.,
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
to be displayed.
In chapter
viii.
is
de-
commanded to set up a large scroll or tablet bearing the words, MaherShalal-Hash-Baz ; that is, "Hasten, Booty, Speed, Spoil;" and
when his younger son is bom he is bidden to call him by this prophetic name so full of terrible significance to the kingdom of Juda.
Already the King of Assyria had come down with an army on his
allied enemies, the Kings of Damascus and Samaria, and had deIsaias
is
populated not only a portion of Syria but the valley of the Jordan
around the Lake of Galilee, carrying the inhabitants away into
exile.
This does not make King Achaz heed any the more the
warnings and exhortations of Isaias ; this prince more than ever
The people, however, without ceasing to cling to their vices and their idolatry, are frightened
into favoring a league with Damascus and Samaria.
This only
hastens the coming of the Assyrian.
It is in vain that the great
prophet tries to iire the national heart with the only flame that
should burn therein, the love of their fathers' God and the love
of their fatherland.
Vainly does he exhaust himself in lepeating
courts an alliance with the Assyrian.
29
fear
become my salvation."
Then come, under the designation of "burdens," the prediction
of the terrible retribution which is to be dealt out on each of the
enemies of
Juda, to utter against Sobna, one of the blind and vicious counselors of blind and vicious princes and people, the divine judgment gone forth against him. " Thou hast hewed thee out care-
of hosts hath designed it, to pull down the pride of all glory, and
bring to disgrace all the mighty ones of the earth.
The
earth is infected by the inhabitants thereof; because they have
transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have
broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore shall a curse devour
the earth, and the inhabitants thereof shall sin. ... It shall
be thus in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the people, as if
a few olives that remain should be shaken out of the oi.vc-tree, or
.
when
grajjes,
the vintage
is
ended.
With breaking
shall
the earth be broken, with crushing shall the earth be crushed, with
no enemy can harm Juda and Jerusalem so long as they trembling shall the earth be moved." This moral and social con" Sanctify the Lord of hosts vulsion, like the mighty upheavals that are recorded in geology, is
Himself; and lei Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. now a matter of history. And how very nearly its terrible teachAnd He shall be a sanctification to you" (viii. 13, 14).
ings come home, at this hour, to the guilty Christendom of the
.
" By the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is troubled, and nineteenth century, with the decline of faith, the weakening of
the people shall be as fuel for the fire no man shall spare his all authority, human and divine, the spread of intellectual and
brother" (ix. 19).
"What will you do in the day of visitation, moral corruption, anri the breaking up of the whole order of society
and of the calamity which cometh from afar ? to whom will ye flee in opposition to the laws of nature and the solemn ordinances of
for help? and where will ye leave your glory? ... As my nature's God
aand hath found the kingdoms of the idol, so also their idols of
Together with this breaking up of the old Pagan order there is
Jerusalem and of Samaria.
Shall I not, as I have done to Samaria present to the eye of the prophet the end of all things, the final
ind her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?" (ix. 3-1 1). judgment and doom ; the wicked ones both of heaven and of earth
Then will come the turn of the Assyrian empire itself. "Shall "gathered together as in the gathering of one bundle into the Pit,"
the axe boast itself against him that cutteth with it? ... As and the eternal reign of God with His faithful servants in the
If a rod should lift itself against him who taketh it up "
And heavenly Jerusalem. At this prospect the rapt soul of Isaias bursts
again, after repeating for the twentieth time His promises of mercy forth into a shout of triumphsmt song: "O Lord, Thou art my
and final restoration, the Lord adjures Jerusalem in these touching God, I will exalt Thee, and give glory to Thy name ; For Thou
words " Therefore, thus saith the Lord the God of hosts O, my hast done wonderful things. Thy designs of old faithful. Amen
that
My
him "
(xi. I, 2).
Surely
it
and
xii.
He
Lo, this
will save us
is
this is the
thrills
the
was the same Spirit who rested upon the patriot pro-
phet himself.
3. Chapters
Lord
And
for
in
evermore,
way of
the
84
that stirs every pulse of the reader's heart, the stream of Isaias'
inspiration flows
onward
in its rapid
idolatrous
Israel or Samaria.
ot
of
literature,
the glory of the the Assyrian, and for them, as a nation or a body politic, there was
to be no restoration.
To avert from the Kingdom of Juda and
Hebrew intellect, the wonder and light of the Christian church.
The above beautiful canticle may have been written arid uttered Jerusalem, its capital, a similar fate, was the cherished purpose for
when Jerusalem, during the invasion of Salmanasar (Shalmanezer) which Isaias lived, labored, wrote, and prophesied. To inspire his
IV., was preserved from capture and spoliation, while Samaria fell
This was during the reign of the
into the hands of the invader.
incomparable Ezechias, the most perfect prince who ever sat on the
throne of David, and who was of one mind and one heart with his
kinsman, the great prophet of Juda. Ezechias had made a clean
sweep of the "high places," and of every other relic of idolatry
within his kingdom.
Without positively neglecting what is called
political prudence in his dealings with other sovereigns, he placed
his whole trust in Jehovah alone, and spurned every alliance that
might imperil the faith or weaken the proud self-reliance under
God with which he inspired his jjeople. There were, however,
those among them, Sobna (Shebna), the high treasurer, for instance,
who hankered for a close union with Egypt as a means of resisting
Assyria.
But neither the prophet nor the king showed any mercy
We have seen above how Sobna was disgraced,
to these politicians.
and can judge from his case how it fared with all those of his class.
" Woe
Jerusalem, at length, is beset by the victorious host. To the faithful and brave-hearted King Isaias, in this extremity, utters mes" Thus saith the Lord : Be
sages of the most cheering import.
not afraid of the words that thou hast heard,, with which the
King of the Assyrians have blasphemed Me. ... I
will send a spirit upon him, . .
and I will cause him to fall by
the sword in his own country."
When the invader concentrates
servants of the
art
Lord!"
the
Mercy
(xxxvii.
20).
While
still
Isaias
It is
Assyrian
..." I will
which
all
all
From
the very
first
all
page
and
shield
and Prophet.
people a perfect king in Ezechias, and to the Prophet a most zealous auxiliary in his mission of religious reformation and patriotic
out of their place in the order of time ; the sickness of Ezechias happened before the deliverance of Jerusalem and the flight of Senna
event in his
It is,
faith.
The
alliance
which the
former contracted with the Babylonians, and from which Isaias foretold the direst
consequences, became a state necessity with his successor. Worse than that, however
worse indeea than any calamity which had ever before befallen the Kingdom of Juda
was the formal and open apostasy of Manasses. Not only did he forsake the faith of
his father, buc he introduced in its stead the foulest idol-worship of Babylon and Syria,
banishing from the Temple every remnant of the worship of Jehovah, desecrating its
jrecincts and the Holy of holies itself with the most odious heathen rites ; blotting
out, so far as he could, from the laws and institutions of his native country every
Law of God, every memorial of His past mercies to Israel. Not content
he persecuted with the most unsparing cruelty all those who were faithful to
This
their conscience, the priests and prophets, especially, and, among these, Isaias.
great man, the stay of religion and nationality, the glory of his race and age, was
now past eighty. Of course, years had not diminished his zeal in the service of
And the last chapters in his prophecies are there to tell
his God and his country.
had lost none of its power, and the prophet's divine
beautiful
mind
the
that
us
trace of the
with
this,
red,
like
jSb
26
be inclosed in the
who rivaled Manasses in impiety and wickedDuring the reign of the saintly Josias and till the destructhat is, during a period of
tion of Jerusalem by the Chaldaeans
Jeremias continued to discharge the duties of his
forty years
sacred office with a heroism and eloquence that make him rank
only after Isaias. Like St. John the Baptist, he was sanctified before his birth for the sublime mission to which he was destined.
And he needed all the extraordinary graces of which this first one
was a pledge. For to none of the prophets or of the saints of the
Old Law was assigned a mission so barren in consolation, so full
of that intense bitterness which arises from the spectacle of prolonged national degeneracy and apostasy, and from the utter ruin
of the dearest hopes of the priest and the patriot. It was a lifeWhen he first heard the Divine Voict calling
long martyrdom.
him to his long struggle with ignorance and iniquity a woman
Holda (Huldah) was the sole organ of the divine will in all Juda.
Though afterward he was to have as his auxiliaries in the prophetic
office not only Holda and his disciples, the brothers Baruch and
Saraias, but Sophonias, Habacuc, and Urias, still, scattered as were
the remnants of God's people both in Egypt and Mesopotamia,
utterly desolate as was the land of Juda and Israel, and obstinately
perverse as his countrymen and their leaders continued to be, Jeremias encountered nothing but contradiction, hatred, and persecution.
He is imprisoned by his countrymen during the siege of
Jerusalem, because he counsels them to make terms with the enemy,
knowing supernaturally, as he does, that on a conditional surrender
depends the preservation of the city and the Temple, as well as
immunity from the frightful evils of a place carried by storm. He
the son of a father
ness.
God-forsaken.
As to the order in which these prophecies were given and consigned to writing, we are informed that, up to the fourth year of
Joakim, King of Juda, Jeremias had not recorded his prophecies in
writing. He, therefore, by divine command commits to writing "all
the words " that he had spoken from the
Israel
and
the nations."
all
We can
first
first
order, the ^rst to set forth the heroic fidelity of the Rechabites as
a lesson to a sensual and faithless generation, and the other to give
as well as to
In chapter xxxvii. the prophet resumes the account of his misKing Sedecias just where his narration ended in chapter
xxxiv.
At this point we find the Babylonians besieging Jerusalem,
and the recreant King and his counselors send, in their terror, to
sion under
drawn
his forces
faction
So, he
demand
is
first,
is
The
dungeons
peril by an
as a preliminary to
his execution.
Saved from this
Ethiopian slave, he is pressed more vehemently by Sedecias to tell
him, the King, the truth as he desires it.
"And Jeremias said to
Thus
saith the
lowed.
The Prophet remains among the ruins of his country still
bent on helping the miserable remnants of his people left behind
by the conqueror to return sincerely to the God of their fathers.
He knows what the Almighty can do with a few faithful, repentant,
and resolute hearts to build up even a destroyed nationality. And
so his crushing grief is lightened in the endeavor to make of the
few who remain of Juda and Israel true worshipers and true citizens.
But political division and party rivalries, the bane of falling commonwealths and the curse of such as strive to rise, set the Jews
against each other ; caused one faction to massacre the leaders of
the other, and then to seek a refuge in Egypt against the vengeance
The Prophet and his disciple, Baruch, arc
of the Babylonians.
compelled to follow them thither. In vain did Jeremias announce
that Egypt should not protect them ; and equally in vain, during
his captivity in that land, did he try to convert these men from
The very accomplishment of the prophecies which
their evil ways.
they had so often derided before the event, only made them the
more bitterly hostile to him, and only rendered more intolerable
his denunciation of the crimes which his fellow-exiles in Egypt
added to all their former wickedness. At length so the most
ancient and venerable traditions say they put him to death, in
order to silence forever the voice which no bribe could buy and no
But they could not thereby still the voice of their
fear intimidate.
own conscience nor remove from above their own heads the Almighty Hand and the sword of the divine justice toward which
Jeremias had so often directed their eyes in vain.
The remaining chapters of the book must be read in the light
of contemporaneous history and with the aid of the most scholarly
critics.
illus-
man, who has given his name to this book, was the disciple,
His noble birth and powerful
secretary, and associate of Jeremias.
connections were so well known, as well as the esteem in which he
was held by his master, that the court party under Joakim attributed
trious
together had not the bad King's fears caused them to be reprieved;
The conthe taking of Jerusalem found them stilJ in prison.
them
But their
in
life
fate,
and death.
2?
end to the truth of Jehovah's pro- from thee the desire of thy eyes with a stroke; and thou shalt not
So must you, dear reader, study the writings and the lament, nor weep; neither shall thy tears run down. Sigh in
lives of these two heroic men as one inseparable whole, full of ele- silence, make no mourning for the dead
let the tire of thy head
vating examples and divinest teachings.
be upon thee, and thy shoes on thy feet, and cover not thy face,
nor eat the meat of mourners. So I spoke to the people in the
morning, and my wife died in the evening ; and I did in the mornEZECHIEL, the son of Buzi, was of a priestly family, a con- ing as He had commanded me. And the people said to me: Why
not tell us what these things mean that thou doest? And
temporary of the two preceding prophets, and carried off a prisoner dost thou
I said. The word of the Lord came to me, saying, Speak to the
to Babylonia by Nabuchodonosor, together with King Jechonias,
in Egypt, witnessing to the
phecies.
EZECHIEL.
And
My
daughters shall
by the sword.'
And you
shall do as I have
Be that event what it may, we know that the thirtieth done; you shall not cover your faces, nor shall you eat the meat
year here mentioned coincided with the fifth of the captivity of of mourners. You shall have crowns on your head, and shoes on
fall
tieth."
fifth
to the same author, is that of Havernick, who divides the book into
Daniel too, like Isaias, was of the royal race of David, was
nine sections, as follows: I. Ezechiel's call, i.-iii. 15.
II. The carried away into captivity in the third year of King Joakim,
general carrying out of the commission, iii. iS-wW.
III. The re- and with three young companions was brought up as a page in the
jection of the people because of their idolatry, viii.-xi.
As the idolatrous practices of the Chaldaeans deIV. The royal palace.
sins of the age rebuked in detail, xii.-xix.
V. The nature of the manded that all animal food served on the royal tables should
judgment and the guilt which caused it, xx.-xxiii. VI. The have been previously offered to the gods, to partake of them immeaning of the now commencing punishment, xxiv. VII. God's plied a participation in this idol-worship. This to the worshipers
judgment denounced on seven heathen nations Ammonites, xxv. of the true God was a defilement and an abomination. And such
:
1-7; Moab, S-14; the Philistines, 15-17; Tyre, xxvi.-xxviii. 19; meats Daniel and his companions refused to touch, preferring to
On this fare they grew up to
Sidon, 20-24; Egypt, xxix.-xxxii.
VIII. Prophecies after the feed exclusively on vegetable food.
destruction of Jerusalem concerning the future condition of Israel, robust and comely manhood.
And, as had long before happened
xxxiii.-xxxix.
IX. The glorious consummation, xl.-xlviii.
to Joseph in the house of Putiphar, heroic temperance brought
One most touching incident in the prophet's life deserves especial them supernatural wisdom. Though scarcely emerged from boymention.
During the ninth year of his captivity, his wife died at hood, Daniel, as the story of Susanna proves, was known among
In
the very time that Jerusalem was sorely pressed by Nabuchodonosor. his fellow-captives to be possessed of a knowledge all divine.
"Son of man, write thee the name of this day on which the King the fourth year of the noble youth's exile happened the famous
of Babylon hath set himself against Jerusalem.
Woe to the vision sent to the king of the statue made of divers metals, and the
bloody city of which I shall make a great bonfire. ... I will judge stern interpretation given of the monarch's dream by Daniel. The
thee according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, saith the despot is awed for the moment into acknowledging the God of
Lord. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying I take Israel as the only living God. But his subsequent career of cop
.
28
;il{pa
quest turns his head, and he, too, will have himself worshiped after the
Then comes
also explains,
and
is
a second terrific
Daniel
itself.
is
again
first
chapters of the
Book
is
sent
till
his
is
for
In chapter
ix.
to
read
manner of
(iv.
impending doom
"the hand-writing on the
taken by Cyrus and his Persians, and by
of the empire
dream
shall
and
fall
be cast the
of the children of
God
"seventy
weeks of years" after the expiration of which Christ the Messiah was to consummate
the work of redemption.
In the last two chapters, xiii. and xiv., are found the story
of Susanna and that of Bel and the Dragon.
who
in the
phets, lived within the period elapsed from the year before Christ,
^M
HISTORY OF THE BOOKS OF THE HOLY CATHOLIC BIBLEEastern nations, in the days of Isaias and Daniel, were anything
rather than refined in their manners, their sentiments, or their
language, although they were far advanced in the arts of mere
Even in Palestine, all through the centuries
material civilizatiorj
2y
And
mon
shall fear
This
portion
over which
comChanaanite and
what
is
writings.
altar.
first
may
may have
filled
the popular
mind with
which
serious
Mesipotamian kings, while they and the blind multitude they misday into the criminal excesses re" Ephraim saw his sickness and Juda
proved by the divine law.
and Ephraim went to the Assyrian, and sent to the
his band
avenging king. And he shall not be able to heal you, neither
For I will be like
shall he be able to take off the band from you.
a lioness to Ephraim and like a lion's whelp to the house of Juda
I will catch, and go : I will take away, and there is none that can
"Ephraim himself is mixed among the
rescue" (v. 13-15).
nations: Ephraim is become as bread baked under the ashes, that
is not turned. . . . They called upon Egypt and went to the Assyrians" (vii. 8-1 1). ..." Egypt shall gather them together, Memphis shall bury them : nettles shall inherit their beloved silver, the
bur shall be in their tabernacles. The days of visitation are come,
Know ye, O Israel, that the proth? days of repaying are come
phet was foolish, the spiritual man was mad, for the multitude of
thy iniquity, and the multitude of thy madness.
My God
and
shall cast them away, because they hearkened not to him
they shall be wanderers among the nations! " (ix. 6-17.)
So Osee in Samaria, as Isaias in Jerusalem, was looked upon by
the scheming politicians as a madman, and by the pleasure-seeking
populace as a fool, because he dared threaten the nation in the
noonday of its prosperity and pride with defeat and dispersion.
And yet the burthen is laid on them both to proclaim the coming
doom to every prince who ascended the throne, and to the daily
crowd who rushed to the groves and high places, to the altars of
Ashtarte and haunts of forbidden pleasure.
But these incorruptible and fearless men, in whose hearts the
love of country and race was inseparable from the love of their
led were plunging deeper every
I.
AND NAHUM.
1. OsEE began his mission most probably in the last year of Jeroboam II., King of Israel (died B. c. 784), and continued his labors
during sixty years down to the reign of Ezechias, King of Juda.
He with his brother prophets in the northern kingdom did for the
enlightenment and salvation of the Ten Tribes what Isaias was at
the same time doing for the Kingdom of Juda.
Jeroboam II. had
been the most fortunate of all the rulers of the northern kingdom
had wrested from the surrounding Pagan nations not only the
terri-
utterances.
However Jeroboam
II.
.0
unite piety
toward the true God with the courage of the soldier and the wisof the statesman.
He could not or would not understand
that unity of belief and worship was the great secret of national
strength, prosperity, and invincibility.
In religious matters he
was the worthy successor of Jeroboam I. and of Jehu, favored
idolatry to the exclusion of the worship of Jehovah, and allowed
himself and his people to float unresistingly down the stream of
drunkenness and licentiousness. As we shal! see, Amos (vii. 9) predicted the utter overthrow of this prevaricating dynasty.
The first three chapters of Osee are filled by one terrible allegory
full of light and menace for both kingdoms.
God again and again
in Scripture speaks of His love for this chosen race as that of a
husband for the woman whom he has made his wife, choosing her
from among all living women. The favors conferred on Israel He
continually likens to the extraordinary proofs of affection, tender-
dom
Master, ceased not to bear their witness in the midst of the sinful
" Ephraim feedeth on the wind, and followeth the
crowd.
[changes of the] heat: all the daylong he multiplied lies and
desolation : and he hath made a covenant with the Assyrians, and
and profuse
liberality,
so
a.
Amos.
his style,
knew
little,
the power and splendor of Jezabel, Achab, and the First Jeroboam
were cast into the shade by the military genius, the conquests, and
Israel (Ephraim) was
the prudent administration of the Second.
*hen at the very highest point of glory, and with the prosperity
of the Kingdom had increased the splendor of idolatry, the corruption of all classes, and the uncontrolled oppression of the poor
by the
rich.
CATHOUC
liCM.Y
day to continue
BIBLE.
divinely sent
his journey
all
this is
proclaimed it, and who had witnessed it, sealed their testimony
both by miracles and their own blood.
It was a supernatural fact,
supernaturally proven to the world.
The miracle of Jonas, which
prefigured it, was also a supernatural fact to which God's people
bore constant witness.
The Divine Power which shone forth so
transcendently on Calvary, shone also with surpassing evidence in
the case of him who bore the figure of Christ buried in the sep-
Living
God and
in
nation's welfare
depended?
We
intoxicated with
'
Jonas.
that Jonas
ficial
"
I will
all
show
thee,
man, what
ii
all
time.
which had been wrought in the Kingdom of Juda by the mighty and pitiless hosts of
Sennacherib had fired the projihet's soul against the Assyrians. The downfall of their
power and the utter ruin of Nineveh, their capital, form the subject of Nahum's three
magnificent chapters.
"The burden of Ninive " he begins, one may imagine after
the sudden and miraculous overthrow of Sennacherib's army before Jerusalem.
The
entire prophecy is colored by the spectacle of this terrible rout of the Assyrians. " The
Lord is patient, and great in power, and will not cleanse and acquit [the guilty]. The
Lord's ways [are] in the tempest and a whirlwind, and clouds [are] the dust of His feet.
He rebuketh the sea and drieth it up and bringeth all the rivers to be a desert." One
may almost see the breath of the divine vengeance blowing on the countless army of
horsemen, spearmen, and chariots that encompassed Jerusalem, like a surging tide which
had hitherto overborne everything in its course. And lo Jehovah blows upon it and
it disappears with the morning light, living wave impelling living wave
before it, and
leaving the land covered far and wide with the wreck of chariots, horsemen, and infantry
"Who can stand before the face of his indignation? and who shall resist the
fierceness of His anger? "
Then comes the prophecy of the fall of Ninevehthe
!
mis-
and corruptor of all Asia, at the zenith of her glory and power when the Seer
pronounced her doom. " Woe to thee, O city of blood, all full of lies and violence
Rapine shall not depart from thee. The noise of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the neighing horse, and of the running chariot, and of the
horsemen coming up: and of the shining sword, and of the glittering spear, and of a
multitude slain, and of grievous destruction
."
tress
-^ ''-jf
Compare
these pregnant chapters with the accounts given in our own d^/s of the
ruins of Nineveh and her palaces, and of the monuments and annals that had lain buried
for thousands of years in this vast ./"rave of a pitiless despotism.
II.
SOPHONIAS, JOEL,
reign of Josias,
Ezechias.
He
AND HABACUC
i.
Sophonias. He
lived in the
King
some time before Jeremias entered on his,
begun to reform the abuses and corruptions Wiiich
it is
2.
Joel.
Christian authorities
make
this
prophet a con-
temporary of Joram, son of Achab, and King of Israel, who died in the year
li. c.
For the mention by Joel of a great famine similar to that which
oc( urred during the reign of that prince afforded a foundation for their opinion.
If, however, this famine is identical with that mentioned by
Jeremias (viii. 13),
889
then this as well as other reasons allow us to make Joel a contemporary of the
latter prophet.
Jeremias says: "There is no grape on the vines, and there
are no figs on the fig-tree, the leaf
is fallen
and I have given them the things
on the other hand, says " That which the palmerworm hath left, the locust hath eaten: and that which the locust hath left,
the bruchus (cankerworm) hath eaten and that which the bruchus hath left, the
mildew hath destroyed." This plague, however, is only sent in mercy to rouse
men to do penance for their sins. " Because the Day of the Lord is at hand,
and It shall come like destruction from the mighty." The description of this
dreadful day reminds one forcibly of that given in the prophecy of Sophonias,
as quoted above.
From this twofold picture of the temporal visitation of
famme and the terrible judgment of the Last Day, Joel turns to the first coming of Christ
the " Teacher of Justice, and He will make the early and the
latter rain to come down to you as in the beginning."
Thus with the visions
of judgment, and rigorous judgment, are always blended visions of mercy and
reconciliation; and with the calamities and miseries of the present are mixed
the glorious perspectives of future redemption and everlasting peace.
away."
Joel,
5?
r^^
:4.;
*L^ti'^^
He
fevi
How aptly
and
all
politicians of our
^Jigvp^ijl
inn
l^"Cs.
^^^.
\Sm
'SXSTm
uj>
man
and he
who
is
never
satisfied
and
all
is
him-
nations,
and heap together to him all people. Shall not all these take up a parable against him,
and a dark speech concerning him and it shall be said, Woe to him that heapeth
together that which is not his own ? how long also doth he load himself with thick clay ?
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee? and they be stirred up that shall
tear thee, and thou shalt be a spoil to them?
Woe to him that buildeth a town
with blood, and prepareth a city by iniquity" (ii. 5-12)
The third and last chapter
contains one of the most sublime hymns to be foimd in the Bible
the Church in her
solemn office applies it to the triumph of the Redeemer.
:
'fM
^Ttf
"tT*^,
ABDIAS. It is quite uncertain when this prophet lived. Pome scholars think
he lived at the same time with Elias.
But others, with much more probability,
say that he lived during the Babylonian captivity.
He denounces the cruel persecuIII.
that
1.
up against the exiled Jews by their traditional enemies the Edomites, of which
instance in the book of Esther.
They followed in the wake of the Chaldaean conquerors, watching every road and by-way through which the fugitive Jews
could escape, and cut them down mercilessl)'.
The prophet predicts that Edom shall
tions got
we have an
in
its
U'^.
its
prosperity.
AND
probably born
in
exile
and returned
The
i^
Ik
wall of
fire
(ii.
4).
The
zealous priests
who devote
themselves io this
grea->
work of reconstruction shall be divinely protected against the calumnies of their enemies and
Jesus the son of Josedec, to whom this personally applies,
the disfavor of the Chaldaean Kings.
" Hear, O
brings, by his very name, the vision of the future Jesus before the prophet's mind.
behold, I will bring
High Priest, thou and thy friends that dwell before thee,
Servant the Orient" (iii. 8). And so the prophetic visions continue, consoling and
Jesus, thou
My
encouraging the toilers under Zorobabel, and strengthening their faith with the reiterated promise
" Thou shalt take gold and silver, and
of His coming, who should reign over the whole earth.
shalt make crowns, and thou shalt set them on the head of Jesus the son of Josedec the High
Behold a
Priest.
And thou shalt speak to him, saying Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
Man, the Orient is His Name ... He shall build a temple to the Lord and He shall bear
"
the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne ; and He shall be a priest upon His throne
.
(vi.
11-13).
the zealous
To
men who
among
The
Roman Empire
'
three succeeding chapters, ix.-xi., are different in character from the preceding.
against
BIBI,E.
??
fm.-
'
n'>
seaboard threats which soon afterarms of Alexander the Great. Juda iscommeanwhile, no harm shall befall its children. 'These
ward found
forted with
Zacharias
is
and obscure of
the
Minor Prophets.
Malachias, the last of these inspired men, has been thought by some scholars to be
an angel in human form the name itself meaning in Hebrew " a messenger of lehoSome writers have identified him with Esdras. What, how-^ver,
vah," Malachijah.
seems most probable is that he lived after Aggeus and Zacharias, and during the mle
r-Ctft'
'\
:;*??
5*<
^1^^
c^
all
^-*^
36
men
two elder
The leading
little
classes,
hope of a
whose ex-
ample was
My
Wherein have we
bread upon My altar,
and you say. Wherein have we polluted Thee ? In that you say.
The table of the Lord is contemptible.
Who is there among
despised
Thy Name ?
You
said,
offer polluted
on My altar
have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts " (i.
9,
And then comes the famous prophecy of " the clean obla10).
tion,"' to be offered in His Name "in every place from the rising
of the sun even to the going down." Besides, the priests, who are
the guardians and expounders of the law, were giving at that very
time the fatal example of marrying Gentile wives, thereby renewing the sin which, more than any other in the past, had led to the
you that
will shut
gratis?
the doors,
and
whom
TV.
authorship of which
as
.^^
>vir7
W^
^.
jn^Wrf
4Jli
ffli?^
'lii
^-ifc:;
Ii'
''
'
[1
')
1^
_t>
.jil
fj.MLlMSW
^:^M^
^--fV'
and who sets to the ocean the limits beyond which its fury cannot
knows how to limit our misfortunes, to revisit us even here below with
hours of sunshine and felicity that give us an earnest of the eternal joys.
Read for
yourselves, O children of God, and learn from Job how to bear, and how to hope in
the Living God.
orbit in the heavens,
Ikjr
prevail, also
IF
f'-
great national poet of the chosen race, but the loved songster of the Christian church;
praise, and triumph all true Christian homes and hearts have
These inspired songs reflect the whole personal history of David
from the time that he was secretly anointed King by Samuel, called to become the
^^-
i
r."^
made
thel
own
defender of the Kingdom against Goliath and his Philistines, obliged to charm with the
sweet sounds of harp and voice the evil spirit of jealousy that possessed Saul, tried by
persecution, exile, and treachery all through the remaining years of Saul's ill-starred
reign, down to the dark days of Gilboe.
The shepherd-lad of Bethlehem, the young
conqueror of the Philistines, the son-in-law of Saul, the fugitive among the desert places
of Israel, was still the man whose heart " thirsted after God," and whose frequent
songs breathe the faith and hope and fervent love of these chequered years.
How he
delighted, when in possession of ihe throne, to fom. bodies of singers for the service of
the Tabernacle, and to compose the most thrilling hymns for the solemn feasts of the
nation
When he brought,
length, the Ark in triumph to the city of David, he
would himself be foremost amcng the singers, casting aside the warrior's armor and the
kingly robes, to sing and dance in a simple linen tunic before the Ark the visible
resting-place of his loved and adored Jehovah in the midst of the people.
And when
the Queen ridiculed her royal husband for what she thought so unseemly an exhibition,
" Before the Lord who chose me rather than
how David's indignation breaks forth
thy father (Saul) and than all his house, ... I will both play, and make myself
David is still in
meaner than I have done and I will be little in my own eyes."
heart the shepherd-lad of Bethlehem, whom God had so often protected against the
assault of beasts of prey prowling in the night, and whose soul even then delighted in
singing the praises of his Almighty Protector.
So will he contiime to the end. His
one dreadful fall in the heyday of his power, only creates in his repentant soul a deeper
humility, and calls forth those penitential psalms which are the comfort of "U souls
acquainted with sin and sorrow.
To the people whom he had made so great and so happy his psalms continued to be
the cry of the national heart on all solemn festivals.
Even in captivity they found in
these inspired and prophetic strains incentives to sincere repentance for their past
ingratitude, and the most cheering promises of future restoration to country and freedom. The Christiai Church, ever since the day of Sion's finai destruction, has
!
<;
0/
^11
88
Solomon, on
wisdom
whom
as prophecy, afterward
proved utterly unfaithful to the graces lavished on him. Still,
just as the unworthy Balaam was forced by the Divine Spirit to
prophesy the blessedness and final triumph of the Church, even so
song to his immortal book ; theirs, however, are only a few. David was the apostate soul of Solomon forced to sing in this Song the
undying mutual love which binds the true Solomon to His Bride,
is still rightly called the Psalmist.
the Church, and the Church to Him through all the struggles and
THE BOOK OF PROVERBS.This is the production of persecutions of ages.
King Solomon. The first nine chapters excel the remainder of the
book
in poetic
and
greatest
scholars the
work
is
ascribed to Solomon.
and
By many
judges.
The
authorship, how-
by which he attained
The
last
as well
to Solomon's book.
two chapters are of uncertain authorship.
end a
tht possession of
From
Wisdom,
of examples are quoted from sacred history to demonmanifold utility of Wisdom, to show the wickedness of
Solomon, who throughout the book speaks of himself as the sin, the blissful reward of faithful souls, the undying punishment
We know from of the wicked.
Koheleth, "preacher," ecclesiastes in Greek.
sacred history how wisely Solomon began his reign, and with what
BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS. This book is also enshameful folly and guilt he tarnished its premature close. This
titled "The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach," or " Ecclesiasbook is the composition of a man who has had his fill of worldly
ticus," i. e., preacher.
Like the book of Ecclesiastes, the present
greatness and enjoyment, who has drunk to the dregs the cup of
work contains a body of moral precepts and exhortations tending
It is
life, and found only bitterness and weariness at the bottom.
to enforce the practice of all virtue and to exalt the excellence of
as if the Spirit of God had forced the guilty King to confess that
wisdom. The author would appear to have aimed at following the
all is "vanity of vanities," save to fear God from one's youth and
"And all things that are plan of the three preceding books in composing his own. Hence
inviolably to keep His commandments.
we have first a body of maxims in imitation of the Proverbs, then
done God will bring to judgment " What must have been, at
a series of reflexions somewhat in the style of Ecclesiastes, and
its latest hour, the terrors of that soul so privileged and so guilty!
finally a long poetical panegyric of great and holy men, recalling
SOLOMON'S CANTICLE OF CANTICLES.The God of the style of the Canticle of Canticles. It was written in the second
Israel had designed that the chosen nation should be, under Solo- century before Christ under the Asmonean or Machabean dynasty.
mon (Hebrew, Shelomoh, peaceful, pacific), a living and ravishing It gives a very high idea of the culture of the Jewish schools of th<
picture of the state of the Christian people under the Redeemer, periods
Some passages recall the poetry and eloquence of Isaias.
is
also the
work of
series
strate the
THE
" The Old Testament," says Cardinal Errtt, " sliows God creating the universe by a word ; the New, on the contrary, shows God
repairing the world by His death.
The former, by repeating the
promises relating to a future Redeemer, kept alive, without satisfying them, the ardent hopes of mankind, while shadowing forth
dimly the design of Redemption. But no sooner has Christ come
God by the patriarchs before Moses and by the into the world, and the new covenant taken the place of the old,
sons of Aaron after him, only pointed to the one infinite and all- than the former obscurities disappear in the light of His coming,
atoning Victim, Christ Jesus, " the Lamb of God who taketh and all the ancient figures, all the predictions of the Prophets are
away the sins of the world." He came as our true brother, flesh verified in His Person. The covenant made on Mount Sinai was
of our flesh and bone of our bone, to teach us how to sanctify the only in favor of the single house of Israel ; the covenant signed on
victims offered to
present
life
in order
thereby to
The
spirit
of the
of the Old
New
is
Law
v/as
the Spirit of
BLJi
HE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
fill
ST.
MATTHEW. Independent
of
all
th
is
take
life
it
so
up wherever you
much of
in reading
text of St.
will
the exquisite
sweet instruction, so
much of
Him who
is
from the study of the chosen page with a great desire to return to it again. To all
sincerely and humbly seek to know Christ more and more, and to become more
and more like to Him in thought and word and deed, God never fails to open, in
every page of the Gospels, and sometimes in every verse, springs of thought so abundant,
so unfailing, so refreshing, that one can scarcely tear one's lips away from these living
St. Ignatius Loyola was but a young and half-educated soldier, when he shut
waters.
himself up behind the bushes and brambles of the Cavern of Manresa to study the
While there, as he afterward was
mysteries of eternal life with only two books, the New Testament and the " Imitation of Christ."
impelled to declare for our edification, he learned more in a single hour spent alone with God in meditating on the life of our Lord,
than years spent in listening to the most learned theologians could have taught him.
And ever since his day, all who take up the
Mysteries of Christ's life, passion, and resurrection, as laid down in the Saint's book of Spiritual Exercises, and meditate them
" Was not
reverently and humbly as he did, will learn more of Christ and of heavenly things than a lifetime of study could impart.
our heart burning within us, whilst He spoke in the way, and opened to us the Scriptures?" said the two disciples of Emmaus to each
who
To you, dear Reader, remembering our own sweet and frequent experience, we
" Oh, taste and see that the Lord is sweet blessed is the man that hopeth in Him
Let a modern writer, one we would venture to affirm who has drawn from this same source his deep knowledge of the Gospel
and of its divine doctrines, instruct us on what distinguishes St. Matthew in particular. His Gospel, Father Coleridge says, " is
penetrated from beginning to end with the thought that in our Lord were fulfilled all the types, all the anticipations, all the prophecier
of the older dispensation.
This and other features lie on the surface of St. Matthew's Gospel. It is not so obvious, but it seems
^ially true, )r> ov that it is penned with a carefulness of design which makes it almost as much a treatbe as a narrative with a distircf
Jther,
when
The
which
Matthew's Gospel may be naturally divided are as follife of Christ at Nazareth; the mission and
preaching of the Precursor; the baptism of our Lord, with His fasting and temptation
j
lows
sections into
I.
The
birth,
St.
infancy, private
i.-iv. ii.
II. The first mission of our Lord in Galilee, together with
the
pregnant summary of His doctrine, known as the Sermon on the Mount chaps, iv.
ii-vii.
III. The seal of our Lord's divine mission in the various displays
of His
miraculous power: chaps, viii., ix.
IV. The mission of the Apostles and the instruc-
chaps,
tions delivered to
chap.
X.
v.
for all
Christ,
enemies; chaps,
is
ST.
MARK. It
is
have the twofold privilege of being an Evangelist and the associate of St. Paul in his
It is, moreover, a most venerable tradition, dating from the infancy
of the Church, that St. Mark the Evangelist was even more closely bound to St. Peter
by constant companionship; and that the Gosjiel which bears his name was written
apostolic labors.
in Rome under the direction of the Prince of the Apostles, and at the request of the
Roman Christians. Hence it is that St. Irenaeus calls St. Mark "the interpreter and
in
St.
no wonder that the son of such a mother should have been the loved and trusted companion
of the two great Apostles.
The Gospel itself, as comparea with that of St. Matthew, is more simple and elementary in
Some scholars have even considered it to be only an abridgment of the latter.
its character.
Nevertheless, although St. Mark omits much of our Lord's teaching, whether discourses oi
parables, he dwells at greater length upon His miracles, as being more iitted to strike the pagan
mind. " He drops the incidents and sayings which require special knowledge of the Jewish
The departures from the chronological order, which St. Matthew has
system or customs
are usually corrected by St. Mark" (Father Coleridge).
made . .
He begins with the missionary labors of John the Baptist, and lis baptism of our Lord,
the Temptation, and the first preaching in Galilee.
At the close of the second chapter we
have, in the controversy about the Sabbath, a key to the opposition which the Pharisees
are getting up against the Master and His teaching.
In the third chapter Christ's labors and
miracles are at once introduced ; then the selection of the Apostles. The multitude drawn by
the new Teacher and His wondrous cures is such, and the labor of the little band of workmen is so unceasing and overwhelming, "that they could not so much as eat bread" The
There is a mighty fermentation of opinion and a pas
Scribes from Jerusalem declare the miracles to be the effect of Satanic power.
There is such danger, too, in the bold speeches of Jesus, that "when His friends heard of it,
sionate contention among the masses.
"
For they said, He is become mad." Presently His mother and His near relatives or " brethren
they went out to lay hold on Him.
But He, who knows that His time of suffering has not yet come, and who is solely
appear on the scene, anxious about His safety.
unxious to impress upon His hearers the divine value of His own message to them, and the renovating virtue of the supernatural truth
Whosoever shall do the will of God,
and grace He brings to His nation, only answers : " AVho is My Mother and My brethren ?
he is My brother, and My sister, and Mother." With the fourth chapter begins the teaching by parables, which, however, is but
is
The tenth
;vapters on Christ's labors and miracles in Galilee.
The remainder of the book, from the eleventh
chapter describes the Divine Master's work in Peraea or "Judaea beyond the Jordan."
chapter inclusively, recounts our Lord's teaching, trials, and sufferings in Jerusalem down to His death, resurrection, and ascension.
briefly dwelt on, the Evangelist insisting chiefly in the four follo.ving
LUKE. St.
made
to
compose a
ST.
Luke wrote
his
Gospel
at a
and
42
skill as a painter.
He remained the associate of St. Paul till after this
imprisonment in Rome ; and obtained himself the crown of martyrdom
like his beloved master.
St. Irenseus, Tertullian, Origen, and Eusebius bear witness to
the general and early belief that he wrote his Gospel under the direction of St. Paul,
as St. Mark had written his under that of St. Peter.
Being a native of Antioch, Luke was familiar with the Greek language and culture.
Hence the superior purity of his diction. "His work," says Father Coleridge, "is
more like a regular history than that of the other Evangelists. He covers the whole
ground from the Annunciation to the Ascension, and there is no prominent or important feature in the whole series of the mysteries and actions of our Lord's Life which
he has left untouched. At the same time, his Gospel is to a great extent new new
either in the events which it relates or in the fresh incidents which it adds to tho
history of what has been already related, and he seems to make it his rule to suppl
omissions, and to illustrate the method and principles of our Lord's conduct by anec
dotes or discourses, which resemble very much those which others have inserted, but
which are not the same ... If we consider St. Matthew as addressing himself primarily to the Hebrew Christians, or rather to their teachers, and St. Mark as turning
upon the direct converts from heathenism, we may look upon St. Luke as the Evangelist of the Churches in which the Jewish element had been more or less absorbed by
to
him some
apostle's
first
The
first
section, chaps,
i.,
ii.,
le
lis
Doctors in Jerusalem at the age of twelve. The incidents of this early portion of
mentioned by the two preceding Evangelists are passed over by St.
l-uke.
The second section comprises chaps, iii., iv. and v., bringing the narrative
down to the first preaching in Galilee. Chaps, vi.-ix. 20 give the entire second period
of our Lord's life down to the Confession of St. Peter.
From chap. ix. 21 to chap,
xviii. 30 St. Luke relates what regards the doctrine of the Cross, the Transfiguration
and our Lord's labors in Judaea, a portion of his life the last year not mentioned
iiie
'
hrist's career
From
chap,
31 to chap. xix. 27 are detailed the occurrences and sayings that took place between Christ's leaving Perasa and His arrival in
Jerusalem. The remaining chapters are the history of His labors and sufferings in JerU'
ilem, of
xviii.
disciples,
:^
we
shall
it is
"In
it
is
John is distinguished
the words of our Lord, and
St.
arrangement becomes perfectly simple as soon as its supplementary character is recognized." Such is the judgment of Father
;
its
Coleridge.
John's Gospel will give much light to understand the Life of our
Lord as a whole, and much food for pious contemplation. The
Beloved Disciple has been called " the Theologian " by the early
Church Fathers, because he alone affirms again and again the divinHe knew him to be true man, born of his own
ity of our Lord.
near kinswoman, reared in his own country among his own kinsfolk, and, during the last period of the life ended so tragically,
admitted into the closest companionship and loving intimacy with
Him who was the true Son of God as well as the true Son of the
Virgin Mary.
It is the Divine Sonship of the Master that John
proclaims in the very preface to his Gospel, lifting our souls up
to these eternal splendors amid which the Word dwells evermore
in the
bosom of the
that period.
the labors of
Paul in the second.
Around these two
great figures, indeed, are grouped subordinate laborers; thesa
two, nevertheless, stand out in the narration as the central per-
and those of
St. Peter,
St.
sonages.
We
see, in the
very
first
and the timid Galilsean fishertransformed into the dauntless and eloquent apostles of theii
crucified Master.
Peter and John, the first in authority and the
foremost in love, are also the boldest in confessing Him before
" Immediately after
the very people who had put Him to death.
Spirit fulfilled,
men
Others only at one single point before he comes to the last few days
of our Lord's Life, and even as to those, nine-tenths of what he
this
eye-witness.
Father.
first
the Church.
He
is
The opening of
John
the
first
xxi. 15
first
which is also
work of the Evangelist St. Luke, is the only inspired history
sven though a very partial one of the infancy of the Christian
Church. The events which it records cover a space of about thirty
years.
As
the verv
title,
"Acts," indicates,
it is
the record of an
the apostles
all
who
he was to be the
first to bear witness to the Resurrection in presence of the whole
people (Acts ii. 14) ; the first to move in filling up the vacant place
among the apostles (Acts i. 15); the first to confirm the faith by
a miracle {/i. iii. 6, 7); the first to convert the Jews {/&. ii. 14);
the first to admit the Gentiles (73. x.); the first in everything."
Hear him again tracing out the design of Providence in the career
" Christ doth not speak in vain.
of the two great Apostles.
Peter shall bear with him, whithersoever he goeth, in this open
confession of the faith (St. Matt. xvi. 16), the foundation on which
stand all the churches.
And here is the road the Apostle has to
Through Jerusalem, the holy city in which Christ manifollow.
fested Himself; in which the Church was to "begin" (St. Luke
xxiv. 47), before continuing the succession of God's people ; in
which consequently Peter was to be for a long time the foremost in
teaching and in directing ; whence he was wont to go round about
visiting the persecuted churches (Acts ix. 32), and confirming them
in the faith
in which it was needful for the great Paul
Paul come
back from the third heaven to go " to see Peter" (Galat. i. 18),
not James, though he, so great an apostle, the " brother of the
;
Just,
and equally
But it was
He came to
see Peter,
full
to leave a model to future ages, and to establish, once for all, that
no matter how learned a man might be, no matter how holy
Through
were he even another Paul he must go to see Peter.
this holy city, then, and through Antioch, the metropolitan city of
the East, ... far more than that, the most illustrious church on
earth, since in
of
first
it
the Christian
name
arose
ttie
first
Bw
44
why do we
mind
on himself the special care of the Jews even as Paul took a special care of
As a division was necessary, it was fitting that the first of the
7, 8, 9).
that he who was the head, and
apostles should have the first-born among the peoples (the Jews)
which
on
the others must be grafted,
nation
to whom all the rest must be united, should have the
and that the Vicar of Christ should have Christ's own share. That, however, is not enough Rome
itself must fall to Peter's share.
For, although, as the capital of Paganism, Rome belonged in a
special manner to Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, nevertheless, it was in Rome that PetT, the
did, nevertheless, take
ii.
Nor is this all the extraordinary comhead of Christendom, was bound to found the Church.
mission of St. Paul must die there with him, and thus returning to the supreme Chair of Peter,
to which it was subordinated, the power of Paul must raise the Roman church to the highest point
of authority and splendor " (Sermon on the Unity of the Church).
:
ST.
PAUL.
In the Acts of the Apostles St. Luke describes the first growth of the Church in Jerusalem and
throughout Palestine, and, outside of Palestine, in various countries of Western Asia and Eastern
A society arises and rapidly increases around the teaching and ruling body of Apostles so carefully chosen, trained, and
Europe.
They and their successors after them to the end of time were to teach the nations of earth " to
instructed by our Lord Himself.
observe all things whatsoever" the Master had revealed as the law of life for mankind (St. Matt, xxviii. 19, 20). This immortal
wciety thus springing into existence beneath the shadow of the Cross of Calvary, was np* only 'o teach with the
fulnes."!
of Christ't
own
Philippians,
loved,
Christ's saving
my
The
things which you have both learned, and received, and heard,
of Baptism.
and seen
in
you!"
Finally,
And
so this -..ociety divinely commissioned to teach, to regenerate, and govern the race of man in all things pertaining to eternal
and
and
ever things are true, whatsoever modest, whatsoever just, whatsoever holy, whatsoever lovely, whatsoever of good fame if there
be any virtue, if any praise of discipline think on *hese things.
especially dear to Paul " My dearly becrown so stand fast in the Lo^rd, my dearly
Let your modesty be known to all men
Whatso-
who were
my joy,
beloved
4S
It is, therefore,
bishops he had set over them, the consciousness of this divinelygiven authority is evident in the writer, and evidently supposed in
He is in prison at Rome,
the persons to whom they are written.
whenever
St.
body of truths deby oral teaching, and to the acknowledged fact that the
members of each church had been thoroughly grounded by such
purpose,, for charity sake I rather beseech, whereas thou art such
Christ,
'
and
am made
a minister
Who now
rejoice in
my
own
the belief that they had obtained the grace of conversion as a reward
of their fidelity to the law of nature, and pointed out the manj
men.
human
of idolatry.
fill
5 8th
of the
sufferings for
St.
the
Paul
'
Revelation.
new
CATHOUC
BIBLE.
compared with that of the pagan world. Nevertheless, neither Jew nor Pagan
could by their own merits lift themselves up to the supernatural rank and
In order to convey a conviction of this truth to the minds of the faithful at Rome,
regenerated condition of the Christian people.
In chap,
philosophers chap. i.
St. Paul begins by exposing the horrible crimes committed among Pagans even by the most enlightened
sin,
so the
subject
to
thus
were
both
much
as
as
in
and concludes, in chap, iii., that
ii. he enumerates the transgressions of the Jews;
natural
virtue, and
justice
or
legal
not
of
and
grace
of
effect
Christ
must
be
absolutely
the
in
gratuitous,
them
justification vouchsafed
This position is confirmed and illustrated by the example of
therefore to be attributed to supernatural faith, which is a gift of God.
as
Abraham's heroic
Christian soul
is
faith
and
In chap.
v. is set
and increase this priceless gift. In chap. vii. he teaches that even in the Christian, after
down
forces of nature still remain with the low animal appetites (concupiscence) that drag the soul
nature,
of
law
the
law
or
Mosaic
concupiscence is a force which rebels against the restraints of the
13,
any regard to the merits of men and independently of His foreknowledge of their good and evil deeds, predestines some to be the objects
On the contrary, we are to believe that this predestination in its twofold ^aspect
of His hate and others to be the objects of His love.
Even so the words, " I will
foreknowledge
must
needs
have
is based on the
God
of the good or evil deeds of every human being.
persons
have mercy on whom I will have mercy," etc. (Ibid. 15), are not to be construed into an absolute election of a certain class of
almighty
the
that
imply
simply
They
destined to everlasting happiness, independently of all prevision of their good or evil deeds.
ever free to grant the grace of faith and justification to who i^evei
It is a supernatural gift, one not due to nature or natural /nerits.
Hence St. Paul says (Ibid. i6) " So then it is not of him that willeth,, nor of
Therefore iie hatli
him that runneth, but of God that shovveth mercy. . .
goodness
it
is
pleases.
;
that is. He allows
hardeneth
the hard and rebellious heart to persist in its rejection of His graces, as He die
So " to harden "
in the case of Pharaoh and in that of the apostate Judas.
show mercy " or
than
"to
anymore
not to predestine to eternal damnation,
mercy on
whom He will
and,
whom He
will,
He
'
'
i.
"
to have
mercy"
is
Let us Catholics rest sweetly in the assurance that we have in the living voice
of the Church an infallible interpreter of the dead letter of Scripture, whether
it be the writings of St. Paul or any other book of the Old or New Testament.
I.
AND
II.
situated
on a narrow neck
of land that separated the ^gean from the Mediterranean Sea, was thus the
The
central point on the very highway of commerce between Italy and Asia.
first
fell
beneath
When
it
lovely.
climate
and
the
rich
and
beautiful,
city was
the arms of the
virtue
and
liberty.
The
city
had been
visited
by
St.
Roman
commonwealth was
Peter before St. Paul came
austere
conquests, and operated so extraordinary a change in the manners of the local Christian society, that
Still,
<8
on several
This
letter
is
an answer to
this
Church of Corinth
to discountenance unwise and uncharitable discussions, and to
cherish, above all things, union of souls by firm faith and inviol"Every one of you saith
able charity
I indeed arii of Paul
and
I am of Apollo; and I of Cephas;
and I of Christ. Is Christ
divided ? Was Paul then crucified for you ? or were you baptized
in the name of Paul?"
Such are the words of weighty remonstrance with which the Apostle begins his instruction, and they
let us into the secret of these lamentable divisions.
To the proud
and vain Greeks, who sought and prized philosophical wisdom
above all else, the Apostle declares that he knows but one wisdom
that by which God has redeemed and is converting the world
through the mystery of the Cross, and the humiliations of the
Crucified
a means of all the most inadequate according to the
judgment of the worldly-wise. " But we have the mind of Christ,"
prayer, as well as a general admonition to the
earthly praise
people.
the Corinthians.
spiritual.
it is
communicated.
workmen and
To humble
Nevertheless,
Hence, chap,
iv.,
Him
the severe
to arraign the
conduct
these vain-glorious
and
his
own
in
Christian
man had
stepmother.
Him
glorying
is
licentious-
"Your
unbridled
not good.
to the
Know
ye not that a
little
leaven
establishes his
own
He
sive Galatians.
He
others.
He
He,
Purge out the old leaven, that you therefore, exhorts them to free themselves, from the bondage of
may be a new paste .
Put away the Evil One from among sensual superstitions to which both the modern Jews and the Gentiles
yourselves!"
were slaves, and to serve Christ in that lofty freedom of soul into
Then follow authoritative admonitions against the unbrotherly which the apostolic teaching and the infallible guidance of the
corrupteth the whole
lump?
.
opposed to
on marriage,
virginity, and celibacy, chap. vii. ; on abstinence from meats offered
to idols, chap. viii. ; on his own voluntary poverty, his working at
a trade, and his bodily austerities, chap. ix. ; on the abstinertce
from certain meats to be observed by the faithful, x. ; on the dress
and functions of women in the church-services, and the celebration
of the Holy Eucharist, xi. ; on the divine economy in the distribution of extraordinary gifts and graces, xii.
on the incomparable
excellence of charity as the great central virtue to be sought and
practiced by all, xiii. ; on the preference to be given to the gift or
talent of prophesying; that is, of understanding and expounding
vi.
lessons
cluding, in the
for the
final resurrection,
con-
varioi
farewell
words of admonition
and blessing.
The Second Epistle, written u few months
was
lead them.
" Stand
Behold,
to
fast,
Paul
tell
you, that
if
You are
you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing .
made void of Christ, you who are justified in the law you are
fallen from grace
You did run well who hath hindered you,
that you should not obey the truth ?
This persuasion is not from
Him that calleth you."
.
many
It
became,
city of
Ephesus
all
49
and was
commanding
place
During the
among
first
seve
Even
and monuments secured
to the remnants of its Catholic population unusual protection and privileges.
As St. Paul had repeatedly visited Ephesus and labored there with extraordinary zeal
and success, he could not but feel a most fatherly interest in the prosperity of a church
holding such a position, and destined to wield such a powerful influence on the sisterchurches of Asia Minor.
There is a most touching passage in Acts xx. 15-38, describing Paul's interview at Miletus with the clergy of the Church of Ephesus.
The beautiful
them ought to be read in conjunction with this Epistle, written during Paul's first im-
when
it
tlie
fell
Mohammedans,
its
traditions
and
tiij
incorporated into one undying Society under Christ as Head, and thus be
is His mystic Body, all the social barriers established by oriental castes and prejuGreek nor Barbarian, nor slave nor free, nor Jew nor Gentile " the Gentiles " are " fellow-heirs
and copartners of His promise in Christ Jesus by the Gospel," iii. 6 Paul hath been sent to preach " the unsearchable riches of Christ,
and to enlighten all men," without distinction, on the merciful design of the eternal God, iii. 8-21.
all,"
i.
20-23.
down
there
is
neither
It is
this sufficient
in the section
the sweet and affectionate expression of the Apostle's gratitude and fatherly tenderness toward a church which sent
need substantial proofs of love, and which gave, amid continual 'Persecutions, evidence of heroic constancy and piety.
him
St.
in
to
BIBi .
on
earth, visible
and
invisible,"
blameless before
Him,"
i.
aa.
..
It is to attain this
i.
13-16.
"We
man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, i.
God and the infinite Wisdom. "As therefore you have received (been taught) Jesus Christ, walk
to go back to the imperfect and now empty forms and observances of Judaism,
16-23. They are
every
infinite
not
ii,
newness of
THE
ye in
Him,"
ii.
6.
They
are
TO THE THESSALONIANS.St.
FIRST EPISTLE
Synagogue in Thessalonica powerful even then, and comprising at present fully one-third of the entire
whole influence in shaking the fidelity of the new Christians, and in persecuting all those whose constancy
remained proof against persecution.
St. Timothy, Paul's indefatigable companion, had been sent to comfort the Thessalonians in their
distress and to inquire carefully into their spiritual progress.
On his return, he reported most favorably to his master. Thereupon St.
Paul wrote to Thes.salonica.
It is the letter of a true fatherly, apostolic heart, written, most probably, from Corinth in the last months
t">f the year 52.
After expressing his devout gratitude for their progress and perseverance in virtue and piety, he replies to the personal
ubuse heaped on him by the Jews by recalling to the minds of his converts with what heroic zeal and disinterestedness he had labored
among them, supporting himself the while by the work of his own hands. They have not, therefore, any cause to blush for their spiritual
father.
In thg impossibility of returning to their city, he beseeches them to increase their fidelity and fervor praises their extraordinary charity ; urges them to attend, in all peacefulness and quietness, to their respective avocations, and to those steady habits of
They are not to mourn hopelessly for their dead. They are destined to share in Christ's glorious
industry which secure independence.
Being certain that this Great Day of awakening shall come for all, " Let us not sleep as others do; but Ht us watch and be
resurrection.
ober . . And we beseech you, brethren, rebuke the unquiet, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient towards all men.'Paul's departure, the Jewish
population
employed
its
'
faithful
St.
drawn
to
whom
he discovered
all
the great
SI
Titus from Nicopolis (in Epirus, probably, where St. Paul was
afterward arrested and carried a prisoner to Rome), after enumerat-
ing the chief virtues that should adorn a bishop, points out those
which Titus
is
to insist
to govern.
THE
him
as a brother.
THE
THE
EPISTLE TO
HEBREWS.The constant belief
of the Catholic Church ascribes the authorship of this most beautiful
epistle to St. Paul.
The doubts which modern critics have endeavored to cast on its authenticity are of too evanescent a nature
to cloud the faith of the true
It was probably
was addressed, not so
Christian scholar.
written from
Annas, or Ananus
Rome and
qualities that
sharing,
is
it
thought, his
first
imprisonment there.
After their liberation, Paul and his companion revisited Asia toTimothy being placed in charge of the Church of Ephesus,
gether,
while
St.
The
First
separation,
is,
toral office,
manifestly, an instruction
delightful spiritual
The Second
Rome,
md
" I have a
most probably a very short time before his death.
in my prayers, night and day, desiring to see
thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy
calling to mind that faith which is in thee unfeigned, which also
dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and in thy mother Eunice, and
Thus does the fatherly
I am certain that in thee also" (i. 3-5).
heart of the aged Apostle go out to the young bishop, touching
and moving powerfully every heroic fibre in it, before he lays before him the details of the high and holy duties which are incumIt is like the eagle encouraging its young to try the
bent on him.
remembrance of thee
"Only Luke is with me," the imprisoned Apostle says in conThe cloak
cluding; "take Mark and bring him with thee
that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with
Such is the
thee, and the books, especially the parchments."
Would you
poverty of this glorious apostle of Jesus of Nazareth
see a further resemblance of Paul with his Master, listen to what
the apostle says of his first appearance before the Roman magis.
trates,
Tim.
probably of his
first trial
charge
iv.
all
by torture
"At my
me may
by me and
forsook
first
answer no
it
16, 17.
In the interval
between
St.
to
Paul's
first
to the
Hebrew
Christians
St.
killed the High Priest Jonathan at the altar and in the very act
of sacrificing.
Everything in Judaea portended the near accomplishment of our Lord's prediction
the utter destruction of Jeru-
had
'''"nple,
and the
final dispersion
terrible
their forefathers ?
No one better than St. Paul could lift up the soul of these suffering Christians, confirm their faith by showing how the ancient
promises were all fulfilled in Christ, how the trials of the Hebrews
of old should animate their descendants to heroic constancy, and
by laying before them in the glorious spectacle
of Christ's universal Kingdom and everlasting priesthood the
consummation of
loftiest flights.
man
much
It
their
02
no stood as mediator between God and His people, was but a mortal man,
The same tranwhereas in our Mediator Christ, we have an infinite Person.
scendent excellence prevails in the rites and sacrifice of the New Law, and in
the spiritual and eternal goods it bestows on its subjects.
In order to follow without confusion the course of St. Paul's demonstration,
you have only to examine the natural divisions of this Epistle. I. From chap.
1. to chap, iv., the Apostle shows the superiority of Christ's mediatorship above
He teaches (chap. i. 1-14)
that intrusted either to the Angels or to Moses.
that Christ is above the Angels, although He has only spoken to us after the
Prophets.
For He is the Son of God, while they are only His messengers and
ministers.
Nor (ii. 6-8) does the fact of His being man argue His inferiority
Beto the Angels, since even as Man, Christ hath been placed over all things.
sides, it was a necessary part of the divine plan of our redemption, that the Son
should stoop to assume our human nature. "Because the children are partakers
of flesh and blood. He also Himself in like manner hath been partaker of the
same, thai iluuugh death He might destroy him who had the empire of death, that is to say, the Devil."
Again (chaps, iii., iv.), Moses did not build the house in which he was a minister, whereas our Great High Priest is the builder and
the master of God's House and Kingdom here below a house and kingdom indeed which are only the figure of the heavenly and
eternal.
Moses, though fai*hful and true in his ministry, offended, and so did the people he guided, and they entered not into the
rest of the Promised Land.
Hence we Christians should take warning, and yearn for the eternal repose into which our Divine Leader
" We have not a High Priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities ; but one tempted in all things,
hath already entered.
we are, without sin. Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in
seasonable aid " (iv. 15,16).
In these two last chapters the Apostle, with the art of a true orator, presses upon his afflicted and
wavering brethren the danger and fearful consequences of apostasy or falling away from the faith.
Those who followed Moses out
of Egypt, who heard the word of the Lord in the wilderness and beheld His wonderful ways, wavered and failed in their faith ; therefore
like as
who
allow their
and their
graces, and by
tion
first
faith to
waver,
"
It is
this
there shall continue all over the earth from the rising to the settinj
sun the Everlasting Commemoration of Christ's bloody sacrifice,
the unbloody offering of Melchisedech.
Thus heaven and earth
shall ever unite in the divine
Him who
is
upon it
but
bringeth forth
"It is reprobate and very near to a
"
come words of generous praise for their former
noble deeds of piety and charity, and a most beautiful exhortation punishment reserved to the apostate from Christianity is not the less
" It is a fearful thing to
to constant and increasing carefulness under present trials. Theirs terrible or uncertain, because unseen.
must be the invincible patience and living faith of Abraham, who fall into the hands of the living God " The bitter trials which
was rewarded after so much suffering and waiting. Even so must the Church has to endure will soon be ended. Meanwhile her
they anchor their faith and hope in Heaven, '- Where the fore- sons must arm themselves with faith and the heroic patience faith
the rain which cometh often
runner Jesus
is
his
begets.
left it at
the
show
Abraham, and
The national Jewish religion with its gorgeous worship was thus
only " a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image
of the things," x. i could " never make the comers thereunto
perfect."
Now we have in the Lamb of God the victim of infinite
price and merit ; and, therefore, " we are sanctified by the oblation
of the body of Jesus Christ once," x. 10. So, " this [great High
Priest] offering
aand of God
them that are
one
sacrifice
... By
one oblation
He
to
Bs of the infinite atoning merits of this one bloody sacrifice of Calfary is the guilt of all sin remitted, and through that Blood applied
The
the
the
virtues
and
loss
III.
writers
have
attributed the authorship of this Epistle to St. James the Elder, the
brother of
St.
it
Jerusalem.
In his Epistle, which he addressed to all the Christian Churches,
James insists on the necessity of good works as the proper fruits
St.
He insisted on this
filled with a living and active faith.
order to confute the erroneous interpretation given in many
places to the doctrine of St. Paul, on the inadequacy of works performed in fulfillment either of the Law of Moses or the Law of
of a soul
in
Nature to merit or
effect justification
The
this
false interpreters
Hence the
to salvation
"Be
own selves"
him?"
(ii.
m).
"For even
as the
spirit is
dead;
54
Both St. Paul and hath given us most great and precious promises ; that by these yo*
is dead " (ii. 26).
James taught that in the Christian soul supernatural faith and may be made partakers of the djvine nature, flying the cor
harity should go hand in hand working out man's salvation under ruption of that concupiscence which is in the world " (i. 3, 4).
The supernatural knowledge of Christ, and of the Christian'^
he guidance of the Spirit of God, and producing deeds worthy
f an adopted child of God.
Both the one and the other taught sublime destinies in Him, is not only light in the mind but fir&
hat suj)ernatural faith and charity, and all the divine forces that in the heart, purging it from the dross of all earthly and impure
man
lift
God
as
is
hinted in
St.
Mark
vi.
He
13.
words and deeds of the true Christian as the sun's radiance and
warmth are from the sun itself. Ponder every line and word
throughout these too short chapters, and see how the inspired
admonitions of the first Roman Pontiff are fitted to the needs of
our own nineteenth century, warning Ui against the apostate Christians who put away Revealed Truth from them, because they, too,
have " eyes full of adultery and of sin that ceaseth not " (ii. 14)
..." Speaking proud words of vanity, they allure by the desires
to the
common
interpretation of Catholics.
Its
evidently
is
Roman
to instruct the
Its
purpose
He
converse in error
life.
THE THREE
THE
first
title
for himself the glory which he denied to Jesus, affirming that He only bore the semblance of our humanity, and that the
body nailed to the Cross was not a substantial body. This was
and claimed
who denied
BIBLE.
was manifested and we have seen and do bear witness, and declare unto you the life eternal,
which was with the Father, and hath appeared unto us " (i. i, 2). "Every spirit which confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God
and every spirit that dissolveth Jesus, is not
of God" (iv. 2, 3). On the necessity of good work, especially of brotherly charity and its
fruits, St. John insists with the other Apostles, Peter, Paul, and James, while inculcating a firm
faith, invincible patience and spotless purity of life.
The authenticity of the Second and Third Epistles was denied by some scholars. They belong, however, to the canon received by the Church, and bear intrinsic evidence of St. John's
authorship, besides the external weight of authority which ascribes these two letters to him.
life
THE EPISTLE OF ST. JUDE THE APOSTLE.Jude was the brother of St. James the
Younger or the Just, Bishop of Jerusalem. He was, consequently, a son of Alpheus or Cleophas,
and a near relative of our Lord. It is not known when and where this epistle was written. It
warns the faithful against following certain false teachers and sharing their awful doom. The
reader will perceive, on an attentive perusal, how closely it resembles the Second Epistle of St. Peter.
THE
|.p.Mii
its
THE
most eminent
biblical scholars
and
theologians.
It may suffice, however, to tafec up the text of the Apocalypse, and to find in the natural sequence of the chapters themselves
the light which will enable one to understand more clearly the history of the Christian Church in the past, to appreciate her struggles
and to look forward with the eye of exultant hope to her certain victories in the future, as well as to that Supreme Day
of Judgment which will vindicate the whole mysterious order of God's providence.
We can divide the whole matter of this sublime book into two parts. In the first, embracing the first three chapters, St. John
in the present,
who were his special charge, and reproves what he finds censurable
This portion, therefore, is strictly ethical and historical. The second
and prophetical portion embraces the remainder of the book from chap. iv. to the end, and describes, under various allegorical and
mystical forms, the stages' through which the Church has to pass, especially the last period of her existence, the times of Antichrist.
Such is the view presented by the learned and saintly Cornelius a Lapide. The purpose of the Apostle, according to this author, is to
animate the faithful of the apostolic age and of all future times to invincible constancy in the faith, to the highest forms of holiness,
and more particularly to strengthen the martyrs in the days of persecution to bear their witness with unflinching firmness. Let me
add here to the learned Jesuit's thought, that St. John regarded in a special manner the condition and the needs of the numerous
Jewish Christians at the close of the first century.
St. Paul, in almost every one of his epistles, shows them in the magnificent
addresses himself in particular to the faithful of Proconsular Asia,
in the seven
realities
loss
to the Apostle
of caste
among
their non-Christian
The
on
spectacle disclosed
their royal
seats, the
twelve times twelve thousand from the Tribes of Israel forming the glorious nucleus of the beatified multitude which nc naan could
its
Ml
^.^>
^l
E^i^SSr^
number, and the Altar with its Lamb ever sacrificed and ever immortal ah
went home to the hearts of the poor down-trodden Jewish exiles ; all that
was calculated to make them find in the daily AgapcB or celebrations of the
Eucharistic sacrifice a significance, a divine and blissful Reality that could
well make them feel that Heaven was not far from earth, and that the earthly
house of God, though but a corner in the Catacombs, had some of the intense
and unspeakable enjoyments of the Eternal Home. And so the seed of
that
;.//
Abraham continued
James and Jude.
Besides, all throughout Asia Minor, during the age of St. John
and lon^
afterward, such heretics as Cerinthus and Ebion denied openly, and in Ephesut
itself,
They
do
to this
'j^.
B^
CHRIST.
mode
His
freshness of
influ-
ence,
and
there
must
have
been
many
who had
very
heard
without
profiting
parable
particular,
in
and
by parables,
scope of this
portion of His teaching.
Fortunately, in our own
days one of the most
general
beautiful
Him
by
what they heard, with
the
minds which
and warnings
revenged
glected
unheeded,
themselves, as
in
deem
We,
proportion as
Luke
in
became
He was in.
nevertheless,
Him
it
apparent that
disfavor with the eccles-
a precious
it
hardness
colder towards
there-
were,
it
increasing
as
vii.
must
it is
many whom
40-48,
only a
before the
tend
been
have
it
very
would
away
Our Lord
short time
death of St. John the
Baptist and the sending
met
people by a change in
the manner of His teaching, which is noticed as
important by each of
drive
to
from Him.
the
Evangelists.
historical
This form
are
men
three
comparatively
little
for
to
attentive
those
who
and
dili-
or nothing to those
CHRIST.
TO
^^
S.P
irf
.S
CHRIST.
09
.a
x: .5
ego
(/)
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TS
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o.
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bo
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1>
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bo
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CHRIST.
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t-,
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b-l
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sc
ga
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nj
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:-?
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fix
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CI. c
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52
CHRigr.
many beginnings which do not come reflections of His character, His wisdom, Hi"- patience, His ^n^
we may so speak, of the rich and multi- ning ways with His creatures fhat sweetness with which He
ordereth
all
things
'
nds human
nature, the
human
soul, the
complaining. The
minute details of the
He
fully
Himself and
a picture that
seem
we almost
see
to
the
all
that
His own. .
The
primary meaning of the
parables may be to reppearl
spot
God
of which Creation
first
God
of
is
in
good ground
session of
or
God by
and the
and
though
is
How many
the
forever,
sown,
and
(St.
actually
Redemp-
vision
beatific
the
is
Preservation,
'
Tares
Matt,
fruit.
tion, Sanctification,
takes
it
Providence,
wasted, while
only a part of
root in
not
true,
secondary,
but
involved
of
absolutely
to
simple
comes
wasted.
the
as
difficulties
part of the
words,
Suffer
both to grow until the
'
the
in at the
first
The
six
as
of
the
certain
first.
in
The
end of
series of parables
answering to and in a
sense balancing
the parable of the Sower.
For
we have
harvest?'
those
parables
the
Hidden
His seed at
random, as it appears,
and submitting to the loss
Treasure,
scattering
and
which
the Draw-net
follow those of the Sower
and the Tares, may be
the Precious Pearl,
r-.\C-\
v'
"
vr.1t:>.
mm
SPAKE ALL THESE
UJ0RD5.
1.
Qod
thou shalt
TjiOlJ
^
slialt
tlie
notta^e
name
of tlie
nE]V[E]yiBEI? that
A
tlie
tliou Ifeep
holy
1
^abbatli day.
thtt ttiliole
soult
IV.
TjJoiJslialtiiotyiL
*
VI.
njit adulteiy.
VII.
TjiOlT
I
Shalt
^nii
nob
tlv^
steaL
ti\c
second
Wl\on
is like to
slt^It
loue thy
YIII.
TjJOtJ
A bear
against
slialt
not
false larttness
thy
neigh-
bour.
neig(|bour as tlitjself.
C^n these two coinmnnd-^
IX.
TjiOli'
slialt
not
Li(|ofe
boup's wife.
X.
TjiOlJ
A
slialt
not
hour's goods.
./'./
faiu
and the
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS:
BEIIiTG-
Series of Concise
^WTETH iDEscRiFTioisrs
-A.3sriD
EXLFL.A.isr.A.Tioasrs
OF
of the Patriarchs, Prophets and Kings of the Old Testament;
Scenes and Ijicidents in the Life of Christ; TJie Cities and Towns
of the Bible ; The Life of St. Paul, etc.
003i^:E>I3L.E3D
mOl^
TliE
Is^LOST .A.TJTI3:E3SrTia
Copyright,
b.v
SOXJUOES.
J. R. Jones. 1862.
in the
reign, b. c. 1005.
fourth year of the king's reign, and the four hundred and eightieth
the
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
Phceitiua was to the ancient what England
world
and brought
is
to the
Her
sent
him
for
Solomon, which
ftelievii
is
The
alii
a valuable
alli-
the people,
who were
Hiram
ance with David, and became the friend and ally of David's spn
reign,
larger
to have stood
modern a
ships cov-
rich presents.
It
was
this alliance
that
wood and
Jerusalem.
The Phoenician
at
cia
it
added nothing
required to contribute to
its profits.
tened upon
It
its
The connection of
effect
large
sums
to the wealth of
expenses without
Israel
with Phoeni-
It
fas-
of Phoenicia, and led the nation into a deep and most degrading
idolatry,
it,
its
greatest degree of
splendor, prosperity,
Ormuz
and Ind," and "exceeding all the kings of the earth for riches and
for wisdom," Solomon dispensed justice, and received the visitors
from all parts of the world, who came to hear his wisdom, bringing their presents of vessels of gold and silver, garments, armor,
spices, horses, and mules.
He received tribute from almost the
whole of Western Asia, and conducted a great and prosperous trade
with India and other Eastern nations.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS,
bOLOMOX KLCtlMNG
Tllli
IIUMAUL
Ol'
UK
I'KINCES OF ISRAEL.
The
magnificent ceremonies of
Tem-
and
the
sublime
of the
king.
House
came
down from heaven, and consumed
sign of God's presence in the
built
the
sacrifices,
again
filled
while
The
fire
the
Shekinah
if
for that
and
all
rifices
on the
cuting their
office,
mon
homes, and they departed from Jerusalem with rejoicing, glad and merry
in heart for all the goodness that Jehovah had showed unto David, and to
Solomon, and to Israel, his people.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
SAiiA
AT THE
C(.)URT
OF SOLOMON.
The Queen
iiig
of
Saba, liav-
fame.
worthy
of
his
Her kingdom
great
of SabS
Yemen
or Arabia Felix.
The
city of
Seba was
named
Jektan,
who was
WILDERNESS OF CADES
was
the grandson
It
known
Very
with certainty
this
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
,<nij^<lom.
worthy of remark
Emperor, Theodore
It is
of Abyssinia, claimed
be de-
to
Queen of Saba.
the
There can
and Himyerite cities and buildings would add much to our present knowledge of the history of
kingdom.
this
The
ancient build-
and
and
temples,
Later
origin.
of
less
Sabasan art
is
but the
an almost unknown
The
of Cades
is
diffi-
geography.
it
the
importance, locates
highest
EZECHIAS' PRAYER.
at
_:;^p|K^^^-^-^^,*,,/,,,JJMj|||ljj|j||jpi
i:iinl'lli!|i;!i,'iiii;i|llliniJiili||i;'
J;
:,
',1
Ml':
The
son.
around
wilderness
it
of wandering.
known
It
now
is
as
According to
(the Wandering).
"The
Israelites
foot of the
in
the
western
edge of
the
mountains."
Upon
of
ST'jinacherib,
demanding the
king blasphemously
Jehovah,
Juda,
took
Ezechias,
the
letter
Lord, besought
power
King of
into
it
the
out be-
Him
ESDRAS.
in
may have
walketh
in
fallen
darkness."
We are not informed of the exact manner in which the judgment of God was executed upon the Assyrians; but of the miraculous
character of the visitation there can be no doubt.
When the watchmen looked forth in the early morning the plain was covered with the
vast multitude of corpses.
There is no doubt that some secondary border of that country.
cause was employed in the accomplishment of this miracle.
The Assyrians may have been suffocated by the hot wind of the desert, or
EsDRAS was a learned and pious Jewish
Juda.
priest residing at
Babylon in
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
to impress
some
led
ward, and
for-
proceeded
fessed
liberation.
those
account of Esdras'
until thirteen
name
the
book
written
by that
He
applied
himself
prophet.
one volume
all
The volume
we
The
build
effort
the
of Nehemias to reof
walls
Jerusalem,
ing tribes.
The
builders worked
and
at
length
and
EI.IAS
close.
The
solemnly
dedicated
great rejoicings.
The
finished,
amid
and
walls
it
be-
take measures
numerous to keep the Holy City from falling into the hands of its
favor of the king, who, in the seventh year of his reign, granted Esdras enemies, and before the people dejiarted for their homes
lots were
leave to go to Jerusalem with a company of priests, Levites, singers, drawn to see who should reside in Jerusalem, which would
have been
etc.
Esdras' object was to establish a religious reform among the left almost without inhabitants had all taken
up their residence on
Jews, who were in danger of losing their distinctive character as wor- their old family allotments about the several cities and villages.
It is
shi])pers of God.
His mission was successful. On applying himself a striking jjroof of the attachment of the Jews to their patrimonial
to the work ot reformation, Esdras found the people already infected possessions that the safer residence behind the walls
of Jerusalem
with the evil that had proved the root of all former mischief, inter- should not have been the object of competition.
But it was regarded
marriage with the idolatrous nations around them.
His first care was as a sacrifice to live there "And the people blessed all the men that
;
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
willingly offered themselves to dwell at
The
Jerusalem.
abode
every tenth
there."
live
up
rulers took
in the capital
and
their
Ten
Israel (the
and
The
Benjamin.
were divided
and
priests
Levites
in
When
dried
up
Prophet
the
all
had
the
God to take
He repaired to
in
commanded by
was
Elias
and sought
Israel
water-courses,
drought
the
refuge
shelter with a
Phoenicia.
in
poor widow,
share
her
As
a reward
tality,
hesitate
her
for
her
to
faith
of
stock
and
provisions
of
brought
rain
the
was
the re-
hospi-
an
back
have been an
Israelite,
shipper of Baal,
if
we may
but
wor-
an
indication.
it was near
upon Sidon. Josephus
states that it was " not far from Sidon
and Tyre for it lies between them."
Jerome adds that it " lay on the public
road" along the coast. Both these
conditions are implied in the mention
of it in the Itinerary of Paula by Jerome, and both are fulfilled in the
situation of the modern village of
Of the old town considerSurafeiuL
One group
able indications remain.
of foundations is on a headland called
'Ain el-Kantarah
this,
and extend
for
many fragments
It is
city
come and
consulted God,
Balaam was
prophecy.
It
endowed with
among
dwelling
among
in
the gift
of
his
own
the Israelites.
He
among
Scripture
of persons
one true God. Balac, the King of Moab, having organized a league
of the neighboring nations against the Israelites, who were at this
tiiiie encamped in the plains of Moab, sent to Balaam to ask him to
them to destruction.
Balaan
Balar
granted him the desired permission, but warned him that his actions
Balaam therefore
Avould be overruled according to the Divine will.
way
But God's
self-will,
and
Lord stood
"The dumb
ass,
in the
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
the
As
prophet."
warned
him,
his
overruled, and
had
were
he was made to
and
to jjredict
triumph.
Unable
God
actions
to curse
;o
of seducing
the
Israelites
fornication.
He
the
and was
Madianites,
into
soon
evident
Balaam, although
that
acquainted
with
round
tery
his
pared
for
therefore,
him.
His religion,
was probably such as
result of a
acquaintance with God
not confirmed by any covenant.
general
There
an allusion to Balaam in
is
is
Moab on
of
such an opinion
The
sia,
King
But
this occasion.
hardly tenable.
is
King of
Assuerus,
mentioned
in
Per-
the Bible,
is
Greece,
Mordechai.
