LENTEN THOUGHTS (1873)

SATURDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT.
GOSPEL.—John viii. 1—1 1.

Picture to yourself Jesus in the Temple,
and the poor sinning woman placed before
Him covered with shame and confusion.
See how gently He deals with the helpless
sinner, and turns the accusation upon the
hypocritical accusers.

I

There is much in the scene here represented
to us to make us love our Dear
Lord very much. It comes home very
nearly to us; for although we may not
have been guilty of the very crime of which
the poor woman was accused, still, when
we stand before our Lord, that is when we
pray to Him, or when we recall His sacred
presence, we must feel that we are before
Him as poor, miserable sinners. We know
more of Him than the woman did. We
know that He is the spotless Lamb of God,
the very essence of purity and holiness, in
whose sight the very heavens are not clean.
And if we look into our souls, shall we dare
to say that we are fit to be before Him?
The very thought of our unworthiness would
be enough to keep us from Him, were we
not reassured by the study of His character,
and by such instances of merciful regard
for poor sinners as the one recorded in this
day's gospel. He has not a word of reproach
for the softened sinner. He even
stoops down, and writes with His finger on
the pavement, lest by looking at her He
might embarrass and confound her. O
sweet compassion of Jesus, Who came, not
to judge and condemn, but to heal and to
save !

II

Consider how, instead of reproaching the
accused woman, Jesus looks at her accusers,
and utters those words that must
have burned into their very consciences :—
"He that is without sin among you, let
him cast the first stone at her." What a
lesson is here for ourselves! Let us imagine
Jesus saying to us, " Do not be hard upon
others, unless you can lay your hand upon
your heart, and declare before God, the
angels, and men, that you are without sin."
This is practically His language to us, and
this is what He would wish to teach us by
what He said to the Scribes and Pharisees.
Do we attend to His teaching? Are we
not, on the contrary, only too ready to accuse,
to blame, and condemn others; and
to take pleasure in hearing their failings
exposed, in listening to tales and scandals,
either true or false, against our neighbour,
without a moment's reflection on our own
guiltiness? Many persons think that they
may talk as uncharitably as they please of
another, provided that what they talk about
is true. But this is the sin of detraction,
and it is totally inconsistent with the charity
of Christ. Oh! that we, who profess to be
His followers, were more like Him! How
many sinners we might convert to Him by
a little kind consideration! And how much
good is prevented by untimely harshness
and cruelty! If we had a true sense of our
own unworthiness, our own sins and weakness,
we should not blame others with bitterness ;
and if we had occasion to reprove
them, it would be done with charity and
gentleness, and souls would be gained to
God.

III.

When Jesus had uttered those words
to the Scribes and Pharisees, He again
averted His face, and wrote upon the
ground. They, conscience-stricken and
confounded, went away one by one, until
"Jesus alone remained, and the woman
standing in the midst." It was then that
He lifted Himself up, and looking at her,
spoke to her, assuring her of His forgiveness;
for unless He had forgiven her, He
must have condemned her. He, doubtless,
infused contrition into her heart, for, without
that, He could not have forgiven her. It is
when the soul is alone with God that good
thoughts arise in it, the enormity of sin
becomes apparent, and sorrow finds its
place in the heart. What is it to be alone
with God ? It is ever keeping His presence
before the eyes of the soul. It is a sense
of individual responsibility to God as if we
were the only creature in existence. It is
the habit of examination of conscience, of
prayer, and of meditation. It is the banishing
the consideration of all inferior things
and motives, and giving ourselves up undistractedly
to God. It is then that God
speaks to the heart, and sends into it His
holy inspirations. It is then that we can
really gather spiritual fruit from our communion
with God, that we can learn to
repent of our sins, and to make good resolutions
for the future, and so deserve to
hear from Him the words, " Go, and now
sin no more."

How sweet and amiable Thou art, Dear
Jesus, to poor sinners, trying to allure them
to virtue by Thy gentle compassion and
tenderness! What regard Thou hast for
the weakness of humanity ! Let me learn
a lesson of humility as regards myself, and
of charitable consideration for my neighbour.
Who am I that I should presume
to cast a stone ? Do Thou aid me by Thy
grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT.
GOSPEL.—John vi. I— 15.

Picture to yourself our Blessed Lord
flying from the popularity which He had
acquired, and hastening all alone to the
mountain.

I.

Our Dear Lord had performed the wonderful
miracle of feeding five thousand
men, besides women and children, as St.
Matthew tells us, with five loaves and two
fishes. And, even after they were satisfied,
there remained fragments sufficient to fill
twelve baskets. The stupendous nature of
this miracle so worked upon the minds of
the people, that acknowledging His divine
power, they exclaimed : " This is of a truth
the prophet that is to come into the world."
And they would have proclaimed Him
King. They wished to take Him by force
and make Him their sovereign. Jesus
Christ performs a greater wonder in our
regard when He feeds, not five thousand,
but all the Faithful who will, with His most
Sacred Body and Blood in the Holy Sacrament
of the altar. And that not once, but
as often as we choose to approach Him ;
nor in the desert (Matt, xiv.), but amid the
busy haunts of men, in a half-hour that we
can snatch away from our ordinary pursuits
of business or pleasure, if we will. And
yet how little do we think of this wondrous
food which He keeps ready for us ! How
little of the immensity of the love which
urges Him to dwell under the Eucharistic
form in our churches, that He may be
always there for those who come, and that
He may be carried thence to feed and cheer
the sick and dying, and give them this
pledge of everlasting glory ! Surely He
deserves to be our King ; to be proclaimed
by us the Lord and Sovereign of our souls ;
not with our mind and our lips alone, but
with all the true allegiance of our hearts,
and all the deep fidelity of our affection.
He is our King and Lord in reality, we
cannot prevent that ; but let us confess it,
and let us act as if we believed that He has
a right to our loyalty.

II.

When Jesus knew that they would come
and make Him king, He fled away from
them. He sought no worldly honour and
distinction. He who was and is for ever
the King of Heaven and earth, sought in
this world no other crown than one of
thorns, no other sceptre than a reed, no
royal robe but the purple cloak cast upon
Him in derision, no kingly title but that
which should be written above His head on
Calvary. He shunned distinction as men
shrink from insult or misfortune, and fled
from it as a man will fly from his enemies.
Let us contrast the conduct of Jesus with
our own, ever remembering that all that
He did was for our instruction. Do we
shun honours and distinctions, in imitation
of our Divine Master ? Do we despise a
fleeting popularity ? Are we not, on the
contrary, vain of any elevation above our
fellow men ? This vanity will lead us into
many serious disorders if we are not very
careful to check it. If we were to give it
full liberty, it would lead us to be proud,
and haughty, and contemptuous towards
others. It would lead us to ambition fatal
to charity, and even to justice. How many
men have risen in worldly honour at the
expense of others' happiness! It may,
perhaps, be our case not to be in such a
position as to give us hopes of rising high
in the world's esteem ; still, are there not
many trifles which cause us to be vain?
Let each one look into his own heart,
and examine his own conduct. This is
very necessary, for our vanity is so great,
that we are always apt to consider and
criticise what our neighbour does, and to
think our own conduct perfection. Or if
not perfection, at least something that
deserves considerable appreciation. How
many vexations should we save ourselves if
we could learn not to be vain, besides imitating
and pleasing the Sacred Heart of
Jesus !

III.

There is something singularly touching
in the sight of our Dear Lord fleeing from
the face of men, plunging into the mountain
recesses, and hiding Himself alone ;
and then casting Himself upon His sacred
knees, and praying to His Eternal Father.
What thoughts passed through His Sacred
Heart ! Thoughts of burning love ; and
of longing desire for the accomplishment
of the Divine Will, as He knelt there in
solitude. We can imagine the wild animals
peering at Him round the rocks, and
among the leaves ; and perhaps the birds
of the air, fearless of Him, singing their
joyous hymns around Him. There He
remained till the fourth watch of the night,
when His love urged Him to seek His
disciples, and He went to them walking on
the sea. Solitude is very advantageous to
the soul that would unite itself to God by
prayer ; and all the true servants of God,
the Saints whose lives are set before us as
examples, have loved solitude. Some have
fled, like our Lord, to the desert ; some
have sought the cell of the monastery ;
while others, whose apportioned lot has
been to mix with the busy world, have
found their moments for solitary prayer
and contemplation in the retirement of
their chamber, or in visits to the Blessed
Sacrament. Let us seek for such quiet
moments now and then, when we may
speak to God, and think of God ; and
when He will speak to us.

O my Jesus ! Thou shalt be my king,
indeed. Thy will shall be my law. I will
prize Thy will above all things. Rather
let me die than forget or forfeit my allegiance
to Thee. I will, with Thy help, check
and keep down my vanity, and I will seek
Thee from time to time in silence and in
solitude, so that nothing may distract my
thoughts from Thee. Jesus, aid me by Thy
grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

MONDAY IN THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT.
GOSPEL.—John ii. 13— 25.

Place yourself in spirit at the feet of
Jesus Christ ; look up to Him as your
teacher in the spiritual life, and endeavour
to take all advantage of the lessons He
gives you.

I.

We have already considered a similar
scene to that narrated in the Gospel for
this day, when we meditated upon the passage
taken from the 21st chapter of St.
Matthew; and we then compared the
Temple of Jerusalem to the Christian
soul in which God loves to dwell by His
grace. Let us now consider the supereminent
sanctity of a Christian church,
and how far its holiness is superior to that
of the Jewish temple. To hearts that
love Jesus Christ that superiority is at
once apparent, when they remember the
real and adorable Presence in the Blessed
Sacrament. Jesus Christ makes the church
His home ; it is His own house, His dwelling
place, that we visit when we visit a
Catholic church. He receives us under
His own roof, where He has prepared for
us a banquet such as angels have never
partaken of, in which our souls are fed with
His most sacred Body and Blood. Take
away the Blessed Sacrament from a Catholic
church ; the house remains, it is true,
but the Master is gone, and a sense of desolation
seems to reign throughout ; a
desolation which is almost felt, even though
we may not see that the tabernacle is open,
and the light extinguished. There is no
longer any centre around which the minor
sanctities of the church may group themselves ;
no longer that loadstone which was
wont to draw to itself the homage and
affection of faithful souls. But the Blessed
Sacrament there, the poorest hovel becomes
a heaven on earth. Oh ! let us love the
church, the material church, if it be only
for this.