It is
Book of
The engraving represents
Aman at the moment he is discovered by
the king, abjectly plead'.ng with Queen
peat here the narrative of the
Esther.
life,
The executioners
him forth to his
was har ged upon the gaU
hand
death.
He
to carry
tion of Mordechai,
'V-,A,
the
by
artist.
dian of
Assuerus,
king.
or
during the
Xerxes
He was
2,
the
resident
Captivity,
and
Persian
of
after
Susa
the
'
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
"who
gate."
-jng's
sat in the
situation he
this
by discovering
two eunuchs to kill
Later on he became, under Di-
saved
king's
the
life
the conspiracy of
him.
from
Jews
plotted
destruction
the
by Aman,
them
against
chief
the
As regards
minister of Xerxes.
his
scanty that
find
some points of
character present
re-
powerful of them
He
all.
relates of
Megabyzus to go
Temple of Apollo
and
plunder
the
at
B.\.\L.
refusal,
and
to plunder his
turned to Xerxes.
The known
ha-
makes
his selection of a
prime
Jew
for his
;
and there
what
is
know from
what we
and
Scripture
of
to
Mordechai.
JosiAS,
reign in
b. c.
of his age.
For
six
years
this
work of
God
re-established.
Josias
was
b. c.
march of Pharaoh
vessels
at Jerusalem.
None
of thp
magi could read it. The Prophet Daniel being summoned, interpreted
Balthassar, who had been associated in the kingdom of Babylon it as a message from Jehovah announcing the overthrow of the kingby his father, Nabonadius, had been left by him in charge of the cap- dom. That night Cyrus gained the city by a stratagem, and destroyed
ital while the latter made his vain attempt to stay the march of Cyrus.
the Babylonish empire.
The means by which Cyrus gained an enHaving defeated Nabonadius, Cyrus besieged Babylon. Balthassar, trance into the city exhibits his skill as a general in the highest light.
fancying the city impregnable, gave himself up to luxury and feasting, Babylon was a square city, at least five times as large as London, and
and neglected the defence. On the last night of the siege he held a great was traversed diagonally by the river Euphrates. It was defended by
feast in honor of his gods, and impiously used at his banquet the sacred walls .i-?8 fppf high and 8"; ff^et thick, which were lined with towers.
\
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
10
dries,"
confirming
thus
count given
cerning
in
the
the
ac-
Scriptures con-
tlie
circumstances
of
tiie
capture.
for
first
the
step
return
the
in
of thw
As
Sinai,
God, Jethro,
MoHebrew camp,
the father-in-law of
arrived
ses,
the
in
ably being
son.
Peninsula
made Moses
him
retaining
desirous
of
in
life.
It
affords
to
small
roving population.
modern
searches, of
All
the re-
investigators,
how-
the
character
greatly changed
times better
abundantly
of
Peninsula
the
that
it
was
in
has
ancient
with
vegetation,
Arabs.
The
possessions of
Peninsula, but
site
of .\rabia
G.A.THERING MAN.VA.
itself.
DuRiNG
Its
Cyrus,
Such a
city
who thoroughly
was impreg-
appreciated the
by a means as yet
beyond the
city, and caused them to dig a canal by which the waters of the
stream were diverted from their original bed-and made to overflow
the adjacent plain, which is of a lower level.
Upon the designated
character of
untried.
its
He marched
it
bed
of the
river.
Herodotus
states that
seed resembling the hoar frost, and was gathered early before the
grinding and
forty
years.
It
a miraculous
The
it.
It
was prepared
for
food by
baking.
gift
It
direct from
re-
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
manna of Scripture.
now called manna in
The
substance
Israelites
collected
is
According
arisk shrub.
it
the
in
and
leaves with
is
be melted by the
will
it
The Arabs
sun.
c'eanse a id boil
it,
it
in
way
it
can
several
strain
it
be
They
years.
uninjured
kept
use
never make
honey or but-
like
it
for
it
it
by
Itself.
sect
tinguished from
under
its
by having a
it
sting
The substance
body.
is
fluid at night,
but
the
in
harden.
It is difficult to ascertain clearly
the sin of Moses which was punished
From
it
summit
of Phasga, a
mountain on the borders of Moab,
God showed him the Promised Land.
the
Commentators
Thompson,
The Land and
forget," says
he,
pected appearance of
mon, towering
ghor
me
up the
which convinced
to the north,
that Moses
saw
it
mountains of Moab.''
mountain from which
also
from
Piiasga,
the
the
God showed
is
sup-
Moses obtained
The
at
least
to have
had
his view.
The mountain
is
so miiiutely described
nize
it
in the land of
it
Moab
may succeed
at
work
in Palestine
in identifying this
It is to
and
be
in the
most interesting
mountain.
The
the
kingdom of
of Jeroboam II.
he attempted to
not
Upon being
flee
willing to warn
its
doom.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
12
tes-
tify
tiles for
God
salvation,
make them
to
partakers of
it
ment.
itself
New
in the
Testa-
The mission
men
The
regards
as
happiness and
their
God
salvation.
final
tre of
Its
idly drawing
upon
it
might
it
make atonement
THE PLAGUE OF
LOCUSTS.
which
from
its
own
faith,
it
sent
the warning
never have
could
it
God
gotten
and so gave
it
ano-
The
the
he
I
by which
visitations
.gyptian king,
Divine
fered
commands.
This
plague
dif-
locusts in that
it
The
by the
caused
ordinarily
in
case
this
it
is
was over-
whelming.
by
his
them
in the wilderness,
God
for
Jonas's flight cast him into the sea, where he was swallowed by a great
fish
and nights.
Upon
his escape, he
proceeded to
to
The
mercy shown
to a heathen nation.
home
its
He
punishment
for
a while.
In the
all
testify
by deed,
as
The
thrust tliemselves
all
Testament, Core
particular grievance
is
their followers,
New
fire
from heaven.
which rankled
was therefore taught by the pany was their exclusion from the
was sent to
They
to him, that he
Ruben.
into the priests' office, and attempted to perform the sacred functions
of that rank.
Ninive and executed his mission, and succeeded in awakening the nearly
city
tribe of
in the
office
com-
his
The
inferio""
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS,
18
rebellion was
this
From
haps the
destruction of
the
(Num.
their father
Per-
ii).
xxvi.
fissure
From
of the Rubenites.
seems
verse 27
it
clear that
He
ment.
men who
the 250
"
n^^^ma^gi^-
iix.%l,-.L
The
engraving
is
a beautiful
embodied
as tenanted
Hebrew
if
by sylvan
All
woods
To
spirits.
CEDAR.S."
the
in
illus-
the
praising
Among
away
upon
his
first
the
who were
royal
service.
One
of
these,
high positions of
dom.
He
trust
to
in the king-
became
At the close of
ing Daniel
had an opportunity of
{_
his train-
made
empire, and was delivered from the lions' den, into which he had been
cess,
He after-
Cyrus he
remained
all
the wise
men
in
Babylon.
'
po longer held
among
the Magi.
At
the acces-
first
vision
still
at
mention
is
At the accession of
made of Daniel
Tigris.
last
recorded
as a pattern of righteousness
and wisdom.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
14
seen
The
in
the
but
slave,
natural
of Bethlehem,
streets
him was
task assigned
that of a
him
him
fortunately for
enabled
abilities
his
to
make
his
acquired
flock
daring
the
ing
the
fiercest
of
Bedaween in their
upon his father's possessions.
He became hardened to fatigue and
hunger, and indifferent to the ele-
He
ments.
and
make
learned to
lutes
Under
minstrelsy.
the silent
ex-
communion
in
stars,
the poetic
in those exquisite
made him
of
singer
for
all
This
Israel.
to court
that
he might find
talent
relief
the strains of
in
His adventures at
harp.
defeat
of
Goliath,
champion,
of
the
in
these
and
Philistine
his persecution
are related
for
summon him
by
Saul,
scripture
illustrations^
Saul's anger
partly by his
liis
to
fear that
the throne
Saul's
own
to
the exclusion of
Saul
children.
having
the
The
and
life
father Jesse,
and
being
mind
an insignificant position
which
roamed over the country between Bethlehem and the Wilderness of
He was a comely youth, slight of stature, fair of face, and
Judaea.
with reddish hair and light eyes such a youth as may even now be
set to
heir
apparent
and Jonathan,
the
to
crown.
life,
...
my
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
15
and amiable
woman.
tiful,
[to
As
the love of
mej above
the mother
love
fugitive
from
thee."
and
and
himself of
On
enemy.
his
rid
one
in
king was
proof
as
Touched
of
by
robe
generosity.
his
magnanimity,
this
with
for
"And
David.
David
and
Thou
thou hast
have rewarded
And
evil.
he
said
to
art
with
thee
livered
me
and
thy hand,
into
For who,
when he hath found his enemy,
But
will let him go well away?
thou
liast
the
turn, for
me
And now
this day.
good
done to
for this
hast
as
know
hand
that
thou
me by
swear to
name from
the house of
And David
Saul went
his
thy
my
my
my
father.
So
and David and
swore to Saul.
home
men went up
to safer places."
and
the Lord,
destroy
not
wilt
Israel in
God by
and determined
dis-
spirit
that
had power
was music.
cian
known
The most
to the
skilful
musi-
king's attend-
ISHMAEL'S WIFE.
And Abner
said,
As thy
soul liveth,
is
this
youth?
spirit
so
Saul
It is
sented himself before the king as he was about to set out to meet with them.
As no mention is made of any other wife of Ismael,
Goliath, Saul regarded him as a stranger.
He did not recognize him we may infer that this one was the mother of his twelve sons and his
as the minstrel whose sweet strains had soothed his troubled soul, and daughter.
SCRIPIURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
16
costly
Aaron asked
sacrifice,
made
which he
from
earrings,
"Molten
the symbol
of the
Egyptian Apis. This he ex-
Calf,"
the
Moses descending
mountain
in
the
idol.
from
the
the
idol,
over
Israelites
their
calf,"
the
sword.
At
his
instructions,
his
in
coffin,
THE MOLTEN
emdone in
the Israelites might
first
This was
balmed.
CALF.
24-26.)
xlvii.
The
It
was
three
inhabitants
and
were warlike,
advanced
far
The
modern Mosul.
It is
in
Its
wealthy,
civilization.
of the East
wickedness
in
of
doom
By
approaching destruction.
its
a timely repentance
it
averted
its
for a while
(ii.
communion with
Jehovah, upon the solemn occasion of the giving of the Law to Israel,
and the people, discouraged by his long absence, imagined that he
have excavated
make
the
Nahum
cies of
that
soil
the
as to
Bible
its
(i.
3)
and Sophonias
its
destruction
lost.
ever existed.
ruins (Nah.
its ruins,
13),
it
Ninive of the
seem
later,
in strict
i.
discoveries.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
THE
20
RO\AI,
I'Ai.Ai
r-.
Ai
A;3i\h..
17
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
kings
the
offered
and
sacrifices
on the
feasted,
by God
cit)r
commanded
to
order to ascertain
In
city.
by the strong
Josue was
of Jericho.
its-
city.
whose
in
the Canaanites,
that
and
in return
for
the-
was,
this,
habitants.
tress of
When
in-law
being
son-in-law
profitable
his.
in-
hold
gods,"
carried
which
away
had
Being
Rachel
with
her.
of
Gilead,
vanced post of
the
frontier-
most ad-
in that quar-
Israel
ter.
the
dean
after
With it
539.
empire, only
it
fell
the Chal-
twenty
height of
its
chodonosor.
prosperity
Its
fate
by Nabu-
furnished
years
fulfilling
The
it is
New Moon.
among
the Israelites
and Ezechiel.
for a sin-offering.
In later times,
They made
and seized and carried off both the people and their
During the
property, burning what they could not take with them.
reigns of David and Solomon, these inroads were impossible.
sions of Israel,
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
CYRUS ENTERING
liAliVLON.
19
ao
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
Upon
21
rusalem by Nabuchodonosor,
B.
586,
c.
Sedecias,
He
prisoner.
was carried
Sede-
cias
queror
face
Jeremias
to
had
face,
as
predicted.
his
all
sons and
the
The
Jews remained in
Province
captivity in the
first
reign of
b. c.
fall
586, to
King Cyrus,
B. C.
characterized by
and
fering
trials,
but these
11
BRAZEN
IE
.SERPENT.
trials
is
tion
Holy City
much discouraged
God punished
by sending among
murmurs
them
serpents,
fatal.
Moses
make
whose
was
bite
was
commanded
to
fiery
it
Noe
fifth in
and remembering
deluge, determined to build a tower which should afford
settled in the plain of Babylon,
From
name of Babel, but is
form of Babylon.
It is
this
better
known under
the
Greek
after-
S2
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
23
In
Juda.
Abijah,
these,
was the
with
battle,
trumpets used
The
hovah.
sacred
the
silver
in
victory
in
is
a large
of
ient. (2 Paralip.
During
temple was
on
set
to save
it,
Titus, the
and
in spite
Roman com-
was burned to
the ground.
of the
fire,
of the
the efforts
mander
mo-
14.)
the
-of
xiii.
city,
who,
until
now, had
re-
God
way
to despair,
The echoes of
and
cries.
shrieks of the
;
all
along the
walls
ings
famine
rallied
expiring with
their
remaining
and anguish.
"And
he showed
of water of
life,
me
a pure river
God
Having been driven from his home by Abraham, Agar and Ismael
went into the desert of Bersabee, which lies south of Palestine, and
wandered there.
Ismael soon sunk under the severe heat after their
water was exhausted. As he was at the point of death, God sent
an angel to show the mother a fountain or spring of water close at
hand, by means of which the lad was revived.
God also repeated
to
Agar
made
to
Abraham
that
Ismael
fulfilled in his
being
who
The
Arabs have a tradition that Ismael was the legitimate son and the
true heir of his father,
faith consisted
in the
Abraham, and
command
of
God
to offer
the promises
in the
East.
made
to
triumph of the
Mohammedan
faith
among
24
SCRIPTURE
ILLUSTRATIONS.
THE ENTHRONEMENT OF
JOAS.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
The
captivity,
are
with
related
Nehemias.
The
515.)
great
rejoicing;
"God
for
had made
great joy
rejoiced
the wives
so that the
eighth
S84, he was
b. c.
survivor
sole
lopped as
sacres.
by
In the
apparently the
left
their
it
Joram.
brother,
eldest
All
by Jehu, and
death
sons were
his
all
who was
who
except Joas,
by
him
him
to the
Temple,
amidst
great
rejoicings.
Joas
reigned
Denderah
is
bank of the
the
left
site
its
its
Nile,
It is
important for
grandest
Egypt.
monwments of ancient
220
art
remaining
in
by 50 in
breadth, with a portico supported by 24 columns.
The ceilings, walls and columns are
magnificently adorned with paintings and hieroglyphics relating the deeds of the ancient monarchs of Egypt.
The beauty of these paintings,
and the brilliance of their colors, which have
It
is
feet
in
length,
and vivid
as if laid
on yesterday.
They
are
hewn
into
its
destruction.
25
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
26
Egypt occupies
on the
west.
the Nile
only
its
The Valley
river.
flows
of the Nile
onstitiites the
is
really
resemblance
in
Greek alphabet.
of the Nile
exceed
The land
miles.
fifteen
fertile
is
in
this
valley
is
The
lasts until
December.
studded with
cities of note.
cities
narrow
the
The
valley.
been
at
least
greater.
in their food
The
among
and
habits,
known
is
civilized, cleanly
age or people
Roman
Greek, and
great works to
any
to have
millions,
five
fall
last far
into
into neglect,
1;1RI)'S
EVE VIEW
C)F
EGVIT,
years
many
Mod-
ern explorers are surprised at the beauty and freshness of the decorations as well as at the massiveness of the buildings.
One
is
the Menephtheion, a
skill
in
architecture
was lavished upon it. Its ruins are beautiful and impressive.
Not far distant was the
famous temple of Karnak, which covered an area
and
art
temple received
its
succession of monarchs,
in
This beau-
embellishments from a
who
Numerous
upon it.
on the
on the interior of
cial history
its
great hall,
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
JOB
Apart from
the beauty of
AND
HIS
27
THREE FRIENDS.
lan-
its
of the
subjects discussed in
it,
the
book
of Job comprises one of the most touching and memorable instances of un-
shaken faith in
God and
perfect sub-
Holy
his
Scriptures.
est affliction,
"Though he
in him."
slay
fair
who can
of God
in each
own
is
beam
In the end
that
is
God
in their
eye.
pardoned
it
at Job's inter-
cession.
He
is
commonly regarded
as
Judges of
been
like those of
Samson, irregular
having
28
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
1
l>
3
Ui
.2
**
13
is
J3
.5
.=
,0
13:
'S.
E
T3
s
<
*M
t:
<
J2
0)
i>
rrt
t/;
PL,
>.
to
if
CO
J3
.^
r,
bo
Sr
t-t
S
IS
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T)
J= ^^
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s::
V3
^i,
>
J2
nc
."ti
3
e
<
bo
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be
1/3
T3
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4->
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c/:
r -o
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ac
fin
s
C3
s
1
12
X
H s
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T!
i)
riJ
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T3
1)
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s
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T3
li
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.JIX
bO
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Im
3
bo
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[/I
IS
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IH
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15
w^
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s.
Ci.
.2
;:i
t-.
C3
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bO
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IS
^/
r.
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a
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W-.
r.
T-1
1)
bO
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+->
c
ri
<u
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rt
a;
<L>
CI
J3 a<
n
T3
ca
cx
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to
a
oi
.c tT 3
c 3
S IS
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1)
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IS
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rt
x>
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>.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
champion,
gloried
but
triumph
David's
in
as
David,
from
his
try,
Jonathan's
attach-
his danger
him
to escape in safety.
Their
meeting was
last
in
Kings
16-18).
xxiii.
was aware
David was
that
King of
to be
Israel in-
made no
it
difference in his
His gener-
friendship.
bor distrust or
One
of the
ill-will.
first
nations
Eastern
of
the
to
ai
kingdom
Mediterranean,
the
and adjoined
dom
little
Phcenicia,
which
of
of
the
of Israel.
king-
Hiram,
the
warm
successor of
and
the artisans
by whom
it
was erected.
He
Assyria.
adorned
ings.
It
it
world
The engraving
represents
29
30
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
own
slain
some-
Temple of Nisroch.
were forced to
The murderers
into Armenia^
and their brother, Esarhaddon, succeeded to his father's throne.
Joseph,
known
flee
after
making
himself
last
addressed
Palestine,
in
order that
his
father
comfort.
When
Jacob
heard
great
and
at that
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
Thb
cruel persecutions to
by
subjected
31
which the
Antiochus
were
Epiphanes, King of Syria, culminated
jiews
Mathathias, a
brace that of Syria.
Jewish priest of the town of Modin,
determined to resist this effort of the
He
king.
and called on
his
countrymen
to unite
His
and
his
mountains,
the
to
He
joined by others.
left
heroic
one of
Judas,
son,
the
The
Judas won him
of
exploits
brilliant
Hammer."
short
his great
in
were not
"The
lost.
Under
the independence
cut
The engraving
represents
last battle,
The
exploits of Judas
Mach-
abaeus
chapters
brilliant
of
an",ient
history,
one
as
age.
poorly armed
men he
defeated
and splendidly
equipped armies of Syria, and
won for his country a proud
independence
and
freedom
from persecution. His greatest
victory was won
at Adasa.
The Syrian army was routed
the
powerful
with
terrible
Nicanor,
its
This
killed.
cally decided
slaughter, and
commander, was
victory
independence,
Jewish
practi-
the question of
but
it
defeated
serted
souls
his
Eleasa,
Thermopylse.
rifices
Judas was
and
the
Jewish
His great
labors
sac-
bore their
fruit, however, and the independence of Judaea was successfully established under his
successors.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
him
to
symbol of a burning
in the
Israehtes,
thfi
to accept so great a
charge by assuring him that He would
He
things.
all
the
The
at
Mount
tablets of stone
by
the finger of
tablets
written,
God
we
are told,
These
were broken by Moses in his
Himself.
whom upon
Is-
camp
ship of the
punishment of
this sin,
God
the
mandments. These
placed in the
enant, and
Ten Comtables
Ark of
kept
were
the Cov-
there
as
sacred
relic.
after the
When
Moses grew to man's estate, he felt keenly the wrongs in- in the Holy of Holies, the same in
upon his people ; and once, his indignation having mastered during tlie Wanderings, and the Tables of the Law remained in it.
him, he slew an Egyptian whom he saw beating a Hebrew.
The af- Thus were the people reminded by these mementos of their days of
fair coming to the knowledge of the king, Moses was obliged to fly trial, of the all-powerful goodness and the great love of Jehovah, who
from Egypt. He sought refuge in the desert which surrounds the had made of the fugitives from Egypt a great and powerful nation,
Tiead of the Red Sea, and which was inhabited by the people of feared and respected by their neighbors, and the happiest of all the
Madian, who were descended from Abraham and Cetura. He en- races of the ancient world. When Solomon's Temple was destroyed
tered into the service of Jethro, the prince and priest of the region, by the Babylonians at the capture of Jerusalem by Nabuchodonosor,
and finally married his daughter, Sephora. By her he had a son, the Ark and the Tables of the Law were doubtless destroyed. No
whom he called Gersom. He remained in the service of his father- further mention is made of them after this event. The Temple of
in-law forty years, keeping his sheep. While here, Jehovah, who had Herod thus lacked these sacred objects, though it was more highlyheard the great groaning of the Israelites in their bondage, appeared honored in being visited by the Lord Jesus Himself.
flicted
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
Rebekah bore
two
Isaac
born
twins,
sons,
33
twenty
Esau, the
Jacob.
was the
and
called Esau
They were
born,
first
favorite,
father's
came a
tent.
Esau, as the
born,
first
" one
morsel of food;" and his
punishment was in accordHaving
ance with his sin.
them
Jacob
to
thus secured
liis
the conniv-
bled, through
plant
mother, to sup-
his
him
most
at the
moment
cal
brother's in-
heritance,
ance of
for
to obtain
of his
criti-
and
life,
the blessing
of Abraham,
which he was
to
hand down
to another generation.
Of
twelve
the
sons
of
one of
is
we
Scripture,
see in
thu
it
elated
Joseph,
partiality.
unduly by his
father's pre-
became a censor
upon his
brethren, and thus incurred
their bitter enmity. To add
ference,
and
to
informer
their
Joseph
hostility,
who seems to
pro-
censured
character,
imprudence in repeating.
In the
first
dream
his bro-
bowed
down
to his,
which stood
upright in their
most
their
fit
midst
submission
to
him,
him
The second dream was of a wider and higher im-
JOSEPH'S DREAM.
Egypt.
It
doubt that the dream prefigured the homage of all nature to Him
whose sign was the Star of Bethlehem, and of whom Joseph was on*
of the clearest types.
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
t4
Jehovah's
ot'
special
to
favor
house
the
Aaron
of
Twelve rods,
or
sceptres,
were
chosen
tribes, and
laid up in the
Tabernacle
before the
Ark, the name
of Aaron being inscribed
on the rod of
In the
Levi.
morning, Mo-
went into
ses
Tabernacle and
the
brought forth
and
the rods,
returnedthem
to the princes
o/ the tribes,
w/ien Aaron's
covered with
The
monds.
but his
By
sceptre.
mand
up
of
fruitful
the
God
in the
were
rest
dry sticks
still
com-
was laid
it
emn
of
crisis in
the career
They had
Israel.
obtained puisession of
the land given them by
Jehovah,
and
tained that
which
is
had
first
at.
success
always a
trial
was the
in
test
of their faithfulness to
Jehovah.
Josue recog-
Giver of
JOSUE'S
COVENANT WITH
ISRAEL.
and of mingling
with the people around
ings,
into idolatry.
He
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
done for them, he repeated to them the conditions
upon which they were to enjoy these blessings.
His appeal was successful. The people swore by
God not to forsake Him who had done such wonThus did Josue make a covenant
ders for them.
with the people, and set them a statute and an ordinance
in
During
Sichem.
the period of the Judges, Israel fre-
sin.
Madianites and
the
plundered the
Amalecites
The
land,
Israelites,
shameful slavery.
man of
guished
overran
Their
asked that
it
and
wrung a bowl
full
in
the
morning he
fleece.
Heavy dews
are
He
com-
mon
Samuel was
GEDEON'S FLEECE.
first
As soon
as
Lord.
He
Judge of
affairs
became,
of the
at length, the
DEDICATION OF SAMUEL.
35
SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
36
mind
those
made
oy
by day and
At
night.
this
But
Israel."
by
his personal
this life;
exercised as well.
prowess war
Single-handed he
became
to
famous
in
Bedouin robbers
David be
and
gan
his reign
He
Philistine marauders.
and he reigned
in
(b. c.
Saul.
1056),
knowledged king of
years
later
Ten
all Israel.
he captured
strong
the
mad
He
As soon
himself
make
as he
had
fairly established
he began
Jerusalem,
at
and
Hebron
to
Ark of God
the
great rejoicings.
rebellion of Absalon
for
David
to
fly
with
to Jerusalem
Kings
(2
made
The
vi.)
it
necessary
Upon
and
turned to Jerusalem.
by
all
who
ity.
This
checked.
outbreak
(2
Kings
was
promptly
xix., xx.)
During
MANTLE ON ELISEUS
tribe of Juda,
named
Of
of the
He was
named
Jesse, the
man
David.
.^Ider
which
is
usually allotted,
pendents.
This
life,
in the East,
amid
to servants,
The
opened
by
his
ant,
the
Abel-meholah, a place
in
junction with
its
the valley
He was
if
Eliseus,
IN
THE
LIFE OF CHRIST.
most notorious of
"Emerald
these
attempts
was
that
of
the
famous
modern
the test of
Byzantine in
style, but
criticism.
It
is
not antique or
in
is
OUR LORD
\<|A
1 li
ll
l.\.
THE
NATIVITY.
The time promised by the Almighty for the coming of the Messiah blessed art thou among women." As she trembled with astonishhaving arrived, the angel Gabriel was sent to the city of Nazareth in ment he proceeded to reveal to her that she should become the
Galilee, where lived a maiden of the tribe of Juda and the house of mother of a miraculously conceived child, who was the Son of God,
David, named Mary.
She was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter, who
was descended, like herself, from the roya! iini;.
The angei sud
denly appeared to her, and saluted her with the words which revealed
full of grace, the Lord is with thee
to her her high destiny, " Hail
!
He
satisfied
her of the
(37)
38
We are
came
to
Bethlehem
wise men from the East, for the purpose of worshipping and bringing
gifts to the infant King of the Jews, whose star had guided them from
afar.
It
who
men, or Magi,
these wise
commonly
they are
is
as
The
the
that
expectation
in
Judea was
Temple
Temple immediately
after
Simeon, and saluted the infant as the Messiah, the Saviour of his people.
The
visit
of the Wise
nouncement of the
birth
Men
of a
having alarmed Herod with the anking of the Jews almost under
the very walls of his capital, he determined to rid himself of his rival
by massac'ring
']"he
angel
of
all
the infants
God gave
in
the
old.
danger
which threatened the Holy Child, and commanded him to take Jesus
and his mother, and fly to Egypt to escape the wrath of the cruel
king.
of the Messiah.
It
star, the
Magi, recognizing
mained
Joseph immediately obeyed the Divine command, and rein Egypt with Jesus and Mary until the death of Herod ner-
handed down
to Jerusalem
do homage
to
promised Saviour of
to
Israel.
Manger
It
the
is
which
our Blessed Lord was born was a
that the
believed
in
make
of
use
stables,
such excavations
and there
for
good reason to
is
stance
Modern
correct.
is
writers
for
Rome
D.
A.
754, which
therefore called
is
The most
erroneous.
is
I,
fix
at
or in the year of
Rome
the date
b. c. 4,
750, which
As soon
had
Mary
expired,
and
Joseph
brought Jesus to the Temple at Jerusalem, with the sacrifice appointed for
two young
This
first
ap-
pearance of Jesus in
the
pigeons."
Temple was
his reception
by those who
rej)-
element of Israel.
An aged
emi-
Holy
ointed of Jehovah."
He
was novvguidedbythesame
Spirit in to the
Temple; and,
God.
An
aged
woman
first
not
far
from Nazareth.
It
is
thus sanctioning
while Jesus was satisfying the claims of social duty
institution of marriage and the innocent
life.
One
lake
39
which
is
Gennesareth.
formed._
was there that the greater part of his labors wasperis first presented to our view as preaching the
Here Christ
his brother
Andrew
waters,
and
to
deep
down
let
They obeyed,
Simon informed
Jesus that they had toiled
all the previous night, and
had caught nothing;
their nets.
though
down
will
The
the net."
let
cast
fish, that
they
called
help
for
their partners,
to
the owners
and
the
fish
so
loaded
Overcome
by
wonders, Peter
fell
sink.
to
these
down upon
The Sermon on
the
Mount,
as
the discourse of our Lord recorded in the fifth, sixth and seventh
St. Matthew's Gospel,
was delivered on the
chapters of
is
called,
It
in
the
hearing of
the
had thronged
was meant
and
out to hear Jesus,
manual
the
as
disciples
for the
and
spirit
JESUS TEACHING BY
THE
SEA-SIDE.
if
they
40
7'HE Saviour
made
his
triumphal
way of
the
Mount of
by the
rending the
with
air
tlieir
As he reached
shouts of welcome.
the summit of
turned
down
the
its
and
enthusiastic
mountain,
and
of
b:neath him.
and sorrow
for
of this page,
certain
While
JESUS TEACHING
nobleman, one of
ON THE MOUNT.
spirit
him
in
to return
41
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< T3
THE LIFE OF
CHK.IST.
43
Tyre and Sidon, going as far as
His stay in Phoenicia
was marked by that condescension
Decapolis.
to
woman
nician
(a
country,
the
education),
of
native
Greek
but of
first
and she
devil,"
Lord
besought
come and
to
the
heal
her.
woman
to a severe test
ing
refuse
to
commended
merciful Saviour
submissive
by seem-
trust
"and
hour"
that very
The
Matt.
her
frorr
xv. 28.
illustrated
accompanying
the
in
engraving,
her
Him, and
in
related
is
in
the
suffering
It
is
make marriages
the occasion of
Each guest
rejoicing.
great
required
to
attire
garments suitable
himself
is
in
to the occasion,
Our Lord
as
the
of
subject
related
chapter of
St.
the
Parable
twenty-second
the
in
Matthew's Gospel,
with
wedding garment of
no
the
man may
be
admitted to the
is
Indeed
rule
of
In
monogamy
and began to walk on the water to Jesus, but, alarmed by the fierce
wind and the waves, his courage failed him, and he would have sunk
had not Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him, gently reproaching him for his lack of faith.
of
which
In order to avoid the wrath of the Jewish leaders who were continually conspiring against his life, Our Lord frequently withdrew into
remote places.
On
is
civil
it
of
polygamy being
Polygamous marriages
to,
principle
the
to him, and being told to come, the Apostle cast himself into the sea
monogamy was
resulting from
is
plain
even
is
and unmistakable.
retained,
that of
man.
mar
in
the
Indeed the
practice
of
44
riage
existed.
uetween the
Our
him
partly in
its
in that
])artly in
Jerusalemand
neighborhood, especially
happy home
house of Lazarus,
at Bethany, the
and
to have
was the
sister,
sisters
zealous,
who seems
active Martha,
his
The
first
to
her gentle
and heard
Mary
sister
show such
desired to
a guest unusual
command
all
compared
to-
But he
is
one
and
the
to
needful,
PART.
zeal,
the
Her
wrong.
turn
its
Lord's affection.
DuRiNG
night
before
Jesus,
the
Crucifixion
the
again
disciples
the
old
question of
be
the
greatest
in
who should
them
wa
the
that
The Saviour
humblest,
the
who was
make any
the
i-ond
telling
who
or
other words
in
and
willing
sacrifice
for
He
others.
ready
ta
the
good
then
rose
and preparing
them a touching
himself, gave
example of humility and proof
of his love for them by washing
from
JESUS
by
question
he was greatest
of
Lord's
their
heavenly kingdom.
decided
of
raised
their feet, an
act
The
services.
imjK'tuous Peter
at
the
as the
first
table,
humblest of
refused
to
all
menial
taught
the
nature, and
pollution.
distinction
that
GETHSEMANE.
THE GARDEN
The word "Gethsemane" means
is
the
name
It
Mount of
Olives.
It
it
his Passion.
46
trees,
These
trees
for meditation.
down
all
GOLGOTHA.
A SHCT distance
known
as the
Grotto of Jeremias.
It is
is
a spot
in the
th.it
'
traditional site
city.
There
is
hill,
which,
it is
name of Golgotha
rock
is
The magnificent
tlie
burial-place of Jesas.
46
SCP:NES
and incidents
in
-2
o ^
rt
(L>
:^
cc
ri
!_L
^-t
n
li:
y:
=:
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a:
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1
s
IJFE
OF CHRIST.
47
given
his
Mark
xiii.
lem, John
men were
A man
22-26.
made
blind was
Bethsaida,
near
sight
to see, at
born
Jerusa-
ix.
God
Sight
no
mere human being could by any
being the
of
gift
alone,
it,
lost
to
it
it.
strength of his
As
lowers.
Our
x.)
nature and
the
us
love for
his
fol-
Lord
who
himself
styles
Shepherd," takes
his
own
in
their
the
Jesus,
"Good
his ])eople
under
protection, aiding
them
moments of weakness,
tenderest
his
sionate care
most helpless of
It
his flock.
is
of
St.
the Revelation
message addressed
to
his
last
churcli
New
Tes-
tament Scriptures.
ST.
Our Lord
Talents.
It
man's duty
is
the faculties
his ad-
for
and occasion.
It
diff"ers
who
will
demand an account
made of them.
Men
may
is
learn
how
namely; that
last
all
day.
men
It
to
gain others.
will
ever
And we
are
also
taught
that
only an
abilities
may
be,
we
siill
account
that
how-
have an
48
I-IFE
OF CHRIST.
tne
Sower,
parable of the
the
Saviour explained
The word of
differently.
of the
flesh
is
to
It affects
field.
disciples
his
it
overcome
truth
it,
and
it
In others
perishes.
it
and
sins
11
IK
SOWKR.
of their hearts,
soil
xiii.
In the
parable of
the
Unjusi
how we
strive
tc
use
would put
as
much
energy,
and
we should
dren of
this
generation
the
in their
children
of
and circumspect
sessions
in
this
world,
than
the
It
of the
mammon
may come of
make
riches
which
justly
it.
God, by
indeed belong to
us,
for evil
is
"mammon
on which he
sets
vants of
God,
his
affections;
and
whom we
spiritual.
man
By
this
we
may
hereaftet,
by
life
priests
Roman
the
procurator or governor,
sentence.
for
do
to
his
he weakly and
Therefore
sinfully
and condemned to death one whom he believed to be an innocent and inoffensive man, and whose words and
yielded
to
the
people,
man.
displeasure, to avoid
which he sen-
over-
own hand.
Our
early
in the
day
came
to
body of
evening of
his
crucifixion
it.
They reached
and
tell
her
companions went
ui-
THE SEPULCHRE.
far-
Mary was eager to discover what had been done with the "Dody,
when the Lord appeared to her, and confirmed the announcement
of the angel.
:JCENES
(HI
AND INCIDENTS
IN
Lord had
dead
the
risen
from
he
as
had
seen
who
with
him
As the
had
to
walked
Emmaus.
were repeat-
latter
assembled
room, saying unto
disciples
in the
satisfactory evidence
of
pres-
and
convinced
them that he had indeed triumphed over the
ence,
grave.
After
tion,
his
his
resurrec-
Jesus appeared
disciples ten
upon
as
many
to
times,
distinct
On
event.
and horses of fire that separated Elias from Eliand upborne on this aerial car he was wafted
from their sight through the vault of heaven to his
seus;
eternal
As
home on
high.
the learned
Haydock
truly remarks,
"Like a
much more
glorious manner.
in a
up
Jesus Christ
sits at
and that he
in
all creatures,
because, as
perfection,
God, he
wisdom, and
Redeemer,
was not man only, but truly God, the same God
with his eternal Father: and hereby is signified
that the person who took upon him human nature, and became man,
is equal in dignity with the Father; he who, as man, ascended into
salem, and had locked the doors for fear of being molested by the
lilt
On
Jews.
the
A.--.L1-..NS1U.\.
of
all
who
truly
and
in glory
THE
CITIES
in latitude
It
31
is
46' 35
.SAVIULR.
Its elevation is
BIBLE.
its
being
sea,
six
In several respects
its
situation
is
singular
thirty-
among
towns and
villages, but
because
and from the south, accordingly (even from Bethis by a slight descent.
But from
any other side, the ascent is perpetual and to the traveller approaching the city from the east or west, it must have presented an appearfeet,
ance beyond any other city of the then known world. The general
elevation of the western ridge of the city, which forms its highest
point,
is
about 2,600
Jerusalem,
if
feet
above the
THE
CiriKS
BIBLE.
ENT
J
Jerusalem
ERUSALEM
narrative.
years
b.
is
It is first
The
c.
principal events of
subsequent
its
1455
b. c.
and
Jebusites,
who made
it
his
1048
"
"
"
capital
971
"
"
"
"
The
chodonosor,
....
The
Crucifixion and
4 A. D.
Our
Resurrection of
Lord
The
33
......
city taken
ground
'-
^lia
70
on the ruins by
Julius Severus in the reign of Adrian
130
Jerusalem taken by the Persians .
614
"
"
" " Saracens .
637
"
" " Crusaders
1099
"
"
from the Christians by Sa
city called
built
ladin
1187
who
drive
by
II.
treaty
1228
parte, February
marked
of the backbone of
the desert.
With regard
round
it
on
its
occupied the
is
east sides,
west, south
usually precipitous.
it
and
the one on the west and the other on the northeast of the city, and
fall
its
southeast corner.
The
eastern one
straight
to
Christian Kings of
It
ridge,
Godfrey of Bouillon
Baldwin
1099 A.
1 100
'
18
Baldwin II
1 1
Fulk of Anjou
131
Baldwin III
Amauri
144
1 62
(or Almeric)
Baldwin IV
173
1799
JerusaUm.
Sibyl
win
'
Guy de Lusignan
'
Henry of Champagne
Amauri de Lusignan
'
'
Jeanne de Brienne
"
Emperor Frederic
185 A. D.
86
"
192
"
11
II.
it
11 97
"
1210
"
1229-39
"
existed in h.
city.
Hecataeus of Ab-
dera, a contemporary of Alexander the Great, says that the city was
for
50 stadia in circumference, and had a population of 120,000; and yet
bend to the east until it meets the Valley of Jehosha- in his day it could not have been by one-third as large as when Bezetha
Eusebius quotes two other writers prior to
phat. Thus while on the north there is no material difference between was enclosed by Agrippa.
the general level of the country outside the walls and that of the Josephus, one of whom gives the circuit at 40, and the other at only
highest parts of the city, on the other three sides, so steep is the fall 27 stadia.
But Josephus' estimate, perhaps measurement, of 33 stadia
of the ravines, so trench-like their character, and so close do they appears to be the most accurate. A city of such dimensions granting
keep to the promontory at whose feet they run, as to leave on the that it was densely populated could not have afforded accommodabeholder almost the impression of the ditch at the foot of a fortress tion to more than 100,000 people; and as we know that a considerable
rather than of valleys formed by nature.
portion of the ground was taken up by the buildings and courts of
takes a sudden
THE
CITIES
BIBLE.
BS
newly en-
part of the
exceed
perhaps,
not,
did
population
dinary
This number,
70,000.
the
the
of
crowded
that
titudes
the
englens
the
in
on
and
and
city,
camped
hillsides
annual
the
feasts.
by Titus, vast
numbers had assembled
tacked
Of
the Passover.
these,
1,100,000 perished
b\
famine,
or
pestilence,
prisoners
slavery
island of Malta,
or Melita, as
noted
as
Paul.
it
tlie
It is a
is
scene of
tlie
at
an earl\
by the Greeks
who were driven out by the Car-
day.
of Sicily,
thaginians,
who
242
in
by the Romans.
It
B. c.
was a
La
St.
i, is
shipwreck of
were expelled
Roman
The
possession
principal city,
and
which
strongly fortified.
is
is
shipwreck,
is
of the
the
island,
27th
chapter of Acts.
Tlie
Apostle
many
miracles there.
The
ancient
isthmus
city
capital of Achaia,
Ionian
RUINS OF CORINTH.
Sea
of Greece.
po.-.t
of the
largest,
The Romans
c.
made
it
Roman
de-
colony,
greatness.
it
its
summit.
Corinth
and Corinth
is
a wretched
place with
few vestiges of
its
former
THE
CITIES
BIBLE.
CANA OF GALILEE.
Two
the
less
The
it
is
It
alsi.
which was
are advocated by
site
GEBAL.
Gospel
at Kana-el-jelil,
which
is
situated
five
Cana was
It
makes but
little
Gebal was
north of Beyrout.
Scriptural
call
it
name
Jebail.
It
but
its
old
THE
CITIES
BIBLE.
xxvii. 9),
seat of the
worship of
Thammuz,
a Syrian idol
thirty stadia
suburb or port to
xiii. 5).
TvRE, one
01
but
rapidly
became
months' duration.
city
the
who formed
of David,
close
alliance
with
the
Tyrian monarch
Hiram, which was continued by Solomon. The
famous
of
David's
Solomon's
royal
Palace,
Temple
residence
salem.
at
and
and
Jeru-
^^K
of
Israel,
^^E:
of
this
gross
with a princess
nation
'^
brought
it.
SIDON.
THE
CITIES
BIBLE.
Sidon, the Zidon of the Old Testament,
and now Saida, was situated on the Medit-'rranean, 20 miles north of Tyre, and the
same distance south of the present city of
Reyrout.
It
is
ities
in
the world,
Jacob
in
Genesis
xlix. 13.
It
believed
is
was once a place of great wealth and importance, possessing a splendid harbor and
an extensive maritime trade. Its inhabitants were famous for their success in com-
merce, their
skill in
navigation, astronomy,
and glass-making. The harbor is now choked with sand, and Sidon is
a wretched, half-ruined town with 5000 inhabitants.
It was visited by the Saviour,
and many of the inhabitants believed on
architecture,
Him.
now
JoppA,
called
Jaffa,
in
tj-.i
one of the
is
world.
JAFFA,
OR
was
It
of the
salem.
JOITA.
SI
first
and here
St.
and
for
Tarshish,
important port.
Its
The
city
harbor
is
is still
an
bad, being
The
150
feet,
offering
varied prospects.
bers about
15,000,
and Armenians
The
have
Latins,
each
church here.
about
THE FALL OF
various changes,
Tyre
at
Tyre
is
a place of
3,000 inhabitants.
no importance,
It
lies
one mile long and half a mile from the shore, thus enclosing
two so-called harbors separated by Alexander's causeway, which is
now a broad isthmus. The true harbor lies to the north of the town,
but it is shallow, and will accommodate only the smallest vessels.
island,
JERICHO.
the Israelites after their passage of the Jordan, the capture being
accomplished by the miraculous destruction of its walls. A new
Jericho was afterwards built on a neighboring site, and became a
It
contained
Our
it,
and gave
sight to
The
is
a matter of
THE
CITIES
BIBLE.
67
city of
its
The ancient
is
and the
The modern
city
as the
magnificence of
will
never die.
its
beauty, the
its
its
literature,
it
passed under the dominion of the Romans, and during this period
was
visited
in
his journey
from Macedonia.
which constituted
its
In
its
palmy
and
'hem.
port,
THE
bs
CITIES
BIBLE.
right
left
Erechtheum.
beautiful
The
Parthenon
was by common consent the noblest building of the ancient world, and the most
monument
beautiful
of Athens.
It
stood
It
the
first
traveller
sea.
It
is
It
was
built in the
temple.
effect,
and
were overcome.
The approach
to
it
It
contained
defence of the approach from the city to the summit of the hill.
Among the ancients it was even more admired than the Parthenon for
culties of the site
it
Greece by the Turks. In 1687, during a war between the Turks and
Venetians, the former converted it into a powder magazine.
A Vene-
THEATRE OF DIONYSUSATHENS.
its
introduction of Christianity
lis.
If
was oblong
in shape,
the east end, and a kind of transept at the west, a portico of four col-
umns on
and the portico of caryatides standing on a baseon the south. It was regarded as one of the
most beautiful works of ancient times, and was held in the highest
veneration by the Athenians.
It was erected in honor of Erechtheus
the north,
ment, eight
feet high,
THE
CITIES
BIBLE.
59
is
is
is
books of Maccabees
mentioned
in the
time in the
Hebrew
the
in
Mole of Had-
Rome
rian,
It is also
Scriptures.
Acts of the
mentioned
Epistle
the
Apostles,
his son
is
the
to
The
St.
to the
The Jewish
Rome.
Many
that time.
men.
made
freed-
Cjesar showed
Julius
This
for
Jews residing at Rome apparently in considerable numbers at the time of St. Paul's visit.
The Rome of the Apostle's day was a large and ir-
we
find
by an outer
wall; for
lies
tion
it
will be
remembered
by Augustus, and
streets
its
viz.
ST.
ANGELO AND
ST.
PETER'S.
The
by Nero.
restoration
restora-
its
densely crowded
Paul's
Rome
first visit
conflagration
to
St.
many
that event,
The
probability, of slaves.
all
There appears to
and no free industrial population.
Side by side with the wretched classes just mentioned was the comparatively small body of the wealthy
nobility, of whose luxury and profligacy we hear so much
miserable system of public gratuities.
in the
class,
The
the
localities in
New Testament,
Rome
at the
Rome, of
visit.
is
and
In the
modern
city,
object.
It is
Rome.
It
stands on the
.-^T.
site
The
other localities in
and about Rome connected with the Apostolic era are the Appian
Way, by which St. Paul approached the Eternal City; the Mamertine
prison, in which he was confined, which was built by Ancus Martius,
near the Forum, and which still exists beneath the church of San
Guiseppe dei
FaUgnami :
PETER'S
memo-
martyrdom on
the
Ostian road
up
the chapel
city to be ofl'ered
THE LIFE OF
60
r'AUL.
ST.
water,
and on the
Damascus
from
to
the
Mediter-
ranean.
Jesus
it
residence
during
the
three
miracles,
portunity
it
but
offered
rejected
it
lives
the
sacred
tive,
and
can
writers
of Galilee.
tivity.
about
It
speculate
cities
There is no mention of it prior to the Babylonish capwas situated on the north-wect shore of the Sea of Galilee,
five miles
be
concerning
Gennesaret.
Dr.
it.
Khan Minyeb, on
at
narra-
its site is
so obliterated that
only in
city
the
northern border of
Grove, locate
it
the
at
only
site
plain
to
of
Hum,
Tell
THE LIFE OF
ST.
PAUL.
He was a native of Tarsus, a city
of the province of Cilicia, " no mean
city,"
he
tells
chief city of
on
us.
its
Tarsus
was
province, and
the
the
stood
in
the
fertile plain
infancy,
family of
this city.
Roman
the
of a
"the Dispersion,"
Jewish
living in
civil
wars.
It
The
TARSUS,
THE BIRTHPLACE OF
ST.
ample means,
PAUL,
for
Saul
was
liberally
One
St. Paul,
New Testament
As
man,
consists
Lord and
St.
Paul
is
one of the most remarkable and powerful characters in all history, and
and missionary of the Saviour, he is even more remarkable and interesting.
as the servant
the close of his Hellenic course, to complete his studies under the
Hebrew
ity
who was
from his childhood, a complete knowledge of Hebrew and of the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as the whole mass of the traditional lore of the
THE
LIFE OF ST.
PAUL.
61
He
Iharisaic schocL
Jerusalem.
Pharisee became a fierce and uncompromising champion of the traditions of the fathers.
The new
the religion of the Jews, and he opposed them with great and active
He took a leading part in the persecutions which were directed
zeal.
against the
witnesses.
the Christians was redoubled, and he became, not merely the chief
instrument, but the prime mover in the great persecution for which
that event gave the signal
were forced
tians
his efforts
to fly
and
it
still
was by
from Jerusalem.
own
or
women
On
wonderful
his journey a
occurrence
Damascus,
happened
to
a. d. 37.
Saul
an
As
event which changed the entire current and purposes of his life.
the
towers
of
the
anDamascus,
drew
near
to
companions
he and his
noonday sun,
it and
This brightness was not seen by Saul alone,
bringing it to a halt.
but was visible to all who were with him, and they were stricken to
Of all the company, Saul alone was struck blind
the earth by it.
cient city being in full view, a light, brighter than the
blazed
the
little
band, enveloping
by it, and he alone beheld in the blaze of glory the vision of the
Son of God, as He appeared to the Three Children in the fiery furnace, and to Stephen in the article of death, visible only to his
One whom he
His purpose to make of
spiritual sense.
the
to
his
Lord,
Ananias, knowing
him
restored
him
his sight
Received into
the city by
who had
The vision
was led into
his companions,
seen
the
light
of his friends
das,
named
Ju-
where he remained
in
fast-
in
He
is
the
Son of God and the more they wondered at the great persecutor's
conversion, the more he increased in strength, " and confounded the
Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is the very Christ."
From Damascus, Paul retired into Arabia Petraea, by the Divine com-
full
to him.
him
known
restore
Seeing that he was thus called to the Apostleship, Saul, who was
afterwards called Paul, began his public ministrations immediately
and
after all,
the
to Saul,
that Saul
He
go
was not,
of
will
to
SAUL.
himself
submitting
entirely
THE CONVERSION OF
THE LIFE OF
62
PAUL.
ST.
Before leaving
the
Temple, and
in the
was on
it
this
commanded
From
tioch,
money
collection of
of their bretliren
and sent
made
Jerusalem,
at
to
it
Barnabas.
Antioch,
to
and soon
composing
comHoly Ghost to
Paul and Barnabas to
manded by
send forth
the
to the
Gentile
nations.
forth, a. d.
on what
Antioch,
known
is
generally
They em-
missionary journey.
barked
from
45,
Seleucia,
at
the port of
From
Cyprus.
on the
Salamis, which
is
of
coast.
They
the Roman
From Paphos they
to Perga, in Pam-
also converted
Proconsul.
went by sea
phylia, thence
they crossed
the
mountain range of Taurus to Pisidia and Lycaonia, a journey attended with great hardship and
danger.
Here Mark left them,
and returned to Jerusalem. The
first
in
Pisidia
in close
Christianity.
He
himself declares
and blood.
After
his preaching.
fly.
A
He
succeeded in escaping from the city, and at once went up to Jerusalem, where he spent fifteen days as the guest of St. Peter, and was
jjreseiited
Jews
to the cliurch.
came near
costing
him
His zeal
his life,
in
tianity.
nia.
Antioch
in
and Derbe,
in
Lycao-
by the jjerformance of
several miracles.
It
a re-
their
constant round of
it
was necessary
for Chris-
THE LIFE OF
ST.
PAUL.
tians to
ject.
They made
land,
passing
and
the journey by
Phoenicia
through
declaring
Samaria,
the
to
brethren on their
had done
for the
church
at
The
Apostles
returned to Antioch.
In
St.
49,
and
This
from Jerusalem.
nis return
wide extent
its
long duration
covering a
memor-
is
Europe
still
confined
division
eastern
that
though the
of
the
Beginning at
embraced Cilicia, Ly-
Adriatic.
Antioch,
it
and in Europe, spoken, could only suppose that he had given some strong ground ibr
the Troad
Macedonia, Athens and Corinth ; whence Paul crossed the .i^igean such indignant fury, and, causing him to be brought into the castle,
to Ephesus, and thence sailed to Caesarea, and so, after a hasty visit commanded him to be examined by scourging.
The soldiers were
;
Paul made this journey in com- already binding him with thongs to the post, when the Apostle told
Luke formed a part of the little band them he was a Roman citizen, and reminded them of the danger of
during a portion of the journey.
inflicting any arbitrary punishment upon one who was under the proAfter a considerable stay at Antioch, St. Paul set out on his third tection of imperial Rome.
The tribune was astonished at this, and
*nd last missionary journey in the autumn of a. d. 54, pursuing his alarmed to find that he had inflicted the indignity of chains upon a
This third circuit included a residence of no less than free-born Roman. Learning that the trouble was a question concernold route.
three years at Ephesus; a journey through Macedonia, and probably ing the Jewish religion, the tribune summoned the chief priests and
as far as Illyricum, which brought the Apostle to Corinth, where he the Sanhedrim to meet on the following day, and having loosed Paul
sp\ent the three winter months of a. d. 57-58.
To disconcert a from his bonds, placed him before them. Paul made a defence of his
Jewish plot against his life, he returned through Macedonia, and em- course, but the Council, which had no legal power to decide his fate,
barked at Philippi, after the close of the Passover; and rejoined his broke up in confusion, and a plot against the Apostle's life being disto Jerusalem, returned to Antioch.
pany with
Silas
and Timothy.
At Miletus,
at
Alexandria-Troas.
He warned them
covered the next day, the commander of the castle sent Paul, under
the protection of a strong military escort, to Csesarea, to be
who by
of the dangers
Roman Governor
Felix, the
of that province.
examined
Paul's accusers
Soon
in the future,
Tertullus
made an
and the profanation of the Temple; but Paul replied with such force
that Felix refused to pass any sentence until he could consult the
governor of the castle at Jerusalem, who had first arrested Paul.
He remanded
visits
offices
him
and kind
of his friends.
Some time
to receive the
after this
he again
this time,
faith of Christ
way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will send for
commanding the post to address the people, thee." He kept Paul in prison for two years, often sending for him
and, speaking to them in the Hebrew tongue, related the incidents and conversing with him, not for purposes of repentance, however,
of his early life and his conversion, the throng listening to him in but merely with the hope that Paul would bribe him to release him.
of the
silence.
Roman
When
officer
the Gentiles, the people burst into furious cries and rent their clothes.
The Roman officer, ignorant of the language in which Paul had
this
time Felix was removed, and Portius Festus apThe case of Paul was at once brought
at
THE
LIFE OF
ST.
PAUL.
He
besought the new Governor to have Paul brought to the Holy City hired within the limits of the Pratorium.
for trial,
it
and Paul,
kill
The
of the Gospel.
He
soldier,
who
visitors,
and
was a prisoner
at
kept
to
Rome
fully
two
years, during
from which time he labored diligently to spread a knowledge of the GosRome, and pel, making many converts, among whom were some of the members
demanded a trial at
by the Roman law to grant the demand. A
few days after this, Agrippa and his sister, Berenice, came to Caesarea
to congratulate the new Governor on his arrival, and Festus knowing
Agrippa to be well versed in matters pertaining to the Jews, had Paul
brought before him, in order that the king might hear the case, and
advise him (the Governor) as to what precise charge he ought to lay
Paul availed himself of this opportunity to debefore the Emperor.
Festus to Caesar, or, in other words,
Festus was compelled
at a
subsequent period.
those addressed
liim
from Csesarea,
While
at
Rome
he
and he would be safe from the murderous plots of the Jews; and he suffered martyrdom at Rome, A. D. 66, it is believed on the 29th of
was anxious to preach Christ crucified in the Imperial City itself. June. Being a Roman citizen, he was allowed the privilege of being
Festus did not keep him waiting long, but sent him, with other pris- beheaded, without being scourged.
oners, under the charge of a centurion of the Augustan cohort
We
named
Julius.
Forum and
He
at the stations of
officers to
of
St. Paul.
great joy.
We
perceive the
dwell ki a house which he tesy and personal dignity of his bearing, and his perfect fearlessness.
'AVE MARIA!
GRATIA PLENA."
BERNARD
(Graduate of
O'REILLY,
LD.
D. U..
LAVAL Ua\1VERSLT\,
Queiec.^
<'Of>yngbif itto^.
the
Or Mary
and of His
the
together with
After S. Jerome
the
founded
Mar-
Origen, S.
S. John
Damascene (both natives
of Palestine), S. Gregory
of Nyssa and S. Gregory
He
spread
which
religion
on them.
S. Justin
Epiphanius and
light
come
But
history.
all
Nazianzen,
of
natives
S.
but
Palestine
the
Cyril of Jerusalem, S.
sur-
tive of
flourishing
Christian
brose and
churches,
both contemporaries of
it
S.
Augustine,
Such are a
Jerome.
tural
S.
Every
and
His
family.
entire
this inquiry
their
And
seph.
narrative
was
by the
misstatements and cal
stimulated
We
need only
lip
recall
early
writers
Judsea
down
in
too
the very
to us
the last
by
their disciples,
among
these
names stands
who
is first
that of S.
in the order
Jerome;
not, as
heart
the
life after
She was
of the early
dear to the
Gos-
supply
of Mary's
facts
their
in
authorities
Christian
who record
lected in
to the point
pels.
birth
lier
for reverently
of the Master;
them
and tenderly by
all
and
generations of Christians
all
of
1^3
blood-relations.
With
we may confidently
enter xxpm
LIFE
who attests also the privilege claimed lor mary oy the Church, and sol
Mother of the True Life, most dear to every emnly decreed as an article of faith on December 8, 1854 that o(
one who holds Christ to be the Second Adam, the Messiah, the having been, by a special application of the saving grace of hei
Son, preserved from the stain of original sin.
This is what is called
Restorer and Saviour of our race.
her "Immaculate Conception."
It was most fitting that the
n.
Second Eve, the humble and self-sacrificing parent of our redeemed
The birth-place of Mary was that same town of Nazareth, in humanity, should have been, at the very instant when soul and body
Lower Galilee, where was also the home of Joseph, and where, were united, as free from every stain of moral evil as the first Eve,
during the first thirty years of His life, the Word Incarnate was to when the Almighty hand formed her body from out the substance
live in obscurity and toil.
S. Justin Martyr, himself a native of of sinless Adam, and poured the breath of life into it.
Even the
Palestine, who defended the faith by his writings and died for it, Jewish traditions, long before the coming of Christ, affirmed the
within fifty years after the death of S. John the Evangelist, says, current belief from the days of the Patriarchs and from the beginHer ning, that the stain of Adam's sin was not to touch the Messiah
that Mary was descended in a direct line from King David.
The Jewish writers give him also the or His Mother. Mohammed himself bore witness to the universal
father's name was Joachim.
name of Heli the Arabic traditions of Palestine and the early existence of this belief among the nations descended from Abracommentators of the Koran call him Imram or Amram. His wife's ham, whether Christian or not.
Anna's blessed child was born on September 8, in the year of
name was Anna or Hanna, according to these same authorities.
our task
is
Rome 734, that is, twenty years before the Christian era. In the
She was of the tribe of Levi.
Of these two venerable personages S. John Damascene writes as Koran (chapter iii.), it is said that when the babe was born, her
one who is only giving utterance to the living, uninterrupted testi- mother said " O God, I have brought into the world a daughter,
mony of the populations of Lower Galilee, when he eulogizes their and have named her Miriam {Mary). I place both her and her
This universal veneration, as soon as the Christian Re- posterity under Thy protection ; preserve them from the designs of
virtues.
ligion was allowed to be professed openly, found its expression in Satan."
the churches erected in the East under the invocation of S. Joachim
The solemn ceremony of naming a new-born babe was perand S. Anna. The Emperor Justinian, in 550, had one built in formed by the Jews on the eighth day after the birth. Hence it is that
Constantinople, which bore the name of S. Anna down to the con- the solemnity of the Holy Name of Mary is celebrated by the Church
quest of the city by the Turks.- The reverence thus paid from the on the Sunday within tlie Octave of the Nativity, or that following
beginning of Christianity to the immediate ancestors of our Lord, the 8th of September. When the child had attained her third year,
is founded both on their own recorded holiness of life and on the ex- her parents, in fulfilment of their vow to consecrate her to God, took
quisite jealousy with which the Christian conscience watched over her from Nazareth to Jerusalem, and gave her up to the prie.sts to be
everything nearly related to the great fact of the Incarnation.
The educated within the vast precincts of the temple, where other chilearly heretics denied its reality
asserted that the body born of the dren, similarly dedicated by vow to the life of Nazarites, were
Virgin and nailed to the cross was only a shadowy body, but no sub- brought up together.
stantial human flesh ; in a word, that Christ was no true man, and
From the first age of Christianity a house was pointed out to pilonly had the outward appearance of one. Hence the scrupulousness grims and visitors as the house of S. Ann.
Over this spot, as over
with which every circumstance was examined that bore on the all- every other made sacred by memories connected with our Lord and
important fact of His being in very deed, " bone of our bone, and His Mother, the faithful kept loving watch throughout the evil days
flesh of our flesh," as well as " True God of True God."
And we should not forget that, inasmuch
of Moslem domination.
The veneration paid to His Mother and her parents was reflected as S. Ann herself was held in great reverence by the followers of
on Christ Himself, while it strengthened in the mind of the believer the Koran, so when Jerusalem fell into their hands, they hastened
the faith in the God made Man.
Hence the piety, borne witness to change into a mosque or place of Mohammedan worship, the orato by Justinian at Constantinople and by S. John Chrysostom at tory built on the site by the Christians.
So did they manifest their
Antioch, was the same that inspired the youthful Martin Luther, veneration for all other places held most dear by Christians ; their
long ages afterward, to vow to S. Ann to embrace a monastic life. special regard for burial-places forbidding them from ajjpropriating
It was that which prompted the populations of Brittany to pay such to their own religious uses the church raised over the Holy Sepul:
devout homage to Sainte Anne (TAuray, and the first Canadian chre by S. Helena. When the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem and
colonists to build, on the shore of the S. Lawrence, that famous established a kingdom in Palestine, their piety led them to build
all spots in the Holy City and throughkingdom hallowed by the memory of our Lord, His Mother,
of the Virgin Mary, to beseech, on their journey across the deep, and His ancestors.
Thus they erected a monastery with a cluirch
the protection of Mary's sainted mother, or to thank her for their on the traditional sit of the house of S. Ann
when Jerusalem
delivery from storm and shipwreck.
All this was natural to true fell afterward into the hands of Saladin, the church and monastery
believers.
became a mosque, held in very great respect by its new masters.
It is said that the child Mary was se.n, like Samuel to the pious
Even so near the splendid mosque of Omar {El-Aksa), which a
Anna of the Old Testament, as a reward to ardent prayer after long this day occupies the site of the temple, is a smaller one, Es-Sakhra
The Moslem traditions, echoing those of tlie Galilean ("the Rock"), built on the spot where M=ry and the other
sterility.
populations, aflirm that the mother of the Blessed Virgin, when maidens, bound by Nazarite vows, lived during their seclusion
she first knew that her prayer was heard, knelt in thanksgiving, and Thus, we liave monumental records recalling the childhood and
said: "O Lord, I vow to consecrate to Thee the child which Thou girlhood of our Lady.
accept graciously my offering, O Thou to whom
hast given me
The Crusaders converted the humble chapel which stood on this
And this same voice of Arab tradition, " Rock," into a splendid church, surmounted by a gilt cupola and a
everything is known."
chapel before which, departing and returning, every vessel cast an-
chor, in order that the crew might go thither to worship Jesus, born
out the
lofty cross.
life
LIFE OF
hwii her third year upward, ft was during the rule of Herod the East, relates that the noble maiden was unwilling to be bound fay
Ureat, an Idumean, who had married Mariamne, a descendant of the the ties of matrimony, and besought her kinsfolk to allow her to reMachabean line of princes, and thereby conciliated the favor of some turn to the temple and continue there the secluded Virginal lite
among the Jews. He restored the ternple which alone had a charm for her. To this they peremptorily rethus still further winning popular fused to consent ; and the orphan had, perforce, to choose the man
magnificence,
utmost
with the
He also built Cesarea on the sea-coast of the Mediter- who should be her husband and protector one who, in the hidden
applause.
ranean, naming it after the Emperor Augustus, together with other councils of God, was to be the guardian of the Messiah and Hi
of the most influential
But, to offset the service rendered Mother, their devoted companion and support and, through ail
by the restoration and adornment of the the Christian ages, the Protector, under God, of all those who betemple, he erected in the cities, by him founded, magnificent houses lieve in the Saviour.
Here come in the beautiful legends which have inspired Chrisof worship to the gods of Rome.
It was while this clever, but unscrupulous, ijnnce -vas pushing tian art, concerning the rivalry among the unwedded kinsmen of
Among the descendforward the costly works on the temple, thai Mary was oeing edu- Mary for the honor of claiming her as bride.
important
cities
cated
within
precincts.
its
we can only
sisted
from
conjecture
ascertained
the
fragmentary
pas-
The
from
work held
centuries of
first
Christian
the
esteem
in general
during the
describes
era,
The
the
the
of
art
exquisite
that
much
prized
the ancient
in
Besides
world.
this,
Epi-
S.
and
dery,
fine linen,
Especially
priests,
weaving wool,
in
and cloth of
careful
the
after
amid the
self
by follow-
"a
call
jiels
carpenter,"
Among
many
the
and
ies
thriving
of Galilee,
tions
the
much
inlaying was
He
who
practiced a
imposed
clusion,
aiming
at a
grace,"
multitude
the
tion,
then,
was he impelled
Captivity,
youth
of
Scrip-
like
the
se-
moral per-
life.
self-
and
ginal
What
of
life
abstinence
to
future
names of
eligible
mitted
lot
ber?
mately
Saviour
that
honor sub-
the
Maiden
her
connected
His
in
fancy and
telligent reader.
the persons
in
draw
from among the nam'
Having to be so inti-
for
to
Or were
all
permitting
list,
by
inspira-
dens, and
tures.
of
art
demand.
in
gold.
were
Hebrew
cit-
popula-
industrious
the
edge of the
or
the
and ol>
hills
scurity of Galilee,
of his kinswoman?
all
in
Nazareth, or in Jerusalem, at
the
ish
of David assembled
ants
con-
to
with
helpless
the
in-
childhood, Joseph
life
THE
LIFE OF
R^pnael's
fir^t
thus selected
Nazareth.
at
S^chary
in
He
John.
It
shall
months
six
is
the temple
Messiah,
who
the
after
birth.
his
herald
shall
to
Him
He
is
the approach
out,
shall
be
with
filled
of the
oi
Blessed Virgin."
long-expected have
its
flesh.
And
the Angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace,
Lord is with thee ; Blessed art thou among women ; who, having
heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what
manner of salutation this should be."
" The lowly maiden, among the many graces with which her
the
much by
not so
which he addressed
her.
possessed humility.
all,
It is
its
me
Goodness Mother's
of the Redeemer.
still
soul,
She
most rejoicing.
God
is
is
is
mountains and through the valleys of Judaea, not the manna put
them to Himself the more exalted becomes their ideal of moral per- within the former ark by Moses together with the Tables of the
fection, the more severely do they compare what they are at the Law.
Here is He, who is the true Bread of Life, the Divine Lawpresent moment, with what they might and ought to be. But the dig- Giver, the very "Angel of the Testament" Himself.
And as
nity that awaits Mary, singular and incommunicable as it is, had never Mary crosses the threshold of Elizabeth, John feels the presence of
painfully conscious of their
nearer
lifts
entered into the visions of attainable holiness presented to her Jesus; at the approach of "the Bridegroom," His
mind by
the Spirit of
God.
"The Angel
calms her fears by announcing the object of his with a loud voice
divinely chosen in the eternal counsels to be the whence is this to
mother of the long-promised Redeemer, Jesus. I/e shall be great, me?"
mis.sion.
She
is
and
me
life.
that the
Mother of
"Friend"
is
among women
my Lord
And
should come to
of David, then, must have been thrilled by the Heaven-sent assurance of the resurrection of David's line, of the coming glory and
eternity of the new kingdom.
But that it should be through son
For
He
that
And Holy
is
is
to
me.
His name."
"Three months did Mary abide with Elizabeth, not seeking the
Genuine humility is not littleness of public eye, but both of them communing with God in prayer, in
soul
it merely gives the soul an intense feeling of the distance obedience to the Holy Spirit who filled them ; and increasing in
which exists between what our own will has made us, and what God their own souls the zeal for His glory and for the salvation of His
wills us to be.
It is, therefore, at bottom, a vivid sense of the de- people.
So entirely does Mary trust to the divine wisdom to dis
iciency of one's own will in conforming with the Divine.
But close the secret of her heart, that, on her return to Nazareth, shs
rhen it becomes clearly known to the humble soul that God re- makes no mention of it to Joseph.
She is rewarded for her absoquires of her the sublimest efforts of self-sacrifice, her very humility lute trust an angel is sent to this prudent and God-fearing man to
heing a supernatural and irresistible tendency toward accomplishing apprise him of the Treasure lying hidden beneath his roof.
He is
His purpose, she puts forth a strength and a magnanimity all divine thenceforth to be the faithful steward in God's family on earth,
o doing what is most heroic and most painful.
guarding and cherishing the two Beings in all creation the mosf
' Did the divine light which
must have flooded that favored soul precious in the sight of Heaven that exalted Mother and h
of hers overwhelms her.
:
LIFE OF
THE
babe.
Joseph too, if not in very deed a Nazante like Joiin, reChrist, during His helpless infancy and boyhood, was to be his sole care and portion.
Christ
gel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone
and His Mother were to look up to him, under God's providence, round about them, and they feared with a great fear. And the
as their head, guide and support.
He could not but anderstand, Angel said to them: Fear not. For behold I bring you good
once the Angel of the Lord had revealed to him Mary's secret, that tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people. For this day
of all just men whom Heaven had most favored till then, none were is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of
For beneath his lowly roof he now held David. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the
80 privileged as himself.
the new Parents of restored humanity foreshown to Adam and Eve Infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger."
in the Garden.
On his head were accumulated the blessmgs
To these poor folk, the first called to the knowledge of Christ
prophesied by Jacob to the first Joseph (Gen. xlix. 25, 26): 'the and to the everlasting glories of His Kingdom, a foretaste is there
blessings of Heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lieth given of the society which Christians are to share here and herebeneath, until the desire of the everlasting hills shall come.'
He after. " Suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the
has come ; ere long Joseph shall look upon His face, and hold Him heavenly army, praising God and saying. Glory to God in the
in his arms, and hear His voice uttering words of filial love and highest, and on earth peace to men of good will."
These first courgratitude."
(Heroic Women of the Bible and the Church.) tiers of the Saviour-King, as well as all His followers to the end of
time, must accustom themselves to behold with the eyes of faith
ra.
the splendors of that unseen world, in which Christ reigns, minis-
The
Eve
that her
life,
from
this
lo the
an Imperial But Mary kept all these words, pondering in her heart." The sole
Decree enjoining on all persons within the Roman empire to be study of this Mother of the incarnate God, was to know Him and
Knowing Him, therefore, better than all others,
registered in their native places.
S. John the Evangelist, a near His mysteries.
relative of the Blessed Virgin, ana the disciple so dearly loved by she walked more closely in His footsteps, treading, not in the paths
where honor and applause might reach her on His account, but in
her Son, says of the Incarnate Word, the Light of the World
" He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the the ways of obscurity, deep enlightened love and heroic suffering.
They went
Him
thither in obedience to
The eighth day came, and the parents, foDwing the guidance of
He came unto His own, and His own reWhatever may have been the circumstances the Holy Spirit, took the Child to the Priest to have Him circumthat explain the fact
the fact is recorded by the Gospel, that in cised, in conformity with the Law.
In every particular both He
Bethlehem, the city of David, where Booz bestowed on Ruth, the and they wished to give an example of perfect obedience. He had
Moabite, such kindly countenance and courteous hospitality, no one taken to Himself the flesh of Adam, in order so to hallow it by the
house was opened, at the hour of her sorest need, to the greatest of union, that it might be our ransom on the cross.
In circumcision
David's daughters, the gentle Mother of the Messiah.
They the redeeming blood begins to flow, and the divine humility that
arrived, sore-footed and weary, at its gates, when night had already was to shine forth in His Passion, already manifests itself in Bethfallen.
The town was full. " There was n^ zoom for them in the lehem. Then was He given the name of Jesus, by Joseph, in comInn." They sought, on the outskirts of the town, one of those pliance with the injunction of the Angel.
World knew
ceived
Him
not.
not."
natural caves, the shelter for the shepherd in stormy weather, the
Him
We
Him up
forth
in swaddling clothes,
manger."
in a
do not deplore
of the
It
Rome
Jerusalem,
where the
it
He who came
and
to
"make
all
and Babe.
things
new"
It
in the
on the Eternal Kingdom and with more than the warlike genius of David and the far-reaching
.
So, she looks, first of wisdom of Solomon.
And lo He lay hidden in a wayside cavern
all human beings, at that midnight hour, on the face of her Babe at Bethlehem, swathed with the clothes of infancy, and laid in a
and her Saviour. What ecstacy filled her soul as the light of that manger ! This was not the Messiah who could challenge the accountenance, that so many generations had vainly wished to behold, ceptance and worship of the worldly-minded Jews.
made all bright for her and for her saintly guardian, Joseph, in that
But in the depths of the mysterious East, through which the
hillside cavern
These two were the first worshippers, as they were Israelites had been scattered, God had ever had among the idolato be the two inseparable companions and faithful Disciples of the trous nations men who cherished the universal belief in a future
in themselves,
it.
Divine Master
They were
the great
called
And
first
summoned
ing.
to
His com-
among
Israelites,
lives
of such
LIFE OF
t)
his son
for the
Lamb.
At length, the angelic messenger bade Joseph return to Judaea.
"Arise, and take the Child and His Mother, and go into the land
With the same promptness and unquestioning simof Israel."
Divinity of the
had the Day-Star of Bethlehem arisen ; not alone for the poor and years, as the nineteenth century draws to its close, the Church has
lowly was His Kingdom ; nor alone over the minds and hearts of solemnly declared S. Joseph to be, under God, her protector and
He was to gather all nations the guardian of all her interests. Why should he, who made of
the Israelites was His reign to extend
Christ and His interests, in infancy, childhood and youth, the one
to Himself by the irresistible force of Truth and Charity.
Herod, alarmed by t.ie coming of the noble Pilgrims, and the absorbing care of his life not continue in Heaven to be the guartidings that the King Messiah was born, only waited for their re- dian and protector of all those who are dear to Christ?
And
his visit to
We know
what
fell
purpose
he entertained.
The Three
came
in
First
as they
came
in haste
Joseph "arose and took the Child and His Mother, and
so,
And
warned
coming, he dwelt
in a city called
O':
Nazareth."
appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying. Arise, and take the Child and
fly
into
Egypt
What
means of ascertaining.
we have no
Doubtless he avoided the most frequented,
need, he used
all
his
own
ordered by Herod.
in perfect
conformity with the divine plan revealed to them, that they shoul4
conceal from the outer world the quality and mission of the Child
They
left it to
the Spirit of
God
to en-
Mary,
in
a pair of turtle-doves.
It
own
first-
of the
in
Him
poor;
their
mind
no
light
Nor do we know with anything like an approach Two holy souls were there, however, to whom He revealed Himto certainty, in what city or village of Egypt the Holy Family fixed self Simeon and Anna
the former, like the Three Wise Men in
their abode while waiting for the order to return to Palestine.
It
the East, yearning to look upon the face of his Redeemer befort
is likely that Joseph, in his prudence, would shun the cities where
he closed his eyes; the latter, a saintly widow, now in her eighty,
he might find large colonies of his countrymen, and with them fourth year, "who departed not from the temple, by fastings and
precious charge
A quiet country hamlet, where his skill in prayers serving night and day."
working wood could provide for the sustenance of the two beings
Simeon " came by the Spirit into the temple. And when His
he worshipped, would most naturally fix the choice of Christ's de- parents brought in the Child Jesus, ... he also took Him in his
voted Guardian. As the precise date of Herod's death is unknown, arms, and blessed God, and said Now Thou dost dismiss Thy serBecause my eyes
so also is the duration of the Holy Family's stay in Egypt.
vant, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace.
If by any chance the Blessed Mother learned, while there, the have seen Thy salvation.
And His father and mother were
emissaries of Herod.
Bethlehem and
felt
life
felt its
the
its
wound made by
of her Babe
the
first
Already, even
"Queen
of
'
neighborhood,
Lord
LIFE OF
and spoke of
Him
to
all
that
THE
bi_
Israel."
The ceremony of
Purification
They hastened back to Galilee, and buried themand fears beneath the roof which had
"And the Child grew, and waxed
sheltered Joachim and Anna.
and the grace of God was in Him."
strong, full of wisdom
Of the life which the Holy Family led in their lowly home at
the citizens.
no other account
is
The
Pasch.'
privilege they
nme
for Christ's
mani-
festation in Israel.
bosom of the anxious Mother. She knew that His blood was
redeem the world. The time and manner alone remained a
ecret hidden from her motherly heart.
She naturally feared every
year's appointed festivals calling them to Jerusalem, lest His visit
This throws a light on
there should verify Simeon's prediction.
the next event recorded in the blended lives of Mother and Son.
the
to
their
and acquaintance.
'
'
penter.
ish
custom denominated
And
It
make mention of other children in the home of the carThey only speak of "kinsfolk " or "brethren," as the Jewblood relations.
all
The
the days,
lem
Joseph
"And when He
was twelve years old, they going up into Jerufeast, and having fulfilled
when they returned, the Child Jesus remained in Jerusaand His parents knew it not. And thinking that He was in
the company, they came a day's journey, and sought him among
their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
And not finding Him, they re;
Him
Him.
And
it
came
to pass, that
in the
His
safety, their
keen sorrow
at
not finding
Him
among
their kinsfolk
The Mother on
of Jesus are those of Joseph and Mary.
missing her Divine Son, feels the sword already piercing her soul.
interests
poignant sorrow,
at the
Wisdom
Incarnate,
who
We
in the
son of Joseph.
in a little
their
We
in
wisdom,
in
men
in every age
Christ, as every
toil
beneath the
Wisdom
to serve as
immense majority of
and country.
day
till
toil,
and example of Joseph the son of royal David, and of Jesus the
Incarnate Word, to enable them to find obscurity sweet, and obedience easy, and the persevering toil of years tolerable.
" There is more than that we are, not unfrequently, tempted to
think and say that the life of His Mother, the Second Eve, the
model of her sex wherever Christianity prevails, is one of compar:
ative nullity.
...
Is
life at
is
lay this truth to heart, that the future of the world, the greatness
and happiness of every country, depend on the growth of true manhood within the obscurity and hallowed quiet of the Christian home.
Every natural and supernatural virtue that goes to make up the
true man in the home of the laborer and mechanic, as well as in
that of the rich, the learned, the noble, and the great, is a fruit of
We, in our day and generation,
the mother's sowing and ripening.
are impatient of home-restraints, of slow
When
or a
My
liberty
well.'
The
country town.
divine
veil
is
Christ
left
it
'
dearest one ?
LIFE OF
'
life
have found light and strength in the virtues which shine forth to
teaches
ceremony and
feasc,
and by sanctioning
the Church
He
to understand that
the holy
tues
true
as
the Second
and devoted foster-father of the Saviour, and of the virwhich shine forth in his conduct, without saying that he was
"blessed among men" as Mary, his beloved companion, was
"blessed
among women."
sanctification of the
It
His
on
life at
last
years of
trials
which
own home
it is
at Nazareth, or at
sisters,
All
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and of James the younger
and Jude, the sons of Alpheus, As to her occupation during this
period, a
twofold
the matter.
herself
enemy of the
some light upon
The former
by manual labor
says that
Like her husband, Joseph, like the Incarnate Word, her Son,
fact.
first
as the Messiah
disciples,
these were
Gali-
upon
self-denial, self-sacrifice,
all
are based
Prayer
is
the
It
has been the sense of the Church from the days of the apostles
own, that
family
life,
matrimony.