II.

But, besides this, it is in the church that
so many Sacraments are conferred. There,
we are made children of God, Christians,
and heirs of heaven by Holy Baptism ;
there is actual sin washed away in the
sacrament of Penance, and Matrimony is
sanctified. In the church are the images
of the Blessed Mother of God, and of the
Saints, the friends of Jesus. There we
hear the words of eternal life, and assist at
the tremendous mysteries. Moreover, the
church is the palace of Christ's poor, from
which no one can exclude them, and where
they can kneel side by side with the noble
and the rich at the altar, and where one
considers oneself honoured by the proximity
of the lowly and the humble. If the
zeal of our Dear Lord was so much aroused
by seeing the profanation of the Temple of
Jerusalem, what must be His anger at the
desecration of a Catholic church. Let us
learn then to reverence and to love our
church, and to banish from us every act
and thought unworthy of His presence,
and of the holiness of the place.

III.

Consider the concluding words of this
day's gospel : " He knew what was in
man." Jesus, by His own knowledge,
which was divine, knew, and knows the
hearts of all men. Whatever may be our
outward appearance, our external acts, our
words, He knows exactly what we are worth
before God. We can cloak and conceal
nothing from Him, however much we may
impose upon men ; and it is a tremendous
thought that the eyes of an all-seeing Judge
are ever fixed upon us, taking measure of
us in every respect. And yet we are given
to think much more of our neighbour's conduct
than of our own. We can only judge
of others by appearances, than which
nothing is more deceptive ; and while we are
criticising, and perhaps condemning our
fellow-creature in our own mind, we forget
that there is One watching us, who does not
judge by appearances, but who knows us
most intimately, and who cannot by any
means whatever be deceived in us. I will
examine myself upon this head, and see
what my conduct is with regard to rash
judgment of others, and also what it is in
the eyes of God.

0 my God ! I will reverence and love
the church, " the place where Thy glory
dwelleth." And do Thou give me grace to
carry out the resolution, which I now make
in Thy presence, of so carefully guarding
my conduct that Thou mayest see nothing
in it displeasing to Thee, and of resisting
the temptation to form unjust and rash
judgments with regard to my neighbour.
Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

TUESDAY IN THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT.
GOSPEL.—John vii. 14—31.

Let us represent to ourselves Jesus teaching
in the Temple ; and let us see the dignity
and holiness of His manner, and try if
we can gather any lesson for ourselves.

I.

Admire the magnanimity of Jesus. He
knew that the Jews sought to kill him, as
we learn from the first verse of the chapter
from which this day's gospel is taken, and
as we may gather from other passages in
the same. Yet, though He had remained
for a time, on this account, in Galilee, to
teach us a lesson of prudence, about the
middle of the feast He showed Himself
publicly in the Temple, and began to teach.
He had set out on His mission of teaching,
and no sense of fear interposed to prevent
Him from accomplishing His Father's will.
The service of God will always require from
us a certain degree of fortitude. The early
Church was watered with the blood of martyrs ;
three hundred years ago our fathers
in the Faith in this country (England) had to be ready
to undergo death rather than sacrifice their
Faith ; and much more recently they were
subjected to grievous persecutions and penalties
for the sake of their religion. Death
is not now offered to us as the price of our
fidelity, but, living as we do in the midst of
bitter enemies to our Faith, we have numberless
annoyances to put up with, insults
to endure, misrepresentations to encounter ;
and what is worse than all, we have to hear
so many blasphemies against all that we
hold most holy. How do we bear ourselves
in the midst of all this ? How do I
endure insult, ridicule, and injury on account
of my religion ? Do I imitate the
steady, quiet fortitude of Jesus ? Or do I
not lose my temper sometimes, and feel
uncharitably towards my tormentors ? Do
I ever allow the fear of what others may
say to hinder me from letting them know
that I am a Catholic when God's honour
calls for a profession of my faith ? Do I
ever shrink from any practice enjoined by
the Church because of what may be said or
thought of me ? If I do, I do not come up
to the standard of my model, Jesus Christ.

II.

There were two causes which, in this
particular instance, gave our Lord such admirable
magnanimity; 1st, He was ready
to die at any moment, even though His
death should be violent and painful ; 2nd,
He knew that the time appointed by His
Father had not yet come. Do I feel that,
even if I were assured that it was God's
will that I should die now, I could lie down
and expire without fear, and without regret
for anything that I should leave behind
me ? Am I ready to appear before my
Judge ? Let me reflect upon this, and
amend whatever may want correction. We
should all be in such a disposition that we
would do our duty, even with danger of
losing our lives ; and with perfect confidence
that God, if He sees fit and best for
us, will rescue us from the danger.

III.

It is an instinct with us to admire magnanimity
and fortitude when we see them
exhibited in the conduct of others. Of all
the qualities of man, perhaps this is the
one which calls forth the greatest expression
of admiration. No one looks with favour
upon cowardice and weakness of spirit.
When a man yields to pusillanimity, he
becomes an object of contempt, and to
none more so than to those who have extorted
it from him. Whereas, on the other
hand, courage and high-mindedness receive
their reward of praise even from the
bitterest enemies. We shall gain nothing
with either God or man by yielding to a
cowardly fear. If even physical courage
receives its reward of applause, how much
more deserving of admiration is the moral
courage which enables us to overcome, and
make nothing of human respect ? But besides
this, we require moral courage to
enable us to carry out our duty in spite of
ourselves. We must despise the opinions and
prejudices of the world, but we must attack
our own evil inclinations with a vigorous
and unsparing hand. This demands a high
degree of moral courage. We become
cowards in the face of our natural sloth in
regard of spiritual things, or when our duty
demands a sacrifice of a little ease or pleasure,
when we have to curb the strength of
our passions, or to give up anything or any
one who is in the way of our salvation.
How dignified is that soul which goes
calmly on in the path of strict duty, no
matter what obstacles lie in the way ! It
becomes very like its Divine Model, Jesus
Christ.

O my Lord and Saviour! give me
courage in the performance of my duty. I
will never be ashamed of Thee, nor of Thy
Religion. I will never fear anything that
the world can bring against me. I would
rather die ten thousand times than commit
one mortal sin. Give me grace to persevere
in my good resolutions. Pater, Ave,
Gloria.

TBC....

WEDNESDAY IN THE FOURTH WEEK OF
LENT.—GOSPEL.—John ix. I—38.

Imagine that you are among the witnesses
of the wonderful miracle related in
this day's Gospel ; that you see our Dear
Lord, hear His words, and behold His
actions.

I.

It was just after Jesus had passed out of
the Temple as narrated in the last verse of
the preceding chapter, that He saw the
man who had been blind from his birth.
This man was not only blind, but no doubt,
in consequence of his blindness, was also a
beggar. How little could he have anticipated
that the day would come when the
Son of God, become man, should give him
the faculty of seeing, which he had never
possessed, and thus confer upon him the
means of raising himself from his state of
beggary. By original sin, we are all born
blind ; the whole human race, by Adam's
fall, were reduced to a state far worse than
corporal blindness and beggary ; and the
only begotten Son of God, seeing our condition,
took pity on us. He became like
one of us, thus passing by our way, in order
that He might rescue us. Which of us
could, by the greatest effort of imagination,
have devised the way by which we
were to be cured and saved ? Not all the
wisdom of philosophers and sages ; not
even the insight into God's ways possessed
by saints could have dared to anticipate so
wondrous a means as the Incarnation. Not
the luminous sagacity of the Angels, who
are enlightened by the very light of God's
throne, could have contrived such a plan
of salvation for man as that the Son of God
should become man, and suffer and die to
compass it. God has greater depths of
love than man or angel could have thought
of. Let us wonder at the abyss of His
love, and excite our souls to make Him the
return which He desires, namely, the return
of our love.

II.

Notwithstanding the clearness of the evidence,
and the simplicity of the proofs of
this striking a miracle, the Jews would not
believe either it, or the truth of Jesus
Christ. On the contrary, with insulting
words, they told the man that he might be
the disciple of Jesus, but that they were
the disciples of Moses. Were they wilfully blind ?
Or was their blindness judicial,
that is, a punishment for their sins ?
Whichever it was in their case, let us be
careful that we never shut our eyes to the
light of God's grace, and thus become wilfully blind.
Have we ever shunned the
knowledge of God's will in our regard ?
Have we ever felt that we would rather not
know what God wished us to do or to be,
lest His will should be contrary to our inclinations ?
Have we ever put away from
us the consideration of God's will as a
troublesome thought, because the following
of it would involve some sacrifice, or even
some slight inconvenience? Let us examine
into this; and let us be very cautious
lest resistance to God's will on our
part should draw down upon us the punishment
of spiritual blindness, which, unless in
most exceptional cases, will lead to final
impenitence.

III.

Consider those words of Jesus : " I must
work the works of Him that sent me,
whilst it is day: the night cometh when no
man can work." The time of our lives is
the day in which we must work, and merit
the glory which endures for ever. Our
death is the night when we can no longer
do anything towards our salvation. Jesus
did the works of Him that sent Him, and
so, all that we do during our lives should be
in accordance with the will of God. Our
works should be His works. Should we
dare to call everything that we do, God's
work? Can we conscientiously say that,
even in a general way, we intend to do
nothing but what God wishes us to do, and
in the manner in which He wishes us to do
it? Could we bear that Jesus should visibly
pass by, and see us, and be seen by us, in
all our actions? Yet He does see us always,
and under every possible circumstance.
If there be anything to correct,
let us set about it at once ; for the night
cometh. Our death will soon be upon us.

Dear Lord Jesus! So merciful and so
good ! I will never close my eyes to Thy
grace. I will always try to find out Thy
will by a rigorous examination of myself,
and by consulting and following the advice
of my director. I grieve for having so
often acted against Thy will; and I will
begin now, with Thy grace, to do Thy will,
that when the night comes for me, I may
be found ready. Do Thou aid me by Thy
grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

THURSDAY IN THE FOURTH WEEK OF
LENT.—GOSPEL.—Luke vii. 1 1—16.

Imagine yourself to be among the crowd
near the gate of the city of Nairn, and that
you see the meeting between Jesus and the
sorrowing widow, and all that takes place
on this wonderful occasion.

I.