The
sanctity
tie
and happiness of
home, binds to each other the father and the mother, the paand the children, is the foundation of Christian society, Christian civilization.
Christ, by assisting with His Mother and His
tian
rents
human
family.
The
festivities, as usual in
Lord addressed
that age,
had
at least,
The wine
the
and
to
them
home-made, wholesome
gave
all,
growth of each
farm
He, however,
'act.
He
is
Him
among
a people so different in
On
the other hand, the petition of the Blessed Mother has been
Such
also the
is
way
in
'
'
whereas
the asking
it
it is
lovest
is
granted
to our
Life, the
Adam resulted,
Man-God.
the Master.
LIFE OF
preach in
hath given
How
consistent
is
life,
thii.gs into
all
everlasting
life
his mission
He
ij'shand.
that
and
God
abideth in him."
toward Christ
when he
He
Him, would from Christ and His disciples, must have filled her soul with joy
He seek a second home for His widowed Parent and Himself " I am not [the] Christ. ... I am sent before Him.
He
The small band of believers who
Meanwhile, the celebration of the Pasch calls both Him and His must increase,but I must decrease.
mission
rejected
'
'
Mother to Jerusalem.
now
disputation with the doctors in His twelfth year, nothing had been
done, or
is
recorded of
Him
as
On
form
fills
Asia,
and
fills
till
it
"
till
my
disciples
memorable
this
He
is
the capital.
He
He
the
startled
cross.
credulity.
divinity.
the neighborhood of
"returned
in the
it
I am
sent before
Him.
He
who
is
the Bridegroom
Him,
This
my
is fulfilled.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
cometh from above, is above all. He that is of earth, of
the earth he is, and of the earth he speaketh.
He that cometh
from Heaven is above all. And what He hath seen and heard,
that He testifieth
and no man receiveth His testimony. He that
hath received His testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true.
For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God for God
doth not give the Spirit by measure [to Him].
The Father loveth
delivered unto
place where
wherefore
He
Him.
it
And
as
was written
hath anointed
Spirit of the
to preach the
Lord
is
found the
upon
Me
heal the contrite {broken) of heart ; to preach deliverto the blind ; to set at liberty them that
joy therefore
to
He
The
Me ;
He
that
He
are bruised ; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day
of reward. And when He had folded the book. He restored it to
the minister,
and
sat
down.
Him
this
at the
LIFE OF
10
from His mouth, and they said:
And He
said to
them
Me
this simili-
we have heard
here in Thy own
fthat
country."
This
is
which the Jews made to Him in Jerusalem. The speakers are animated only by a mixture of curiosity and envy. The well-attested
miracles performed in their immediate neighborhood, at Cana, as
well as in the city of Capharnaum, together with those which heralded His return to Galilee, should have disposed His own townsmen to listen to that "wisdom," and to bow to the authority of
Him who
And
in Isaias.
and day, and the demands upon His time, were such that He had
" And it was told Him Thy
not even leisure "to eat bread."
Mother and Thy brethren stand without, desiring to see Thee.
Who, answering, said to them. My Mother and My brethren are
they who hear the word of God, and do it."
We know, by His
taking His Mother with Him to Capharnaum, after the Miracle of
Cana, and by His appearing in the synagogue at Nazareth, pro
claiming Himself the Messiah, without denying that Mary was His
Mother how far it was from the mind of our Lord, by word or act,
to deny or to slight His Mother and her relatives.
This would not
be the act of a dutiful and loving son.
But He was on His Messianic work ; and He would have all understand, that its freedom
and dignity required of all engaged in it to be above the cares and
:
young man
midst.
" Amen,
In truth
country.
days of Elias in
is
Israel,
accepted in his
many widows
his father,
"Allow
just as
elsewhere
He
says to the
to
in the
own
called to follow
and
six
And
all
the earth.
It is in
Mother by His
side.
:
with anger.
And they rose up and thrust Him out of
and they brought Him to the brow of the hill whereon
their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong.
But He, passing through the midst of them, went His way." (S.
were
filled
the city
terable, incomprehensible?
She
luuke iv.)
is
Need we phant entry into Jerusalem although it is most unlikely that she
describe her agony of apprehension, while the blind and sacrile- would not, with the pious women from Galilee and His other degious crowd dragged their Messiah to the cruel death they wished voted disciples, have joined Him on His way to the capital on this
to inflict ? or her grief at seeing her own people rejecting the last visit. But if Mary was anxious to shun the pageants in her Son's
Saviour, and closing to themselves every road to salvation ?
honor, she would be present when the hour of humiliation came.
We are never to forget that, in our Lord's Passion, the Godhead
From Nazareth our Lord directed His steps to Capharnaum,
where His Mother and His disciples soon joined Him. There He personally and inseparably united to our humanity in His Person,
recruited His apostles, Mary, meanwhile, finding a velcome in the eclipsed Itself, as it were, and allowed the Man, as man, to suffer,
family of her "sister" or near kinswoman, Marj
.he wife of to expiate, to atone for His brethren of the entire race of Adam.
Zebedee, whose two sons, James and John, attachthemselves to It was only at the supreme moment of desolation and agony that
our Lord.
Tradition
the Son was to be visibly sustained by His Mother.
How far Christ permitted, during His repeated missionary cir- affirms, and the Church authorizes the tradition, that, on His way
cuits through Galilee and its "hundred cities," His Mother to ac- to Calvary, He met His Mother, as if she could not be withheld
company Him, we cannot say from the Gospel narrative or from from acknowledging as her own Son, -the Man of Sorrows whom
tradition.
We know that a band of devoted Galilean women min- they have been scourging, crowning with thorns, condemning, like
istered to His wants and those of His disciples during the three the most abominable of criminals, to be crucified between two men,
years of His public life.
It would be against all probability to sup- who were thieves and murderers.
pose that His Blessed Mother should have had no sjiare in these
During the memorable passage through the Red Sea, Moses had
ministrations.
by his side Mary, the Deliverer, his heroic sister, the Mother of
At any rate, she must have been with Him in Jefllsalem during her people. When Jesus, the true Moses, was treading the streets
the celebration of the second Pasch, mentioned by S. John (v. of Jerusalem, bearing a portion of, at least. His own cross, when
After this occurred the Sermon on the Mount, the healing the multitude, athirst for His blood, divided on His way, mocking,
1-47).
of the Centurion's servant, and the resurrection of the widow's son deriding, cursing; His Mother, that Mary who is mother to us all,
at Naim, as well as Christ's second circuit of Galilee.
The hatred walked by His side, setting her foot firmly in every depth of shame
of His enemies, the scribes and Pharisees, was becoming daily more and bitterness to which He had to descend.
open, and more threatening.
"Now
Rumors circulated of serious peril
And there she stands beneath the Cross on Calvary
to the Master's safety.
John the Baptist had already been impris- there stood by the Cross of Jesus, His Mother and His Mother's
oned by Herod Antipas, brother of Archelaus, and tetrarch of Gali- sister Mary [wife] of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus
lee.
So the Blessed Mother, alarmed by these flying rumors, has- therefore had seen His Mother and the disciples standing, whom
tened with some of her kinsfolk to the scene of our Lord's preach- He loved, He said to His Mother, Woman, behold thy son. After
ing.
Then happened that incident from which non-Catholic that He saith to the disciple Behold thy Mother. And from that
readers of the Gospel draw an inference most injurious to Christ hour the disciple took her to his own."
Solicitude for ker weiiare
ftnd to His Mother.
The multitudes that surrounded Him night is uppermost in the mind of the Divine Sufferer. Let us read i'
The
all
this scene.
ri
LIFE OF
regarding the
last
life
is it
11
Her
sorest trial
from Him.
When the short joys of the Forty Days' converse with Him after
she had been too well enlightened
resurrection, were ended
His
Of
first
years, risked everything by openly confessing Him, the Blessed by Him not to understand that the divinest work yet reserved to
Mother was an object of special and filial veneration. This was her by Providence, remained to be fulfilled. This was, that, as she
particularly true of the apostles, who felt like their disciples that in had been the Mother of the Body given on the cross as the ransom
reverencing and honoring the Mother they were honoring and for the entire race of man, as she had nursed that Body with more
so now she should devote the remaining
reverencing the Son.
S. John was now privileged to hold Christ's than a mother's devotion
The last time she is mentioned by name in the years of her life to forming His mystic body. His church.
place toward her.
fare,
who
As
the
out Palestine,
Roman
thousand souls " were baptized and added to the body of the
faith-
in
Now
by the according as every one had need. And continuing daily with one
and His Mother's sister, Mary (wife) accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
."
of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.
Then ensued the be- they took their meat with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising
queathing to the Beloved Disciple of the dearest earthly treasure God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord increased
possessed by Jesus of Nazareth
His widowed and homeless daily together such as should be saved."
Mother.
She, however, had been too willing a learner in His
What a blessed and blissful family was that which daily increased
thool, too close an imitator of His divine examples, to repine at around the Second Eve, the Mother of the New Life
Heroic
the soldiers indeed did these things.
there stood
LIFE OF
12
prayer, heroic poverty, heroic charity
faith
sharing
brother
fire
men
of such
as S. Cyril of Alexandria,
of popular
scriptions
made men and women the light of the world, and the Gift within deeply reverence for
in the community.
The great Christian writers of that and the
ihem shed abroad, wherever they went, the sweet odor of Christ.
Surely the sons of the "Valiant Woman " were rising up before preceding century these saintly men whom we call the Fathers of
aye. "Blessed among the Church, speak of Mary, not only as the Mother of God, but as
the nations and calling her "Blessed"
the "Second Eve."
Long before them, one whose doctrine was
women."
VI.
derived from the immediate disciples of the Apostles S. Irenseus
It is
draws out an elaborate parallel between Mary and the first Eve.
" Mary, by her obedience, became both to herself and to all man-
ter,
S.
common
S.
human
He
belief
soul
but in Christ
He
gin
it is
saved."
also to be
is
who
is
all
all
Word and Son more than any sun and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of
was only, after all, a difference in de- twelve stars. And being with child, she cried travailing in birth,
gree.
It was, according to them, an error to say " God was born and was in pain to be delivered.
And there was seen another sign in
of the Virgin Mary," "God suffered, rose again from the tomb, Heaven and behold a great red dragon having seven heads and ten
and ascended into Heaven." These things could only be affirmed horns.
And the dragon stood before the woman, who was
participated of the glory of the
other
human being;
but
it
human nature.
The whole Nestorian controversy thus turned on the great dogma,
or doctrinal fact, whether Mary was and should be called "the
Mother of God." On June 22d, 431, a general council assembled
the city in which Mary had spent the last years of her
at Ephesus
life, and which cherished toward her a deep and tender piety.
The
of
cathedral church in which the 160 bishops met, under the presi-
dence of
S. Cyril, Patriarch
of Alexandria,
who
represented Pope
And
His throne.
and
angels.
who
is
It is
And
Heaven
Michael
that great
prophesied in Genesis
beginning of Revealed
honor of "the Mother of God." History, described as it happened in the last half of the first century
The session lasted far into the night, and the doctrine of Nestorius of Christianity, as it has continued down to our own day. The
and his school was solemnly condemned the Blessed Virgin Mary Second Eve is foretold to the First in the memorable passage
was declared to be truly Ototoxof, Mother of God.
"I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed
The city, thereupon, was spontaneously illuminated, and the and her seed she shall crush thy head and thou shalt lie in wait
S. Celestine I.
was
named
iii.
in
bishops,
on
torches,
To
the
woman
also
He
said
..."
must not be forgotten that it was the Person of Christ HimThe enemy of God and of mankind has never ceased trom that
self, at once both true God and true man, who thus triumphed in
day till now, to make war on God's children here below ; in the
this solemn definition of faith.
The heretics denied that the Son Old Law on the Church which God established through Moses
of the Virgin Mary was God
the bishops of the East and West amid what "sorrows" did she bring forth sons to God
In the
assembled affirmed that He was, and that she was most truly New Law, how the battle has gone on, between the Church of
Mother of God.
Christ and the seven-headed serpent of Heresy
ever watchful to
Her honor, therefore, was reflected on her Son. But, while He devour each generation of Christians
It is surely in sorrow,
It
is
is
beings
while
only a
is
only a creature
He
is
human being
she, the
Mother of
Creator.
all
Christ,
created
,/"-.
mi
f
v.^
ri :
*m
If
^j
^x
^^^f
^Nrr^
""'el
(^^^^ooeyU^e^nr^ /^ ^%<s -^^^
i?f^A
_i?^
lirt
"Presence
of..
Signed.
..<^a^
i^
,a;
and
!he fife
ST.
PETER
IN
The Change
ND
Andrew
^etep/
Wpitirj)gi, g[ it.
of
W. H. COLOGAN.
THE GOSPELS.
Name
Foretold.
is
interpreted Peter.
Mark
St.
x.
2.
St.
else.
John
St.
is
Peter
St.
is
eighteen times by
John
St.
Simon,
brother
Mark, twenty by
St.
.St,
St.
Matti
but
-hile
St.
John the
bearer of the
name
is
father of a multitude;
their sins;"
[t
first
to fulfil.
Of this class are the names
God; Joshua, a saviour; Abraham, the
Jesus, who "shall save His people from
therefore,
is,
His
full
Lord on
of significance
him a new name, and that name one which had been applied
to Himself in prophecy, and which very aptly denoted the
prominent par* which that humble fisherman was to play in the
history or the Church, and the exalted office which he was to
fulfil.
St.
Ambrose
says:
V.
i-ii.
to pass, that
Him
when
the multitudes
word of God, He
stood by the lake of Genesareth, and saw two
ships standing by the lake
but the fishermen
were gone out of them and were washing their
nets.
And going up into one of the ships that
was Simon's, He desired him to draw back a little
to hear the
"Christ
name
to
is
His
disciple, that
He
And
sitting
He
Now when He
Simon
"
your nets
had ceased
Launch out
He
and
And Simon
said to
let
down
answering,
we have laboured
" Master,
to speak,
for a draught."
Him
said to
be
Peter,
all
the
The
did
he should
first,
St.
(i.
"The
Simon.
Chrysostom.
Apostles given by
and Acts
St.
firm
is
this,
And
"more honoured
constancy,
name
of
all
St.
Mark, and
St.
lists
Luke
of the
(vi.
14)
he answers that
than
first
Matthew,
Origen, commenting on
was
Rock,
faith."
them," says
the last;
Baptist.
came
pressed tipon
immovable
the
of
it
w,
And
one
Luke
St.
And
is
is
the
rest."
This order,
too,
is
"Peter
standing
up with
the
eleven;"
&c.
Sometimes,
the
sense
requires
that
the
17(
night,
but at
Thy word
ST.
PETER.
I will let
they enclosed a
And
Jairus,
this,
Luke
41-56.
viii.
and
beseeching Him
the other ship, that they should come and helpi that He would come into his house for he had an
them. And they came, and filled both the ships, only daughter almost twelve years old, and she
so that they were almost sinking.
Which when was dying.
And
he
fell
down
down
fell
at Jesus's knees,
saying
"
Lord."
And
it
He
happened, as
went,
was
there was a
stopped.
And
touched
Me ? "
Jesus
And
Him
said
all
"
Who
is
Matthew
St.
viii.
said
multi-
Thou
say,
Who touched Me ?
And Jesus said
Somebody hath touched Me for I know that virtue is
gone out from' Me." And the woman, seeing that
she was not hid, came trembling, and fell down
before His feet, and declared before all the people
for what cause she had touched Him, and how she
was immediately healed.
But He said to her:
" Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole
go
thy way in peace."
As He was yet speaking, there cometh one to
"
14, 15.
that
it
He
that
"
Capharnaum],
Peter
the
to
first
to
call
them.
came
to
be His
disciple,
much
of his time
But
all
things,"
trade
and
Towards the
disciples with
and
livelihood,
his
what
difficulty
the
rich
He
was
telling
His
who have
tion,
when
the
tribes of Israel.'
Man
Son of
shall
sit
on twelve
sit
upon the
seats,
seat of
His
"
Tradition
Thy
safe."
suffered not
house.
He
but Peter,
"
his
him
in
tells
the
Of
all
New Testament
us that
on receiving
as
is
the
having been
from our Lord, he "left all," even his wife, to follow him.
St. Clement of Alexandria relates that the wife of Peter suffered
And He
bid
them
were astonished,
whom He
And
charged to
her parents
tell
no man
all
Walks upon
Matthew
St.
the Waters.
and
to
missed
Him
go before
saying
xiv. 23-33.
eat ?"
up into the
till
boat,
He
dis-
"
ST.
PETER.
How
can this
Then Jesus
171
man
said to
them
"Amen, amen,
of
And having
multitude,
pray.
alone.
waves
for the
Peter's Faith,
St.
Jesus said
John
manna
life.*
Your
This
is
that if
is
can hear
My flesh
AM THE Bread of
strove
Life.
first,
among
Our Lord
is
because faith in
themselves,
"the bread of
Him
is
the root
He nourishes and sustains that superby giving His Sacred Body and Blood to be the food
of our soul, that as our bodies live the natural life by food and
drink, so our soul may live the life of grace by being united
with the Body and Blood of Christ: "My Flesh is meat indeed,
and My Blood is drink indeed.
life
secondly, because
natural
life
The
words that
say so.
the spirit
of
man
would be blasphemy to
But when, in the Holy Scriptures, "the flesh" and
'
therefore
in
'
the world."
The Jews
it
?"
48-70.
vi.
'
'
it
is
the
mind
so enlightened.
172
Confession of Faith.
MaUhew xvi. 13-19-
St. Peter's
St.
And
Jesus came
addresses
him by
"Blessed
the
art thou,
Then He makes
And
say to thee
that
My
build
PETER.
ST.
My
will build
not prevail
hell shall
against it."
'
Simon Bar-Jona
and blood hath not revealed it to
Father who
That thou
And
in heaven.
is
and upon
art Peter; J
because flesh
I say to thee
this rock I will
'
all.
'
My
thee, but
"A
all
and
all,
of which
all ?
'
Lord, dost
Thou speak
'
them
like
their measure of
'
:
St.
bond of the
looks not
represent
Apostles,
when a question
is
the leader of
is,
asked of
all,
he
"
replies.'
'
'
eat?"
He
St.
the difference
veiry beautiful
this
man
act of
St.
Thou art the Christ. Our Lord had asked His disciples
whom they believed Him to be. Peter answering, not of his
own knowledge, but of a special revelation from God, made that
splendid confession of faith, "Thou art the Christ," that is, the
f
God."
Thou art Peter.
acquired
it,
To
is
gained
it,
Cyprian (a.
all.
248) referring to
d.
" There
Jerome
St.
"Therefore
is
for the
is
'
Bishops from
Fathers see
is
the
the
very See
who succeeded
rock which
the
and
of Peter,
to
whom
proud gates of
(a. d. 604),
in
that
order of
overcome not."
hell
rock."
Many
that His Church should last for ever, He was going to raise it
upon a firm and immovable foundation, against which the devil
and all the powers of hell might rage with all their fury but
should never be able to overcome it.
And Simon, the first and
chief of the Apostles, was to be to the Church of Christ what a
firm foundation is to a building.
The Church was to rest upon
him, to be kept firmly together by him.
This was to be through
Simon's firmness in the faith, and through his supreme authority ;
guided and taught by him, the Church should never fall into
error
ruled by him it should be kept in unity, because he had
St.
it
rest, to
Everywhere, impetuous as he
the Apostles?
the
Now
in
in Jesus Christ.
very remarkable
occasion occurs where our Lord had been telling to His disciples
Him,
Our Lord,
above, viz
on him.
by
Peter.
mean
But
that Peter was the rock, and the Church was built
For the confession of Peter, or the faith confessed by
:
"Thou
Church was
living
art
On
first
supreme
seeing Simon,
Now He
again
built
faith.
it,*
and
keys
PETER.
ST.
173
of the
shall bind
Note, however, that Christ Himself
place, Peter only in the second place.
Christ chiefly.
But
blood."
is
The Church
has
made other
the
power of forgiving
same power,
to
sins
be used in His
He
Church
He
but
Name
name and
in a secondary sense
the Ephesians:
upon
"You
and
strictly speak-
Priest, yet
His ministry:
priests to continue
so
He
He
alone has
He
which
rests
is
He
but
has allowed
after
Him.
So
St.
Paul reminds
and the
raised
turies of
'
be hid
'
and why
Because
the
it is still
By
this
cannot
hill that
it
firm
to prevail against
may be
it.
The motive of
self-condemned.
'
'
Reformation
'
'
is
It
the Church had fallen into idolatry and error, and had need of
being reformed.
If this
have prevailed against the Church and Christ would not have
been
is
built
Church.
is
on His
yet
He
exulted
disciples.
I,
St.
Ambrose
who bestowed
said
He,
am
(a. d. 340):
almost
the words,
You
He
"Great
by
all
name
in
which
and
He
Christ
is
prevail against
is
it.
By
cni;
He
St.
which
Heaven.
His promise.
faithful to
To THEE will
Another
would give
figure of speech,
Cyprian in his
is
(Peter)
addresses
"The
Church,
who
St.
received
also
Peter thus:
keys
the
"O
thereof."
Hilary
St.
is
an authority prejudged
calls
Peter
Chrysostom writes:
St.
hands of a mortal
man
"He
kingdom
committed to the
'
'
'
'
174
heaven
Peter
is
St.
From
He must
go
to
''
any man
Me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross and follow Me."
Peter at the Transfiguration.
Then Jesus
will
come
said to
disciples
" If
after
St.
And
His
Matthew
xvii.
Peter,
made
is
the rock, he
is
Here
Peter
is
supreme
signifying the
It is
the power of
power
and
lord not long afterwards gave to the other Apostles the power
of loosing and binding, but the same power is here given in a
special manner to Peter alone, and to him alone is the promise
made that he should be the foundation of the Church, and have
the power of the keys, he alone had his name changed, his new
name denoting the office to which he was appointed all this
denoted special privileges and powers granted to Peter above
;
those given to the other Apostles he was the first and the chief,
and they were subject to him. So St. Basil speaks of Peter as,
" That blessed Peter who was preferred before all the disciples
who alone received a greater testimony and blessing than the
:
rest,
he
to
entrusted."
whom
St.
Optatus writes:
"For
all
the Apostles,
desired to suffer
Lord,
good
it is
for
us to be here:
Thou
for
"This
cloud, saying:
I
am
My
is
beloved Son, in
afraid.
whom
the dis-
much
And
Him."
And
and said
lifting
to
up
their eyes,
The Payment
St.
Him
"
1-3.
after six
said to Jesus
xvi. 21-23.
ciples that
sun
And
it
PETER.
ST.
of the Tribute-money.
Matthew,
xvii. 23-26.
And when
and said to him " Doth not your master pay the
didrachma ?" He said " Yes."
And when he was come into the house, Jesus
prevented him,Ty saying " What is thy opinion,
Simon ? The kings of the earth, of whom do they
receive tribute or custom ? of their own children,
or of strangers ?" And he said: " Of strangers."
:
"
Then
free.
Peter
one
II
fifteen
pence
A didrachma
Temple
in English
Came to Peter.
Why
^ Jesus
place,
money,
that Peter
forestalled
** For
Me and
was a tax
its
to
laid
upon every
Peter?
St.
Chrysostom
Him
of the tribute
for thee.
God by
says,
the Son of
that
money.
first
prevented him.
and
Mark adds
St.
about
"As
is,
Christ
nature, not
subject
it.
that being
free
from
Matthew
"
xviii.
And Jesus,
him
child, set
"Amen
175
calling unto
Him
little
and said:
He
leaves.
And
figs.
answering
He
I say
into the
Matthew
St.
" I
him
The Barren
Mark
St.
And He
xi.
but
till
His
disciples heard
Fig-tree.
pay the
tribute,
He
and by His
"You
faith
the payment
He
St.
Chrysostom
And
'
'
see
"in
of the tribute."
in
him."
* At that Hour.
The dispute among the disciples as to
be
the greater seems to have arisen almost
which of them should
consequence of, the honour paid to St.
in
immediately after, and
Peter: St. Mark, indeed says that "when they were in the
what did you treat of in the way ? But
house, he asked them
for
in the way they had disputed among
they held their peace,
:
St.
Chrysostom and
this
contention
others,
among
'
'
Cornelius a
states
that
the
themselves on
him
alone.
inasmuch
as
for it
to
it.
He
said to
any more
for ever."
And
it.
them
"
Have
Amen
say to
and
but believe that
whatsoever he saith shall be done, it shall be done
unto him. Therefore, I say unto you, all things
whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you
shall receive
and they shall come unto you."
'
Peter
is
Sent
St.
And
Father
He was come
11-14; 19-24.
hungry.
and become as
He was
1-3.
of heaven ?"
PETER.
ST.
which
follow
him
into the
'
'
and there
them
"
And
With
filled
in the
kingdom of God."
176
The \v ashing
John
St.
xiii.
21-26.
Him
He came from
supper, and
riseth
from
and
goeth
to
God,
He
God,
layeth aside His garments, and having taken a
towel girded Himself. After that he putteth water
into a basin, and began to wash the feet of His disciples, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith
He was girded. He cometh therefore to Simon
things into His hands, and that
all
And
Peter.*
my
wash
"
What
Peter said to
Him
Thou
feet ?"
know hereafter."
my
Peter said to
Him
Thou
"
shalt
never wash
feet."
but also
feet,
my hands
and
my head."
Jesus saith
would betray
not
all
Him
When
He
therefore
said
"
You
are
He
was
"
clean
troubled in spirit
and
these things,
He
and
you, one of you
betray Me."
testified,
Jesus answered
bread dipped."
shall
I.apide,
on
"He
this text:
other occasions,
of the Apostles.
comes
He may
For
if
as
on
first,
" Lord,
He it is to whom I
And when He had
"
gave
it
who
is it
?''
shall reach
dipped the
to Judas Iscariot, the son of
Simon.
[Jesus said :]
with you.
to the
Jews
John
You
33-38.
yet a
little
while
shall seek
Whither
xiii.
am
men know
that
you are
My
disciples
for
II
He
He
bread.
said
Him
of the Feet.
3-1
PETER.
ST.
St.
our Lord was speaking of His leaving the Apostles by His ascension into Heaven.
St.
after his
own
Him
there now,
Master's sake.
As already
There was also a strife amongst them.
there was frequently a contention among the Apostles
stated,
Christ.
'
and
this is the
to
be washed by
opinion of
St.
Augustine,
action of our
Holy
Eucharist,
place.
others.
who
appro""'^ the
it
must
for their
least
suspicion,
of Peter's preference
He that
is
the greater.
The
all
among them
chief
Then
/ will
servant.
he that
is
was a "greater,"
there
was a "leader."
* Satan hath desired to have you. The desire of Satan
extended to all the Apostles: "to have jct'w," "that he may sift
He desired "to sift them as wheat," to shake
you as wheat."
asunder
and
utterly destroy them as a body, that by so
them
doing he might utterly destroy and bring to ruin the Church
the
xxvi. 31-35.
Me
"And you
For
this night.
and
But
go before you
after I shall
I will
into Galilee."
Him
answering said to
shall be
written
is
it
the sheep
shall be dispersed.
of the flock
be risen again,
And
Peter
"Although
all shall be
scandalized in thee, I will never be scandalized."
:
Me
thrice."
Peter saith to
Him
" Yea,
though
And
in like
manner
Peter at Gethsemani.
St.
Matthew
scandalized in
all
St.
greater,
177
Peter's Presumption,
is
he that sitteth at
Is it not he that sitteth
table or he that serveth ?
am
in
the
midst
of you as he that
table
?
but
I
at
And you are they who have continued
serveth.
with Me in My temptations and I dispose to you,
as My Father hath disposed to Me, a kingdom, that
you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom,
and may sit upon thrones judging the twelve tribes
of Israel." And the Lord said " Simon, Simon,
behold Satan hath desired to have you * that he
may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for
thee,t that thy faith fail not and thou being once
converted, confirm thy brethren."
serveth.
PETER.
ST.
{St.
Matthew
xxvi. 36-50.
Then
Matthew)}
He
His
is
St.
John
xviii.
10-12.
you
And
go
yonder and pray.'' And taking with Him Peter
and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to grow
sorrowful and to be sad. Then He saith to them
" My soul is sorrowful even unto death
stay you
here and watch with Me." And going a little further. He fell upon His face, praying, and saying
" My father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass
from Me nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou
said to
disciples
here,
till I
f
all :
prayer
is
is
faith
fail
defeated.
not,
Satan's attack
is
one
brethren."
to confirm,
that
This
on which
stated, that
by
for Christ's
.:ogether,
is
the
and keep
to strengthen
is
tion
Apostles.
directed against
unfailing,
Satan
it.
even the
pillars
but here
and
the
all
He
rest
is
quered.
the
mind of
through Christ
the Apostles.
'
is
is
so ordered, that
given to Peter,
is
if
to crush all
their chief
12
if
all,
of fear was
is set
protected, and
the firmness which
all is
same
effect
The Lord
what that
is,
that
He
there-
afterwards chose
'
thou,
that
devil,
him
to
'
mently."
says:
made
it is
Ambrose
tempted by the
distinctly
to rest,
common
St.
:1|
Peter.
sage,
asleep,
even the
Church was
wilt."
Peter committed
herein
a threefold sin
he
per-
he preferred himself
upon
his
own
to
strength.
James and John (the two sons of Zebedee), were taken some
distance into the garden, where they were stationed to watch and
pray, our
He
little
further on.
saith to Peter.
in reproving Peter,
He
was reproving
all.
178
must drink
it.
Thy will
may
And He cometh
be done."
And
" Friend,
Jesus said to him
?"
whereto art thou come
Then they came up, and
laid hands on Jesus, and held Him.
{St. John.)
Then Simon Peter having a sword,
drew it, and struck the servant of the high-priest,
and cut off his right ear and the name of the ser-
kissed
Him.
PETER.
ST.
The
Peter.
to Peter
He
ciples ?"
saith
" I
am
Now when
Mark.)
{St.
it?"
Then
Him.
John
{St. John.)
first,
for
xviii.
Peter's Fall.
13-16.
St. Mark
And
they led
he was father-in-law
xiv. 66-72.
Him away
Now
Annas
who was
to
to Caiphas,
Caiphas was he
disciple.*
high-priest,
of the high-priest.
went
out,
and spoke
* Another
disciple.
The
other
to the high-priest,
to the portress
and brought in
St.
John.
"
Thou
he denied,
what thou
before the court and
sayest."
the cock
maid-servant seeing
But he began
know
to curse
and
saying
to swear,
" I
Luke.)
And
not this
{St.
Peter.J;
One
of the maid-servants.
According to St. John it was
f
"the maid that was portress " who first taxed Peter with being
one of our Lord's disciples.
Probably as she was letting him in,
not seeing him clearly as
Then, soon
it
man's disciples
this
after, as
He
'
'
by
fire,
said
the
vants, this
"I am
fire
'
him
at
not.
earnestly
by
St.
saith
the ser-
of coals, because
fire
it
Now
not."
"one
Then,
after
about an hour's
him whose ear Peter cut off) saith to him. Did I not see thee in
the garden with him ?"
And on Peter's denying the bystanders
"Thou art also a Galilean; even thy speech doth
took it up
discover thee.
Peter began to curse and to swear in his denial,
and then the cock crew the second time at day-break.
Possibly at that
I The Lord turning looked on Peter.
moment our Lord was being conveyed from the hall of the high
priest, the examination being over, to some other portion of the
house where he was to remain till morning, and passing within
view of Peter cast upon him His heart -searching glance and
Peter, coming to himself, going out, wept bitterly.
Peter's
bitter sorrow at the fault he had committed was accompanied by
hope in God's mercy, and we know that he was pardoned
Judas also repented of his crime, but he despaired and was lost.
What was Peter's sin in denying his Lord? Was it a sin
:
'
'
against faith
of
faith.
Rather
There was
it
was a
he
outward profession
still
believed in
his.
Mark
Day and
When
xvi.
St.
i-8.
179
St. Peter.
John xx.
whom
2-9.
Mary Magdalen,
PETER.
Easter
St.
them
ST.
Him into
followed
"
They have
taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we
know not where they have laid Him." Peter thereJesus loved, and saith to
them
Made Shepherd
Peter
St.
1-23.
xxi.
This
of Peter
fall
is
not unfrequently
He went
an occasion.
cable or sinless
sin,
such as
it
is
sinlessness
but that
way concern
an
that
St.
infallible,
it
was not a
Peter,
and
was a
it
falling
official act
is
not
faith,
when
as
head of
He
had not
rise
St.
that infallibility
is,
his office
official act.
infallibility
St.
was, in any
Hence our
St.
first.
St.
in.
Peter
or infallible ?
not
seen by Cephas.
Lord
'
'
to Peter before
He
Gospel of
whom
St.
first,
" that
He
was
Luke, which
is
clear
tells
disciples.
And
us
to
to
Jerusalem, " found the eleven gathered together, and those that
were with them, saying, 'The Lord hath risen indeed, and hath
appeared to Simon.' "
And it is noticeable that while the word
of his
is
further to be observed,
fall
It
infallible.
He had
received
the promise of the office but was not yet appointed because our
Himself was
still
as a
faithful
whom
makes a
dis-
women,
Lord
is
is
as
who,
would seem,
those of the
way from Emmaus
Jerusalem
seen and of Mary Magdalen and the holy
it
told
to
risen indeed."
"The
180
manner.
after this
Lord,
whom
Simon
" It
is
the Lord."
Peter,
girt his
sea.
disciples
came
in the ship (for they were not far from the land,
"
Bring
"
LovEST
thou
Me more than
these
"
Feed
II
is
he
suggested
is
the
first
Peter
to
is
come
the
to
all
More
My
Under
sheep.
of the Church
gives
the figure of a
Peter the ruler
St.
We
the faithful.
all
mean
the one
who
who
is
the ruler of a
diocese or parish.
Good
Shepherd,
'
'
is
connected with
'
'
'
pasture, and thereby St. Peter was exhorted to guide and teach
rod of iron
it
was prophesied:
"Out
of
come
'
'
'
'
'
the
to guide
And
see
feed
My
and
how widely
sheep,
'
'
to rule.
our Lord
tells
him.
which
:
Who
is
" Feed
are
*b-
..
the Church.
My
lambs
the lambs
and
high and
is any exception made
and even Apostles are of the flock
The bishop is
are committed to Peter's care.
Nor
of Christ, all
Christ,
these
the shore
addresses
love was asked for from Peter because the charge committed to
sheep of Christ
Simon Peter went up into the boat and drew the net.
Christ on
the visible Head and Ruler of the Church; but now He was
about to leave this earth, and, as a visible body requires a visible
head, He appoints Peter to take His place.
first
him
is
GO A-FiSHiNG.
continuously and no
saith
He
Twice
different
broken.
He
||
the faithful.
lambs."
J Jesus
He
saith to
My
Feed
"
Thou knowest
him
to
PETER.
ST.
Peter
is
pastor over
the
whole
Church.
He
"
Him
saith to
He
St.
Ambrose
He
heaven
His
love.
thou
"As He
(Christ)
is
Me ?
"
My
Simon
'
not ordered as at
is
more
first,
mouth of
preferred before
is
to
all
"Why
Chrysostom:
he
more
perfect.
On
third time
that
and now he
St.
saith
him the
said to
Thou knowest
to him: "Feed
makes
all
He
love Thee."
lambs."
Me ? "
lovest thou
He was
He
He
He
And He
reproach him
with the past, but says to him, 'if thou love Me, rule over the
And
brethren.'
tion,
showing
own
sheep,
what a price
and
receive the
He gives him the same injuncHe sets the presidency over His
at
if
throne
[episcopal see]
how
then
did
of Jerusalem?
we
say,
James
would
His blood?
That
He
St.
me
(in the
wouldst.
stretch forth
And
this
me;
itself
of Peter, to
it
So
I will
whom
the
And
after
in another place:
Lord commended
His sheep to be
For not he alone among the disciples merited to feed the
rection, the
fed.
Lord
down even
to Peter himself,
mended, and
Peter
St.
is
Peter chiefly,
to
among
the
is
com-
Apostles
the first."
"To
Leo:
after the
many
because
things,
is
in the people of
Peter
St.
may
rule all,
Gregory
whom
"To
all
who know
priests
'
the Gospel
it
is
clear that
by the voice of the Lord the care of the whole Church was
committed to holy Peter, prince of all the Apostles, for to him
it is said,
'
PETER
ST.
II.
The
Me ?
Feed
My
sheep.
'
'
They
THE
IN
ACTS.*
Election of Matthias.
Acts
i.
12-26.
which
mount
nigh Jerusalem,
within a sabbath day's journey. And when they
were come in, they went up into an upper room,
where abode Peter and John, James and Andrew,
Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew,
James of Alpheus and Simon Zelotes, and Jude
the brother of James. All these were persevering
with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary
the Mother of Jesus, and with His brethren.
that
is
called Olivet,
it.
to thee ?"
bosom
keeps me."
And
181
"
"The agreement
PETER.
thee,
'
ST.
true,
but
Church
still
in
some
is
a narrative, incomplete
it is
our Lord.
part
is
is
first
first
the
first
ten years of
its
existenee
the second
.^cts,
having been
As
St.
Paul's
in the Gospels
182
together
said
was
about
Barsabas,
And
ST.
PETER.
the hearts of
Thou
all
'
And
rection."
and apostleship, from which Judas hath by transgression fallen, that he might go to his own place."
And they gave them lots, and the lot fell upon
Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven
Apostles.
St,
Peter on the
Acts
And when
St.
it is
is
Peter
who
first
Apostles very
little is said.
In fact this
first
His
of the other
this
prominence of
St.
Peter:
" Behold him making his rounds on every side, and the first to
be found ; when an Apostle was to be chosen, he was the first
when the Jews ware to be told that they were not drunken ;
when the lame man was to be healed when the mulitude was
to be addressed, he is before the rest
when they had to do
with the rulersj it is he
when with Ananias, when healings
took place from the shadow, still it is he.
Where there was
danger it is he, and when there was dispensation but when all
is tranquil they act in common.
He sought not the greater
But, again, when miracles are to be worked, he comes
honour.
;
of Pentecost.
ii.
them
to speak.
Now
devout
men
And when
dered saying
St. Peter.
Day
plished, they
came
our Lord
try
"
(of Apostles).
tells
the
and
is
as
the
one
"
of the choir
"men who
fervent
first
He
companied with us
to do,
.
St.
"But might
Chrysostom ;
that he
may
'
'
not Peter
Certainly,
'
it.
St.
Chrysostom says on
?
They
uttered a
this passage:
common
The
charge,
the
name of
all,
"What means
beai
up
his voice
be saved.'
"
Ye men
man
Nazareth, a
'
Thou
Thou
hast
shalt
tenance.'
" Ye men, brethren, let
patriarch
of the
buried
David
his throne
you
that he died and was
is
;'
rection of Christ.
them
/(?
first
of the Apostles to
fulfil
in hell,
This Jesus
hath God raised again, whereof all we are witneses.
Being exalted therefore by the right hand of God,
and having received of the Father the promise of
the Holy Ghost, He hath poured forth this, which
you see and hear. For David ascended not into
heaven but he himself said
The Lord said to
my Lord, sit Thou on my right hand, until I make
Thy enemies Thy footstool.' Therefore let all the
house of Israel know most certainly that God hath
made both Lord, and Christ, this same Jesus,
Whom you have crucified."
Now when they had heard these things they had
compunction in their heart, and said to Peter and
;
'
to the rest of
"
Ghost.
fear in
all.
What
shall
of
senting them.
all
it
we
all
do,
And "here
it is
again,"
whom
architect after
Him
the Apostles,
"And
Chrysostom
here
we
says,
see
" where
how
fitting
structure.
* Spoke to them.
He left
this inquiry
freely speak to
183
day.
me
PETER.
ST.
to build
up the
belief in Christ.
whom
also architects ?
accordingly they
184
The
First Miracle.
Acts
with
"
in a higher
Peter
said.
It is
Him Who
Christ,
Whom heaven
And
iv.
1-23.
and the officer of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they
taught the people, and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead and they laid hands upon
priests
If
j-
PETER.
of life
iii.
Now
ried
ST.
Peter
who works
John
the miracle,
is
silent.
takes
up the
ST.
PETER.
185
And
came
we
day are examined concerning the good deed done to the infirm man, by
what means he hath been made whole, be it known
to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
Whom you crucified. Whom God hath raised from
:
If
by
this
Him
this
man
standeth here
before
rejected by
is
there salvation to
ferred
do to
been done by them to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem it is manifest, and we cannot deny it. But
that it may be no farther spread among the people,
:
let
heard."
But they threatening, sent them away, not finding how they might punish them, because of the
people for all men glorified what had been done,
For the man was
in that which had come to pass.
:
miraculous
they
let go,
to their
chief priests
The Punishment
Acts
ancients, hear
whom that
And being
of
iv.
32-37,
V.
i-ii.
And
of the Apostles.
But a
certain
man named
why
hath Satan
him
to
"how John
likewise."
is
"See," exclaims
on every occasion
silent,
St.
while Peter
j-
land
Peter
'
'
said.
at the feet
'
'
but
it is
Peter
who
uses the
judicial
power
THE
186
And
LIFP:
and writings of
much ? "
And Peter
much."
said unto her " Why have you agreed together to
tempt the Spirit of the Lord ? Behold, the feet of
them who have buried thy husband are at the door,
and they shall carry thee out." Immediately she fell
down before his feet, and gave up the ghost. And
the young men coming in, found her dead and
carried her out, and buried her by her husband.
And there came great fear upon the whole church,
and upon all that heard these things.
she said
Peter's
Acts
And by
Shadow.
V.
2-16.
many
signs and
their infirmities.
And
there
came
also together
Jerusalem a multitude out of the neighbourcities, bringing sick persons, and such as
were troubled with unclean spirits who were all
to
ing
healed.
and
ghost."
her,
and
passes
and
as he passed
upon
her husband.
present,
Apostles Imprisoned.
Acts
v.
17-42.
stoned.
passes sentence
effect,
PETER.
The
ST.
inflicting the
punishment of death
lie
to the
been well
them in Peter's
and
shadow at the least might overshadow any of
way, that his
them, and they might be delivered from their infirmities."
sic^t
to have
laid
And when
them
them,
asked
saying
"
And
the
high-priest
Commanding we com-
'
'
They knew
his position
and
his power,
When
But one in
death.
respected
be put forth a
them
"
to
council
put them to
Ye men
little
of
the law,
the
And he
while.
Israel
up,
rising
Pharisee
to
the
men
said to
dispersed.
And now
nought.
it,
lest
But
if it
God."
And
And
viii.
ST.
PETER.
187
himself believed also and being baptized, he stuck close to Philip, and being astonished,
;
the
Holy Ghost.
by the imposition of
the hands of the Apostles the Holy Ghost was
given, he offered them money, saying " Give me
also this power, that on whomsoever I shall lay my
hands he may receive the Holy Ghost." But Peter
said to him f " Keep thy money to thyself, to
that
the gift of
Thou
St.
The
St.
must be greater than the person sent as the Apostles sent Peter
and John they were therefore their superiors and hence St. Peter
:
sender
Philip,
Objectors to the
To
5-25.
Then Simon
is
instance
it is
written that
" God
than
Holy Ghost
and the
'
Son.
'
Again,
Church
at
(Paul)
Saul
is
is
for
to
Father,
we
person sent
so loved
this
the
'
'
will
send
Him
from the
and
St.
Church of Antioch. In all these cases the person sent was himself one of the senders and the act of sending was done with
his consent
and authority.
government, were
importance
It is
to
that,
at the
magician.
188
ST.
PETER.
not right in the sight of God. Do penance therefore for this thy wickedness and pray
to God, if perhaps this thought of thy heart may
palsy.
heart
is
be forgiven thee.
bitterness,
many
countries of
the
31-43.
ix.
Now
and was
consolation of the
filled
And
Holy Ghost.
with the
it
came
to
all,*
And
Peter said to
him
arise,
And
immediately he arose.
dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him
bed."
Lord
and make thy
And
all
who were
that
con-
them.
He
St.
James presided over the Church of Jenisalem, other Apostles had taken
St.
under
his care ?
St.
Chrysostom
if it
make
Peter
on
writes,
this text:
this
were
all
"Like a
was well massed together, what in order, what needed his presBehold him making his rounds in every direction."
ence.
Again
St.
St.
Luke
though he
Peter,
tells
us
little
the miracles of our Lord are fully described, while those of His
disciples are only
the Acts.
Peter
Our Lord
is
One
is
the
man
and the
St.
Peter's
raising of Dorcas
first
to
He
Church
But in order
must be borne
in
to
mind
God
upon
up
and
considered
is
considered,
it
will
And
X., xi.
man
in Cesarea,
is
named
called the
in aversion,
with them
her up.
God.
lifted
healing of the
the prominent
given
St.
up
be seen that
and
his family
into the
Church
on his own responsibility, acting indeed under a Divine inspiraand without waiting to consult even the other Apostles.
tion,
him
to
"
And
air.
And
second time
"
PETER.
ST.
lo9
And when
who
is
him
to
men
seek thee.
Arise,
ing nothing
for I
are
Who
come ?"
said
man and
called
And
abominable
for a
it is
man
the Lord."
inquiring
*
for
"The
Church.
four-footed beasts,
human
beings,
the "clean"
'
'
and
represented
to
mon
or
doubt, I
'
to
be partners
be
fulfilled
down,
there
My
'
is sacrifice,
tion, for
and there
My Name
of Hosts."
is
great
is
and
in every place
My Name
a clean obla-
the Gentiles,
offered to
among
How
ABOMINABLE IT
IS
IS
A JeW.
St.
190
And
''
:
In very
persons
Judea for it began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached, Jesus of Nazareth how
God anointed Him with the Holy Ghost, and with
power. Who went about doing good, and healing
all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was
all
PETER.
ST.
in order, saying
" I
was in the
city of
beasts,
And
me
'Arise,
with Him.
that
He
salem
Whom
they
Him God
tree.
Him
And we
to be
made
killed,
raised
hanging
up the
Him upon
third day,
and gave
to witnesses pre-ordained
by God, even
to us,
who
the dead.
that
magnifying God.
Then Peter answered
"
Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, saying " Why didst thou go in
:
men
'
'
St.
John Chrys-
Holy
Ghost.'
then
If
who
who was
I,
that
"
God ?
Having heard these things, they held their
" God then
peace, and glorified God, saying
:
St.
by an appeal to
Christians
Chrysostom says
them by reasoning.
the authority
Jewish
he chose to give an
St.
St.
Greg-
But
'
could withstand
to
Peter, kill
'
if,
xii.
of
And behold an
angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shined
in the room and he striking Peter on the side raised
him
up, saying
"Arise quickly."
And
as soon as she
He
martyrdom of
is
the
first
passed over by
St.
Luke
St.
Peter.
who shed
in a few words.
This important
of the Apostles
is
The
contest with
them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and
certain others of the other side, should go up to the
Apostles and priests to Jerusalem, about this ques-
They
by the Church,
event was of greater importance to the Church, and theremore worthy of a detailed record, because of the higher
position of the person whose life was in danger.
We do not read that
f Prayer was made without ceasing.
when St. James was imprisoned that prayer was made without
ceasing by the Church for him, though we cannot doubt that he
was prayed for, nor is there any record of general prayer being
made for St. Paul when he was arrested. As Mr. Allies rightly
says,
James and Paul were most distinguished members, but
Peter was more.
This was an honour reserved to the head alone,
fore
'
'
on their way
to Jerusalem,
they were
with them
'
tion.
latter
opened
his
devoted to the
On
knew
not the gate for joy, but running in she told that
Peter stood before the gate. But they said to her
" Thou art mad."
But she afl&rmed that it was so.
Then said they " It is his angel."
event, the
191
delivered
1-19.
PETER.
St. Peter's
ST.
The
192
of Moses."
them
by
my mouth
much
disputing,* Peter,
"
God made
among
choice
us,
we
manner as they
also."
And
all
nations upon
whom My Name
is
invoked, saith
Who
the Lord
*When
St.
"See," says
arise and then
he speaks."
f
St.
own
con-
"God
Moreover,
the
Church.
St.
to
the
Peter con-
"much
were quiet
Gentiles.
St.
all
to
judge
that they,
Antioch
judge (ox
to
be
And
of
this
it
St.
When we
we may mean
or that,
this is
in his opinion
But
we judge a
say that
for
St.
it
thing
is
so.
this
James and
all
the Apostles
and elders present had a right to give their vote, and the decree
'' Tt
h^je =eemed good to the
was issued in the name of all
:
member
us."
to
also of voting,
whole body
Nor
the
authority of the
opposition
to
parliament, a council,
OF the Gospel.
the world.
And when
PETER.
ST.
fitting
authority,
each
members
convocation, has
member
is
head.
is
that of the
in
any way
in
government, a
its
however
free
to
give
his
first
of
" In
all,
that discussion
once agreed to
wording."
it,
all
the ancients at
his
Silas,
who them-
tell
III.
ST.
i.
11-24,
'
i-iS-
" I give
it.
Him among
and
St.
Paul in his
Minor,
false
who
power
the
same
spiritual
is
brethren
as the
went to Jerusalem
with him fifteen days.
;
had run in
vain.
with you.
"
by
To
:
SEE Peter.
"
He went
Chrysostom, commenting on
St.
He
his presence.
says, I
went up
it
among
he
ra//iif/-
(St.
/Aa the
therefore,
rest.
"
St.
Jerome writes
same author of
man
never-
Apostle.
went up
to visit
"Even
in that
St.
So much pains he
Apostles had, and that his gospel or teaching was different from
theirs.
said
becoming
him
cities.
He
to visit Peter.
visit
thought
this text
I tarried
says
195
to see Peter ,t
run, or
Then,
cus.
PETER.
ST.
it
show honour
to
the
first
'
St.
\ Lest perhaps i should run, or had run in vain.
Jerome quotes this passage as showing that St. Paul "had no
James, and John, comparing his teaching with theirs, and they
theless before
13
it
were confirmed by
194
* of the iincircumcision, as to
(for
he who
wrought in Peter to the apostleship of the circumf wrought in me also among the Gentiles.)
And when they had known the grace that was
given to me, James and Cephas and John,| who
seemed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas
the right hands of fellowship, that we should go
unto the Gentiles, and they go unto the circum-
cision
cision
But
sinners.'
IV.
and we know
It is
chiefly
among
among
the
the
called
the
For
Gentiles.
this
to
first
Jews
'
the one
reason
is
of work lay
that of St.
But there
'
as well as to
the
may
well be
"the
othei
the
for
Gentiles.
It is remarkable that
f Apostleship of the Circumcision.
Paul gives to St. Peter the same title that he gives to Christ,
St.
while
He
Israel,
yet
had
all.
first
James,
place.
was a
fault of
He
built
CHAPTER
He
many
and
tribulations.
Peter,
an
Grace
Peter,
whom
Christ,
tion
Who
'
:
'
first,
Nor did he
reasons which
Paul
vindicated, giving to us an
may
example of
our own."
"As
to
unto an
seem to have been not on a point of doctrine at all but of conSt. Peter had long ago both admitted the Gentiles into
duct.
the Church, and declared that they were not bound to the Jewish law.
"
were,
is
He
Apostle of
publicly explained.
what
later.
I.
God for
gives thanks to
true faith,
respecting circumcision,
and
PETER.
ST.
Blessed be the
jurisdiction.
who
The
THE WRITINGS OF
if
all the
St.
given to
PETER.
*To ME WAS
ST.
the
reprehension
itself,
it
would
concerning it?"
Peter
for a
all
ST.
PETER.
Whom also
Him
you
not,
and believing, shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorified, receiving the end of your
faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Of which salvation the prophets have inquired
and diligently searched, who prophesied of the
grace to come in you, searching what or what
manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them did
believe
signify,
when
it
all
manner
written
And
if
"
of
You
conversation holy
because
it
is
am holy."
Him Who, without
work
Him
Who
faith
raised
Him up
from
Him
Purifying your
from a sincere heart love one another earnbeing born again not of corruptible seed, but
Llove,
acorruptible, by the word of God Who
'.
emaineth for
ever.
"
For
all flesh is
liveth
as grass
and
and
The
grass
is
away."
ever,
CHAPTER
in
195
mission to superiors,
II.
and go
to
ourable by
God
God by
acceptable to
sacrifice*?,
up
Jesus
Christ.
Wherefore
it is
"
Behold
And he
founded."
Him,
To you
honour but
which the builders rejected, the same is made the
head of the comer " and a stone of stumbling,
and a rock of scandal, to them who stumble at the
word, neither do believe, whereunto also they are
set.
But you are a chosen generation, a kingly
priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people that
you may declare His virtues. Who hath called you
out of darkness into His marvellous light, " who in
time past were not a people, but are now a people
of God who had not obtained mercy, but now
have obtained mercy."
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as ncrangers and
pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires
which war against the soul, having your conversation good among the Gentiles that whereas they
speak against you as evil-doers, they may by the
good works, which they shall behold in you, glorify
God in the day of visitation. Be ye subject therefore to every human creature for God's sake
whether it be to the king as excelling, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of the good for so is the
;
196
will of
men
may
put to
as free,
and
making
not as
servants of
the froward.
For
a man endure sorrows, sufferFor what glory is it, if committing sin and being buffeted for it you endure ? But
if doing well you suffer patiently
this is thanksworthy before God. For unto this are you called
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an
example that you should follow His steps. " Who
did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth."
Who, when He was reviled, did not revile when
science towards
God
ing wrongfully.
He
suffered.
Himself
His own
tree
to
him
self
threatened not
that judged
Him
but delivered
unj 5tly.
Who
:
we being dead
that
justice
He
by Whose
to sins,
stripes
should live to
you were
healed.
For
CHAPTER
How
III.
husbands
with
fear.
let
Whose adorning
let it
after this
manner
women
also,
who
Abraham,
him
calling
lord
doing well,
Ye husbands, likewise dwelling with them according to knowledge, giving honour to the female as to
the weaker vessel, and as to the co-heirs of the grace
are,
of
life
be ye
And
in
all
PETER.
ST.
"
For he that
will love
life,
evil things."
And who
he that can hurt you, if you be zealous of good ? But if also you suffer anything for
justice sake, blessed are ye.
And be not afraid of
their fear, and be not troubled.
But sanctify the
Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to
satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that
hope which is in you. But with modesty and fear,
having a good conscience that whereas they speak
evil of you, they may be ashamed who falsely
accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is
better doing well (if such be the will of God) to
suffer than doing ill.
Because Christ also died
once for our sins, the just for the unjust that He
might offer us to God, being put to death indeed in
the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit. In which
also coming He preached to those spirits that were
in prison which had been some time incredulous,
when they waited for the patience of God in the
days of Noe, when the ark was a building wherein
a few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Whereunto baptism being of the like form, now
is
filth
God by
science towards
Who
on the right hand of God, swallowing down death, that we might be made heirs of
being gone into heaven, the
life everlasting
angels and powers and virtues being made subject
Christ.
is
to
Him.
CHAPTER
Exhortations
to cease
the glory
of
from
God ;
sin ; to
IV.
mutual charity ;
to
do all for
you
PETER.
ST.
CHAP TER
is
sufl&cieut to
prayers.
But
among
charity
yourselves
mutual
If
heat which
shall
be
He
recommends
The
let
a Christian, let
glorify
God
in this name.
is
God
end of them that
and
if first at us,
what
shall be the
God?
And
if the just
man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear ? Wherefore let them
also that suffer according to the will of God, commend their souls in good deeds to the faithful
Creator.
and
watchfulness.
among
you,
an ancient and a
also
come
to
Feed the
God which
flock of
is
among
not by constraint, but willingly according to God not for filthy lucre's sake,
it
but voluntarily
neither as
lording
over the
it
the heart.
humble He giveth grace." Be you humbled therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may
exalt you in the time of visitation casting all your
care upon Him, for He hath care of you.
Be sober
:
and watch
devour
that
whom
same
'.lie
knowing
your brethren who
affliction befalls
all
grace.
Who
perfect you,
faithful brother
you
stand.
is
unto you, as
beseeching and
The Church
that
is
testi-
God wherein
in Babylon,* elected
if as
him
and
witness to the sufferings of Christ, as also a partaker of that glory which is to be revealed in time
Amen.
By Sylvanus, a
But
to all humility
who am myself
beseech,
To Him
thief, or
V.
revealed
and
If
197
is
in
Babylon.
We
itself
is
and died
The Speakers' Commentary, in a note on this text,
says: "We have to remark (i) that the city of Babylon was
certainly not the seat of a Christian community
( 2 ) that no
ancient record has the slightest trace of St. Peter's work or presagainst the historical evidence that St. Peter sojourned
in
Rome.
'
'
mous
in the assertion
that
all
life
198
sou Mark.
my
and so doth
Grace be to
all
The Second
He exhorts them
Amen.
Simon
Lord.
nature
Roman
Empire.
On
the other
time of
was before pointed out, the whole place has a symbolical form
as
or tone.
life-
Rome, and,
John
St.
Rome."
The Abbe Fouard
resided
Rome
at
as equivalent
Peter's having
for
we have a
third century
ous light on
That
St.
series of witnesses in
back
this
Bishop of that
first
nesses of the
it,
from the
'
Rome, but
also
was the
by innumerable wit-
first five
this truth,
been assigned
Paul
testimony of
is
to
Peter of Christianity in
St.
"
of the
St.
Romans
St.
ancient
Cyprian (a.d. 250) calls Rome " the Chair of Peter and the
Church, whence the Unity of the priesthood has its
rolling
source.
'
'
For
full
ferred to
Was
St.
is
in the world.
I.
Christ, to
all
As
PETER.
care, minister in
CHAPTER
ST.
B.
is
re-
Allnat
away of
this
my tabernacle
is
at
mount.
understanding this
vate interpretation.'''
CHAPTER
He
and
teachers,
foretells their
who
teachers,
among
among you
Who
bought them
despise government
and
make
of a
day
stains
full of
ness, the
godly from
judgment
*
to be
No PROPHECY OF SCRIPTURE
TATION.
Holy
IS
Scripture,
e.,
i.
that
it is
the
The
Hence
Holy
Spirit
Who
spake
in
them.
own
interpretation lest he
His words
to
be understood-
'
how He
allur-
bereth not.
followed the
and
to deliver the
and to destruction, blaspheming those things which they know not, shall
rally tending to the snare
destruction.
audacious, self-willed,
lying
and
bringing upon
themselves swift
19f>
the
PETER.
II.
punishment.
who walk
ST.
way
of
dumb
folly of the
prophet.
ness
is
who
converse in error
reserved.
whom
by the
for
:
CHAPTER
III.
200
"
PETER.
ST.
You
Prayer
V.
Thou
R.
And upon
art Peter.
this
Rock
we
as also in
My Church.
are in ourselves,
the more
powerful
be interpreted
is
As
Chap.
in
and how
it
must
other sacred
the
Apostle's lifetime.
writings,
private interpretations
in
them of these
ing to the
build
you
I will
Let us pray.
to
to St. Peter.
dwelleth.
destruction.
brethren,
therefore,
own
"
the
Accord-
"in
faith
St.
St.
Paul concerning
and the works of the law are among the passages of which
Peter
is
here speaking.
since
own
destruction.
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THE
:pocarpd|, of
CONTAINED
IN
THE
PROFESSION OF FAITH
PUBLISHED BY POPE PIUS
IV.,
BY
REASONS
WHY A ROMAN
"
Be ready always
to give
to every
not
made
whom
things were
salvation,
hand
of the Father,
in you."
/.
Peter,
iii.
15.
all
is
held,
to
which
it
Church has
belongs to judge
and properly
seven sacraments of the new law, instituted by
Jesus Christ, our Lord, and necessary for the salvation of mankind, though not all for every one
t(
I also profess, that there
are truly
wit.
aud that
of
Baptism,
these.
Confirmation,
And
without sacrilege.
I also receive
reiterated
and admit
and
received
Catholic Church,
and
justification.
I profess,
offered to
fice for
God
Mass
there
is
And
that in the
201
202
Church
calls Transubstantiation.
whole and
entire,
confess
I also
is
received
rejected
and anathematized.
upon earth.
by the union
communion.
in
That
this
Church
of all ages,
How
Q.
true
A.
texts of Scripture, in
which
it is
dom
established
end
of the world.
"And He
out
and
abundance
I, A^.
TV.,
my
inviolate,
the world."
The Grounds
shall con-
(Daniel
life.
the
God
of peace,
2, v. 44.)
of
heaven
the
till
is,
after
kingdoms
up a kingdom," (the
CHAPTER
I.
OF THE CHURCH.
Q.
What
the Church
your profession as
is
?
A.
It is
Church."
Q. What do you gather from these words ?
A. I. That Jesus Christ has always a true Church
tolic
always visible ?
A. Yes, from many texts of Scripture, as Isa ias
earth
is
and Mich.
Church of Christ
is
4, v. i, 2, where the
described as " a mountain upon
And
Daniel 2, v. 35, as
^'
a great mountain, filling the whole earth." Matt.
" a city on a mountain which cannot be
5, V. 14, as
nations flowing into
it."
(Isaias 60, v.
hid."
As "a
11, 12.)
city
whose
men may
bring thither
may
20,)
reckons
nounces that
peace."
self
SECTION
That
Q.
earth
A.
Christ' s
II.
is
always One.
is
From many
but one
texts of Scripture.
Canticle of
"
dove,
undefiled, is
fair as the
My
My
6, v. 9, 10.
terri-
the Gentiles,
^ews,) "
jiear
them
My
also I
voice,
God."
And
4, v. 12,)
Now, true
necessary to salvation.
is
that
is
to say,
(that
they
is,
false
flesh of
who do such
religions)
which he pro-
obtain the
(Isaias 60, v.
A.
No
only
all
way
of
salvation
(Matt. 11, v.
" If
piseth
Him
Q. But what do
stand."
heresies
perish."
How
Canticles
disbelieveth
203
conscience
Church
persuades
A. If this error of theirs proceeds from invincible ignorance, they may be excused from the sin of
heresy provided that, in the sincere disposition of
their hearts, they would gladly embrace the truth,
;
if
it
of interest, passion,
But
if
conscience be not
might discover
if
Church
or the mis-
way
that seemeth to a
man
right,
(Proverbs 16,
v. 25.)
204
tion of a
remnant of
all religions
doctrine so
herself,
in the eigh-
them
to
be accursed
who presume
SECTION
to maintain
it.
III.
How
He
hell
speaks, (Matt.
that
is,
7, v. 25,)
should never
it.
Therefore the Church of Christ
could never cease to be holy in her doctrine, could
prevail against
never
fall
any
heretical
errors whatsoever.
2dly.
and the
Because Christ,
Spirit of
(chap.
Truth
16,
V.
them
He
that
13,)
How
truth."
then could
Spirit of
that this
all things " and,
;
all
it
come
and
"
to Zion," etc.
This
My
"
is
My
covenant with
My words that
Church of Christ
sented
a highway, a
(Isa. 35, V. 8) as
ness, a
way
is
way
repre-
of holi-
How
Church
6thly. Because
then could
itself
would
it
ever be
err ?
Who
is
therefore
From
Christ
all
"the
she
which
pillar
cannot
it
is
is infallible in
uphold
pernicious
errors.
Church
of
Church of Christ
is
IV.
Catholic, or Universal.
What
the Church of
How
"^
child
for
more than
many
of her that
LFor
V.
That
SECTION
the
SECTION
what
Christ taught.
That
205
How
1st.
"And
that the
SECTION
VI.
is
the
How
A. From what has been already said in the foregoing sections, ist. The true Church of Christ
can be no other than that which has always had a
visible being in the world ever since Christ's time
as we have seen, section i.
She was founded by
Christ Himself, with express promises that " the
;
She
is "
the
kingdom of
Christ,
(Matt.
which
There2, v. 44.)
can be no other than
the Catholic Church, which alone has always had a
visible being in the world ever since Christ's time
not the Protestants, nor any other modem sect,
which only came into the world since the yeai
For those sects that came into the world
1500.
1500 years after Christ, came into the world 1500
years too late to be the religion or Church of Christ.
fore the true
Church
(Dan.
of Christ
The
the world, as
true
we have
206
the true
is
"
;
because
all
build upon a
many
The
true
Catholic, or universal.
section
5.
Now
any of our modern sects, but only to the old religion, which alone is the Church of all ages, and more
or less of all nations and which descends in an
uninterrupted succession, continued in the same
communion, from the Apostles, down to these our
;
days.
is
the true
CHAPTER
in
one
points necessary
that
is,
in all
own
How then
destruction."
danger to be avoided ?
By taking the meaning and interpretation of
the Scripture from the same hand from which we
received the book itself, that is, from the Church.
Q. Why may not every particular Christian
have liberty to interpret the Scripture according to
his own private judgment, without regard to the
Q.
A.
is this
interpretation of the
Church
private
(2 Pet.
we may
in all things
Christ."
grow up
Hence,
in
Him who
is
the
Why
"
faith, oblige
the Scripture otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the holy fathers ?
some
No
2dly. Because, as
I, V. 20.)
trying of spirits
such points wherein our salvation is so far concerned, that the misunderstanding and misinterpreting of it may endanger our eternal welfare ?
A. No because St. Peter assures us (2 Pet. 3,
V. 15)
"
Because,
made by
ist.
is
head,
and plain in
A.
ture
SECTION
I.
Q.
and
What
ecclesiastical traditions
A.
The
difference
is
(lay,
etc.
tiition
Q.
How are we
to
are truly
apostolical,
thority,
apostolical,
of
207
of
memory
of
commandment ?
A. Because, without the help of apostolical tradition, we cannot so much as tell what is Scripture,
and what not. 2. Because infants' baptism, and
servile
apostolical traditions
contained in Scripture,
or, at least,
Q.
What
traditions ?
A. " Therefore, brethren, stand
and hold
the traditions which you have learned, whether by
word or by our epistle." (2 Thes. 2, v. 14.) "Ask
thy Father, and he will show thee thy elders, and
they will tell thee." (Deut. 32, v. 7.) (See Psalm
fast,
19, V. 5, 6, 7
Tim.
I, v.
13.
Cor. 11, v.
C.
2, V. 2
SECTION
Of the
Thes.
2,
v.
C. 3, v. 14.)
II.
Church ?
;
(Luke
10, v. 16.)
"As
My
(Matt. 18,
v. 17.)
whatsoever corporal
filth
enters in at the
day,
is
when
mouth
is
the soul,
to fasting days,
works on them.
As
In
gressing the precept of the Church of God.
like manner, when Adam ate of the forbidden
it
CHAPTER
HI.
OF THE SACRAMENTS.
Q. What do you mean by a sacrament ?
A. An institution of Christ, consisting in some
outward sign or ceremony, by which grace is given
to the soul of the
worthy
receiver.
208
Q.
How many
Scripture
ing of the
sick,)
the
name
ye
all
nations
baptizing them in
Holy Ghost."
Q. How do you prove that this commission given
to the Apostles of baptizing Christians is to be
understood of baptism administered in water ?
A.
From
who
(Acts
And
baptized?
him."
(Acts 10,
v. 47, 48.)
A. Confirmation
invocation of the
is
a sacrament, wherein,
by the
down
at
large, (Matt.
26
its
Mark
institution set
14
Luke
22
and that this sacrament was to be continued in the Church till the Lord comes, that is,
till the day of judgment, as we learn from St. Paul,
I
Cor. II,)
and the
priest's absolution.
Ghost
forgiven them
shall
loose
upon
earth,
shall
be loosed also in
Which texts Protestants seem to understand in the same manner as we, since in their
^^
Common Prayer-Book,''^ in the order for the visitation of the sick we find this rubric " Here shall
the sick person be moved to make a special conheaven."
power
His Church to absolve all sinners who truly
repent and believe in Him, of His great mercy
forgive thee thine offences and by His authority,
committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost. Amen.' "
Q. How do you prove from the texts above
quoted, of John 20, v. 22, 23, and Matt. 18, v. 18,
'
to
them
made the
penitents.
it
of
men's
upon the
to
them,
power
if
much
keys of the
v. 19,) if such sins
as exclude men from the kingdom of heaven might
be remitted independently of the keys of the Church.
Q. Have you any other texts of Scripture which
favor the Catholic doctrine and practice of conof retaining sins,
less the
fession
A. Yes
we
which
was a
figure of the law of Christ
that such as were
infected with the leprosy
which was a figure of
sin
were obliged to show themselves to the priests,
and subject themselves to their judgment. (See
Lev. 13 and 14, and Matt. 8, v. 4.) Which, according to the holy fathers, was an emblem of the con;
law
Q.
When
209
Holy Orders ?
A. At His
(Luke 22, v. 19.) " Do this for a commemoration of Me." To which He added, after
His resurrection, the power of forgiving the sins of
blood.
the penitent.
What
(John 20,
Q.
Orders give grace
worthily
v. 22, 23.)
those
that receive
Holy
them
4, V. 14.
which was given thee by prophecy, with the imposition of the hands of the priesthood."
Q. When was Matrimony instituted ?
A. It was first instituted by God Almighty in
Paradise between our first parents and this institution was confirmed by Christ in the new law
(Matt. 19, V. 4, 5, 6), where he concludes, " What
God hath joined together let no man put asunder."
Q. How do you prove that Matrimony is a
sacrament ?
A. Because it is a conjunction made and sanctified by God Himself, and not to be dissolved by any
power of man as being a sacred sign or mysterious
representation of the indissoluble union of Christ
and His Church. (Ephes. 5, v. 31, 32.) " For this
cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and
shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in
one flesh. This is a great sacrament, but I speak
in Christ and in the Church.
And
same
in the
man
or
the sins
commandment
The same
prescribed in the
is
New
their
Testa-
18.)
Many
and declaring
oil
in the
first
that believed,
name
him up
v.
their deeds."
of the Lord.
raise
(Acts 19,
Christians.
and,
if
And
the prayer of
he be in
sins,
they shall be
forgiven him."
Q.
A.
bishops,
etc.,
respective functions,
them
14
Orders ?
well.
Q.
Why
What is Holy
are
consecrated
to
their
to discharge
210
God and
the care
He
is
But he that
the Lord.
is
Cor.
(i
by the
7, v. 32, 33.)
how he may
please
his
Why
make use
of so
many
A. To stir up devotion in the people, and reverence to the sacred mysteries to instruct the faithful concerning the effects and grace given by the
and to perform things relating to
sacraments
God's honor and the salvation of souls, with a
;
(Mark
remission of sins."
ye
My
this is
New
"Take
This
body.
My
is
blood of the
(Luke
This cup
"
Take
is
ye,
^Me.
and eat
this is
My body, which
25.)
shall
tament
wife.
Q.
He
My
in
many
repeated in so
places,
cannot be
verified,
(i
blood.
which we
diction
The
"
chalice of bene-
And
communion
of
we
becoming decency.
Q. Have youany warrant from Scripture foi the
use of such ceremonies ?
A. Yes we have the example of Christ, Who
frequently used the like ceremonies.
For instance,
in curing the man that was deaf and dumb.
(Mark
In curing him that was born blind.
7) V. 33, 34.)
(John 9, V. 6, 7.) In breathing upon His Apostles,
when He gave them the Holy Ghost. (John 20, v.
break,
22, etc.)
CHAPTER
IV.
Q.
What
is
A.
We
believe
and
most
Jesus Christ.
And
that there
is a conversion (or
change) of the whole substance of the bread into His
body, and of the whole substance of the wine into
His blood which conversion (or change) the Catho;
lic
Church
calls Transubstantiation.
interrogation of the
Apostle
and
this
(i
Cor. 11,
v. 27, 29.)
is
evi-
we
of Christ.
"Whosoever
shall
cup
Lord
of
the
He
if
what
Now,
Which
self,
is it
Lord?"
of the
Lord
or not discerning
Or where should
(John
will give is
6, v. 51, etc.)
My flesh,
"
The
bread that I
The
As
him.
My
blood, abideth in
Me, and
CHAPTER
I in
OJ'"
Q.
live
Common
Lord's Supper."
" The
literal sense is
hard to
flesh
and blood
Christ
for
us?
Why
is
V.
ONE KIND.
IN
point?
A.
We
Christ
is
a true
'
to
What
COMMUNION
sacrament."
live forever."
Hence the
211
acknowledge
in
soul, at
but
now He
is
risen from
parts.
make
but only a
little
Q. Are not
of the cup?
all
Christians
commanded
"
to
drink
Drink ye
all of
both.
this."
Christians
212
the most
No
A.
which,
it
is
more
as,
(John
6, v. 51,)
My
He
abideth in
"
The
bread that I
the world."
(v.
(v.
My
58.)
live
by
Me."
such texts as make mention of the
faithful receiving the holy communion under the
name of breaking of bread without any mention
of the cup; as, (Acts 2, v. 42,) "They were per2dly. All
accord in
"
46.)
and
in the original.
were
sidering
in
some countries
is
My
He
"
putting in "
CHAPTER
All such texts as promise everto them that receive, though but in
blood,
1st.
life
one kind
it is
of
VI.
OF THE MASS.
Q. What is the Catholic doctrine as to the Mass ?
A. That in the Mass there is offered to God a
true, proper,
and propitiatory
God
Q.
A
is
sacrifice for
moved
How
to
by
St.
my
body, which
Q.
What
other text of
the Scripture
do the
Mass?
sacrifices.
He declares
sacrifice,
Him
Thou
chisedech."
Why according
to their devotion,
Q.
A.
What
is
same manner
and in the same language to which he is accustomed at home. 3dly. To avoid the changes which
still
in the
same
dispositions
Q.
What
etc.,
as
is
God ?
blessings, conferred
CHAPTER
by reason of the
sacrifice of the Eucharist prefigured by that bread
and wine offered by Melchisedech ? (Gen. 14, v. 18.)
Q. Why does the Church celebrate the Mass in
the Latin tongue, which the people for the most
prayer-books.
offered to
Jewish
all
the
sacrifice ?
Q.
A.
213
VII.
OF PURGATORY.
Q.
point
A.
What
is
a Purgatory;
life
214
Such as
we commonly call
I St.
as
many
Christians do,
bj'-
Q.
Why do you
them
to divine justice.
go to Purgatory ?
A. Because such as depart
have repented of these venial
who
die guilty of
lesser sins
Now
every
sin,
we
be
it
frailties
(Matt. 12, V.
6.)
Q.
and
work
shall be manifest
shall declare
and the
sort
because
it
for the
it is.
built
it,
fire
If
is
Jesus Christ,
If
v.
11,]
but
with
him
lest,
and thou be
Amen,
say
prison of Purgatory.
Antonium.)
3dly. Matt. 12, v. 32. "Whosoever speaketh
against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven
him, neither in this world nor in the world to
come." Which last words plainly imply that some
sins which are not forgiven in this world may be
forgiven in the world to come
otherwise why
our Saviour make any mention of forgiveness in
the world to come ? Now, if there may be any forgiveness of sins in the wx)rld to come, there must
be a Purgatory for in hell there is no forgiveness,
and in heaven no sin.
Besides, a middle place is also implied, (i Pet. 3,
V. 18, 19, 20,) where Christ is said by His Spirit to
have gone and preached to the spirits in prison,
which sometimes were disobedient, etc. Which
prison could be no other than Purgatory for, as to
the spirits that were in the prison of hell, Christ
certainly did not preach to them.
Q. How do you ground the belief of Purgatory
(Epis. 52, ad
upon
tradition
and
And
is
same
liturgies.
How
Q.
upon reason
A. Because reason
teaches
clearly
these
two
things
That
ist.
deserves
soever,
want of
matter, or for
full deliberation in
the action,
punishment.
From
21
(Rom.
7,)
and governors
texts of Scripture.
God
as appears from
"
He
many
shall
all
them who
God
that
shall
It is there-
we should have
(Exodus
"Behold
I will
send an
as
not
whence
deserve eternal
to
it is
and
little sins,
this
we
call
What
is
VIII.
We
to
4thly.
That
SECTION
Of
Q.
the
How
I.
and
is
Saints.
an honor and
and messen-
and favorites of the King of kings, who, having highly honored Him, are now highly honored
by Him, as He has promised, i Sam. 2, v. 30.
gers,
*'
Them
that glorify
Me
is
in him."
4thly. Because
My
name
Purgatory.
CHAPTER
I will glorify."
to
His saints a
My Father."
(Apoc.
5, v. 10.)
"
Thou
nations ought
retained.
A.
No
God
forbid.
For
this
would be high
216
What
Q.
is
to
Virgin Mary ?
A. Yes, we do, by reason of her eminent dignity
of mother of God, for which " all generations shall
call her blessed."
As also by
(Ivuke i, v. 48.)
reason of that fulness of grace which she enjoyed
in this life, and the sublime degree of glory to
which she is raised in heaven. But still even this
honor which we give to her is infinitely inferior to
that which we pay to God, to Whom she is indebted
for all her dignity, grace, and glory.
SECTION
"
From which
texts, it is
God
upon
is,
up
to
of the faithful
3dly. Because
munion
we
of saints;
and
St.
Paul,
(Heb. 12,
22,)
come
to
Mount
Sion,
and
made
perfect,
and
to
Apostle,
(i
Cor. 13,
v. 8,) it is
by seeing God
inflamed with a most ardent
is
face to face,
the soul
is
love for God, and for his sake loves exceedingly his
How
then can
and
whom
he loves ?
Because we find (Luke
assist those
5thly.
are
we
heaven intercede
for
mon
may
In
earth.
are
virtue
II.
and
You
"
saints in heaven.
A. There
tells
fine,
Make
of iniquity
receive
16, v.
you
that,
when you
into
shall
everlasting
fail,
9)
mamthey
dwellings."
SECTION
III.
saints
What
do you
mean by
mean such
the invocation of
made
and intercession
desiring
we hold
them
it
to
pray to God
profit-
How
do you prove that it is good and profitable to pray to the saints and angels in heaven to
pray to God for us ?
A. Because it is good and profitable to desire the
servants of God here upon earth to pray for us
Q.
for
" the
man
availeth
much."
St.
faithful
to
Ephesians
6, v. 18,
for us.
A. I
desire no more
217
Christ,
who
is
A.
God
No
it
is
bestowed.
made to them ?
A. Yes, we have. ist. Because our Lord
or petitions
us,
(Luke
"
15, V. 10,)
assures
petitions also
to
218
We
4thly.
angels,
and
to angels,
and
to
men."
We
who
God
grace,
nature alone
more
by the
is
light of
light of
so
much
now
see
Cor. 13,
through a glass in a dark
then face to
(i
v.
12):
manner but
;
as I
We
shall see
Him
the servants of
as
God
He
Now it
is."
in this world,
known
passed between
and
vants.
sight
me
(2
Kings
Naaman and
6)
Kings
It is
5)
knew what
in the
evils bless
these boys."
St.
John, (Apoc.
I,
V.
4,)
SECTION
Of
Q.
A.
What
The
do you
IV.
Relics.
mean by
relics ?
belonged to them.
grounds have you for paying a venera-
Q.
What
the
first
ages, attested
chap.
8,)
man
in
Scripture of
we
A. Yes;
of distance;
to
day
the devils,
of the
this
my
from
youth until
the angel that delivered me from all
that feedeth
that
we have the example of God's best serThus Jacob (Gen. 48, v. 15, 16) begs the
special light
is certain
by a
for
"For
face.
know even
.^;hall
we
A. Yes
we
known by the
devils
ear.