This was a meeting of life and death,
Jesus the true Life, accompanied by His
disciples and a great multitude, encounters
the dead body of a young man, followed by
his weeping mother, who was a widow, and
many people of the city who went with her
out of sympathy and consideration. The
moment that Jesus sees her He shows His
compassion for her. His Heart was so full
of love for man that the first sight of distress
called forth a manifestation of sympathy
from Him. Hear his kind and
gentle voice as He says to her, "Weep
not." And see Him touch the bier, and
command the dead body to rise again to
life. See how the eyes open, and look
around. See how the blood once more
circulates, and colours the cheeks, and how
he that was dead sits up, and begins to
speak. But Jesus has not yet done all for
that poor widow, He gives her once more
the son whom she had lost. Oh! what joy
for that widowed mother's heart! Enter
into the feelings that would be excited in
you, if you actually beheld this scene.
How your heart would warm with love
towards Jesus, so that, if you had not been
with Him before, you would join Him now.

II.

The dead man was a young man, like
any other young man. He had been full
of life, of energy, of spirit. He had had
his companions and his friends, his admirers,
and perhaps his enemies. Doubtless,
like other young persons, he had
looked forward to many years of life, and
to much enjoyment. On the other hand,
his mother had loved him dearly. He was
her only son; and had considered him as
her hope and stay, the support and the joy
of her age. Probably, neither of them had
anticipated an early death for him. Yet
death came in the midst of his youth, and
carried him away. Whatever had been
their thoughts, neither of them could ever
have imagined that when death had once
come, the Lord of life and death would
restore him to life and to his mother.

How vain are all the promises I have
made to myself of the enjoyment of life! I
may be young, and thoughtless, with regard
to serious matters, looking forward to many
years in the world, yet God alone knows if
I shall be alive this time next year, this
day next week, this hour tomorrow. Certain
it is that when my death does come,
the years that have passed will appear very,
very short. My death must come soon;
for what are a few years of time compared
to the endless ages of eternity ; and it will
be by the standard of eternity that I shall
measure and judge of things when I come
to die. Another thing certain is—that I
cannot expect a stupendous miracle to be
wrought that shall raise me to life again;
and even so, as in the case of the young
man in the gospel, I could only look for a
few years of renewed life. Death would
come at last, and finally. Do I think
enough of death, of the certainty and the
speed of its coming, and of the utter uncertainty
of the time, place, or manner of
my death?

III.

A soul that has lost the grace of God,
that is, a soul in mortal sin, may be compared
to a dead body that is being carried
out to be buried. The Church weeps and
laments. Jesus meets it, and approaches
it by inspiring it with remorse. He touches
the bier by the numberless means which,
through the ministry of His Church, He
places before it for its resurrection from the
death of sin. He says to it, " Arise." And
yet, notwithstanding the dear compassion
of Jesus, how many souls deliberately choose
to remain dead, that is, remain wilfully in
sin, and reject the means of the sacraments,
etc, which Jesus and His Church offer.
What must be the consequence? They
will be carried to the grave, that is, they
will be buried in hell. And all through
their own fault; for there is nothing wanting
on the part of our Lord. He has done all
that He can. Oh! what a sad frustration of
the loving efforts of Jesus and His Church!
What irreparable, never ending loss!

I love Thy dear compassionate Heart, O
my Jesus! And I will do all in my power
to correspond with Thine infinite goodness
which, by Thy Church, gives me such efficacious
means of rising from the death of
sin. Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. Pater,
Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

FRIDAY IN THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT.
GOSPEL.—John xi. 1—45.

Realize to yourself the wonderful scene
of Jesus going with tears and groans, accompanied
by the weeping sisters, by His
disciples, and a crowd of people, to the
grave in which the dead body of Lazarus
was laid ; and hear him pronounce, with
a loud voice, the words, "Lazarus, come
forth." Then see the dead man arise, and
come forth, still bound in the grave-clothes.

I.

Jesus weeping, the tears coursing down
His sacred cheeks, is a moving spectacle.
Even the Jews, who did not believe in Him,
said, " Behold how He loved him." And
can we, who know with a certain faith,
who and what He was, look on unmoved ?
Jesus wept with grief, with affection, with
sympathy, and with earnestness. Contemplate
Him in His affliction, and try to enter
into the sentiments which filled His dear
Sacred Heart. Yesterday we saw how He
restored an only son to his mother ; today
we behold Him giving joy to the affectionate
hearts of the two sisters, by the restoration
of their brother. Ever kind, ever
compassionate Jesus ! If Jesus wept out of
love for His friend, and out of sympathy
with the afflicted sisters ; if He grieved
over mere temporal distress and loss, how
much more must His pure Heart have sorrowed
over sin, the occasion of eternal loss
and woe. Have I ever given Jesus occasion
to grieve over me ? Have I ever been
dead, and buried in sin by losing the grace
of God, and giving myself up to utter forgetfulness
of Him ? Let me reflect upon
my conduct, and grieve from my heart for
all the pain which Jesus has suffered on
my account. It will be a wholesome grief
if I can mingle my tears with those of
Jesus, for it will make me love Him more.

II.

Hear how our Dear Lord gives thanks to
His eternal Father for having heard Him :
" Father, I give Thee thanks that Thou
hast heard me." This is a great lesson for
us who think so little of the prayer of
thanksgiving. We are ready enough to
ask for favours, and are even tempted to
murmur if our requests are not at once
heard or answered. When a favour is
granted, we are very apt to take it as if it
were our due, and to forget the giver.
When our prayers are heard, we rejoice
indeed, but too often neglect to thank the
good God who has heard them. And how
many good things, both spiritual and temporal,
do we not receive without having
had even the slight trouble of asking for
them ? God, out of the abounding fountain
of His love, has deluged us with favours.
He gave us life, brought us into His Church
by baptism, preserved us through many
dangers to soul and body. Health, ease,
happiness, and a thousand other blessings
have been conferred upon us by Him. All
that we have of good is from His hand.
We know this ; and yet if we ask ourselves
how often we think of returning Him
thanks, we shall find very much reason to
be ashamed of our thoughtlessness and ingratitude.
Let us make it a rule to thank
God daily, not only for ourselves, but for
His goodness to all the world. It is a
good practice to have the custom of very
frequently saying from our hearts, " Thank
God !"

III.

Consider how Jesus goes on to say that
He gave thanks thus publicly on account
of the people standing about, that they
might believe that the Father had sent
Him. Here we see how Jesus seems to
forget Himself, and the favour which His
Father was about to confer upon Him, in
His all-absorbing desire for His Father's
glory, and for the salvation of mankind.
It was no new thing for Jesus to be heard
by His Father: — "Thou hearest me always."
Neither was it a new thing for
Him to make the prayer of thanksgiving.
But now that the miracle of raising one
from the grave was about to be performed,
He knew that many would believe that the
Father had sent Him, and thus would give
honour and glory to the Father, and save
their souls, and He lifts up His sacred eyes
to Heaven, and thanks Him.

Is our first and dominant thought one of
desire for the honour of God, and our own
and our neighbour's salvation? Do we always
offer up our actions to God? Do we
think sufficiently that we came into this
world for no other purpose than to love and
serve God here, that we may reign with
Him for ever hereafter?

O God of all goodness! How often have
my sins afflicted the Sacred Heart of Jesus!
How great has been my ingratitude! By
Thy grace it shall be so no more. I thank
Thee from my heart for all that Thou hast
done for me. I thank Thee for the trials
and crosses Thou hast sent me, because
Thou knowest that they are good for me.
I thank Thee for all the world. May all
my thoughts, words, and actions tend to
Thy glory, and to the salvation of myself
and others. Do Thou aid me by Thy
grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

SATURDAY IN THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT.
GOSPEL.—John viii. 12—20,

It was after absolving the woman taken
in adultery that Jesus continued His teaching
in the Temple. Consider Him sitting
there surrounded by crowds of Jews, and
attentively hear the words of heavenly wisdom
that proceed from His sacred lips.

I.

" I am the light of the world." These
are the words of Jesus Christ to the Jews
who hated Him, and who pretended to see
in His doctrine nothing but falsehood and
darkness. They were not addressed to the
Jews alone, but to us also. Let us learn
from them what we may. Jesus is our
light. What does this mean? It is He
who through His Church teaches us the
way of eternal life, and is thus the light of
our journey through this world. They
who know not the Church are in darkness.
They seek for the light of Christ, but they
cannot find it, for they have no guide.
They (the protestant sects) have proclaimed the Holy Scriptures
to be their guide; but who shall explain
the Holy Scriptures to them? Each one
takes his own interpretation, and thus they
fall away from one another, and go on by
different paths. Scarcely two of them agree
even with regard to fundamental truths.
Some even, by their private study of the
Holy Scriptures, fall into utter disbelief.
Out of the Catholic Church all is discord with regard
to matters of Faith; but, as we know by
our own experience, we may go where we
will, and we shall find all members of the
Catholic Church agreeing in one Faith.
How admirable is this union in doctrine,
which brings to bear on our souls the true
light of Jesus Christ! Let us learn from
this contrast to love the Church most devotedly,
and to thank God, that, through
no merit of our own, and out of His most
infinite love and mercy, He has brought us
within her pale.

II.

Jesus is not only our light by His doctrine,
but He is our light by His consolations.
When times are darkest with us;
when we are in the deepest affliction, we
know that we can seek and find comfort in
the arms of our loving Lord. And how is
this done? By offering to Him our trials
and crosses in union with his bitter pains of
soul and body, and by accepting them as a
punishment for our past sins, and as a
corrective for the future. It is also a great
source of consolation to know that God
chastises those whom He loves, and that
therefore the darkness of the hour of trial
is a pledge of His regard, and a prelude to
the dawn of His light upon our souls. We
also know how to find comfort in tribulation
by a devout approach to Him in
prayer and meditation. The thought of
the darkness of His Passion will bring to
us the light of His sympathy ; for He has
known suffering, and feels intensely for
those that suffer. The humble practice of
the Christian virtues for His dear sake
brings the light of His consolation to us ;
not through that sensible satisfaction that
we may be tempted to find in it, but through
the grace which we draw down upon ourselves
by an imitation of Him as far as lies
in our power. Above all, the devout approach
to the Sacrament of Penance, and
the reception of His most blessed Body and
Blood in the Holy Eucharist, where we
feed our souls upon Him, and absorb the
delights of His grace and love, enlighten
our sorrowing hearts; and the "pledge of
future glory" assuages the pain of present
distress. Do we thus seek our consolation ?
If we do not, or have not up to this time,
we will begin now.

III.