CHAPTER
IX.
OF IMAGES.
Q.
A.
What
is
your doctrine as
to
images
following words
life
both the Septuagint and the Vulgate transnor serve them." Otherwise, if all likenesses were forbid by this commandment, we should
it,)
Q.
crucifix ?
Thou
(for so
late
less to images.
"
219
What kind
image
A.
of Christ
and His
saints
A relative honor.
courtiers
to
is
to the eye.
Q. Are you taught to put your trust and confidence in images as the heathens did in their idols,
as if there were a certain virtue, power, or divinity
residing in
them
by
those
who were
serpent was
V. 14, 15.)
Q. Is
it
"
15, etc.)
A.
thus, a loyal
friend, value
subject, a
dutiful
child,
a loving
or friend
of their king.
thp:
220
make no
difficulty in
For, as Protestants
CHAPTER X.
OF INDULGENCES.
them now
to receive,) " I
is
pardon also
for
CHAPTER
XI.
ST.
SUCCESSORS.
Q.
What
supremacy
A. It
St.
is
Peter,
is
articles
ist,
that
of the
Q.
A.
How
I St.
From
My
What
indulgences
From the
A.
desired
OF THE SUPREMACY OF
7, V. 9.
Q.
It is
people.
shalt loose
might not
fail,
From John
"Jesus said to
lovest
thou Me
son
of
John,
Simon Peter, Simon,
more than these ? He saith to Him, Yea, Lord,
Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith to him.
Feed My lambs. He saith to him again, the second
He
time, Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me ?
4thly.
saith unto
love Thee.
He
He
Feed
that I
My lambs.
descend to
grant that
to
St. Peter's
the Bishop of
Why
Q.
Rome.
do you
call the
St.
earth,
Church.
How do
who
Rome
Rome,
church history.
Besides, supposing the supremacy of St. Peter,
which we have proved above from plain Scripture,
this suit must, consequently, be allowed that
premacy, which Christ established for the better
government of His Church, and maintaining of
unity, was not to die with Peter no more than the
Church, which He promised should stand forever.
For how can any Christian imagine that Christ
should appoint a head for the government of His
Church and maintaining of unity during the Apostles' time, and design another kind of government
for succeeding ages, when there was likely to be so
m ach more need of a head ? Therefore we must
the
of all churches ?
A. Because, as we have already seen, her bishop
churches.
Q.
Roman Church
221
CONCLUSION.
Q. Have you anything more to add in confirmation of these tenets, contained in your Profession of
Faith
first
this, that
having
Church
in
of divine appointment,
which
way
to a
happy
eternity,
it
follows, that
we
should,
we
make a
AN APPENDIX,
In which are briefly proposed the motives, or
rational inducements to the Catholic faith, which,
according to Dr. Jeremy Taylor, a learned Protestant
222
in that
p. 251.
prelate,
''
may
1.
doctrines that
them from
so
many
Long
ages.
prescription is a
it
cannot, with
Word
of
of their hierarchy."
"
many
4.
"
occasions."
The
antiquity of
many
of their doctrines."
them affirm to be of
commenced among their
of
faith
adver-
saries."
Whose first fathers and teachers, from the
very beginning of their pretended reformation, went
quite different ways, even unto an utter breach of
in the
which most
repaired.
10. "
for faith
of
nations.
&
Calvin's dying of a
7, Wit. fol. 230,) by the devil
strange complication of distempers, consumed alive
by vermin, etc.
15. " The oblique arts and indirect proceedings
In
of some of those who departed from them."
manifestly corrupting the Scripture, as the first
;
make
it
223
them where
church, none of them all has the
the Catholics go to
a stranger ask
if
for
being a
we cannot dissemble
many shocking
us from embracing
it,
niences
1.
him
to
On
the
contrary,
have been a
man
of
all
life
and
his works
an implacable
He
first "
and his
first
associates
were certainly
schismatics.
"At
first,"
Which
was alone."
is
con-
magnan-
It
&
no
of
lies,
Unci. Sac.
(t.
7,
Wit.
fol.
in a nocturnal conference,
of
which he
5.
The
224
was
it
tree,
An
innu-
change of manners
own
w^riters freely
In
fine,
a visible
1 1
That
abandoned
all
happy port
to
all full of
of eternal felicity.
Our
histories
therefore
souls in a new-raised
13.
All
are
ancient
our
communion.
pretenders to
" reformation
same misfortune.
14.
In
fine, Protestants, to
defend their
" refor
They
are
which it is nor
any sectary should ever be coa
demned.
Such a rule, such a tribunal is the
Scripture, interpreted not by authority of Church
guides, but by every one's private judgment; for
this, in effect, is making every one supreme judge
both of the Scriptures and all controversies, authorforced to appeal to a tribunal at
possible
that
No, certainly.
been,
more
forcible
but such
is
the doctrine
225
laid the
hell (the
learned
And we
defy
all
the
name so much as
Luther, who held through-
to
or
any other
entire
of the
Church
Church was
could never
" the
Isaias 9, v. 6, 7
chap. 60, v.
II, 12, 25, 26; chap. 62, V. 6; Jeremiah 31, v. 36,
37
" Laity
kiel 37, V.
and clergy," says their homily book, approved by their thirty-nine articles, (Article 25,)
" learned and unlearned
all ages, sects, and degrees of men, women, and children, of whole Christendom, (a horrible and most dreadful thing to
think,) have been at once drowned in abominable
idolatry,
of all other vices most detested by God,
and damnable to man, and that for the space of
eight hundred years and more." {Horn, of Peril of
;
Now,
which
is
the main
Scripture,
chap. 33,
chap.
3.
16; Ephesians
5, V. 23,
24
Because the
4,
Timothy
first
v.
11,
21
12,
13,
Eze14;
3, v. 14, 15.
publican."
226
communion
of saints."
of the
of
same sentiments in
witness
his
in one of which, as
and Apostolical."
two single
Catholic,
which many Protestants have loudly complained witness his scandalous marriage with a
nun and his no less scandalous dispensation, by
which he allowed Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, to
have two wives at once, contrary to the Gospel
tion
all are,
religion
throughout,
and no wonder,
them the
(/.
7, fol.
228,
of his
towards introducing
religion.
Their Church
not Holy, neither in her doctriuc which, especially in the first " reformers,"
was shamefully scandalous in the encouraging lust
2.
is
blasphemous in charging
God with being the author of sin and notoriously
wicked in their notions of free-will and predestination
nor is she Holy in the lives, either of her
teachers
(none of which were remarkable for
first
sanctity, and the greater part of them infamous for
their vices) or of their followers, who, as many of
the chief Protestant writers have freely owned,
instead of growing better than they were before,
by embracing the " reformed religion," grew daily
worse and worse.
they are sen3. Their Church is not Catholic
sible
this
name belongs
not to them
therefore
spared
woman
first
steps
prince, "
man
made by
who never
in his wrath,"
and the first foundations of that religion in England were cemented by blood, lust, and sacrilege, as
every one knows that knows the history of those
times. To this beginning, the progress was answerable in the days of King Edward VI., during which
the " reformation " was carried on with a high hand
by Somerset and Dudley in conjunction with the
council and Parliament, upon interested views, not
without great confusion, and innumerable sarcileges,
as their
own
writings, to acknowledge.
7.
Because
Protestancy was
settled
upon
its
present bottom, in this kingdom, by act of Parliament^ in the first year of the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, in opposition to all the bishops, to the
whole convocation
universities
that
of the clergy,
is,
and
to both the
may
it
nations
4.
Their Church
is
not
Apostolical,
many
since
evident badges of
8.
Because
that there
is
it is
visible to
not so
much
any unprejudiced
eye,
of this
life, is
stood
one of the
first feats
all
them under-
all
We
name
of Catholics, appro-
By
Church
and prayer.
arguments make for the
227
of Christ.
because
at least
communion
23,) for
absolving sinners,
etc.
Add
to this, that
Apostles of Christ
they
all
is
We are convinced
schismatics.
robs them,
ing,
both
James
when they
corporal
and
spiritual,
promised (St.
and when
their
Church
228
this,
of " the
And
SAINT BRIUGKT
AND HOPE.
FAITH
F.
FAITH.
i._What
is
Faith ?
because in
itself it
world
Yet
belief,
many
things
God.
No amount
obtain
it.
in
my
Faith is a gift of
searching or inquiry will
of
a strong faith
to
I.
"
God."
faith
God
or pleasing in His
gift of
him
How we
ought
of faith, and
to pity those
still
Faith
is
this gift
lost it
3.The Obscurity
it
of Faith.
^The Necessity of
Without
receive in
me
it
faith,
increase
readiness to
is
sight, until
lic religion,
S. J.
the sight of God, and an outcast from the kingdom of heaven. The innocent child bom into the
1.
because
CLARKE,
is
I.
"
Now we
manner."
see through
which it
were not so there would be no room
reliance upon the authority of God which
sees only obscurely that
Faith.
impossible
it
it
to
is
please
dead in
a glass in a dark
essence of faith.
apprehends.
it
Ix
for that
is
of the
230
knowledge of God ?
2. Yet amid all this obscurity the certainty of
It
faith is far greater than any natural certainty.
is greater than that of the evidence of our senses
it is greater than what seems to be a certain con;
like
1.
we
It is of a
The
see
it
truth.
to
Our
intellect
must
first
He
Thus faith
is
the keystone
our
2.
faith.
The
Hebrews
which we shall
of them primarily
(of
They
nature.
Who is
did
great
faith.
they heard His words, and knowing them to be the words of God, obeyed with joy.
Have I this strong faith that makes obedience easy ?
3. All sin is accompanied by a weakness of faith.
If we believed and realized with the certainty of an
invisible
make
it
5.The
1.
Faith
is like
sin.
Gift of Faith.
up
if it
forfeited
that
given, so
it
is
may
hope may
have died away, and yet faith may remain, and as
long as it remains there is something to build upon.
From faith to hope is a comparatively easy step,
and from hope to charity. This is why those who
have lost the faith are so hopeless there is nothing
to build upon, nothing to appeal to.
Until they
make an act of faith we can get no further. Pray
then for those who have given up their religion,
since they deserve our pity more than any others.
3. In the prayers for the dying we appeal to God
for mercy on the departing soul because, although
he has committed many sins, he has not denied the
faith.
To deny the faith is thus represented as the
lowest depth to which the sinner can fall. Of all
sins none are so terrible as sins against the faith
they are not only a refusal of submission to the law
ner's heart.
to
human
God
many
things repugnant to
But the obedience of the saints
is
Obedience of Faith,
trust him,
Charity
have
fled
of
My
may
6.The Loss
The
God,
No
its
own
calamity in
Woe to those
so terrible as this.
mercy present
of Faith.
231
afflicted
me."
2. There are
other temptations against faith
which are very painful to the loyal soul. The
devil whispers
Perhaps there is some truth in the
attacks of heretics on the Church perhaps the Real
:
Presence
a delusion
souls without
ity
who through
is
number to whom this terrible calamhas befallen. Nothing but a miracle of mercy
can save them. We must pray God for such, that
He may bring them to the truth before it is too
late.
2.
The
loss of faith is
Nothing
is
so subversive
of faith as pride.
and loves
to
lean
loj-alty
How
humble myself
3.
Pride will
Faith requires
against God.
faith
self
is
rebellion
in order that I
Faith
may
preserve
my
Faith
is
a willing dependence
Temptations
faith.
Against Faith.
Church
however
we must
inscrutable to us.
3.
Have I
humility
8.The Power
1.
this safeguard of
Our Lord
tells
us that
grain of mustard-seed
teaches,
be to
I.
is all
we
of Faith.
if
we have
faith as a
We
all of
fail
those
who do not
If so small
God
will
we
an amount
is it
Him.
of faith is able to
that
we can do
so
work
little ?
He promises that He
232
want of
faith prevents
An
The
Rewards
of Faith.
it is
Although faith is the first step towards justiand may exist firm and strong in those
who are at enmity with God, yet its presence has
the power to obtain from God many graces. It is
one of the most certain means of obtaining what
we want from Almighty God. He who asks in
faith, and doubts not of God's willingness to hear,
and power to grant his petition, is sure to obtain it
if it is for his spiritual advantage, and if he himself puts no obstacle in the way.
Our Lord has
promised it " Whatever you ask in prayer believing^ you shall receive."
2. Faith is moreover the most efficacious means
of inducing God to work miracles for us, whether
in the physical or the moral order.
Our Lord
acorn
is
it
The
made
contains the
This
it
cannot do unless
is
it
firmly
10.
1.
charity.
these
blessings.
3.
this will
It
(2)
Is this so with
9.
On
my faith ?
Saving Faith.
authority.
It is
not enough by
itself
fication,
Many
and tremble.
a Catholic
He was
"
on
earth.
He
said to the
woman of Canaan,
to
Catholic Church.
Day of Judgment, this will only add to our condemnation unless to faith something else be added.
2.
What
is
this
necessary addition
God
Besides
we must
woman, great
as thou wilt."
in
whom
3.
carries with
veiled in
reveals to us,
eliciting
an act
of faith,
and
it
is
that
So now
faith
be
done
it
to thee
to
come
to
If only
our
aid,
we
we
strong faith
all
thy
act
accepting
is
is
it.
As long as a man has the faith,
he turns naturally to God in trouble and distress,
and when the hour of death draws nigh, if he is not
hardened by persistent sin and wilful resistance to
the grace of God, he can scarce avoid that act of
submission which is the key of heaven. O my
God, grant that at the hour of death I may have a
and
its
obscurity of faith.
Him to see
"
He saw everything
Is
my
Do
God
The
Examples
sets
before us
number
of wonderful
God
give an account of every idle word, and that whatever we ask in the name of Jesus we shall certainly
obtain.
He
believed
aged
He
womb
sent
him
He
there
that Sara's
God when
home and country
believed
He
elsewhere.
up
believed
to
promise
Isaac,
t.hat
God
in spite of appearances
13.
Further
Examples
of Faith.
many
of her fellow-citizens.
instances of faith.
1.
converted with
of Faith.
Hebrews
233
He
said
The
" Go,
help
2.
what seemed a
vered, showed a
she received
still
perse-
She
had the strongest conviction of the compassion and
of the power of Jesus.
Is my faith like hers ?
3. The thief on the cross was the most wonderful
daughter's cure.
instance of faith.
(3)
He
It
was a confident
sees beside
faith.
him a
convicted
death as himself
Yet he recognizes
in
Him
the
234
King who
is
to
Him
all
He
if
and begs
to
our faith
is
strong
14.
Faith
If faith
and Reason.
But
men.
It
would be against
end
an
3. Does reason then bear its witness to the truths
of faith, in spite of our receiving them on authority ?
Yes, it bears witness to each and all, and shows that
to
irrational
at Josue's
still
2.
faith
so is every miracle.
strong faith.
Are
1.
pets
We do not like
We
why
criticize
do you
instead of constructing
difficult to
human
them myself
3.
All this
is
nature.
worldly disad-
all
this is
all
esteem
it
It
ill-
hard.
the faith.
Grant,
may rejoice in
may count it my
from men for my
Lord, that I
and that
ridicule,
Thee.
HOPE.
I.
1.
Hope
What
is
Hope?
some future
ultimately
\'z
self-contradictory.
as faith,
reasonableness of
faith.
15.The
Difficulties of Faith.
If faith is
last.
2.
The
confidence that
also the
God
is
a form of
means necessary
to the obtaining of
it.
and
It
deter-
weak
desire or
all
as to
the obstacles in
235
unexpected
seemed
disturb
I too
it.
am
the end I
my
way?
3.
The
3.
chief element in
This
not in ourselves.
3^od,
hope
is
it
confidence in
1.
which excludes
God
is
the other,
makes presumption
impossible.
My
great things
God
Just in
the
will be
me more
may hope for
God, give
and then
Hope
1.
is
Faith
faith.
The Value
no
is
of Hope.
a preliminary condition
hope
than
is
When
and
fully
may
be, but
tively light
Painful they
victories,
enemies to
in
sure to conquer.
^The
Motives of Hope.
of hope
is
He cannot refrain
Own hands. He
moment
of
my
loved
The
being.
me
from the
first
is as nothing to the
has watched over me with
tenderest love all my life long. He is most anxious
for my welfare. He longs for my love.
He is also
all-powerful, and He can give me and will give me
all I need if I ask of Him.
What is there then
that I may not hope for from Him ?
2. The second motive of hope is the Life, Passion, and Death of my Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.
He came down from heaven for me ; He
lived on earth for me ; He suffered for me ; He
love of
God
for
He
me.
The
He
has brought
the Mother of
is
entrusted to her
and a
safe to
me
client of
for I rejoice in
Mary.
was
loves
me
of
confounded for
ever.
heaven.
Hope
failure
4.
is
made them
even in this
life
for
more
this virtue
their confidence in
Him by
I.
It is
God
we
ourselve;.:
236
It
He means
to perfect the
The wonders
work
He
has
wrought hitherto will assuredly go on as long as
life
3.
that
This peace
my
nevertheless
He
it is
certain that
He
God
In
always.
What
strive for it
3.
God
We
virtue
We
may
therefore
The
is it
that
I will
hope,
now and
Dangers
to
Hope.
We know well
enough
sessions
broken
friends
and relations?
weary
we must hope
for if
are to
may
of earth, yet
My peace
really
Without the
friendship of
we
troubles
dissatisfaction.
They cannot
Objects of Hope.
Ourselves ?
reed.
Our
self is trusting to a
to
Yet
6.
What, moreover,
secure
2.
is
shall last.
trouble that
1.
Lord
said our
I give to you,"
is
and a refusal to listen to God's inspiraand to set aside our will for His. Sins of
weakness make us hate and despise ourselves, but
sins of pride (and what is self-will but a form of
pride ?) make us feel a positive aversion from Him
Who is the front of all hope and the God of consolation.
A proud man cannot hope for reconciliation
with God, because he will not ask for it, so he
remains shut out from all chance of hope as long
as he persists in his pride.
3. Self-confidence will sometimes supply up to a
certain point the place of hope and confidence in
God, just as self-respect will supply the place of
But it will fail us in the hour of our need.
virtue.
It is but a hollow and treacherous support.
In time
of success and prosperity it will serve us well
self-will
tions
Do
nothing.
7.
1.
To
hope
lose our
lose
except to
of one
^The
who
still
is
selves to
God ?
I trust in self or in
own
Loss of Hope.
of
all
faith.
He may
conscious suffering
revive in
lations of hope.
2.
hope is
hope when
lost
3.
God
that
is
who
Purgatory.
the loss of
It
is
all
1.
I.
How
^The
is
it
promise
Is
it
find
many
full of
make
all
nothing
We
create
things look
of looking at them.
all
He
becomes
and Fear.
same breast?
In
fact,
God that
is
hope.
who, in their
away gradually
we
is
habit of
Diminution of Hope.
that
if
the sufferings of
8.
way
Hope
Yes, certainly,
all
There
discontented.
9.
because we
is
making us
it
destroy the
that
fact of the
We have also
Those who
God has given them are almost always
those who through their own fault have lost hope.
Pray God that even if charity fades away at least
life
in
failures.
deserve pardon."
because
faith, that
It is
fault.
The
237
2.
cannot
fall
as life goes
"
Dost
to his
238
through.
The
the
In this vale
3.
Our
inseparable.
of tears,
Have
1.
Was
Christ
^The
me
Patterns of Hope.
the virtue of
Not
hope possible
to
Jesus
hope
is
Man He
not
fail.
What was
It was
His Human
Nature made like to ours. He took upon Him our
sinful nature, sin only excepted.
On earth His
confidence that if we do our part. He will not shut Sacred Humanity was in a state of exile, in a conthe door of heaven on us, or thrust us away because dition of servitude, waiting to be freed from the
of our past sins.
It does more than this, it sets
bondage of corruption and to be brought into the
before us God's tender love for us, and it leads us full liberty of the Eternal Son of God.
So we
on to love Him in return, and to say, " We love should long for heaven, and strengthen our hope
Him because He first loved us."
by the thought of coming bliss.
2. But if hope is to be the stepping-stone to pei^
3. What was the glory and happiness after which
feet charity, it must not dwell merely on what beneHis Sacred Humanity longed ? It was no personal
fits we may look to obtain from God, it must put
glory or splendor such as men long for on earth.
It must point us to the
before us a higher object.
It was an unselfish happiness, the happiness of
happiness of loving God for His Own sake, apart making others happy the glory of seeing around
from any advantage to ourselves, except that which Him those whom He had redeemed from sin and
death by all that He suifered in His Sacred Huis derived from the mere happiness of loving so
good a God. Self must gradually disappear, and manity. It was on this that His hopes were fixed
hope must be fixed in the thought of God and of this was the joy of heaven to His Human Nature.
His Divine perfection, and of the eternal joy of Shall we in Heaven share His joy ? Have we
being like to Him when we shall see Him as He is. cause for hoping that we shall be surrounded by
Is my hope of this unselfish nature which makes
those whom our prayers or good example or labors
it almost identical with charity ?
have brought back from sin ?
2.
Examples
of Hope.
God were
All
tlie
Amid
saints of
he said
all
we
"I know
that
my Redeemer
him we
have
a hope like his amid sorrow and trouble, and we
may look forward to a recompense far greater than
liveth."
If
If
we
shall
and
my
hope
Our God Whom we worship is
Daniel when forbidden to pray
them
not.
God took no
"
notice of the
command
or the threat
by the
ministry of an angel.
13.
^Further Examples
Hope has
among
despair,
St.
14.
^The
Happiness of Hope.
There are two kinds of happiness the happiness of present enjoyment and the happiness of
hope. The one reposes in the present makes the
most of it sucks out of it all the enjoyment possible and banishes all thought of the future.
This
is the happiness that is to come entirely within
reach of all, even the worst. It is a low kind of
1.
of Hope.
233
we
find
still
was
was
but from the future. It is ready to forego the immediate satisfaction of the moment, for the sake of
full of hope.
habit of
sins, of
her
2.
The happiness
its
240
This
result.
is
the name in this present life. This is the happiness of the saints and of all who fear God,
3. This latter happiness is only possible if our
affections are set
those of earth.
on the things
On
on
Without it
of heaven, not
16.
Hope
1.
is
implies that
that
we
we lack something
1.
tory
St.
is
Hope
Augustine
of the
tells
in Purgatory.
us that the
same nature
fire
It
desire,
It
and
only exists in
It is therefore
the virtue of a
permanent condition.
It is unsatisfactory in itself, its value is only on
account of something beyond and outside of itself
to which it points.
It is a virtue suitable for the
state of transition, not of a
of Purga-
and
of
sins,
it.
we
that
of,
final
Judgment
torment.
a bright light in
up the gloom
of their prison-
glorified
happier
They
still
fresh joy to
look forward
to,
will
to desire or
house,
3.
Amid their
after
Him
THS RESURRECTION
THB
Gospel Story of the Passion
Con^piled by
I.
St.
Matt, xxvi.,
The
The
St.
Mark
t\ie
Last Supper.
xiv., St.
Luke
Rev. ^rtl^ur
I(yaii.
xxii., St.
xiii.
Our Lord/
off
follow
him
till
of the multitude.
the
having
son of
Simon, to betray Him), knowing that the Father
had given Him all things into His hands, and that
He came from God and goeth to God, He riseth up
from supper, and layeth aside His garments, and
having taken a towel, girded Himself. After that.
He putteth water into a basin, and began to wash
the feet of the disciples, and to wipe them with the
towel wherewith He was girded. He cometh, therefore to Simon Peter, and Peter saith to Him Lord,
dost Thou wash my feet ? Jesus answered and
said to him
What I do thou knowest not now, but
which
been added.
reader
16
the devout
(the devil
Iscariot, the
thou shalt
Thou
know
shalt never
hereafter.
wash
my
Peter saith to
feet.
Him:
Jesus answered
241
242
him
If I
Then
their feet
and taken
He
neither
all
may
be
when
if
Scripture
am
is
shall be blessed
it
tell
shall
He.
for
But
Me
hand
Me
table.
of
him
that betrayeth
And
with
is
on the
He had washed
after
chalice,
New
fulfilled
lift
up
"
to
come
pass you may
you, before
come
He
Amen, amen,
it
believe that I
you, he that
say to
At
to pass, that
which
he that
serveth
greater
Is not
that receiveth
Now
is
fied in
Whither
Thou ?
answered
go thou canst not follow Me now, but
Lord, whither
goest
Jesus
Him Why
And
now ?
Who
am
ready to
Him
Lord I
go with Thee both into prison and to
down
my
said to
Thee. Jesus
answered him Wilt thou lay down thy life for
Me ? Amen, I say to thee, Peter, the cock shall
not crow this day, till thou thrice deniest that thou
death: I will lay
life for
enough.
II.
St.
Matt, xxvi.,
St.
Gethsemani.
Mark
xiv., St.
Luke
xxii., St.
John
xviii.
And when
His custom,
to the
Mount
them
You will
all
Him.
of Olives.
And
be scandalized in
And His
Jesus saith to
night
Me this
shepherd, and
But
But Peter
Galilee.
saith
to
243
Him Although
:
all
in like
sible to
wilt,
Thee
remove this
theless, not
Cometh
and He
to
His
chalice, let
My will
disciples,
asleep,
saith
with Me ?
thou ? Couldst thou not watch one hour ? Watch
ye and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.
:
The
spirit
indeed
is
willing,
but the
flesh is
weak.
And there
saying the selfsame words.
appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony. He prayed
the longer, and His sweat became as drops of blood,
time,
trickling
244
you enter
Me
Let us go
into temptation.
behold he
is
servant's
ing, said
Suffer ye thus
touched his
ear,
He
far.
healed
it
in.
He
they said
St.
Before the
Jesus
Mark
Luke
Matt, xxvi.,
And
xiv., St.
St.
they led
Priests.
xxii., St.
John
xviii.
Him away
vas father-in-law
to
given the counsel to the Jews That it was expedient that one man should die for the people. The
high priest, therefore, asked Jesus of His disciples
:
and
of
His
doctrine.
priest so ?
evil,
Aud Annas
:
If I have spoken
but
if well,
why
Me ?
strikest thou
high priest
all
Him bound
to Caiphas, the
Him
afar
off,
The
other disciple,
And
hands.
And the
guilty of death.
sent
and
245
and
to buffet
face,
their
Thou
warming
himself, looking
Man's disciples
them all, saying I
this
not
sayest.
And
seeing
him
as
he went out
began to say
one of them.
of the gate,
This is
was with Jesus of Nazareth.
Now, after a little while, the servants and ministers stood at a fire of coals, because it was cold,
and warmed themselves. And with them was Peter
also standing and warming himself.
They said,
therefore, to him
Art not thou also one of His
This
man
also
disciples ?
And
Thou
on
Peter.
And
And
him
246
And
was day,
all
it
us
And He
you
them
Me and
saith to
if I shall
Me nor
Man shall
let
Me
also ask
But
go.
Son of
be sitting on the
hand of the power of God. Then said they
all
Art thou, then, the Son of God? Who said:
You say that I am. But they said Why need we
any further testimony ? For we ourselves have
heard it from His own mouth. And binding Jesus,
the whole multitude of them rose up, and led Him
from Caiphas to the governor's hall, and delivered
Him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. And it was
hereafter the
right
:
morning.
ancients, saying
cent blood.
look thou to
it.
And
casting
down the
pieces of
Prophet, saying
"And they
Him
V.
St.
any man
to put
might be
death
to death.
fulfilled
He
should die.
And they began to accuse Him, saying We
have found this Man perverting our nation, and
forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying
that He is Christ the King.
Pilate therefore went
:
and
called Jesus,
And
and Jesus
Pilate asked
Him
Am
silver in
said
Jesus
field,
whom
And they
Israel.
as
the
Lord
Mark
John
xviii.
went out
to
My
If
My
Kingdom were
of this world.
My
truth, heareth
My voice.
Pilate said to
Him What
:
is
truth
And when
the Pasch.
of this world.
them, and
He
earnest, saying
all
And when he
understood that
Him away
who was
He
to
was
of
Herod,
And
and
You have
them
of the Jews
to
make Jesus
the governor answering, said to them
will you of the two to be released unto
And
away.
Whether
you ? But the whole multitude together cried out,
saying
Barabbas
away with this Man, and
:
cified
But
them the
Man done ?
no cause of death in Him
I will chastise
Him, and let Him go. But they cried out the
more, and were instant with loud voices requiring
that He might be crucified Crucify Him
Let
third time
Why, what
evil
hath this
I find
Him
people,
24*1
be crucified
And
And
as they required.
adored Him.
Pilate, therefore, went forth again and said to
them Behold, I bring Him forth unto you, that
you may know that I find no cause in Him. Jesus,
therefore, came forth, wearing the crown of thorns
:
248
out,
saying
Crucify
Him
Crucify
Him
Pilate
And he
Whence
art
Thou ?
Him
me
not to
Speakest Thou
not that I have power
Knowest Thou
Caesar.
Then,
therefore,
he delivered up Jesus
to
Matt, xxvii.,
St.
Mark
xv., St.
Luke
xxiii., St.
John
xix.
Him
is
called in
Hebrew Golgotha,
They
there followed
And
who
us.
Cover
one Simon
V. Calvary,
St.
Him to
(and they
made
knowing
Now
And
the
accomplished,
fulfilled, said
I thirst.
He
now
sponge, and
might be
24'j
down and
deliver
Him.
And
voice, said
Father, into Thy hands I commend
the Cross, that we may see and believe in Him.
He trusted in God let Him now deliver Him, if My spirit. And saying this, and bowing his head.
He will have Him for He said I am the Son of He gave up the ghost.
And behold, the veil of the Temple was rent in
God. And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming
If two in the midst, from the top even to the bottom,
to Him and offering Him vinegar, and saying
Thou be the King of the Jews, save Thyself. And and the earth quaked and the rocks were rent.
the selfsame thing, the thieves also, that were cru- And the graves were opened and many bodies of
and they the saints that had slept, arose, and coming out of
cified with Him, reproached Him with
And one of these robbers who were the tombs after His Resurrection, came into the Holy
reviled Him.
If Thou be
City, and appeared to many.
hanged, blasphemed Him, saying
Now the centurion,
:
Christ,
ber
me when Thou
come
shalt
And
into
Thy Kingdom.
Now
Now
it
My
God,
Me ? And
some
Behold, this
Man
calleth Elias.
Afterwards, Jesus
and the
God, saying
Indeed this was a just Man
Indeed this was the Son of God
And all the multitude of them that were come together to that sight,
and saw the things that were done, returned, striking their breasts.
fied
And
preted
THE
250
gospp:l
they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side, and immediately
And he that
there came out Blood and Water.
his
testimony
testimony
and
given
saw it hath
:
Him
As Thou
hast given
He may
give eternal
power over
life to all
whom Thou
hast
given Him.
may know
also
He
Body
But
of Jesus.
him
if
wondered
sending for
were already
Pilate
And
He
understood
it
And
was nigh.
Joseph
monument and
APPENDIX.
Prayer
St.
for
John
His Disciples.
xvii.
He
said
now
am
My
I
am glorified in them.
lifting
up His
is
come,
glorify Thee.
And
Me
Thy Word
is truth.
As Thou
hast sent
and all
Thine are Mine and
are Thine
And
not for
may
believe that
Thou
perfect in one
'they also
Me.
whom Thou
hast given
Me may
be with
Thy name
Hymn
My
God,
hope
Heaven thereby
Nor because they who love Thee
Must bum eternally.
I
Thou,
not.
Jesus,
Thou
me
didst
spear,
And
griefs
And
sweat of agony
E'en death
Who
Should
Not
and
itself
all for
one
Then why,
I
winning Heaven",
Or of escaping Hell
Not with the hope of gaining aught,
Not seeking a reward
;
ever-loving Ix)rd
E'en so
And
for
O my
251
in
Thy
Solely because
And my
Thou
art
eternal King.
my
God,
Centre^ 0^ Jtntnutabrie
Qtx^utl^.
By CARDINAL WLANNINQ.
"The Word was made
jORPUS CHRISTI
Flesh,
a second feast of
the Nativity: a Christmas festival in
the summer-tide, when the snows are
is
Incarnation
present,
manifested
to
us.'*
world, perpetual
grace,
and
Jesus
is
present, sustaining
The presence of
tion of Faith.
in the Blessed
Sacrament
is
revela-
the Incarnate
Word
an order
of divine facts
spring from
it,
and
its
perpetuity
is
is
the
plished.
this world
faith,
that
The Word
is,
the eternal
Wisdom
or Intel-
God
of
manhood became
man-
productive principle of
of Jesus springs forth the Eucharistical or Sacramental Body, by which we are renewed in soul
252
immutable.
They
believe in
in
the sixccession
and
in
i.
3.)
things were
"
By Him
all
i.
17,)
permanence of
that is,
their existence. From the beginning of the creation
the Word pervaded all things by His essence, presHe was, therefore, personally
ence, and power.
hold together, cohere in the
Word
present
is
He conversed
He rose from
the dead.
When He
you orphans, I
come to you," they understood Him to promise
that He, the very same Who spoke with them,
would return to them. And on the night of the
first day of the week, after He arose from the dead,
will
He
came,
when
you see
It is this
worship.
it,
bow down
Before
Me
to have."
(St.
Luke
xxiv. 39.)
It is
have known, the same
Him
light,
who
all
253
is
Jesus offering
of
from
All springs
it
the centre and the source
His Personal Presence.
2. I have said He is seen by faith.
St. John
says " That which was from the beginning, which
we have seen with our eyes." (i St. John i. i.)
They saw Jesus we see Him not but in what did
they see more than we ? They saw Jesus, and
of
or relates to
it,
Such
all.
is
Jesus
is
They
God.
in the stature
saw, therefore,
God
manifest
They saw
could
see.
not
divine
works
glory of His
of His
But the glory of the Only-Begotten
figuration,
sion.
the
the Father
is
of
Son
has
its
sphere.
Reason
elevates
is in-
and corrects
254
man
He
did, "
except
God
knew Him
be not only
Man and a Teacher sent from God, but to the
dictates of sense and reason he added the illumina-
higher truth.
tion of faith,
am ? '
Peter
to
Whom
Thou
Son
and blood " (that is, the knowledge which comes
by sense and reason) " hath not revealed this unto
of the living God."
thee,
but
xvi. 17.)
The
(St.
Matt,
power, which
is
the sense
still
supreme.
above nature,
It is a dictate of
by
believe that
faitV^ to
is
same aspect
is,
what
after
lible
Truth.
worlds or schools
stances and the
of
God
made.
existence
From
Holy Eucharist,
These are
all
of
actions of the
255
men
ence of
so
led
of shadows,
of unreality, of unbelief.
perpetuates
them
in the world.
The
It is
Creation of a
in one person,
is
by
Such, then,
and
Who
it
is
Catholic Church.
it
was a phantasm, an
and blood
that
it is
not a reality,
and
is
visible unity of
it
who
are
not phantastic.
real,
So, again,
when He
said,
"He
that eateth
My
My Blood dwelleth in Me
and I in him " I, that is, as you have known
Me, though in a manner you know not as yet.
" My Flesh is meat indeed and My Blood is drink
Flesh and drinketh
:
indeed."
But
it is
it be both
Again, "As the
Me
and
live
by the
by Me."
(St.
John
vi.
56-85.)
That
is,
as
I,
the
Humanity.
To deny
(St.
Hilary,
lib.
viii.
De
Trintiate.)
Arianism
to deny the last is to mutilate the sense and the
sequence of the Divine reasoning. The life of God
is the substance of God, the life of man is in the
substance of man. To explain it in any other way
By the substance
is to deny its reality and truth.
of Jesus communicated to us we become "of His
flesh and of His bones," (Ephes. v. 30,) and have
thereby in us the pledge of a resurrection in the
the
first
is
256
the substantial
union of the members with their Head, the subBreak this line
stantial resurrection of the flesh.
anywhere, and all these truths, sooner or later,
disappear into the world of shadows and unrealities, of words and figures, which, driven beyond the
frontiers of the Church of God, hovers around the
suburbs, but can never enter within its unity or
endure
its light.
includes
scious
all
truths which
of
all
are con-
we cannot demonstrate,
We
We
all
all
reasoning in
own
not
We
in eternity
we
shall see
God
as
So may
is
He
is,
finite,
but not
but the
is infinite.
Blessed Sacrament.
had known
Him
and yet
infallible,
and
all-sufficing.
in the glory of
His King-
if
is
infinitely
pitiful
love.
longed contemplation.
Who
commanded the
is
but the
Word
and long-suffering, as
Either they believe that He is present, God His humility, generosity, patience, compasHe is not if he be. He is to be worshipped sion, as Man. He is the pattern of all perfection
He be not, then where is their faith ? But set before us, that by contemplation we may learn
Sacrament.
or that
and
His
257
error convicts
itself,
when
it
would convict
us.
It
idolatry.
But
who would
is
is
con-
it; they
cannot believe that He
"^he Catholic Church, which by Divine
is there,
faith knows and teaches the mystery of His presIt has
ence, adores Him there in all the world.
adored Him from the beginning, it adores Him
now, it will adore Him till He comes again, and
sacraments shall pass away into vision. In this
adoration is contained the whole power of grace and
truth, whereby we are sanctified, for Jesus on the
altar is the centre of all the sacraments and supernatural graces which flow from Him throughout
the Church and the worship we offer to Him is
the divine worship of God, in prayer, and praise,
and thanksgiving, and oblation of ourselves in
body, soul, and spirit, as to our Creator and Redeemer, our Teacher and Master, our Brother,
Kinsman, and Friend. This worship admits us
to a singular intimacy.
We speak with him
as a friend to a friend, face to face, opening
our hearts to His Sacred Heart, and conversing
with God as with One Who knows all we are
by personal experience and human sympathy,
who do not
adore
17
Him
in
it,
what the
to
His Eternal
258
is also
the fountain of
divine action
upon mankind.
is
It
may
and
all its
be therefore
They
which
Communion
and invocation,
earth,
and
of
Saints, their
of the
Seven Sacra-
own
a man.
Take
authority.
is
one
visible,
nacle of
faith
There
" the
is also
truth as
is
diminution, or change of a
what
perfect revelation,
dogma of
or of a
tittle.
For
What
or the
faith,
it,
conformity of the
is
human
but the
reflection, or
the
by
for
which
years
these
all
St.
Bede, in
same doctrines
on in the hearts
England for them
lived
of
less,
cast
" the
259
slight indeed,
The Divine
is
upon the
intelligence of the
Whom
Church by
no variableness
vicissitude."
(St. James i. 17.)
nor shadow of
Even in the great Greek schism, which has rent
itself from obedience to the Vicar of Christ, and
after its schism labored to justify it by errors which
border upon heresy, even there all the conditions
In a moment, as once
of truth and grace remain.
Council
of
Florence,
if it would but
already in the
renounce its national pride, its schism, and the
Father of
contentious
if
lights, in
is
it
has elaborated,
perpetual presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and have mutilated the order of divine facts
mystical body.
loss.
who
legious
Teacher
to interpret
them.
The
Magnificat was
empty roofs,
for Jesus was no longer on the altar.
So it is to
this day.
There is no light, no tabernacle, no
chanted
altar,
They
still,
but
it
not here.
was laid."
But this
Come and
(St.
is
Matt, xxviii.
not
tible to sense, in
He
is
all.
The
6.)
change, so impercep-
is
potent
260
From
generation to
They
His presence.
They
charist.
It
way
is
uncontroversial.
controversy
of
altogether
It
persed.
all truth.
generation,
And what
divisions of
its
doctrines
its
external
invisibly in
:
the order
of divine facts being broken through, and the substance shattered, the shadow betrayed its ruin.
What
dogma
is to
realities,
what
Body
witness by
its
Moreover
is
the poor, of
and preaches by
its
divine
saints in heaven.
And
ness,
besides this,
and holds by
the intellect by
will
draws with
it
sweet-
the whole
faculties,
its
own
its
its
its
obedience of
people, that
light,
bears
perpetuity, imperishableness,
The
it is
It
soul in all
presence of Jesus.
own
It
silence.
of Jesus,
rose
man
to
the
faith.
that
its
is
and
especial fidelity.
natural
life
Make
it
iu Sacramental
Communion
as often as
in spiritual
communion
as often as
we
can in daily visits to the presence of Jesus, kneeling in prayer, or sitting in silence at His feet, as
261
year;
sense of nearness,
relation to
Him, grows so
turns
a consciousness of
lively
and so
sensible,
away
that
sisters as
Him
it
all
face to face.
tl^e
Yery
l^ev.
to
The Church
and indignity.
injustice
of
God
to fight.
We
manner of the
Christian warriors.
leader has armed
thousand
defeat
struggle.
We
prove
ourselves loyal
And we arm
ourselves, as our
are
to
weapon
battles, the
of a
We may have
army
The
fact
was
this
for
They
^rt^ur
l^ai^.
so
many
we think another?
(I
objection as
no doubt
est souls.)
Well, there
am
it is
is
putting,
often put
nothing
easier.
In
fact,
interest
so let
I said that this should be a sort of drill
us take to-day the first division of the Holy Rosary,
and see how we can unite to the contemplation of
its Five Joyful Mysteries, the devout recital of the
:
Rosary
cards, or tickets,
minds we must have before us, that we may contemplate it, a picture, vivid and life-like and actually
present to us, of the scene commemorated in the
With
Mystery.
holy personages whom we address taking part in it,
or, with us, contemplating it, we recite our decade.
I.THE
that
JOYFUL MYSTERIES.
blessed,
call
263
when
thee blessed
womb,
Jesus,"
all
generations
"
THE ANNUNCIATION.
Joyful Mystery, the Annunciation.
holy
maiden of Nazareth, saluted by
See Mary, the
Gabriel the messenger from God. Contemplate
her humility, chastity, resignation to God's will
his reverence before the Queen of Angels, the
Mother of his God. And then adore the Word
made flesh, the fruit of Mary's womb, Jesus, God
with us. O how easily do we, in presence of such
a scene, and with hearts moved to their depths by
such a mystery of love, how easily do we begin our
" Our Father, Who art in Heaven, haldecade
lowed be Thy name," hallowed for sending that
Angel to that Virgin, hallowed for not sparing Thy
only-begotten Son, sending Him down to be made
" Thy Kingdom come," it has come to us
flesh
with Jesus Incarnate " Thy will be done," it is as
perfectly done " on earth," by Mary, " as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread," canst
Thou refuse us anything after giving us Thy Son ?
"And forgive us our trespasses," ah, our sins of
pride so unlike this humility of the Word Incarnate, of Mary, of Gabriel
our sins of selfishness,
so unlike this Maiden's chaste confusion Forgive
us these trespasses " as we forgive them that trespass against us
and lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil," the temptation, the evil
of such sins "Amen."
And then we begin our Aves. Using the very
words of that Angel of God, we salute our Blessed
Lady " Hail Mary, full of grace," of humility,
resignation, chastity, " the Lord is with thee," by
His grace before, by His Incarnate presence after
ihy fiat ; "blessed art thou among women," how
It is the First
"
may
be the
application to it of the prayers
so that no two of
our Rosaries need be alike, but may be even going
further and further into the sweetness of these
sacred scenes, adding fruit upon fruit of pious
affection and resolve, building up our lives in the
spirit and practice of Christianity, and unfolding
is infinite,
to
so
doctrine.
Mary
to Elizabeth.
at Nazareth,
The
home
Whom
he was
to herald.
It is a visit of charity.
visits,
when with
bitter-
our friends
our motives
of
264
name
Kingdom come,"
"
Thy
the
kingdom of
charity in deed
and word.
will be
ity,
dying
blessed
is
art
visitation
to
thou among
the sick
little
who
but
stable,
His loving
of this
Mary.
lies to
self-sacrifice
in
and
Him
of our
and
and
women,
womb, Jesus," blessed
IN
THE
TEMPLE.
In the next mystery, the Presentation of the Child
Jesus in the Temple, we have much sorrow mingled
with our joy. For look at that aged Simeon, as he
His
have seen Salvation,
the light of Gentiles, the glory of Israel. Yet is
he sad the while; and when he speaks it is to
prophesy the sign of contradiction and the sword
Third Joyful Mystery.
Forthwith, through Mary's heart, that
of sorrow.
THE NATIVITY OF OUR BLESSED LORD.
sword has pierced her first of Seven Dolours has
In the Third Joyful Mystery the scene is so fam- come upon her she is even now the Mater DolWhich orosa. She sees in the little One the Victim for
iliar that I need not describe it in detail.
cf you cannot place himself within the stable of Sacrifice, and knows that she must nourish Him
Bethlehem, before Mary and her new-born Child ? and care for Him, only that in time she may give
Him into ruthless hands, which will nail Him to a
Look at the contradiction there of all worldiness
That Presentation is for her no mere form
see how Jesus chose, instead of riches, the most Cross.
utter poverty instead of honor, the humiliation of she goes in obedience to a law which she might
instead of comfort, the rigors of a claim to be exempted from but her obedience is
an outcast
manger. For si^ch mercies how easy to hallow the generous. In the presence of that solemn act we
receives the Infant reverently into his arms.
aged face
is
radiant
recite
we forgive them
ah how little are their
offences
against
Thee
"
ous disobedience.
" Hail Mary, full of grace," and now it is the
grace of the first sorrow, " the Lord is with Thee,"
thy Victim presented to the God of Justice, " blessed
art thou among women," most sorrowful woman of
all,
womb, Jesus,"
many, and for* a sign to
"Holy Mary, Mother of God,
and
fall of
be contradicted.
pray for us sinners "
ungenerous, disobedient
sin-
ners,
The
last Joyful
Dolours.
Mystery
is
for three
sor-
it
is
Mary and
We love to think of
when
through
their tears, they see their lost Jesus.
And we have
laid many a time to heart His answer to His
" Didst thou not
Mother's loving remonstrance
know that I must be about My Father's business ?"
" Our Father, " we say for His Father is also ours,
"'Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name,"
the joy of
Joseph,
at last,
may we
temples
Thy
265
Thy Kingdom
business which
come,
name
in our
we must be
about, "
on earth
as
is
it
"
bread
in heaven.
may we
;
business, in listening to the teaching and questioning of Thy Son " and lead us not into temptation "
;
of
sloth,
of wilful
from
evil "
from ever
own
having
fault, or,
losing
lost
"Amen."
Mary,
among women
full of grace,
"
how
the Lord
is
the
doctors
must have
"
know the
true
You now
hands by the
haps, that through years past you have but half
known and half used the Rosary of the Blessed
Virgin.
Others, perhaps, see now, for the first
time, how easy and sweet is meditation on these
266
Church of God, and win for Christendom her protection who is " terrible as an army set in battle array."
Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us.
II.THE
Even
SORROWFUL MYSTERIES.
Rosary we
and so far
THE AGONY
The gloom
of night
IN
is
THE GARDEN.
over Jesus, as with Peter,
'
My
Father, if
it
be possible,
from
See
this
is
one that
Jesus,
And
is
Look
listen.
innocent.
And
this is for
ought
It is I that
to
my sin
He
be there bearing
into
267
which those frantic men are casting their deAh, let us who love honor, and are sen-
filement.
sitive
beads.
be
"
that
of all
pass against us
is
" as
we
forgive
them that
tres-
Amen."
And as we think of this heartrending scene revealed to the gentle Mother who has honored that
Son from the moment she knelt to worship Him in
Bethlehem, can we withhold our deep compassion
while we say, " Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord
is with thee "
and thou art with Him, thy Lord
and Son in the bitter humiliation of this hour
evil.
"Amen."
And, as we look
As we
we
find ourselves
His Cross.
We
on that way of the
268
acquainted with
that Scripture
all
and
Thy
Son's
steps forgive
" as
we
forgive
"
of Jesus.
death,"
when
tradition
We
contemplate the last and crowning mystery of sorrow the Crucifixion and Death of our Lord. If we
want to be moved to contrition for our sin, let us say
this decade well. If we want the spirit of self-sacrifice
:
If
we want
to
"
beneath,
Our
Father,
Who
and
lusts.
"
Thy
the Cross,
crucify the
will be
done
earth "
Thy dying
forgive
Him
we kneel
at
Son, "as
we
us," as Jesus
" and
to that Cross
mortal
And
Thy Son
afresh
by
"Amen."
Woman
Valiant
269
round the Man of Sorrows and the Mother of Sorrows in the mysteries from Gethsemani to Calvary.
First Glorious Mystery.
THE RESURRECTION.
But not for ever does the shadow rest on the Son
God and on His blessed Mother. The morning
breaks after the dark night, and it is Easter morning.
See the tomb, where on Good Friday evening
the Body of Jesus was laid, dead and cold see that
tomb now, radiant with light, the resting-place of
white-robed angels, and that Body, risen glorious
and immortal, victorious over death, dispelling for
of
Our Father
Glory
is
GLORIOUS MYSTERIES.
Even
So
Through much
with Jesus, so it
Their lives were mysteries of
it.
it is
which our
art in
Resurrection of
life.
faith in
we
forgive
them that
from
this Easter
and glory
how
to all eternity.
gladly our
III.THE
Who
heaven, hallowed be
270
"
and to
the Holy Ghost," the glory of the risen Son of
God, " as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever
to the Son,
Amen."
The
Apostles
without
its
The
time
go
to
ascending form,
till
a cloud receives
looking from Jesus ascending, to Mary remaining on Mount Olivet, happy in the fulness of
her hope, we say " Hail Mary, full of grace," of
hope and peace after all thy sorrow, " the Lord is
with thee, blessed art thou among women," now
that Jesus has gone
THE ASCENSION.
And
Him
out of
womb,
hand of the
Holy Mary, Mother of God," Mother on
earth of thy God in heaven, " pray for us sinners,"
that like thee we may live and die in hope pray
Jesus," sitting at the right
Father.
"
for us,
remain with us
our death.
The
"
Amen."
angelic song
"
we
join in the
Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen." O bright mystery of hope, may our loving meditation on you be a light upon the sad
days of our sojourning here
!
from earth
to heaven,
Thy
"
Thy
will
devotion to
Thy
cause,
expect
the
"
Holy
may we
by our lukewarm
us from evil. Amen."
Spirit
"And
never grieve
Catholicity
but deliver
" Hail Mary," the central figure in that upper
chamber, the joy and powerful protector of the
nascent Church. Hail " full of grace, the Lord is
with thee," to make thy fulness yet more full
" blessed art thou among women and blessed is
271
And
of Heaven.
Thee
"
nearest to
in heaven.
272
God
THE CORONATION.
While the mystery of the Assumption brought
us up to the heavenly gates, open to receive the
soul and body of the Glorious Virgin Mary, the
next and last mystery brings us past the shining
threshold, and places us in the presence of the
Eternal Throne itself, where Jesus is crowning His
Mother Queen of Heaven. Who can tell the glories
of that pageant
sovereign
is
If
King
of glory
we say
of a
of the
coronation of the
Son, the
He
is
"
Queen,
hallowed be
reign,
we may reign
Thy
Lord, in our
at last
" as
we
forgive all
who
"And
lead us not
"Amen."
Our
tears.
of
vision of Mary.
told.
and Bethlehem, Egypt, Jerusalem, Calvary. Remember the Seven Dolours, from the prophecy
of Simeon to the grave of Jesus. Remember what
waSy and see what is. Look up, for even as we
our beads to-day in the valley of tears, the
crown that Jesus set upon Mary's brow is filling
heaven with joy and brightness, and cheering the
tell
Through
through sorrow, through glory, we have lovingly and watchfully followed the steps of Jesus
and Mary and now we pray " that having meditated thus on these mysteries of the most holy
Rosary, we may imitate what they contain and
obtain what they promise, through Jesus Christ
our Lord."
joy,
^ould
that
lives thus
vocal,
quick and energetic as ever. Now we can understand to the full what an overwhelming and invincible power is in our hands when, in union with all
the Christian Church, and kneeling before Jesus,
the fruit of Mary's womb, we unite our minds in
contemplation of these mysteries and our voices
18
in sending
273
up these
prayers.
and
of Chris-
at the
HQ.
He hath
R. F.
line
Catholic
of
An
Angels.
on
teaching
the
cannot
fail to
when many
and
is
true that
see the
mind
bright
man
to fix his
thoughts
him
to
contemplate
love,
and
hope
for
what
Who
274
CLARKE,
all
S. J.
thy ways."
Fsa/m xc.
ii.
name
its
of this nature
office
applied
is
it
to
men
it is
an Angel."
to
spirit
priests,
(Malach.
ii.
7,)
to
xi. 10,)
God is strength,")
God?") Raphael, ("God
Michael,
("who
is
as
Chapelle.
The
is,
275
Captivity.
the Sadducees,
woods
heathen.
affirm
that
name
have
suffered
divine
Many
rationalists, in accordance
demons {daimonas),
is
not new.
Holy Scripture
know
of
demons,
Angels.
We
for
Philosophers
by the
divine mentor.
Tertullian writes
*'
The
we must
3.
The
believe
in
the
existence
all
of
Angel of Jehovah.
who
appear.
276
The
4.
Who
brought these
us: "In
Him
were
all
made.
He commanded
created," "
He
God
3'e
Father
Archangel
to us
The sands
truth.
ing to
God
aught
else
They
was made.
(Ps. xcix. 3
Prov.
viii.
22
down
to us with
5.
common
The
Number
disclosed
of the seas
The Angelic
Choirs,
names,
but is silent on what constitutes the nature of each
of these orders, what their rank in the heavenly
hierarchy. The Fathers also are not in agreement
divided into different orders, with definite
upon
this matter.
theologians
is,
The common
opinion
among
The
first
sub-divided into
is
hierarchy consists
the second of
Dominations, Virtues, Powers the third of PrinArchangels, Angels. (Isaias vi. 3 EzeRomans viii. 38
I Thessalonians iv. 15
chiel X. 3
According to St. Thomas of
Colossians i. 16.)
;
The common
life
God
on
cannot,"
St.
things created in
Paul
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones ... or powers all things were created by
Him and in Him." ("Coloss. i. 16.) We know too
from Holy Writ, that God is the author of all
things, for " in the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth," " He spoke and they were
tells
"We
of Angels.
cipalities,
and Seraphim."
The
for
Order
Among
is
how
But
? "
stand
" This
man
who
kingdom
the Pharisees
Satan,
shall his
who
is called
and he was
and his Angels were thrown
Our Lord speaks of the fire
:
and
his Angels?''
Thus
in
To
reign
is
secure, and, in
my
choice,
hell
8.
The
The Angels,
The
Man.
is
for
in
some of them
forms,
is
that of
man which
We
is
not hypostatically
stood
of
Ephesians
Satan.
The
Apostle, writing
to
the
tells
against flesh
that the
of
man and
surpasses
in
its
natural
dignity
Upon
Who
alone
abso-
is
this
Though
more so
Scripture
the
call
have clearly professed this doctrine now genthe Church. St. Cyril argues that the
Angels cannot be the fathers of the giants, " since
they are without bodies." St. Ignatius of Antioch
calls <"he Angels " bodiless natures " {asoeatous
phcuseis)^ and St. Gregory Nazianzen says the
angelic nature is intelligible and incorporeal
{noeten kai asomaton).
St. Gregory the Great
asks if any one that is wise and right-minded
"will say that the spirits are corporeal."
However, many of the Fathers are to be understood as speaking of a body improperly so termed,
eral
lutely simple.
man
Angels
ever,
posite in
whereas
i. e.,
man
spirits,
though not
There
9,
It is certain,
raised above
is
all creatures.
7.
277
to
it
human
x. 20, xi.
26;
Judges
xiii.
Luke
x. 19, 20
Tob. xii.
God whose union with
the daughters of men Gen. vi. 2 speaks, and of, not
Angels, but the descendants of Seth. The Angels
are incorruptible and immortal, for death consists
19,
20
Matt. xxii. 30
The sons of
19.)
St.
St.
and body.
They
could
278
cease to be only
Hosts,
of
annihilating them.
men and
10.
The
The Angels
of the
times, in
are
human
surpasses
intelligence,
for
Christ at
human knowledge.
edge as a climax to
By
xxiv. 36.)
their
(St.
Matt.
and
"
heart.
Thou
(iii.
the earth
" If I
is
full
His glory."
of
Angels.'"
Cor.
(i
"And
xiii. i.)
saw
Angels.
far
all
Kings
Jude
9.)
to
(St.
They
God.
sing His
"
God, Whose
word is living, more piercing
39.)
than a two-edged sword, and a discemer of the
thoughts and intents of the heart," has not willed
that man's secret thoughts should lie open to be
12.
The
The
majority of
theologians
teach
that the
scanned by every passer-by. " Wicked and inscrutable is the heart of all," says the Prophet Jeremias
"who shall understand it? I the Lord, searching
Apoc
When
vii. 3.)
declared the
Daniel,
by divine
revelation,
King
cried out
" Verily,
"
endowed with
are
free-will, for
they
Angels
is
The
trial of
the
that there
to the
pride
is
mands
desires,
of God,
II.
Speech
Among
the Angels.
testifies.
fall
for
from
it all
into the
first sin.
(2 St. Pet.
ii.
4.)
We
that
do not
fell
the
number
number
faithful
of those
probably
Was
And
their
Connatural,
persevered.
according to
279
who with
home,
diverse
and now
when
They
is
13.
The
man
tempt
God.
only,
We
Holy Writ
that our
desert,
that Ananias
Judas,
of
24
Mace.
32, 34
i.
(St.
;
St.
Matt.
Lukc
and
iv.
24,
vii.
21,
epistles,
We
of lies.
ministers,
of this father
the order of
in
his
apology,
demon
"
thus
publicly chal-
is
harrassed
by a
if
that spirit
speak,
so
truly
is
will
more common
opinion that all temptations do not come directly
from the devil, but also from man himself, who, in
Lout
is
deputed.
However,
it
is
the
that Satan
may
and sadden
first
it
16, xii.
In general,
When some
St.
learn from
on
everlasting."
life
first
grace
Tliey do suggest at
"Bless the
Lord, all ye His Angels you that are mighty in
strength, and execute His word, hearkening to the
voice of His orders.
Bless the Lord, all ye His
hosts you ministers of His that do His will.
They have special duties to perform to the Word
made Flesh " When he brought His first-begotten
into the world. He saith
'And let the Angels of
God adore Him.' " A multitude of these blessed
spirits sang songs of joy and thanksgiving on the
night that Mary brought forth the Infant Saviour
and laid him in the manger. After his fast and
temptation, after his agony in the garden, the Man
of Sorrows deigned to receive consolation from an
Angel. Now continually do they cry before the
:
* Paradise Lost.
280
great white throne
"
The Lamb
is
number
tion."
15.
Guardian
Angels.
of His Angels.
who
Church,
which he
for
fights.
to
xii. 7.
is
Holy
guardianship.
"Are they
commonly held
vidually
has a
in the
Rhode
indi-
we read
14; Gen.
i.
3
;
to
xviii;
Judith
St.
Luke
xvi. 22.)
These
Softly
The words
In
And
Newman
by Cardinal
in the
my
thee,
I poise thee,
Dream of Gerontius.
The Angel speaks
who
and
the lake,
or a resistance,
Angels, to
whom
Shall tend,
you consult
Acts v. 19
Tobias xii. 12
xiii
;
beautifully described
It is
his Angel."
Judges
xiii. 20
Hebrews
in
inflict
them
heaven.
had met
when
off the
among
and ward
who
It is
"
belief
They
Scripture.
And
lull
is
given,
Most Highest.
faith, it
It is the
common
Be brave and
And
patient
16.
The
I will
Old
Law
thee
on the morrow.
St.
it."
Thus the
superiority
is
shown,
for it
was
281
Ministry of Angels
The
Scrip-
to the
Angels.
to offer prayers to
may
present
off
his
feet
out of rever-
an Angel destroyed the first-born of the Egyp- ence for the spot where these heavenly spirits
an Angel descended from heaven to move had appeared.
The Catholic Church has ever honored the Anthe waters of the Probatic Pool, that an Angel rolled
away the huge stone from the mouth of the sepulchre. gels, not with that supreme worship called latria^
Again, in the Apocalypse we read of " the four which belongs only to God, but with an inferior and
Angels standing on the four corners of the earth, relative honor, as the servants and chosen friends
holding the four winds," of " the four Angels to of God, known as dulia. She assigns them an
whom it was given to hurt the earth and sea," of office and a Mass in her liturgy, and exhorts her
" the Angel who had power over fire," and of " the children to revere, love and pray to them, that
Angel of the waters." Wherefore " every breath they may ever experience the help and interof air and ray of light and heat, every beautiful cession of these holy spirits, to whose untiring
prospect," writes Cardinal Newman of the Angels, care they have been entrusted by the divine
" is, as it were, the skirts of their garments, the
mercy to be sweetly enlightened, lovingly tended,
" Despise not one of
waving of the robes of those whose faces see God in and faithfully shielded.
;"
heaven
and again, "Above and below the clouds of these little ones, for I say unto you, that their
Angels in heaven see the face of My Father Who
air, the trees of the field, the waters of the great deep,
" He hath given His Angels charge
is in heaven."
will be found impregnated with forms of everlasting
over thee, to guide thee in all thy ways."
spirits, the servants of God who do His pleasure."
that
tians, that
THK
I.
the deacon
and sub-
deacon.'\
The ceremony
of
Palm Sunday
consists of three
^The
and, indeed,
we might
easily
Jerusalem.
the Lesson
you
parts.
tity,
in sufficient quan-
Then comes
cession of palms
offered,
to
and distributes
Holy Mass
the pro-
St.
is
according
narra-
is
sung.
Now, during
to picture to
Church
sets herself
joy and
gladness at her Master's triumphal entry into Jerusalem bitter sorrow at His approaching death. On
;
He
"
Hosanna
Son of David
to the
name
Blessed
of the Lord."
At
relates
encamped
palm trees
giving
is
tions,
in the joyous
first,
procession, depicts
the triumphal
desolation.
is
omitted as
is
in
at
find in
the
St.
of Israel
children
Elim
a Preface
comes the prayers of blessing, in which we are reminded of God's gracious mercies in the past, how
the dove brought the olive branch to Noe in the
ark, and how God protected the Jews under the
trees of EHm.
Then comes the distribution
palm
palm kneeling
ceive the
of the palms.
kiss
it,
as a
Re-
mark
of
hand as an
will
2.
As soon
The
Procession.
and choir leave the sanctuary, following the crossbearer and acolytes. The music is bright and joyous, in memory of the shouts of triumph which
hailed our King while all carry palms to help us
to realize the procession on this day in the Holy
The procession leaves the church still singCity.
ing, but on its return it finds the doors shut against
Its progress is arrested, but its song of joy
it.
until at length the subdeacon strikes
continues
the closed doors with the cross he is carrying. The
doors are then thrown open, and all enter singing
the praises of our Saviour-God. By this symbolical
act is signified that the gates of heaven were shut
,
< ^H.iiS^SJaB&f^T.oSiiif^.vi^'s-
'-^
\i.:-::'i>yKx:ytj/:.i.-:t5
v.T.
j-w>^^i^ j-iBiifrniiili
against all
first
parents,
3.
The
of the
The
Mass.
Holy
Sacrifice of the
Mass.
is
the offering
The
parts
sung
One deacon takes the part of Chroniand sings all the narrative of the Evangelist.
Another deacon, called the Christus, sings in a low
and plaintive voice the words spoken by our dear
Lord Himself the third takes at a high pitch the
words of Pilate, Judas and Caiphas, while the choir
sings the words and exclamations of the crowd.
When the Chronicler relates the death of our
Saviour, all kneel for a few moments, in silent awe
and contemplation of the Sacrifice that is consummated.
After this the Gospel is sung
but to
the choir.
cler,
same
time,
to
express
Master's triumph,
of victory.
the living
we hold
at the
hope of our
Mass continues
as
TENEBR/E.
As we
signs of
enter the
mourning
The
Sanc-
tuary looks deserted and unfurnished. The Tabernacle stands open, for the Blessed Sacrament has
At the
common
or unbleached
The
Ofl&ce at
283
to assist is called
it
pictures to
world at the death of Jesus Christ. It is the preparation which the Church gives us that we may
assist in proper dispositions at the sacred function
which is to take place next morning. On Wednesday evening we sing the TenebrcB of Thursday in
present.
The
is
of
We have
remarked that no adornment and ornament, nothing but what is essential, is allowed to remain in
the Sanctuary during these days of mourning. The
Church carries this same spirit into her service of
prayer, and leaves nothing in the Office save what
is essential to it
the Psalms and Lessons. The
versicles and hymns, the invitations and responses
which are used at other times, and form, so to
speak, the drapery and adornment in which the
Psalms and Lessons are clothed, are omitted on
these days. The Matins consists of three parts,
called Nocturns (night offices).
Each noctum is
made up of three Psalms and three Lessons. The
Lauds consists of five Psalms, followed by the Canticle of Zachary {Benedidus), and the whole Office
is closed with the 50th Psalm {Miserere) and a
Collect. The Tenebrcs service for Maunday Thursday in the Psalms and Lessons brings before us
the Passion of our Saviour, and in an especial way
the treachery of Judas. In the third nocturn, however, the Lessons appropriately relate St. Paul's
shown
forth
By
the disciples
284
The one
I.
The
Mass.
Amid
death of
its
Creator.
At the end
bums
still
is
His
Death and Burial, our dear Lord came forth immortal from the tomb. The OfiEce ended, all de-
the Altar,
still
part in silence.
day of the Last Supper of our dear Lord the day on which He instituted the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist
and in honor of that great Mystery the Church
lays aside her mourning, at least during the celebration of Holy Mass, and bids us deck the Altar
with our richest ornaments, and wear vestments of
white, the color denoting joy and gladness.
We
would remind our readers that the Last Supper
took place on the first day of the Azymes, or the
Feast of the Unleavened Bread, and it is for that
reason that we always use unleavened bread for
consecration in Holy Mass.
Again, to show forth
the unity and greatness of this Supper, the Church
allows on this day only one Mass to be offered in
each church, at which the clergy and congregation
assist and receive Holy Communion, the priests
wearing stoles, the token of their priesthood. This
joy.
It is the
way
tb
of t^
se present.
the bells ring out joyously in answer to the organ's peals but after that, both bells
excelsis, and'
i?t
silent until
Holy Saturday,
to
show
The
The
kiss of peace
is
of
2.
The
is
and the
pardoned.
omitted, to
on
On Good
Friday, as
we
Church
was
MAUNDY THURSDAY.
some signs of
lasting, for
offered
left
alone
when He
suffered the
Agony
in the Garden,
The
Stripping
conditions of men.
Mass of
the Presandified.
the Altars.
I.
At the end
of
GOOD FRIDAY.
We
285
The
choir and
The
Passion.
sacred ministers
approach the
Sanctuary in silence. Neither incense nor lights
are carried before them, and the vestments are
black, " as when one mourneth."
On the Altar
there is neither Missal nor Altar-cloth.
When the
sacred ministers reach the Sanctuary, instead of
beginning by public prayer, they prostrate themselves on the ground in silence, while a cloth and
the book are laid on the Altar. They then rise,
and at once proceed to read the Lessons and Collects, which bring before us the Paschal Lamb, the
type of the Lamb of God, who is to-day sacrificed
for our sins.
These Lessons prepare us for the
" Passion," which gives us St. John's account of
the terrible events of this great day. The Passion
is sung, as on Palm Sunday, by three deacons (or
priests), who each take a part, the choir sustaining,
as before, the part of the multitude.
2.
The second
cation
2:^1^
Prayers.
petition.
action is to
The
make
The
idea of the
intercession with
Church
God on
in this
this
day
offer sacrifice
that he does
congregation present
follow
The
tinct actions.
four parts:
i.
to St. John,
2.
Suppli-
all sorts
and
show by
our union in the petition made
by the priest in our name. First comes the prayer
for the Spouse of Jesus Christ, the Church of God
rise, to
th:;
for
2S6
ail
in tribulation or danger
and schismatics
heretics
for the
tion into
by
much
to
4.
The Unveiling
of the Cross.
these Reproaches,,
3.
help us
It will
we read
^The Mass
of the Presanctified.
now
of Jesus Christ.
The
the Presanctified.
to us.
explanation of
the
Mass of
The
clergy go in procession to
High
Altar the Blessed Sacrament, which has been reserved in a chalice since the
Mass
of yesterday.
On
Regis.
this
'
HOLY SATURDAY.
When
was
tlie
practice
As
the
many
allusions
we
find in
it
to the night.
i.^The
The Church,
as
Blessings.
287
this
grand song
times
once to
fix in
Then comes
He
divides the
blesses
and
sanctifies
sacred functions.
blessed.
From
Holy Saturday
it.
He
The
poured into
This
completes the solemn blessing of the Font, and
after this the catechumens were formerly baptized
and then confirmed. After the blessing of the Font
is
lie
prostrate before
288
2.
As we have
The
at
to assist
really the Mass that used to be offered at daybreak on Easter morn, after the long vigil. This
will explain why it is of such a joyous character.
The vestments are white, the Gloria is sung, the
bells ring out cheerfully, the organ is heard once
more. Pictures and images are uncovered flowers
again adorn the Altar, which is decked in white.
is
The
family."
is
taken up by the
Sepulchre of Mary
Mary
Mass.
Magdalene and
the
other
as
it
St.
John.
The Teaching
By
T is
B. K. C.
of the Twelve.
COSXELIvOE, M.A.
The "Shepherd
of
Hennas
seems to
part, and he
"
generation
Some
many
to the Christian
century.
The Teaching ci
the
Lord to the Gentiles through the Twelve Apostles," which was discovered by Archbishop Bryen-
known as the
Greek monastery at Constantiat all and by the further fact that a writing known
Its high
nople, and published by him in 1883.
generally
as " The Two Ways, or the Judgment of Peter,"
since
been
accepted,
has
and
it
antiquity
is spoken of by Rufinus, and also (under the second
is agreed by most scholars that in it we have recovered the work which Eusebius mentioned last title) by St. Jerome. We may, perhaps, go so far
among the " spurious " Scriptures in the famous as to say it is probable that the two sections were
account of the Canon which appears in the third somehow different in origin and date but is quite
book of his history. The name there is " The certain, for the reasons to be hereafter stated, that
Teachings, so-called, of the Apostles." Clement of the second cannot be very long subsequent to the
Alexandria, who died about 217 A. D., quotes as first. For the present purpose, we must take the
being taken from " The Scriptures " a passage document as a whole and in the absence of any
simpler title, it will be convenient sometimes to
which is found in the recovered text.
There is a parallel fragment of an ancient Latin refer to it by its Greek name, as the didache.
The Bryennios text, as a whole, carries a certract called the " Doctrina Apostolorum," which
seems to represent a slightly different version, tain convincingness in its curious simplicity. It
either of the whole or of the first part of the Bry- does not lay claim to be written or issued by the
ennios document. There is also, as Bickell saga- Twelve, nor by any of our Lord's apostles. It prenios in 1875, in a
first
tive
in
the
first
supposes the existence of a larger order of " Apostles," some of whom, might prove to be " false
prophets," not
of a
order of
being Apostles, of whom some are assumed
be
pretenders and of a class of persons called "teach"
prophets,"
distinct
"
to
ers."
strict interpretation
290
Matthew "
nal
critics.
ion, selection, or
whom
known
and
is
oflSces
Nothing
among
the communities
is
probable
that the
writer
meant and that the congregations would understand that the " bishops and deacons " first appointed would be ordained by an Apostle as soon
as might be, on the analogy of the well-known
method by which new Apostles had themselves
been added to the Eleven. Fairly considered, all
the indications, whether of internal or external evi-
He
to act " as
It will
an adaptation
of a
that the
portion
first
struction.
Old Testament,
it
commonly held
it is
of
is
is cited
is
in-
and
God among
to the
The
prayer
is
from
winds
dom."
to the
And
God
Thy
king-
The
and
is little
and
knew nothing
is
that
are to be "
As
them.
though reminiscences of
addressed.
" ordination," but as the persons to be selected
is
empowered
to select,
no
is
" deacons,"
There
"
or the
obligation of giving first fruits to " the prophets " is based on the argument, " for they are
Where they
name
suggests.
say with
f There is one phrase, " if a man take from thee what is thine,
ask it not again
for thou canst not," which has been supposed
;
Luke vi. 30. But the words are emwhich is rigidly and verbally built
up out of the text of St. Matthew, and as there is not another
word which indicates a knowledge of St. Luke, it is impossible
to infer anything from the phrase quoted.
The coincidence is
easily explained by supposing that the writer of the didache and
St. Luke both got this saying from the same sources of oral
to be a reference to St.
bodied in a
series of precepts
Apostolic tradition.
yet arisen.
No
This,
if
is
hinted
at.
the author
most critics
where from Samaria
is
Antioch* is an obviously
strong indication of a very early date. It would
carry us back not only beyond the destruction, in
A. D. 70, but equally beyond the commencement of
the final war and terrors and troubles which
attended and preceded it. Those began not merely
when open war arose in 66 and led to the arrival of
so great a general as Vespasian in 67, but at least
to
national madness.
as
century.
hardly alter
to
say that
The
earlier limits
might have
to be
put
still
Cumanus (47-52) and his intriguing subordinate and successor Felix (52-60).
Even before Ventidius came, about 45 A. D., there
ship of Ventidius
We
false prophet
Theudas.
earlier period
than 60-70
A. D.,
though
much earlier date, since no one presay how soon the " Urevangelion " if
will allow a
tends to
both
St.
Matthew
himself.
now unknown)
third
much
it
known
hardly too
getable catastrophe.
It is
sitate
seric
was
291
in high
If
it
more than doubtful by the phrase as to " this bread which was
scattered upon the mountains."
Corn in Egypt would never
be thought of as a thing sown " on the mountains," though that
phrase is apt enough in the north of Palestine.
time
and
it
Twelve" was
The
dis-
their
common
witness
and
authority that the added Apostles had the right and power to
teach.
292
would probably
lie
his
But
Provisionally, then,
it
view.
to the tract
but there
is
and
St.
Matthew,
origin.
is
criticism.
already in 52-3.
tolic
The
famous
If
we
Church
is of
it
Christ.
of the
Church
is
evidently
by
to
wander from
teacheth thee
this
way
There
is
a cate-
is
times a day.
The
local
to the
" the
commandment
of the wine-
first fruits
and
repent."
ipso facto
excommunication
by
he
thou
" until
"
if
perhaps
'
'
It
'
'
grew
as applied to alms
after
the
When
it
fall
was Jewish as
originated
is
not known,
but
you by
respect of persons."
Ye, slaves, on
Make no divisions, but make peace. Avoid soothsaying and charms, and astrology and lustration
for they lead to idolatry.
All the paradoxes of the sermon are enforced
with excellent sense and shrewdness
and the
;
For
if
ye are sharers
and simple
fashion, as to
believers.
The
clear.
made
sufficiently
same
Satisfaction
well as Christian.
to call
293
prophecy
is
notable.
After referring
"in
294
essential
"
Name
and
of the Father,
of the
water
Holy Ghost.
" Before bapticm, let the baptizer
Beyond a
no unbap-
Now
is
absolutely
all.
it
new
converts,
who
heaven
first
then the sign of the voice of the trumpet, and the third,
(by Zechariah),
Him.'
Then
not of
The Lord
'
shall the
clouds of heaven."
It
shall
all,
come, and
all
merely thinking of
elect " to come
is
wM
Judgment
so.
the
this passage is
mind
Matt. xxiv. 31
St.
Lord
and
at all.
Probably he
the gathering of
"
the
first
Gospel.
is
necessary.
The
may have
writer
a friend
The solemn
beautiful
by
preparation
fasting, in
company
if possible
and simple
sion
was common, we
all
of the water of
went unbaptized.
problem seems at first
Immediately after the Baptismal rules follows the passage containing " comto the Eucharist, the
somewhat complicated.
mands
of the
Church
days.
"
And do
it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily
and forgive us our debt as we forgive our
debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil. For Thine is the power and the
earth as
bread,
If
As
beforehand."
to him, as to us, is
order of persons
cial
what
of
on
:-
"
We give
thanks to
Thee, our Father, for the holy Vine of David Thy
servant, which Thou hast made known to us
through Jesus Thy Child. Glory be to Thee for
whatever to any
ever.
" And as to the bread that is
of Life
the chalice
'
broken
'
We
give
thanks to Thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge which Thou hast made known to us through
Jesus Thy Child. Glory be to Thee for ever.'
"As this bread that is broken was scattered upon
the mountains, and being gathered together became
one, so let Thy Church be gathered together from
the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom. For
Thine is the glory and the power, through Jesus
Christ, for ever."
"Let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist, except those who have been baptized into the name of
the Lord. For it is concerning this the Lord hath
said, Give not that which is holy unto dogs.'
"After ye have been filled, give thanks thus
'
"
We
give
Thou
Father, for
Thy
and for the knowledge and faith and immortality which Thou hast made known to us through
Jesus Thy Child. Glory be to Thee for ever.
" Almighty Lord, Thou hast created all things
hearts,
and drink
Thy Name.
men
to
Thou
may
give
Thee thanks
through
Thy
Child.
we give thanks to Thee, because Thou art mighty. Glory be to Thee for ever.
" Lord, remember Thy Church, to deliver it from
all evil,
it
and
to perfect
it
in
Thy
love,
and gather
(St.
Matt. xxiv.
Thou
31) into
it.
Thy Kingdom,
For Thine
is
which
the power
for ever.
let this
primitive,
it is
295
known
however
the remaining
liturgical form,
necessary to collect
i. e.^ who
Even if his preaching and his practice
may seem to them to differ, they are not his judges.
He, like the prophets of Israel, who were often
side at
is
and
ordained.
ment
of
must be
left to
the judg-
God.
prophet, speaking
apparently
" in
the
we suppose the
writer to
mean
that
when a
as they will."
Further there
is,
296
may
be pure.
Let every one that hath a dispute with his friend
not come together with you until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice be not profaned.
"
"
tiles.'
"
minister to
{leitourgid)
*'
Deacons
also
Thou
shalt confess
thy trans-
Communion
and which
and
That
" confession,
con-
is to
be above
is
His commission.
But
God
Lord," was
As
at all.*
to the reason of
needless to speculate.
it is
Mystery
may have
was not considered well
writing and these main
The
"
"
it
commit needlessly to
may have been so obviou,"? to every Christian
that there was no need to tell him.
It may be answered that the maxims of " the Way of Life and
Death " are also elementary. But in the first place
they appear to be only an adaptation of a preexisting text, which was wholly moral and not doctrinal
and in the next place, they are in fact not
so simple, for thy work out the broad precepts into
a most admirable system of practical " casuistry."
If it be granted that there is no anti-Catholic
inference to be drawn from the silence as to any
precise Eucharistic doctrine, we may go on to ask
to
points
ourselves
how we
In the
first place, it is
urgy.
trines
all
of any one in sin would be a profanawhich must be one common " action,"
tion of that
clear that
it is
not a
lit-
it is
and
central
essential item.
It is also
reasonably
33).
of David
where
it
iv.
word
iv.
is
27,
used
ambiguous.
it.
which
the itinerant apostles and teachers alone could regularly administer now,
prophet might do it,
among them,
them keep him gladly.
ing to settle
let
as a resident minister,
and in ordinary a
bishop with a deacon, is in the writer's view proper
for the full services of the Church.