Consider the condition on which Jesus
promises us His light, namely, that we follow Him.
What has been our custom ?
Have we not very often indeed followed
everything but Jesus? The vanities and
frivolities of the world, the enjoyments of
every day, the guilty pleasures of life,
thoughtless or wicked company, laziness
and sensual indulgence, all call upon us to
follow them. They constantly say, " Follow
me," and they promise us happiness, but
they never can give it. The true Catholic
heart will soon find out their hollowness—
will feel the bitter remorse which they leave,
and will find nothing but darkness, where
all appeared to be light. Let us listen
only to the voice of Jesus who is still
saying, "Follow me." Let us hasten to
His side, if it be only out of compassion
for Him crying so often in vain, " Follow
me." To follow Him is to keep His commandments,
to live in purity and holiness of life,
to correspond with all the suggestions
of His grace, to avoid all evil, and
to do all the good we can. I profess to be
a follower of Jesus, am I so in reality? I
will examine my conscience now.

O Jesus! I thank Thee from my heart
for having in Thy goodness brought me
into Thy Church; give me grace, I beseech
Thee, to be a worthy member of that
Church, and a true follower of Thee, as I
now resolve to be, that so I may deserve to
obtain the light of eternal life. Jesus, aid
me by Thy grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

PASSION SUNDAY.
GOSPEL.—John viii. 46—59.

Listen to Jesus speaking the words of
eternal truth to the Jews, and see them, instead
of accepting His gracious call, reviling
Him, accusing Him of being possessed by
the devil, and taking up stones to cast at
Him.

I.

How Jesus loved the Jewish people, to
whom He was sent by His eternal Father !
This is only one out of so many instances
during His life in which He spoke to them
of the truth, and they would not hear a
word. It was like speaking to rocks or
trees, or to dumb, unreasoning animals.
Still, ever intent upon His sacred mission,
He preached without ceasing, as though
He would not lose one chance of working
upon their stony hearts. Their threats did
not deter Him; their abuse had not any
more effect on Him than their scorn and
ridicule. How admirable is this perseverance
of our Divine Lord! How worthy
of our homage and love is this zeal for His
Father's glory, and for the salvation of the
souls of men! Let me reflect upon it, and
see if my conduct is like His. Do I not
grow faint-hearted at the least opposition
to my spiritual progress; and do I not too
often give way when the people about me
are inclined to abuse me for my religion,
and my religious observances, or when they
bring scorn and ridicule to bear upon me?

Jesus not only bore it all, but was most
calm under it. Do I not frequently lose
patience, and become ill-tempered and
angry, when men speak abusively or jeeringly
of what I hold to be most holy ? I
thus lose many a chance of gaining souls
to God. The vulgar insolence of the Jews
is very often repeated by those who blindly
hate our Faith. When such occurs to me,
I will think how Jesus conducted Himself
in similar circumstances, and I will behave
as He would have done.

II.

The Jews accused Jesus of having a devil,
that is, of being possessed. How grievous
it must have been to the Author of all
good to be accused of being possessed by
the Spirit of evil! What a blasphemy this
was against Him who could fearlessly ask,
"Which of you shall convict me of sin?"
Think of Jesus, the pure, innocent Son of
the Eternal Father, accused of being under
the influence of the devil, and of teaching
diabolical doctrine. I, unlike Him, have
committed many sins. Can I count my
sins? And yet, when I am accused of a
fault, my pride immediately rises up, and
my indignation is roused against my accuser.
I cannot bear to have the least
fault laid to my charge, nay, I cannot
endure that even my judgment should be
questioned. When I am accused of faults
that I have not committed, let me reflect
that, if I am guiltless of them, still I am
guilty in many, many ways, and that, if
men knew me as God knows me, I should
deserve universal reprobation and scorn.
And, after all, it is very seldom that I shall
be accused as deeply as my Dear Lord was.

III.

Think of Jesus in His holiness, His
meekness, His wonderful, unfailing charity.
Think of His Sacred Person; look
upon His countenance so unruffled; gaze
into His eyes which beam forth the
purity of His soul, and the burning ardour
of His charity. And then see the countenances
of those wretched men who in their
hatred and malice take up stones to cast at
Him. What a contrast there is between
those perverse and wicked people, and the
innocent Lamb of God! If you were to
see a dear friend whom you prized for his
love to you, and for his own goodness,
thus chased away, and obliged to hide
himself, threatened by the coarse voices
and violent gestures of an angry and unreasoning
mob, what would be your
thoughts? If you could rescue him, you
would. If not, your very heart would
burst for the sake of your friend. Shall it
be otherwise with Jesus, the truest friend
you ever had or can have ? Recollect that
He suffers this, not only being your friend,
but precisely because He is your friend.
And can you refuse Him the least service
you can render Him, namely, the consolation
of your sympathy? Oh! my Jesus! I
will go farther; I will not give Thee a
barren sympathy alone, but I will so love
Thee, and I will so sincerely repent of my
past sins, that I will take away, as far as I
can, the additional bitterness which they
gave to all Thy sufferings.

Oh! Thou Lamb of God! Thou that
takest away the sins of the world! Give
me grace and strength to bear all things for
Thy dear sake. I never can, in this world,
suffer all that my manifold sins deserve. I
love Thee so much that I offer myself to
Thee to suffer for Thy name's sake, and in
order to prove to Thee how truly I love
Thee. Jesus, aid me by Thy grace. Pater,
Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

MONDAY IN PASSION WEEK.
GOSPEL.-John vii. 32-39.

Imagine you see our Blessed Lord standing
before the ministers of the chiefs
of the people, and the Pharisees,
who were sent to seize His Sacred Person,
as if He were a malefactor.
Contemplate Him, and the Divine serenity
of His presence, and learn what lessons
you may from His con­duct and His words.

l.

Consider how the chiefs and the Phari­sees,
in their malice against Jesus,
de­termined to put an end to His tcach­ing;
and with this view, sent their
ser­vants to apprehend Him.
His conduct and His doctrine were a
reproach to them, besides being contrary
to what they were teaching the people.
They felt themselves rebuked by the purity
and consistency of His life; for He enjoined
nothing that He did not practise;
and all His teaching was of the highest morality,
and the most sub­lime truth;
whereas they enforced the most exact obedience
to the law in others, while their own hearts
were filled with pride and uncharitableness.
They could not help seeing how this consistency on
the part of our Dear Lord was calculated to draw
many to His side, and to force upon the
minds of men a contrast between Him and them.
Whilst we admire our Lord, and conceive a detestation
for the conduct of the Pharisees, let us examine and
see whether our own conduct resembles most that
of Jesus or of His enemies. Jesus is our model,
and if we would be saved, we must endeavour to
be like Him. And, besides this, we must remember that
unchari­tableness towards our neighbour is really
uncharitableness towards Jesus Christ;
for He has said that what we do to our neigh­bour we do to Him.
When, therefore, we blame our neighbour, let us be careful
that we ourselves are blameless. What thoughts this reflection
calls up in our minds! lt forces us to think of our own failings,
and to resolve to correct them before we pre­sume
to throw blame on those whose outward actions
we behold, but whose hearts we have no right to judge.

II.

This restriction with regard to our judg­ment of others
is a maxim of the Christian Religion -"Judge not, and you
shall not be judged." lt was little understood by the Pharisees,
who, because of their envy of Jesus, very quickly passed
a judgment upon Him. We must not wonder, then, if people judge us,
and place a construction upon what we do which is very far
from being the true interpretation of our conduct.
If this happen to us, we are only placed in the same position
as Jesus Christ was. Our religion is vilified, calumniated, and mis­understood;
so was His. Our words are wrongly interpreted ; so were His.
Our conduct is misrepresented ; His conduct was represented
as that of a seditious blas­phemer. lt ought to be a great consolation
to us to think that we are permitted to suffer, in however slight a degree,
what He endured, and that we are made more like Him by having trials
of a similar nature to His thrust upon our souls. But, in general,
these things disturb us very much; they make us uneasy ;
they distract us in our duties and in our prayers ;
and too often we allow them to excite in us uncharitable and
vindictive feelings. This is because we do not at once reflect
upon our Dear Lord, and the bright example that He has shown us.
Moreover, we have not the humility to acknowledge, even to ourselves,
that the adverse judgments of men about us are very frequently correct,
and nothing more than we deserve.

III.

Consider the words of Jesus Christ, " If any man thirst,
let him come to me and drink," which were spoken by Him
on the last and great day of the festival,
as we are told in this day's gospel. It is said that He cried them out,
that is, uttered them with a loud and piercing voice,
so that great numbers of the people might hear them.
He wished to give them this last chance,
as they were departing from the feast,
of turning their attention to Him.
Jesus is ever crying out to our hearts
by the voice of His Church, by our con­sciences,
and by His direct inspirations,
in order to attract us to Him.
We know not when the cry of our Lord
may reach us for the last time.
We are always uncertain whether or not
the chance which we have
of repenting, or of advancing in virtue now,
at this moment, is the last that we shall ever have.
Let us reflect in time. Jesus knows how we are
thirsting and longing for happiness ;
and He tells us where alone our thirst can be slaked,
namely, in Him. All happiness that is not sanctified
by coming from Him, or by having Him for its object,
is vain and false. Nothing but true religion can ever
give us lasting happiness even in this world.

Oh I my Jesus, I am humbled when I think
how often I pass severe judgments on others,
and how very lenient I am to myself.
I resolve, by Thy grace, to think more of my own failings,
and to check my­self when I am tempted
to think or speak harshly of others.
Give me grace also to seek, from this moment,
all my happiness in Thee. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

TUESDAY IN PASSION WEEK.
GOSPEL.-John vii. 1-13.

See our Divine Lord wanderlng in Galilee because the Jews sought to kill Him, and
try to enter into the feelings of His Sacred Heart.

I.

Jesus avoided the Jews. He would not go into Judea because they wished to kill Him; and even when He went up to the feast of tabernacles, He would not go openly, "but as it were in secret." This was not because He dared not face His enemies, or because he feared suffering or shrank from death, but because the time appointed by His Heavenly Father had not yet come. See your loving Jesus, Jesus whom you at least profess to love, wander­ing like an outcast and a fugitive, with the knowledge that bloodthirsty men were anxious to seize Him and put Him to death. You individually were in His thoughts at that time. Is it possible, dear Lord, that Thou didst think of me, when cruel men were thirsting for Thy blood ? When Thou wert an exile from the land of Thy birth ? Ah I yes; the love of Jesus is so great that He has never forgotten me. I never could doubt far a moment that He could forget me, and yet how seldom, and how little have I realised this wonderful fact! If I realised it to myself as I ought, I should never cease to think of Him.