They can
exist without this, but imperfectly. Does not this at
once suggest that when no Apostles or teachers
happened to be with these churches, the liturgy
was not celebrated at all ? A prophet, who was
bound by no rules, might use it, but he would extemporize upon it or pass away from it, " in the
spirit," and he must be left to the judgment of God.
Such special inspirations apart, if there was no
" minister," there would be no liturgy.
But there might be and there was a Eucharist.
Arguing back from the later use, we may suggest
a probable hypothesis. Even after priests and
churches were multiplied, as in the Rome of the
fourth century, we know that it was common to
send the Eucharist Hosts and Chalice together
from one church to dependent churches, in such a
basket as is figured vividly in the Catacombs, and
described in St. Jerome's famous panegyric on
resident minister then,
Exuperius.
297
have lingered on in
meaning of which had been lost
in antiquity, but which were observed because they
were so well known to be of the primitive use.
What is more probable than that this sending of
the Eucharist was the method of which small and
pastorless churches, such as those to which the
didache is addressed, were enabled in this apostolic
age to communicate with their brethren, and with
the heads of the Church.
If so, we can at once interpret the text. The
local church would hold its sunaxis regularly on
every Lord's Day. If a person who could officiate
was there, the Liturgy whatever it then was
would be said. If not, the reserved Eucharist
would be brought out, and all who were worthy
would receive without any " Mass." For that occasion, the writer seems to suggest two simple collects of the Chalice and the Host, and a concluding
prayer for the unity of the Church, with a doxology.
The reminder that the unbaptized were not to be
admitted is the more in point, because as there was
no Liturgy, the " dismissal " (which no doubt even
then formed part of it) might be supposed not to
apply to the altered case.
The prayers themselves are so simple that it is
rash *2 argue from them at all otherwise it might
be suspected that " the holy Vine of David which
Thou hast made known to us through Jesus " was
itself a hint of the Presence, and meant that Jesus
the son of David, the branch of the root of Jesse,
to
298
is
common
was a
not
Sacrifice
pre-eminently holy
to replace for the
made
in
common and
Temple
"
as the Lord.
"
But he
place
may
The
so-called "
Way of Life
first
make
impossible to print
is
it
it
of space
here, important as
short chapter
" occupies
and considerations
the five
chapters,
and Death
After
it
it
follows this
"
For
if
is
"
ap-"
giving of thanks
God
of
Israel,
there be need,
to found.
and the
so do ye.
days, he
may
new
if [a
of righteousness
Sacrifice
but
"
is
the next
but
if
and
if
he remain three
a false prophet.
And when
him
let
and
if
he asks
for
money, he
is
a false
prophet.
prophet.
"And every
if
is
a false
prophet.
"
it
'
not be
idle, as
a Christian.
"
is
like the
first-fruits
of the
floor,
first-fruits
ments.
"
of
And
in like manner,
wine or of
oil,
to the prophets.
" And of silver
take the
first-fruits
"
(Ch. XIV.)
On
a jar
of every posit
seems good
commandment."
may
not be defiled.
"
tiles.'
When
"
"Keep watch
over your
Let
life.
and of the
produce of oxen and of sheep, and give them to the
prophets for they are your high-priests.
" And if ye have not a prophet [among you],
give them to the poor.
" If
299
"
all
less
"
"And then
first,
'
300
brought us to the threshold of the Great Judgment, he leaves us to picture it and its consequences for ourselves.
The interest of such a document is great.
Whether such inferences and conjectures as it has
seemed possible to make are safe or no depends on
many
made
to
curious questions.
The
suggestions here
modem
criticism.
very important
if
may
help
But
at the least, so
long as we
avoid rash dogmatism on matters necessarily so obscure, Catholics may be glad to find in these long-
belief.
SAINT CECILIA
The Invocation
of the Saints.
By RKV. SYDNEY
CCORDING
Romish
The Children
doctrine concerning
is
a fond
In-
thing,
we
are people
who commit
the
Saints reigning with Christ in heaven make assiduous intercessions for us their brethren still struggling below on earth (2) that they are not without
a particular knowledge of our wants and necessi;
we may,
and profitand
that
we
ought
also to
(4)
pay them a becoming religious honor and veneraWe will take each point separately, and so
tion.
;
(3)
that
build
I
up our
therefore, lawfully
defence.
assidu-
Holy Scripture
tells
Lous
when
The
ties
S. J.
vocation of Saints,
The
SMITH,
F.
James
v.
16-
18.)
God was then kept from destroying them, according to His own word, by the prayers of Moses.
"
And He
Moses His
said
He
Him
in the breach, in
it
should
destroy them."
to
Now, if on earth
among
its pri-
if
it
those
We
whom
it
cannot sup-
it
it
will fail to
was wont
to
St.
502
others,
after
their triumphs
and when he
We must
mind
also bear in
beings, that
say,
is to
Lord
said, "
See
ones
for
little
My
Who
weak
is
in
remem-
The
heaven."
dren, as our
if
angels intercede at
all,
they
then,
men on
'
m>
God can
much moved by
their
prayers,
ture
2.
common
in every respect
a particular knowl-
Nevertheless, he
moment
is
of death further
knowledge
of
what hap-
Now
SAINTS.
Even if we could
form no conception of the manner in which, in
their new mode of existence, further knowledge
could be conveyed to their minds, do we not peris
in-
some means of
These facts are: (i)
that the Saints must have a very strong and reacommunication
is
sonable desire to
provided?
know
sufficiently established,
grant
it.
all,
it would certainly seem right that their intercessions should not be of a vague kind, but should be
directed to our actual and known wants.
But has God the power to grant to the Saints
this their desire of knowing our particular wants ?
Yes, certainly. To begin with, what is to prevent
God from Himself revealing to them our wants ?
No one will be so absurd as to deny God the power
of communicating knowledge to the spirits of the
departed
but perhaps it might be thought an
;
absurdity that
God should
Book
deal with
faculty of perception.
The
power
Many
(I.
a glass
Cor.
and
darkly,"
May it
We may
its
it.
my
12.)
iii.
asking
you
be without a similar
should
303
separate state
its
SAINTS.
and
behalf, that I
me
in prayers to
believers in Judea."
we
it
priety in the practice, but on the contrary a reasonable expectation of spiritual profit.
little
disciples, is "
ones, for
Do
not scandalize
if
your evil
This proves that at all events the prayers
of the angels are glided by particular knowledge of
what is happening to their earthly charges. Unto perceive
ish it,"
same
effect,
we ought
is
We
to
stimulate their
may
lawfully
and
profitably
lay
and
our
solicit
their prayers.
We
have now
Hith-
is fair to
In the
our Lord's
presently.
it
erto
10,)
But
are considering.
God on
may
demand
Nevertheless
it
But the
tell
against
The
and in the
tes-
304
SAINTS.
among
These
to the
five
same
Fathers
And
their Ian.
the prohibition
is
None can be
Father in the
full sense in which God is our Lord, our Master, and
our Father. And so in like manner no one can be
our mediator in the full sense in which our Lord is
such and yet others may be our mediators in a lesser
to us Lord, Master, or
Holy Scripture
make
corresponds with
He
of His
own
right, in virtue of
He
claims as
The
behalf.
Saints,
SAINTS.
305
may
Christ.
On
Church
i?
it.
What we do say is that,
we approach God through Christ directly in
our prayers, we do well to take with us and add tc
our own the intercessions of others.
ever insisting on
whilst
and
acceptable to
God
Our
no sense
conflicts
with the
would
not because
conflict,
it
Our
doctrine
is
own
for reconciliation,
of
veneration.
down
commencement
set
creature whatever.
know of
many
could not
the lips of so
tence.
But
we remember,
Saints
any
a practical omniscience
all their
to
is
first,
we ascribe
when
to the
help, of asking
God
to use
Your
defence, say
might pass
if all
be-
comes one not of merely invoking but of also venerating the Saints, there is a difi'erence between our
treatment of them and our brethren on earth.
a long
long
way
way
The
Catholic doctrine
is
direct approach to
20
falls
(t.)
at the
They
gifts.
His
gifts of
And we
feel,
406
thereiore,
it is
them
them
with a veneration which is religious in its character though, of course, widely differing from the
religious veneration, the supreme worship, which
;
we pray
to
God
For similar
authority in the religious sphere.
reasons when a Saint appears amongst men, although out of respect
we should
him, religious in
its
religious expression.
Many
non-Catholic readers
will
cases.
Himself.
Catholics have
offering
SAINTS.
we might
thought.
If an angel were to appear to one of them, as
and bow
him
him reverence
the
to the palace ?
And
if to
SAINT ANN
confession
is
to
You
priest
only.
Do you know
the
reason
why ?
Therefore
it is
plain
Christ.
confess
Sin
is
a dangerous
eternal death.
it
only helps a
little
If
we remember.
God
this.
If through false
308
understand the priest of God, who loves his penitents, feels great compassion for their weakness,
and consoles them when they are unhappy. Unfortunately, he has often been accustomed to hear
therefore nothing
all kinds of wicked, bad sins
anyone confesses to him will ever shock him. Do
;
may
you a
little pain,
all,
known
know through
confession I
No
him
was ever
in confession.
And
this
confession,
made
in secret,
will
little
and
for-
is it not
a thousand times better than the terrible shame
which proud sinners will feel at the day of judg-
ment ?
God
will
make known
the
when
but
which
Contrition.
mean
is
you
If you
of
you
Your sins are forgiven,
just as if you had confessed them all.
You must
not think about them again. Only, as our Lord
has commanded us to confess all mortal sins, it
will be well to say the next time you go to confession, " Father, the last time I forgot to tell you
that I
sin."
you did
God and
If
make
a bad confession.
There is one thing which should give us great
even death
itself,
rather than
him in
ages,
St.
make known
confession.
the
A great bishop
Augustine, said
"
That
of
sins, it is
we must repent
our hearts.
This
is called Contrition.
It is not
very hard for good little children to feel sorry for
their sins, when they think of the infinite goodness
of God, their Father.
the cross
lance.
It
that
was
He died and
me that He
for
"
By one
and
and
my sweet Jesus
'
you
I will forgive
we thought
If
"
little
seriously of
these things,
we
it
done and what they are going to do to amuse themselves and so they forget the love of God, and
that they have a conscience to keep pure and free
from sin, a soul to save, and a heart to make holy
and pious. They think of all kinds of things, but
never or very seldom of Jesus. Our Lord, my dear
child, loves you, and wishes to dwell in your little
heart but He hates sin, and sheds tears of love
and sorrow over every little one who, without
thinking of His goodness, offends Him by the
many sins he commits.
;
Do
not, then,
my
an act of contrition.
You must remember, dear
love
hope
Thee
I shall
Thy
"
!
Besides this,
we must be
we can
resolved to go to confes-
we were
without having time to go to confession, we are sure of our eternal salvation.
Your mother's heart is, in a small way, an image
;
in this way, if
of the
Heart
When
you have done something very naughty, which you know displeases
your mother, what gives you most pain ? Is it not
the sorrow which you have caused to one who loves
you more than anyone else in the world ? Then,
my child, do not forget that our Lord loves you
more dearly than your mother could ever love you.
When we are truly sorry for our sins, we must
be resolved never to commit them again. This is
called a firm purpose of amendment.''''
If you fall,
you rise up again as soon as you can. And you
think, " well, I must not fall again."
Is not this
true? This is what you must do, then, when you
fall into sin
you must arise at once, and take care
not to fall again willingly in the same manner.
But this does not say that you will never sin
again.
No because no matter how sincere may be
of Jesus.
''''
our sorrow, it does not make us incapable of sinning it only means that you hate sin with all your
;
heart and soul, and that you will do all you can for
the future to avoid sin and everything that may
to sin.
When you are going downyou are quite resolved not to slip and yet,
in spite of this, you may even fall and hurt yourself severely.
But still, a resolution against sin, if
really strong, will help you to resist a great many
tempt you
stairs,
is,
that
and
God
to die suddenly,
'
But
my
love
love?
309
by the grace
of
God.
Ask
310
you know is
wrong. Grace is the union of your soul with
Jesus the instant you feel yourself tempted, turn
to Jesus and say " My God, come to my aid
Jesus, have pity on me I love Thee I never wish
you
feel
to sin again
As God
"
!
Do not be
afraid
He
is
When we
Him
are so
go
to confession,
necessary.
Absolution
is,
name
When
the confession
is finished,
Sometimes,
it is
only gives him his blessing, and puts off the absolution to another time.
This blessing does not for-
our-
give sin
fear.
it is
selves
power.
Him.
The
of Jesus Christ.
Whilst the
priest
down a
great
many
him
by the Church,
she must be our refuge
in all our temptations.
She it was who first gave
the infant Saviour to the world, when she presented
Him
"
Blessed Virgin
to the
called
is
"
stable at Bethlehem.
She
who
it is
men
in the
gives Jesus to
The
Absolution
is
When
other
it is
way
name
by the
priest to
for a sinner to
by an
all stain
of sin
become a child
of
God
pleases
Thee
by
resolution,
"
again
ask
of Jesus Christ,
must
try
again.
If,
him from
We
Absolution.
in the torrents of
words
but
if,
uncon-
ourselves, but
make an
pay too
which are not wilful.
We may receive absolution at every age from
the time we come to the use of reason, which is
humility.
much
In general,
it is
better not to
attention to distractions
and a great
we
act of
he were thirty or
Some
forty.
children,
who have
This
is
communion.
their first
These
children,
and without a
if
they
may make
real sor-
What
thus,
my
first
time
a preparation
!
Do
not act
Every time you go to conyou can to reabsolution, and with great humility ask your
dear child.
ceive
confessor to give
gladly, feeling
it
happy
to you.
He
will do so
very
to see
little
soul
is
it is
quite pure,
is
up of a
act of piety
When we
Satisfaction.
sometimes an
and
pleasure
and charity.
and as
carefully,
should avoid as
to serve
The evening
an
little
and try
Penance and
311
much
him
examine your
conscience ask our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, and
your angel guardian, to help you know the sins
that you have had the misfortune to commit since
your last confession. You must also beg light
to see what was the cause of your sin, and ask your
confessor to advise you as to the best way of avoidbefore be careful
to.
ing
it
giddy
pates do not give enough time to their examination
often lose a great deal, because these
little
of conscience.
will
312
going
it
to confession
will be quite
When
of just
God
for
His
now
in anything, giving to
God
all
whatever of good you may have in you forgetfulness of self, and thoughtfulness for others.
;
all
temptations
avoiding books,
ness, privations,
to
to time.
The
infinite
gratitude which
goodness towards us
we owe
:
to
the tears
the priest's
feet,
on our knees.
studies, etc.
you
in the habit of
you are
committed.
Purity
to
Almighty God,
to blessed
Mary
through
fault."
Mary
ever
Archangel, blessed
Here
I will
An Examination
As soon
as
we come
to Confession.
Before Confession.
Have
Have I
Have I
holier
tried
to
make
When
com-
Have
and
night
them through
said them with-
I omitted
have
faith, lightly,
or
my thoughts, words,
cannot be true Chris-
and actions
to
God?
(We
tians unless
we
live in
and
Do
I love
neglected going to
coldness or carelessness
my
religion
sworn
vain
Have
Second.
said
munion.
LWell,
always
I
?
cross thoughtlessly
Have
prayers
We
and become
Commandment
said my morning
First
through custom
easier
sin.
faults
are
have come to the use of reason when we are capaIt is very useful,
ble of committing sin willfully.
however, and, in some cases, quite necessary, to go
Your soul is like your face
often to confession.
in order to keep it clean you must not leave it long
unwashed. Sin soils your soul, and to keep it pure
you must go often to confession.
The more frequently you go to confession, the
my
correct
we
Made
Conscience to be
of
When We Must Go
313
lutely necessary
the church
attention,
Have
diction
and devotion ?
I assisted piously at
when
it
was possible?
Have
listened
314
who are my
the way of sal-
when
my guides in
prayed every day for my relations, both living and dead?
Have I disobeyed
my parents ? Have I disobeyed my mistresses,
masters, or those who have charge of me ? Have
I treated them with disrespect?
Have I been
so wicked as to raise my hand to strike them?
Have I despised their observations, and laughed
Have I been obstinate in
at their good advice?
following my own will?
How often has this
happened ?
Have I given way to impatience ? Have
Fifth.
Have I quarreled with my
I been in a passion ?
companions ? Have I insulted them ? Have I
hurt them willfully ? Have I tried to revenge myself upon them ?
Have I spoken ill of them ?
Have I spoken unkindly of their faults ? Have
I told lies about them?
Have I told tales in
order to get them punished?
Have I without
necessity simply to amuse myself been cruel to
animals ?
Sixth and Ninth. Have I always hated immodesty with my whole heart ? Have I resisted
temptations ? Did I give way to impure thoughts ?
Did I expose myself willfully to dangerous temptations ?
Have I played with naughty children ?
Have I talked and laughed with them about
naughty things ? Have I been immodest ? How
whilst at play
and
spiritual fathers
vation?
Have
many
my
reading
Have
(In this, as
it
be
my
willful.)
books, in
the priest.
It is
that a penitent
is
we must
confess
it
making
most tempted
If you feel
to conceal in con-
it
which
Have
through shame.)
had taken or found,
I could
Eighth.
Have
I cheated
Do
tell
lies ?
Have
my
vain of
dress,
my
beauty, or
any success
my
at
or talents
given
and because
dolence,
trouble
Have
of Conscience.
My
present
that
me
Oh
am
about to perform.
Mary, my dear Mother, pray for me.
may
After Confession.
315
within
me
bless
O my soul, and
As
thee.
He
again.
be merciful to
blood,
so hath the
give
O sweet Jesus I am sorry, and hate my sins, because they displease Thee, who art so good. Give
!
(Ps.
cii.)
me a sinner
Sprinkle
me with Thy
O my God, I
with
all
offer this
life
How
m Sick m Dying.
Help
TO
* Then shall the King say to them that shall be on His Right
foundation of the world. For .... I wa:J sick and you visited Me.
Si. Matt. XXV. 34-40.
by
encouraged
Hand Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the
Amen, I say to you, as loug as you did it to one of My least brethren, you did it to Me."
:
would
words,
these
/^UlrW^/ifr^
suffering
members,
if they
Morning Prayers
His
in
Make
My
therefore
No
delay.
Uniting
tact,
I.
HOW
Keep
the
will
necessary
is
patience, a
little
do the
Who
charity
Take care
2.
avoid as
to
much
Truth
danger of
possible the
as
For example,
a fever avoid
if it is
When
3.
change
their linen,
do
sick,
make
their bed,
or
it
4.
5.
in all
you do
Do
6.
and be very
and hard
to please.
And do
much
many
variety.
prayers or too
much
a favorite prayer
if
faith,
often more
them by too
is
to tire
reading at a time.
Among
8.
When
the sickness
is
At
that
316
he
Father.
God,
of the Father,
and
of the Son,
and
Amen.
I believe in
itself.
O my
all
things.
1 desire to
gain
all
to me.
Night Prayers
the acts
night
May
Son.
are dying.
to comfort
to try
Thy
who
what seems
Jesus Christ
When
7.
Holy Ghost.
O my
Name
In the
Our
SICK.
person.
day
God.
of the
this
think or do or say
by
earth
it
Thee
and say :
more
the
little
rest.
TO HELP THE
To Those
1.
Let us do so without
prepare ourselves.
all
On
I offer
may
and
God,
All I
we should
is
told
In the
of the
Our
Name
Holy Ghost.
Amen.
HOW
to be
\Ifere wait a
and
little,
try to
is
at hand, they
ferer
'
so good.
remember
the faults
you have
lics at
day.'\
My
"
may
God,
317
by
at
once suggest
it
am
my
sins,
'
because
who
Thou
art
art so good,
and
God and
very
contrition
I will
fect contrition
is
is
And
safe.
as easy as
it is
it is
sweet.
O my
and
last end.
Into
Lord
Thy Hands, O
May
commend my
Lord, I
spirit
and
my
agony
you
I give
my
heart
me
assist
in
my
last
may
I die in peace in
Amen.
May
Contrition.
Jesus,
my
When
I resolve to
We
must be so^y
It is
who
is
is
infinitely
good
in
be sorry
is
by which
my
poor soul
Suffer
me
as then.
able.
It is
By
it
Thy
is strictly
bound
to confess
remember what an
mind
them
if
And
do
for them, if
hindered by
priest
it
sudden
servant,
pardon,
1 will arise
Him
implore
lost.
tears,
behold
me
at
Thy
feet
I entreat.
etc.
and go
to
my
before Thee, I
am
not
now worthy to be
called
Thy
cir-
Thy
the Blood of
pardon, etc.
Kneeling in
now
seek
Thy mercy
Since
This
all love.
It is as efficacious
in
turn
Jesus,
perfect contrition.
there were
he
to
is lost
1 will never
good
hell,
Look upon
Saviour.
pardon me,
my
look upon
Lord.
I.
Christ
O
Acts that
Thy
Thy
soul
Jesus,
ing,
Jesus,
my soul.
Jesus, receive
Acts of Contrition.
priest
son.
HOW
318
have
mercy on me and
more
spare me.
wounded
Jesus,
our sins
grieved
for
our
my
grieve for
Thy Sacred
sins,
By my
Heart.
heal
my
soul, for I
And
detest them.
have deserved
all its
By my
sins I
have abandoned
Where
perseverance.
am
willing to
utmost of
make
my power.
satisfaction for
Forgive,
O my
God
nailed
Him,
He
Yet
against Thee.
to the
sins I
Hell with
them
now
have
as I live.
mercy.
sins, I
Never
mercy
my
All
iniquities,
great
me
Let
Look
Father
Tis
-vrith
let
Thy
pity
me
upon me
Thee Father
call
II.
What
know
Patience
will
not
happen
me
know
O my
to-day,
is
God, I
His
my
those
who
my
Patience,
Amen.
God
will pro-
to
that I
all
and Resignation.
the crown
May
it
kow brigkt
when we come
to
AND
SICK
DYING.
I love
God,
my
heart
Whate'er
ready.
is
blessed be the
It is the
Name
Lord
let
is
good in His
Will.
What
world
O my
God, and
direct
death nor
my
my
Perfect
that they
may
heart.
The
my
chalice that
Thy
Will be
I
doneThy Will
Thy
long
it
me
be.
Name:
Thou have me
Lord God,
to
do
for as
may
may
my
ground,
persevere.
Thee
Thy
Let
best.
be done.
whether
Ueaven.
Thee
done
me
not drink it ?
good in Thy sight.
Lord,
be
How
patience that I
hell.
to unite with
all
me
me as
I am in Thy
:
it
I love
Lord,
things
How much
sight.
Thee
I love
do what
be
.-
of the Lord.
Him
it
I love
me
My heart is ready, O
319
With
my
God
de-
me
down
all
It is all well
sires.
blessed be
blessed be God.
God
in
all.
320
Thy
Lord,
care over
me
upon Thee
I cast
I cast all
my care then
book of
life
befalls
I believe in
Faith,
God
my
Hope and
the Father,
Spirit,
Lord, increase
who
who
created
me
sanctified
me
God,
to
my
God,
whom
I believe in all
Thy Church
teaches, be-
Thou
Thee
I love
so often, and
Precious Blood.
Thee
me
Give
Let
Thee
only
me
love
Thee
to love
Thy
love and
Thy
grace,
and
Thee with
all
my
grant
that I
may
love
for ever.
my
I love
who have
I forgive all
My
me
help
above
heart.
O my
God,
make me
all
Thine before
To
is
live for
Preparation
for
My
I die.
God, I can
Death.
to die
done.
my
life for
God,
He
will
Saviour.
And
be
more.
in Bap-
I resolve
my
may
my love.
worthy of all
cause
Thy
sins in
me
eternity,
me from my
1 love
my faith.
My
Truth
of love that
I love
washed
heart and
Thee.
me from
I love
Charity.
tism.
my whole
Thee?
DYING.
I love
death, that
III.
soul
do
with me whatever it shall please Thee, for it cannot but be good whatever Thou shalt do by me.
Cast me not off for ever, nor blot me out of the
me
My
is
AND
SICK
bid
me come
to
Thee,
My soul, let us so
live that in
heaven we
may
rejoice to
May my
last
one
my
My
me
live like
life
let
theirs.
HOW
Do
not forsake
me
my
me
life
everlasting with
To draw Thy
Arms were
people nigh
defend
stretched
of
And
in those
my
Arms
Shepherd
of
to die.
me
be
v/ith
me then suffer
me not off from
Thy
;
Thy
me and
my
soul
Jesus,
give you
my
heart
assist
me
in
my
lat
agony
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
your blessed company.
HOW
may
I die in peace \n
To Those
Who
illness, lose
no time in sending
In other cases he
21
Jesus,
1.
Guardian, stand by
chosen.
my
holy Angel,
number
for me.
II.
hour
in the
help me.
in Paradise."
art about to
me
me.
and
My Jesus, Thou
my death.
St.
soul,
me from
of
not,
Wounds
me
Leave
safe in heaven.
Blood.
Lord, on the Cross Thine
Cheer
from my
own
me
in the end.
321
2.
Tell the sick jjerson gently that his state, though not des-
perate,
is
be
much
later,
322
away from
him
tell
and
his duties,
fears the
and
If he
him
discharge, engage
do
to
this also
may
he
If
sum
for Masses, or
Do
4.
little
not
flatter
when there
him to make
life
by receiving
Holy Sacraments with fervent dispositions, and accepting
sickness from the Hands of God with perfect resignation to
is
They
are given to us
by God
Try
happy death.
to die a
his
the
them.
Do
selfish
I.
5.
and
by
distress
beautiful
is
their
own
unrestrained sorrow
who
diffi-
as
may
easily see
Mother, that he
may
may be reminded
easily reach
6.
commend
also
himself frequently
be near, so that he
it.
who might
Visitors
to
and Mary,
him
be truly sorry
tion of conscience to
it
remember the
whom
If
above
all
stances of
should not be
left
up with
her,
Some people
prayers.
ing of
9.
to sit
God on what
The
to ruin
devil
is
it.
it
left
If
woman
is
dying, and
all
his heart
My
tbem
do not
and so
own
After his Confession, remind the sick person to say his penance, and
if
necessary say
it
with him.
it
is
called the
is
for a journey.
enemies.
tries
to take.
all
is,
He
many
and comes
dangers, and
He
terrible things
should be a woman.
examina-
which he has been employed. Then let him excite in his heart
a true sorrow for his sins and a resolution never to commit them
a long
it is
in his
the friend-
His preparation
to Jesus
to
restore to
again.
and
him
Penance.
How
the
his sins.
for
in
signs
for the
and
rather encourage
DYING.
AND
SICK
the end.
O Jesus,
Thou
Thee
to
I
Most
Thee,
adore
I
love
and
I
Sacrament
I
Thee,
Holy
desire Thee come into my poor heart, and never
leave me come. Lord Jesus, come
believe,
that
AND
SICK
DYING.
Thy
that with
328
may
Saints I
pausing a
little
sick person
is
praise
Thee
the sick,
and
Amen.
still
tired.
am
Lord, I
under
5.
my
roof
fasting,
6.
receiving.
save me.
III.
in order,
it,
two candles, a
Lay a small
and under the
Communion upon
crucifix,
the breast
When
2.
it
strengthens us.
rament,
talking.
all
If
among you ?
and
let
name
After
3.
him
to
shall
make
little
may
his thanksgiving,
he cannot do
if
help
The
shall raise
feet,
him
up,
and
if
he be in sins they
'
priest anoints
hands and
God by
praying that
last
Thy most
and Blood
in
^ believe that
my heart,
I adore
Thee
Thou
O my
holy Body
I love
Thee
thank
Christ, save
me
me
never
hour of
let
my
me
within
Thy Wounds
death, call
me
me
by
in the soul
left
in
and
sin;
to
pains of
the
suffer
our
last
in
Purgatory.
sickness.
It
punishment
It
death.
It
mortal sins
takes
away the
fear of death,
if
unable to go to Confession,
he
is
it
will
but
the
if
take
away
4.
danger.
Its
till
the
ex-
last
it,
and thus being deprived of the special graces which would make
them better prepared for death and more fit to meet their Judge,
By
may
also
lose
this
it
to
be expedient.
Some ill-instructed Catholics have a secret fear of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, as if death were sure to follow on its
This is a great mistake.
reception.
Its healing power is so
often and so wonderfully shown, that many look to it hopefully
as the means of saving the life of those they love, and far from
it, are eager to secure it in good time.
Out of respect for the Sacrament, the eyelids, ears, nose,
hands and feet, which are to be anointed, should, if pos-
deferring
5.
to
makes us
gives strength
hide
in the
com-
agony
sick person is
I believe,
sins
Holy Viaticum.
After Receiving
the
in
oil
himself.
it
And
be forgiven him.
2.
lips,
of the Lord.
patient
a low voice.
Unction.
St.
sick
3.
the priest
Extreme
should
1.
priest
it.
If there is
be told of
lips,
sible,
be washed beforehand.
324
The
6.
let
him renew
mind
his
entirely from
God and
Let
life, trust
himself
7.
life
or death.
by the Church
AND
sins of
my
DYING.
whole
Thou
because
am
life.
good
art so
them all,
never commit
Thee, my God: I
sorry for
I will
believe all
Thou
God
I love
SICK
May
me
Give
my
I grieve
sins.
Through
Thy most
this holy
me
don
Amen.
temptations of death.
After
Lord
spirit,
God, I have received the Sacrament of Extreme Unction may it take away all sin from my
soul.
May it save me from the punishment due
to my sins.
I am willing to die that I may gain
Thee. Give me grace to persevere to the end. O
good Jesus, hear me within Thy wounds hide
me never let me be separated from Thee in the
;
commend my
soul.
Encourage him
he
to lose nothing
by contrition any
efface
fall
sin or fault
let
him ask
the priest
for
without
delay.
Remind him
able.
him some
may be
often of the
out suggesting to
unconscious, he
is
My
my
Jesus, receive
suffering of his
Extreme Unction.
Thy hands
Father, into
Sacrament.
Will.
short aspiration
though apparently
He
will
him.
how
his
Guardian Angel
will bless
little
God
and encourage
you for helping him
prayer, at a
moment
'
hour of
Thee
my
me
are near
Blessing.
end.
of death,
it
dying person
To
will
is
produce
its
moment
moment,
if
Plenary Indul-
all
God by
that
him
Guide
his
hand
to
My Jesus, mercy.
Dear Jesus,
Wounds,
in
make
Thy
I kiss
a.c often
re-
When
the
recite
such
any
as.
Thy
Precious Blood.
and charity
and resign
My
it
life,
himself to
then give
save me.
suitable prayers,
act of faith in
the
in a state of grace.
gence, he should renew his sorrow for the sins of his whole
and
now and
words of love
their
short, tender
am Thine
Thy Feet hide me
who
some
Jesus, I
The Last
The Church
to kiss, with
Amen.
all
the
AND
SICK
DYING.
325
Let Us Pray.
the
God,
Creator
O
and Redeemer of all the
faithful, grant to the souls of Thy servants de-
During the agony, often sprinkle the bed and the dying person with holy water, especially when he shows signs of fear and
The
trouble.
acts suggested
now
When
and
he
is
near his
My
God,
am
May
The
Thee,
I love
Thee.
my sins.
receive my soul.
lyord Jesus,
all
My Jesus, mercy
Holy Mary, pray
for
for
me
pray for
St. Joseph,
my
now
in its
pray for
me my
;
Do
my
you
heart
assist
me
in
my last
agony
may
I die in peace in
After Death.
Out of
'
Send
" Out
my
to the voice of
supplication.
who
Thou,
shall abide
Lord, will
mark
iniquities
Lord,
As often
Church.
as
They
it.
cry:
friends
money
not by squandering
suffer so
you can do
it
in
so easily.
will comfort
God
ber you,
for ever.
its
way
it
it,
will
to
in
it
its
pains,
will
it
remem-
It
this life,
have passed the gates of death, and stand in need of the charity
" Blessed are the merciful," says
you have shown to others.
our Divine Lord, " for they shall obtain mercy."
OLord.
from
all
his
in-
let per-
all
those
iquities.
that to have a
it ?
voice
Remember
its
in spirit to
If
because
it
Go down
my
must
to its help,
help continually
it
enjoy
life,
it
and outward show of grief when the body is comthe grave ; but by thinking of the poor soul, which,
you come
unless
gotten
and
costly flowers
of the Depths,
it
forsake
Purgatory, and show the soul you love that you have not for-
As soon
life
ears.
Many
you
in
it
me to the last,
me do not forsake me now." Can you turn a deaf ear to this
piteous prayer?
Now is the time to prove your love, not by
mitted to
and Joseph,
least
it
loved
not forget
soul
who
can reach
Jesus, Mary,
gone into
How
and
it still.
fearful fires of
me.
My dear
soul has
help
me.
St. Michael,
and
livest
I love
sorry for
who
Amen.
Amen.
last
in a louder voice
and
'
'
is
is
He does
And
ask yourself
I do
to be
not say
'
'
Be getting
Am I ready ?
always ready
To-
ready,
Shall
'
'
Be
Be ready.
What must
"Watch
but
I be ready ?
'
'
'
326
SICK
AND
DYING.
always remember that we are most certainly to folgive us grace to prepare for that last
low him
hour by a good life, that we may not be surprised
by a sudden and unprovided death, but be ever
watching, that when Thou shalt call, we may go
forth to meet the Bridegroom and enter with Him
into glory everlasting, through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
all
NON-CATHOLICS.
especially if this
them
to join
would
irritate
them.
One God
My
God,
am
the sins of
offended
sorry,
my whole
I believe that in
with
life,
all
my
heart
for
of all love.
My
God,
if it
Thy
me to
be
bear
it
patiently, because
My
THB
KKQAN
C.
^ HE
PAUIv.
of Flor-
object
and has
for its
thirteenth
men
special
Ingeburge.
the faithful.
arose
11
70, St.
Francis in 1182,
St. Bonfilius,
the eldest
St.
it
and show the inexpressible sweetness which underlay its most austere observances. The Seven Holy
Founders of the Senate Order, like loving and
tender children, devoted themselves to her,
who
redemption of souls
the
Word
ficed in
full of
His
blessing of
to her
who gave
to the
Thus while
world
men.
Dominic and
St.
Francis mani-
know and
to love
They
happy only
lived in a
they had
peace within their own borders, as Florence had for
the moment. Later, in Dante's time, who probably knew some of the early Servite Saints, there
were no less than seven intrenched camps belonging to different factions within the City of Florence
state of perpetual
itself.
feud,
Though, of
if
by
of Florence
and the
to the
were but
political
war with
the
many
con-
Our
328
It
was in
young
James of Poggibonsi.
Of these two hundred members, seven became
the saintly founders of the Servite Order, and the
of a
priest,
who
among
among them
of community
as their natural superior.
was question
life,
He
retained in religion
who
The
femily were
rels.
He made
afterwards
known
He
the city.
origin.
claimed to be ancient
Roman by
among
is
the
many
strifes of the age were merely political, and hindered neither side from being good Catholics. His
family,
who
lived
much
to follow a secluded
and
life,
him
which found
mal name.
Ricovero Uguccioni was born in the same year
as Amidei, of a family both noble and mercantile.
The lad was from a very early age remarkable for
obedience, compassion for the poor, and love of soli-
Sostegni.
bom
in
cioni
showed plainly
made
who had
was as necespurity
by
affording
examples
sary to uphold true
But whether
of holy married life, as of celibacy.
by
seven
wives
No new
members.
August 15,
members
1233, these seven young
of the Laudesi, having confessed and communicated, were each and all making their thanksthe Feast of the Assumption,
fact,
were
life
these
their director.
On
of perfection, in which
and
It
329
Each,
who
still
lived
men
"
Sacrament.
So soon as their life arranged itself, and Monaldi
was formally elected as their Superior, they desired
to submit themselves to the Bishop for his blessing.
He wished to see the whole Brotherhood. Their
that you
may
retire
together
into solitude,
and
live
wholly for God. You will thus experience heavenly consolations. My protection and assistance
will never fail you."
The vision faded, the congregation dispersed,
only the seven remained, each meditating what the
Bonfilius Monaldi, as the
vision might mean.
eldest, did violence to his humility and broke the
He told what had befallen him, and that
silence.
he was ready to obey Our Lady's call. Each in
order recounted the same experiences, and the
same
resolve.
living a mortified
life
in
young men
330
Servi di Maria
still
more wonder-
and they,
therefore,
Come ye
same time a
while
voice, sweet
they skirted the walls of Florence in procession, carrying the Cross before them, and the
image of the Blessed Virgin which had stood in
They climbed the mountain fasting,
their oratory.
director,
for it
was the
vigil of the
Ascension
they grounded
make
down the
statue of
Our Lady
to
where they
if
rocks.
grew up in a night.
Just below the crest of the mountain to the south,
where there was some depth of richer soil, the her-
On
Sunday in
the Brethren saw their
the third
grapes.
who came
till
of Dolours,
who under
that title
On Good
tions,
accomplished.
only excepted.
Alexis.
It
were long to
tell
went
new numbers was known, other towns in North Italy desired to receive, and received, homes of the nascent
Order, and of the new and special practices which
distinguished them from others. Immediately
and to this day the practice remains they began
their Mass with Ave Maria, and ended it with Salve
vision
Our Lady
331
of the
Black Scapular, both of these as well as the Devoseeming to appeal to the hearts and satisfying
the needs of the time, and all things seemed to
promise prosperity.
But the Founders had to
share in the dolours of theii mother, and the time
of peace was not yet.
esteem and
aflEection,
years,
One
and incidentally
ligious of
Monte
of the Cathari,
Re-
Senario.
Monte
This
no place
to
the Fathers
St.
Bonfilius
ruled
the
community
till
1255,
when, after repeated endeavors, he succeeded in laying down his office, and the choice of the Fathers
fell on St. Bonagiunta.
Miracle had again marked
him out as chosen of God. A merchant in the
332
to his brethren
fire
found humility."
intro-
worms
full of
whom was
him
altar.
supported
He was
call.
third General in
Germany and
in France.
He
top
1262, "less of
been.
sweet odor
filled
as General,
333
in their career,
honor.
No
more accurately,
fidelity.
carried out
Philip,
made a
as
field
seems opening.
More than four hundred years passed away after
the death of St. Alexis during which the Order had
its vicissitudes, its triumphs of grace, its dangers,
alternations of honor and scorn.
But in the course
of the year 1752, the Seven Holy Fathers were
solemnly declared Blessed in 1888 they were canonized.
Lovely and pleasant in their lives, in
their invocation is
death they were not divided
collective, none in the Sacred Order is greater or
the miracles necessary to their
less than another
canonization were not wrought in connection with
all together conthis or that one amongst them
tinue the work they began in common.
;
Tu
The
it,
Ora pro
nobis.
Legends of
How
St. Francis.
Went by
As
St.
as
to St.
Mary
and
St.
perfect joy."
it
little further,
he
"
life
those
And going on
little
knew
"
Brother Leone,
if
guages, and
and
if
all
all
lan-
and
St.
Mary
we
rain,
and
afliicted
cold,
'
'
'
then,
be perfect joy.
"
And
we should continue
knock, and he
should come out in a rage, and should drive us
away as importunate villains, with rudeness and
with buffetings, saying
Depart from this house,
vile thieves
go to the poor-house, for you shall
neither eat nor be lodged here,' if we should sustain
if
to
'
and with
joy,
'
334
LEGENDS OF
ing on fhe pains of the Blessed Christ, as that
which we ought to bear for His love
O Brother
Leone, write, that it is in this that there is perfect
Finally, hear the conclusion, Brother Leone:
joy.
above all the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit,
which Christ has given to His friends, is that of
conquering one's
self,
and suffering
willingly, for
and oppro-
are ours,
and
ST.
FRANCIS.
335
in eternity."
at this
Christ."
How
How
Bread,
and
Glory of God.
for the
Marignano, a
man
The wonderful
after thee ?
why
Francis replied
And
Brother
thee
Thou
and
art not a
to
man
then comes
Hearing
it
mind
up
to
God
and thanks
to
God
after
me ? why
all
sent out His disciples, two and two, to all the cities
to act before
He
taught.
lifted
Whence
it is
spirit, raised
Who, as
of per-
comely
either
things to Christ
me ?
This
LEGENDS OF
336
begged.
And
and better than his own, had great joy, and spoke
" O Brother Masseo, we are not worthy of so
great treasure." And as he repeated these words
several times, Brother Masseo answered him
" Father, how can this be called treasure, when we
are in such poverty, and lack the things of which
we have need we, who have neither cloth, nor
knives, nor plates, nor porringer, nor house, nor
'"
table, nor man servant, nor maid servant?
" And this is what I
Then said St. Francis
thus
nothing here
provided by human industry, but everything is provided by Divine Providence, as we may see manifestly in this bread which we have begged, in this
stone which serves so beautifully for our table, and
call
is
ST.
FRANCIS.
and threw him from him to the
a long spear, which put Brother Masseo
air,
by
which all earthly and transitory things are trodden
under foot, and all impediments are lifted away
from the soul, so that she can freely unite herself
to the Eternal God.
And this is the virtue which
makes the soul, while still retained on earth, converse with the angels in Heaven, and this it is
which accompanied Christ to His Cross, with
Christ was buried, with Christ was raised up, with
bodies, seeing that this is that celestial virtue
we should pray to
holy Poverty, which is a thing so noble that God
Himself was made subject to it, to be loved by us
with our whole heart." And when he had said
these words, and they had made their prayer, and
partaken for bodily refreshment of the pieces of
of Christ, that
bread,
And
And
as
afterwards,
that
And
who
are enamored of
it, facili-
guards
the arms of true humility and charity. And therefore let us pray the most holy Apostles of Christ,
who were
orecious,
most
and humble
disciples of this
most
And
LEGENDS OF
treasure of most holy Poverty.
And
further, in
ST.
FRANCIS.
made
Francis,
embassy
first to St.
Clare,
and
gain
much
The humble
received
them
into
whether he should
sometimes preach
the will of
God
to
know
And
because the
holy humility that was in him suffered him not to
presume on himself, nor on his own prayers, he
thought to discover the Divine will through the
in this matter.
prayers of others
and he
"
him."
The same
Brother Silvestro
it
was,
who when he
be saved."
Clare, to know what she had oband she replied that she and her
companions had received from God the same an-
How
and that
tained of
may
but that he
returned to
France.
22
his
And having
gathered
337
St.
God
tion of others."
Then
knowing by
this,
that they
should keep silence, until he had done preaching
and. the swallows obeyed him, and he preached with
;
so
all
the
in thct
LEGENDS OF
838
minded
village were
village
but
Do
"
them
hence, and I
said to
to
St.
"
for the
And he
ST.
FRANCIS.
As St. Francis spoke thus to them, all the multitude of these birds opened their beaks, and stretched
out their necks and opening their wings, and rev;
by
their
And
St.
left
"
Wait a
little for
preach to
my
me in
And
and began
to
he entered
little sisters,
much beholden
to
Creator in them.
Finally, having finished his sermon, St. Francis
arose in the
went
their
ing by
to
sew nor
to spin,
God
clothes you,
many
benefits.
And
therefore beware,
my
little
signify-
how
birds,
neither
God your
praise
commit
own
in this
dence of God.
How
was.
Now
LEGENDS OF
he got up in the night. And in order that he
might not sleep too soundly, the boy, when he lay
down by the side of St. Francis, tied his cord to
the cord of St. Francis, that he might feel when he
got up and of this St. Francis perceived nothing.
But in the night, after his first sleep, when all
the other Brothers slept, St. Francis arose and
found his cord fastened to something, and he softly
untied it, so that the boy did not feel anything, and
went into the wood which was close to the house,
and entering a little cell which was there, betook
himself to prayer. After a while the boy awoke,
and finding that the cord had been unfastened, and
that St. Francis had arisen and gone away, he arose
also, and went to look for him
and finding the
door open, which led to the wood, he thought that
and entered
St. Francis might have gone there
the wood himself
And nearing the cell where St.
Francis was praying, he began to hear much speaking and approaching nearer to see, and to make
out what it was that he heard, he beheld a wonderand in it
ful light, which surrounded St. Francis
he saw Christ, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and
St. John the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist,
and an immense multitude of angels, who were
speaking with St. Francis. Seeing and hearing all
this, the boy fell to the earth as one dead.
Then, the mysterious vision being ended, St.
Francis, returning to the house, stumbled with his
foot against the boy, who lay as though dead and
in compassion he lifted him up and carried him in
his arms, as a good shepherd does with his lambs.
And afterwards learning from the boy how he had
seen this vision, he commanded him not to tell it
And
to any one, as long as he should be alive.
the boy grew in great grace with God, and devotion
to St. Francis, and became a celebrated man in the
Order and after the death of St. Francis, he revealed to the Brothers the vision which he had seen.
;
St.
Francis Held
ST.
FRANCIS.
who was then on his way from BorAnd hearing of the assembling
Preachers,
gogna
to
Rome.
of the Chapter,
which
Mary
it,
St.
most devoted
him that he
should be Pope, as it afterwards came to pass.
This Cardinal had come expressly from Perugia,
where the Court was to Assisi and he came every
day to see St. Francis and his Brothers, and sometimes sang the Mass, and sometimes preached to
the Brothers in Chapter. The said Cardinal found
the greatest delight and devotion whenever he came
to visit this holy company.
And coming to the little plain of St. Mary of the
Angels, he saw the Brothers grouped in companies,
to St. Francis,
to
salvation of souls.
The
trellis
tents in this
encampment were of
willow-
and hence
Chapter was
Chapter
of the Trellises," or, " of the Rush-mats." Their
bed was on the bare ground, with a little straw for
those who had it and for pillows, they had stones
or logs of wood.
For which cause, so great devotion spread from them to those who heard or saw
them, and so great was the fame of their sanctity,
that from the Court of the Pope, which was then at
this
and many
bishops and abbots, and
of rank,
LEGENDS OF
340
many
ST.
FRANCIS.
together.
And
chiefly they
and Father
came
to see the
the body.
ligno, of Spello
ing
from the world so noble a prey, and assembled together so devout and fair a flock to follow in the
to eat
Shepherd Jesus Christ. The GenChapter being therefore assembled, the holy
Father and General Minister of all, St. Francis,
with fervor of spirit, expounded the word of God
and preached to them, with a loud voice, that which
the Holy Spirit made him speak and for the theme
of his sermon, he proposed to them these words
" My sons, great are the things promised to us
from God yea, too, great things are promised to
us if we observe that which we have promised to
Him. Brief are the delights of this world the
pain which follows after them is perpetual little
are the pains of this life, but the glory of the other
boring
eral
And on
" I
bled,
by
command
all
Him, inasmuch
And
all
as
He has
received this
command with
glad hearts
all
commandment
how
it
in-
so great a
multitude should be able to govern itself, without
any care or solicitude for the things necessary to
discreet,
Assisi,
and
And
most
who
diligently,
that even
first,
the knights,
and
to see
life is infinite."
est devotion,
and
districts, so that
my
Order,
who
When He
formed
St.
Francis Per-
Gubbio.
wolf, terrible and ferocious, which devoured not only animals, but even men also, inso-
much
because
and
many
all carried
city,
of the
lf:gends of
city, as
all this if
yet with
And
de-
men
made
at St.
any one."
much damage
in these parts,
and many
evil deeds,
st.
francis.
541
them
His permission and not only killing and devouring the cattle, but having the hardihood to destroy
men made in the image of God, for which cause
thou dost deserve to be hung upon the gallows like
a convict, as being a thief and the worst of mur-
derers
and
all
murmur
thee more."
At
tail,
make
"
said again
thee to
to preach, telling
terrible,
Much more
up
LEGENDS OF
342
and
to observe
creature
And
to
"
Then
ST.
FRANCIS.
them
do not
let
who would
kill
ceived
them
derly
"
into his
O my
bosom and
little sisters,
them
ten-
chaste doves,
snared?
I will
See
said to
let yourselves be
snatch you from death and
make
them
amongst
him,
this
all
And
two years in
Gubbio and went sociably into the houses, going
from door to door, without doing harm to any one,
or any one doing harm to him, and was continually
entertained by the people. And thus, as he went
through fields and lanes, never did any dog bark
at him.
Finally, after two years. Brother Wolf
died of old age at which the citizens grieved much
for whilst he went so gently about the town, they
remembered the virtue and sanctity of St. Francis.
;
How
St.
Francis
Made
the
Wild Turtle-Dove
Tame.
had caught one day a great
number of turtle-doves and as he was taking them
to market he met St. Francis, who, having a sin-
certain youth
ar/'
for
all
in great sanctity.
people."
At
this
"
Now
see,
men do
these
so
much
LEGENDS OF
ST.
penance, that
little
"
Whence
hast
commanded
And
which thou
immediately, in fervor of
spirit,
he stripped
him
in the
And
the townsmen
same
plight, derided
heaven."
Then
gan
St.
to preach so
and
343
How
most devoted
and noble plant of
St. Clare,
Christ,
was of such
to others.''
FRANCIS.
of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that all they that were present at the sermon, both men and women, a great
multitude, began to weep bitterly, with great devotion and compunction of heart and not only in
the church, but through all Assisi that day, there
was such weeping for the Passion of Christ, that
the like was never known.
And the people being thus edified and consoled
by this act of St. Francis and Brother Ruffino, St.
Francis re-clothed Brother Ruffino and himself,
and thus re-habited they returned to the convent
of the Portiuncula, praising and glorifying God,
who had given them grace to overcome themselves
by the contempt of themselves, and to edify the
;
and oftentimes
person.
Amongst
visited her in
when
the
him
to
be
The
most true
God."
Then
Wonderful to relate immediately there appeared on all these loves the sign
then of
of the Cross, most beautifully engraved
miraculously
these loves, some were eaten and some
preserved.
And the Holy Father, having seen the
miracle, took of the loves with him, and departed,
the most holy Cross.
344
LEGENDS OF
ST.
When
pests
An-
St.
Anthony,
and how devoutly his preaching and holy doctrine
were to be listened to, on one occasion among
most
is to
say,
FRANCIS.
;
and
also this
spirit,
And
as soon as he
came
it."
there
to
fishes,
and
after
them the
when He made
you,
gave you command to grow and multiply, and bestowed on you His blessing after which came the
Deluge, when all the other animals universally
perished, you only being preserved by God from
all hurt.
Besides all this. He has granted to you
fins, that you may wander at pleasure wheresoever
clear
same
wherewith to pay. You were the food of the Eternal King, Jesus Christ, immediately before the
Resurrection and after it, by a singular mystery
for all which causes, you are bound to praise and
to bless God, Who has given you such and so
many benefits, more than to other creatures."
At these and similar words of St. Anthony, the
fishes began to open their mouths, and to incline
their heads, and by these and other signs of reverence, after the manner they were able, to praise
God. Then St. Anthony, seeing such reverence
in the fishes towards
God
and
Btemal God, because that the fishes of the waters
honor him more than the heretics, and the animals
without reason hear His word better than unbelieving men." And the more St. Anthony preached
on, the more the multitude of fishes increased, and
not one left the place it had taken. At this miracle,
:
amongst
whom came
the blessing of
also.
Antony
St.
of Padua.
(1195-1231.)
By
AINT ANTONY
C.
of Padua,
KEGAN PAUL.
is
the
Franciscan Friar whose name is, perhaps, better known throughout the
world than any other member of that
Order, save only St. Francis himself.
We
words of
in
is
greatest
mind the
not,
And
name
this saint
Wonder
sit shall
crowd
into a shade.
'
'
many
centuries, required
proof of miracles as one of the conditions of canonizations, so that miraculous power and sanctity
invariably
suffered
another
him be the
Church
who
Whilst one
English
Elizabeth, those
dissensions
And
strifes
In some cases, as in
that of the Seven Founders of the Servite Order,
in that of the Japanese Martyrs, and in that of the
accompany each
other.
But
in the vast
St.
Antony among
on the Orders
to
ANTONY OF PADUA.
ST.
346
Sodality or Confraternity of
nomena
tion of
It
might be
tedious,
and alien
to
of miracles.
When
God's
when He
marvels.
was the
ligious
life
who
not mention the Franciscans indeed, only the Carthusians and Cistercians but the Franciscans were
;
In the spiritual world, as in this, there are peculiarities of gifts, characters, temperaments sanctity
does not reduce or elevate the blessed to one level.
" Some Saints can help us in one trouble, others in
another," wrote St. Teresa we may go further and
say that, as here below the dominant note of one
character is authority, of another sympathy, of
another a bright and affectionate playfulness so
the wonders wrought after death by St. Winifred,
by St. Edmund Rich, by St. Philomena, show differences of character as clearly as if they were still
alive.
There are many-sided men in this life, and
in the life beyond the veil
such an one was he
of whom we now consider the saintliness and the
towards her
it
" the
of divers Orders."
The Franciscan Order was founded in the beginning of the thirteenth century, which may becalled the heart of the Middle Ages, soon after
that of St. Dominic, not long before that of the
Servants of Mary. The times stood sorely in need
of these three austere bodies
of faith
in the
Ages
and other
sectaries
less
well-known by
verted, five of
them
laid
down
ST.
ANTONY OF PADUA.
Newman
"
A serious aspect,
but
With no unearthly
I
it
The
lightly say,
by
accident,
instinct,
commanded Antony
only.
He
Antony
"
To
I find it
fire.
burned
God came,
we should
347
as
though there
ST.
348
ANTONY OF PADUA.
New
Testaments.
The supernatural gifts, with which Antony was
in so large a measure endowed, came first into
notice in connection with the exercise of preaching.
First among these was the gift of tongues, and
fchis was manifested in two ways.
He was under-
studied those languages profoundly, instead of having a very elementary knowledge of them. But
more than this the power of his voice was raised
to a supernatural degree.
woman to whom her
:
a vision of St. Francis, then alive in Italy, appeared, giving his blessing to the assembly, while
inviolate observance of
the Rule.
Women who
trivial
and death
but
God
He
is
of
He
gives medi-
ately or immediately.
wonderful,
altar,
at the
same hour
assisting at
ST.
once for
all in
ANTONY OF PADUA.
He
repeated in the
St. Philip,
the
in the old.
Antony
St.
of prophecy.
also
had
in a large
We are sometimes
measure the
gift
is
of a great lady,
chilly gold.
he
they ceased
with the Apostolic age, so the existence of whole
schools of prophecy and the gathering together of
whole books of predictions, under the Jewish dispensation, has blinded even Catholics to the existence of the power in the Christian Church.
to declare that
and in
both its forms, that of inspired preaching and
prediction of the future.
Before one steeped in
pleasures of the flesh, for whom nothing seemed
less likely than a holy life and a holy death, Antony
was accustomed to uncover his head and genuflect.
He taking this for mere mockery was enraged, but
the Saint told him he did so because God had revealed to him the martyrdom of this present sinner.
"Then," said he, "you will remember me." He
was converted long afterwards and died a holy
St.
and
trivial,
349
'
'
it
false doc-
and that
it
his
real
derided
the
was known
it
hammer
of heretics.
limb,
made
the sign of the Cross, and the foot was restored whole as the other.
But in a slighter, and,
as
His
God which
that he
hatchet.
over
speak
forgotten that
When we
must not be
one,
power
name removed
all traces
mere invocation
of
as Malleus hcsreticorum
ST.
350
after a three days' fast,
ANTONY OF PADUA.
version, of the
appeal to
smile or
scoff"
who
dumb
which was
St. Peter
puts
it,
stood
St. Francis,
who
crucified
burning with
all,
love,
of fire
St. Antony, whose child's heart still beat
and sea to within the man's, had most affinity with, and therehear him. They did so, crowding together where fore saw, Jesus as a child.
By his absolute simplicity and innocence, he
land and water met, while he spoke, ending in
and
moved
among dangerous men, when others would
the words of the song of Ananias, Azarias,
" O ye whales and all that move in the
scarce have dared do so
he opposed Bccelin,
Misael
all
time
as
the
tyrant
of Padua, excomAgain, let those smile known to
waters, bless ye the Lord."
who deny that at a given hour the Saviour called municated by Alexander IV. for his atrocities,
a great multitude of fish where none were before, branded forever in Dante's Inferno. After a masand brought them into that net which the disciples sacre at Verona the Saint adjured him thus " How
had constantly let down all the night, and had long, cruel tyrant, wilt thou shed blood ? Knowest
Once more we may say with thou not that the vengeance of God is ready, that
taken nothing.
What God has done once, and His His sword is raised, and will surely smite, unless
emphasis
thou dost penance." So astonished was Eccelin,
Spirit has recorded in the Sacred Scriptures by the
through
that he cast himself at the Saint's feet in submispen of man, He does again at intervals
How far this availed for the
the ages so that as the furniture of His material sion and confession.
own
soul at the end none can
salvation
of
his
had
shown
temple was made after the pattern He
know he died iu battle against the Guelfs but
to Moses in the Mount, the spiritual furniture, so
to
win
at the time the horrors he wrought were assuaged,
to speak, of His Saints; their equipment
the souls of men, is made after the pattern on and he himself bare witness that he was subdued
which He had set His seal, in that dispensation by the rays of light which darted from Antony's
face, and by his immediate expectation of being
wherein He had given His earliest revelation.
thrust down into hell.
heretics
heard
the
with
though
some
Saint
But
Few things are more difficult to reconcile than
awe, and, under stress of his miracles, amended
life of the cloister and the life of the world.
ways,
there
others
who
the
errors
of
their
were
the
were less easily converted and attempted to poison Perhaps in these later days the incongruity of two
conflicting duties was most marked in the case of
his food but here also the sign of the Cross over
here menthe viands made him a sharer of that promise of Father Burke, the great Dominican
" If they shall drink any deadly thing tioned, because in a narrative of our own time
our Lord
which may be read of all, it is clear that the real
it shall not hurt them."
All these occurrences were so many signs from life was that of the cell, the other, however evident,
God of the holiness of His servant. But a greater was but a purple patch on the garment of simple
remained. It is that which is so constantly repre- devotion. Antony was before all things a good
sented in the portraits of the Saint. When on a monk, who ever returned gladly to obedience, solitude and silence. It came to him as a call from
visit in the south of France, his host, on entering
their ears,
fish of the
river
ST.
God
ANTONY OF PADUA.
would have cast him into prison had not St. Antony appealed to the Holy See, by whom he was
supported and Elias deposed.
Then he gladly laid down his offices he had
been Provincial of Romagna and retired to the
strictest solitude he could find, to live the monastic
life in its entirety, and prepare his soul for God.
And this all the more, because he felt how much
of stain his soul might have contracted from that
world with which the Love of God and his neighbors had caused him to come in contact.
His sojourn in the desert was of no long duration, for he rapidly grew weak, and knew by revelation that the hour drew near in which he should
die at Padua.
Accompanied by Brother Roger, he
set
351
The
following year.
still
proached, a monk,
in his honor.
Poor Clares.
hymn O
Glo-
my
Lord."
" I
Again a miracle.
The
a while
and
His body had fallen into that customary decay which awaits our frail human flesh,
the tongue alone remained incorrupt, red as in life.
The tongue
is
still
most treasured
relic.
When
incorrupt,
still
to
be seen, a
only by degrees
that we can discover what has been given him as
his special work in the economy of the spiritual
kingdom if may be that we shall never know the
reason why Almighty God has given this or that
power of protection or patronage to one or another.
But time tries these things, and in case of each
Saint it is found by degrees that such and such
a Saint
is
invoked,
it is
St.
Antony
is
his aid.
life
in
ST.
352
heaven
is
things.
His
this,
his patronage
in
ANTONY OF PADUA.
regard to lost
seems unique
to St.
Antony
women
in
To
and especially to
those in danger of shipwreck, he is found a great
and powerful protector.
But space would fail to tell here of the stupenin labor, to travellers,
ST.
St.
clients of St.
intensity of
them how
and how prompt-
watchful he
to
pray
is,
how ready
to give
for us.
1,
F.
QOI^DIE, S.J.
a handful of Span-
free.
long
epic.
broken
leg,
and he had
to
life
23
He
vanity.
was
For an
itself
kill time,
active
a torture
he asked
mind
and
to quiet his
mind and
to
some
romance of knight-errantry.
But books were rare in those days, and there
were none of that kind in the Castle of Loyola.
They brought him a Spanish translation of Ludolf
of Saxony's Life of Christ, and a volume of the
Lives of the Saints. For want of anything more
to his taste, these he read and read again.
Inigo,
with the
spirit of
a soldier
who never
flinched be-
fore
life
before a picture of
an ardent prayer
Our Lady,
dedicated himself in
to his Blessed
Mother.
A tremor
353
ST.
354
as of an earthquake shook the castle,
and
IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
split
the
shrine, in
the
his rapier
this day.
in those days
No
still
in Spain.
the virginity of
Mary
our Lord,
and Inigo strenuously upheld it. When the Mussulman had left him, it seemed to the converted
cavalier that he had done wrong in letting the
blasphemer go unpunished
and in doubt as to
what he ought to do, he let his mule go its own
way, ready to revenge the honor of his Lady if it
should follow the Moor. However, it turned off
by another road, and Inigo was saved from staining
his hands with blood under a misguided impulse.
When our Saint had scaled the precipitous
mountain, he made a most exact and general confession to one of the Benedictine monks, a saintly
Frenchman. It was so broken with sobs and tears
of contrition that it was not completed for three
Then, at nightfall, on the vigil of the
days.
Annunciation, he stripped himself of all his fine
clothes, to his very shirt, and gave them all to a
poor man, putting on a rough dress of sackcloth,
which went down to his feet. In this his new
;
armor, like the squires of those days before receiving knighthood, he spent the night at the statue of
light of dawn, he
hung up
of Najera.
first
munion.
Before day had fully broken over the huge spires
of Montserrat, with
still
one
foot bare,
souls showed
est town,
and
him
of St.
him His
choicest gifts.
Within that
which
is
ST.
IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
355
Holy Land.
St.
he used
made known
to say that
to
even
him
if
no
in
each doctrine of the Church from the knowledge of it he received in Manresa. There, too, is
the Church of the Dominicians, such kind friends
to the Saint, where the ineffable depths of the
for
made
gladly
And
so he
left
Manresa, and
his
fair
wind, a
fierce storm,
Mediter-
ranean.
They were
weak
soul.
theatre,
marvellous rapture, like to the sleep of death, lasting for a whole week and more, during which, in
spite of the reserve under which Ignatius hid the
favors of God, it seems certain that he saw the
future of the Society which he was called to found.
him a
which
is
would have
cast
desert island.
was
to
all
that he
life, if
ST.
356
IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
officer
Two
1526.
and he
went by advice to the new University which the
great Franciscan statesman and Cardinal, the holy
Ximenes, had then so lately founded at Alcalda.
There Loyola threw himself with fervor into his
studies.
But he aimed at so much at a time that
he made but little progress for all his labor. However he sought and found his consolation in slaking
his thirst for souls.
And wonderful were the conversions he wrought so wonderful, that in the days
when many wolves were about in sheeps' clothing,
he excited the suspicions of some of the authorities
go on
St. Ignatius to
of the University.
Duke
of Gandia.
1527.
him
in his
and
with such enthusiasm, of the love of God and of
the grandeur of suffering for Him, that one of the
most learned professors of the University forgot
trouble,
and he spoke
to all so marvellously,
Paul in prison."
He was
away by a
Though
But strange
drudgery
But long
watchfulness aud his practiced eye soon detected
the enemy and taking his teacher into the Church
against the strength of its sweetness.
of our
Lady of
for the
work
for souls
till
among
unsavory and filthy, and he was fettered to his fellows by a long chain which was fastened to a stake
in the floor.
But all these aggravations of his hard
lot were so many additional delights to one whose
" There
sole desire was to suffer like his Lord.
are not in all Salamanca fetters and handuffs and
chains enough, but that I would wish to bear more
for love of God," was his answer to those who compassioned his hardship.
Again he was
closely cross-questioned
on matters
ST.
IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
known
selves
to
His servant.
It
had begun
to
357
It
St.
They
London.
most
shadow of
the Church of the Austin Friars, and round about
the Spanish Embassy, which seems to have been
part about old Broad Street, under the
University
dawn
clearly
state of things, a
first
where the new learning and new herewere in open contest with the old and the true,
that was the place for Ignatius to begin the work
with which God was charging him.
The war was still raging between Spain and
France, and the good people of Salamanca were
very sorry to lose our Saint. Grim horrors were
foretold him
but the Hand of God was leading,
and nothing could affright him. So bidding his
companions come after him, he went, in 1528, to
Paris but their courage failed and they did not go.
One thing Ignatius had learned by experience
that order and method, doing one thing at a time,
was as much needed in education as in most other
things and so he resolved to begin all his studies
afresh from the very beginning and to go to class
again with boys to learn his Latin Grammar, as he
had done before at Barcelona. So, too, he accepted
the alms sent to him from his old and fast friends
at Barcelona, in order to be able to devote himself
of its day,
sies
to
faith.
How
changed
ill
for
England's
is
ligion.
The
professors were
ill
He was
who was
as an
accused before
Dr. Ortiz.
Though
whom
he had given
hospitality, made away with all he had, and he was
forced to seek refuge as a pauper in the Spanish
hospital of St. James, at the opposite end of Paris
to the College of IMontaigu, where the Saint was
attending the classes of grammar. The doors of
St. James' Hospital closed too early at night, and
opened too late in the morning, for him to be able
to follow the lessons as regularly as he desired.
There was nothing for it but to go, at the advice of
a Religious, to beg for alms during the summer
vacations from the Spanish merchants at Antwerp,
Bruges, and London, so as to be able to take a
Saint had
quickly squandered
had
fallen
ill
at
As
him
distress
he determined
this, for
to visit
and on
foot the
Saint learnt of the charge laid before the Inquisition against him,
to
have
fled
from
justice,
ST.
358
IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
who
before
defender.
him
in his
His room was shared by a young professor, Francis Xavier, from the north of Spain, in
the neighborhood of I^oyola. He was of high family, very gifted in body and mind, but he cared
little for the pious sayings and unwordly ways of
course.
Ignatius.
in order tc be like
oflF
It
at St. Bar-
public flogging, or as
However, on more
mature thought he saw that if he were to be so
flogged it would be impossible for him to be of any
further good to the students, as he would be disgraced and, therefore, shunned by all. He went
straight to the Rector, who had not as yet left his
room, and told him frankly and briefly that, while
willing as far as he himself was concerned to accept
the ignominy, he feared lest it should be a hindrance to his future usefulness.
The Rector listened to him, and whether
that he felt he
it was
had acted hastily and harshly, or
won
his heart,
he took him by the hand and led him into the hall,
and there, before them all, knelt at his feet and
begged his pardon, the good man's tears proving
the sincerity of his regret. From that time Gouvea,
Ortiz and Pena became the fast friends of Ignatius.
He was looked up to and venerated by all, and one
of the leading men of the University wished to
have him made a Doctor of Divinity, though he was
then only a student of philosophy.
One story must be told out of many of what
Ignatius did for souls. A young man was carrying on a criminal intrigue, and our Saint knew that
on his way the sinner used to cross a bridge over a
branch of the lake of Gentilly. It was a bitter
night, and Ignatius stood up to his neck in the icy
water, and there awaited his coming. " Go," cried
the Saint, as the youth passed by "I will do penance here every evening till you amend." The
sight touched the sinner's heart, and he turned
;
home
a penitent.
Saint
commended
To none
life.
IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
ST.
Land.
He invited each separately and under
promise of secrecy to make up his mind by a certain time, and on that day to come to him with his
Holy Land
and if, as had happened to St. Ignathey could not remain there, or were even prevented from going, they would put themselves
entirely at the disposal of the Pope.
On the slope of Montmartre, not far off the busy
Boulevards, is now a convent of nuns of the Order
;
tius,
359
him.
From
St.
;
ST.
S60
the stream can
still
be seen a long
IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
to
Rome
to
Week
there,
ceive Orders
It
won
He did
and
and
to get
him
to re-
to preach
Dr. Ortiz,
at
Rome
as one of the
to
Vicenza
In the beginning of January, 1537, after a journey full of hardships, through hostile armies,
through the snows and frost of the Alps, and
through countries and towns full of hostile Protestants, the companions whom he had left in Paris
came to forget all their sorrows in being once more
with their Father Ignatius. To him and to them
it was an additional pleasure to see their little band
increased by two fresh recruits from Paris, and
The hospitals were their
others from Venice.
home, and the scene of their marvellous devotion
and victory over self in the service of the sick and
poor.
When
Lent
them
all
they should
the Pope.
Ac-
Lainez, went on to
Rome,
to put themselves
and
ramental Lord.
ST.
He
entered
tlie
IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
high rank.
361
The
followers of St.
Ignatius soon
detected that his sermons contained, under a careful disguise, the errors of Calvin and Luther. They
said
It
arrived
you in Rome."
Those
whom he had
left
much
to
be done.
Pope Paul
III. received
him and
kindness.
He
all his
brethren, to aid
him by
petual prayer.
He
and the
Apostolic
men
them
it
sometimes
before they
Mass. He had
not thought a year and a half too long a preparation
Now that peace had been restored, it was time to
settle definitely the form and shape of the Order.
Ignatius recommended the others to seek in prayer
and penance and at the Holy Sacrifice the light
they required and there is still existing a sort of
diary in which he used to note down the thoughts
vouchsafed to himself at that time in prayer.
There are, too, at Rome the minutes drawn up and
signed by the Fathers during their careful and prolonged deliberations. Not to interrupt their labor
was kept,
St.
One
of the
many
first
ST.
362
IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
they only met at night-fall, and then discussed at length the various subjects which were
before them.
The resolutions of the Fathers were laid before
Paul III. on September 3, 1539, by the fast friend
who
of St. Ignatius, the great Cardinal Contarini,
was also the friend of our Cardinal Pole. The Pope
gladly gave a general approval. But St. Ignatius
was desirous of a still more explicit recognition.
The scheme was handed over to a commission of
three Cardinals, of whom one especially was strongly
opposed to the approbation of any fresh Religious
Order in the Church. But the prayers and penances of our Saint won the day, and even Cardinal
for souls,
Guidiccioni,
determined, owned
that
some
irresistible
own
:
St.
It
torio,
and so
only reply.
was merged
in the sorrows
life
henceforward
and successes
of the
Society.
On
his companions
trodden by so
many
It
brought them at
altar, St.
character
own
ofiEce of
its
per-
no
till at length, as a
compromise, he volunteered to lay bare all his
defects and crimes to his confessor, a Franciscan
Father, and abide by his decision. He never doubted
St. Ignatius.
Worms, while
glittering mosaics.
There
and
Ignatius said Mass, and at the Communion, with the paten in one hand and the formula
vows in the
other,
tion.
The remaining
sixteen
years
of
his life
were
ST.
IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
grew
pletely that
home when
B. Peter he welcomed
letters.
known
him a
Mass
him
At
so com-
him
into a fever.
tell
its
better than
eny thing
strength, and,
To
its
tenderness,
when needs
its
courage,
mysterious Abyssinia, to
Ireland torn by heresy and faction, to Scotland
tottering to its ruin, to the Congo, opened out long
far off Japan,
to
modern
travel
by the children of
room at Santa
part in
ever taught
is still
respected,
up
to heaven.
He
of
Maria della Strada, sent his brave sons on the message of peace. To England he would have sent
them if his zeal had not been baffled by politicians.
Then, as ever, his children had to suffer even
from Catholic hands and in Catholic countries, and
The walls
felt
of
all its
ble, that
holiness
He
no obligation
the absolute need
363
several
Much
sought in
it
much
as he
first
but in his efforts to resign the post, even long before his health had so far incapaciated him that
pity for his feebleness forced his children to accept
the resignation.
find
He
than he.
ST.
364
IGNATIUS LOYOLA.
outward expression.
Therein we can read the
maxims which he carried out in every detail of his
life.
this
was in answer
The
tongue.
to
He was
use superlatives, so
common
by the
to exaggerate or
in southern speech.
The
He
He
gentle,
of his friend
and
father.
The
sick
had a
When
special
he had
carefully
At
all
He had
when
to lay
aside
ness.
He
Age had
at last.
Ignatius was
now
ill-
rior
was delayed
administered.
early
dawn
St.
Thomas Aquinas,
St.
(1225-1274J
I.Birth and Early Life.
was a time of extraordinary intellectual activity, which was not without
France and
The
its
thirteenth century
dangers.
The philosophers
of Rocca-Secca.
Here
St.
Aquino he owed
count, his father,
by blood
The Aquino
St.
Gregory
to St.
Louis of
Ferdinand of Castille.
The future vocation and sanctity
Thomas had been predicted to his
Countess Theodora, by a holy hermit
of Bonus and, whilst he was yet an
St.
of the
little
mother, the
of the name
infant, God's
in a
thunderstorm burst
over the Castle, and his nurse and his little sister
were struck dead in the very chamber in which
Thomas slept on unharmed. This circumstance
accounts for the great fear of thunder and lightning which the Saint is said to have had throughout life, which caused him often to take refuge in
the church during a thunderstorm, even leaning
his head against the Tabernacle, so as to place
himself as closely as possible under the protection
of our Lord.*
The words Ave Maria were the first which his
baby lips were heard to utter. Long before he
could read, a book was discovered to be an unfailing means of drying his tears in all his childish
woes
he would delight in handling it, turning
over the leaves with infantine gravity.
When only five years old, his education was
terrific
to St.
Thomas as Patron
against
lightning, bearing
me
adore.
The
refuge.
is
certain salvation.
is
a translation
The Cross
is
with me.
is
that
which
The Cross
"The
I
is
'
365
ever
my
366
ST.
THOMAS AQUINAS.
aud
whom
to
sition rendered
One
when the
merry
band were playing in the woods, Thomas was
grace.
took part.
day,
rest of the
flections.
The child raised his head and said
" Tell me, master, what is God ? "
This was his
oft-repeated question,
bent of
heavenward.
At ten years
old,
tutor, to the
University of Naples.
newly-founded
Before doing
so,
however,
Holy House
of Nazareth.
famine pre-
dis-
He
carried his
com-
On
his
arrival
in
The Community
admitted the
almost a boy, he
was publicly clothed in the white habit of St.
Dominic.
young student
joyfully
and, whilst
still
own
accordingly
left
Rome
together.
When
ST.
threats
and
THOMAS AQUINAS.
suflfer
to a life of perfection
Through
their instrumentality,
San
Thomas
was enabled
to obtain
Brethren at Naples.
" Sentences,"
On
prayed, he
fell
is
ensured
to
was
Paul, he
let
to the Friars,
They
below.
him
Rome
the services of so gifted a subject, the Pope proposed to make him Abbott of Monte Cassino, whilst
safe
within
petual chastity.
As he
367
thee
vast powers of
'
'
'
Chieri in Piedmont.
By
'
flourishes
This Confraternity
ST.
368
Thomas
THOMAS AQUINAS.
be kept.
Blessed Albert.
of
it dis-
and
We
'
the dumb ox
make
;'
the earth."
II.
Work
panied by St. Thomas, who taught under his direcScholars were not slow to discover that the
tion.
the
flowing.
St.
five principles of
down,
viz.,
clearness,
brevity, utility,
sweetness,
in
in the Church.
Thomas's
Chapter commanded
Thomas
as his
where
Paris,
St.
Tomas became
charity.
He
tried to imitate
all
spiritual consolation.
grace beamed from his beautiful countenance so that some said they had only to look at
him to feel within themselves a renewal of fervor.
celestial
;
A young
It
whilst offer-
tears,
who
and
itself to
blow to
On
his
way to
Paris, whither
The
to take
an oath
whenever the
and it was
ST.
the
THOMAS AQUINAS.
attacked in the
'
Papal Court.
As
attached to the
summer
as a professor.
THOMAS AQUINAS.
ST.
370
by the Saracens,
into
Spain, which were making their way into the Universities of Europe.
In this work St. Thomas demonstrates the truth
of revealed religion and triumphantly proves that
Christianity can never be contrary to sound reason.
Our
Father, the Hail Mary, and the Creed, commentaries on various parts of Holy Scripture, and
answers to sundry questions proposed to him for
solution.
Pope Urban IV. charged him with the
task of collecting
all
made up
memory.
great part from
which
is
of quotations, written in
entirely
The
Saint, as
he
trav-
elled
now
of one,
his
of
Thomas
is
strains of the
Lauda
Sion.
Thomas
placed
it
and the
complete.
as
it
contains articles
and
its
value
is
perhaps best
exclaimed
Suppress Thomas and I will destroy
the Church." "A vain wish," remarks Pope Leo
XIII. " but not a vain testimony." At the Council
of Trent, three works of reference only were laid on
the table of the hall of Assembly they were the
:
"
Holy
"
and
mony
similar testi-
On
"
after
"
solid
also indebted
for the
the
Summa
lips of a
ST.
THOMAS AQUINAS.
book
of spiritual exercises,
XXII. when
St.
Personal Traits.
Thomas was
tall
and inclined
to corpulence,
371
in
owned
When
seculars
came
seek advice and consolation from him, he lent them a willing ear, and
after solving their doubts and consoling their sorrows, he never failed to
to
tell
down the
him the
"
Doctor noster,"
they loved to call him and the sincerity of their
attachment was amply proved by the bitterness of
their grief when he was taken from them.
bore
tenderest affection
dragged
off
cloister
by
of
his
convent,
occasionally
saintly guest.
at Naples,
mind
of
as, for
of the pain.
The
austere
life of St.
Thomas and
his incessant
ST.
372
THOMAS AQUINAS.
of
illness,
told
in a
to
replied
"It matters little whether a syllable be
long or short but it matters much to practice
humility and obdience." In later years, when the
to
engaged.
century
terrible to
irons.
of paper.
the
Religious brother
first
When
"
afflict
of his
obedience.
On one
occasion, when, as a
young Religious, he
dis-
"
by
their salvation."
St.
others
it
excepted.
" I
once heard, so that his mind was like a wellstocked library. He often wrote, dictating at the
ST.
THOMAS AQUINAS.
secretaries,
arguments.
Of
St.
373
sion the grace of living and dying in the Dominican Order, according to his own earnest desire.
During the whole of one Lent, he preached on
the words: "Ave Maria," and the same cherished
words are to be found in his own hand-writing over
and over again on the margin of an autograph
copy of the " Summa Against the Gentiles," re-
of St.
all
his
daily
actions,
elevation he
Divine
Ofl&ce, at
tears
of devotion.
till
dinner-time.
He
ferences of Cassian.
sumed
re-
his labors.
Compline in choir with the
chanting of the Salve Regina ended the day. The
angelic Doctor was full of childlike devotion to Our
Blessed Lady. His confessor, Brother Reginald,
declared that St. Thomas had never asked anything through Mary without obtaining it and the
Saint himself specially attributed to her interces;
On
his death-bed he
doctrine.
time we are told the holy Doctor resolved to celebrate the feast of St. Agnes with special solemnity,
and, with a touch of nature that showed
sympathy
human
His marvellous science," says Brother Regiwas due far less to the power of his genius
nald, "
Before studying,
He
tating, he always gave himself to prayer.
prayed with tears to obtain from God the understanding of His mysteries, and abundant light was
granted to his mind." If he met with a difl&culty,
he joined fasting and penance to his prayer, and all
his doubts were dispelled.
On one occasion, St.
Bonaventure, coming to visit him, saw an angel
assisting
him
in his labors.
remarkable sayings may be mentioned the answer he gave to his sister, when she
asked him what she must do to become a Saint.
" Velle," he replied/, c, " Will it."