II.

The sensation of being sought for to be put to death is one of the most painful positions in which a man can be placed. Let us imagine ourselves in such a position, flying from justice, and fearful lest every step that we hear approaching us should be that of one who seeks us. Such terror would take possession of us that life would be a burden. Jesus was not flying from justice. His soul was spotless, and those who sought His life were the very men whom He came to save. How must the thought of the blind ingratitude of men have aggravated the pain of the knowledge that his life was sought ! How He loved those who wished to kill Him ! This know­ledge was to Him a foretaste of His pas­sion. It was the dark shadow of death hanging over Him ; and how acutely He felt it can never be known by mortal man because man cannot plunge into the depths of the soul of God made man. Yet we may, to some extent, enter into His feel­ings by imagining what our own would be in similar circumstances, and then trying to form sorne distant idea of the intensity of His feelings arising from the strength of His divine will to suffer, and from the in­finite sensitiveness to suffering with which He had voluntarily clothed Himself. How much didst Thou suffer, dearest Jesus, for my sake, and how little I endure for Thee !

III.

The suffering of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was infinitely increased by His most perfect and intimate knowledge of the grievousness of sin, in general, and of the particular sin of the Jewish people in re­jecting Him, and seeking to destroy Him. He knew how terrible this crime was in the eyes of His Eternal Father, and moreover, what a fearful chastisement it would bring upon the souls of His creatures, both in this world and the next. So, His dear soul was filled with the bitterness of sorrow on account of men, and on account of the outrage offered to eternal Goodness. With these thoughts filling His heart, He walks in Galilee, and with the same thoughts, He sends His brethren to the feast, and then goes secretly Himself. Contemplate Him in all these passages of His life, and draw from the contemplation the reflections to which they naturally give rise. Do not let Him be alone and disconsolate. Be with Him in spirit and affection ; and resolve never to do anything which may separate you from Him. Especially resolve to cor­rect some particular fault which keeps you at a distance from your loving Saviour.

My Lord! Thou knowest that I desire to love Thee, and to make amends to Thee, as far as I am able, not only for the crime of the Jews, but still more for all the share that I had in the sufferings of Thy Sacred Heart. Oh! give me grace to love Thee perfectly. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

WEDNESDAY IN PASSION WEEK.
GOSPEL.—John x. 22—38.

Consider Jesus in the character of the
Good Shepherd speaking about His sheep,
and remember that you are one of His
flock.

I.

"My sheep hear My voice," says our
Blessed Lord as He walks in Solomon's
porch, while the Jews crowd round about
Him and question Him in their captious
way. He had just told them that they did
not believe in Him because they were not
of His sheep, and now He says that His
sheep hear His voice, that is, believe in
Him, and accept all that He tells them.
It is then a characteristic of the true sheep
of Christ that they hear His voice and obey
His word. How sweet and gentle is the
voice of Jesus speaking to His sheep !
And what a contrast there too often is
between the heavenly Shepherd and those
who profess to be His sheep ! Sheep, if
left to themselves, will wander away, and
will go in search of new pastures, and at
last lose themselves. So it is with us, if
we are not true sheep of Christ, and do
not obey His voice. Unless we hold fast
all that Jesus has taught by His word, and
by His Church, we shall soon lose ourselves,
and find our poor souls like sheep without
a shepherd. This not only concerns matters
of faith, but also the observance of the
whole of the Christian law. Have I hitherto
listened attentively to the voice of the Good
Shepherd ? Have I always done that which
my conscience has told me I ought to do ;
and avoided that which the same conscience
has proclaimed to be wrong ? I know that
I belong to the Fold of Jesus by being a
member of His One, Holy, Roman, Catholic
and Apostolic Church ; still, I shall be
lost if I follow the dictates of my will and
my passions, and do not act according to
that conscience which God has given me.

II.

" I know them, and they follow me," He
goes on to say. What a thing this is that
Jesus should know us, not vaguely, generally,
and in a mass, but individually and
personally! Then Jesus knows me, intimately
and perfectly. I can conceal nothing from Him.
He knows what special care has been bestowed upon me ;
what graces I have received, and how I have
corresponded with them. He knows how
much good there may be in me, and how
very much evil. What a consolation it is
to the soul that is striving to love God to
feel that Jesus the Good Shepherd is ever
watching over it, knows all its trials and
temptations, and all its struggles in the
contest with the world, the flesh, and the
devil ! If Jesus knows me so well, ought
I not to endeavour to know Him as far as
I may in this place of exile ? I will ever
remember the knowledge that Jesus has of
me, and of all that I think, and say, and do,
and of all my ways, and every circumstance
of my life ; and I will try to arrive at a true
knowledge of Him by daily meditation.

III.

The great inestimable reward that Jesus
promises to His true and faithful sheep is
the recompense of eternal life. Nothing
less than this is in store for them. On the
other hand, if eternal life is the reward of
the good sheep, what but everlasting death
is the punishment of those disobedient ones
of the flock, who follow the devices of their
own hearts, and desert the true shepherd ?
Oh ! what inexpressible woe it is to be separated
for ever from Jesus, to be banished
from the happy fields of Heaven to the
arid, burnt-up desert of hell ! On the
other hand, what unutterable joy to feed
for ever in the pastures of eternal life by
the side of the Good Shepherd whose voice
we have heard, and whose steps we have
followed in this vale of our pilgrimage !
Jesus, I love Thee as I see Thee talking to
the Jews who do not believe Thee, and
speaking also to my heart. But what is
this ? They take up stones to cast at
Thee ! I am not one of those, Dear Lord !
I fly to Thy side to shield Thee from their
rage, or to suffer with Thee.

Oh ! Thou Good Shepherd ! I wish to
be one of the most obedient, gentle, and
loving of Thy Flock. The world may
think me a fool for remaining at Thy side,
but I care not, so long as Thou regardest
me with love and approval. Give me grace
ever to remain faithful to Thee. Pater,
Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

THURSDAY IN PASSION WEEK.
GOSPEL.—Luke vii. 36—50.

Imagine the scene related in the gospel
of today ; and represent vividly to your
mind the persons, the actions, and the
words.

I.

Consider our Dear Lord's kindness in
accepting the invitation of a man who, by
his profession, was among the enemies of
Jesus. Look upon our Lord as He reclines
at the table, and study His goodness.
What gentleness and charity appear in
His sacred countenance ! What unassuming
dignity in every gesture ! In
Him there is nothing which could give
offence. The purity of holiness surrounds
Him. What is my conduct when I am
among my friends, especially on convivial
occasions ? Can I look back upon such
scenes, and say that I never did, or said,
or thought anything which I should wish
to recall ? That I never gave offence, bad
example, or scandal ? Consider also Magdalen
full of love and veneration for our
Divine Redeemer now, though she had been
a sinner. She had probably heard the
divine admonitions of Jesus ; at all events,
her heart was moved with repentance for
her misdeeds, and she comes to Him for forgiveness.
It is touching to see the wandering sheep
thus come to seek her shepherd.
What sorrow there is in her poor wounded
heart ! What love for Him who alone can
heal her soul ! Compare the two, Magdalen
and Jesus ; perfect repentance, and perfect innocence.
How near they come together, innocence and repentance ! How
sweetly the divine innocence of Jesus takes
the repentant sinner to its love ! Let us be
very tender and gentle with sinners, that
we may bring them to repentance.

II.

Magdalen came into the house of the
Pharisee while they were at meat. The
ardour of her desire for forgiveness
made her break through the strict conventionalities
of life ; she could not wait.
Before all the guests she washed His feet
with her tears, and wiped them with her
hair; she kissed His feet, and anointed
them with ointment. Her desire for pardon
was equalled by her wish to make
public reparation for her public sins ; and
so she does not seek for reconciliation in
concealment, but allows the overflowing
grief and love of her heart to gush forth
in the presence of all the company. She
stood behind, and at His feet ; ashamed,
confused, and humbled at the thought of
her sinful state, she shrank from looking on
His face, and found at His sacred feet the
proper place for her repentance.When
conscience speaks to us, or remorse moves
our hearts, do we seek at once to be reconciled
to our Lord by the sacrament of
Penance? Do we thus go to Him for
pardon the moment that we find that we
have done wrong ? Do we even make an
act of contrition ? I will amend, Dear
Jesus. Again ; if we have given scandal
or bad example, do we remember to make
all the reparation that is in our power?
Am I truly confused, and ashamed, and
humbled, when I think of my many offences
against God ?

III.

Think of the words of Jesus, so full of
kindness and tenderness towards the repentant
Magdalen. There is not one reproach.
Not one word to cause a painful
feeling. On the contrary, Jesus enumerates
her good actions, and expresses a
most generous appreciation of each. He
might have recounted her sins one by one
to show the extent of His goodness in forgiving
her ; but this would not have been
in accordance with His loving ways towards
repenting sinners. He leaves out the
balance of sin, and only reckons up the
sum of repentant acts. How sweetly the
character of our Lord comes out in all
this touching scene ! Sinners have here
a great encouragement. Weak, foolish,
wicked as we may be, Jesus is ever ready
to forgive, the moment that we repent.
His Church is like Him in this ; and all
true Christian hearts will welcome and
cherish the poor soul that has gone astray,
but now returns to God's grace by sincere
repentance. Let me learn to love Jesus
more and more for His goodness. Let me
also resolve to endeavour more and more
to have zeal for the salvation of souls, and
in all my dealings with persons who have
committed faults, to imitate the conduct of
my Dear Lord.

Oh Jesus ! Model of innocence ! Give
me the grace of sincere repentance. Let
no consideration of human respect, or any
other feeling, cause me to delay when I
know that I have sinned. I resolve, O
Lord, by Thy grace, to repent at once,
and to confess my sins with love, humility,
and sorrow. Give me also the great grace
which shall teach me how to deal with
those who have done wrong. Pater, Ave,
Gloria.

TBC....

FRIDAY IN PASSION WEEK.
GOSPEL.—John xi. 47—54.

Imagine you see Jesus avoiding the
Jews, and going with His disciples to
Ephrem because they sought to kill Him.

I.

Consider the wickedness of the chief
priests and Pharisees, who assembled together
in council against Jesus. To us it
sounds terrible to say against Jesus, and
yet, how much is done every day against
Him! And by persons who call themselves Christians !
All that is done against the law of God,
and against His will, is against Jesus.
Every time that we break
a commandment ; every time that we
commit a sin, we conspire with the devil
against Jesus. All the uncharitableness or
injustice that we exhibit towards our
neighbour is against Jesus. Whenever
we scandalize anyone, and lead another
into sin, it is all against Jesus. The neglect
of parents with regard to their children,
of superiors with respect to those
placed under them, is against Him. The
omission or disregard of the special duties
of our state of life ; the taking advantage
of any position to oppress or injure others,
is against Him. The making use of our
talents to the injury of the faith or morals
of others, by speaking, by writing, by the
press, or by any other means, is all against
Him. If those who are comparatively rich
despise or neglect the poor, it is being
against Jesus. The refusal to observe, or
the wilful omission to obey the commandments
of the Church, is against Him. All
the wild clamour of the world against the
Church of Christ, and against His Vicar, is
against Him. All the attacks made upon
the Catholic Faith are against Him. How
much has His Dear Sacred Heart to bear!
Let me examine, and see how much of all
this can be laid to my charge.

II.

The chief priests of the Jews and the
Pharisees conspired against our Lord for a
temporal consideration. They said, " If we
let Him alone so, all men will believe in
Him, and the Romans will come and take
away our place and nation." Their opposition
to Jesus in this instance arose from a
mere worldly policy. They cared not if His
doctrine were true or not ; all they thought
of was the stability of their nation ; and
because they were in dread of the power of
Rome, they determined to seek the destruction
of Him who came to preach the
truth to the world. Has this no analogy
in the public history of our own times ?
Has it no counterpart in the private history
of our own souls ? For what are we ready
to go against Jesus ? Is it for some higher
good ? No ; for we know that there is no
thing higher or better ; but we sacrifice
Him and His interest to the lowest and
most miserable considerations. We give
Him up ; we commit sin, for the sake of the
world and its pride, and vanity, and empty
glory. We commit sin to gratify the whim
of a moment, or to satisfy the ambition of
a life. We commit sin for a momentary
delight, or for a hateful passion. Let me
consider the wretched inducements that
have led me to commit sin of whatever nature
it may be, and see what part I have
had in the mental sufferings of our Lord,
when He went to the borders of the desert
on account of His cruel persecution by the
Jews.

III.

It was the goodness and the power of
Jesus which raised up such bitter enemies
against Him. " This man doth many miracles,"
they exclaimed. What were the
miracles of Jesus ? Curing the sick, the
lame, and the blind ; raising the dead to
life ; changing water into wine, lest the
friendly conviviality of a marriage feast
should be spoiled ; all indicative of His
intense goodness and charity. Does this
apply at all to me ? Am I ever against
Him on account of His goodness and power?
Ah ! yes ; for were it not for that infinite
goodness of His, I should not have the
chance of sinning twice. If I had my deserts,
I should have died after my first sin.
It is precisely because I know His goodness
and have had experience of His power in
preserving my life, that I have ever dared
to sin. In another way I may have gone
against Him for His goodness, if I have
ever been jealous or envious of the spiritual
or temporal good of others ; if I have ever
felt a certain rancour against others who
were better than myself, and if, in consequence
of their good acts or pious practices,
I have had a sort of malicious pleasure in
running them down or in ridiculing them.

Such things are not uncommon, however
much they may seem to be against our moral
sense ; let me therefore examine myself on
these points, and correct whatever may be
amiss.

Oh ! Jesus, I compassionate Thee in all
the sufferings of Thy Sacred Heart and
Mind, particularly those which have the
peculiar malice of being inflicted for Thy
goodness. I have sinned, as Thou knowest,
my dear and loving Lord, but, by Thy
grace, I will do better in future. Pater,
Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

SATURDAY IN PASSION WEEK.
GOSPEL.—John xii. 10—36.

See our Blessed Lord brought in triumph
to Jerusalem ; look upon Him, and learn
the feelings of His heart ; study them and
the other lessons to be derived from the
gospel of today.

I.

The envy of the chief priests of the Jews
was so great that they sought to kill not
only our Dear Lord, but also Lazarus His
friend, whom He had raised from the dead.
What a different sentiment was excited in
the multitude ! For the Evangelist tells us
that it was on account of the fame of this
miracle that the people went forth to meet
Jesus. We, as members of the true Church
of Christ, profess to be His friends. He
has certainly chosen us to be so, as much
as He chose Lazarus, and if we are not His
friends it is our own fault. Since we profess
to be the especial friends of Jesus, we must
not be surprised or downcast if the world
ill-treat us on account of our religion. This
very ill-treatment should be a source of
consolation to us, since, among others, it is
one proof of the truth of our faith, and it
moreover makes us more like our Divine
Master. We can better sympathise with
His sufferings when we have to suffer something
for His sake. Again, it should console us
to know that the very things which
are seized upon as pretexts for the world to
hate us, are a source of attraction to the
Faith to many others, just as the resurrection
of Lazarus acted in opposite ways with
the Jews. It made some desire to kill
Lazarus as well as Jesus, while it led others
to meet Jesus and to sing, " Hosanna !
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of
the Lord, the King of Israel."

II.

Consider our Dear Lord arriving at the
descent of Mount Olivet, and see how multitudes
of the people meet Him ; they tear
branches from the palm trees, and wave
them in triumph before Him, while some
cast their garments in the way that the feet
of the ass on which He rides may pass over
them. Hear how they shout with joyful
acclamation, " Hosanna to the son of David.
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of
the Lord." Matt. xxi. 9. Join in this
triumph with all your heart ; unite with
that multitude, and proclaim the glory of
the son of David, the King of your heart.
But how does Jesus act in this triumphant
scene ? Is He elated with joy and gratification ?
No ; He weeps, as St. Luke tells
us, not for Himself, but for the coming destruction
of His beloved Jerusalem, and for
the sins of the people, which would draw
upon them that destruction. Truly this is
a moving scene ; the people shewing every
demonstration of joy, and Jesus, the object
of their acclamations, weeping. Cherish
those sacred tears, and learn how much love
there is in that dear Heart which suffered
such intense sorrow on account of men,
when they were in the height of exultation
on account of Him.

III.

Hear how those joyful sounds are re-
echoed by the walls of Jerusalem, which in
so short a time were to return to Mount
Olivet the fearful cry of " Crucify Him "
How short-lived is popularity ! The idol
of the people today, is tomorrow the object
of their scorn and deadly hatred. The
whole city is at the feet of Jesus on Mount
Olivet, and in a very little while He will
not have one friend near Him. Those who
labour for popular favour will soon discover
how fleeting and changeable it is. It can
never confer true and lasting happiness, be
cause it is so liable to fluctuations. If the
public feeling changed so entirely and so
rapidly with regard to Jesus, we may be
quite sure that the slightest accident will
turn all the favour that we may enjoy into
the bitterness of hatred. Nothing merely
human can give solid joy to any true
Christian. It is God alone and the things
of God which can give it. In what have I
sought my happiness ? Is it in the praise
of men's lips ? It will vanish like smoke,
and leave me desolate. If I have worked
only to please men, or chiefly, or even partly
for this end, my happiness cannot last even
in this world. And, as for the next ! what
will be my thoughts of mere human applause
when I come to die ?

Oh ! Dear Lord Jesus, give me a true
love of Thee, so that I may be really Thy
friend. Let me share in Thy sorrows that
I may be more like Thee. I resolve for
Thy sake to despise the favour of the
world, and to seek only for Thy approbation.
Do Thou aid me by Thy grace.
Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

PALM SUNDAY.
GOSPEL.— The Passion of our Lord Jesus
Christ, according to St. Matthew xxvi.
and xxvii.

Behold our Blessed Lord in the garden
of Gethsemani,  overwhelmed with sorrow;
and imagine yourself to be near, so that
you can see Him and hear Him.

I.

Contemplate our Dear Lord after the
Last Supper, during which He had foretold
that Judas would betray Him, and had instituted
that legacy of His most infinite
love, the Holy Eucharist, descending with
His disciples the hill side from the gate of
Jerusalem to the little garden of Gethsemani.
He was accustomed to pray in
this garden, and now He goes to it for the
last time, knowing full well what awaits
Him there. Yet He does not shrink as yet
from the thought of all His coming sufferings,
but with unutterable calmness pursues
His way towards the accomplishment of
His Father's will, and the Redemption of
man. See how, after telling the rest of the
disciples to remain at some distance, He
takes Peter, and James, and John, the three
who had beheld His Transfiguration, to be
near Him, and to watch with Him. Hear
what He says to them : " My soul is sorrowful
even unto death." Surely such sad
words were never uttered in this world
before or since. His sorrow is so great,
His pain of soul is so intense, that the least
addition to it would kill Him. It brought
Him to the very gates of death. He
suffered in His sacred soul all the deep
agony of dying persons. It seemed as if
His very soul would die, if such were possible.
See Him as He tells this so sadly
to the three disciples ; look on His face so
expressive of the woe of His dear soul.

II.

Then going a little farther, He falls upon
His face, with all the weight of His sorrow
upon Him, and prays to His Eternal Father.
What is His prayer ? " Father, if it be possible,
let this chalice pass from Me. Nevertheless,
not as I will, but as Thou wilt."
What a lesson for me ! I cannot bear the
smallest pains and inconveniences without
murmuring ; I who deserve so much for my
sins! But Jesus suffers for me with an
expression of deepest submission to His
Father's will. Pain and trouble often prevent
me from praying or turning my heart
to God at all ; but suffering only makes
Jesus pray the more ; " and being in an
agony, He prayed the longer." Luke xxii.
43. How the agony of His soul affects His
body ! See how the blood is pressed from
every pore ! He writhes upon the ground
like a crushed worm. Can this be Jesus ?
Can this be the innocent Lamb of God ?
Can this be He who, true God and true
man, loves me with an eternal love ? Oh !
it is true ! But I fly to Thee, my Jesus,
my Lord, Thou love of my heart ; and I
will console Thee by never sinning more.
There never was sorrow like unto His sorrow,
for it was the sorrow of a whole world,
and of all the ages of the world, that pressed
upon Him.

III.