Being asked
perfection
of the soul,
the
the
signs
of
what were
Among
his
ST.
.574
THOMAS AQUINAS.
replied
IV.
" If I
His
Honors Rendered
Death.
Him by
the Church.
when he received
changed him that from that
life to Brother
then asked to be laid on ashes
on the ground when the Holy Viaticum was
brought to him. On beholding the Blessed Sacrament, he raised himself into a kneeling posture,
Reginald, and
finite
my labors."
submit
summons from
when he
received
what
Majesty
Roman
is
the place of
my
servants of
"
he began
of Canticles
exposition.
to
expound
to
O my
God
it
as a
homage
depart this
to
Thy
In-
pardon my ignorance.
have ever done to Thee, and
be
false,
Thy Holy
am about to
life."
King
of Glory,
of his
law,
all to
visit
if it
I consecrate all
the Father."
about to
Thy
Thou knowest
He was
As
Thou
"Thou,
Son of
Holy Viaticum,
he made fervent
own
answered
beautiful
all
assistants were
comfort his
acts of faith
choked by their
He
sobs.
tried to
inconsolable at
him what was the best way of living without offending God. " Be certain," replied the Saint, " that
he who walks in the presence of God and is always
ready to give Him an account of his actions will
never be separated from Him by sin." They were
his last words.
Shortly after he fell into his
community, and
Aquinas,
my son
the Church,
is
At Naples,
exclaimed
in Christ,
dead.
too,
"
Brother
who was
the light of
God was
pleased to
Thomas
it
to
me."
make known
ST.
THOMAS AgaiNAS.
into an ecstasy, in
which he seemed
to behold
the Friar
who beheld
Alas
us
Alas
our Doctor
is
in a loud voice
life-time.
375
One of them
it
"
still
repose.
by a Brief of August
Patron of
Colleges,
all
and Schools.
FATHER DAMIEN,
THE APOSTLE OF THE LEPERS.
(1840-1889.)
Introduction.
man
hath, that a
man
Religion (1840-1889).
which Jesus Christ declares
to be the test of the most perfect human love, has
been willingly offered over and over again by those
who from mere human motives have laid down their
lives for country or for friends.
The brave man
fears not death in a good cause
and though it is
the greatest proof that he can give of his devotion,
yet we need not look to the supernatural to furnish
a sufficient incentive for it.
But there are forms of death from which human
heroism has ever shrunk there is a living death,
lingering, painful, ghastly, repulsive, which is too
great a demand on mere earthly enthusiasm. To
accept a leper's death requires some higher motive.
The
sacrifice of life,
Still
more impossible
is it
for
human
nature, apart
life
of
is
One
They
376
lay
down
Si.
John xv.
13.
FATHER DAMIEN.
Damien's arrival iu 1873 at
tlie
leper settlements
377
character,
still
becoming a
priest
of Molokai.
As the
Joseph grew older, he gave early
signs of the love he had for purity, simplicity, and
Unlike his comfor all that savored of religion.
panions, the ordinary rough games of boyhood did
not engross his attention and claim his affections.
little
roam about
knew him
well,
and
in the fields
which encircled
was
little
Joseph's delight
by his
by them on
panions, and
called
herd "
He
knew
also,
One
the
same
only to
God
to
know
into execution.
It was doubtless this idea that
had pervaded the youth's fervent prayer during
that whole night of meditation and reflection.
From that moment his whole soul longed to put
God
Up
pervaded his
to the
moment
Noble
spirit
It
was
life.
well
the ways
FATHER DAMIEN.
378
On
his parents.
in
ing town, he
left
The two brothers returned to the house, and Joseph (who took the name of Damien in religion)
presented himself for admission to the Congregation
of which his brother was already a member. The
frank, ingenuous youth pleased the Superiors. His
strong, manly character could not but be admired,
and the look of intelligence that was so marked on
his countenance at once decided them to admit their
new
postulant.
those
for the
humble
position of a lay-brother.
God was
To him
perfect,
it
lay.
Thus
set
him
him a
to
knack he had
of pick-
ing up
perhaps, to encourage
him
many
some of
His success was
so wonderful that Pamphile now began to help him
the elementary rules of syntax.
day or
by
this
other, if
means
to
God should
become a
so will
priest
some
it.
now
be
The hand
God was
state
all in all.
Damien
till
for
of
had
it
FATHER DAMIEN.
have seen its future Apostle, and the Church would
have lost a bright jewel in her diadem. But a
circumstance which shows still more clearly the
interposition of Divine Providence, and which contributed still more towards the finding of that vocain which Pere Damien's name is so closely bound
up, has yet to be narrated.
In 1863, when Brother Damien was as yet in
minor orders, his brother Pamphile, now a theological student, received orders from his Superiors
to prepare for an early departure for the South Sea
Islands.
These islands, lying in the midst of the
Pacific Ocean, one of the principal groups of which
heathen.
'
set about
379
making
How
will of
had now
Molokai an apostle
to that which sent St. Francis
Xavier to those wonderful successes in India and
In both cases it was merely by accident,
Japan
if we may say so, that these noble workers in
Christ's vineyard found their vocation opened to
them. Had it not been through the sudden illness
which prevented Father Rodriguez from going to
India, and Pere Pamphile to the Sandwich Islands,
we should in all probability never have had these
two wonders of charity to edify the Church.
Before starting on his journey. Brother Damien
paid a hurried visit to his parents at Tremeloo, to
bid them " good-bye," and then made his last visit
to Our Lady of Montaigu.
To those familiar with
the life of St. John Berchmans, Montaigu will be
rich in holy memories.
This holy shrine, situated
some few miles from the place of Joseph's birth, is
the chief sanctuary of Belgium, and has long been
the centre of a constant pilgrimage for all nations.
He returned the same day to Louvain, and set out
for Paris on his way to the port of embarkation.
Here he had his photograph taken. A copy of
this photograph, now in his brother's possession,
gives us an insight into his character, as he was at
the age of twenty-three. In the photograph you
have, looking you straight in the face, a strong,
manly countenance, plain, and of a very Flemish
cast, every lineament of which speaks of a solid
character.
Clasped close to his breast he holds a
large crucifix with an earnestness that speaks out
his whole soul.
in Father
for
Damien
lost.
FATHER DAMIEN.
380
floating by.
To
ensure
straits.
priateness of
its title,
name would
better suit
it.
At
pacific
March
19, 1864.
The Hawaiian
North
Pacific
Ocean, at a
lowing year.
times gives
its
discoverer called
their
lands."
fol-
them
" the
Sandwich
Is-
and in 1825
The new
sion.
priest
was soon
set to
work in the
it
horseback.
to
much
smaller
To
share,
we
fell to
his
One
FATHER DAMIEN.
381
at last,
time their
they had long been deprived of the consolations of
religion, and pointed out to him the tomb of their
late pastor. Father Eustace.
Another instance of the wonderful energy of the
missioner will do much towards giving a good
idea of the character of Father Damien, and shows
first
While
follows
still
:
"
Hawaii he wrote
at
Our
to his brother as
have
all
commissioned
to
prayer-leader, over
preside
in
the capacity of
'
was introduced
How it
got there
tunate islanders,
its
The
great ground.
unfor-
had gained
Ha-
waiians helped greatly in the spreading of the pesSociable to the utmost degree, all they
tilence.
to take
fate.
FATHER DAMIEN.
382
Among them
were present
but this only happened rarely, and there was no guarantee of its
Hearing the Bishop's lament.
being continued.
Father Damien took in the situation at a glance,
and eagerly offered himself to supply the long-felt
" Monseigneur," said he, " here are
necessity.
your new missioners one of them could take my
district, and if you will be kind enough to allow it,
I will go to Molokai and labor for the poor lepers,
;
whose wretched
fortune has often
state of bodily
made
my
and
spiritual mis-
This generous
Molokai
The Bishop
left
(1873-1886.)
Now
call
him to Himself
Of the twelve Hawaiian
one
seven in extent.
The
north in a gradual
precipitous
and
all
islands,
Molokai
some thirty or
is
forty miles
by
rise,
but vertical
cliff
extending the
destitute of clothing
applause.
Damien was
Once on the
tion of a
to obtain the
bare necessaries of
life,
all
FATHER DAMIEN.
reduced to the lowest depths of misery and squalor.
In their wretched huts of grass they passed their
days, drinking a vile alcohol of their own distilling,
called " ki-root beer ;" without decent employment,
without government of any kind, and, what was
worse, without religion. Nor could we expect them
to escape the consequences of such an existence as
Every kind of vice and lawlessness was ramthis.
came
to die.
And
cheek.
383
air,
that
is,
when he
slept at all.
passed some weeks on the island, and had alleviated the more pressing necessities of the poor
lepers, he set out for Honolulu, the capital of the
whom he
politeness.
On
He
of the island, he
arrest.
FATHER DAMIEN.
384
God was
concerned, and
With
characteristic firmness
To
say
itself
had
nothing of the
helped to
filth
make
and
their
dirt,
which of
them at times
what was absolutely necessary. He
to work and prevailed upon the Gov-
forthwith set
this
respect
excellent quality.
way
Having remedied this evil, he then set about the removing of another. The dwellings of the lepers had
it
They
and
of a scanty supply of
was not
Father
Damien's arrival that any material improvement
was visible. Through his intervention a regular
supply was secured, and soon after it was increased
in quantity.
In 1878, a committee visited the
island to inquire into the commissariat, and through
the Father's representations some slight improvements were made.
Yet, in spite of this,
until
of the
there was
FATHER DAMIEN.
385
a strong proof how universally things had improved since the Father's advent, for we now hear
him seeking, not for necessities, but for some comforts and luxuries for his poor lepers.
is
another thing of
were allowed to each leper. This was an improvement, but in 1886 we find the energetic Father
declaring the allowance still too small and applying
for assistance.
Molokai
is
without
doctors,
or
was
was a
It is true there
sisters,
satisfied
till
it
or nurses.
there was a
When
he
first
He was
church.
In a
short time, with the help of some of the more ablebodied of the lepers, he succeeded in erecting a
tect,
tolerably
commodious building,
is,
in the ever-increasing
render
it
necessary to
number of Catholics, as to
make some other pirovision.
25
was
aid of the
lepers,
first
He
it
afterwards painted
which
is
of his instructions.
It consists of
needlework and other similar useful employments. Nor was anything left undone in regard to
to
At
first
air,
as
of
pupils.
to
As
FATHER DAMIEN.
386
tlie
piece, those
who
and sunshine.
Father Damien's
two-fold comfort.
He
visit brought a
cared for their bodies as
among
his
many branches
He would
began
am
make
the
If time allows,
coffin,
clothes."
The
It
ized
It
grave.
to,
if
up
in a heap of cor-
FATHER DAMIEN.
figtired witli disease,
387
my
who remained
obstinate in spite
To
all I said
she
lightened.
his Congregation
proceeded.
whom
said, "
it
was
It
Protestants here.
Almost
all
have the great consolation of beholding them die in the bosom of the Catholic Church."
truth
The
told
in
and
own words
written to his
brother
"
Among
woman,
as
'
'
'
'
'
'
and
There
the
eflfect
way
preach to
My
my
people," he says,
" I
"
Whenever
do not say
Brethren,' as
'
FATHER DAMIEN.
388
fit
his
lepers,
or the
entertainment
of
his
friends.
He
will that
(X885-1889.)
numbness
occurrence
of
some fresh
among
joint or limb
the lepers.
was of daily
dropped
The
off of its
own
it
accord.
doctors' examination
We
of
my
true character
and happier
for
your
tria.
Please pray
aflSicted friend,
my luckless
FATHER DAMIEN.
fortune for the lepers brought others quickly in
pray,
its rear.
It
389
to the visit of
Mr. Charles
"
came forward
afflicted children,
Hugh Chapman, an
admirably.
"
....
though
I am still happy
am so grievously
still
desire
cumbed
letter,
He
is at
present justly
life
We
than to us who are its
there are hundreds and thousands of priests and
Religious whose sacrifice is no less perfect than
Father Damien's and whose complete surrender of
earthly comforts and joys
part
it
is
as great as his.
But
man in the foreof the battle, that the world may have before
type of heroism that even men of the world
cannot
fail
to appreciate.
FATHER MATHEW.
THE APOSTLE OF TEMPERANCE.
(1790-1856.)
BY THE REV. W.
His Birth and Early Years.
H.
COLOGAN.
a time
when
part of his
life
Thomastown
Castle, a fine
at
the
residence of the
Earl,
mansion surrounded by
a well-wooded park, situated in the Golden Vale,
and within a very few miles of the historic town of
Here
it
of a large family,
He was
tionate conversation.
other children
knew
it
sisters' favor,
and many
home from a
fields
they would
and
sisters or compatiions, or
when
good of those
around him, caused him to be respected and even
obeyed by his own circle and to be beloved by the
neighbors, rich and poor, and was the origin of that
extraordinary power which he afterwards wielded
over multitudes.
his life
" Incapable of anger or resentment, utterly free
from
selfishness,
FATHER MATHEW.
by the banks of a river, by the side of green hedges,
in company with two or three select associates, and
yet very far from being of a pensive disposition
on the contrary, so cheerful that the slightest
ludicrous occurrence turned the smile he generally
days."
He had
Life.
around him, he
gave a party in his room to his fellow-students.
This was a grave violation of the rules, and on
hearing that his fault was to be brought before the
Sttperiors, without waiting for the inquiry to be
held,
much sought
after as a director.
391
hearing confessions.
Father Mathew
obeyed the order the very instant he received it
and, though explanations were given and the prohibition was entirely withdrawn, he resolved to quit
the diocese.
cease
to
He was
the
sent
" the
called was,
to
this city
wards
" Little
city of
it
my
adoption," as he after-
for the
remainder of his
life,
France
and on the flight of his patron was himtaken and condemned to death, being rescued
on the very planks of the guillotine by the tact of
an Irish ofi&cer in the French army.
Father Donovan and Father Mathew the one
so rough and heedless, the other polished and
measured in words and actions, yet genuine diamonds both soon became deeply attached to each
other.
Father Donovan treated his younger coadjutor as a son, watched over him with affectionate
care, and to the best of his power supplied his
wants. Father Mathew reverenced his Superior
with a truly filial affection, and when, a few years
later. Father Donovan was taken from him by
death, his grief was so intense as to be a source of
temptation to him.
A zealous priest like Theobald Mathew would
soon find plenty to do in a busy city like Cork.
He was heart and soul devoted to the poor. He
revolution,
self
visited
them
troubles, counselled
them
them
in their
FATHER MATHEW.
392
as fifteen hours. Nor were his duties in the confessional confined to penitents of his own parish
as soon as Father
Mathew's
ability as a director
'
Mathew was
sdPaght
after.
indeed those
who have
good
taste.
for
which he was
any
of his hearers
own generous
moved
power of
as deeply
disposition
and
to his deep-seated
when
is
In Napoleon we
entirely in
cries.
work had
on
friar.
FATHER MATHEW.
may
catechists
They
all
were
still
living
As
393
and as assistants
poor,
and Father Mathew may be credited with organizing a society which was doing the work of the
society of St. Vincent de Paul even before Ozanam
had established his brotherhood in France. A good
lending library was another of Father Mathew's
foundations and, finally, but by no means least in
importance, in 1830 he took on long lease the
Botanic Gardens of Cork and laid them out as
a cemetery the place is still known as " Father
Mathew's Cemetery."
In 1832 Cork was subjected to a severe visitation
of Asiatic cholera. The plague raged with fearful
intensity in all parts of the city, but particularly
The
in the close and squalid quarters of the poor.
hospitals were crowded, and numbers were stricken
and dying in their homes and with- illness, and
the death of the bread-winner, came poverty and
want. At this critical time Father Mathew's untiring energy was displayed in a marvellous manner.
Not only did he give constant attention to
the sick of his own parish, but he also rendered
great assistance to the neighboring clergy, many
he was also most
of whom were overworked
;
numbers of whom wandered about the streets growing up in idleness and in gross ignorance. With
the assistance of some ladies, he opened a girls'
district,
and
hospital
in
his
He
educated within
after
this school
A boys'
its walls.
and the
system of
He
also organized a
himself sending
Its
Progress in Cork.
FATHER MATHEW.
394
steadily gaining a firm footing in the
Old World.
nence principles.
In Cork there was a small temperance society,
of which the most prominent member was William
"
Martin or, as he was popularly called, " Billy
Martin a Quaker; a man enthusiastic in the
cause of temperance, advocating it in season and
out of season, thundering out from the platform in
plain-spoken and fervent, if not very rhetorical language, the evils of intemperance and the blessings of
same
whom
to
any
listener
he could "button-hole"
cause made little or no progress in Cork.
Among those on whom Mr. Martin tried the
The
force of his persuasion was Father Mathew.
priest
of the
or
House
if
it
sufiferers to
with a prophet's
charity.
among
labor
generous
work
of
many hours
position of influence
made
a deaf ear.
to
But
Mathew
did
much
movement itself
As it had
ridicule.
respected, the
little
prayer.
At
that night.
FATHER MATHEW.
Meetings were tten held twice a week in the
evenings and after Mass on Sundays, and each
meeting added largely to the roll of pledged
The movement
abstainers.
spread
not merely
was magic
in Father
Mathew's name.
The
meet-
crowds being
now
and
this
room
but the
Horse Bazaar, a building capable of holding four
thousand people, was placed at Father Mathew's
disposal,
roll.
laid
upon
his
half
a day.
The long
395
roll of
up
by the
whom
esteemed
they heard how great numbers had taken the
pledge in Cork and how a great reformation was
being effected, and then from all parts of Ireland people came to take the pledge from Father
presided over
priest
all
Cove
Street,
who
in the batches of
knelt before the " Apostle
Temperance Missions
in Ireland.
FATHER MATHEW.
396
murmur
and in strong contrast to the stirring scene without, sat the mild, unassuming, but
vicarial residence,
whom had
His next
visit of
After a short
at
He
seemed
perfectly unconscious of the excitement he had
produced, and spoke and acted as if he regarded
himself as the least remarkable man of the age."
i)ublin was visited in March, 1840, and Father
Mathew received a hearty welcome from Archbishop Murray. Day after day open-air meetings
were held in Beresford Place addresses were constantly delivered, and the pledge was administered
At one of these meetings Father
to thousands.
Mathew alluded to the immense benefits which
would arise were ladies to join in the movement.
Word was brought to him that if a meeting for
ladies were organized, a good number would probably take the pledge a meeting was accordingly
held in the Royal Exchange, and 500 ladies
junior
collected this
Within the
Mathew
addresses
and senior
He
FATHER MATHEW.
more than
villages
once,
and hamlets
in fact,
by the time
that his
39>
mony."
influence.
show
Convictions in 1839
"
"
"
"
11,194
1841
9,287
1842
1843
9,87s
8,620
" 1844
8,042
" 1845
7,101
The number
66 in 1839
12*049
1840
to 13 in 1845
to transportation
^^^
from
number of sentences
1845.
There was a
consumption of
gallons.
of spirits and malt liquors decrease that many distillers and publicans
some of Father Mathew's
near relations among the former had to close their
premises. Yet, in many cases, these were not
much
the age.
off to
stantly employed.
Home was
little
ing to night with parties, frequently from a distance, wanting to take the pledge, or with visitors
who came
move-
Temperance Missions
in
Great Britain.
As has already been mentioned, the temperance movement had already been started in Great
when Father Mathew began his apostleBut it was making little or no
progress among Catholics, the number of whom
was day by day increasing both in England and
Britain
ship in Ireland.
in Scotland,
Irish.
Ireland, Father
Mathew turned
his attention to
many
of his
com-
FATHER MATHEW.
398
patriots
had
settled,
many
of
Pressing invitations
August
Glasgow
the same evening and received a hearty welcome
not only from the Catholic clergy and laity, but
also from the various non-Catholic temperance
bodies.
As usual, he lost no time in setting to
work the morning after his arrival he preached in
the Cathedral to an immense congregation, and
13, 1842, arriving at
Monday was
spent
much
in the
same way and on Tuesday Father Mathew's advent was celebrated by a procession and a large
public meeting, together with a banquet in the
City Hall, at which representatives from temper;
On
High
Street
which contained
body
number
of inhabit-
number
adhering to
the pledge, and their orderly demeanor is an agreeare
still
neighbors."
other
places.
At Wakefield
member
of
the
Mathew
in his house.
The good Quaker invited
Father Mathew to stay with him, but the Father
invariably declined such invitations, preferring to
put up at an hotel, so that he might be more at
liberty in his
those
movements and
who wished
was sent
to see him.
to the would-be
in the reception of
host,
Father
during his
visit at Wakefield.
On Father Mathew's arrival
there was indeed a board, with " Hotel " in large
characters upon it, on the front of the house, and
Father Mathew was without the least restraint in
to stay there
FATHER MATHEW.
going
'!n
when he
whom
lie
pleased and
increased
by the
to
London, and on
in the metropolis.
own
After his
39 &
A brother he
sobriety.
to close
it
much
caused so
The
remaining
till
the evening.
At one
of the meet-
a Spanish priest
myself," as Father
Mathew
said),
German bishop.
following Monday Father Mathew went
presence of a
On
the
in
procession
pledge.
The above
work
city,
bank,
London,
in
He
Giles's,
Mill-
FATHER MATHEW.
400
On
the whole,
'
in religion* or politics,
On
nence from
all
intoxicating drinks."
re-
offered
Ireland.
computed that during his three months' mission in England he administered 600,000 pledges.
It is
and a
friar,
and he always
and jack boots, of the Irish priest of the time. On all his missions he preached on Sundays, and frequently on other days, in
But he was no
aid of the local Catholic churches and charities.
controversialist,
FATHER MATHEW.
The Famine. ^Mission
in
America.
The
ofl&cials,
He
undertook, at
much
and
for
401
for the
submitted without
giving
annoyance.
^600 a month in
money coming from his own pri-
relief,
Mathew
to
the Govern-
to
of the breaking
up
of his constitution.
The many
land
26
it.
he
the ground.
rushed
in,
before.
FATHER MATHEW.
402
own
New
United States.
He
visited
number of other
Washington the Senate
within the bar of the house an
voted
On his
him a
arrival in
seat
honor which had previously been accorded to Laand the President of the Republic
fayette alone
entertained him at a dinner at which fifty members
were present.
At the large naval dockyard of Pensacola, Father
Mathew was received by the commodore and ofi&cers
was
and
whom
were the
again in
full
At
uniform.
New
The
of
age,
enfeebled
in
He
has
country.
officials
oflBcers
and
Though
render
fatal,
may
His
Liabilities.
His
Death.
FATHER MATHEW.
his charities
increasing,
for the
cause, a debt of
_;^ 1,500.
him
All this
_;^i,5oo.
his death
403
he was unable
to say
to
make up
for
it
Mass
and
great pri-
he endeavored
by spending hours in silent
Even in the summer he felt the cold at Lehenagh, and in the autumn of 1856 he resolved,
much to the distress of his friends, to go to Queenstown.
The
ostensible reason
Mathew
it
He was
as he
The
was dressing.
had fallen
that he
was in debt
to the
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
BY THE REV. W.
HAVE
first,
H.
COLOGAN.
No, there
no moral
evil,
fcillen
sympathy and
if possible, to
co-operation.
The
The
drink.
not
cause
is
strong drink
is
in itself an
held that
What
God made
It Is.
Manning
These men
by
their
own
When men
folly
this evil ?
!'
may
was good, and the devil made the rest, which was
bad, and wine and strong drink, they said, was bad,
and created by the devil. All this was condemned
by the Church as a heresy for there is but one
Creator of all things the one Eternal God " and
God saw all the things that He had made and they
were very good." (Genesis i. 31.) " Nor," as Cardinal
madness
evil or
there was a
Would
'
then find fault with the gifts of God ? But what madness is this
What did the wine, O man, produce
Long ago
say that
are bad
pen,
What
etc.,
free will
of
'
'
human.
St.
Thomas and
all
Catholic theologians
although it may
become so for certain reasons, such as danger to
the drinker, scandal, a vow not to take wine, etc.
Cardinal Manning, in his address to the Holy
Family Confraternity of Commercial Road, 1875,
says " I will go to my grave without tasting intoxicating liquors, but I repeat distinctly that any
man who should say that the use of wine or any
drink
is
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
other like thing
is
sinful
when
it
405
makes him
cating drink
cieties
Church
itself.
It
covetous."
all
our duties
on
its
nence
Church
What
The drunkard
a better Catholic.
then
is
him
to the
Sacraments.
abstinence?
total
Total absti-
is
from
"
whatever
may make
man
opposite virtue.
its
work,
enness.
an
evil
[intemperance],
it
counteraction, but, I
necessary provision.
am
home now
this vice
is
saved."
From
this letter of
drunkenness
;
to reclaim those
who have
danger
to rescue those in
to arrest
fallen into
to place as
our
not in danger
children
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
406
Now
it.
it is
of wretched
lence of intemperance.
" reformed
merely to those to
whom
intoxicating drink
is
object.
What
The
is
the Pledge ?
who
pledge
is
following
is
by those who
the
Holy
Cross,
by the help
of God's grace, to
The
given by
many
giving his evidence before the Lunacy Commission of the House of Commons, stated that " inis
necessary
total abstinence
But,
Why
tate?
it
may
be asked.
Why
make
What
necessity
is
there for
any
R. Sims writes
this stir?
and
Why
evil of
agi-
total absti-
is
causes of insanity.
Intemperance
Prevalence of Intemperance.
Similar evidence
other judges.
temperance
very
is
The
may
Assizes, 1878).
pledges himself.
of this
root of crime.
a crime leading
is
statistics
is
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
the terrible extent to which this cause of poverty
prevails."
we read
"
"
have
by pen or
artist's pencil."
The Canterbury
drink, state
" It
407
The
his report
sults of drink in
out-door
relief,
We may
drink.
Bums
well
conclude,
" If all
is
drinking."
Intemperance
death.
to
Sir
make out
is
am
" I
do not desire
speaking solemnly
To
alcohol.
the abuse ?
three-fourths of
'
fashionable
drug
life,'
(alcohol) of
the
disorders
in
what we
call
With this evidence as to the effect of intemperance on health, we shall not be surprised to find
Dr. Norman Kerr stating that 60,000 drunkards
die every year in the
paupers.
summary
2.
England
among drunkards.
be classed
4.
i.
young
Nor
by any means
plague
are Catholics
would,
indeed,
that
know
the cause of so
The
many
other sins,
is
is
drunkenness.
writes to
me
as follows
"
Drink
is
its
iu detail,
he
yet
if
one
that
is,
their
the
homes
finding their
spair into
homes
the streets.
Vanity
of
dress
their ruin.
Directly or indirectly, I
is
misfortune."
The
tention of the
at-
drunkenness which we see running riot everywhere with a fearful loss of souls, whence it comes
to pass that men and women, parents and children,
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
408
same
destruction,
and perish
The Bishop
of Salford says
grants."
Dr.
Is the
But
miserably."
Norman Kerr
means does
offer
for
firstly,
by the
light
total abstinence
is."
The Bishop
of Salford says
"
Experience abun-
dantly proves that for a Catholic the pledge, without the Sacraments,
is
is
it
of
much
avail."
"At the same time, I have observed of recent years an alarming rate of increase
of inebriety among Roman Catholics, especially
Catholics, adds:
among
work
League he could tell of the rescue of individuals and of families who were a short time ago
sunken in the degrading vice of intemperance, whose
homes had been more like pigsties than Christian
of the
dwellings
of the
people with
pawnshops
By
With
wrought by drunkenness, it
take the best means we can
of
this
utmost
people.
vice
to
even
banish
it
to
of
us of the destruction
surely our duty to
is
exert ourselves
to
the
and well
now
God
clothed.
the blessing of
memThe
bers of the
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
The League
gives a
from
total
Of
reformation follows.
who
live
on
course, there
end in their
to the
sin,
are
some
because they
"
abstinence.
409
Holy
We
Scripture
have now
an important question
What is the teaching of Holy Scripture on total
abstinence ? Does it command total abstinence, or
forbid
to discuss
The
it ?
truth
is
that
observance
it
pastor."
of the period
ance.
From
II.
that, as
enness.
long as
it is
kept,
it
is
it
follows
now
to consider.
Wine
is
ruins."
as a source of joy
Yes, wine,
or the knowledge of
and cheerfulness
gift
to us
from
it is "
(Ecclesiasticus xxxi,
case,
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
410
A word or two,
XXI, 17.)
low,
(Proverbs xx,
i.)
He
(Proverbs
when the
"
it is
yel-
Thus
Her
and
than
fatter
meat."
all
obliging us to take
total abstinence
was pleasing
to
God
more pleas-
12, 15.)
made at the holy place, and the Jewish priests were forbidden to touch " wine or any
thing that may make drunk " during the time of
chiel xliv, 21.)
i,
wine takes
enness reigneth " (Proverbs xxxi, 6)
away the understanding." (Osee vi, 2.) These
are some of the warnings against the danger of
wine. But still there is no law bearing on the
nothing forbidding
point, one way or the other
"
and
(Daniel
They
(Leviticus x, 9
Eze-
New
we turn
to the
Mark
ix, 46)
that
is to
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
an occasion of
sin, to
prin-
and zeal for the good of our neighand we ask that for the sake of their weaker
brethren, to give them example and encouragement, they would forego what is perfectly lawful.
This is quite according to the teaching of St. Paul
" If because of thy meat thy brother be grieved,
thou walkest not now according to charity. Destroy
not him with thy meat for whom Christ died.
ciple of charity
bor
man who
in those
flesh
but
it is
as mentioned
(so,
above, there
is
is
who misuse
411
total abstainers
of food.
Our Blessed
Lord,
who entered
Him.
Whatever He did was perfect. His mode of life,
though after the common way of men, was more
should scandalize my brother." ( i Corinthians perfect than the severe and penitential life of St.
From this it is clear that if wine be a John, His forerunner not because it was such in
viii, 13.)
source of danger to our brethren, as indeed it is, itself and would be so no matter who practiced that
we do a good and virtuous act in abstaining from it mode of life, but because it was practiced by Him
whose every act was of infinite value. If we look
for their sakes.
It is probable, judging from the part he took in
to the motive why our Lord chose to eat and drink
the purification of the Nazarites (a. d. 58) that St. according to the customs of the time and of the
Paul himself was a total abstainer at all events, people with whom He lived, we may say that His
this is the opinion of the learned Baronius.
With motive was that by leading a life such as their own
regard to his advice to his disciple Timothy, the He might the more easily win their hearts. There
latter had long been a water-drinker (as is implied
was no special reason why at that time the people
in the Greek text), and not without the knowledge should be led to total abstinence
they were not
and approval of his teacher later on, as his health then given to drunkenness and probably used
declined, St. Paul advised him " to use a little wine,
And
intoxicating drink only on festive occasions.
for thy stomach's sake and thy frequent infirmities!'''
so our Lord, who became "all things to all that He
(i Timothy v, 23.)
On this text St. Chrysostom might gain all," did not refuse that kind of drink,
"
remarks
He does not allow him to indulge freely the moderate use of which was perfectly innocent
in wine, but as much as was for his health and not and did not disdain in answer to His Mother's
" See for what
for luxury ;" and St. Jerome says
request to gladden the marriage festivities, and to
reasons the draught of wine is granted that relief spare His host the shame of falling short in their
may be afibrded to the aching stomach and the fre- provisions, by changing the water into wine.
quent infirmity, and lest we should make an excuse
This miracle and our Lord's use of wine show
of our illness he orders that a little should be the falsity of those who taught that wine and
taken, and rather by the advice of a physician than strong drink were evil in themselves and the work
of the Apostle, though the Apostle is indeed a spir- of the evil one but it is no argument against total
itual physician."
abstinence rightly understood. For though the
But did not our Blessed Lord take wine ? Did moderate use of wine at the time of our Lord was
He not change the water into wine at the marriage perfectly lawful and innocent, and is so still, yet
feast ?
Did He not use it and ordaAp. its constant owing to the altered state of society, it cannot be
classes, took the ordinary food placed before
And
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
412
denied, that
may
it
the Eucharist
very
it
fitly
The
Church.
it is
it
is
not forbidden
(2)
neither
is
(i)
it
commanded to be practiced by
(3)
manded under certain circumstances, was practiced
by many of the Scripture Saints, and the exhortation to practice total abstinence as a means of preall
it
was com-
charity
is
Among them
stainers.
were
St.
Antony, their
abstinence?
Holy
Scriptures.
several
of them, as at Rievaulx,
in Yorkshire,
drink.
The
St.
St.
Cocket, St.
presently.
also
are
St.
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
St.
to
and his
sister St.
Aloysius.
West, but in early times it was the common practice, and is mentioned by St. Augustine and other
writers.
It
was
Among
is
do without
a taint of
poison."
"
Let her
is luxury,"
strength he
Thomas
St.
is
quite in
harmony
ful
" for
it is
some
per-
necessary
occasionally.
413
few passages from the Fathers on .otal abstinence will be interesting. St. Clement of Alexandria (a. d. 195) says " I praise and admire those
who have chosen an austere life and who take water
as the preserver of moderation^ and flee wine like a
fire."
He wishes that all young people
should drink water only, but allows wine mixed
mth water to the aged.
St. Jerome, writing to Eustochium, a lady under
" This is
his spiritual direction (a. d. 384) says
my chief advice to you, this I implore, that the
Spouse of Christ fly wine like poison. This is the
Not thus
first weapon of the devil against youth.
does avarice disturb us, pride swell us, ambition
in the lives
read of some
threatening
gratify us
drances to perfection
and in
this
way He
withof
an
may
be said that
total abstinence, as
we
find
it
other
means than
who
total abstinence,
though we do
was not
The use
way
as they are
now
fairs
and
festive
gatherings,
and
against these
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
414
zeal,
associations,
and especially through the Catholic Total Abstinence Union, you combat the destructive vice of
intemperance. For it is well known to Us how
ruinous,
and
how
deplorable,
to morals, that is to
is
ance in drink.
Nor can
We
who
recently in the
all
Nor can
is
it at all
and that so mcuh the more strongly will all be induced to put this bridle upon appetite, by how much
the greater are the dignity and influence of those
who give the example. But greatest of all in this
matter should be the zeal of priests, who, as they
are called to instruct the people in the word of life,
and
also,
to
tice of virtue.
ike
French of
BY THK RKV.
The
M. Leon
o^the
Poor,
Aubineaui)
JAIVIES CONNKl^IvY.
The work
* In France the
title
applied to
Cure, that
who
assists
all
is,
xrx.'xmng father)
is
parish priest
Pope
is
him
another, as the
who
is
;
called
a priest
acts in place of
went
there.
415
416
The
work which he
Her new
is called spiritual
Much
conferences.
their rule.
One
of their time
sentence especially
meaning
"
We will
time the elder, Marie Jamet, was not quite eighteen the younger, Virginie Tredaniel, was hardly
sixteen. Their confessor told them that they would
both serve God in the same community. They
believed him, and inquired no further. He urged
them to prepare themselves for this happiness by
endeavoring to overcome the wayward inclinations
;
and they addressed themselves generously to the task. The younger he enjoined to
look upon the elder as a superior and a mother.
of nature,
known each
other
knows nothing.
Every Sunday after the parish Mass, the two
girls used to go to the seashore.
They had approships
treated St.
them
to
commu-
During the
woman
blind old
girls
obeyed
of
first
benefactress
to
the
new-bom
institute.
417
old patients.
girls),
the Institute
who became
first
Assistant-
died in 1879
and
Fanchon Aubert.
Fanchon had not been
and benefactress,
She was
three.
sick
and
first
attic.
was
their
noviti-
so
to speak.
Him
to
which
and serving Him^ with their whole heart, and devoting themselves to the welfare and salvation of their
neighbor.
The
When
attic
Sister
First Inmates.
Feast of
to live in the
to
Fanchon's
attic
the Church.
carried in their
woman
humble lodgings,
to
The
of eighty years, of
care for
full.
in the
manner
27
little
hands
full
To make
It
was
all
418
was not a
little, those of them who could walk went out
every day to beg.
The Sisters prepared the meals, and partook of
the food obtained by their old women's begging,
and thus with the help of unexpected alms it was
possible to
make
still
wanting, and
it
knock
to
shift.
at their doors.
Beggars
and thus
tee,
habits
into intemperance,
Above
all
Their father proposed to his children to be not only the servants of the poor, but
for love of them to become beggars.
The sacrifice
was no sooner suggested than it was accepted.
Without a moment's hesitation they became beggars.
Basket in hand, they went about collecting
this temptation.
They
alms.
at
all
accustomed to receive
relief,
holy begging.
Sister
little
beggar
when the
They
" fell to
to the
by
guished literary
men
of France.
Every year
this
body awards
well
but yet no
Rescue.
Mary
came
1635,
to the
is
called
"a
in
be
works of charity.
'
'
The
is
'
is
said to
Mary
were pointed
tion.
The
contrary to the
maxims
of
human
was so
prudence.
It
tions.
skillful in
However
may
their rule
object.
work
h.
of which,
;
we
stir
be,
to
help the
Possibly
God
gives to
Him
are speaking
the
all
their enterprise
to imitate
drawn
with you, do
felt
was making.
One only of the four Sisters, Mary Augustine, had
any near relations, and they by no means spared
her their reproaches.
Her younger sister, who
has been Assistant-General, when she met her on
her rounds going a-begging used to say " Go along
it
and who
The
at,
their self-devotion,
They
and contempt.
their work.
various kinds.
he had done.
God
to act as
4x1)
420
in
their happiness.
meals have always been sufficient, and even abundant, the Sisters have at times had to put up with
short commons.
One winter evening the old people had gone to bed, and there was nothing in the
house but a quarter of a pound of bread. The
of Him
Though
the
buy a
lawyer's expenses.
They
Sisters
down
sat
to
If the inmates'
grace,
this morsel.
priest's house.
trusted to Providence to
began
to live
and
of virtue, of courage, of resignation, of piety practiced by these poor people, who for the most part
were, before their admission to the home, degraded
manner
by
all
of vice
and misery.
of Hospitality.
to
The Vow
of
vow
virtue of their
all
put under the feet of a statue of the Blessed VirThey were already
gin, and they boldly began.
marvels
of
God's goodness in
with
the
familiar
Previously used to washing and sewtheir behalf.
they
set
about the building with their own
ing,
They
weak hands.
dug out
Once more
this
was
all
God
asked.
He
The workmen
421
them
They counted,
however, so confidently on the latter that they did
not hesitate to buy a house in Rennes. When
they were leaving the neighborhood where they
had lived for a time, the soldiers who frequented
the taverns of which we have spoken helped them
cious to
women
new quarters.
To carry on this new foundation the good Mother
Mary Augustine, whom we may now call the
to transfer the
poor
to their
The
had sent
to
The new
building was no
The
The
First Offshoots.
numbers were
soon as their
As
sufficiently increased,
Sister
Mary Augustine
Marie Jamet )
to
St.
Servan.
pathy, and
some
little
help.
for
The next
from
whom
she
St. Servan.
of
aged poor.
was
They
to
come
As
at
Rennes,
was needed
We
have seen with how much difficulty the inwas established. The time was now at hand
when the work was about to be rapidly and wonstitute
derfully extended.
The
422
Going Further
Afield.
M. Leon Papin-Dupoiit,
Holy Face, and of various works of reparation, provided them with the money for their journe}?, and
deemed it an honor to have these servants of the
poor under his roof for a few days. When they
reached Tours in the early part of January, 1847,
they had a few pence left in their pockets. They
first took a small lodging, in which they were able
to receive a
What
all
pur-
At the present
small
time,
number of
who
had,
however, got
together
some
five
months.
eighteen
old
They
POOR.
They had
point.
their
to
make
a great
number.
Hard work,
it
The
happiness.
is true,
Sisters
soup, vegetables
Among
shone, as
it
ness,
they
happy, at
rest, full
of hope,
" Children,
God
done.
hiis
sent us."
Two
It
woman whom
the good
at the door.
it
in
One
of
it.
423
to her
In most
of the
people.
The
place in
Rouen
made the
424
which had
His mates at once
befallen the Little Sisters.
themselves,
among
and presented
collection
made a
the Sisters with two beautiful new panniers.
to his worksliop spoke of the disaster
More Blessed
The
Abbe Le
POOR.
work
to
Sisters' charity
was a source
Inside
of blessing to
At Rouen the
On
leaving,
he
One
posture
community rooms.
tions
But in the midst of these privathey are animated with an unclouded joy and
happiness.
gible.
Arrival in England.
manner
them by
intelli-
choice
whom
and caring
for the
aged
affording
them
little
gratifications,
They
all sorts
to
which the
of endearments.
their
frankness,
But, above
all,
care
is
taken to
make the
religious
In the pro-
good old
men and women walk round and round the narrow
paths of the little garden the Sisters sing their
hymns, and the old people, while hobbling along
and coughing, with tremulous voices take up the
refrain. At various intervals along the route, those
who are unable to walk in the procession are devoutly kneeling or seated. At the windows are all
the poor invalids who cannot leave their bed or
chair, with clasped hands waiting to receive the
blessing of God, whose delight is to be among His
Thus tenderly cared for and caressed, thus
poor.
at peace, these poor creatures learn to love God and
Amid this calm
to find their happiness in Him.
and joy they prepare themselves for a happy eternity, and look for its approach with untroubled
tlie
Of
was
said, as
may
be
"Their
our eyes."
Who will
iv, 7).
THE POOR.
it
sound hath gone forth into all the earth and their
words unto the ends of the world." (Ps. xviii, 5.)
" This is the Lord's doing, and it is wonderful in
(Tobias
serenity.
425
Established.
Servan
1.
St.
2.
4.
Rennes
Dinan
Tours
5.
Nantes
6.
Paris,
7.
Besan^on
3.
Rue
8.
Angers
9.
Bordeaux
11.
Rouen
Nancy
12.
Paris,
10.
St.
Jacques
France
1840
"
"
1846
"
"
"
"
1847
"
"
1850
"
"
"
13.
Avenue de Breteuil
London, Portobello Road
England
14.
Laval
France
15.
Lyon-la-Villette
16.
Lille
17.
Marseilles
"
1849
"
"
"
"
1851
"
"
"
20.
Pau
Vannes
21.
Colmar-Elsass-Lothringen
"
"
1852
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
Germany "
22.
LaRochelle
France
23.
Dijon
18. Bourges
19.
24. St.
Omer
25. Brest
26.
Chartres
"
"
"
27. Li6ge
Belgium
28. Rolbec
France
29.
30.
Paris,
Rue Picpus
31. Toulouse
"
1853
"
France
"
"
"
1854
England
426
Eslablished
France
Established
1854
85.
Paris,
( i
86.
Lerida
i t
Rue
Philippe de Girard
France
33.
Le Havre
87.
Lorca
35.
Brussels
Belgium
88.
Malaga
3G.
Le Mans
France
89.
Antequera
((
90.
Plymouth
34. Blois
37. Tarare
38.
Paris,
39. Orleans
(t
.
41
The
St.
42.
La Tour,
Caen
Perpignan
1855
Germany 1856
40. Strasburg-Elsass-Lothringen
Ostend
95.
Newcastle-on-Tyne
li
t(
96.
It
tt
97.
tt
98.
Maubeuge
Madrid
Nimes
99.
Toulon
Belgium
46. Montpellier
France
it
Jemmappes
48. Agen
Belgium 1857
France
61. Lisieux
"
"
England
Belgium 1866
"
England
France
Spain
France
"
100. Jaen
Spain
103. Valence
"
"
1868
1858
104. Perigueux
"
tt
105. Waterford
Ireland
tt
106. Reus
Spain
107. Brooklyn
America
"
108. Cincinnati
109. Algiers
Africa
New Orleans
Grenoble
tl
110.
67.
Draguignan
tt
111. Dunkerque
68.
Chateauroux
tt
112. Reims
69.
Roubaix
tt
113. Baltimore
it
America
France
"
"
1861
115. Vic-en-Bigorre
France
62. Beziers
t(
116. Philadelphia
America
Clermont Ferraud
64. Lyon, Croix Rousse
et
117. Louisville
tt
118.
67. Bruges
68.
69.
Nice
Lsrient
70. Nevers
71.
Flers
72.
Glasgow
Germany
England 1862
tt
Belgium
"
"
"
"
"
France
"
119. Aosta
Italy
"
120. Boston
America 1870
"
Car".e=
121.
Cleveland
France
tt
122.
New York
tt
ft
123. Washington
'
i(
tt
124. Albany
"
tt
tt
125.
Huesca
tt
126.
Salamanca
Scotland
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
America 1869
61. Dieppe
Manchester
"
"
"
102. Cherbourg
56.
66.
1867
It
1860
"
"
"
"
55. Valenciennes
63.
"
"
"
France
tt
60. Boulogne-sur-Mer
"
1865
101. Tourcoing
1859
54.
France
1864
"
(t
Annonay
Amiens
Roanne
63.
Leeds
94.
45. Louvain
62.
93.
tt
49. Poitiers
England
92. Troyes
France
it
47.
"
"
"
Spain
73. Bristol
England 1862
127.
74. Villefranche
France
128. Indianapolis
"
Spain
Pa
America
Spain
"
1871
"
1872
"
"
Grasse
America 1873
"
Belgium
"
France
77.
Dundee
Scotland
131.
Troy
America
78.
Namur
Rochefort
France
75.
Cambrai
76. Barcelona
1863
129.
Gand
Spain
13.0.
tt
Belgium
132.
Manresa
80. Edinburgh
Spain
133. Chantenay
Scotland
134. Lous-le-Saulnier
81. Anvers
79.
"
"
America
Belgium
135. Detroit
82.
Niort
France
France
83.
Grenada
Spa in
137. Charleroy
Belgium
84.
Birmingham
Enjjland 18 64
138. Mataxo
Spain
"
"
"
"
"
1874
"
"
427
Estaoiished
144. Limoges
America 1874
"
England
France
1875
"
England
"
Spain
"
France
139.
Richmond
140. Liverpool
141. Autun
142. Birkenhead
143. Jerez -de-la-Frontera
145. Cork
Ireland
France
147. Milwaukee
America 1876
148. Chicago
149.
Ouch
"
France
England
151. Palma
Spain
152. Rive-de-Gier
France
153. Zamora
Spain
154. Tarrogona
155. Saintes
156. Armentieres
167. Vienne en Dauphine
158.
Cadiz
"
France
"
"
Spain
160. Pampeluna
"
"
161. LaValette
Malts.
162. Murcia
Spain
163. Manchester
England
164. Seville
Spain
165. Catania
Sicily
167.
Newark
168. Vitoria
169.
171.
Spain
America
Spain
"
Ecija
Gerona
172. Braeza
173. Plasencia
"
'
"
"
174. Naples
Italy
175. Bibao
Spain
176. Lyon-Vaise
France
-177.
Tortosa
178. Carca.ssonne
179.
Carceres
La
Madelaine-les-Lille
182. Brighton
183. Germantown, Pa
184. Liverpool, second house
185.
Rome
"
Spain
France
Spain
England
America
England
Italy
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
Italy
Spain
"
Ireland
"
198.
Dublin
199. Tunis
Africa
200. Le Ferrol
Spain
201. Carthagena
"
204.
205. Evansville
America
"
206. Alicante
Spain
America
208. Sheffield
England
209. Arienzo,
Italy
1882
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
210. Nola
"
"
America
"
"
212. Florence
Italy
1878
214. Calcutta
India
215. Sunderland
England
216. Segovia
Spain
"
"
"
1883
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
'
'879
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
1881
"
America
"
Sicily
"
England
"
America
Spain
"
1877
Spain
New
Osuna
196. Turin
Italy
188. Valladolid
V92.
195.
1881
Belgium"
Sicily
187. Toledo
191. Preston
202. Milan
England
Africa
203. Messina
186. Carlile
189. Providence
Bona
"
America 1880
France
Esladlisked
193.
213.
New
217. Puerto-Santa-Maria
218.
Ronda
219. Charlestown
220. Saint Paul
America
America
"
221. Verviers
Belgium
222. Biarritz
France
223. Gibraltar
Spain
224.
Cuneo
"
"
"
"
"
"
Italy
225. Greenock
Scotland
"
226. Evreux
France
"
"
"
227.
Grand Rapids
America
Spain
229. Melbourne
Australia
230. Granville
France
231.
Ubeda
Modica
"
"
Spain
"
Portugal 1884
France
Sicily
France
"
1885
"
"
"
237. Douai
"
238. Oran
Africa
239. Toledo
America
"
"
S.America"
"
Spain
241. Valparaiso
242. Talavera
243. Vails
2
1-4.
Sydney
"
Australia
245. Montreal
Canada
Colombo
Ceylon
246.
'
1886
"
1887
1888
of the proposition in
and Reason
or,
it is
the most
suited to yourselves, as
you
it
may
be helpful to
It
seems
making
it
to
me
that whilst
persuade their fellows not only that Faith is contrary to reason, but that it leads to mental slavery,
it becomes a sacred duty for Christians to point out
to their fellow-countrymen that not only is Faith
to
able service,"
that is to
say, believing
then
human
or natural Faith.
us observe, that
authority,
let
" Faith
who
And,
tte
is,
whom
others,
time
of all others
S. J.
authority of the witness who propounds it it follows that the character of the assent given will in
each case be determined, not by the evident truth
if
divine,
it
will
Eminence, "
is
assent-
and
safest to
do
so.
We take
his
word
for
what
it
SAINT BERNARD
worth, and
we use
it
We
own
That
is,
not because
but because
peculiarities
it is
and immovable in
most
cer-
its assent,
it
it
man as
and irrevocable. Man
his ambassador, is
absolute
is liable to
deceive
And
may
mind of man
arrives at
The
this
question, then, I
want
it
is
that then
and
to enter the
I will tell
comes
Church.
to his assistance,
and
"
credibility."
stonding,
This, then,
is
say:
have answered
to his rescue,
obstacles
to
comes
many
429
it
is
absolutely neces-
imme-
words. Faith
is
diate subject
and
still.
as
its
eliciting principle,
moral as well as
its eflBcient
430
we cannot
ourselves
is
impossible
the
in obeying
willing,
will, I fear,
my
conclusively prove.
what
These words
in either case
difficulty
and praying
in believing as
can be overcome by
Of
We have it from
;"
there a
is
lips
"
With-
man
cannot do ?
Do
man, ho matter what his native weakness, to reproduce it, and with equal certainty of its being true
Observe I do not pretend
in his individual case.
to say that there are no intellectual difficulties in
:
believing or in obeying
presently
we
shall see
It
outside the
Church
for
before
!"
the conditions
desire to
the submission of
all spiritual
man
to a teaching that
But these
embraces
difficulties
sort,
to
which, whatever
its
other excellences,
is
lacking in
word
of
God which
is
to learn, to believe,
and
to obey.
men
to
words, "
Not
my
only to
Yes, " the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh
is weak," and it is the flesh, and not the reason, the
things of the flesh, and not the things of the spirit,
which are detaining them where they are in the
outer darkness, where the light of Faith is neither
431
by and by,'
did not come
'
'
stay a
little
presently,
but that
;'
and
this
'
stay a
presently
little
my
yet
by
this point.
it.
Who,
it was not his Reason that kept him back from joining the Catholic Church, but his will that would
not struggle with temptation, nor implore the grace
and courage he needed from God.
" Nor had I any excuse, such as I had formerly
pretended to when I delayed to forsake the world
to serve Thee, as not having yet certainly discovered the truth for now I was indeed certain of
my will
ran
'
its
deserving, because
willingly
fell
into
man
Thy
it
Lord?"
In this passage, St. Augustine professes to give
the true account of what it was that kept him
from following the example of his newly-converted
friend Victorinus, and being, like him, admitted
the
into
Catholic
Church.
Would
that
others
former slumber.
Thy
"And
that
I
is
impossible."
must repeat
it,
the will
is at
sition
more
clearly
still, it
No
is
as
we
not the
is
the
men
And
Reason tells him it is wrong, it being now high time they have not the wt'sk, or rather, the wz'l/, to obey.
to get up so it was with me.
For I was convinced Their will is languid or indolent, or indifferent,
that it was better for me to give myself up to Thy insincere, or inordinate.
/^/// ei non vult piger
love than to yield to my own desires but though I " the slothful man willeth and willeth not."
was pleasurably convinced by the one, I was still
Consequently, my advice to one, who, having
strongly affected and captivated by the other; I 'become convinced of the claims of the Catholic
had nothing now to answer to Thee, when Thou Church, cannot see his way to submitting to them,
didst say to me
Awake, thou that sleepest, and and entering, would be much the same as yours
arise from the dead, and Christ will enlighten thee.'
would be to a friend who should say to you that he
And when on every side Thou showedst me that could not keep some commandment of the moral
Thou didst speak the truth, I had nothing at all to law. Your advice, I imagine, would be this you
reply, being now convinced by the truth, except
would say
You must keep the commandment
some, lazy, indolent, and drowsy words, presently,' there is no way out of it. And if you say you
:
'
'
432
cannot,
the
there
faith
estly,
is
is
it
faith.
is
for,
"
Without
" It is the
is
of that grace.
may sound
and
believe,
you
if
you continue
to
do
sooner or later
so,
Note well
believe.
" \}a&just
man
lives
fact
by Faith."
strict
is not a
mathematical demonstration, but a
supernatural virtue
accept whatever
by which we unhesitatingly
God has
who cannot
revealed, because
revealed
it
there
merit in believing
is
err.
has
a virtue, because
It is
;
He
it is
a supernatural
it
is
intellect only, if
it
were
is
as the
precisely this
because
it is
it
is
Thomas,
all.
^^
Nulla
They
another, what
we cannot
reason in fetters
on the word of
ourselves prove,
is to
put
so often
show
it
made
;S
to
but I undertake to
very shallow, and as cowardly as it is
plausible
a*-
first,
unfair.
In the
first place,
reflec-
how comes
of authority,
it
If
word
we
and
liberty, find no such opposition between Faith and
Reason as we fancy we have discovered ? Surely
these rationalists, who pride themselves on their
gifted as
are,
to truth
who formed
their language,
Do
not
tell
upon
me
their
Reason
they,
who
fleur,
Magna
Charta, that great charter of our liberties, who established trial by jury, who created our representative
system, who were up and ready at Poictiers, Harwrested from a despotic king the
and destruction
Reason
of freedom, I
433
He
one question. I
be so, do they save their own Reason and freedom
from meeting with a similar fate ? For I charge
them, one and all, with doing themselves precisely
what they condemn so scornfully in others. From
the cradle to the grave, are they not being anxiously
guided throughout their secular life by the leading
all to
strings of authority.
fessional class
put
was
it
it
to
them.
When
Was
it
not
studies
And
upon
this time-
Nay,
in
life
I will
ever arrive
is it their
they quarrel with their solicitor because they cannot understand all the intricacies of the law; or do
they submit to be ruled by his judgment ?
Svich instances might be multiplied but surely
;
these are
are to
If,
working
human
class,
is
that
family,
human
the
the middle class, as well as the prorace
that they must be satisfied with book-knowledge in place of source-knowledge, and with what
accredited authorities say or write, or are reported
to say or write, upon special subjects, if they would
have knowledge of these matters, surely it is nothing less than mockery to tell these same men that
they are slaves, if in the more difi&cult subject of
religion they accept any point of doctrine which
they have not themselves proved by processes of
conclusive reasoning. " Inquiry is a way to Truth,
and Authority is a way to Truth identical in aim,
diverse in means."
What say our objectors to this ? They say
" Ah, but your religion is involved in mystery
and with mystery, as men of light and leading,
we refuse to have anything to do." Faith, then,
it seems, must be thrust aside and sent to the
If so, upon
wall, because it involves mystery.
what plea, I ask, do they retain the sciences in
life,
their service?
For by
scientific
men
am
told
mystery is absurd, so
unknown. And, as a
matter of fact, can these paragons of learning, who
are so sweeping in their condemnation of men of
Faith, tell me what they themselves are able to
know about the ultimate component parts of matter ?
Or can they g^ve me any reliable information
that, as
religion without
is
magnetism, or
electricity
human
gines, for
deny that
"
it is
28
the whole
They may
says
a whole lifetime
?
a.ir
Or
cells
in a pair of
434
lungs
Or why some
ground
of
Would it not
?
be more candid, more generous, in him to acknowl" What is contrary to mysedge, with Leibnitz
:
erties in
us
corruption,
is
it is
error, it is
prejudice,
it
is
it
ness."
" In science," wrote Jules Simon, " as often
make
a step forward,
we
find
an abyss
it is
is
dark-
only
might
Our scientists
might then
the
first
Thomas has
this to say in
in the understanding in
its
mover that it is the contemptuousness of the will which causes the dissent
of the understanding, and that in this dissent it is
in the will as in its first
infidelity is
in the will,
Faith
a free
Therefore,
act.
it
is
imputable.
is
Yes
some
is the outcome of
But we must remember that
vice of character.
It
may
be very subtle
The
we
weak minds
against
it
Perhaps
proper attitude of
of intense humility.
man
It is
towards
not for
him
God
is
to lay
that
down
that believe they can explain all and understand all." "
life," said Bayle, " is passed at
My
has been forced the declaration that " from the region of disorderly mystery, which is the domain of
ignorance, another vast province has been added to
science, the region of orderly mystery ?" " Time,"
"Space," "Causation," "Matter," "Spirit," "Light,"
Thy
to
He
my
rest
I think
that
we have
satisfied
435
our own minds, at least, that in taking the authority of Faith for our guide in religion, we are no
more putting fetters on our Reason than the rest of
men, who claim to be mentally free that in acting
as we do, we are not out of joint, but in harmony
to face."
part,
with lawyers to advise and help us when perplexed, with scientists to instruct and warn us
when inquisitive, so, too, that He has provided, no
sick,
less, for
We are justified in
He
has made
ready for us teachers to guide us through the days
of our spiritual life, physicians to cure us of our
spiritual sickness, moralists to solve our difficulties
and doubts, directors to guide us on the narrow
way to life, and to allay our scruples and our fears.
Men who
/oice of their
crowd our
come in the end to fill
jails, or they sicken and die prematurely from
one disease or another, to which they might have
been strangers had they been less headstrong, less
self-willed, more prudent and docile.
In like manner, men who neglect the warnings
of religion, who despise the admonitions and teachings of Faith, come at last to fall a prey to sicknesses
from which there is no cure, and to fill a prison
from which there is no egress they sicken and die
from the effects of a moral disease to which they,
too, might have been strangers had they been less
our hospitals,
Whom
life,
We
away."
It now only remains for us to inquire what the
voice of history has to say about Faith.
What
me
God. They followed it and in so doing were persuaded they were obeying the Divine Will.
I contemplate the Faith and obedience of Noe,
who during many years toiled at the Ark of Divine
;
command
436
tion.
There
to learn.
vicegerents.
versed, that
defeat
and slaughter of
And when
infidel hosts.
made way
for
the New, and Jesus of Nazareth, Who, by the fulfillment of prophecy and the seal of His miracles,
He was
judgment
to
very reverse.
Emphatically, peremptorily, uniformly, He commissioned His ambassadors, promising to be with
them by His power and grace till time was swallowed up in eternity. He bade them teach all religious truth, to teach the nations, to teach every
creature, and to
make
disciples of
all.
His Church
was
His authority,
speaking with His voice " As the Father has sent
Me, so I send you." " Ye shall be my witnesses in
:
Jerusalem, and in
all Judaea,
Then He
meaning
in the words at
all, if language is the expression of thought and the symbol of will, no one
who believes in the Bible can say that the Son of
distinctly declares
them by His
"
To
us
For the
Spirit.
God hath
revealed
Newman
on argument
ob-
they
He that heareth
dis-
believe,
sometimes in
spite,
sometimes in
default,
437
Cardinal
recorded of himself:
outcast race
that sin
had come and gone but had left behind Him what
was to be His representative till the end of all
things, His mystical body, the Church, in joining
which lay the salvation of the world."
Even such words as I have uttered ought to satisfy
;
more
than the rest of the human family that in concluding from their belief in a Personal God, from
the immortality of the soul, and a life hereafter in
the sight of God, to the necessity of some such
spiritual guidance being provided for them, they are
but extending to the spiritual world a law which is
recognized to exist in the natural and that in sub;
mitting,
by
himself equidistant between Catholicity and infiBetween these two, what is there but a
delity.
upon which
he who is not struggling upwards must be gliding
downwards ? Unless he be possessed of quite ex-
ceptional powers as
that there
or Faith for
Reason
Hear him speak again " From the day I became a Catholic," he writes in his Letter to the
Duke of Norfolk^ " now close upon thirty years, I
:
tb.e
no
such,
excellence of individuals in
part.
ever for a
moment
my
hesitated in
my
Nor have
has, as
it,
it,
trouble."
I
detain you.
more
who
There
is,
whose testimony
however, one
I will seek,
He
just
and he
was, if I
may
one
one
say so,
is
How
of
life
438
of doing,
the
above, if ever I
*
City of Peace.' "
am
to
be safely
landt^^,
in that
during thirteen years of my Catholic life, constantly engaged iu the study of the Church and
her doctrine, and especially in relation to philosophy and natural Reason. I have had occasion to
examine and defend Catholicity precisely under
those points of view which are most odious to my
non-Catholic countrymen and to the Protestant
miud generally but I have never, in a single
instance, found a single article, dogma, proposition
or definition of Faith which embarassed me as a
logician, and which I could, so far as my own Reason was concerned, have changed, or modified, or in
any respect altered from what I found it, even if I
had been free to do so. I have never found my
;
museums,
tainments, free land, and free love, together with freedom of thought, and of speech, and of writing, and
truth,
'
scale
and place
iu
very
arrive at a conclusion.
You
will say
points of agreement
To
its
moment
earth.
and batter at
the
it
difference are
among
points of difference
43d
we make
services
Faith.
We
not be misled
we
shall
When,
out of
ma_iy guides
who
OUR LORD
press their
IN
us,
THE ARMS OF
is
FRANCIS OF
ASSISI.
as
And
ST.
Giles,
and holy joy, are those things which make the soul
good and blessed."
On
Faith.
it is
all
these are
who
are
know
or acquire them.
and wise men who have passed away, and those who
us,
now
times
less.
fashion.
third
is,
all
humble thy-
thou
seest.
The
that heavenly
440
come
after
much
of
The
or will
life,
speaks of
Jesus Christ.
in this present
Him as
God
"Dost
Then
The
said
" I will
believe
moment's hesitation
willingly."
all
" Certainly, I
would do so
"Of a surety,
SAINT AI^OYSIUS
up
give
all
Then
thou not
to obtain those
was
"
God hath
divine folly
but
tell
fulfillment
was made up
for
by the
desires of the
soul.
miserable
What
man who
expects
eternal
perdition
this life
by men
and so
also, there is
no
man
in
the world so iniquitous and sinful, but God can convert him and adorn him with singular graces, and
many
gifts of virtue."
On Holy
No
Humility.
one can gain any knowledge of God, or intimacy with Him, but by the virtue of humility
inasmuch as the direct way to ascend is first to
All the perils and the great falls which
descend.
have taken place in this world have arisen from no
other cause than exaltation of the mind through
pride.
This is seen in the fall of the devil, who was
GILES.
441
and in the
fall of
our
first
father
And
so,
on the contrary,
all
cross,
Scriptures.
And
442
wKo
is lie
submits
Apostles
Holy
bears meekly
cO
Spirit
And
tlie
!"
"He who
would
must
and himself sub-
consider every
man
his superior,
GILES.
humbles himself.
Blessed
is
the
himself to be in prison in this world, and ever remembers how grievously he has offended his Lord,
A man should always greatly fear pride, lest it
cause him to stumble and fall from that state of
grace in which he is, for one can never stand secure
in the midst of enemies and our enemies are the
;
Blessed is the man who lusts of this miserable world and of our own flesh,
known, either in his deeds which, along with the devils, are ever at war against
or words, save in the pure disposition and the simple our souls. One must have still greater fear lest his
adornment to which he has been disposed, and by own malice deceive and overcome him, than of all
Blessed is the other enemies. It is impossible for a man to ascend
which he has been adorned of God
man who can keep and conceal the Divine revela- to au}'' grace or Divine virtue, or persevere therein,
without holy fear. He who has not the fear of God
tions and consolations for there is nothing so secret
that God wil\ not reveal it when it pleases Him. If is in danger of being lost altogether. The fear of
a man were the most perfect and the most holy upon God makes a man humbly obey, and incline his
head under the yoke of obedience and the more
earth, and he should consider and believe himself to
be the most miserable sinner, and the vilest man in fear a man possesses, the more fervently will he
the world, he'-ein would be true humility. Holy hu- worship God.
mility knows not how to converse, and the blessed
It is not a little matter to have the gift of prayer,
and to him that feareth it shall be given. The
fear of God knows not how to speak."
Brother Giles said also " To me it seems that virtuous actions of men, however much we may
humility is like the thunderbolt, for as the bolt esteem them, are not, therefore, rockoned and recauses a terrible concussion, breaking, rending, and warded according to our estimation, but according
burning whatever it strikes, and yet afterwards there to the estimation and the good pleasure of God for
is nothing of it to be found, thus also humility exGod looks not at the amount of labor, but at thr
plodes, and dissipates, and consumes all malice, all
amount of love and hixmility and, therefore, the
vice and all sin, and afterwards it seems to be noth- safest par.; to choose is to love and fear always
ing at all in itself The man who possesses humil- with humility, and never to trust in ourselves for
ity, shall through humility find grace with God,
any good, but to distrust the thoughts which arise
and perfect peace with his neighbor."
in our minds under the appearance of good.
ject
and inferior to
all.
On
He who
lose.
the
Holy Fear
fears not,
The holy
fear of
man
fear will
On Holy
of God.
it
The holy
fear of
God
is
which
it
dwells to obtain
who have
them.
All
fallen into sin would never have succumbed, had they possessed the holy fear of God.
But this holy gift of fear is given only to the perfect,
for the more perfect a man is, the more he fears and
Patience.
and virtue
he shall be lord of
this
of good or
GILES.
44^
know
is lie
If
thee,
God
And,
me
therefore,
way
my
to save
brother,
thyself
thyself; for if
is to lose
tribulations, neither
consolations.
There
is
much
much
and insults
and without murmuring, than in feeding a hundred poor, or fasting
continually every day. For what profiteth a man,
or what availeth it him, to despise himself, and to
afflict his body with much fasting, vigil, and discipline, if he cannot bear a little injury from his
neighbor? For this cause shall a man receive
much greater reward, and greater merit, than for
all the afilictions he can impose on himself of his
own will since to endure insults and injuries from
our neighbor, in humble patience, purifies from sin
much more quickly than a fountain of msny tears.
Blessed is the man who keeps ever before his mind
the memory of his sins, and of the benefits of
God for he will bear patiently every tribulation
and adversity, expecting from them the greatest
greater
merit in suffering
injuries
consolations.
A man
is
truly
how he can
knowing himself
receives
it
for his
A Brother
in our time
that, as the
'
:
All things
overcome one's
self, for
Much
greater virtue
would it be,
a man should suffer himself to be
overcome of every one for he should be lord over
all his enemies, that is to say, his vices, the devils,
the world, and his own flesh. If thou wouldst Lc
if
and forsake
saved, renounce
all
all
consolations which
human
creature,
tions."
who
if
own
sins.
" Father,
On
444
to thee,
my
Brother,
my
honor
for
insult shall a
;
man attain
to the true
and
well
is it said,
derision
Therefore,
Christ.
He who
will
rior,
If
On
Sloth.
tude
is
GILES.
useful so
As
sloth is the
the
way
is
Heaven.
to
Much
good
fruit 'vith
The
slothful
man
and the
secure
who
strives
toils
according
God, and for his Lord's sake, and not for the
fear of punishment, or for a reward, but for the
He who shrinks from working and
love of God.
suflfering for the love of Christ verily draws back
from the glory of Christ and even as this solicito
days.
Therefore,
if thou wilt
GILES.
445
thy body, in
inasmuch
is,
in the
thou
as, if
and
But
eternal peace.
if all
the posses-
who
would not cultivate them, or cause them to be cultivated by others what fruit or what use would he
have of these things ? Most sure is it, that he
would have neither fruit nor profit. But it might
well be, that a man having but few possessions, and
cultivating them diligently, should have much
profit, and through his own and others' labors,
have fruit enough and to spare.
There is a worldly proverb which says Neverput
an empty pot on the fire hoping from thy neighbor.
And thus also it is God's will that no grace shall
remain idle for our good God does not give a man
grace that he may hold it in vain, but He gives it
that a man may do His will by performing good
works for a good will suffices not, unless a man
study to follow and make use of the grace of God,
by the practice of holiness.
On one occasion, a dissipated man said to Brother
Giles " Father, I pray tliee give me some consola-
" My
Brother Giles replied
brother, study to stand well with God, and immediately thou shalt have all the consolation of which
thou hast need for if a man prepare not within his
To whom
tion."
he
it
know
first
learnt
edification."
man would
to do it
do
any
creature.
When
companions
My
Brothers,
it
seems
to
me
that
and
to
sees,
is
the
that of
man whom no
crea-
On Contempt
ill,
"
Blessed
It is
it,
but to
makes long delay."
On another occasion. Brother Giles said to his
;
it ?
or true consolation in
it,
whatever he
pose
submits himself to
it
man
its
of
Worldly Things.
things,
446
many
men of
We see now-a-days
toiling
occasions of damnation.
GILES.
and perfection."
virtue
Brother Giles
On Holy
Our
frail
Chastity.
flesh resembles
Our
champion, for it combats and resists in all things that which is according to God, and for our own salvation.
A Brother once asked Brother Giles thus
" Father, teach me in what manner we may guard
against carnal vices " to which Brother Giles replied " My Brother, he who would move a heavy
weight, or great stone out of his way, must do so
rather by skill than by force.
And thus we also,
if we would overcome carnal vices, and acquire the
tion.
all
thus should
man also be content with satisfying his temporal
necessities, and not seek after superfluities.
Brother Giles used to say, that the ant was not
so pleasing to St. Francis as other creatures, on account of the great solicitude which it has to collect
;
by overcoming
"Amongst
all
the other
:
because
Charity
greater, and more excellent than Chastity?"
To
which Brother Giles answered "And tell me, my
Brother, what is more chaste than holy Charity ? "
Many a time did Brother Giles sing this canticle
" O Holy Chastity, how good thou art
Verily
thou art precious, and such and so great is thy
fragrance, that he who has not tasted thee knows not
thy worth. Therefore the foolish do not understand thy value."
:
A
tell
"
My
To whom
"
Brother, I
tell thee,
spiritual,
late for
is
by which they
God
and immacu-
alone."
by
On
One cannot enjoy
Temptation.
GILES.
447
TUti
is
is
battles, or
we should be
we
many
impedi-
in his journey
whilst the
life.
man who
way
goes the
One
Father,
it
seems to
me
"
My
have
not.
But what
and indevout."
Brother Giles answered "A king has two servants, and one has arms, that he may fight, and the
:
and
and both
of
fight against
is armed
and fight valiantly but the
other who is unarmed, will say thus to his master
My lord, thou seest that I am naked and without
arms but for thy love, I will willingly go into the
battle, and fight thus unarmed.'
And then the
go into
battle
'
him
as
my
faithful knight.'
"And thus
he
and hard
it
to prayer,
ful,
of heart
but
if
he force himself,
for
448
may
season.
by
they have begun
filled
temptations, obtain
much
consolation
St. Paul,
'
strong in
'
according
shall be the
life
that shall
'
temptations, and of
my
God
man who
that this
who
is
and penitent?
Also, I counsel thee never to leave off doing good
for if a man who was
for the fear of vainglory
about to sow his com should say
I will not sow,
for if I do, perchance the birds will come and devour it,' and so saying should leave his field unsown, of a surety he should gather in no harvest
not wilfully, seeing
contrite
'
that year.
works
tential
On Holy
Much
should a
man
Penance.
continually
and willingly
tribulation, anguish,
afflict
and mace-
sorrow, shame,
painfulness,
insult, adversity
things
us
lies,
it
is
necessary that
we
should, so far as in
Jesus Christ.
A secular once asked Brother Giles
My
To whom Brother
man should first of
" Father, in
attain to the
Giles replied
all
;
mourn
for
and then he
against every vice, and every sin, and every occasion of sin and moreover he should excite himself
;
"
it,
it is
my
devotion, that
work
but
comforted and
in
it,
GILES.
so
it
is
with a
man who
do good
he continu-
will not
but
if
is
good works of virtue towards God and his neighbor and thus doing, a man shall attain to the state
of grace and virtue.
" Blessed is the man who shall have continual
sorrow for sins, continually weeping both by da}
to
GILES.
4i\)
lasting joy."
consolations."
On Holy
own
the
he know God
if
vice,
will,
before all
wherefore
is it
is
his
he seeks aid of
demned
"
!
" Father, it
Brother said to Brother Giles
seems to me that a man should grieve within himself, when he cannot attain to the grace of true
:
devotion in prayer."
plied
"
My
To whom
Brother Giles
re-
gently
in
dregs.
29
And
" Father,
he
that
carnal concupiscence
Prayer.
And
and
all
to prayer
then it is that
God in his cause. Immediately,
therefore, his adversary, the devil, appears with his
temptations, to resist and to contradict him, and to
use all the force, cunningness and argument he can
to frustrate his prayer, and hinder it from being acceptable in the sight of God, so that he may have
neither merit or consolation from it.
"And this we can see very clearly for ourselves
because it is not when we are speaking about the
things of this world that we have to suffer temptations or distractions but when we go to prayer, in
order to delight and comfort our soul with God, immediately we feel our minds struck as with thunderbolts, which are the temptations which the devils
bring against us, in order to make the mind wander,
so that the soul may have neither delight nor consolation in speaking with God."
Brother Giles said that a man, when he prays,
should be like a good knight in battle, who, if he be
wounded or thrown down by his enemies, does not
on this account straightway give up the battle, but
;
for
as he
450
by
seen other
received from
" Father, I
God the
have
grace of
feel in
God."
is all
fruit of consolation."
What
And
" What
" I do evil."
evil doest
Brother,
said
" Behold,
we do
Brother,
it
is
clearly
ill
'
and in
spirit
truth.' "
said,
may
"
thy
"
And
family."
Knowest thou
pel
'
:
He
that
Brother
forsaketh
Giles
answered:
mother, or
or
My
Name's
"
hundred fold?'
gentleman whose riches
amounted to about sixty thousand lire ($12,000),
entered the Oorder of Friars Minor what great
gifts then await the man, who for the love of God,
sake, shall receive a
And he
said
"A
certain
"
GILES.
up
God by contemplation."
Then Brother Giles said to one of the Brothers
" Father, I would fain know what manner of thing
is
contemplation ?"
And
tion is a Divine
Spirit,
inebriated
fire,
by the contemplation
of that inaflfable
GILES.
them
On Holy
Prudence.
purification
who wouldst
own
A man should
justifi-
soul.
sire of heart,
of thy
we
life,
what
I tell thee
II
his soul.
But, of a truth,
and graces
Lord without
knowing
but still more woe to him
who receiveth them not, neither knoweth them, nor
yet careth to acquire them
Man, who is made in
the image of God, changeth himself as he wills, but
the good God never changeth.
receive the gifts
their worth
of the
until
,_
cation of his
learn the mysteries and the needful and holy prelife, open
and receive with true de-
451
Science.
labor much,
the secular
to
"
My
For
of all science
Word
of
God
is
ers,
"
452
drowned themselves.
v-ation of
thine
own
thy neighbor ?
If tliou
sal-
soul,
And
if
the
man who
way
of salvation, that
same way
in the
Blessed
is
the
man who
to
go
in such
More blessed
make
shall
is he,
On
Holy
Spirit
is
who speaks
and use-
evil
When
graces.
When
and
And
infinite.
man
is
much
the
often,
of
intention.
On Holy
and
profiteth a
to give alms,
Perseverance.
man
and
to fast
afflict
and
to
pray much,
and
yet,
sea
we say
is
What
even as he
111.
useful words to
GILES.
lie
may
we
.for
and
much
And the same man hearing this answer, immediately gave all he had to the
poor, and thus deprived of all things, forthwith em-
and when
grown, it
does not on that account immediately bear fruit
and when the fruit comes, not all of it turns out
useful to the owner for much of the fruit drops to
the ground and decays, and is not eaten, except by
the animals but the fruit that remains constantly
on the tree, until the end of the season, is, for the
most part, gathered by the owner thereof."
And again. Brother Giles said " What would it
profit me to enjoy for a hundred years the glory of
heaven, if I should not persevere, and so should not
make a good end?" And yet again he said: "I
consider the two greatest gifts and graces of God,
which can be attained in this life, to be loving perseverance in the service of God, and to ever beware
lest one fall into sin."
grow
it
is full
On True
advice of others
Many
of Religion
falling,
comes
when
or be-
restive."
it
retain
!"
severing with
Religion.
453
GILES.
wherein
it is
King
is
The
court of
many
any other
little
much
his
own
man
injury,
A man
fears his
and worst
own
evil.
me
to do, to enter
works
?"
And
Brother
it
Giles
is, if
answered
a poor
"
man knew
field,
My
of a
that he would
gifts
that a
man
should
know how
454
way and
lows in the
On
If a
the
Remembrance
man had
fol-
of Death.
GILES.
comfort him, to
have
received
these
all
gOOQ
An
Giles: "I
tell thee,
"
and shouldst
please
all
and
affliction
live in
it
a thousand
and
?
But I tell thee, that if a man live well
according to God, and guard himself from offending
God, of a surety he shall receive from God the ful-
life
in the everlasting
glory of Heaven
Francis.
SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY.
(After Raphael.
By REV.
O'QORIVIAN,
D.D.,
HE
most
By
meant a
prejudgment, or a judgment by anticipation
a judgment whicli is formed
judice.
prejudice
is
prior to
a particular question
is
sub-
charge
is
ground
religious training.
probability.
for or
not,
be taken as infallible
is
it
man
rest
on
prej
udgment so
Did any
entirely as to refuse to
hear the other side and sift the evidence that was
brought against the prejudgment, especially as to
conclude at once and without examination that
nothing could be said for the opposite side, such a
man would not act reasonably he would not be
fair-minded his prejudice would cease to be ex;
cusable,
injustice.
of that habitual
herited as a tradition
and tyranny.
Our non-
herited prejudgment.
He
takes
taken
it
wedded
is
man
who, through
that he
is
a knave
fool if unwillingly.
if willfully
mistaken, a
seizes
likelihood
is
everything.
What
HOW
456
The
prejudiced
it
man simply
discredits
what we
Do we
he must attend, he
draws himself up, looks stem, becomes more positive and louder in the assertion of his prejudgment
and our g^ilt or, he winks and smiles, and says,
" Sleek fellows, those Catholics
they have a way
out of every scrape." Ask him what he knows of
tention.
insist so that
the
to this,
now
Vain hope
It is the
it is
up scowling from
makes the race with
prejudice it has no more chance than when it makes
think of
now
ters."
Such as profess
should not marry with
other idolaters."
intended
It is
"
words
it is
as they call
it,
the Mass,
is
to
repugnant, not to Scripture alone, but even to common sense and reason, overthroweth the nature of
When
every defeat.
The
lie.
truth
is
favorite field in
which
The
Christianity,
Christ's one
XXV. we
Chapter
antichrist, that
man
all
that
is
The pope
of
Rome
is
This also
called God."
is to
be stricken
am
antichrist.
making another
am
just
now
only in view
engaged
of this point I have quoted from the Homilies and
in
to
the cause of
of whole Christendom
is
the Confession.
trine
The
point
is this
point
it
HOW
Church
We have
originated.
At
first
first title
rests.
consideration to
have an important
put before you, to which I invite
is
we
are so prejudged
or
is
simply state
and, moreover,
I
grounded so as
to safely
I know
have had good actual proofs of it
Catholic teaching too well to doubt it I am well
read in history and can vouch for it."
He will most likely say, and, if he is honest, he
can only say, " Why the thing is too notorious
everyone of our
everyone knows it
for proof
books asserts it it has been so ruled long ago,
and there's an end of it. What am I to be told
in this nineteenth century that we must begin history over again and have to reverse our elementary facts ? To tell me, at my time of life, that
Catholics do not rate sin at a fixed price that they
matter in question,
may
in society.
is
their principle
in practice they go
by tradition
it is
it
when
it
mation
we ought not be
is not,
cient reason to
to
so furiously certain
and
in such
make us
an inherited
the strength
who
true Messiah,
did not
Hur "
to
of
that
come
to
them
am
they had it
whole country under a foreign despotism " Why,
he is perfectly sure of it it must be true, because
It is preached in all the
all the ministers say so.
not, if only
The Nursery
Ah, yes
So
it is
of Protestant Prejudice.
!
So
it is
And it is in virtue
the
of a practice in direct contradiction to the first principles of Protestantism that prejudiced Protestants
is
Now,
in the
The
less
those
On
much
absolutely sure,
tradition, sufiE-
" I
is
There
Church,
457
own
by which
non-Catholics
prejudge
the
Catholic
Church.
their
by its
HOW
458
and flung
to the
winds
all clear-cut
creed to practice
licity is
corrupt Christianity."
said,
best
called "
was
means
of
The
of
Rome
Pence Fund.
forth in the preamble of the ad-
The
motives set
They urged
that a very
no personal
the
Holy
ill
See,
who had
many
their
years exclusively by
Church of Rome.
number had
Many
in>.
Thus
and
Would
kindliest consideration
" Ridentem
dicere
verum quid
my
vetat ?
subject as in jest
the
'
to start with
worn away,
So would it have
been with these religious dissensions and misunderstandings and prejudices, if there had been no active, persistent force to guard against and oppose
this tendency of the mind and nature of man.
And so prejudices against us live in spite of
all we can do to put them down, and will live
until the honest Protestant man refuses to see
through the eyes of other meu, no better sighted
than himself until he decides to use his own mind
in the examination of religious matters, and lay
;
HOW
Church on
lic
let
She is
eyes and look
actual evidence.
rational,
him open
his
at her.
Let
me
not be misunderstood.
is
do not assert
They
are accusations
against
individuals
However, the strangest inconsistency that prejudice can be guilty of is exhibited in this very matter.
When the scandal and the scaudalizer have
been expelled from the Church, as evil humors are
driven out of a healthy body, prejudiced Protestant-
The Daughter
of Prejudice.
459
to us for information.
When a sensideeply anxious to get at the truth on
any point, he simply discards reports and gossip
and betakes himself to headquarters.
The live
would come
ble
man
is
masters of French
Frenchmen
Catholics ought to
the river.
steersmen on
know
Catholicism
men
Military
do not
If
you want
readers.
lics aj to
their church
Our
are clear to
him
at first sight.
The Church is a living body, world-wide, speaking many tongues, one and the same everywhere
Well, one would think that, if Protestwished
ants really
to get at the truth about us, if
they would kuow what we really teach, why we
practice this or that form of worship and ritual, they
she
B^
is here.
whose stock
is
HOW
460
He
forgets
it is
known
for us to say
as
we
truly are.
Conceited ignorance
is
own daughter
some
of
among
the
What
So much
for prejudice.
They
readily
premises.
They
some hidden
gift
which
is
not to be theirs.
is
And as
up
some land
shut against them, and settle
down into complete religious indifference as to
creeds and articles of belief, satisfied with the common, ordinary dictates of reason and general morality; they aim at being honest men, as they say,
and at nothing more. This is an attitude of mind
that deserves our deepest respect, our truest symof promise which
What
is
the account
of it?
first
principles
that
is,
at all
must have,
as founda-
When
it is,
to you, self-evident.
and reason.
But first
prin-
may
they are true they are like the best and wisest of
fathers to us
but if they are false they are like the
most cruel and baneful of tyrants.
Moreover,
because they are elementary in our thinking, they
may be considered almost as part of our mind and
moral being. For this reason we are not likely to
;
The
is this,
and controversies
down
first is
tice
to define exactly
religion altogether as
is
The
of Principles.
its first
principles,
HOW
Church
To
do so
There
quietly
which
for
are
as tests.
man,
He may
The
a call here
is to
is
them a number of
living in the mind
Protestants deny
by a
beg at
true philosophic
cities.
Do
not
The
on us
obtruded
is
;
Protest-
that
is,
as
Church.
this.
They have, let us say
argument's sake, a right to deny it. But they
have no right to assume their contrary assertion to
be true without proof, and to use it as self-evident,
and to triumph over us as beaten and silenced, because we will not admit it. Suppose I say that I
am not bound to prove some particular point of doctrine in debate simply by Scripture. The Protestant
considers Scripture the only basis of discussion.
Because I will not accept this basis, but want it
proved, he turns from me to the crowd, as if to say,
" You hear
he denies an axiom he demands proof
first
principle
of a
that is self-evident his doctrine
cannot stand the light of Scripture."
Here is one more illustration which will bring
me back to that class of non-Catholics with whom,
mainly, I am concerned in this section of my lecture.
A man is struck with the beauty and eloquence of the rites and liturgy of the Church he
likes to be present at them
but he says they are
addressed to the imagination only, and have nothing to say to the reason that they are, in fact,
theatrical, and devoid of rational grounds.
Now,
why does he say so ? When driven to give reasons
and put through his series of " becauses," he comes
at last to a point where he stops, not having any
further advance, and asserts that the Divine Being
does not need propitiating, and that prayer, as being
;
Very well
461
that
is
is irrational.
Useless to
of
mind
ciples.
revise
question previous
just one
there
is
The
previous
remedy
prin-
first
the
to
Which
is
This
HOW
462
is
assumptions."
k
We
The Work
Must Do.
How
and
false
assumptions
Why that is
as
much
up an imagined
?
Yes, so it has and
without giving thought,
scream and hide from the ghostly thing. A scare-
Catholicism as a scarecrow
Why
store?
The
and sense
bird is guided
by
instinct
not?
percep-
on their individual
rational proof.
The " Divine Simplicity of the
ure of a policeman.
that
it is lifeless
and
He
fears it not.
and are
New
assertion,
controversies
By
No
let
No
reformer's
name
is
is
not logical.
no reformer based
logical proof
his pro-
Their chief
direct
and
logical
THE CHURCH
Q^^iiE
BIBLE.
the
{Died January
1,
S.
J.,
1890.)
JESUIT INSTITUTIONS
OF CHICAGO.
"
RIEF
is
Afark xvi,
i6.
March
Memory," written
shortly
his
after
Home,
of Chi-
1815.
of Jesus,
Indian missionary.
" Florissant, near
St. Louis,
It
It
Society and of
ferent times
Chicago or
many
of the Fathers
St.
who
at dif-
in his labors in
Louis.
St.
Wabash
of eloquence
'
souls."
When
our
Divine Saviour sent His Apostles and His disciples throughout the whole universe to preach the
Gospel to every creature, He laid down the condi463
4G4
BIBLE.
Son
demned."
"
He
is
divine faith
It is to believe,
If
intellect.
Therefore,
my
dear people,
what
indifference
religion a
it is
not a matter of
man
professes, pro-
You
century of
it
said
little faith
am
indifference
But what
that
is
not a Christian
therefore
religion a
it
is
taught.
am
not a matter of
man
professes he must
would be saved.
;
is
God has
To
is
right
Protest-
for, if
they do
"
"
The
to believe in the
my
believe all
my
sure even
not
what God
to believe
sure there
has taught?
at all.
is
Lord Jesus."
me what
Tell
Why,"
says
my
sisters ?
"
And
my Protestant
that
is
Son
of the
it ?
all
that
We
again.
we must
believe,
we agree
and that
is
faith there is
is
it
"
He that
But
if
my
Christ,
means
the
to
He
Christ
has taught,
me
is
damnation
He must
give
to
me
for believing
a thing I do
salvation,
of eternal
He
bound
is
me upon
pain of
all
have a right
all
people
for,
have they
a right to the means of learning what God has
taught, and believe it to save their souls.
Secondly, the means that God gives us to know
what He has taught must be a means adapted to
the capacities of all intellects even the dullest.
For even those of the dullest of understandings
have a right to salvation, and consequently, they
have a right to the means whereby they shall learn
the truths that God has taught, that they may believe them and be saved.
The means that God gives us to know what he
has taught must be an infallible means, for if it be
a means that can lead us astray it can be no means
It must be an infallible means, so that if a
at all.
man makes use of that means he will infallibly,
without fear of mistake or error, be brought to a
knowledge of all the truths that God has taught.
I don't think there can be any one present here
I care not what he is, a Christian or an unbeliever
can object to my premises and these premises are
the ground-work of my discourse and of all my
reasoning, and, therefore, I want you to bear in
mind. I will repeat it, for on these premises rest
all the strength of my discourse and reasoning.
If God commands me under pain of eternal
damnation to believe all that He has taught. He is
bound to give me the means to know what He has
taught, and the means that God gives me to know
what He has taught must have been at all times
as all people
to salvation, so
30
465
all
people
must be adapted
to
must be an infallible
a man makes use of it he
says Christ.
II.
BIBLE.
means
to us, so that if
will be
brought
to a
knowledge of
all
the truths
my
say
"Yes,"
And
so
my
Bible," say
I say, then, it is
"
Go
ye, therefore,
and teach
all nations,
baptizing
in the
and
scatter
earth,
and
let
had said
that,
every
man
If Christ
confusion
instead,
up
religion
all
all
all nations,
466
BIBLE.
completed.
writing.
first sixty-five
The
first
he wrote
St.
Matthew, and
He
a few individuals.
by
Church
of
left
God, established
New
How,
left this
earth
did they
souls
Testament.
St. Mark wrote about ten years after Christ left
this earth St. Luke about twenty-five years, and St.
John about sixty-three years after Christ had established the Church of God.
St. John wrote the last
portion of the Bible the Book of Revelations
know what
written of the
The
lished.
five
was written.
Now, I ask you,
it
my
who
lived
of the Bible,
were they really Christians, good Christians, enlightened Christians ? Did they know the religion
of Jesus ?
Where is the man that will dare to say
that those that lived from the time that Christ went
up to heaven to the time the Bible was completed
were not Christians ? It is admitted on all sides,
by all denominations, that they were the very best
of Christians, the most perfect of Christians, the
of the blood of Jesus Christ.
do to
save their souls? Was it from the Bible they
learnt it ?
No, because the Bible was not written.
And would our Divine Saviour have left His Church
for sixty-five years without a teacher, if the Bible
the teacher of man.
Were
Most assuredly
to
not.
You
my
they
Now,
my
John, for
all of
of
God was
is
The Church
first fruit
BIBLE.
467
mur
Up
know what
at the price,
?"
worth $8000
you have not the money, and if you cannot get a
Bible, and your salvation depends upon it, evidently you would have to remain outside the
Kingdom of Heaven. This would be a hopeless
condition, indeed.
Lord have
world.
had
little
a copy
it
had
to
Now,
to
one's
make
buy
man
It
was, therefore, a
a costly operation.
man
should
ih
left
if it
was
Most assuredly
not.
let
will that
book be
to people
Avho do not
in
know
But
it
would be necessary
said
to
it.
Yes, but
daj'.
not,
Hebrew ?
"I do not know Greek
separated friend
" for
my
or Hebrew," says
my
translation I
of the learned
decision."
Well, then,
my
Now
468
of the Bible, allow
me
to tell you,
tell
tion
is
my
respected
among Protestants
King James's edi-
divines, preachers,
and bishops
King James's
translation,
and Prot-
Some
years ago,
was held
when
it.
all
and give
Bible,
it
to the world.
The
proceedings of
BIBLE.
my
arguments.
There are now throughout the world three hundred and fifty different denominations or churches,
and all of them say the Bible is their guide and
teacher, and I suppose they are all sincere.
Are
This is an impossibilall of them true churches ?
listen to
Truth
ity.
is
one as God
one,
is
no contradiction.
everj'one of
contradict
The
true.
man
Presby-
prayerful man.
errors.
Republican.
terian, I
think
necessity of giving a
new
say,
my
of giving a
new
God
at
Here
He
spirit,
And you
Bible
is
not the
Word
of
You
all
all.
are your
own
my friends, and
must know what happened in England a few years
ago.
A petition was sent to Parliament for an
allowance of a few thousand pounds sterling for
the purpose of getting up a new translation of the
Bible, and that movement was headed and carried
on by Protestant bishops and clergymen.
VII. But, my dear people, how can you be sure
read the newspapers, no doubt,
may
and
they
all
God
"
469
He
not.
is
One says bishops
another says they are unessential.
tism
all
This
One
says bap-
it is
an impossibility,
is
necessary,
are
is
both true
Bible.
Who,
then,
is
true
He
ing of the Bible, you say but the Bible does not
tell us who that is
the Bible never settles the
;
The
"
fire.
of people
Why,"
That idea
Word of God ?
good enough
to scare old women and children," and he proves it
from the Bible.
Now comes in the Quaker he recommends them
not to be quarreling, and advises that they do not
baptize at all.
He is the sincerest of men, and gives
there
is
no hell
at all.
is
women
in the Shaker,
and says he
"
You
in fear
all.
My
shake^
my
brethren,
shake.''''
illustra-
what,
hundred and
for their
both right
One
is
dear people,
is
is
a good book
the
Word
we
of God,
is
the
itself; it
is
inspiration, but
is
the
Word
The
It is
says Christ
is
God has
ap-
it is
When
George Washington
and his associates wrote the Constitution and the
Supreme Law of the United States, they did not
men."
Next comes
Bible
my
Bible,
Bible
The
are guided
The
are
friends
cannot be true.
quarrel.
we
?"
not
my
terian, "
BIBLE.
man
make
a government to himself, let every man make his
own explanation of the Constitution." If WashLet every
470
States.
The moment
the
And
so
it is
in every government, so
it
is
here
doubts.
BIBLE.
'
'
Me.' "
God has
We
the Bible.,"
the Bible
best of
Very
well
my opinion
He is not sure of
it,
This,
is
the mean-
my
friends, is
to
inter-
teacher of man.
that the Catholic
of
is
no
other.
THE CRUCIFIXION
T:^E
By
tlie
is
ARNOLD DAMEN,
REV.
I.
From
is
tion,
to be saved ?
faith
v'ill
of sa/ation, for
that
God
it
stands to reason,
my dear people,
He
Catblic
Church there
is
no divine
faith,
and that
Afark xvi.
t6.
S. J.
them divine
faith.
Let me,
for instance,
a Presbyterian
foundation of
all Christianity.
From
the reading
and
is
not
God
at all.
"
Now," says
I
;
am
but,
Perhaps
may be mistaken
have not the right meaning of the text, and if I
am wrong, perhaps he is right, after all but, to the
best of my opinion and judgment, I am right and
he is wrong."
On what does he believe ? On what authority ?
On his own opinion and judgment. And what
!
is
that?
human
opinion
human
testimony,
He cannot Isay
therefore, a human faith.
"
positively,
I am sure, positively sure, as sure as
and,
there
is
God
mean-
471
472
and
without
lieving a thing
faith.
'"
own damnation."
That
is
strong language,
my
infallibility
we
There must be an
government
" I believe in
their
infallibility
and we see
such and
Because the Church
And why do you believe the
teaches me so."
Church ? " Because God has commanded me to
believe the teaching of the Church and God has
threatened me with damnation if I do not believe
the Church, and we are taught by St. Peter, in his
epistle, that there is no private prophecy or interpretation of the Scriptures, for the unlearned and
this
But you are not at liberty to explain that Constitution and supreme law as you think proper, for
then there would be no more law if every man were
allowed to explain the law and Constitution as he
all
is
a supreme
my
dear people,
Church
in the
IV. It
is
the Church,"
Now, they may say that Catholics acknowlWord of God that it is the language of
inspiration and that, therefore, we are sure that
built
My Church upon
not My churches.
Whenever He speaks, whether in figures or parables of His Church, He always conveys to the mind
best in existence
and, therefore,
it is,
as
you may
III.
edge the
we have
the
And He
is
to give us
the true
not
" I
have
'
of
His Church as a
tree,
and
all
the branches of
and the
trunk with the roots and Christ is the root, and
the trunk is Peter and the Popes, and the large
branches are the bishops, and the smaller branches
the priests, and the fruit upon that tree are the
and the branch,
faithful throughoxit the world
says He, that is cut off from that tree shall wither
away, produce no fruit, and is only fit to be cast
that tree are connected with the trunk,
;
now
is
is
that
plain
is,
damnation.
speaking,
my
dear people
truth.
but
want
to
fifty different
Protestant
preachers, here
And
lished
A new church,
that
earth.
Any
Church,
then,
that
has
not
ex-
isted
man.
Now, where is the Church, and which is the
Church that has existed thus long ? All history
informs you that is the Catholic Church she, and
she only among all Christian denominations on the
but of
"
lic history,
This
there
^^
^k
H^
H^
473
All his-
by Christ
To
answer that the Catholic Church has become corrupted has fallen into error, and that,
therefore, it was necessary to establish a new church.
this they
And
to
this
new religion.
we answer that
:
if
the Catholic
Hear me,
Jesus, hear
what
say
I say that if
the Catholic Church now, in the nineteenth century,
is not the true Church of God as she was 1854 years
ago, then I say, Jesus, Thou hast deceived us, and
Thou art an imposter
And if I do not speak the
I
fall
474
He
says that
lias built it
Now,
my
it.
then the gates of hell have prevailed against her and, if the gates of hell have
prevailed against her, then Christ has not kept His
promise, then He has deceived us, and if He has
deceived us, then He is an imposter
If He be an
imposter, then He is not God, and if He be not
God, then all Christianity is a cheat and an
fallen into error,
imposition.
St.
"
Go
Apostles
ye, therefore,
and teach
all nations,
baptizing
them
in the
He, "
world."
He shall be
days to the end of time, to the
consummation of the world. But Christ cannot
remain with the Church that teaches error, or falseChrist, then, solemnly swears that
all
hood, or corruption.
Church has
If,
therefore,
the Catholic
Church
no error whatsoever.
Christ has solemnly promised that He
is all
truth there
to the
all
is
Church the
truth forever
Spirit of Truth,
will send
shall teach
who
Church of God,
His promises
if
been a
or Christ has
there has.
the
of
at all times
is,
teaches.
That
for a
says
Paul,
St.
truth,"
Take
edifice
away, and
to these pillars
is
"
in his Epistle
the ground " that
and the
pillar of
to
is,
the
came
What Church
said
do you belong
to,
my
friend,"
I.
"
Ha
tell
!"
said
me,
my
ha
I,
friend,
Church too.
where was your Church
They were
my friend?"
said
"
;
we
all
Church came
cause,
in his Epistles to
the
Galatians, "
Though we
then,
my
Church
by Jesus Christ.
Protestant
the
it is
churches
first,
the Church
an historical
is
the
are the
institutions
of
everyone of them.
man
were the
I.
see,
date,
Who
Twelve Apostles,
said he.
started ?"
" In Terre Haute, Indiana," says he.
"
started the Church, and who
"
You
"
But,
VIII.
475
religion, let
made a new
He
so.
But they
new religion
of his own.
almost
all of
those religions
my
friend ?"
"
Well," says he, " because I believe in the doctrine of good Martin Luther."
Hence, not of Christ, but of man Martin Luther.
And what kind of a man was he ? A man who had
The
476
very
are
known
tells
you they
for doing so
sixth followed.
Now this
is
therefore,
it
is
that
it
comes from the Greek word Catholicus unispread all over the earth, and everywhere
the same. Now, first of all, the Anglican Church
It
versal
is
not spread
all
it
only exists in a
same
all
now
four
the
world.
Ask them are they Catholics, and they say, " Yes,
but not Roman Catholics we are English Catholics."
What is the meaning of the word Catholic?
goes by the
name
and,
of the
Church of England.
They had no
right at
all,
never said, in the Anglican Church. The Anglicans deny their religion, for they say they believe
n the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church.
prevail against
nowadays
are
to call
it
all
those
tion of
man
and
man
Must
not religion
And,
my
therefore,
think over
brethren,
dearly
it
beloved
You have
seriously.
separated
must be saved
a
or
seriously meditate
upon
it.
"
Why, my
it
If I cannot be sure of
my
a Catholic.
We
and
an impartial sentence
if
You can
it.
now
never pass
sides
of the question.
to be
my
innocence.
am
and what,
and
more than
any other man ? My dear friends, have you examined the other side of the question ?
No, you do not think it worth your while but
this is the way the Jews dealt with our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ and this is the way the
Pagans and Jews dealt with the Apostles, the ministers of the Church, and with the primitive Chrispriest
When
477
hung ?
"
and
"
Give
me
I will
prove
The
tians.
done.
thinks he
what
mem well."
" I
"
meaning
your
you must do
friends
well also.
My Father,"
He
millions in hell
who meant
You must do
There are
well.
ist
We
Himself.
CLARKE,
F.
S.J.
what belongs
It
is
to
as the statue
is
painter's, but
He made
1.
We
ourselves.
it,
resent
or deprives us of
God
2.
is
Him His
the
ill
use that
God
due.
men make
will
not
of His gifts,
Have I not
therefore cause to tremble when I think how often
I have behaved as if I were my own master,
independent of God ?
though they themselves soon forget
Yet
3.
end
in the
it.
if
Offer yourself to
God
Why
is it
that
There is therefore
not God's. Every sort of
is
energy,
aflfection
all
talent,
beauty,
skill,
2.
object
my
I
from
eternity
all
He had
been planning
Have
Him.
plan
when
come
to die
may
not
fail
concerning you.
In
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive honor and glory and power,
because Thou hast created all things. ( Apoc. iv. 11.)
I.
nothing in us which
consist.
God
and Lord.
2d Day.
we
materials of which
absolute and
all
that
is
for
our forgetting
to
Him.
on the fire.
2. But we not only
move
He
Him.
in
live
in
Him, but we
co-operates
also
co-operation
is
one suitable
the
to
Divine
God
does
more
4th Day.
All are Thine,
(Wisdom,
xi. 29.)
Friendship
He
thoughts.
is
desires that
may
is
a desire
for our
company.
God
the best
continually in their
we should be always
friendship of God.
5th Day.
Our
Kingdom of God.
St.
whence
Matt.
vi. 33.
came,
thither it must return.
As we proceeded from
God, so we must go back to Him if our life is to be
a success. We can never find repose or lasting
satisfaction in anything except God.
As long as
we do not tend to Him, we shall be fluctuating,
1.
life
a circle:
is
inconstant, uncertain.
end of our
life,
we
first
it
Until
shall feel
What
do we mean by making
God
the end oi
Pray
God
to break
3.
served
The
He was
We
who have
All those
perfect."
in all
479
6th Day.
down your
self-will at
any
cost.
(Philipp.
Every one
iii.
13, 14.)
desires to succeed in
life.
A man
great truths.
thp:
480
who
ultimate
desired
would
failure
be
justly
men
succeed.
When
2.
find in all
three characteristics
(i)
spirit
of
and
cheerfulness
confidence.
This
(2)
Hence
spirit
that
is
it
its
the
confidence.
They
perseverance.
of
3.
The
When
not
are
single-mindedness.
God
3.
to
end of
at last, I
What
know
can
that I
will
down
my
life,
Him
make my
life
am drawing
am
If I
to
coming
happy as
this,
nearer to God.
Yet
so
(Apoc.
Him
that
we may
them
By
a continual remembrance of
The
fre-
down
in prostrate
Means
all things
all inclined to
Provided.
(Psalm
own
overlook our
So dearly does
He
viii. 8.)
import-
love us, so
all their
2.
natural perfections.
God has
also given
imitate
to others.
company
The
day and
vii. 15.)
often learn
set of rules.
We are
by
and we shall
is better than precept
more from watching those who do perwhat we are trying to acquire, than by any
Example
God by
homage in
fectly
thoughts.
terial
live
God.
may
life
8th Day.
They keep
to succeed in
must keep
at the bottom,
7th Day.
my
and
in
spirit of
God
that promptly.
(3)
rev-
my
Altar, reverence in
by great
hom-
age before the throne, in recognizing their dependence upon Him, and their indebtedness to Him for
me my
means
all
my
best friends.
towards those
towards those
them a
solid
me in serving
me even those
created for
be
parents, compan-
to assist
If,
m^
They may
for instance, I
am
patient
Heaven.
3.
God
life
to aid
are,
me
in
if
all
will prevent
Ifthine eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome. (St. Matt.vi. 22.)
We
2.
481
to
me
What
2.
do we
mean by
we do
benefits,
and, as far as
who
we
iith
Day.The
because
sin.
First Sin.
We
loves us with a
bound or measure
it is
my
mean any
Whenever
against
erty
We
that
oflfence
whether painful or
accept whatever God
pleasant.
We must take willingly and cheerfully
sends,
sin
(2 St. Peter,
ii. 4. )
was unknown in
God's universe. All creatures obeyed Him and
were happy and at peace. Thousands and tens of
thousands of holy Angels showed forth the glory
of
3.
Do
hopeful.
ble
and do
I try
this, or
do
I often
grum-
and repine ?
Offer to
God
Day.
The
He
sees to
be
own
soul.
(Prov.
viii. 36.
God by
sin
Created in a
state of supernatural grace, they were each in his
own degree full of wisdom, of perfect beauty.
their joyful obedience.
Their trial during their time of probation consisted in having to acknowledge their dependence
on, and their subjection to, God. The larger number of them did so in a spirit of loyal and unwavering obedience. But a third portion of them, led by
They conceived an inorLucifer, refused to obey.
dinate love of themselves, and from this arose a
They would
desire to be independent with God.
not humble themselves they considered it unworthy of them that they should submit to the will of
2.
good
loth
1.
find true
and lasting
satisfac-
Thus
up within
God
31
in all things.
;
pride grew
482
And
all this
thought
Beg of God
outcasts to
I2th Day.
Man's
evil of sin.
First Sin.
all sin.
(Eccles. x. 15.
and death.
And
Paradise.
all for
one sin
famines, pestilences,
natural grace
all
concu-
round of
unfailing delight each evening God Himself came
to hold sweet converse with them.
The
2. What was it ruined their happiness ?
tempter came and suggested to Eve a distrust of
God, whispered into her ear motives of disobedience.
Eve listened and consented, and in her heart deliberately revolted against God.
Pride brought with
piscence
it
concupiscence
and depraved
examine myself I
commit follows the same
desires.
If I
course.
13th Day.
the devil's
sin,
that nailed
14th Day.
/ will recount
1.
The
to
When we
Adam
all die.
first
sin been
consummated
It had become
What
its
king,
was
cry
its
"
sin that
My
God,
intensity of evil.
soul.
by
sin as
sin.
It
we
do.
How much
We must remember,
beginnings of
Temporal Consequences
of Adam's Sin.
than a blight
first
The
In
his slave.
No
all
it
my many
few of
recall a
my
glance over
I will
past
life
What
offences.
a career
tions
How
ments of God
hope
15th Day.
represent
eternal prison-house.
your imagination
to
to the
What
agony
see the
1.
the
you can
pooloffire.
approach
if
devouring flame.
is it
Yet the
and
lost souls in
2.
This
natural
fire
fire
is
no ordinary
the breath of
fire.
God
It is a super-
kind'Ies
fire.
It carries
with
it
the blackness of
the love of
from sinning,
will
God
16th Day.
Here
comes of sin.
of hell-fire
time.
it.
(Psalm, cxxxi.
14.
be ever present to
One
2.
If the
own
fault,
fools
it is
advantage
Heaven
that
is lost
lost
we knew
so well
we were
that
is
this that
fools
Pray
God
you from
of
ordinary
Pray that
They might
1.
The
it.
will
their minds.
sins.
Try and
can
483
17th
This
is
Day.The
may keep
sin.
Eternity of Hell.
Psalm cxxxi.
14.
never
2.
Add
torments.
How
monotony
of their
lost will
their sufferings.
aggravate, not
make
484
misery ? Nothing to vaiy the blackness of darkness around them nothing to vary the worm of
remorse ever gnawing at their heart nothing to
vary the excruciating agony of the fire that will
never be quenched.
3. All this is the necessary result of their being
If only
fixed in an unchanging enmity to God.
they could receive in their souls one spark of the
love of God, hell would at once cease to be hell.
One thought of love would turn their agony of
despair into joyful hope. But no such thought will
ever come to them. They have deliberately chosen
separation from God, and must endure that choice
and all its consequences for ever.
;
Day.
19th
Thou
from
thence
till
Make
acts of love of
Venial sin
Day.Veniel
(Zach.
1.
make us
in
by one or two
it is
He
which
visits
in this
it
1.
to
whom God
con-
He
this
God
gave way
to
him up
sent
to die
was reached.
David, the
moment
man
own heart, in a
number the people,
after God's
of vanity determined to
soul and
way
2.
xiii. 6.)
God has
life.
Sin.
WiVA these wounds I was wounded in the house of thent that loved me.
deserves a punishment
it
him
i8th
is
sin, kill
it
the
is
and renders it
unfit for union with Him until it has been purged
away. It is the path that leads to hell by paving
the way little by little for the entrance of mortal
sin. It is an unkindness which destroys the warmth
of our love and creates a coldness towards God.
2. Venial sin is small as compared with mortal
disease which disfigures the soul
itself
entreated
God
to
be
that
How
venial sin
still
we
It is in
Purgatory
No
earthly
what do
sin,
sin.
It is
there
till
I still
owe ?
Am
for
Venial sin
is
of two kinds:
(i)
20th Day.
deliberate,
rt is appointed unto
I.
Why
is
my
man
Alas
best to pay
it ?
all eternity.
3.
I doing
sin.
Death.
once to die.
death a terror to
(Heb.
men ?
ix. 27.)
Because
it is
as the
condition.
its
bom
same
in sin.
2.
is
After
trial.
it
dread
still
The same
Yet
to those
summons ?
who love God
death loses
all its
2ist
Day.
At the
lives as
Particular
Judgment we
In an
instant
We
Christ,
justice, according to
Judgment if we make
we earn His gratitude
by doing all we can to please Him, He will not remember our former sins. He will look to what we
are, not what we have been. He will not remember
the sins of those who love Him with all their hearts.
3.
fear the
If
Why
Judge
will
should I fear
be my best
may
forestall the
your Judge.
The General
Behold
22d Day.
He cometh with
the clouds,
Judgment.
and every
Him.
(Apoc.
i.
He
is
Him, and
7.
man
will
at once
God
1.
as
Him
in the natural
On
2.
will
that day
be of
all
many, now
How
then
be
ridiculed,
glorious
all
3.
On
on the
left
with the
between
them ? Simply this, whether they have shown
This and
charity to others for Christ's sake.
nothing else will be the test " Inasmuch as you
have done it to one of My least brethren you have
done it to Me." Has my kindness to others been
done purely for Christ's sake ? How shall I stand
celestial delights, the other already filled
despair of hell.
What
will distinguish
this test
Ask God
to teach
right
hand
of the Judge.
23d Day.
The wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, but the just unto
life everlasting.
"
(2 Cor. V. 10.)
1.
my
terrors.
We must all be
Teresa said
friend ?"
Am
St.
Judgment when
the
it if
retain
485
I.
The
(St.
ment
will be
opportunities
of
grace,
sacraments, temptations,
486
who
All
everything.
are
confess that
lost will
How
then seem,
all
Even
know
But
final destiny.
at
its
at the
sentence will be confirmed and ratified in the presence of the holy Angels and the assembled crowd.
How
is it
and
24th
Day.The End
'
'
of thy Lord.
'
Attained.
What
who
at
right
listen to
His words
of love?
and peace
they will
its inefifable
They
sweetness.
will also
25th Day.
Lord, to deserve
as
to earn
Thou
Thou
Thy
all
this?
sayest
(i
words of gratitude.
me ?
Cor.
ii.
9.)
Heaven
Who am
All the
all
deserve the
Heaven.
with the
that
fact of its
being in union
It will
He
may
26th Day.
often think of
The
of
I that
little
God
Heaven.
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart
of man what things God hath prepared for them, that love Him.
Thee
of
press heavily.
Then shall the King say to them that are on the right hand. Come, ye
blessed of My Father, possess you the Kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world. (St. Matt. xxv. 34.)
1.
moment
Apostle
The
first
will
ciful.
3.
compensated by that
and pains
ineffable delight!
I.
Heaven and
its joys.
Essential Happiness
Heaven.
as
He is.
(i St.
John,
iii.
2.
moment
to them.
generosity.
3.
They
earthly
life.
While
it
lasted
shadow that
flitted
by.
Why is
this
(if
487
will
there will
The
it
may
strive continually to
add to
No
fear
it
28th Day.
still
loveliness
They sang as
here on earth.
it
God
canticle,
(Apoc. xiv.
3.)
it.
27th Day.
His servants
(Apoc. xxii.
to
object
2.
3.
fills
that
This
of our love
is
ourselves.
How much
love
is
the
so occupies
is
the case
nothing
men
when the
God
object of our
This music
to
it.
The voice of
If
O my
richer,
necessarily be inexhaustible.
The
various phases
will
29th Day.
The
Their lot
I.
is
among
How much
Companions
the Saints.
of
(Wisdom,
of our happiness
Heaven.
v. 5.)
depends upon
488
among whom we
dwell
this is
and
perfections
faults,
self-denial,
little
Even our
There
ing gratitude to
Him who
ediction
Make
and power
God
Angel,
The
how
shall
we
whom we
have had a special devoJoseph and our Lady, how surpassing sweet to be with them Yet all this is only
a reflection of the joy we shall derive from beholding the Lamb who had been slain, our dear Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Saints to
and Angels.
The
30th Day.
K^hai shall I render
to the
dered to
One
Memories
me f
of Heaven.
Psalm cxv.
He hath
ren-
God
will be derived
all
What
we shall feel at
we have done for God on earth
2.
joy, too,
the thought of
!
Each
Day.
Thy
Matt.
it is
in Heaven.
vi. 10.
12.
3ist
act of
Pray for
this unfailing
in
in all that
you do.
God
PEARLS
FROM THE
T REQUIRES
whom
to the altar, I
He
As
excellent, we
of heaven.
it
so
will consider
is,
some
gift.
namely, that
consists in this
following instructions.
He
has over
all
His
creatures.
One
called
this
it
sacrifice
and
because
grace,
the
it
sanctifies souls
say
and
the
of
it
is
essentially the
once for
all,
The
made
of
the Altar,
is
treasury.
in the
Death
489
490
return, the
Holy Ghost
Lord
visibly
descends to earth.
But the same cannot be said of the mystery of
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, for here there is
made no simple representation of a past event, but
The
who
Christ Jesus
nor
the sacrifice
is
same Man-God
offered to any
much
celebrant not so
and recognize
faith,
the
as
whom we
its eflEcacy,
deemer.
Jesus
who then
offered
air,
careless
places
behavior
or
sacrilegious
by God
detested
He
is
Holy
instituted this
Sacrifice,
He
to
ha::
it all
He
each Mass
the celebrant
at
the
altar,
remember that
his
and eternal
invisible
Hence
it
Priest,
what may
may
gives alms
called in all
servant
is
who
be sinful or wicked,
most holy
Priest,
who
fail to
when
the master
Eternal Father
as
down the signal chastisement of the Catholic religion is now propagated in most
Holy Writ, " Cursed be he who countries of the world but every day, and even
doth the work of the Lord deceitfully." Think every hour, since the sun rises for others when it
sets for us.
seriously on this, while I continue to show you
other marvels and glories of this most precious
At every hour, then, of the day and night this
of the Altar bring
in
treasure.
to
graces in this
us
use the word attendance?
But why do
For
who
hc-ar
attendants at
it,
Mass
not only
fulfil
the
office
of
The
Church
he
all
who
offers to the
is,
all
assist at
it
were, the
price of
is
who
Mass unite
assist at
with him in offering the Holy Sacrifice and therefore he turns to the people and says. Pray, brethren,
that your Sacrifice and mine may be acceptable to God,
in order that we may understand that, although he
;
who are
How is
it
"
the power of
enlightened
possible
You
to
of
lime mysteries
hermit,
Christ
redemption.
make
is
present
by
mankind and
human
who
to
celebrant
way
in general, and at
Apocalypse.
rivals in a certain
it
more,
491
me
call the
earth.
Let us have but a lively faith, and it will convince us that the unspeakable excellences contained
in this adorable Sacrifice are without number nor
shall we then be surprised to see the miracle repeated thousands and thousands of times, at every
hour, and in every place. For the Sacred Humanity
;
of Jesus
granted
ubiquity, not
492
a priest approached
through our own folly and sinfulness. If, therefore, it is the duty of a Christian to centre his
heart's affections on our altars, and to perfume
them with incense and flowers of the sweetest odor,
it is still more necessary to honor them with purity
and modesty, since they are the mercy seats from
which we derive all good.
And you, O priests, join your hands, and, with
hearts thrilling with holy love, gratefully thank
the Eternal Father for having placed you in the
woman, and
at
the
moment
the
Jew
God were
there
it
would
fol-
venly Victim
and,
still
more,
Him
us thank
let
it
for the
this hea-
sublime ends
for
it, if
but in
it,
which
Him
He
be-
works
of
infinitely greater
intelli-
Amazed
peating, "
beyond
O inestimable treasure
all
treasure of love,
human comprehension
re-
"
!
them
The
is infinite.
majesty of
all
to praise
God,
Him.
The
second
is to
many
sins com-
The
third
received from
is to
thank
Him.
Him
for the
many
favors
fourth
good
is to
supplicate
Him
as the giver of
The
of rendering
that our
gifts.
Him
homage may
493
can
offer
compared
to this self-humiliation
Redeemer are
no one
as the feeble
of
our Divine
glimmering of the
stars
You
wonder, perhaps, at
this,
by assisting worthily
at the
ful blindness
Our
One
ever existed,
end of time.
who
And
Sacrifice of the
live
yet,
all
good works of
who have
the Saints
now, or
who
Mass, on account
we
are
we
of its intrinsic
are enabled to
make
a com-
494
and adequate
plete
we
value in
itself,
in a finite
the Mass.
fice of
tioned.
and seek
is
worse, assist at
spiritual
It is
sacrifice.
who wish
Thomas, that
in dignity
all
but
make no
aids,
but
God
Himself, can
souls rise
many Masses as possible, in order that they may obtain the grace of
conversion. To souls, however, who live in grace,
all
it
them
to
Mass
so that to
said of those
who
assist at
Mass.
Thomas,
more regarded than the quantity of the
St.
is
It
is,
in certain cases
God
oblation."
may
And this
quite in
Yet,
all this,
Our
one of gratitude for the countless benefits which our most loving God has bestowed on us. Place together all the gifts and all
the graces you have received from God so many
gifts of nature and grace, body, soul, senses, faculties and health, and life itself; add to all these the
very life of His Son Jesus Christ, and the death
third debt
is
that
He
this increase a
all
to
God?
to
gentleness towards
their
benefactors,
how much
is
so great that we have no means of making an adequate return for the least of these countless favors
as the very least of them, coming from the hand of
;
it is
by an
495
Supreme Bene-
factor.
manner
"
What
benefits to
me ?"
(or,
Lord
for all
King and
;
His
then, an-
cup
will raise
I will
and such
many
favors.
Remember
by our Redeemer
was instituted
is,
496
all
your obligations
His Father."
O, thrice blessed Mass, which places the Son of
God not only in our arms, but also in our heart
little child has been given to us, that we may be
able to do with Him, Him alone, what would be
to
human
weakness, as
most assuredly with Him we can fully and adequately discharge the debt of gratitude we owe to
Almighty God. Yea, in the Holy Mass, in a certain way, we give to God something more than
He
what
Would
that
O great God
we had tongues
to return
Thee
O
in-
infinite
If hitherto it has
thanks for so great a treasure
lain a treasure hidden from you, now that you have
begun to know its surpassing value, can you fail to
exclaim over and over again, " O treasure of treasures
O treasure beyond all price ? "
!
pacifying Victim
supplicatory sacrifice
to
may
require.
then,
know that
Himself prays
for us,
offers
to discover
O
O
from Heaven
In the
first
place
it
calls
down
all
such as
temptations, no matter of
much
as that certainty is
pestilences,
tions, hatreds,
sort.
Him given us
all things ?
world."
are un-
still
greater.
And
you,
why
all this ?
Why
is it
time ?
Him
offered to
on the
altar ?
make you
blessed
Mass
much as you
will
fore,
He
give you.
32
universe.
This grand truth clearly follows from the docdown by St. Thomas, the Angelic Doctor,
says
fruits,
all
all
those
immense
treas-
God poured out so abundantly upon the Church, His Spouse, in the bloody
Sacrifice of the Cross."
Now, pause a while close
this book
read no further at present, but sum up
ures which the Son of
mind
in your
Mass
all
Holy
How
Let
hearing
who
Him
By
your heart.
or celebrating
trine laid
ing I
497
to
men.
we have supposed
considered
would be
taking
the case
sufficient to convert
less children of
votion,
But, alas,
therein.
and we render
sins
and
we narrow
its infinite
iniquities
its
com-
unbounded
treasures of no
value.
Would
summits
of the
498
most
very
Are you not now filled with shame and confusion when you remember how little value you have
hitherto set on Holy Mass ?
But what shall I say
of you if you are one of those who have said a
Mass more, or a Mass less, is of little importance
:
And
all
is
the souls
to lead
empty purgatory
who are being purified therein, and
the bosom of God in Paradise. For
concerned,
them
to
is sufficient to
obtains
purgatory.
me remind you
authenticated in the
him
This
treated
rags,
cruelly,
sufferings of a mendicant.
again,
he
celebrate
From
He
Mass
him
for the
it
Holy Souls
to a priest to
in purgatory.
school,
They
life
What
disposition
for their
tribulations or
Mass
as his
whence he came
forth a great
man and
and one
of the
most
Church.
Now you
see
how one
of receiving from
God
no surer means
And
as
to
Holy Mass
to suffice.
his death-bed,
done for
Masses."
And now
me
St.
for
ought
is
devoutly, shall in
The second motive is, that you yourself may obtain a speedy release from purgatory, and wing your
way
I have already
But, if you need anything more on this subject, the example and the authority of the great
servant of God, John of Avila, the oracle of Spain,
said.
in
and Saints and his advocates, who shall safely defend him from all the assaults of the infernal fiends.
O what a happy and holy death shall you have, if
during life you shall have endeavored to hear Mass
as often as possible
your death.
This truth was understood well by a wealthy
Genoese merchant, who at his death left nothing
for his own soul.
Every one was astonished that
a man so rich, so pious and so generous to all could
have been so cruel to himself at the hour of death.
But after his burial there was found a record in one
of his diaries of what he had done for his soul
during life. I here copy some of the entries
" Masses caused to be celebrated for my soul, two
thousand lire ; for the marriage of poor girls, ten
thousand for such and such a holy sanctuary, two
hundred " and so on.
At the end of this book he wrote " He who
wishes to do good, let him do it during life nor
trust to those who may survive him."
A very trite
old proverb teaches us " That a taper before gives
more light than a torch behind." Weigh seriously
the excellence of Holy Mass, and you will henceforth be astonished at the blindness in which you
lived till now, having disregarded a treasure so
great, so immense, and which was, indeed, for you
Mass
499
The Reunion
of Christendom.
POPE LEO
XIIL
HE
many
as have co-operated
of concurring sentiments.
seemed as
thing
else,
if
it
had centred
its
gaze and
all its
thoughts
office,
consolation.
the
full of affectionate
endeavors.
it
is
Rome.
Therefore, do
the
first
we most
by Whose
and
600
to as
Amidst these
name
of Christians.
concern to us
Catholics.
deal,
the
The
is,
a source of deep
such
The Holy
Those Outside
Catholic Unity.
all possible
rays of
virtue, in
As we
Thee and by
perfect in one."
endeavors,
501
Civilized Nations.
we
see
passed,
to the
of all Nations.
memory
when
our
first
labors for
number of His
who
are
kingdom of Christ.
Ah, but Thou, above all. Saviour and Father
of the
of
The
all
we
trust in the
Him who
mercy of
Who
has power to
incline man's will as He pleases and we turn to
those same nations, exhorting and beseeching them
with fatherly love to put an end to their dissensions
;
to unity.
The Eastern
and we
He may deign
ministers
First of
all,
then,
we
Churches.
cast
an
affectionate' look
we
of the East.
The principal
of the
Roman
is the primacy
them look back to
subject of contention
Pontiff.
But
let
50*2
the
first
Roman
Pontiffs.
Many of these
were lately made manifest when some of our Faithful travelled to the East on a holy enterprise, and
received so
many
Therefore, "
all of
and goodwill.
to you," to you
proofs of courtesy
Our mouth
is
open
We
sep-
earnestly
you should meditate upon the words, so full of gravity and love,
addressed by Bessarion to your forefathers " What
answer shall we give to God when He comes to ask
why we have separated from our brethren to Him
Who, to unite us and bring us into one fold, came
down from Heaven, was incarnate, and was crudesire that each
of
What
cified ?
posterity
will
Oh,
my
venerable Fathers,
we must
by
our brethren."
Weigh carefully in your minds and before God
the nature of our request. It is not for any human
motive, but impelled by Divine charity and a desire
all
and the
Rome,
its
as the legitimate
thought,
selves
we must not
and
so
ill
entertain this
for
'
we advise the reconAnd, accordingly, if we refer to the beginning of ciliation and union with the Church of Rome and
the dissension, we shall see that Photius himself we mean a perfect and complete union, such as
was careful to send his advocates to Rome on the could not subsist in any way if nothing else were
matters that concerned him and Pope Nicholas I. brought about but a certain kind of agreement in
Christ here on earth.
love.
which Jesus Christ, the Author of the Church, instituted and desired, and which consists in a unity
of faith and a unity of government.
Nor is there any reason for you to fear on that
account, that we or any of our successors will ever
diminish your rights, the privileges of your patriarchs, or the established ritual of any one of your
churches. It has been, and always will be, the intent and tradition of the Apostolic See to make a
large allowance, in all that is right and good, for
the primitive traditions and special customs of
every nation. On the contrary, if you re-establish
union with us, you will see how, by God's bounty,
the glory and dignity of your Churches will be i^emarkably increased.
power of the
Roman
Pontiffs.
feeling.
To mention an
May
The
is
that
that
503
of religion is in these,
they have
away, on many and important points, into
the novelty of various errors nor will they deny
that of what may be called the patrimony of truth,
drifted
of
in
their desertion,
there
now
scarcely remains to
is
really certain
Appeal
Suffer that
to the Slavs.
we should
ious
name and
ancient record.
you whose
glor-
many an
how much the
well
vation.
And
hence the admirable interchange which existed for so long between the Slavonic nations and
the Pontiffs of Rome, of favors on the one side and
of filial devotion on the other.
many
If in
unhappy times
may
fall
away
and Rationalism.
Therefore
do we
of
disciples.
mark
is it,
With no
is
on
this account
Way of
that
many
Salvation.
of
those
we
sure
lution of things
and circumstances.
Let them
them
human,
onl)' truth
way
of salvation
for
which
is
the Church
Christian faith
if
504
Rome
from the
successions of the Church of
Apostles, the integrity of her doctrine, and the consistency of her rule and discipline.
With the example of such men before you, our
heart appeals to you even more than our words to
you, our brethren, who for three centuries and
:
more
all
differ
from us on Christian
who
likewise
in
later
faith
and to you
any reason
times, for
away from us
" Let us
all meet into the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God." Suffer that we should
invite you to the unity which has ever existed in
suffer
the Catholic Church and can never fail
that we should lovingly hold out our hand to you.
The Church, as the common mother of all, has long
been calling you back to her the Catholics of the
world await you with brotherly love, that you may
render holy worship to God together with us, united
in perfect charity by the profession of one Gospel,
one faith, and one hope.
;
their
On
to Christian
office
unity
and mission
is
it
is to
school
mankind in the
by safe-
power, nor
is
selfish desire
but this one thing she does wish, this only does
Exhortations to Catholics.
To
Catholics,
while
it
whom
Roman
faith,
There
is
no
nevertheless, they
must be admonished,
lest
Therefore
mother
making
yea,
it
large
to the exigencies
of
rights, as the
the Civil
Power
are Distinct.
Nothing
is
and
hate,
and
to bring
spitefully calumniate
governments.
Hence
it
is
plun-
hatched
Almighty, has
Rome, the
Such a policy
is
it
very reason that it is in open conwith the purposes of God. When God, in His
sphere.
has
It
set
up
its
capital
and as
it
if
throne in this
of
the Catholic
world.
But what
is
most disastrous
is,
that wherever
it
has
penetrates into all ranks and departments of the Commonwealth, in the hope of
obtaining at last supreme control. This is, indeed,
a great calamity
for its depraved principles and
iniquitous designs are well known.
Under the preset its foot it
lence.
its
its
its plots,
very city of
solidate its
to defy the
505
it
man and
attacks Christianity
of reconit
rejects
every sacred
thing as
superstition
flict
it
education of youth, and from every form of instruction whether public or private, and to root out from
and administration.
rights and
but it is
necessary that each should be united with the other
in the bonds of concord.
Thus will it come about
;
Church and
State
and
to
God
The
human
Evils of Freemasonry.
men
all
or Divine.
justice to be
nature,
measured and
regulated.
the minds of
man
and success,
it
is
606
Benefits of Unity.
Were
this twofold
ments and
it is
Church.
She would
late,
broken,
men
if
but
are
exalteth a nation."
Common
Weal.
office of
the
is
As
life
in
its
of the state
itself,
common
weal
much
Commonwealth.
outrages
testifies.
social,
-which
Both
We behold
For many
and
control, to
life
robust
young men
vails,
were,
cannot last
armed
much
peace, which
longer.
Can
now
pre-
this be the
normal condition of human society ? Yet we cannot escape from this situation and obtain true peace
except by the aid of Jesus Christ. For to repress
ambition and covetousness and envy the chief instigators of war
nothing is more fitted than the
and the
faith of treaties
We
faith.
treated
standpoint of principles
may be
The
are
tian
and
maintained invio-
As
Political Question.
with authority
two things
which many confound in theory and separate too
widely in practice most efficient aid may be derived from Christian philosophy.
For, when this
point has been settled and recognized by common
agreement, that whatsoever the form of government the authority is from God, reason at once
reconciling liberty
perceives that in
obedience
and God
Him
in authority
if
they
fail to rep-
justice.
no one
to
since,
by truth and
public order.
fluence
is
Lastly, if
it
be considered what
in-
much
it
concerns the
common
sion assigned
507
by God
manner
growth
of this great
All Should
can hardly be imagined what immediate and rapid progress would be made all over the
first
contests
de-
common
it.
go on by
work, which sprang from the labors of former centuries, were rapidly receiving large development,
when all of a sudden the discord of the sixteenth
century broke out. Christendom was torn with
from
to Europe, to
welfare,
Labor
all,
for Unity,
assiduity to
concord.
In order to bring
about this concord, and spread abroad the benefits
of the Christian revelation, the present is the most
and prosperity,
with the establishment of tranquillity and peace,
the promotion of studies, the founding and the
multiplying on Christian lines according to our
eagerly, in order to
earth, in all
of greatness
soil, for
seasonable time
for
know them
scientific investigations,
Unity
And
Would Bring
Blessings to Uncivilized
Nations.
Most
God with
still
man
prevails in so
yet
many
if
regard
removed
miserable
parts of the
measure
tion of the
Word
of
God
better
and
to
help
We beg of
to their statesmanship
people, to
508
favor.
of further evils in
May
Who
in the unity of
and in Whose
power are the times and moments," grant our wishes
and desires, and in His great goodness hasten the
God,
of
POPE LEO
up
mC
XIII.
The
F.
CLARKE,
S.J.
an unfathomable
ist
1.
tion
all
It is itself
it
is
It is
the very
2.
patient, so
much
From
which
it
509
510
love raised to
It
we
it is
joined.
What
tically
to
3. It is
has
itself
experienced
that
all
The
we
Sacred Heart
suffer.
Each
echo there. Jesus not only understands all our troubles, but each has been felt by
Him in His own person. What a relief to have
One who always has for us unlimited sympathy!
misery has
4th Day.
its
The
Mary
wounded by
their unkindness.
conceived
Heart of Jesus
first
began
to throb
with unspeak-
to
which
it
Day.The
5th
its
My
troubles
as long
and sorrows
Heart.
1.
message came
to
Mary, and
His love
man.
What was
her prevailing
sentiment in contemplating this mystery of Divine
compassion ?
We know it from her own words.
She desired that her heart should humbly co-operate with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that she, in
the lowly capacity of His handmaid, should be allowed to take her share in the work He had come
for fallen
to do.
means of
up the
filling
places in
Heaven
of
who had
those
A few
Heart of Jesus.
womb
The
stain of sin
too,
only
and clad
To
me,
It
first
men
the sorrows of
all
2.
Womb.
Divine compassion
6th Day.
The
it
it
Sacred Heart.
I. What was the
first thought
that flashed
through the Sacred Heart of Jesus ? Naught else
than an act of complete and absolute submission to
the holy will of God " Lo, I come to do Thy will,
O my God," and a joy in the prospect of living for
:
Thy
law
is
tion
of
all
this
within
my
holiness
" I
am content
heart."
perfect
Here
to
is
do
it
conformity to
How
yea,
the founda-
the
God
to do.
sent His
Son
sadly want-
God had
sent
Him
He received
world through
with joy the task of the world's redemption, though
Him
He knew
might be saved.
would
cost
Him.
I shall
The
will of
Heart
of
The
So now
He
rich reward.
little
8th Day.
1.
Look
The
and
behold the fairest of all the children of men nestHow those two
ling on His Holy Mother's breast.
Mary's Immaculate
Hearts beat in perfect unison
Heart receiving from the Heart of Jesus a stream
of grace that flowed on continually without let or
obstacle. Jesus, in turn, rejoicing with unspeakable
joy at the only heart that satisfied His longings and
!
fulfilled
2.
them a
destines for
more
7th Day.
He
around, and
God
511
His hopes.
like
that
my
Mary's
Look
at the
to the
direction.
He
is
just
Him
in this
512
gth Day.
Life.
In the Public Ministry of our Lord the wonderful attractiveness of the Sacred Heart cannot
fail to strike even the surface reader of the Gospels.
1.
He
drew
all
men
Him
to
all
He
me
loves
fondly, tenderly,
self-sufficient,
There
is
of Jesus as
any
any such
me ?
loth
in
sin loved
Day.The
love!
2.
sake.
3.
am drawn to Him.
2. What was the
What
and indulged.
Is there
Among
Apostles.
Me
My
our Lord, will one day thank us for our poor services, and treat us as if He were indebted to us.
Christ my debtor for His love to me
Yet it is a
fact of the Divine love.
!
iith
Day.
personality.
Hence, His Sacred Heart has the
dignity which belongs, in virtue of His Divine nature, to the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. It
is,
human
the
Ye
My
in
ity,
Sacred Heart
"
heart;
just
the
fire into
which
its
as a piece of
it
is
it
iron
does
not
plunged.
Rejoice in the
His twelve Apostles received a share corresponding to the place of privilege that they occupied.
In the prayer He offered to His Eternal
Father before His Passion they occupy a special
I.
If
dwelt.
place
Thou
"
Me
that
in
2.
The
closest
What
capable of possessing.
is
there that
it
cannot effect ? It has in itself the power of working miracles. It shares the Divine prerogative of
unbounded mercy. As from the sun flow light and
heat, so from the Heart of Jesus flow all possible
supernatural graces. What, then, may not I expect
from
its
I2th
Day.
Divine generosity
The
The sanctity of the Sacred Heart is the sanctity of One who is God as well as man.
The
Heart
of
hates
sin
as
Sacred
God hates it,
Jesus
loathes it with inexpressible loathing.
How, then,
can I, who am so full of sin, venture to appeal to
1.
my
of correspondence to
come
to
Him
to
If sins
own. It
still
is
cling to
owing
to
me
my
be healed of
to
13th Day.
we are
capable of receiving.
He
33
None apprewho
of
the friend
who
their difficulties
to
3.
What
He
How
fill
it
consolations
who
Him to
He pours
grieves
Him.
What
How He
Him
It
is,
14th Day.
Chief Desires
He several
He had most
at heart, and what was the work He had chiefly
come to perform. He told them that He had come to
1.
earth.
all sin.
3.
rivulets of grace as
it is
want
513
is
separated
send fire on the earth, and asked them what else they
could expect Him to desire except that that fire
should speedily be enkindled. (St. Luke, xii. 49.)
Yes, Jesus came to kindle on earth the fire of
Divine love. Does this fire burn brightly in my
heart,
514
love
Him
the
fire
How this
of
St.
fire
burned in
How
God
how
must
of a
fections, natural
human
soul is capable.
the soul,
Its sweet-
Am
received
streams to
What
all
them
all
who
to others.
it
in copious
3.
Jesus
my friend.
He
me
He
is
the Friend
woe to
if I am hard
on sinners as the Pharisees were.
is the Friend
of sinners I can, therefore, win His love by showing great kindness and tenderness and love to these.
His friends. How many there are whom I might
help to love Him, and so take part in the work of
Divine charity that He wrought among sinners
;
17th
Day.
The
Sacred Heart
Among
Little
Children.
of
man
continually flows
circulates
i6th Day.
One
is
self
3.
love.
2.
of the things at
2.
anotter
Him
shouted to
in childish glee
name
Him
when
occasion,
the
children
" Blessed is
of the Lord
!"
He
the Pharisees
begged
19th
them.
to silence
1.
Thou
As if
Perfected praise!
sweeter to
Him
crowd.
3.
still
i8th Day.
Cravings
What
that
1.
is it
strong desire?
It
we
is,
to
obe-
Am I such
Him
to
He
their love.
still cries
He came
your
2.
What
desire one
and
all
of
He
love.
Alas
how
faintly I
have
to
He
ask for?
What
that
There
is
for every
The woman
on earth.
is
the same
2.
To
who
those
of
now
still
love Jesus
makes
He
all
imparts a sweet-
How am I
Heart
He was
Samaria gave Him a
drink of water, and in return He gave her the
grace of eternal life. Zacheus left his business to
see Him, and in return salvation came to all his
house. St. Mary Magdalen poured upon His Head
a little box of ointment, and her gift obtained for
her a name as long as the world shall last, and an
everlasting reward in Heaven.
The Sacred Heart
little
with a
The Heart
be loved.
its
3.
of the Sacred
remembrance.
loved in return.
are
Gratitude
I thirst for
Day.
of Jesus
was that
515
Heaven ?
it,
our hearts
obedience
20th Day.
I.
fair,
We often
see a
616
2.
brilliant
promise comes to
anger,
sion,
sloth,
impatience,
self-indulgence,
and
ill-feeling,
word.
made ?
Alas
grace in
little
things.
Day.
it
22d Day.
There
is
heart of one
of
who
and
He
is to all,
how
forbearing,
how
sweet and patient and winning in His demeanor. They must, indeed, have been hard and
nothing else
Jesus
than a history of continual sorrow. He is termed
in Holy Scripture " the Man of sorrows."
Sorrowful He came into the world in sorrow He grew up
to manhood.
In sorrow He gazed into the hearts
of men, and saw there what He hated most.
In
sorrow He witnessed their refusal to listen to His
Divine call. In sorrow bitter sorrow He watched
the falling away of one of the chosen Twelve. In
sorrow He heard of the denial of St. Peter. In
sorrow He was betrayed, mocked, scourged, crucified.
Was there ever sorrow like His ?
2. What caused Him the greatest sorrow of all ?
1.
of
is
The
forth, the
3.
of sinners.
All
who were
Divine
its
23d Day.
The
During our Lord's Sacred Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, his mental desolation and distress seem to have been more intense, more crushing
than at any subsequent part of His Sacred Passion,
saving only when on the Cross He cried " My
I.
God,
My
God,
During the
why
hast
Thou
He
forsaken
Me?"
seemed almost
617
to rejoice
full of terror
He
24th Day.
1.
When
what
shall be
man
is
derers
who
for all
sin deliberately.
25th Day.
When
whose
Body hung
lifeless
the Church.
With
it
as His executioners
and as He hung there
amid the insults and derision of the Scribes and
"Father, forgive them." This is the
Pharisees
prevailing impulse of the Sacred Heart to obtain
forgiveness for those who ill-treated and cruci-
the Lamb.
Him
repeating
to the Cross,
fied
Him
What
contrast
to the
prayer of the
Lord, give
shall
else but
Thee.
26th Day.
^The
Resurrection.
Sacred Heart
3.
their robes
deserve.
make
which does not really exist ? What a contrast between Jesus and myself
What need I have to
pray: "Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make
my heart like unto Thy Heart."
Do
When
518
forgive
like
men
to
be at peace
at peace in themselves,
and
at peace
any
respect-
He
and
it
The wish
credulous
we ought
it
desire
to
to
will rather
make us
foolishly
perception of truth.
27th Day.
Sacred
Heart
in
Heaven.
Him
at the right
He
3.
What
a consolation for us
has another work in Heaven which
!
He
Himself announced.
His
He
disciples, " I
go
to prepare a place for you."
I go to bestow on you
the graces necessary to obtain. I go to help you
to fight the battle and win the crown.
My Sacred
Heart will never be satisfied till you are all there
with Me, rejoicing forever before the throne of God.
Jesus, my Lord and my God
grant that I may
told
not
fail
of
my
28th Day.
Where
1.
eternal reward.
shall
we
at
them
He
loves us as
2.
Nor
is
as ever.
all.
When He ascended
that He would send
into
Heaven, He promised
the
Holy Ghost the Paraclete to abide forever with His
disciples.
But as it were by some Divine afterthought. He seemed not to be satisfied by thus
sending the Holy Spirit to take His place. He determined to remain amongst those He loved. In
every tabernacle He waits and watches for the visits
of His faithful children, longing for them to come
and talk to Him and tell Him their troubles and
their needs, their joys and sorrows, their hopes and
fears
and He is always ready to listen to and comfort them and to grant their prayers.
how often is He neglected. His
3. Yet, alas
loving Heart longs for some one to come and hold
converse with Him, but how often It looks and longs
in vain for hours, or it may be for days.
How have
1 treated Jesus in the tabernacle ?
Do I pay Him
little visits of love when I can, and tell Him how I
love Him, and wish to love Him more ?
;
hand of
much
this
2gth Day.
Confidences
He
619
That
may
ever love
2.
Jesus,
Make my
3.
3-
Moved by
vant, our
sorrow
love.
4-
Heart of
Jesus, create in
me
within me.
spirit
5-
O How good
who
is
The
Heart of
There
is
my
30th Day.
heart,
of her love
as least say
who
offer
my
My
Jesus,
mercy.
10.
May
Kindle
Jesus,
praised,
moment, in all
Amen.
time.
II.
Offering Before a Representation of the Sacred Heart.
My
make
Thee
my
with
Thy
heart,
and
help, I
Thee
and,
THE MINISTRY OF
JESUS.
First
Week
St.
I.
Matt.
iii.
F.
CLARKE,
S.J.
to the
It
that our
painful fast.
He was
Him
was Lord
First
of all creation.
Week
Tuesday.
His
obedient.
First
beasts.
13-17.
At the end
Fasting.
disguised,
said, as
one
of
the hermits
I.
it
Temptation.
1.
He had
fasted
for
into
I.
His
who
and pours
to the
He Who
THE MINISTRY OF
had been nursed in Mary's bosom, and carried in
the faithful arms of His dear foster-father, St.
Joseph, now allowed Himself to be borne hither
and thither by the being whom He loathed and
hated with His whole soul. This was, indeed, a
painful beginning of His Sacred Ministry.
2. Why did Christ allow Himself to be tempted ?
Did He not already know perfectly every wile and
deceit of Satan ? Yes, He knew them, but not by
experience.
He wanted us to have the consolation
of knowing that He suffered being tempted that
He endured the misery of being haunted with the
and that therefore He,
foul suggestions of Hell
;
Lamb
the sinless
of
There is no arguing with him, no discussion. Our Lord deals with the enemy promptly,
boldly, firmly, with decision.
Sharp and clear is
His answer, and very unmistakable is the rebuff
given to His assailant. When Christ says, " Get
thee hence," Satan is glad to leave Him. So we
should meet temptation, promptly, boldly, fearlessly,
and then Satan will be glad to leave us.
JESUS.
521
manifesting
God
aim.
in seeking
it to all of us if we persevere
Even though by nature harsh, God
will give
it.
What was
the work
it
was
the
He was
to take
sent to do
away the
St.
John
i.
of God.
29-34.
John the Baptist, seeing our Lord approaching, cries aloud " Behold the Lamb of God, behold
St.
Him Who
Lord's character
is
lamb.
This
is
what made
but the
Lamb
God.
His
is
St.
It is the
of
of
Divine charity
Lamb
John
God,
us that
of
tells
Meek-
power
meek
" the
shall
for
sinners
is
in
me
Lamb
of
God
there
of the
Week
First
the grace of
for
Thursday.
John
i.
hearing
their
follow
Him.
Simon
to
repentance.
Alas
how
St.
St.
our souls.
First
Disciples.
35-42.
of
John's disciples,
respecting Jesus,
St.
master's words
Messias."
1.
St.
model
to
We
tell
the
the tempter.
First
office of
make Jesus
lovable in
One
St.
Andrew
THE MINISTRY OF
522
JESUS.
Rock on which the Church of her, but at her bidding He turns six jars of water
into the choicest wine. She notices their perplexity
is with all who
They are sure and hastens to relieve it.
and insensibly
to convert others,
What
for good.
happiness for us
if
we bring only
Week
Friday,
John
St.
Nathanael.
45-51.
i.
Who
him
as "
guile."
them
to influence
greets
whom there is no
him that He saw him when
an
Israelite, indeed, in
Philip found
fig-tree
and Nathanael
Israel.
1.
Philip
is
man
He
whom
His banner.
we
of good-will, to
It is a great
mark
2.
Nathanael
is
incredulous at
of such indifferent
of love to Jesus,
His love
repute as
first
if
to others,
he will not
come from
a place
Nazareth, but at
by reason of
their origin.
1.
Our Lord
when brought
natural
is
a gift that
men
possess in proportion to
First
Week:
Saturday.
St.
John
Marriage
ii.
at Cana.
i-ii.
His
much more
(3)
Divine authority.
3. Nathanael does not remain long incredulous in
the presence of the Son of God. All men of good-
Second
in
Heaven
Week
St.
Jesus,
sheep
drives
John
finding in the
ii.
13-17.
Temple
sellers of oxen,
trading,
them out with a scourge of small cords, saythem " Make not the house of My Father
ing to
a house of trafl&c."
I. The anger of the Son of God is roused by the
indignity done to His Father's house by those who
traded therein.
God is always jealous of any encroachment of worldly things on what is conse:
crated to
Him.
Woe
to those
who turn
to secular
be to perform
all
that
THE MINISTRY OF
His due or what I have devoted to be His ?
2. There is one respect in which all have failed
in giving to God His due. In our prayers, at Holy-
what
is
my
John
18-25.
JESUS.
523
How
be in our eyes
How carefully we should guard
them against any defilement of iijtemperance or
to
Second
Week
Tuesday.
St.
John
Visit of Nicodemus.
i, 2.
iii.
When
to
them
He
of
all
ill-will reject
2.
is
is
vain."
conscience unhindered.
3.
Our Lord
he was ashamed
3.
God
Body
as the temple of
to
come
to
He
them.
and makes
allowance for
all
least
is to
Him.
Second
love
St.
I believe
Our Lord
John
declares to
iii.
Birth.
3-8.
Jesus
When Nicodemus
is
declares
his
belief
that
Lord answers
THE MINISTRY OF
524
He tells him
that,
man
Unless a
Kingdom
Who
My
means
born, again."
Kingdom
of
taught of
The
Gospel.
blessed
Thank God
It is given to
noiselessly and like a gentle wind.
all who ask it, and though they know not whence
it comes, yet they recognize it as a voice from God.
this Voice,
Second
Thursday.
St.
we
are blind
and deaf
Our Lord
3.
John
iii.
furthers tells
him
Vision.
Happy
those
to
whom
Jesus
teaches
heavenly truths
Second
Week
Friday.
St.
John
14-21.
be ever obedient
Heavenly
O Jesus, may I
Week
He
To
JESUS.
Gift.
9-13.
who
believe in
Him
should not perish, but have eternal life. O merciful Jesus, what a remedy Thou hast provided for
One look of faith and
the deadly effects of sin
them.
The
1.
demus' ignorance
is
He
who
expects of others.
is
There
is
scarcely anyone
God
members
Jesus had explained to Nicodemus, by a metaphor from sensible things, the meaning of the new
2.
birth
soul.
all is
forgiven
because
men
THE MINISTRY OF
to
their
own
perverse ways.
demned by
Second
Alas
have not I
lest I should be con!
Week
Saturday,
St.
John
St.
23-36.
Some
Him, inform their master. St. John declares that the new Teacher is the Bridegroom, the
Spouse of His Bride the Church that it is his own
to
He
is
On the
He
that
Lord of Lords
is
King
Kings and
of
I
am
always
safe.
St.
John
of Samaria.
iv. 1-9.
A woman
water, and
is
of Samaria comes to
He was wearied
sin
Him
for those
at the
Him by my
wearied
His voice
obstinacy
calling me.
Qucsrens
sedisti lassus.
labored to bring
obey
Our Lord
2.
Him a little
strangers.
The woman
3.
is
The
spise none.
Third
St.
John
iv.
Living Water.
10-15.
and
will
make
up
to life everlasting,
it
visit
the
well.
I.
gift of
God
"
This
our needs.
If
man from
all
Third
draw
ing to
to Jesus.
iii.
625
it ?
Testimony
men
JESUS.
come
If
know
how frequent,
God, help me to
only we
persevering
the value of
O
Thy
gifts.
all this,
and in the
how
how
life to
different our
fervent,
how
appreciate better
THE MINISTRY OF
526
2.
who ask
to all
for
He
Spirit, that
it
Holy
gift,
them
and strengthens
refreshes
fluence of the
Holy
Give to me, O
3. This living water includes in itself all spiritual
delights.
It is that of which our Lord promises
that He will give us to drink in Heaven freely, and
in a measure so abundant as to satisfy all our deIt is this
sires, not drop by drop, as here on earth.
living water the sweetness of which this poor
Samaritan could not understand, as none can who
3.
JESUS.
At the same
true
God
still
John
St.
iv.
Temple
at J'erusalem that
He
woman
He
of the Catholic Church and its uniand how He would be present, God
as well as Man, on every altar, where true adorers
would adore Him in spirit and in truth. Thank
God that you are one of that happy company.
Third
of the
Samaritans.
St.
Our Lord
is
John
26-42.
iv.
that
He
dis-
declares
the Christ
ciples,
to
woman
the
woman
the
provisions,
and
tells
converts many.
16-25.
1.
the
was thinking
city,
tells
versal sway,
are
is
Lord
time, our
The
coming
be solved, as
to
Him
if
such
difficulties are to
it
was
growing
faith
her that
He
and in
The woman
truth.
So,
when we
tell
we shall
we speak with
if
we
worshipped.
They bow
know
is
not
is
listens
good-will, reveals to
and believes
at once.
Do
to stay
similar appreciation
or actually
ramental veils
THE MINISTRY OF
Third
Week
Thursday.
John
St.
iv.
Ripening
Harvest.
He
faith.
He
31-38.
JESUS.
is
527
it
never occurs to
of faith or love.
food
is to
2.
the
field of
work ready
It
may
coming
be
in a
be that He spoke of
the great harvest of both Jews and Gentiles. Now,
as then, there are fields waiting the reaper.
What
do I do to help in the harvest ? by alms, by my own
crowd
to hear
Him.
It
may
personal
He
account.
breath of
2.
Thy
My
a tiny spark.
Third
Week
St John
Our Lord,
iv.
46-54.
arrives at Cana,
The
ruler of
partial
and love
it
indeed, but
is,
grace.
to say to those
who
listened
He
by one word
He
down
wrought the
He
to his
cure.
we
So,
ask, but
This we
should remember when our petitions seem to pass
eventually
unheeded.
Third
Week:
Saturday. Synagogue at
Nazareth.
St.
Jesus, fan
3. "
often
faith
Luke iv.
16-22.
eagerly
He
is
listened to
Something
thrills the
to
THE MINISTRY OF
528
What
Christ proclaims
is it
That
He
is
Fourth
them
Can
Week
Fourth
Sunday.
Own
St.
Our Lord
He is
I resist
them now ?
A Prophet in His
Country.
Lnke
iv.
23-24.
to be rejected in
will not
and illustrates His intention by the example of Elias and Eliseus, who passed by their
own countrymen to carry their message of mercy
elsewhere
to strangers.
1.
Our Lord
expect
on
Him
to
is
They
founded
of the
Nazarenes.
St Luke
strange boldness in the Son of Joseph the carpenter. Yet He held them spellbound. They could not
to yourself.
resist
JESUS.
iv. 25-30.
in fallible
man.
2.
What
a lesson for us
3. Jesus' hour was not yet come, aud the maddened crowd of His enemies suddenly missed Him.
their dignity.
He had
tect
will pro-
No
one
Fourth
Week Tuesday.Call
:
of the
Fishermen.
St.
Matt
iv. 18-22.
naum.
Galilee,
He
sees
THE MINISTRY OF
Andrew fishing, and calls them to come
They immediately leave their nets
after Him.
Him.
He afterwards calls John and
follow
and
James, the sous of ZeTaedee, who obey with similar
Peter and
JESUS.
529
who do not
resist his
evil suggestions.
2.
The unclean
spirit could
1.
It regarded Him
with terror and dismay as its deadliest enemy, and
" What have we to do
at the same time its Lord.
drawn
John i.
alacrity.
Have
I the good-will of
these disciples ?
and
what a privilege
to be
correct estimate of us
shine in them to
who
shall
virtue
Fourth
Week
Thursday.
father Zebedee,
He
nets, fish-
and
must be
calls,
Him ?
Synagogue
St.
At Caphamaum,
Mark
i.
at
21-24.
as at Nazareth, Jesus
went
to
84
any power
and orders
Out
of the
it
i.
25-28.
silence
on the unclean
The
spirit,
devil throws
who has
darkness.
Caphamaum.
St Matt.
all eternity.
when
Casting
Devil.
bask and
my
for
all
Cod.
is
THE MINISTRY OF
530
the devil
about to depart.
is
malice of one
3.
When
who knows
the struggle
It is
the impotent
by
natural
their
ties,
and
incredulity.
He
listens
But he recognizes
to the prayers of His
disciples
Saturday.
Caphamaum.
at
St.
Mark
34-38.
i.
knew Him. In
worked
He
His work of mercy, and
very early in the morning He went out into the
desert to pray.
There His disciples find Him, and
when they urge Him to return, He tells them that
He is sent to preach in other towns and cities as well.
suffered not to speak because they
the evening
1.
30-33.
freed
St Matt.
Week
Fourth
is short.
JESUS.
The
latter is
How reluctant
the former.
What
He
So
He
wicked men.
The
blighted.
first
Part
II.
to
Enemies.
Fifth
I.
Week: Sunday.The
Beatitudes:
connection or relationship.
Spirit.
suflFerer
" Lord,
if I
may but
hem of His
O Jesus, lay Thy
touch the
Our
Kingdom
of
poor in
Heaven."
to
the
THE MINISTRY OF
All
1.
men
desire happiness.
seeking to attain
Our
lives.
It is the
it.
We
cannot help
ing
it.
First
2.
The world
necessary to happiness.
spirit as
Get
rich,
and you
ness to resign
3.
The
What
all
does
will be
we
sin.
(2)
poverty of spirit
if
best of
sions,
all,
that
to resign
He
To
may
all
follow
such our
Week: Monday.The
Fifth
2.
Beatitudes:
"
3.
Fifth
It is
"
We
without knowing
it.
others
wish
How
true this
Week Tuesday.The
Beatitudes
Blessed are they that Mourn.
:
3.
St.
Matt.
V. 5.
comforted."
Why
1.
is it
a blessed thing to
mourn?
the character.
and
Even
purifies
thus paves the way for superSorrow, too, under the influence
It
natural graces.
world,
Do
mourn over
their
But
mourn over sin unless we have
that aversion from it in which purity of heart consins.
we cannot
Meekness
the land."
2.
land."
mility.
to
(i)
we know
makes us
them
He mean by
531
be had without
1.
words
of
says,
JESUS.
sists.
do.
really
mourn over
the
we esteem
3.
How
lightly at present
it
Their consolation is
not far away. It will soon pour sweetness into
their heart nay, their very sorrow has in it already
an element of sweetness which tells of the joy in
shall surely be comforted.
THE MINISTRY OF
532
Week: Wednesday.
Fifth
4.
after Justice.
Hunger and
hunger and
justice, for
What
Beatitudes:
Thirst
st. Matt. v. 6.
1.
The
is it to
hunger and
thirst after
There
thirst
is
which
after justice
is
to be
found in the
They
and sufferings
pect of
hearted.
words, "
all
heavenly country.
my
the
hunger and
It is
the pros-
are
case?
When
Paradise
light-
Am
3.
thirst
after justice
fill.
Even in this life the Saints
Domine " Enough, O Lord," when
5.
V. 7.
mercy."
who
my fellow-sinners ?
are the methods
my
characteristics ?
Fifth
6.
Week
Friday.The Beatitudes
is
see God."
1.
The
vision of
God
is
ment of all
The
enjoy-
Beatitudes
those
I severe
its
Week Thursday.The
Mercy
to
What
Or am
I.
Fifth
To
repeat the
do I
sentiment ?
3.
God
and hard
the love of
flection of
forgiven.
fill."
JESUS.
It is
the re-
God
any cost.
2. To do this I must fulfil the condition our Lord
here lays down. I must be clean of heart. I must
never allow my aflfections to fix themselves on any
vision of
at
THE MINISTRY OF
know
JESUS.
633
that in so doing I
creature on earth,
when
attractive or intense, if I
else I shall be in
God
3.
know
that
God
forbids
it,
my love
of
as
is
7.
Matt. V.
by those around
The Gospel
We
self-will.
We
evil
passions,
are sometimes
who
follow Christ.
It is
one of
inflicted
child,
sition,
worldly influence
those
to
is
forfeited.
Blessed are
justice' sake.
9.
1.
for
Heaven."
lot of all
God
Saturday.The Beatitudes.
of
the
bitter
Week
Kingdom
Fifth
among
be welcome
8.
to all eternity.
and
all will
Sometimes God allows His friends to be persecuted and misunderstood, not so much by evil
men, or worldly relations, or lax Christians, as by
those who are holy and devoted to Him. It has
been said that the most cruel form of persecution
is that which is inflicted by a holy man, or a Re2.
The
ligious Superior.
What
we
are persecuted.
is
justice'
Sixth
sake?
None
else
Our Lord
tells
Matt. V. 13-16.
His
by
their teaching
to preserve the
and ex-
THE MINISTRY OF
534
They
tion.
are,
moreover,
tiie
and must
often happened
and
fervor.