Jesus willed, with the whole intensity of
His will of God, to suffer ; and this made
His sufferings infinite. But the cause of
His suffering in the garden ? It was, in
part, the sight which he had of all the
other sufferings which were to come upon
Him both in body and mind ; but still
more, it was the close proximity to which
He was brought with sin. He hated sin.
He instinctively shrank from sin with such
a sense of positive pain as when the most
delicate nerves of our bodies are wounded ;
and yet in His dereliction in Gethsemani, it
seemed to Him as if He alone were guilty
of all the sins that have been, or will be,
committed in the world, from the sin of
our first parents to the last sin of the
last man. They were piled in one vast and
nauseous heap upon Him. They clung to
Him, and seemed to burn into His very
soul, and to be made His and His alone.
They formed a dark cloud about Him,
shutting out the very heavens. His eyes
saw nothing but sin, His ears were dinned
with horrid cries of sin, He felt but the
loathsome touch of sin, He breathed the
odious, noisome atmosphere of sin. And
He so innocent that Heaven has nothing
purer ! My God ! what terrible woe was
all this to the Sacred Heart of Jesus!
What part had I in this ? Let me try to
pluck out from that heap my own sins. I
begin ; but sin after sin develops itself;
and the more I search, the more I find, till
the task seems almost hopeless. Still I
will go on ; I will examine my conscience,
I will confess my sins, I will be sorry for
them, and I will resolve never to commit
them again. Oh ! my dear Jesus ! as Thou
liest upon thy face in the Garden, Thou
dost think of me as much as if I were the
only creature of Thy hands upon the earth.
Thou dost feel my sins individually pressing
upon Thee, and hurting Thy dear soul
with unspeakable wounds. I will never
offend Thee again. Jesus, aid me by Thy
grace. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

MONDAY IN HOLY WEEK.
GOSPEL.—John xii. I— 9.

Imagine Jesus in the house of Simon the
leper at Bethania. See Lazarus and his
sisters ; the disciples with Judas among
them ; study the whole scene, and endeavour
to draw some good out of it for yourself.

I.

It is the most commonly received opinion
that the woman, Mary, who is described to
have anointed the feet of our Dear Lord, is
the same Mary Magdalen who is related by
St. Luke, chap, vii., to have performed a
similar action at an earlier period. Thus
this is the second time that she comes with
a public manifestation of her great love for
Jesus, and it is worthy of remark that St.
Matthew, chap, xxvi., tells us that she
anointed His head. The first time it was
only His feet, as most fitting to Mary when
repenting ; now His head also, as the effect
of the love of Mary sanctified. Thus love
and humility are very conspicuous in the
conduct of Mary ; and indeed, they may be
said to contain the sum and substance of
our duty to our Dear Lord. We cannot
love Him as we ought without having faith
and hope in Him, and without keeping His
commandments ; and we cannot have true
humility without a sense of our own helplessness
without Him, and sincere sorrow
for our offences. Is the love that I have
for Jesus solidly grounded upon true charity
and humility ? Let me be careful that my
devotion is not merely sentimental or emotional,
and that it has a true foundation. In
order to discover this, let me examine and
see if I am good only by fits and starts ; if
I am pious and virtuous only when piety
and virtue happen to fall in with my own
humour ; or if I am steadily and perseveringly
good and religious in spite of dryness
of spirit, disinclination of mind, or outward
distractions and temptations. If I find that
my examination is against me, I will set to
work at once to correct my fault.

II.

Consider how, in the midst of the consolation
which Jesus derived from the pious
act of Mary Magdalen, His blessed soul
was pained by hearing one of His own
Apostles blaming the manifestation of her
piety. How harshly the rude objection of
Judas must have jarred against His tender
heart ! How chillingly the cold calculation
must have fallen upon the ears of so many
who loved Him ! It is the fate of the truly
pious to be misunderstood, and to meet
with rude shocks to their feelings of devotion.
Let us not be discouraged if the
worldly-minded, or even persons whom we
esteem as good, do not appreciate all that
we do for God in the candid sincerity of
our hearts. If we are truly good, we shall
have no great idea of our own good acts ;
and we shall moreover remember that no
amount of the world's disapproval will
diminish what merit we may have in the
sight of God.

III.

Judas blamed the conduct of Mary in
pouring ointment upon the head and feet of
Jesus, on the ground that it might have
been sold, and the price given to the poor.
The gospel goes on to say : " Now he said
this, not because he cared for the poor, but
because he was a thief." How infinitely
painful it must have been to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus to hear this declaration of
pretended solicitude for the poor, when He
knew every thought that passed through
the mind of the traitor Judas, and every
motive that influenced His conduct ! It
was His intimate knowledge of hearts and
of, motives, His clear perception of every
human thought, that added so much to the
pain of Jesus Christ both before and during
His Passion. Or rather, it was this that
gave to all His sufferings one of those distinctive
characteristics which set them apart
from the ordinary sufferings of men. It
was not only words that were said, and
actions that were done that afflicted Jesus.
It was not merely that He perceived, as any
man might perceive, that He was treacherously
sold and delivered up, that He was
falsely accused, that He was struck, and
spit upon, and scourged, and crowned with
thorns, and crucified ; but He had a clear
and distinct view of the hearts, and minds,
and souls, and consciences, and thoughts,
not only of the men who did these deeds
upon His Sacred body, but of all men from
the beginning to the end of time. What a
hideous picture to be presented to the Lord
of holiness ! I know what He saw in the
heart of Judas ; what did He see then, and
what does He see now, in my heart ?

Oh ! my God ! give me true love towards
Thee, and true humility. Let me see myself
as Thou seest me ; and give me grace
never to try to cover my real badness with
a veil of hypocrisy. Dearest Lord, I resolve
to endeavour to make amends to
Thee for all the bitter pain Thou didst
endure for me, by loving Thee as much as
I can, and by endeavouring, by a good example,
to lead others to love Thee. Do
Thou aid me by Thy grace. Pater, Ave,
Gloria.

TBC....

TUESDAY IN HOLY WEEK.
GOSPEL.—The Passion of our Lord Jesus
Christ, according to St. Mark xiv., xv.


Picture to yourself Jesus carried by the
rude men who had taken Him prisoner, to
the high priest, and placed like a criminal
before him.

I.

Consider Jesus in the hands of a cruel
and remorseless mob of soldiers and other
persons, entirely surrounded by enemies.
Like ravenous wolves, they thirst for His
blood. See the dark satisfaction of the
chief priests, and the Scribes and Pharisees ;
the rudeness of the soldiers, the wild spirit
of persecution of the lawless ruffians who
drag Him along. Hear their loud cries,
and the injurious words and insults that
are heaped upon this innocent Lamb of
God. It is our Father, our Brother, our
most faithful and loving Friend who is
thus hurried before the judgment seat, with
such a terrible array of enemies around
Him. It is the eternal Word made flesh
who is thus treated as the vilest malefactor.
It is the everlasting Son of God who came
down from heaven to bleed, and to die, in
order to save the very men who clamour
for His punishment and death. Before the
high priest He, true God as well as true
man, is accused of blasphemy ! Witness
after witness is brought against Him, and
there is not one to speak in His favour,
though the witnesses were false, and their
testimony did not agree. His disciples had
fled. But Peter and another disciple followed
Him, not daring to be with Him
and known as His, but appearing as if
drawn by curiosity, and indifferent to His
fate. Think of Him in such terrible desertion,
and unite your heart with His.

II.

Jesus, so solitary and friendless, calls for
all our compassion ; for what mental pain
can be greater than that of suddenly finding
oneself without a single friend, and surrounded
by all the enmity that envy and
malice can bring ? But this is not all.
When the high priest exclaimed that He
had blasphemed, they began to spit upon
Him ;they covered His eyes, and struck
Him, and in irony bade Him tell who it
was that had done the infamous deed.
Who can tell what consolation it would
have afforded Jesus if some friendly voice
had whispered a word of comfort to His
poor wounded heart ? If He could have
seen some well-known face looking upon
Him with a kindly and affectionate glance?
Is there not one to give Him a reassuring
pressure of the hand ? Not one ! But
hark! There is at last the voice of one
whom He knows and loves full well—one
who has said that though he should die
with Him, he never would deny Him. May
we not hope for some comfort for Him
now ? Vain hope ! Peter denies Him ;
nay, curses and swears that he does not
know Him. Can it be possible, my Jesus !
that it has come to this ? Is this all that
Thou hearest from Thy chosen Apostle ?

III.

When Jesus heard Peter deny Him, and
even curse and swear that he knew Him
not, He did not reproach the apostle, but
St. Luke tells us, in a few moving words,
that " the Lord, turning, looked on Peter."
This was sufficient to strike remorse into
Peter's heart ; he remembered what Jesus
had said to him before, and "going out,
wept bitterly." Imagine that look of Jesus,
so full of plaintive tenderness and love.
How the sight of that sad, pale, bruised,
and disfigured face affected the poor
apostle! Let me reflect on all the share
I had in this painful scene by my sins,
which were present to the mind of Jesus by
His foreknowledge. Let me also think
how I may show my sympathy with Him,
and obtain grace for myself, by making use
of opportunities of imitating Him. It is
very painful to me when I know that people
are ashamed of being acquainted with me ;
when I know that they have spoken slightingly
or insolently about me ; when any
one whom I love, and have favoured, and
have looked upon as a friend, talks against
me behind my back. It is a terrible shock
to find suddenly that one whom I have
trusted acts in such a way as to forfeit my
confidence, because he finds that others are
against me. It is perhaps still harder when
I accidentally overhear my trusted friend
speaking ill of me with words of contempt
or insult, when he ought to defend me.

My heart and feelings are deeply wounded ;
yet perhaps I really deserve it. Jesus did
not deserve it ; yet He was patient and
kind. Have I been so under such circumstances ?
Have I thought of offering up
such injuries to Him in reparation for my
share in His sufferings, and in affectionate
sympathy with Him ?

Oh ! my Dear Lord Jesus ! I unite my
heart with Thine in Thy most bitter desertion
by Thy friends ; I will try to comfort
Thee by my faithful attachment to Thee.
Oh, give me grace to bear all injuries, especially
those which come from such as ought
to be my friends, with charity and with
resignation. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK.
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to St. Luke xxii., xxiii.


See our Dear Lord Jesus, loaded with a
heavy cross, toiling along the pathway towards
Calvary. He meets a number of
people, and of women, who bewail His fate.
Look upon Him and hear His words.

I.