The
2.
the eyes of
their light
under a bushel,
They must
since God requires
not hide
of
in the
bright-
The
3.
men
their
aim
ourselves.
Sixth
Week: Tuesday.The
the
Fulfilling of
Law.
well as of act.
I.
The law of
Christ includes
all
the precepts of
to be so important, that
JESUS.
warning suitable
to
of God.
all
Am I as careful as I ought to
Sixth
all
be to avoid
them ?
Matt.
1-13.
vi.
disciples
against giving
Certainly not.
Our
THE MINISTRY OF
rule should be to act in the presence of others just
the temptation to
If
as
for
you
Sixth
"
Week
Thursday.
On the Laying
up of
Treasure.
how
light be darkness,
be!
The
1.
eye
it is
which
movements of
So it is the in-
directs the
its
aim.
to
to
some resource
in
of need,
We
535
1.
JESUS.
feel
self,
The
ure to
2.
that of
and lays up
the
treas-
all eternity.
How
God
We
tions to
the want of something on which to rely for deOur Lord bids His disciples lay
clining years.
we
up such a treasure, not on earth, where it is perishable and insecure, but in Heaven, for a treasure in
Heaven will avail us even on earth. God will not
allow those to want who have committed their
treasure to Him, and it will earn for us a rich
harvest of joy and happiness to all eternity.
for God
and as the
whole body is full of light if the eye be single, so
our whole life becomes bright before God, if we
offer our actions up to Him, and do them for His
2.
Men
riches.
There is a fascinaThey
tion in it, and the more they have the more they
desire.
Jesus Christ tells His disciples that they
must employ their activity in collecting treasures
Every act of charity,
for Heaven, not for earth.
every prayer, every good thought, every battle
enjoy the activity of
it.
do.
supernatural light
life,
the
Heaven.
3. Our Lord gives another reason for laying up
treasure in Heaven. We fix our hearts on what
we value most as our treasure grows, our love for
it grows. If we desire to love the things of Heaven,
we must lay up our treasure there. O death, how
terrible thou art to the man who has peace in his
earthly goods and we may add. How sweet to him
who has a rich treasure in Heaven
inherit in
Sixth
Week:
Friday.
On
Purity of Intention.
The
light of the
the soul
is
body
is
the eye
we
the light of
act.
If that
sake.
If
Sixth
during
when done
Week
Saturday.
St.
On Confidence in God.
Matt.
vi.
25-34.
against
lilies
of the
THE MINISTRY OF
536
cry out
Thee
"
O my God, I
ever.
To Thee
Forsake
troubles, needs.
Thee still,
commit all
trust
me
not,
I will trust
my
O God
cares,
of
my
salvation."
2. If
is it
sourceless, discontented
trust
Him.
It is
Seventh
Week Monday. On
:
condition.
Week
Sunday.
On
Rash Judgment.
We
It is
JESUS.
the Efficacy of
Prayer.
St.
"Ask and
Matt.
vii.
7-11.
it
shall be given
knock and
it
shall be
God ?
desire to be similarly
In order to enforce this still more, He promwho ask shall receive. He reminds us
that the father gives good things to His children
who ask for them, and that God, whose love for us
is immeasurably greater than that of the fondest
father for his darling child, cannot refuse good
we make no
If
effort to correct
we take a
me if I were to be judged
Shall I not need the most lenient
interpretatiou, and every possible excuse for my
2.
things to us.
to give to
We
countless faults?
my own
Seventh
Week
Tuesday.
On Judging by
Results.
St. Matt. vii. 16-23.
sake,
to
with severity?
of
"
I.
By
It is
of the
their fruits
wisdom or
rectitude of
any course of
action
THE MINISTRY OF
if
results,
its
sity
bring glory to
is
good.
It
and
love
does
537
by
'
JESUS.
Not at
it.
first,
evil.
their
Seventh
Week
Thursday.
The Miraculous
Draught of Fishes.
we
or the devil
clearly
sects.
and
many
individual Pro-
Seventh
Upon
the Rock.
He who
1.
Our Lord
ment.
None
life
Day
of Judg-
Heaven save
will,
yet
even performed miracles
lowed their own will, not God's,
;
if
they have
fol-
them nothing.
2. Only those who thus do the
St.
God
will
V. i-ii.
down
their nets.
multitude of
fishes.
work.
(3)
listened to
most
secular.
What was
will of
Ivuke
THE MINISTRY OF
538
Seventh
Week
MaU.
St.
Thou
if
wilt
Thou
Christ, saying
make me
caust
And
Jesus orders
Our
clean."
" I will,
be thou made
him
priest,
1.
my
sins.
"
advantage
make
Confidence,
strong hope
We may
own
as
with
we kneel
O Jesus my
Lord,
sins such as
mine
Seventh
Week
helplessness to which
it
side
from
He can
saw
their faith.
take trouble.
something
He
3.
Why
paralytic
Paralytic.
of
who
are willing to
us
whom
first
Perhaps
the soul.
If
Week
Eighth
St.
St.
Our
Matt.
ix. 9.
Lord, passing
ment
leaving
likes people
Works
canst
Saturday,
different
" Lord,
represents
2-4.
viii.
Paralysis
1.
JESUS.
all
There
things,
Matthew
instantly obeys.
is
St.
Mark
ii.
1-12.
While Jesus was teaching in a house in Capharnaum, four men bring a paralytic, and carrying
him to the top of the house, let him down into the
midst where Jesus was.
said to the paralytic, "
Be
jected to
His forgiving
of
To
sins.
man
the Scribes
He
who
ob-
answered by send-
perfectly cured.
passion.
The
Have you a
is
the
love of money, or at
THE MINISTRY OF
him, the heaps of gold lost their bewitching power.
He heard a voice within, unheard by those around,
which echoed the words of Christ. He saw a hand
which beckoned him away. Thus it is when Christ
calls.
He always gives to the soul a motive impulse which to a man of good-will is simply irresistible.
Eighth
Week Monday.The
:
St.
Matt
Him.
to
reason of their misery, dear because of their gooddear because of the virtue of which they are
capable,
and
When
am
I should
to
which
He
in
I,
my
to Jesus,
sufficiency.
They
2. See the Pharisees, who are scandalized.
were scandalized because they were themselves so
worthless in the sight of God. To be easily scandalized marks a low standard of virtue.
To attribute unworthy motives, show that our motives are
must remember this when I
take oflEence and to condemn others.
am
inclined to
who were
scandalized at
God.
3.
am
Thou
canst
make me
Miracle at the
Probatic Pool.
John
St.
V. 2-9.
the water was cured. Our Lord, taking pity on a sick man who had lain there for
entered
The tendency
him take up
of the present
it is
is
in
His mission
still.
O my Lord, I am
me. O heal me in
all
his bed
and
day
give a
loyal Catholic
ture
is to
phenomena whatsoever.
the
is
Word
God;
of
Not
so the
for
power
2.
to
work
One
poor
Church
of the
miracles.
man had
Those who
Him
it.
me whole
Eighth
Spirit
and
the Letter.
St.
He came
I
wilt.
Week: Tuesday.The
Eighth
The
will,
Thou
natural explanation to
ix. 10-14.
able.
If
clean.
1.
Feast in
Matthew's House.
They
Thy mercy
539
walk.
obedience.
St.
JESUS.
John
V. 10-16.
THE MINISTRY OF
540
it
kill
Him.
The
Him
and sought
to
Our Lord
sick
Law
their
own
When we
we
hard,
am
3.
God
actions.
2.
So, too, I
to
of
Eighth
Week
desires
Eighth
Week
John
V. 16-47.
The
reproves them
power.
1.
How
was
it
Matt.
xii. 1-8.
through
the cornfields on the Sabbath, His disciples began
to gather the ears of corn and to eat them.
The
again
are
indignant, and again Christ rebukes
Jews
them.
I. It is the law of the Catholic Church that ecclesiastical precepts do not hold in case of grave
inconvenience. This is confirmed by our Lord's
words on this occasion. The disciples were not
disciples passed
ecclesi-
prone to
judge others without considering the circumstances
which excuse and sometimes perfectly justify their
unyielding, cruel temper.
parallel
b}'
2.
JESUS.
Our
Father
still
is
that His
pre-
On Him no
THE MINISTRY OF
Hence, our Lord clearly asserts
His Godhead, and so the Jews understood it. Make
an act of faith in this unity of action of the First
and Second Persons of the Blessed Trinity.
3. Our Lord goes on to say that he who honoreth
not the Son honoreth not the Father who sent Him.
So those who fail in honor to the Saints and to the
Holy Mother of God fail in honor to Christ and to
God. What is my practice in this matter ?
the Son of God.
Eighth
St.
The
selves
xii.
14-21.
but
Matt.
is
He
among them-
destroy Jesus.
retires to the
Sea
In order to
of Tiberias,
people.
I. The miracles worked by Jesus on the Sabbath
day rouse the anger of the Pharisees, and they plan
It seems strange
his Death with the Herodians.
that they could withstand the beauty of His Divine
But the Pharisees were proud, and pride
charity.
looks askance at every good work which threatens
to diminish its own dominion and raises a rival.
Against this spirit we must be on our guard. One
who loves God rejoices in all the good done by
others even though it interferes with his own sup-
2.
It
Part in.
Ninth
Week
Sunday.
^The
Daughter
Enrolment of the
St.
Luke
vi.
12-16.
Him,
that
Of these Simon
Our Lord
name
is
the
first
tri-
and
those
in
discouragement
authority,
and
at
so
first,
to
often from
cheer us amid
impulses, and
mere human
the suggestions of
prudence.
3.
Our Lord
enemies in a
who
Him
hate
did not
"
You
some
married, some
;
be single
to
some
to
some
be
to be
men
of
profession, to bring
be with
difiBculties.
him
it
to
Yet
might
of Peter.
cloister
He
than this
of
Apostles.
out devils.
Week:
541
JESUS.
Him
Ninth
on
the Plain,
St.
Luke
vi. 17-26.
His
THE MINISTRY OF
642
Among other
crowd at large.
points of difference,
it
solemn warnings.
"
Woe
you have
received your consolation." When our Lord uses
this word woe, it implies a terrible judgment to
1.
He
come.
to
for
tells
their consolation,"
little
rich,
consolation for
them
is
We may not,
hereafter.
Woe to
us
on earth.
you that are filled, for you shall
hunger." There are some persons who seem to get
They are satisfied,
all that makes life comfortable.
content with themselves, and have no appreciation
if
we thus
2.
cling to anything
"Woe
to
We are in-
This seems at
first
They
be
to
thwarted, reproached.
blamed,
misunderstood,
How much
happier
is
this
Ninth
Week
Tuesday.
The Centurion's
Servant.
St.
Luke
A Roman centurion,
vii. i-io.
friendly
him at once.
I. The love
him
The
to love those
who were
in possession
of the
He
declared himself
come under
his
it is
solid virtue.
are adopted
Ninth
of Nairn.
all
sure
are
JESUS.
St.
As Jesus
Lnke
entered the
vii.
11-16.
little
town
of
Naim,
He
man
arise.
accosts her
"
lift
half
Jesus is still
the same, still so full of compassion, so kind, so
tender-hearted. He does not overlook our sorrows,
and He will comfort us ere long, and say. Weep
not
Be not dejected. Do not I love you with a
Divine love ?
I
THE MINISTRY OF
Weep not, then, O sorrowing
and prayers
mother
Jesus will bid your son arise.
God was in
3. On all there came a great fear.
So
their midst, and they trembled at the thought,
in our midst He dwells in the Blessed Sacrament
Have we the same filial fear for Him, the same
loyal aflfection, the same reverence for the place
where He dwells ?
tears
Ninth
St.
Luke
vii. 17-23.
that
some of his
them
disciples
Our Lord
points to
them inquire
This
for themselves.
is
the
way
to
2.
His turn
is
blind,
Can they
cast
The
and recognize in
Jesus.
final test
dislike for
them
Ninth
Week
Jesus,
him
a bad sign.
Do
when John's
lyuke
vii.
He
(i)
first tells
He
is
describes
and pride
Self-will
(2)
He
is
him
as a
of all
the
not one
Such men
The
true
Apply
these tests to yourself, and judge whether you have
any of the spirit of the prophet and saint in you.
2. Our Lord next tells them what St. John really
is.
A prophet and more than a prophet the
Angel sent before the face of God, one with whom
fare.
it?
(i)
By
his humility.
his abstinence.
of solitude
(St.
(St.
Matt.
and prayer.
iii.
(St.
John
4.)
Luke
i.
(3)
i.
27.)
By
80.)
(2)
By
his love
Do you
means ?
The
3.
John was
was
that he
to
Ninth
Week: Saturday.The
Result of
Neglected Graces.
St Matt.
The
xi. 20-24.
"Woe
to thee, Corazin
Woe
to thee, Beth-
saida "
24-28.
disciples
to the multitude.
is not.
I.
of
is
Our Lord
1.
in
selfish-
John's Disciples.
John, finding
St.
543
JESUS.
THE MINISTRY OF
544
We
the future,
How
men
Sometimes
through indolence, sometimes through self-love,
sometimes through cowardice, sometimes and most
often through pride.
Grace demands submission.
"He g^veth grace to the humble," and men hate
Examine why you have
to humble themselves.
3.
is it
forfeited so
that
many
reject graces
graces.
JESUS.
The
humility.
absence of these
we
us,
and try
is
the cause of
we willingly take
meek and humble,
If
to be
shall
all
rest,
and
Tenth
Conversion of
Mary Magdalen.
St.
St.
Luke
vii.
36-50.
In the house of Simon the Pharisee, Mary Magdalen the sinner approaches Jesus while He is
sitting at table, and with many tears kisses His
sacred Feet in token of her contrition and love, and
anoints them with a box of precious ointment,
Jesus forgives her sins, dismisses her in peace, and
contrasts her devotion with the coldness of His
entertainer.
While we read that thousands and tens of thousands came to Jesus to be healed of their bodily
infirmities, Mary Magdalen is the only one who is
recorded to have come to Him for the cure of the sickness of her soul. So now there are many who pray
1.
The
Divine Consoler.
the mysteries of
an insight into
supernatural truth, unless they are accompanied
by humility of heart. If you would have a deep
knowledge of God, you can only obtain it by being
humble of heart, and by praying the Son of God to
reveal to you those hidden truths which our unas-
blessing
selves wise
little
He
to the
calls
on
all
souls.
1.
qualify
2.
him who
We
possesses
human
them
learning do not
for
own
destruction.
Mary
Thank God
if
you
did not
self-satisfac-
On
was
possessed with
a devil,
and was
who
thereby
Him
THE MINISTRY OF
prince of the devils.
Our Lord
of the
Ask
When
restores
its
evil spirit
the Pharisees
Church
that,
among
Tenth
the
St.
Sin
Against
Holy Ghost.
Matt.
xii.
31-32.
What
is
Holy
denial of the
in this,
meant by the
known
truth.
One who
retract his
perseveres
blasphemous words,
Kingdom
of
Heaven against
himself.
known
545
Him.
As
3. All other sins can be forgiven to men.
long as there is not this rebellion in the heart,
way in, and even the greatest sins
can be forgiven. Thank God for His unspeakable
mercy, and have great confidence that He will forgive all your sins when you pray to Him with an
humble
its
heart.
Tenth W^eek
Thursday.Idle Words.
St.
"
Out
Matt.
xii.
33-37.
Our Lord declares that every sin shall be forgiven to men except blasphemy against the Holy
Ghost ?
JESUS.
way
of
what we really
leave
among
are.
those
What sort
with whom I
of impression do I
converse
Do my
THE MINISTRY OF
546
He does
He means
not
mean
that apart
from
all else
Tenth
Week
?
:
Friday.
True
Relationship
to Christ.
St.
Matt.
xii.
47-50.
JESUS.
no need
His sacred
words.
The Sower
the Son of Man, and subordinately to Him, His ministers, bishops, priests, all
faithful Christians who speak for God.
But it is
1.
is
ourselves.
2.
The
forms:
seed
Holy
is
It takes various
Him
any possible earthly union. His love to it is incomparably greater, and He watches over it with a
by
it,
ready
Christ loves
is
so closely
The
spiritual
Lord Himself
to
His Apostles.
We have therefore
The
field is
abundant, but
among
Mohammedans.
all
life.
human
heretics, Jews,
In every heart
heart.
Pagans,
the fructifying
The
3.
is
all
Church.
Eleventh
Week
Our Lord
men
as corre-
by the birds of the air, corresponds to the hardened heart, whence the devil carries away each
off
condition as this.
2.
THE MINISTRY OF
covering of eartli
lies a hard,
stony rock,
is
the soul
me
JESUS.
if I
art to the
man who
Eleventh
"
He
St.
Matt.
xiii. 22.
offer a better
fair
the ground
is
All goes well for a time, the seed takes root and
But
choked up by the
abundance.
2.
What are
A man
God
is
(i)
life.
(2)
The
He
interests
first
God from me ?
3.
serve
Is
it
God
same time ?
God
is
No,
for
no man can
a jealous God.
Woe
to
xiii. 8, 23.
we
If
1.
life,
the
first
thing necessary
Two men
Holy
is
Scripture
it
makes a
lasting impression
Love of riches.
makes it the first
these influences?
seed
in
object in his
up
Matt.
Ground.
is
of
Ground.
St.
will.
Eleventh
inspirations of God.
547
without which
Have
I this perseverance,
fruit ?
3.
amount
of
God
some
like
thirty,
Yet happy
that I
may
Eleventh
good men
some
those
all
be of their number.
Parable of
the Cockle,
St.
Matt.
xiii.
24-28
36-50.
the harvest.
THE MINISTRY OF
548
The
is
a great consola-
tion to us if
cast
in
is
Eleventh
Cast
JESUS.
many
and even now, it may be, are bearing far more fruit than us.
3. The earth of itself brings forth the fruit when
once it has received the good seed. So no grace
for the harvest,
God
that
He
sends us, no
if it is
of good-will.
man
is
glory of God.
Eleventh
Week
the
is
Kingdom
nifies
The Kingdom
the visible
of
Heaven
to
beginnings
obscure Jews, mostly of the lower class, rough, uneducated, with no special talents.
How wonderful
its growth
It gradually conquered the world, and
that in spite of persecution without and treachery
within, in spite of whole nations that revolted from
its
Mark
iv.
26-29.
God
Kingdom
when
it
is
ripe,
is
the sower
come.
its
indefectibility of the
2.
The
its
Make
children,
it is still
firm
and
Church of Christ.
come and take
shelter in
the branches of
it.
shelter themselves
THE MINISTRY OF
virtues of her
saints, in
Eleventh
He
God
St.
Matt.
world
but
its
count-
less perfections
after
Him.
To me, O
Spouse, that I
spotless
to
may
549
a merchant collecting
There
number
love her as I
Twelfth
or for evil.
it.
He
He
de-
Week Sunday.The
:
Pearl of
Kingdom
of
lie
false.
Heaven
is
like to a
Week Monday.The
:
Parable of the
Leaven.
St.
Matt.
xiii. 33.
"
Paul
tells
God and
me
that love of
fitted for
2.
Great Price.
St. Matt. xiii. 45-46.
like
Twelfth
is
He
Around him
is
ought.
3.
of
pearls.
these,
xiii. 44.
"
Thy
some end
scattered a
loves.
Week
JESUS.
It renders that
THE MINISTRY OF
550
So the grace of
fluence.
my
are transformed.
all feel
Twelfth
all
soul
Week
Tuesday.The
Stilling of the
Tempest.
St.
Mark
iv.
was
at the
piness.
be asleep, but
all
the time
He
advantage to those
whom He
Why
fearful
3. "
you
The
Legion of
Mark
St.
v. 1-20.
Lord not
to
in the sea.
God become
3.
When
His
feet in
depart.
joy and
They
gratitude,
prefer to have
they beg
the devils
Him
to
among
is
Twelfth
Week
the
loves.
" This
Wednesday.
like
to
Week
possession,
When
1.
Twelfth
1.
35-40.
JESUS.
St.
The
ciples
disciples of
do not
fast.
Matt.
ix. 14-17.
He
dis-
with them.
God
men what
is
is
THE MINISTRY OF
cloth on an old garmen.,
or
new wine
Me ? " The
into old
Were
knew
bottles.
The
first
551
wonder
disciples
at
who came
and
the
Him
question.
.-'
in faith
Yet He
and con-
for
He
JESUS.
love.
much
love.
3.
The poor
woman
child.
Twelfth
Week
St.
Jairus, a
ruler of
Mark
v. 22-43.
little
Going to Jesus, he
at the point of death.
begs Him to come and lay His hand on her, that
she may live. Jesus follows him, and on arrival at
the house the child is dead, and the musicians,
customary on such occasions, are assembled. Jesus
puts them all out, and takes the maiden by the
daugher
Twelfth
Week
Woman
Mark.
1.
He
v. 25-34.
had
sufiFered
maiden in
peril of death.
course to
She
the hem of Jesus' garment.
Jesus asks who touched Him ? The woman falls
trembling at His feet, and is dismissed in peace.
Our Lord, with the crowd
1. Watch the scene.
of soul, Jesus is
is instantly cured.
Him, and
them away. How gentle He
the disciples
pressing
is
seeking to keep
How kindly He
Whether
new
life
it
It is in
reflection, that
the soul
voice bidding
torpor of a careless
3.
Her parents,
life.
at seeing
Him
raise
THE MINISTRY OF
652
their child to
fashion, but
and His
we do not
love.
Him
We
life.
believe in
at all
Him
in feeble
me
hitherto.
From
Week
Thirteenth
Sunday.
The
Sending out
Matt. X. i-io.
Monday.
The
Instructions
St Matt.
Our Lord
X. 11-17.
wrath of God will fall upon such a one for his remessengers of Christ. The servants
of God rnust have the prudence of the serpent and
jection of the
They
life.
To
are to have
office'
sake
and
said,
"
to
Week
Thirteenth
from
.ag those granted
Part IV.
JESUS.
He
is
God
for their
that receives
In
regarded
faithful.
Jesus Christ?
conquest.
1.
it is
now.
3.
and
These envoys
silver.
The
fatal to priests.
of Christ are to
love of
They
money
beware of gold
is fatal to all,
are to live a
life
pendent
2.
The
house
to another. Restlessness is
Thirteenth
Week
Tuesday.
of His Servants.
of poverty
take
most
is
Do you
The servants
Not a
at
will confess
THE MINISTRY OF
JESUS.
653
Him
for love
He who made
affection
comes to me,
suffering.
2. Christ will reward with a most liberal recompense the loyalty of all His faithful servants who
fice,
It requires
1.
no
little
stand up for
Him
have
to face
Some have
disagreeables
the hand of
at
others.
When
2.
earthly affection
may
God grant
of Christ,
sake of
that
my
if
must be
brave.
I shall lose
my soul,
my love.
If that time
must remember
life,
one dear to
and perhaps,
make
If I
In
3.
this,
deny Him
not in so many words, but in joining in what they
know is hateful to Him they virtually deny Him,
and refuse to acknowledge His authority. Alas I
have often done this. I have been ashamed of Thee,
I have denied Thee.
Jesus, forgive me, and do not
disown me before the Angels of God.
Recompense
3.
to confess Christ
and dearest
love
men
at variance
to them.
Him we must
Him we
Above
all else.
we
Him we must
our cross
of
are willing to
His sake.
I. It seems strange that the Prince
of Peace
should come to send a sword upon earth. Yet He
knew that true peace cannot be had without war,
and that in many a house by reason of Him there
would arise a bitter strife, and those who love Him
would have to suffer persecution of some kind at
the hands of those dear to them. I must be prepared for this I must expect and bear patiently
suffer for
it.
Thirteenth
And
Week
St.
Thursday.- -The
of Charity.
Matt. X. 40-42.
is
follow, bearing
It is a
1.
Matt. X. 34-39.
it.
of the Gospel.
St.
must carry
Thirteenth
the
the sacri-
to
too,
as
hereafter.
ing.
me
and
my
that
not prevail.
Some
of
"
He
that receiveth
we show
all to
those
This
whom
who tend
THE MINISTRY OF
664
aid witli
ment
it
to
this,
every
St.
little
Mark
vi.
30-35.
The
all
country round.
The
Week
St.
St.
Mark
vi.
heading of John.
1. Herod's guilty conscience suspected the reappearance of the holy man he had put to death.
He knew that the ill-deeds we do sleep but are not
dead.
When
I look
back on
my
any
rise
up
as
my
past
life, is
there
done to him
life
before
How
God ?
little
sat
in the
Him
examine
in like
He
my
my
manner
is
all
conthat
interested in
troubles of the
have made
to please Him, the work that I have done for Him;
and I will oflfer Him all that is good, and ask Him
to forgive the many defects, to accept my works
and words to promote His glory.
labors, Jesus proposes to His
2. After their
Apostles an interval of repose. He is a thoughtful
and good Master, Who never forgets the wants of
His servants. Sometimes I fancy He has forgotten
me, but it is not so. If I wait a little, I shall find
that He was merel}'' devising some fresh way of
promoting my happiness and my welfare.
3. The multitudes will not give our Lord any
rest.
Vainly he resorts to a desert-place. They
soon find Him out there. Yet could He not
have checked them by a word or a thought,
and prevented their intrusion upon His solitude ? Why did He not do so ? Because it was
the will of His Heavenly Father that He should
;
efforts I
down
dancing
girl to amuse his guests, that before that night he
would have sealed his guilt by the cruel murder of
one of the Saints of God
Notice the steps that led
to his final guilt: (i) unlawful affection indulged;
(2) persecution of the Saint who reproved him
(3)
the neglect of warnings (4) sensual indulgence
and then at length the murder
(5) the rash oath
of one of the Saints of God.
to that royal banquet,
taught.
17-29.
When Herod
3.
of
Thirteenth
my
kindness however
natural
benevolence or
mere
from
done,
not
minute,
affection, but explicitly and implicitly for the love of
How
Christ, will have a reward to all eternity.
eagerly should I embrace all such occasions, and
how
Thirteenth
More than
3.
JESUS.
Fourteenth
Week
St.
disciples
had brought,
He
THE MINISTRY OF
blessing multiplies them, so that
all
those
who
ently
we
treat those
who
love.
interrupt us
How
He
over.
to
differ-
and disturb
am
wasted.
to soul.
It
He is generous and
and gives good measure and running
gave the crowd not merely just enough
555
of Heaven,
are
filled.
JESUS.
The
wastefulness.
,
is no excuse for
a special blessing on careful
possession of plenty
There
is
am
Eucharist.
It
should He not so
multiply His Sacred Body and Blood that all the
faithful who approach the altar should receive
Christ Himself in all His Divine perfections?
Learn from this miracle a strong faith in His
Presence in each Sacred Host.
could partake of them,
Fourteenth
Week
Monday.
John
^The
Gathering
Fourteenth
Walking upon
why
up of the Fragments.
St.
St.
the Lake.
The
full of
just
perilous one.
Why
leave
Every-
deserted
and forgotten us ?
2. No, He has not forgotten His faithful servants,
and soon amid their struggles they see One walking
on the sea. Yet they do not recognize Him in
their terror they fancy that it is some apparition
boding ill to them, perhaps a messenger of destruction.
So, too, when we are down-hearted and in
difficulties, we shrink in terror from the very source
of consolation. Jesus comes to us under the form
;
THE MINISTRY OF
556
and we shrink
from Him, or regard the hand that would deliver
us as the hand of a foe.
3. But their compassionate Master will not leave
them long in their dismay. With consoling words
He speaks to their hearts. " Be of good heart, it is
of one
who
is
destined to deliver
Fourteenth
Week Wednesday.
St.
Walks upon
Peter
the Water.
it
be Thou, bid
Jesus bids
the waves, until, beginning to fear, he begins to
sink, and cries " Lord, save me." Jesus stretches
waters."
"
thou of
"
waves to come
Him.
Week
Fourteenth
lis,
I,
JESUS.
Thursday.
The Meat
that Perisheth.
John
St.
The crowds
vi.
25-27.
Him
we
Him
it
We
we seek Him.
that
because
This
"
Labor not
How necessary is
meat that
this warning for all
the
for
perisheth."
Our end
in
life is
to
own
God
Insensibly
when there
of God are
We
enjoyment
3.
If
we knew the
to everlasting
me
would
it
all else
appear
sweetness of the
life,
how eagerly
how un-
distasteful,
!
O my God, grant
Fourteenth
Week;
Friday.
The
Bread from
Heaven.
How
in-
delicious
and
St.
The Jews
Heaven
John
vi.
29-35.
will give
that
He
was
hunger
THE MINISTRY OF
1. The question of the Jews did not imply any
doubt as to the miracle of the loaves and fishes.
But they desired a proof that Jesus had the power
and the will, not once only, but always, to supply
their needs, as the manna supplied them day by
day. This is the real test of every good influence,
whether it will last and produce permanent, not
Fourteenth
Week
Saturday.
The Saving
Will of God.
St.
John
vi.
36-40.
own
not His
have
life
eternal
everlasting,
life.
"
many
sinner,
He
is
cometh unto
2.
All
557
their confidence in
perish, but will
3.
by
This
is
others.
with
they
desire.
Fifteenth
Week
Sunday.
The
Murmuring
of
the Jews.
St.
The Jews
John
vi.
41-52.
voice of
God
within
me
Am I
so obedient to the
2.
JESUS.
longing, to forgive
Me
I will
who come
all.
If he will
rather puts
must be
we must be
He is who
" Him that
3.
feet,
more
do not believe.
Hitherto the Divine Teacher had veiled under
parables that central doctrine of the Blessed Eucharist which the miracle of the feeding of the five
THE MINISTRY OF
558
'
Week
Fifteenth
Monday.
The
Question
of Unbelief.
St.
When
John
vi. 53.
Man
"
How
can this
heretics
Eucharist
is
He has
Thank God
for the
for those
2
of the
in
some
fashion,
Blood by
He does so
He nourishes our souls.
Others that
faith.
inasmuch as
figura-
Others
that He is really present, but that the change of
the substance is a fiction of theologians. Try and
tively,
ceived
by you
upon the
3.
in
Teacher.
The Heart
this eating of
His Flesh
To show
humble Himself;
to teach
Fifteenth
Week: Tuesday.Backsliding
Disciples.
St.
John
vi.
61-72.
Him. There
something plaintive in His appeal to the Twelve,
" Will you also go away ? "
We little know how
we wound that Sacred Heart when we refuse to
obey, or when we are self-willed and unfaithful to
His heavenly guidance.
3. Listen to Peter's faithful words of love, "Lord,
to whom shall we go ?
Thou hast the words of
eternal life."
It was this loyalty that made him so
dear to Jesus. Repeat his words. Lord, to whom
should I go but to Thee in all my difficulties, trials,
temptations ? Thou hast the words that are music
in my ears
the words which are an echo of
Heaven's melodies. In Thee I live Thee alone
;
I love
may
Fifteenth
I ever
be faithful to Thee
Hands.
St.
make
is
is
of Jesus
altar.
a condition of
to
JESUS.
Mark
vii. 1-9.
The
Pharisees complain to Jesus that His disciples do not observe the accustomed ceremonial of
THE MINISTRY OF
pride thought that they would be justified by the
superior sanctity involved in practising a certain
The
also
Pharisees
clung
to
these
cere-
must
therefore,
wash
themselves
clean
before
Him
is
most displeas-
ing to Him.
So also
is
Fifteenth
of
Our Lord
Law
of
God
own
tradi-
tions,
and especially
for
their support.
Our duty
to
men.
Himself directly interposes, is never at variance
with any strict obligation of the natural law. He
who is bound to maintain his aged father or mother
cannot evade this duty on the ground that he has
given to God what is due to them. Under pretence
of honoring God, the evil custom of the Jews set
aside the sacred duty of a son to honor his parents.
Is this duty to father, mother, those about you, one
which you observe with loyalty ?
2. Our Lord's words teach us how careful we
must be not to mistake self-will and selfish aims
for loyalty to God. Those who neglect home duties
for works outside or for practices of piety, or to freto other
He
St.
"
Mark
vii.
21-23.
evil
thoughts,
an
evil eye,
Corrupt Traditions.
1.
To honor God
the
559
JESUS.
Sometimes they come of present carelessness, or from neglect in the custody of our
senses.
Sometimes they arise from the frailty of
human nature sometimes from the malice of the
devil.
Are they always sinful ? We shall see in
past sins.
THE MINISTRY OF
.^60
Week:
Fifteenth
Mark
St.
"
.
vii.
71-23.
a man."
Are
evil
sire to
commit the
sin
if
thereby aggravated ;
indulge thoughts of deadly hatred, but should also
Do
resolve to injure seriously the person hated.
is
Most of us
Sometimes,
human
too,
aflfection
or passion leads
He may
Thee
in charity that I
may
turn away
my mind
Sixteenth
Week
Sunday.
The Syrophcenician
Woman.
Mark
St.
When
vii.
24-50.
Jesus was in the extreme north of Paleswoman came, and falling down before
tine a Gentile
Him
entreated
Him
who was
possessed by a devil.
it
to the dogs.
disconcerted.
wound
Do
I take well
self-love
There
is
no better
to
afterwards heal.
may
JESUS.
Sixteenth
Dumb Man
St.
Mark
vii.
Healed.
31-37.
Him
prayed
to
listens not to
THE MINISTRY OF
deaf and
dumb man
ness them.
Church,
each
convey, and
its own
lesson to
own meaning sanctioned by God
of which has
its
Himself.
The
3.
provided.
preserves the
memory
of this
Week
Sixteenth
Tuesday.
Heaven.
^The
from
Sign
When
from
Heaven, Jesus gave them in answer the red sky
at evening as promising fine weather, at morning
as foretelling a storm.
He then reproves them for
their hypocrisy in that they ignore the signs from
which they might have learnt the coming of the
Kingdom of God, though they are quick enough to
the Pharisees asked
for
a sign
To
is
difierence.
tion
which
His Divinity.
the sin of
This
is
the Church.
divinity
Sixteenth
St.
As
He
avoid.
1.
The
men
will not
He
brook
or at most
it is
We
when
am
in doubt
Him.
is
that which
life is
The
actions.
of those
who
much
He
of
the Pharisees.
36
Men want
The
superstition that
Do
common excuse for scepticism and into make their own terms
with God. They will believe on Him if He will do
Thus to dictate to Him is a presumpthis or that.
of belief
you
works."
men
wilful
miracle in
1.
561
guidance.
The Church
3.
JESUS.
that
is
good, but
it is
They may
God
sees through
Can
What
is
its
the aspect
THE MINISTRY OF
562
Sixteenth
Week: Thursday.The
Man
Blind
at Bethsaida.
St.
Mark viii.
22-26.
brought
is
He would
touch his
to
our Lord,
Jesus
e3'es.
leads
his
man
clearly.
1.
of
The
things.
was a
man brought
blind
to
our Lord
a type
is
to cure
it
some aspiration
much more is it man's highest honor to bear witness to the Divinity of Jesus. What a privilege
we should think it to sing His praises, to proclaim
our faith in Him, and, above all, to adore Him in
the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.
show that
;
all at
higher
life,
desire
all
Thank God
Word.
in the end.
Sixteenth
Week
The
Friday.
Confession of
St. Peter.
St. Matt. xvi. 13-16.
When Jesus
asked his
say that I
am
Christ, the
Son
disciples, "
or the living
God."
Whom
"Thou
do you
art the
Jesus answer-
Simon
Bar-jona,
that to
you
also
God has
re-
Sixteenth
Week
Saturday.
The
Promise
to
St. Peter.
St. Matt. xvi. 17-19.
Communion
after a
2.
those
how
It
JESUS.
"
Thou
My Church,
command and
THE MINISTRY OF
gates of hell shall never prevail. It is strange that
those outside the Church do not recognize in her
the
indefectibility
The
mark
destruction.
Thank God
for this
wondrous
gift,
and
for
To
Christ
due
is
the Lord.
to the
and
to all bishops
priests,
who
thority,
From
Passion to
Week
Sunday.
from the coming agony, He turns the more indignantly on the tempter who would dissuade Him
from it. When I have to face suffering, am I thus
The
im-
more
repel
difi&cult
Mark
viii.
34-38.
Him
and follow
his cross
and whoever
it,
shall save
1.
it
to life eternal.
We cannot
Him.
If we fly from it in
some heavier form.
The wisest way, the only way if we desire peace, is
who
Doctrine
of the Cross.
St.
one shape,
Seventeenth
It is useless
how we
God ?
loyal to
Approaching Passion.
careful
my sympathy
3. In St. Peter's kindly expostulation was involved a temptation from the Evil One to turn away
from the chalice of suffering. Because Jesus shrank
tlie
Seventeenth
663
try
lose
Part V.
JESUS.
to accept
trying to avoid
will
it
it
come
carrying of which
King along
eternal
life.
To
school
each
God
him and
is
of our
2.
it.
to us in
we
are followers
fashion
him
intended to
It is often a
rebel against
it.
What
are
my
dispositions in re-
me
Seventeenth
Week
St.
Tuesday.
Matt. xvi.
Thee
26.
THE MINISTRY OF
564
The
1.
nature or
Then
our pride.
flatters
it is
that our
lot is cast,
calliug to
Lord
"
What
doth
it
profit
man
if
he gain the
hope
JESUS.
for greater
who
What
in God's sight.
any
can a man
of external things can he
ensure his salvation ? Nothing save humility and
charity can purchase Heaven. Yet our Lord prom-
What exchange
e.^
by what
ises the
alms
of
Heaven
to those
who
give
we
Kingdom
of
Heaven
for ourselves.
Transfiguration.
Our Lord
who
Lord
those
who
to come.
fidelity
by
desolation
and
So
pectancy.
Law
Son of
possess
If I
Seventeenth
of
St.
When
answered
that
1.
The
poor boy
whom
birth,
devil,
and com-
him
though he himself was in no way
from his
The man
Thou my
believeth.
do believe, help
those
our
3.
are
Seventeenth
I.
tries
representatives of the
sacrifice
Kingdom
make any
sense
He
intense joy.
grace.
3.
i.
imparts to those
Why
suffering.
He
us, before
own
not merely say that we make
suff"er
cultivate them.
soul ?"
who
possessed
to blame.
If these
prepare a
home
how many
lose
THE MINISTRY OF
All things are possible to him that
This is our Lord's promise, and He will
not healed.
believes.
fail
Week
Among
Seventeenth
St.
faithfully
We are
assail us,
we should
When
my
Week:
Seventeenth
Friday.
The
Money.
St.
the
liable to
it.
then
He
takes a
harsh
more
gentle.
of Sales, " is
we
are
How
bitter
and
Seek to be
drop of honey," says St. Francis
worth a gallon of vinegar."
violent and impulsive
"A
The Jews had no right to demand tributemoney of Jesus, nevertheless He paid it. He did
not stand up for His rights, as we are prone to do
in,
unlike
we
what we consider
3.
The
to
justice.
piece of
money
in the fish's
mouth was
Him, and He
will provide
it.
them that
tells
if
that they
to enter
On
be
to
to
first,
we
how
How we
Alas
His
effect
little
be prominent,
throw others
How little have
strive to
show ourselves
alas
off,
!
to
when
thus seek to be
first,
when
me
my
temper
root out of
is
me
hateful
when
know full
boast,
my
to
3.
Master.
make
all.
warning.
The warning
is
Eighteenth
2.
or insist on a principle
and
little child,
The
O Jesus
different
how
how
last
well that
others,
32-34
ix.
way to Capharnaum,
of them.
1.
Mark
place.
At Capharnaum the collectors of the tributemoney paid by the Jews for the expenses of the
Temple, came to St. Peter, and asked whether our
Lord paid the tribute. St. Peter answered that
He did. Jesus afterwards reminded him that
therefore, the
On
1.
Tribute-
565
JESUS.
Week: Sunday. On
St.
The
Matt,
Scandal.
xviii. 6-14.
by our Lord
"
Woe to
in
that
ones."
What
is
scandal
It is
THE MINISTRY OF
566
others take amiss wliat
we do
or say, or because
of
disedifying of their
own
We
act.
commit the
also
do what we know
others.
We also
is
when we
sin of scandal
give scandal
when we do any
act
JESUS.
What
base ingratitude
forgiving spirit,
Why
is
it
3.
is
The
guilt of scandal.
Eighteenth
Fraternal
Charity.
St.
times
Our Lord
replies that
we ought
precious Blood.
2.
The
is
treated
by his
lord
Eighteenth
The
it is
law-
man
ful for
life of
ferable to that of
1.
Kingdom
of
Heaven
is pre-
matrimony.
divorce
Week Monday. On
as the limit.
different
unforgiving servant
so awful
Because he who
devil's work, and helps to drag others down to hell.
He has upon him the guilt, not only of his own sin,
but of any sin committed by those who through his
deliberate fault, are led into sin by what he says or
does.
Better, says our Lord, that a man should die
than give scandal. O my God, save me from the
un-
as
a sin ?
gives scandal to others does the
that scandal
is this
or say
3.
how
How mean
servant to
whom
the debt
is
remitted
declares that
is
to put asunder.
is
With
divorce
there
come
in
social
corruption,
Thank God
to the marriage
contract.
2. In the Catholic
Church, and there alone,
marriage is a sacrament. It symbolizes the union
of Christ and His Church. It is the mystical
union of Christ with His Church that gives her her
resplendent beauty, and makes her the spiritual
mother of countless children. Pray that you may
be a faithful child of the Holy Church.
3. But honorable as matrimony is, there is a
higher state of life. For those who are called to it,
a life of chastitj' is a privilege and a grace surpassing that of the married state. Happy those who
have such a vocation. They are indeed the favored
children of God. They must expect many trials
and perhaps many temptations, but He who has
called
safe.
Pray
THE MINISTRY OF
necessary to do the will of
to
which
He
Eighteenth
God
Feast of
St.
John
vii.
2-23.
among
There
know
shall
Holy
He
sanctity is
it is
May it
my
and
all
who
teach
in
the Temple.
St.
John
vii.
14-20.
receive
shall
own
to
a flood of
We
must
he
own
truth.
to
glory."
and
God imparts a clear knowledge of
whom
am blind,
If I
it is
Week:
Eighteenth
Taken
St.
is true,
because I seek
my own
of God's.
Friday.
The
Woman
in Adultery.
John
viii.
2-11.
among
sin
The
you, let
him
first
woman
with words of
way
This is the
test of the true messenger from Heaven, who
" He
carries the Divine message of love to men.
His word.
Eighteenth
the
from Him.
There is a further step necessary.
is
Then we
inspirations.
3.
That
of the doctrine."
attain to truth.
light
find
We
cerning Him.
1.
567
ignorant
calls you.
Tabernacles.
When
JESUS.
tability
of the Pharisees
that
woman.
her.
Is
Respec-
my
spirit
fallen
of
Or do
to better things,
them
2.
is
What
all his
I pity
and
reflect
holier than I
own
to help them
perhaps
that
the worst
No wonder
It is
that
THE MINISTRY OF
568
to read
is
It
my
would stop
railing tongue,
which
3.
the midst,
in
Nazareth.
forgiven.
Eighteenth
Week
Do
He
sent her
As our Lord
Calling him.
Saturday. -The
John
ix.
He
Man
spittle,
and spreading
it
pool of Siloe.
first care.
clay
on the eyes
He
1.
them
made
X. 1-18.
For this He
personal comfort and interests.
1-4 1.
John
Good
Father.
sheep His
passed by,
He
St.
The
show a similar
Born Blind.
St.
JESUS.
He
peril, thirst,
willing to sacrifice
is
sacrifices all
His
For them
He
fatigue.
For
What
life itself
He
is
Shepherd
this of Jesus
may
I appreciate
He knows
Thy
Thy
any
life.
He
He
loves
them
to sin.
for
2.
man
of faith
of this
He
tested
him by
obedience.
The
Instead
spirit of
is
Him.
3.
His
It is of
life,
for
He
He
lays
life
down
of sub-
Man.
jection as
sake.
I.
to
receive those
THE MINISTRY OF
whose
go up
They
to Jerusalem.
by the world.
No
Those who are faithful to
conscience are driven out of house and home.
City of
God
"
Happy
those
who thus
JESUS.
569
yield.
The
third
still
The
Law; not
spirit of the
by
The Son
birth.
to
win by
What is my spirit ?
terror.
of
Man
is
come
to
compel
meek, humble,
love, not to
Is
it
patient, gentle?
Nineteenth
Week
St.
Luke
ix. 57-62.
tion
which renders
accosted (i)
follow
Him
whithersoever
this
Him
funeral.
of God.
(3)
to bid farewell
Kingdom of God.
1. The answer to
first of
He
fit
He who
hearts to Christ.
them.
Should
Kingdom
of God.
2.
The
of
natural order.
if
knew
it ?
second
is
unfit for
in our hearts.
Nineteenth
Week: Wednesday.
The
Mission
of the Seventy.
St.
Luke
X. 1-6.
He
His
was
of saints.
2.
a joyful mission.
What joy
followers
God demanded
the
affec-
They must
that loyalty to
human
is re-
sort of
for the
of
spirit
the
it
to follow
that
Bitterness and
dulgent spirit of the Gospel.
indignant zeal destroys the souls of men it strangles
to
salvation of
unless
we should
we
deliberately forsake
are destined,
Him
(which
THE MINISTRY OF
570
God
forbid), that
thing
Nineteenth
A lawyer
Luke
X. 25-37.
her
God with
did
himself.
man who
Our Lord
among
fell
thieves.
requires of us that
we should
love
them
we
as
We
must
treat
We
must put
Do
We
3.
Mary
Here
word.
the secret of
is
This
sary, this is
what
must do
listen to
Week
St.
The
Luke
pray, and
He
gives
Friday.
Luke
X. 38-42.
much
serving, but
and listened
complain to
Him
sister
Mary used
Martha busied
Mary sat
His words.
at
her-
our Lord's
Martha came
that her sister had left her
to
Hov^^ to Pray.
to
as a
He
then illustrates
the necessity of persistence in prayer by the parable of the man who desires to rouse his sleeping
neighbor that he may give him some provisions for
friend.
1.
The
repetition.
in-
We
to
to
serve alone.
me.
St.
to
xi. 1-13.
Week:
obedience
Saturday.
Nineteenth
is
:
sanctity
all
ficed his
feet
to eternal life.
1.
necessary.
1.
Samaritan.
St.
to the
is
of Life.
love
JESUS.
neighbor.
He
knocks, and
when
are to deal
refused knocks
THE MINISTRY OF
again and yet again, louder and even louder, until
at length lie obtains his request through sheer persistency.
So we are sure to obtain our requests
from God
God
3.
not like
if
is
we
He
men who
He
Twentieth
will give us a
Week
good
Sunday.
House.
:
Luke
The
Divided
xi. 14-24.
own
kingdom against
his
naught. So
Twentieth
Such a division of
would soon bring it to
followers.
itself
we may be
who
exercise
St.
Divine
Luke
womb that
Thee suck."
But
He
said,
"
the source of
all
Blessed.
is
command
of
Almighty God.
To
thought
treasure
selves actuated
gift, of
as to expel his
St.
When
571
is
which
the excellence will be increased, not diminished, by
our continued requests. God delights to give good
gifts to those who ask Him, and He will give the
Holy Spirit to them in plenteous measure.
petitions.
full of
JESUS.
Twentieth
Fool.
some
to the ex-
One
Luke
xii. 13-22.
brother that he
Our Lord
clusion of others.
3.
St.
Now
he
lies
crushed and
feeble.
man proposed
enjoyment
of all
THE MINISTRY OF
572
said to him, "
God
Thou
fool, this
night do they
There
1.
is
"
advancing
pleasures,
has a
fatal
make
it
power
man
and
age,
to tie
down the
go
on.
It
Twentieth
To
those
men
St.
who
Luke
xii.
35-49.
coming
credible privilege.
He
will
make them
sit
in-
down
to
On
who do
will,
it
will
be beaten with
many
He cometh, shall
well,
stripes.
I.
find watching."
who
fulfill
bears
Him
these conditions
continually in mind.
?
What
Do
a reward
found watching
their wants
with
2.
JESUS.
He
is
will
make them
sit
down
at the
Twentieth
Week: Thursdav.The
Unfruitful
Fig-tree.
St.
Luke
xiii.
6-9.
The
fall
of the year.
that
it
may
fruit.
no
fruit is
pruned
As years go
is
Or
is
THE MINISTRY OF
me
3.
that before
it
too
is
late, I will
grace,
Lord, beyond
never neglect
Thou dost ask
Thy grace,
me
of
nor
fail
of
may
doing what
Week
Twentieth
all
The
Friday.
Narrow
Gate.
-elect.
us
but in vain.
God, the number of the
no business of ours. What concerns
is
we
desire to enter
by
573
may
have the
ourselves, resist
and exalted motive. So, if we are not influenced to virtue by the love of God, at least our own
submit
life,
we must
JESUS.
exert
Xingdom
of
Heaven ?
move us.
3. Christ's object was gradually to lead the Jews
He knew that the practice
to something nobler.
even from an inferior motive would
it for its own sake, and because
it is pleasing to God.
It is wonderful how soon
any acts of virtue bring their own reward, and lead
us to love virtue itself, and Him of whose beauty
all human virtue is but a faint reflection.
of humility
2.
lofty
lead on to a love of
Twenty-first
Supper.
Am
am known
of
Or would He
them ? "
say, " I
Me ? "
Twentieth Week: Saturday.On
you
not, depart
know
from
Self-
Luke
them
to
sit
down not
the
Kingdom
them
to give place
Heaven
of
to
Our Lord
invites all
Some
or another way.
to
the priesthood
moned thus
xiv. 15-24.
men
Feast which
bestow upon
others to a
Him
life of
all
or
intends in His
who
life
resignation
He
in one
Heavenly
to
summons.
God has
2.
to serve
xiv. 7-1 1.
Luke
Exaltation.
St.
St.
THE MINISTRY OF
574
summons. The invitation involves the relinquishment of something to which their heart clings
money
will
for
to,
me to
or
my
Alas
the world."
Have
my business to attend
my way to make in
relations to please, or
!
how unhappy
to
me
Lost
Sheep.
St.
When
Luke
XV. 1-7.
murmured
at
How
them together
who
does penance.
company.
He
He
seems to
eats and
He
Him.
rejoice with
to sing a
hymn
He
calls
all
grace.
Jesus, grant
me
work
of bringing sinners
back
Thee
to
The Prodigal
Luke
St.
XV. II.
certain
said to
falleth
stance.
to
living riotously.
want.
The beginning
Twenty-first
mercy
JESUS.
of the
fall
fall
submit and
secret pride
making us unwilling
to
to
others.
2.
The consequence
He
3.
At
The
first it is
liberty
pleasant enough
of independence.
life
;
he rejoices in his
my
Father's house!
Week
Twenty-first
Son
St.
The unhappy
ing swine for
Luke XV.
Prodigal
hire.
17-19.
is at last
reduced to feed-
to
THE MINISTRY OF
himself and remembers the peaceful happiness of
He resolves to go back, and humble himand ask to be received, not as a son, but as a
Observe (i) the advantage of a quiet time
servant.
for prayer and supplication.
(2) The contrast
between the constant happiness of the humblest
who serve God, and the misery that soon ensues to
those who cast off His yoke.
(3) The willingness
JESUS.
575
2.
reflect.
self,
of justice to clothe
of the Prodigal to
inferior
of
humble
himself.
motives as leading
(4)
to
The
value
virtue.
The
Apply each
2.
of these to yourself.
of true repentance
is to
cast
whom we
have offended
forgiveness.
It is not enough to be
and beg for
sorry, but this sorrow must include hope of forgiveness and reconciliation. I, then, will go to the
feet of Jesus in all my sorrows and sins, for I know
He will not reject me.
He arose and
3. The Prodigal loses no time.
Delays
his
father.
are
dangerous.
When
went to
the grace comes we must act on it, and the sooner
the better. / will arise ; this must be the motto of
all who recognize their sin and weakness.
I, too,
with God's help, will arise from all that hinders my
faithful service of
Twenty-first
Him.
Week
Son
St.
When
Luke
him
tance, runs to
kisses
him.
meet him,
He
will
in the dis-
falls
ring for his hand, and shoes for his feet, and kill
the fatted calf, that they may rejoice and make
The
is
off.
return,
to
home.
watching for the
of his return
The
so that
(2)
The
ring
of
his
happy
The
return.
to
God,
elder son,
is
must beware,
for
Saturday.
Steward.
St.
The steward
Luke
of a rich
The
Unjust
xvi. 1-12.
for
We are
XV. 20-32.
(i)
him
that
this,
THE MINISTRY OF
576
answer to my Judge ?
3. There is a means by which I may still ward
off His anger, and that is by great liberality to
others and especially to those who are poor and in
want. Thus I can purchase to myself friends who
Have I been a good
will plead for me with God.
Have I been
friend to the poor for God's sake ?
shall
find that
generous with my alms ? If so, I
God will listen to their prayers for me and will be
generous to me.
^The
Rich
Glutton.
St.
There was a
man who
feasted
sump-
but in vain.
1. What a warning against a life of selfish luxury
We do not read of any crime committed by
the rich man. He simply lived a life of ease and
comfort and present enjoyment. No self-denying
charity
no deeds of mercy no humiliation of
himself; no penance; and therefore at the end of
life the torments of hell to all eternity.
In my life
How much self-seeking and
how little penance
love of ease
Have I not reason to fear ?
2. In hell the rich man is punished in kind. His
love of choice wines is requited by a tormenting
thirst and a fire consuming his palate. For his life
of luxury and ease, his purple and fine linen, he is
enwrapped in the scorching flames. This law of
retribution in kind is a terrible one I must antici;
it.
am
3.
hell.
Abraham has no
He tells him it
himself.
We
man
in
that
of Heaven.
rejoice
Pray
in Heaven.
you may
John
The Raising
xi. 1-45.
lovest is
1.
The message
sent
of prayer in trouble,
They do
and
is
especially in temporal
He
He
likes us to tell
Him
our
leave
it all to
if
delays,
Him.
moved the
tears of Jesus.
He
likes those
act
those
pulses.
3.
Am I one of
The
these
The
Part
VL From
sees to the
Tuesday.
of Lazarus.
:
When
Mary
pate
Week
St.
trouble.
Twenty-second
model
Lukexvi. 19-31.
certain rich
JESUS.
Twenty-second
John
xi. 46-54.
High Priest,
declared
THE MINISTRY OF
was expedient that one man should die for
the people, and not that the whole nation should
perish.
After this, Jesus withdrew to a distant
place with His disciples.
1. It seems strange that one of our Lord's most
wonderful miracles should have made those who
Yet so it is
beheld it more hostile than ever.
those who have hardened their hearts against God
are repelled, not attracted, by the marvels of His
love.
They only hate Him the more when they see
clear proofs of His power.
So we see evil men
misinterpreting the simple faith, and charity, and
that
it
Is this
my
spirit?
Jealousy
this
JESUS.
577
On
One who
already received.
High
it
it
was
Priest,
was expe-
man
'
But
it
Twenty-second ^A^eek
Thursday.
The Ten
Lepers.
St.
Luke
xvii. 11-19.
off,
Master, have
thankless closes up
3.
Jews.
more grateful
within
to
God and
Twenty-second
Week
Friday.
1-8.
Him?
1. When
we
Him
employing
some unexpected and almost anomalous simile.
Here He compares Almighty God to an unjust
judge overcome by importunity. God loves importunity. We need never fear lest we should
weary Him. He waits to be wearied by our petitions, and often requires this unbroken persistency
find
my
37
^The Unjust
Judge.
Luke xviii.
than some
it.
back
Him
dearer to
us."
Jesus ordered them to go and show
themselves to the priests, and as they went they
were healed. One of them, a Samaritan, turned
mercy on
Hence
the heart
is
St.
it.
One
others,
3.
to imitate
The
adversary."
of what adversary
that treat us
ill.
Our
?
often
Do
thus per-
?
:
"
Avenge me
Our prayers
n'or of
respecting
of
But
those
them must
THE MINISTRY OF
578
whom we
mercy, help
me
Week:
Saturday.
Pharisee and the Publican.
St.
Luke
The
the
Temple
pray, a
to
The
Pharisee's prayer
excellent one.
He
pride,
God
returned thanks to
But he
God
spoilt all
God
of
1.
to
Him. He
Woe
The
chief
we do
person we despise.
Woe
thought. Whatever I
2.
The
be, I
we indulge the
am
better
than
so-and-so.
us,
we
Week
Sunday.
of Humility.
St.
When
little
He watches
to those
who
them
or
why
be brought to Him
such is the Kingof Heaven."
What can be higher praise than
is that " of
to
dom
?
He likens children to the Angels of God.
says that they are the nearest counterpart on
earth of the Saints in Heaven. O blessed privilege
this
He
of
little
children
3.
No man
Am
their elders.
am
I stiff-necked
I childlike in
these respects, or
Twenty-fourth
Rich
Young Man.
St.
Mark
x. 17-27.
asked, "
Good Master,
what shall
ing ?"
When
Then
;
sell all
Jesus
thou
far worse.
Twenty-third
teach us
to us if
may
is to
who soug
from Him. Children;
Heaven."
into
|^
Heaven unless
he receives on earth the Kingdom of God as a little
child.
What does this mean ? It means that we
must put our neck willingly under the yoke as
children do, that we must be docile as children are,
that we must have a sense of continual dependence
on God as children depend on their parents, that
we must look to Him in every need, as they do to
it
his
Kingdom
by
God
Heaven.
said
for the
to
innocence, simplicity.
1.
come
to
and
displeased,
jealous care.
xviii. 10-14.
to
much
in the conflict.
Twenty-second
JESUS.
Mark
The
Necessity
x. 13-16.
The
rich
and upright
life,
so that our
lived a
-^
'
THE MINISTRY OF
came
re
him a
to
Jesus invited
further grace.
So, with
',
But unhappily for him he had great possesms, and these had gradually been gaining dominion over his heart and when our Lord called
him, and there came to him the grace to give up
all for God's sake, he turned away sad and would not
give them up. O how great is the danger of a man
God grant
whose heart clings to his possessions
cling
to
any
earthly
good.
that my heart may not
3. For all there is at some time a decisive crisis,
a choice between treasure on earth and treasure in
.
Heaven.
Thee
follow
"Week
Tuesday.
The
Evan-
the rich
departed, our
Why is
it
man
Certainly not.
The power
of
God can do
one.
erous alms
the recompense of
if
sacrifice
he wish to die
Arger reward.
'What
life.
This
will
be
external act.
Twenty-third
Our Lord
before
is this
reward
It is
many
astray.
place
Courage,
then
If we patiently suffer with Him now, we
shall one day reign with Him in glory.
!
Twenty-third
But
<ape the enthralling influence of wealth.
<" to whom God gives the grace of a complete
"
all
is
saved
Christ
gelical Counsels.
1.
579
Twenty-third
When
JESUS.
Week
Thursday.
His Approach.
:
The Signs of
Three signs
our Lord's
THE MINISTRY OF
580
To be
falling
Thy
scandal to what they see around them, and imputing bad motives. To which class do I belong ?
JESUS.
Archangel's trumpet shall summon men to judgment. As before the Flood, they will eat and drink,
and marry and be given in marriage, as if the
world was going to last for ever. So the world acts
now. Who would think that they will in a few
2.
world around
3.
Watch.
much
This
is
be the Christian's,
Watch against temptation;
watch against occasions of sin
watch for your
;
Do you
in
to
Be
When
ing away.
I look
over
my own
coldness
Alas, I fear
it
is
history, is
it
Lord's coming.
Man
at all
Twenty-third
then
events, I have
3.
ness
fair guise,
vice,
there
Under a
Lord's approach.
hidden
we
is,
alas,
perhaps a
look into
how much
What
In
selfish-
my heart
is
fair exterior.
Twenty-third
Week
of
St.
Friday,
The Suddenness
The Church
surprise.
2.
The
up
to the
its
business and
and
Kingdom
of
Heaven
as
invites those
In the evening
to
light
in the day,
fulness.
The Laborers
Saturday.
describes the
like to a householder,
special
Week:
St.
His Coming.
The
come ?
not when the Son of
will
in the Vineyard.
Our Lord
When we
your turn
know
shall come.
first fervor,
to wait before
at
Him.
inspirations.
God
if
who have
the latter
THE MINISTRY OF
JESUS.
581
3.
Twenty-fourth
Petition
XX. 20-23.
Him
in
do not
His Kingdom.
Ambition
is
a good thing
if it is
and
lovers of Jesus.
2.
The
Jesus
we
upon us
3.
When
those blind
men
must
follow
Him more
closely,
St.
Zaccheus, a chief
Luke
among
passed.
God and
Twenty-fourth
Am I
As Jesus went
Him.
such
Blind
29-34.
men who
sat
^The
xix. 2-10.
He
and bade
difficulties
more obediently,
amid the
obedience to
shouting
"
Him. This
the mercy Christ has
up,
to those
great crowd
men
are
Try and
at
1.
are loved
He
an emblem
of
the
it
THE MINISTK/ OF
582
He
will
after
are
it
Observe the
faults.
effect of
Twenty-fourth
Luke
nobleman about
to leave his
home
for a
time
Do
tain it is to
3.
Pro-
cession of Palms.
St.
Luke
xix. 29-38.
xix. 11-28.
1.
Twenty-fourth
Guest.
3.
JESUS.
Twenty-fourth
in reward for a
pound well
used.
sum
Christ
Friday.
Weeps
St.
Luke
xix. 41-44.
to Jerusalem, He began
to say : " If thou hadst known,
city,
Week:
over Jerusalem.
Him.
the city.
I.
Jesus, looking
down upon
THE MINISTRY OF
salem, was full of sorrow at the thought of its
approaching doom. He loved Jerusalem, and His
own
nation.
great
JESUS.
583
highly esteemed?
seek figs on
2.
Twenty-fifth
If only thou hadst listened to the secret inspirations of grace, thou mightest
Grant,
On
John
xii.
20-25.
He
when He
to
it
said,
*'
brings forth
much fruit.
19.
ever."
it.
Finding none, but leaves only. He
May no fruit grow on thee henceforward for
And presently the fig-tree withered away.
The
fig-tree
We
the World.
St.
Matt. xxi.
and so produce
only leaves, not fruit.
But the time
2. It was not yet the time of figs.
is always present of bringing forth good fruit to
God. It is dangerous indeed to say, the time has
not yet come for me to devote myself to God tolove of
self,
How
it
power-
sad would be
my
Jesus
my
Lord.
Twenty-fifth
Week: Monday.
On
Confidence
In Prayer,
St.
When
Mark
xi. 22-24.
had
He takes occasion
THE MINISTRY OF
684
JESUS.
done.''
to
"
1.
power.
2.
Confidence
is
no
less a requisite in
prayer than
Do
shall be heard.
come with
this confidence
what I need ?
It
2. Why is it that we have so little confidence ?
not that we doubt the power of God, or even His
is
eye.
goodness.
It is
It is
Selfishness
defeats its
own
What ought
dence ? The love
Week:
Tuesday.
Our
When
Twenty-fifth
Diso-
bedient Sons.
St. Matt. xxi. 28-32.
"A
said,
certain
sons,
and
to the first
my vineyard. He
he
said,
Lord's
of
Heaven
1
interests,
When
Authority to Teach.
St.
own
worst enemies.
end.
He
asked
before them.
in the parable
He
a dutiful child.
was by no means
resemble this
son
early disobedience.
in his
asked
my
and does
disobedience,
Have
He
I since repented of
ever ask of
me now
and in
he
THE MINISTRY OF
command given him. Am I not
too much like him ? In my prayers I say beautiful
things to God. But when it comes to practice, I do
Twenty-fifth
Week
The
Sadducees,
Luke
who
XX. 27-40.
585
Week
Twenty-fifth
Friday.
The Vineyard
A man had a
vineyard which he let out to husWhen the vintage drew near, he sent
his servants to receive the produce due to him. But
the husbandmen beat and ill-treated those who were
sent, and killed some of them.
At last he sent his
son, saying, " They will reverence my son."
But
bandmen.
JESUS.
woman
Pride,
2. The Pharisees first misrepresented the teaching of Christ and then proceeded to demolish their
own misrepresentation. So heretics misrepresent
the doctrines of the Church the Immaculate Conception, Eternal Punishment, Indulgences, Papal
Infallibility, and the like
and then proceed to confute their own garbled version of the truth. Make
an act of faith in the reasonableness as well as the
truth of all that the Church teaches.
triumphs are followed by its destruction and abasement. The Lord will come and crush the proud
under His feet. He will drive them out from their
inheritance. This is the story of apostasy from the
truth it is always pride. This is the reason why
so many who begin well end miserably.
3.
all
Our Lord
tells
We shall
God and
for
up in supernatural.
Even
them
must be unselfish
if
it is
to endure.
Learn
rebellion consequent
it
on
pride.
Ahab and
others.
to hate pride".
won
all
men
of good-will.
Him more
nay, hated
than
because he spoke
Such is the result of
all
me,
Grant
mility.
3.
Pride brings
its
own
fall.
Its
short-lived
Twenty-fifth
Week
Saturday.The Wedding
Heaven
children, in
see
and the
We
would be in the resurrection if she had been married several times on earth. Jesus answered that
they were in error, not knowing the Scriptures, for
in the resurrection none would marry, but all would
After this none of them dared
live an angelic life.
to ask Him any more questions.
1. The Sadducees maliciously thought that they
would puzzle our Lord by the objection they proposed to the resurrection of the body, and thus
secure the double end of putting Him to shame
and making His doctrine ridiculous. How vain
All the attacks of wicked men on
their efforts
God and truth will one day turn to their own confusion.
We must be patient.
A king
made a
invited
many.
and put
invitation,
Then
When
who
THE MINISTRY OF
586
The
feast to
He
calls
it
some form
or to
life,
may
be to the
of penance, or to
With
who
JESUS.
as a rebel or unpatriotic.
He
But
utterly defeats
and
to
Thy
life
2.
of greater devotion.
those
refuse
invitation
So to
not only the virtuous and
so that
is filled
it
the religious
life it is
Twenty-Sixth
Week
Sunday.
The
Pharisees
Herodians
send
their
to question Christ as to
with the
whether
it
He
is
sees
be on
must
my
The
questioners thought to
Twenty-sixth "Week
Monday.
^The Widow's
Mite.
St.
Our Lord
Mark
sitting
xli. 41-44.
much
them
that she
has cast in more than all the rest, for she has given
all she possessed to God.
1. Jesus watching the people casting the money
into the treasury of the Temple was doing what He
still
disciples
2.
continues to do,
giving
sees
tells
what each
gives,
Which
my
when
little
as possible.
am
asked to give ?
Shall I obtain the large benediction that He bestows
on the generous giver ?
2. Yet generosity does not depend on the amount
given, but on its proportion to the resources of the
giver.
To give a thousand pounds in charity may
not be as generous a gift to God as to give a shilling or even less. We must give what will cost us
something. If our charity is to be the pure gold
that wins the heart of God, it must involve some
is
disposition
self-denial.
3. The gift of the poor widow did more than cost
her a slight self-denial. It left her penniless. How
THE MINISTRY OF
contrary her action to human prudence
eyes of God it was the truest wisdom.
But in the
What
faith
No fear that
What charity
she must have had
she would be left in want. God would provide for
her, and that most liberally, as He always does for
I ready thus
those who are liberal with Him.
!
Am
God ?
to give all to
Twenty-sixth
Tuesday.
The Great
Which
is
commandment of the Law?" He anThou shalt love the Lord thy God with
swered
thy whole heart and thy whole soul and thy whole
mind. And the second is like to this Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments dependeth the whole Law and the Prophets."
:
1.
We
than the
from it.
It flows
first.
from
it
and
is
inseparable
We
requires.
It is
command, not a
counsel, that
we
This
is
life.
To what
command-
The
ments
is
self-love.
wholly, since
He
it ?
It
no
rival
and
it
preit
own
interest
and
their
happiness.
St.
Matt
Woe
"
and Pharisees
Woe
to
xxiii. 1-36.
hy-
!"
This
mouth
God
to you, Scribes
Incarnate.
They
denounces
Christ
love the
first
profess
the
places at feasts, to be
Their hypocrisy.
(3)
prayers and
sentials of the
Examine yourself on
Woe "
these points,
to you.
shown
to
them by the
people,
up by the respect
and taking to them-
Week
of the
God
who
for their
1.
is
Twenty-sixth
will brook
them
"
altation.
the great
Law
exponents of the
ofl&cial
thus
Scribes and Pharisees because of
Commandment.
One
687
of
Week
JESUS.
Thursday.
Ten
St. Matt.
The Parable
Virgins.
XXV. 1-13.
oil
no
oil.
When
shut out.
The oil
lamps
pure
intention that makes us labor for God's glory, not
I.
in the
THE MINISTRY OF
588
our own, and guide our lives by His holy inspirations and according to the Divine law, not by our
own impulses and inclinations. Without this, the
light that is in us is nothing else but darkness. Do
I in my lamp carry this oil of Divine charity ?
2. All ten were virgins, notes St. Gregory, but
only five were admitted to the marriage supper of
the Lamb. It is not enough to be free from gross
for
sin
if
we
may
even
be a misfortune to
trust to
worthless in
" Blessed is
the
man whom
Twenty-sijrth
his Lord,
when He
!"
my
elsewhere because of
Twenty-sixth
Week
ingratitude.
Saturday.
^The Final
Judgment.
St.
Matt XXV.
of
14-30.
Him,
so
many endowments
God
average of men.
will expect of
beyond the
me
a corre-
sponding return.
servant
was condemned
who had
for not
employing
God what
have.
To
the latter
"
De-
ye cursed."
Try
will be assembled,
A man
use for
the Talents.
The
tion
Kingdom
2.
JESUS.
me
it.
if
If I have
I neglect to
The
multitude of sins.
tinguishing
mark
of
my
life ?
MARY MAGDALEN
ST.
Conversion of
Luke
St.
And
sinner,
St.
in the city, a
ointment
began
wash His
to
feet
feet,
vii.
who was
behold a woman,
Mary Magdalen.
she
forth,
their substance.
with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet and
And the
who had
Pharisee
Him, seeing it, spoke within himThis man, if he were a prophet, would
know surely who and what manner of woman this
self,
is
invited
saying
that toucheth
Him,
that she
a sinner.
is
And
Jesus answering, said to him Simon, I have something to say to thee. But he said Master, say it.
the one owed
certain creditor had two debtors
And whereas
five hundred pence, the other fifty.
:
both.
whom
St.
Now
it
came
less.
thee.
to
Thy
faith
Who
And He
is
said to the
woman
go in peace.
to pass, as
named Martha
received
Mary Magdalen.
X.
He
Him
And
about
hast
Lord,
alone
?
Speak to her, therefore, that she help
me. And the Lord answering, said to her Martha,
Martha, thou art careful, and are troubled about
many things. But one thing is necessary. Mary
hath chosen the better part, which shall not be
taken away from her.
to serve
He
Visits
to Raise
Lazarus
John
xi.
her
sister.
whom Thou
And Jesus
hearing it,
said to them This sickness is not unto death, but
for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be
glorified by it.
Now Jesus loved Martha, and her
lovest is sick.
And
it
came
through the
viii.
he traveled
and towns, preaching and evan-
cities
Jesus.
en-
Lord's
Luke
689
590
ST.
and said
fore, said to
my
Jesus
Lord,
if
Thou
now
know that
Him:
again.
rise
Martha
saith to
life
for thee.
had not
Him
died.
Jesus, therefore,
laid
him
They say to
wept.
The
And
Jesus
Behold how He loved him.
Jews, therefore, said
But some of them said Could not He that opened
:
man
Now
him
Take away
Martha, the
Lord, by
the stone.
Him
They
And
Jesus
Father, I give
Thee
up His eyes
lifting
said
him go.
Many,
Mary
The Last
Visit to
St. Matt,
xxvi
St.
John
xii.
Jesus raised to
And
life.
they made
Him
came
whom
a supper
filled
His
disciples,
betray
Him,
for three
Judas
said
Iscariot,
Then one
of
to the poor
ST.
Now
lie
he was a
thief,
591
dead.
The
He must
rise
home.
But Mary stood at the sepulchre without, weeping.
Now, as she was weeping, she stooped down
and looked into the sepulchre and she saw two
angels in white, sitting, one at the head, and one
at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid.
They say
Amen
their
to
her:
Woman, why
weepest thou?
Mark xv and
xvi.
St.
why
saith to her
The
Woman
Taken
St.
in Adultery.
viii.
He came
taught them.
John
Him, and
sitting
down he
unto Him a
set her in the midst and said to Him
Master, this
taken
woman was even now
in adultery.
Now
Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a
one but what sayest Thou ? And this they said,
tempting him, that they might accuse Him. But
Jesus, bowing Himself down, wrote with His finger
on the ground.
When, therefore, they continued asking Him, He
:
ST.
692
lifted
up Himself and
said to
them
He
that
is
mained, and
the
woman
Him
out
went forth through all Judea, and throughthe country round about.
all
The Widow's
Mite.
Mark
St.
The
Woman
St.
And
of Canaan.
xii.
how
money
Matt. XV.
And
The Widow
St.
And
it
came
Luke
of Nairn.
viii.
went
Naim, and there went with Him
and a great multitude. And when
to pass afterwards that Jesus
His
disciples
behold a dead
son of his mother,
and a great multitude of the
city,
Weep not.
And He came
her
thej'
that carried
Young man,
stood
say to thee,
still.
arise.
bier,
and
And He said
And he that was
The Mother
Then came
Who
thing of Him.
saith to
sit,
the one on
said
left,
in
We
can.
you
shall drink
He
them
saith to
;
but to
sit
on
to give to you,
is
not
is
prepared by
And
to
My
My
my
right or left
hand
whom
it
Father.
Him, and
chalice, indeed,
it,
them
wilt thou
Mine
What
You know
She
Thy
said to her
said
it
But Jesus
called
the princes
greater
life
LODKltDde East
rule
32
f
fir-ai,
Sttkmtt altA
00.
lBr'
K r
CHffiF
PLACES
KKHmONKD tX THB
HISTOBY
OP THE
PATKIAKCHS
(fo.
BTAItOBLEir.
Lake
9. 1.38
....
8
t
10
11
13
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
SO
SI
S9
92
54
55
56
**^
R*tum
....
to t^at.
^^t frnm
S JBtt
1
JohD
b--eii](
Matt.
d'iltoconiinufd
ditto
Lake 0*nnearet C^vratin
Thtfirgt miraculous dnraphi of SKhei. A leper healed
Capemam S*a of QaiiU*
A man tick of the piilsy nealed. Matthew called, etc. . . .
Jetus at the *conc/ Passover, in bis minls'ry, heals a lame mao... Brthttda, Jmisaltm....
Ntgk to JerMaaltm ....
The disclpks pluck corn on tbeSabbuth day
,. At Capernaum
The withered n&iid restored
Jetus'rirjt partial circuit
By L. Gmne*aret,W. HtU
Jf. of Capernaum
cbooses twelves Apostles. after prayvr all eight
delivers a sermon ou the plain
dtUo
....
....
... .At Capemavm
The Ccuturion't sT^'Kut bellied
..
J9
Widow's son ruisfd(Luke 1.1 M) John's meeDper answered At Nain
80 Jesus Is anointed at Main. Thence he m'lkos bii Second Civcuit of Galilee ....
81 A blind and dumb demoniac healed
At Capernaum
wmen
S.224.49
Matt.
Mark
MatU
Lu.6.I-ll;12-4
Mark
9.
John
6.
Matt.
6.
Mark
1-8
6.11
3. 7-19
6.19. .6
Luke
.17-49
7. 1-10
11. 9.80
7.36-50, 8.1-8
Matt. 1949-50
13. l-1T;e4-86
36
>
18-23
36-59
63; 8.18-97
Mark.
6.
MatU
1-21
9.10-34
.36
9-:i,j_10.1.5 11.1
Mark 6.14-29
80-44
MatU
14.29-36
John
6.^6-71
Uark
7. 1-98
Matt. 15.21-.8
.29-'18
15.3916
Mark
,9
8.99-.6
Matt. 16.13-98
Mark 9.1499
.80-,9
.83-50
Matt.
18.
J.ba7.98.
8. 2-59
.
Luke
10.21
lit.39-49
II.
9.51-69
10 95-37
11.1-18
.14-54
19.
IS. 1-35
14.
16'.
1-31
17. 1.19
.90-31
18. 1-14
. .
1-99
19.
Luke
4.43-54
4 14-SO
4.12-29
1.21-34
4.28-6
Luke
Malt.
_]3_S.91
Luk*
OF
wman
a.
Luke
John
....
2.40-53
3. 1-90
13-17
4. 1-13
1.19.51
8. 1-19
Matt.
l-n
9.
Luke
tti
1-25
1.
.96-66
.67-80
Mark
MatU
10 13-. 6
19.16-30
90.
Luke
Mark
Luke
MatU
116
17-98
18 35-43
10.46-59
19. 9-27
96. 6-13
John 19.20-36
MalU90.18-2S:19J
91.23 46
99.
.
John
MatU
1.29
.93-16
19.31-50
23.
94.
144
- 94.4525.30
26. 1-5, 14-.6
John
1S.1-1Y
Luke 92.94-38
John 14.
15.
MatU
S6.30-.S
96.86-66
- 26-5797.10
John
Loke
MatU
.ST-.W
51-66
90. 118
94. 13-13
John
38.16-20
91.1-94
Acu
1,4,I1,.2
EXPLANATION.
Twia Cbabt embraces every event In the Gospel History, from Its earliest period to the Aaoenston of our Lord
Heaven ticcordmg to Gbkswbll's arrangement of A Harmony of the Four Gopv;ls.
It is dividkd IuloOkb Hl-kdbkd Lbssot^s, having the events Localized In Chro no loir leal succession.
OUB LoED attended ifve feasu In J- riisalem in the course of His Ministry, viz: The Passovers, John li. IS,
No. 19 Jo. v., N . 2.3 ;-The Feast of Tb^rnai.ies, Jo. vtl. 10, No. 51 ;The Feast of Dedication, Jo. i. 99, No. 64^
and the Passover at which He was crui-ified
Nos. 111, Embrace the events of the private history of John the Baptist and of Jesus.
Into
i-Vrtt
vear's ministry.
44
100.
'
FOR
BIBLE CLASSES.- "The Harmony of the Four KvangellsU." hisk. Demy 18mo, pbice Is., present* the
several histories, distinct and complete on one page in juj[i4y>o>iiion : and, by a simple Alphabetical arrangement,
shows the supplemental relation of each Gospel to the others, without alteration, addition, or omission.* And
FOR
CLASSES.-** The Steps of Jesus A Narraiive Harmony of the Four EvangelisU, In the
words of the Authorized Version." ciz. Demy 18 mo. pkicb, 1*. fi'i., and Demv *48mo, pricb Sd., furnishes ONi
continuous Biographical History oi tbs Life and Miuistry of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, compiled from iha
four Gospels. Arni
ELF.MCNTARY CLASSES. Young chll.lren. of all ages, may acquire from the "One Hundred Easy
LetsooB." numbered as in the above Tabular View pricr Hd., a general outline of the same Biographical ' Facts
w^ilch Christcametosupply; out of which the Evaageilcai
an dwloeed, and which most pbilotopbiaslly
---<"
Teadter.
precedathem." Da. Kaiuu'' &rca<
TESTAMENT
FOR
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