I imagine myself near the walls of Jerusalem ;
my heart loves Jesus ; I know partially
what is going on in the city ; I hear
horrible cries which are echoed through the
streets, and are re-echoed by the height of
Calvary. I listen, and I hear the fearful
words, " Crucify Him ! crucify Him !" Is it
Jesus whom they would crucify? No; it must
be Barabbas, the rebel and the murderer.
I hear his name : Barabbas ! Barabbas !
Surely they are leading him to execution,
and the sweet, pure, innocent Lamb of God,
so guiltless and so patient, is released !
The procession leaves the city walls, and
what do I see ? Surrounded by soldiers, by
rough and cruel men who strike Him and
urge Him onward, carrying upon his poor
bruised shoulders a rude, heavy cross, wellnigh
sinking beneath the burden, is my
Brother, my Friend, my Father, my Saviour,
my God ! A crown of thorns is upon His
brow, and the blood streams down His
sacred cheeks, mixed with tears. Was ever
sight more piteous ? Who has done this,
O Jesus ? I, I have done it by my sins !
Oh ! woe is me, that ever I should have
sinned !

II.

But who are these who meet Him on
the way to Calvary ? " A great multitude
of people, and of women who bewailed and
lamented Him." I hear their sobs and woful
sighs. God bless those faithful hearts. I
hear their cries, and feel how all their lamentation
goes straight to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus. This sad sorrowing is even a cheerful
sound amid the curses, and blasphemies,
and injuries of every kind that are heaped
upon Him ! Oh ! good, kind hearts ! weep
on for Jesus. I would that my hard and
dry heart could weep with yours. Why do
I not shed tears of blood for Him, my
love, my only good ? He speaks ! The
sweet victim led to the slaughter speaks !
" Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for
me." Oh ! dear words ! Oh ! loving heart
of Jesus ! Thou hast annihilated Thyself,
and Thou seemest to forget Thyself. " Not
for me." " Let me suffer all. I am willing.
I came into the world to suffer. Do not
weep for me" Oh, Jesus ! Thou wilt break
my heart if Thou speakest thus. Why
should I not weep for Thee ? Why may I
not lament Thy bitter pains ?

III.

"Weep not for me, but for yourselves
and for your children." Ah! here is the
key to all. It is Thy love for us which
makes Thee forget Thyself. "Weep for
yourselves." Oh! the unselfish heart of
Jesus, which in the midst of its pains,
thinks only of the children of men, and of
the punishments which will fall upon them !
How unlike Jesus I am, while I profess to
follow Him, and to have Him for my only
guide. Whatever I suffer, I suffer justly,
because I deserve it, and because it is
God's will. And yet, although I know
this, I murmur, and want all men to sympathize
with me. I do not think of suffering
for Jesus' sake; still less of enduring anything
for other men. Yet Jesus bore all
for us, and would not have those good
women to weep for Him. He thought of
them and their children, and forgot Himself.

Oh! Jesus my Lord, the love of my
heart, I sympathize with Thee, and love
Thee. And I resolve that, by Thy grace,
I will bear patiently all crosses and trials
for Thy sweet sake, and that for the love
of Thee, I will think more of my neighbour's
sufferings and misfortunes than of
my own. Give me grace to be unselfish.
Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

MAUNDY THURSDAY.
GOSPEL.—John xiii. 1— 15.

Picture to yourself Jesus Christ, with
sweet humility, passing from Apostle to
Apostle after the Last Supper, and washing
their feet.

I.

Consider the words of the Gospel which
tell us that "Jesus knowing that His hour
was come, that He should pass out of this
world to the Father; having loved His own
who were in the world, He loved them
even to the end." Jesus knew perfectly
that the time of His sufferings and death
was at hand. The whole future was distinctly
before His mind; all the pains and
insults He was to endure in soul and body ;
all the terrible crimes that in the next few
hours would be committed against the
eternal Majesty of Heaven. He not only
knew that He was to die upon the cross,
but also that He would rise again triumphantly
from the dead, and that, by a glorious
Ascension, He would go up to Heaven, and
sit at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty. Knowing that he was thus
drawing towards the time of His departure
from the world, He wished to give to His
Apostles a lesson on the preparation for
their own departure, and, through His
Apostles, an example to all Christians.
And so He makes a manifestation of the
two great virtues of Charity and Humility;
of highest Charity in the establishment of
the Holy Eucharist, and of Humility in
washing the feet of the Apostles. As we
advance in life, and inevitably draw nearer
to the time of our departure from the
world, do we increase in these sublime
virtues ? Let me examine and see if my
love of God and of my neighbour in God
and for God is greater now than formerly.
Do I constantly keep before my eyes the
great fact that I am to die soon ; and in
contemplation of this certain fact, am I
careful to keep my soul in such a condition
that it is fit to go to the Father, to pass
clearly through the awful judgment, and to
enjoy the love of God, and the happiness
of Heaven for ever ? Is it my constant
occupation to enrich my soul with the
virtues of Charity and Humility ?

II.

"Having loved His own ... He loved
them to the end." There is no cessation
of His love. He went on ever loving them.
No thought of Himself ever put the love of
them out of His heart. All the persecutions
He had to endure during His mission
never caused Him for one instant to pause
or grow cool in His deep love. Through
all the melancholy stages of His sacred
Passion, His love for them burned most
ardently in His soul. It was this very love
of His creatures that caused Him to pass
through such a sea of suffering, and which
pursued Him and surrounded Him even to
the end, when He hung upon the cross, and
looked forth from that tree of death upon
the upturned faces of that fearful crowd.
If we could see the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
we should behold it beating to the end with
the love of us ; if we could feel it, we should
find it all aglow with love. Is my conduct
like that of Jesus? And yet He tells me
in this gospel that His acts are my example.
How often has it not happened to me that
trials infinitely less than those of Jesus,
crosses far less heavy than His, have caused
me to grow slack in the love of God and
my neighbour? Have I never neglected
my duty to God or man, urging as an excuse
for my neglect that my mind was disturbed
or in suffering ? Is this loving God to the
end ? Is this imitating Jesus ?

III.

If Jesus loved us to the end, that is even
unto death, so that He died for the love of
us, He also loved us to the end of love;
that is, He could not love us more than
He did. He loved us to the perfection of
love. His love is so great that there can
be no greater love. There is nothing
wanting to His love ; it cannot go farther ;
it cannot by any possibility be added to,
because it is infinite. It has no bounds,
and fills up all God's immeasurable power
of loving. Then, besides loving us as God,
He loves us with all the immense love of
His entirely perfect and pure human nature.
What a return of love does this demand
from me !

Jesus, my loving Lord and Saviour, who
hast told us that men should know that we
are Thy disciples if we love one another,
give me grace to increase hourly in the love
of Thee above all things, and of my neighbour
as myself. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

TBC....

GOOD FRIDAY.
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ,
according to St. John xviii. and xix.


Throw yourself in spirit at the foot of
the Cross on Mount Calvary, and contemplate
Jesus dying for the love of you.

I.

The foot of the Cross is the fitting place
for a Christian soul, for where its love is
there it ought to be. And the truth of
love is tested when the object of it is in
suffering or disgrace. What should I have
done, and where should I have been, if I
were one of the friends of Jesus at that
terrible time ? Should I have had the
courage to face the obloquy which attended
Him, and which was reflected upon His
friends ? Should I have dared, when so
many fled away, to have remained with
Him, and to have expressed my sympathy
and my undying affection for Him ? If I
consider my conduct, I can scarcely conclude
that I should have been more courageous
than the disciples. I am so often
deterred from my duty by what the world
says, and I think so much of the opinion
of others, especially of those whom my
cool reason tells me are unworthy of being
considered. Do I not dread to go against
the indifferent and the bad, more than I
respect the opinions and follow the advice
of the good and virtuous ? Let me conceive
a just indignation against myself for
my cowardice and want of principle. I
will ever keep the sight of Jesus crucified
before my eyes,that I may never be ashamed
of the Cross.

II.

If I look upon my crucified Saviour,
what do I see ? That dear head, erewhile
so comely and so full of heavenly beauty,
now hanging forward, now thrown back in
racking agony. The brow is pierced by
long, cruel thorns ; the fair hair matted
with blood. Those eyes whose glance was
love, and purity, and blessing, are heavy
with fever pains, blinded with streams of
blood, glazed with coming death. Those
lips that have spoken words of salvation,
and truth, and healing of soul and body,
are parched and cracked with unbearable
thirst. Those hands whose touch had
cured the blind, and raised the dead to
life, are nailed outstretched upon the cross.
Those blessed feet which sanctified the
earth they trod upon, which had borne
Him in His journeys through the land
when He went about doing good, transfixed
with horrid nails, are fastened to the cross.
The whole of that weary, wounded body
hangs heavily by those hands and feet ; and
all the while His sacred, priceless blood falls
drop by drop upon the ground. What pangs
shoot through the tender flesh of the most
perfect and sensitive body that ever was
created ! What a death-bed is this for
Jesus, the Son of God, the love of my
heart !

III.

There was a tenderness in the heart of
Jesus, which all His pains could not suppress,
and in the midst of His most bitter
agony and dying, a manifestation of it was
called forth by the sight of His Mother
and the Disciple "whom He loved."
Whether Her face was turned towards
Him in bitter grief, or hidden in speechless
woe, the sight of Her, to whom He
was such a perfect son, and the knowledge
of Her intense suffering was a most bitter
drop in the chalice of His affliction. How
those two hearts must have spoken to each
other in that moment ! What thoughts
must have flown from the Cross to Mary,
and from Mary to the Cross ! Mother and
Son thus silently communing at such a
death-bed ! But Jesus speaks ; and He
gives her to St. John, and St. John to
her, to be as mother and son to one
another. Spiritual writers tell us that by
this act He gave her to us all, and all of
us to her. We are the legacy that He left
to her at this supreme moment. She will
never forget it. Let us remember it, and
endeavour to requite this tenderness of the
Sacred Heart, by loving her whom He
gave to us, and through devotion to her,
by being brought nearer to Him, even
though we have to go with her to the
very foot of the Cross.

Oh ! my Lord Jesus Christ, who hast
redeemed me by Thy precious blood, give
me grace ever to adhere to Thee, and to
Thy law, and to Thy love, whatever pains
of soul or body I may have to endure.
Give me a great love of Thy sacred Passion,
a longing desire ever to be with Thee ; and
as a means to this let me always cherish a
deep love and devotion to Thy Blessed
Mother and mine. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

THE END